HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

132

THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO ELECTIONS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  Section 16-41, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§16-41  Definitions.  Whenever used in this title, unless the context otherwise requires:

     "Counting center" means the computer facilities and surrounding premises designated by the chief election officer or the clerk in county elections where electronic voting system ballots are counted.

     "Defective ballot" means any ballot delivered to the counting center in accordance with section 11-152 that cannot be read by the ballot reading device.

     "Direct recording electronic voting system" means a system that generates a voter verifiable paper audit trail and utilizes electronic components, which are logically and physically integrated into a single unit, for the functions of ballot presentation, vote capture, vote recording, and tabulation.

     "Electronic voting system" means the method of recording votes [which] that are counted by automatic tabulating equipment.  "Electronic voting system" includes but is not limited to the mechanical tabulation system and direct recording electronic voting system.

     "Marksense ballot voting system" means a mechanical tabulation system using paper ballots and optical scanning, digital scanning, or similar technology equipment, for which:

     (1)  The voter manually records votes by marking the appropriate voting position on the ballot, with a prescribed marking device, in the manner instructed by the chief election officer; and

     (2)  The marks on the ballots are subsequently read by the optical scan, digital scan, or similar technology device, in conformance with the specifications of the voting system selected by the chief election officer.

     "Mechanical tabulation system" means an automatic tabulation system, including a marksense ballot voting system, that tabulates paper ballots.  "Mechanical tabulation system" does not include a direct recording electronic voting system.

     "Voter verifiable paper audit trail" means the paper record that constitutes a complete record of ballot selections that is verified by the voter.  The record may also be used to assess the accuracy of the voting machine's electronic record and to verify the election results."

     SECTION 2.  Section 16-42, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§16-42  Electronic voting requirements.  (a)  When used at primary or special primary elections, the automatic tabulating equipment of the electronic voting system shall count only votes for the candidates of one party, or nonpartisans.  In all elections, the equipment shall reject all votes for an office when the number of votes therefor exceeds the number that the voter is entitled to cast.

     No electronic voting system shall be used in any election unless it [generates] involves a paper ballot or voter verifiable paper audit trail [that may be inspected and corrected by the voter before the vote is cast, and unless every paper ballot or voter verifiable paper audit trail is retained as the definitive record of the vote cast].  The chief election officer shall prescribe the method of marking the ballot and associated instructions for voting with the electronic voting system.

     (b)  The chief election officer [may rely on electronic tallies created directly by electronic voting systems, in lieu of counting the paper ballots by hand or with a mechanical tabulation system if:], in using an electronic voting system, shall ensure that:

     (1)  The electronic voting system is subject to inspection, audit, and experimental testing, by qualified observers, before and after the election, pursuant to administrative rules adopted by the chief election officer under chapter 91;

     (2)  No upgrades, patches, fixes, or alterations [shall be] are applied to the system through thirty days after the election;

     (3)  [The chief election officer conducts a] A post-election, pre-certification audit is conducted of a random sample of [not] no less than ten per cent of the precincts [employing the electronic voting system,] to verify that the [electronic tallies generated by] results from the system [in those precincts] with respect to a selected contest or ballot question equal [hand tallies] a tally of the [paper] ballots [generated by the system  in those precincts; and] or voter verifiable paper audit trails.  The audit may be conducted with scanned images of the ballots or voter verifiable paper audit trails and involve a contest or ballot question.  To the extent technology permits other forms of duplication or reproduction, the technology likewise may be used in lieu of the physical paper ballots or voter verifiable paper audit trails.  Any counting of ballots or voter verifiable paper audit trails for purposes of the audit shall be conducted in accordance with any marking and vote disposition rules relating to the electronic voting system that the ballots or voter verifiable paper audit trails were associated with;

     (4)  A discrepancy or difference in results is not considered to reflect misreporting if the discrepancy is not related to misreporting a proper mark;

    [(4)] (5)  If [discrepancies appear] misreporting appears in the pre-certification audits [in paragraph (3)], [the chief election officer, pursuant to administrative rules, shall immediately conduct] an expanded audit is immediately conducted pursuant to administrative rules to determine the extent of misreporting in the system[.];

     (6)  Any counting of ballots to correct misreporting for isolated devices involves the specific type of mechanical tabulation system, such as the marksense ballot voting system, that was originally associated with the ballot after appropriate steps are taken to use devices that did not experience misreporting, or the misreporting devices have been repaired to the satisfaction of the chief election officer.  All contests and ballot questions on the impacted ballots shall be counted by the voting system and those results shall replace the prior contests and ballot question results; and

     (7)  To the extent that misreporting occurs with a direct recording electronic voting system, the voter verifiable paper audit trails or reproductions associated with the isolated misreporting devices are counted in their entirety and those results replace the prior misreported results.

     (c)  In the event of a county only election not held in conjunction with a regularly scheduled federal or state election, all references to the chief election officer shall be understood to refer to the clerk."

     SECTION 3.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

 

 

Report Title:

Office of Elections Package; Electronic Voting System; Definitions; Audits

 

Description:

Establishes definitions for purposes of electronic voting.  Specifies additional requirements and procedures with which the chief election officer must comply when using an electronic voting system, including procedures for conducting the post-election, pre-certification audit.  (HD1)

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.