Senate Engrossed House Bill write-in candidates; filings; ballots (now: inactive voters; hand counts; alternates) State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session 2025 HOUSE BILL 2129 AN ACT amending title 16, chapter 3, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 16-320; amending sections 16-544, 16-550, 16-558.01, 16-558.02 and 16-602, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to election procedures. (TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Senate Engrossed House Bill write-in candidates; filings; ballots (now: inactive voters; hand counts; alternates)
State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session 2025
HOUSE BILL 2129
Senate Engrossed House Bill
write-in candidates; filings; ballots
(now: inactive voters; hand counts; alternates)
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
First Regular Session
2025
HOUSE BILL 2129
AN ACT
amending title 16, chapter 3, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 16-320; amending sections 16-544, 16-550, 16-558.01, 16-558.02 and 16-602, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to election procedures.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona: Section 1. Title 16, chapter 3, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 16-320, to read: START_STATUTE16-320. Candidate withdrawal statements A CANDIDATE WHO WISHES TO WITHDRAW AS A CANDIDATE SHALL SUBMIT A SIGNED NOTARIZED STATEMENT OF WITHDRAWAL TO THE FILING OFFICER FOR THE CANDIDATE'S OFFICE.END_STATUTE Sec. 2. Section 16-544, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE16-544. Active early voting list; civil penalty; violation; classification; definition A. Any voter may request to be included on a list of voters to receive an early ballot by mail for any election for which the county voter registration roll is used to prepare the election register. The county recorder of each county shall maintain the active early voting list as part of the voter registration roll. B. In order to be included on the active early voting list, the voter shall make a written request specifically requesting that the voter's name be added to the active early voting list for all elections in which the applicant is eligible to vote. An early voter request form shall conform to requirements prescribed in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452. The application shall allow for the voter to provide the voter's name, residence address, mailing address in the voter's county of residence, date of birth and signature and shall state that the voter is attesting that the voter is a registered voter who is eligible to vote in the county of residence. The voter shall not list a mailing address that is outside of this state for the purpose of the active early voting list unless the voter is an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act (P.L. 99-410; 52 United States Code section 20310). In lieu of the application, the applicant may submit a written request that contains the required information. C. On receipt of a request to be included on the active early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall compare the signature on the request form with the voter's signature on the voter's registration form and, if the request is from the voter, shall mark the voter's registration file as an active early ballot request. D. Not less than ninety days before any polling place election scheduled in March or August, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail to all voters who are eligible for the election, who are not listed as inactive and who are included on the active early voting list an election notice by nonforwardable mail that is marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction notification. If an election is not formally called by a jurisdiction by the one hundred eightieth day before the election, the recorder or other officer in charge of elections is not required to send the election notice. The notice shall include the dates of the elections that are the subject of the notice, the dates that the voter's ballot is expected to be mailed and the address where the ballot will be mailed. If the upcoming election is a partisan open primary election and the voter is not registered as a member of one of the political parties that is recognized for purposes of that primary, the notice shall include information on the procedure for the voter to designate a political party ballot. The notice shall be delivered with return postage prepaid and shall also include a means for the voter to do any of the following: 1. Change the mailing address for the voter's ballot to another location in the voter's county of residence. 2. Update the voter's residence address in the voter's county of residence. 3. Request that the voter not be sent a ballot for the upcoming election or elections indicated on the notice. E. If the notice that is mailed to the voter is returned undeliverable by the postal service, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall take the necessary steps to contact the voter at the voter's new residence address in order to update that voter's address or to move the voter to inactive status as prescribed in section 16-166, subsection A. If a voter is moved to inactive status, the voter shall be removed from the active early voting list and may not receive an early ballot unless the voter updates or otherwise confirms the voter's registration information. If the voter is removed from the active early voting list, the voter shall only be added to the active early voting list again if the voter submits a new request pursuant to this section. F. Not later than the first day of early voting, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail an early ballot to all eligible voters who are not listed as inactive and who are included on the active early voting list in the same manner prescribed in section 16-542, subsection C. If the voter has not returned the notice or otherwise notified the election officer within forty-five days before the election that the voter does not wish to receive an early ballot by mail for the election or elections indicated, the ballot shall automatically be scheduled for mailing. G. If a voter who is on the active early voting list is not registered as a member of a recognized political party and fails to notify the county recorder of the voter's choice for political party ballot within forty-five days before a partisan open primary election, the following apply: 1. The voter shall not automatically be sent a ballot for that partisan open primary election only and the voter's name shall remain on the active early voting list for future elections. 2. To receive an early ballot for the primary election, the voter shall submit the voter's choice for political party ballot to the county recorder. H. After a voter has requested to be included on the active early voting list, the voter shall be sent an early ballot by mail automatically for any election at which a voter at that residence address is eligible to vote until any of the following occurs: 1. The voter requests in writing to be removed from the active early voting list. 2. The voter's registration or eligibility for registration is moved to inactive status or canceled as otherwise provided by law. 3. The notice sent by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections is returned undeliverable and the county recorder or officer in charge of elections is unable to contact the voter to determine the voter's continued desire to remain on the list. 4. The voter fails to vote an early ballot in all elections for two consecutive election cycles. For the purposes of this paragraph, "election" means any regular primary or regular general election for which there was a federal race on the ballot or for which a city or town candidate primary or first election or city or town candidate second, general or runoff election was on the ballot. This paragraph does not apply to: (a) A special taxing district that is authorized pursuant to section 16-191 to conduct its own elections. (b) A special district mail ballot election that is conducted pursuant to article 8.1 of this chapter. I. A voter may make a written request at any time to be removed from the active early voting list. The request shall include the voter's name, residence address, date of birth and signature. On receipt of a completed request to remove a voter from the active early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall remove the voter's name from the list as soon as practicable. J. An absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act (P.L. 99-410; 52 United States Code section 20310) is eligible to be placed on the active early voting list pursuant to this section. K. A voter's failure to vote an early ballot once received does not constitute grounds to remove the voter from the active early voting list, except that a county recorder shall remove a voter from the active early voting list if both of the following apply: 1. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections complies with subsection M of this section. 