BILL NUMBER: SB 360	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

   An act to amend Sections 19202, 19206, and 19250 of the Elections
Code, relating to elections.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 360, as introduced, Padilla. Approval of voting systems.
   Existing law prohibits a voting system from being used, and
prohibits a jurisdiction from purchasing or contracting for a voting
system, unless the voting system has received the approval of the
Secretary of State. Existing law permits a person or corporation
owning or being interested in a voting system or a part of a voting
system to apply to the Secretary of State to examine the voting
system and report on its accuracy and efficiency to fulfill its
purpose.
   This bill would specify that to request the Secretary of State to
approve a voting system, the person, corporation, or county owning or
being interested in the voting system or a part of the voting system
must apply to Secretary of State to examine the voting system and
report on its accuracy and efficiency to fulfill its purpose.
   Existing federal law, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, permits a
state to provide for the testing, certification, decertification,
and recertification of its voting system hardware and software by
laboratories accredited by the Election Assistance Commission.
   Existing state law prohibits the Secretary of State from
approving, and prohibits a city or county from contracting for or
purchasing, a direct recording electronic voting system unless the
system has received federal qualification, as defined, and includes
an accessible voter verified paper audit trail. Existing law also
requires all direct recording electronic voting systems in use on
January 1, 2006, to have received federal qualification and include
an accessible voter verified paper audit trail.
   This bill specify that a county may develop, or contract with a
vendor to develop, a direct recording electronic voting system before
the voting system has received federal qualification, provided that
it receives federal qualification prior to any election at which it
is to be first used.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 19202 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

   19202.  (a)  A   To request the Secretary of
State to approve a voting system, in whole or in part, the 
person  or   ,  corporation  , or
county owning or being interested in  a  
the  voting system or a part of  a   the
 voting system  may   shall  apply to
the Secretary of State to examine it and report on its accuracy and
efficiency to fulfill its purpose. As part of its application, the
vendor of a voting system or the part of a voting system shall notify
the Secretary of State in writing of any known defect, fault, or
failure of the version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the
voting system or a part of the voting system submitted. The Secretary
of State shall not begin his or her examination until he or she
receives a completed application from the vendor of the voting system
or a part of the voting system. The vendor shall also notify the
Secretary of State in writing of any defect, fault, or failure of the
version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the voting system
or a part of the voting system submitted that is discovered after the
application is submitted and before the Secretary of State submits
the report required by Section 19207. The Secretary of State shall
complete his or her examination without undue delay.
   (b) After receiving a vendor's written notification of a defect,
fault, or failure, the Secretary of State shall notify the United
States Election Assistance Commission or its successor entity of the
problem as soon as practicable so as to present a reasonably complete
description of the problem. The Secretary of State shall
subsequently submit a report regarding the problem to the United
States Election Assistance Commission or its successor entity. The
report shall include any report regarding the problem submitted to
the Secretary of State by the vendor.
   (c) The following definitions apply for purposes of this article:
   (1) "Defect" means any flaw in the hardware or documentation of an
approved or conditionally approved voting system that could result
in a state of unfitness for use or nonconformance to the manufacturer'
s specifications.
   (2) "Failure" means a discrepancy between the external results of
the operation of any software or firmware in an approved or
conditionally approved voting system and the manufacturer's product
requirements for that software or firmware.
   (3) "Fault" means a step, process, or data definition in any
software or firmware in an approved or conditionally approved voting
system that is incorrect under the manufacturer's program
specification.
  SEC. 2.  Section 19206 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   19206.  For the purpose of assistance in examining a voting system
the Secretary of State may employ not more than three expert
electronic technicians at a cost to be set by the Secretary of State.
The compensation of the electronic technicians shall be paid by the
person  or   ,  corporation  , or
county  submitting the machine or device.
   The Secretary of State may require the person  or
  ,  corporation  , or county  submitting
the machine or device to deposit sufficient funds to guarantee the
payment of the examination charges. The Secretary of State may
deposit the funds in an appropriate treasury trust account and,
within 30 days after his or her report of examination, draw a refund
check to the credit of the person or corporation for any amount in
excess of costs.
  SEC. 3.  Section 19250 of the Elections Code is amended to read:
   19250.  (a) On and after January 1, 2005, the Secretary of State
shall not approve a direct recording electronic voting system unless
the system has received federal qualification and includes an
accessible voter verified paper audit trail.
   (b)  On   (1)     Except as
provided in paragraph (2), on  and after January 1, 2006, a
city or county shall not contract for or purchase a direct recording
electronic voting system unless the system has received federal
qualification and includes an accessible voter verified paper audit
trail. 
   (2) A county may develop, or contract with a vendor to develop, a
direct recording electronic voting system before the voting system
has received federal qualification, provided that the voting system
receives federal qualification prior to any election at which it is
to be first used. 
   (c) As of January 1, 2006, all direct recording electronic voting
systems in use on that date, regardless of when contracted for or
purchased, shall have received federal qualification and include an
accessible voter verified paper audit trail. If the direct recording
electronic voting system does not already include an accessible voter
verified paper audit trail, the system shall be replaced or modified
to include an accessible voter verified paper audit trail.
   (d) All direct recording electronic voting systems shall include a
method by which a voter may electronically verify, through a
nonvisual method, the information that is contained on the paper
record copy of that voter's ballot.
   (e) A paper record copy that is printed by a voter verified paper
audit trail component shall be printed in the same language that the
voter used when casting his or her ballot on the direct recording
electronic voting system. For languages that lack a written form, the
paper record copy shall be printed in English.