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SB1746 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
elections; voting
centers; polling places
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1746
AN
ACT
amending
sections 15-801, 16-411 and 16-531, Arizona Revised Statutes;
relating to conduct of elections.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-801, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
15-801.
Holidays; election days
A.
When July 4, Veterans' Day,
December 25 or Thanksgiving Day occurs within the school week, the schools
shall be closed and the compensation of the teachers shall not be diminished on
that account.� School district governing boards may declare a recess during the
Christmas holiday season of not to exceed two school weeks, and teachers shall
receive compensation during the recess.
B. On every regular primary and
general election day as prescribed by sections 16-201 and 16-211,
schools that are operated by a school district shall be closed, except that
teachers and staff shall receive or conduct in-service training or
development activities on those election days. Teachers and staff
may not use personal, vacation or other leave time on those election days but
shall receive compensation. This subsection does not prohibit a school
district from providing an employee time off to vote pursuant to section 16-402.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. 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.
The board of supervisors and
any officer in charge of elections may authorize, establish and use a voting
center at which a voter who is a registered voter and resident anywhere in that
county is allowed to receive the appropriate ballot for that specific voter and
may also use polling places located in election districts.
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.
In
addition to specifically designated polling places,
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. 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. 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. A state, county, city, town or
school district office shall provide sufficient space for use as a polling
place for any state, county, city or town election when requested by the
officer in charge of elections.
E.
f.
Except as provided in subsection F of this section,
A
public
school
with a gymnasium that is operated
by a school district
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.
If requested for use as a
polling place, the public school is exempt from any state, local or school
district requirements that would prevent or otherwise limit the use of the
public school and its gymnasium as a polling place. For the purposes
of this subsection, "gymnasium":
1. Means an indoor room or facility
that is suitable for sporting events, including basketball or volleyball.
2. Does not include a cafeteria or an
auditorium
.
F. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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
Sec. 3. Section 16-531, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
16-531.
Appointment of election boards; qualifications
A. When an election is ordered, and not less than
twenty days before a general or primary election, the board of supervisors
shall appoint for each election precinct
, voting center
or
other voting location one inspector, one marshal, two judges and as many clerks
of election as deemed necessary. The inspector, marshal, judges and
clerks shall be qualified voters of the precinct for which appointed, except if
there is not a sufficient number of persons available to provide the number of
appointments required, the inspector, marshal, judges and clerks shall be
qualified voters of this state. The inspector, marshal and judges
shall not have changed their political party affiliation or their no party
preference affiliation since the last preceding general election, and if they
are members of the two political parties that cast the highest number of votes
in the state at the last preceding general election, they shall be divided
equally between these two parties. There shall be an equal number of
inspectors in the various precincts in the county who are members of the two
largest political parties. In each precinct where the inspector is a
member of one of the two largest political parties, the marshal in that
precinct shall be a member of the other of the two largest political
parties. Whenever possible, any person appointed as an inspector
shall have had previous experience as an inspector, judge, marshal or clerk of
elections. If there is no qualified person in a given precinct, the
appointment of an inspector may be made from names provided by the county party
chairman. If not less than ninety days before the election the
chairman of the county committee of either of the parties designates qualified
voters of the precinct, or of another precinct if there are not sufficient
members of that party available in the precinct to provide the necessary
representation on the election board as judge, such designated qualified voters
shall be appointed. The judges, together with the inspector, shall
constitute the board of elections. Any registered voter in the
election precinct, or in another election precinct if there are not sufficient
persons available in the election precinct for which the clerks are being
appointed, may be appointed as clerk.
B. If the election precinct consists of fewer than
three hundred qualified electors, the board of supervisors may appoint not
fewer than one inspector and two judges. The board of supervisors
shall give notice of election precincts consisting of fewer than three hundred
qualified electors to the county chairmen of the two largest political parties
not later than thirty days before the election. The inspector and
judges shall be appointed in the same manner by party as provided in subsection
A of this section.
C. If a nonpartisan election is ordered, not less
than twenty days before the election the governing board holding the election
shall appoint, without consideration for political party,
a
minimum of
at least
three election workers for
each polling place. The election workers shall consist of at least
one inspector and two judges. Whenever possible, they shall be
qualified electors of the precinct located within the district, without consideration
for political party.
D. For election boards established pursuant to
subsection B of this section, the inspector and two judges shall be appointed
to provide as equal as practicable representation of members of the two largest
political parties on the board in the same manner as provided for the election
boards prescribed by subsection A of this section. Any registered
voter in the election precinct, or in another election precinct if there are
not sufficient persons available in the election precinct for which the clerks
are being appointed, may be appointed as clerk. No United States,
state, county or precinct officer, nor a candidate for office at the election,
other than a precinct committeeman or a candidate for the office of precinct
committeeman, is qualified to act as judge, inspector, marshal or clerk.
E. If an electronic voting system is in use the
write-in ballots shall be tallied by a board of elections consisting of
one inspector and two judges who are appointed in the same manner by party as
provided in subsection A of this section.
F. Notwithstanding any other law, the board of
supervisors may appoint to an election board to serve as a clerk of election a
person who is not eligible to vote if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The person is a minor who will be at least
sixteen years of age at the time of the election for which the person is named
to the election board.
2. The person is a citizen of the United States at
the time of the election for which the person is named to the election board.
3. The person is supervised by an adult who has been
trained as an elections officer.
4. The person has received training provided by the
officer in charge of elections.
5. The parent or guardian of the person has provided
written permission for the person to serve.
G. A school district or charter school shall not be
required to reduce its average daily membership, as defined in section 15-901,
for any pupil who is absent from one or more instructional programs as a result
of the pupil's service on an election board pursuant to subsection F of this
section.
H. A school district or charter school shall not
count any pupil's absence from one or more instructional programs as a result
of the pupil's service on an election board pursuant to subsection F of this
section against any mandatory attendance requirements for the pupil.
I. This section does not prevent the board of
supervisors or governing body from refusing for cause to reappoint, or from
removing for cause, an election board member.
END_STATUTE