SB1518 is a bill that proposes several changes to Arizona's election laws. The bill stipulates that early ballots issued at an early voting location during the early voting period are ready for tabulating and exempt from signature verification if the voter presents and confirms valid identification. It also requires the county recorder or other county officer in charge of elections to transmit all ballot images and the cast vote record in a sortable format to the Secretary of State within 48 hours of the official county canvass. Additionally, the bill mandates that the chain of custody log for early ballots returned at voting locations on election day be available for public inspection within 48 hours after election day.

The bill further outlines that the Secretary of State must establish an electronic portal to receive requests for access to ballot image materials and verify requestor information using established authentication protocols. It also increases the number of days after the declaration of an election canvass within which an elector may contest a state election from five to seven days. The bill defines "cast vote record" and makes technical and conforming changes. Lastly, it specifies that the Secretary of State, county recorder, or other county officer in charge of elections is not liable for any personal identifying information or notations made by the voter that are included in the ballot images. Violation of the declaration to obtain access to the ballot image materials is classified as a class 5 felony.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 16-548, 16-550, 16-552, 16-579, 16-1005, 16-579.02, 16-551, 16-191, 16-591, 16-594, 16-672, 16-584, 16-452
Senate Engrossed Version: 16-550, 16-572, 16-579, 16-579.02, 16-551, 16-191
House Engrossed Version: 16-550, 16-572, 16-579, 16-579.02, 16-551, 16-191
Conference Engrossed Version: 16-407.04, 16-550, 16-572, 16-579, 16-673, 16-579.02, 16-551, 16-191, 16-584, 16-452