HF 1703

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to elections; providing for the acquisition 
  1.3             of voting systems; providing for a uniform, statewide 
  1.4             voting system; appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [VOTING SYSTEMS ACQUISITION.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [APPROPRIATION.] All remaining, previously 
  1.8   unappropriated funds in the Help America Vote Act account and 
  1.9   any funds received by that account until June 30, 2007, are 
  1.10  appropriated to the Office of the Secretary of State for use in 
  1.11  purchasing a uniform, statewide voting system, purchasing 
  1.12  component items of voting equipment to create such a system, or 
  1.13  making grants to counties and local municipalities for purchase 
  1.14  of voting systems or components of equipment to create a uniform 
  1.15  voting system that:  (1) comply with the requirements of the 
  1.16  Help America Vote Act, Public Law 107-252; and (2) meet the 
  1.17  requirements of this section. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [SOLICITING VOTING SYSTEMS.] The Office of the 
  1.19  Secretary of State may issue requests for proposal or other 
  1.20  solicitations for voting systems or the components of voting 
  1.21  systems that comply with the requirements of the Help America 
  1.22  Vote Act, Public Law 107-252, and also provide every voter an 
  1.23  opportunity to verify their votes and to change their votes or 
  1.24  correct any error before their ballot is cast and counted, 
  1.25  produce a permanent paper record of the ballot cast by the 
  2.1   voter, and preserve the paper record as an official record 
  2.2   available for use in a recount. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [UNIFORM VOTING SYSTEM.] After receiving and 
  2.4   evaluating responses to the requests for proposal for voting 
  2.5   systems, the Office of the Secretary of State may select one or 
  2.6   more vendors to provide equipment for a uniform statewide voting 
  2.7   system for use in each polling place in Minnesota. 
  2.8      Subd. 4.  [VOTING SYSTEMS REQUIREMENT.] Each voting system 
  2.9   purchased in Minnesota must: 
  2.10     (1) create a marked optical scan ballot that can be 
  2.11  tabulated by (i) a precinct count optical scan machine already 
  2.12  certified for use in Minnesota and owned by a jurisdiction, or 
  2.13  (ii) a certified precinct count optical scan machine to be 
  2.14  purchased under this section; or 
  2.15     (2) accept such a marked optical scan ballot. 
  2.16     Subd. 5.  [CERTIFICATION STANDARDS.] A request for proposal 
  2.17  under this section must set forth the specifications for 
  2.18  ballot-marking equipment to be purchased, which must be 
  2.19  compatible with existing precinct count optical scan equipment 
  2.20  or future models of such equipment.  Responses to the request 
  2.21  for proposal must include certification required by Minnesota 
  2.22  Statutes, section 206.57, Minnesota Rules, chapters 8220 and 
  2.23  8230, and any other Minnesota statutes and rules to be 
  2.24  considered.  Precinct count optical scan tabulating machines 
  2.25  must meet the current certification standards for such machines. 
  2.26     Subd. 6.  [REMAINING FUNDS.] (a) All appropriations to the 
  2.27  Office of the Secretary of State under this section remaining 
  2.28  after the purchase of voting systems to satisfy the requirements 
  2.29  of the Help America Vote Act, Public Law 107-252, as described 
  2.30  in subdivisions 1 to 5, may be spent for the replacement of 
  2.31  precinct-count optical scan equipment that is not compatible 
  2.32  with any system described in subdivision 4, clause (1), and 
  2.33  selected under subdivision 3. 
  2.34     (b) In order to most closely achieve a uniform system of 
  2.35  voting in this state, the Office of the Secretary of State shall 
  2.36  designate one model of precinct-count optical scan equipment to 
  3.1   be purchased as the replacement equipment from among the 
  3.2   responses to the requests for proposal submitted under 
  3.3   subdivision 2. 
  3.4      (c) If the Office of the Secretary of State determines that 
  3.5   there are insufficient funds for the replacement of all 
  3.6   equipment eligible for replacement under this section, the funds 
  3.7   must be used first to replace the oldest equipment, and then for 
  3.8   progressively newer equipment until the funds are exhausted. 
  3.9      Subd. 7.  [MASTER PURCHASING CONTRACT.] The Office of the 
  3.10  Secretary of State shall use the responses to requests for 
  3.11  proposal submitted under subdivision 2 as the basis for 
  3.12  negotiating one or more master contracts from which all 
  3.13  purchases authorized or required by this section must be made 
  3.14  whether by state or local governments.  After the master 
  3.15  contract is negotiated, no purchases of voting systems may be 
  3.16  made by state or local governments except from this master 
  3.17  contract. 
  3.18     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.19     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.