Amends TCA Title 2.

This bill generally requires any county election commission purchasing or entering into a contract to obtain a voting system after the date that this bill becomes a law to ensure that the system produces a voter-verifiable paper audit trail. For purposes of this bill, a voter-verifiable paper audit trail is:<br /> <br /> (1) A paper ballot marked by hand or marked by a device that is made available for inspection and verification by the voter at the polling location; or<br /> <br /> (2) A record contemporaneously printed at the time a voter casts a ballot using a direct recording electronic system that is made available for inspection and verification by the voter at the polling location.<br /> <br /> A voter-verifiable paper audit trail must not include the voter's identity.<br /> <br /> Under this bill, a county election commission will only be authorized to contract for a voting system that does not produce a voter-verifiable paper audit trail if the contractor is contemporaneously seeking approval of compliant technology from the U.S. election assistance commission or the secretary of state and the contract provides for the transition to technology that produces a voter-verifiable paper audit trail during the initial term of the contract at no additional cost to the county election commission. <br /> <br /> This bill requires that voter-verifiable paper audit trails are preserved as paper ballots under present law and used as the official ballot for purposes of a recount or audit. <br /> <br /> This bill requires the secretary of state to aid in guidance necessary to comply with this bill's requirements, upon the request of a county election commission.<br />