Arizona 2024 2024 Regular Session

Arizona Senate Bill SB1285 Comm Sub / Analysis

Filed 03/04/2024

                      	SB 1285 
Initials JH 	Page 1 	Caucus & COW 
 
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Fifty-sixth Legislature 
Second Regular Session 
Senate: ELEC DP 7-0-1-0 | 3
rd
 Read: 29-0-1-0 
House: MOE DPA 9-0-0-0  
 
SB 1285: local candidates; petitions; electronic signatures 
Sponsor: Senator Hoffman, LD 15 
Caucus & COW 
Overview 
Allows a candidate for local office to collect up to 110% of the minimum required number of 
nomination petition signatures through E-Qual.   
History 
Statute requires candidates to submit a minimum number of nomination petition signatures 
to the appropriate filing officer at least 120 days before the election. A candidate for county 
precinct committeeman, for instance, must obtain a minimum of 2% of the party registration 
in their precinct, or 10 signatures, whichever is less (A.R.S. §§ 16-314, 16-322). 
Laws 2014, Chapter 45 directed the Secretary of State to establish a system to allow voters 
to sign nomination petitions for statewide and legislative candidates through a secure online 
portal. The Secretary of State subsequently implemented the E-Qual system. In 2016, the 
legislature passed a law that expanded, beginning in 2017, the use of E-Qual to allow 
candidates for local offices to collect up to the minimum number of required nomination 
petition signatures through the secure internet portal (A.R.S. § 16-317).  
Provisions 
1. Increases the number of nomination petition signatures a candidate for local office may 
collect through the online signature collection system from the minimum required 
number of signatures to up to 110% of the minimum number of required signatures. (Sec. 
1) 
Amendments 
Committee on Municipal Oversight & Elections 
1. Limits, through 2024, the total number of nomination petition signatures a candidate for 
local office may obtain through the online signature collection system to the minimum 
number of required signatures. 
2. Specifies, beginning in 2025, a candidate for local office may obtain through the online 
signature collection system up to 110% of the minimum number of required nomination 
petition signatures.  
3. Clarifies, for primary, general or special elections that include a federal office, any city or 
town clerk's offices that have an agreement with the county to be used as locations at 
which a voter may submit proof of identification must be open during regular business 
hours during the Friday and weekend before and the Friday and weekend after the 
election to allow for curing signatures.  
☐ Prop 105 (45 votes)     ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes)      ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note    	SB 1285 
Initials JH 	Page 2 	Caucus & COW 
4. Clarifies that regular business hours include, at a minimum, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00p.m. 
5. Requires a voter to provide proof of identification to the County Recorder or officer in 
charge of elections to cure a conditional provisional ballot no later than the fifth business 
day after primary, general or special elections that include a federal office or the third 
business day for all other elections.  
6. Clarifies that electronic nomination petition signatures lawfully collected before, on or 
after February 9, 2024, or before, on or after the effective date of this act that used a 
petition form that includes the former primary election date may lawfully submit those 
signatures for the July 30, 2024, primary election.  
7. Prohibits the filing officer from rejecting petitions or signatures, including petitions and 
signatures submitted through the electronic signature collection system and municipal or 
county initiative petitions circulated before, on or after February 9, 2024, or the effective 
date of this act, based solely on the date of the primary election.  
8. Clarifies that a person is not required to file a new or amended statement of interest 
based solely on the change in the 2024 primary election date.  
9. Clarifies that any election item that was duly called by a city, town or county for the 
August 6, 2024, primary election date must be placed on the ballot for the newly 
designated primary election date of July 30, 2024.  
10. Adds an emergency clause.