Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

0684.01000
     Sixty-eighth
     Legislative Assembly                    HOUSE BILL NO. 1192
     of North Dakota
     Introduced by
       Representatives Louser, Cory, Karls, Kasper, Satrom, Schauer, Steiner, Vetter
       Senators Meyer, K. Roers, Vedaa
  A BILL for an Act to amend and reenact subsection 5 of section 16.1-05-04, section 16.1-06-03,
  subsection 8 of section 16.1-06-14, sections 16.1-06-15 and 16.1-06-20, subsection 1 of section
  16.1-07-13.1, and sections 16.1-15-02, 16.1-15-22, 16.1-15-25, and 40-21-09 of the North
  Dakota Century Code, relating to electronic voting systems, electronic voting devices, absentee
  voting, and canvassing boards.
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
      SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Subsection 5 of section 16.1-05-04 of the North Dakota
  Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
      5.   All members of the election board shall distribute ballots and other election materials
          to electors. An election judge from each party represented on the election board shall
          give any assistance requested by electors in marking ballots or operating electronic
          voting system devices.
     SECTION 2. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-06-03 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
     16.1-06-03. Official ballots only to be used.
     The official ballot prepared by the county auditor or the local auditor or clerk must contain
 the name of each candidate whose name has been certified to or filed with such auditor or clerk
 in the manner provided in this title. Ballots other than official ballots prepared by the county
 auditor or local auditor or clerk may not be cast or counted in any election governed by this title.
 The list of officers and candidates and the statements of measures and questions to be
 submitted to the voters must be deemed an official ballot in precincts in which electronic voting
 systems are used.
     SECTION 3. AMENDMENT. Subsection 8 of section 16.1-06-14 of the North Dakota
 Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
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      8.   Permit voting by ballot or by entering directly into a computer or other electronic device
           by means of a touchscreen or other data entry device.
      SECTION 4. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-06-15 of the North Dakota Century Code is
  amended and reenacted as follows:
      16.1-06-15. Mandatory testing of electronic voting systems before each election and
  after tabulation of ballots.
      1.   All electronic voting systems used in this state must be tested according to guidelines
           established by the secretary of state and as follows to ascertain whether the automatic
           tabulating equipment will accurately count the votes cast for all offices and measures.
          The testing must be conducted prior to each election at which the system will be used.
          The testing must be done by the county auditor or county auditor's designee, and after
          each test, the testing materials and any preaudited ballots used during the test must
          be sealed and retained in the same manner as election materials after an election.
     2.   The test of an electronica voting system employing paper ballots must be conducted
          by processing a preaudited group of ballots on which are recorded a predetermined
          number of valid votes for each candidate and measure and must include for each
          office one or more ballots which have votes in excess of the number allowed by law in
          order to test the ability of the automatic tabulating equipment to reject such votes.
          During the test a different number of valid votes must be assigned to each candidate
          for an office and for and against each measure. If an error is detected, the cause of it
          must be ascertained and corrected, and an errorless count must be secured and filed
          as provided in this section.
     3.   The test must be conducted at least one week before the election. One week before
          the test is conducted, the county auditor must send the district chairman of each
          political party having a candidate on the ballot a notice of the test. The notice must
          state the time, place, and date of the test or tests and that the district chairman or
          district chairman's designee may attend.
     4.   At the conclusion of the test, the programming for each electronic voting device must
          be sealed within the device with a unique numbered seal that must be verified by the
          election inspector before the opening of the polls to make sure the programming has
          not been removed from the device.
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      5.    After each election, the secretary of state shall order a random testing of the voting
            system programming for one precinct in each county of the state according to logic
            and accuracy testing procedures detailed in subsection 2 and as may be further
            defined by the secretary of state in writing. This test is to be conducted before the
            meeting of the county canvassing board.
      SECTION 5. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-06-20 of the North Dakota Century Code is
  amended and reenacted as follows:
      16.1-06-20. Election inspector and judges to display material and provide instruction.
      In addition to other duties provided by law, the election inspector and judges shall provide
 adequate instruction on the use of the electronic voting device to each voter before the voter
 enters the voting booth.
     SECTION 6. AMENDMENT. Subsection 1 of section 16.1-07-13.1 of the North Dakota
 Century Code is amended and reenacted as follows:
     1.    If an election official, absentee ballot precinct election board, or the canvassing board
           has reason to suspect the absent voter's signatures on the application and the affidavit
           on the returned ballot envelope do not match, the election official shall notify the
           absent voter the signatures do not appear to match. The notification must include
           instructions by which the absent voter may confirm the validity of the signatures, a
           statement that verification is required before the ballot can be counted, the date and
           time of the canvassing board meeting, and a statement that verification must be
           completed by the absent voter before close of the meeting of the canvassing board
           occurring sixthirteen days after the election.
