Second Regular Session H.C.R. 2032
PROPOSED
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO H.C.R. 2032
(Reference to House engrossed resolution)
Page 1, strike lines 16 through 45
Strike pages 2 through 4
Page 5, strike lines 1 through 30, insert:
"A. The board of supervisors of each county, on or before October 1 of each year preceding the year of a general election, by an order, shall establish a convenient number of election precincts in the county and define the boundaries of the precincts as follows:
1. The election precinct boundaries shall be established so as to be included within election districts prescribed by law for elected officers of the state and its political subdivisions, including community college district precincts, except those elected officers provided for in titles 30 and 48. At the time election precincts are designated, an election precinct may not contain more than one thousand registered voters.
2. If after October 1 of the year preceding the year of a general election the board of supervisors must further adjust precinct boundaries due to the redistricting of election districts as prescribed by law and to comply with this subsection, the board of supervisors shall adjust these precinct boundaries as soon as is practicable.
B. At least twenty days before a general or primary election, and at least ten days before a special election, the board shall designate one polling place within each precinct where the election shall be held, except that:
1. On a specific finding of the board, included in the order or resolution designating polling places pursuant to this subsection, that no suitable polling place is available within a precinct, a polling place for that precinct may be designated within an adjacent precinct.
2. Adjacent precincts may be combined if boundaries so established are included in election districts prescribed by law for state elected officials and political subdivisions including community college districts but not including elected officials prescribed by titles 30 and 48. The officer in charge of elections may also split a precinct for administrative purposes. The polling places shall be listed in separate sections of the order or resolution.
3. On a specific finding of the board that the number of persons who are listed as early voters pursuant to section 16-544 and who are not expected to have their ballots tabulated at the polling place as prescribed in section 16-579.02 is likely to substantially reduce the number of voters appearing at one or more specific polling places at that election, adjacent precincts may be consolidated by combining polling places and precinct boards for that election. The board of supervisors shall ensure that a reasonable and adequate number of polling places will be designated for that election. Any consolidated polling places shall be listed in separate sections of the order or resolution of the board.
5. On a specific resolution of the board of supervisors that is limited to a specific election date and that is voted on by a recorded vote, the board may authorize the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections to use emergency voting centers as follows:
(a) The board shall specify in the resolution the location and the hours of operation of the emergency voting centers.
(b) A qualified elector voting at an emergency voting center shall provide identification as prescribed in section 16-579, except that notwithstanding section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 2, for any voting at an emergency voting center, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may allow a qualified elector to update the elector's voter registration information as provided for in the secretary of state's instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452.
(c) If an emergency voting center established pursuant to this section becomes unavailable and there is not sufficient time for the board of supervisors to convene to approve an alternate location for that emergency voting center, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may make changes to the approved emergency voting center location and shall notify the public and the board of supervisors regarding that change as soon as practicable. The alternate emergency voting center shall be as close in proximity to the approved emergency voting center location as possible.
C. If the board fails to designate the place for holding the election, or if it cannot be held at or about the place designated, the justice of the peace in the precinct, two days before the election, by an order, copies of which the justice of the peace shall immediately post in three public places in the precinct, shall designate the place within the precinct for holding the election. If there is no justice of the peace in the precinct, or if the justice of the peace fails to do so, the election board of the precinct shall designate and give notice of the place within the precinct of holding the election. For any election in which there are no candidates for elected office appearing on the ballot, the board may consolidate polling places and precinct boards and may consolidate the tabulation of results for that election if all of the following apply:
1. All affected voters are notified by mail of the change at least thirty-three days before the election.
2. Notice of the change in polling places includes notice of the new voting location, notice of the hours for voting on election day and notice of the telephone number to call for voter assistance.
3. All affected voters receive information on early voting that includes the application used to request an early voting ballot.
D. The board is not required to designate a polling place for special district mail ballot elections held pursuant to article 8.1 of this chapter, but the board may designate one or more sites for voters to deposit marked ballots until 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election.
E. Except as provided in subsection F of this section, a public school shall provide sufficient space for use as a polling place for any city, county or state election when requested by the officer in charge of elections.
F. The principal of the school may deny a request to provide space for use as a polling place for any city, county or state election if, within two weeks after a request has been made, the principal provides a written statement indicating a reason the election cannot be held in the school, including any of the following:
1. Space is not available at the school.
2. The safety or welfare of the children would be jeopardized.
G. Beginning in 2026, the department of administration shall coordinate with state agencies and counties to provide available and appropriate state-owned facilities for use as a voting location for any city, county or state election when requested by the officer in charge of elections.
H. The board shall make available to the public as a public record a list of the polling places for all precincts in which the election is to be held.
