ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session
	House: APPROP DPA/SE 16-0-0-1 | 3^rd Read: 59-0-1-0 Senate: ELEC DPA/SE 7-0-1-0 | 3^rd Read: 30-0-0-0

---

HB 2497: technical correction; joint school district

NOW: judicial offices; petitions; electronic signatures

Sponsor: Representative Bliss, LD 1

Senate Engrossed

The House Engrossed version of HB 2497 requires the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to review each requirement for ADE or public schools to report to the Legislature and recommend consolidating or eliminating duplicative and obsolete reports.

The Senate adopted a strike-everything amendment that does the following:

Overview

Authorizes judicial offices and candidates for clerk of the superior court to collect up to 125% of the total number of required nomination petitions through E-Qual.

History

Statute requires candidates to submit a minimum number of nomination petition signatures to the appropriate filing officer at least 120 days before the election. A candidate for superior court judge, for instance, must submit at least 1% but not more than 10% of the qualified signers in the county or district.  Candidates for superior court judge in counties with a population of 200,000 persons or more, however, must submit at least ¼ of 1% but not more than 10% of the total number of qualified signers in the county or district (A.R.S. §§ 16-314, 16-322).

Laws 2014, Chapter 45 directed the Secretary of State to establish a system to allow voters to sign nomination petitions for statewide and legislative candidates through a secure online portal. The Secretary of State subsequently implemented the E-Qual system. In 2016, the legislature passed a law that expanded, beginning in 2017, the use of E-Qual to allow candidates for local offices to collect up to the minimum number of required nomination petition signatures through the secure internet portal (A.R.S. § 16-317).

Provisions

1. Directs the Secretary of State to provide a system for qualified electors to sign nomination petitions for candidates for the office of clerk of the superior court and judicial offices that require nominating petitions by way of a secure internet portal. (Sec. 1)

2. Specifies the system must only allow qualified electors who are eligible to sign a petition for a particular candidate to sign the petition. (Sec. 1)

3. Requires the system to provide a method for properly verifying qualified electors identities. (Sec. 1)

4. Authorizes a candidate for judicial office or clerk of the superior court to collect up to 125% of the total number of required nomination petitions through the system outlined above. (Sec. 1)

5.

6.

7. ---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------

8.                   HB 2497

9. Initials AF/JH     Page 0 Senate Engrossed

10.

11. ---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------