Senator Wendy Rogers introduced SB 1425 because Arizona’s election calendar and verification timelines are no longer aligned with reality, and the result has been confusion, rushed processes, and unnecessary risk to election integrity.
Under current law, the primary election is held in early August, leaving election officials with an extremely tight window to verify signatures, cure ballots, and prepare for the general election. That compression has caused problems year after year.
SB 1425 moves the primary election from the first Tuesday in August to the last Tuesday in July in years when a general or special election is held. This change gives counties more time to complete signature verification, resolve provisional ballots, and prepare accurate ballots for the general election. It also aligns Arizona more closely with federal election deadlines and reduces the pressure that leads to mistakes and rushed decision-making.
The bill also addresses a real-world problem caused by changing election dates. Thousands of candidates and petition circulators collected signatures using official forms that listed the August 4, 2026 primary date. SB 1425 makes clear that those signatures remain valid for the July 28, 2026 primary and cannot be rejected due to clerical errors or a date change outside the control of voters or candidates. No one should be disenfranchised because the government moved the goalposts.
In addition, SB 1425 tightens and clarifies signature verification and ballot curing timelines by using calendar days instead of business days. This creates uniformity, reduces ambiguity, and ensures ballots are resolved promptly. The bill also strengthens transparency by allowing county party chairs to designate challengers and observers at voting locations and ballot replacement sites, ensuring bipartisan oversight throughout the process.
Wendy Rogers introduced SB 1425 to fix known problems, protects voters and candidates from bureaucratic errors, and strengthens oversight at every stage of the election process. This bill reflects priorities voters repeatedly demanded from Republican leadership.
Bill Info: https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/57leg/2R/summary/S.1425JUDE.DOCX.htm