Sec. 9-242c. Voting Technology Standards Board. - Connecticut Statutes

      Sec. 9-242c. Voting Technology Standards Board. (a) There is established the Voting Technology Standards Board. The board shall consist of:

      (1) The Secretary of the State, or the Secretary's designee;

      (2) The executive director of the State Elections Enforcement Commission, or the executive director's designee;

      (3) The chairpersons and ranking members of the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections;

      (4) Two persons who are members of different political parties, appointed by the president of the Registrars of Voters Association of Connecticut;

      (5) Two persons who are members of different political parties, appointed by the president of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association, Inc.;

      (6) A member of the faculty or an employee of The University of Connecticut, having expertise in computer architecture, appointed by the Governor; and

      (7) One person representing a nonpartisan organization for governmental accountability, appointed by the Governor.

      (b) All appointments to the Voting Technology Standards Board shall be made not later than thirty days after July 8, 2005. Any vacancy shall be filled by the appointing authority. The board shall elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members.

      (c) The Voting Technology Standards Board shall adopt standards for electronic voting technology that will ensure the integrity of the state's voting systems. Said standards shall address: (1) Accuracy; (2) protecting voter anonymity; (3) maintaining secret ballots, except where a voter requests assistance; (4) preventing a voter from voting more than once on any ballot question and from casting more votes for any office than there are persons to be elected to such office; (5) the equivalent of write-in votes; (6) reliable backup power sources so that a system is not subject to power failures; (7) handicapped accessibility; (8) simple ballot layout that will not be confusing to voters; (9) ease of navigation of multiple-screen ballots; (10) enabling voters to check and correct votes; (11) creating voter-verified paper trails; (12) adequate security precautions if individual voting systems are to be networked or if voting results will be communicated via the Internet; (13) the need for encryption; (14) adequate protection from computer viruses; and (15) any other standards necessary to protect the integrity of the voting systems.

      (d) Not later than January 16, 2006, the Voting Technology Standards Board shall submit a report containing the standards for electronic voting technology adopted under subsection (c) of this section to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to elections, the Governor and the Secretary of the State, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. The board shall terminate on the date that it submits such standards.

      (P.A. 05-235, S. 13.)

      History: P.A. 05-235 effective July 8, 2005.