1Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1333, No.320), entitled
2"An act concerning elections, including general, municipal,
3special and primary elections, the nomination of candidates,
4primary and election expenses and election contests; creating
5and defining membership of county boards of elections;
6imposing duties upon the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
7courts, county boards of elections, county commissioners;
8imposing penalties for violation of the act, and codifying,
9revising and consolidating the laws relating thereto; and
10repealing certain acts and parts of acts relating to
11elections," further providing for Voting Standards
12Development Board.

13The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
14hereby enacts as follows:

15Section 1. Section 204(h) of the act of June 3, 1937
16(P.L.1333, No.320), known as the Pennsylvania Election Code,
17amended May 13, 2011 (P.L.13, No.3), is amended to read:

18Section 204. Voting Standards Development Board.--* * *

19(h) (1) The board shall have the power and duty to develop
20uniform and nondiscriminatory standards that define what
21constitutes a valid vote cast through a paper ballot and what
22constitutes a valid vote through each type of electronic voting
23system used in the Commonwealth. On or before July 1, 2003, the

1board shall adopt standards for paper ballots and each type of
2electronic voting system. The department shall cause these
3standards to be published as a notice in the Pennsylvania
4Bulletin.

5(2) The standards adopted by the board and published by the
6Department of State in the Pennsylvania Bulletin Volume 33
7Number 31 on August 2, 2003, shall, for [the general election in
82004 and] any primary, municipal, special and general election
9[in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012,] held hereafter, have
10the force and effect of law.

11Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.