elections; early voting; tabulation

HB2001 - 572R - I Ver

PREFILED��� NOV 17 2025

REFERENCE TITLE:
elections; early voting; tabulation

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2001

Introduced by

Representative
Bliss

AN
ACT

amending sections 16-411, 16-449, 16-542,
16-547, 16-548, 16-551, 16-552, 16-579.01 and 16-579.02, Arizona Revised
Statutes; relating to elections.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 16-411, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-411.

Designation of election precincts and polling places; voting
centers; electioneering; wait times

A. The board of supervisors of each county, on or
before October 1 of each year preceding the year of a general election, by an
order, shall establish a convenient number of election precincts in the county
and define the boundaries of the precincts as follows:

1. The election precinct boundaries shall be
established so as to be included within election districts prescribed by law
for elected officers of the state and its political subdivisions, including
community college district precincts, except those elected officers provided
for in titles 30 and 48.

2. If after October 1 of the year preceding the year
of a general election the board of supervisors must further adjust precinct
boundaries due to the redistricting of election districts as prescribed by law
and to comply with this subsection, the board of supervisors shall adjust these
precinct boundaries as soon as is practicable.

B. At least twenty days before a general or primary
election, and at least ten days before a special election, the board shall
designate one polling place within each precinct where the election shall be
held, except that:

1. On a specific finding of the board, included in
the order or resolution designating polling places pursuant to this subsection,
that no suitable polling place is available within a precinct, a polling place
for that precinct may be designated within an adjacent precinct.

2. Adjacent precincts may be combined if boundaries
so established are included in election districts prescribed by law for state
elected officials and political subdivisions including community college
districts but not including elected officials prescribed by titles 30 and
48. The officer in charge of elections may also split a precinct for
administrative purposes.� The polling places shall be listed in separate
sections of the order or resolution.

3. On a specific finding of the board that the
number of persons who are listed as early voters pursuant to section 16-544
and who are not expected to have their ballots tabulated at the polling place
as prescribed in section 16-579.02 is likely to substantially reduce the
number of voters appearing at one or more specific polling places at that
election, adjacent precincts may be consolidated by combining polling places
and precinct boards for that election. The board of supervisors
shall ensure that a reasonable and adequate number of polling places will be
designated for that election.� Any consolidated polling places shall be listed
in separate sections of the order or resolution of the board.

4. On a specific resolution of the board, the board
may authorize the use of voting centers in place of or in addition to
specifically designated polling places. A voting center shall allow
any voter in that county to receive the appropriate ballot for that voter on
election day after presenting identification as prescribed in section 16-579
and to lawfully cast the ballot. Voting centers may be established
in coordination and consultation with the county recorder, at other county
offices or at other locations in the county deemed appropriate.

5. On a specific resolution of the
board of supervisors that is limited to a specific election date and that is
voted on by a recorded vote, the board may authorize the county recorder or
other officer in charge of elections to use emergency voting centers as
follows:

(a) The board shall specify in the
resolution the location and the hours of operation of the emergency voting
centers.

(b) A qualified elector voting at an
emergency voting center shall provide identification as prescribed in section
16-579, except that notwithstanding section 16-579, subsection A,
paragraph 2, for any voting at an emergency voting center, the county recorder
or other officer in charge of elections may allow a qualified elector to update
the elector's voter registration information as provided for in the secretary
of state's instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452.

(c) If an emergency voting center
established pursuant to this section becomes unavailable and there is not
sufficient time for the board of supervisors to convene to approve an alternate
location for that emergency voting center, the county recorder or other officer
in charge of elections may make changes to the approved emergency voting center
location and shall notify the public and the board of supervisors regarding
that change as soon as practicable. The alternate emergency voting
center shall be as close in proximity to the approved emergency voting center
location as possible.

C. If the board fails to designate the place for
holding the election, or if it cannot be held at or about the place designated,
the justice of the peace in the precinct, two days before the election, by an
order, copies of which the justice of the peace shall immediately post in three
public places in the precinct, shall designate the place within the precinct
for holding the election. If there is no justice of the peace in the
precinct, or if the justice of the peace fails to do so, the election board of
the precinct shall designate and give notice of the place within the precinct
of holding the election. For any election in which there are no
candidates for elected office appearing on the ballot, the board may
consolidate polling places and precinct boards and may consolidate the
tabulation of results for that election if all of the following apply:

1. All affected voters are notified by mail of the
change at least thirty-three days before the election.

2. Notice of the change in polling places includes
notice of the new voting location, notice of the hours for voting on election
day and notice of the telephone number to call for voter assistance.

3. All affected voters receive information on early
voting that includes the application used to request an early voting ballot.

