SB 1241 — voting equipment; ballots; receipt

2.

A statement that if an applicant declines to register to vote the fact that the applicant has declined to register will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes.

3.

A statement that if an applicant does register to vote the office at which the applicant submits a voter registration application will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes.

D.

E.

The department of transportation shall return or mail completed registrations to the county recorder of the county in which the applicant resides within five days after receipt of a completed registration.

END_STATUTE Sec. 2.

Title 16, chapter 4, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 16-404.01, to read:

START_STATUTE16-404.01.

Tabulation results;

limits NOTWITHSTANDING any other law, all tabulation results shall remain in this country and may not be transferred, transmitted or stored in any other country.

END_STATUTE Sec. 3.

ForProvide anya voting location that uses on-site ballot tabulating equipment, ON REQUEST OF THE VOTER, PROVIDE FOR A PAPER RECEIPT TO BE ISSUED BY THE ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM OR BY AN ELECTION BOARD WORKER TO THE VOTER AT THE TIME THE VOTER'S ballot is received for tabulation.  The paper RECEIPTreceipt shallto state whether the voter'svoter ballot will be tabulated at the votingtime location or securely stored until the pollsvoter's closeballot andis thenreceived transmitted to the central counting place for tabulation. tabulation. This paragraph does not apply to a voter who votes with an early or provisional ballot.

END_STATUTEThe Sec. 4.paper RECEIPT shall state whether the voter's ballot was tabulated or rejected and, if rejected, the reason for the rejection.

SectionThis 16-452,paragraph Arizonadoes Revisednot Statutes,apply isto amendeda tovoter read:who votes with an early or provisional ballot.

START_STATUTE16-452.

Rules;

instructions and procedures manual;

approval of manual;

field check and review of systems;

violation;

classification A.

After consultation with each county board of supervisors or other officer in charge of elections, the secretary of state shall prescribe rules to achieve and maintain the maximum degree of correctness, impartiality, uniformity and efficiency on the procedures for early voting and voting, and of producing, distributing, collecting, counting, tabulating and storing ballots.  The secretary of state shall also adopt rules regarding fax transmittal of unvoted ballots, ballot requests, voted ballots and other election materials to and from absent uniformed and overseas citizens and shall adopt rules regarding internet receipt of requests for federal postcard applications prescribed by section 16-543.

B.

The rules shall be prescribed in an official instructions and procedures manual to be issued not later than December 31 of each odd-numbered year immediately preceding the general election.  Before its issuance, the manual shall be approved by the governor and the attorney general.

The secretary of state shall submit the manual to the governor and the attorney general not later than October 1 of the year before each general election.

C.

A person who violates any rule adopted pursuant to this section is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

D.

If a provision in the instructions and procedures manual conflicts with state statute, the state statute prevails.

D.

E.

The secretary of state shall provide personnel who are experts in electronic voting systems and procedures and in electronic voting system security to field check and review electronic voting systems and recommend needed statutory and procedural changes.

END_STATUTE Sec. 5.

Title 16, chapter 4, article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 16-453, to read:

START_STATUTE16-453.

Prohibited access to election servers and hard drives A person may not access any area where servers or hard drives that contain election-related data are stored unless the person is preapproved by or directly supervised by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections.

END_STATUTE Sec. 6.

Section 16-550, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-550.

Receipt of voter's ballot;

cure period;

annual report A.

On receipt of the envelope containing the early ballot and the ballot affidavit, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall compare the signatures thereon with the signature of the elector on the elector's registration record.

If the signature is inconsistent with the elector's signature on the elector's registration record, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall make reasonable efforts to contact the voter, advise the voter of the inconsistent signature and allow the voter to correct or the county to confirm the inconsistent signature.

The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall allow signatures to be corrected not later than the fifth business day after a primary, general or special election that includes a federal office or the third business day after any other election.

If satisfied that the signatures correspond, the recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall hold the envelope containing the early ballot and the completed affidavit unopened in accordance with the rules of the secretary of state.

B.

The recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall thereafter safely keep the affidavits and early ballots in the recorder's or other officer's office until delivered pursuant to section 16-551 and tallying of ballots shall not begin any earlier than fourteen days before election day.

C.

The county recorder shall send a list of all voters who were issued early ballots to the election board of the precinct in which the voter is registered.

D.

