Bill Text: FL S0426 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Voting System Audits

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2017-05-05 - Died in Ethics and Elections [S0426 Detail]

Download: Florida-2017-S0426-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2017                                     SB 426
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       30-00470-17                                            2017426__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to voting system audits; amending s.
    3         101.591, F.S.; requiring certain entities responsible
    4         for election certification to conduct an audit of
    5         voting systems before certifying an election;
    6         requiring the entities to certify an election
    7         immediately following the completion of the audit;
    8         conforming provisions to changes made by the act;
    9         amending s. 101.5911, F.S., relating to rulemaking
   10         authority for voting system audit procedures, to
   11         conform; providing an effective date.
   12          
   13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   14  
   15         Section 1. Section 101.591, Florida Statutes, is amended to
   16  read:
   17         101.591 Voting system audit.—
   18         (1) Before Immediately following the certification of each
   19  election, the county canvassing board or the local board
   20  responsible for certifying the election shall conduct a manual
   21  audit or an automated, independent audit of the voting systems
   22  used in randomly selected precincts. Immediately following the
   23  completion of the manual audit or the automated, independent
   24  audit, the county canvassing board or the local board
   25  responsible for certifying the election shall certify each
   26  election.
   27         (2)(a) A manual audit shall consist of a public manual
   28  tally of the votes cast in one randomly selected race that
   29  appears on the ballot. The tally sheet shall include election
   30  day, vote-by-mail, early voting, provisional, and overseas
   31  ballots, in at least 1 percent but no more than 2 percent of the
   32  precincts chosen at random by the county canvassing board or the
   33  local board responsible for certifying the election. If 1
   34  percent of the precincts is less than one entire precinct, the
   35  audit shall be conducted using at least one precinct chosen at
   36  random by the county canvassing board or the local board
   37  responsible for certifying the election. Such precincts shall be
   38  selected at a publicly noticed canvassing board meeting.
   39         (b) An automated audit shall consist of a public automated
   40  tally of the votes cast across every race that appears on the
   41  ballot. The tally sheet shall include election day, vote-by
   42  mail, early voting, provisional, and overseas ballots in at
   43  least 20 percent of the precincts chosen at random by the county
   44  canvassing board or the local board responsible for certifying
   45  the election. Such precincts shall be selected at a publicly
   46  noticed canvassing board meeting.
   47         (c) The division shall adopt rules for approval of an
   48  independent audit system which provide that the system, at a
   49  minimum, must be:
   50         1. Completely independent of the primary voting system.
   51         2. Fast enough to produce final audit results within the
   52  timeframe prescribed in subsection (4).
   53         2.3. Capable of demonstrating that the ballots of record
   54  have been accurately adjudicated by the audit system.
   55         (3) The canvassing board shall post a notice of the audit,
   56  including the date, time, and place, in four conspicuous places
   57  in the county and on the home page of the county supervisor of
   58  elections website.
   59         (4) The audit must be completed and the results made public
   60  no later than 11:59 p.m. on the 7th day following certification
   61  of the election by the county canvassing board or the local
   62  board responsible for certifying the election.
   63         (4)(5) Within 15 days after completion of the audit, the
   64  county canvassing board or the board responsible for certifying
   65  the election shall provide a report with the results of the
   66  audit to the Department of State in a standard format as
   67  prescribed by the department. The report shall contain, but is
   68  not limited to, the following items:
   69         (a) The overall accuracy of audit.
   70         (b) A description of any problems or discrepancies
   71  encountered.
   72         (c) The likely cause of such problems or discrepancies.
   73         (d) Recommended corrective action with respect to avoiding
   74  or mitigating such circumstances in future elections.
   75         (5)(6) If a manual recount is undertaken pursuant to s.
   76  102.166, the canvassing board is not required to perform the
   77  audit provided for in this section.
   78         Section 2. Section 101.5911, Florida Statutes, is amended
   79  to read:
   80         101.5911 Rulemaking authority for voting system audit
   81  procedures.—Effective upon this act becoming a law, the
   82  Department of State shall adopt rules to implement the
   83  provisions of s. 101.591, as amended by s. 8, chapter 2007-30,
   84  Laws of Florida, which prescribe detailed audit procedures for
   85  each voting system, which shall be uniform to the extent
   86  practicable, along with the standard form for audit reports.
   87         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.