REFERENCE TITLE: early ballots; verification; cure
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-third Legislature
First Regular Session
2017
SB 1397
Introduced by
Senators Quezada: Mendez; Representatives Andrade, Salman
AN ACT
amending sections 16-552 and 16-584, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to conduct of elections.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 16-552, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-552. Early ballots; processing; challenges
A. In a jurisdiction that uses punch card ballots, the early election board, immediately upon on receipt of the early ballots, shall, as provided by this section, shall cast separately for each precinct the early ballots which that have been received. In a jurisdiction that uses optical scan ballots, the officer in charge of elections may use the procedure prescribed by this section or may request approval from the secretary of state for a different method for processing early ballots. The request shall be made in writing at least ninety days before the election for which the procedure is intended to be used. After the election official has confirmed with the secretary of state that all election equipment passes the logic and accuracy test, the election official may begin to count early ballots. No early ballot results may be released except as prescribed by section 16‑551.
B. The early election board shall check the voter's affidavit on the envelope containing the early ballot. If it is found to be sufficient, the vote shall be allowed. If the affidavit is insufficient, the vote shall not be allowed the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall provide for a method of notifying the early ballot voter at no cost to the voter that there is a defect in the voter's ballot materials that will result in the rejection of the voter's ballot from being counted and that the voter may attempt to cure the defect in the voting materials within the ten days immediately following the election. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall permit the voter to cure those defects that result from incomplete or incorrect information, shall tabulate the ballot as otherwise provided by law and shall further notify the voter whether the voter's ballot was verified and counted and, if not counted, the reason for not counting the ballot. The method of notification shall include reasonable restrictions that are designed to limit transmittal of the information only to the voter.END_STATUTE
C. The county chairman of each political party represented on the ballot may, by written appointment addressed to the early election board, may designate party representatives and alternates to act as early ballot challengers for the party. No party may have more than the number of such representatives or alternates which that were mutually agreed upon on by each political party to be present at one time. If such agreement cannot be reached, the number of representatives shall be limited to one for each political party.
D. An early ballot may be challenged on any grounds set forth in section 16‑591. All challenges shall be made in writing with a brief statement of the grounds prior to before the early ballot being is placed in the ballot box. A record of all challenges and resulting proceedings shall be kept in substantially the same manner as provided in section 16‑594. If an early ballot is challenged, it shall be set aside and retained in the possession of the early election board or other officer in charge of early ballot processing until a time that the early election board sets for determination of the challenge, subject to the procedure in subsection E of this section, at which time the early election board shall hear the grounds for the challenge and shall decide what disposition shall be made of the early ballot by majority vote. If the early ballot is not allowed, it shall be handled pursuant to subsection G of this section.
E. Within twenty‑four hours of receipt of a challenge, the early election board or other officer in charge of early ballot processing shall mail, by first class mail, a notice of the challenge including a copy of the written challenge, and also including the time and place at which the voter may appear to defend the challenge, to the voter at the mailing address shown on the request for an early ballot or, if none was provided, to the mailing address shown on the registration rolls. Notice shall also be mailed to the challenger at the address listed on the written challenge and provided to the county chairman of each political party represented on the ballot. The board shall meet to determine the challenge at the time specified by the notice but, in any event, not earlier than ninety‑six hours after the notice is mailed, or forty‑eight hours if the notifying party chooses to deliver the notice by overnight or hand delivery, and not later than 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the election. The board shall provide the voter with an informal opportunity to make, or to submit, brief statements regarding the challenge. The board may decline to permit comments, either in person or in writing, by anyone other than the voter, the challenger and the party representatives. The burden of proof is on the challenger to show why the voter should not be permitted to vote. The fact that the voter fails to appear shall not be deemed to be an admission of the validity of the challenge. The early election board or other officer in charge of early ballot processing is not required to provide the notices described in this subsection if the written challenge fails to set forth at least one of the grounds listed in section 16‑591 as a basis for the challenge. In that event, the challenge will be summarily rejected at the meeting of the board. Except for election contests pursuant to section 16‑672, the board's decision is final and may not be appealed.
F. If the vote is allowed, the board shall open the envelope containing the ballot in such a manner that the affidavit thereon is not destroyed, take out the ballot without unfolding it or permitting it to be opened or examined and show by the records of the election that the elector has voted.
