Section 3031.7 - Requirements of electronic voting systemsNo electronic voting system shall, upon any examination or reexamination, be approved by the Secretary of the Commonwealth, or by any examiner appointed by him, unless it shall be established that such system, at the time of such examination or reexamination:
(1) Provides for voting in absolute secrecy and prevents any person from seeing or knowing for whom any voter, except one who has received or is receiving assistance as prescribed by law, has voted or is voting.(2) Provides facilities for voting for such candidates as may be nominated and upon such questions as may be submitted.(3) [Deleted by 2019 Amendment.](4) Permits each voter, at other than primary elections, to vote a ticket selected from the nominees of any and all political parties, from the nominees of any and all political bodies, and from any persons whose names are not in nomination and do not appear upon the official ballot.(5) Permits each voter to vote for any person and any office for whom and for which he is lawfully entitled to vote, whether or not the name of such person appears upon the ballot as a candidate for nomination or election.(6) Permits each voter to vote for as many persons for any office as he is entitled to vote for and to vote for or against any question upon which he is entitled to vote and precludes each voter from voting or from having his vote tabulated for any candidate, or upon any question, for whom or upon which he is not entitled to vote.(7) If it is of a type that registers the vote electronically, the voting system shall preclude each voter from voting for more persons for any office than he is entitled to vote for or upon any question more than once.(8) Precludes each voter from voting or from having his vote tabulated more than once for any candidate for the same office or upon any question, except in districts and for offices where cumulative voting is authorized by law.(9) Permits each voter at a primary election to vote only for the candidates seeking nomination by a political party in which such voter is registered and enrolled, and for any candidate for nonpartisan nomination, and for any question upon which he is entitled to vote.(10) If it is of a type that registers the vote electronically, the voting system shall permit each voter to change his vote for any candidate or upon any question appearing on the official ballot up to the time that he takes the final step to register his vote and to have his vote computed. If it is of a type that uses paper ballots or ballot cards to register the vote and automatic tabulating equipment to compute such votes, the system shall provide that a voter who spoils his ballot may obtain another ballot; any ballot thus returned shall be immediately cancelled and at the close of the polls shall be enclosed in an envelope marked "Spoiled" which shall be sealed and returned to the county board.(11) Is suitably designed for the purpose used, is constructed in a neat and workmanlike manner of durable material of good quality, is safely and efficiently useable in the conduct of elections and, with respect to the counting of ballots cast at each district, is suitably designed and equipped to be capable of absolute accuracy, which accuracy shall be demonstrated to the Secretary of the Commonwealth.(12) Provides acceptable ballot security procedures and impoundment of ballots to prevent tampering with or substitution of any ballots or ballot cards.(13) When properly operated, records correctly and computes and tabulates accurately every valid vote registered.(14) Is safely transportable.(15) Is so constructed that a voter may readily learn the method of operating it.(16) If the voting system is of a type which provides for the computation and tabulation of votes at the district level, the district component of the automatic tabulating equipment shall include the following mechanisms or capabilities: (i) A public counter, the register of which is visible from the outside of the automatic tabulating equipment component into which the ballots are entered, which shall show during any period of operation the total number of ballots entered for computation and tabulation.(ii) A lock, or locks, by the use of which all operation of the tabulation element of the automatic tabulating equipment is absolutely prevented immediately after the polls are closed or where the tabulation of votes is completed.(iii) It shall be so constructed and controlled that, during the progress of voting, it shall preclude every person from seeing or knowing the number of votes theretofore registered for any candidate or question; and it shall preclude every person from tampering with the tabulating element.(iv) If the number of choices recorded for any office or on any question exceeds the number for which the voter is entitled to vote, it shall reject all choices recorded on the ballot for that office or question, provided, that if used during the period of voting it may also have the capacity to indicate to a voter that he has improperly voted for more candidates for any office than he is entitled to vote for, and in such case it shall have the capacity to permit the voter to mark a new ballot or to forego his opportunity to make such correction.(v) It shall be equipped with an element which generates a printed record at the beginning of its operation which verifies that the tabulating elements for each candidate position and each question and the public counter are all set to zero and with an element which generates a printed record at the finish of its operation of the total number of voters whose ballots have been tabulated, the total number of votes cast for each candidate whose name appears on the ballot, and the total number of votes cast for, or against, any question appearing on the ballot.(17) If the voting system is of a type which provides for the computation and tabulation of all votes at a central counting center or if it provides for the tabulation of district totals at such a central counting center, the central automatic tabulating equipment shall include the following mechanisms or capabilities: (i) It shall be constructed so that every person is precluded from tampering with the tabulating element during the course of its operation.(ii) If the number of choices for any office or on any question exceeds the number for which the voter is entitled to vote, it shall reject all choices recorded on the ballot for that office or question.(iii) It shall have a means by which to verify that the counters for each candidate position and for each question are all set to zero and shall be able to generate a printed record of each election district showing the total number of voters whose ballots have been tabulated, the total number of votes cast for each candidate whose name appears on the ballot, and the total number of votes cast for, or against, any question appearing on the ballot. It may also be capable of generating cumulative election reports.Amended by P.L. TBD 2019 No. 77, § 3, eff. 10/31/2019.1937, June 3, P.L. 1333, art. XI-A, § 1107-A, added 1980, July 11, P.L. 600, No. 128, § 4, imd. effective.