2. The voter fails to vote using an early ballot in all of the following elections for two consecutive election cycles: (a) A regular primary and regular general election for which there was a federal race on the ballot. (b) A city or town candidate primary or first election and a city or town candidate second, general or runoff election. L. On or before January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall send a notice to each voter who is on the active early voting list and who did not vote an early ballot in all elections for two consecutive election cycles as prescribed by subsection K of this section. If the voter has provided the voter's telephone or mobile phone number or email address to the county recorder, the county recorder may additionally provide the notice to the voter by telephone call, text message or email. The notice shall inform the voter that if the voter wishes to remain on the active early voting list, the voter shall do both of the following with the notice received: 1. Confirm in writing the voter's desire to remain on the active early voting list. 2. Return the completed notice to the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections within ninety days after the notice is sent to the voter. The notice shall be signed by the voter and shall contain the voter's address and date of birth. M. If a voter receives a notice as prescribed by subsection L of this section and the voter fails to respond within the ninety-day period, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall remove the voter's name from the active early voting list. N. A candidate, political committee or other organization may distribute active early voting list request forms to voters. If the active early voting list request forms include a printed address for return, that address shall be the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Failure to use the political subdivision as the return addressee is punishable by a civil penalty of up to three times the cost of the production and distribution of the active early voting list request. O. All original and completed active early voting list request forms that are received by a candidate, political committee or other organization shall be submitted within six business days after receipt by a candidate or political committee or eleven days before the election day, whichever is earlier, to the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Any person, political committee or other organization that fails to submit a completed active early voting list request form within the prescribed time is subject to a civil penalty of up to $25 per day for each completed form withheld from submittal. Any person who knowingly fails to submit a completed active early voting list request form before the submission deadline for the election immediately following the completion of the form is guilty of a class 6 felony. P. A person who receives an early ballot at an address at which another person formerly resided, without voting the ballot or signing the envelope, shall write "not at this address" on the envelope and place the mail piece in a United States postal service collection box or other mail receptacle. On receipt the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall proceed in the manner prescribed in subsection E of this section. Q. When the county recorder receives confirmation from another county that a person registered has registered to vote in that other county, the county recorder shall remove that person from the active early voting list. R. If the county recorder receives credible information that a person has registered to vote in a different county, the county recorder shall confirm the person's voter registration with that other county and, on confirmation, shall remove that person from the county's active early voting list pursuant to subsection Q of this section. S. For the purposes of this section, "election cycle" means the two-year period beginning on January 1 in the year after a statewide general election or, for cities and towns, the two-year period beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which the city's or town's second, runoff or general election is scheduled and ending on the last day of the calendar quarter in which the city's or town's immediately following second, runoff or general election is scheduled, however that election is designated by the city or town.END_STATUTE Sec. 3. 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 and there are outstanding ballots that require identification or ballot signatures to be corrected or confirmed, 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 there are no ballots remaining that require identification or signatures to be cured, the county recorder and city and town clerks are not required to be open during the weekend. 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. 4. Section 16-558.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE16-558.01. Mailing of ballots Not more than twenty-seven days before the election and not fewer than fifteen days before the election, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections for the special district shall send by nonforwardable mail all official ballots with printed instructions and a return envelope bearing a printed ballot mail affidavit as described in section 16-547 to each qualified elector who is not listed as inactive and who is entitled to vote in the election. The envelope in which the ballot is mailed shall be clearly marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction and notification. The district governing board shall determine whether the voter or the district governing board will pay for the postage for the return of electors' marked ballots. An elector who votes in a special district mail ballot election shall return the elector's marked ballot to the recorder or other officer in charge of the election or to a designated depository site as provided in section 16-411 no not later than 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election.END_STATUTE Sec. 5. Section 16-558.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE16-558.02. Replacement ballots A. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall determine a central location in the district and shall provide for a ballot replacement center that is as near to that location as is practicable for electors to obtain a replacement ballot or for an elector who is listed as inactive to confirm or revise the elector's voter registration information and receive a ballot. The location shall be open from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. of the day of the election. An elector may obtain a replacement ballot until 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election on presenting a signed, sworn statement that the ballot was lost, spoiled, destroyed or not received. B. The recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall keep a record of each replacement ballot provided pursuant to this section. C. If an elector to whom a replacement ballot is issued votes more than once, only the first ballot received shall be counted. END_STATUTE Sec. 6. Section 16-602, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read: START_STATUTE16-602. Tabulation designated margin; hand counts; vote count verification committee A. For any primary, special or general election in which the votes are cast on an electronic voting machine or tabulator, the election judge shall compare the number of votes cast as indicated on the machine or tabulator with the number of votes cast as indicated on the poll list and the number of provisional ballots cast and that information shall be noted in a written report prepared and submitted to the officer in charge of elections along with other tally reports. B. For each countywide primary, special, general and presidential preference election, the county officer in charge of the election shall conduct a hand count at one or more secure facilities. The hand count shall be conducted as prescribed by this section and in accordance with hand count procedures established by the secretary of state in the official instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452. The hand count is not subject to the live video requirements of section 16-621, subsection D, but the party representatives who are observing the hand count may bring their own video cameras in order to record the hand count. The recording shall not interfere with the conduct of the hand count and the officer in charge of the election may prohibit from recording or remove from the facility persons who are taking actions to disrupt the count. The sole act of recording the hand count does not constitute sufficient grounds for the officer in charge of the election to prohibit observers from recording or to remove them from the facility. The hand count shall be conducted in the following order: 1. At least two percent of the precincts in that county, or two precincts, whichever is greater, shall be selected at random from a pool consisting of every precinct in that county. The county political party chairperson for each political party that is entitled to continued representation on the state ballot or the chairperson's designee shall conduct the selection of the precincts to be hand counted. The precincts shall be selected by lot without the use of a computer, and the order of selection by the county political party chairpersons shall also be by lot. The selection of the precincts shall not begin until all ballots voted in the precinct polling places have been delivered to the central counting center. The unofficial vote totals from all precincts shall be made public before selecting the precincts to be hand counted. Only the ballots cast in the polling places and ballots from direct recording electronic machines shall be included in the hand counts conducted pursuant to this section. Provisional ballots, conditional provisional ballots and write-in votes shall not be included in the hand counts and the early ballots shall be grouped separately by the officer in charge of elections for purposes of a separate manual audit pursuant to subsection F of this section. 2. The races to be counted on the ballots from the precincts that were selected pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection for each primary, special and general election shall include up to five contested races. After the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections separates the primary ballots by political party, the races to be counted shall be determined by selecting by lot without the use of a computer from those ballots as follows: (a) For a general election, one statewide ballot measure, unless there are no measures on the ballot. (b) One contested statewide race for statewide office. (c) One contested race for federal office, either United States senate or United States house of representatives. If the United States house of representatives race is selected, the names of the candidates may vary among the sampled precincts. (d) One contested race for state legislative office, either state house of representatives or state senate. In either case, the names of the candidates may vary among the sampled precincts. (e) If there are not a sufficient number of contested federal, statewide or legislative races or ballot measures, one contested county race. (e) (f) If there are fewer than four contested races resulting from the selections made pursuant to subdivisions (a) through (d) (e) of this paragraph and if there are additional contested federal, statewide, or legislative or county races or ballot measures, additional contested races shall be selected by lot not using a computer until four races have been selected or until no additional contested federal, statewide, or legislative or county races or ballot measures are available for selection. (g) If there are not a sufficient number of contested races resulting from the selections made pursuant to subdivisions (a) through (f) of this paragraph, additional uncontested races shall be SELECTED by lot not using a computer until up to five races have been selected. (f) (h) If there are no contested races as prescribed by this paragraph, a hand count shall not be conducted for that precinct for that election. 3. For the presidential preference election, select by lot two percent of the polling places designated and used pursuant to section 16-248 and perform the hand count of those ballots. 4. For the purposes of this section, a write-in candidacy in a race does not constitute a contested race. 5. In elections in which there are candidates for president, the presidential race shall be added to the four categories of hand counted races. 6. Each county chairperson of a political party that is entitled to continued representation on the state ballot or the chairperson's designee shall select by lot the individual races to be hand counted pursuant to this section. 7. Political party designees who are selected pursuant to this paragraph shall perform the hand count under the supervision of the county officer in charge of elections. The county officer in charge of elections shall provide compensation for those selected to perform the hand count, not to include travel, meal or lodging expenses. The hand count shall not proceed unless the political parties provide the officer in charge of elections in writing a sufficient number of persons pursuant to this paragraph by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the election and a sufficient number of persons prescribed by this paragraph arrive to perform the hand count. If a political party designee fails to appear for the hand count audit, the county chairperson or the state party chairperson of each political party may select persons from any political party if the selection of persons who perform the hand count complies with subdivision (e) of this paragraph and does not delay the hand count. Political party designees shall be selected to perform the hand count as follows: (a) The county chairperson of each political party shall designate and provide to both the county officer in charge of elections and the state party chairperson the number of hand count board members as designated by the county officer in charge of elections. If the county party chairperson fails to designate a sufficient number of hand count board workers, the state party chairperson shall designate qualified electors to be hand count board workers. If the county party chairpersons and the state party chairpersons fail to designate a sufficient number of hand count board workers, the highest-ranking official holding a statewide office of each political party shall designate qualified electors to be hand count board workers. For the purposes of this subdivision, the ranking of officials holding statewide office shall be governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, corporation commissioners in order of seniority, mine inspector, senate majority and minority leaders and house of representatives majority and minority leaders. (b) The political parties shall provide to the county officer in charge of elections in writing the names of those persons intending to participate in the hand count at the audited precincts not later than 5:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday preceding the election. (c) If the total number of hand count board workers provided by all parties is less than the number designated by the county officer in charge of elections, the county officer in charge of elections shall notify the parties of the shortage not later than 9:00 a.m. on the second Wednesday preceding the election and the political parties have until 9:00 a.m. on the second Thursday preceding the election to provide the county officer in charge of elections with an additional list of qualified electors and alternates who are willing to participate in the hand count. (d) The county officer in charge of elections shall distribute the list provided pursuant to subdivision (c) of this paragraph to the county chairperson and state chairperson of each recognized political party in the county and state not later than 5:00 p.m. on the second Friday preceding the election. (e) The selection of persons to perform the hand count shall ensure that not more than seventy-five percent of the persons conducting the hand count are members of the same political party. (f) The county recorder or county officer in charge of elections may prohibit persons from participating in the hand count if the persons are taking actions to disrupt the count or are unable to perform the duties as assigned. 8. If a political party is not represented by a designated chairperson within a county, the state chairperson for that political party, or a person designated by the state chairperson, may perform the actions required by the county chairperson as specified in this section. C. If the randomly selected races result in a difference in any race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the results of the electronic tabulation constitute the official count for that race. If the randomly selected races result in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, a second hand count of those same ballots and races shall be performed. If the second hand count results in a difference in any race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation for those same ballots, the electronic tabulation constitutes the official count for that race. If the second hand count results in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation for those same ballots, the hand count shall be expanded to include a total of twice the original number of randomly selected precincts. Those additional precincts shall be selected by lot without the use of a computer. D. In any expanded count of randomly selected precincts, if the randomly selected precinct hand counts result in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the final hand count shall be extended to include the entire jurisdiction for that race. If the jurisdictional boundary for that race would include any portion of more than one county, the final hand count shall not be extended into the precincts of that race that are outside of the county that