The 2010 primary season heats up in May, with 10 states holding elections. These include a race for the Republican nomination for Governor of Ohio, Democratic U.S. Senate primaries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas, and a Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky. The May primary states are: Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio on May 4; Nebraska and West Virginia on May 11; Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania May 18; and Idaho on May 25.
The May primary calendar is a reminder of the work we have yet to do to establish the two fundamentals of verified voting: voting systems that can be manually audited, and routine manual audits of a random sample of ballots. Below is a breakdown of each May primary state's voting systems, manual audit provisions, and recount laws. Note: we refer to "Premier" voting equipment, though Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems) was acquired by Election Systems & Software (ES&S) in 2009. See a summary of the May states at our blog, vvblog.org.
We have included information on recount laws as well as audit provisions. It is worth noting that a even if a state allows only machine recounts, it may be possible for a court to order a manual examination of ballots if a candidate or group of voters contests the election. Contested elections, though, are even less common than recounts, and both typically occur only in extremely close races. Recounts offer no protection to most elections, so even a good recount or contest provision is not a substitute for a strong vote tabulation audit.
May 4: Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio
Indiana
Voting System: Mostly Paperless "Direct Recording Electronic" voting machines (DRE).
60% of of the state's approximately 4.3 million voters live in jurisdictions that use DREs (no voter-verifiable paper record (VVPR) printers are used with Indiana's DREs), and 40% live in jurisdictions that use optically scanned paper ballot voting systems. Optical scan voting is used in many counties for absentee ballots. Indiana law requires that voters requesting an absentee ballot have a "reasonable expectation" that he or she will be out of the county on election day.
Among DREs, ES&S iVotronics are used in 6 counties with about 10% of voters, and Premier TS R6 touch screens in 3 counties with 3% of voters. Microvote Infinity push-button DREs are used in 38 counties with 40% of Indiana voters, and Microvote MV-464 units in 10 counties with roughly 6% of voters. Optical scan systems are dominated by the ES&S M100 precinct scanner, used by 6 counties accounting for 24% of the electorate. 16 counties (about 10% of voters) use ES&S Optech IIIP scanners, 11 counties (6% of voters) use Premier ES-2000 scanners, and 2 counties (1% of voters) use newer Premier AV-OS scanner units.
ES&S equipment is used in a total of 28 counties, with 44% of the voters, and Premier equipment is used in 16 counties with just under 10% of voters.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? No provision exists for a manual audit of electronic vote counts.
Manual Recount Available? Yes. Under Indiana Code 3-12-11-17.5, a candidate or party chair petitioning for a recount may request a manual recount of paper ballots ("ballot cards") in chosen precincts, and no automatic tabulating equipment may be used if a petitioner makes such a request. However, a petitioner must state that he or she believes that a mistake occurred that caused votes to be mis-tabulated in the precincts for which a recount is requested. The law does not provide for diagnostic or "discovery" recounts, even if the petitioner agrees to pay for the cost.
Races of Note: Republican primary for U.S. Senator, Democratic and Republican primaries for the 9th U.S. Congressional District.
North Carolina
Voting System: DRE w/VVPR or Optical Scan Paper Ballots.
ES&S is the exclusive vendor in North Carolina. 56% of the state's 6.1 million registered voters live in jurisdictions that use only optical scan voting systems, with accessible ballot marking devices for voters with disabilities. 15% of voters live in 11 counties that use both optical scan and DREs with a voter-verifiable paper record, and 29% of voters live in jurisdictions that use only DREs with a voter-verifiable paper record. North Carolina allows no-excuse absentee voting, so the percentage of ballots tallied by optical scanners may be higher than implied by these statistics.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? Yes. The State Board of Elections will select one statewide race at random, as well as the precincts to be audited. The number of precincts to be randomly chosen is determined by a professional statistician.
Manual Recount Available? Yes, but depends on the voting system and under certain circumstances. County and state election officials may order a discretionary recount. Candidates within 1 percent (of the total votes cast for the office) of the apparent winner of a non-statewide race may request a recount, and in statewide races, candidates within the lesser of either 0.5% of the votes cast for the office, or 10,000 votes may request a recount. The state's recount law provides that initial recounts of optical scan ballots be made by machine, but if the first recount produces different machine totals that cannot be reconciled, the administrative code states that the petitioner may request a hand recount of all ballots. If the first recount produces a different outcome, the apparent winner of the initial election count may request a hand recount of all ballots. Recounts of DREs are conducting by hand-to-eye count of the voter-verifiable paper records.
Races of Note: Democratic primary for U.S. Senator.
Ohio
Voting System: DRE w/VVPR or Optical Scan Paper Ballots.
41% of Ohio's 8 million registered voters live in 44 counties that use Premier TSx DREs for polling-place voting, and 18% live in 9 counties that use the ES&S iVotronic DRE for polling-place voting. All DREs in Ohio provide a voter-verifiable paper record of every vote. 32% of registered voters live in the 29 counties that use only optical scan voting systems (all ES&S), and 9% of voters reside in 6 blended-system counties, with an optical scanner and at least one DRE in each polling place. 3 of these counties (about 1% of the voters) use Premier equipment,1 county (less than 1% of voters) uses ES&S scanners and DREs, and 2 counties, with just under 8% of voters, use Hart eScans and eSlates.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? An audit of the May 4 primary is not required. The settlement in the case League of Women Voters v. Brunner requires the Secretary of State to order post-election audits of general elections and Presidential primaries through 2014. The Center for Election Excellence is currently spearheading an effort to sponsor a voluntary audit of the primary, supervised by a bipartisan Audit Board and financed with private funding.
Manual Recount Available? County boards of election determine the manner of conducting recounts, according to the Secretary of State's website. A random sample of precincts, the sum of whose total votes cast equals at least 5% of the total votes cast for the race, must be manually counted. Recounts must be conducted when the margin of victory is 0.5% or less, and a candidate or, in the case of a ballot measure, a group of voters, may request a recount for a fee of $50 per requested precinct, which must be included with the application for a recount.
May 11: Nebraska and West Virginia
Nebraska
Voting System: All Optical Scan Paper Ballots, with Accessible Ballot Marking Devices for Voters with Disabilities.
Nebraska uses ES&S ballot scanning equipment and ballot markers statewide. 56% of voters live in 47 counties that use only central-count optical scan equipment, the remainder of the state votes on precinct-scan systems.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? No provision exists for a manual audit of electronic vote counts.
Manual Recount Available? No. Nebraska Revised Statutes section 32-1119, governing automatic recounts, says that the counting method will be the same used on election day, and 32-1121, governing recounts requested by a losing candidate, says that the recount will be conducted as provided in 32-1119.
Races of Note: Republican primaries for State Treasurer, Secretary of State.
West Virginia
Voting System: DRE w/VVPR or Optical Scan Paper Ballots.
ES&S is the exclusive vendor in West Virginia. 60% of West Virginia's 1.2 million voters live in 34 counties that use ES&S iVotronic DREs exclusively for all but absentee voting. 21% of voters live in 15 counties that use a combination of iVotronics and centrally counted optical scan ballots at the polling place. Putnam County (about 3% of voters statewide) uses a mix of iVotronics and precinct optical scanners. Kanawha County uses precinct-count optical scan and ballot markers for voters with disabilities, and has about 11% of the registered voters in the state. The remaining counties include 2 counties use central-count optical scan with ballot markers for accessibility, 2 counties that hand-count their paper ballots and use iVotronics for accessibility.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? Yes. West Virginia Code §3-4A-28(d) requires for any canvass or requested recount, each county must select at least five percent of the precincts in each county be selected randomly and count the ballots by hand. According to the Administrative Code, the board of canvassers, the requesting candidate (or voter, in the case of a ballot measure), or a governing board (in the case of a special issues election) may demand that any recount of any precinct be conducted by hand.
