The purpose of the amendments is to create a rule that supplements the practices and procedures associated with the certification of voting systems for the State of Florida by providing minimum standards for voter verifiable paper audit records.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Division of Elections

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
1S-5.002: Voting System Equipment Regulations Supplement: Minimum Standards for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Records
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of the amendments is to create a rule that supplements the practices and procedures associated with the certification of voting systems for the State of Florida by providing minimum standards for voter verifiable paper audit records.
SUBJECT AREA TO BE ADDRESSED: Florida Voting Systems Standards.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 101.015, 101.294 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 101.5605, 101.5606, 101.5602, 101.5607, 102.141, 102.166 FS.
A RULE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:
DATE AND TIME: Saturday, March 17, 2007, 11:00 a.m.
PLACE: Museum Theatre, Ground Level, R.A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida
NOTICE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: Any person needing special accommodations to participate in this proposed rule development workshop should contact the Department of State at 1(850)245-6500 no later than March 14, 2007. Any person who is hearing or speech impaired may contact the Department by using the Florida Relay Service with the following toll free numbers: 1(800)955-8770 (voice) or 1(800)955-8771.
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT AND A COPY OF THE PRELIMINARY DRAFT, IF AVAILABLE, IS: Amy Tuck, Director, Division of Elections, Department of State, 500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250, at [phone].

THE PRELIMINARY TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT IS:

1S-5.002 Voting System Equipment Regulations Supplement: Minimum Standards for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Records.

(1) PURPOSE. To establish minimum standards for assessing the suitability and effectiveness of printer and paper items that produce voter verifiable paper audit records from direct recording electronic voting devices.

(2) DEFINITIONS. The following words and phrases shall be construed as follows when used in this rule:

(a) A “Ballot” when used in reference to:

1. “Paper audit record” means that printed strip of paper created by a voting device that serves as an independent verification tool to assist the voter in determining that the voter’s electronic vote selections are correctly indicated. This paper record serves as an unalterable storage media that may be used as the official ballot for the purposes of a recount or audit.

2. “Electronic or electromechanical device” means a ballot that is voted by the process of electronically designating, including by touchscreen, or marking with a marking device for tabulation by automatic tabulating equipment or data processing equipment.

(b) A “Voted Ballot” means a ballot as defined above, which an elector casts by positive action.

(c) “Voting System” means a method of casting and processing votes that functions wholly or partly by use of electromechanical or electronic apparatus or by use of paper ballots and includes, but is not limited to, the procedures for casting and processing votes and the programs, operating manuals, tabulating cards, printouts, and other software necessary for the system’s operation.

(d) “Voting Device” means any apparatus by which votes are registered electronically.

(e) “Election Materials” means those materials provided to poll workers to properly conduct the election and shall include, but not be limited to: legally required affidavits and forms, provisional ballots, voter authority slips, precinct registers, and any electronic devices necessary to activate ballot styles in the voting system.

(f) “Verifiable” means the capability for the voter to independently take positive action to confirm that either the electronic record and/or the paper record correctly reflects the voter’s selections.

(g) “Thermal printer” means an electromechanical device that produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermal paper when the paper passes over the thermal print head.

(h) “Contact storage container” refers to a container that prevents exposure of thermal paper to vinyl, plastics, shrink wraps, adhesives, wet-toner, or carbon papers. The container may also prevent or minimize the content’s exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and humid conditions.

(i) “Shelf life” means the maximum length of storage from the date of manufacture of thermal paper with unopened factory wrap within the specified environment that does not impact the paper’s satisfactory performance or the specified image life.

(j) “Image life” refers to the expected life of a fully developed image produced by a thermal printer on thermal paper that has not exceeded its shelf life and is stored in a compatible contact storage container within the specified environment.

(k) “Useful life” refers to the retention of voting records as defined by Florida Statutes.

(3) PAPER REQUIREMENTS. Paper audit records must meet the following requirements:

(a) Must be produced by a thermal printer or other suitable print technology that minimizes the number of mechanical elements, consumables, and print failures.

(b) The minimum thermal paper grade, if applicable, should equal or exceed the grade requirements of Alpha® 200.

(c) Paper and ink, other than thermal paper, must be compatible and meet the same equivalent requirements as specified for the thermal paper grade relative to shelf life, durability, stability, fade resistance, and storage.

(d) Paper quality must retain a fully developed image for a minimum of 7 years when stored under archival dark environmental conditions in a compatible contact storage container.

(e) Paper must be of sufficient quality and reliability to permit the paper record to be audited at least twice; at the start of the initial archival storage period and once again at the end of its useful life. To demonstrate compliance with this requirement, the record produced by the mass ballot count test [see paragraph (6)(a)] must be readable before and after an accelerated life exposure test.

(4) PAPER STORAGE REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO USE. Storage of voter verifiable paper must be compatible with the following requirements:

(a) Shelf life must meet or exceed a minimum of 3 years of storage from the date of manufacture within its unopened factory wrap under the following environmental conditions:

1. Relative humidity between 45% to 65%; maximum absolute humidity not to exceed 0.010 lbm dry air / lbm H₂O.

2. Maximum temperature not to exceed 77F (25C).

(b) Paper that has exceeded its maximum storage life shall not be used in an election.

(c) Paper that has experienced an environment exceeding the maximum temperature and/or humidity requirements shall not be used in an election.

