Bill
Number: S.B. 1429
Bennett Floor Amendment
Reference
to: printed bill
Amendment
drafted by: Leg Council
FLOOR
AMENDMENT EXPLANATION
1. Requires any election
item that was duly called by a city, town or county for the August 6, 2024
primary election to be placed on the ballot for the newly designated primary
election date of July 30, 2024.
2. Prohibits a filing
officer from rejecting signatures or petitions based solely on the date of the
primary election that is on a petition form.
3. Specifies that a person
does not have to file a new or amended statement of interest based solely on
the change to the 2024 primary election date.
4. Specifies that
signatures collected through an electronic petition with the August 6, 2024,
primary date and that otherwise comply with the requirements provided by law
are valid signatures.
5. Requires the voter of a
conditional provisional ballot to provide proof of identification to the county
recorder or other officer in charge of elections by:
a)
the
fifth business day after a primary, general or special election that includes a
federal office; or
b)
the
third business day after any other election.
6. Delays, until January
1, 2025, the ability of candidates to collect up to 125 percent of the total
number of required nomination petitions signature by using the online signature
collection system.
7. Specifies that the city
or town clerks' offices that must be open during the prescribed timeframes are
upon an agreement with a county to be used as a location at which a voter may
submit proof of identification.
8. Specifies that the
regular business hours for city, town and county offices must be at least 8:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
9. Adds an emergency
clause.
10. Adds an applicability
clause.
11. Makes conforming
changes.
Page 1, line
17, after the period insert "Through 2024, a candidate may
choose to collect up to an amount equal to the full number of required
nomination petition signatures or up to an amount equal to the full number of
required CONTRIBUTION QUALIFICATION forms, or both, by use of the online
signature collection system prescribed by this section. Beginning in 2025,"
Line 38,
after the period insert "Through 2024, a candidate may
choose to collect up to the minimum number of required nomination petition
signatures by use of the online signature collection system prescribed by this
section. Beginning in 2025,"
Page 2, line
11, after the period insert "Through 2024, a candidate may
choose to collect up to the full number of required nomination petition
signatures by use of the online signature collection system prescribed by this
section. Beginning in 2025,"
Between
lines 16 and 17, insert:
"Sec. 4. Section
16-550, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-550. Receipt
of voter's ballot; cure period; tracking system
A. Except
for early ballots tabulated as prescribed in section 16-579.02 or, beginning in 2026, received at a voting location after a
voter's identification is confirmed as prescribed by section 16-579, subsection
A, paragraph 4, on receipt of the envelope containing the early ballot and the
mail ballot affidavit, the county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall compare the signature on the envelope with the signature of the
elector on the elector's registration record as prescribed by section 16-550.01. 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. If the election is a primary, general or special
election that includes a federal office, in addition to the office's regular
business hours, the county recorder's and any city or
town clerks' offices that have an agreement with a county to be
used as locations at which a voter may submit proof of identification shall
be open during regular business hours to allow for curing signatures during the
Friday and weekend before and the Friday and weekend after the election. Regular business hours include at a minimum 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M.
If the signature is missing, the county recorder or other officer in
charge of elections shall make reasonable efforts to contact the elector,
advise the elector of the missing signature and allow the elector to add the
elector's signature not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day. 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 mail affidavit unopened in accordance with the rules of the secretary
of state. Signatures that cannot be verified pursuant to section 16-550.01
or cured pursuant to this section shall be rejected. If
the ballot is a conditional provisional ballot, the voter shall provide proof
of IDENTIFICATION to the county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections 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. Beginning with the first missing or mismatched
signature that is identified after the period of early voting begins through
the Monday immediately preceding the election, the county recorder or other
officer in charge of elections shall submit daily to the political parties that
are qualified for continued representation on the state ballot an updated list
of all voters whose signatures are missing or inconsistent with the voter's
signature on the voter's registration record. Beginning on the Wednesday
immediately following the election through the end of the signature cure period
after a primary, general or special election that includes a federal office, or
the third business day after the election for any other election, the county
recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall submit daily to the
political parties that are qualified for continued representation on the state
ballot an updated list of all voters whose signatures are inconsistent with the
voter's signature on the voter's registration record and all voters who voted
with a conditional provisional ballot. This list of voters whose signatures
require curing shall include for those voters all voter information that is
provided to the political parties that are qualified for continued
representation on the state ballot as prescribed by section 16-168.
B. The
recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall thereafter safely keep
the mail ballot affidavits and early ballots in the recorder's or other officer's
office and may deliver them for tallying pursuant to section 16-551.
