accessible early voting

HB4060 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
accessible early voting

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 4060

Introduced by

Representatives
Blattman: Villegas

AN
ACT

amending sections 16-103, 16-246,
16-542, 16-543 and 16-543.02, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to elections
and electors.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Section 16-103, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-103.

Qualified person temporarily absent from state; persons in the
service of the United States

A. A qualified person
who is

temporarily absent from
the
this

state may register by filling out an affidavit of registration
which

that
shall be furnished
upon
on
request of the registrant by the county recorder of the
county in which the registrant has residence pursuant to section 16-593. The
registrant shall execute the affidavit of registration and administer the oath
himself and shall return the affidavit to the county recorder.

B. The county recorder may accept a federal postcard
application in lieu of an affidavit of registration from any qualified person
covered under the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act
of 1986
(P.L. 99-410;
42
52
United States Code
section 1973
sections 20301 through 20311
)
or a person with
a visual impairment
.

C.
Notwithstanding
any other
provisions of

law
to the
contrary notwithstanding
, registration for any person covered under
subsection B of this section may be accomplished at any time
prior
to
before
7:00 p.m. of an election
day. This subsection applies only to persons temporarily absent from
this state
and persons with a visual impairment
.

D. A person who was an overseas voter as defined in
the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act
of 1986

(P.L. 99-410;
42
52
United
States Code section
1973
20310
), as
amended by the Ronald W. Reagan national defense authorization act for fiscal
year 2005 (P.L. 108-375), immediately before being domiciled in this
state, and who has been discharged or separated from that service or employment
in the ninety days before election day
or a person with a visual
impairment
may register and is eligible to vote in that election if the
registration is received by 5:00 p.m. on the Friday before election day.

E. Any United States citizen who has never resided
in the United States and whose parent is a United States citizen who is
registered to vote in this state is eligible to register to vote and may vote
in this state using a federal write-in early ballot as prescribed by section 16-543.02.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Section 16-246, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-246.

Early balloting; satellite locations; additional procedures

A. Within ninety-three days before the
presidential preference election and not later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh
day preceding the election, any elector who is eligible to vote in the
presidential preference election may make a verbal or signed, written request
for an official early ballot to the county recorder or other officer in charge
of elections for the county in which the elector is registered to
vote. If the request is verbal, the requesting elector shall provide
the date of birth and birthplace or other information that if compared to the
voter registration records for that elector would confirm the identity of the
elector.

B. Absent uniformed services voters
,

or
overseas voters
or voters with a visual
impairment
who are otherwise eligible to vote in the election may vote
as prescribed by sections 16-543 and 16-543.02.

C. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections may establish on-site early voting locations at the office of
the county recorder or at other locations in the county deemed necessary or
appropriate by the recorder. Early voting shall begin within the
time limits prescribed in section 16-542 unless otherwise prescribed by
this section.

D. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall send by nonforwardable mail that is marked with the statement
required by the postmaster to receive an address correction notification any
early ballots that are requested pursuant to subsections A and B of this
section and shall include a preaddressed envelope for the elector to return the
completed ballot.

E. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall provide to each election board an appropriate alphabetized list
of voters who have requested and have been sent an early ballot. Any
person who is on that list of voters and who was sent an early ballot shall not
vote at the polling place for that election precinct except as prescribed by
section 16-579, subsection B.

F. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections may provide for any of the following in the same manner prescribed by
law for other elections:

1. Special election boards.

2. Emergency balloting for persons who experience an
emergency after 5:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the presidential preference
election and before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday immediately preceding the
presidential preference election. Before receiving a ballot pursuant
to this paragraph, a person 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 5:00 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
paragraph
are not subject to inspection pursuant to title 39,
chapter 1, article 2.

G. Notwithstanding section 16-579, subsection
A, paragraph 2, for emergency balloting pursuant to subsection F, paragraph 2
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.

H. Sections 16-550, 16-551 and 16-552
govern the use of early balloting for the presidential preference election.
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
county
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)
, a voter with a visual impairment
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,
a voter with a visual
impairment
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
, a voter with a visual impairment
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 preceding the
election at an on-site 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
county

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. 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. 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. 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 16-543, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-543.

Application for ballot; United States service; emergency
procedures

A. Any absent uniformed services voter or overseas
voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act
of 1986
(P.L. 99-410;
42
52
United States Code section
1973ff-6
20310
), as amended by the Ronald W. Reagan national defense
authorization act for fiscal year 2005 (P.L. 108-375),
or a
voter with a visual IMPAIRMENT
may request an early ballot with a
federal postcard application that contains both an early voter registration
application and an early ballot application. The secretary of state shall
provide for a centralized system for receiving federal postcard applications by
way of the internet or fax and shall provide for transmitting appropriate
ballot materials in response to fax, telephone and internet requests for
federal postcard applications. The absent uniformed services voter
,