I. Except in the case of an emergency, any facility that is used as a polling place or voting center on election day or that is used as an early voting site during the period of early voting shall allow persons to electioneer and engage in other political activity outside of the seventy-five foot limit prescribed by section 16-515 in public areas and parking lots used by voters. This subsection does not allow the temporary or permanent construction of structures in public areas and parking lots or the blocking or other impairment of access to parking spaces for voters. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall post on its website at least two weeks before election day a list of those polling places in which emergency conditions prevent electioneering and shall specify the reason the emergency designation was granted and the number of attempts that were made to find a polling place before granting an emergency designation. If the polling place is not on the website list of polling places with emergency designations, electioneering and other political activity shall be allowed outside of the seventy-five foot limit. If an emergency arises after the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections' initial website posting, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall update the website as soon as is practicable to include any new polling places, shall highlight the polling place location on the website and shall specify the reason the emergency designation was granted and the number of attempts that were made to find a polling place before granting an emergency designation.
J. For the purposes of this section, a county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall designate a polling place as an emergency polling place and thus prohibit persons from electioneering and engaging in other political activity outside of the seventy-five foot limit prescribed by section 16-515 but inside the property of the facility that is hosting the polling place if any of the following occurs:
1. An act of God renders a previously set polling place as unusable.
2. A county recorder or other officer in charge of elections has exhausted all options and there are no suitable facilities in a precinct that are willing to be a polling place unless a facility can be given an emergency designation.
K. The secretary of state shall provide through the instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452 the maximum allowable wait time for any election that is subject to section 16-204 and provide for a method to reduce voter wait time at the polls in the primary and general elections. The method shall consider at least all of the following for primary and general elections in each precinct:
1. The number of ballots voted in the prior primary and general elections.
2. The number of registered voters who voted early in the prior primary and general elections.
3. The number of registered voters and the number of registered voters who cast an early ballot for the current primary or general election.
4. The number of registered voters whose early ballots were tabulated on-site as prescribed in section 16-579.02 in the prior primary and general elections.
5. The number of election board members and clerks and the number of rosters that will reduce voter wait time at the polls."
Page 5, line 37, strike "or other voting location" insert "or other voting location"
Page 8, between lines 4 and 5, insert:
"Sec. 3. Section 16-541, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-541. Absentee voting; qualifications
A. Any election called pursuant to the laws of this state shall provide for early absentee voting, including voting by the use of an accessible vote by United States mail option voting method for persons who are blind or have a visual impairment. Any qualified elector Only the following qualified electors may vote by early absentee ballot: .
1. Persons who are sixty-five years of age or older.
2. Persons who are residing outside this state and who are enrolled in a college or university that is located outside this state.
3. Persons who are absent uniformed services voters or overseas voters as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act (P.L. 99-410; 100 stat. 924; 52 United States code section 20310).
4. Persons who are active duty military members and who are not included in paragraph 3 of this subsection and family members of those same active duty military members.
5. Persons with disabilities.
B. A qualified elector of a special district organized pursuant to title 48 shall be permitted to vote early in any special district mail ballot election as provided in article 8.1 of this chapter."
Renumber to conform
Page 8, strike lines 9 through 45
Strike pages 9 through 14
Page 15, strike lines 1 through 39, insert:
"A. Within ninety-three days before any election called pursuant to the laws of this state, an elector prescribed by section 16-541 may make a verbal or signed request to the county recorder, or other officer in charge of elections for the applicable political subdivision of this state in whose jurisdiction the elector is registered to vote, for an official early absentee ballot. In addition to name and address, the requesting elector shall provide the date of birth and state or country of birth or other information that if compared to the voter registration information on file would confirm the identity of the elector and specify one of the reasons for voting absentee prescribed by section 16-541. If the request indicates that the elector needs a primary election ballot and a general election ballot, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall honor the request. For any partisan primary election, if the elector is not registered as a member of a political party that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot pursuant to section 16-804, the elector shall designate the ballot of only one of the political parties that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot and the elector may receive and vote the ballot of only that one political party, which also shall include any nonpartisan offices and ballot questions, or the elector shall designate the ballot for nonpartisan offices and ballot questions only and the elector may receive and vote the ballot that contains only nonpartisan offices and ballot questions. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall process any request for an early absentee ballot for a municipal election pursuant to this subsection. The county recorder may establish on-site early voting locations at the recorder's office, which shall be open and available for use by all electors beginning the same day that a county begins to send out the early ballots on the second friday before election day through the Friday before election day. The county recorder may also establish any other early voting locations that may be open and available for use on those same days in the county that the recorder deems necessary. Any on-site early voting location or other early voting location shall require each elector to present identification as prescribed in section 16-579 before receiving a ballot. Notwithstanding section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 2, at any on-site early voting location or other early voting location the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may provide for a qualified elector to update the elector's voter registration information as provided for in the secretary of state's instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452.
