watermark; paper ballots

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on the cost implications or vendor compliance with the new standards.

Fraud Countermeasures for Paper Ballots

This bill requires vendors who provide paper ballots for elections in Arizona to use specific security measures certified by ISO standards and include at least three of ten outlined features on the ballots.

What This Bill Does

• Requires ballot vendors to be certified by ISO 27001, ISO 17025, or ISO 9001:2015 standards.
• Replaces old rules about election ballots with new ones that require at least three specific security features on paper ballots.

Who It Names or Affects

• Ballot vendors who provide paper for elections in Arizona
• County boards of supervisors and city or town clerks responsible for preparing election ballots

Terms To Know

ISO certification

A set of standards that ensure a company follows certain rules to keep information secure.

Watermark

An image or pattern printed on paper that is visible when held up to light, used here as a security feature.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how much it will cost counties and cities to implement these new requirements.
• It's unclear if all ballot vendors can meet the certification requirements listed in the bill.

Official Summary Text

SB1057 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet

Assigned to
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COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session

FACT SHEET FOR
S.B. 1057

watermark; paper ballots

Purpose

Requires fraud countermeasures for ballots to include at least 3 of the
10 outlined features.

Background

A county board of
supervisors, or the city or town clerk in municipal elections, must prepare and
provide ballots containing the names of all persons who have filed certificates
of nomination. All ballots cast in elections for public office in Arizona, and
the cards of instructions to voters, must be printed, delivered and distributed
at public expense and be a county, city or town charge, depending upon the type
of election being held (
A.R.S.
� 16-503
). Ballots must be printed with black ink on white paper that is
sufficiently thick to prevent printing from being discernable from the back.
Additionally, the head of the ballot must include the type and date of
election, the name of the county, and the name or number of the precinct.
Statute outlines specific instruction for the order that instructions and
offices must be listed on an official ballot (
A.R.S.
� 16-502
).

There is no
anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this
legislation.

Provisions

1.

Requires
any vendor that provides fraud countermeasures that are contained in or on the
paper used for ballots to be ISO 27001 certified, ISO 17025 certified or ISO
9001:2015 certified.

2.

Requires
ballot fraud countermeasures to include the use of at least three of the
following:

a)

unique, controlled-supply watermarked clearing bank specification 1
security paper;

b)

secure holographic foil that acts as a visual deterrent and anti-copy
feature;

c)

branded overprint of any hologram that personalizes the hologram with
customer logo;

d)

custom complex security background designs with banknote-level security;

e)

secure variable digital infill;

f)

thermochromic, tri-thermochromic, photochromic or optically variable
inks;

g)

stealth numbering in ultraviolet, infrared or taggant inks;

h)

multicolored micro-numismatic invisible ultraviolet designs;

i)

unique forensic fraud detection technology that is built into security
inks; or

j)

unique bar code or QR code that is accessible only to the voter and that
tracks the voter's ballot as it is processed.

3.

Becomes
effective on the general effective date.

Prepared by Senate Research

January 9, 2026

ZD/ci

Current Bill Text

SB1057 - 572R - S Ver

Senate Engrossed

watermark;
paper ballots

(now: fraud
countermeasures; paper ballots)

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SENATE BILL 1057

AN
ACT

Repealing section 16-504, Arizona
Revised Statutes; amending title 16, chapter 4, article 6, Arizona Revised
Statutes, by adding a new section 16-504; relating to election ballots.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1.
Repeal

Section 16-504, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is repealed.

Sec. 2. Title 16, chapter 4, article 6, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section 16-504, to read:

START_STATUTE
16-504.

Antifraud ballot paper; vendor certification; antifraud measures

Notwithstanding any other statute, any vendor
that provides fraud countermeasures that are contained in and on the paper used
for ballots shall be ISO 27001 certified, ISO 17025 certified or ISO 9001:2015
certified.� Ballot fraud countermeasures shall include the use of at least
three of the following:

1. Unique, controlled-supply
watermarked clearing bank specification 1 security paper.

2. Secure holographic foil that acts
as a visual deterrent and anti-copy feature.

3. Branded overprint of any hologram
that personalizes the hologram with customer logo.

4. Custom complex security background
designs with banknote-level security.

5. Secure variable digital infill.

6. Thermochromic, tri-thermochromic,
photochromic or optically variable inks.

7. Stealth numbering in ultraviolet,
infrared or taggant inks.

8. Multicolored micro-numismatic
invisible ultraviolet designs.

9. Unique forensic fraud detection
technology that is built into security inks.

10. Unique bar code or QR code that
is accessible only to the voter and that tracks the voter's ballot as it is
processed.

END_STATUTE