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PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 858 PRINTER'S NO. 864
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 812
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY SANTARSIERO, DUSH, ROTHMAN AND COSTA, MAY 30, 2025
SENATOR DUSH, STATE GOVERNMENT, AS AMENDED, JUNE 3, 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, further providing
for examination and approval of electronic voting systems by
the Secretary of the Commonwealth and providing for
malfunction and certification reporting; and making an
editorial change.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1105-A(b) of the act of June 3, 1937
(P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code, is
amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
read:
SECTION 1. SECTION 1105-A OF THE ACT OF JUNE 3, 1937
(P.L.1333, NO.320), KNOWN AS THE PENNSYLVANIA ELECTION CODE, IS
AMENDED BY ADDING A SUBSECTION TO READ:
Section 1105-A. Examination and Approval of Electronic
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Voting Systems by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.--* * *
(b) Upon receipt of a request for examination or
reexamination of an electronic voting system as herein provided
for or in the event he determines to reexamine any such system,
the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall examine the electronic
voting system for functionality, security and accessibility,
provide notice of the examination pursuant to subsection (g)(1)
and shall make and file in his office and post on the Department
of State's publicly accessible Internet website the recording
required under subsection (g)(4) his report, attested by his
signature and the seal of his office, stating whether, in his
opinion, the system so examined can be safely used by voters at
elections as provided in this act and meets all of the
requirements hereinafter set forth. If his report states that
the system can be so used and meets all such requirements, such
system shall be deemed approved and may be adopted for use at
elections, as herein provided. With respect to any electronic
voting system approved for use in this Commonwealth by the
secretary, the report of the secretary shall specify the
capacity of the components of that system, the number of voters
who may reasonably be accommodated by the voting devices and
automatic tabulating equipment which comprise such system and
the number of clerks and machine inspectors, if any, required
based on the number of registered electors in any election
district in which the voting system is to be used, such
specifications being based upon the secretary's examination of
the system. Any county which thereafter may adopt any such
approved system shall provide the components of such system in a
number no less than that sufficient to accommodate the voters of
that county or municipality in accordance with the minimum
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capacity standards so prescribed by the secretary. The county
board shall comply with the requirements for the use of the
electronic voting system as set forth in the report by the
Secretary of the Commonwealth.
* * *
(g) If the Secretary of the Commonwealth examines an
electronic voting system under this section, the examination
MUST INCLUDE A PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION AS PART of the functionality
EXAMINATION of the system THAT shall be open to the public in
accordance with the following requirements:
(1) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall provide notice
on the Department of State's publicly accessible Internet
website at least thirty days prior to the examination of the
functionality of an electronic voting system. The notice shall
include the date, time and other additional information needed
for the public to attend and observe the examination.
(2) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall make a good
faith effort to allow the public to be within twenty feet of the
voting system during the examination.
(3) The Secretary of the Commonwealth may impose reasonable
limitations on the number of attendees at the examination based
on the capacity of the site, safety of attendees and security.
(4) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall make an
audiovisual recording of the portion of the PUBLIC DEMONSTRATION
CONDUCTED WITHIN THE FUNCTIONALITY examination which is open to
the public. The secretary shall post the recording to the
Department of State's publicly accessible Internet website
within thirty days of creation of the recording. The audiovisual
recording shall be maintained on the publicly accessible
Internet website as follows:
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(i) If the system is certified, the Department of State
shall maintain the recording on its website for the entire
period during which the voting system is certified and for a
minimum of two years after any revocation or withdrawal of
certification.
(ii) If the system is not certified, the Department of State
shall maintain the recording on its website for a minimum of two
years following the posting.
(5) The Secretary of the Commonwealth may ONLY exclude the
public from any portion of the examination that THE SECRETARY OF
THE COMMONWEALTH REASONABLY BELIEVES involves discussion or
disclosure of:
(i) Confidential or proprietary information.
(ii) Information that would jeopardize election security if
disclosed.
(6) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall conduct the
functionality examination within this Commonwealth, except as
provided for under paragraph (7).
(7) The Secretary of the Commonwealth may conduct discrete
portions of the functionality examination via real time remote
video conferencing whenever it is not possible or necessary for
representatives of the Department of State to be present at the
location of the equipment or software being examined.
(8) Except for portions of the examination that meet the
requirements of paragraph (5), portions of the examination
conducted via real time remote video conferencing, as provided
for under paragraph (7), shall be accessible to the public and
be recorded and uploaded in full to the Department of State's
publicly accessible Internet website upon conclusion.
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
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Section 1123-A. Malfunction and Certification Reporting.--
(a) Each county board shall submit to the Department of State,
within sixty days of an election, a report on malfunctions and
certifications of electronic voting systems . The OR A
DECLARATION OF NO MALFUNCTIONS. A MALFUNCTION AND CERTIFICATION
report shall include:
(1) Any malfunction which is reported to the county by any
source or otherwise believed by the county to have occurred
which:
(i) Prevented a voter from casting a ballot.
(ii) Delayed any voter from casting a ballot.
(iii) Prevented the tabulation or reporting of results.
(iv) Delayed the tabulation or reporting of results.
(2) A description of each malfunction which shall include,
to the extent known:
(i) Source of the malfunction.
(ii) Duration of the malfunction.
(iii) Location of the malfunction.
(iv) Precincts affected by the malfunction.
(v) Nature of the issue.
(vi) Voting system component or components affected.
(vii) Approximate number of voters or ballots affected.
(viii) Whether the malfunction was resolved.
(ix) Actions taken to resolve the malfunction.
(3) Other information, as directed by the Department of
State.
(b) The Department of State shall post a report OR
DECLARATION received under subsection (a) to its publicly
accessible Internet website within one hundred five days of an
election. The Department of State may make redactions consistent
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with the following:
(1) Redactions may only be made if it is reasonably
necessary to prevent compromising election security, protect
confidential or proprietary information or prevent misleading
the public.
(2) Redactions shall be marked in a manner that shows that a
redaction was made and shall include justification for the
redaction.
(3) The Department of State shall retain unredacted copies
of all reports on permanent file. AND DECLARATIONS FOR AT LEAST
TEN YEARS.
Section 3. Section 1122-A of the act is renumbered to read:
Section [1122-A] 1130-A. Construction.--The provisions of
this article shall constitute an additional method of voting and
all provisions of this act shall be construed to be in full
force and effect unless inconsistent with the provisions of this
article.
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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