     SECTION 7. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-15-02 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
     16.1-15-02. Board of election to generate canvass reports - Location - Public may
 attend.
     After the polls are closed, the inspector of elections and the judges immediately shall
 generate the canvass report from the electronic voting system. The ballots counted by the
 machine must be equal in number with the names on the poll clerks' lists. If the numbers are not
 equal, the pollbooks are to be rechecked to find the discrepancy. The canvass must continue
 without adjournment until completed and must be open to the public. Ballots may not be
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  removed to another location before the canvass report is generated after the ballot boxes have
  been opened. Except in unusual and compelling circumstances, the canvass shall occur at the
  polling place. If good and substantial reasons exist for the removal of the ballots and election
  records to another location for canvass, the removal must be approved by the election board.
  Upon approval of a change of location by the election board as provided in this section, the
  approximate time and location of the canvass must be prominently posted on the main entrance
  to the polling place, the ballots and records must be moved in the presence of the election
  board, and the canvass as provided in this chapter must proceed immediately upon arrival at
  the alternate location.
     SECTION 8. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-15-22 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
     16.1-15-22. County auditor to transmit abstract of votes to secretary of state after
 primary election.
     The county auditor of each county shall provide to the secretary of state the certified
 abstract detailed in section 16.1-15-21, under separate political designation or principle, or
 no-party designation, as the case may be, of the total number of votes cast in the auditor's
 county and the votes cast for every candidate for nomination according to reporting instructions
 specified by the secretary of state. The abstract must also include the total number of votes cast
 for initiated or referred measures and constitutional amendments. The certified abstract must be
 in the possession of the secretary of state before four p.m. on the eighththirteenth day after the
 primary election.
     SECTION 9. AMENDMENT. Section 16.1-15-25 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
     16.1-15-25. County auditor to forward abstract of votes of general election to
 secretary of state - Contents - Abstract for presidential electors.
     Before four p.m. on the eighththirteenth day following any general election, the county
 auditor of each county shall provide to the secretary of state a certified abstract of the votes
 cast in the county at the election according to the reporting instructions specified by the
 secretary of state.
     SECTION 10. AMENDMENT. Section 40-21-09 of the North Dakota Century Code is
 amended and reenacted as follows:
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      40-21-09. Election districts in council cities - Division and consolidation by ordinance
  - Ballots to be kept separate by wards.
      Each city operating under the council form of government in which council members are
  elected at large constitutes an election district or voting precinct, and in all other cities each
  ward constitutes an election district or voting precinct. Whenever the number of electors in any
  two or more contiguous wards does not exceed one hundred as determined by the number of
  votes cast at the last city election, the council, by ordinance, may consolidate those two or more
  wards into one precinct for voting purposes. In any city containing less than four hundred
  electors as determined by the number of votes cast at the last city election, the council, by
 ordinance, may consolidate all the wards of the city into one precinct for voting purposes. An
 ordinance dividing or consolidating wards must be passed and takes effect before the time of
 giving notice of the election. Wards and precincts established under this section constitute
 election districts for all state, county, and city elections. In city elections, separate ballot boxes
 and pollbooks must be provided and kept for each precinct. The terms "wards", "precincts", and
 "election districts" have the same meaning except where two or more wards are consolidated
 into one precinct for voting purposes or where one ward is divided into more than one precinct
 for voting purposes. This section does not prohibit the use of one building as the election polling
 place for more than one ward or the installation of electronic voting systems from separate
 wards in one building.
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Statutes affected: 
INTRODUCED: 16.1-05-04, 16.1-06-03, 16.1-06-14, 16.1-06-15, 16.1-06-20, 16.1-07-13.1, 16.1-15-02, 16.1-15-22, 16.1-15-25, 40-21-09
Prepared by the Legislative Council staff for Representative Louser: 16.1-11.1-06, 16.1-14-04
FIRST ENGROSSMENT: 16.1-05-04, 16.1-06-03, 16.1-06-14, 16.1-06-15, 16.1-06-20, 16.1-07-13.1, 16.1-11.1-06, 16.1-14-04, 16.1-15-02, 16.1-15-22, 16.1-15-25, 40-21-09
Enrollment: 16.1-05-04, 16.1-06-03, 16.1-06-14, 16.1-06-15, 16.1-06-20, 16.1-07-13.1, 16.1-11.1-06, 16.1-14-04, 16.1-15-02, 16.1-15-22, 16.1-15-25, 40-21-09