Senate Passes Bill to Lock In Election Safeguards, Protect Overseas Military Ballots

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 5, 2026

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— Senate Judiciary & Elections Committee Chair Wendy Rogers is taking action to lock in election rules that protect military voters, eliminate calendar confusion, and reinforce transparency at polling locations statewide with SB 1425 passing the Senate today.

SB 1425 permanently moves Arizona's primary election from August 4 to July 21, a two-week shift that resolves timing conflicts affecting military voters serving overseas. Federal law requires ballots to be sent by a specific deadline, and Arizona's previous election calendar jeopardized that. By moving the primary earlier, SB 1425 ensures ballots are mailed on time and gives service members a fair opportunity to receive, complete, and return their ballots.

SB 1425 also strengthens transparency by clearly requiring that authorized political party observers be allowed at voting locations, including early voting and emergency voting sites. In addition, the bill includes technical updates to ensure election timelines are applied consistently statewide, providing certainty heading into the 2026 election cycle.

"This is a commonsense update with broad bipartisan support because it fixes real problems voters and candidates care about," said Senator Rogers. "We're protecting military ballots, locking in clear election deadlines, and ensuring elections are conducted openly and according to the law. I appreciate Representative Kolodin for working with us on his mirror legislation so we could move one strong, unified bill forward. When lawmakers come together to strengthen election rules and restore confidence in the process, Arizona voters win."

The measure now heads to the Governor's desk for signature.

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov