Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

PRINTER'S NO.     1600
                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
                         HOUSE BILL
                         No. 1482
                                                Session of
                                                  2021
     INTRODUCED BY CUTLER, RYAN, ROWE, BOBACK, STAMBAUGH, HAMM,
        ECKER, SCHMITT, COOK, STAATS, MILLARD, IRVIN, FEE, LEWIS,
        HICKERNELL, GLEIM, WHEELAND, OWLETT, CAUSER, MERCURI,
        HENNESSEY, METCALFE, KAUFFMAN, GAYDOS, SONNEY, GROVE, EMRICK,
        ROAE, MENTZER, TOPPER, SAYLOR, THOMAS, JAMES, MOUL, SMITH,
        KEEFER, B. MILLER, SANKEY, OBERLANDER, STRUZZI, ZIMMERMAN,
        SCHLEGEL CULVER, JOZWIAK, WARNER, DAVANZO, GILLEN, HERSHEY,
        ARMANINI, TOOHIL, FARRY AND TOMLINSON, MAY 25, 2021
     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, MAY 25, 2021
                                     AN ACT
 Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
    "An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
    special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
    primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
    and defining membership of county boards of elections;
    imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
    courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
    imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
    revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
    repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
    elections," in preliminary provisions, establishing the
    Bureau of Election Audits; in the Secretary of the
    Commonwealth, providing for reports on implementation of
    elections; and, in electronic voting systems, repealing
    provisions relating to statistical sample.
    The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 hereby enacts as follows:
    Section 1.    The act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known
 as the Pennsylvania Election Code, is amended by adding
 sections to read:
    Section 107.     Bureau of Election Audits.--(a)     The Bureau of
 Election Audits is established in the Office of the Auditor
 General.
    (b)     The Auditor General shall conduct independent election
 audits in accordance with Generally Accepted Governmental Audit
 Standards (GAGAS) and shall ensure that the audit methodology
 will verify the accuracy of the election and the accuracy of all
 election equipment used.
    (c)     For audits that occur during an election year in which
 the Auditor General stands for election, the Auditor General
 shall appoint an independent Special Auditor who shall be a
 licensed certified public accountant and shall have experience
 in completing election audits to oversee the operation of the
 Bureau of Election Audits for an election year in which the
 Auditor General stands for election.
    (d)     The Bureau of Election Audits shall continually improve
 the election audits required under this section to ensure the
 accuracy of election results and compliance with Federal and
 State laws.
    (e)     The duties of the Bureau of Election Audits shall
 include:
    (1)     Except if a full manual recount of an election is
 undertaken, conducting result-confirming audits of each election
 in this Commonwealth, completed by the third Friday following
 the election. The audits shall include:
    (i)     A statistically sound, ballot-comparison, risk-limiting
 audit of ballots for each election, except for an election which
 is uncontested.
    (ii)    An audit of election machine logs.
    (iii)    An audit of the returned absentee and mail-in ballots
 in each county, including a comparison of retained outer mailing
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 envelopes, secrecy envelopes and the total number of absentee
 and mail-in ballots canvassed.
    (iv)    An audit comparing each canvassed and retained paper
 ballot in each county with the number of votes recorded.
    (v)    An audit of the pre-election testing of election
 equipment conducted by each county.
    (vi)    Any other audit deemed necessary by the Bureau of
 Election Audits to ensure the public trust in the outcome of
 each election.
    (2)    Conducting performance audits of the operations of
 elections systems and processes at least once every five years.
 The audits shall include:
    (i)    An audit of each county election office in this
 Commonwealth.
    (ii)    An audit of the Department of State's election
 equipment certification process.
    (iii)     An audit of the Statewide Voter Registration System,
 including an audit of the accuracy of the voter registration
 list.
    (iv)    An audit of the Department of State's administration of
 elections.
    (v)    Any other audit deemed necessary by the Bureau of
 Election Audits to ensure public trust in the election
 administration in this Commonwealth.
