Legal Corner: 2017 Election Legislation

By: Christina Estes-Werther, General Counsel, League of Arizona Cities and Towns

The Legislature completed its work and adjourned sine die on May 10, 2017. Last year, the comprehensive rewrite of campaign finance laws dominated election law changes but this year was a more typical legislative session for election law revisions. This article will provide an overview of 2017 election legislation affecting cities and towns and unless otherwise noted, the legislation is not effective until the general effective date of August 9, 2017.

Changes Affecting Candidates

H.B. 2486 redefines “election cycle.” Last year's campaign finance legislation established the end of the election cycle to be the general election date, which resulted in the election cycle terminating during the middle of the reporting period. The bill realigns the election cycle with the reporting schedule - for cities and towns the new definition means the two-year period beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter after the quarter in which the city or town's second, runoff or general election is scheduled, and ending on the last day of the calendar quarter in which the second, runoff or general election is scheduled. A simpler method of understanding this definition is to determine when your city or town schedules a runoff and the last day of that quarter is when the election cycle ends. For example, a city or town that holds its election in August 2018 and schedules a runoff in November 2018 has an election cycle that will end on December 31, 2018 since that is the last day of the calendar quarter when the runoff is scheduled, regardless of whether a runoff is held. The next election cycle begins January 1, 2019. The election cycle definition is paramount for all political committees since it determines the start and end dates of contribution limits for a specific office or measure.

H.B. 2486 also specifies that a special election “election cycle” means the period between the date of issuance of a proclamation or order calling the special election and the last day of the calendar quarter in which the special election is held. The statute was previously silent on this issue so this modification clarifies that there is a separate contribution limit based on a special election, similar to a recall election.

The final change from this bill requires a candidate to list the office sought on the Statement of Organization only if the candidate is seeking more than one office. Last year's campaign finance enactment had previously required all candidates to list the office sought on the Statement of Organization.

It is important to note that H.B. 2486 contains an emergency clause and became effective on May 1, 2017 when the Governor signed the bill. However, the bill also includes a retroactivity clause to November 5, 2016 so the provisions extend back to the day after the 2016 general election and this legislation is currently in effect.

Another bill affecting candidates is S.B. 1200. The bill expands when a write-in candidate is ineligible for the primary election to include if the candidate withdrew from the primary election after a challenge was filed, or was removed from or was otherwise determined by the court to be ineligible for the primary election ballot. The bill also prohibits a person from being eligible to run as a candidate for two federal offices simultaneously unless the person is running for the offices of president or vice-president to prevent a situation that occurred during the 2016 election.

Initiative & Referendum

H.B. 2404 allows any person to file an action challenging compliance with initiative and referendum laws, contest the validity of an initiative or referendum, and seek to enjoin the Secretary of State or other officer from certifying or printing the official ballot that will include the proposed measure (multiple actions must be consolidated). The bill also expands the amount of time to challenge the lawful registration of circulators from five days to ten business days after the filing of petitions. The Legislature's most significant change to the initiative and referendum process does not impact local governments – prohibiting a circulator from being paid by signature only applies to statewide measures.

Additionally, H.B. 2244 requires strict compliance for statewide initiatives. Therefore, local initiative measures may continue to rely on a substantial compliance standard based on previous court decisions. “Voters of Arizona” have filed an application for referendum on both of these measures and “Grassroots Citizens Concerned” also filed an application to refer H.B. 2404 to the ballot (See Secretary of State Initiative & Referendum Filings). The deadline for the referendum petitions to be returned is August 8, 2017 and if sufficient signatures are verified, the measure(s) will be placed on the 2018 general election ballot.

General Election Law Changes

Other election law changes include proactive measures by election officials to protect electronic data and electronic or digital images of ballots (S.B. 1094), requiring that early ballot envelopes do not reveal the voter's selections (S.B. 1238), accepting and processing voter registrations received on the next business day if the voter registration deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday (S.B. 1307), and tightening the current law that prohibits illegal voting by a person who knowingly votes 1) in two or more jurisdictions in Arizona when the person is not a resident of all the jurisdictions, or 2) in Arizona and another state if the ballot contains a federal office in both states and the election day is the same in both states (S.B. 1370).

The final bill impacting cities and towns is S.B. 1152. The bill passed on the last day of session despite previous failed attempts to pass the measure. The bill specifies that a county, city or town election approving or authorizing a transaction privilege tax assessment must be held on the November general election date in even-numbered years. Due to the late passage of this bill, further discussion and research will be conducted on this legislation in consultation with city and town attorneys in order to fully determine its impact on cities and towns.

Conclusion

Compared to last year, this legislative session did not result in as many significant changes to election laws but there are important revisions to know as most cities and towns will hold elections within the next 18 months. The League is committed to keeping cities and towns informed and election updates will be presented at the city attorney conference in June and the clerk's conference in July. Additionally, the League's Election Manual will be updated by the general effective date to include these legislative changes along with any revisions from recent court decisions. For additional resources, please read the League's New Laws Report, which will be published within the next month.