S0421B1292A03393 PWK:NLG 10/23/19 #90 A03393
AMENDMENTS TO SENATE BILL NO. 421
Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVE D. MILLER
Printer's No. 1292
Amend Bill, page 2, line 13, by inserting after "MACHINES"
and providing for assistance for certain qualified electors
Amend Bill, page 19, line 20, by striking out the comma after
"1107(B)" and inserting
and
Amend Bill, page 19, lines 20 through 23, by striking out ",
1107-A(3), 1109-" in line 20, all of lines 21 and 22 and "1222,
1223(A) AND 1227(D)" in line 23
Amend Bill, page 33, by inserting between lines 15 and 16
Section 3.1. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 1119. Assistance for Certain Qualified Electors.--
(a) In consultation with county election boards, election
officials, individuals with a disability and support service
providers, the department shall ensure that qualified electors
who are individuals with a disability are able to cast ballots
privately, independently and in a verifiable manner in
accordance with this section.
(b) The following apply:
(1) By September 1, 2020, each county election board shall
make available to each qualified elector who is an individual
with a disability and who wishes to cast a ballot in an election
under the jurisdiction of the county election board an Internet
system which:
(i) Provides a software interface designed to assist the
qualified elector to cast the ballot privately and independently
without the assistance of another individual.
(ii) Permits the qualified elector to verify in a private
and independent manner the votes selected by the qualified
elector on the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted.
(iii) Provides the qualified elector with the opportunity in
a private and independent manner to change the ballot or correct
an error before the ballot is cast and counted, including the
opportunity to correct the error through the issuance of a
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replacement ballot if the qualified elector was otherwise unable
to change the ballot or correct an error.
(iv) Notifies the qualified elector of any votes cast for
more than the maximum number of selections allowed in a contest
and provides the qualified elector with a chance to correct the
error.
(v) Allows the qualified elector to cast a provisional
ballot.
(2) In the development, implementation and maintenance of
the system under clause (1), the Department of State shall:
(i) Provide technical assistance to each county election
board.
(ii) Coordinate resources and databases to ensure the system
provides uniform, official, centralized, interactive and
integrated processes capable of audit.
(3) A qualified elector who is an individual with a
disability shall provide a letter or other documentation from
the qualified elector's attending physician verifying that the
qualified elector has a disability which may impact the ability
of the qualified elector to cast a ballot privately and
independently through traditional voting mechanisms. The
following apply:
(i) The specific nature of the disability need not be
disclosed.
(ii) The letter or other documentation need only be provided
once to the appropriate county election board for the qualified
elector to be eligible to cast a ballot using the online voting
system under this subsection.
(c) (1) By February 1, 2022, each polling place shall make
available to each qualified elector who is an individual with a
disability at least one device which:
(i) Permits the qualified elector to cast the ballot
privately and independently and in a verifiable manner without
the assistance of another individual.
(ii) Permits the qualified elector to verify in a private
and independent manner the votes selected by the qualified
elector on the ballot before the ballot is cast and counted.
(iii) Provides the qualified elector with the opportunity in
a private and independent manner to change the ballot or correct
an error before the ballot is cast and counted, including the
opportunity to correct the error through the issuance of a
replacement ballot if the qualified elector was otherwise unable
to change the ballot or correct an error.
(iv) Notifies the qualified elector of any votes cast for
more than the maximum number of selections allowed in a contest
and provides the qualified elector with a chance to correct the
error.
(v) Allows the qualified elector to cast a provisional
ballot.
(2) In the development, implementation and maintenance of
the devices under clause (1), the department shall:
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(i) Provide technical assistance to each county election
board.
(ii) Coordinate resources and databases to ensure that the
devices are uniform and functional and provide integrated
processes capable of audit.
(d) The following apply:
(1) A person who willfully violates this section by
preventing or otherwise obstructing the development,
implementation or maintenance of the system or devices under
this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) The provisions of 25 Pa.C.S. Ch. 17 (relating to
penalties) and Article XVIII of this act shall be applicable to
this section.
(e) As used in this section:
The words "county election board" shall mean the board of
elections of a county.
The word "department" shall mean the Department of State of
the Commonwealth.
The words "election district" shall mean a district, division
or precinct established under this act in which all qualified
electors are eligible to vote in the same polling place.
The words "election official" shall mean:
(1) An election officer required to conduct an election in
an election district in accordance with this section.
(2) The term includes any of the following:
(i) A judge of elections.
(ii) A majority or minority inspector elected or appointed
by a county election board.
(iii) A clerk or machine inspector appointed by a county
election board.
The words "impaired dexterity" shall mean a condition which
impacts the use of an individual's hands or body.
The words "individual who is blind" shall mean an individual:
(1) whose central acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the
better eye with correcting lenses; or
(2) whose visual acuity, if better than 20/200, is
accompanied by a limit of the field of vision in the better eye
to a degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle of no
greater than 20 degrees.
The words "individual who is deafblind" shall mean an
individual:
(1) Who has a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the
better eye with corrective lenses or a field defect such that
the peripheral diameter of visual field subtends an angular
distance no greater than 20 degrees or a progressive visual loss
having a prognosis leading to one or both conditions.
(2) Who has a chronic hearing impairment so severe that most
speech cannot be understood with optimum amplification or a
progressive hearing loss having a prognosis leading to this
condition.
(3) For whom the combination of impairments described under
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clauses (1) and (2) causes extreme difficulty in attaining
independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial
adjustment or obtaining a vocation.
(4) Who despite the inability to be measured accurately for
hearing and vision loss due to cognitive or behavioral
constraints, or both, can be determined through functional and
performance assessment to have severe hearing and visual
disabilities that cause extreme difficulty in attaining
independence in daily life activities, achieving psychosocial
adjustment or obtaining vocation objectives.
The words "individual with a disability" shall mean any of
the following:
(1) An individual who is blind.
(2) An individual who is deafblind.
(3) An individual who is visually impaired.
(4) An individual with impaired dexterity.
(5) An individual with a mental health, developmental or
intellectual disability.
The words "provisional ballot" shall mean a ballot which is
used to record a vote by an individual who claims to be a
qualified elector when there is an issue regarding whether the
individual is a qualified elector and which must be resolved
before the vote can count.
The words "support service provider" shall mean an individual
who is trained to treat or who otherwise assists or provides
services to an individual with a disability.
Section 3.2. Sections 1107-A(3), 1109-A(a)(2) and (d), 1112-
A(a)(2) and (4) and (b)(4), 1113-A(d), 1210(a.4)(1) and (5)(ii),
1215(b) and (c), 1216(d) and (f), 1222, 1223(a) and 1227(d) of
the act are amended to read:
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