Office of the Secretary of State
1700 W. Washington Street
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Instructions for Statewide Referenda
Application for Serial Number and Best Practices for
Printing and Circulating Petitions
Statement of Organization
At the time of submitting an Application for Serial Number, the individual or organization wishing to refer a
measure to the ballot must either file a Statement of Organization using the Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance
Filing System or designate an existing (non-candidate) committee to act as the referendum’s sponsor. The
Secretary of State will not accept an Application without an accompanying statement or designation.
Application for Serial Number
All individuals or organizations wishing to refer a measure to the ballot must submit an Application for Serial
Number stating their intent to circulate a statewide referendum petition.
To complete the PDF application, please enter all required fields including:
•
The bill number to be referred (e.g. – H.B. ####);
•
A no more than 100-word description of the principal provisions of the measure to be referred, which will
be printed on the front of each petition sheet; and
•
All information required to identify the referendum applicant and sponsoring committee.
Application Procedure
Upon receipt of an Application, the Secretary of State will complete the remainder of the form and issue a unique
serial number to be printed on the front and back of each petition sheet. The Secretary of State will also provide
instructions regarding proper completion of the Statewide Referendum Petition form.
Please note:
•
An Application for Serial Number will not be accepted unless the applicant has checked both disclaimer
boxes and provided a signature as an acknowledgment of the required printing and circulating
procedures.
•
At the time of submission, an Application for Serial Number must include the accompanying title and text
of the measure to be referred.
•
The minimum number of signatures required to refer a measure to the ballot is equal to 5% of the
number of votes cast at the last gubernatorial election.
•
The deadline to file referendum petition signatures is no later than 90 days after sine die (the date of
adjournment of the legislative session in which the measure was passed).
•
Any revision to the title and text or 100-word description requires a new Application for Serial Number to
be filed. All previous versions and signatures collected will be considered invalid.
