TO PROVIDE FOR SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION TO PURCHASE ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES THAT PRODUCE A PAPER AUDIT TRAIL; AND TO ALLOW THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION TO CARRY FORWARD UNEXPENDED FUNDS APPROPRIATED IN THIS ACT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    There is appropriated from the Fiscal Year 2017-18 General Fund Budgetary Surplus the sum of twenty-five million dollars to the Department of Administration to purchase voting machines to be placed in service for the 2020 presidential preference primaries pursuant to Section 7-11-20 of the 1976 Code. Voting machines purchased pursuant to this act must be designed to allow a direct vote on the machine by the manual touch of a screen, monitor, wheel, or other device and must be equipped with a voter-verified paper audit trail that produces a permanent paper recording of all votes cast by each elector in that election.

SECTION    2.    The Department of Administration's procurement of voting machines pursuant to this act shall be through a fair, transparent process in strict accordance with the Consolidated Procurement Code.

SECTION    3.    The Department of Administration may carry forward any funds appropriated in this act that remain unexpended at the end of the current fiscal year provided that the carried-forward funds must be expended on voting machines as provided in this act.

SECTION    4.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.