Assigned to GOV FOR COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1460
election law amendments
Purpose
Modifies statutory requirements relating to the issuance of ballots at a polling place to
persons that previously received an early ballot, procedures following redistricting, the filing of
nomination papers and nomination petitions, the signing of nomination petitions, voter registration
information and vacancies due to the withdrawal of a candidate.
Background
In order to vote a standard ballot at a voting location or voting center, a qualified elector
must present valid identification. The name of each qualified elector must be numbered
consecutively by the clerk in the order of applications of ballots. The qualified elector must be
given a ballot and the elector's name must be checked on the precinct register. A qualified elector
who is listed as having applied for an early ballot and who either states that the elector has not and
will not vote an early ballot or surrenders the early ballot to the precinct inspector on election day
must be allowed to vote a provisional ballot (A.R.S. §§ 16-579 and 16-584).
An eligible person may request that the general public be prohibited from accessing any
identifying information in the person's voter registration record by filing an affidavit in superior
court. Upon receipt, the presiding judge of the superior court may order the sealing of the
information for five years. A county recorder must remove the restrictions on voter records by
January 5 in the year after the court order expires and notify the eligible person by mail at least six
months before the order's expiration (A.R.S. § 16-153).
The Secretary of State (SOS) must provide a secure internet portal for qualified electors to
sign nomination petitions for candidates for statewide, legislative, municipal, county and federal
office or precinct committeemen. A candidate for statewide or legislative office may collect up to
the full number of required signatures and a candidate for county or municipal office or precinct
committeemen may collect up to the minimum number of required signatures through the portal
(A.R.S. §§ 16-316, 16-317 and 16-318).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.
Provisions
Early Ballots and Polling Place Ballot Issuance
1. Allows, for elections using electronic poll books or similar systems with continuous voter
usage updates, a voter to be issued a standard ballot after presenting identification if:
a) an electronic poll book or other system indicates that a voter's early ballot has not been
returned or otherwise accepted by a county recorder; and
b) the voter is not otherwise required to be issued a provisional ballot. FACT SHEET
S.B. 1460
Page 2
2. Allows a voter who is not otherwise required to be issued a provisional ballot to be issued a
standard ballot after the voter surrenders the voter's early ballot to a precinct inspector and
presents required identification.
3. Requires a precinct inspector, if an early ballot is surrendered by a voter, to retain the
surrendered early ballot unopened in its affidavit envelope.
4. Requires provisional ballots to be processed, rather than counted, if a voter's signature does
not appear on the signature roster for a precinct and if there is no record of the voter having
voted early in the election.
Adjustment of Precincts and Candidate Filings Following Redistricting
5. Requires, except for candidates for election for a federal, statewide or legislative office, a filing
officer to accept statements of interest, nomination papers and nomination petitions as valid
filings from a person that designates a district for the person's candidacy that was:
a) used in the immediately preceding election;
b) designated in a redistricting plan adopted for the upcoming election; or
c) designated in a redistricting plan ordered for use in an upcoming election by a court of
competent jurisdiction.
6. Requires, except for candidates for election for a federal, statewide or legislative office, a filing
officer to accept nomination petition signatures as valid if the petition signers are registered
voters who are residents of districts:
a) used in the immediately preceding election;
b) designated in a redistricting plan adopted for an upcoming election; or
c) designated in a redistricting plan ordered for use in an upcoming election by a court of
competent jurisdiction.
7. Exempts special elections to fill a vacancy from requirements relating to the acceptance of
statements of interest, nomination papers and nomination petitions immediately following
redistricting.
8. Directs a county board of supervisors (BOS), if redistricting makes it necessary to adjust
county precinct boundaries after October 1, to adjust the precinct boundaries as soon as
practicable.
9. Directs a county recorder, if redistricting requires the adjustment of county precinct boundaries
after October 1 of the year preceding an election, to transfer all voters who reside in the new
precinct within 60 days of adoption of the new boundaries.
10. Asserts that for the purposes of conducting an election, precincts adopted after October 1 of
the year preceding a general election become effective by ___ in the year of the next general
election.
FACT SHEET
S.B. 1460
Page 3
Voter Registration Information
11. Requires a county recorder to send the required notice of the expiration of a court order that
allows an eligible person to have the person's identifying voter registration information made
confidential at least six months before the statutorily required January 5 removal date, rather
than at least six months before the expiration of the court order.
