polling places; drop boxes; campuses

SB1358 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
polling places; drop boxes; campuses

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1358

Introduced by

Senators
Kuby: Alston, Gabald�n, Hatathlie, Miranda, Ortiz;� Representatives Garcia,
Gutierrez, M�rquez, Sandoval, Stahl Hamilton

AN
ACT

amending section 16-411, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to election precincts and polling places.

(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. Notwithstanding subsection b of
this section, the board of supervisors of each county shall designate at least
one polling place or voting center on the main campus of each state university
in that county and shall provide for at least one early ballot dropbox at each
state university satellite location and each community college campus and
community college satellite location in that county.

C.

D.
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.

E.
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.

F.
Except
as provided in subsection
F
G
of
this section, a public school shall provide sufficient space for use as a
polling place for any city, county or state election when requested by the
officer in charge of elections.

F.

G.
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.

H.
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.

I.
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.

J.
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.

K.
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.

L.
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