Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Requires election equipment to be stored in secure facility.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring election equipment to be stored in a secure facility and supplementing Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. When not in use in an election, election equipment shall be stored in a facility that ensures the security of the equipment against tampering and protects the equipment from environmental factors. Each county shall store election equipment in a facility that is operated 24 hours each day by security employees who control access to the facility and record in a written log the identity of every person who enters and leaves the facility and the reason for that person's visit. Every person who enters the facility shall be accompanied by a security employee. The facility shall be equipped with security cameras that record all activity in the facility. The cameras shall be checked periodically and maintained as required by the manufacturer. Camera video recordings shall be securely stored at the facility for not less than four years. The facility shall have metal bars on every window and door locks with keys or codes that are unable to be copied without express authorization and are held only by security employees on duty. Every piece of election equipment shall have a bar code and a complete history of its usage and repair record shall be maintained.
Each facility shall have a climate-control system that addresses environmental concerns, including but not limited to, temperature, humidity, and dust, in a manner that maximizes the useful life of election equipment.
As used in this section, "election equipment" means any voting machine or voting system that is used in this State to record the votes cast by voters in at any election.
A portion of funds received by the State from the federal government for election security shall be used for the purposes of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that, when not in use in an election, election equipment will be stored in a facility that ensures the security of the equipment against tampering and protects the equipment from environmental factors. Each county is required to store election equipment in a facility that is operated 24 hours each day by security employees who control access to the facility and record in a written log the identity of every person who enters and leaves the facility and the reason for that person's visit. Every person who enters the facility shall be accompanied by a security employee. The facility will be equipped with security cameras that record all activity in the facility. The cameras must be checked periodically and maintained as required by the manufacturer. Camera video recordings will be securely stored at the facility for not less than four years.
The facility will have metal bars on every window and door locks with keys or codes that are unable to be copied without express authorization and are held only by security employees on duty. Every piece of voting equipment will have a bar code and a complete history of its usage and repair record will be maintained.
Each facility will have a climate-control system that addresses environmental concerns, including but not limited to, temperature, humidity, and dust, in a manner that maximizes the useful life of the voting equipment.
As used in this bill, "election equipment" means any voting machine or voting system that is used in this State to record the votes cast by voters in at any election.
The bill provides that a portion of funds received by the State from the federal government for election security shall be used for its purposes.