The State Senate passed legislation down party lines sponsored by State Senator Mark Finchem (R-Prescott) on Monday that would increase the security of paper ballots. SB 1123 requires the use of at least three of 10 fraud countermeasures on ballots. Accusations arose in recent elections that unofficial ballots were submitted that did not conform to the required standards, raising suspicions they were artificially inserted into the elections process by bad actors. The bill moves to the State House of Representatives next.
“Arizonans deserve fair and accurate elections, free from fraud and illegal influence,” said Finchem in a statement released by Senate Republicans. “This bill was carefully crafted and is a commonsense solution that will increase voter confidence. By adding these countermeasures to our ballots, we can ensure that every vote is accurately counted, verified, and speaks to citizens and the right to exercise their franchise. Fraud has no place in our election system, and this bill will make it more of a challenge for bad actors to manipulate the system.”
The 10 fraud countermeasures are specified in the legislation. They are:
1) watermarked security paper;
2) secure holographic foil that acts as a visual deterrent and anti-copy feature;
3) branded overprint of any hologram that personalizes the hologram with customer logo;
4) custom complex security background designs with banknote-level security;
5) secure variable digital infill;
6) thermochromic variable inks;
7) stealth numbering in ultraviolet, infrared or taggant inks;
8) multicolored micro-numismatic invisible ultraviolet designs;
9) unique forensic fraud detection technology that is built into security inks; or
10) unique barcode or QR code that is accessible only to the voter and that tracks the voter’s ballot as it is processed.