C. Processing
and tabulation of individual ballots may begin immediately after the envelope
and completed mail ballot affidavit are processed pursuant to this section and
delivered to the early election board and shall continue without delay until
completed. Until election day, the early election board and the county
recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall:
1. Not
access an aggregated complete results file of early voting and vote by mail
ballots that were processed and tabulated by the end of the early voting
period.
2. Not
produce for internal or external use an aggregated results report or associated
files of complete results.
3. Only
produce a partial results report or associated files if it is part of the
internal preparation for the hand count pursuant to section 16-602 or for the
logic and accuracy testing required pursuant to section 16-449.
4. Not
publicly release complete or partial results, whether for internal or external
use, until all precincts have reported or one hour after the closing of the
polls on election day, whichever is earlier.
D. The
county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall post on its
website within forty-eight hours after all ballot tabulation is complete all
system log files and other similar files from the election management system
that verify compliance with subsection C of this section.
E. 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.
F. For
a county that uses early ballots, the county recorder or other officer in
charge of elections shall provide an early ballot tracking system that
indicates whether the voter's early ballot has been received and whether the
early ballot has been verified and sent to be tabulated or rejected. The
county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall provide voters
with access to the early ballot tracking system on the county's website.
G. 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
Sec. 5. Laws
2024, chapter 1, section 21 is amended to read:
Sec. 21. 2024 primary election; nomination petition forms; local
initiative petition forms; statements of interest; previous primary election
date
A. A
person who desires to become a candidate at the 2024 primary election, who
collects signatures on a nomination petition form, including an
electronic petition with signatures as prescribed by section 16-316, 16-317
or 16-318, Arizona Revised Statutes, before, the effective date of this act on or after
February 9, 2024 or before, on or after the effective
date of this amendment to this section and who has used a petition form
that includes the former primary election date of August 6, 2024 may lawfully
submit those signatures for the 2024 primary election to be held on July 30,
2024. Signatures that are collected with the August 6, 2024 primary
election date, that are submitted as prescribed in this subsection and that
otherwise comply with the requirements provided by law are deemed to be as
valid as signatures collected on a nomination petition form,
including an electronic petition with signatures as prescribed by section 16-316,
16-317 or 16-318, Arizona Revised Statutes, that complies
with the newly designated primary election date of July 30, 2024 and shall not
be ruled invalid due solely to the changed date of the primary election. The filing OFFICER shall not reject those
petitions or signatures based solely on the date of the PRIMARY
election. This subsection applies to and includes petitions and
signatures that are submitted through the secure online signature collection
system provided by the secretary of state.
B. Any
city, town or county initiative petition that is circulated before, the effective date of this act on or after February 9, 2024 or before, on or
after the effective date of this amendment to this section and that is
on a petition form that includes the former 2024 primary election date of
August 6, 2024 may lawfully submit those petitions and signatures for the
primary election to be held on July 30, 2024. Signatures that are collected
with the August 6, 2024 primary election date, that are submitted as prescribed
in this subsection and that otherwise comply with the requirements provided by
law are deemed to be as valid as signatures collected on an initiative petition
form that complies with the newly designated primary election date of July 30,
2024 and shall not be ruled invalid due solely to the changed date of the
primary election. The filing officer shall not reject
those SIGNATURES or petitions based solely on the date of the primary election.
C. This
section does not require a person to file a new or amended statement of
interest based solely on the change in the 2024 primary election date.
Sec. 6. Laws
2024, chapter 1, section 22 is amended to read:
Sec. 22. 2024, 2025 and 2026 elections; signature cure period
Notwithstanding
section 16-550, subsection A, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act Laws 2024, chapter 1, section 6,
and any other law, the following apply:
1. For
a primary, general or special election in 2024, 2025 and 2026 that includes a
federal office, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections
shall allow signatures to be corrected and, for conditional
provisional ballots, shall allow voter proof of identification to be provided
not later than the fifth calendar day after the election.
2. For
all other elections in 2024, 2025 and 2026, the county recorder or other
officer in charge of elections shall allow signatures to be corrected and, for conditional
provisional ballots, shall allow proof of voter identification to be provided not
later than the third business day after the election.
Sec. 7. 2024 primary election date; city, town and county matters
Any
election item that was duly called by a city, town or county pursuant to
section 16-226, Arizona Revised Statutes, for the August 6, 2024 primary
election date shall be placed on the ballot for the newly designated primary
election date of July 30, 2024.
Sec. 8. Applicability
Laws
2024, chapter 1, sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19
are applicable to elections held from and after May 30, 2024."
Renumber to
conform
Page 2,
after line 21, insert:
"Sec. 10. Emergency
This
act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace,
health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law."
Amend title to conform