16-153. Voter registration; confidentiality; definitions

A. Eligible persons, and any other registered voter who resides at the same residence address as the eligible person, may request that the general public be prohibited from accessing the eligible person's identifying information, including any of that person's documents and voting precinct number contained in their voter registration record.

B. Eligible persons may request this action by filing an affidavit that states all of the following on an application form developed by the administrative office of the courts in agreement with an association of counties and an organization of peace officers:

1. The person's full legal name, residential address and date of birth.

2. Unless the person is the spouse of a peace officer or the spouse or minor child of a deceased peace officer or the person is a former public official or former judge, the position the person currently holds and a description of the person's duties, except that an eligible person who is protected under an order of protection or injunction against harassment shall instead attach a copy of the order of protection or injunction against harassment.

3. The reasons for reasonably believing that the person's life or safety or that of another person is in danger and that sealing the identifying information and voting precinct number of the person's voting record will serve to reduce the danger.

C. The affidavit shall be filed with the presiding judge of the superior court in the county in which the affiant resides. To prevent multiple filings, an eligible person who is a peace officer, prosecutor, public defender, code enforcement officer, corrections or detention officer, corrections support staff member or law enforcement support staff member shall deliver the affidavit to the peace officer's commanding officer, or to the head of the prosecuting, public defender, code enforcement, law enforcement, corrections or detention agency, as applicable, or that person's designee, who shall file the affidavits at one time. In the absence of an affidavit that contains a request for immediate action and is supported by facts justifying an earlier presentation, the commanding officer, or the head of the prosecuting, public defender, code enforcement, law enforcement, corrections or detention agency, as applicable, or that person's designee, shall not file affidavits more often than quarterly.

D. On receipt of an affidavit or affidavits, the presiding judge of the superior court shall file with the clerk of the superior court a petition on behalf of all requesting affiants. The petition shall have attached each affidavit presented. In the absence of an affidavit that contains a request for immediate action and that is supported by facts justifying an earlier consideration, the presiding judge may accumulate affidavits and file a petition at the end of each quarter.

E. The presiding judge of the superior court shall review the petition and each attached affidavit to determine whether the action requested by each affiant should be granted. The presiding judge of the superior court shall order the sealing for five years of the information contained in the voter record of the affiant and, on request, any other registered voter who resides at the same residence address if the presiding judge concludes that this action will reduce a danger to the life or safety of the affiant.

F. The recorder shall remove the restrictions on all voter records submitted pursuant to subsection E of this section by January 5 in the year after the court order expires. The county recorder shall send by mail one notice to either the former public official, peace officer, spouse of a peace officer, spouse or minor child of a deceased peace officer, public defender, prosecutor, code enforcement officer, corrections or detention officer, corrections support staff member, law enforcement support staff member, employee of the department of child safety or employee of adult protective services who has direct contact with families in the course of employment or the employing agency of a peace officer, public defender, prosecutor, code enforcement officer, corrections or detention officer, corrections support staff member or law enforcement support staff member who was granted an order pursuant to this section of the order's expiration date at least six months before the expiration date. If the notice is sent to the employing agency, the employing agency shall immediately notify the person who was granted the order of the upcoming expiration date. The county recorder may coordinate with the county assessor and county treasurer to prevent multiple notices from being sent to the same person.

G. On entry of the court order, the clerk of the superior court shall file the court order with the county recorder. On receipt of the court order the county recorder shall seal the voter registration of the persons listed in the court order no later than one hundred twenty days from the date of receipt of the court order. To include a subsequent voter registration in the court order, a person listed in the court order shall present to the county recorder at the time of registration a certified copy of the court order or shall provide the county recorder the recording number of the court order. The information in the registration shall not be disclosed and is not a public record.

H. If the court denies an affiant's requested sealing of the voter registration record, the affiant may request a court hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by the court where the petition was filed.

I. On motion to the court, if the presiding judge of the superior court concludes that a voter registration record has been sealed in error or that the cause for the original affidavit no longer exists, the presiding judge may vacate the court order prohibiting public access to the voter registration record.

J. On request by a person who is protected under an order of protection or injunction against harassment and presentation of an order of protection issued pursuant to section 13-3602, an injunction against harassment issued pursuant to section 12-1809 or an order of protection or injunction against harassment issued by a court in another state or a program participant in the address confidentiality program pursuant to title 41, chapter 1, article 3, the county recorder shall seal the voter registration record of the person who is protected and, on request, any other registered voter who resides at the residence address of the protected person. The record shall be sealed no later than one hundred twenty days from the date of receipt of the court order. The information in the registration shall not be disclosed and is not a public record.

K. For the purposes of this section:

1. " Code enforcement officer" means a person who is employed by a state or local government and whose duties include performing field inspections of buildings, structures or property to ensure compliance with and enforce national, state and local laws, ordinances and codes.

2. " Commissioner" means a commissioner of the superior court.

3. " Corrections support staff member" means an adult or juvenile corrections employee who has direct contact with inmates.

4. " Eligible person" means a former public official, peace officer, spouse of a peace officer, spouse or minor child of a deceased peace officer, justice, judge, commissioner, public defender, prosecutor, code enforcement officer, adult or juvenile corrections officer, corrections support staff member, probation officer, member of the board of executive clemency, law enforcement support staff member, employee of the department of child safety or employee of adult protective services who has direct contact with families in the course of employment, national guard member who is acting in support of a law enforcement agency, person who is protected under an order of protection or injunction against harassment or firefighter who is assigned to the Arizona counter terrorism information center in the department of public safety.

5. " Former public official" means a person who was duly elected or appointed to Congress, the legislature or a statewide office, who ceased serving in that capacity and who was the victim of a dangerous offense as defined in section 13-105 while in office.

6. " Judge" means a judge or former judge of the United States district court, the United States court of appeals, the United States magistrate court, the United States bankruptcy court, the United States immigration court, the Arizona court of appeals, the superior court or a municipal court.

7. " Justice" means a justice of the United States or Arizona supreme court or a justice of the peace.

8. " Law enforcement support staff member" means a person who serves in the role of an investigator or prosecutorial assistant in an agency that investigates or prosecutes crimes, who is integral to the investigation or prosecution of crimes and whose name or identity will be revealed in the course of public proceedings.

9. " Peace officer" :

(a) Has the same meaning prescribed in section 1-215.

(b) Includes a federal law enforcement officer or agent who resides in this state and who has the power to make arrests pursuant to federal law.

10. " Prosecutor" means a United States attorney, a county attorney, a municipal prosecutor or the attorney general and includes an assistant or deputy United States attorney, county attorney, municipal prosecutor or attorney general.

11. " Public defender" means a federal public defender, county public defender, county legal defender or county contract indigent defense counsel and includes an assistant or deputy federal public defender, county public defender or county legal defender.