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Senate Bill 327

Enrolled Senate Bill (S)

DIGEST

Election security; absentee ballot counting. Makes the following changes concerning election security: (1) Permits a county election board (board) to apply to the secretary of state (secretary) for reimbursement of expenditures made by the county to secure and monitor facilities where voting systems and electronic poll books are stored. Provides that, if the secretary, with the consent of the election division (division), approves the application, the county may be reimbursed for all or part of the expenditures. (2) Allows each absentee ballot to be assigned a unique tracking number using IMb Tracing or a similar automated tracking method to provide Election security; absentee ballot counting. Makes the following changes concerning election security: (1) Permits a county election board (board) to apply to the secretary of state (secretary) for reimbursement of expenditures made by the county to secure and monitor facilities where voting systems and electronic poll books are stored. Provides that, if the secretary, with the consent of the election division (division), approves the application, the county may be reimbursed for all or part of the expenditures. (2) Allows each absentee ballot to be assigned a unique tracking number using IMb Tracing or a similar automated tracking method to provide real-time tracking information for the ballot envelope. (3) Provides that the board is responsible for the security of ballot card voting systems, direct record electronic voting systems, and electronic poll books when they are not in use. (4) Provides that the required public tests for ballot card and direct record electronic voting systems must include testing to ascertain whether votes for straight party tickets and write-in candidates will be tabulated correctly. (5) Updates a reference to current federal standards regarding the "error rate" requirements for voting systems certified for use in elections. (6) Requires that each voting system be sealed with a uniquely numbered seal following each election for post-election auditing purposes. Specifies when voting systems and electronic poll books must be sealed and when they may be unsealed. (7) Authorizes a county election board to adopt, by a unanimous vote of the board's entire membership, a resolution to establish a security protocol that includes an audit trail to detect unauthorized access to secure the voting systems and electronic poll books used in each election conducted in the county. Requires that the person or entity conducting the voting system technical oversight program and the election division be available to advise the board in the development of a security protocol. Provides that if a county election board adopts a security protocol, those protocols supersede the statutory protocols. (8) Provides that, whenever a county disposes of a voting system or electronic poll book, the board shall file a plan with the division documenting the disposal and obtain the approval of the division before disposing of the equipment. (9) Allows a vendor to sell, lease, or transfer an Indiana certified voting system or electronic poll book to: (A) an Indiana county; (B) the voter system technical oversight program (VSTOP); (C) a state or local government in the United States for the purpose of conducting elections in that jurisdiction; or (D) a political party in Indiana entitled to nominate candidates at a state or town convention for the limited purpose of conducting the nomination of candidates. (10) Requires that the administrator of the VSTOP maintain an inventory listing all voting systems and electronic poll books used in conducting elections in Indiana, including a unique serial number for each unit and the present location where each unit is ordinarily stored. Requires that boards regularly update the inventory listing maintained by VSTOP. (11) Requires that the VSTOP conduct random audits of electronic poll books and report whether the electronic poll books have been certified, programmed, and used in compliance with Indiana law. (12) Requires a board to report to the secretary not later than 48 hours after receiving notice from a federal, state, or local government agency that: (A) a voting system or electronic poll book has been improperly obtained or altered; or (B) the data concerning the county maintained in the statewide voter registration system has been accessed or altered by a person; in violation of Indiana law. (13) Provides that electronic poll book data must be retained on a server approved (rather than maintained) by a board. (14) Permits a vendor who has applied for certification of an electronic poll book, but has not yet received approval of the application, to market the electronic poll book at certain county and state meetings of election officials after providing notice to the division. Requires the vendor to display information concerning the poll book's certification status at the meeting.(15) Requires absentee ballot counters at a central counting location in a county having a consolidated city that uses electronic poll books or that is a vote center county, at any time after 6 a.m. on election day and after the absentee ballots are processed and the electronic poll books updated, to count the absentee ballots. Allows any other county to use this procedure if the board unanimously adopts a resolution to do so. (16) Allows the signature review process to be conducted any time after an absentee ballot is received in a county having a consolidated city or in any other county in which the board unanimously adopts a resolution to do so. Allows, but does not require, absentee ballot counters at a central location in those counties to make findings concerning an absentee voter's signature and that the voter is a qualified voter of the precinct for an absentee ballot cast in person. (17) Requires absentee ballot counters at a central location in a county having a consolidated city to continue to count without interruption until all absentee ballots that are not required to be remade and have been accepted by the counters are canvassed and the certificates of vote count are prepared and delivered. (18) Allows absentee ballots counted at a central location in a county having a consolidated city to be stored in the order in which the absentee ballots were counted and not in order by precinct. (19) Removes an obsolete reference. (20) Makes a technical correction. ... View more