D. The board is not required to designate a polling
place for special district mail ballot elections held pursuant to article 8.1
of this chapter, but the board may designate one or more sites for voters to
deposit marked ballots until 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election.

E.
Except as provided in subsection F
of this section,
A public school shall provide sufficient space for use
as a
polling place

voting location
for
any city, county or state election when requested by the officer in charge of
elections.

F. The principal of the school may
deny a request to provide space for use as a polling place for any city, county
or state election if, within two weeks after a request has been made, the
principal provides a written statement indicating a reason the election cannot
be held in the school, including any of the following:

1. Space is not available at the
school.

2. The safety or welfare of the
children would be jeopardized.

G.

F.
Beginning
in 2026, the department of administration shall coordinate with state agencies
and counties to provide available and appropriate state-owned facilities
for use as a voting location for any city, county or state election when
requested by the officer in charge of elections.

H.

g.
The
board shall make available to the public as a public record a list of the
polling places for all precincts in which the election is to be held.

I.

h.
Except
in the case of an emergency, any facility that is used as a polling place on
election day or that is used as an early voting site during the period of early
voting shall allow persons to electioneer and engage in other political
activity outside of the seventy-five foot limit prescribed by section 16-515
in public areas and parking lots used by voters. This subsection
does not allow the temporary or permanent construction of structures in public
areas and parking lots or the blocking or other impairment of access to parking
spaces for voters.� The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections
shall post on its website at least two weeks before election day a list of
those polling places in which emergency conditions prevent electioneering and
shall specify the reason the emergency designation was granted and the number
of attempts that were made to find a polling place before granting an emergency
designation. If the polling place is not on the website list of
polling places with emergency designations, electioneering and other political
activity shall be allowed outside of the seventy-five foot
limit. If an emergency arises after the county recorder or other
officer in charge of elections' initial website posting, the county recorder or
other officer in charge of elections shall update the website as soon as is
practicable to include any new polling places, shall highlight the polling
place location on the website and shall specify the reason the emergency
designation was granted and the number of attempts that were made to find a
polling place before granting an emergency designation.

J.

i.
For
the purposes of this section, a county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall designate a polling place as an emergency polling place and
thus prohibit persons from electioneering and engaging in other political
activity outside of the seventy-five foot limit prescribed by section 16-515
but inside the property of the facility that is hosting the polling place if
any of the following occurs:

1. An act of God renders a previously set polling
place as unusable.

2. A county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections has exhausted all options and there are no suitable facilities in a
precinct that are willing to be a polling place unless a facility can be given
an emergency designation.

K.

j.
The
secretary of state shall provide through the instructions and procedures manual
adopted pursuant to section 16-452 the maximum allowable wait time for
any election that is subject to section 16-204 and provide for a method
to reduce voter wait time at the polls in the primary and general
elections. The method shall consider at least all of the following
for primary and general elections in each precinct:

1. The number of ballots voted in the prior primary
and general elections.

2. The number of registered voters who voted early
in the prior primary and general elections.

3. The number of registered voters and the number of
registered voters who cast an early ballot for the current primary or general
election.

4. The number of registered voters whose early
ballots were tabulated on-site as prescribed in section 16-579.02
in the prior primary and general elections.

5. The number of election board members and clerks
and the number of rosters that will reduce voter wait time at the polls.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-449, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-449.

Required test of equipment and programs; notice; procedures
manual

A. Within the period of time before the election day
prescribed by the secretary of state in the instructions and procedures manual
adopted pursuant to section 16-452, the board of supervisors or other
election
officer in charge
of elections
,
or for an election involving state or federal candidates, the secretary of
state, shall
have

test
the automatic
tabulating equipment and programs
tested
to ascertain that
the equipment and programs will correctly count the votes cast for all offices
and on all measures.� Public notice of the time and place of the test shall be
given at least forty-eight hours
prior thereto

BEFORE the test
by publication once in one or more daily or
weekly newspapers published in the town
,

or
city
or village
using such equipment,
if a newspaper is published
therein
in the
town or city
, otherwise in a newspaper of general circulation
therein
in the area
.� The test shall be
observed by at least two election inspectors, who shall not be of the same
political party, and shall be open to representatives of the political parties,
candidates, the press and the public. The test shall be conducted by
processing a preaudited group of ballots so marked as to record a predetermined
number of valid votes for each candidate and on each measure and shall include
for each office one or more ballots that have votes in excess of the number
allowed by law in order to test the ability of the automatic tabulating
equipment and programs to reject such votes.� If any error is detected, the
cause
therefor

for the error
shall
be ascertained and corrected and an errorless count shall be made before the
automatic tabulating equipment and programs are approved. A copy of
a revised program shall be filed with the secretary of state within forty-eight
hours after the revision is made. If the error was created by
automatic tabulating equipment malfunction, a report shall be filed with the
secretary of state within forty-eight hours after the correction is made,
stating the cause and the corrective action taken. The test shall be
repeated immediately before the start of the official count of the ballots in
the same manner as set forth above.� After the completion of the count, the
programs used and the ballots shall be sealed, retained and disposed of as
provided for paper ballots.

