SB 360

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law establishes various procedures and criteria for the approval by the Secretary of State of voting systems, including ballot marking systems, to be used in elections. This bill would recast and revise those provisions by changing the term "approval" to the term "certification" and would authorize the Secretary of State to certify, conditionally approve, as specified, or withhold approval of a voting system. The bill would provide that it is the intent of the Legislature that a local jurisdiction be authorized to use available public funds to research and develop a nonproprietary voting system, as specified, for use in a pilot program or for submission to the Secretary of State, and that the Secretary of State certify all voting systems before they are used in future elections, adopt and publish testing standards, and encourage the development of voting systems that are easy to audit. The bill would require the Secretary of State to adopt and publish voting system standards and regulations, as specified, and would require the Secretary of State to study the performance of the voting systems in use in the state. This bill would additionally require the Secretary of State to publish requirements for the approval of state-approved testing agencies, as defined, that are authorized to conduct the testing and examination of voting systems and to approve and publish a list of authorized testing agencies. The bill also would provide that the person, corporation, or public agency applying for certification of a voting system is responsible for all costs associated with the testing of the voting system. (2) Existing law prohibits the use of a voting system unless it has received the approval of the Secretary of State, as specified. This bill would provide that a voting system that has been tested and approved for use in all elections by the Secretary of State before January 1, 2014, would be deemed to be certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State and would be authorized for use in elections, as specified. The bill would authorize a vendor or county that has submitted a voting system for federal qualification before August 1, 2013, to request approval of the voting system from the Secretary of State, as specified. The bill also would prohibit a jurisdiction from purchasing or contracting for a voting system unless the voting system has been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, except as specified. The bill would further authorize the Secretary of State to grant conditional approval to a voting system or part of a voting system under specified circumstances. (3) Existing law provides that a person or corporation owning or being interested in a voting system or a part of a voting system may apply to the Secretary of State to examine it and report on its accuracy and efficiency to fulfill its purpose. As part of its application, existing law requires the vendor of a voting system or the part of a voting system to notify the Secretary of State in writing of any known defect, fault, or failure of the version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the voting system or a part of the voting system submitted, and the Secretary of State is required to notify the United States Election Assistance Commission or its successor entity of the problem as soon as practicable so as to present a reasonably complete description of the problem, as specified. This bill would delete the requirement that the Secretary of State notify the United States Election Assistance Commission or its successor entity of any known defect, fault, or failure of the version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the voting system or a part of the voting system submitted by the applicant. (4) Existing law requires the Secretary of State to provide for a 30-day public review period and conduct a public hearing prior to publishing his or her decision to certify, conditionally approve, or withhold certification of a voting system, part of a voting system, or a ballot marking system. Under existing law, the Secretary of State is required to transmit notice of the hearing at least 30 days prior to the public review period and hearing, as specified. This bill would instead require the Secretary of State to transmit notice of the hearing at least 14 days prior to the public review period and hearing. (5) Within 30 days after completing the examination of any voting system, existing law requires the Secretary of State to file a report stating whether the voting system can safely be used, as specified. This bill would instead require the Secretary of State to file a report within 60 days after the completion of the examination of the voting system, as specified. (6) Existing law authorizes a governing board to adopt any kind of voting system, any combination of voting systems, or any combination of a voting system and paper ballots for use at elections, as specified. Provisions of existing law authorize the use of the voting systems at any or all elections held in any county, city, or any of their political subdivisions for voting, registering, and counting votes cast, and prohibit candidates for a single office from being split between voting systems or between a voting system and paper ballots. This bill would delete those provisions. (7) Existing law authorizes a governing board to provide for the experimental use of a voting system in one or more precincts without formally adopting the system and provides that the experimental use of the system at the election is valid for all purposes as if it were lawfully adopted. This bill would authorize a governing board to conduct a pilot program for the experimental use of voting systems, as specified, and would require the Secretary of State to adopt and publish regulations governing voting system pilot programs. No later than 9 months before the election at which a pilot program is proposed to be conducted, the bill would require the governing board to submit to the Secretary of State a plan for the proposed pilot program, and would require the Secretary of State to approve or reject the plan within 3 months of receipt of the plan. The bill would require votes cast on a voting system during a pilot program, as specified, to be subject to risk-limiting audits, as defined. Upon completion of the pilot program, the bill would require the governing board to notify the Secretary of State in writing of any defect, fault, or failure in the hardware, software, or firmware of the voting system. (8) Upon examination of a voting system or a ballot marking system, existing law provides that if a report is issued that states that the voting system or ballot marking system can be used, it is deemed approved by the Secretary of State for use at elections. This bill would delete the above provision and would make conforming changes. (9) The Voting Modernization Bond Act of 2002 authorizes the issuance of bonds in the amount of $200,000,000 pursuant to the State General Obligation Bond Law for the purpose of assisting counties in the purchase of updated voting systems. This bill would authorize a county to use fund moneys to contract and pay for research and development of a new voting system that has not been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State, as specified, and for the manufacture of the minimum number of voting system units, as specified. (10) Existing law prohibits the Secretary of State, on and after January 1, 2005, from approving a direct recording electronic voting system unless the system has received federal qualification and includes an accessible voter verified paper audit trail. This bill would prohibit a city or county from contracting for or purchasing a direct recording electronic voting system unless the system has been certified by the Secretary of State, and would require all direct recording electronic voting systems in use as of January 1, 2006, to have received federal qualification and include an accessible voter verified paper audit trail, as specified. This bill would incorporate additional changes to be operative only if Assembly Bill 214 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective January 1, 2014.