After the expiration of the period to correct or confirm an inconsistent signature on a ballot affidavit as prescribed in subsection A of this section and if the voter has not corrected or confirmed the signature, the county recorder shall submit the voter contact information, a copy of the early ballot envelope and a copy of the voter's signature from the voter registration records to the county attorney or attorney general for possible investigation.

On request of the county attorney or attorney general, if the ballot affidavit is separate from the early ballot envelope, the county recorder shall provide the ballot affidavit and any other relevant materials.

On or before February 1 each year, The county recorder shall report the number of referrals to the county attorney and attorney general and shall submit that report to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the governor and shall provide a copy to the secretary of state.

D.

e.

This section does not apply to:

1.

A special taxing district that is authorized pursuant to section 16-191 to conduct its own elections.

2.

A special district mail ballot election that is conducted pursuant to article 8.1 of this chapter.

END_STATUTE Sec. 7.

Title 16, chapter 4, article 10, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 16-604, to read:

START_STATUTE16-604.

Tabulation equipment, removable external devices and removable data storage devices;

chain of custody;

violation;

classification;

definition A.

NOTWITHSTANDING any other law:

1.

any tabulation equipment that is used in a polling place or voting center shall not have internet or remote access at any time, including before, during or after an election.

External devices that allow for internet, Wi-Fi or remote access shall not be connected to any tabulation equipment that is used in a polling place or voting center at any time, including before, during or after an election.

2.

The delivery, use and return of any equipment, removable external devices and removable data storage devices used to tabulate or store election data, including ballot images and adjudicated ballot images, and any copies of the removable external devices and removable data storage devices, including connecting any removable external devices, shall be logged on a chain of custody document so that the name and signature of every person who does any of the following is recorded and retained as an official election record:

(a) Delivers, receives, uses and returns the equipment, removable external device or removable data storage device.

(b) Connects a removable external device or removable data storage device.

(c) Secures the equipment, removable external device or removable data storage device during election day.

3.

Once counting begins at the counting center, If an approved observer from a political party is present as prescribed by section 16-621, subsection A, the observer shall BE allowed to have a reasonable view of the connection and removal of any removable external device, removable data STORAGE device or computer screen until the election data is officially recorded or the removable device is stored securely and, to the fullest extent possible, a reasonable view of the proceedings at the counting center.

For the purpose of this PARAGRAPH, "reasonable view" means a view from a distance that does not impede or interfere with the performance of the election worker's duties and that does not allow the DISCLOSURE of sensitive data or information.

4.

All removable data storage devices shall be secured with a tamper-evident seal that contains a unique serial number that is recorded and confirmed on a chain of custody document.

B.

The officer in charge of elections may establish security procedures for the observation of each tabulating process which may include limiting the number of observers in each room and prohibiting observers from restricted areas and official county vehicles.

C.

A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

END_STATUTE Sec. 8.

Section 16-621, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-621.

Proceedings at the counting center;

violation;

classification A.

All proceedings at the counting center shall be under the direction of the board of supervisors or other officer in charge of elections and shall be conducted in accordance with the approved instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16-452 under the observation of representatives of each political party and the public.  The proceedings at the counting center may also be observed by up to three additional people representing a candidate for nonpartisan office, or representing a political committee in support of or in opposition to a ballot measure, proposition or question.

A draw by lot shall determine which three groups or candidates shall have representatives participate in the observation at the counting center.

Persons representing a candidate for nonpartisan office or persons or groups representing a political committee in support of or in opposition to a ballot measure, proposition or question, who are interested in participating in the observation, shall notify the officer in charge of elections of their desire to be included in the draw not later than seventeen days before the election.

After the deadline to receive submissions from the interested persons or groups, but prior to fourteen days before the election, the county officer in charge of elections shall draw by lot, from the list of those that expressed interest, three persons or groups and those selected shall be notified and allowed to observe the proceedings at the counting center.  If a group is selected the group may alter who represents that group for different days of observation but on any given observation day a selected group shall not send more than one observer.

A group may rotate an observer throughout the day.

Only those persons who are authorized for the purpose shall touch any ballot or ballot card or return.

All persons who are engaged in processing and counting of the ballots shall be qualified electors, shall be deputized in writing by signing a sworn statement or affidavit and shall take an oath that they will faithfully perform their assigned duties.

