Iowa Regulations § 721-22.266 Dominion Democracy Suite Voting Systems-preparation and use in elections
Regulation Text
(1)
Security.
The commissioner shall have a written security plan for the voting system. Access to equipment, programs and passwords shall be limited to those persons authorized in writing by the commissioner. The security plan shall be reviewed at least annually.
a.
Passwords used at the polling places on election day shall be changed for each election.
b.
For each election, the precinct chairperson shall be responsible for the custody and security of the keys for the voting equipment and the ballot boxes and the security of the voting system on election day.
(2)
Precinct automatic tabulator configuration choices.
The following selections are mandatory for all elections.
a.
Access, messaging and tabulating selections.
The Machine Behavioral Settings shall be configured as follows:
(1)
The option to allow voters to review ballot selections detected by the precinct automatic tabulator shall be disabled.
(2)
Results for each precinct automatic tabulator shall be consolidated by precinct and shall not be reported by split within a precinct.
(3)
The automatic tabulators shall be configured to report write-in votes when the oval is darkened, regardless of whether there is text written on the corresponding write-in line.
b.
Ballot acceptance.
In an official election, the commissioner shall not program the precinct automatic tabulators for unconditional acceptance of all ballots and shall program the automatic tabulators to accept undervoted ballots. The automatic tabulators shall also be programmed to query the voter in each of the following situations:
(1)
Overvoted ballot.
(2)
Blank ballot.
(3)
Unreadable ballot.
(4)
Ambiguous marks. Ambiguous marks shall be defined as those marks where 5 to 24 percent of the voting target is darkened.
c.
Reports.
The following are required reports:
(1)
Opening the polls. Print a zero vote totals report.
(2)
Closing the polls. The poll report is the official record of the votes cast in the precinct on election day.
(3)
Certification text. Substantially the following text shall appear at the end of the poll report:
We, the undersigned precinct election officials of this precinct, hereby attest that this tape shows the results of all ballots cast and counted on this tabulating device at this election. (Include signature lines for each of the officials to sign.)
(3)
Central count automatic tabulator configuration choices.
The following settings are mandatory for all elections in which the ImageCast Central automatic tabulator is used.
a.
Ballot control.
In an official election, the commissioner shall program the central count automatic tabulator to accept overvoted ballots and undervoted ballots. The commissioner shall program the central count automatic tabulator to sort or notify the user when blank ballots, unreadable ballots and ballots with write-in votes are detected so such ballots can be separated for further review by the absentee and special voters precinct board as required by Iowa Code section
52.37
.
b.
Reports.
The following are required reports:
(1)
Opening the polls. Before ballots are tabulated in the central count automatic tabulator, a Zero Certification report shall be printed and shall be signed by the members of the absentee and special voters precinct board.
(2)
Closing the polls. After all ballots are tabulated by the central count automatic tabulator, a poll report shall be printed. The poll report is the official record of ballots tabulated in the absentee precinct and shall be signed by the members of the absentee and special voters precinct board.
c.
Reopen polls.
The commissioner shall enable this option, but protect it against unauthorized use.
(4)
Ballot layout.
Although the Dominion Democracy Suite voting system software includes choices for variations in ballot layout, all ballots shall be prepared according to the requirements of Iowa Code sections
43.26
through
43.29
and 49.30 through
49.48
.
a.
Format.
The office title, instructions about the maximum number of choices the voter can make for the office, the candidate names and all write-in lines associated with each office on the ballot shall be printed in a single column on the same side of the ballot. When describing the maximum number of choices the voter can make for the office, the following description for each office shall be used: "Vote for no more than xx." Do not include "vote for" language for public measures or judges. All text and the "yes" and "no" choices for each public measure and for each individual judge on a ballot shall be printed in a single column on the same side of the ballot. No office or public measure on any ballot shall be divided to appear in more than one column or on more than one page of a ballot. For all elections, the voting target shall be printed on the left side of each choice on the ballot.
b.
Instructions for voters.
The ballots shall contain instructions for voters, including:
(1)
How to mark the ballot;
(2)
Where to find the judicial ballot (if any); and
(3)
Constitutional amendment (if any) as required by Iowa Code section
49.48
and notices to voters on ballots with public measures (if any) as required by Iowa Code section 49.47.
(5)
System error messages.
At the discretion of the commissioner, precinct election officials may be provided with a list of routine error messages, including messages that relate to paper jams, which do not rise to the level of voting equipment malfunctions and the appropriate responses. The officials may be instructed to contact the commissioner or the commissioner's designee on election day for all other messages or routine errors for which appropriate responses have not been provided by the commissioner.
(6)
Preelection testing of automatic tabulators.
Each ImageCast Evolution or ImageCast Precinct with or without audio and printer unit shall be tested pursuant to the provisions of Iowa Code section
52.30
and rule
721-22.42
(52). At the commissioner's discretion, additional logic and accuracy tests may be conducted.
(7)
Audio ballot preparation.
Each candidate shall have an opportunity to provide a record of the proper pronunciation of the candidate's name. The same voice shall be used for recording the entire ballot, including instructions, office titles, candidate names and the full text of all public measures.
(8)
Preelection testing of accessible components.
The accessible components of each ImageCast Evolution or ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit shall be tested before each election in which the unit will be used. The commissioner must use the ImageCast Evolution or ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit to prepare some ballots for the test decks as required by paragraph 22.42(1) "e." In addition, the commissioner shall verify that:
a.
The vote response fields on the screen align with the candidate names or choices on the ImageCast Evolution.
b.
All contests and candidates appear on the screen for each precinct on the ImageCast Evolution.
c.
All contests and candidates are included in the audio ballot for each precinct on the ImageCast Evolution or ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit.
d.
All voting positions in each race can be selected, then deselected, using the touchscreen on the ImageCast Evolution and the keypad on the ImageCast Evolution or ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit.
e.
Selections on the printed ballots accurately reflect the voter's choices.
f.
Overvote and undervote functions are programmed correctly.
g.
The write-in function for each office is working correctly. All letters in the alphabet must be tested.
(9)
Touchscreen and printer testing.
The commissioner may provide for printer and touchscreen testing after delivery of the ImageCast Evolution or ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit to the polling place. If touchscreen testing is performed at the polling place, the delivery staff shall complete the testing before the polls open on election day. Staff shall keep a log for each unit and record the machine serial number, precinct name or number, nature of the test, date and time of the test and name of the person performing the test.
(10)
Table or voting booth A
table or voting booth shall be available to a voter using the ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit. A chair shall be provided for voters using the ImageCast Evolution keypad and headphones components. Any table or voting booth used shall meet the following requirements:
a.
Clearance shall be at least 27 inches high, 30 inches wide, and 26 inches deep.
b.
The top of the table shall be from 28 inches to 34 inches above the floor.
(11)
Privacy.
The commissioner shall instruct the precinct election officials to position the ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit to provide maximum privacy and access to voters.
(12)
Abandoned ballots.
If a voter or a precinct election official discovers that a voter has left the voter's ballot at the ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit, the two precinct election officials designated to assist voters shall enclose the ballot in a secrecy folder and immediately deposit the ballot in the tabulating device.
(13)
Ballot stock.
Each precinct in which an ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit is being used shall be equipped with ballot stock for the printer. The ballot stock shall be kept in a secure place throughout election day. Precinct election officials shall be instructed as to appropriate methods for securing the ballot stock and shall only place a sheet of ballot stock in the printer when an audio ballot is authorized on the unit.
(14)
Record retention.
The ImageCast Evolution, ImageCast Precinct and ImageCast Precinct with audio and printer unit use thermal printers. The maximum anticipated life span of the results from each unit is only five years. In order to preserve the permanent record of the precinct results required by Iowa Code section
50.19
, the commissioner shall print a copy of the results of each precinct on permanent paper and store these copies with the tally lists from precincts where the units were used.
History
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