Legislation
State: Arizona
Signed: May 05, 2021
Effective: September 29, 2021
Chapter: 319
Summary
House Bill 2308 affects the legitimacy of elector signatures on recall petition sheets due to improper notarizations.
Affects
Amends in pertinent part Section 19-208.01 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.
Changes
- Provides that an election filing officer must, within 10 days after submission of a recall petition, remove those sheets on which the (a) circulator's affidavit is not notarized, (b) Notary's signature is missing, (c) Notary's commission has expired, (d) Notary's seal is not affixed, or (e) signatures of the circulator or Notary are dated earlier than the dates on which the electors signed the petition sheet.
AnalysisHouse Bill 2308 is one of many bills reforming elections introduced and enacted in statehouses throughout the country this legislative session. While the bill doesn’t directly prescribe or prohibit activities of Notaries, it does highlight the care with which Notaries must handle recall petitions requiring notarization. As noted in “Changes,” above, an election filing officer now must disqualify sheets containing recall signatures that are improperly notarized. In particular, filing officers will be disqualifying those sheets without a Notary signature or seal and signatures of the circulator or Notary that are dated earlier than the dates on which electors signed the petition sheets. These errors and poor practices undoubtedly have plagued recall petitions in the past to the degree that they now must addressed in the law. Notaries must understand that following proper procedure is extremely important in a matter affecting the voting rights of the Arizona population.
Read House Bill 2308.