is conducting the expanded hand count. If the expanded hand count results in a difference in that race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the electronic tabulation constitutes the official count for that race. E. If a final hand count is performed for an entire jurisdiction for a race, the final hand count shall be repeated for that race until a hand count for that race for the entire jurisdiction results in a count that is identical to one other hand count for that race for the entire jurisdiction and that hand count constitutes the official count for that race. F. After the electronic tabulation of early ballots and at one or more times selected by the chairperson of the political parties entitled to continued representation on the ballot or the chairperson's designee, the chairpersons or the chairpersons' designees shall randomly select one or more batches of early ballots that have been tabulated to include at least one batch from each machine used for tabulating early ballots and those ballots shall be securely sequestered by the county recorder or officer in charge of elections along with their unofficial tally reports for a postelection manual audit. The chairpersons or the chairpersons' designees shall randomly select from those sequestered early ballots a number equal to one percent of the total number of early ballots cast or five thousand early ballots, whichever is less. From those randomly selected early ballots, the county officer in charge of elections shall conduct a manual audit of the same races that are being hand counted pursuant to subsection B of this section. If the manual audit of the early ballots results in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronically tabulated results for those same early ballots, the manual audit shall be repeated for those same early ballots. If the second manual audit results in a difference in that race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronically tabulated results for those same early ballots, the manual audit shall be expanded only for that race to a number of additional early ballots equal to one percent of the total early ballots cast or an additional five thousand ballots, whichever is less, to be randomly selected from the batch or batches of sequestered early ballots. If the expanded early ballot manual audit results in a difference for that race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to any of the earlier manual counts for that race, the manual counts shall be repeated for that race until a manual count results in a difference in that race that is less than the designated margin. If at any point in the manual audit of early ballots the difference between any manual count of early ballots is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those ballots, the electronic tabulation shall be included in the canvass and no further manual audit of the early ballots shall be conducted. G. During any hand count of early ballots, the county officer in charge of elections and election board workers shall attempt to determine the intent of the voter in casting the ballot. H. Notwithstanding any other law, the county officer in charge of elections shall retain custody of the ballots for purposes of performing any required hand counts and the officer shall provide for security for those ballots. I. The hand counts prescribed by this section shall begin within twenty-four hours after the closing of the polls and shall be completed before the canvassing of the election for that county. The county shall make available on the county's website the results of those hand counts and shall provide the results to the secretary of state, who shall make those results publicly available on the secretary of state's website. J. For any county in which a hand count has been expanded to all precincts in the jurisdiction, the secretary of state shall make available the escrowed source code for that county to the superior court. The superior court shall appoint a special master to review the computer software. The special master shall have expertise in software engineering, shall not be affiliated with an election software vendor nor with a candidate, shall sign and be bound by a nondisclosure agreement regarding the source code itself and shall issue a public report to the court and to the secretary of state regarding the special master's findings on the reasons for the discrepancies. The secretary of state shall consider the reports for purposes of reviewing the certification of that equipment and software for use in this state. K. The vote count verification committee is established in the office of the secretary of state and all of the following apply: 1. At least thirty days before the 2006 primary election, the secretary of state shall appoint seven persons to the committee, not more than three of whom are members of the same political party. 2. Members of the committee shall have expertise in any two or more of the areas of advanced mathematics, statistics, random selection methods, systems operations or voting systems. 3. A person is not eligible to be a committee member if that person has been affiliated with or received any income in the preceding five years from any person or entity that provides election equipment or services in this state. 4. The vote count verification committee shall meet and establish one or more designated margins to be used in reviewing the hand counting of votes as required pursuant to this section. The committee shall review and consider revising the designated margins every two years for use in the applicable elections. The committee shall provide the designated margins to the secretary of state at least ten days before the primary election and at least ten days before the general election, and the secretary of state shall make that information publicly available on the secretary of state's website. 5. Members of the vote count verification committee are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2. The committee is a public body and its meetings are subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1 and its reports and records are subject to title 39, chapter 1. END_STATUTE Sec. 7. 2026 justice of the peace candidates; nomination papers, petitions and signatures A. Notwithstanding any other law, for candidates for election in 2026 to the office of justice of the peace, the following apply: 1. If the candidate statement of interest, nomination paper and nomination petition are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the filing officer shall accept as a valid filing the nomination paper and nomination petition of a person that designate a justice precinct for that person's candidacy and that use any or all of the following: (a) The candidate's justice precinct as used in the 2024 election. (b) The candidate's justice precinct as changed or redistricted by the county pursuant to section 22-101, Arizona Revised Statutes. (c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of (c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of competent jurisdiction. 2. If the candidate nomination paper and nomination petition are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the filing officer shall accept and petition signers are valid if the petition signers are registered voters who are residents of any or all of the following districts that the candidate proposes to represent: (a) 2. If the candidate nomination paper and nomination petition are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the filing officer shall accept and petition signers are valid if the petition signers are registered voters who are residents of either or both of the following districts that the candidate proposes to represent: (a)The candidate's justice precinct as used in the 2024 election. (b) The candidate's justice precinct as changed or redistricted by the county pursuant to section 22-101, Arizona Revised Statutes. (c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of (c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of competent jurisdiction. B. This section does not apply to a special election to fill a vacancy for the (b) B. This section does not apply to a special election to fill a vacancy for the office of justice of the peace.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 16, chapter 3, article 2, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 16-320, to read:
START_STATUTE16-320. Candidate withdrawal statements
A CANDIDATE WHO WISHES TO WITHDRAW AS A CANDIDATE SHALL SUBMIT A SIGNED NOTARIZED STATEMENT OF WITHDRAWAL TO THE FILING OFFICER FOR THE CANDIDATE'S OFFICE.END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 16-544, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-544. Active early voting list; civil penalty; violation; classification; definition
A. Any voter may request to be included on a list of voters to receive an early ballot by mail for any election for which the county voter registration roll is used to prepare the election register. The county recorder of each county shall maintain the active early voting list as part of the voter registration roll.
