A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to make various changes to the election laws related to voting equipment, preparation of ballots, and to the duties of the county boards of elections and the state board of elections.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  G.S. 163‑165.3(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	State Board Responsibilities. – The State Board of Elections shall certify the official ballots and voter instructions to be used in every election that is subject to this Article. In conducting its certification, the State Board shall adhere to the following:
(1)	No later than January 31 of every calendar year, the State Board shall establish a schedule for the certification of all official ballots and instructions during that year. The schedule shall include a time for county boards of elections to submit their official ballots and instructions to the State Board for certification and times for the State Board to complete the certification.
(2)	The State Board of Elections shall compose model ballot instructions, which county boards of elections may amend subject to approval by the State Board as part of the certification process. The State Board of Elections may permit a county board of elections to place instructions elsewhere than on the official ballot itself, where placing them on the official ballot would be impractical.
(3)	With regard only to multicounty ballot items on the official ballot, the State Board shall certify the accuracy of the content on the official ballot.
(4)	With regard to the entire official ballot, the State Board shall certify that the content and arrangement of the official ballot are in substantial compliance with the provisions of this Article and standards adopted by the State Board.
(5)	The State Board shall proofread the official ballot of every county, if practical, prior to final production.
(6)	The State Board is not required to certify or review every official ballot style in the county but may require county boards to submit and may review a composite official ballot showing races that will appear in every district in the county.
The State Board shall be responsible for oversight of all ballot coding.  In order to produce the data necessary for equipment programming, each county shall either contract with a qualified vendor certified by the State Board or be certified by the State Board to produce the data."
SECTION 1.(b)  This section becomes effective July 1, 2010.
SECTION 2.  G.S. 163‑165.7(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	The State Board of Elections shall facilitate training and support of the voting systems utilized by the counties. The training may be conducted through the use of videoconferencing or other technology."
SECTION 3.(a)  G.S. 163‑165.9(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	After the acquisition of any voting system, the county board of elections shall comply with any requirements of the State Board of Elections regarding training and support of the voting system by completing all of the following:
(1)	The county board of elections shall comply with all specifications of its voting system vendor for ballot printers. The county board of elections is authorized to contract with noncertified ballot printing vendors, so long as the noncertified ballot printing vendor meets all specifications and all quality assurance requirements as set by the State Board of Elections.
(2)	The county board of elections shall annually maintain software license and maintenance agreements necessary to maintain the warranty of its voting system. The State Board of Elections shall not provide routine maintenance to any county board of elections that does not maintain the warranty of its voting system. If the State Board of Elections provides any maintenance to a county that has not maintained the warranty of its voting system, the county shall reimburse the State for the cost.
(3)	The county board of elections shall not repair or replace any voting system, or any portion thereof, without approval of the State Board of Elections."
SECTION 3.(b)  This section becomes effective July 1, 2009.
SECTION 4.  G.S. 163‑22 reads as rewritten:
"…
(o)	The State Board of Elections shall promulgate minimum requirements for the number of pollbooks, voting machines and curbside ballots to be available at each precinct, such that more of such will be available at general elections and a sufficient number will be available to allow voting without excessive delay. The State Board of Elections shall provide for a training and screening program for chief judges and judges. The State Board of Elections shall provide additional testing of voting machines to ensure that they operate properly even with complicated ballots.
(p)	The State Board of Elections shall require counties with voting systems to have sufficient personnel available on election day with technical expertise to make repairs in such equipment, to investigate election day problems, and assist in curbside voting.
(q)	The State Board of Elections may delegate administrative matters to the Executive Director by resolution, provided the resolution provides for a mechanism of review by the State Board of administrative decisions made by the Executive Director."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 163‑166.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 163‑166.1.  Duties of county board of elections.
The county board of elections shall:
(1)	Provide for the timely delivery to each voting place of the supplies, records, and equipment necessary for the conduct of the election.
(2)	Ensure that adequate procedures are in place at each voting place for a safe, secure, fair, and honest election.
(3)	Respond to precinct officials' questions and problems where necessary.
(4)	Provide adequate technical support for the voting system, which shall be done in conjunction with the State Board of Elections."
SECTION 6.  Except as otherwise provided in this act, this act is effective when it becomes law.