Bill Text: NJ SJR37 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits county commissioners of registration and boards of election to conduct "Electronic Poll Book Demonstration Project" in certain districts during 2017 elections; requires Division of Elections review and approval of proposed projects.*
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-02-13 - Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading [SJR37 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-SJR37-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Permits county commissioners of registration and boards of election to conduct "Electronic Poll Book Demonstration Project" in certain districts during 2016 elections; requires Division of Elections review and approval of proposed projects.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution permitting county election officials to conduct an "Electronic Poll Book Demonstration Project" in certain election districts during the 2016 elections.
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This joint resolution shall be known and may be cited as the "Electronic Poll Book Demonstration Project."
2. Each county commissioner of registration, in consultation with the county board of elections in each county, may develop a plan to test the utility of replacing the paper polling record used at a polling place on election day with an electronic version of that record, known as an electronic poll book, that provides access to the registration record, eligibility, signature, and other information of each registered voter in the election district, and that enables the same functionality currently provided by the paper polling record to be accomplished by electronic means in the conduct of an election. Each plan developed by a county commissioner of registration shall conform to the following criteria:
a. designation of the location and number of election districts at which the demonstration project will be conducted, which shall constitute not more than 5% of the total number of election districts in the county per election cycle;
b. specification of the electronic poll book technology to be used during the demonstration project, which shall be acquired in sufficient quantities to successfully undertake the demonstration project and which shall be capable of performing by electronic means all of the same functions performed by a paper polling record during the conduct of an election, and comply with additional requirements specified under section 3 of this joint resolution;
c. provision of a full set of paper polling records at each election district participating in the demonstration project, which shall be brought into use during the election if the electronic poll book technology fails;
d. production by the county commissioner of registration of an estimate of the full costs of developing and implementing the demonstration project, which shall be submitted to the county governing body for approval at the planning stage, and the costs of the demonstration project shall be paid by the county out of county government funds;
e. detailed description of procedures and requirements for the training of poll workers on the use of the selected electronic poll book technology, protections to ensure the electronic and physical security of the electronic poll books and the voter information they contain, and planning for any other potential contingencies; and
f. any other criteria deemed appropriate by a county commissioner of registration, county board of elections, county governing body pursuant to subsection d. of this section, or the Secretary of State pursuant to section 4 of this joint resolution.
A county commissioner of registration shall be empowered to cancel the implementation of an approved electronic poll book demonstration project if the commissioner determines that emergency or other circumstances warrant cancelation.
3. Each county commissioner of registration developing an electronic poll book demonstration project in consultation with the county board of elections shall evaluate various kinds of electronic poll book technology currently available, and shall select the technology that would best fit the needs of the election officials, local boards of election, and registered voters of the election districts participating in the demonstration project. Notwithstanding this provision, an electronic poll book technology shall meet at least the following capabilities and standards:
a. ability to enable a poll worker to perform by electronic means all of the same functions performed using a paper polling record during the conduct of an election, including, but not limited to, retrieving a registered voter's record and digitized signature to determine eligibility to vote, verifying whether additional identifying documents or proof of residency are needed to complete a voter's registration, recording that person's signature at the polls, assigning a sequential number to each voter permitted to vote, recording any necessary notations on the voter's record, providing an auditable record of the election, redirecting a voter to the correct polling place, notifying whether a registered voter already voted or was mailed a mail-in ballot, and otherwise appropriately marking the voter's record on election day;
b. compatibility with the Statewide voter registration system established pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2005, c.145 (C.19:31-31), which shall include the ability of the electronic poll book to import the records of all registered voters in the election district and updates to those records before election day, to record edits to those records on election day, and to export to the Statewide voter registration system all of the election activity and voter participation information at the closing of the polls or, as an alternative to the export capability, the capability to generate a report of the election activity and voter participation information for manual entry into the Statewide voter registration system;
c. proven ability to successfully meet requirements concerning technology documentation, user safety, accessibility, durability, data encryption, non-interference with and separation from the voting system in use during an election, device and system security, audit log, data and power backup, compatibility, and functionality, as demonstrated under actual performance and use in other United States election administration jurisdictions; and
d. any other capability or standard deemed appropriate by the commissioner of registration, board of elections, or Secretary of State, or deemed necessary to comply with any provision of Title 19 of the Revised Statutes.
4. A county commissioner of registration shall submit a complete electronic poll book demonstration project plan to the Director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State at least 90 days ahead of the election during which the demonstration project will be implemented. The director shall review each plan for conformance with the provisions of this joint resolution within 30 days of receiving the plan, and shall either approve, approve with changes, or disapprove the plan.
