97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
SB1299

 

Introduced 2/8/2011, by Sen. Michael Noland

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
See Index

    Amends the Election Code. Requires that each election authority (i) conduct an election day audit of a random sample of 10% of votes cast and (ii) provide by contract or employment for the performance by one or more independent auditors of post-election parallel tabulations and audits. Provides for the scope of the audits and the resulting reports. Requires that optical scan technology and direct recording electronic voting systems meet certain federal and independent testing standards. With respect to early voting, requires that an election authority using only direct recording electronic voting systems have paper ballots available for voters wishing to use them.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1299LRB097 09780 HLH 49924 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Sections 19A-75, 24B-2, 24B-16, 24C-2, 24C-9, and 24C-16 and by
6adding the heading of Article 21B and Sections 21B-5, 21B-10,
721B-15, 21B-20, 21B-25, 21B-30, 21B-35, 21B-40, 21B-45,
821B-50, 21B-55, 21B-60, 21B-65, 21B-70, 21B-75, 21B-80,
921B-85, 21B-90, and 21B-95 as follows:
 
10    (10 ILCS 5/19A-75)
11    Sec. 19A-75. Early voting in jurisdictions using Direct
12Recording Electronic Voting Systems under Article 24C.
13Election authorities that have adopted for use Direct Recording
14Electronic Voting Systems under Article 24C may (i) either use
15those voting systems to conduct early voting, provided that
16each early voting polling place shall have available sufficient
17paper ballots for those voters who request them, consistent
18with the limitations set forth in subsection (b) of Section
1919A-10, or (ii) , so long as at least one Direct Recording
20Electronic Voting System device is available at each early
21voting polling place, use whatever method the election
22authority uses for absentee balloting conducted by mail;
23provided that no early ballots are counted before the polls

 

 

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1close on election day.
2(Source: P.A. 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
 
3    (10 ILCS 5/Art. 21B heading new)
4
ARTICLE 21B. AUDITS

 
5    (10 ILCS 5/21B-5 new)
6    Sec. 21B-5. Election day audit. There shall be conducted a
710% election day audit of all votes cast for each designated
8race or proposition on election day.
 
9    (10 ILCS 5/21B-10 new)
10    Sec. 21B-10. Scope of the audit. The 10% audit shall be
11conducted for all races or propositions that meet the following
12criteria:
13        (1) all statewide offices and propositions;
14        (2) all countywide offices and propositions;
15        (3) all federal races; and
16        (4) any municipal or other political sub-division or
17    taxing entity races where the number of registered voters
18    eligible to vote on that race or proposition exceeds 50,000
19    voters.
 
20    (10 ILCS 5/21B-15 new)
21    Sec. 21B-15. Time and place of the audit. The 10% audits
22shall take place on election day as soon as practicable after

 

 

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1the close of the polls and shall take place at the location
2where votes are originally counted (in-precinct for all votes
3cast on election day and at the central counting location for
4early voting, grace, and absentee ballots), provided that the
510% hand count shall be subordinate to and not interfere with
6the reporting of election results.
 
7    (10 ILCS 5/21B-20 new)
8    Sec. 21B-20. Conduct. The election day audit shall be
9conducted by election judges selected and appointed in the same
10manner as set forth in Sections 13-1, 13-2, 14-1, 14-2, and
1114-3 of this Code. Election authorities may implement the
12appointment of part-time judges, job-sharing, split shifts, or
13other methods of allocating election judge resources to ensure
14that sufficient judges are available to conduct the election
15day audits in a timely and efficient manner.
 
16    (10 ILCS 5/21B-25 new)
17    Sec. 21B-25. Random selection of ballots to be examined.
18    (a) The election authority shall provide to each polling
19place, precinct, or central counting location as appropriate
20one set of 10 plastic disks, each imprinted on one or both
21sides with a number from 1 to 10. Each disk shall have one such
22number imprinted, with the same number on each side, and no 2
23disks shall have the same number. In addition, a suitable
24opaque container shall be provided sufficient to contain the

 

 

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1set.
2    (b) After the close of the polls and prior to the
3commencement of the election day audit, the election judges
4present shall select one of their number to place the numbered
5disk in the container and shake the container sufficiently so
6that the disks shall be in random order. The judges shall
7select another of their number to select one such disk from the
8container in such a manner that the selecting judge has no
9knowledge of which disk he or she is selecting. The disk drawn
10from the container shall be examined and the number of the disk
11chosen publicly announced. That result shall indicate which
12ballots are to be examined, e.g. a result of 7 shall require
13that the seventh and every tenth ballot thereafter be examined
14(7, 17, 27, etc.). The result of the drawing shall be recorded
15on the summary report section set forth in Section 21B-35.
 
16    (10 ILCS 5/21B-30 new)
17    Sec. 21B-30. Ballots or paper records to be examined.
18    (a) The election authority shall provide to each polling
19place, precinct, or central counting location as appropriate
20one self-inked consecutive numbering stamp capable of
21numbering from 1 to 999,999.
22    (b) All paper ballots shall be placed in a single stack in
23a random order as retrieved from the ballot boxes and each
24ballot shall be stamped with a consecutive number, starting
25with the number 1 until all ballots have been numbered.

 

 

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1    (c) The starting number and tenth ballot thereafter shall
2be examined in accordance with the selection number resulting
3from the operation of Section 21B-25.
4    (d) For paper records printed by Direct Recording
5Electronic (DRE) voting machines, the paper records shall be
6examined in the order printed on the DRE produced paper records
7selecting each starting and tenth paper record thereafter in
8accordance with the selection number resulting from the
9operation of Section 21B-25.
10    (e) For paper records printed by Direct Recording
11Electronic (DRE) voting machines, only the human-readable
12portion of the paper record shall be used in the election day
13audit. The use of bar codes or other human unreadable records
14of votes shall not be permitted.
 
15    (10 ILCS 5/21B-35 new)
16    Sec. 21B-35. Reports.
17    (a) Prior to election day, the appropriate election
18authority shall cause to be created and printed an audit
19summary form that shall state the races and propositions to be
20audited in accordance with Section 21B-10 and shall have
21pre-printed spaces, boxes, or both in which the results of the
22election day audit shall be recorded. This form shall also
23include a reconciliation of all ballots counted by category,
24such as provisional, federal only, standard, etc., and shall be
25provided in sufficient number to all auditing locations to

 

 

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1facilitate the required distribution.
2    (b) Upon completion of the audit, 6 copies of the election
3day audit summary shall be signed by all the judges
4participating in the election day audit and shall be
5distributed as follows:
6        (1) One copy shall be posted in the polling or counting
7    location in a manner that the election day audit summary is
8    clearly visible and available for public inspection for a
9    period of not less than one hour.
10        (2) Two copies shall be placed in the ballot box or
11    designated envelope or envelopes and transported to the
12    election authority in the same manner as ballots.
13        (3) Three copies shall be made available on request to
14    pollwatchers or members of the public in that order of
15    preference.
16        (4) Pollwatchers and other observers in the polls may
17    take photographs of the posted copies without restriction.
18    (c) The audit reports from all in-precinct and central
19counting locations shall be received by the election authority
20and a consolidated report shall be prepared. The consolidated
21reports shall be published by the election authority within 24
22hours after the closing of the polls, and the authorities shall
23certify the election day audit results and maintain both
24consolidated and individual location reports in the same manner
25and for the same period of time as ballots, except that copies
26of consolidated and individual location reports shall be

 

 

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1available to the public upon request. If that election
2authority maintains a public website, then the copies shall
3also be made freely available to the public via the Internet
4for a period of not less than 60 days.
5    (d) The certified Consolidated and individual location
6reports shall be deemed admissible as evidence to the extent
7permitted by law in any action for discovery or other recount.
 
8    (10 ILCS 5/21B-40 new)
9    Sec. 21B-40. Parallel, independent audits. There shall be
10conducted an independent parallel tabulation and audit for each
11race or proposition in every election.
 
12    (10 ILCS 5/21B-45 new)
13    Sec. 21B-45. Authority. Each election authority shall be
14empowered on behalf of all voters in that jurisdiction to
15contract for, employ, or both contract for and employ one or
16more independent auditors to conduct a parallel count and
17tabulation of the results of every election conducted by the
18election authority for every race and proposition in the
19election.
 
20    (10 ILCS 5/21B-50 new)
21    Sec. 21B-50. Independent election audit committee. Each
22election authority shall cause to be constituted an independent
23election audit committee (EAC) of not less than 5 members, that

 

 

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1shall have as its primary duties: (1) the preparation of a
2request for proposal (RFP) for the parallel election tabulation
3and audit (PETA) and (2) the selection of the independent
4auditor or auditors to perform such audit.
 
5    (10 ILCS 5/21B-55 new)
6    Sec. 21B-55. Time of convening. The election audit
7committee for each jurisdiction shall convene at least 120 days
8prior to election day and meet thereafter as often as shall be
9deemed necessary and proper by its membership.
 
10    (10 ILCS 5/21B-60 new)
11    Sec. 21B-60. Committee composition. The election audit
12committee shall consist of the following members:
13        (1) One member appointed by each political party that
14    shall have had a candidate for jurisdiction-wide public
15    office in that jurisdiction on the ballot for the previous
16    general election, provided that the party shall have had at
17    least one candidate who received 10% of the ballots cast in
18    that election.
19        (2) Two members appointed by the election authority for
20    the jurisdiction.
21        (3) One election judge from each of the political
22    parties qualifying under paragraph (1) who has served as an
23    election judge in the most recent election conducted in
24    that jurisdiction and at least 2 previous elections. The

 

 

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1    election judge members shall be selected by lot from among
2    the pool of available judges from the most recent election
3    conducted in that jurisdiction.
 
4    (10 ILCS 5/21B-65 new)
5    Sec. 21B-65. Request for proposal. Each election authority
6shall issue a request for proposal (RFP) for a parallel
7election tabulation and audit as prepared by the independent
8election audit committee not less than 90 days before election
9day. The proposals shall be examined and reviewed by the EAC,
10and the election authority (or other governmental body with
11appropriation and contracting authority for the jurisdiction)
12shall award the contract for the audit not less than 45 days
13before each election.
 
14    (10 ILCS 5/21B-70 new)
15    Sec. 21B-70. Funding. The public accounting firm
16conducting the PETA shall be paid from public funds
17appropriated by each election jurisdiction and designated for
18that purposes.
 
19    (10 ILCS 5/21B-75 new)
20    Sec. 21B-75. Contractor qualifications. To qualify to
21submit a proposal, a potential PETA contractor shall include in
22its response to the RFP:
23        (1) Evidence that it is a public accounting firm

 

 

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1licensed by the State of Illinois to perform financial audits.
2        (2) Provide evidence that upon awarding of a contract
3to conduct the parallel election tabulation, the firm can post
4a performance bond equal to $1 for every registered voter in
5that jurisdiction.
6        (3) An agreement to submit a response to the RFP that
7shall limit the aggregate amount to be paid the contractor to
8not more than (i) $75 per precinct audited, (ii) $0.075 per
9ballot or paper record counted and tallied at central counting
10locations, or (iii) both (i) and (ii).
11        (4) A statement of performance secured by the
12performance bond in item (2) that above the parallel election
13tabulation and audit shall be completed and public reports
14submitted within the time limitations set forth in Section
1521B-85.
 
16    (10 ILCS 5/21B-80 new)
17    Sec. 21B-80. Award. The public accounting firm awarded the
18contract shall be granted access to any and all records of the
19election, including but not limited to paper ballots, portable
20computer memory devices from DREs, scanning devices, central
21count devices, paper records, ballot generating software,
22counting and tabulation software, computer logs and error
23reports of all voting machines and central tabulation devices,
24servers, communications protocols, databases of all types
25including registration databases, pollwatcher and election

 

 

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1judge logs and reports, and any other records deemed relevant
2to the conduct of the election as the auditing entity shall
3deem necessary and reasonable for the conduct of the parallel
4election tabulation and audit.
 
5    (10 ILCS 5/21B-85 new)
6    Sec. 21B-85. Reports.
7    (a) The public accounting firm shall produce an initial
8results report within 72 hours after the close of the polls
9that shall examine and comment on at least, but not limited to,
10the following:
11        (1) Whether proper procedures were used in the
12    compilation and tabulation of the 10% election day audit.
13        (2) Whether each voter's choices were accurately
14    summarized in the precinct or central count tallying.
15        (3) To the extent possible to determine from the
16    records available, that the central tabulation procedures,
17    equipment, and software functioned correctly and that the
18    totals reflected in the internal and public tabulation of
19    votes was consistent and accurate.
20    The auditing entity shall certify, with any exceptions
21noted thereto, the tabulated results of each race or
22proposition of the election as being accurate to the extent
23that the winner of each race or the prevailing result for each
24proposition is correct. For each and every race for which the
25auditing entity is unable to certify, it shall state the

 

 