Manual Recount Available? Yes, see above. Additionally, under section 153-20-8.6 of the Administrative Code, the county board of canvassers, the requesting candidate, the requesting voter (in the case of a ballot measure), or a governing board (in the case of a special issues election) may demand that any recount of any precinct be conducted by hand.
Races of Note: Democratic primary for U.S. House District 1.
May 18: Arkansas, Kentucky, Oregon, and Pennsylvania
Arkansas
Voting System: Mostly DREs w/VVPR.
ES&S is the vendor for all but three smaller counties; these three counties comprise about 4% of the state's voters. 36% of the 1.6 million voters in Arkansas reside in 43 counties that use ES&S iVotronics with a voter-verifiable paper record for alll but absentee balloting. 3 counties, Columbia, Ouachita, and Union, use the Danaher ELECTronic 1242. 19 counites, with 29% of the state's voters, use central count optical scan systems with iVotronics for accessibility, and 9 counties with 31% of voters use ES&S precinct ballot scanners with iVotronics for accessibility.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? No provision exists for a manual audit of electronic vote counts.
Manual Recount Available? Under Arkansas recount law, each county's board of election commissioners may conduct a recount at its discretion, and any candidate who was voted for in a precinct may request a recount of that precinct. Recounts of VVPR records may be conducted by hand or by manually summing "the total votes for each candidate involved in the recount that is printed on the voter-verified paper audit trail." Recounts of optical scan ballots are by machine unless the county board determines that the tabulating equipment may be malfunctioning.
Races of Note: Democratic primary for U.S. Senator, Republican primaries for U.S House Districts 2 and 3, Democratic primaries for U.S. House Districts 1 and 2.
Kentucky
Voting System: Optical Scan Paper Ballots and DREs without VVPR.
Kentucky has made strong progress toward verifiable voting since 2008. During the 2008 primary season, Verified Voting estimated that only 25% of Kentucky voters lived in counties where paper ballot scanners were the major voting system (no VVPR printers are used in Kentucky). Secretary of State Trey Grayson has encouraged counties to purchase verifiable voting systems, with promising results: as of April 2010, 74% of voters live in 77 counties where paper ballot scanners are the primary voting system. 57% of Kentucky voters live in 76 counties that use the Hart Intercivic eScan precinct ballot scanner, and 17% live in heavily populated Jefferson County, which uses the Premier (Diebold) Accu-Vote ES optical scan system. Each of these counties also uses a DRE in each polling place (the Hart eSlate and in Jefferson, the Premier TSx), so it is difficult to predict just how many voters in the May 18 primary will cast their ballots on DREs, and how many will mark paper ballots.
3% of Kentucky voters live in 9 counties that use the ES&S iVotronic for all but absentee voting. 9% live in 8 counties that use the Hart eSlate for all polling-place voting. 15 counties, with 8% of voters, use a combination of Microvote MV-464 DREs and ES&S iVotronics, and 5% live in counties that use a combination of Danaher ELECTronic 1242 and Hart eSlate DREs.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? Kentucky law has required since 1986 that the official canvass of votes include a manual recount of 3% to 5% of cast ballots. However, this law has not been enforced due to the lack of meaningful records to count manually. The Secretary of State's office is considering an audit of the November election.
Manual Recount Available? Under Kentucky law, a candidate must petition a Circuit Court for a recount, and upon receipt of a bond for the cost, the court must secure the ballots and machines and proceed to conduct the recount. As of this writing, statutes or rules governing the court's counting method are unknown.
Races of Note: Republican and Democratic primaries for U.S. Senator.
Oregon
Voting System: All Optical Scan Paper Ballots, with Accessible Ballot Marking Devices for Voters with Disabilities.