B. Electronic ballot tabulating systems shall be
tested for logic and accuracy within seven days before their use for early
balloting pursuant to the instructions and procedures manual for electronic
voting systems that is adopted by the secretary of state as prescribed by
section 16-452. The instructions and procedures manual shall
include procedures for the handling of ballots, the electronic scanning of
ballots and any other matters necessary to ensure the maximum degree of
correctness, impartiality and uniformity in the administration of an electronic
ballot tabulating system.

C. Notwithstanding subsections A and B of this
section, if a county uses accessible voting equipment to mark ballots and that
accessible voting equipment does not independently tabulate or tally votes, the
secretary of state in cooperation with the county officer in charge of
elections may designate a single date to test the logic and accuracy of both
the accessible voting equipment and electronic ballot tabulating systems.

D. NOTWITHSTANDING SUBSECTION B OF
THIS SECTION, FOR ANY COUNTY THAT PROVIDES FOR ON-SITE TABULATION PURSUANT TO
SECTIONS 16-579.01 AND 16-579.02, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OR OFFICER IN CHARGE
OF ELECTIONS SHALL TEST THE ELECTRONIC BALLOT TABULATING EQUIPMENT TO BE used
PURSUANT TO SECTION 16-579.01 FOR LOGIC AND ACCURACY WITHIN FIFTY DAYS BEFORE
ELECTION DAY. THIS subsection DOES NOT affect THE DEADLINES FOR
PERFORMING LOGIC AND ACCURACY TESTING ON OTHER EQUIPMENT.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 16-542, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-542.

Request for ballot; civil penalties; violation; classification

A. Within ninety-three days before any
election called pursuant to the laws of this state, an elector may make a
verbal or signed request to the county recorder, or other officer in charge of
elections for the applicable political subdivision of this state in whose jurisdiction
the elector is registered to vote, for an official early ballot.� In addition
to name and address, the requesting elector shall provide the date of birth and
state or country of birth or other information that if compared to the voter
registration information on file would confirm the identity of the
elector. If the request indicates that the elector needs a primary
election ballot and a general election ballot, the county recorder or other
officer in charge of elections shall honor the request.� For any partisan
primary election, if the elector is not registered as a member of a political
party that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot pursuant to
section 16-804, the elector shall designate the ballot of only one of the
political parties that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot
and the elector may receive and vote the ballot of only that one political
party, which also shall include any nonpartisan offices and ballot questions,
or the elector shall designate the ballot for nonpartisan offices and ballot
questions only and the elector may receive and vote the ballot that contains
only nonpartisan offices and ballot questions. The county recorder
or other officer in charge of elections shall process any request for an early
ballot for a municipal election pursuant to this subsection. The
county recorder may establish on-site early voting locations at the
recorder's office, which shall be open and available for use beginning the same
day that a county begins to send out the early ballots. The county
recorder may also establish any other early voting locations in the county the
recorder deems necessary.� Any on-site early voting location or other early
voting location shall require each elector to present identification as
prescribed in section 16-579 before receiving a ballot.� Notwithstanding
section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 2, at any on-site early voting
location or other early voting location the county recorder or other officer in
charge of elections may provide for a qualified elector to update the elector's
voter registration information as provided for in the secretary of state's
instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452.

B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a
request for an official early ballot from 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) or a voter
whose information is protected pursuant to section 16-153 that is
received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections more
than ninety-three days before the election is valid. If
requested by the absent uniformed services or overseas voter, or a voter whose
information is protected pursuant to section 16-153, the county recorder
or other officer in charge of elections shall provide to the requesting voter
early ballot materials through the next regularly scheduled general election
for federal office immediately following receipt of the request unless a different
period of time, which does not exceed the next two regularly scheduled general
elections for federal office, is designated by the voter.

C. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall mail the early ballot and the envelope for its return postage
prepaid to the address provided by the requesting elector within five days
after receipt of the official early ballots from the officer charged by law
with the duty of preparing ballots pursuant to section 16-545, except
that early ballot distribution shall not begin more than twenty-seven days
before the election. If an early ballot request is received on or
before the thirty-first day before the election, the early ballot shall
be distributed not earlier than the twenty-seventh day before the election and
not later than the twenty-fourth day before the election.

D. Only the elector may be in possession of that
elector's unvoted early ballot. If a complete and correct request is
made by the elector within twenty-seven days before the election, the
mailing must be made within forty-eight hours after receipt of the
request. Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays are excluded
from the computation of the forty-eight-hour period prescribed by this
subsection.� If a complete and correct request is made by an absent uniformed
services voter or an overseas voter before the election, the regular early
ballot shall be transmitted by mail, by fax or by other electronic format
approved by the secretary of state within twenty-four hours after the
early ballots are delivered pursuant to section 16-545, subsection B,
excluding Sundays.

E. In order to be complete and correct and to
receive an early ballot by mail, an elector's request that an early ballot be
mailed to the elector's residence or temporary address must include all of the
information prescribed by subsection A of this section and must be received by
the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections not later than 5:00
p.m. on the eleventh day preceding the election. An elector who
appears personally not later than 7:00 p.m. on the
Friday

Monday
preceding the election at an on-site early voting
location
or other early voting location
that is
established by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections
shall be given a ballot after presenting identification as prescribed in
section 16-579 and shall be allowed to vote at the on-site
location.� Notwithstanding section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 2, at
any on-site early voting location the county recorder or other officer in
charge of elections may provide for a qualified elector to update the elector's
voter registration information as provided for in the secretary of state's
instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452. If
an elector's request to receive an early ballot is not complete and correct but
complies with all other requirements of this section, the county recorder or
other officer in charge of elections shall attempt to notify the elector of the
deficiency of the request.

F. Unless an elector specifies that the address to
which an early ballot is to be sent is a temporary address, the recorder may
use the information from an early ballot request form to update voter
registration records.

G. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
early balloting shall provide an alphabetized list of all voters in the
precinct who have requested and have been sent an early ballot to the election
board of the precinct in which the voter is registered not later than the day
before the election.

H. As a result of experiencing an
emergency between 7:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election and 5:00 p.m.
on the Monday preceding the election, qualified electors may request to vote in
the manner prescribed by the board of supervisors of their respective
county. Before voting pursuant to this subsection, an elector who
experiences an emergency shall provide identification as prescribed in section
16-579 and shall sign a statement under penalty of perjury that states
that the person is experiencing or experienced an emergency after 7:00 p.m. on
the Friday immediately preceding the election and before 5:00 p.m. on the
Monday immediately preceding the election that would prevent the person from
voting at the polls.� Signed statements received pursuant to this subsection
are not subject to inspection pursuant to title 39, chapter 1, article 2.� For
the purposes of this subsection, "emergency" means any unforeseen
circumstances that would prevent the elector from voting at the polls.

I. Notwithstanding section 16-579,
subsection A, paragraph 2, for any voting pursuant to subsection H of this
section, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections may allow
a qualified elector to update the elector's voter registration information as
provided for in the secretary of state's instructions and procedures manual
adopted pursuant to section 16-452.

J.

h.
A
candidate, political committee or other organization may distribute early
ballot request forms to voters. If the early ballot request forms
include a printed address for return, the addressee 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 request.

K.

i.
All
original and completed early ballot 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, political committee or other
organization 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 early ballot 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
early ballot request form before the submission deadline for the election
immediately following the completion of the form is guilty of a class 6 felony.

L.

j.
Except
for a voter who is on the active early voting list prescribed by section 16-544,
a voter who requests a onetime early ballot pursuant to this section or for an
election conducted pursuant to section 16-409 or article 8.1 of this
chapter, a county recorder, city or town clerk or other election officer may
not deliver or mail an early ballot to a person who has not requested an early
ballot for that election.� An election officer who knowingly violates this
subsection is guilty of a class 5 felony.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 4. Section 16-547, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-547.

Mail affidavit; form

A. The early ballot shall be accompanied by an
envelope bearing on the front the name, official title and post office address
of the recorder or other officer in charge of elections and on the other side a
printed affidavit in substantially the following form:

I declare the following under penalty of
perjury: I am a registered voter in ___________ county Arizona, I
have not voted and will not vote in this election in any other county or state,
I understand that knowingly voting more than once in any election is a class 5
felony and I voted the enclosed ballot and signed this
mail
affidavit
personally unless noted below.

If the voter was assisted by another person in marking the
ballot, complete the following:

I declare the following under penalty of
perjury: At the registered voter's request I assisted the voter
identified in this
mail
affidavit with marking the
voter's ballot, I marked the ballot as directly instructed by the voter, I
provided the assistance because the voter was physically unable to mark the
ballot solely due to illness, injury or physical limitation and I understand
that there is no power of attorney for voting and that the voter must be able
to make the voter's selection even if the voter cannot physically mark the
ballot.

Name of voter assistant: _____________________________

Address of voter assistant: __________________________

B. The face of each envelope in which a ballot is
sent to a federal postcard applicant or in which a ballot is returned by the
applicant to the recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall be in
the form prescribed in accordance with the uniformed and overseas citizens
absentee voting act (P.L. 99-410; 52 United States Code section 20301).�
Otherwise, the envelopes shall be the same as those used to send ballots to, or
receive ballots from, other early voters.

C. The officer charged by law with the duty of
preparing ballots at any election shall ensure that the early ballot is sent in
an envelope that states substantially the following:

If the addressee does not reside at
this address, mark the unopened envelope "return to sender" and
deposit it in the United States mail.

D. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall supply printed instructions to early voters that direct them to
sign the
mail
affidavit, mark the ballot and return both
in the enclosed self-addressed envelope that complies with section 16-545,
and:

1. Through 2025, the instructions
shall include the following statement:

In order to be valid and counted, the ballot
and mail affidavit must be delivered to the office of the county recorder or
other officer in charge of elections or may be deposited at any polling place
in the county not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day. The ballot
will not be counted without the voter's signature on the envelope.

(WARNING � It is a felony to offer or receive
any compensation for a ballot.)

2.

1.
Beginning in 2026,

For a county that provides
on-site tabulation of ballots pursuant to sections 16-579.01 and 16-579.02,
the
instructions shall include the following statement:

In order to be valid and counted, the mail affidavit that
contains the mail ballot must have the voter's signature on the envelope and
must be returned to the office of the county recorder by any one of the
following methods:

(a)
Delivering

Mailing
it to the office of the county recorder or other
officer in charge of elections
where it must be received
not
later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.

(b) Depositing it at any polling
place in the county not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.

(c) Bringing the ballot to any
polling place in the county not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day and
choosing to present valid identification that complies with section 16-579,
subsection A, paragraph 1, Arizona Revised Statutes.

(
b
) Hand
delivering it to the office of the county recorder or officer in charge of
elections not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.

(
c
) Depositing
it at any voting location in the county by 7:00 P.m. on the Friday before
election day.

(
d
) After
7:00 p.m. on the Friday before election day, bringing the ballot to any voting
location in the county that offers on-site tabulation and submitting it to the
election officials for separation from the envelope and processing as required
by the county.

(WARNING
─ It is a
felony to offer or receive any compensation for a ballot.)

2. For a county that does not provide
on-site tabulation of ballots pursuant to sections 16-579.01 and 16-579.02, the
instructions shall include the following statement:

In order to be valid and counted, the mail
affidavit that contains the mail ballot must have the voter's signature on the
envelope and must be retuned to the office of the county recorder by any one of
the following methods:

(
a
) Mailing
it to the office of the county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections, which must be received not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.

(
b
) Hand
delivering it to the office of the county recorder or officer in charge of
elections not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.

(
c
) Depositing
it at any voting location in the county by 7:00 P.m. on the Friday before
election day.

(
d
) After
7:00 p.m. on the Friday before election day, bringing the ballot to any voting
location in the county not later than 7:00 p.m. on election day and
presenting identification that complies with section 16-579, subsection A,
paragraph 1, Arizona Revised Statutes.

(WARNING � It is a felony to offer or receive any
compensation for a ballot.)

E. The printed instructions prescribed by subsection
D of this section shall also include the following information regarding
section 16-1005, subsections H and I in substantially the following form:

A person may only handle or return their own ballot or the
ballot of family members, household members or persons for whom they are a
caregiver. It is unlawful under section 16-1005
, Arizona
Revised Statutes,
to handle or return the ballot of any other person.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 16-548, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-548.

Preparation and transmission of ballot

A. The early voter shall make and sign the affidavit
and shall then mark
his

the
ballot
in
such
a manner that
his

the early voter's
vote cannot be seen.� The early voter shall
fold the ballot, if a paper ballot, so as to conceal the vote
,

and
deposit the voted ballot in the envelope provided for
that purpose, which shall be securely sealed and, together with the affidavit,
delivered or mailed

shall be returned by one of
the following methods:

1. Mailing the voted ballot
to
the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections of the political
subdivision in which the
elector

voter
is
registered
or deposited by the voter or the voter's agent at any
polling place in the county
.� In order to be counted and valid, the
ballot must be received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections
or deposited at any polling place in the county no

not
later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.