5. Each county commissioner of registration implementing an electronic poll book demonstration project approved by the director under this joint resolution shall, within 120 days following the implementation of the project, develop a report to be submitted to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), documenting the results of the demonstration project. The report shall specifically describe the nature and scope of the demonstration project, provide voter participation data, detail the electronic poll book technology used, and address the election administration experience with the technology and whether the use of the technology resulted in any improvement in the productivity and efficiency of election administration on election day.
6. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately, and shall expire 120 days following the date of the November 2016 general election.
STATEMENT
This joint resolution permits each county commissioner of registration, in consultation with the respective board of elections, to conduct an "Electronic Poll Book Demonstration Project" in certain election districts during the 2016 elections, upon review and approval of each project's plan by the Director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State. The purpose of this voluntary project is to allow county commissioners of registration to test the utility of replacing the paper polling record used at a polling place on election day with an electronic version of that record. That technology, known as an electronic poll book, provides access to the registration record, eligibility, signature, and other information of each registered voter in the election district, and enables the same functionality currently provided by the paper polling record to be accomplished by electronic means in the conduct of an election.
Under the joint resolution, each county commissioner of registration would work with the county board of elections in each county to develop a plan. However, plans would be required to conform to the following specific criteria: (1) designation of the location and number of election districts at which the demonstration project will be conducted, which cannot constitute more than 5% of the total number of election districts in the county per election cycle; (2) specification of the electronic poll book technology to be used during the demonstration project, which must be acquired in sufficient quantities and be capable of performing by electronic means all of the same functions performed by a paper polling record; (3) provision of a full set of paper polling records at each election district participating in the demonstration project, which must be brought into use during the election if the electronic poll book technology fails; (4) production by the county commissioner of registration of an estimate of the full costs of developing and implementing the demonstration project, which must be submitted to the county governing body for approval at the planning stage, with the costs of the demonstration project required to be paid by the county out of county government funds; (5) detailed description of procedures and requirements for poll worker training, protections for electronic and physical security of the electronic poll books, and planning for any other potential contingencies; and (6) any other criteria deemed appropriate by the commissioner, board, county governing body, or Secretary of State. A county commissioner of registration shall be empowered to cancel the implementation of an approved electronic poll book demonstration project if the commissioner determines that emergency or other circumstances warrant cancelation.
The joint resolution authorizes each county commissioner of registration in consultation with the county board of elections to evaluate the kinds of electronic poll book technology available and to select the technology that would best fit the needs of the district. The joint resolution requires the selected electronic poll book technology to meet at least the following capabilities and standards: (1) ability to enable a poll worker to perform by electronic means all of the same functions performed using a paper polling record during the conduct of an election, including, but not limited to, retrieving a registered voter's record and digitized signature to determine eligibility to vote, verifying whether additional identifying documents or proof of residency are needed to complete a voter's registration, recording that person's signature at the polls, assigning a sequential number to each voter permitted to vote, recording any necessary notations on the voter's record, providing an auditable record of the election, redirecting a voter to the correct polling place, notifying whether a registered voter already voted or was mailed a mail-in ballot, and otherwise appropriately marking the voter's record on election day; (2) compatibility with the Statewide voter registration system, which must include the ability of the electronic poll book to import the records of all registered voters in the election district and updates those records, record edits to those records, and export to the Statewide voter registration system all of the election activity and voter participation information at the closing of the polls or, as an alternative to the export function, the capability to generate a report of the same activity and participation that can be manually entered into the Statewide voter registration system; (3) proven ability to successfully meet requirements concerning technology documentation, user safety, accessibility, durability, data encryption, non-interference with and separation from the voting system in use during an election, device and system security, audit log, data and power backup, compatibility, and functionality, as demonstrated under actual performance and use in other United States election administration jurisdictions; and (4) any other capability or standard deemed appropriate by the commissioner, board, or Secretary of State, or deemed necessary to comply with any provision of the election laws.
The joint resolution further requires a county commissioner of registration to submit a complete electronic poll book demonstration project plan to the Director of the Division of Elections in the Department of State at least 90 days ahead of the election during which the demonstration project will be implemented. The director is required to review each plan for conformance with the provisions of this joint resolution within 30 days of receiving the plan, and is empowered to either approve, approve with changes, or disapprove the plan.
Each county commissioner of registration implementing an electronic poll book demonstration project approved by the director would be required to develop and submit a report to the Governor, the Secretary of State, and the Legislature documenting the results of the demonstration project within 120 days following the completion of the project.
