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Senate Engrossed House Bill |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-third Legislature Second Regular Session 2018
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CHAPTER 316
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HOUSE BILL 2538 |
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AN ACT
amending sections 16-222 and 16-223, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to election dates.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 16-222, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-222. Vacancy in the office of United States senator or representative
A. When a vacancy occurs in the office of United States senator or representative in Congress by reason of death or resignation, or from any other cause and except as provided in subsection D of this section, the vacancy shall be filled at the next general election. At such an election the person elected shall fill the unexpired term of the vacated office.
B. For a vacancy in the office of representative in Congress, if the next general election is not to be held within six months from after the date of the occurrence of the vacancy, the governor shall call a special primary election and a special general election to fill the vacancy. The governor shall call the special primary election and establish its date within seventy-two hours after the office is officially declared vacant. Notwithstanding sections 16‑313, 16‑351 and 16‑542, for a candidate for office at an election held pursuant to this subsection, the following apply:
1. The special primary election shall be held no not less than eighty one hundred twenty nor more than ninety one hundred thirty-three days after the occurrence of the vacancy, and the special general election shall be held not less than fifty seventy nor more than sixty eighty days after the special primary election.
2. Nomination papers and nomination petitions shall be filed no not later than thirty days after the date of the proclamation calling the election.
3. Any court action challenging the nomination of a candidate shall be filed no not later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifth business day after the last day for filing nomination papers and petitions.
4. The superior court shall hear and render a decision within five days after the filing of the action.
5. Beginning fifteen days before the date of the election, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail early ballots within forty-eight hours after receipt of a complete and correct early ballot request from persons qualified to vote.
C. For a vacancy in the office of United States senator, the governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy. That appointee shall be of the same political party as the person vacating the office and, except as provided in subsection D of this section, shall serve until the person elected at the next general election is qualified and assumes office. If the person vacating the office changed political party affiliations affiliation after taking office, the person who is appointed to fill the vacancy shall be of the same political party that the vacating officeholder was when the vacating officeholder was elected or appointed to that office.
D. If a vacancy in the office of United States senator occurs more than one hundred fifty days before the next regular primary election date, the person who is appointed pursuant to subsection C of this section shall continue to serve until the vacancy is filled at the next general election. If a vacancy in the office of United States Senator occurs one hundred fifty days or less before the next regular primary election date, the person who is appointed shall serve until the vacancy is filled at the second regular general election held after the vacancy occurs, and the person elected shall fill the remaining unexpired term of the vacated office.
D. E. For a vacancy in the office of representative in Congress that occurs simultaneously with at least one hundred additional vacancies in the office of representative in Congress as prescribed by 2 United States Code section 8, a special general election to fill the vacancy in this state shall be held no not more than forty-nine days after the declaration of the vacancy unless a regularly scheduled general election or previously scheduled special general election is held within seventy-five days after the declaration of the vacancy.
Sec. 2. Section 16-223, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-223. Issuance of proclamation for special election by governor; publication by clerks of boards of supervisors
A. Within ten days after a vacancy occurs in the office of representative in Congress, if a special primary and special general election are required by section 16‑222, the governor shall issue a proclamation containing a statement of the time of the special primary election and the special general election and the offices to be filled.
B. The governor shall transmit a copy of the election proclamation to the officer in charge of elections and the clerk of each board of supervisors of the several counties each county that is required to participate in the special election.
C. The clerk of the board of supervisors of each county that is required to participate in the special election, within five days after RECEIVING the PROCLAMATION prescribed in subsection B of this section, shall publish a copy of the election proclamation in an official newspaper of the county at least five days before the special primary election and at least five days before the special general election and shall post on a county-operated website a notice stating the dates of the SPECIAL primary election and the special general election.
(EMERGENCY NOT ENACTED)
Sec. 3. Emergency
This act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law.
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR MAY 16, 2018.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 16, 2018.