BILL ANALYSIS
SB 541
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 541 (Pavley)
As Amended September 3, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :22-15
ELECTIONS 4-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fong, Coto, Mendoza, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, |
| |Swanson | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| | | |Davis, Fuentes, Hall, |
| | | |John A. Perez, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Hill |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Adams, Bill Berryhill |Nays:|Conway, Duvall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, Audra Strickland |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires voting system vendors and ballot paper
manufacturers to notify the Secretary of State (SOS) of any
flaws or defects that they discover in their products. Requires
ballot paper manufacturers and finishers to pay the costs
associated with facility inspections by the SOS. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Requires a voting system vendor that knows of, or becomes
aware of, a defect, fault, or failure in the voting system or
a part of the voting system, to notify the SOS and all local
elections officials who use the system of that defect, fault,
or failure. Requires this notification to be made within 30
calendar days from the date after the vendor learns of the
defect, fault, or failure, or at the time the system is
submitted for review by the SOS. Requires all known defects,
faults, or failures on systems that are currently approved for
use in California to be disclosed no later than January 8,
2010.
2)Requires the SOS to notify the United States Election
Assistance Commission (EAC) of any defect, fault, or failure
disclosed to the SOS by a voting system vendor pursuant to
this bill.
SB 541
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3)Requires a ballot card manufacturer or finisher to disclose
any known flaw or defect in its manufacturing or finishing
process in writing to the SOS not later than five working days
before the SOS begins his or her initial inspection of that
manufacturer's or finisher's facilities. Requires a ballot
card manufacturer or finisher that has been approved by the
SOS to notify the SOS and affected local elections officials
in writing within two business days after it discovers any
flaw or defect in its manufacturing or finishing process.
4)Requires the SOS to inspect manufacturing, finishing, and
storage facilities for ballot cards biennially.
5)Permits the SOS to seek injunctive and administrative relief
when a voting system or part of a voting system is defective
due to a known hardware, software, or firmware defect, fault,
or failure that has not been disclosed as required by this
bill. Permits the SOS to seek all of the following relief for
a known but undisclosed defect, fault, or failure in a voting
system or part of a voting system approved or conditionally
approved for use in California:
a) Refund of all moneys paid by a local agency for a voting
system or part of a voting system that is defective due to
a known but undisclosed defect, fault, or failure;
b) A civil penalty from the offending party not to exceed
$50,000 per violation; and,
c) A penalty of $1,000 for each day between the deadline
for the vendor to disclose the defect, fault, or failure
and the day when the required disclosure is filed with the
SOS.
6)Repeals an obsolete provision of law that establishes a
revolving fund for the purchase of ballot paper.
7)Changes terminology in the Elections Code from "punchcards" to
"ballot cards."
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable costs to the SOS for enforcement of
the bill's provisions, and potential revenue from civil
penalties.
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COMMENTS : According to the author, "Under current law, ballot
vendors and voting system vendors are not required to inform the
Secretary of State about previously undisclosed flaws in their
product before or after an election. . . . This bill would help
prevent future errors and discrepancies surrounding our voting
processes, by requiring voting system vendors and ballot
manufacturers to notify the Secretary of State about problems
and flaws with their respective systems and ballots, before and
after an election."
This bill is prompted in part by an incident in Humboldt County
during the November 2008 election that resulted in the deletion
of nearly 200 votes cast in that election. The deletion was
caused by a programming error in a version of the election
management software produced by Premier Elections Solutions.
Premier knew of this problem at least four years prior to the
November 2008 election, and developed a "work-around" to avoid
the deletion of ballots. While Premier did notify elections
officials in the 11 affected California counties of the
"work-around," they did not explain why it was necessary.
Furthermore, Premier did not provide notice of the defect to the
National Association of State Election Directors, the EAC, SOS
or to the public. When the Humboldt County employee who had
been notified of the "work-around" left Humboldt County for
another job in 2007, that employee did not pass the information
about the "work-around" along to anyone else in the county
elections official's office.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0002827