G. If the vote is not allowed, the affidavit envelope containing the early ballot shall not be opened and the board shall mark across the face of such envelope the grounds for rejection. The affidavit envelope and its contents shall then be deposited with the opened affidavit envelopes and shall be preserved with official returns. If the voter does not enter an appearance, the board shall send the voter a notice stating whether the early ballot was disallowed and, if disallowed, providing the grounds for the determination. The notice shall be mailed by first class mail to the voter's mailing address as shown on the registration rolls within three days after the board's determination.
H. Party representatives and alternates may be appointed as provided in subsection C of this section to be present and to challenge the verification of questioned ballots pursuant to section 16‑584 on any grounds permitted by this section. Questioned ballots which that are challenged shall be presented to the early election board for decision under the provisions of this section. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 16-584, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-584. Qualified elector not on precinct register; recorder's certificate; verified ballot; procedure
A. A qualified elector whose name is not on the precinct register and who presents a certificate from the county recorder showing that the elector is entitled by law to vote in the precinct shall be entered on the signature roster on the blank following the last printed name and shall be given the next consecutive register number, and the qualified elector shall sign in the space provided.
B. A qualified elector whose name is not on the precinct register, upon on presentation of identification verifying the identity of the elector that includes the voter's given name and surname and the complete residence address that is verified by the election board to be in the precinct or on signing an affirmation that states that the elector is a registered voter in that jurisdiction and is eligible to vote in that jurisdiction, shall be allowed to vote a provisional ballot.
C. If a voter has moved to a new address within the county and has not notified the county recorder of the change of address before the date of an election, the voter shall be permitted to correct the voting records for purposes of voting in future elections at the appropriate polling place for the voter's new address. The voter shall be permitted to vote a provisional ballot. The voter shall present a form of identification that includes the voter's given name and surname and the voter's complete residence address. The residence address must be within the precinct in which the voter is attempting to vote, and the voter shall affirm in writing that the voter is registered in that jurisdiction and is eligible to vote in that jurisdiction.
D. On completion of the ballot, the election official shall remove the ballot stub, shall place the ballot in a provisional ballot envelope and shall deposit the envelope in the ballot box. Within ten calendar days after a general election that includes an election for a federal office and within five business days after any other election or no later than the time at which challenged early voting ballots are resolved, the signature shall be compared to the precinct signature roster of the former precinct where the voter was registered. If the voter's name is not signed on the roster and if there is no indication that the voter voted an early ballot, the provisional ballot envelope shall be opened and the ballot shall be counted. If there is information showing the person did vote, the provisional ballot shall remain unopened and shall not be counted. When provisional ballots are confirmed for counting, the county recorder shall use the information supplied on the provisional ballot envelope to correct the address record of the voter.
E. When a voter is allowed to vote a provisional ballot, the elector's name shall be entered on a separate signature roster page at the end of the signature roster. Voters' names shall be numbered consecutively beginning with the number V‑1. The elector shall sign in the space provided. The ballot stub shall be removed and the ballot shall be placed in a separate envelope, the outside of which shall contain the precinct name or number, a sworn or attested statement of the elector that the elector resides in the precinct, is eligible to vote in the election and has not previously voted in the election, the signature of the elector and the voter registration number of the elector, if available. The ballot shall be verified for proper registration of the elector by the county recorder before being counted. The verification shall be made by the county recorder within ten calendar days after a general election that includes an election for a federal office and within five business days following any other election, and the voter receipt card, notification or identification card, if any, from the county recorder used therefor, if valid, shall be returned to the elector within a reasonable time thereafter. Verified ballots shall be counted by depositing the ballot in the ballot box and showing on the records of the election that the elector has voted. If registration is not verified the ballot shall remain unopened and shall be retained in the same manner as voted ballots.
F. For any person who votes a provisional ballot, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall provide for a method of notifying the provisional ballot voter at no cost to the voter if there is a defect in the voter's provisional ballot materials that will result in the rejection of the provisional ballot from being counted and that the voter may attempt to cure the defect in the provisional ballot materials within the ten days immediately following the election. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall permit the voter to cure those defects that result from incomplete or incorrect information, shall tabulate the ballot as otherwise provided by law and shall further notify the voter whether the voter's ballot was verified and counted and, if not counted, the reason for not counting the ballot. The notification may be in the form of notice by mail to the voter, establishment of a toll free telephone number, internet access or other similar method to allow the voter to have access to this information. The method of notification shall provide include reasonable restrictions that are designed to limit transmittal of the information only to the voter.END_STATUTE