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1reasons therefore, citing specific circumstances as to why it
2is unable to certify the outcome.
3    (b) The public accounting firm shall produce an operational
4report within 21 days after the close of the polls that shall
5examine and comment on at least, but not limited to, the
6following:
7        (1) Pre-election preparation including the compiling
8    and production of registration and eligible voter lists,
9    including printed ballot applications and voter records in
10    electronic poll books, and candidate, voter, and
11    pollworker accessible records of eligibility.
12        (2) Proper compiling and production of ballots, both
13    paper and electronic, as to completeness and accuracy for
14    each ballot style produced.
15        (3) Adequacy and completeness of training manuals,
16    election judge's manuals, voter instruction materials, and
17    other internal and public documents related to the
18    election.
19        (4) The election process during the time the polls were
20    open, including reports of machine failures, election
21    problems of all varieties, pollworkers and pollwatchers,
22    reports in order to determine and express an opinion of the
23    efficacy of the election process and to determine to the
24    extent possible that:
25            (A) All eligible voters were given an opportunity
26        to vote.

 

 

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1            (B) Each voter received a proper and complete
2        ballot.
3            (C) Each voter's choices were properly recorded by
4        the electronic or mechanical machines used in the
5        voting process.
6        (b-5) The auditors of the parallel election tabulation
7    shall examine the processes used after the polls closed to
8    determine, to the extent possible from the records
9    available, if:
10            (1) All election materials were properly secured
11        and that a complete and unbroken chain of custody
12        exists for all election materials.
13            (2) In the case where election authorities gather
14        election results through electronic transmission,
15        either through land lines or wireless networks, the
16        transmissions were secure, reliable, and accurate.
17    (c) The auditing entity shall produce a report that
18adequately describes all problems associated with the election
19process and to the extent possible the causes of those
20problems.
21    (d) To the extent possible within the time constraints
22imposed by the 21-day requirement, the auditing entity shall
23include in its report recommendations for modifications to
24procedures, equipment, or software that would eliminate
25problems or improve the efficiency and accuracy of the process
26in whatever stage examined or reported.
 

 

 

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1    (10 ILCS 5/21B-90 new)
2    Sec. 21B-90. Availability and ownership of parallel
3election tabulation and audit reports.
4    (a) The report of the auditing entity shall be public
5property, in the public domain, and available to anyone upon
6request and payment of a reasonable fee, subject to the
7provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/).
8    (b) If the election authority contracting for the parallel
9election tabulation and audit report maintains a website, the
10Report shall be posted on the publicly accessible portion of
11the website in an appropriate format for downloading and
12printing by the public.
 
13    (10 ILCS 5/21B-95 new)
14    Sec. 21B-95. Legal effect. The parallel election
15tabulation and audit reports shall be deemed admissible as
16evidence to the extent permitted by law in any action for
17discovery or other recount.
 
18    (10 ILCS 5/24B-2)
19    Sec. 24B-2. Definitions. As used in this Article:
20    "Approved independent testing authority" means an
21independent laboratory or authority certified by the federal
22Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
23    "Computer", "automatic tabulating equipment" or

 

 

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1"equipment" includes apparatus necessary to automatically
2examine and count votes as designated on ballots, and data
3processing machines which can be used for counting ballots and
4tabulating results.
5    "Ballot" means paper ballot sheets.
6    "Ballot configuration" means the particular combination of
7political subdivision ballots including, for each political
8subdivision, the particular combination of offices, candidate
9names and questions as it appears for each group of voters who
10may cast the same ballot.
11    "Ballot sheet" means a paper ballot printed on one or both
12sides which is (1) designed and prepared so that the voter may
13indicate his or her votes in designated areas, which must be
14areas clearly printed or otherwise delineated for such purpose,
15and (2) capable of having votes marked in the designated areas
16automatically examined, counted, and tabulated by an
17electronic scanning process.
18    "Central counting" means the counting of ballots in one or
19more locations selected by the election authority for the
20processing or counting, or both, of ballots. A location for
21central counting shall be within the territorial jurisdiction
22of the election authority unless there is no suitable
23tabulating equipment available within his territorial
24jurisdiction. However, in any event a counting location shall
25be within this State.
26    "Computer operator" means any person or persons designated

 

 

