2023 -- H 5462

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LC001078

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Diaz, Slater, Alzate, Edwards, Kennedy, Azzinaro,
Perez, DeSimone, McGaw, and Giraldo

     Date Introduced: February 08, 2023

     Referred To: House State Government & Elections

     (Secretary of State)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 17-7-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-7 entitled "State Board of

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Elections" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     17-7-3. Appointment of members — Vacancies.

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     (a) The governor shall forthwith upon June 8, 1979 appoint seven (7) members of initial

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terms as follows: one member upon initial appointment shall serve for a term of two (2) years; one

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member upon initial appointment shall serve for a term of four (4) years; one member upon initial

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appointment shall serve for a term of six (6) years; one member upon initial appointment shall serve

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for a term of eight (8) years; one member upon initial appointment shall serve for a term of ten (10)

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years; one member upon initial appointment shall serve for a term of twelve (12) years; one member

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upon initial appointment shall serve for a term of fourteen (14) years; and upon the expiration of

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the terms, the governor shall appoint persons for succeeding terms of fourteen (14) years,

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respectively. All members of the board appointed or reappointed after January 1, 2008, shall serve

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for terms of nine (9) years beginning in January 2008, and in January of every even numbered year

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thereafter, the chairperson and vice chairperson of the board shall be elected by majority vote of

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the members of the board.

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     (b) In the event a vacancy occurs in the office of chairperson or vice chairperson after

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January 1, 2008, the board shall in the manner provided in subsection 17-7-3(a) elect another of its

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members to be chairperson or vice chairperson, to fill the vacancy; provided, if the vacancy occurs

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as a result of death or resignation, the new chairperson or vice chairperson shall only fill the

 

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unexpired term.

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     (c) In the event a vacancy occurs on the board, the governor shall appoint within thirty (30)

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days a new member to fill the vacancy; provided if the vacancy occurs as a result of death or

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resignation, the new member shall only fill the unexpired term. All appointments to fill vacancies

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shall be made in accordance with Article IX, section 5 of the Constitution of the state of Rhode

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Island and §§ 36-1-10 through 36-1-12.

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     (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 17-7-2 and in order to facilitate communication

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between the department of state and the board of elections, the secretary of state shall designate a

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liaison (the director of elections or the deputy secretary of state who oversees the elections division)

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to serve as a reporting and informational resource at all board of elections meetings with the

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exception of when the board meets in executive session or is engaged in agenda items addressing

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issues related to campaign finance or appeal. The board may call upon the department of state

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liaison to offer insight or clarification, or answer any direct questions, through the chair, from

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members, in real time, at any time during a meeting, The board of elections shall make a platform

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available to the liaison to facilitate this process.

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     SECTION 2. Sections 17-19-3 and 17-19-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 17-19 entitled

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"Conduct of Election and Voting Equipment, and Supplies" are hereby amended to read as follows:

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     17-19-3. Voting equipment and services — Specifications.

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     (a) The board of elections shall, in consultation with the office of secretary of state shall

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develop, from time to time, and, in coordination with the general assembly for the purpose of

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funding procurement, submit specifications to the department of administration that the department

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of administration shall utilize in procuring voting equipment, voting systems, and services related

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thereto in accordance with this chapter and chapter 2 of title 37 of the general laws. These

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specifications and requests for proposals for the options of purchasing, leasing to own, or renting

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precinct-count voting systems that utilize technologies, methods, and equipment considered

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reasonable best practices for the state and in compliance with all laws, and for a full-service contract

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for such voting systems, shall be constructed and shall operate in a manner that meets the following

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minimum requirements:

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     (1) It shall enable the voter to:

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     (i) Mark his or her ballot and cast his or her vote in secrecy;

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     (ii) Vote for all candidates of political parties or organizations, and for, or against, questions

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as submitted;

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     (iii) Vote for as many persons for an office as the voter is lawfully entitled to vote for, but

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no more; and

 

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     (iv) Vote on any question the voter may have the right to vote on;

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     (2) It shall prevent the voter from voting for the same person more than once for the same

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office;

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     (3) The voting equipment shall allow the voter to cast one vote, thereby allowing the voter

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to vote for all the presidential electors of a party by a clear and unambiguous means; provided, that

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means shall be furnished by which the voter can cast a vote in part for the candidates for presidential

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electors of one party, and in part for those of one or more other parties, or in part or in whole, for

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persons not nominated by any party;

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     (4) The precinct-counting system shall meet the following specifications:

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     (i) Vote counting, including absentee ballots, shall be performed through the use of

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automated electronic equipment;

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     (ii) All vote counting shall be performed on equipment supplied as part of the bid. The

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system shall not require the use of non-supplied equipment to count ballots or tabulate results;

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     (iii) There shall be privacy enclosures in which a voter may mark his or her ballot or

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otherwise cast his or her vote in secret;

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     (iv) There shall be a device located in each polling place that can record the vote count and

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tally the vote count in that polling place and that can produce a printed tally of all races contained

