20250423_SSA-COMPLETE-UPDATED.PDF
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Board of Supervisors 301 W. Jefferson St., 10th Floor Phoenix, Arizona 85003 Dear Recorder Heap, We write to you today in the hopes that we can soon reach agreement on a Shared Services Agreement (“SSA”) between the Office of the Maricopa County Recorder (the “Recorder”) and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (the “Board”). It is our belief that an SSA is critical to the efficient administration of elections in Maricopa County. To that end, since you unilaterally terminated the then existing SSA in January, we have made repeated efforts to engage in good faith negotiations with you, including in-person meetings and communication through our County Attorney assigned legal counsel that, as you know, became necessary because of your threatened litigation against Maricopa County. It is our belief that it is in the best interests of the Maricopa County voters and all of the hardworking County and Recorder staff for us to reach an agreement as soon as possible. As such, we are providing to you, in formal correspondence, our proposed SSA. Our counsel previously provided this proposal to your counsel on April 12, 2025. It reflects the changes to your April 2nd proposed SSA that the Board’s Chair, Vice-Chair and County staff negotiated in good faith with you and your staff on Friday, April 11, 2025. See Exhibits 1 and 2, redlined and clean draft SSA. We ask that you consider this good faith offer, so that we can move forward with a finalized agreement and finally begin focusing on the important work of administering the best possible elections in service of all voters in Maricopa County. ________________________________________ Chairman Thomas Galvin, District 2 ________________________________________ Vice Chair Kate Brophy McGee, District 3 ________________________________________ Supervisor Mark Stewart, District 1 ________________________________________ Supervisor Debbie Lesko, District 4 ________________________________________ Supervisor Steve Gallardo, District 5 1 EXHIBIT 1 Redlined Revised Negotiated SSA (4.12.25) 2 MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT The MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS (the “Board”) and the MARICOPA COUNTY RECORDER (the “Recorder”) enter into this Shared Services Agreement (“Agreement”) to outline the mutual understanding of the Board and the Recorder (together, the “Parties”) for the management of election-related activities in Maricopa County. 1. Intent of the Agreement. The Parties are charged by the Arizona Revised Statutes with the responsibility of accomplishing certain election-related activities. The Parties have a shared interest in fulfilling their responsibilities and ensuring that elections are administered efficiently and effectively. Therefore, certain services will continue to be shared or delegated in this interest. The purpose of this Agreement is to coordinate election-related activities in Maricopa County for sound economic reasons, efficiency, and public convenience. 2. General Provisions. 2.1. Supersedes Prior Agreements. The Agreement shall supersede and replace all prior agreements and understandings between the Parties, whether oral or written, including without limitation all prior Shared Services Agreements. 2.2. Successors and Assigns. The Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties and their respective representatives, successors, and assigns. The Parties will continue to be bound by all terms of the Agreement without regard to the individuals holding the respective offices of the Parties. The Agreement is intended to be solely for the benefit of the Parties, their successors, and assigns. The Parties represent that they freely and voluntarily enter into the Agreement without any degree of duress or compulsion. 2.3. Amendment. The Agreement may not be amended except by a written amendment signed by each of the Parties. 2.4. Choice of Law. The Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Arizona, including Title 16 of the Arizona Revised Statutes and the operative Elections Procedures Manual (“EPM”) published pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-452. 2.5. Severability. If any term of the Agreement is to any extent invalid, for any reason, including illegality or conflict with applicable law or regulation, or is 3 otherwise unenforceable, such particular term shall be excluded to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability; all other terms hereof shall remain in full force and effect; and, to the extent permitted and possible, the invalid or unenforceable term shall be deemed replaced by a term that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of such invalid or unenforceable term. 2.6. Choice of Law. The Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Arizona, including Title 16 of the Arizona Revised Statutes and the operative Elections Procedures Manual (“EPM”) published pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-452. 2.7. Severability. If any term of the Agreement is to any extent invalid, for any reason, including illegality or conflict with applicable law or regulation, or is otherwise unenforceable, such particular term shall be excluded to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability; all other terms hereof shall remain in full force and effect; and, to the extent permitted and possible, the invalid or unenforceable term shall be deemed replaced by a term that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of such invalid or unenforceable term. 2.8.2.6. Term and Termination. The Agreement shall become effective upon the signature of all the Parties and will continue until terminated by one or both of the Parties. Any Party seeking to terminate the Agreement shall do so by providing written notice to all other Parties a minimum of 90 days prior to the end of a General Election year. The termination date will be effective, and the Agreement terminated, at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the General Election calendar year in which the 90 days’ notice is complete. A notice of termination can be rescinded by the terminating Party at any time before the expiration of the 90 days’ notice, but must be rescinded in a writing signed by the Party that invoked this Termination Clause. Any such revocation of termination must be accepted in writing by the other Party. 3. Election Administration Generally The Parties hereby agree to work together to administer elections as required by Arizona law for the benefit of Maricopa County’s citizens, as detailed in this Agreement. In addition to their individual responsibilities as delineated herein, the Parties agree as follows: 3.1. Nomenclature. Given the unique nature of a shared responsibility for a subject matter (election administration) between two elected bodies (the Board and the Recorder), and the resulting potential confusion in the general 4 public, the Recorder and the Board will clearly define their respective election operations, departments, events, and communications as connected to either the Recorder or the Board, and not “the Elections Department,” generally.. 3.2. Communications Department. Pursuant to this Agreement, the Recorder and the Board will each utilize their own communications departments to publicize their messages related to elections and election administration. The Board and the Recorder are each free to speak about election administration but will be respectful of the other’s communications and positions as partners in the administration of elections and will coordinate their messages where it is advantageous and practical for them to do so. The Recorder will be responsible for responding as the Recorder sees fit to all e-mailed or messaged constituent inquiries relating to the Recorder’s particular responsibilities, as will the Board for its particular responsibilities. 3.2. 3.3. Human Resources. Except as set forth in ¶ 4.2 concerning temporary employees, infra, and except as regulated by other law or regulation regarding the appointment of Chief Deputies by the Board for the County’s elected officers, the Parties will each be responsible for the human resources for their own employees, including decisions related to the discipline, training, coaching, development, hiring, and firing of their employees. Recorder’s office employees, like employees of all other County Elected Offices, are subject to certain County policies. Unless requested and agreed upon, the Recorder will not exercise human resources responsibilities for the Board’s employees, and the Board will not exercise such responsibilities for the Recorder’s employees, except as set forth in¶ 4.2 ¶ 3.4. Budget and Finance. Unless requested and agreed upon, the Parties will each be responsible for the procurement, budget, and finance related activities for which the Agreement assigns to each Party. 3.5. Facilities. Currently the principal election-administration facility for Maricopa County is the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC). The Recorder's employees work in MCTEC, and the 301 Administrative Building. The Board's election-related employees also work in MCTEC, the 301 Chambers Building and the Elections office located at 222 East Javelina in Mesa, Arizona. Elections information technology shall be allocated space (office, cubical, hotel, operational prep, storage) in each location as necessary. All listed facilities are County-owned buildings. The Parties acknowledge that the facilities housing election administration may 5 change or expand and the terms of this agreement will apply to any changed or expanded facility. The principal election-administration facility for Maricopa County is the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC). The Recorder’s employees work in MCTEC, in a portion of the West Court Building, and in the basement office of the County Clerk. The Board’s election-related employees also work in MCTEC. All of these facilities are County-owned buildings. 3.6. The Recorder’s Rights and Limitations vis-à-vis these Buildings. The Recorder shall have the same responsibility and authority, and be subject to the same limitations, with respect to these three facilities as other county- wide elected officers have with respect to the facilities housing their employees. The MCTEC Warehouse and Mailroom will be shared spaces for designated employees to complete their designated election duties. 3.7. The Board’s Rights and Limitations vis-à-vis These Buildings. The Board shall have the same responsibility and authority, and be subject to the same limitations, with respect to these three facilities as it has with respect to every other county- owned building in which a county-wide elected officer has employees. The Board will be responsible for the exterior of MCTEC, including any fencing, street management, or other enhanced security. The MCTEC Warehouse and Mailroom will be shared spaces for designated employees to complete their designated election duties. 3.8. Tours. Both Parties may give tours of MCTEC and will attempt to coordinate with the other Party such tours to the extent possible. Both Parties will give as much advance notice as possible to the other Party. Neither Party will be precluded from giving tours because the other does not wish to participate. 3.9. Ballot Tabulation Center and Other Areas of MCTEC With “Live” Ballots. No candidate in any election will have access to the Ballot Tabulation Center or any other area of MCTEC where ballots for that election are present. No candidate will have access to any area housing the tabulation system or equipment during the following time periods: (1) while the tabulation system or equipment is being programmed to tabulate ballots for that specific election or (2) after the Arizona Secretary of State has certified the tabulation system or equipment to tabulate ballots for that specific election. 6 3.10. Legislation. The Parties recognize that elections are governed by law, and that “good” law is important to election administration. Accordingly, the Recorder and the Board, whether jointly or independently, are free to propose, advocate, or oppose any legislation at the state or federal level. They will coordinate these efforts where it is advantageous and practical to do so. 3.11. Political Party Interactions. The Recorder and the Board will each be responsible for communicating with the political parties for those election- related matters subject to their authority. See, e.g., A.R.S. § 16-168(D) (requiring the Recorder to deliver precinct lists to the chairs of each county political committee and state political parties); § 531(A) (allowing the county political committee chairs to submit lists of party members to be election board workers, which the Board’s Elections Director appoints). They will each try to coordinate with the other Party. political party interactions to the greatest extent possible and will each be respectful of the other’s interactions related to their separate areas of authority. Neither will negotiate orNeither will negotiate nor contract with the political parties regarding the other’s responsibilities. Nothing in this Paragraph is intended to infringe upon either Party’s First Amendment free speech and association rights. 3.12. Legal Representation. The Parties are jointly represented by the Maricopa County Attorney (hereafter, the County Attorney and deputy county attorneys will be referred to as “MCAO”). If any part of this Paragraph, including its sub- Paragraphs, conflicts with any provision of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct (Ariz. Sup.Ct. Rules, Rule 42), the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct shall control. 3.12.A. Confidentiality. With this Agreement, the Parties do not waive the duty of confidentiality inherent in the attorney-client relationship. Where a duty of confidentiality exists, MCAO shall preserve inviolate the confidentiality of both the Board and the Recorder vis-à-vis each other unless expressly authorized by the Party holding the privilege to share the subject confidences with the other party, as it always does. Where no duty of confidentiality exists, including without limitation when the Parties’ interests are aligned in litigation, the Parties shall have no expectation of attorney-client confidentiality vis-à-vis the other Party concerning discussions that may be had between MCAO and each of the Parties. 7 3.12.B. Litigation and Appellate Services. Each of the Parties shall be represented by MCAO for all election-related litigation and appeals unless the County Attorney determines that outside counsel is appropriate because of a conflict or some other reason. When both Parties are a litigant in a proceeding, MCAO shall make joint filings for the Parties (rather than a separate filing for each of the Parties) at MCAO’s sole discretion based on its judgment concerning how best to represent the interests of the Parties. MCAO’s decision concerning whether to make joint filings shall not be grounds for either of the Parties to assert a conflict. 3.12.C. Outside Counsel. Each of the Parties retains the right to request that the County Attorney appoint outside counsel to represent its interests. Whether to appoint such outside counsel is within the sole purview of the County Attorney. 3.13. Designated Supervisor. The Recorder shall work with the Chairperson of the Board or Chairperson’s designee for all election related matters. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to obviate the responsibility of the Recorder and the Board’s Elections Director to communicate with one another concerning those matters as necessary. 3.14. Information Systems Security. The Board and the Recorder will jointly provide information systems security services. The Parties will cooperate and coordinate with respect to these security services, consistent with all State and Federal laws and regulations governing election security, including, but not limited to, threat monitoring, video recording, and cyber- attack prevention. Both the Recorder and the Board will work with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies as warranted under this section. 3.15. Chain of Custody. Both the Board and the Recorder are responsible for ensuring the safeguarding and integrity of elections procedures for those areas under their authority. This includes establishing efficient and secure chain of custody practices over ballots and other voting information. 3.16. Matters Not Covered by the Agreement. The Agreement is not intended 8 to be a comprehensive list of every duty, responsibility, and administrative activity necessary to the administration of elections. Rather, the Agreement highlights specific areas of responsibility that the Parties have determined fall within the purview of one or the other of them as well as administrative functions that are not addressed specifically by Arizona law. For any duty or responsibility for election administration about which the Agreement is silent: 3.16.A. Where that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity is delegated by statute or the EPM to one of the Parties, that Party shall be responsible for that duty or responsibility; 3.16.B. Where that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity is delegated by statute or the EPM to one of the Parties or “the officer in charge of elections” (or similar language), the named Party shall be responsible for that duty or responsibility; and 3.16.C. Where the statutes and the EPM Agreement is silent or unclear with respect to who is responsible for that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity, the Recorder and the Board shall, with advice from MCAO, determine who is best suited to carry out that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity, and that Party shall be responsible for it as agreed to by the Parties. 