(a) A person, corporation, or public agency owning or having an interest in the sale or acquisition of a voting system or a part of a voting system may apply to the Secretary of State for certification that includes testing and examination of the applicant’s system by a state-approved testing agency or expert technicians and a report on the findings, which shall include the accuracy and efficiency of the voting system. As part of its application, the applicant shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of any known defect, fault, or failure of the version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the voting system or a part of the voting system submitted. The Secretary of State shall not begin his or her certification process until he or she receives a completed application. The applicant shall also notify the Secretary of State in writing of any defect, fault, or failure of the version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the voting system or a part of the voting system submitted that is discovered after the application is submitted and before the Secretary of State submits the report required by Section 19213. The Secretary of State shall complete his or her certification process without undue delay.

(b) The Secretary of State shall publish and make publicly available on his or her Internet Web site a quarterly report of regulatory activities related to voting systems.

Terms Used In California Elections Code 19210

  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Defect: means any flaw in the hardware or documentation of a voting system that could result in a state of unfitness for use or nonconformance to the manufacturer's specifications or applicable law. See California Elections Code 19210
  • Failure: means a discrepancy between the external results of the operation of any software or firmware in a voting system and the manufacturer's product requirements for that software or firmware or applicable law. See California Elections Code 19210
  • Fault: means a step, process, or data definition in any software or firmware in a voting system that is incorrect under the manufacturer's program specification or applicable law. See California Elections Code 19210
  • Software: includes all programs, voting devices, cards, ballot cards or papers, operating manuals or instructions, test procedures, printouts, and other nonmechanical or nonelectrical items necessary to the operation of a voting system. See California Elections Code 355
  • Voting system: means a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic system and its software, or any combination of these used for casting a ballot, tabulating votes, or both. See California Elections Code 362

(c)  As used in this article:

(1) “Defect” means any flaw in the hardware or documentation of a voting system that could result in a state of unfitness for use or nonconformance to the manufacturer’s specifications or applicable law.

(2) “Failure” means a discrepancy between the external results of the operation of any software or firmware in a voting system and the manufacturer’s product requirements for that software or firmware or applicable law.

(3) “Fault” means a step, process, or data definition in any software or firmware in a voting system that is incorrect under the manufacturer’s program specification or applicable law.

(Added by renumbering Section 19202 by Stats. 2013, Ch. 602, Sec. 14. (SB 360) Effective January 1, 2014.)

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