§ 24C-2 — Definitions

As used in this Article: "Audit trail" or "audit capacity" means a continuous trail of evidence linking individual transactions related to the casting of a vote, the vote count and the summary record of vote totals, but which shall not allow for the identification of the voter. It shall permit verification of the accuracy of the count and detection and correction of problems and shall provide a record of each step taken in: defining and producing ballots and generating related software for specific elections; installing ballots and software; testing system readiness; casting and tabulating ballots; and producing images of votes cast and reports of vote totals. The record shall incorporate system status and error messages generated during election processing, including a log of machine activities and routine and unusual intervention by authorized and unauthorized individuals. Also part of an audit trail is the documentation of such items as ballots delivered and collected, administrative procedures for system security, pre-election testing of voting systems, and maintenance performed on voting equipment. All test plans, test results, documentation, and other records used to plan, execute, and record the results of the testing and verification, including all material prepared or used by independent testing authorities or other third parties, shall be made part of the public record and shall be freely available via the Internet and paper copy to anyone. "Audit trail" or "audit capacity" also means that the voting system is capable of producing and shall produce immediately after a ballot is cast a permanent paper record of each ballot cast that shall be available as an official record for any recount, redundant count, or verification or retabulation of the vote count conducted with respect to any election in which the voting system is used. "Ballot" means an electronic audio or video display or any other medium, including paper, used to record a voter's choices for the candidates of their preference and for or against public questions. "Ballot configuration" means the particular combination of political subdivision or district ballots including, for each political subdivision or district, the particular combination of offices, candidate names and public questions as it appears for each group of voters who may cast the same ballot. "Ballot image" means a corresponding representation in electronic or paper form of the mark or vote position of a ballot. "Ballot label" or "ballot screen" means the display of material containing the names of offices and candidates and public questions to be voted on. "Central counting" means the counting of ballots in one or more locations selected by the election authority for the processing or counting, or both, of ballots. A location for central counting shall be within the territorial jurisdiction of the election authority unless there is no suitable tabulating equipment available within his territorial jurisdiction. However, in any event a counting location shall be within this State. "Computer", "automatic tabulating equipment" or "equipment" includes apparatus necessary to automatically examine and count votes as designated on ballots, and data processing machines which can be used for counting ballots and tabulating results. "Computer operator" means any person or persons designated by the election authority to operate the automatic tabulating equipment during any portion of the vote tallying process in an election, but shall not include judges of election operating vote tabulating equipment in the precinct. "Computer program" or "program" means the set of operating instructions for the automatic tabulating equipment that examines, records, displays, counts, tabulates, canvasses, or prints votes recorded by a voter on a ballot or that displays any and all information, graphics, or other visual or audio information or images used in presenting voting information, instructions, or voter choices. "Direct recording electronic voting system", "voting system" or "system" means the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical or electronic equipment, programs and practices used to define ballots, cast and count votes, report or display election results, maintain or produce any audit trail information, identify all system components, test the system during development, maintenance and operation, maintain records of system errors and defects, determine specific system changes to be made to a system after initial qualification, and make available any materials to the voter such as notices, instructions, forms or paper ballots. "Edit listing" means a computer generated listing of the names of each candidate and public question as they appear in the program for each precinct. "In-precinct counting" means the recording and counting of ballots on automatic tabulating equipment provided by the election authority in the same precinct polling place in which those ballots have been cast. "Marking device" means any device approved by the State Board of Elections for marking a ballot so as to enable the ballot to be recorded, counted and tabulated by automatic tabulating equipment. "Permanent paper record" means a paper record upon which shall be printed in human readable form the votes cast for each candidate and for or against each public question on each ballot recorded in the voting system. Each permanent paper record shall be printed by the voting device upon activation of the marking device by the voter and shall contain a unique, randomly assigned identifying number that shall correspond to the number randomly assigned by the voting system to each ballot as it is electronically recorded. "Redundant count" means a verification of the original computer count of ballots by another count using compatible equipment or other means as part of a discovery recount, including a count of the permanent paper record of each ballot cast by using compatible equipment, different equipment approved by the State Board of Elections for that purpose, or by hand. "Separate ballot" means a separate page or display screen of the ballot that is clearly defined and distinguishable from other portions of the ballot. "Voting device" or "voting machine" means an apparatus that contains the ballot label or ballot screen and allows the voter to record his or her vote.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 93-574, eff. 8-21-03; 94-645, eff. 8-22-05.)