Major Win for Arizona Voters: Senate Republicans Pass Election Reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Major Win for Arizona Voters: Senate Republicans Pass Election Reform to Ensure Every Legal Vote is Accurately Counted in a Timely Fashion

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— A bipartisan bill championed by Senate Republicans to improve Arizona's election systems with time-saving reforms that encourage efficiency, transparency, and integrity passed out of the Senate today and will be transmitted to the Governor for signature.

HB 2785 corrects unintended election deadline conflicts stemming from 2022 legislation signed into law with overwhelming bipartisan support to improve voter confidence on tight races. As part of the reforms outlined in HB 2785:

·         County elections officials will be provided with an extra 19 days in the primary election calendar and an extra 17 days in the general election calendar in order to meet several important federal deadlines.

·         Men and women who are serving in our armed forces overseas will be guaranteed the opportunity to cast a ballot in our elections.

·         For the first time since mail-in ballots were introduced in Arizona, signature verification standards will be enshrined into statute.

·         This year, a hard count of early ballots dropped off at the polls by voters on election day will be required to improve security and confidence that all lawful votes will be counted accurately.

·         In 2026, voters may bring their early ballots to the polls on election day and have them counted immediately after showing identification, allowing voters to skip signature verification so that results can be tabulated in a prompt manner and the correct winner declared in a timelier fashion.

·         In 2026, voters will have more choices for polling locations since state and county buildings will be designated as official sites.

"This legislation is a major win for Arizona voters and important in restoring voter confidence in election integrity," said Senate Elections Committee Chair Wendy Rogers. "After months of painstaking discussions among lawmakers, election experts, administrators, county officials, and the executive branch, I'm proud we were able to craft a commonsense solution that all 15 Arizona counties support. It will ensure our service members abroad will have their votes counted on election day, and moreover, it will enable us to accurately determine the winner sooner rather than later."

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov