Bill > HB2659

This bill mandates new requirements for voting machines and election audits in Kansas, aiming to increase transparency and accuracy in the electoral process. After each election, county election officers must conduct a manual audit of a 1% random sample of precincts, reviewing paper ballots or paper proof of ballots, with the results compared to unofficial election night returns and reported to the Secretary of State before official results are certified. The Secretary of State will establish rules for these audits, including how precincts are randomly selected. Additionally, before any election, electronic or electromechanical voting systems must be tested to ensure they correctly record and count votes, with public notice given for these tests, which will involve casting test votes and matching paper records to machine totals. The bill also prohibits the purchase of direct recording electronic systems and requires all new electronic or electromechanical voting systems to provide a paper record of each vote cast, use open-source software with accessible source code for auditing purposes, produce a paper record of poll books, and be capable of pre-election and pre-canvass testing that matches paper records to machine totals.