ARIZONA STATE SENATE
RESEARCH STAFF
|
ZACK DEAN |
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LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH ANALYST JUDICIARY & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE Telephone: (602) 926-3171 |
TO: MEMBERS OF THE SENATE
JUDICIARY & ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
DATE: February 16, 2026
SUBJECT: Strike everything amendment to S.B. 1568, relating to elections systems; software; timekeeping; requirements
Purpose
Prescribes internal timekeeping requirements for election systems and software and requires timekeeping requirements to be verified for compliance.
Background
Statute requires automatic tabulating equipment and programs to be tested for logic and accuracy to determine whether the equipment and programs will correctly count votes cast for all offices and measures. Notice of the time and place of the test must be given at least 48 hours prior to the test in outlined publications. The test must be observed by at least two election inspectors not from the same party, and must also be open to political parties, candidates, the press and the public. The test must be conducted by processing a preaudited group of ballots marked to record a predetermined number of valid votes and must also include ballots with votes in excess of the number allowed by law in order to test the ability of the equipment to reject such votes. An errorless test must be conducted before the automatic tabulating equipment and programs are approved for use in the election (A.R.S. § 16-449).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Requires all election systems and software, when utilized in an election period, to have internal clocks and timekeeping functions set and maintained to within 60 seconds of the official time provided by the National Institute for Standards and Technology, adjusted for the local Arizona time zone.
2. Stipulates that the above requirement applies throughout the election period for all timestamps generated for logs, records, affidavits, cure periods, ballot issuance, processing, tests and audit purposes.
3. Requires a county board of supervisors and a county recorder, for systems under their respective duties, to:
a) set and verify compliance with timekeeping during the pre-election preparation, programming, data entry, system setup and voter registration activities;
b) verify compliance as part of each required test and review of equipment and systems, including logic and accuracy testing, and any compatibility or security reviews for voter registration systems;
c) maintain and re-verify time accuracy during the election period, including on election day, during central counting, early ballot processing, signature verification and all other related processes; and
d) perform and document a final time accuracy verification as part of post-election procedures, including canvass, audits, recounts and chain-of-custody reviews where timestamps are material.
4. Requires all listed verifications to be documented in the Elections Procedures Manual, including methods, frequency, responsible personnel and any corrective actions for noncompliance.
5. Classifies a violation of these requirements as a class 2 misdemeanor.
6. Requires logic and accuracy testing for tabulating equipment to verify that any internal clocks and timekeeping functions comply with prescribed time accuracy requirements.
7. Requires any deviation from time accuracy requirements to be corrected and retested during logic and accuracy testing.
8. Defines election systems and software and election period.
9. Becomes effective on the general effective date.