ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
clean elections; voter
pamphlet
An emergency measure
requiring the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, rather than the county board
of supervisors, to mail a copy of the voter education pamphlet to every
household of a registered voter.
Contains a Proposition 105 clause.
The Citizens Clean Elections
Act, a campaign finance reform measure, was established by the passage of Proposition
200 in the 1998 general election. The
Act created a campaign financing system that provides funding to qualified
candidates who agree to abide by Citizens Clean Elections Commission
(Commission) guidelines.
The Citizens Clean Elections
Act established a procedure to educate voters on the candidates running for
each office. The Commission mailed a
200-word statement for each candidate to every household of a registered voter
for the 2000 general election. However, the Commission has since amended the
rule to limit the candidate’s statement to 100 words for the 2002 general
election. The candidate statement also
indicates if the candidate is a participating candidate or not.
Currently, statute requires
the county board of supervisors to include a message from each candidate in the
mailings for early and sample ballots for both the primary and general
elections. The board is then required
to submit a claim of the extra cost of including the messages in the mailings
to the Commission for reimbursement from the citizens clean elections
fund. County representatives have
indicated that it would be extremely expensive to mail the candidate statements
with the early and sample ballots for the primary and general elections because
it would require larger envelopes, increased postage and additional staff for
all 15 Arizona counties.
There is an unknown fiscal
impact to the Commission for mailing the voter education pamphlet and other
associated costs. The cost of the
mailing is paid from the clean elections fund.
Therefore, there is no fiscal impact to the state general fund
associated with this legislation.
1. Requires the Commission to mail a copy of the voter education pamphlet before the primary and general election containing a statement from each candidate to every household with a registered voter. Requires the pamphlet to indicate if a statement was not provided.
2. Requires the pamphlet to contain the names of every candidate for the statewide or legislative office without regard to whether the candidate is a participating or non-participating candidate.
3. Requiring the pamphlet to be easily distinguishable from the publicity pamphlet produced by the Secretary of State. Details the format of the pamphlets cover.
4. Allows the pamphlet to be mailed over a period of days provided that it is delivered to the household before the earliest date for receipt of an early ballot by any registered voter requesting an early ballot for the primary and general election.
5. Eliminates the county board of supervisors’ duty to mail voter education pamphlets with early and sample ballots.
6. Removes the requirement that the county board of supervisors apply to the Commission for reimbursement of cost for including the candidate message in early and sample ballot mailings.
7. Makes technical and conforming changes.
8. Contains a Proposition 105 clause.
9. Becomes effective on signature of the Governor.
Amendments
Adopted by Committee of the Whole
1. Requires the Commission to mail the voter education pamphlet to the household of each registered voter before the general election as well as the primary election.
2. Requires the pamphlet to include all of the candidates names and statement, if a statement is submitted.
3. Specifies the format requirements for the pamphlet.
Amendments Adopted by House of Representatives
· Makes technical and conforming changes.
Senate Action House
Action
GOV 2/4/02 DP 4-0-2-0 JUD 4/22/02 DP 7-3-0-0
3rd Read 3/21/02 27-2-1-0 3rd Read 5/2/02 50-8-2-0
Final Read 5/9/02 24-3-3-0
Signed by Governor 5/15/02
Chapter 212
Prepared by Senate Staff
May 24, 2002