Arizona May Do Away With Presidential Primary Election Process

I heard that in 2020 Arizona could go the way of Colorado and voters may not be allowed to vote in Presidential Primary. 

I did a little research and LO and BEHOLD , Yes it could end up becoming a reality. As of today it looks like it's being held on the Senate for a floor vote. 
HB 2567 - Repeals State Presidential Primary Election Process - Key Vote

Arizona Key Votes

Stages

·                Feb. 10, 2016 House Bill Passed

·                Feb. 1, 2016 Introduced

Family

·                HB 2567 - Repeals State Presidential Primary Election Process

Issues

·                Campaign Finance and Elections

Stage Details

Legislation - Bill Passed (House) (37-22) - Feb. 10, 2016(Key vote)

Title: Repeals State Presidential Primary Election Process

Vote Result

37 Yeas 21 Nays

Yea Votes

34

Nay Votes

19

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that repeals the state presidential preference primary election, effective following the 2016 election.

Highlights:

·                Repeals the requirement to hold a presidential preference election on March 15, of each year in which the President of the United States is elected (Sec. 4).

·                Requires the chairman of a national political party to provide the secretary of state certain information no later than September 1, in a presidential election year, including the following information (Sec. 5):

·                The nominee’s name, residence address, and mailing address;

·              The name of the political party that nominated the nominees; and

·                The exact manner for printing the nominees’ names on the ballot.

·                Appropriates $6.1 million from the state general fund to the secretary of state to reimburse expenses incurred by counties for the administration of the 2016 presidential preference election (Sec. 8).

See The Voting Record
Full Bill Text

Legislation - Introduced (House) - Feb. 1, 2016

Title: Repeals State Presidential Primary Election Process

Sponsors

·                David M. Gowan Sr. (AZ - R) 

Arizona's Presidential Preference Primary on Way Out

·       The Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday unanimously passed SB 1486 which removes state funding for Presidential Preference Primaries.

·       The bill allows political parties to pay for a primary if they want one in Arizona.

·       Sen. Steve Farley, D-Tucson, suggested a way future primaries could be paid for.

·       "If the parties of either kind decide they don’t like this bill, I think it would be a really good idea if they asked the presidential candidates themselves to underwrite it next time," Farley said. "That way we can bring all that money going to other states to pay for our own stuff that they are benefiting from.”

·       SB 1486 is sponsored by Senate President Andy Biggs and has the backing of Secretary of State Michele Reagan.

·       The proposal did not affect March 2016 presidential preference primary, which is paid for by the state.

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Second Legislature, Second Regular Session

FACT SHEET FOR S.B. 1486

presidential preference election; appropriation; repeal

Purpose

 Repeals statute requiring that a presidential preference election (PPE) be held and appropriates monies from the state General Fund (GF) in FY 2016 to the Secretary of State for the purpose of reimbursing expenses incurred by counties for administration of the 2016 presidential preference election.

Background

 A.R.S. § 16-241 states that a presidential preference election shall be held each year in which the President of the United States is elected to give qualified electors the opportunity to express their preference for the presidential candidate of the political party indicated as their preference by the record of their registration. 

Prior to 2012, A.R.S. § 16-250 required the Secretary of State to reimburse counties at a rate of $1.25 per active registered voter in that county on January 1 of the PPE year.  Laws 2012, Chapter 361 required the Secretary of State to reimburse counties for 100 percent of the costs incurred for each PPE. PPE elections differ from all-mail and traditional elections in that they have a separate ballot for each recognized political party and no other election may appear on the PPE ballot.

The FY 2016 Government Budget Reconciliation Bill (Laws 2015, Chapter 12), repealed the 100 percent reimbursement rate established in Laws 2012, Chapter 361. 

The FY 2016 Government BRB returned the reimbursement rate to $1.25 per active registered voter, the rate established in statute prior to Laws 2012, Chapter 361.

The impact to the state GF associated with this legislation is the amount of the appropriation.

Provisions

1.   Repeals current statute requiring that a PPE be held.

 2.   Establishes a new process for submittal of nominees’ information for a political party’s national convention.  On completion of a national convention and the nomination of a party’s candidates for president and vice-president, requires the chairman of the national political party to provide the following information:

a)      each nominee’s name, residence address and mailing address;

b)      the name of the political party that nominated the nominees; and

c)      the exact manner for printing the nominees’ names on the ballot.

 3.   Exempts political party nominees for president and vice-president from compliance with primary election law as a prerequisite to having the candidate’s name on the official ballot.

 4.   Appropriates $6,096,767 from the state GF in FY 2015-2016 to the Secretary of State, in addition to monies already appropriated, for the purpose of reimbursing expenses incurred by counties for administration of the 2016 presidential preference election.

5.   Requires the Secretary of State to reimburse counties based on the number of active registered voters in that county on January 1, 2016, as follows:

Number of Official Active Voters	Amount per Active Registered Voter
450,000 or more	$2.50 or actual expenses incurred up to the amount of estimated cost, whichever is less
35,000 to less than 450,000	$3.00 or actual expenses incurred up to the amount of estimated cost, whichever is less
Less than 35,000	$3.50 or actual expenses incurred up to the amount of estimated cost, whichever is less

6.   Requires a county to submit its certified claims to the Secretary of State not later than June 1, 2016.

7.   Prohibits the Secretary of State from reimbursing counties for:

a)      regular pay and associated employer related expenses for permanent county employees;

b)      maintenance of infrastructure, machinery and equipment; or

c)      any expenditure that is not reimbursable as prescribed by the State of Arizona accounting manual issued by the Department of Administration general accounting office and in effect on January 1, 2016.

8.   Requires the Secretary of State to submit a report by October 1, 2016, to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting regarding reimbursements made.

9.   Changes the heading of Title 16, Chapter 2, Article 4, Arizona Revised Statutes, from PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE ELECTION to NATIONAL POLITICAL PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES.

 10. Contains technical and conforming changes.

 11. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Prepared by Senate Research

February 8, 2016

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