To amend Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to primaries and elections generally, so as to provide a short title; to provide a permanent, tangible, paper record as the official ballot of votes recorded for each voter; to require that all direct recording electronic voting systems produce such paper evidence as the official ballot; to provide that each elector shall have the opportunity to verify and affirm that the official ballot has accurately recorded his or her intent before casting the ballot for counting; to restore public ballot counting procedures for all voting systems in Georgia; to require that tabulations of said paper ballots are performed at the precinct by manual counting in full view of the general public; to specify that said paper ballots are exclusively recognized as the official ballot of record for purposes of counting, auditing, recounting the vote and for election challenge proceedings; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “Georgia Vote Count Protection Act.”
SECTION 2.
Chapter 2 of Title 21 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to primaries and elections generally, is amended by striking paragraph (1) of Code Section 21-2-2, relating to definitions and inserting in lieu thereof a new paragraph (1) to read as follows:
“(1) ‘Ballot’ means ‘official ballot’ or ‘paper ballot’ by which an elector verifies and casts his or her votes and establishes a tangible official record of voter intent that exists externally from any voting system equipment, software or database.”
SECTION 3.
Said chapter is further amended by striking subsection (f) of Code Section 21-2-324, relating to examination and approval of voting machines by Secretary of State, and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (f) to read as follows:
“(f) When a voting system has been so approved, any change to the voting machine * shall render necessary a reexamination or re-approval of each such voting system.“
SECTION 4.
Said chapter is further amended by striking paragraphs (7), (8) and (9) of Code Section 21-2-379.1 relating to requirements for use of electronic recording voting systems, and inserting in lieu thereof new paragraphs (7), (8) and (9) to read as follows:
"(7) It shall produce a permanent paper record as the official ballot containing a unique ballot number, each vote cast for each candidate, question or other initiative on the ballot; and any additional information required to designate such record as the official record for count, audit, recount under Code Section 21-2-495 or any election challenge under Article 13 of this chapter involving a primary or election in which such system is used;
(8) It shall provide the elector with an opportunity to review the printed ballot before said ballot is accepted as final and official and to make changes or corrections to the printed ballot as provided in subsection (b) Code Section 21-2-379.10;
(9) It shall be constructed of good quality in a neat and workmanlike manner and shall be so constructed that an elector may readily learn the method of operating it; and”.
SECTION 5.
Said chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 21-2-379.2, relating to review of manufacturer’s electronic recording voting system by Secretary of State and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 21-2-379.2 to read as follows:
“21-2-379.2.
(a) All existing voting machine software used by the state of Georgia and any software of electronic voting machines examined by the Secretary of State or representatives of the secretary of State shall have their software source code for the operating system, vote recording and vote counting processes filed with the Secretary of State and be open for public inspection. Such software shall be available during all business hours of each day that the office of the Secretary of State is open for business and available by download from the website of the Secretary of State. Such software source code shall be open prior the examination of any system for approval and remain open for public inspection and review from the time the system is approved until such software is no longer used for vote recording or vote counting by any precinct.
(b) At any time, the Secretary of State may be required to re/examine a direct recording electronic voting system in accordance with the laws for voting machine examination as defined by Code Section 21-2-324. Any such re/examination of a direct recording electronic voting machine will be conducted in accordance with the procedures of Code 21-2-324.”
SECTION 6.
Said chapter is further amended by adding new subsections (e) and (f) to Code Section 21-2-379.7, relating to the preparation of polling places, to read as follows:
“(e) The superintendent shall ensure that an alternative means of voting is available for all electors in the event of voting machine malfunction, power failure or any condition that may render the voting machines inoperable for a time period of more than 20 minutes during a primary, election or runoff of either.
(f) The superintendent will provide at least one voting machine with voice prompt capability for ballot verification at each precinct to assist sight impaired electors.”
SECTION 7.
Said chapter is further amended by striking subsection (b) of Code Section 21-2-379.10, relating to procedure for electors, and inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection (b) to read as follows:
"(b) After the summary screen is displayed and the elector desires to make no further changes to his or her votes, the elector shall choose from the summary screen to print his or her official paper ballot. When printing is complete, a verification screen shall be displayed prompting the elector to review the votes indicated on the printed ballot and giving the elector the option to correct said votes or, alternatively, to cast his or her printed ballot as final and official. If the elector chooses to make changes to the official ballot, the voting system shall return to the summary screen and the printer shall mark the printed ballot with the word ‘Void’. When the elector chooses to cast the official ballot, the printer shall mark that ballot with the words ‘Approved by Voter’ and that ballot shall be deposited in a ballot box prior to the elector leaving the polling place. The official ballots shall be secured in sealed, locked ballot boxes at all times in a manner according to the provisions of Part 2 of Article 11 of this chapter and other provisions of law for handling paper ballots. Such ballot boxes shall not be opened nor shall such ballots be counted until the poll closes.
SECTION 8.
Said chapter is further amended by striking Code Section 21-2-379.11, relating to procedure for tabulation of vote, and inserting in lieu thereof a new Code Section 21-2-379.11 to read as follows:
“21-2-379.11.
(a) In primaries, elections and runoffs, the permanent paper records produced by the direct recording electronic (DRE) voting equipment shall be counted at the precinct under the direction of the poll manager immediately after the polls close. The poll manager shall ensure that the totals of all votes cast on all permanent paper records at the precinct is delivered to, and recorded correctly, at the tabulation center.
(b) The permanent paper records shall be placed in a container that shall be transported to the tabulating center with the other election materials. The manager shall cause to be completed and signed a ballot recap form, in sufficient counterparts, showing the number of valid ballots, the number of spoiled and invalid ballots, the number of provisional ballots, the number of unused provisional ballots, and any other unused ballots. The manager shall cause to be placed in a ballot supply container one copy of the recap form and any unused, defective, spoiled, and invalid ballots, each enclosed in an envelope. The manager shall collect the memory card, tapes and any other DRE items for each voting machine and enclose them in the container according to procedures established by the Secretary of State. The manager shall then seal and initial the container so that it cannot be opened without breaking the seal.
(c) The sealed container shall be transported to the tabulating center with the other election materials. The manager and one poll worker shall deliver the container to the tabulating center for the county or municipality and shall receive a receipt for such container. Copies of the recap forms, unused ballots, records, and other materials shall be returned to the designated location and retained as provided by law. The container with the permanent paper records of the precinct shall be kept unopened in a secure location by the election superintendent and shall be transferred to the appropriate officer with the other election records in accordance with Code Section 21-2-500.
(d) The poll manager or superintendent shall deputize all persons who perform any duties at the precinct. The superintendent shall deputize all persons who perform any duties at the tabulating center. Only persons so deputized shall touch any ballot, other container content, or tabulating equipment.
(e) The precinct ballot count and all tabulating center operations shall be conducted in full view of the public, which can include representatives of political parties, journalists and individuals with audio and video recording equipment running continuously.
(f) If the Secretary of State has established a system for transmitting the election results, the poll manager shall transmit the election results from the permanent paper records to the tabulating center. The tabulating center shall make public the totals from each precinct immediately upon receiving them from the precinct and not later than the time they are included in the tabulation center totals. The superintendent shall ensure that the total of all votes received at the tabulation center for each candidate or ballot question is accumulated accurately and recorded correctly for certification in official state-wide totals.
SECTION 9.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
*“or its software” was removed in LC from the original version of the VCPA |
