ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-sixth Legislature

First Regular Session

House: MOE DPA/SE 6-4-0-0

HB 2099: technical correction; statement of contest

S/E: prohibitions; polling places; voting devices

Sponsor: Representative Harris, LD 13

Caucus & COW

 

Summary of the Strike-Everything Amendment to HB 2099

Overview

Requires all voting be conducted at election precincts and caps the number of registered voters authorized per precinct at 1,500 registered voters. Prohibits the use of electronic voting devices in Arizona elections. 

History

Voting Locations

A county Board of Supervisors may establish voting centers in addition to or in lieu of precinct-based polling places.  Polling places are specifically designated locations within election precincts where voters who reside in that precinct must vote. Voting centers are locations within a county where individuals can vote regardless of the person's designated election precinct (A.R.S. § 16-411)

Voting Equipment

Arizona law allows for votes to be cast, recorded and counted by voting or marking devices and vote tabulating equipment.  A voting device is an apparatus that the voter uses to record the voter's votes by marking a paper ballot, which votes are subsequently counted by electronic tabulating equipment. Electronic tabulating equipment refers to an apparatus necessary to automatically examine and count votes as designated on ballots and tabulate the results (A.R.S. §§ 16-443, 16-444).

Provisions

☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NotePolling Places

1.   Prohibits the Board of Supervisors from establishing a precinct that contains more than 1,500 registered voters. (Sec. 5)

2.   Clarifies the Board of Supervisors must establish a reasonable number of polling places in each precinct. (Sec. 5)

3.   Prohibits the Board of Supervisors from authorizing the use of voting centers. (Sec. 5)

4.   Repeals the sections of statute concerning voting centers. (Sec. 5)

5.   Specifies the Board of Supervisors is prohibited from changing a polling place unless the voters in that precinct are notified by mail at least two years in advance. (Sec. 5)

6.   Repeals statute allowing for the consolidation of polling places in specified circumstances. (Sec. 5)

7.   Repeals statute allowing the principal of a school to deny a request to provide space for use as a polling place. (Sec. 5)

8.   Requires the Board of Supervisors to use public schools and governmental offices as polling places whenever possible. (Sec. 5)

9.   Asserts school district governing boards, principles and managers of governmental offices must allow their sites to be used as polling places if requested. (Sec. 5)

10.  Revises the criteria for which a County Recorder or officer in charge of elections may establish an emergency polling place to include only acts of God that render a previously set polling place as unusable. (Sec. 5)

Prohibition on Electronic Voting Devices

11.  Allows for the use of machines or devices only if they cannot access the internet and are used solely to comply with accessibility requirements. (Sec. 6)

12.  Prohibits the Secretary of State from approving the general use of electronic voting machines and electronic tabulating machines unless required to comply with accessibility requirements. (Sec. 6, 7 and 8)

13.  Requires, except for circumstances involving compliance with accessibility requirements, that all state, county, city and town elections be conducted using paper ballots and ballots be tabulated by hand. (Sec. 8)

14.  Requires all electronic voting machines and electronic tabulating machines to be:

a)   The same make and model;

b)   Uniform in compliance, language and capabilities; and

c)   Owned by the office of the Secretary of State and used in agreement with counties and other election jurisdictions. (Sec. 6)

15.  Directs the Secretary of State to revoke the certification or prohibit, for a period of five years, the purchase of any voting system or device in specified circumstances. (Sec. 6)

16.  Repeals the section of statute concerning the filing of computer election programs with the Secretary of State. (Sec. 9)

17.  Allows for the use of electronic tabulating systems for the tabulation of absentee ballots only. (Sec. 12)

18.  Repeals the sections of statute concerning the acquisition, cost and rules of vote tabulating devices. (Sec. 13)

19.  Repeals the sections of statute concerning the form of ballots and the use of antifraud ballot paper. (Sec. 15)

20.  Establishes the minimum requirements for ballot paper used in primary and general elections. (Sec. 16)

Mail-in and Early Voting

21.  Repeals the provisions of statute concerning mail-in voting. (Sec. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 14)

22.  Requires, for votes to be counted and valid, early ballots must be received by the County Recorder or officer in charge off elections no later than three days before election day. (Sec. 17)

23.  Requires all early votes to be counted on election day before 7:00 pm. (Sec. 17)

24.  States the results of the early vote tally may not be released until after 8:00 pm on election day. (Sec. 17)

Miscellaneous

25.  Makes technical and conforming changes. (Sec. 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17 and 18)

Amendments

Committee on Municipal Oversight & Elections

1.   Decreases, from 1,500 to 1,000, the number of registered voters authorized per precinct.

2.   Repeals language that allows for the tabulation of absentee ballots by electronic tabulation devices. 

3.    

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6.                     HB 2099

7.   Initials JH  Page 0 Caucus & COW

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