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1by the election authority to operate the automatic tabulating
2equipment during any portion of the vote tallying process in an
3election, but shall not include judges of election operating
4vote tabulating equipment in the precinct.
5    "Computer program" or "program" means the set of operating
6instructions for the automatic tabulating equipment that
7examines, counts, tabulates, canvasses and prints votes
8recorded by a voter on a ballot.
9    "Edit listing" means a computer generated listing of the
10names of each candidate and proposition as they appear in the
11program for each precinct.
12    "Header sheet" means a data processing document which is
13coded to indicate to the computer the precinct identity of the
14ballots that will follow immediately and may indicate to the
15computer how such ballots are to be tabulated.
16    "In-precinct counting" means the counting of ballots on
17automatic tabulating equipment provided by the election
18authority in the same precinct polling place in which those
19ballots have been cast.
20    "Marking device" means a pen, computer, or other device
21approved by the State Board of Elections for marking, or
22causing to be marked, a paper ballot with ink or other
23substance which will enable the ballot to be tabulated by
24automatic tabulating equipment or by an electronic scanning
25process.
26    "Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology" means the

 

 

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1capability to examine a ballot through electronic means and
2tabulate the votes at one or more counting places.
3    "Redundant count" means a verification of the original
4computer count by another count using compatible equipment or
5by hand as part of a discovery recount.
6    "Security designation" means a printed designation placed
7on a ballot to identify to the computer program the offices and
8propositions for which votes may be cast and to indicate the
9manner in which votes cast should be tabulated while negating
10any inadmissible votes.
11    "Separate ballot", with respect to ballot sheets, means a
12separate portion of the ballot sheet which is clearly defined
13by a border or borders or shading.
14    "Specimen ballot" means a representation of names of
15offices and candidates and statements of measures to be voted
16on which will appear on the official ballot or marking device
17on election day. The specimen ballot also contains the party
18and position number where applicable.
19    "Voting defect identification" means the capability to
20detect overvoted ballots or ballots which cannot be read by the
21automatic tabulating equipment.
22    "Voting defects" means an overvoted ballot, or a ballot
23which cannot be read by the automatic tabulating equipment.
24    "Voting system" or "electronic voting system" means that
25combination of equipment and programs used in the casting,
26examination and tabulation of ballots and the cumulation and

 

 

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1reporting of results by electronic means.
2(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03.)
 
3    (10 ILCS 5/24B-16)
4    Sec. 24B-16. Approval of Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan
5Technology Voting Systems; Requisites. The State Board of
6Elections shall approve all Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan
7Technology voting systems provided by this Article that fulfill
8the voluntary provisions and mandatory requirements of the
9federal voting system standards pertaining to Precinct
10Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting systems promulgated
11by the Federal Election Commission or the Election Assistance
12Commission and that fulfill the testing requirements of an
13approved independent testing authority.
14    No Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting
15system shall be approved unless it has been certified by the
16Federal Election Commission or the Election Assistance
17Commission and fulfills the following requirements:
18        (a) It enables a voter to vote in absolute secrecy;
19        (b) (Blank);
20        (c) It enables a voter to vote a ticket selected in
21    part from the nominees of one party, and in part from the
22    nominees of any or all parties, and in part from
23    independent candidates, and in part of candidates whose
24    names are written in by the voter;
25        (d) It enables a voter to vote a written or printed

 

 

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1    ticket of his or her own selection for any person for any
2    office for whom he or she may desire to vote;
3        (e) It will reject all votes for an office or upon a
4    proposition when the voter has cast more votes for the
5    office or upon the proposition than he or she is entitled
6    to cast;
7        (e-5) It will identify when a voter has not voted for
8    all statewide constitutional offices; and
9        (f) It will accommodate all propositions to be
10    submitted to the voters in the form provided by law or,
11    where no form is provided, then in brief form, not to
12    exceed 75 words.
13    The State Board of Elections shall not approve any voting
14equipment or system that includes an external Infrared Data
15Association (IrDA) communications port.
16    The State Board of Elections is authorized to withdraw its
17approval of a Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology
18voting system if the system fails to fulfill the above
19requirements.
20    The vendor, person, or other private entity shall be solely
21responsible for the production and cost of: all application
22fees; all ballots; additional temporary workers; and other
23equipment or facilities needed and used in the testing of the
24vendor's, person's, or other private entity's respective
25equipment and software.
26    Any voting system vendor, person, or other private entity

 

 

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1seeking the State Board of Elections' approval of a voting
2system shall, as part of the approval application, submit to
3the State Board a non-refundable fee. The State Board of
4Elections by rule shall establish an appropriate fee structure,
5taking into account the type of voting system approval that is
6requested (such as approval of a new system, a modification of
7an existing system, the size of the modification, etc.). No
8voting system or modification of a voting system shall be
9approved unless the fee is paid.
10    No vendor, person, or other entity may sell, lease, or
11loan, or have a written contract, including a contract
12contingent upon State Board approval of the voting system or
13voting system component, to sell, lease, or loan, a voting
14system or Precinct Tabulation Optical Scan Technology voting
15system component to any election jurisdiction unless the voting
16system or voting system component is first approved by the
17State Board of Elections pursuant to this Section.
18(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
 