3.17 Recorder’s Joint Election Plan, Review and Public Meeting. The County Elections Director and theThe Recorder shallRecorder shall cooperate in the preparation ofe a comprehensive Election Plan addressing all responsibilities and functions assigned to the Board and the Recorder. At least one preliminary meeting to discuss the process of drafting the Election Plan must occur no later than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to any Federal, State or Countywide election, as well as any Federal, State, or Countywide- level special election. to the Recorder and the Director of Mail-In Voting as outlined in Section 6 of this Agreement. TheThe County Elections Director and Recorder Recorder shall submit the the final drafts of their respective portions of the draft Election Plan to the other County Elections Director no later than ninety (90) days prior to each Federal, State, or Countywide election, as well as any Federal, State, or County-level special election. The purpose of this submission is to provide the County Elections Directore an opportunity to review, comment on, and suggest revisions. to the Recorder’s Election Plan. The Recorder The County Elections Director and the Recorder shall give due consideration to all feedback received and may revise the plan accordingly. 9 3.16.E. County Elections Director’s Election Plan. The County Elections Director shall prepare a comprehensive Election Plan addressing all responsibilities and functions assigned to the Director of In-Person Voting and Tabulation as outlined in Section 5 of this Agreement. The County Elections Director shall submit the draft Election Plan to the Recorder no later than ninety (90) days prior to each Federal, State, or Countywide election, as well as any Federal, State, or County-level special election. The purpose of this submission is to provide the Recorder an opportunity to review, comment on, and suggest revisions to the County Elections Director’s Election Plan. The County Elections Director shall give due consideration to all feedback received and may revise the plan accordingly. Joint Review and Public Meeting. No later than seventy-five (75) days prior to each Federal, State, or Countywide election, as well as any Federal, State, or County-level special election, the Recorder and County Elections Director shall each jointly submit their finalized Election Plans to the Board and the Clerk of the Board. Following submission, and no later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the election, the Board shall convene at least one public meeting for the purpose of reviewing both the Election Plans. The Recorder, County Elections Director, Recorder and relevant staff shall participate in the meeting to present their respective plansthe Election Plan and respond to questions. The Board shall have final approval over the joint plans Election Plan for both departments in a public meeting. This meeting may take the place of the required quarterly public meeting. 3.18 Information Technology Services. The Board and Recorder agree that a comprehensive third party analysis of the IT infrastructure related to the Elections and Recorder (ERO) systems is necessary so that IT functions that relate solely to the statutory duties of each respective Party may be separated into its own independent IT system(s). Specifically, the objective of this analysis will be to separate database and technology architectures for the Board and the Recorder, along with the creation of a data sharing process. To that end, the Parties agree to work jointly with the vendor, solicited and retained consistent with the County’s Procurement Code, to conduct this analysis. The Parties agree that each will have a designated IT staff member to interface with the vendor during this process. During the duration of this analysis, the Board shall host and maintain all core information technology systems that support both the Board and Recorder and provide IT-related services for the Recorder’s election and business-related responsibilities, with the exception of Recorder staff who update and maintain the Recorder 10 Document Information System (“RDIS”), consistent with the terms of the Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) entered by the Parties. The Board will provide these services through the Elections specific support division, Elections Information Technology Division (E- ITD), within Maricopa County Enterprise Technology & Innovation (ETI), which reports up through the County Manager. The Board will consider all reasonable requests made by the Recorder, including requests made through the Recorder’s IT Staff, for the design, maintenance, configuration and administration of any IT-related service necessary for the Recorder to effectively perform its elections or business-related responsibilities. The Parties agree that upon the completion of the third-party IT analysis and successful implementation of the agreed upon changes to separate the IT systems and applications, each party will maintain its own IT systems and the SLA will be revised or terminated consistent with its terms. 3.19 Website Hosting and Maintenance. The Recorder and the Board will each host and maintain their own webpages for their respective offices. The Recorder and the Board will work jointly on the Be Ballot Ready website which will incorporate information and data concerning both the Recorder’s and the Board’s election-related responsibilities. 3.20 Public Recordsers Requests. The Recorder and the Board will each maintain and be responsible for their own Public Records Team. When public records requests are made for records that are within the custody and control of both the Board’s Elections Director or other County employees, and the Recorder, and its employees, each Party’s respective Public Records Team will coordinate and cooperate to produce the responsive records. Except as just stated, neither Party will be responsible for public records requests made to the other, their offices, or their staff. 4. Board of Supervisors’ Responsibilities The Board’s responsibilities with respect to elections are broad, ranging from the requirement to call and notice elections to tallying election results and canvassing elections. Consistent with the duties and responsibilities conferred by the Arizona Revised Statutes and EPM, the Board of Supervisors is responsible to: A. Call, notice, and (where applicable) cancel elections. B. Determine polling locations for election day and emergency voting and provide supplies to the polling locations. C. Appoint and train poll workers and other election board members. D. Tally and certify election results by canvassing the election. 11 Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is responsible for the following additional activities necessary to elections. In order to accomplish these responsibilities and fulfill its statutory duties, the Board has established the Elections Department, overseen by the County's Director of Elections and staffed with a team of election-administration professionals, to oversee and perform many of the election-related duties that are assigned by law to the Board of Supervisors or the officer in charge of elections. The Department will report to the Board through the County Manager's administration. The Board via the County Manager will continue to employ a Director of Elections to oversee those areas of election administration for which the Board is responsible.will appoint and employ an Elections Director and will exercise its authority, and fulfill its responsibilities, through that Director or the Director’s designee/s. 4.1 Campaign Finance and Candidate Services. Arizona law requires that candidates for superior court judge or for county, district, and precinct offices for which the electors of a county or a subdivision of a county are entitled to vote must file their nomination papers with “the county elections officer.” A.R.S. § 16-311(F). Arizona law further provides that those required by law to file certain campaign finance statements and reports must make their filings to “the county officer in charge of elections,” who is “the filing officer” for county, school district, and special taxing district elections, including retention elections for superior court judges. A.R.S. § 16- 928(A)(2). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is the filing officer and county elections officer in charge of elections for all such nomination papers and campaign finance reports, and so shall be responsible to oversee Maricopa County’s campaign finance and candidate services as required by Arizona law. The Recorder will host information concerning campaign finances and candidate services on the Recorder’s elections website and will implement all reasonable requests made by the Board of the Recorder for the design, maintenance, and administration of this section of the website. 4.2 Temporary Election Workers. Many temporary employees are recruited and hired for each election. Some of these workers, such as poll workers, report to the Board’s Elections Director or the Elections Director’s designee. See, e.g., A.R.S. § 16-531(A). Others, such as signature verification employees, report to the Recorder or the Recorder’s designee. See, e.g., A.R.S. § 16-550(A). Arizona law is silent, however, concerning who is responsible to recruit, hire, and pay temporary election workers necessary to Maricopa County’s elections. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Board will be responsible for recruiting, hiring, and paying temporary workers for the Board’s assigned functions, the Recorder will be responsible for hiring, training, and paying of temporary workers for the Recorder’s assigned functions. 12 4.3 Ballot Preparation. Arizona law charges the Board to “prepare and provide ballots” for elections, A.R.S. § 16-503, and to prepare sample ballots for general elections, § 16-510. The law charges “the officer in charge of elections,” however, to prepare a proof of a sample ballot for presidential preference and primary elections. §§ 16- 245(C); -461(A). For elections utilizing optical scanning systems, meanwhile, the law requires two sample ballots to be provided to each polling location but does not specify who shall prepare them. § 16- 468(6). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board shall be responsible to design and prepare all ballots, including all sample ballots. This includes the responsibility to procure the necessary software to build the ballot, and to create and edit the various ballot styles. 4.34.4 Pre-Tabulation Ballot Processing: Arizona law provides that the Board or officer in charge of elections shall appoint an early ballot processing board to process early ballots. A.R.S. § 16-551. The Board’s Election Director is responsible for operations involving the opening and processing of the Early Ballot Packets and Provisional ballots prior to them being transferred to the ballot tabulation center for counting. These procedures occur after the Recorder’s Office exercise its sole statutory authority to determine the Early Ballot Envelope packet or Provisional packet is valid and should be counted through signature verification or provisional ballot research. The pre-tabulation processing includes the transport of early ballot envelopes to the mail room, mail room operations for cutting open the envelopes, hiring of early election boards to separate the ballots from the envelopes, and preparing paperwork to transfer the processed ballots to the Ballot Tabulation Center. 4.44.5 Drop Boxes. Arizona law allows for the County to establish drop boxes into which voters may securely deposit their voted early ballots... All drop boxes and their locations must be approved by the Board. Id. The Recorder “or officer in charge of elections” must post a list of drop off and drop box locations on the Recorder’s website. Id. at 61. The Recorder “or officer in charge of elections” must also “develop and implement secure ballot retrieval and chain of custody procedures.” Id. The Recorder “or officer in charge of elections” is also responsible to inspect the containers that transport ballots from drop boxes to the Maricopa County Tabulation and Elections Center, sign the retrieval form indicating the date and time of receipt, and note any signs of tampering; open the containers and count and note the number of ballots; and attach the completed retrieval form to the outside of each container. Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is the “officer in charge of elections” for all matters 13 related to drop boxes and so shall be responsible to fulfill each of these responsibilities up until the transfer of custody of the early ballots to the Recorder for the Recorder’s execution of the Recorder’s responsibilities relating to early ballots. 4.54.6 In-person Early Voting. Arizona law requires that every election must provide for early voting, A.R.S. § 16-541(A), which includes in-person early voting, id.; Generally, it is the Board that is responsible to establish polling locations for in-person voting, § 16-411, except that the Recorder may (but is not required to) establish early voting locations for in-person voting at the Recorder’s Office or elsewhere in the county as the Recorder deems necessary, § 16-542(A). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board will be responsible to establish and administer all voting locations and replacement ballot sites for all in-person early voting, just as it is responsible to establish and administer such locations for election dayElection Day and emergency voting. The Board shall provide to the Recorder the following, for review and input, consistent with the Joint Election Plan Process set forth in ¶ 3.17: (1) a list of their proposed Early Voting locations and (2) a draft of all temporary poll worker training programs for temporary poll workers employed by the Board for Early Voting locations. for the Recorder’s approval. The Recorder shall likewise sign off on training programs for temporary poll workers employed by the Board for Early Voting Locations. 4.64.7 Tabulation of Ballots, Including Provisional Ballots. Arizona law specifies that those who appear at polling locations but are not listed on the precinct register may vote a provisional ballot. A.R.S. §§ 16-579(A)(2); 16-584(B) – (F). The law further provides that the Recorder shall determine whether those who cast provisional ballots are registered voters and eligible to vote in the given election; if they are not, their provisional ballot affidavit envelopes must remain unopened. § 16-584(E)€. The Recorder shall then notify the Board’s Elections Director of that determination for each provisional ballot. Following the Recorder’s announcement of a determination, the Board is responsible to decide which provisional ballots should be tabulated and to count those ballots, id., because all tabulation of ballots is under the direction of the Board, § 16- 621(A). The Board is also responsible for providing a method for notifying those casting provisional ballots whether their ballots were verified and counted. § 16-584(F). 4.8 Hand-Count Audits. Arizona law requires “the officer in charge of the election” to conduct a hand-count audit of “each countywide primary, special, general and presidential preference election.” A.R.S. § 16-602(B). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is “the officer in charge of the election” for the hand-count audit and so shall be responsible to conduct the hand-count audit. 14 The Recorder shall assist the Board as the Board and Recorder determine necessary. 4.9 Procuring Tabulation Equipment. Arizona law allows the use of vote tabulation equipment in Arizona elections, § 16-445(A), and authorizes the Board to procure tabulation equipment to count ballots, § 16-451. Consistent with those requirements and pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is responsible to select the vendor for Maricopa County’s tabulation equipment; contract for, manage, service, and maintain the equipment; and communicate with the vendor concerning the equipment. 4.94.10 Procuring In-Person Voting Equipment. The Board shall be responsible for the selection, procurement, management, and maintenance of all equipment and contracts necessary for the administration of in-person voting. 4.104.11 Jurisdictional and Other Contracted Elections. Maricopa County has long provided election services to municipal and other government entities at their direction. The administration of jurisdictional elections will be consistent with the provisions of the Agreement, regardless of whether the jurisdiction chooses to conduct an “all mail” election. The Board, or its designee, will be responsible for maintaining the relationships with jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, contracting, communication and coordination of election services. 5. Recorder’s Responsibilities The Recorder’s duties are broad with respect to voter registration, early voting, and other aspects of election administration. Consistent with the duties and responsibilities conferred by the Arizona Revised Statutes, the EPM, and pursuant to this Agreement the Recorder is responsible for the following election administration functions: 5.1 Voter Registration A. Maintaining voter rolls, including the Voter Registration Database, and maintaining the Active Early Voting List (AEVL) and inactive voter lists. B. Creating, certifying, and distributing precinct registers. 