B. In order to be included on the active early voting list, the voter shall make a written request specifically requesting that the voter's name be added to the active early voting list for all elections in which the applicant is eligible to vote. An early voter request form shall conform to requirements prescribed in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452. The application shall allow for the voter to provide the voter's name, residence address, mailing address in the voter's county of residence, date of birth and signature and shall state that the voter is attesting that the voter is a registered voter who is eligible to vote in the county of residence. The voter shall not list a mailing address that is outside of this state for the purpose of the active early voting list unless the voter is an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act (P.L. 99-410; 52 United States Code section 20310). In lieu of the application, the applicant may submit a written request that contains the required information.
C. On receipt of a request to be included on the active early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall compare the signature on the request form with the voter's signature on the voter's registration form and, if the request is from the voter, shall mark the voter's registration file as an active early ballot request.
D. Not less than ninety days before any polling place election scheduled in March or August, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail to all voters who are eligible for the election, who are not listed as inactive and who are included on the active early voting list an election notice by nonforwardable mail that is marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction notification. If an election is not formally called by a jurisdiction by the one hundred eightieth day before the election, the recorder or other officer in charge of elections is not required to send the election notice. The notice shall include the dates of the elections that are the subject of the notice, the dates that the voter's ballot is expected to be mailed and the address where the ballot will be mailed. If the upcoming election is a partisan open primary election and the voter is not registered as a member of one of the political parties that is recognized for purposes of that primary, the notice shall include information on the procedure for the voter to designate a political party ballot. The notice shall be delivered with return postage prepaid and shall also include a means for the voter to do any of the following:
1. Change the mailing address for the voter's ballot to another location in the voter's county of residence.
2. Update the voter's residence address in the voter's county of residence.
3. Request that the voter not be sent a ballot for the upcoming election or elections indicated on the notice.
E. If the notice that is mailed to the voter is returned undeliverable by the postal service, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall take the necessary steps to contact the voter at the voter's new residence address in order to update that voter's address or to move the voter to inactive status as prescribed in section 16-166, subsection A. If a voter is moved to inactive status, the voter shall be removed from the active early voting list and may not receive an early ballot unless the voter updates or otherwise confirms the voter's registration information. If the voter is removed from the active early voting list, the voter shall only be added to the active early voting list again if the voter submits a new request pursuant to this section.
F. Not later than the first day of early voting, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail an early ballot to all eligible voters who are not listed as inactive and who are included on the active early voting list in the same manner prescribed in section 16-542, subsection C. If the voter has not returned the notice or otherwise notified the election officer within forty-five days before the election that the voter does not wish to receive an early ballot by mail for the election or elections indicated, the ballot shall automatically be scheduled for mailing.
G. If a voter who is on the active early voting list is not registered as a member of a recognized political party and fails to notify the county recorder of the voter's choice for political party ballot within forty-five days before a partisan open primary election, the following apply:
1. The voter shall not automatically be sent a ballot for that partisan open primary election only and the voter's name shall remain on the active early voting list for future elections.
2. To receive an early ballot for the primary election, the voter shall submit the voter's choice for political party ballot to the county recorder.
H. After a voter has requested to be included on the active early voting list, the voter shall be sent an early ballot by mail automatically for any election at which a voter at that residence address is eligible to vote until any of the following occurs:
1. The voter requests in writing to be removed from the active early voting list.
2. The voter's registration or eligibility for registration is moved to inactive status or canceled as otherwise provided by law.
3. The notice sent by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections is returned undeliverable and the county recorder or officer in charge of elections is unable to contact the voter to determine the voter's continued desire to remain on the list.
4. The voter fails to vote an early ballot in all elections for two consecutive election cycles. For the purposes of this paragraph, "election" means any regular primary or regular general election for which there was a federal race on the ballot or for which a city or town candidate primary or first election or city or town candidate second, general or runoff election was on the ballot. This paragraph does not apply to:
(a) A special taxing district that is authorized pursuant to section 16-191 to conduct its own elections.
(b) A special district mail ballot election that is conducted pursuant to article 8.1 of this chapter.
I. A voter may make a written request at any time to be removed from the active early voting list. The request shall include the voter's name, residence address, date of birth and signature. On receipt of a completed request to remove a voter from the active early voting list, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall remove the voter's name from the list as soon as practicable.
J. An absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act (P.L. 99-410; 52 United States Code section 20310) is eligible to be placed on the active early voting list pursuant to this section.
K. A voter's failure to vote an early ballot once received does not constitute grounds to remove the voter from the active early voting list, except that a county recorder shall remove a voter from the active early voting list if both of the following apply:
1. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections complies with subsection M of this section.
2. The voter fails to vote using an early ballot in all of the following elections for two consecutive election cycles:
(a) A regular primary and regular general election for which there was a federal race on the ballot.
(b) A city or town candidate primary or first election and a city or town candidate second, general or runoff election.