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on said ballot in human, readable form. The device shall automatically print a “zero report” at the

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beginning of the day when the device is activated. The device that receives ballots for counting

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shall have an external counter indicating the number of ballots received. The actual vote tally shall

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be capable of being performed only by election officials and shall not be visible during the actual

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voting process. Each recording device shall ensure the security of voted ballots and ease of access;

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     (v) As part of the voting process, there shall be created a physical ballot showing the votes

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cast by an individual voter that is capable of being hand counted so that electronic-recorded device

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totals can be checked for accuracy;

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     (vi) There shall be a device at each polling place to receive the physical audit trail of ballots

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cast and that shall securely store the ballots and have the capability of restricting access to the

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ballots only to authorize officials;

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     (vii) In the event of loss of electrical power, the polling place vote count shall be stored on

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an ongoing basis in media that will retain the count of the votes cast to that point in time for a

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period of no less than five (5) years;

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     (viii) The polling place vote counts shall be stored on a stable media that may be easily

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transported and that may be accessed and counted by an electronic device so that state, city, and/or

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town vote totals can be electronically calculated by combining individual polling place totals. It

 

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shall not be necessary to enter individual polling place totals by, and into, a central computer or

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device for the purpose of producing the state, city, and/or town totals, but rather the electronic

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media on which the polling place totals are stored shall be directly readable and accessible by a

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regional or central device;

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     (ix) There shall be a device that has the capability to electronically read the storage device

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upon which the individual polling place totals are stored and that shall produce a combined total

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for all races, which total can be printed in easily readable and legible form in a format prescribed

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by the state board of elections;

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     (x) The system provided shall allow the secretary of state to have the capability to design

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the ballot format;

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     (xi) The system shall provide a capability for the state, without the use of outside services,

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to set up and prepare the counting devices to total an election; and

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     (xii) The system must be capable of receiving voted ballots without counting when without

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power and must provide for securely storing uncounted ballots;

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     (5) The following minimum equipment shall be required for the state:

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     (i) There shall be a minimum number of units to permit counting to be conducted in each

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polling place within the state with a reserve of equipment on hand;

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     (ii) There shall be a sufficient number of voting booths for each precinct to accommodate

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voters as determined in this title;

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     (iii) The number of polling place units and voting booths must be sufficient to permit the

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election to run smoothly without excessive waiting of voters;

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     (iv) If there is an increase in the number of polling places statewide during the term of the

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contract, the vendor will supply additional polling place units and voting booths at a cost

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proportional to the cost of the initial units pro rated for the balance of the agreement years;

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     (v)(A) There shall be high-speed, absentee vote tabulating equipment. These tabulators, as

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a whole, must be capable of counting absentee ballots at a reasonable best practices rate. The

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tabulators shall utilize the same ballots used in the polling place;

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     (B) This system shall have the following capabilities in connection with the counting of

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ballots and producing results:

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     (I) This system shall be able to read the media from the polling place units on which polling

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place results are stored and shall be able to compile polling place results producing a ballot total

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for each race; and

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     (II) This system shall be capable of producing and printing out ballot totals on a polling-

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place-by-polling-place basis for each race, and shall be capable of producing a final total and

 

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subtotals of all races from all races and polling places in the state. All totals must be able to be

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produced at any time, based upon the number of polling places counted up to that point in time,

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and these printout results shall state the number of precincts counted and the percentage of precincts

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reporting;

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     (vi) There shall be all equipment necessary to program the system and erase the memory

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devices;

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     (vii) Reasonable best-practices tabulating equipment shall be located in each of the thirty-

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nine (39) local boards of canvassers and the central tabulation equipment shall be located at the

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state board of elections. The state board of elections, in conjunction with the service contract

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vendor, no less than thirty (30) days prior to an election, shall test the tabulation system to be

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utilized for the election and determine whether regional and/or central tabulation is adequate, and

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if regional tabulation is required, so implement it. The tabulation system shall have the following

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capabilities in connection with the counting of ballots and producing results:

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     (A) This system shall be able to read the media from the polling place units on which

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polling place results are stored and shall be able to compile polling place results producing a ballot

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total for each race;

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     (B) This system shall be capable of producing and printing out ballot totals on a polling-

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place-by-polling-place basis for each race and shall be capable of producing a final total and

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subtotal of all races from all races and polling places in the state;

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     (C) All totals must be able to be produced at any time based upon the number of polling

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places counted up to that point in time, and the printout results shall state the number of precincts

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counted and the percentage of precincts reporting; and

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     (D) This system shall be capable of transferring information gathered from the precincts

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and, if regional and/or central tabulation sites are utilized, the system shall be capable of

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transferring information gathered at any regional or central sites utilized by the thirty-nine (39)

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local boards of canvassers;

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     (6) All necessary programming and accumulation software shall be provided to run the

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election system in accordance with the required specifications as well as all necessary and required

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modules. Any software updates during the term of the agreement shall not be charged to the state;

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     (7) The vendor of the precinct-count system shall provide written proof of compliance with

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federal standards then in place and administered by the designated federal agency or organization

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from an independent testing company and this written proof must be on file with the office of the

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secretary of state and the state board of elections;

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     (8) The vendor shall also provide the following information to be included in the vendor’s

 

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bid proposal:

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     (i)(A) An audited financial statement covering the previous five (5) years, and if the vendor

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is not the manufacturer of the equipment, both the agent and manufacturer must submit an audited

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financial statement covering the previous five (5) years with the bid;

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     (B) In the event that either the vendor, agent, or manufacturer has been in existence for less

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than five (5) years, that entity must submit an audited financial statement for each and every full

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year that they have been in existence;

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     (ii) Proof of experience in the field of elections including, but not limited to, years of

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experience in this field and experience with a jurisdiction having the same needs as the state of

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Rhode Island; and

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     (iii) Names and addresses of the support organizations that will provide support of all

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equipment.

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     (b) The full-service plan shall include the following services, but, at the discretion of the

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office of the secretary of state, shall not be limited to the following services:

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     (1) Computer coding and layout of all ballots to be used in each election under contract,

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including the printing of the ballot and the preparation of the ballot-reading and accessible voting

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device to ensure that the ballots are compatible with the ballot-reading device. Subsequent thereto,

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the state board of elections shall be responsible for the following:

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     (2) Testing of each precinct count and accessible voting unit for logic and accuracy

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including calibration of any touchscreens and the testing of the coding by creating a sufficient

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number of ballots on the accessible voting units and ensuring the ballots are accurate and properly

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read by the precinct count unit;

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     (3) Testing of each programmed memory device on each precinct count and accessible

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voting unit;

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     (4) Set up of each precinct-count and accessible voting unit at each polling place;

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     (5) Maintenance of all precinct-count and accessible voting units;

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     (6) Training of poll workers;

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     (7) On-site election night staff at the central tabulation location and any other locations as

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may be determined by the state board to receive and transmit election results;

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     (8) On-site election day field technicians to respond to repair calls;

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     (9) Providing the following equipment and supplies:

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     (i) Secrecy covers for voted ballots;

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     (ii) Demonstration ballots;

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     (iii) Precision-cut shell program ballots ready for printing with timing marks;

 

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     (iv) Marking pens;

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     (v) Ballot transfer cases;

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     (vi) Envelopes for mailing and receiving absentee ballots; and

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     (vii) Printer ribbons, paper tape rolls, and seals.

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     (c) Any bid proposal by an offeror for a precinct-count system and a full-service agreement

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for a precinct-count system that does not conform in all respects to the requirements of subdivisions

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(a)(1) — (b)(9)(vii) of this section may be accepted by the office of the secretary of state with the

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consent of the department of administration. The office of the secretary of state shall memorialize

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the acceptance of any bid proposal that does not conform with the requirements of subsections

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(a)(1) — (b)(9)(vii) of this section in each instance of such non-conformance.

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     (d) The office of the secretary of state periodically shall conduct a review of the election

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system, provide a report to the general assembly, and shall be responsible for establishing minimum

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requirements and specifications for the procurement of voting equipment and services.

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     17-19-14. Preparation of voting equipment for election — Testing.

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     (a) Prior to any election at which optical scan precinct count voting units are to be used,

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including those that are accessible for voters who are blind, visually impaired or disabled, the

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secretary of state shall prepare the layout and format of the computer ballot in conjunction with the

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voting equipment vendor under contract with the state. The secretary of state shall be responsible

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for the coding and layout of all computer ballots to be used in each election under contract,

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including the printing of the ballot and the preparation of the device to ensure that the ballots are

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displayed correctly on the accessible voting units and compatible with the device, and shall transfer

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all information relative to the ballot and its preparation to the state board.

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     (b) Subsequently, the state board, in conjunction with the voter equipment vendor under

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contract with the state, shall be responsible for the testing of the programmed memory cartridge,

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the testing of each unit for logic and accuracy, including ensuring the accessible voting unit is

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properly calibrated and correctly coded, and the set up of each optical scan precinct unit at each

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polling place. The state board of elections shall determine, and document on the forms provided

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for that purpose, the fact that the programmed memory device cartridges for the optical scan

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precinct count and accessible voting units are in good working order, that the daily counter is at

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zero, and all of the candidates’ counters are set at zero and record no vote for any candidate.

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     (c) The state board of elections, in conjunction with the voting equipment vendor under

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contract with the state, shall publicly conduct these tests on each programmed cartridge for each

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optical scan precinct count and accessible voting unit to be used for the election. This testing shall

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be made as near to the time of the election as is feasible.

 

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     (d) The state board of elections in consultation with the secretary of state, shall promulgate

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rules and regulations on logic and accuracy testing protocols.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO ELECTIONS -- STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS

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     This act would designate a liaison position within the secretary of state's office to formulate

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communication between the department of state and the board of elections, and would add

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accessible voting devices to the equipment maintained by the secretary of state.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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