or
overseas voter
or
voter with a visual IMPAIRMENT
shall designate the means of
communication for receiving voting materials, whether by way of the internet,
fax transmittal or other electronic means or by mail, and the county recorder
or other officer in charge of elections shall provide responses and materials
in the format designated by the requesting voter.� On receipt of
such
the
application, the county recorder or other officer in
charge of elections shall determine whether or not the elector is
registered. If the applicant is so registered, the recorder or other
officer in charge of elections shall forward to the applicant an official early
ballot using the means of communication designated by the voter pursuant to
this section.� If no means of communication is designated, the ballot shall be
transmitted as provided in the instructions and procedures manual issued
pursuant to section 16-452. For all requests received from
registered absent uniformed services voters
,

or
overseas voters
or voters with a visual
IMPAIRMENT
on or before the forty-eighth day before the election, the
ballot shall be transmitted
no
not

later than the forty-fifth day before the election.� If the applicant is not
registered, and the request is for a ballot for use in a county election but
the federal postcard application is complete, the recorder shall forward an
official early ballot to the applicant within twenty-four hours after
receipt of the request, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays.�
If the applicant is not registered to vote and the federal postcard application
is not used or complete, the recorder shall forward an affidavit of registration
as provided in section 16-103 and shall forward at the same time to the
unregistered applicant an official early ballot and affidavit within twenty-four
hours after receipt of the request, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other
legal holidays.� For any voter who is sent an official early ballot by
electronic means pursuant to this section, the county recorder or other officer
in charge of elections is not required to send a paper ballot for the same
election.

B. The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall transmit by fax or by other electronic format approved by the
secretary of state early ballot request forms, unvoted ballots and ballot
information to eligible absent uniformed services voters
,

and
overseas voters
and voters with a
visual impairment
.� The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall provide for receipt of completed early ballot requests and
voted early ballots by fax or other electronic format as prescribed by the
secretary of state in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to
section 16-452.� The county recorder or other officer in charge of
elections shall provide for a method for the voter to verify at no cost to the
voter that the voter's ballot has been received.

C. The secretary of state shall provide in the
instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452 for
emergency procedures regarding the early balloting process for persons who are
subject to the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act
of 1986
(P.L. 99-410;
42
52
United States Code
section 1973ff
sections 20301 through 20311
), as amended by the Ronald W.
Reagan national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2005 (P.L. 108-375)
, or voters with a visual impairment
.� These emergency
procedures may be implemented only on the occurrence of a national or local
emergency that makes substantial compliance with the uniformed and overseas
citizens absentee voting act impracticable, including occurrences of natural
disasters or armed conflict or mobilization of the national guard or military
reserve units of this state.

D. This section applies only to any absent uniformed
services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas
citizens absentee voting act
of 1986
(P.L. 99-410;
42
52
United States Code section
1973ff-6
20310
), as amended by the Ronald
W. Reagan national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2005 (P.L.
108-375)
, and any voter with a visual impairment
.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 5. Section 16-543.02, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-543.02.

Federal write-in early ballots; procedure; registration
form

A. An overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and
overseas citizens absentee voting act
of 1986
(P.L. 99-410;

42
52
United States Code section
1973ff-6
20310
), as amended by the Ronald
W. Reagan national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2005 (P.L. 108-375),
who is absent from the place of residence in this state where the voter is
otherwise qualified to vote
or a voter with a visual impairment
may
use a federal write-in early ballot in a primary, general or special
election for the offices of presidential elector and United States senator and
representative in Congress if the voter applies for an early ballot by 7:00
p.m. on election day and does not receive that early ballot.

B. A federal write-in early ballot of an
overseas voter
or a voter with a visual impairment
shall
not be counted if either of the following conditions is met:

1. The application of the overseas voter
or voter with a visual impairment
for an early ballot is
received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections after
7:00 p.m. on election day.

2. An early ballot from the overseas voter
or voter with a visual impairment
is received by the county
recorder or other officer in charge of elections by 7:00 p.m. on election day.

C. An overseas voter
or a voter with
a visual impairment
who completes a federal write-in early ballot
may designate a candidate by writing in the name of the candidate or by writing
in the name of a political party, in which case the ballot shall be counted for
the candidate of that political party. In the case of the offices of
president and
vice-president
vice
president
, a vote for a named candidate or in the name of the political
party shall be counted as a vote for that candidate's or party's presidential
electors. Any abbreviation, misspelling or other minor variation in
the form of the name of a candidate or political party shall be disregarded in
determining the validity of the ballot if the intention of the voter can be
ascertained.

D. For an overseas voter
or a voter
with a visual impairment
who completes a federal write-in early ballot
transmission envelope with the federal write-in early ballot request, the
transmission envelope shall serve as a voter registration form and the voter is
registered to vote on completion and receipt of the transmission envelope and
the federal write-in early ballot if all of the following apply:

1. The information submitted on the transmission
envelope includes the information prescribed in section 16-121.01.

2. The voter is otherwise eligible to register and
vote in this state.

3. The request is received by the county recorder by
7:00 p.m. on election day.�

E. For any request received after 7:00 p.m. on
election day, an otherwise valid transmission envelope constitutes a voter
registration form that is valid for any subsequent election.
END_STATUTE