Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1362.1 – Voting System Commission; creation and organization; duties and responsibilities
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1362.1
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Election: means and includes all elections held in Louisiana, whether primary, general, or special. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1351
- Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
- Voter-verified paper record: means a paper document or a secure hand-marked paper ballot produced by a voting system that the voter can review and verify before officially casting his ballot. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1351
- Voting system: means the total combination of equipment, hardware, firmware, software, materials, and documentation used to cast and count votes or to perform any of the support functions to enable the casting or counting of votes. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 18:1351
A.(1) The Voting System Commission is created and established within the Department of State for the purpose of evaluating and recommending the type of voting system that shall be procured to replace the voting system in use as necessary.
(2) The purpose of this commission is to further the preservation of democracy by strengthening the state’s commitment to maintaining the faith, integrity, and trust in election, voting, and ballot-counting processes, to provide the highest level of election security and functionality, and to provide greater clarity, public transparency, and objectivity with respect to the selection of voting equipment.
B. The Voting System Commission shall be comprised of the following members:
(1) The commissioner of elections, or his designee.
(2) Two members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a member affiliated with the Republican Party and one of whom shall be a member affiliated with the Democratic Party.
(3) Two members of the Senate, appointed by the president of the Senate, one of whom shall be a member affiliated with the Republican Party and one of whom shall be a member affiliated with the Democratic Party.
(4) Two Louisiana registered voters appointed by the governor, one of whom shall represent the disabled community.
(5) The secretary of state, or his designee.
(6) Two Louisiana registered voters appointed by the attorney general.
(7) The executive director of the Cyber Innovation Center, or his designee.
(8) The president of the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association, or his designee.
(9) The president of the Louisiana Registrars of Voters Association, or his designee.
C. The chair of the commission shall be elected by a majority vote of the members and shall set the date, time, and place for all meetings. The secretary of state shall convene the initial meeting of the commission not later than September 1, 2021, and shall serve as the initial chair until a chairman is elected.
D. A majority of the members serving on the commission shall constitute a quorum to conduct official business. All actions of the commission shall require a majority vote of the quorum. A majority of the meetings of the commission shall be held at the state capitol, and all meetings held at the state capitol shall be streamed live on the internet.
E. Members of the commission shall serve terms concurrent with the governor. Members shall serve without compensation; however, legislative members of the commission shall receive the per diem and expenses as provided for legislators during attendance at legislative committees and from the same source.
F. The Department of State and office of state procurement shall provide administrative staff and resources to the commission upon request.
G. The commission may request from the secretary of state or any other source any information it considers necessary to assist in making a recommendation regarding voting systems.
H. The commission shall consider only a voting system that utilizes a voter-verified paper record to replace the state’s inventory of direct recording equipment. For the replacement of subsequent voting systems, the commission shall conduct a preliminary analysis of available voting systems and select up to three options for discussion during each public hearing held for the evaluation of which voting systems are most advantageous to the state based on functionality.
I.(1) After complying with the provisions of Subsection H of this Section, the commission shall determine the type of voting system to recommend to the secretary of state to submit for competitive solicitation in accordance with the provisions of the Louisiana Procurement Code.
(2) The recommendation of the Voting System Commission pursuant to this Subsection shall not be a valid basis for a protest pursuant to Part VI of the Louisiana Procurement Code relative to a procurement of voting systems. Any protest asserting that the recommendation of the Voting System Commission was erroneous shall be null and disregarded.
J. The commission shall submit a report of its findings and conclusions to the governor, the president of the Senate, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs, the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs, the secretary of state, and the division of administration no later than January 31, 2022, and annually thereafter.
K. Upon receipt of the report, the secretary of state, working in conjunction with the office of state procurement, shall develop a request for proposals taking into consideration the commission’s recommendations. No later than thirty days prior to the issuance of the request for proposals, the secretary shall promulgate certification standards for the type of voting system to be procured in accordance with the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 18:1353.
L. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the secretary of state shall award no contract for voting systems unless the awarded proposer has provided a sworn affidavit attesting that the proposer is not subject to significant ownership or control by a foreign power, and that the proposer is aware that a false attestation will be subject to the provisions of La. Rev. Stat. 39:1678 and 1679. For purposes of this Subsection, “significant ownership or control by a foreign power” means ownership, equity, or control which equals or exceeds twenty-five percent of the total outstanding ownership, equity, or control of the proposer, and which is exercised directly or indirectly by, or for the express benefit of, the government of a foreign nation, state, or principality, or any instrumentality or subsidiary thereof. The sworn affidavit required pursuant to this Subsection, and all related information, shall be a public record.
Acts 2021, No. 480, §1, eff. July 1, 2021.