Ariz. Rev. Stat. » Title 16

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-502

Form and contents of ballot

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A. Ballots shall be printed with black ink on white paper of sufficient thickness to prevent the printing thereon from being discernible from the back, and the same type shall be used for the names of all candidates.  The ballots shall be headed "official ballot" in bold-faced plain letters, with a heavy rule above and below the heading.  Immediately below shall be placed the words "type of election, (date of election)" and the name of the county and state in which the election is held.  The name or number of the precinct in which the election is held shall be placed on the ballot in a uniform location for all ballots.  No other matter shall be placed or printed at the head of any ballot. Instructions to the voter on marking the ballot may be printed below the heading as follows:

1. Put a mark according to the instructions next to the name of each candidate for each office for whom you wish to vote.

2. If you wish to vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot, write such name in the blank space provided on the ballot and put a mark according to the instructions next to the name so written.

3. Put a mark according to the instructions next to the word "yes" or "for" for each proposition or question you wish to be adopted.  Put a mark according to the instructions next to the word "no" or "against" for each proposition or question you wish not to be adopted.

B. Immediately below the ballot instructions shall be placed the following:

Section One

Partisan Ballot

C. Immediately below the heading for section one there shall be placed in columns the names of the candidates of the several political parties. Next to each candidate's name there shall be printed in bold-faced letters the name of the political party.  At the head of each column shall be printed the names of the offices to be filled with the name of each office being of uniform type size.  At the head of each column shall be printed in the following order the names of candidates for:

1. Presidential electors, which shall be in a list and next to the list shall be printed in bold type the surname of the presidential candidate, and the surname of the vice presidential candidate who is seeking election jointly with the presidential candidate shall be listed directly below the name of the presidential candidate. The indicator for the selection of the presidential and vice presidential candidates shall be directly next to the surname of the presidential candidate, and one mark directly next to a presidential candidate's surname shall be counted as a vote for each elector in the list next to the presidential and vice presidential candidates.

2. United States senator.

3. Representatives in Congress.

4. The several state offices.

5. The several county and precinct offices.

D. The names of candidates for the offices of state senator and state representative along with the district number shall be placed within the heading of each column to the right of the office name for state offices and immediately below the candidates for the office of governor. The number of the supervisorial district of which a candidate is a nominee shall be printed within the heading of each column to the right of the name of the office.

E. The lists of the candidates of the several parties shall be arranged with the names of the parties in descending order according to the votes cast for governor for that county in the most recent general election for the office of governor, commencing with the left-hand column.  In the case of political parties that did not have candidates on the ballot in the last general election, such parties shall be listed in alphabetical order below the parties that did have candidates on the ballot in the last general election. The names of all candidates nominated under section 16-341 shall be placed in a single column below that of the recognized parties.  Next to the name of each candidate, in parentheses, shall be printed a three-letter abbreviation that is taken from the three words prescribed in the candidate's certificate of nomination.

F. Immediately below the designation of the office to be voted for shall appear the words: "Vote for not more than _________" (insert the number to be elected).

G. In each column at the right or left of the name of each candidate and on the same line there shall be a place for the voter to put a mark.  Below the name of the last named candidate for each office there shall be as many blank lines as there are offices of the same title to be filled, with a place for the voter to put a mark.  On the blank line the voter may write the name of any person for whom the voter desires to vote whose name is not printed, and next to the name so written the voter shall designate his choice by a mark as in the case of printed names.

H. When there are two or more candidates of the same political party for the same office, or more than one candidate for a judicial office, the names of all such candidates shall be so alternated on the ballots used in each election district that the name of each candidate shall appear substantially an equal number of times in each possible location.  If there are fewer or the same number of candidates seeking office than the number to be elected, the rotation of names is not required and the names shall be placed in alphabetical order.

I. Immediately below section one of the ballot shall be placed the following:

Section Two

Nonpartisan Ballot

J. Immediately below the heading for section two shall be placed the names of the candidates for justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals, judges of the superior court standing for retention or rejection pursuant to article VI, section 38, Constitution of Arizona, judges of the superior court standing for election pursuant to article VI, section 12, Constitution of Arizona, school district officials and other nonpartisan officials in a column or in columns without partisan or other designation except the title of office in an order determined by the officer in charge of the election.

K. Immediately below the offices listed in subsection J of this section, the ballot shall contain a separate heading of any nonpartisan office for a vacant unexpired term and shall include the expiration date of the term of the vacated office.

L. All proposed constitutional amendments and other propositions or questions to be submitted to the voters shall be printed immediately below the names of candidates for nonpartisan positions in such order as the secretary of state, or if a city or town election, the city or town clerk, designates. Placement of county and local charter amendments, propositions or questions shall be determined by the officer in charge of the election.  Except as provided by section 19-125, each proposition or question shall be followed by the words "yes" and "no" or "for ______" and "against ______" as the nature of the proposition or question requires, and at the right or left of and next to each of such words shall be a place for the voter to put a mark according to the instructions that is similar in size to those places appearing opposite the names of the candidates, in which the voter may indicate his vote for or against such proposition or question by a mark as defined in section 16-400.

