HB2798 - 551R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 16-544, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-544. Permanent early voting list; civil penalty; violation; classification

A. Any voter may request to be included on a permanent list of voters to receive an early ballot for any election for which the county voter registration roll is used to prepare the election register. The county recorder of each county shall maintain the permanent early voting list as part of the voter registration roll.

B. In order to be included on the permanent early voting list, the voter shall make a written request specifically requesting that the voter's name be added to the permanent early voting list for all elections in which the applicant is eligible to vote. A permanent early voter request form shall conform to requirements prescribed in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452. The application shall allow for the voter to provide the voter's name, residence address, mailing address in the voter's county of residence, date of birth and signature and shall state that the voter is attesting that the voter is a registered voter who is eligible to vote in the county of residence. The voter shall not list a mailing address that is outside of this state for the purpose of the permanent early voting list unless the voter is an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99-410; 42 52 United States Code section 1973ff-6 20310). In lieu of the application, the applicant may submit a written request that contains the required information.

C. On receipt of a request to be included on the permanent early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall compare the signature on the request form with the voter's signature on the voter's registration form and, if the request is from the voter, shall mark the voter's registration file as a permanent early ballot request.

D. Not less than ninety days before any polling place election scheduled in March or August, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail to all voters who are eligible for the election and who are included on the permanent early voting list an election notice by nonforwardable mail that is marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction notification and that states that the voter must sign and return the notice to the county RECORDER with a copy of the voter's Arizona driver license or Arizona NONOPERATING identification in order to receive a ballot. If an election is not formally called by a jurisdiction by the one hundred twentieth day before the election, the recorder or other officer in charge of elections is not required to send the election notice. The notice shall include the dates of the elections that are the subject of the notice, the dates that the voter's ballot is expected to be mailed and the address where the ballot will be mailed. If the upcoming election is a partisan open primary election and the voter is not registered as a member of one of the political parties that is recognized for purposes of that primary, the notice shall include information on the procedure for the voter to designate a political party ballot. The notice shall be delivered with return postage prepaid and shall also include a means for the voter to do any of the following:

1. Change the mailing address for the voter's ballot to another location in the voter's county of residence.

2. Update the voter's residence address in the voter's county of residence.

3. Request that the voter not be sent a ballot for the upcoming election or elections indicated on the notice.

E. If the notice that is mailed to the voter is returned undeliverable by the postal service, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall take the necessary steps to contact the voter at the voter's new residence address in order to update that voter's address or to move the voter to inactive status as prescribed in section 16-166, subsection A. If a voter is moved to inactive status, the voter shall be removed from the permanent early voting list. If the voter is removed from the permanent early voting list, the voter shall only be added to the permanent early voting list again if the voter submits a new request pursuant to this section. If the information that the voter has returned, including the voter's signature, does not match the voter's records with the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections, the recorder or officer shall contact the voter to resolve the discrepancy. If the discrepancy is not resolved, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may not mail the voter an early ballot and the voter shall be removed from the PERManent early voting list.

F. Not later than the first day of early voting, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail an early ballot to all eligible voters included on the permanent early voting list in the same manner prescribed in section 16-542, subsection C. If the voter has not returned the notice or otherwise notified the election officer within forty-five days before the election that the voter does not wish to receive an early ballot by mail for the election or elections indicated, the ballot shall automatically be scheduled for mailing.

G. If a voter who is on the permanent early voting list is not registered as a member of a recognized political party and fails to notify the county recorder of the voter's choice for political party ballot within forty-five days before a partisan open primary election, the following apply:

1. The voter shall not automatically be sent a ballot for that partisan open primary election only and the voter's name shall remain on the permanent early voting list for future elections.

2. To receive an early ballot for the primary election, the voter shall submit the voter's choice for political party ballot to the county recorder.

H. After a voter has requested to be included on the permanent early voting list, the voter shall be sent an early ballot by mail automatically for any election at which a voter at that residence address is eligible to vote until any of the following occurs:

1. The voter requests in writing to be removed from the permanent early voting list.

2. The voter's registration or eligibility for registration is moved to inactive status or canceled as otherwise provided by law.

3. The notice sent by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections is returned undeliverable and the county recorder or officer in charge of elections is unable to contact the voter to determine the voter's continued desire to remain on the list.

I. A voter may make a written request at any time to be removed from the permanent early voting list. The request shall include the voter's name, residence address, date of birth and signature. On receipt of a completed request to remove a voter from the permanent early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall remove the voter's name from the list as soon as practicable.

J. An absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99-410; 42 52 United States Code section 1973ff-6 20310) is eligible to be placed on the permanent early voting list pursuant to this section.

K. A voter's failure to vote an early ballot once received does not constitute grounds to remove the voter from the permanent early voting list.

L. A candidate, political committee or other organization may distribute permanent early voting list request forms to voters. If the permanent early voting list request forms include a printed address for return, that address shall be the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Failure to use the political subdivision as the return addressee is punishable by a civil penalty of up to three times the cost of the production and distribution of the permanent early voting list request.

M. All original and completed permanent early voting list request forms that are received by a candidate, political committee or other organization shall be submitted within six business days after receipt by a candidate or political committee or eleven days before the election day, whichever is earlier, to the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Any person, political committee or other organization that fails to submit a completed permanent early voting list request form within the prescribed time is subject to a civil penalty of up to twenty-five dollars per day for each completed form withheld from submittal. Any person who knowingly fails to submit a completed permanent early voting list request form before the submission deadline for the election immediately following the completion of the form is guilty of a class 6 felony. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-550, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-550. Receipt of voter's ballot; cure period

A. On receipt of the envelope containing the early ballot and the ballot affidavit, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall compare the signatures thereon with the signature of the elector on the elector's registration record. If the signature is inconsistent with the elector's signature on the elector's registration record, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall make reasonable efforts to contact the voter, advise the voter of the inconsistent signature and allow the voter to correct or the county to confirm the inconsistent signature. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall allow signatures to be corrected not later than the fifth business day after a primary, general or special election that includes a federal office or the third business day after any other election may not tabulate the ballot and shall segregate and retain the ballot and affidavit for further review. If satisfied that the signatures correspond, the recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall hold the envelope containing the early ballot and the completed affidavit unopened in accordance with the rules of the secretary of state, and shall examine the ballot to determine whether it is defective or damaged, and if so, shall return the ballot to its envelope and shall segregate and RETAIN the ballot and affidavit for further review.

B. The recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall thereafter safely keep the affidavits and early ballots in the recorder's or other officer's office until delivered pursuant to section 16-551 and tallying of ballots shall not begin any earlier than fourteen days before election day.

C. The county recorder shall send a list of all voters who were issued early ballots to the election board of the precinct in which the voter is registered.

D. This section does not apply to:

1. A special taxing district that is authorized pursuant to section 16-191 to conduct its own elections.

2. A special district mail ballot election that is conducted pursuant to article 8.1 of this chapter. END_STATUTE