THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY McILHINNEY, FONTANA, ERICKSON, COSTA, ALLOWAY, GREENLEAF, MENSCH, PILEGGI AND TOMLINSON, MARCH 30, 2011

REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 30, 2011  

AN ACT

Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled

"An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,

special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,

primary and election expenses and election contests; creating

and defining membership of county boards of elections;

imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,

courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;

imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,

revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and

repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to

elections," further providing for Voting Standards

Development Board.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 204(h) of the act of June 3, 1937

(P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code,

amended July 14, 2009 (P.L.86, No.20), is amended to read:

Section 204.  Voting Standards Development Board.--* * *

(h)  (1)  The board shall have the power and duty to develop

uniform and nondiscriminatory standards that define what

constitutes a valid vote cast through a paper ballot and what

constitutes a valid vote through each type of electronic voting

system used in the Commonwealth. On or before July 1, 2003, the

board shall adopt standards for paper ballots and each type of

electronic voting system. The department shall cause these

standards to be published as a notice in the Pennsylvania

Bulletin.

(2)  The standards adopted by the board and published by the

Department of State in the Pennsylvania Bulletin Volume 33

Number 31 on August 2, 2003, shall, for the general election in

2004 and any primary, municipal, special and general election in

2006, 2007, 2009 [and], 2010, 2011 and 2012, have the force and

effect of law.

Section 2.  This act shall take effect immediately.