12. Allows a county recorder to use the Electronic Voter Registration Information Center (ERIC)
to identify registrants whose addresses may have changed.
13. Requires, if information provided by ERIC indicates that a registrant has moved to a different
address, a county recorder to send the registrant a notice of the change by forwardable mail for
the registrant to verify or correct the registration information.
14. Removes the requirement that a county recorder, if U.S. Postal Service National Change of
Address information indicates a registrant has moved within the same county, automatically
change the registration records to reflect the new address when sending required notice to the
registrant.
15. Requires the SOS, when a person with an existing voter registration record becomes an
Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) participant, to secure the participant's voter
registration record and notify the appropriate county recorder of the participant's secured status,
current residence address and substitute address for the county recorder to revise the
participant's voter registration record.
16. Removes the requirement that the SOS, prior to sending notice of an ACP participant to a
county recorder, check the statewide voter registration database to determine if the ACP
participant's address is already protected according to the statutory process for an eligible
person to file an action in superior court to have their voter registration record information
made private.
Nomination Papers, Nomination Petitions and Petition Signatures
17. Requires write-in candidates to file nomination papers at least 106 days before an election,
rather than at least 40 days before an election.
18. Removes the ability for write-in candidates for elections to fill a vacancy caused by death,
incapacity or withdrawal of a candidate to file nomination papers up until five days before the
election.
19. Requires the secure nomination petition signature web portal to be provided by the SOS to all
filing offices in Arizona to allow qualified electors to sign nomination petitions, rather than
requiring the SOS to provide the portal to qualified electors to sign nomination petitions only
for candidates for municipal office, county office, legislative office, statewide office, Congress
or precinct committeemen.
20. Allows a candidate whose filing office participates in the secure web portal system to choose
to collect any or all petition signatures using the portal, rather than only the minimum number
of signatures using the portal. FACT SHEET
S.B. 1460
Page 4
Miscellaneous
21. Stipulates that if a deceased, withdrawn or incapacitated candidate receives the highest number
of votes in an election, the office must be declared vacant and filled pursuant to statutory
requirements for the filling of a vacancy in certain state or county offices.
22. Replaces the requirement that prospective candidates for a vacancy, due to voluntary or
involuntary withdrawal after the printing of official ballots, comply with statutory
requirements for write-in candidates with a requirement that the vacancy be filled according to
statutory requirements for the filling of a vacancy in certain state or county offices.
23. Requires a legislative vacancy occurring due to voluntary or involuntary withdrawal of a
candidate after the printing of ballots to be filled in the same manner as other legislative
vacancies.
24. Requires a county BOS to give written notice regarding a consolidated election to certain
jurisdictions 210 days, rather than 180 days, before a consolidated election.
25. Requires nonpartisan elections and elections held by a school district, city or town that are not
held concurrently with a general election to be called 180 days, rather than 150 days, before
the election.
26. Requires the governing body of a school district, city or town, if there is not a newspaper of
general circulation in the jurisdiction, to post the call of a nonpartisan election and notice of a
nonpartisan election on the governing body's website and at other locations where the
governing body customarily posts public meeting notices.
27. Requires a county BOS to post a notice that any votes cast for a candidate that withdrew after
the printing of ballots will be tabulated.
28. Asserts that the powers and duties of the SOS devolve on the mayor or similar governing
officer, board or commission and the powers and duties of a county BOS devolve on the city
or town clerk in all municipal elections, rather than only municipal primary elections.
29. Requires a ballot to include a blank line below the name of other candidates for an office for a
voter to indicate the voter's choice for the write-in candidate only for a write-in candidate that
qualified to appear on the ballot, rather than requiring as many blank lines as there are offices
to be filled to be included under each office.
30. Specifies that a county recorder or other officer in charge of elections is not required to send a
90-day Active Early Voting List notice if an election is not formally called by a jurisdiction
180 days, rather than 120 days, before the election.
31. Removes the requirement that the ballot, in an election to designate a groundwater basin as an
Active Management Area, include a square in which a voter can place a cross to indicate the
voter's preference.
FACT SHEET
S.B. 1460
Page 5
32. Makes technical and conforming changes.
33. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 9, 2022
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