HB 1521

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to postelection audits; repealing s.
3101.591, F.S., relating to audits of the voting system of
4any county; repealing s. 101.5911, F.S., relating to
5rulemaking authority for procedures regarding audits of a
6voting system; creating s. 101.592, F.S.; requiring that
7the Secretary of State appoint an independent postelection
8audit team each year; requiring that the Secretary of
9State direct hand-to-eye counts of certain ballots;
10requiring that county election officials conduct such
11counts; requiring that audits be conducted for certain
12elections; authorizing the audit team to conduct audits of
13certain elections at its discretion; requiring that the
14number of audits conducted exceed a specified minimum;
15requiring that each county canvassing board appoint a
16postelection audit official from within the board's
17membership; providing for the calculation of audit units;
18providing for audits of records produced by electronic
19voting machines that do not produce voter-verifiable paper
20records; defining the term "audit unit"; providing a
21maximum number of ballots that may be included in a single
22audit; providing for the storage and publication of
23election results; providing for membership of the audit
24team; excluding certain persons from serving as a member
25of the audit team; requiring that each county, the audit
26team, and the Secretary of State perform certain actions
27before commencing an audit; providing procedures and
28requirements for audits; providing that another audit unit
29may be selected for audit if the results of an initial
30audit are found to be unusable; requiring that an
31investigation be conducted of such unusable audits;
32requiring that the Secretary of State, county, audit team,
33and canvassing board take certain actions based on the
34results of each audit; requiring that the results of an
35audit be announced publicly and published; requiring that
36an announcement of audit results include certain
37information; requiring that the public be allowed to
38observe the audit process; creating s. 101.593, F.S.;
39requiring that the Department of state adopt rules to
40administer postelection audits; requiring that the audit
41team provide technical assistance in the preparation of
42rules related to audits; requiring that the department
43review rules for certain purposes; providing an effective
44date.
45
46Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
47
48     Section 1.  Section 101.591, Florida Statutes, as amended
49by section 8 of chapter 2007-30, Laws of Florida, is repealed.
50     Section 2.  Section 101.5911, Florida Statutes, is
51repealed.
52     Section 3.  Section 101.592, Florida Statutes, is created
53to read:
54     101.592  Postelection audits.--
55     (1)  Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, the
56Secretary of State shall appoint an independent postelection
57audit team each year. The Secretary of State shall direct random
58hand-to-eye counts of voter-verifiable paper ballots. Such
59counts shall be conducted by appropriate county election
60officials. Audits shall be conducted for each election held for
61a federal office, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a
62member of the Cabinet, a member of the Legislature, and for at
63least two additional statewide elections, referenda, or
64judicial-retention votes, which shall be randomly selected by
65software-independent means at a public meeting pursuant to
66subsection (5). Other statewide, county, or municipal elections,
67referenda, or judicial-retention votes may be audited at the
68audit team's discretion. In each county, the audit shall be
69conducted in at least 2 percent of the audit units in which each
70audited election appears on the ballot. Before each election,
71each county canvassing board shall appoint a postelection audit
72official who is a member of the county canvassing board as the
73county's official point of contact with the Secretary of State
74and the audit team throughout the postelection audit. To meet
75the requirements with respect to each audited contest pursuant
76to subsection (4), the Secretary of State shall direct each
77county to audit its pro rata share of the total number of
78randomly selected audit units as determined by the audit team.
79If any county's share of such selected audit units is calculated
80to be other than a whole number of audit units, such quantity
81shall be rounded up to the next greater whole number. Any audit
82units randomly selected for auditing from the entire population
83of audit units in a county may be used to audit any contest
84appearing on the ballot in such audit units.
85     (a)  Cast-vote records produced by direct-recording
86electronic voting machines that do not produce voter-verifiable
87paper records shall be audited for purposes of this section by
88comparing the tallies of the cast-vote records to the tallies
89reflected in the printed results tape.
90     (b)  For purposes of this section, the term "audit unit"
91means the voter-verifiable paper ballots counted by a single
92piece of certified voting equipment used to tabulate votes, or a
93batch of such ballots collected and counted as prescribed
94pursuant to paragraph (4)(e). The maximum number of ballots in
95any single audit unit may not exceed 5,000. All electronic vote
96counts with respect to any audit unit which are used to
97determine the election results reported by the counties must be
98securely stored at the time they are produced and made available
99promptly for subsequent comparison to the hand-to-eye counts of
100the corresponding audit units selected for auditing. Vote counts
101shall also be reported by precinct pursuant to s. 101.573.
102     (2)  The membership of the audit team shall be at the
103discretion of the Secretary of State, but must consist of three
104persons, at least one of whom must have verifiable expertise in
105the field of statistics. At least one member must have
106verifiable expertise in the field of auditing. A person is
107ineligible to serve as a member of the audit team if he or she
108currently or has during the immediately preceding 2 years:
109     (a)  Served as an employee of, or reported to, the
110department;
111     (b)  Served in any position on any political campaign or
112committee for any party, candidate, or issue that has appeared
113on any ballot in this state; or
114     (c)  Served as an officer or employee of, or provided any
115goods or services to, any entity that designs, manufactures, or
116services any voting systems or parts thereof used in this state.
117     (3)  Before commencing the audit procedures pursuant to
118subsection (4):
119     (a)  Each county shall forward to the Secretary of State a
120report of its ballot accounting performed in the election on a
121standard form prepared for this purpose.
122     1.  The report must include a summary and detailed
123information regarding the results of the ballot accounting,
124including all outstanding discrepancies and investigations
125related thereto, and the reasons for all outstanding
126discrepancies, if known.
127     2.  Ballot accounting reports shall account for all used,
128unused, spoiled, provisional, and absentee ballots and for all
129paper ballot stock prepared for use in the election, including
130election-day, absentee, early voting, provisional, and overseas
131ballots.
132     (b)  The Secretary of State and the audit team shall review
133the county ballot accounting reports to determine if the number
134of ballots cast accurately reflects voter turnout.
135     (c)  The Secretary of State, based on the recommendation of
136a majority of the audit team, may order additional audits,
137pursuant to paragraph (4)(g), or other investigations based upon
138the review of county ballot accounting reports.
139     (4)  The Secretary of State, based on the recommendation of
140a majority of the audit team and pursuant to subsection (1),
141shall require county election officials to conduct an audit of
142the results of an election in accordance with the following
143procedures:
144     (a)  Any procedure designed or adopted by the Secretary of
145State shall be implemented to ensure with at least 99 percent
146statistical power that for each federal, gubernatorial, or other
147audited statewide contest, a 100 percent manual recount of the
148voter-verifiable paper ballots would not alter the electoral
149outcome as reported by the audit. For all state legislative
150races, and for county and municipal elections held in 100 or
151more election precincts, any procedure designed or adopted by
152the Secretary of State shall be implemented to ensure with at
153least 90 percent statistical power that a 100 percent manual
154recount of the voter-verifiable paper ballots would not alter
155the electoral outcome as reported by the audit. Such procedures
156designed, adopted, or implemented by the Secretary of State to
157achieve statistical power shall be based upon scientifically
158reasonable assumptions with respect to each audited election,
159including, but not limited to, the possibility that within any
160audit unit up to 20 percent of the total votes cast may have
161been counted for a candidate or ballot position other than the
162one intended by the voters, and that the number of votes cast
163per audit unit varies.
164     (b)  Any procedure designed, adopted, or implemented by the
165Secretary of State for each county and municipal contest held in
166fewer than 100 election precincts, but more than a single
167election precinct, shall be conducted in at least two audit
168units.
169     (c)  Within a reasonable period of time after the final
170vote count of an election has been tabulated and announced, the
171Secretary of State, based on the recommendation of a majority of
172the audit team, shall determine the number of audit units in the
173state, separated by county, in which audits shall be conducted
174pursuant to this section, and inform each county canvassing
175board using a standard form. Such information shall be posted on
176the Secretary of State's website immediately after it is
177delivered to the county canvassing boards. Within 48 hours after
178receiving direction from the Secretary of State, each county
179canvassing board shall conduct a public meeting for the purpose
180of selecting audit units to be audited according to the
181Secretary of State's direction. The meeting shall be noticed at
182least 24 hours in advance on that county's website and at each
183election office and the main county government building in that
184county. An audit shall commence within 24 hours after each
185county's random selection of audit units.
