cast vote record; public record

Plain English Breakdown

The official status indicates the bill was vetoed, meaning it is not currently law unless a legislative override occurred.

SB1038: Cast Vote Records and Public Access

This bill requires county officials to send unaltered electronic records of how voters chose candidates to the Secretary of State within two days after sending official results.

What This Bill Does

• Requires counties to send cast vote records to the Secretary of State within forty-eight hours after transmitting the county canvass.
• Mandates that these files be sent in a format that allows people to sort and search through them easily.
• Prohibits officials from randomizing or changing the original electronic files before they are shared.
• Allows counties to share only voter counts instead of full records for groups with fewer than twenty-five registered voters.
• Declares these cast vote records as public documents.

Who It Names or Affects

• County boards of supervisors
• Officers in charge of elections at the county level
• The Arizona Secretary of State

Terms To Know

Cast vote record

An electronic file showing how voters selected candidates or measures, which cannot be linked back to a specific person's name.

Sortable format

A digital file type that allows users to organize data by different categories like precinct or ballot style.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill was vetoed by the governor, so it did not become law unless lawmakers later overrode that decision.
• Full records are only required for groups with twenty-five or more voters; smaller groups receive summary numbers instead.

Official Summary Text

SB1038 - cast vote record; public record

Current Bill Text

SB1038 - 572R - S Ver

Senate Engrossed

cast vote record;
public record

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SENATE BILL 1038

AN
ACT

amending title 16, chapter 4, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 16-407.04; relating to the conduct
of elections.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Title 16, chapter 4, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 16-407.04, to read:

START_STATUTE
16-407.04.

Cast vote record; public record; definition

A. Within forty-eight hours after the
county board of supervisors TRANSMITS the county canvass to the secretary of
STATE, the board of supervisors or the officer in charge of elections shall
transmit The cast vote record to the secretary of state in a sortable format. The
transmitted cast vote record shall be unaltered except that, for precincts,
precinct splits and ballot styles that contain fewer than twenty-five
registered voters, the board of supervisors or officer in charge of elections
shall include only the number of voters and the number of cast vote records.

B. The board of supervisors or
officer in charge of elections shall not randomize or otherwise alter the
original files.

C. The information and records
prescribed by subsection A of this section constitute a public record.

D. For the purposes of this section,
"cast vote record" means an electronic record of the voters'
selections as captured by a tabulation device from a ballot or a ballot image
that cannot be linked to a specific voter.
END_STATUTE