15 C. Administering the Deputy Registrar Program. D. Maintaining the Voter Dashboard. E. 90-day cards F. Constituent Services (VoterInfo Inbox) and STAR Call Center 5.2 Mail Voting G. Early ballot request management H. Special Elections Board I. Mail Processing J. Ensuring compliance with the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (“UOCAVA”). K. Ballot Tracking L. Maintain VoterInfo inbox and respond to constituent queries 5.3 Signature Verification M. Pre-Signature Verification Processing N. Early Ballot Signature review (mail and drop offs) O. Early Ballot Signature curing P. Daily Audit Q. Provisional Ballot Curing Pursuant to this Agreement, the Recorder is responsible for the following additional activities necessary to elections: 5.4 Elections Recorder Operations (ERO) & Voter Registration Automated System (VRAS). The Recorder will host and maintain the ERO and the Legacy VRAS system. The Recorder will continue to maintain and allow the Board access to all ERO/VRAS systems and applications necessary for the Board to fulfill its statutory and delegated election administration responsibilities, including, but not limited to, the following: A. Board Worker System and related applications. B. Facilities Acquisition and related applications. C. Candidate Filing/ Campaign Finance / Precinct Committeeman. D. Election Setup and ballot building Jobs (through FY2026). E. Command Center Related Applications including the Election Reporting System and Fresh Service. F. SSRS Reports – Elections (Audit, Board Worker, Campaign Finance, Locations, Precinct Ballot Reports, Early Voting-In Person, Canvass and Results Reports, EAVS, Election Setup, Provisional Ballots, Voting Location Statistics, Warehouse, Configuration). G. Site Book Check-in process (VRAS Voter Registration Real-time 16 Connection, MOFI, VPN, GIS). H. Election Day Command Center Support. I. Warehouse Tags, GTAC Scanning, and Seal Tracking. J. Early Ballot (EVEN and EVRT) applications to calculate ballots left to count. 5.5 Website Hosting and Maintenance. The Recorder and the Board will each host and maintain their own webpages for their respective offices. The Recorder and the Board will work jointly on the Be Ballot Ready website which will incorporate information and data concerning both the Recorder’s and the Board’s election-related responsibilities. 5.6 Information Technology Services. The Recorder and Board shall each maintain their own IT-related services for their election-related responsibilities. For the Recorder, these services include but are not limited to, the Recorder’s Data Analytics and Geographic Information System (“GIS”), as well as those set forth in sections 5.2 and 5.3. To perform these functions, the Recorder shall require a minimum of 17 full-time elections related IT staff members as follows: 10 for maintenance and development of ERO and VRAS, 5 staff members for GIS, and 2 staff members for website, training, and help desk functions. This is exclusive of staffing for the Recorders non-elections- related functions. The Recorder shall at all times, excepting times designated for system maintenance and updates, maintain access to and assist Board personnel in utilizing Recorder data systems necessary for the Board to effectively perform itelection related responsibilities. Further, the Recorder must provide a minimum of sixty (60) days written notice to the Board and the Board’s Election Director of any significant changes to Recorder data systems utilized by the Board to perform their election related responsibilities. For the Board, these services include but are not limited to, [BOARD TO INSERT APPROPRIATE SYSTEM DESIGNATIONS, PERSONNEL]. 5.7 Public Recorders Requests. Barring the creation of a countywide PPR administrator service, the Recorder’s Public Records Team will serve as the primary point of entry for election-related PRR requests, and manage, administer, and respond to all public records requests directed to or concerning the Recorder. Requests responsive to the Board’s Elections Director, or anyone else in the County’s employ who oversees, administers, or participates in elections or election administration shall be forwarded to the Elections Department within one business day. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, anyone with a “@maricopa.gov” email address. When public records requests are made for records that are within the custody and control of both the Board’s Elections Director or other County employees, those employees will coordinate and cooperate with the Recorder’s Public Records Team to produce the responsive records. Except as just stated, the Recorder’s Public Records Team will not be responsible for public records requests made to the Board, their offices, or their staff. 17 5.85.4 STAR Call Center. Maricopa County has a call center known as the STAR Call Center,1 which is designed to provide answers and information to all incoming telephone questions related to Recording, Elections, Treasurer and Assessor services. The Recorder shall be responsible for STAR Call Center services related to elections, including to provide answers to questions concerning the Board’s election-related activities. 1 STAR is an acronym for “Supervisors, Treasurer, Assessor, Recorder.” 18 MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT MARICOPA COUNTY MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RECORDER Thomas Galvin, Chairman Justin Heap, Board of Supervisors Maricopa County Recorder Date: Date: ATTEST: Clerk of the Board MARICOPA COUNTY CLERK OF THE BOARD Juanita Garza, Clerk of the Board Date: 13 OF 13 19 EXHIBIT 2 Clean Revised Negotiated SSA (4.12.25) 20 MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT The MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS (the “Board”) and the MARICOPA COUNTY RECORDER (the “Recorder”) enter into this Shared Services Agreement (“Agreement”) to outline the mutual understanding of the Board and the Recorder (together, the “Parties”) for the management of election-related activities in Maricopa County. 1. Intent of the Agreement. The Parties are charged by the Arizona Revised Statutes with the responsibility of accomplishing certain election-related activities. The Parties have a shared interest in fulfilling their responsibilities and ensuring that elections are administered efficiently and effectively. Therefore, certain services will continue to be shared or delegated in this interest. The purpose of this Agreement is to coordinate election-related activities in Maricopa County for sound economic reasons, efficiency, and public convenience. 2. General Provisions. 2.1. Supersedes Prior Agreements. The Agreement shall supersede and replace all prior agreements and understandings between the Parties, whether oral or written, including without limitation all prior Shared Services Agreements. 2.2. Successors and Assigns. The Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the Parties and their respective representatives, successors, and assigns. The Parties will continue to be bound by all terms of the Agreement without regard to the individuals holding the respective offices of the Parties. The Agreement is intended to be solely for the benefit of the Parties, their successors, and assigns. The Parties represent that they freely and voluntarily enter into the Agreement without any degree of duress or compulsion. 2.3. Amendment. The Agreement may not be amended except by a written amendment signed by each of the Parties. 2.4. Choice of Law. The Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of Arizona, including Title 16 of the Arizona Revised Statutes and the operative Elections Procedures Manual (“EPM”) published pursuant to A.R.S. § 16-452. 2.5. Severability. If any term of the Agreement is to any extent invalid, for any reason, including illegality or conflict with applicable law or regulation, or is 21 otherwise unenforceable, such particular term shall be excluded to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability; all other terms hereof shall remain in full force and effect; and, to the extent permitted and possible, the invalid or unenforceable term shall be deemed replaced by a term that is valid and enforceable and that comes closest to expressing the intention of such invalid or unenforceable term. 2.6. Term and Termination. The Agreement shall become effective upon the signature of all the Parties and will continue until terminated by one or both of the Parties. Any Party seeking to terminate the Agreement shall do so by providing written notice to all other Parties a minimum of 90 days prior to the end of a General Election year. The termination date will be effective, and the Agreement terminated, at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the General Election calendar year in which the 90 days’ notice is complete. A notice of termination can be rescinded by the terminating Party at any time before the expiration of the 90 days’ notice, but must be rescinded in a writing signed by the Party that invoked this Termination Clause. Any such revocation of termination must be accepted in writing by the other Party. 3. Election Administration Generally The Parties hereby agree to work together to administer elections as required by Arizona law for the benefit of Maricopa County’s citizens, as detailed in this Agreement. In addition to their individual responsibilities as delineated herein, the Parties agree as follows: 3.1. Nomenclature. Given the unique nature of a shared responsibility for a subject matter (election administration) between two elected bodies (the Board and the Recorder), and the resulting potential confusion in the general public, the Recorder and the Board will clearly define their respective election operations, departments, events, and communications as connected to either the Recorder or the Board,. 