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| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
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| SENATE BILL |
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| INTRODUCED BY PIPPY, FOLMER, FONTANA, EARLL, FERLO, KITCHEN, ORIE, D. WHITE, FARNESE AND STACK, FEBRUARY 19, 2009 |
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| REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, FEBRUARY 19, 2009 |
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| AN ACT |
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1 | Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled |
2 | "An act concerning elections, including general, municipal, |
3 | special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates, |
4 | primary and election expenses and election contests; creating |
5 | and defining membership of county boards of elections; |
6 | imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth, |
7 | courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners; |
8 | imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying, |
9 | revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and |
10 | repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to |
11 | elections," in electronic voting systems, further providing |
12 | for election day procedures and the process of voting; and |
13 | requiring a voter-verified permanent paper record. |
14 | The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
15 | hereby enacts as follows: |
16 | Section 1. Section 1112-A(a) of the act of June 3, 1937 |
17 | (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, is |
18 | amended by adding a paragraph to read: |
19 | Section 1112-A. Election Day Procedures and the Process of |
20 | Voting.--(a) In an election district which uses an electronic |
21 | voting system in which votes are registered electronically, the |
22 | following procedures will be applicable for the conduct of the |
23 | election at the election district: |
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1 | * * * |
2 | (4.1) The voting system, pursuant to section 1112.1-A, shall |
3 | produce or require the use of an individual voter-verified paper |
4 | record of the voter's vote that shall be made available for |
5 | inspection and verification by the voter before the voter's vote |
6 | is cast. |
7 | * * * |
8 | Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read: |
9 | Section 1112.1-A. Voter-verified Record.--(a) Voting |
10 | systems required to produce an individual voter-verified paper |
11 | record under section 1112-A(a)(4.1) shall do so pursuant to this |
12 | section. |
13 | (b) A voter-verified paper record may include any of the |
14 | following: |
15 | (1) A paper ballot prepared by the voter for the purpose of |
16 | being read by an optical scanner. |
17 | (2) A paper ballot prepared by the voter to be mailed to an |
18 | election official, whether from a domestic or overseas location. |
19 | (3) A paper ballot created through the use of a ballot |
20 | marking device. |
21 | (4) A paper printout of the voter's vote produced by a touch |
22 | screen or other electronic voting machine if, in each case, the |
23 | record permits the voter to verify the record in accordance with |
24 | this section. |
25 | (c) The voting system shall do all of the following: |
26 | (1) Provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any |
27 | error made by the system in the voter-verified paper record |
28 | before the permanent voter-verified paper record is preserved in |
29 | accordance with this section. |
30 | (2) Not preserve the voter-verifiable paper records in any |
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1 | manner that makes it possible to associate a voter with the |
2 | record of the voter's vote. |
3 | (d) The permanent voter-verified paper record produced in |
4 | accordance with this section shall be preserved as follows: |
5 | (1) In the case of votes cast at the polling place on the |
6 | date of the election, within the polling place in the manner or |
7 | method in which all other paper ballots are preserved within the |
8 | polling place. |
9 | (2) In the case of votes cast at the polling place prior to |
10 | the date of the election or cast by mail, in a manner which is |
11 | consistent with the manner employed by the jurisdiction for |
12 | preserving such ballots in general. |
13 | (3) In the absence of either manner or method listed in |
14 | clauses (1) and (2), in a manner which is consistent with the |
15 | manner employed by the jurisdiction for preserving paper ballots |
16 | in general. |
17 | (e) Each permanent paper record produced shall be suitable |
18 | for a mandatory manual audit pursuant to subsection (f). In the |
19 | event of any inconsistencies or irregularities between any |
20 | electronic records and the individual permanent paper records, |
21 | the individual permanent paper records shall be the true and |
22 | correct record of the votes cast. |
23 | (f) (1) Each county shall conduct mandatory hand counts of |
