------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ¦ REFERENCE TITLE: motor voter; early ballot request ¦ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ ¦ State of Arizona ¦ ¦ House of Representatives ¦ ¦ Forty-fifth Legislature ¦ ¦ First Regular Session ¦ ¦ 2001 ¦ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ¦ HB 2451 ¦ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ¦ Introduced by ¦ ¦ Representatives Miranda, Burton Cahill, Carruthers, Weason, Brotherton, Avelar, Senator ¦ ¦ Aguirre: Representatives Camarot, Cannell, Chase, Clark, Foster, Giffords, Huffman, ¦ ¦ Landrum, Lopez L, Lugo, Maiorana, Norris, Sedillo, Soltero, Tom, Senators Arzberger, ¦ ¦ Guenther, Hartley, Lopez J, Nichols ¦ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN ACT
AMENDING SECTIONS 16-112 AND 16-542, ARIZONA REVISED STATUTES; RELATING TO ELECTIONS AND ELECTORS.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 16-112, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-112. Driver license voter registration
A. Every person who is applying for a driver's DRIVER license or renewal
and who is otherwise qualified to register to vote shall, at the same time and place, be
permitted to register to vote by providing the information prescribed by section 16-
152 AND SHALL BE PERMITTED TO REQUEST AN EARLY BALLOT. The method used to register
voters shall require only the minimum information necessary to prevent duplicate
registrations, to enable elections officials to determine voter eligibility and to
administer voter registration and election laws. A registration form AND REQUEST FOR
EARLY BALLOT FORM shall be included for a person who is applying for a driver's
DRIVER license renewal by mail.
B. The director of the department of transportation and the secretary of state
shall consult at least every two years regarding voter registration at driver's
DRIVER license offices. The director of the department of transportation and the
secretary of state shall, after consultation with all county recorders, adopt rules to
implement a system permitting driver's DRIVER license applicants to register to
vote at the same time and place as they apply for driver's DRIVER
licenses. Such THESE rules shall:
1. Bring the license application and voter registration application forms into substantial conformity.
2. Permit the transfer of driver's DRIVER license application, including
renewal and change of address, and voter registration information from the department of
transportation to the voter registration rolls.
3. Respect all rules and statutes of this state concerning the confidentiality of
driver's DRIVER license application information.
4. Provide for the manual or electronic generation and transmittal of voter registrations and provide for electronic generation of changes in voter registration information, including address, in conformity with the confidentiality requirements of the national voter registration act of 1993 (P.L. 103-31; 107 Stat. 77; 42 United States Code section 394).
C. The department of transportation shall provide to applicants a statement that provides each eligibility requirement for voting, including citizenship, an attestation that the applicant meets each requirement, for the signature of the applicant under penalty of perjury and, in print that is identical to that used in the attestation, the following:
1. A description of the penalties provided by law for the submission of a false voter registration application.
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. The department of transportation shall return or mail completed registrations AND REQUESTS FOR EARLY BALLOTS to the county recorder of the county in which the applicant resides within five days after receipt of a completed registration AND REQUEST FOR AN EARLY BALLOT.
Sec. 2. Section 16-542, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-542. Request for ballot
A. Within ninety days next preceding the Saturday before any election called pursuant to the laws of this state, an elector may make a verbal or signed request to the county recorder, or other officer in charge of elections for the applicable political subdivision of this state in whose jurisdiction the elector is registered to vote, for an official early ballot. In addition to name and address, the requesting elector shall provide the date of birth and state or country of birth or other information that if compared to the voter registration information on file would confirm the identity of the elector. If the request indicates that the elector needs a primary election ballot and a general election ballot, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall honor the request. For any partisan primary election, if the elector is not registered as a member of a political party that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot pursuant to section 16-804, the elector shall designate the ballot of only one of the political parties that is entitled to continued representation on the ballot and the elector may receive and vote the ballot of only that one political party. The county recorder may establish on-site early voting locations at the recorder's office or any other locations in the county the recorder deems necessary.
B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a request for an official early ballot from an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter as defined in the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act of 1986 (P.L. 99-410; 42 United States Code section 1973) OR A REQUEST FOR AN EARLY BALLOT THAT IS TRANSMITTED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 16-112 that is received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections more than ninety days next preceding the Saturday before the election is valid.
C. The recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail postage prepaid to the address provided by the requesting elector, which address shall be the elector's residence address or the location where the elector is temporarily residing while absent from the precinct, the early ballot and the envelope for its return within five days after receipt of the official early ballots from the officer charged by law with the duty of preparing ballots pursuant to section 16-545. Only the elector may be in possession of that elector's unvoted early ballot. If the request is made by the elector within thirty days next preceding the Saturday before the election, such mailing must be made within forty-eight hours after receipt of the request. Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays are excluded from the computation of the forty-eight hour period prescribed by this subsection. If the request is made by an absent uniformed services voter or an overseas voter OR HAS BEEN TRANSMITTED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 16-112 more than ninety days next preceding the Saturday before the election, the mailing shall be made within twenty-four hours after the early ballots are delivered pursuant to section 16-545, subsection B, excluding Sundays.
D. In order to receive an early ballot by mail, an elector's request that an early ballot be mailed to the elector's residence or temporary address must be received by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day preceding the election. An elector who appears personally no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the election at an on-site early voting location that is established by the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall be given a ballot and permitted to vote at the on-site location.
E. The county recorder or other officer in charge of early balloting shall provide an alphabetized list of all voters in the precinct who have requested and have been sent an early ballot to the election board of the precinct in which the voter is registered not later than the day prior to the election.
F. As a result of an emergency occurring between 5:00 p.m. on the second Friday preceding the election and 5:00 p.m. on the Monday preceding the election, qualified electors may request to vote early in the manner prescribed by the county recorder of their respective county. For purposes of this subsection, "emergency" means any unforeseen circumstances which would prevent the elector from voting at the polls.
G. A candidate or political committee may distribute early ballot request forms to voters. If the early ballot request forms include a printed address for return to an addressee other than a political subdivision, the addressee shall be the candidate or political committee that paid for the printing and distribution of the request forms. All early ballot request forms that are received by a candidate or political committee shall be transmitted as soon as practicable to the political subdivision that will conduct the election.
Sec. 3. Effective date
This act is effective from and after December 31, 2001.