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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, First Regular Session
AMENDED
ballots; election day; identification
Purpose
Deems the early ballot of a voter who is issued an early ballot during the early voting period after confirming identification and being stamped as ready for tabulating. Requires a county recorder or other county officer in charge of elections to transmit all ballot images and the cast vote record in a sortable format to the Secretary of State (SOS) within 48 hours of the official county canvass.
Background
In order to receive a ballot at a voting location an elector must present: 1) a valid form of identification bearing their photograph, name and address; 2) two different items containing the name and address of the elector that is the same name and address in the precinct register; or 3) a valid form of identification that does not appear to be the same address as in the precinct register and one item containing the name and address of the elector that is the same as in the precinct register (A.R.S. § 16-579).
Upon opening the polls, the inspector at a polling place must produce a sealed package of official ballots and publicly open the ballots and deliver one book or block to the judges. The other books or blocks of ballots must remain with the inspector until called for by the judges and required for voting. One of the judges must keep the ballots within the polling place in plain view of the public. A person may not take or remove a ballot from the polling place before the polls are closed (A.R.S. § 16-572).
The officer in charge of elections must ensure that electronic or digital ballot images are protected from physical or electronic access, including unauthorized copying or transferring, and that all security measures are at least as protective as those for paper ballots (A.R.S. § 16-625).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Stipulates that a voter's early ballot is ready for tabulating and exempt from signature verification if a voter is issued an early ballot at an early voting location during the early voting period after presenting and confirming valid identification.
2. Requires the chain of custody log for the early ballots returned at voting locations on election day to be available for inspection within 48 hours after election day by the public, the political parties, the committees representing ballot measures on the ballot and the candidates on the ballot.
6. Requires the SOS to establish and administer an electronic portal to receive requests for access to the ballot image materials and use established authentication protocols to verify the requestor's identifying information.
7. Requires, for a person requesting access to the materials, the SOS to require the person's:
a) name, address, email address, telephone number; and
b) declaration signed by the person stating that the person will not alter the images or information to report inaccurate election results or data or use any election record or combination of records to reveal how another person voted.
10. Defines cast vote record as the collection of anonymous electronic records of the voters' selections in which each individual record corresponds to a ballot image.
11. Makes technical and conforming changes.
12. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Allows certain early ballots returned to a voting location to be removed from the voting location by two authorized election workers who have completed a chain of custody log and who deliver the ballots to an official elections facility.
2. Requires the two authorized election workers to each be a member of a different political party.
3. Specifies that the early ballots removed from a voting location by authorized election workers may not be delivered to a third-party vendor.
4. Requires the chain of custody log located at the voting location to include the total count of the early ballots being transported.
5. Requires the chain of custody log for early ballots returned at voting locations on election day to be available for inspection within 48 hours after election day.
6. Removes the requirement that an early ballot must be received by the county or deposited at a polling place by 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before an election.
7. Removes the requirement that a voter who delivers their own early ballot present and confirm identification before depositing the voter’s own early ballot in a secure ballot box.
8. Removes the requirement that a voter only deliver the voter’s own ballot.
9. Reinserts the exemption of a family member, household member and caregiver of a voter from the requirements relating to ballot abuse.
10. Reinserts the definitions of family member, household member and caregiver.
11. Makes technical and conforming changes.
Amendments Adopted by the House of Representatives
1. Adds, for an early ballot to be ready for tabulating, the requirement that the election official stamp the signed envelope with a stamp that reads ID VERIFIED after confirming that the name and address on the voter's identification reasonably appear to be the same as the voter's early ballot affidavit.
2. Subjects an early ballot affidavit that is deposited in the ballot box designated for verified early ballots without a stamp to signature verification requirements.
3. Requires the election official in charge of the secured ballot box designated for verified early ballots to maintain a tally of ballots that have been deposited in the secured ballot box and sign a prescribed affidavit.
4. Prescribes requirements relating to ballot drop boxes.
5. Requires the election official to ensure that a voter who does not present identification can deposit the voter's early ballot into the ballot box designated for verified early ballots.
6. Defines ID verified.
7. Makes a technical change.
Amendments Adopted by Conference Committee
1. The amendments adopted by the House of Representatives were rejected.
2. Limits early ballots that are exempt from signature verification to early ballots submitted during early voting, rather than during early voting and on election day.
3. Removes the authorization of the removal of early ballots from a voting location for delivery to a designated receiving site by two designated election workers.
4. Requires a county recorder or other county officer in charge of elections to transmit all ballot images and the cast vote record in a sortable format to the SOS within 48 hours of the official county canvass.
5. Requires the county recorder or other county officer in charge of elections to ensure that paper ballots are stored in a manner that allows for convenient retrieval.
6. Specifies that the SOS, county recorder or other county officer in charge of elections is not liable for information or notations made by the voter that are included in the ballot images.
7. Requires the SOS to establish and administer an electronic portal to receive requests for access to the ballot image materials and prescribes requirements for a requestor.
8. Increases the number of days after the declaration of an election canvass within which an elector may contest a state election.
9. Classifies, as a class 5 felony, a violation of the declaration to obtain access to the ballot image materials.
10. Defines cast vote record.
11. Makes technical and conforming changes.
Senate Action House Action
ELEC 2/13/23 DP 5-3-0 MOE 3/29/23 DP 7-3-0-0
3rd Read 3/22/23 29-0-1 3rd Read 5/15/23 37-21-1-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
June 13, 2023
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