2. HAND DELIVERing THE VOTED BALLOT
TO THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY RECORDER OR OTHER OFFICER IN CHARGE OF ELECTIONS OF
THE POLITICAL SUBDIVISION IN WHICH THE VOTER IS REGISTERED.� IN ORDER TO BE
COUNTED AND VALID, THE BALLOT MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE COUNTY RECORDER OR OTHER
OFFICER IN CHARGE OF ELECTIONS NOT LATER THAN 7:00 P.M. ON ELECTION DAY.

3. DEPOSITing THE VOTED BALLOT AT ANY
VOTING LOCATION IN THE COUNTY.� IN ORDER TO BE COUNTED AND VALID, THE BALLOT
MUST BE RECEIVED AT THE VOTING LOCATION NOT LATER THAN 7:00 P.M. ON THE FRIDAY
BEFORE ELECTION DAY.

B. A PERSON WHO APPEARS PERSONALLY AT
AN EARLY VOTING LOCATION ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION 16-542 DURING THE
PERIOD OF EARLY VOTING, INCLUDING ON THE SATURDAY, SUNDAY AND MONDAY BEFORE
ELECTION DAY, SHALL PRESENT IDENTIFICATION AS PRESCRIBED BY SECTION 16-579,
SIGN THE EARLY VOTER AFFIDAVIT, MARK THE BALLOT IN A MANNER THAT THE EARLY
VOTER'S VOTE CANNOT BE SEEN AND RETURN THE VOTED BALLOT TO THE ELECTION
OFFICIAL AT THE EARLY VOTING LOCATION.� FOR A COUNTY THAT PROVIDES FOR ON-SITE
TABULATION OF BALLOTS PURSUANT TO SECTIONs 16-579.01 and 16-579.02 DURING
THE SATURDAY, SUNDAY OR MONDAY IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING ELECTION DAY, THE
FOLLOWING APPLY:

1. THE EARLY VOTER SHALL APPEAR
PERSONALLY AT THE ON-SITE TABULATION LOCATION AND SUBMIT THE VOTER'S
EARLY BALLOT AND AFFIDAVIT.

2. THE ELECTION OFFICIAL SHALL ALLOW
THE EARLY VOTER TO TABULATE THE EARLY BALLOT ON SITE AS PRESCRIBED BY SECTIONS
16-579.01 AND 16-579.02.

C. Beginning in 2027, fOR EARLY
BALLOTS THAT ARE CAST IN PERSON PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION B OF THIS SECTION, THE
OFFICER IN CHARGE OF ELECTIONS SHALL ENSURE THAT CHAIN OF CUSTODY PROCEDURES
FOR THESE EARLY BALLOTS ARE IDENTICAL TO THOSE PRESCRIBED FOR IN PERSON
ELECTION DAY VOTING.

B.

D.
If
the early voter is an overseas citizen, a qualified elector absent from the
United States or in the United States service, a spouse or dependent residing
with the early voter or a qualified elector of a special district mail ballot
election as provided in article 8.1 of this chapter, the early voter may
subscribe to the affidavit before and obtain the signature and military
identification number or passport number, if available, of any person who is a
United States citizen eighteen years of age or older.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 6. Section 16-551, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-551.

Early election board; violation; classification

A. The board of supervisors or the governing body of
the political subdivision shall appoint one or more early election boards to
serve at places to be designated by the board of supervisors or the governing
body to canvass and tally early election ballots. Members of early
election boards shall be selected in accordance with the provisions for
selecting members of regular election boards as provided in section 16-531.

B. If an electronic voting system is in use for
early voting, the early election board shall consist of at least one inspector
and two judges who shall perform the processing requirements in accordance with
the rules issued by the secretary of state. The inspector and judges
shall be appointed in the same manner by party as provided in section 16-531.

C. All early ballots received by the county recorder
or other officer in charge of elections before 7:00 p.m. on election day and
the original mail
ballot
affidavit of the voter shall be
delivered to the early election boards for processing as provided in the rules
of the secretary of state. Beginning in 2026, all early ballots that
are delivered by a voter to a voting location without presenting identification
that complies with section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 1 must be
signature verified. The office of the county recorder or other
officer in charge of elections shall remain open until 7:00 p.m. on election
day for the purpose of receiving early ballots. Partial or complete
tallies of the early election board shall not be released or divulged before
all precincts have reported or one hour after the closing of the polls on
election day, whichever occurs first. Any person who unlawfully
releases information regarding vote tallies or who possesses a tally sheet or
summary without authorization from the recorder or officer in charge of
elections is guilty of a class 6 felony.