B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a request for an official early absentee ballot from an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act (P.L. 99-410; 52 United States Code section 20310) or a voter whose information is protected pursuant to section 16-153 that is received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections more than ninety-three days before the election is valid. If requested by the absent uniformed services or overseas voter, or a voter whose information is protected pursuant to section 16-153, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall provide to the requesting voter early absentee ballot materials through the next regularly scheduled general election for federal office immediately following receipt of the request unless a different period of time, which does not exceed the next two regularly scheduled general elections for federal office, is designated by the voter.
C. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail the early absentee ballot and the envelope for its return postage prepaid to the address provided by the requesting elector within five days after receipt of the official early absentee ballots from the officer charged by law with the duty of preparing ballots pursuant to section 16-545, except that early absentee ballot distribution shall not begin more than twenty-seven days before the election. If an early absentee ballot request is received on or before the thirty-first day before the election, the early absentee ballot shall be distributed not earlier than the twenty-seventh day before the election and not later than the twenty-fourth day before the election.
D. Only the elector may be in possession of that elector's unvoted early absentee ballot. If a complete and correct request is made by the elector within twenty-seven days before the election, the mailing must be made within forty-eight hours after receipt of the request. Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays are excluded from the computation of the forty-eight-hour period prescribed by this subsection. If a complete and correct request is made by an absent uniformed services voter or an overseas voter before the election, the regular early absentee ballot shall be transmitted by mail, by fax or by other electronic format approved by the secretary of state within twenty-four hours after the early absentee ballots are delivered pursuant to section 16-545, subsection B, excluding Sundays.
E. In order to be complete and correct and to receive an early absentee ballot by mail, an elector's request that an early absentee ballot be mailed to the elector's residence or temporary address must include all of the information prescribed by subsection A of this section and must be received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections not later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day preceding the election. An elector who requested an absentee ballot and who appears personally not later than on the tuesday before ELECTION day through 7:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election and on the monday before election day at an on-site early voting location that is established by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall be given a ballot after presenting identification as prescribed in section 16-579 and shall be allowed to vote at the on-site early voting location. Notwithstanding section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 2, at any on-site early voting location the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may provide for a qualified elector to update the elector's voter registration information as provided for in the secretary of state's instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452. If an elector's request to receive an early absentee ballot is not complete and correct but complies with all other requirements of this section, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall attempt to notify the elector of the deficiency of the request.
F. Unless an elector specifies that the address to which an early absentee ballot is to be sent is a temporary address, the recorder may use the information from an early absentee ballot request form to update voter registration records.
G. The county recorder or other officer in charge of early absentee balloting shall provide an alphabetized list of all voters in the precinct who have requested and have been sent an early absentee ballot to the election board of the precinct in which the voter is registered not later than the day before the election.
H. As a result of experiencing an emergency between 7:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election and 5:00 p.m. on the Monday preceding the election, qualified electors may request to vote in the manner prescribed by the board of supervisors of their respective county. Before voting pursuant to this subsection, an elector who experiences an emergency shall provide identification as prescribed in section 16-579 and shall sign a statement under penalty of perjury that states that the person is experiencing or experienced an emergency after 7:00 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election and before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately preceding the election that would prevent the person from voting at the polls. Signed statements received pursuant to this subsection are not subject to inspection pursuant to title 39, chapter 1, article 2. For the purposes of this subsection, "emergency" means any unforeseen circumstances that would prevent the elector from voting at the polls.
I. Notwithstanding section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 2, for any voting pursuant to subsection H of this section, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may allow a qualified elector to update the elector's voter registration information as provided for in the secretary of state's instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452.
J. A candidate, political committee or other organization may distribute early absentee ballot request forms to voters. If the early absentee ballot request forms include a printed address for return, the addressee shall be the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Failure to use the political subdivision as the return addressee is punishable by a civil penalty of up to three times the cost of the production and distribution of the request.
K. All original and completed early absentee ballot request forms that are received by a candidate, political committee or other organization shall be submitted within six business days after receipt by a candidate, political committee or other organization or eleven days before the election day, whichever is earlier, to the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Any person, political committee or other organization that fails to submit a completed early absentee ballot request form within the prescribed time is subject to a civil penalty of up to $25 per day for each completed form withheld from submittal. Any person who knowingly fails to submit a completed early absentee ballot request form before the submission deadline for the election immediately following the completion of the form is guilty of a class 6 felony.
L. Except for a voter who is on the active early voting list prescribed by section 16-544, a voter who requests a onetime early absentee ballot pursuant to this section or for an election conducted pursuant to section 16-409 or article 8.1 of this chapter, a county recorder, city or town clerk or other election officer may not deliver or mail an early absentee ballot to a person who has not requested an early absentee ballot for that election. An election officer who knowingly violates this subsection is guilty of a class 5 felony.
Sec. 5. Conforming legislation
The legislative council staff shall prepare proposed legislation conforming the Arizona Revised Statutes to the provisions of this act for consideration in the fifty-seventh legislature, first regular session."
Amend title to conform