3.2. Communications Department. Pursuant to this Agreement, the Recorder and the Board will each utilize their own communications departments to publicize their messages related to elections and election administration. The Board and the Recorder are each free to speak about election administration but will be respectful of the other’s communications and positions as partners in the administration of elections and will coordinate their messages where it is advantageous and practical for them to do so. The Recorder will be responsible for responding as the Recorder sees fit to all e-mailed or 22 messaged constituent inquiries relating to the Recorder’s particular responsibilities, as will the Board for its particular responsibilities. 3.3. Human Resources. Except as set forth in ¶ 4.2 concerning temporary employees, infra, and except as regulated by other law or regulation regarding the appointment of Chief Deputies by the Board for the County’s elected officers, the Parties will each be responsible for the human resources for their own employees, including decisions related to the discipline, training, coaching, development, hiring, and firing of their employees. Recorder’s office employees, like employees of all other County Elected Offices, are subject to certain County policies. Unless requested and agreed upon, the Recorder will not exercise human resources responsibilities for the Board’s employees, and the Board will not exercise such responsibilities for the Recorder’s employees, except as set forth in¶ 4.2 3.4. Budget and Finance. Unless requested and agreed upon, the Parties will each be responsible for the procurement, budget, and finance related activities for which the Agreement assigns to each Party. 3.5. Facilities. Currently the principal election-administration facility for Maricopa County is the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC). The Recorder's employees work in MCTEC, and the 301 Administrative Building. The Board's election-related employees also work in MCTEC, the 301 Chambers Building and the Elections office located at 222 East Javelina in Mesa, Arizona. Elections information technology shall be allocated space (office, cubical, hotel, operational prep, storage) in each location as necessary. All listed facilities are County-owned buildings. The Parties acknowledge that the facilities housing election administration may change or expand and the terms of this agreement will apply to any changed or expanded facility. 3.6. The Recorder’s Rights and Limitations vis-à-vis these Buildings. The Recorder shall have the same responsibility and authority, and be subject to the same limitations, with respect to these three facilities as other county- wide elected officers have with respect to the facilities housing their employees. The MCTEC Warehouse and Mailroom will be shared spaces for designated employees to complete their designated election duties. 3.7. The Board’s Rights and Limitations vis-à-vis These Buildings. The Board shall have the same responsibility and authority, and be subject to the same limitations, with respect to these three facilities as it has with respect to every 23 other county-owned building in which a county-wide elected officer has employees. The Board will be responsible for the exterior of MCTEC, including any fencing, street management, or other enhanced security. The MCTEC Warehouse and Mailroom will be shared spaces for designated employees to complete their designated election duties. 3.8. Tours. Both Parties may give tours of MCTEC and will attempt to coordinate with the other Party such tours to the extent possible. Both Parties will give as much advance notice as possible to the other Party. Neither Party will be precluded from giving tours because the other does not wish to participate. 3.9. Ballot Tabulation Center and Other Areas of MCTEC With “Live” Ballots. No candidate in any election will have access to the Ballot Tabulation Center or any other area of MCTEC where ballots for that election are present. No candidate will have access to any area housing the tabulation system or equipment during the following time periods: (1) while the tabulation system or equipment is being programmed to tabulate ballots for that specific election or (2) after the Arizona Secretary of State has certified the tabulation system or equipment to tabulate ballots for that specific election. 3.10. Legislation. The Parties recognize that elections are governed by law, and that “good” law is important to election administration. Accordingly, the Recorder and the Board, whether jointly or independently, are free to propose, advocate, or oppose any legislation at the state or federal level. They will coordinate these efforts where it is advantageous and practical to do so. 3.11. Political Party Interactions. The Recorder and the Board will each be responsible for communicating with the political parties for those election- related matters subject to their authority. See, e.g., A.R.S. § 16-168(D) (requiring the Recorder to deliver precinct lists to the chairs of each county political committee and state political parties); § 531(A) (allowing the county political committee chairs to submit lists of party members to be election board workers, which the Board’s Elections Director appoints). They will each try to coordinate with the other Party political party interactions to the greatest extent possible and will each be respectful of the other’s interactions related to their separate areas of authority. Neither will negotiate nor contract with the political parties regarding the other’s responsibilities. Nothing in this Paragraph is intended to infringe upon either Party’s First Amendment free speech and association rights. 24 3.12. Legal Representation. The Parties are jointly represented by the Maricopa County Attorney (hereafter, the County Attorney and deputy county attorneys will be referred to as “MCAO”). If any part of this Paragraph, including its sub- Paragraphs, conflicts with any provision of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct (Ariz. Sup.Ct. Rules, Rule 42), the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct shall control. 3.12.A. Confidentiality. With this Agreement, the Parties do not waive the duty of confidentiality inherent in the attorney-client relationship. Where a duty of confidentiality exists, MCAO shall preserve inviolate the confidentiality of both the Board and the Recorder vis-à-vis each other unless expressly authorized by the Party holding the privilege to share the subject confidences with the other party, as it always does. Where no duty of confidentiality exists, including without limitation when the Parties’ interests are aligned in litigation, the Parties shall have no expectation of attorney-client confidentiality vis-à-vis the other Party concerning discussions that may be had between MCAO and each of the Parties. 3.12.B. Litigation and Appellate Services. Each of the Parties shall be represented by MCAO for all election-related litigation and appeals unless the County Attorney determines that outside counsel is appropriate because of a conflict or some other reason. When both Parties are a litigant in a proceeding, MCAO shall make joint filings for the Parties (rather than a separate filing for each of the Parties) at MCAO’s sole discretion based on its judgment concerning how best to represent the interests of the Parties. MCAO’s decision concerning whether to make joint filings shall not be grounds for either of the Parties to assert a conflict. 3.12.C. Outside Counsel. Each of the Parties retains the right to request that the County Attorney appoint outside counsel to represent its interests. Whether to appoint such outside counsel is within the sole purview of the County Attorney. 3.13. Designated Supervisor. The Recorder shall work with the Chairperson of the Board or Chairperson’s designee for all election related matters. Nothing in this Agreement is intended to obviate the responsibility of the Recorder and the Board’s Elections Director to communicate with one another concerning those matters as necessary. 3.14. Information Systems Security. The Board and the Recorder will jointly 25 provide information systems security services. The Parties will cooperate and coordinate with respect to these security services, consistent with all State and Federal laws and regulations governing election security, including, but not limited to, threat monitoring, video recording, and cyber- attack prevention. Both the Recorder and the Board will work with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies as warranted under this section. 3.15. Chain of Custody. Both the Board and the Recorder are responsible for ensuring the safeguarding and integrity of elections procedures for those areas under their authority. This includes establishing efficient and secure chain of custody practices over ballots and other voting information. 