The proposed bill, HB2472, modifies the grounds for contesting elections in Arizona and establishes new court procedures for such contests. It expands the acceptable grounds for contesting an election to include votes with broken chains of custody and early votes with inconsistent signatures or personal information. Additionally, it increases the timeframe for courts to set a hearing date from ten to twenty days after a contest is filed and mandates that appeals of final judgments be filed directly with the Arizona Supreme Court, along with specific deadlines for responses and hearings.

Furthermore, the bill enhances the rights of parties involved in election contests by allowing them to physically examine all ballots, ballot images, early ballot envelopes, and elector registration records. It also ensures that parties have full discovery rights related to the election and permits each party to depose up to ten individuals. The bill designates organizations or entities as "persons" for the purpose of inspecting ballots, allowing them to provide a rotating series of individuals for inspections. Overall, HB2472 aims to streamline and clarify the election contest process while expanding the rights of contesting parties.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 16-672, 16-676, 16-677, 16-674
House Engrossed Version: 16-672, 16-676, 16-677, 16-674