This amendment substantially revises the bill to mandate manual hand counting of all ballots under statewide standards, establish extensive legislative findings on election security concerns, create new statutory sections on ballot handling and manual counting procedures, and modify recount requirements and costs.
- Adds legislative findings establishing that Wyoming's electronic voting systems have security vulnerabilities including non-certified peripheral equipment, outdated unsupported operating systems, lack of antivirus updates, and use of non-voter-verifiable barcodes, and establishes that manual recounts under uniform standards will improve election accuracy and transparency. (Page 1-2, lines 13-12 (inserted Section 1))
- Creates new statutory Article 2 (W.S. 22-6-201 through 22-6-205) establishing comprehensive requirements for ballot security, custody, transport and storage with documented chain of custody; publicly conducted manual counting of ballots with video and audio recording; statewide standards for manual counting using nationally recognized methodologies including four-member teams with balanced party representation, oaths of impartiality, standardized training, ballot category separation, independent tallies by multiple recorders, batch processing, and reconciliation procedures; recounts to be performed manually under the same standards; and rulemaking and training responsibilities for the secretary of state. (Page 2-5, lines 14-12 (inserted Section 2))
- Adds new definitions including 'counting center,' 'ballot reconciliation,' 'chain of custody,' 'counting team,' 'hand counting/manual counting,' 'public observation,' 'reconciliation record,' 'tally sheet,' and 'voter intent standard' as required for the manual counting framework. (Page 6-7, inserted after line 11 and line 18)
- Modifies specifications for official paper ballots to remove reference to voting machines and require ballot design suitable for manual counting in accordance with new statutory standards. (Page 7, lines 23-31)
- Replaces the prior post-election ballot audit provisions with new requirements for county clerks to conduct ballot reconciliation at each stage of the election process, documenting the total number of ballots procured, issued, distributed, cast, spoiled, and remaining, with results provided to the secretary of state three days before the state canvassing board meeting. (Page 7-8, lines 33-28)
- Increases counting board membership from three to four members with requirement that at least two members come from each of the two major political parties appointed in equal numbers by each party's central committee, and requires all members to take an oath of impartiality. (Page 4, lines 30-41)
- Creates W.S. 22-8-113 requiring county clerks to conduct training schools for election judges and counting board members not later than four days before primary and general elections, with instruction in manual hand counting procedures and standards, open to the public, with minimum attendance requirement and compensation of at least ten dollars. (Page 9-10, lines 44-34)
- Modifies W.S. 22-14-102 to require election judges to ensure reconciliation of all ballots before securing them in locked boxes, and to require hand counting of ballots to commence immediately upon arrival at the counting center in accordance with the new manual counting standards. (Page 10, lines 19-34)
- Changes the standard for counting ballots rejected by machine to allow hand counting only when voter intent is unmistakable and the ballot is damaged or soiled, and requires all other ballots to be counted by the manual counting standards set forth in the new statutes. (Page 10-11, lines 6-5)
- Modifies recount procedures by changing 'may' to 'shall' for hand counts and requiring all recounts to be conducted in accordance with statewide standards and procedures in W.S. 22-6-201 through 22-6-205 rather than at the discretion of the county canvassing board or candidate. (Page 11, lines 6-43 (multiple modifications to Pages 6, 8, and 9))
- Revises the definition of 'reasonable expenses' for recount reimbursement to include costs directly attributable to compliance with statewide hand counting standards, including wages for county team members, and removes the prior limitation on facility rental fees and per diem caps. (Page 11-12, lines 1-10)
- Repeals W.S. 22-1-102(a)(i), (iii), (xiv), (xxxiv)(C), (xliii), (liv), 22-8-108(b), 22-9-125, and 22-16-111(c) to eliminate conflicting provisions related to electronic voting systems and prior recount procedures. (Page 12, lines 18-23)
- Renumbers subsequent sections to account for the new sections created by this amendment, changing Section 1 references in prior amendments to Section 3, Section 3 to Section 5, Section 4 to Section 6, and Section 5 to Section 7. (Page 12-13, lines 25-43)
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