HB2567 - 552R

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

Section 1. Section 16-314, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-314. Filing and form of nomination petitions; definition

A. Any person desiring to become a candidate at any election and to have the person's name printed on the official ballot shall file, not less than one hundred twenty nor more than one hundred fifty days before the primary election and with the same officer as provided by section 16-311, a nomination petition in addition to the nomination paper required.

B. For the purposes of this title, "nomination petition" means the form or forms used for obtaining the required number of signatures of qualified electors, which is circulated by or on behalf of the person wishing to become a candidate for a political office.

C. Nomination petitions shall be captioned "partisan nomination petition" or "nonpartisan nomination petition", followed by the language of the petition in substantially the following form, except that if the candidate does not have an actual residence address, the candidate may use a description of place of residence and post office address, or, if the candidate's actual residence address is protected pursuant to section 16-153, a post office box or private mailbox address in the candidate's political division or district from which the nomination is sought is sufficient:

Partisan Nomination Petition

I, the undersigned, a qualified elector of the county of ______________, state of Arizona, and of (here name political division or district from which the nomination is sought) and a member of the _______________ party or a person who is registered as no party preference or independent as the party preference or who is registered with a political party that is not qualified for representation on the ballot, hereby nominate ___________ who resides at _____________ in the county of ____________ for the party nomination for the office of _______________ to be voted at the primary election to be held _______________ as representing the principles of such party, and I hereby declare that I am qualified to vote for this office and that I have not signed, and will not sign, any nomination petition for more persons than the number of candidates necessary to fill such office at the next ensuing election. I further declare that if I choose to use a post office box address on this petition, my residence address has not changed since I last reported it to the county recorder for purposes of updating my voter registration file.

Nonpartisan Nomination Petition

I, the undersigned, a qualified elector of the county of _______________, state of Arizona, and of (here name political division or district from which the nomination is sought) hereby nominate _______________ who resides at _______________ in the county of _______________ for the office of ______________ to be voted at the _______________ election to be held _______________, and hereby declare that I am qualified to vote for this office and that I have not signed and will not sign any nomination petitions for more persons than the number of candidates necessary to fill such office at the next ensuing election. I further declare that if I choose to use a post office box address on this petition, my residence address has not changed since I last reported it to the county recorder for purposes of updating my voter registration file.

D. The nomination petition of a person seeking to fill an unexpired vacant term for any public office shall designate the expiration date of the term following the name of the office being sought. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-321, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-321. Signing and certification of nomination petition; definition

A. Each signer of a nomination petition shall may sign only one petition an unlimited number of candidate petitions for the same office unless more than one candidate is to be elected to such office, and in that case not more than the number of nomination petitions equal to the number of candidates to be elected to the office. A signature shall not be counted on a nomination petition unless the signature is on a sheet bearing the form prescribed by section 16-314.

B. For the purposes of petitions filed pursuant to sections 16-312, 16-313, 16-314 and 16-341, each signer of a nomination petition shall be a voter who at the time of signing is a registered voter in the electoral district of the office the candidate is seeking.

C. If an elector signs more nomination petitions than permitted by subsection A of this section, the earlier signatures of the elector are deemed valid, as determined by the date of the signature as shown on the petitions. If the signatures by the elector are dated on the same day, all signatures by that elector on that day are deemed invalid. Any signature by that elector on a nomination petition on or after the date of the last otherwise valid signature is deemed invalid and shall not be counted.

D. C. The person before whom the signatures were written on the signature sheet is not required to be a resident of this state but otherwise shall be qualified to register to vote in this state pursuant to section 16-101 and, if not a resident of this state, shall register as a circulator with the secretary of state. A circulator shall verify that each of the names on the petition was signed in his presence on the date indicated, and that in his belief each signer was a qualified elector who resides at the address given as the signer's residence on the date indicated and, if for a partisan election, that each signer is a qualified signer. The way the name appears on the petition shall be the name used in determining the validity of the name for any legal purpose pursuant to the election laws of this state. Signature and handwriting comparisons may be made.

E. D. A person who signs a nominating petition must use that person's actual residence address unless there is no actual residence address assigned by an official governmental entity or the person's actual residence is protected pursuant to section 16-153. The signature of a person who signs a nominating petition and who uses only a description of the place of residence or an Arizona post office box address is valid if the person is otherwise properly registered to vote, has not moved since registering to vote and is eligible to sign the nominating petition.

F. E. For the purposes of this article, "qualified signer" means any of the following:

1. A qualified elector who is a registered member of the party from which the candidate is seeking nomination.

2. A qualified elector who is a registered member of a political party that is not entitled to continued representation on the ballot pursuant to section 16-804.

3. A qualified elector who is registered as independent or no party preferred. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 16-341, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-341. Nomination petition; method and time of filing; form; qualifications and number of petitioners required; statement of interest

A. Any qualified elector who is not a registered member of a political party that is recognized pursuant to this title may be nominated as a candidate for public office otherwise than by primary election or by party committee pursuant to this section.

B. This article shall not be used to place on the general election ballot the name of a political party that fails to meet the qualifications specified in section 16-802 or 16-804, or the name of any candidate representing such party or the name of a candidate who has filed a nomination petition in the immediately preceding primary election and has failed to qualify as the result of an insufficient number of valid signatures.

C. A nomination petition stating the name of the office to be filled, the name and residence of the candidate, or, if the candidate does not have an actual residence address, a description of place of residence and post office address, or, if the person's actual residence address is protected pursuant to section 16-153, a post office box or private mailbox address in the candidate's district, precinct or municipality, as applicable for a district, precinct or municipal office, and other information required by this section shall be filed with the same officer with whom primary nomination papers and petitions are required to be filed as prescribed in section 16-311. Except for candidates for the office of presidential elector filed pursuant to this section, the petition shall be filed not less than one hundred twenty days nor more than one hundred fifty days before the primary election. The petition shall be signed only by voters who have not signed the nomination petitions of a candidate for the office to be voted for at that primary election.

D. The nomination petition shall be in substantially the following form, except that if the candidate does not have an actual residence address, the candidate may use a description of place of residence and post office address, or, if the candidate's actual residence address is protected pursuant to section 16-153, a post office box or private mailbox address in the candidate's district, precinct or municipality, as applicable for a district, precinct or municipal office, is sufficient:

The undersigned, qualified electors of __________ county, state of Arizona, do hereby nominate __________, who resides at __________ in the county of __________, as a candidate for the office of _______ at the general (or special, as the case may be) election to be held on the ________ day of _________, _____.

I hereby declare that I have not signed the nomination petitions of any candidate for the office to be voted for at this primary election, and I do hereby select the following designation under which name the said candidate shall be placed on the official ballot (here insert such designation not exceeding three words in length as the signers may select).

E. The nomination petition shall conform as nearly as possible to the provisions relating to nomination petitions of candidates to be voted for at primary elections and shall be signed by at least the number of persons who are registered to vote determined by calculating three percent of the persons who are registered to vote of the state, county, subdivision or district for which the candidate is nominated who are not members of a political party that is qualified to be represented by an official party ballot at the next ensuing primary election and accorded representation on the general election ballot.

F. The percentage of persons who are registered to vote necessary to sign the nomination petition shall be determined by the total number of registered voters from other than political parties that are qualified to be represented by an official party ballot at the next ensuing primary election and accorded representation on the general election ballot in the state, county, subdivision or district on January 2 of the year in which the general election is held. Notwithstanding the method prescribed by subsection E of this section and this subsection for calculating the minimum number of signatures necessary, any person who is registered to vote in the state, county, subdivision or district for which the candidate is nominated is eligible to sign the nomination petition without regard to the signer's party affiliation.

G. A nomination petition for any candidate may be circulated by a person who is not a resident of this state but who is otherwise eligible to register to vote in this state if that person registers as a circulator with the secretary of state before circulating petitions. The nomination petition for the office of presidential elector shall include a group of names of candidates equal to the number of United States senators and representatives in Congress from this state instead of separate nomination petitions for each candidate for the office of presidential elector. A valid signature on a petition containing a group of presidential electors candidates is counted as a signature for the nomination of each of the candidates. The presidential candidate whom the candidates for presidential elector will represent shall designate in writing to the secretary of state the names of the candidates who will represent the presidential candidate before any signatures for the candidate can be accepted for filing. A nomination petition for the office of presidential elector shall be filed not less than eighty nor more than one hundred days before the general election. The petition shall be signed only by qualified electors who have not signed the nomination petitions of a candidate for the office of presidential elector to be voted for at that election.

H. The secretary of state shall require in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452 that persons who circulate nomination petitions pursuant to this section and who are not residents of this state but who are otherwise eligible to register to vote in this state shall register as circulators with the office of the secretary of state before circulating petitions. The secretary of state shall provide for a method of receiving service of process for those petition circulators who are registered.

