Senate Bill sb2466

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466

    By Senator Wilson





    33-952B-06

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to voting systems; amending s.

  3         20.10, F.S., relating to the organizational

  4         structure of the Department of State;

  5         specifying that the Bureau of Voting Systems

  6         Certification and the Bureau of Voting Systems

  7         Security are located within the Division of

  8         Elections; creating s. 101.018, F.S.; creating

  9         the Bureau of Voting Systems Security for the

10         purpose of ensuring the security of voting

11         systems used in the state; specifying the

12         duties of the bureau; requiring that the bureau

13         provide a monthly report to the director of the

14         Division of Elections and the Secretary of

15         State; requiring that any identified security

16         problem be remedied within a specified period;

17         providing that a manufacturer that fails to

18         remedy a security problem is subject to a fine

19         for each day of such failure; authorizing the

20         division to adopt emergency rules following the

21         failure of a manufacturer to remedy a

22         medium-level or high-level security problem

23         which occurs proximate to a primary or general

24         election; amending s. 101.5606, F.S.; requiring

25         that voting systems approved by the Department

26         of State allow the voter to correct an error in

27         voting; requiring that such systems produce a

28         paper record, be furnished with illumination,

29         be equipped with an audio-stimulus voting

30         feature, and include a sip-and-puff switch

31         attachment; amending s. 101.5612, F.S.;

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466
    33-952B-06




 1         revising the testing requirements for

 2         electronic or electromechanical voting systems

 3         that are configured to include electronic or

 4         electromechanical tabulation devices; requiring

 5         that each device be tested; providing effective

 6         dates.

 7  

 8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

 9  

10         Section 1.  Subsection (2) of section 20.10, Florida

11  Statutes, is amended to read:

12         20.10  Department of State.--There is created a

13  Department of State.

14         (2)  The following divisions of the Department of State

15  are established:

16         (a)  Division of Elections.

17         1.  Bureau of Voting Systems Certification.

18         2.  Bureau of Voting Systems Security.

19         (b)  Division of Historical Resources.

20         (c)  Division of Corporations.

21         (d)  Division of Library and Information Services.

22         (e)  Division of Cultural Affairs.

23         (f)  Division of Administration.

24         Section 2.  Section 101.018, Florida Statutes, is

25  created to read:

26         101.018  Bureau of Voting Systems Security.--

27         (1)  There is created a Bureau of Voting Systems

28  Security within the Division of Elections of the Department of

29  State which shall be responsible for ensuring the security of

30  the voting systems that are certified for use in this state.

31         (2)  The bureau shall:

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466
    33-952B-06




 1         (a)  Continuously test the hardware and software of the

 2  voting systems for the purpose of identifying security

 3  problems.

 4         (b)  Test any voting system in response to a credible

 5  published report of security problems.

 6         (c)  Notify the manufacturer of the voting system if a

 7  security problem is identified.

 8         (d)  Work with the manufacturer of the voting system to

 9  develop a remedy for the identified security problem.

10         (3)  The bureau shall provide a monthly written report

11  to the director of the Division of Elections and the Secretary

12  of State for each certified voting system which must, at a

13  minimum:

14         (a)  Identify each security problem;

15         (b)  Identify the source of any potential security

16  breach resulting from the problem as "external," such as a

17  security breach involving voters, or "internal," such as a

18  security breach involving employees of the supervisor of

19  elections, poll workers, or manufacturer's field

20  representatives;

21         (c)  Detail the scenarios in which the potential threat

22  could be realized;

23         (d)  Discuss the likelihood of success for each of the

24  scenarios;

25         (e)  Identify the scope of the potential threat,

26  detailing factors such as the number of machines that might be

27  impacted, the number of votes that could be affected in a

28  statewide election, and the number of counties that could be

29  affected; and

30  

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466
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 1         (f)  Based on paragraphs (a)-(e) and any other relevant

 2  factors, classify the security threat posed by the problem as

 3  "high," "medium," or "low."

 4         (4)(a)  A security problem that is identified in the

 5  bureau's report must be remedied within 60 days after the

 6  manufacturer receives notice of the problem or 14 days before

 7  the next regularly scheduled primary or general election,

 8  whichever occurs first. A problem shall be considered remedied

 9  when the bureau so certifies in writing to the division

10  director and, in the case of a high threat, to the Secretary

11  of State.

12         (b)  Any manufacturer who fails to remedy a security

13  problem shall be fined $25,000 per day for each day following

14  the period specified in paragraph (a). In addition, if the

15  failure to remedy a medium-level or high-level security

16  problem is proximate to a scheduled primary or general

17  election, the division shall adopt emergency rules to protect

18  the integrity of the voting process.

19         Section 3.  Effective January 1, 2008, section

20  101.5606, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

21         101.5606  Requirements for approval of systems.--No

22  electronic or electromechanical voting system shall be

23  approved by the Department of State unless it is so

24  constructed that:

25         (1)  It permits and requires voting in secrecy.

26         (2)  It permits each elector to vote at any election

27  for all persons and offices for whom and for which the elector

28  is lawfully entitled to vote, and no others; to vote for as

29  many persons for an office as the elector is entitled to vote

30  for; and to vote for or against any question upon which the

31  elector is entitled to vote.