L. On or before January 15 of each odd-numbered year, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall send a notice to each voter who is on the active early voting list and who did not vote an early ballot in all elections for two consecutive election cycles as prescribed by subsection K of this section. If the voter has provided the voter's telephone or mobile phone number or email address to the county recorder, the county recorder may additionally provide the notice to the voter by telephone call, text message or email. The notice shall inform the voter that if the voter wishes to remain on the active early voting list, the voter shall do both of the following with the notice received:
1. Confirm in writing the voter's desire to remain on the active early voting list.
2. Return the completed notice to the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections within ninety days after the notice is sent to the voter. The notice shall be signed by the voter and shall contain the voter's address and date of birth.
M. If a voter receives a notice as prescribed by subsection L of this section and the voter fails to respond within the ninety-day period, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall remove the voter's name from the active early voting list.
N. A candidate, political committee or other organization may distribute active early voting list request forms to voters. If the active early voting list request forms include a printed address for return, that address shall be the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Failure to use the political subdivision as the return addressee is punishable by a civil penalty of up to three times the cost of the production and distribution of the active early voting list request.
O. All original and completed active early voting list request forms that are received by a candidate, political committee or other organization shall be submitted within six business days after receipt by a candidate or political committee or eleven days before the election day, whichever is earlier, to the political subdivision that will conduct the election. Any person, political committee or other organization that fails to submit a completed active early voting list request form within the prescribed time is subject to a civil penalty of up to $25 per day for each completed form withheld from submittal. Any person who knowingly fails to submit a completed active early voting list request form before the submission deadline for the election immediately following the completion of the form is guilty of a class 6 felony.
P. A person who receives an early ballot at an address at which another person formerly resided, without voting the ballot or signing the envelope, shall write "not at this address" on the envelope and place the mail piece in a United States postal service collection box or other mail receptacle. On receipt the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall proceed in the manner prescribed in subsection E of this section.
Q. When the county recorder receives confirmation from another county that a person registered has registered to vote in that other county, the county recorder shall remove that person from the active early voting list.
R. If the county recorder receives credible information that a person has registered to vote in a different county, the county recorder shall confirm the person's voter registration with that other county and, on confirmation, shall remove that person from the county's active early voting list pursuant to subsection Q of this section.
S. For the purposes of this section, "election cycle" means the two-year period beginning on January 1 in the year after a statewide general election or, for cities and towns, the two-year period beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter after the calendar quarter in which the city's or town's second, runoff or general election is scheduled and ending on the last day of the calendar quarter in which the city's or town's immediately following second, runoff or general election is scheduled, however that election is designated by the city or town.END_STATUTE
Sec. 3. 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 and there are outstanding ballots that require identification or ballot signatures to be corrected or confirmed, 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 there are no ballots remaining that require identification or signatures to be cured, the county recorder and city and town clerks are not required to be open during the weekend. 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. 4. Section 16-558.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-558.01. Mailing of ballots
Not more than twenty-seven days before the election and not fewer than fifteen days before the election, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections for the special district shall send by nonforwardable mail all official ballots with printed instructions and a return envelope bearing a printed ballot mail affidavit as described in section 16-547 to each qualified elector who is not listed as inactive and who is entitled to vote in the election. The envelope in which the ballot is mailed shall be clearly marked with the statement required by the postmaster to receive an address correction and notification. The district governing board shall determine whether the voter or the district governing board will pay for the postage for the return of electors' marked ballots. An elector who votes in a special district mail ballot election shall return the elector's marked ballot to the recorder or other officer in charge of the election or to a designated depository site as provided in section 16-411 no not later than 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election.END_STATUTE
Sec. 5. Section 16-558.02, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-558.02. Replacement ballots
A. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall determine a central location in the district and shall provide for a ballot replacement center that is as near to that location as is practicable for electors to obtain a replacement ballot or for an elector who is listed as inactive to confirm or revise the elector's voter registration information and receive a ballot. The location shall be open from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. of the day of the election. An elector may obtain a replacement ballot until 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election on presenting a signed, sworn statement that the ballot was lost, spoiled, destroyed or not received.
B. The recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall keep a record of each replacement ballot provided pursuant to this section.
C. If an elector to whom a replacement ballot is issued votes more than once, only the first ballot received shall be counted. END_STATUTE
Sec. 6. Section 16-602, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE16-602. Tabulation designated margin; hand counts; vote count verification committee
A. For any primary, special or general election in which the votes are cast on an electronic voting machine or tabulator, the election judge shall compare the number of votes cast as indicated on the machine or tabulator with the number of votes cast as indicated on the poll list and the number of provisional ballots cast and that information shall be noted in a written report prepared and submitted to the officer in charge of elections along with other tally reports.
B. For each countywide primary, special, general and presidential preference election, the county officer in charge of the election shall conduct a hand count at one or more secure facilities. The hand count shall be conducted as prescribed by this section and in accordance with hand count procedures established by the secretary of state in the official instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452. The hand count is not subject to the live video requirements of section 16-621, subsection D, but the party representatives who are observing the hand count may bring their own video cameras in order to record the hand count. The recording shall not interfere with the conduct of the hand count and the officer in charge of the election may prohibit from recording or remove from the facility persons who are taking actions to disrupt the count. The sole act of recording the hand count does not constitute sufficient grounds for the officer in charge of the election to prohibit observers from recording or to remove them from the facility. The hand count shall be conducted in the following order:
1. At least two percent of the precincts in that county, or two precincts, whichever is greater, shall be selected at random from a pool consisting of every precinct in that county. The county political party chairperson for each political party that is entitled to continued representation on the state ballot or the chairperson's designee shall conduct the selection of the precincts to be hand counted. The precincts shall be selected by lot without the use of a computer, and the order of selection by the county political party chairpersons shall also be by lot. The selection of the precincts shall not begin until all ballots voted in the precinct polling places have been delivered to the central counting center. The unofficial vote totals from all precincts shall be made public before selecting the precincts to be hand counted. Only the ballots cast in the polling places and ballots from direct recording electronic machines shall be included in the hand counts conducted pursuant to this section. Provisional ballots, conditional provisional ballots and write-in votes shall not be included in the hand counts and the early ballots shall be grouped separately by the officer in charge of elections for purposes of a separate manual audit pursuant to subsection F of this section.
