2005 Minnesota Statutes

     206.57 Examination of new voting systems. 

    Subdivision 1.    Examination and report by secretary of 
 state; approval.  A vendor of an electronic voting system may 
 apply to the secretary of state to examine the system and to 
 report as to its compliance with the requirements of law and as 
 to its accuracy, durability, efficiency, and capacity to 
 register the will of voters.  The secretary of state or a 
 designee shall examine the system submitted and file a report on 
 it in the Office of the Secretary of State.  Examination is not 
 required of every individual machine or counting device, but 
 only of each type of electronic voting system before its 
 adoption, use, or purchase and before its continued use after 
 significant changes have been made in an approved system.  The 
 examination must include the ballot programming; electronic 
 ballot marking, including all assistive technologies intended to 
 be used with the system; vote counting; and vote accumulation 
 functions of each voting system. 

    If the report of the secretary of state or the secretary's 
 designee concludes that the kind of system examined complies 
 with the requirements of sections 206.55 to 206.90 and can be 
 used safely, the system shall be deemed approved by the 
 secretary of state, and may be adopted and purchased for use at 
 elections in this state.  A voting system not approved by the 
 secretary of state may not be used at an election in this 
 state.  The secretary of state may adopt permanent rules 
 consistent with sections 206.55 to 206.90 relating to the 
 examination and use of electronic voting systems.  

    Subd. 2.    Examination fee.  The secretary of state may 
 assess a fee to accompany the application to cover the actual 
 and necessary costs for the examinations and licenses provided 
 for in this section.  The fee must be deposited in the state 
 treasury.  The expenses of administering this section must be 
 paid from appropriations to the secretary of state.  

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1993 c 337 s 20 

    Subd. 4.    Vendor bonds.  Vendors of electronic voting 
 systems shall certify to the secretary of state that they will 
 not offer for sale a system which is not certified for use in 
 Minnesota elections.  The vendor shall furnish a bond in the 
 amount of $5,000 along with the certification to the secretary 
 of state conditioned on offering the equipment for sale in 
 accordance with Minnesota election laws and any conditions of 
 the approval of the equipment granted as provided in this 
 section.  

    Subd. 5.    Voting system for disabled voters.  In 
 federal and state elections held after December 31, 2005, and in 
 county, municipal, and school district elections held after 
 December 31, 2007, the voting method used in each polling place 
 must include a voting system that is accessible for individuals 
 with disabilities, including nonvisual accessibility for the 
 blind and visually impaired in a manner that provides the same 
 opportunity for access and participation, including privacy and 
 independence, as for other voters. 

    Subd. 6.    Required certification.  In addition to the 
 requirements in subdivision 1, a voting system must be certified 
 by an independent testing authority approved by the secretary of 
 state and conform to current standards for voting equipment 
 issued by the Federal Election Commission or its successor, the 
 Election Assistance Commission. 

    Subd. 7.    Election assistance commission standards.  
 If the federal Election Assistance Commission has not 
 established by January 1, 2006, standards for an electronic 
 ballot marker or other voting system component that is required 
 to enable a voting system to meet the requirements of 
 subdivision 5, the secretary of state may certify the voting 
 system on an experimental basis pending the completion of 
 federal standards, notwithstanding subdivision 6.  Within two 
 years after the Election Assistance Commission issues standards 
 for a voting system component used in a voting system authorized 
 under this subdivision, the secretary of state must review or 
 reexamine the voting system to determine whether the system 
 conforms to federal standards. 

    HIST: 1984 c 447 s 3; 1984 c 640 s 32; 1986 c 362 s 7; 1986 c 
 444; 1989 c 291 art 1 s 25; 1995 c 233 art 2 s 56; 1997 c 147 s 
 53; 2004 c 293 art 1 s 32,33; 2005 c 156 art 6 s 56; 2005 c 162 
 s 12-14