3.16. Matters Not Covered by the Agreement. The Agreement is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every duty, responsibility, and administrative activity necessary to the administration of elections. Rather, the Agreement highlights specific areas of responsibility that the Parties have determined fall within the purview of one or the other of them as well as administrative functions that are not addressed specifically by Arizona law. For any duty or responsibility for election administration about which the Agreement is silent: 3.16.A. Where that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity is delegated by statute or the EPM to one of the Parties, that Party shall be responsible for that duty or responsibility; 3.16.B. Where that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity is delegated by statute or the EPM to one of the Parties or “the officer in charge of elections” (or similar language), the named Party shall be responsible for that duty or responsibility; and 3.16.C. Where the statutes and the EPM is silent or unclear with respect to who is responsible for that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity, the Recorder and the Board shall, with advice from MCAO, determine who is best suited to carry out that duty, responsibility, or administrative activity, and that Party shall be responsible for it as agreed to by the Parties. 3.17 Joint Election Plan, Review and Public Meeting. The County Elections Director and the Recorder shall cooperate in the preparation of a comprehensive Election Plan addressing all responsibilities and functions 26 assigned to the Board and the Recorder. At least one preliminary meeting to discuss the process of drafting the Election Plan must occur no later than one hundred and twenty (120) days prior to any Federal, State or Countywide election, as well as any Federal, State, or Countywide-level special election. The County Elections Director and Recorder shall submit the final drafts of their respective portions of the draft Election Plan to the other no later than ninety (90) days prior to each Federal, State, or Countywide election, as well as any Federal, State, or County-level special election. The purpose of this submission is to provide e an opportunity to review, comment on, and suggest revisions. The County Elections Director and the Recorder shall give due consideration to all feedback received and may revise the plan accordingly. No later than seventy-five (75) days prior to each Federal, State, or Countywide election, as well as any Federal, State, or County-level special election, the Recorder and County Elections Director shall jointly submit the finalized Election Plan to the Board and the Clerk of the Board. Following submission, and no later than seventy-five (75) days prior to the election, the Board shall convene at least one public meeting for the purpose of reviewing the Election Plan. The County Elections Director, Recorder and relevant staff shall participate in the meeting to present the Election Plan and respond to questions. The Board shall have final approval over the Election Plan in a public meeting. 3.18 Information Technology Services. The Board and Recorder agree that a comprehensive third party analysis of the IT infrastructure related to the Elections and Recorder (ERO) systems is necessary so that IT functions that relate solely to the statutory duties of each respective Party may be separated into its own independent IT system(s). Specifically, the objective of this analysis will be to separate database and technology architectures for the Board and the Recorder, along with the creation of a data sharing process. To that end, the Parties agree to work jointly with the vendor, solicited and retained consistent with the County’s Procurement Code, to conduct this analysis. The Parties agree that each will have a designated IT staff member to interface with the vendor during this process. During the duration of this analysis, the Board shall host and maintain all core information technology systems that support both the Board and Recorder and provide IT-related services for the Recorder’s election and business-related responsibilities, with the exception of Recorder staff who update and maintain the Recorder Document Information System (“RDIS”), consistent with the terms of the Service Level Agreement (“SLA”) entered by the Parties. The Board will provide these services through the Elections specific support division, Elections Information Technology Division (E ITD), within Maricopa 27 County Enterprise Technology & Innovation (ETI), which reports up through the County Manager. The Board will consider all reasonable requests made by the Recorder, including requests made through the Recorder’s IT Staff, for the design, maintenance, configuration and administration of any IT-related service necessary for the Recorder to effectively perform its elections or business-related responsibilities. The Parties agree that upon the completion of the third-party IT analysis and successful implementation of the agreed upon changes to separate the IT systems and applications, each party will maintain its own IT systems and the SLA will be revised or terminated consistent with its terms. 3.19 Website Hosting and Maintenance. The Recorder and the Board will each host and maintain their own webpages for their respective offices. The Recorder and the Board will work jointly on the Be Ballot Ready website which will incorporate information and data concerning both the Recorder’s and the Board’s election-related responsibilities. 3.20 Public Records Requests. The Recorder and the Board will each maintain and be responsible for their own Public Records Team. When public records requests are made for records that are within the custody and control of both the Board’s Elections Director or other County employees, and the Recorder, and its employees, each Party’s respective Public Records Team will coordinate and cooperate to produce the responsive records. Except as just stated, neither Party will be responsible for public records requests made to the other, their offices, or their staff. 4. Board of Supervisors’ Responsibilities The Board’s responsibilities with respect to elections are broad, ranging from the requirement to call and notice elections to tallying election results and canvassing elections. Consistent with the duties and responsibilities conferred by the Arizona Revised Statutes and EPM, the Board of Supervisors is responsible to: A. Call, notice, and (where applicable) cancel elections. B. Determine polling locations for election day and emergency voting and provide supplies to the polling locations. C. Appoint and train poll workers and other election board members. D. Tally and certify election results by canvassing the election. Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is responsible for the following additional activities necessary to elections. In order to accomplish these responsibilities and fulfill its statutory duties, the Board has established the Elections Department, overseen by the County's Director of Elections and staffed with a team of election-administration 28 professionals, to oversee and perform many of the election-related duties that are assigned by law to the Board of Supervisors or the officer in charge of elections. The Department will report to the Board through the County Manager's administration. The Board via the County Manager will continue to employ a Director of Elections to oversee those areas of election administration for which the Board is responsible. 4.1 Campaign Finance and Candidate Services. Arizona law requires that candidates for superior court judge or for county, district, and precinct offices for which the electors of a county or a subdivision of a county are entitled to vote must file their nomination papers with “the county elections officer.” A.R.S. § 16-311(F). Arizona law further provides that those required by law to file certain campaign finance statements and reports must make their filings to “the county officer in charge of elections,” who is “the filing officer” for county, school district, and special taxing district elections, including retention elections for superior court judges. A.R.S. § 16- 928(A)(2). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is the filing officer and county elections officer in charge of elections for all such nomination papers and campaign finance reports, and so shall be responsible to oversee Maricopa County’s campaign finance and candidate services as required by Arizona law. 4.2 Temporary Election Workers. Many temporary employees are recruited and hired for each election. Some of these workers, such as poll workers, report to the Board’s Elections Director or the Elections Director’s designee. See, e.g., A.R.S. § 16-531(A). Others, such as signature verification employees, report to the Recorder or the Recorder’s designee. See, e.g., A.R.S. § 16-550(A). Arizona law is silent, however, concerning who is responsible to recruit, hire, and pay temporary election workers necessary to Maricopa County’s elections. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Board will be responsible for recruiting, hiring, and paying temporary workers for the Board’s assigned functions, the Recorder will be responsible for hiring, training, and paying of temporary workers for the Recorder’s assigned functions. 