D.
Except in counties that tabulate
early ballots on-site pursuant to sections 16-579.01 and 16-579.02,
the
county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall count the number
of early ballots that are returned at voting locations on election day and
shall post on its website those totals with the last unofficial results that
are released on election night pursuant to section 16-622. Beginning
with the day following the election, the county recorder or other officer in
charge of elections shall enter into the county's ballot tracking system, if
established, early ballots that were returned at the voting location on
election day.

E. The necessary printed blanks for poll lists,
tally lists, lists of voters, ballots, oaths and returns, together with
envelopes in which to enclose the returns, shall be furnished by the board of
supervisors or the governing body of the political subdivision to the early
election board for each election precinct at the expense of the county or the
political subdivision.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 7. Section 16-552, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-552.

Early ballots; processing; challenges

A. In a jurisdiction that uses optical scan ballots,
the officer in charge of elections may use the procedure prescribed by this
section or may request approval from the secretary of state for a different
method for processing early ballots. The request shall be made in
writing at least ninety days before the election for which the procedure is
intended to be used.� After the election official has confirmed with the
secretary of state that all election equipment passes the logic and accuracy
test, the election official may begin to count early ballots.�
No

Early ballot results may
not
be released except as
prescribed by section 16-551.

B.
Except for a person who votes
personally at an early voting location DURING the period of early voting as
prescribed by section 16-548, subsection B,
the early election
board shall check the voter's mail
ballot
affidavit on the
envelope containing the early ballot. If it is found to be
sufficient, the vote shall be allowed. If the mail
ballot

affidavit is insufficient, the vote shall not be allowed. Beginning
in 2026, for an early ballot that is received and verified as prescribed by
section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 4, additional signature
verification is not required.

C. The county chairman of each political party
represented on the ballot, by written appointment addressed to the early
election board, may designate party representatives and alternates to act as
early ballot challengers for the party.
No
A
party may
not
have more than the number of such
representatives or alternates that were mutually agreed on by each political
party to be present at one time. If such agreement cannot be
reached, the number of representatives shall be limited to one for each
political party.

D. An early ballot may be challenged on any grounds
set forth in section 16-591. All challenges shall be made in
writing with a brief statement of the grounds before the early ballot is placed
in the ballot box. A record of all challenges and resulting
proceedings shall be kept in substantially the same manner as provided in
section 16-594. If an early ballot is challenged, it shall be
set aside and retained in the possession of the early election board or other
officer in charge of early ballot processing until a time that the early
election board sets for determination of the challenge, subject to the
procedure in subsection E of this section, at which time the
early election board shall hear the grounds for the challenge and
shall decide what disposition shall be made of the early ballot by majority
vote. If the early ballot is not allowed, it shall be handled
pursuant to subsection G of this section.

E. Within twenty-four hours
of
receipt of

after receiving
a challenge, the early
election board or other officer in charge of early ballot processing shall
mail, by first class mail, a notice of the challenge including a copy of the
written challenge, and also including the time and place at which the voter may
appear to defend the challenge, to the voter at the mailing address shown on
the request for an early ballot or, if none was provided, to the mailing
address shown on the registration rolls.� Notice shall also be mailed to the
challenger at the address listed on the written challenge and provided to the
county chairman of each political party represented on the
ballot. The board shall meet to determine the challenge at the time
specified by the notice but, in any event, not earlier than ninety-six
hours after the notice is mailed, or forty-eight hours if the notifying
party chooses to deliver the notice by overnight or hand delivery, and not
later than 5:00 p.m. on the Monday following the election. The board
shall provide the voter with an informal opportunity to make, or to submit,
brief statements regarding the challenge. The board may decline to
permit

allow
comments, either in person or
in writing, by anyone other than the voter, the challenger and the party
representatives. The burden of proof is on the challenger to show
why the voter should not be
permitted

allowed

to vote. The fact that the voter fails to appear shall not be
deemed to be an admission of the validity of the challenge. The early
election board or other officer in charge of early ballot processing is not
required to provide the notices described in this subsection if the written
challenge fails to set forth at least one of the grounds listed in section 16-591
as a basis for the challenge. In that event, the challenge will be
summarily rejected at the meeting of the board. Except for election
contests pursuant to section 16-672, the board's decision is final and
may not be appealed.

F. If the vote is allowed, the board shall open the
envelope containing the ballot in such a manner that the mail
ballot

affidavit
thereon

on the envelope
is
not destroyed, take out the ballot without unfolding it or
permitting

allowing
it to be opened or examined and show by the
records of the election that the elector has voted.

