Senate Bill 0499 I sure hope the digest is accurate on this one because these &*#@^& election law bills just wither the soul when one tries to read them. I’d like to blame Brad King, co-director of the Indiana Election Division, but I’m not at all certain this is his doing (or that election bills can be done with bills that are measured in page rather than by weight.) Anyway, the digest reads as follows:
Makes changes regarding the certification process for voting systems and establishes a uniform date for the expiration of voting system certifications. Establishes a voting systems technical oversight program. Requires county election boards to perform public tests of electronic voting systems before election day. Requires precinct election boards to document certain information concerning optical scan tabulation systems before the polls open. Establishes civil penalties for violations of statutes concerning the use of voting systems in Indiana elections. Requires a county that uses a punch card voting system to enter into a contract, not later than July 1, 2005, for a voting system certified for use in Indiana elections for delivery not later than January 1, 2006, and allows the secretary of state to purchase a voting system for the county if the county does not act. Permits a voting system previously certified for use in Indiana to continue to be used after the certification expires if the voting system complies with the requirements of HAVA. Repeals obsolete references to lever voting machines, punch card voting systems, and paper ballots formerly printed by the election division.
Passed 47-0.
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