Arizona Secretary of State Michelle Reagan launched a database Friday called the Circulator Portal to streamline the state’s petition system and create more transparency.

Eric Spencer, the state’s election director, said the database automates the registration process for petition circulators who gather signatures on ballot measures and candidate nominations.

“The other component of this [database] is not just to make it easier for the circulator but to also provide the public transparency that is needed,” Spencer said. “For example, a big part of this is ensuring that a circulator puts down an address where they can be served with a lawsuit. And that address has to be in Arizona.”  

Spencer said in layman's terms the database is sort of like the Better Business Bureau for voters, but “a more technologically advanced and thorough Better Business Bureau than what’s ever existed.”

The database tracks petitions in real-time and reduces the cost of staff to manually input data from previously hand-written forms.