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Committee advances Title 15 modernization bill after questions on voting‑system oversight
Summary
SB 266 would update Title 15 to modernize election terminology, clarify residency rules, update voting‑system testing and audits, and permit polling places to stay open under court order; the elections commissioner said federal EAC certification and independent testing labs underpin software approval.
The House Education and Government Affairs Committee released Senate Bill 266, a nine‑section update to Title 15 of the Delaware Code that modernizes election terminology, clarifies residency rules, updates electronic voting‑system testing and audit requirements, and adjusts procedures for absentee ballots and ballot scanning.
The presenter said the bill codifies how the Department of Elections determines residency for voter registration, updates requirements for electronic voting systems (including software updates, testing and audits), modernizes ballot‑scanning language and clarifies how absentee ballots are handled. Section 8 also addresses procedures when a court order requires a polling place to remain open beyond closing time, so affected voters can cast ballots for all offices without using provisional ballots.
Representative Pelosi asked whether the bill gives the commissioner unilateral authority over voting software without apparent legislative oversight. State Elections Commissioner Anthony Alban responded that "all the software that we use is approved by the Election Assistance Commission," an independent federal agency that certifies voting equipment following testing by independent laboratories; he described the EAC certification process and said the most current software was certified in July 2024.
Committee members asked about the definition of a ‘‘material security flaw’’ and how such findings would be reported; the commissioner said testing labs and the EAC would identify and report any such issues, but the committee did not discuss any actual security events. There were no public comments on SB 266; the committee moved to release the bill and recorded a roll call, after which the clerk announced the bill had been released.
