Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB829 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R6404 ADM-D
2	2	By: Hughes S.B. No. 829
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the use of direct recording electronic voting machines.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 129, Election Code, is
10	10	amended by adding Sections 129.003 and 129.004 to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 129.003. PAPER AUDIT TRAIL REQUIRED. (a) Except as
12	12	provided by Subsection (e), a voting system that consists of direct
13	13	recording electronic voting machines may not be used in an election
14	14	unless the system:
15	15	(1) has:
16	16	(A) been certified or otherwise approved by means
17	17	of qualification testing by a nationally recognized test
18	18	laboratory; and
19	19	(B) met or exceeded the minimum requirements
20	20	contained in "Voting System Standards Volumes I and II" or a
21	21	successor voluntary standards document developed and adopted by the
22	22	Federal Election Commission, the Election Assistance Commission,
23	23	or the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and
24	24	(2) creates a contemporaneous auditable paper record
25	25	copy of each electronic ballot that allows a voter to confirm the
26	26	choices the voter made through both a visual and a nonvisual method,
27	27	such as through an audio component, before the voter casts the
28	28	ballot.
29	29	(b) A voter must be allowed to privately and independently
30	30	view the paper record copy required under Subsection (a)(2) without
31	31	being allowed to handle the copy. Once the voter has confirmed that
32	32	the paper record copy corresponds to the vote the voter has
33	33	indicated electronically, the vote may be recorded electronically
34	34	and the paper record copy must be deposited in a secure storage
35	35	container. If the voter finds that the paper record copy does not
36	36	correspond to the voter's choices indicated electronically, the
37	37	system must:
38	38	(1) invalidate or otherwise spoil the paper record
39	39	copy;
40	40	(2) allow the voter to review the choices the voter
41	41	made electronically; and
42	42	(3) generate a new paper record copy for the voter to
43	43	review as provided by this subsection.
44	44	(c) The paper record copy must:
45	45	(1) indicate the voter's choice on each office or
46	46	measure for which the voter cast a vote and indicate the offices and
47	47	measures for which the voter did not cast a vote;
48	48	(2) be printed in the same language that the voter used
49	49	to cast the voter's electronic vote; and
50	50	(3) be designed to be read electronically.
51	51	(d) Except for a recount under Title 13, the electronic vote
52	52	is the official record of the ballot. For a recount of ballots cast
53	53	on a system involving direct recording electronic voting machines,
54	54	the paper record copy is the official record of the vote cast.
55	55	(e) A system involving direct recording electronic voting
56	56	machines that was acquired before January 1, 2018, may be used in an
57	57	election without meeting the requirements of this section only if:
58	58	(1) a voter has the option of casting a paper ballot
59	59	instead of using the machine;
60	60	(2) a permanent record of each ballot is created at the
61	61	time the ballot is cast or during the local canvass of the votes;
62	62	(3) the system is subject to parallel monitoring; and
63	63	(4) at least 46 days before the date the system is to
64	64	be used for voting, the authority responsible for holding the
65	65	election submits a technical security plan for the system to the
66	66	secretary of state.
67	67	(f) The record created under Subsection (e)(2) may be in a
68	68	paper format or be an electronically recorded image.
69	69	Sec. 129.004. REQUIREMENTS FOR SYSTEM USING DIRECT
70	70	RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES. (a) On request of the
71	71	secretary of state, the authority adopting a system that uses
72	72	direct recording electronic voting machines must provide:
73	73	(1) the source code for any software and firmware used
74	74	as part of the system;
75	75	(2) all documents relating to the federal
76	76	qualification process; and
77	77	(3) complete documentation of all hardware, software,
78	78	and firmware components, including detailed change logs, and
79	79	documentation regarding the development process.
80	80	(b) Not later than the 90th day before the date a system
81	81	using direct recording electronic voting machines will be used in
82	82	an election, the authority responsible for holding the election
83	83	shall submit to the secretary of state a physical security plan for
84	84	the system.
85	85	(c) Not later than the 46th day before the date a system
86	86	using direct recording electronic voting machines will be used in
87	87	an election, the authority responsible for holding the election
88	88	shall submit to the secretary of state:
89	89	(1) all changes or modifications to the system that
90	90	might impair the accuracy and efficiency of the system, unless the
91	91	secretary of state specifically provides otherwise;
92	92	(2) a training plan for election officers at each
93	93	polling place; and
94	94	(3) a communication plan explaining the manner in
95	95	which election officers at each polling place will communicate on
96	96	election day.
97	97	(d) A component of a system that uses direct recording
98	98	electronic voting machines may not:
99	99	(1) transmit or receive official election results
100	100	through an exterior communication network;
101	101	(2) permit wireless communication to be transmitted or
102	102	received; or
103	103	(3) be connected to the Internet.
104	104	(e) A provisional vote may not be cast on a direct recording
105	105	electronic voting machine.
106	106	(f) A disability access device must be connected to a direct
107	107	recording electronic voting machine before the machine is used for
108	108	voting.
109	109	(g) At each polling place at which a direct recording
110	110	electronic voting machine is used for voting, postings must
111	111	indicate the penalties for tampering with the machines in each
112	112	language used at that polling place for the ballot.
113	113	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect July 1, 2018.