SB1123

THE CONTEXT: In 2022 the Arizona Supreme Court struck down the entire FY 2022 Budget Procedures BRB for violating the Arizona Constitution's title requirement ( Arizona School Boards Association Inc. et al.

WHAT THE BILL DID: The final vetoed version would require any vendor that provides fraud countermeasures for the paper used on ballots be ISO 27001 certified, ISO 17025 certified or ISO 9001:2015 certified and mandate ballot fraud countermeasures include at least three of the following: a) unique, controlled-supply watermarked clearing bank specification 1 security paper; b) secure holographic foil that acts as a visual deterrent and anti-copy feature; c) branded overprint of any hologram that personalizes the hologram with customer logo; d) custom complex security background designs with banknote-level security; e) secure variable digital infill; f) thermochromic, tri-thermochromic, photochromic or optically variable inks; g) stealth numbering in ultraviolet, infrared or taggant inks; h) multicolored micro-numismatic invisible ultraviolet designs; i) unique forensic fraud detection technology that is built into security inks; or j) unique bar code or QR code that is accessible only to the voter and that tracks the voter's ballot as it is processed; k) l) m).

WHY IT MATTERED: The practical reason for this bill was to turn the Legislature's standard for watermark into an enforceable rule. It would require any vendor that provides fraud countermeasures for the paper used on ballots be ISO 27001 certified, ISO 17025 certified or ISO 9001:2015 certified, and would also mandate ballot fraud countermeasures include at least three of the following: a) unique, controlled-supply watermarked clearing bank specification 1 security paper; b) secure holographic foil that acts as a visual deterrent and anti-copy feature; c) branded overprint of any hologram that personalizes the hologram with customer logo; d) custom complex security background designs with banknote-level security; e) secure variable digital infill; f) thermochromic, tri-thermochromic, photochromic or optically variable inks; g) stealth numbering in ultraviolet, infrared or taggant inks; h) multicolored micro-numismatic invisible ultraviolet designs; i) unique forensic fraud detection technology that is built into security inks; or j) unique bar code or QR code that is accessible only to the voter and that tracks the voter's ballot as it is processed. k) l) m), rather than leave the current rule unchanged.