186     (d)  With respect to votes cast at the polling place or
187early voting site on or before the date of an election other
188than an election conducted by provisional ballot, the Secretary
189of State shall direct a hand-to-eye count of the voter-
190verifiable paper ballots of the selected audit units used at
191such polling places or early voting sites and compare those
192counts with the electronic counts of such votes produced and
193retained pursuant to paragraph (1)(b).
194     (e)  With respect to the votes cast other than at the
195polling place or early voting site on or before the date of an
196election, or any other votes counted electronically before, on,
197or after the date of an election, including overseas ballots,
198the Secretary of State shall direct a hand-to-eye count of the
199voter-verifiable paper ballots as follows:
200     1.  If the number of such ballots to be counted on a single
201certified piece of voting equipment does not exceed the maximum
202audit unit size as prescribed in paragraph (1)(b), the county
203supervisor of elections shall cause such votes to be audited in
204the manner prescribed in paragraph (d).
205     2.  If the number of such ballots to be counted on a single
206certified piece of voting equipment exceeds the maximum audit
207unit size prescribed in paragraph (1)(b), the county supervisor
208of elections shall divide the ballots into batches to be used as
209audit units as described in paragraph (1)(b) before each
210election. Each batch shall contain approximately the average
211number of ballots cast in the audit units residing at the
212polling places within the county, but need not be associated
213with any particular election precinct or polling place. The
214number of ballots in the final batch may be fewer than the
215average number, but may not be fewer than 10 ballots. Overseas
216ballots arriving after election day shall be included in the
217audit units if they are counted electronically. As the ballots
218comprising each batch are counted electronically, each batch
219shall be assigned a unique identification number. Immediately
220after counting the ballots comprising each batch, a cumulative
221summary vote tally report containing the batch's unique
222identification number, the vote totals of the batch, and, if
223necessary, all previously counted batches in the election, shall
224be produced and retained as prescribed in paragraph (1)(b). The
225reports are subject to the same secure chain of custody as the
226ballots comprising the batches and shall be used by the county
227canvassing board to determine the electronic vote tally for each
228batch. The audit team shall compare the sum of the vote tallies
229of all the reports to the official results announced by the
230county, investigate any discrepancies, and report any unresolved
231discrepancies, including the reasons for such discrepancies, if
232known. The canvassing board shall promptly report to the audit
233team its total number of audit units once known. The audit team
234shall include all the audit units from each county in the random
235selection process and if an audit unit is selected, such unit
236shall be audited in the same manner provided in paragraph (d)
237for audit units residing at polling places. However, during such
238audits, the hand-to-eye counts shall be compared to the
239electronic vote tallies derived from the batch reports.
240     (f)  The selection of the audit units to be audited shall
241be made using a uniform distribution in which all audit units in
242which an audited election is held have an equal chance of being
243selected. Selection of audit units for county and municipal
244elections held in fewer than 100 election precincts and state
245legislative elections may be made randomly using a nonuniform
246distribution to be determined by the Secretary of State, based
247on the recommendation of a majority of the audit team. In every
24810th polling place in which an audit unit is selected pursuant
249to paragraph (d), one direct-recording electronic voting machine
250shall be audited in accordance with paragraph (1)(a).
251Notwithstanding the requirements set forth in this paragraph,
252the audit team may initiate, direct, or conduct an audit of any
253audit unit not randomly selected for auditing for which a
254majority of the audit team determines, from the unaudited
255election results, a review of ballot accounting, past election
256results, or other data, that there is a substantial possibility
257that a complete hand-to-eye count or review of ballot accounting
258would alter the outcome of one or more contests.
