Connecticut 2019 2019 Regular Session

Connecticut House Bill HB07321 Introduced / Bill

Filed 03/06/2019

                        
 
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General Assembly  Raised Bill No. 7321  
January Session, 2019  
LCO No. 5330 
 
 
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION 
AND ELECTIONS  
 
 
Introduced by:  
(GAE)  
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING EL ECTIONS AND SECURITY. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Section 9-241 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 2 
(a) Any person owning or holding an interest in any voting 3 
tabulator, as defined in subsection (w) of section 9-1, may apply to the 4 
Secretary of the State to examine such tabulator and report on its 5 
accuracy and efficiency. The Secretary of the State shall examine the 6 
tabulator and determine whether, in the Secretary's opinion, the kind 7 
of tabulator so examined (1) meets the requirements of section 9-242, 8 
(2) can be used at elections, primaries and referenda held pursuant to 9 
this title, and (3) complies with applicable standards for electronic 10 
voting tabulators. If the Secretary of the State determines that the 11 
tabulator can be so used, such tabulator may be adopted for such use. 12 
No tabulator not so approved shall be so used. Each application shall 13 
be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars and the Secretary of 14 
the State shall not approve any tabulator until such fee and the 15  Raised Bill No.  7321 
 
 
 
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expenses incurred by the Secretary in making the examination have 16 
been paid by the person making such application. Any voting 17 
tabulator company that has had its voting tabulator approved and that 18 
subsequently alters such tabulator in any way shall provide the 19 
Secretary of the State with notice of such alterations, including a 20 
description thereof and a statement of the purpose of such alterations. 21 
If any such alterations appear to materially affect the accuracy, 22 
appearance or efficiency of the tabulator, or modify the tabulator so 23 
that it can no longer be used at elections, primaries or referenda held 24 
pursuant to this title, at the discretion of the Secretary of the State, the 25 
company shall submit such alterations for inspection and approval, at 26 
its own expense, before such altered tabulators may be used. The 27 
Secretary of the State may adopt regulations, in accordance with the 28 
provisions of chapter 54, concerning examination and approval of 29 
voting tabulators under this section. No voting tabulator that records 30 
votes by means of holes punched in designated voting response 31 
locations may be approved or used at any election, primary or 32 
referendum held pursuant to this title. 33 
(b) The Secretary of the State shall appoint an individual to serve in 34 
a cyber security role within the office of the Secretary of the State. Such 35 
individual shall perform or assist in performing any technical review, 36 
testing or research associated with (1) the use of voting systems, and 37 
(2) the development of any other standards necessary to protect the 38 
integrity of the voting process. 39 
[(b)] (c) The Secretary of the State may enter into an agreement with 40 
The University of Connecticut or a member of the Connecticut State 41 
University System to perform or assist in performing the following 42 
functions: (1) Any technical review, testing or research associated with 43 
the certification of voting equipment, (2) any technical review, testing 44 
or research associated with the decertification of voting equipment, (3) 45 
the development of standards for the use of voting equipment during 46 
any election, primary or referenda, (4) the development of standards to 47 
ensure the accuracy of voting equipment, (5) the development of 48 
standards and procedures for the security, set-up and storage of voting 49  Raised Bill No.  7321 
 
 
 
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equipment, (6) the development of standards, procedures and 50 
oversight of post-election audits, (7) the development of standards for 51 
recanvass procedures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of any such 52 
recanvass, (8) the development of standards and procedures for the 53 
testing, security and use of an election management system, (9) the 54 
development of standards and procedures for the programming of 55 
ballots and voting equipment, (10) research and analysis of data 56 
formats for ballot programming and election-related electronic data, 57 
and (11) the development of any other standards necessary to protect 58 
the integrity of voting equipment.  59 
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective from passage) (a) Whenever voter registration 60 
information maintained under title 9 of the general statutes by the 61 
Secretary of the State or any registrar of voters is provided pursuant to 62 
any provision of the general statutes, disclosure of a voter's date of 63 
birth shall be limited to only the year of birth, unless such voter 64 
registration information is requested and used for a governmental 65 
purpose, as determined by the Secretary, in which case the voter's 66 
complete date of birth shall be provided. As used in this section, a 67 
governmental purpose shall include, but not be limited to, jury 68 
administration. 69 
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, any 70 
motor vehicle operator's license number, identity card number, Social 71 
Security number and any other unique identifier used for the purpose 72 
of generating a voter registration record, or added to such record for 73 
compliance with the requirements of the Help America Vote Act, P.L. 74 
107-252, as amended from time to time, shall be confidential and shall 75 
not be disclosed to any person. 76 
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, if a voter 77 
submits to the Secretary of the State a signed statement that 78 
nondisclosure of such voter's name from the official registry list is 79 
necessary for the safety of such voter or the voter's family, the name 80 
and address of such voter on his or her voter registration record shall 81 
be confidential and shall not be disclosed, except that an election, 82  Raised Bill No.  7321 
 
