SB 1141 — early ballot drop off; identification

(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 - 2 - S.B.

1141 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.

Except as provided in subsection F 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.

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.

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.

H.

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 - 3 - S.B.

1141 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.

I.

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.

J.

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.

Sec.

2.

Section 16-548, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

16-548.

Preparation and transmission of ballot;

violation;

classification A.

The early voter shall make and sign the affidavit and shall then mark his THE ballot in such a manner that his THE EARLY VOTER'S vote cannot be seen.

The early voter shall fold the ballot, if a paper ballot, so as to conceal the vote and deposit the voted ballot in the envelope provided for that purpose, which shall be securely sealed and, together - 4 - S.B.

1141 with the affidavit, delivered or mailed to the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections of the political subdivision in which the elector is registered or deposited by the voter or the voter's agent at any polling place in the county.

In order to be counted and valid, the ballot must be received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections or deposited at any polling place in the county no NOT later than 7:00 p.m.

on election day.

B.

FOR ANY VOTER OR ANY VOTER'S AGENT WHO DELIVERS ONE OR MORE VOTED EARLY BALLOTS IN AFFIDAVIT ENVELOPES TO ANY POLLING PLACE IN THE COUNTY, TO A VOTING CENTER OR TO AN EMERGENCY VOTING CENTER, THE ELECTION BOARD SHALL REQUIRE THE VOTER OR VOTER'S AGENT TO ATTEST TO IN WRITING AND PROVIDE IDENTIFICATION AS FOLLOWS:

1.

FOR A VOTER WHO DELIVERS THE VOTER'S OWN EARLY BALLOT, PRESENT TO THE BOARD WORKER IDENTIFICATION THAT COMPLIES WITH SECTION 16-579, SUBSECTION A, PARAGRAPH 1 ON WHICH THE VOTER'S NAME REASONABLY APPEARS TO BE THE SAME AS ON THE BALLOT AFFIDAVIT.

2.

FOR A VOTER'S AGENT WHO DELIVERS ANOTHER PERSON'S VOTED EARLY BALLOT, PRESENT TO THE BOARD WORKER IDENTIFICATION THAT CONTAINS THE VOTER'S AGENT'S NAME AND THAT COMPLIES WITH SECTION 16-579, SUBSECTION A, PARAGRAPH 1 AND ATTEST IN WRITING THAT THE VOTER'S AGENT IS THE VOTER'S FAMILY MEMBER, HOUSEHOLD MEMBER OR CAREGIVER AS DEFINED IN SECTION 16-1005.

B.

C.

If the early voter is an overseas citizen, a qualified elector absent from the United States or in the United States service, a spouse or dependent residing with the early voter or a qualified elector of a special district mail ballot election as provided in article 8.1 of this chapter, the early voter may subscribe to the affidavit before and obtain the signature and military identification number or passport number, if available, of any person who is a United States citizen eighteen years of age or older.

D.

A PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY VIOLATES SUBSECTION B OF THIS SECTION IS GUILTY OF A CLASS 5 FELONY.

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