Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 E-Pollbooks in Texas Christina Worrell Adkins Texas Secretary of State 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Texas by the Numbers E-Pollbooks 254 Counties in Texas 200 Counties using e-pollbooks 7 Different e-pollbook vendors 0 explicit references to e-pollbooks in the Texas Election code. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Implied References Countywide Polling Place Program (43.007(d)(3)) Computerized Information in the Polling Place (43.063) Signature Roster (63.002) Electronically Readable Information on a Driver’s License (63.0102) 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Why does this matter? Sec. 31.002 -Official Forms “Secretary of State shall prescribe the design and content…of the forms necessary for the administration of this code…” “An Authority having administrative duties under this code shall use an official form in performing the administrative function…” Official forms SOS is required to promulgate official forms. SOS required forms MUST be used. E-Poll books eliminate a lot of these traditional forms. e-poll books software can replace up to 15 different hardcopy forms or reports. Problems: Some vendor can’t generate certain reports – results in entity having to generate outside of epollbooks, hard copy of forms in polling place. Reports not formatted in accordance with state law Language on forms not exactly matching. Lists missing required fields – “former name” “suffix” Can’t recognize the election name. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Why does this matter? Almost all required forms, lists, reports, etc that are REQUIRED under the Texas Election Code are subject to the PIA. If someone requests a copy of form that you can’t product, you would be in violation of the PIA. If your form or report is missing information that you are required by state law to have, you might be in violation of the PIA. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 E-Poll Books in Texas DRAFT 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Voter Registration Management Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Voter Registration Management The Official List of Registered Votes -- “OLRV” Distribution of Lists for Elections Voter History Official List of Registered Voters Voter Registrars are required to prepare an official list of registered voters for each election. This list is required to contain certain fields. In order for this list to be utilized and maintained by e-pollbooks for a specific election, the vendors must be able to accept the files from the state in a particular format. Their software must also maintain certain fields that are required by state law – such as “former name” and “suffixes” Voting History For general election, primary elections, runoffs or special elections ordered by the governor, state law requires each local voter registrar to electronically submit to the SOS the record of each voter that participated in the election. -- Sec. 18.069 Must be submitted in a specific format. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Election Administration Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Election Administration Voter Acceptance Forms Signature Roster (Section 63.002) Poll List (Section 63.003) Affidavit Of Voter Not On List (Section 63.006 Similar Name Affidavit – (Section 63.001) Combination Form (Section 63.004) 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Election Administration Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Election Administration Additional Forms, Reports and Lists Early Voting Roster (Section 87.121) Restricted Ballot Roster (Section 111.007) Precinct Early Voting List (Section 87.122) Branch Daily Register (Section 85.072) List Of Provisional Voters (Section 63.011) 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Electronic Signature Capture Device Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Electronic Signature Capture Device TAC Rule - 81.58 - Use of Electronic Signature Capture Device for Signature Roster Device must be approved by SOS Approvals listed on our website Signature Roster/Combo Form MUST be approved by SOS. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Alternative Procedures Forms requiring multiple copies Election official must distribute to the appropriate authority in a timely manner. Can deliver the forms in hard copy or electronically. Presiding Judge Acknowledgment Form New Form For use on forms that require the PJ’s signature. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Use of Electronically Readable Information Driver’s License Electronically Readable Information on a Driver’s License (63.0102) “An election officer may access electronically readable information on a driver’s license or personal identification card for proof of identification when determining whether a voter shall be accepted for voting.” 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Language Requirements Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Language Requirements Portions of prescribed forms that come into contact with a voter must be translated into Spanish or any other required minority language. This includes the following forms: Signature Roster Poll List Affidavit of Voter Not on List Affidavit of Voter with Substantially Similar Name Combination Form 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Records Management Electronic files can be duplicated to another storage medium to meet the retention requirement. RECOMMENDATION: Minimum of two duplicates of the electronic data stored in a secure manner. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Contracting Section 31.100 of the Code provides: “only actual expenses directly attributable to an election services contract may be paid from the election services contract fund, and the county election officer may not charge for performing any duties that the officer is required by law to perform.” 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Contracting Voter Registration List = No Charge. If a county can provide VR list in a format that is only accessible through e-pollbooks, then there can be no charge for the use of e-pollbooks. If VR lists do not require use of e-pollbooks, then county can charge for actual programming costs, but cannot charge for hardware. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Computerized Information in Polling Place Sec. 43.063 provides: “In an election in which detailed poll location information is available at a polling place through a computer, an election officer shall provide that information to assist voters in determining the correct polling place location of the voter’s election precinct.” RECOMMENDATION: configure your e-pollbooks to perform this task. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Internet Connectivity Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Internet Connectivity Real-time updating of OLRV Different from Voting System Requirements Required for Countywide Polling Place Program RECOMMENDATION: Utilize this feature to ensure accurate voter lists. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division

Texas Secretary of State Elections Division 11/24/2018 Things to Consider E-poll books can and should be configurable to your needs. E-pollbooks can and should be configurable to your state’s requirements. Not one-size fits all – vendors that I’ve worked with have made it clear that they can make adjustments. Many say it’s easy to make tweaks to their programs --- maybe they are saying it’s easy because they are vendors and are looking to see their product –but regardless, it shows that they can be customized to meet your state’s technical and legal needs. 11/24/2018 Texas Secretary of State Elections Division Texas Secretary of State Elections Division