80R1817 DRH-F
	By: Leibowitz	H.B. No. 65

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the use of direct recording electronic voting machines.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 129, Election Code, is amended by adding
	Sections 129.002 and 129.003 to read as follows:
	Sec. 129.002.  PAPER AUDIT TRAIL REQUIRED. (a) Except as
	provided by Subsection (e), a voting system that consists of direct
	recording electronic voting machines may not be used in an election
	unless the system:
	(1)  has:
	(A)  been certified or otherwise approved by means
	of qualification testing by a nationally recognized test
	laboratory; and
	(B)  met or exceeded the minimum requirements
	contained in "Performance and Test Standards for Punch Card, Mark
	Sense, and Direct Recording Electronic Voting Systems" or a
	successor voluntary standards document developed and adopted by the
	Federal Election Commission, the Election Assistance Commission,
	or the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and
	(2)  creates a contemporaneous auditable paper record
	copy of each electronic ballot that allows a voter to confirm the
	choices the voter made through both a visual and a nonvisual method,
	such as through an audio component, before the voter casts the
	ballot.
	(b)  A voter must be allowed to privately and independently
	view the paper record copy required under Subsection (a)(2) without
	being allowed to handle the copy. Once the voter has confirmed that
	the paper record copy corresponds to the vote the voter has
	indicated electronically, the vote may be recorded electronically
	and the paper record copy must be deposited in a secure storage
	container. If the voter finds that the paper record copy does not
	correspond to the voter's choices indicated electronically, the
	system must:
	(1)  invalidate or otherwise spoil the paper record
	copy;
	(2)  allow the voter to review the choices the voter
	made electronically; and
	(3)  generate a new paper record copy for the voter to
	review as provided by this subsection.
	(c)  The paper record copy must:
	(1)  indicate the voter's choice on each office or
	measure for which the voter cast a vote and indicate the offices and
	measures for which the voter did not cast a vote;
	(2)  be printed in the same language that the voter used
	to cast the voter's electronic vote; and
	(3)  be designed to be read electronically.
	(d)  Except for a recount under Title 13, the electronic vote
	is the official record of the ballot. For a recount of ballots cast
	on a system involving direct recording electronic voting machines,
	the paper record copy is the official record of the vote cast.
	(e)  A system involving direct recording electronic voting
	machines that was acquired before January 1, 2008, may be used in an
	election without meeting the requirements of this section only if:
	(1)  a voter has the option of casting a paper ballot
	instead of using the machine;
	(2)  a permanent record of each ballot is created at the
	time the ballot is cast or during the local canvass of the votes;
	(3)  the system is subject to parallel monitoring; and
	(4)  at least 46 days before the date the system is to
	be used for voting, the authority responsible for holding the
	election submits a technical security plan for the system to the
	secretary of state.
	(f)  The record created under Subsection (e)(2) may be in a
	paper format or be an electronically recorded image.
	Sec. 129.003.  REQUIREMENTS FOR SYSTEM USING DIRECT
	RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES.  (a) On request of the
	secretary of state, the authority adopting a system that uses
	direct recording electronic voting machines must provide:
	(1)  the source code for any software and firmware used
	as part of the system;
	(2)  all documents relating to the federal
	qualification process; and
	(3)  complete documentation of all hardware, software,
	and firmware components, including detailed change logs, and
	documentation regarding the development process.
	(b)  Not later than the 90th day before the date a system
	using direct recording electronic voting machines will be used in
	an election, the authority responsible for holding the election
	shall submit to the secretary of state a physical security plan for
	the system.
	(c)  Not later than the 46th day before the date a system
	using direct recording electronic voting machines will be used in
	an election, the authority responsible for holding the election
	shall submit to the secretary of state:
	(1)  all changes or modifications to the system that
	might impair the accuracy and efficiency of the system, unless the
	secretary of state specifically provides otherwise;
	(2)  a training plan for election officers at each
	polling place; and
	(3)  a communication plan explaining the manner in
	which election officers at each polling place will communicate on
	election day.
	(d)  A component of a system that uses direct recording
	electronic voting machines may not:
	(1)  transmit or receive official election results
	through an exterior communication network;
	(2)  permit wireless communication to be transmitted or
	received; or
	(3)  be connected to the Internet.
	(e)  A provisional vote may not be cast on a direct recording
	electronic voting machine.
	(f)  A disability access device must be connected to a direct
	recording electronic voting machine before the machine is used for
	voting.
	(g)  At each polling place at which a direct recording
	electronic voting machine is used for voting, postings must
	indicate the penalties for tampering with the machines in each
	language used at that polling place for the ballot.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2008.