Colorado § 1-5-616 - Electromechanical voting systems - standards - procedures.

§ 1-5-616. Electromechanical voting systems - standards - procedures.

(1) The secretary of state shall adopt rules in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., that establish minimum standards for electronic and electromechanical voting systems regarding:

(a) Functional requirements;

(b) Performance levels;

(c) Physical and design characteristics;

(d) Documentation requirements;

(e) Evaluation criteria;

(f) Audit capacity;

(g) Security requirements;

(h) Telecommunications requirements; and

(i) Accessibility.

(1.5) On or before December 31, 2022, the rules adopted by the secretary of state pursuant to subsection (1) of this section must include the minimum system requirements and specifications for electronic and electromechanical voting systems used to conduct elections using instant runoff voting.

(2) The secretary of state may review the rules adopted pursuant to subsections (1) and (1.5) of this section governing standards for certification of electronic or electromechanical voting systems to determine the adequacy and effectiveness of the rules in assuring that elections achieve the standards established by section 1-1-103.

(3) The secretary of state shall adopt rules in accordance with article 4 of title 24, C.R.S., to achieve the standards established by section 1-1-103 for the procedures of voting, including write-in voting, and of counting, tabulating, and recording votes by electronic or electromechanical voting systems used in this state.

(4) The secretary of state shall adapt the standards for certification of electronic or electromechanical voting systems established by rule pursuant to subsections (1) and (1.5) of this section to ensure that new technologies that meet the requirements for such systems are certified in a timely manner and available for selection by political subdivisions and meet user standards.

(5) (a) Each designated election official shall establish written procedures to ensure the accuracy and security of voting in the political subdivision and submit the procedures to the secretary of state for review prior to each election. The secretary of state shall notify the designated election official of the approval or disapproval of the procedures no later than fifteen days after the secretary of state receives the submission.

(b) Each designated election official shall submit the security procedures to the secretary of state no less than sixty days before the election in which the procedures will be used. The secretary of state shall notify the designated election official of the approval or disapproval of said revisions no later than fifteen days after the secretary of state receives the submission.

(6) A county may not create, permit any person to create, or disclose to any person an image of the hard drive of any voting system component without the express written permission of the department of state.

Source: L. 2004: Entire section added, p. 1349, § 14, effective May 28. L. 2006: (5)(a) amended, p. 2032, § 11, effective June 6. L. 2021: (1.5) added and (2) and (4) amended, (HB 21-1071), ch. 367, p. 2417, § 7, effective July 1, 2022. L. 2022: (6) added, (SB 22-153), ch. 322, p. 2280, § 11, effective June 2. L. 2023: (5) amended, (SB 23-276), ch. 399, p. 2382, § 22, effective June 6.

Cross references: (1) For the legislative declaration contained in the 2004 act enacting this section, see section 1 of chapter 334, Session Laws of Colorado 2004.

(2) For the short title ("Colorado Election Security Act") and the legislative declaration in SB 22-153, see sections 1 and 2 of chapter 322, Session Laws of Colorado 2022.