    (3)    Publicly posting audit methodologies for each of the
 audits required under this section, including on the Auditor
 General's publicly accessible Internet website and the
 Department of State's publicly accessible Internet website.
    (4)    Publicly posting the results of each audit required
 under this section, including on the Auditor General's publicly
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 accessible Internet website, the Department of State's publicly
 accessible Internet website and each county's publicly
 accessible Internet website.
    (5)     Monitoring corrective action plans developed by entities
 audited under this section, ensuring that the corrective action
 plan addresses deficiencies identified by an audit and that the
 plan is successfully executed to remediate deficiencies.
    (f)     The duties of the County Boards of Elections shall
 include:
    (1)     Cooperating with the Bureau of Election Audits to enable
 efficient conduct of each audit required under subsection (e).
    (2)     Cooperating with the Bureau of Election Audits to post
 the results of audits conducted in that county as required under
 subsection (e)(4).
    (3)     Holding a public meeting between the third Saturday
 after an election and the fourth Thursday after an election, at
 which the board shall make publicly available to the residents
 of the county the results of audits conducted under subsection
 (e).
    (4)     Submitting to the Department of State, along with the
 certified results of the election, a report with the results of
 the audits conducted under subsection (e)(3). The report shall
 include the following:
    (i)     The overall accuracy of election results as confirmed by
 the audits under subsection (e)(3).
    (ii)     A description of any problem or discrepancy encountered
 in the administration of the election.
    (iii)     The identified causes of any problem or discrepancy.
    (iv)     Recommended corrective actions with respect to avoiding
 or mitigating any problem or discrepancy in future elections.
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    (5)   Development of a corrective action plan to address any
 findings of error or deficiency within an audit conducted under
 this section.
    (g)   The duties of the Department of State shall include:
    (1)   Cooperating with the Bureau of Election Audits to enable
 efficient conduct of each audit required under subsection (e).
    (2)   Cooperating with the Bureau of Election Audits to post
 the methodologies and results of audits conducted in the
 Commonwealth as required under subsection (e)(3) and (4).
    (3)   Developing a corrective action plan to address any
 findings of error or deficiency within an audit conducted under
 this section.
    Section 209.   Reports on Implementation of Elections.--(a)
 No later than 60 days after an election, the Bureau of
 Commissions, Elections and Legislation of the Department of
 State shall issue a report to the chair and minority chair of
 the State Government Committee of the Senate and the chair and
 minority chair of the State Government Committee of the House of
 Representatives. A copy of the report shall be made available on
 the Department of State's publicly accessible Internet website.
    (b)   The report under subsection (a) shall include only the
 following information relating to the administration of the
 election by the Department of State, a county board of elections
 or a registration commission established under 25 Pa.C.S. § 1203
 (relating to commissions):
    (1)   For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of applications for an absentee ballot which were
 received by the county boards of elections.
    (2)   For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of applications for a mail-in ballot which were received
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 by the county boards of elections.
    (3)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of applications for an absentee ballot which were
 approved by the county boards of elections.
    (4)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of applications for a mail-in ballot which were approved
 by the county boards of elections.
    (5)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of absentee ballots which were voted by the electors.
    (6)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of mail-in ballots which were voted by the electors.
    (7)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of qualified electors voting by a provisional ballot
 under section 1306(b)(2).
    (8)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of qualified electors voting by provisional ballot under
 section 1306-D(b)(2).
    (9)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of provisional ballots under paragraph (7) which were
 canvassed.
    (10)     For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of provisional ballots under paragraph (8) which were
 canvassed.
    (11)     For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of applications for an absentee ballot by an individual
 who was not a registered elector at the time of the application
 and for whom a voter registration application was timely
 received after the application for an absentee ballot was
 received.
    (12)     For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
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 number of applications for a mail-in ballot by an individual who
 was not a registered elector at the time of the application and
 for whom a voter registration application was timely received.
    (13)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of voter registration applications under section 1231 and
 25 Pa.C.S. Pt. IV (relating to voter registration) which were
 received fewer than:
    (i)    thirty days before the election; and
    (ii)    fifteen days before the election.
