An Act amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, in electronic voting systems, providing for defects, disclosure, investigations and penalties.

PRINTER'S NO. 115
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 155
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY M. MACKENZIE, KAUFFMAN, WARNER AND KUZMA,
JANUARY 16, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JANUARY 16, 2025
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 electronic voting systems, providing for
defects, disclosure, investigations and penalties.
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 a
section to read:
Section 1121.1-A. Defects, Disclosure, I nvestigations and
Penalties.-- (a) No later than January 1 of every odd- numbered
year, each vendor shall file a written disclosure with the
department identifying any known defect in an electronic voting
system or the fact that there is no known defect, the effect of
any defect on the operation and use of the approved electronic
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voting system and any known corrective measures to cure a
defect, including advisories and bulletins issued to electronic
voting system users.
(b) Implementation of corrective measures approved by the
department which enable an electronic voting system to conform
to the standards and ensure the timeliness and accuracy of the
casting and counting of ballots constitutes a cure of a defect.
(c) If a vendor becomes aware of the existence of a defect,
the vendor shall file a new disclosure with the department as
provided under subsection (a) within thirty days of the date the
vendor determined or reasonably should have determined that the
defect existed.
(d) If a vendor discloses to the department that a defect
exists, the department may suspend all sales or leases of the
electronic voting system in this Commonwealth and may suspend
the use of the electronic voting system in any election in this
Commonwealth. The department shall provide written notice of a
suspension under this subsection to the affected vendor and
county boards of elections. If the department determines that
the defect no longer exists, the department shall lift the
suspension and provide written notice to each affected vendor
and supervisor of elections.
(e) If a vendor fails to file a required disclosure for an
electronic voting system previously approved by the department,
that electronic voting system may not be sold, leased or used
for elections in this Commonwealth until the electronic voting
system has been submitted for examination and approval under
this act. The department shall provide written notice to each
county board of elections that the electronic voting system is
no longer approved.
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(f) If the department has reasonable cause to believe an
electronic voting system approved under this act contains a
defect either before, during or after an election which has not
been disclosed under this section, the department shall
investigate whether the electronic voting system has a defect.
(g) The department shall initiate an investigation on its
own initiative or upon the written request of the board of
elections of a county that purchased an electronic voting system
that contains the alleged defect.
(h) Upon initiation of an investigation, the department
shall provide written notice to the vendor and each county board
of elections.
(i) If the department determines by a preponderance of the
evidence that a defect exists in the electronic voting system,
or that the vendor failed to timely disclose a defect under this
section, the department shall provide written notice to the
affected vendor and county board of elections.
(j) A vendor who receives notice of a defect shall, within
ten days of receipt of the notice under subsection (i), file a
written response to the department which:
(1) denies that the alleged defect exists or existed as
alleged by the department or that the vendor failed to timely
disclose a defect and provide the reasons for the denial; or
(2) admits that the defect exists or existed as alleged by
the department or that the vendor failed to timely disclose a
defect.
(k) If the defect has been cured, the vendor shall provide
an explanation of how the defect was cured.
(l) If the defect has not been cured, the vendor shall
inform the department whether the defect can be cured and shall
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provide the department with a plan for curing the defect.
(m) If the defect can be cured, the department shall
establish a time frame within which to cure the defect.
(n) If, after receiving a response from the vendor, the
department determines that a defect does not exist or has been
cured within the time frame established by the department, the
department shall take no further action.
(o) If the department determines that a vendor failed to
timely disclose a defect or that a defect exists and a vendor
has not filed a written response or has failed to cure within
the time frame established by the department, or if the defect
cannot be cured, the department shall impose a civil penalty of
twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for the defect plus an
amount equal to the actual costs incurred by the department in
conducting the investigation.
(p) (1) If the department finds that a defect existed, the
department may suspend all sales and leases of the electronic
voting system and may suspend its use in any county in this
Commonwealth. The department shall provide written notice of the
suspension to each affected vendor and county board of
elections.
(2) If the department determines that a defect no longer
exists in an electronic voting system that has been suspended
from use under this section, the department shall lift the
suspension and authorize the sale, lease and use of the
electronic voting system in any election in this Commonwealth.
The department shall provide written notice that the suspension
has been lifted to each affected vendor and county board of
elections.
(3) If the department finds that a defect existed and the
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defect cannot be cured, the department may disapprove the
electronic voting system for use in elections in this
Commonwealth. The department shall provide written notice to all
county boards of elections that the electronic voting system is
no longer approved. After approval of an electronic voting
system has been withdrawn under this paragraph, the electronic
voting system may not be sold, leased or used in this
Commonwealth until it has been resubmitted for examination and
approval and adopted for use under this act.
(4) A vendor for whom a civil penalty was imposed under this
section may not submit an electronic voting system for approval
by the department or enter into a contract for sale or lease of
an electronic voting system in this Commonwealth until each
civil penalty has been paid and the department provides written
confirmation of the payment to the county board of elections.
(q) The department shall prepare a written report of any
investigation conducted under this section and submit the report
to the President pro tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, the Majority Leader and Minority
Leader of the Senate, the Majority Leader and Minority Leader of
the House of Representatives, 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.
(r) The authority of the department under this section shall
be in addition to, and not exclusive of, any other authority
provided by law.
(s) For the purposes of this section:
"Defect" means a failure, fault or flaw in an electronic or
electro-mechanical electronic voting system approved under this
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act, which results in nonconformance with the standards in a
manner that affects the timeliness or accuracy of the casting or
counting of ballots or a failure or inability of the electronic
voting system manufacturer or vendor to make available and
provide approved replacements of hardware or software to the
counties that have purchased the approved electronic voting
system, the unavailability of which results in the electronic
voting system's nonconformance with the standards in a manner
that affects the timeliness or accuracy of the casting or
counting of ballots.
"Department" means the Department of State of the
Commonwealth.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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