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466
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 1         (3)  It immediately rejects a ballot where the number

 2  of votes for an office or measure exceeds the number which the

 3  voter is entitled to cast or where the tabulating equipment

 4  reads the ballot as a ballot with no votes cast.

 5         (4)  For systems using marksense ballots, it accepts a

 6  rejected ballot pursuant to subsection (3) if a voter chooses

 7  to cast the ballot, but records no vote for any office that

 8  has been overvoted or undervoted.

 9         (5)  It is capable of correctly counting votes.

10         (6)  It permits each voter at a primary election to

11  vote only for the candidates seeking nomination by the

12  political party in which such voter is registered, for any

13  candidate for nonpartisan office, and for any question upon

14  which the voter is entitled to vote.

15         (7)  At presidential elections it permits each elector,

16  by one operation, to vote for all presidential electors of a

17  party or for all presidential electors of candidates for

18  President and Vice President with no party affiliation.

19         (8)  It provides a method for write-in voting.

20         (9)  It is capable of accumulating a count of the

21  specific number of ballots tallied for a precinct,

22  accumulating total votes by candidate for each office, and

23  accumulating total votes for and against each question and

24  issue of the ballots tallied for a precinct.

25         (10)  It is capable of tallying votes from ballots of

26  different political parties from the same precinct, in the

27  case of a primary election.

28         (11)  It is capable of automatically producing precinct

29  totals in printed, marked, or punched form, or a combination

30  thereof.

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466
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 1         (12)  If it is of a type that which registers votes

 2  electronically, it will permit each voter to privately and

 3  independently change his or her vote for any candidate or upon

 4  any question appearing on the official ballot, or correct any

 5  error, up to the time that the voter takes the final step to

 6  register his or her vote and to have the vote computed.

 7         (13)  It is capable of providing records from which the

 8  operation of the voting system may be audited.

 9         (14)  It uses a precinct-count tabulation system.

10         (15)  It does not use an apparatus or device for the

11  piercing of ballots by the voter.

12         (16)  It produces and retains a voter-verified

13  permanent paper record having a manual audit capacity that

14  records each vote to be cast and that is viewed by the voter

15  from behind a window or other device before the ballot is

16  cast.

17         (17)  It is furnished with illumination sufficient to

18  enable the voter to read the ballot while in the booth.

19         (18)  It is equipped with an audio-stimulus voting

20  feature that communicates the complete content of the ballot

21  in a human voice and permits a voter who is blind or visually

22  impaired to cast a secret ballot using, at the option of the

23  voter, voice-only or tactile-discernible controls.

24         (19)  It includes a sip-and-puff switch voting

25  attachment.

26         Section 4.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section

27  101.5612, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

28         101.5612  Testing of tabulating equipment.--

29         (4)(a)1.  For electronic or electromechanical voting

30  systems configured to include electronic or electromechanical

31  tabulation devices that which are distributed to the

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466
    33-952B-06




 1  precincts, all or a sample of the devices to be used in the

 2  election shall be publicly tested. If a sample is to be

 3  tested, the sample shall consist of a random selection of at

 4  least 5 percent of the devices for an optical scan system or 2

 5  percent of the devices for a touchscreen system or 10 of the

 6  devices for either system, as applicable, whichever is

 7  greater. The test shall be conducted by processing a group of

 8  ballots, causing the device to output results for the ballots

 9  processed, and comparing the output of results to the results

10  expected for the ballots processed. The group of ballots shall

11  be produced so as to record a predetermined number of valid

12  votes for each candidate and on each measure and to include

13  for each office one or more ballots which have activated

14  voting positions in excess of the number allowed by law in

15  order to test the ability of the tabulating device to reject

16  such votes.

17         2.  If any tested tabulating device is found to have an

18  error in tabulation, it shall be deemed unsatisfactory. For

19  each device deemed unsatisfactory, the canvassing board shall

20  take steps to determine the cause of the error, shall attempt

21  to identify and test other devices that could reasonably be

22  expected to have the same error, and shall test a number of

23  additional devices sufficient to determine that all devices

24  are satisfactory. Upon deeming any device unsatisfactory, the

25  canvassing board may require all devices to be tested or may

26  declare that all devices are unsatisfactory.

27         3.  If the operation or output of any tested tabulation

28  device, such as spelling or the order of candidates on a

29  report, is in error, such problem shall be reported to the

30  canvassing board. The canvassing board shall then determine if

31  

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    Florida Senate - 2006                                  SB 2466
    33-952B-06




 1  the reported problem warrants its deeming the device

 2  unsatisfactory.

 3         Section 5.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in

 4  this act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2006.

 5  

 6            *****************************************

 7                          SENATE SUMMARY

 8    Establishes the Bureau of Voting Systems Security within
      the Division of Elections. Provides duties of the bureau
 9    and requires that it make certain reports to the Division
      of Elections and the Secretary of State. Provides that a
10    penalty be imposed if the manufacturer of a voting system
      fails to remedy a problem within a specified time.
11    Authorizes the division to adopt emergency rules. Revises
      the requirements for voting systems approved by the
12    Department of State. Requires that a voter be allowed to
      correct an error in voting. Requires that the system
13    produce a paper record, be furnished with illumination,
      be equipped with an audio-stimulus voting feature, and
14    include a sip-and-puff switch attachment. Revises the
      testing requirements for voting systems that include
15    electronic or electromechanical tabulation devices.
      Requires that each such device be tested.
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