AZ HB2197

Requires the officer in charge of elections to attempt to notify voters when ballots are damaged or defective and offer them the opportunity to cast a new ballot or provide written authorization for ballot duplication.

If the officer cannot contact the voter, they must create a true duplicate copy of the damaged ballot in the presence of witnesses and substitute it for the original.

All duplicate ballots must be clearly labeled "duplicate" and assigned a serial number that is recorded on the damaged ballot.

Maintains existing provisions requiring live video recording of ballot custody in tabulation rooms with date and time indicators, linked to the Secretary of State's website.

Requires election officers to maintain chain of custody records for all election equipment and ballots from early voting through completion of provisional voting tabulation.