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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session
ballot drop boxes; surveillance; appropriation
Purpose
Prohibits voted
early ballots from being returned by mail. Outlines requirements for ballot drop-boxes,
including: 1) acceptance of ballots and ballot batches; 2) generating receipts;
3) cameras or recording systems; and 4) preventing the ballot box from
accepting ballots if the camera or recording system is malfunctioning. Appropriates
$ from the state General Fund (state GF) in FY 2022 to the
Secretary of State (SOS).
Background
Counties or municipalities that establish drop-boxes must develop and implement security procedures. Ballot drop-boxes must be located in a secure location approved by the county board of supervisors and an unstaffed outdoor drop-box must be securely fastened in a manner to prevent moving or tampering. An unstaffed indoor drop-box must be secured in a manner that will prevent unauthorized removal. All drop-boxes must be clearly marked as an official ballot drop-box and secured by a lock or sealable with a tamper-evident seal. Only an election official or designated ballot retriever may have access to the keys to remove the deposited ballots (E.P.M. Ch. 2 (1)(I)(1;3)).
S.B. 1571 appropriates $ from the state GF in FY 2022 to the SOS.
Provisions
1. Prohibits voted early ballots from being mailed to a county recorder or other officer in charge of elections and requires early ballots to be returned by hand.
2. Requires a ballot drop-box used to receive voted early ballots to:
a) accept only one ballot at a time;
b) accept no more than seven ballots in a single batch from one person;
c) log the receipt of each ballot;
d) generate a paper receipt that specifies the number of ballots accepted by the ballot drop-box from a person;
e) include a functioning camera or video recorder that photographs or video records each person who deposits early ballots;
f) link the photographs or video records to the ballots deposited by a person;
g) retain images of a person depositing early ballots and a copy of the issued receipt as an official election record; and
h) prevent the ballot drop-box from accepting ballots if the camera or video recorder stops operating until the camera or video recorder operates normally again.
3. Appropriates $ from the state GF in FY 2022 to the SOS to procure, install, operate and maintain 24-hour per-day photo and video surveillance for each ballot drop-box in Arizona.
4. Exempts the appropriation from lapsing.
5. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 9, 2022
MH/HW/slp