Bill Text: AZ SB1412 | 2011 | Fiftieth Legislature 1st Regular | Engrossed
Bill Title: Early voting; revisions
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-04-13 - Governor Signed [SB1412 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2011-SB1412-Engrossed.html
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House Engrossed Senate Bill |
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State of Arizona Senate Fiftieth Legislature First Regular Session 2011
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SENATE BILL 1412 |
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AN ACT
amending sections 16-545, 16-547 and 16-1005, Arizona revised Statutes; relating to ballots.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 16-545, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-545. Early ballot
A. The early ballot shall be one prepared for use in the precinct in which the applicant resides and, if a partisan primary election, of the political party with which the applicant is affiliated as shown by the affidavit of registration. The ballot shall be identical with the regular official ballots, except that it shall have printed or stamped on it "early".
B. The officer charged by law with the duty of preparing ballots at any election shall:
1. Prepare the official early ballot and deliver a sufficient number to the recorder or other officer in charge of elections not later than the thirty-third day before the election. Except as provided in section 16‑542, subsection D, regular early ballots shall not be distributed to the general public before the beginning of early voting.
2. Ensure that the ballot return envelopes are of a type that are tamper evident when properly sealed.
Sec. 2. Section 16-547, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-547. Ballot affidavit; form
A. The early ballot shall be accompanied by an envelope bearing upon on the front the name, official title and post office address of the recorder or other officer in charge of elections and upon on the other side a printed affidavit in substantially the following form:
State of Arizona
County of _________
I, _________________, do solemnly swear that I am the identical person whose name is signed to this affidavit and that this name and signature are my true name and signature, or if I did not personally sign, it was because of physical disability and that I requested __________________ (name of person signing affidavit) to sign for me, that I have not voted and will not vote in this election in any other state during the calendar year of this affidavit and that I personally voted the enclosed ballot or that it was marked according to my instructions because I was unable to do so. I understand that knowingly voting more than once in any election is a class 5 felony. I declare that I am more than eighteen years of age, that I am a qualified elector of the state of Arizona and the county of ____________ and that I reside at _____________. If a challenge is filed against my early ballot, I understand that a copy of the challenge will be sent to me by first class mail and that I may have as little as forty‑eight hours' notice of an opportunity to appear. For purposes of notifying me of a ballot challenge between the time I return my ballot and seven days after election day, please use the following address: ________________. (If no address is provided, notice will be mailed to the mailing address listed on the registration rolls.)
________________________
Elector
B. The face of each envelope in which a ballot is sent to a federal postcard applicant or in which a ballot is returned by such applicant to the recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall be in the form prescribed in accordance with the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99‑410; 42 United States Code section 1973ff). Otherwise, the envelopes shall be the same as those used to send ballots to, or receive ballots from, other early voters.
C. The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall supply printed instructions to early voters that direct them to sign the affidavit, mark the ballot and return both in the enclosed self‑addressed envelope that complies with section 16-545. The instructions shall include the following statement:
In order to be valid and counted, the ballot and affidavit must be delivered to the office of the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections or may be deposited at any polling place in the county no later than 7:00 p.m. on election day.
WARNING-It is a felony to offer or receive any compensation for a ballot.
Sec. 3. Section 16-1005, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-1005. Ballot abuse; classification
A. Any person who knowingly marks or punches an early a voted or unvoted ballot or ballot envelope with the intent to fix an election for his own benefit or for that of another person is guilty of a class 5 felony.
B. It is unlawful to offer or provide any consideration to acquire a voted or unvoted early ballot. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a class 5 felony.
C. It is unlawful to receive or agree to receive any consideration in exchange for a voted or unvoted ballot. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a class 5 felony.
D. Any person who delivers more than ten early ballots to an election official for tallying shall also provide to the election official a copy of the person's photo identification. If the person delivering the ballots does not provide a copy of the person's photo identification, the election official shall record the information from the person's photo identification and retain the information as a part of the records of the voting location as prescribed in procedures established by the secretary of state in the instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16-452. Within sixty days after the election, the officer in charge of that election shall submit to the secretary of state the photocopies or other electronic facsimiles or other information submitted by the persons delivering the early ballots. The secretary of state shall compile a statewide report on the submittals and shall make that information available to the public on the secretary of state's website. The secretary of state may make any referrals to the appropriate prosecuting agency for purposes of enforcing this chapter.
E. It is unlawful to possess a voted or unvoted ballot with the intent to sell the voted or unvoted ballot of another person. A person who violates this subsection is guilty of a class 5 felony.
F. A person or entity who knowingly solicits the collection of voted or unvoted ballots by misrepresenting itself as an election official or as an official ballot repository or is found to be serving as a ballot drop off site, other than those established and staffed by election officials, is guilty of a class 5 felony.
G. A person who knowingly collects voted or unvoted ballots and does not turn those ballots in to an election official, the United States postal service or other entity permitted by law to transmit post is guilty of a class 5 felony.
H. A person who engages or participates in a pattern of ballot fraud is guilty of a class 4 felony. For the purposes of this subsection, "pattern of ballot fraud" means the person has offered or provided any consideration to three or more persons to acquire the voted or unvoted ballot of a person.
