HB 2046 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

audits; precincts; voting centers

HB 2046 requires Arizona counties to conduct random hand counts of ballots for certain elections to verify results. It mandates that counties select at least 2% of precincts (minimum two) for hand counts, focusing on up to five specific races per election - including statewide measures, federal offices, and state legislative races - while excluding provisional ballots and write-ins. The hand count must be conducted by political party representatives selected by party chairs, with counts beginning after unofficial totals are public. The bill was passed by the legislature but vetoed by the governor on May 6, 2025, so it did not become law.

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

Vetoed

May 2025

Introduced Jan 8, 2025 Vetoed May 6, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version · 7 edits · Apr 29, 2025

MODERATE

This bill significantly expands Arizona's election audit requirements by mandating hand counts of randomly selected precincts, adding detailed procedures for selecting races to audit, establishing a vote count verification committee, and creating requirements for post-election manual audits of early ballots. The changes aim to increase transparency and accuracy in election results through more rigorous verification processes.

Scope change

The bill applies to all countywide primary, special, general, and presidential preference elections, expanding from the previous version which had less detailed audit procedures.

REQUIREMENT

Added mandatory hand count procedures requiring at least 2% of precincts or voting centers to be randomly selected and audited by hand.

Established a vote count verification committee in the secretary of state's office with specific expertise requirements and designated margin review responsibilities.

Created detailed procedures for selecting races to be hand counted, including specific categories like statewide measures, federal offices, and state legislative offices.

Added requirements for manual audits of early ballots with specific thresholds for when expanded audits must be conducted.

Established compensation requirements for political party designees performing hand counts and specific timelines for their participation.

Added provisions for source code review by a special master when hand counts are expanded to entire jurisdictions.

Changed the selection process for hand counts from county political party chairpersons to include state chairpersons and higher-ranking officials if county chairpersons fail to provide sufficient personnel.

Floor votes · House Feb 6, 2025

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 6, 2025

Vetoed

Vetoed by Governor

executive

Apr 29, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Apr 17, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

Mar 26, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

Feb 6, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

Jan 22, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors