Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SB1028 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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2	2	HOUSE BILL 999
3	3	By Warner
4	4
5	5	SENATE BILL 1028
6	6	By Pody
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8	8
9	9	SB1028
10	10	001310
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13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2,
14	14	relative to elections.
15	15
16	16	WHEREAS, hand-marked paper election ballots have become a major national issue
17	17	concerning the security and purity of the ballot box; and
18	18	WHEREAS, in 2020, secure markings were generally accepted for use for electronically
19	19	generated ballots; and
20	20	WHEREAS, additional concerns have been raised regarding the use of quick-response
21	21	(QR) codes and bar codes for ballot tabulation, as compared to human readable text; and
22	22	WHEREAS, other states have already addressed concerns regarding the composition of
23	23	their respective states' paper ballots; and
24	24	WHEREAS, efforts to secure the ballot have already been enacted in other states and
25	25	are herein recommended, based on Georgia Senate Bill 189 from Georgia's 2023-2024 Regular
26	26	Session and others; and
27	27	WHEREAS, these changes are necessary for a myriad of other reasons in order to
28	28	maintain the integrity of both the ballot and our elections in Tennessee; now, therefore,
29	29	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
30	30	SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-5-206(a), is amended by deleting
31	31	the subsection and substituting the following:
32	32	(a)
33	33	(1) Voting machine ballot labels and names of candidates must be
34	34	printed in black ink with office titles printed in black or red ink on clear material of
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39	39	such size as will fit the ballot frame and in as plain, clear type as the space will
40	40	reasonably permit.
41	41	(2) Except as otherwise authorized by law, all voting machine ballots in
42	42	an election must use paper that includes a visible secure watermark, as required
43	43	under § 2-5-212(a)(1)(A), and approved by the coordinator of elections, as
44	44	required under § 2-5-212(a)(2). For purposes of this subdivision (a)(2), the
45	45	watermark must be easily discernible for verification purposes by the counting
46	46	board.
47	47	SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-5-207(b)(2), is amended by
48	48	deleting the subdivision and substituting the following:
49	49	(2) Except as otherwise authorized by law, all paper ballots in an election,
50	50	including absentee ballots, must use paper that includes a visible secure watermark, as
51	51	required under § 2-5-212(a)(1)(B), and approved by the coordinator of elections, as
52	52	required under § 2-5-212(a)(2). For purposes of this subdivision (b)(2), the watermark
53	53	must be easily discernible for verification purposes by the counting board.
54	54	SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-5-208, is amended by adding the
55	55	following as a new subsection:
56	56	( ) The coordinator of elections shall define the method and type of visible
57	57	secure watermark used for election ballots, as provided for voting machine ballots under
58	58	§ 2-5-212(a)(1)(A) and for paper ballots under § 2-5-212(a)(1)(B), and the placement of
59	59	the watermark on each form of ballot.
60	60	SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2, Chapter 5, Part 2, is amended by
61	61	adding the following as a new section:
62	62	2-5-212. Security features of ballots -- Tabulation.
63	63	(a)
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68	68	(1) All ballots cast by a voter and tabulated in a primary or general
69	69	election must contain a visible secure watermark as a security feature, including:
70	70	(A) All voting machine ballots, as provided under § 2-5-206(a)(2);
71	71	and
72	72	(B) All paper ballots, as provided under § 2-5-207(b)(2).
73	73	(2) The coordinator of elections shall define the method and type of
74	74	secure watermark used for each form of ballot and the placement of the
75	75	watermark on the ballot, and may authorize the use of invisible ink or pre-printed
76	76	opaque images to produce the watermark; provided, however, that the resulting
77	77	watermark is visible on the ballot. For purposes of this subsection (a), the
78	78	watermark must be easily discernible for verification purposes by the counting
79	79	board.
80	80	(b) The official tabulation count of any ballot scanner must be based upon the
81	81	text portion or the machine mark of the ballot; provided, however, that the mark:
82	82	(1) Clearly denotes the voter's selection; and
83	83	(2) Does not use a quick-response (QR) code, bar code, nor any other
84	84	type of machine coding printed on the ballot for the purposes of tabulating a
85	85	voter's selection on the ballot.
86	86	SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-5-211, is amended by adding the
87	87	following as a new subsection:
88	88	( ) A sample ballot is not required to contain a visible secure watermark under §
89	89	2-5-212.
90	90	SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-6-202, is amended by adding the
91	91	following as a new subsection:
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96	96	( ) Absentee ballots are subject to scanning, posting, and auditing under the
97	97	Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, compiled in title 2, chapter 20.
98	98	SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-7-114(c)(1), is amended by adding
99	99	the following after the last sentence of the subdivision:
100	100	Each paper ballot must contain a visible secure watermark, as required by § 2-5-
101	101	212(a)(1)(B).
102	102	SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-9-101(d)(1), is amended by adding
103	103	the following after the last sentence of the subdivision:
104	104	Each voting machine used by a county election commission must produce a ballot that
105	105	contains a visible secure watermark, as required by § 2-5-212.
106	106	SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-20-104(a)(1), is amended by
107	107	deleting subdivisions (A) and (B) and substituting the following:
108	108	(A) Must be certified pursuant to § 2-9-110 and certified by the election
109	109	assistance commission as having met the applicable voluntary systems guidelines. In
110	110	addition, the precinct-based optical scanners must be tested to ensure the scanners
111	111	operate in accordance with the guidelines;
112	112	(B) Must, with all relevant documentation, be made available by their vendors, at
113	113	the request of the state election commission or the secretary of state for review by an
114	114	independent expert, selected by the state election commission or the secretary of state,
115	115	to ensure the functionality and security of its systems; and
116	116	(C) Must be capable of tabulating a ballot that contains a visible secure
117	117	watermark feature, as required for ballots under § 2-5-212.
118	118	SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2, Chapter 20, is amended by adding
119	119	the following new sections:
120	120	2-20-109. Scanning of paper ballots - Creation of ballot scan images.
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125	125	(a)
126	126	(1) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, all paper ballots tabulated in
127	127	a primary or general election must be scanned so that a digital image of the
128	128	ballot is rendered when the ballot is scanned.
129	129	(2) All paper ballot scan images must be of an image resolution of no
130	130	less than six hundred (600) dots per square inch, or of the highest resolution
131	131	possible for the certified voting system. All paper ballot scan images created
132	132	pursuant to this section must be saved and maintained in a manner and duration
133	133	specified by the secretary of state and applicable state and federal laws.
134	134	(b) Pursuant to an audit conducted under § 2-20-103 or § 2-20-111, and as
135	135	provided under § 2-20-110, the secretary of state shall post on its website the scanned
136	136	images of ballots created pursuant to this section and requested for review under the
137	137	ballot audit.
138	138	(c) A paper ballot that is scanned pursuant to this section must be stored and
139	139	processed according to the following process:
140	140	(1) After being scanned, the ballot must be immediately placed in a
141	141	sealed, tamper-resistant container for storage and safekeeping;
142	142	(2) The container storing the scanned ballots must possess a label with a
143	143	unique identifying number that corresponds to the voter precinct where the ballot
144	144	was cast;
145	145	(3) The unique identifying number of the container must be recorded on
146	146	the chain of custody documents, as specified by the secretary of state; and
147	147	(4) The chain of custody documents must be signed by each person
148	148	responsible for taking custody of and storing ballots under this subsection (c),
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153	153	and the date and time of the storage of ballots must be entered on the chain of
154	154	custody documents.
155	155	2-20-110. Posting of scanned paper ballots.
156	156	(a)
157	157	(1) The secretary of state shall create and administer a statewide
158	158	program for the purpose of posting on the secretary of state's website digital
159	159	images of scanned paper ballots created by voting systems in an election
160	160	pursuant to § 2-20-109 and requested for audit under § 2-20-103 or § 2-20-111.
161	161	(2) All posted scans must have a resolution of no less than two hundred
162	162	(200) dots per inch.
163	163	(b)
164	164	(1) Digital images of the scanned ballots created as part of the
165	165	preliminary tabulation process must be posted no later than five o'clock p.m.
166	166	(5:00 p.m.) on the second Friday following the day of the election.
167	167	(2) Any additional scanned ballot images that are created in the
168	168	tabulation process up to and including the final certification of any election must
169	169	be summarily included in any scanned ballot postings by the secretary of state.
170	170	2-20-111. Audit of paper ballot images.
171	171	(a)
172	172	(1) The secretary of state shall create and administer a statewide
173	173	program for the purpose of auditing paper ballot images through the use of
174	174	optical character recognition technology, or other related technology, that can
175	175	verify the human-readable text portion of a ballot.
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180	180	(2) The auditing program must not be based on or utilize for tabulation
181	181	any quick-response (QR) code, bar code, nor any other type of machine coding
182	182	printed on the ballot.
183	183	(b) A report that includes all ballot types must be conducted and produced, and
184	184	released prior to final certification of the election.
185	185	(c) The secretary of state may scan, post, and audit paper ballots pursuant to an
186	186	audit conducted under § 2-20-103.
187	187	2-20-112. Applicability.
188	188	Sections 2-20-109 – 2-20-111 apply to all ballots used in primary or general
189	189	elections; provided, however, the requirements of those sections apply only to ballots
190	190	tabulated in an election in this state conducted on or after July 1, 2025.
191	191	SECTION 11. The headings in this act are for reference purposes only and do not
192	192	constitute a part of the law enacted by this act. However, the Tennessee Code Commission is
193	193	requested to include the headings in any compilation or publication containing this act.
194	194	SECTION 12. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.