2. The races to be counted on the ballots from the precincts that were selected pursuant to paragraph 1 of this subsection for each primary, special and general election shall include up to five contested races. After the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections separates the primary ballots by political party, the races to be counted shall be determined by selecting by lot without the use of a computer from those ballots as follows:
(a) For a general election, one statewide ballot measure, unless there are no measures on the ballot.
(b) One contested statewide race for statewide office.
(c) One contested race for federal office, either United States senate or United States house of representatives. If the United States house of representatives race is selected, the names of the candidates may vary among the sampled precincts.
(d) One contested race for state legislative office, either state house of representatives or state senate. In either case, the names of the candidates may vary among the sampled precincts.
(e) If there are not a sufficient number of contested federal, statewide or legislative races or ballot measures, one contested county race.
(e) (f) If there are fewer than four contested races resulting from the selections made pursuant to subdivisions (a) through (d) (e) of this paragraph and if there are additional contested federal, statewide, or legislative or county races or ballot measures, additional contested races shall be selected by lot not using a computer until four races have been selected or until no additional contested federal, statewide, or legislative or county races or ballot measures are available for selection.
(g) If there are not a sufficient number of contested races resulting from the selections made pursuant to subdivisions (a) through (f) of this paragraph, additional uncontested races shall be SELECTED by lot not using a computer until up to five races have been selected.
(f) (h) If there are no contested races as prescribed by this paragraph, a hand count shall not be conducted for that precinct for that election.
3. For the presidential preference election, select by lot two percent of the polling places designated and used pursuant to section 16-248 and perform the hand count of those ballots.
4. For the purposes of this section, a write-in candidacy in a race does not constitute a contested race.
5. In elections in which there are candidates for president, the presidential race shall be added to the four categories of hand counted races.
6. Each county chairperson of a political party that is entitled to continued representation on the state ballot or the chairperson's designee shall select by lot the individual races to be hand counted pursuant to this section.
7. Political party designees who are selected pursuant to this paragraph shall perform the hand count under the supervision of the county officer in charge of elections. The county officer in charge of elections shall provide compensation for those selected to perform the hand count, not to include travel, meal or lodging expenses. The hand count shall not proceed unless the political parties provide the officer in charge of elections in writing a sufficient number of persons pursuant to this paragraph by 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the election and a sufficient number of persons prescribed by this paragraph arrive to perform the hand count. If a political party designee fails to appear for the hand count audit, the county chairperson or the state party chairperson of each political party may select persons from any political party if the selection of persons who perform the hand count complies with subdivision (e) of this paragraph and does not delay the hand count. Political party designees shall be selected to perform the hand count as follows:
(a) The county chairperson of each political party shall designate and provide to both the county officer in charge of elections and the state party chairperson the number of hand count board members as designated by the county officer in charge of elections. If the county party chairperson fails to designate a sufficient number of hand count board workers, the state party chairperson shall designate qualified electors to be hand count board workers. If the county party chairpersons and the state party chairpersons fail to designate a sufficient number of hand count board workers, the highest-ranking official holding a statewide office of each political party shall designate qualified electors to be hand count board workers. For the purposes of this subdivision, the ranking of officials holding statewide office shall be governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, corporation commissioners in order of seniority, mine inspector, senate majority and minority leaders and house of representatives majority and minority leaders.
(b) The political parties shall provide to the county officer in charge of elections in writing the names of those persons intending to participate in the hand count at the audited precincts not later than 5:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday preceding the election.
(c) If the total number of hand count board workers provided by all parties is less than the number designated by the county officer in charge of elections, the county officer in charge of elections shall notify the parties of the shortage not later than 9:00 a.m. on the second Wednesday preceding the election and the political parties have until 9:00 a.m. on the second Thursday preceding the election to provide the county officer in charge of elections with an additional list of qualified electors and alternates who are willing to participate in the hand count.
(d) The county officer in charge of elections shall distribute the list provided pursuant to subdivision (c) of this paragraph to the county chairperson and state chairperson of each recognized political party in the county and state not later than 5:00 p.m. on the second Friday preceding the election.
(e) The selection of persons to perform the hand count shall ensure that not more than seventy-five percent of the persons conducting the hand count are members of the same political party.
(f) The county recorder or county officer in charge of elections may prohibit persons from participating in the hand count if the persons are taking actions to disrupt the count or are unable to perform the duties as assigned.
8. If a political party is not represented by a designated chairperson within a county, the state chairperson for that political party, or a person designated by the state chairperson, may perform the actions required by the county chairperson as specified in this section.
C. If the randomly selected races result in a difference in any race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the results of the electronic tabulation constitute the official count for that race. If the randomly selected races result in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, a second hand count of those same ballots and races shall be performed. If the second hand count results in a difference in any race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation for those same ballots, the electronic tabulation constitutes the official count for that race. If the second hand count results in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation for those same ballots, the hand count shall be expanded to include a total of twice the original number of randomly selected precincts. Those additional precincts shall be selected by lot without the use of a computer.
D. In any expanded count of randomly selected precincts, if the randomly selected precinct hand counts result in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the final hand count shall be extended to include the entire jurisdiction for that race. If the jurisdictional boundary for that race would include any portion of more than one county, the final hand count shall not be extended into the precincts of that race that are outside of the county that is conducting the expanded hand count. If the expanded hand count results in a difference in that race that is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those same ballots, the electronic tabulation constitutes the official count for that race.