4.3 Ballot Preparation. Arizona law charges the Board to “prepare and provide ballots” for elections, A.R.S. § 16-503, and to prepare sample ballots for general elections, § 16-510. The law charges “the officer in charge of elections,” however, to prepare a proof of a sample ballot for presidential preference and primary elections. §§ 16- 245(C); -461(A). For elections utilizing optical scanning systems, meanwhile, the law requires two sample ballots to be provided to each polling location but does not specify who shall prepare them. § 16- 468(6). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board shall be responsible to design and prepare all ballots, including all sample ballots. This includes the responsibility 29 to procure the necessary software to build the ballot, and to create and edit the various ballot styles. 4.4 Pre-Tabulation Ballot Processing: Arizona law provides that the Board or officer in charge of elections shall appoint an early ballot processing board to process early ballots. A.R.S. § 16-551. The Board’s Election Director is responsible for operations involving the opening and processing of the Early Ballot Packets and Provisional ballots prior to them being transferred to the ballot tabulation center for counting. These procedures occur after the Recorder’s Office exercise its sole statutory authority to determine the Early Ballot Envelope packet or Provisional packet is valid and should be counted through signature verification or provisional ballot research. The pre-tabulation processing includes the transport of early ballot envelopes to the mail room, mail room operations for cutting open the envelopes, hiring of early election boards to separate the ballots from the envelopes, and preparing paperwork to transfer the processed ballots to the Ballot Tabulation Center. 4.5 Drop Boxes. Arizona law allows for the County to establish drop boxes into which voters may securely deposit their voted early ballots. All drop boxes and their locations must be approved by the Board. Id. The Recorder “or officer in charge of elections” must post a list of drop off and drop box locations on the Recorder’s website. Id. at 61. The Recorder “or officer in charge of elections” must also “develop and implement secure ballot retrieval and chain of custody procedures.” Id. The Recorder “or officer in charge of elections” is also responsible to inspect the containers that transport ballots from drop boxes to the Maricopa County Tabulation and Elections Center, sign the retrieval form indicating the date and time of receipt, and note any signs of tampering; open the containers and count and note the number of ballots; and attach the completed retrieval form to the outside of each container. Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is the “officer in charge of elections” for all matters related to drop boxes and so shall be responsible to fulfill each of these responsibilities up until the transfer of custody of the early ballots to the Recorder for the Recorder’s execution of the Recorder’s responsibilities relating to early ballots. 4.6 In-person Early Voting. Arizona law requires that every election must provide for early voting, A.R.S. § 16-541(A), which includes in-person early voting, id.; Generally, it is the Board that is responsible to establish polling locations for in-person voting, § 16-411, except that the Recorder may (but is not required to) establish early voting locations for in-person voting at the 30 Recorder’s Office or elsewhere in the county as the Recorder deems necessary, § 16-542(A). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board will be responsible to establish and administer all voting locations and replacement ballot sites for all in-person early voting, just as it is responsible to establish and administer such locations for Election Day and emergency voting. The Board shall provide to the Recorder the following, for review and input, consistent with the Joint Election Plan Process set forth in ¶ 3.17: (1) a list of proposed Early Voting locations and (2) a draft of all temporary poll worker training programs for temporary poll workers employed by the Board for Early Voting locations. 4.7 Tabulation of Ballots, Including Provisional Ballots. Arizona law specifies that those who appear at polling locations but are not listed on the precinct register may vote a provisional ballot. A.R.S. §§ 16-579(A)(2); 16-584(B) – (F). The law further provides that the Recorder shall determine whether those who cast provisional ballots are registered voters and eligible to vote in the given election; if they are not, their provisional ballot affidavit envelopes must remain unopened. § 16-584(E). The Recorder shall then notify the Board’s Elections Director of that determination for each provisional ballot. Following the Recorder’s announcement of a determination, the Board is responsible to decide which provisional ballots should be tabulated and to count those ballots, id., because all tabulation of ballots is under the direction of the Board, § 16- 621(A). The Board is also responsible for providing a method for notifying those casting provisional ballots whether their ballots were verified and counted. § 16-584(F). 4.8 Hand-Count Audits. Arizona law requires “the officer in charge of the election” to conduct a hand-count audit of “each countywide primary, special, general and presidential preference election.” A.R.S. § 16-602(B). Pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is “the officer in charge of the election” for the hand-count audit and so shall be responsible to conduct the hand-count audit. The Recorder shall assist the Board as the Board and Recorder determine necessary. 4.9 Procuring Tabulation Equipment. Arizona law allows the use of vote tabulation equipment in Arizona elections, § 16-445(A), and authorizes the Board to procure tabulation equipment to count ballots, § 16-451. Consistent with those requirements and pursuant to this Agreement, the Board is responsible to select the vendor for Maricopa County’s tabulation equipment; contract for, manage, service, and maintain the equipment; and communicate with the vendor concerning the equipment. 4.10 Procuring In-Person Voting Equipment. The Board shall be responsible for the selection, procurement, management, and maintenance of all equipment 31 and contracts necessary for the administration of in-person voting. 4.11 Jurisdictional and Other Contracted Elections. Maricopa County has long provided election services to municipal and other government entities at their direction. The administration of jurisdictional elections will be consistent with the provisions of the Agreement, regardless of whether the jurisdiction chooses to conduct an “all mail” election. The Board, or its designee, will be responsible for maintaining the relationships with jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, contracting, communication and coordination of election services. 5. Recorder’s Responsibilities The Recorder’s duties are broad with respect to voter registration, early voting, and other aspects of election administration. Consistent with the duties and responsibilities conferred by the Arizona Revised Statutes, the EPM, and pursuant to this Agreement the Recorder is responsible for the following election administration functions: 5.1 Voter Registration A. Maintaining voter rolls, including the Voter Registration Database, and maintaining the Active Early Voting List (AEVL) and inactive voter lists. B. Creating, certifying, and distributing precinct registers. C. Administering the Deputy Registrar Program. D. Maintaining the Voter Dashboard. E. 90-day cards F. Constituent Services (VoterInfo Inbox) and STAR Call Center 5.2 Mail Voting G. Early ballot request management H. Special Elections Board I. Mail Processing J. Ensuring compliance with the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (“UOCAVA”). K. Ballot Tracking L. Maintain VoterInfo inbox and respond to constituent queries 5.3 Signature Verification M. Pre-Signature Verification Processing N. Early Ballot Signature review (mail and drop offs) O. Early Ballot Signature curing P. Daily Audit Q. Provisional Ballot Curing 32 Pursuant to this Agreement, the Recorder is responsible for the following additional activities necessary to elections: 5.4 STAR Call Center. Maricopa County has a call center known as the STAR Call Center,1 which is designed to provide answers and information to all incoming telephone questions related to Recording, Elections, Treasurer and Assessor services. The Recorder shall be responsible for STAR Call Center services related to elections, including to provide answers to questions concerning the Board’s election-related activities. 1 STAR is an acronym for “Supervisors, Treasurer, Assessor, Recorder.” 33 MARICOPA COUNTY ELECTIONS SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT MARICOPA COUNTY MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RECORDER Thomas Galvin, Chairman Justin Heap, Board of Supervisors Maricopa County Recorder Date: Date: ATTEST: Clerk of the Board MARICOPA COUNTY CLERK OF THE BOARD Juanita Garza, Clerk of the Board Date: 13 OF 13 34