79R2007 DRH-F
By: Leibowitz H.B. No. 1289
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of direct recording electronic voting machines.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 129, Election Code, is amended by adding
Sections 129.002 and 129.003 to read as follows:
Sec. 129.002. PAPER AUDIT TRAIL REQUIRED. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (e), a voting system that consists of direct
recording electronic voting machines may not be used in an election
unless the system:
(1) has:
(A) been certified or otherwise approved by means
of qualification testing by a nationally recognized test
laboratory; and
(B) met or exceeded the minimum requirements
contained in "Performance and Test Standards for Punch Card, Mark
Sense, and Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems" or a
successor voluntary standards document developed and adopted by the
Federal Election Commission, the Election Assistance Commission,
or the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and
(2) creates a contemporaneous auditable paper record
copy of each electronic ballot that allows a voter to confirm the
choices the voter made through both a visual and a nonvisual method,
such as through an audio component, before the voter casts the
ballot.
(b) A voter must be allowed to privately and independently
view the paper record copy required under Subsection (a)(2) without
being allowed to handle the copy. Once the voter has confirmed that
the paper record copy corresponds to the vote the voter has
indicated electronically, the vote may be recorded electronically
and the paper record copy must be deposited in a secure storage
container. If the voter finds that the paper record copy does not
correspond to the voter's choices indicated electronically, the
system must:
(1) invalidate or otherwise spoil the paper record
copy;
(2) allow the voter to review the choices the voter
made electronically; and
(3) generate a new paper record copy for the voter to
review as provided by this subsection.
(c) The paper record copy must:
(1) indicate the voter's choice on each office or
measure for which the voter cast a vote and indicate the offices and
measures for which the voter did not cast a vote;
(2) be printed in the same language that the voter used
to cast the voter's electronic vote; and
(3) be designed to be read electronically.
(d) Except for a recount under Title 13, the electronic vote
is the official record of the ballot. For a recount of ballots cast
on a system involving direct recording electronic voting machines,
the paper record copy is the official record of the vote cast.
(e) A system involving direct recording electronic voting
machines that was acquired before January 1, 2006, may be used in an
election without meeting the requirements of this section only if:
(1) a voter has the option of casting a paper ballot
instead of using the machine;
(2) a permanent record of each ballot is created at the
time the ballot is cast or during the local canvass of the votes;
(3) the system is subject to parallel monitoring; and
(4) at least 46 days before the date the system is to
be used for voting, the authority responsible for holding the
election submits a technical security plan for the system to the
secretary of state.
(f) The record created under Subsection (e)(2) may be in a
paper format or be an electronically recorded image.
Sec. 129.003. REQUIREMENTS FOR SYSTEM USING DIRECT
RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES. (a) On request of the
secretary of state, the authority adopting a system that uses
direct recording electronic voting machines must provide:
(1) the source code for any software and firmware used
as part of the system;
(2) all documents relating to the federal
qualification process; and
(3) complete documentation of all hardware, software,
and firmware components, including detailed change logs, and
documentation regarding the development process.
(b) Not later than the 90th day before the date a system
using direct recording electronic voting machines will be used in
an election, the authority responsible for holding the election
shall submit to the secretary of state a physical security plan for
the system.
(c) Not later than the 46th day before the date a system
using direct recording electronic voting machines will be used in
an election, the authority responsible for holding the election
shall submit to the secretary of state:
(1) all changes or modifications to the system that
might impair the accuracy and efficiency of the system, unless the
secretary of state specifically provides otherwise;
(2) a training plan for election officers at each
polling place; and
(3) a communication plan explaining the manner in
which election officers at each polling place will communicate on
election day.
(d) A component of a system that uses direct recording
electronic voting machines may not:
(1) transmit or receive official election results
through an exterior communication network;
(2) permit wireless communication to be transmitted or
received; or
(3) be connected to the Internet.
(e) A provisional vote may not be cast on a direct recording
electronic voting machine.
(f) A disability access device must be connected to a direct
recording electronic voting machine before the machine is used for
voting.
(g) At each polling place at which a direct recording
electronic voting machine is used for voting, postings must
indicate the penalties for tampering with the machines in each
language used at that polling place for the ballot.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect January 1, 2006.