E. If a final hand count is performed for an entire jurisdiction for a race, the final hand count shall be repeated for that race until a hand count for that race for the entire jurisdiction results in a count that is identical to one other hand count for that race for the entire jurisdiction and that hand count constitutes the official count for that race.
F. After the electronic tabulation of early ballots and at one or more times selected by the chairperson of the political parties entitled to continued representation on the ballot or the chairperson's designee, the chairpersons or the chairpersons' designees shall randomly select one or more batches of early ballots that have been tabulated to include at least one batch from each machine used for tabulating early ballots and those ballots shall be securely sequestered by the county recorder or officer in charge of elections along with their unofficial tally reports for a postelection manual audit. The chairpersons or the chairpersons' designees shall randomly select from those sequestered early ballots a number equal to one percent of the total number of early ballots cast or five thousand early ballots, whichever is less. From those randomly selected early ballots, the county officer in charge of elections shall conduct a manual audit of the same races that are being hand counted pursuant to subsection B of this section. If the manual audit of the early ballots results in a difference in any race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronically tabulated results for those same early ballots, the manual audit shall be repeated for those same early ballots. If the second manual audit results in a difference in that race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to the electronically tabulated results for those same early ballots, the manual audit shall be expanded only for that race to a number of additional early ballots equal to one percent of the total early ballots cast or an additional five thousand ballots, whichever is less, to be randomly selected from the batch or batches of sequestered early ballots. If the expanded early ballot manual audit results in a difference for that race that is equal to or greater than the designated margin when compared to any of the earlier manual counts for that race, the manual counts shall be repeated for that race until a manual count results in a difference in that race that is less than the designated margin. If at any point in the manual audit of early ballots the difference between any manual count of early ballots is less than the designated margin when compared to the electronic tabulation of those ballots, the electronic tabulation shall be included in the canvass and no further manual audit of the early ballots shall be conducted.
G. During any hand count of early ballots, the county officer in charge of elections and election board workers shall attempt to determine the intent of the voter in casting the ballot.
H. Notwithstanding any other law, the county officer in charge of elections shall retain custody of the ballots for purposes of performing any required hand counts and the officer shall provide for security for those ballots.
I. The hand counts prescribed by this section shall begin within twenty-four hours after the closing of the polls and shall be completed before the canvassing of the election for that county. The county shall make available on the county's website the results of those hand counts and shall provide the results to the secretary of state, who shall make those results publicly available on the secretary of state's website.
J. For any county in which a hand count has been expanded to all precincts in the jurisdiction, the secretary of state shall make available the escrowed source code for that county to the superior court. The superior court shall appoint a special master to review the computer software. The special master shall have expertise in software engineering, shall not be affiliated with an election software vendor nor with a candidate, shall sign and be bound by a nondisclosure agreement regarding the source code itself and shall issue a public report to the court and to the secretary of state regarding the special master's findings on the reasons for the discrepancies. The secretary of state shall consider the reports for purposes of reviewing the certification of that equipment and software for use in this state.
K. The vote count verification committee is established in the office of the secretary of state and all of the following apply:
1. At least thirty days before the 2006 primary election, the secretary of state shall appoint seven persons to the committee, not more than three of whom are members of the same political party.
2. Members of the committee shall have expertise in any two or more of the areas of advanced mathematics, statistics, random selection methods, systems operations or voting systems.
3. A person is not eligible to be a committee member if that person has been affiliated with or received any income in the preceding five years from any person or entity that provides election equipment or services in this state.
4. The vote count verification committee shall meet and establish one or more designated margins to be used in reviewing the hand counting of votes as required pursuant to this section. The committee shall review and consider revising the designated margins every two years for use in the applicable elections. The committee shall provide the designated margins to the secretary of state at least ten days before the primary election and at least ten days before the general election, and the secretary of state shall make that information publicly available on the secretary of state's website.
5. Members of the vote count verification committee are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2. The committee is a public body and its meetings are subject to title 38, chapter 3, article 3.1 and its reports and records are subject to title 39, chapter 1. END_STATUTE
Sec. 7. 2026 justice of the peace candidates; nomination papers, petitions and signatures
A. Notwithstanding any other law, for candidates for election in 2026 to the office of justice of the peace, the following apply:
1. If the candidate statement of interest, nomination paper and nomination petition are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the filing officer shall accept as a valid filing the nomination paper and nomination petition of a person that designate a justice precinct for that person's candidacy and that use any or all of the following:
(a) The candidate's justice precinct as used in the 2024 election.
(b) The candidate's justice precinct as changed or redistricted by the county pursuant to section 22-101, Arizona Revised Statutes.
(c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of
(c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of competent jurisdiction.
2. If the candidate nomination paper and nomination petition are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the filing officer shall accept and petition signers are valid if the petition signers are registered voters who are residents of any or all of the following districts that the candidate proposes to represent:
(a)
2. If the candidate nomination paper and nomination petition are in compliance with otherwise applicable law, the filing officer shall accept and petition signers are valid if the petition signers are registered voters who are residents of either or both of the following districts that the candidate proposes to represent:
(a)The candidate's justice precinct as used in the 2024 election.
(b) The candidate's justice precinct as changed or redistricted by the county pursuant to section 22-101, Arizona Revised Statutes.
(c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of
(c) The candidate's district as designated as a result of a redistricting plan that is ordered for use in the upcoming election by a court of competent jurisdiction.
B. This section does not apply to a special election to fill a vacancy for the (b)
B. This section does not apply to a special election to fill a vacancy for the office of justice of the peace.