24 | the voter-verified paper records in at least five (5) per centum |
25 | of the precincts. |
26 | (2) (i) As soon as practical following the closing of the |
27 | polls, the county board of elections shall do all of the |
28 | following: |
29 | (A) Complete the initial vote count for every precinct |
30 | participating in the election in the county and publicly |
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1 | announce the results of each initial vote count as soon as the |
2 | results are available. |
3 | (B) Publicly conduct a random drawing as specified in clause |
4 | (3) to determine which of the precincts in the county will be |
5 | selected for the mandatory hand counts of the voter-verified |
6 | paper records as specified in clause (1). A drawing shall not |
7 | occur until such time as all initial vote counts have been |
8 | completed and the results publicly announced, but no later than |
9 | forty-eight hours after that time. |
10 | (C) Publicly announce the date, time and location of the |
11 | public random drawing at least twenty-four hours before the |
12 | drawing is conducted. |
13 | (D) Publicly announce the date, time and location of the |
14 | public mandatory hand counts at least twenty-four hours before |
15 | the hand counts are initiated. |
16 | (E) Initiate mandatory hand counts of the voter-verified |
17 | paper records in the precincts selected as specified in |
18 | paragraph (B) no later than forty-eight hours after the |
19 | selection of precincts is made. |
20 | (F) Complete hand counts no later than twenty-four hours |
21 | after the hand counts are initiated and publicly announce the |
22 | results of each mandatory hand count as soon as the results are |
23 | available. |
24 | (ii) With respect to votes cast at the precinct or |
25 | equivalent location on or before the date of the election, other |
26 | than provisional ballots, the county board of elections shall |
27 | count by hand the voter-verified paper records and compare those |
28 | records with the initial count of the votes as announced by the |
29 | precinct. |
30 | (iii) With respect to votes cast other than at the precinct |
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1 | on the date of the election or votes cast by provisional ballot |
2 | on the date of the election which are certified and counted by |
3 | the county on or after the date of the election, including votes |
4 | cast by absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters, |
5 | the county board of elections shall count by hand the applicable |
6 | voter-verified paper records and compare its count with the |
7 | machine tally of those votes. |
8 | (3) The selection of the precincts in a county in which the |
9 | county board of elections shall conduct hand counts of the |
10 | voter-verified paper records as specified in this subsection |
11 | shall be made publicly by the county board of elections on an |
12 | entirely random basis using a uniform distribution in which all |
13 | precincts in a county have an equal chance of being selected. |
14 | The timing of when the random selection is made shall be |
15 | specified in clause (2)(i). |
16 | (4) If the county board of elections finds that any of the |
17 | hand counts conducted under this subsection show a discrepancy |
18 | between the hand count and the initial vote count in a |
19 | jurisdiction within the county, the county board of elections |
20 | shall conduct hand counts under this subsection at such |
21 | additional precincts within the county as the county board of |
22 | elections considers appropriate to resolve any concerns and |
23 | ensure the accuracy of the results. |
24 | (5) (i) As soon as practicable after the completion of an |
25 | audit conducted under this subsection, the county board of |
26 | elections shall announce and publish the results of the audit |
27 | and shall include in the announcement a comparison of the |
28 | results of the election in the precinct as determined by the |
29 | county board of elections under the audit and the initial vote |
30 | count in the precinct as announced by the county board of |
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1 | elections as specified in clause (2)(i)(A), itemized by the |
2 | categories of votes described in clause (2)(ii) and (iii). Any |
3 | discrepancies between the corresponding audit results and |
4 | initial vote counts shall be duly noted, along with a |
5 | description of the actions taken by the county board of |
6 | elections for resolution of the discrepancies. |
7 | (ii) No county may certify the results of an election |
8 | subject to an audit under this subsection prior to the |
9 | completion of the audit and the announcement and publication of |
10 | the results of the audit under subclause (i). |
11 | Section 3. The addition of sections 1112-A(a)(4.1) and |
12 | 1112.1-A shall apply to elections occurring on or one year from |
13 | the effective date of this section. |
14 | Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days. |
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