ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-fifth Legislature

First Regular Session

 

HB 2039: elections; hand counts; five percent

S/E same subject

Sponsor:  Representative Griffin, LD 14

Committee on Government & Elections

 

Summary of the Strike-Everything Amendment to HB 2039

Overview

Expands the hand count threshold to at least five percent.

History

Current statute requires the county officer in charge of the election to conduct a hand count at one or more secure facilities for each countywide primary, special, general and presidential preference election.  This hand count is required to be conducted as prescribed by statute and the Elections and Procedures Manual established by the Secretary of State.  The hand count must be conducted by selecting, at random from a pool consisting of every precinct in that county, at least two percent of the precincts in that county, or two precincts, whichever is greater.  The selection of the precincts must not begin until all ballots voted in the precinct polling places have been delivered to the central counting center.

At one or more times selected by the chairman of the political parties entitled to continued representation on the ballot and after the electronic tabulation of early ballots, the chairmen or the chairmen's designees must randomly select one or more batches of early ballots that have been tabulated for a postelection manual audit.  From those sequestered early ballots, the chairmen must randomly select a number equal to one percent of the total number of early ballots cast or 5,000 early ballots, whichever is less.  From those randomly selected early ballots, the county officer in charge of elections will conduct a manual audit of the same races that are being hand counted pursuant to statute (A.R.S. § 16-602).

Provisions

1.    Increases the hand count threshold to at least five percent of precincts in the county, or the number of precincts required to achieve a statistical significance consisting of a 99 percent confidence level with a margin of error of one percent based on the total number of ballots cast in that county, whichever is greater. (Sec. 1)

2.    Requires the hand count to be conducted at the precinct level. (Sec. 1)

3.    Specifies that a voting center is not deemed to be a precinct for purposes of the hand count. (Sec. 1)

4.    Authorizes the Attorney General, the Secretary of State or the Legislative Council, by written request, to require that a higher percentage or greater number of precincts be hand counted for any specified county. (Sec. 1)

5.    Modifies the hand count threshold for the presidential preference election to five percent of the polling places or the number of polling places required to achieve a statistical significance consisting of a 99 percent confidence level with a margin of error of one percent based on the total number of ballots cast in that county, whichever is greater. (Sec. 1)

6.    Stipulates that the chairmen or chairmen's designees must randomly select from the sequestered early ballots a number equal to five percent of the total number of early ballots cast or the number of early ballots required to achieve a statistical significance consisting of a 99 percent confidence level with a margin of error of one percent based on the total number of ballots cast in that county, whichever is greater. (Sec. 1)

7.    ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteMakes a technical change. (Sec. 1)

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11.                    HB 2039

12.  Initials SJ  Page 0 Government & Elections

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