 
 
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primary or referendum official may view such information on the 83 
official registry list when such list is used by any such official at a 84 
polling place on the day of an election, primary or referendum. 85 
Sec. 3. Subsection (w) of section 9-1 of the general statutes is 86 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 87 
passage): 88 
(w) "Voting tabulator" means a machine, including, but not limited 89 
to, a device [which operates] and any accompanying instruments, such 90 
as memory cards, that operate by electronic means, for the registering 91 
and recording of votes cast at elections, primaries and referenda; 92 
Sec. 4. Subsection (a) of section 9-238 of the general statutes is 93 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 94 
passage): 95 
(a) Except as provided in section 9-272, voting tabulators shall be 96 
used at all elections held in any municipality, or in any part thereof, for 97 
voting and registering and counting votes cast at such elections for 98 
officers, and upon all questions or amendments submitted at such 99 
elections. The board of selectmen of each town, the common council of 100 
each city and the warden and burgesses of each borough shall 101 
purchase or lease, or otherwise provide, for use at elections in each 102 
such municipality (1) a number of voting tabulators approved by the 103 
Secretary of the State, and (2) two memory cards programmed for each 104 
such tabulator. Different voting tabulators may be provided for 105 
different voting districts in the same municipality. Notwithstanding 106 
any provision of this subsection to the contrary, the registrars of voters 107 
of a municipality [may determine the number of voting tabulators that 108 
shall be provided for use at any special election in such municipality, 109 
provided the registrars shall provide at least one voting tabulator in 110 
the municipality or, in a municipality divided into voting districts,] 111 
shall use at least one voting tabulator in each [such] voting district. 112 
Sec. 5. Section 9-247 of the general statutes is repealed and the 113 
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage): 114  Raised Bill No.  7321 
 
 
 
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(a) The registrars of voters shall, before the day of the election, cause 115 
test ballots to be inserted in each tabulator to ensure that each 116 
tabulator is prepared and read and cause each other voting system 117 
approved by the Secretary of the State for use in the election, 118 
including, but not limited to, voting devices equipped for individuals 119 
with disabilities that comply with the provisions of the Help America 120 
Vote Act, P.L. 107-25, as amended from time to time, to be put in order 121 
in every way and set and adjust the same so that it shall be ready for 122 
use in voting when delivered at the polling place. Such registrars of 123 
voters shall cause each voting system to be in order and set and 124 
adjusted, to be delivered at the polling place, together with all 125 
necessary furniture and appliances that go with the same, at the room 126 
where the election is to be held, and to be tested and operable not later 127 
than one hour prior to the opening of the polling place. 128 
(b) (1) Upon completion of the requirements set forth in subsection 129 
(a) of this section and in regulations adopted by the Secretary of the 130 
State relating to preparation of any voting system, the registrars of 131 
voters shall submit one of the two memory cards programmed for each 132 
voting tabulator, as provided in subdivision (2) of section 9-238, as 133 
amended by this act, to The University of Connecticut for security 134 
analysis. 135 
(2) In the case of a voting tabulator subject to audit pursuant to 136 
section 9-320f, after the completion of such audit and the conclusion of 137 
the period prescribed in sections 9-266 and 9-310 during which such 138 
voting tabulator shall be locked, sealed, secured and stored, the 139 
registrars of voters shall submit the remaining memory card 140 
programmed for such voting tabulator to The University of 141 
Connecticut for security analysis. 142 
Sec. 6. Subsection (a) of section 9-404b of the general statutes is 143 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 144 
passage): 145 
(a) The petition form for candidacies for nomination to state or 146  Raised Bill No.  7321 
 
 
 
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district office shall be prescribed and provided by the Secretary of the 147 
State, and signatures shall be obtained only on such form or on 148 
duplicate petition pages produced in accordance with the provisions of 149 
section 9-404a. Such form shall include, at the top of the form and in 150 
bold print, the following: 151 
WARNING 152 
IT IS A CRIME TO SIGN THIS PETITION 153 
IN THE NAME OF ANOTHER PERSON 154 
WITHOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO SO 155 
AND YOU MAY NOT SIGN THIS PETITION 156 
IF YOU ARE NOT AN ELECTO R. 157 
The form shall include a statement of instructions to persons using 158 
the form and shall indicate the date and time by which it shall be filed 159 
and the person with whom it shall be filed. The form shall (1) provide 160 
spaces for the names and addresses of the candidates, the offices to 161 
which nomination is sought and the political party holding the 162 
primary, [and shall] (2) provide lines for the signatures, street 163 
addresses, dates of birth and the printing of the names of enrolled 164 
party members supporting the person or persons on behalf of whose 165 
candidacy the petition is used, and (3) include a statement that any 166 
such enrolled party member is not required to complete the line for 167 
date of birth. 168 
Sec. 7. Subsection (a) of section 9-410 of the general statutes is 169 
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from 170 
passage): 171 
(a) The petition form for candidacies for nomination to municipal 172 
office or for election as members of town committees shall be 173 
prescribed by the Secretary of the State and provided by the registrar 174 
of the municipality in which the candidacy is to be filed or duplicate 175  Raised Bill No.  7321 
 
 
 
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petition pages shall be produced in accordance with section 9-409, and 176 
signatures shall be obtained only on such forms or such duplicate 177 
petition pages. Such form shall include, at the top of the form and in 178 
bold print, the following: 179 
WARNING 180 
IT IS A CRIME TO SIGN THIS PETITION 181 
IN THE NAME OF ANOTHER PERSON 182 
WITHOUT LEGAL AUTHORITY TO DO SO 183 
AND YOU MAY NOT SIGN THIS PETITION 184 
IF YOU ARE NOT AN ELECTOR. 185 
The form shall include thereon a statement of instructions to 186 
persons using the form and shall indicate the date and time by which it 187 
shall be filed and the person with whom it shall be filed. The form 188 
shall (1) provide spaces for the names and addresses of the candidates, 189 
the offices to which nomination is sought or the positions to which 190 
election is sought and the political party holding the primary, [and 191 
shall] (2) provide lines for the signatures, street addresses, dates of 192 
birth and the printing of the names of enrolled party members 193 
supporting the person or persons on behalf of whose candidacy the 194 
petition is used, and (3) include a statement that any such enrolled 195 
party member is not required to complete the line for date of birth. 196 
Only as many candidates may be proposed in any one primary 197 
petition for the same office or position as are to be nominated or 198 
chosen by such party for such office or position; but any one primary 199 
petition may propose as many candidates for different offices or 200 
positions as there are nominations to be made or positions to be filled.  201 
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 from passage 9-241  Raised Bill No.  7321 
 
 
 
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Sec. 2 from passage New section 
Sec. 3 from passage 9-1(w) 
Sec. 4 from passage 9-238(a) 
Sec. 5 from passage 9-247 
Sec. 6 from passage 9-404b(a) 
Sec. 7 from passage 9-410(a) 
 
Statement of Purpose:   
To (1) require the Secretary of the State to appoint an individual to 
serve in the office of the Secretary of the State in a cyber security role, 
(2) limit, in certain situations, the type of information provided when 
voter registration records are provided, (3) require that each voting 
tabulator has two memory cards programmed for use with such 
tabulator, (4) provide for security analysis of such memory cards by 
The University of Connecticut, and (5) provide that signers of petitions 
are not required to disclose their dates of birth on such petitions. 
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, 
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is 
not underlined.]