G. If the vote is not allowed, the mail
ballot
affidavit envelope containing the early ballot shall not
be opened and the board shall mark across the face of such envelope the grounds
for rejection. The mail
ballot
affidavit
envelope and its contents shall then be deposited with the opened mail
ballot
affidavit envelopes and shall be preserved with official
returns.� If the voter does not enter an appearance, the board shall send the
voter a notice stating whether the early ballot was disallowed and, if
disallowed, providing the grounds for the determination. The notice
shall be mailed by first class mail to the voter's mailing address as shown on
the registration rolls within three days after the board's determination.

H. Party representatives and alternates may be
appointed as provided in subsection C of this section to be present and to
challenge the verification of questioned ballots pursuant to section 16-584
on any grounds allowed by this section. Questioned ballots that are
challenged shall be presented to the early election board for decision under
the provisions of this section.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 8. Section 16-579.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-579.01.

Early ballots; on-site tabulation

A. Every county recorder or other officer in charge
of elections may provide for a qualified elector who appears at that elector's
designated polling location or at a voting center
at any time
during the period of early voting and
on election day with the elector's
voted early ballot to have the elector's voted early ballot tabulated as
prescribed in section 16-579.02.

B. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall do all of the following if the on-site tabulation of early
ballots is allowed:

1. Designate an area within a precinct or voting
center for processing electors with their voted early ballots that is
physically separate from the area for voters who are voting pursuant to section
16-579.

2. Provide adequate poll workers, election officials
and equipment necessary to conduct voting pursuant to this section and section
16-579.02.

3. Categorize and tally separately in the official
canvass and other reports electors whose voted early ballots are tabulated at
the precinct or voting center.� The tally shall be reported by precinct in the
official canvass and other voting reports.

4. Reconcile for that polling place or voting center
the number of electors who appear on the signature roster or
e-pollbook

electronic pollbook
with the number of completed early
ballot affidavits and the voted early ballots tabulated on-site.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 9. Section 16-579.02, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-579.02.

Early ballot on-site tabulation procedure

A. A qualified elector who appears at a voting
center or at the elector's designated polling place that allows for the on-site
tabulation of early ballots with the elector's voted early ballot shall present
identification as prescribed in section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 1
and proceed as follows:

1. If the elector does not present identification
that complies with section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 1, the elector
shall
either deposit the elector's voted early ballot in its
affidavit envelope in an official drop box or
proceed to the area
designated for election day voting to surrender the early ballot to the
election board for retention and not for tabulating. The elector
shall then be allowed to vote a provisional ballot as prescribed in section 16-584.�
An election official may not allow for the on-site tabulation of an early
ballot if the elector does not present identification that complies with
section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 1.

2. If the elector presents sufficient identification
to comply with section 16-579, subsection A, paragraph 1, the elector
shall present the elector's early ballot affidavit to the election official in
charge of the signature roster, and the election official shall confirm that
the name and address on the completed affidavit reasonably appear to be the
same as the name and address on the precinct register.

3. If the elector's affidavit is not complete, the
election official in charge of the signature roster shall allow the elector to
complete the affidavit. The election official may not allow for the
on-site tabulation of an early ballot until the elector presents a
completed early ballot affidavit.

B. If the elector's affidavit is complete, the
elector's name shall be numbered consecutively by the clerk and in the order of
application for early ballot tabulation.

C. For precincts in which a paper signature roster
is used, each qualified elector shall sign the elector's name in the signature
roster as prescribed in section 16-579, subsection D before proceeding to
the tabulating equipment.

D. For precincts in which an electronic pollbook is
used, each qualified elector shall sign the elector's name as prescribed in
section 16-579, subsection E before proceeding to the tabulating
equipment.

E. After signing the
signature roster or electronic pollbook, the elector shall proceed to the
tabulating equipment and while under the observation of an election official,
remove the early ballot from the completed affidavit envelope, deposit the
empty completed affidavit envelope in the secured and labeled drop box and
insert the early ballot into a tabulating machine.� An early ballot that has
been separated from the elector's completed affidavit envelope may not be
removed from the on-site early ballot tabulation area.

F. The drop box prescribed in subsection E of this
section shall be clearly labeled to indicate that the completed affidavits are
from ballots tabulated pursuant to this section and shall be secured in a
manner substantially similar to other ballot boxes at that location.

G. Any qualified elector who lawfully brings to a
polling place or voting center another elector's voted early ballot that is
sealed in its affidavit envelope shall deposit the other elector's voted early
ballot in the appropriate ballot drop box before entering the on-site early
ballot tabulation area for purposes of tabulating the elector's own early
ballot.� The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall
ensure that a voter is not in possession of another voter's ballot within the
on-site early ballot tabulation area.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 10.
Severability

If a provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of
this act are severable.