SB1793 • 2026

election equipment; data; access limitation

SB1793 - election equipment; data; access limitation

Crime Elections

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Priya Sundareshan
Last action: 2026-02-09
Official status: Senate second read
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text does not specify an effective date; it only shows the last legislative action occurred on February 9, 2026.

Arizona SB1793: Rules for Protecting Voting Machines and Data

This law sets rules on how election officials must store, monitor, and protect voting machines while making it illegal to access them without permission or share secret passwords.

What This Bill Does

Prohibits creating or sharing images of the hard drive inside an electronic voting system component unless the officer in charge of elections gives express permission.
Requires officials to store voting equipment in rooms with key card entry systems and keep those access logs for twenty-four months, except when machines are at a voting location.
Orders continuous video monitoring or motion-detection recording of stored voting machines, keeping the footage as an official record for two years, except when machines are at a voting location.
Makes it unlawful to access without authorization, tamper with, or help others tamper with electronic voting system components, electromechanical voting equipment, or election results reporting systems.
Prohibits knowingly publishing passwords or other confidential information about an electronic voting system and requires officials to immediately revoke the access rights of anyone who does this.

Who It Names or Affects

Election officers in charge of elections at state, county, or local levels
Anyone who works with or has authorized access to electronic voting equipment
People who attempt to take unauthorized photos of voting machine hard drives
Individuals who publish passwords or confidential data about election systems

Terms To Know

Electronic voting system component: Any part of the machines used to cast, count, or report votes electronically.
Officer in charge of elections: The government official responsible for managing election operations and security.
Class 1 misdemeanor: A specific type of criminal offense that carries legal penalties under Arizona law.

Limits and Unknowns

The storage, logging, and video monitoring rules do not apply when voting machines are being used at a polling place or stored there.
Election officials are not legally responsible if the video recording system breaks down, as long as they try to fix it quickly.
A break in video recording cannot stop an official from using the voting equipment for elections.

Bill History

2026-02-09 Senate
Senate second read
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate Rules: None
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate Judiciary and Elections: None
2026-02-05 Senate
Senate first read

Official Summary Text

SB1793 - election equipment; data; access limitation

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB1793 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
election equipment; data; access limitation

State of Arizona

Senate

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

SB 1793

Introduced by

Senator
Sundareshan

AN
ACT

amending title 16, chapter 7, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding sections 16-1025 and 16-1026; relating to
election equipment.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

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

Section 1. Title 16, chapter 7, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding sections 16-1025 and 16-1026, to
read:

START_STATUTE
16-1025.

Electronic voting system components; security; video monitoring

A. This state, a county or any other
political subdivision of this state may not create, allow any person to create
or disclose to any person an image of the hard drive of any electronic voting
system component without the express permission of the officer in charge of the
election.

B. The officer in charge of elections
or the officer's designee shall keep all electronic voting system components in
a location where entry is controlled by use of a key card access system and
shall maintain the entry log created by the system as an official election
record for twenty-four months following the date of any entry. This
subsection does not apply when electronic voting system components are deployed
for use or stored at a voting location.

C. The officer in charge of elections
shall maintain video monitoring of all electronic voting system
components. The video monitoring shall be of a type that
continuously records a designated location or uses motion detection that records
one frame per minute until detection of motion triggers continuous
recording. If the video monitoring is disrupted or disabled, the
officer in charge of elections is not liable for the disruption but shall
attempt to reinstate video monitoring as soon as is practicable.� Any
disruption in video monitoring may not affect or prevent the continued use or
application of the electronic voting system components.� The officer in charge
of elections shall maintain the video recording as an official election record
for twenty-four months following the date the video is captured.� This
subsection does not apply when electronic voting system components are deployed
for use or stored at a voting location.
END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE
16-1026.

Electronic voting system; authorized access; violation;
classification

A. It is unlawful for a person to
access without authorization from the officer in charge of elections, tamper
with or facilitate unauthorized access to or tamper with any electronic voting
system component, electromechanical voting equipment or election results
reporting system.

B. It is unlawful for a person to
knowingly publish or cause to be published passwords or other confidential
information relating to an electronic voting system.� In addition to any other
remedies and penalties provided by law, the officer in charge of elections
shall immediately revoke the authorized access rights of any person who
violates this subsection.

C. This
section does not apply to authorized vulnerability disclosure programs or other
programs authorized by the officer in charge of elections to verify and ensure
the security of the electronic voting system.

D. A person who violates this section
is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
END_STATUTE