Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 812 – Requirements for machines
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
|
Other versions
A voting machine used in the conduct of state elections must meet the following requirements. [PL 2003, c. 651, §5 (AMD).]
1. Secrecy. It must be constructed so that each voter may vote in secrecy.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
Terms Used In Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 812
- Accessible voting system: means 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. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 808
- Ballot labels: means the pages, cards or other material containing the names of offices and candidates and the referendum questions to be voted on that are placed on the voting device to conform with the voting system in use. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 808
- Candidate: means any person who has filed a petition under either sections 335 and 336 or sections 354 and 355 and has qualified as a candidate by either procedure, or any person who has received contributions or made expenditures or has given consent for any other person to receive contributions or make expenditures with the intent of qualifying as a candidate. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- may: when used in this Title, is used in a permissive sense to grant authority or permission, but not to create duty, to act in the manner specified by the context. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 7
- Party: means a political organization which has qualified to participate in a primary or general election under chapter 5. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Primary election: means the regular election for the election of nominees of a party for the general election. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Question: means any proposition submitted to the voters. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Voter: means a person registered to vote. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
- Voting machine: means an apparatus on which voters cast their votes that records each vote by means of mechanical or electronic counters and furnishes a total of the number of votes cast for each candidate and for and against each referendum measure. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 808
- Write-in candidate: means a person whose name does not appear on the ballot under the office designation to which a voter may wish to elect the candidate. See Maine Revised Statutes Title 21-A Sec. 1
2. Voting limited. It must permit a voter to vote once and only once for each candidate and each question for whom or on which that voter is entitled to vote. It must prevent a voter from voting for more persons for an office than there are offices to be filled.
[RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §59 (COR).]
3. Write-in vote. It must permit a voter to vote for a write-in candidate.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
4. Form and content of ballot label. The titles of offices may be arranged horizontally with the names of candidates for an office arranged vertically under the title of the office, or the titles of offices may be arranged vertically with the names of candidates for an office arranged horizontally opposite the title of the office, or the titles of offices and the names of candidates for an office may be arranged in any horizontal and vertical combination as may be determined advisable by the Secretary of State.
The names of candidates must be printed in the order provided by law and, in general elections, the party designation of each candidate, which may be abbreviated, must be printed following the candidate’s name. If there are more candidates for an office than can be printed in one column or on one ballot page, the ballot label must be clearly marked that the list of candidates is continued on the following column or page and, so far as possible, the same number of names must be printed on each column or page. Arrows may be used to indicate the place to vote for each candidate and on each measure.
[PL 1995, c. 459, §87 (AMD).]
4-A. Ballot labels for separate elections.
[PL 2003, c. 651, §6 (RP).]
5. Voting restricted at primary. It must prevent a voter from voting for the nomination of candidates of more than one party at a primary election.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
6. Unauthorized voting prohibited. It must prevent a voter from voting for any office or upon any question for whom or on which that voter is not entitled to vote.
[RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §60 (COR).]
7. Change of vote permitted. It must permit a voter to change or retract a vote that voter has attempted to cast for any person, or on any question, before that voter’s vote has been completed and registered.
[RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §61 (COR).]
8. Device for printing or photographing candidate or question counters. It may be provided with a device or devices for printing and photographing candidate and question counters which will provide a record before the polls open and after the polls close.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
9. Official approval required. It must be of an identical type approved by the Secretary of State and the Attorney General.
[PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW).]
10. Paper audit trail. Except for an accessible voting system that must be provided by 2006 in compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 as provided in section 812?A, subsection 1, it must produce or employ permanent paper records of the votes cast that are able to be verified by individual voters before their votes are cast and that provide a manual audit capacity for the machine. In the case of direct recording electronic voting machines, those records must also identify the individual machines that produced them without revealing the identities of the voters who cast the ballots. In all cases, these records must be reviewed in the event of a recount and considered in conjunction with the machine-produced tally.
[PL 2007, c. 455, §51 (AMD).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1985, c. 161, §6 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 459, §§87,88 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 651, §§5-7 (AMD). PL 2005, c. 445, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 455, §51 (AMD). RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. B, §§59-61 (COR).