    (14)    For each county, the starting and ending date and time
 that the county board of elections met to pre-canvass absentee
 ballots and mail-in ballots under section 1308(g)(1.1).
    (15)    For each county, the starting and ending date and time
 that the county board of elections met to canvass absentee
 ballots and mail-in ballots under section 1308(g)(2).
    (16)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of absentee ballots which were challenged under section
 1302.2(c).
    (17)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of mail-in ballots which were challenged under section
 1302.2-D(a)(2).
    (18)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of absentee ballots subject to challenges under paragraph
 (17) that were not canvassed.
    (19)    For each county and the sum for this Commonwealth, the
 number of mail-in ballots subject to challenges under paragraph
 (17) that were not canvassed.
    (20)    The number of incidents known to the Department of
 State, county board of elections or registration commission
 relating to each of the following categories:
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    (i)    Absentee ballots or mail-in ballots that were sent to
 the wrong individual or wrong address.
    (ii)     Absentee ballots or mail-in ballots that were voted by
 an individual other than the individual who applied for the
 absentee ballot or mail-in ballot.
    (iii)     Absentee ballots or mail-in ballots that were returned
 to the county board of elections by a means other than that
 which is permissible by law, notwithstanding any court opinion
 or order.
    (21)     To the extent consistent with Federal and State law, a
 review of any action taken by the Department of State, county
 board of elections or registration commission in response to an
 incident under paragraph (20), including determinations made on
 the incident, legal actions filed and referrals to law
 enforcement.
    (22)     A review of issues or incidents encountered with an
 electronic voting system that received the approval of the
 Secretary of the Commonwealth under section 1105-A, including
 any technical issues or software problems encountered in polling
 places and recommendations for spot verifications of tabulated
 votes as compared to reported votes.
    (23)     A review of any inconsistent treatment of absentee
 ballots and mail-in ballots received by county boards of
 elections after 8 p.m. on the day of the election.
    (24)     A review of any inconsistencies in the manner in which
 county boards of elections received, processed or canvassed
 absentee ballots and mail-in ballots which did not comply with
 the requirements of Article XIII or Article XIII-D.
    (25)     A review of the access given to poll watchers as
 provided for under section 417, including any inconsistencies in
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 the standards used in allowing access or disparate treatment of
 poll watchers due to political affiliation.
    (26)    A review of the access given to authorized
 representatives under section 1308(g)(1.1) and (2), including
 any inconsistencies in the standards used in allowing access or
 disparate treatment of authorized representatives due to
 political affiliation.
    (27)    A review of issues or incidents regarding the in-person
 return of absentee ballots and mail-in ballots to the county
 board of elections at a location other than the main office of
 the county board of elections, the monitoring of the locations
 and any inconsistencies with the monitoring and usage of the
 locations by county board of elections.
    (28)    A review of issues or incidents of the review process
 of absentee ballots, mail-in ballots, ballots cast at polling
 places and provisional ballots and any inconsistencies in the
 standards applied to determine the eligibility of electors or
 ballots by county board of elections.
    (c)    The Department of State shall develop a process to
 collect data required to be included in the report under
 subsection (b) from each county board of elections which
 conducts an election and each registration commission under 25
 Pa.C.S. Pt. IV in a county which conducts an election, as
 applicable. A county board of elections or registration
 commission under this subsection shall comply with the process
 for submission of data under this subsection no later than 45
 days after an election.
    Section 2.    Section 1117-A of the act is repealed:
    [Section 1117-A.    Statistical Sample.--The county board of
 elections, as part of the computation and canvass of returns,
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 shall conduct a statistical recount of a random sample of
 ballots after each election using manual, mechanical or
 electronic devices of a type different than those used for the
 specific election. The sample shall include at least two (2) per
 centum of the votes cast or two thousand (2,000) votes whichever
 is the lesser.]
    Section 3.     This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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Statutes/Laws affected: 
Printer's No. 1600: P.L.1333, No.320