Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Election Security topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs bill to replace cardboard ballot boxes with tamper‑evident containers
Summary
The Senate Election Law committee recommended House Bill 1541 with amendments after the Secretary of State demonstrated a reusable plastic container prototype and senators discussed timing, funding and the 22‑month federal ballot retention requirement.
Representative Susan Porchelli told the committee that House Bill 1541 would start a secure container replacement program for storing marked ballots, specifying that containers be secure, durable, reusable, transportable, stackable and marked and that they be secured with locks and tamper‑evident sealers. "I request a vote of ought to pass to initiate the secure container replacement program," she said in opening remarks.
Secretary of State David Scanland demonstrated a plastic prototype the office used in a pilot and said it will hold roughly 1,000 ballots, can accept numbered plastic seals and barcodes, and could be tracked with a software inventory. "This is the plastic container that we used in a really successful pilot," he said, noting towns liked the product and that the seal and numbered tags would be logged.
Senators pressed staff and the Secretary on logistics: how many boxes will be needed given the federal 22‑month retention period for ballots, whether Help America Vote Act funds are an appropriate revenue source, and how seal durability would be assured. Scanland and other witnesses said the Secretary's office has identified containers, ran a successful pilot and is prepared to distribute boxes once funds and inventories allow, but they warned the project needs time given overlapping retention windows for primaries and general elections.
After a brief committee discussion about effective dates and removing prescriptive funding language, senators moved and approved an "ought to pass with committee amendment" recommendation. The amendment removed the sentence that explicitly linked the rollout to HAVA funding and adjusted the bill's effective date to give the Secretary additional time to scale the program.
The committee's action does not itself appropriate funds. The bill directs the Secretary of State to begin a replacement program and requires an annual progress report; implementation timing will depend on available funding and the Secretary's operational plans.
