Bill Text: VA SB390 | 2022 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Elections; annual post-election audits.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-01 - Passed by indefinitely in Privileges and Elections (9-Y 6-N) [SB390 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2022-SB390-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§24.2-669 and 24.2-671.1 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§24.2-669. Clerk to keep ballots; inspection; destruction.
The clerk to whom the counted and uncounted ballots are
delivered shall, without breaking the seal, deposit them in a secure place in
his office, where they shall be kept for the time required by this section. He
shall not allow the ballots to be inspected except (i) by an authorized
representative of the State Board or by the electoral board at the direction of
the State Board to ensure the accuracy of the returns or the purity of the
election, (ii) by the officers of election, and then only at the direction of
the electoral board in accordance with §24.2-672 when the provisions of §
24.2-662 have not been followed, (iii) on the order of a court before which
there is pending a proceeding for a contest or recount under Chapter 8 (§
24.2-800 et seq.) of this title or before whom there is then pending a
proceeding in which the ballots are necessary for use in evidence, or (iv) for
the purpose of conducting an audit as part of a
post-election pilot program pursuant to §24.2-671.1. In
the event that ballots are inspected under clause (i), (ii), or (iv) of this
paragraph, each political party and each independent candidate on the ballot,
or each primary candidate, shall be entitled to have a representative present
during such inspection. The representatives and observers lawfully present
shall be prohibited from interfering with the officers of election in any way.
The State Board or local electoral board shall provide such parties and
candidates reasonable advance notice of the inspection.
After the counted ballots for a federal election have remained in the clerk's office for two years, if no election contest or other proceeding is pending in which such ballots may be needed as evidence, the clerk shall destroy such ballots. After the counted ballots for any other election have remained in the clerk's office for one year, if no election contest or other proceeding is pending in which such ballots may be needed as evidence, the clerk shall destroy such ballots. After the unused ballots have remained in the clerk's office and the time has expired for initiating a recount, contest, or other proceeding in which such ballots may be needed as evidence and no such contest or proceeding is pending, the clerk may then destroy the unused ballots other than punchcard ballots, which shall be returned to the electoral board.
§24.2-671.1. Audits of ballot scanner machines.
A. The Department of
Elections Each local electoral
board and general registrar shall
coordinate conduct
a post-election risk-limiting
audit annually of at least one fifth of
all ballot scanner machines in use in the Commonwealth. The
localities selected for the audit shall be chosen at random with every locality
participating in the Department's annual audit at least once during a
five-year period locality
such that all ballot scanner machines in use in the locality are audited at
least once every five years. The
purpose of the audits shall be to study the accuracy of ballot scanner
machines.
B. No audit conducted pursuant to this section shall commence until after the election has been certified and the period to initiate a recount has expired without the initiation of a recount. An audit shall have no effect on the election results.
C. All audits conducted pursuant to this section shall be
performed by the local electoral boards and
general registrars in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Department
State Board. The procedures established by the Department
State Board shall include its procedures for conducting
hand counts of ballots. Candidates and political parties may have
representatives observe the audits.
D. The local electoral boards shall
report the results of the audit of the ballot scanner machines in their
jurisdiction to the Department. At
the conclusion of each audit, the Department shall submit a report to the
State Board. The report shall include a comparison of the audited election
results and the initial tally for each machine audited and an analysis of any
detected discrepancies.
