Wyo. Code R. 002-0005-29
Effective Date: 10/26/2020 to Current
Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 002.0005.29.10262020
Voting Systems
Section 1. Authority and Purpose. The Secretary of State, pursuant to W.S. 22-2-121, is authorized to promulgate such rules as are necessary to maintain uniform voting, vote counting procedures and orderly voting and to comply with the requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), Public Law 107-252. These rules apply to Ballot Marking Devices, Ballot Tabulation Devices, and Ballot Printing Devices used by voters and by all election officials with responsibilities as designated in W.S. 22-8-101, et seq.
(a) “Ballot Marking Device” means any piece of voting equipment that allows a voter to mark their choices on a screen, commonly referred to as a touchscreen, and when the voter has finished marking their ballot, their choices will print on a paper ballot for tabulation.
(b) “Ballot Printing Device” means any piece of voting equipment that produces a paper ballot of the required ballot style that meets the needs of a specific voter on an as needed basis.
(c) “Ballot Tabulation Device” means any piece of voting equipment that records and tabulates a voter’s ballot choices.
(a) A ballot marking device enables voters, including voters with disabilities, to mark their ballots independently. Any voter may ask to use a ballot marking device.
(b) The following shall occur when a voter inserts a paper ballot into a ballot marking device:
(i) The correct ballot style shall appear either by an election judge choosing the correct ballot style or by scanning a pre-printed activation card.
(ii) The voter makes their selections by touching the screen or by touching the navigation and entry buttons;
(iii) The device shall allow the voter to change their candidate choice before marking their ballot;
(iv) The device shall notify the voter they cannot cast an overvote, if attempted;
(v) The device shall return a blank ballot to the voter;
(vi) The selections chosen by the voter shall be marked on the paper ballot and either provided back to the voter for the voter to place the ballot into a ballot tabulation device or automatically sent through a ballot tabulation device and dropped into a secure ballot box; and
(vii) The device shall allow the voter to write in the name of a candidate who does not appear on the ballot.
(c) For write-in instructions, see Chapter 19, Rules for Write-Ins.
(a) The County Clerk may use a ballot printing device supplied by a voting equipment vendor to print ballots for any election.
(b) The ballots printed must comply with the requirements of W.S. 22-6-115 through 22-6-127 and shall be printed in such a manner that meets the specifications of the device manufacturer.
(c) The County Clerk shall have written procedures to protect the security and inventory of all blank paper stock used by printing ballots on the ballot printing device.
(d) The ballot printing device shall be certified by the Secretary’s Office and in compliance with HAVA.
(a) A ballot tabulation device shall scan a ballot and record the results for each candidate, write-in candidate, ballot issue, and other election and precinct information on an encrypted USB flash drive.
(b) The ballot tabulation device shall notify the voter if the voter has cast an overvote in any race or if the voter has voted a blank ballot. After being notified, the voter shall be allowed to continue voting their ballot or return the ballot to the election judge and ask for a replacement ballot.
(c) County clerks shall adhere to the following requirements surrounding the use of ballots read by a ballot tabulation device:
(i) Ballots must be printed on paper stock approved or recommended by the ballot tabulation device manufacturer or printed by a qualified printer approved by the manufacturer of the device;
(ii) Upon receipt of ballots from the printer, the County Clerk must check ballots for accuracy;
(iii) Ballots must be housed in a secure location with limited access. The County Clerk will prevent unauthorized access to official election ballots;
(iv) Ballots will be counted and recorded on a written inventory:
(A) When delivered from the printer; (B) As they are used for test decks and absentee voting; and (C) As they are sent to the polls.
(v) The election judges shall count and record on a written inventory the number of ballots received, spoiled and voted at the polling place. The polling place inventory shall be delivered to the County Clerk following the election.
(d) For write-in instructions, see Chapter 19, Rules for Write-Ins.
(a) Preparation and L&A testing of the ballot marking, ballot printing, and ballot tabulation devices may begin after:
(i) the official ballot has been programmed and proofed; (ii) the County Clerk has accepted the visual and audio databases; and (iii) the official ballots have been received from the printer.
(b) Encrypted USB flash drives for the ballot marking and ballot tabulation devices shall be created from the accepted ballot database for each ballot marking device to be used in the election.
(c) The encrypted USB flash drives will be programmed for the machines to function as follows:
(i) Blank ballots are returned to the voter for action; (ii) Over-voted ballots are returned to the voter for action;
(iii) the voter under-voted a race or races, the ballot will not be returned to the voter, but will be automatically accepted by the machine; and
(iv) Write-in votes shall be available for review in a report.
(d) Ballots produced using a ballot on demand printer must be tested as specified by the manufacturer and by the County Clerk using the voting equipment they will be tabulated on. The County Clerk shall retain a marked test deck of ballots whether printed from the vendor or the ballot on demand printer.
(e) The County Clerk shall hold a public L&A test of the voting equipment before any ballot tabulation device is used. The County Clerk shall notify in writing, as specified in W.S. 22-10-108, the chairman of each political party and all independent candidates informing them of the date, time, and place for testing the ballot marking and ballot tabulation devices. Other witnesses may be present.
(f) Ballot marking devices shall be tested for logic and accuracy as follows:
(i) Affirm that the voter can change their candidate choice before marking their ballot;
(ii) Affirm that a voter cannot over vote;
(iii) Affirm that a blank ballot is returned to the voter;
(iv) Affirm that the ballot is accurately marked;
(v) Affirm that the audio is clearly recorded, understandable, and usable with the touch pad; and
(vi) Affirm that the ballot marked by the ballot marking device is accurately read by the ballot tabulation device.
(g) Prior to and following the public test and prior to dispatching the equipment to the polling locations, the following inventory and security precautions shall be taken:
(i) One encrypted USB flash drive shall be created from the accepted database for each ballot tabulation device to be used in the election;
(ii) A backup of the election shall be available and secured by the County Clerk;
(iii) The County Clerk shall generate a testing certificate for each device, both the ballot marking and ballot tabulation device according to the following specifications:
(A) The certificate shall include the following for the ballot marking device:
(I) The number of the seal on the USB access door; and
(II) The signature of the County Clerk and the representatives of each major political party, if any, that are present for the public L&A test.
(B) The certificate shall include the following for the ballot tabulation device:
(I) Precinct or Polling location and serial number of ballot tabulation device;
(II) The location of each non-removable seal on the ballot tabulation device and bin and its corresponding seal number, which includes the encrypted media stick;
(III) A notation that the device was set to zero (0000); and
(IV) The signature of the County Clerk and representatives of each major political party, if any, that are present for the public L&A test.
(h) Each certificate shall be kept on file in the County Clerk's Office for a minimum of 22 months or until any election contest affected by the ballots has concluded, whichever is later.
(i) The County Clerk may require all witnesses to the public L&A test to sign an attendance sheet that attests to their presence and witnessing of the testing of the voting systems equipment.
(j) All documentation of incidents occurring with either the ballot marking or the ballot tabulation device shall be retained by the County Clerk's Office.
(k) The ballot marking and ballot tabulation devices shall be stored in a secure facility, meeting manufacturer's specifications, with controlled access to only authorized personnel.
(l) A standard requirement for placement of security seals and an L&A checklist for the ballot marking and ballot tabulation devices shall be provided by the Secretary of State's office.
Section 7. Certification to the Secretary of State. The County Clerk shall attest in writing to the Secretary of State, on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State's office, that the ballot on demand printers have been tested and are ready for the election and that their ballot marking and ballot tabulation devices have been publicly tested, have passed L&A testing, and are ready for the election.