North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 72 - Secretary of State › Article 72-06 - Elections › Chapter 72-06-01 - Certifying and Decertifying Electronic Counting Machines and Voting Systems › Section 72-06-01-08 - Criteria for approving ballot marking devices

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
Before the secretary of state grants a certificate of
				  approval, the following capabilities or features of a ballot marking device
				  must be demonstrated to the secretary of state or the secretary of state's
				  designee upon such official's request. As used in this section, the term
				  "device" means ballot marking device. The secretary of state may grant a
				  certificate of approval for a device if the device fulfills the applicable
				  subsection requirements of North Dakota Century Code section 16.1-06-14 and is
				  approved or certified by the EAC. The secretary of state may also require that
				  one or more of the following capabilities or features also be included in a
				  system prior to its approval:
1.
				Presents the entire ballot to the voter in a series of sequential screens that
				include methods to ensure the voter sees all ballot options on all screens
				before completing the vote and allows the voter to review all ballot choices
				before casting a ballot;
2. Does not
				allow the voter to over vote or cross-party vote and or cross-party voteinforms
				the voter if a contest has been under voted;
3. Is an electronic computer-controlled
				voting system that provides for direct marking of the voter's choices on a
				paper ballot without tabulation of votes cast;
4. Has a battery backup system that, at a
				minimum, allows voting to continue uninterrupted for two hours without external
				power;
5. Is designed to
				accommodate multiple ballot styles in each election precinct and multiple
				precincts;
6. Has a real-time clock
				capable of recording and documenting the total time polls are open in a
				precinct and capable of documenting the opening and closing of polls;
7. Complies with the disability voting
				requirements of the Help America Vote Act [ Pub. L. 107-252;  42 U.S.C. 15301-15545 ];
8. For security
				purposes, along with each associated activating and recording device and
				component, employs a unique, electronically implanted election-specific
				internal security code such that the absence of the security code prevents
				substitution of any unauthorized system or related component;
9. Has a color touchscreen that is at least
				fifteen inches [38.1 centimeters] in diagonal measure;
10. Has an option to accommodate a wheelchair
				voter without intervention of the poll worker other than a minor adjustment
				such as the angle of the display, and the voter must be able to vote in a
				face-first position so that privacy is maintained with the ballot surface
				adjusted to a vertical position;
11. Has wheels so that the system may be
				easily rolled by one person on rough pavement and rolled through a standard
				thirty-inch [76.2-centimeter] doorframe if the net weight of the system, or
				aggregate of voting device parts, is over twenty pounds [9.07
				kilograms];
12. Is activated by an
				official election ballot;
13. Upon
				activation is able to detect any premarked votes, and if votes are present, the
				device will not allow the voter to mark any additional votes with the
				device;
14. Has the capability to
				display, both visually and through voice files, the marked votes on a paper
				ballot for the benefit of a person who is not able to read or see the marks on
				the ballot and who desires an independent verification of marked votes prior to
				casting and tabulation of the votes;
15. The system central processing unit is
				designed so that no executable code may be launched from random access memory.
				If the operating system is open or widely used, it must be an embedded
				system;
16. Has a programmable
				memory card that plugs into the system. This programmable memory card shall
				contain the ballot definitions;
17.
				Has a self-contained, internal backup battery that powers all components of the
				system that are powered by alternating current power. In the event of a power
				outage, the self-contained, internal backup battery power shall engage with no
				disruption of operation or loss of ballot definitions;
18. Has the capability to support early
				voting; and
19. Has internal
				operating system software or firmware that:
a.
				Is specifically designed and engineered for the election application;
b. Is contained within each ballot marking
				device;
c. Is stored in a
				nonvolatile memory within each terminal;
d. Includes internal quality checks such as
				purity or error detection and correction codes; and
e. Includes comprehensive diagnostics to
				ensure that failures do not go undetected.