COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 487
(By Senators Facemyer and Lanham)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported March 24, 2005.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto two new sections, designated §3-4A-9a and §3-
4A-9b, all relating to electronic voting systems; authorizing
use of ballot-marking accessible voting systems; setting forth
minimum requirements; authorizing precinct ballot scanning
devices; and setting minimum requirements.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto two new sections, designated §3-4A-9a and §3-4A-
9b, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4A. ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS.
§3-4A-9a. Authorization for ballot-marking voting systems; minimum
requirements.
(a) For purposes of this section, "ballot-marking accessible
voting system" means a device which allows voters, including voters
with disabilities, to mark an optical scanning or mark-sensing voting system
ballot, privately and independently. Th
e
ballot-marking device is capable of marking voter selections on an
optically readable or mark-sensing ballot which shall be
subsequently read and tallied on state-certified optically readable
or mark-sensing
ballot tabulating and reporting systems. Counties
are hereby permitted to obtain and employ ballot-marking accessible
voting systems that are approved by the State Election Commission.
(b) The ballot-marking accessible voting device shall be a
completely integrated ballot-marking device that is designed to
allow voters to either view ballot choices through a high
resolution visual display or listen to ballot choices with
headphones and enter ballot selections directly through specially
designed, integrated accessibility keys.
(c) Ballot-marking accessible voting systems may be used for
the purpose of marking or scanning optically readable or mark-
sensing
ballots cast in all primary, general and special elections
and shall meet the following requirements:
(1) The ballot-marking accessible voting system, system
firmware and programming software must be certified by an
independent testing authority, according to current federal voting
system standards and be approved by the State Elections Commission.
No election official may enter into any contract to purchase, rent,
lease or otherwise acquire any ballot marking accessible voting
system, firmware or software not approved by the State Elections
Commission.
(2) The ballot-marking accessible voting system shall:
(A) Alert the voter if the voter has made more ballot
selections than the law allows for an individual office or ballot
issue;
(B) Alert the voter if the voter has made fewer ballot
selections than the law allows for an individual office or ballot
issue;
(C) Allow the voter to independently review all ballot choices
and make any corrections, before the ballot is marked;
(D) Provide the voter with the opportunity to make a write-in
ballot choice, where allowed by state law;
(E) Allow voters with disabilities to independently mark their
ballots in conformity with both federal and state law concerning
mandatory accessibility for disabled persons;
(F) Allow blind or visually impaired voters to vote in a
manner which maintains privacy;
(G) Provide voters with an opportunity to change ballot
selections, or correct errors, before the ballot is marked for
voting, including the opportunity to correct the error through the
issuance of a replacement ballot if the voter was otherwise unable
to change the ballot or correct the error;
(H) Provide voters with the ability to view all ballot
selections through a high resolution visual display or to have all
ballot selections read to the voter through headphones;
(I) Ensure ballot privacy, while employing the ballot-marking
audio system and providing the voter with the option to turn off
the visual ballot display;
(J) Include a completely integrated voter input keypad, using
commonly accepted voter accessibility keys with Braille markings;
(K) Include the ability for a voter to employ a sip/puff
device to enter ballot choices;
(L) Allow the voter to magnify all ballot choices and to
adjust both the volume of the audio feature and the speed of ballot
presentation;
(M) Allow the voter to employ his or her own headset or a
headset provided with the ballot-marking device, each ballot-
marking device shall be equipped with multiple output connections
to accommodate different headsets;
(N) Have multiple-language capability; and
(O) Allow the voter to verify that:
(i) An optical scan ballot inserted into the device at the
start of voting is blank; and
(ii) The voted optical scan ballot that is produced by the
device is voted as the voter intended.
(d) The Secretary of State is hereby directed to promulgate
emergency and legislative rules in accordance with the provisions
of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to effectuate
the provisions of this section and to ensure that any system
employed by a county under the provisions of this section is
publicly tested prior to its use in election.
3-4A-9b. Authorization for precinct ballot scanning device;
minimum requirements.
(a) For purposes of this section, "precinct ballot scanning device" means a device used by the voter at the precinct on
election day or during early voting for the purpose of scanning the
voter's ballot after the ballot has been voted but prior to
depositing the ballot into the ballot box.
(b) The precinct ballot scanning device may be used for the
purpose of scanning optically readable ballots cast in all primary,
general, and special elections.
(c) The precinct ballot scanning device, firmware and
programming software must be certified by an independent testing
authority, according to current federal standards and be approved
by the State Election Commission. No election official may enter
into any contract to purchase, rent, lease or otherwise acquire any
precinct ballot scanning device, firmware or software not approved
by the State Election Commission.
(d) The precinct ballot scanning device shall, additionally:
(1) Alert the voter if the voter has made more ballot
selections than the law allows for an individual office or ballot
issue;
(2) Alert the voter if the voter has made fewer ballot
selections than the law allows for an individual office or ballot
issue;
(3) Provide voters with an opportunity to change ballot
selections, or correct errors, before the ballot is marked for
voting, including the opportunity to correct the error through the
issuance of a replacement ballot if the voter was otherwise unable
to change the ballot or correct the error;
(4) Verifies that an optical scan ballot inserted into the
device at the start of voting is blank; and
(5) Verifies that a voted optical scan ballot is voted as the
voter intended.
(e) The precinct ballot scanning device shall not be used for
tabulating election results.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the use of
ballot-marking accessible voting systems and precinct ballot
scanning devices and provide minimum requirements for these
systems.
These sections are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)