259     (g)  If the Secretary of State, based on a recommendation
260of a majority of the audit team, determines that any of the
261hand-to-eye counts conducted under this section indicates a
262substantial possibility that a complete hand-to-eye count would
263alter the outcome of any contest in the state, the Secretary of
264State shall direct hand-to-eye counts pursuant to this section
265in such additional audit units as he or she considers
266appropriate to resolve any such possibility. Notwithstanding any
267requirements to the contrary, additional hand-to-eye counts
268shall be conducted if in the initial audit conducted pursuant to
269this section any discrepancy or discrepancies attributable to
270the electronic counting system could alter the vote share of any
271candidate or ballot contest by one-tenth of 1 percent or more of
272the hand-counted votes in the sample. Under such circumstances,
273the audit of the election shall use the same number of audit
274units as the initial audit and shall be conducted under the same
275procedures used to conduct the initial audit. However, if the
276initial audit comprises more than one-half the total number of
277audit units in the election, such audit shall be a full hand-to-
278eye count of the remaining unaudited election precincts and
279audit units. Further hand-to-eye counts shall be conducted if
280any discrepancy or discrepancies attributable to the electronic
281counting system detected by the initial or subsequent escalated
282audit indicates a substantial possibility that a complete hand-
283to-eye recount would alter the outcome of the audited election.
284Discrepancies resulting from marginally marked ballots accepted
285by the county canvassing board pursuant to s. 102.166(4) may not
286be considered when making the determination of whether the
287voting system has met the standard of acceptable performance for
288any audit unit. If the Secretary of State directs the county to
289perform a subsequent escalated audit, the county canvassing
290board shall conduct such audit within 48 hours after receiving
291such direction.
292     (h)  If the voter-verifiable paper ballots in any audit
293unit are found to be unusable for an audit for any reason
294whatsoever, another audit unit used in the same election shall
295be selected at random by the county canvassing board to replace
296the original audit unit in the audit sample. All such selections
297shall be made randomly at a public meeting pursuant to
298subsection (5). An investigation to determine the reason the
299voter-verifiable paper ballots were compromised and unusable
300shall be conducted immediately, and the results of the
301investigation shall be made public upon completion.
302     (i)  As soon as practicable after the completion of an
303audit conducted pursuant to this section, but no later than
30411:59 p.m. on the 7th day after the date of certification of the
305election by the county canvassing board, the Secretary of State,
306based on approval of a majority of the audit team, shall
307announce publicly and publish the results of the audit and
308include in the announcement a comparison of the results of the
309election in the audit units as determined by the postelection
310audit and the final vote count in the county as announced by the
311county canvassing boards, including:
312     1.  A list, by audit unit, of any discrepancies between the
313county's unofficial results and the postelection audit results;
314     2.  The initial vote count and any subsequent manual counts
315of the voter-verifiable paper ballots;
316     3.  Explanations for such discrepancies, if any; and
317     4.  Tallies of all overvotes, undervotes, or their
318equivalents, blank ballots, spoiled ballots, and cancellations
319recorded on the voter-verifiable paper record.
320     (5)  Each public meeting and all ballot counting conducted
321in the performance of postelection audits pursuant to this
322section shall be conducted in a manner allowing public
323observation of the entire process. If space is limited, the
324canvassing board may comply with this subsection through use of
325live audio and video equipment or other means providing for
326public observation of the entire process.
327     Section 4.  Section 101.593, Florida Statutes, is created
328to read:
329     101.593  Rulemaking authority for postelection audit
330procedures.--
331     (1)  The Department of State shall adopt rules to
332administer the provisions of s. 101.592, including the standard
333forms required to administer postelection audits.
334     (2)  The audit team appointed by the Secretary of State
335pursuant to s. 101.592 shall provide technical assistance in the
336preparation of rules related to postelection audits.
337     (3)  The department shall review rules as necessary for the
338purpose of addressing new procedures in law, new voting systems
339and methods, new statistical formulae, new sample selection
340methods, improvements revealed by previous audits, and other
341methods to improve efficacy of such procedures.
342     Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.