CHAPTER
1. Internet Voting Pilot Program
4500.
For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:(1) “Internet voting” means the casting of a secure and secret electronic ballot that is transmitted to the appropriate elections official using the Internet.
(2) “Internet voting system” means a voting system that uses electronic ballots and allows a voter to transmit his or her voted electronic ballot to the appropriate elections official over the Internet.
(3) “Program” means the Internet Voting Pilot Program authorized by this chapter.
(4) “Red team or penetration testing” means a method of evaluating the security of an Internet voting system, including its hardware, storage devices, or software, by simulating unauthorized access to the Internet voting system.
(5) “Top-to-bottom review” means a comprehensive and scientifically rigorous examination and analysis of an Internet voting system.
4501.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 19217 or any other provision of law, in order to test the viability of conducting a public election via the Internet a county may conduct an Internet Voting Pilot Program under which the county may offer Internet voting as an additional method of voting in a local election held within the county, provided that all of the following are satisfied:(1) The county board of supervisors authorizes the county to conduct the program.
(2) The election is a regularly scheduled or special county, municipal, or district primary or general election. A local election that includes a candidate for a federal or
state office or a state measure on the ballot is not eligible to be included in the program.
(3) The program uses an Internet voting system that was certified by the Secretary of State prior to the election in the county at which the system is to be first used.
(4) The Internet voting system is offered as an additional and supplemental method of voting, but does not replace any other method of voting or voting system in place within the county.
(b) The program shall test the viability, accuracy, security, integrity, efficacy, accessibility, and public acceptance of an Internet voting system certified by the Secretary of State.
(c) A county shall not conduct a program until after a test program is successfully completed in accordance with Section 4504.
4502.
(a) A county, person, or corporation owning or being interested in an Internet voting system may apply to the Secretary of State to examine and certify the Internet voting system. The applicant shall submit to the Secretary of State all relevant documentation and information requested by the Secretary of State.(b) Upon receiving an application to examine and certify an Internet voting system, the Secretary of State shall conduct a top-to-bottom review of the Internet voting system and report on its accuracy, security, integrity, efficacy, and accessibility.
The top-to-bottom review shall include all of the following:
(1) Review and analysis of the Internet voting system’s documentation and specifications, security features, and source code for its software and firmware.
(2) Red team or penetration testing to interactively analyze the function and performance of the Internet voting system and identify and document any part of the Internet voting system that may be vulnerable to tampering or error that could cause incorrect recording, tabulation, tallying, or reporting of votes or that could alter critical election data.
(3) Testing and observation of the Internet voting system to evaluate whether it is accessible to voters with disabilities and to voters
who require assistance in a language other than English, if the language is one in which a ballot or ballot materials are required to made available to voters.
(4) Review of reports and available data from any independent examination of the Internet voting system.
(5) Review and analysis of any available data relating to the deployment, implementation, and use of the Internet voting system in other jurisdictions.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary of State’s report states that the Internet voting system meets the standards of accuracy, security, integrity, efficacy, and accessibility, the Internet voting system shall be deemed certified by the Secretary of State and may be used by a county in conducting
a program.
(d) The Secretary of State shall make public the top-to-bottom review process and the results of each review.
4503.
(a) If a county conducts a program, the county shall evaluate the program and the county’s experience with the Internet voting system and shall report thereon to the Legislature and the Secretary of State. The report shall include a summary of the demographic information of voters who chose to use traditional voting methods compared to those who chose to use Internet voting.(b) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
4504.
(a) Before conducting a program, a county shall conduct a test program on a smaller scale in one or more local jurisdictions within the county to test the program. In order to participate in the test program, the governing board of the local jurisdiction shall, by a vote of the governing board, elect to participate in the test program. The participating local jurisdiction shall notify the voters of that jurisdiction that a test program will be conducted.(b) The test program shall permit a voter of a participating local jurisdiction, in addition to casting his or her official ballot, to cast a test ballot on an Internet voting system that is monitored by the county elections official. The test ballot shall be counted only for purposes of
testing the program and shall not be counted in the election results. The county elections official, without compromising the secrecy of the ballot, shall determine whether the votes tabulated by the Internet voting system are consistent with votes cast on the voters’ official ballots. If the county elections official determines that the test program is successful, the county may conduct a program in accordance with Section 4501.