interstate agreement; national popular vote.

SB1300 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
interstate agreement; national popular vote.

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1300

Introduced by

Senators
Gabald�n: Alston, Bravo, Diaz, Epstein, Fernandez, Gonzales, Hatathlie, Kuby,
Miranda, Ortiz, Sears, Sundareshan

AN
ACT

amending section 16-212, Arizona
Revised Statutes; amending title 16, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding
chapter 9; relating to voting.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Section 16-212, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
16-212.

Appointment of presidential electors by popular vote; electoral
college votes; vacancy; replacement

A. On the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November, 1956, and quadrennially thereafter,
there shall be
elected
a number of presidential electors equal to the number of United
States senators and representatives in Congress from this state

shall be appointed by popular vote
.

B.
After the secretary of state issues
the statewide canvass containing the results of a presidential election,

The presidential electors of this state shall cast their electoral college
votes for the candidate for president and the candidate for vice president who
jointly received the highest number of votes in this state as
prescribed in the canvass
were nominated by the political
party that nominated the PRESIDENTIAL elector or, in the case of candidates for
president and vice PRESIDENT who qualify for the ballot pursuant to section
16-341, the PRESIDENTIAL electors of this state shall cast their electoral
college votes for the candidate for president that nominated that presidential
elector and for that candidate's vice PRESIDENTIAL running mate
.

C. A presidential elector who knowingly refuses to
cast that elector's electoral college vote as prescribed in subsection B of
this section is no longer eligible to hold the office of presidential elector
and that office is deemed and declared vacant by operation of law.� The
chairperson of the state committee of the political party represented by that
elector shall appoint a person who is otherwise qualified to be a presidential
elector
or, in the case of candidates for president and vice
PRESIDENT who qualify for the ballot pursuant to section 16-341, the candidate
for PRESIDENT shall APPOINT a PERSON who is otherwise qualified to be a
PRESIDENTIAL elector
. The replacement presidential elector shall cast
the elector's electoral college vote as prescribed by this section.�
Notwithstanding section 16-344 and any other statute, the nomination
paper and affidavit of qualification of the replacement presidential elector
may be completed and filed with the secretary of state as soon as is
practicable after the presidential elector's appointment.

D. When the agreement among the
states to elect the president by national popular vote does not govern the
appointment of presidential electors, this state's electors for president and
vice president of the United States shall be the elector candidates who receive
the highest number of votes in the balloting for president that is held
concurrently with the general election.� When the agreement among the states to
elect the president by national popular vote governs the appointment of this
state's presidential electors, this state's electors for president and vice
president of the United States shall be the elector candidates who are
determined as prescribed by section 16-1201, using the number of votes received
in the balloting for president held concurrent with the general election.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 16, Arizona Revised Statutes, is
amended by adding chapter 9, to read:

CHAPTER 9

AGREEMENT AMONG THE STATES TO
ELECT

THE PRESIDENT BY NATIONAL
POPULAR VOTE

ARTICLE 1. ADOPTION

START_STATUTE
16-1201.

Adoption and text of compact

The agreement among the states to elect the
president by national popular vote is enacted into law and entered into with
all other jurisdictions legally joining such agreement in the form
substantially as follows:

Article
I�Membership

Any state of the United States and the District
of Columbia may become a member of this agreement by enacting this agreement.

Article II�Right of the people in member states

to vote for president and vice president

Each member state
shall conduct a statewide popular election for president and vice president of
the United States.

Article
III�Manner of appointing

presidential
electors in member states

A. Prior to the time set by law for
the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, the chief election
official of each member state shall determine the number of votes for each
presidential slate in each state of the United States and in the District of
Columbia in which votes have been cast in a statewide popular election and
shall add such votes together to produce a "national popular vote
total" for each presidential slate.

B. The chief election official of
each member state shall designate the presidential slate with the largest
national popular vote total as the "national popular vote winner".

C. The presidential elector
certifying official of each member state shall certify the appointment in that
official's own state of the elector slate nominated in that state in
association with the national popular vote winner.

D. At least six days before the day
fixed by law for the meeting and voting by the presidential electors, each
member state shall make a final determination of the number of popular votes
cast in the state for each presidential slate and shall communicate an official
statement of such determination within twenty-four hours to the chief election
official of each other member state.

E. The
chief election official of each member state shall treat as conclusive an
official statement containing the number of popular votes in a state for each
presidential slate made by the day established by federal law for making a
state's final determination conclusive as to the counting of electoral votes by
Congress.

F. In event of a tie for the national
popular vote winner, the presidential elector certifying official of each
member state shall certify the appointment of the elector slate nominated in
association with the presidential slate receiving the largest number of popular
votes within that official's own state.

G. If, for any reason, the number of
presidential electors nominated in a member state in association with the
national popular vote winner is less than or greater than that state's number
of electoral votes, the presidential candidate on the presidential slate that
has been designated as the national popular vote winner shall have the power to
nominate the presidential electors for that state and that state's presidential
elector certifying official shall certify the appointment of such nominees.

H. The chief election official of
each member state shall immediately release to the public all vote counts or
statements of votes as they are determined or obtained.

I. This article shall govern the
appointment of presidential electors in each member state in any year in which
this agreement is, on July 20, in effect in states cumulatively possessing a
majority of the electoral votes.

Article
IV�Other provisions

A. This agreement shall take effect
when states cumulatively possessing a majority of the electoral votes have
enacted this agreement in substantially the same form and the enactments by
such states have taken effect in each state.

B. Any member state may withdraw from
this agreement, except that a withdrawal occurring six months or less before
the end of a president's term shall not become effective until a president or
vice president shall have been qualified to serve the next term.

C. The chief executive of each member
state shall promptly notify the chief executive of all other states of when
this agreement has been enacted and has taken effect in that official's state,
when the state has withdrawn from this agreement, and when this agreement takes
effect generally.

D. This agreement shall terminate if
the electoral college is abolished.

E. If any provision of this agreement
is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall not be affected.

Article V�Definitions

For purposes of
this agreement:

1. "Chief
election official" shall mean the state official or body that is
authorized to certify the total number of popular votes for each presidential
slate.

2. "Chief executive" shall
mean the governor of a state of the United States or the mayor of the District
of Columbia.

3. "Elector slate" shall
mean a slate of candidates who have been nominated in a state for the position
of presidential elector in association with a presidential slate.

4. "Presidential elector"
shall mean an elector for President and Vice President of the United States.

5. "Presidential elector
certifying official" shall mean the state official or body that is
authorized to certify the appointment of the state's presidential electors.

6. "Presidential slate"
shall mean a slate of two persons, the first of whom has been nominated as a
candidate for president of the United States and the second of whom has been
nominated as a candidate for vice president of the United States, or any legal
successors to such persons, regardless of whether both names appear on the
ballot presented to the voter in a particular state.

7. "State" shall mean a
state of the United States and the District of Columbia.

8. "Statewide popular
election" shall mean a general election in which votes are cast for
presidential slates by individual voters and counted on a statewide basis.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
16-1202.

Appointment of presidential electors pursuant to agreement

When the agreement among the states to elect the
president by national popular vote governs the appointment of presidential
electors as provided in section 16-1201, article III, subsection I, the
provisions of that agreement shall supersede any conflicting provisions of the
laws of this state.
END_STATUTE