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Committee bars future tabulation of ballots returned over the internet
Summary
An amendment to Senate Bill 159 — adopted in committee — forbids county election commissions from tabulating ballots marked and returned by the Internet; sponsors described multiple federal and national security agencies' warnings about internet ballot return.
The committee adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 159 that would prohibit county election commissions from tabulating marked ballots submitted by the Internet.
Sen. Hensley explained the amendment and cited assessments from DHS, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Election Assistance Commission, the FBI, and NIST that characterize digital return of voted ballots as a high risk to confidentiality, integrity and availability. "We view electronic ballot return as high risk," the sponsor said, explaining the amendment would require county commissions not to tabulate ballots returned over the Internet.
Committee members clarified that current in-practice Internet voting is limited to voters with disabilities who can mark ballots electronically, but those ballots must still be returned by mail; the amendment would prevent future internet return even if technology changes. The amendment passed and the committee voted to pass SB 159; the clerk reported the tally as 7 ayes, 1 no, 1 present not voting.