19    (10 ILCS 5/24C-2)
20    Sec. 24C-2. Definitions. As used in this Article:
21    "Approved independent testing authority" means an
22independent laboratory or authority certified by the federal
23Election Assistance Commission (EAC).
24    "Audit trail" or "audit capacity" means a continuous trail
25of evidence linking individual transactions related to the

 

 

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1casting of a vote, the vote count and the summary record of
2vote totals, but which shall not allow for the identification
3of the voter. It shall permit verification of the accuracy of
4the count and detection and correction of problems and shall
5provide a record of each step taken in: defining and producing
6ballots and generating related software for specific
7elections; installing ballots and software; testing system
8readiness; casting and tabulating ballots; and producing
9images of votes cast and reports of vote totals. The record
10shall incorporate system status and error messages generated
11during election processing, including a log of machine
12activities and routine and unusual intervention by authorized
13and unauthorized individuals. Also part of an audit trail is
14the documentation of such items as ballots delivered and
15collected, administrative procedures for system security,
16pre-election testing of voting systems, and maintenance
17performed on voting equipment. All test plans, test results,
18documentation, and other records used to plan, execute, and
19record the results of the testing and verification, including
20all material prepared or used by independent testing
21authorities or other third parties, shall be made part of the
22public record and shall be freely available via the Internet
23and paper copy to anyone. "Audit trail" or "audit capacity"
24also means that the voting system is capable of producing and
25shall produce immediately after a ballot is cast a permanent
26paper record of each ballot cast that shall be available as an

 

 

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1official record for any recount, redundant count, or
2verification or retabulation of the vote count conducted with
3respect to any election in which the voting system is used.
4    "Ballot" means an electronic audio or video display or any
5other medium, including paper, used to record a voter's choices
6for the candidates of their preference and for or against
7public questions.
8    "Ballot configuration" means the particular combination of
9political subdivision or district ballots including, for each
10political subdivision or district, the particular combination
11of offices, candidate names and public questions as it appears
12for each group of voters who may cast the same ballot.
13    "Ballot image" means a corresponding representation in
14electronic or paper form of the mark or vote position of a
15ballot.
16    "Ballot label" or "ballot screen" means the display of
17material containing the names of offices and candidates and
18public questions to be voted on.
19    "Central counting" means the counting of ballots in one or
20more locations selected by the election authority for the
21processing or counting, or both, of ballots. A location for
22central counting shall be within the territorial jurisdiction
23of the election authority unless there is no suitable
24tabulating equipment available within his territorial
25jurisdiction. However, in any event a counting location shall
26be within this State.

 

 

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1    "Computer", "automatic tabulating equipment" or
2"equipment" includes apparatus necessary to automatically
3examine and count votes as designated on ballots, and data
4processing machines which can be used for counting ballots and
5tabulating results.
6    "Computer operator" means any person or persons designated
7by the election authority to operate the automatic tabulating
8equipment during any portion of the vote tallying process in an
9election, but shall not include judges of election operating
10vote tabulating equipment in the precinct.
11    "Computer program" or "program" means the set of operating
12instructions for the automatic tabulating equipment that
13examines, records, displays, counts, tabulates, canvasses, or
14prints votes recorded by a voter on a ballot or that displays
15any and all information, graphics, or other visual or audio
16information or images used in presenting voting information,
17instructions, or voter choices.
18    "Direct recording electronic voting system", "voting
19system" or "system" means the total combination of mechanical,
20electromechanical or electronic equipment, programs and
21practices used to define ballots, cast and count votes, report
22or display election results, maintain or produce any audit
23trail information, identify all system components, test the
24system during development, maintenance and operation, maintain
25records of system errors and defects, determine specific system
26changes to be made to a system after initial qualification, and

 

 

