Bill > S2633

Introduced Session

This bill, the "New Jersey Elections Security Act," establishes a demonstration program to transition the State to a paper ballot voting system using optical scanners in each election. The bill directs the Secretary of State to establish a demonstration program to replace electronic voting machines with a paper ballot voting system using optical scanners. The program would begin implementation at the first general election in November following the bill's effective date in three of the State's 21 counties, one each in the Northern, Central, and Southern parts of the State. The counties would be selected by the Secretary of State. After one-year, the Secretary of State would expand the program to include six additional counties per year over the next three years, until all of the State's 21 counties are implementing the paper ballot voting system using optical scanners in the fourth year of implementation. Under the program, a voter at the polls would mark a paper ballot, which would be tabulated using an optical scanner. The voter would insert the marked paper ballot into the optical scanner, unless the voter is entitled to request and has requested assistance to vote pursuant to guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and in that case the voter shall be assisted. The bill requires the optical scanners purchased by the State to provide a "cast vote record," and to adhere to the federal Election Assistance Commission's Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. The bill provides that, prior to verification of the official election results by the County Boards of Elections or Superintendents of Elections, as the case may be, the boards or superintendents would be required to (1) compare and reconcile the number of ballots with the number of voters who signed in at the polling place and who voted by mail-in, provisional, and military or overseas ballots; (2) compare and reconcile precinct totals with countywide results to ensure that they add up to the correct amount; and (3) review, and account for, all optical scanner memory cards or flash drives to ensure they are properly loaded into the tally server. Counties would also be required to conduct a risk-limiting audit for each election, which means an audit protocol that makes use of statistical methods and is designed to limit to acceptable levels the risk of certifying a preliminary election outcome that constitutes an incorrect outcome. This provision in the bill is modeled after the risk-limiting audit statute in the State of Colorado. Under the bill, the program would be funded through appropriation by the Legislature. The Department of State would be permitted to sell decommissioned voting machines, equipment, and software to other states to recoup funds, and would also apply for grant funding from the United States Election Assistance Commission to help offset these costs. In addition, the bill creates a permanent nine-member New Jersey Election Security Commission, composed of cabinet officers from the Executive Branch, members of the Senate and General Assembly, and local officials from the New Jersey Association of Election Officials. No later than four months following each general election after the bill becomes law, the commission is to draft and release a report on the security of elections occurring in this State during the previous year. The report is to include the results from the risk-limiting audit and the change to paper ballots with optical scans required by the bill. The commission may make recommendations, if deemed necessary, for the improvement of election security in this State. The bill would take effect immediately, but the Department of State in conjunction with any other applicable departments and local government units may take anticipatory actions prior to its enactment. The State of New Jersey needs to immediately upgrade election security based on a consistent threat of cyber warfare from foreign governmental and non-governmental actors. In 2016, the United States Department of Homeland Security noted that certain elections databases in several states were hacked. New Jersey is currently one of only a handful of states that use voting machines that do not provide a paper record, which opens up the possibility of not being able to detect if the voting machines were hacked by verifying the tally with the paper records. Moreover, the United States Department of State has not taken action to prevent foreign meddling in elections, and therefore states are obligated to take action.

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Jim Beach (D)*,  Patrick Diegnan (D)*,  Linda Greenstein (D), 

Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Hearing (19:00 6/14/2018 ) (on 06/14/2018)