16-956. Voter education and enforcement duties.

1. The commission shall:
   1. Develop, in consultation with the county recorders, a procedure for including, with ballots mailed to electors casting early ballots pursuant to section 16-542, subsection C and with the sample ballots mailed to other electors pursuant to section 16-461, subsection D and section 16-510, subsection C, a document or section of a document having a space of predefined size for a message chosen by each candidate. The board of supervisors shall present to the commission a certified claim for the actual extra cost of including the messages in such mailings in accordance with the procedure developed, and the commission shall direct payment of the authenticated claims from the fund.

   2. Sponsor debates among candidates, in such manner as determined by the commission. The commission shall require participating candidates to attend and participate in debates and may specify by rule penalties for nonparticipation. The commission shall invite and permit nonparticipating candidates to participate in debates.

2. The commission shall:
   1. Prescribe forms for reports, statements, notices, and other documents required by this article.

   2. Prepare and publish instructions setting forth methods of bookkeeping and preservation of records to facilitate compliance with this article and explaining the duties of persons and committees under this article.

   3. Produce a yearly report describing the commission's activities, any recommendations for changes of law, administration, or funding amounts, and accounting for monies in the fund.

   4. Adopt rules to implement the reporting requirements of section 16-958, subsections D and E.

   5. Enforce the provisions of this article, ensure that money from the fund is placed in candidate campaign accounts or otherwise spent as specified in this article and not otherwise, monitor reports filed pursuant to this chapter and financial records of candidates as needed to ensure that equalization monies are paid promptly to opposing qualified candidates under section 16-952, and ensure that money required by this article to be paid to the fund is deposited in the fund.

3. The commission may subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance and testimony, administer oaths and affirmations, take evidence, and require by subpoena the production of any books, papers, records, or other items material to the performance of the commission's duties or the exercise of its powers.

4. The commission may adopt rules to carry out the purposes and provision of this article and to govern procedures of the commission. Commission rulemaking is exempt from title 41, article 3, chapter 6, except that the commission shall submit the rules for publication and the secretary of state shall publish the rules in the Arizona administrative register. The commission shall propose and adopt rules in public meetings, with at least sixty days allowed for interested parties to comment after the rules are proposed.

5. Based on the results of the elections in the year 2002 or any quadrennial election thereafter, and within six months after such election, the commission may adopt rules changing the number of qualifying contributions required for any office from those listed in section 16-950, subsection D, by no more than twenty percent of the number applicable for the preceding election.

WARNING - The above text was curent June 2003, but may be outdated now.