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1make available any materials to the voter such as notices,
2instructions, forms or paper ballots.
3    "Edit listing" means a computer generated listing of the
4names of each candidate and public question as they appear in
5the program for each precinct.
6    "In-precinct counting" means the recording and counting of
7ballots on automatic tabulating equipment provided by the
8election authority in the same precinct polling place in which
9those ballots have been cast.
10    "Marking device" means any device approved by the State
11Board of Elections for marking a ballot so as to enable the
12ballot to be recorded, counted and tabulated by automatic
13tabulating equipment.
14    "Permanent paper record" means a paper record upon which
15shall be printed in human readable form the votes cast for each
16candidate and for or against each public question on each
17ballot recorded in the voting system. Each permanent paper
18record shall be printed by the voting device upon activation of
19the marking device by the voter and shall contain a unique,
20randomly assigned identifying number that shall correspond to
21the number randomly assigned by the voting system to each
22ballot as it is electronically recorded.
23    "Redundant count" means a verification of the original
24computer count of ballots by another count using compatible
25equipment or other means as part of a discovery recount,
26including a count of the permanent paper record of each ballot

 

 

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1cast by using compatible equipment, different equipment
2approved by the State Board of Elections for that purpose, or
3by hand.
4    "Separate ballot" means a separate page or display screen
5of the ballot that is clearly defined and distinguishable from
6other portions of the ballot.
7    "Voting device" or "voting machine" means an apparatus that
8contains the ballot label or ballot screen and allows the voter
9to record his or her vote.
10(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)
 
11    (10 ILCS 5/24C-9)
12    Sec. 24C-9. Testing of Direct Recording Electronic Voting
13System Equipment and Programs; Custody of Programs, Test
14Materials and Ballots. Prior to the public test, the election
15authority shall conduct an errorless pre-test of the Direct
16Recording Electronic Voting System equipment and programs to
17determine that they will correctly detect voting defects and
18count the votes cast for all offices and all public questions.
19On any day not less than 5 days prior to use in an the election
20day, the election authority shall publicly test the Direct
21Recording Electronic Voting System equipment and programs to
22determine that they will correctly detect voting errors and
23accurately count the votes legally cast for all offices and on
24all public questions. Public notice of the time and place of
25the test shall be given at least 48 hours before the test by

 

 

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1publishing the notice in one or more newspapers within the
2election jurisdiction of the election authority, if a newspaper
3is published in that jurisdiction. If a newspaper is not
4published in that jurisdiction, notice shall be published in a
5newspaper of general circulation in that jurisdiction. Timely
6written notice stating the date, time, and location of the
7public test shall also be provided to the State Board of
8Elections. The test shall be open to representatives of the
9political parties, the press, representatives of the State
10Board of Elections, and the public. The test shall be conducted
11by entering a pre- audited group of votes designed to record a
12predetermined number of valid votes for each candidate and on
13each public question, and shall include for each office one or
14more ballots having votes exceeding the number allowed by law
15to test the ability of the automatic tabulating equipment to
16reject the votes. The test shall also include producing an edit
17listing. In those election jurisdictions where in-precinct
18counting equipment is used, a public test of both the equipment
19and program shall be conducted as nearly as possible in the
20manner prescribed above. The State Board of Elections may
21select as many election jurisdictions as the Board deems
22advisable in the interests of the election process of this
23State, to order a special test of the automatic tabulating
24equipment and program before any regular election. The Board
25may order a special test in any election jurisdiction where,
26during the preceding 12 months, computer programming errors or

 

 

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1other errors in the use of System resulted in vote tabulation
2errors. Not less than 30 days before any election, the State
3Board of Elections shall provide written notice to those
4selected jurisdictions of their intent to conduct a test.
5Within 5 days of receipt of the State Board of Elections'
6written notice of intent to conduct a test, the selected
7jurisdictions shall forward to the principal office of the
8State Board of Elections a copy of all specimen ballots. The
9State Board of Elections' tests shall be conducted and
10completed not less than 2 days before the public test and under
11the supervision of the Board. The vendor, person, or other
12private entity shall be solely responsible for the production
13and cost of: all ballots; additional temporary workers; and
14other equipment or facilities needed and used in the testing of
15the vendor's, person's, or other private entity's respective
16equipment and software. After an errorless test, materials used
17in the public test, including the program, if appropriate,
18shall be sealed and remain sealed until the test is run again
19on election day. If any error is detected, the cause of the
20error shall be determined and corrected, and an errorless
21public test shall be made before the automatic tabulating
22equipment is approved. Each election authority shall file a
23sealed copy of each tested program to be used within its
24jurisdiction at an election with the State Board of Elections
25before the election. The Board shall secure the program or
26programs of each election jurisdiction so filed in its office

 

 

