This bill proposes to amend the Arizona Revised Statutes by adding new sections 16-323 and 16-324, which outline updated procedures for verifying candidate petition signatures. Under the new law, the filing officer is required to randomly select five percent of the total signatures for verification within twenty days after the filing deadline. The process for selecting signatures includes specific guidelines for substituting blank lines with eligible signatures, ensuring that each signature has an equal chance of being included in the sample. Additionally, the filing officer must transmit copies of the selected signatures to the county recorders for verification.

The bill also establishes a timeline for county recorders to disqualify signatures based on specific criteria, such as missing information or illegibility, within fifteen days of receiving the signature sheets. The county recorder must certify the disqualified signatures and return the facsimile signature sheets to the filing officer, along with a notice of the certification results to the candidate committee. This structured approach aims to enhance the integrity and efficiency of the signature verification process for candidate nominations.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 16-323, 16-324