S.B. 259

1

ELECTRONIC VOTING - VOTE COUNT
2 AUDIT COMMITTEE
3 2006 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: Scott D. McCoy
6 House Sponsor: ____________
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This bill modifies the Election Code to provide for auditing of vote counts of certain
11 elections.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This bill:
14 . creates the Vote Count Audit Committee to design, publish, and supervise
15 implementation of vote count audit plans to verify the accuracy of certain elections;
16 . provides certain rulemaking authority to the Vote Count Audit Committee;
17 . requires county election officers to conduct certain vote count audits;
18 . requires each vote count audit conducted by county election officers to be audited
19 by certain independent auditors; and
20 . provides a sunset date for the Vote Count Audit Committee and vote count audits.
21 Monies Appropriated in this Bill:
22 None
23 Other Special Clauses:
24 None
25 Utah Code Sections Affected:
26 AMENDS:
27 63-55-220, as last amended by Chapter 37, Laws of Utah 2004

28 ENACTS:
29 20A-5-801, Utah Code Annotated 1953
30 20A-5-802, Utah Code Annotated 1953
31
32 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
33 Section 1. Section 20A-5-801 is enacted to read:
34 Part 8. Vote Count Audit Committee
35 20A-5-801. Vote Count Audit Committee.
36 (1) There is created, within the lieutenant governor's office, the Vote Count Audit
37 Committee.
38 (2) The committee consists of nine members appointed by the lieutenant governor as
39 follows:
40 (a) no member may be appointed who is or was:
41 (i) a member of Utah's Voting Equipment Section Committee or State Plan Committee
42 on Election Reform; or
43 (ii) an owner, employee, or subcontractor of a voting system company or company that
44 provides supplies or services related to the conduct of an election;
45 (b) no more of than four of the voting members may be from the same political party;
46 (c) two members with a Ph.D. in mathematics and expertise in statistics;
47 (d) two members with at least a Master's degree and expertise in random selection
48 methods;
49 (e) two members with a Ph.D. in computer science and expertise in electronic voting
50 systems;
51 (f) one member of the public; and
52 (g) two nonvoting members who are county election officers.
53 (3) (a) Except as may be required by Subsection (3)(c), members shall serve for a
54 four-year term.
55 (b) Members may be reappointed for a maximum of two terms in any 12-year period.
56 (c) The lieutenant governor shall adjust the length of terms to stagger the terms of
57 committee members so that approximately 1/2 of the committee members are appointed every
58 two years.

59 (4) (a) The committee shall annually elect a chairperson from its membership.
60 (b) (i) The committee shall hold meetings as needed to carry out its duties.
61 (ii) A meeting may be held on the call of the chair or a majority of the committee
62 members.
63 (c) Five committee members are necessary to constitute a quorum at any meeting and,
64 if a quorum exists, the action of a majority of the voting members present shall be the action of
65 the committee.
66 (5) (a) Committee members who are not government employees may not receive
67 compensation or benefits for their services, but may receive per diem and expenses incurred in
68 the performance of their official duties at rates established by the Division of Finance under
69 Sections 63A-3-106 and 63A-3-107 .
70 (b) A committee member may decline to receive per diem and expenses for service to
71 the committee.
72 (6) The lieutenant governor's office shall provide staff support to the committee.
73 (7) The funding of the committee shall be a separate line item to the lieutenant
74 governor's office in the annual appropriations act.
75 (8) The committee shall, for each year in which a regular primary election, regular
76 general election, or Western States Presidential Primary election is scheduled:
77 (a) develop a vote count audit plan and methods to audit randomly selected vote counts
78 after each regular primary election, regular general election, or Western States Presidential
79 Primary election;
80 (b) publish each proposed plan and provide for a period of public review and comment
81 and a public hearing on the plan before it is approved;
82 (c) determine the total number of vote counts that must be audited to assure a
83 statistically reliable sample for each regular primary election, regular general election, or
84 Western States Presidential Primary election;
85 (d) supervise and implement an approved vote count audit plan with the assistance of
86 the State Elections Office and county election officers;
87 (e) determine whether on not an expanded audit or full recount is needed based on the
88 results of the randomly selected vote count samples;
89 (f) publish in detail the results of each vote count audit no later than 72 hours after

90 polls close on election day;
91 (g) publish a report describing, evaluating, and assessing the results of the audit and its
92 effectiveness, including identifying and explaining any discrepancies and recommending
93 changes as needed; and
94 (h) monitor, advise, and make recommendations to the lieutenant governor to promote
95 and ensure the efficient and effective implementation of vote count audits.
96 (9) In accordance with Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the
97 committee shall make rules as necessary to implement this part.
98 Section 2. Section 20A-5-802 is enacted to read:
99 20A-5-802. Vote count audits.
100 (1) In accordance with this part, the county election officer of each county shall
101 conduct vote count audits as specified by the Vote Count Audit Committee under the plan
102 approved under Section 20A-5-801 .
103 (2) Each vote count audit shall be audited by independent auditors who may not
104 include:
105 (a) a person who is or was a member of Utah's Voting Equipment Section Committee
106 or State Plan Committee on Election Reform; or
107 (b) an owner, employee, or subcontractor of a voting system company or voting supply
108 company.
109 Section 3. Section 63-55-220 is amended to read:
110 63-55-220. Repeal dates, Title 20A.
111 Title 20A, Chapter 5, Part 8, Vote Count Audit Committee, regarding the Vote Count
112 Audit Committee and vote count audits is repealed on July 1, 2011.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-16-06 3:51 PM

Based on a limited legal review, this legislation has not been determined to have a high
probability of being held unconstitutional.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel