Eyes on the Ballot Box: Arizona's 2026 Election Transparency Reforms
By: Linley Wilson and Alexandria J. Saquella
On February 6, 2026, Governor Katie Hobbs signed House Bill (“HB”) 2022 into law as an emergency measure, enacting several immediate changes to Arizona's election administration. Chief among these reforms is a shift in the state’s primary election calendar. Arizona’s primary will now take place on the second-to-last Tuesday in July rather than the first Tuesday in August, moving the 2026 Primary Election from August 4 to July 21. Importantly, nomination petitions and city, town, or county initiative petitions that were collected using the former August 4 date will remain valid and will not be invalidated because of the calendar change.
The new law also tightens provisional ballot processing timelines. HB2022 amends A.R.S. § 16-135 to shorten the deadline from ten days to seven calendar days for general elections that include federal offices, and from five business days to five calendar days for all other elections.
Beyond these procedural adjustments, HB2022 also strengthens political party observation rights. County party chairmen may now designate party representatives and alternates at each ballot replacement location, provided those representatives are Arizona residents registered to vote. The legislation also clarifies that party representatives may be designated for polling places, voting centers, in-person early voting locations, and emergency voting locations by updating statutory terminology from "polling place" to "voting place" throughout.
These statutory changes are reinforced by updates to the Elections Procedures Manual (“EPM”). The 2023 EPM stated that political party representatives are “permitted to observe” at voting locations and central counting places, but the 2025 EPM strengthens this language. The 2025 EPM provides that party representatives and credentialed federal observers “are permitted to observe voting and central counting places for partisan elections, as prescribed by law,” therefore reinforcing the laws as amended by HB2022.
Taken together, these important updates secured through HB2022 and the 2025 EPM promote election transparency by moving the primary to July, shortening provisional ballot deadlines, and affirming political parties’ clear right to observe Arizona’s elections at voting locations, ballot replacement centers, and central counting places.
2026 Arizona Election Calendar – Statewide Primary and General Elections
