SB1429 - 562R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Subject to the requirements of article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 16-316, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-316. Secure online signature collection; candidate petitions; five dollar contributions; statewide and legislative candidates

A. Notwithstanding any other statute in this title, the secretary of state shall provide a system for qualified electors to sign a nomination petition and to sign and submit a citizens clean elections five dollar $5 contribution qualification form for a candidate by way of a secure internet portal. The system shall allow only those qualified electors who are eligible to sign a petition for a particular candidate to sign the petition and only those qualified electors who are eligible to give a qualifying contribution to that candidate to do so and shall provide a method for the qualified elector's identity to be properly verified. 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, a candidate may choose to collect up to an amount equal to twenty-five percent more than the full number of required nomination petition signatures or up to an amount equal to twenty-five percent more than the full number of required contribution qualification forms, or both, by use of the online signature collection system prescribed by this section.

B. This section applies only to candidates for statewide and legislative offices. END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-317, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-317. Secure online signature collection; municipal, county and precinct committeeman offices

A. Notwithstanding any other statute in this title, the secretary of state shall provide a system for qualified electors to sign a nomination petition for candidates for city or town office, county office and the office of precinct committeeman by way of a secure internet portal. The system shall allow only those qualified electors who are eligible to sign a petition for a particular candidate to sign the petition, shall provide a method for the qualified elector's identity to be properly verified and shall provide for the secretary of state to transmit those filings or a facsimile of those filings to the officer in charge of elections for the appropriate office. 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, a candidate may choose to collect up to twenty-five percent more than the minimum number of required nomination petition signatures by use of the online signature collection system prescribed by this section.

B. This section applies only to candidates for city or town elected office, county office and the office of precinct committeeman. END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 16-318, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-318. Secure online signature collection; federal offices

A. Notwithstanding any other statute in this title, the secretary of state shall provide a system for qualified electors to sign a nomination petition for a candidate for the office of United States senator or representative in Congress by way of a secure internet portal. The system shall allow only those qualified electors who are eligible to sign a petition for a particular candidate to sign the petition and shall provide a method for the qualified elector's identity to be properly verified. 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, a candidate may choose to collect up to twenty-five percent more than the full number of required nomination petition signatures by use of the online signature collection system prescribed by this section.

B. This section applies only to candidates for the office of United States senator or representative in Congress. END_STATUTE

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.

Sec. 9. Requirements for enactment; three-fourths vote

Pursuant to article IV, part 1, section 1, Constitution of Arizona, section 16-316, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended by this act, is effective only on the affirmative vote of at least three-fourths of the members of each house of the legislature.

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.