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1until the next election of the same type (general primary,
2general election, consolidated primary, or consolidated
3election) for which the program or programs were filed. At the
4expiration of that time, if no election contest or appeal is
5pending in an election jurisdiction, the Board shall destroy
6the sealed program or programs. Except where in-precinct
7counting equipment is used, the test shall be repeated
8immediately before the start of the official counting of the
9ballots, in the same manner as set forth above. After the
10completion of the count, the test shall be re-run using the
11same program. Immediately after the re-run, all material used
12in testing the program and the programs shall be sealed and
13retained under the custody of the election authority for a
14period of 60 days. At the expiration of that time the election
15authority shall destroy the voted ballots, together with all
16unused ballots returned from the precincts. Provided, if any
17contest of election is pending at the time in which the ballots
18may be required as evidence and the election authority has
19notice of the contest, the same shall not be destroyed until
20after the contest is finally determined. If the use of back-up
21equipment becomes necessary, the same testing required for the
22original equipment shall be conducted.
23(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06.)
 
24    (10 ILCS 5/24C-16)
25    Sec. 24C-16. Approval of Direct Recording Electronic

 

 

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1Voting Systems; Requisites. The State Board of Elections shall
2approve all Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems that
3fulfill the functional requirements provided by Section 24C-11
4of this Code, voluntary provisions and the mandatory
5requirements of the federal voting system standards pertaining
6to Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems promulgated by
7the Federal Election Commission or the Election Assistance
8Commission, the testing requirements of an approved
9independent testing authority and the rules of the State Board
10of Elections.
11    The State Board of Elections shall not approve any Direct
12Recording Electronic Voting System that (i) has not been
13certified by the Federal Election Commission or the Election
14Assistance Commission or (ii) includes an external Infrared
15Data Association (IrDA) communications port.
16    The State Board of Elections is authorized to withdraw its
17approval of a Direct Recording Electronic Voting System if the
18System, once approved, fails to fulfill the above requirements.
19    The vendor, person, or other private entity shall be solely
20responsible for the production and cost of: all application
21fees; all ballots; additional temporary workers; and other
22equipment or facilities needed and used in the testing of the
23vendor's, person's, or other private entity's respective
24equipment and software.
25    Any voting system vendor, person, or other private entity
26seeking the State Board of Elections' approval of a voting

 

 

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1system shall, as part of the approval application, submit to
2the State Board a non-refundable fee. The State Board of
3Elections by rule shall establish an appropriate fee structure,
4taking into account the type of voting system approval that is
5requested (such as approval of a new system, a modification of
6an existing system, the size of the modification, etc.). No
7voting system or modification of a voting system shall be
8approved unless the fee is paid.
9    No vendor, person, or other entity may sell, lease, or
10loan, or have a written contract, including a contract
11contingent upon State Board approval of the voting system or
12voting system component, to sell, lease, or loan, a Direct
13Recording Electronic Voting System or system component to any
14election jurisdiction unless the system or system component is
15first approved by the State Board of Elections pursuant to this
16Section.
17(Source: P.A. 94-1000, eff. 7-3-06; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)

 

 

SB1299- 31 -LRB097 09780 HLH 49924 b

1 INDEX
2 Statutes amended in order of appearance
3    10 ILCS 5/19A-75
4    10 ILCS 5/Art. 21B heading
5    new
6    10 ILCS 5/21B-5 new
7    10 ILCS 5/21B-10 new
8    10 ILCS 5/21B-15 new
9    10 ILCS 5/21B-20 new
10    10 ILCS 5/21B-25 new
11    10 ILCS 5/21B-30 new
12    10 ILCS 5/21B-35 new
13    10 ILCS 5/21B-40 new
14    10 ILCS 5/21B-45 new
15    10 ILCS 5/21B-50 new
16    10 ILCS 5/21B-55 new
17    10 ILCS 5/21B-60 new
18    10 ILCS 5/21B-65 new
19    10 ILCS 5/21B-70 new
20    10 ILCS 5/21B-75 new
21    10 ILCS 5/21B-80 new
22    10 ILCS 5/21B-85 new
23    10 ILCS 5/21B-90 new
24    10 ILCS 5/21B-95 new
25    10 ILCS 5/24B-2

 

 

SB1299- 32 -LRB097 09780 HLH 49924 b

1    10 ILCS 5/24B-16
2    10 ILCS 5/24C-2
3    10 ILCS 5/24C-9
4    10 ILCS 5/24C-16