I. Not later than the date of the first petition signature on a nomination petition, a person who may be a candidate for office pursuant to this section shall file a statement of interest with the appropriate filing officer for that office. The statement of interest shall contain the name of the person, the political party, if any, and the name of the office that may be sought. Any nomination petition signatures collected before the date the statement of interest is filed are invalid and subject to challenge. This subsection does not apply to:

1. Candidates for elected office for special taxing districts that are established pursuant to title 48.

2. Candidates for precinct committeeman.

3. Candidates for president or vice president of the United States.

J. A person who files a nomination paper pursuant to this section for the office of president of the United States shall designate in writing to the secretary of state at the time of filing the name of the candidate's vice presidential running mate, the names of the presidential electors who will represent that candidate and a statement that is signed by the vice presidential running mate and the designated presidential electors and that indicates their consent to be designated. A nomination paper for each presidential elector designated shall be filed with the candidate's nomination paper. The number of presidential electors shall equal the number of United States senators and representatives in Congress from this state.

K. A candidate who does not file a timely nomination petition that complies with this section is not eligible to have the candidate's name printed on the official ballot for that office. The filing officer shall not accept the nomination paper of a candidate for state or local office unless the candidate provides or has provided all of the following:

1. The financial disclosure statement as prescribed for candidates for that office.

2. The declaration of qualification and eligibility as prescribed in section 16-311.

L. Except in cases where the liability is being appealed, the filing officer shall not accept the nomination paper of a candidate for state or local office if the person is liable for an aggregation of $1,000 or more in fines, penalties, late fees or administrative or civil judgments, including any interest or costs, in any combination, that have not been fully satisfied at the time of the attempted filing of the nomination paper and the liability arose from failure to comply with or enforcement of chapter 6 of this title.

M. The secretary of state may authorize for statewide and legislative offices the creation, use and submission of petitions prescribed by this section in electronic form if those petitions provide for an appropriate method to verify signatures of petition circulators and signers. The secretary of state may require use of a unique marking system for petition pages, including a bar code, a quick response code or another similar marking system. END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 19-212, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE19-212. Nomination petition; form; filing

A. Unless the officer otherwise requests in writing, the name of the officer against whom a recall petition is filed shall be placed as a candidate on the official ballot without nomination. Other candidates for the office may be nominated to be voted upon on at the election and shall be placed upon on the official recall ballot after filing a nomination petition that is signed by a number of qualified electors that is equal to at least two per cent percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for that office at the last election for that office. Nomination petition signers shall be qualified electors of the electoral district of the officer against whom the recall petition is filed.

B. If the officer against whom a recall petition is filed was appointed to the office or was deemed elected after an election was canceled due to the absence of opposing candidates as provided in section 15-424, 16-822, 48-802, 48-1012, 48-1208, 48-1404, 48-1908, 48-2010, 48-2107 or 48-2208, other candidates for the office to be voted on in the recall election shall be placed on the official recall ballot after filing a nomination petition that is signed by the number of qualified electors that is equal to at least one-half of one per cent percent of the number of active registered voters in the jurisdiction or district represented by that elective officer as determined on the date of the last general election with no not less than five signatures. Nomination petition signers shall be qualified electors of the electoral district of the officer against whom the recall petition is filed.

C. The title and body of the nomination petition shall be substantially in the following form:

Nomination Petition--Recall Election

We, the undersigned electors, qualified to vote in the recall election mentioned herein, residents of the precinct indicated by the residence addresses given, and residents of the county of ______, state of Arizona, hereby nominate _______, who resides at ____, in the county of _______ to be a candidate in the recall election for the office of _______ to be held on ______________________, and we further declare that

(date)

we have not signed and will not sign any nomination paper for any other person for such office.

The remainder of the petition shall be substantially in the form prescribed in section 16-315.

D. If recall petitions have been filed against more than one member of a multimember public body whose members serve at large, the nomination petition and paper of the other candidates shall state which member they oppose.

E. To each nomination petition shall be appended a certificate by a person who is qualified to register to vote pursuant to section 16-101 stating that to the best of his knowledge and belief all the signers of the nomination petition are qualified electors of the precinct which they give as their residence.

F. Such The nomination petition shall be filed not more than ninety days nor less than sixty days prior to before the date of the recall election. END_STATUTE