HB 2546 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

school elections; county administration; recorder

HB 2546 would have moved school election administration in Arizona from school districts to county election offices. It required county recorders to maintain voter registration rolls for school elections and mandated that county election officers conduct school elections using the same procedures as county elections. The bill also specified that candidates for school district offices must file nomination papers with the county school superintendent (not the county elections office), aligning school elections with standard county election processes. This bill failed to pass on March 12, 2025, so these changes were never implemented.

Bill status failed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 27, 2025 Last action Mar 12, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version · 4 edits · Feb 13, 2025

MODERATE

This bill clarifies that county recorders and election officers must manage school elections using the same procedures as county elections, and it updates nomination paper filing rules to include school district offices. The changes ensure school elections are administered consistently with other local elections and specify where school district candidates must file their paperwork.

Scope change

The bill's scope now explicitly includes school elections and school district offices under the existing election administration framework, expanding the applicability of nomination paper filing rules to include school district candidates.

REQUIREMENT

Added new section 15-408 requiring county recorders to maintain voter registration rolls for school elections and mandating that county election officers conduct school elections using the same procedures as county elections.

Modified section 16-311 to specify that nomination papers for school district office candidates must be filed with the county school superintendent by 5:00 p.m. on the last filing date, rather than with the county elections officer.

DEFINITION

Updated residency and filing requirements in section 16-311 to explicitly include 'school district' as an eligible jurisdiction for nonpartisan election candidates.

TIMELINE

Added Section 3 stating the act applies to elections conducted from and after December 31, 2025.

Floor votes · House Feb 13, 2025

How they voted

54–0

Passed · 6 other

Total votes 60

Feb 13, 2025

D Democratic27

24 Yea 3

88% Yea

R Republican33

30 Yea 3

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 13, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors