Assigned to GOV FOR COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1260
registrations; early voting; move notice
Purpose
Classifies, as a class 5 felony, knowingly providing a mechanism for another person who
is registered in another state to vote. Requires a county recorder, to cancel a person's registration
and remove the person's name from the county's Active Early Voting List (AEVL) upon
confirmation that a person has registered to vote in another county or upon receipt of a ballot
envelope indicating the person has moved.
Background
Statute outlines circumstances in which a county recorder must cancel a person's voter
registration, including: 1) when the county recorder knows of the death of a registered person;
2) if a person has been adjudicated an incapacitated person; 3) when a person is convicted of a
felony and the judgement has not been reversed or set aside; and 4) when the county recorder
receives written information from the registered person that the person has a change of address
outside of the county. After cancellation, a county recorder must send the person a notice that the
registration has been cancelled, along with a new voter registration form (A.R.S. § 16-165).
Any voter may request to be included on the AEVL and receive an early ballot by mail for
which the county voter registration roll is used to prepare the election register. At least 90 days
before any polling place election held in March or August, a county recorder must mail an election
notice to all eligible voters included on the AEVL, which must include certain information relating
to the election and early ballot. If the notice is returned undeliverable, a county recorder must send
a follow-up notice to the address on the general county register or to the forwarding address
provided by the U.S. Postal Service that includes the appropriate internet address or registration
form for revising voter registration. If the voter's registration information is not revised or an
updated form is not returned within 35 days, the voter's registration status is changed to inactive
and the voter must be removed from the AEVL (A.R.S. §§ 16-166 and 16-544).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
1. Classifies, as a class 5 felony, knowingly providing a mechanism for voting to another person
who is registered in another state, including by forwarding an early ballot addressed to the
other person.
2. Requires a county recorder, upon receipt of credible information that a person has registered
to vote in another county and confirmation with the other county, to cancel the person's
registration and remove the person's name from the county's AEVL. FACT SHEET
S.B. 1260
Page 2
3. Allows a person who receives an early ballot at an address at which another person formerly
resided to indicate on the outside of the envelope, without voting the ballot, that the person has
moved and mail the ballot back to the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections.
4. Requires a county recorder, upon receipt of a ballot indicating that a person has moved away
from the address the ballot was mailed to, to take necessary steps to contact the voter at the
voter's new residence address to update the voter's address or to move the voter to inactive
status according to the statutorily-outlined process.
5. Makes technical and conforming changes.
6. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
January 26, 2022
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