(5) ARCHIVAL STORAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR PAPER AUDIT RECORD. Storage of voter verifiable paper audit records must be compatible with the following requirements.

(a) Image life must meet or exceed a minimum of 7 years after producing a fully developed image when stored in a compatible contact storage container under the following dark environmental conditions:

1. Relative humidity between 45% to 65%; maximum absolute humidity not to exceed 0.014 lbm H₂O / lbm dry air.

2. Maximum temperature not to exceed 77F (25C).

(b) Paper that has exceeded its maximum storage prior to nine months from the end of its useful life must be duplicated by any suitable means.

(c) Paper that has experienced an environment exceeding the maximum temperature and/or humidity requirements prior to nine months from the end of its useful life must be duplicated by any suitable means.

(6) PRINTER REQUIREMENTS. A printer that produces voter verifiable paper audit records must meet the following requirements:

(a) Satisfies the mass ballot count test of 9,900 ballots cast on a single precinct voting device with total number of votes exceeding 100,000.

(b) Minimizes the number of mechanical elements and consumables. To satisfy this requirement, the use of thermal paper printers is strongly recommended.

(c) Maintains the audit record as a continuous spool of paper or provides the audit record as cut sheets. However, each cut sheet must be a complete record of a cast ballot. In the event that the last ballot record on the spool does not represent a complete record, the voting device must void that record and allow the voter to continue voting once the paper has been refilled. This voided record must not count against the voter’s allowed number of spoiled records. The audit record must not be touched by the voter or otherwise be capable of being in the possession of the voter.

(d) Does not permit the voting device or system to alter the paper record once the ballot is cast.

(e) Prints the audit record in a variable font size not to fall below 12 pt on the E-scale as measured using a type gauge. The maximum font size that may be selected by either the voter or the poll worker should not exceed 36 pt on the E-scale. The choice of a font size must not impede the readability of the audit record. Increasing the font size may force a line-wrap but must not wrap more than once.

(f) Permits the paper record to be temporarily stored in a sealable canister that is to serve as a pseudo ballot box.

1. Permit a full canister to be replaced by an empty canister without exposing the paper audit record. This requirement may be met by complete removal and replacement of the printer and paper canister assembly.

2. Election officials must secure and control the pseudo ballot box canister and its contents in a fashion similar to that of an optical scan ballot box containing cast ballots. The description of this control must be included in the county’s security procedures in accordance with Rule 1S-2.015, Florida Administrative Code.

(g) Prevents a voter from spoiling more than two audit records.

(h) Prints the audit record in the same language as the electronic record.

1. Clearly indicates a spoiled audit record.

2. Clearly indicates a provisional audit record.

3. Clearly indicates an undervoted contest.

4. Clearly indicates an accepted audit record.

(i) Uses a standard, publicly documented printer port using a standard communication protocol.

(j) Provides a capability to use tamper-evident seals or other physical security to protect the connection between the printer and voting machine except by authorized election officials.

1. Provides a means to detect and make known when the connection between the voting device and the printer has been broken and log this event in the voting device’s audit record.

2. Prevents the communication of the printer with any system or machine other than the voting device to which it is connected.

(k) Limits the printer’s functionality to printing only the paper audit record. The printer should not be used to print the zero or results tapes. The printer must not be networked or used for any other purpose.

(l) Provides a capability to detect errors, malfunctions, and/or low consumables and suspend further usage of the voting device until the error condition is corrected. Either the voting device and/or the printer must indicate the error condition to the voter. This error condition must be in the voter’s selected language and must inform the voter to seek immediate resolution from a poll worker. Actions taken by election officials to correct an error condition must be in accordance with Florida Statutes that protect the ballot from disclosure. Failure to resolve an error condition must permit that active ballot from being cast either electronically or as an audit record. The voter must be permitted to cast their ballot on another voting device regardless of the number of spoiled ballots already consumed.

(m) Provides a means to protect the paper audit record when displayed to the voter. The display or protective covering must be maintainable and/or replaceable. The display must not obscure the paper audit record. There must be a method for periodically cleaning the surface.

(n) Provides the voter with the means to compare the electronic record and the paper record side-by-side and inform the voter if scrolling the record is necessary to complete this comparison.

(o) Informs the voter that scrolling in reverse is either possible or not possible.

(n) Optionally:

1. May use a unique identifier that provides a capability to link a voter verifiable paper audit record to the electronic record. However, this link may not circumvent voter secrecy.

2. Allows the voter to privately and independently verify the content of the permanent paper ballot through the conversion of printed content into an accessible media. Accessible voting equipment should provide an automated reader that converts the paper record contents into audio output.

3. Permits an alternate and independent method to tabulate the votes cast from the paper audit record.

4. Identifies multiple review pages, such as page x of y.

(7) USE OF THE VOTER VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORD. The voter verifiable paper record must:

(a) Provide the voter the option to verify that the paper audit record matches the electronic summary record prior to allowing the voter to cast the ballot.

(b) Serve as an official ballot for the purposes of an audit and/or recount.

(c) Store a duplicate of the audit record in another format in addition to the human readable form.

(d) Not reveal the identity of the voter.

Specific Authority 101.015, 101.294 FS. Law Implemented 101.5605, 101.5606, 101.5602, 101.5607, 102.141, 102.166 FS. History– New_________.