House File 548 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY ZIRKELBACH, MURPHY, KRESSIG,
LENSING, WISE, WESSEL=KROESCHELL,
HEDDENS, WHITAKER, BUKTA,
PETTENGILL, WENDT, THOMAS, KUHN,
MERTZ, BERRY, R. OLSON, JOCHUM,
COHOON, BELL, LYKAM, WHITEAD,
FOEGE, T. TAYLOR, HOGG, SMITH,
HUSER, DAVITT, and GASKILL
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to the requirements for voting machines used in
2 the state.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 2806HH 81
5 sc/sh/8
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 52.7, Code 2005, is amended by striking
1 2 the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
1 3 52.7 CONSTRUCTION OF MACHINE APPROVED == REQUIREMENTS.
1 4 1. A voting machine approved by the state board of
1 5 examiners for voting machines and electronic voting systems
1 6 shall meet all of the following requirements:
1 7 a. Provide facilities for voting for the candidates of at
1 8 least seven different political parties or nonparty political
1 9 organizations.
1 10 b. Permit a voter to vote for any person for any office,
1 11 although not nominated as a candidate by any party or
1 12 organization.
1 13 c. Permit voting in absolute secrecy.
1 14 d. Prevent voting for more than one person for the same
1 15 office, except where a voter is lawfully entitled to vote for
1 16 more than one person for that office.
1 17 e. Afford a voter an opportunity to vote for any or all
1 18 persons for that office as the voter is by law entitled to
1 19 vote for and no more, at the same time preventing a voter from
1 20 voting for the same person twice.
1 21 f. Provide a voter with an opportunity to change a vote
1 22 before the ballot is recorded and counted.
1 23 g. Present together the names of each team of candidates
1 24 for president and vice president and for governor and
1 25 lieutenant governor. The votes for a team shall be counted as
1 26 a vote for both candidates of the team.
1 27 h. Provide a voter with a method for casting write=in
1 28 votes for paired offices so that the voter can specify one
1 29 person as a candidate for president or for governor and one
1 30 person as a candidate for vice president or for lieutenant
1 31 governor.
1 32 i. Accurately account for every vote cast upon it.
1 33 j. Remove information from the ballot identifying the
1 34 voter before the ballot is recorded and counted.
1 35 2. In addition to the requirements in subsection 1, a
2 1 voting machine that is a direct recording electronic device
2 2 approved by the state board of examiners for voting machines
2 3 and electronic voting systems shall meet all of the following
2 4 requirements:
2 5 a. Permit straight party voting, pursuant to section
2 6 49.94, for all political parties and nonparty political
2 7 organizations on the ballot.
2 8 b. Store an electronic image of each ballot cast separate
2 9 from the ballot tabulation function, which ballot image may be
2 10 reproduced on paper in the case of a recount, manual audit, or
2 11 machine malfunction. This printed ballot image shall be the
2 12 official record for use in a recount.
2 13 c. Provide an individual paper record as provided in
2 14 section 52.7A.
2 15 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 52.7A DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC
2 16 DEVICES == PAPER RECORD REQUIRED.
2 17 1. A voting machine that is a direct recording electronic
2 18 device shall be capable of producing an individual paper
2 19 record that the voter may review before the voter casts the
2 20 voter's ballot. The paper record shall meet all of the
2 21 following requirements:
2 22 a. Be printed on paper separate from all other individual
2 23 paper records.
2 24 b. Be readable by the voter without the use of an
2 25 electronic device.
2 26 c. Be machine=readable by an electronic voting system as
2 27 described in section 52.26.
2 28 d. Not contain any information that will identify the
2 29 person who cast the ballot.
2 30 e. Be stored at the polling place in a secure container.
2 31 A voter shall not be permitted to remove the individual paper
2 32 record from the polling place.
2 33 2. After the polls close, the precinct election officials
2 34 shall seal all individual paper records in the manner
2 35 prescribed in section 50.12. The county commissioner of
3 1 elections shall preserve the sealed individual paper records
3 2 for twelve months following the election, unless a longer
3 3 period of time is required, by rule, by the state commissioner
3 4 of elections.
3 5 3. Until voting systems performance and test standards
3 6 relating to paper records required in subsection 1 are adopted
3 7 by the federal elections assistance commission, the board of
3 8 examiners shall contract with a testing authority to examine
3 9 any direct recording electronic device that is capable of
3 10 producing a paper record when the board receives a request for
3 11 examination of such a device pursuant to section 52.5. The
3 12 fees of the testing authority shall be paid by the person who
3 13 requested the certification.
3 14 EXPLANATION
3 15 This bill rewrites the Code section relating to
3 16 requirements for voting machines in use in the state by
3 17 listing the requirements for voting machines generally and
3 18 listing the requirements that apply specifically to direct
3 19 recording electronic devices.
3 20 The bill also requires that a voting machine that is a
3 21 direct recording electronic device shall be capable of
3 22 producing an individual paper record for review by the voter
3 23 before the voter's ballot is cast. The bill provides that the
3 24 individual paper records are to be preserved by the county
3 25 commissioner of elections for 12 months following the election
3 26 unless the state commissioner of elections requires, by rule,
3 27 that they be preserved for a longer period of time. The bill
3 28 also provides that, until the federal elections assistance
3 29 commission adopts standards for direct recording electronic
3 30 devices that are capable of producing paper records, the state
3 31 board of examiners for voting machines and electronic voting
3 32 systems shall contract with a testing authority to examine the
3 33 machines for purposes of certification for use in the state.
3 34 LSB 2806HH 81
3 35 sc:nh/sh/8