ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Fifty-sixth Legislature

Second Regular Session

 

HB 2851: elections; ballot chain of custody

Sponsor: Representative Heap, LD 10

Committee on Municipal Oversight & Elections

Overview

Specifies the chain of custody standards that must be maintained during the transfer of ballot boxes, delivery of voted ballots, duplication of ballots and tabulation of ballots.

History

The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections must designate two ballot retrievers from two differing political parties to retrieve voted ballots from a ballot drop-off location or drop-box. Upon arrival, the ballot retrievers must note the location and identification number of the drop-box and the date and time of the arrival on the prescribed retrieval form that is to be provided by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections. A chain of custody for accessible voting devices must be tracked and logged by a team of two election board workers or staff of the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections. The log must include: 1) the seal numbers on the device; 2) for devices that mark and tabulate, the number of votes cast at the time the device was turned on and the number of votes cast at the time the device was turned off; and 3) a place for the two board workers or county staff to initial or sign verifying the information (Elections Procedures Manual 2019).

For any statewide, county or legislative election, the county recorder or officer in charge of elections must provide a live video recording of the custody of all ballots while the ballots are present in a tabulation room in the counting center. The live video recording must include date and time indicators and shall be linked to the Secretary of State's website. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall maintain chain of custody records for all election equipment and ballots during early voting through the completion of provisional voting tabulation (A.R.S. 16-621).

Provisions

1.   ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal NoteRequires the Board of Supervisors to provide a chain of custody record for the following:

a)   ballot printing location;

b)   ballot transportation;

c) storage and delivery of ballots to the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections; and

d)   any voting location. (Sec. 1)

2.   Asserts that the chain of custody record must include the time and signature for each point of contact and other specified information. (Sec. 1)

3.   Specifies that unvoted ballots delivered to a voting location where there is no election board worker requires the person delivering the ballots to note that the ballots were delivered and secured without a designated recipient. (Sec. 1)

4.   Adds that a ballot box, before receiving ballots, must be locked with a tamper evident seal. (Sec. 2)

5.   Specifies that the tamper evident seal must be checked by two board members in case of an emergency transfer. (Sec. 2)

6.   Details that at the close of the polls and if a ballot box has been transferred or opened, a report must be made including the date, time and name of any election officer witnessing the transfer or opening of a ballot box. (Sec. 3)

7.   Requires the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections to prepare a chain of custody record, with specified information, for the transportation and delivery of voted ballots. (Sec. 3)

8.   States that all damaged and defective ballots replaced with a duplicate ballot must be included in a chain of custody record that includes specified information. (Sec. 4)

9.   Requires the county recorder or election officer in charge to provide a live video, with full visibility of the ballots, at various stages of the ballot's cycle. (Sec. 4)

10.  Instructs the county recorder or election officer in charge to maintain a specified record of all voting irregularities that occur during specified elections. (Sec. 4)

11.  Specifies that the voting irregularities record must be sent to the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House and the Secretary of State. (Sec. 4)

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15.                    HB 2851

16.  Initials JH/MT    Page 0 Municipal Oversight & Elections

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