M. Instead of printing the official and descriptive titles or the full text of each measure or question on the official ballot, the officer in charge of elections may print phrases on the official ballot that contain all of the following:

1. The number of the measure in reverse type and at least twelve point type.

2. The designation of the measure as prescribed by section 19-125, subsection C or as a question, proposition or charter amendment, followed by the words "relating to..." and inserting the subject.

3. Either the statement prescribed by section 19-125, subsection D that describes the effects of a "yes" vote and a "no" vote or, for other measures, the text of the question or proposition.

4. The words "yes" and "no" or "for" and "against", as may be appropriate and a place for the voter to put a mark.

N. For any ballot printed pursuant to subsection M of this section, the instructions on the official ballot shall direct the voter to the full text of the official and descriptive titles and the questions and propositions as printed on the sample ballot and posted in the polling place.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1958–2023 · leading case: Nancy Carola Jacobsen v. Florida Secretary of State
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Nancy Carola Jacobsen v. Florida Secretary of State (2020) ca11 “Some rotated the names of candidates by ballot or voting precinct, but others established a uniform ballot order based on the votes a party received in the last general election, candidate last name, the order in which nominating petitions were received, or lottery.”
Clifton v. Decillis (1996) ariz · cites it 4× “A.R.S. § 16-502(E). 2 Thus, the party designation on the nominating petition is essentially irrelevant for the general election.”
Nancy Carola Jacobsen v. Florida Secretary of State (2020) ca11 “Some rotated the names of candidates by ballot or voting precinct, but others established a uniform ballot order based on the votes a party received in the last general election, candidate last name, the order in which nominating petitions were received, or lottery.”
City of Tucson v. State (2011) arizctapp · cites it 4× “Addressing the administration of the city's primary elections and nomination of officers, this section incorporates state election law, found in title 16, A.”
Board of Supervisors of Pima County v. Harrington (1958) ariz · cites it 10× “A.R.S. § 16-502 provides that: "At a primary election, each political party entitled and intending to make nominations for the ensuing general or *166 special election shall, if it desires to have the names of its candidates printed on the official ballot at such general or…”
Blawis v. Bolin (1973) azd · cites it 2× “The Arizona law clearly contemplates that parties and their candidates shall be elected first through the primary system, but that doors are left open for single individuals to qualify as nonpartisan candidates.”
Mecinas v. Hobbs (2020) azd · cites it 6× “9 A.R.S. § 16-502(C). This identification provides voters with visual cues when searching 10 for their preferred party on the ballot.”
Workers v. Tempe (2023) arizctapp · cites it 5× “Similarly, unlike in A.R.S. §§ 16-502 and 19- 123 to -125, nothing in A.”
Workers v. Tempe (2023) arizctapp · cites it 5× “Similarly, unlike in A.R.S. §§ 16-502 and 19- 123 to -125, nothing in A.”
Blawis v. Bolin (1973) azd · cites it 2× “The Arizona law clearly contemplates that parties and their candidates shall be elected first through the primary system, but that doors are left open for single individuals to qualify as nonpartisan candidates.”
City of Tucson v. State of Arizona Southern Arizona Leadership Council Senator Jonathan Paton (2011) arizctapp · cites it 2× “, A.R.S. § 16-502(B), (C). And, although the state is correct that the statutes also address nonpartisan nomination of candidates, see A.”
Az Public Integrity v. Adrian Fontes (2020) ariz “To prevent overvotes, § 16-502(F) 6 ARIZONA PUBLIC INTEGRITY ALLIANCE, ET AL.”
— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-502(A) — 2 cases
Workers v. Tempe (2023) arizctapp “Similarly, unlike in A.R.S. §§ 16-502 and 19- 123 to -125, nothing in A.”
Workers v. Tempe (2023) arizctapp “Similarly, unlike in A.R.S. §§ 16-502 and 19- 123 to -125, nothing in A.”
— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-502(B) — 2 cases
City of Tucson v. State (2011) arizctapp “Addressing the administration of the city's primary elections and nomination of officers, this section incorporates state election law, found in title 16, A.”
City of Tucson v. State of Arizona Southern Arizona Leadership Council Senator Jonathan Paton (2011) arizctapp “, A.R.S. § 16-502(B), (C). And, although the state is correct that the statutes also address nonpartisan nomination of candidates, see A.”
— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-502(C) — 1 case
Mecinas v. Hobbs (2020) azd “9 A.R.S. § 16-502(C). This identification provides voters with visual cues when searching 10 for their preferred party on the ballot.”
— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-502(E) — 2 cases
Clifton v. Decillis (1996) ariz “A.R.S. § 16-502(E). 2 Thus, the party designation on the nominating petition is essentially irrelevant for the general election.”
Mecinas v. Hobbs (2020) azd “9 A.R.S. § 16-502(C). This identification provides voters with visual cues when searching 10 for their preferred party on the ballot.”
— Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 16-502(F) — 1 case
Az Public Integrity v. Adrian Fontes (2020) ariz “To prevent overvotes, § 16-502(F) 6 ARIZONA PUBLIC INTEGRITY ALLIANCE, ET AL.”
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