There shall be no preferential counting of ballots for the purpose of projecting the outcome of the election.

If any ballot, including any ballot received from early voting, is damaged or defective so that it cannot properly be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment, a true duplicate copy shall be made of the damaged or defective ballot in the presence of witnesses and substituted for the damaged or defective ballot.

All duplicate ballots created pursuant to this subsection shall be clearly labeled "duplicate" and shall bear a serial number that shall be recorded on the damaged or defective ballot.  At the completion of the duplicate ballots, each member of the duplication board shall sign a duplication log attesting that to the best of the member's ability the duplicate copy is a true duplicate copy of the original ballot.

B.

If the counting center automatic tabulating equipment includes an electronic vote adjudication feature that has been certified for use as prescribed by section 16-442 and the board of supervisors or officer in charge of elections authorizes the use of this feature at the counting center, all of the following apply:

1.

The electronic vote adjudication feature shall be included in the tabulation system logic and accuracy testing prescribed by section 16-449.

2.

The board of supervisors or officer in charge of elections shall appoint an electronic vote adjudication board that consists of two judges who are overseen by an inspector, with the two judges equally divided between the two largest political parties as prescribed by section 16-531, subsection D to adjudicate and submit for tabulation a ballot that is read by the tabulation machine as blank in order to determine if voter intent is clear on a portion or all of the ballot, or any portion of any ballot as prescribed by section 16-610 or 16-611, or to tally write-in choices as prescribed by section 16-612.

3.

The electronic vote adjudication process used by the electronic vote adjudication board shall provide for:

(a) A method to track and account for the original ballot and the digital duplicate of the ballot created by the electronic vote adjudication feature that includes a serial number on the digital image that can be used to track electronic vote adjudication board actions.

All data storage devices that are used to account for the original ballot and the digital duplicate of the ballot shall be logged on a chain of custody document.

If an approved observer from a political party is present as prescribed by subsection A of this section, the observer shall be allowed to view the data STORAGE device while the device is not securely locked and stored.

(b) The creation and retention of comprehensive logs of all digital duplication and adjudication actions performed by an electronic vote adjudication board.

(c) The retention of the original ballot and the digital duplicate of the ballot.

C.

If for any reason it becomes impracticable to count all or a part of the ballots with tabulating equipment, the officer in charge of elections may direct that they be counted manually, following as far as practicable the provisions governing the counting of paper ballots.

D.

For any statewide, county or legislative election, the county recorder or officer in charge of elections shall provide for a live video recording of the custody of all ballots while the ballots are present in a tabulation room in the counting center.

The live video recording shall include date and time indicators and shall be linked to the secretary of state's website.

The secretary of state shall post links to the video coverage for viewing by the public.

The county recorder or officer in charge of elections shall record the video coverage of the ballots at the counting center and shall retain those recordings as a public record for at least as long as the challenge period for the general election.

If the live video feed is disrupted or disabled, the recorder or officer in charge of elections is not liable for the disruption but shall attempt to reinstate video coverage as soon as is practicable.

Any disruption in video coverage shall not affect or prevent the continued tabulation of ballots.

This subsection is contingent on legislative appropriation.

E.

The county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall maintain records that record the chain of custody for all election equipment, removable data storage devices, hard drives, servers and ballots during early voting through the completion of provisional voting tabulation.

F.

A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor.

END_STATUTE Sec. 9.

Section 16-624, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE16-624.

Disposition of official returns and ballots A.

After the canvass has been completed, the officer in charge of elections shall deposit the package or envelope containing the ballots in a secure facility managed by the county treasurer, who shall keep it unopened and unaltered for twenty-four months for elections for a federal office or for six months for all other elections, at which time he the county treasurer shall destroy it without opening or examining the contents.

B.

Irregular ballots shall be preserved for six months after the election and the packages containing them may be opened and the contents examined only upon an order of court.

At the expiration of such time, the ballots may be disposed of in the discretion of the officer or board having charge of them.

C.

b.

The officer in charge of elections shall produce the other packages or envelopes before the board of supervisors when it is in session for the purpose of canvassing the returns.

D.

c.

If a recount is ordered or a contest begun within six months, the county treasurer may be ordered by the court to deliver to it the court the packages or envelopes containing the ballots, and thereupon they shall be in the custody and control of the court.