Oregon employs a statewide vote-by-mail system, with all ballots counted centrally by optical scanners and an Alternate Format Ballot available for voters with disabilities. Voters with disabilities may use an Accessible Computer Station (ACS) at the election office, and each county office also has at least one portable ACS that workers may bring to a location agreed to by the voter.
ES&S central count systems count the votes in 27 counties, with 88% of the voters. Sequoia Voting Systems equipment counts the ballots in 9 counties, with approximately 12% of Oregon's voters.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? Oregon's post-election audit law affects general elections only, so the primary election will not be audited.
Manual Recount Available? Yes. All recounts in Oregon are conducted by hand. A candidate or officer of a political party on behalf of a candidate may request a recount. A bond of $15 per precinct, up to a maximum of $8,000, is required. County election officials may also petition the Secretary of State to demand a recount; no bond is required in such cases.
Races of Note: Democratic and Republican primaries for Governor, Republican primary in U.S. House District 5.
Pennsylvania
Voting System: Mostly Paperless DREs
Over 80% of Pennsylvania voters live in counties that use DREs with no voter-verifiable paper record. No VVPR printers are certified in Pennsylvania.
ES&S equipment, which includes Premier (Diebold) voting systems, is used by 54 counties, accounting for 53% of registered voters in the state. 29% of voters live in 6 counties (including Philadelphia) that use Danaher Shouptronic 1242 DREs. 9% of voters live in 2 counties that use the Sequoia Advantage DRE, and 1 county, with 3% of voters, uses the Sequoia Edge. 16 counties, with 11% of voters statewide, use Premier TSx DREs. Blair County uses the Hart eSlate, and has about 1% of voters. 24 counties, with 31% of voters, use the ES&S iVotronic DRE. 11 counties, with 7% of voters, use ES&S precinct-count optical scan for all polling place voting, with accessible ballot markers for voters with disabilities. 2 counties (less than 1% of voters) are ES&S central count, with ballot markers for accessibility. 3 counties (5% of PA voters) use a mix of Hart ballot scanners and eSlate DREs, and finally Chester County, with nearly 4% of voters, uses a mix of ES&S precinct ballot scanners and iVotronics.
The state does not allow no-excuse absentee voting, so polling-place systems should predict the general range of equipment use.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? Yes, with caveats. Pennsylvania law (25 P. S. 3031.17) requires a routine recount of a sample of ballots in each county, the less of 2 percent of the ballots or 2000 votes. This recount may be conducted by manual, electronic, or mechanical count, as long as automated devices are not the same used to conduct the initial count. Counties that use optical scan equipment generally conduct a hand count of paper ballots to comply with this law, though the number of ballots cast on optical scan systems is small compared to DREs.
Manual Recount Available? Only at the discretion of county election officials. A November 2008 directive from the Secretary of State requires counties using optical scan equipment to use a manual, electronic, or mechanical counting method other than was used on election day. A county using precinct-count optical scan equipment may hand count its ballots in a recount, or conduct the recount using a central count tabulator. Counties using a central count tabulator may conduct the recount using precinct tabulators, or conduct a hand count. Counties using DREs compare precinct tapes printed on election night to the report of the county election management system.
Races of Note: Democratic primary for U.S. Senator.
May 25: Idaho
Voting System: Optical Scan Paper Ballots, Hand Counted Paper Ballots, and Punch Card
5 counties in Idaho use Votomatic punch card equipment, the last jurisdictions in the nation to do so. These counties comprise over 70,000 voters, just under 10% of the state's 739,000 voters. 15 counties, with about 7% of voters, hand-count their paper ballots at the polling place. 24 counties use ES&S optical scan equipment. Of these, only Power County, with approximately 3000 voters, deploys precinct scanners at each polling place.
Manual Vote Tabulation Audit? No provision exists for a manual audit of electronic vote counts.
Manual Recount Available? No, except for the hand-count counties. Idaho recount law specifies that the recount "shall be conducted under the same conditions and in the same
manner as the original count."
Races of Note: Republican primary for U.S. House District 1.
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