§ 204Voting Standards Development Board

(a) There
is hereby established within the Department of State a Voting
Standards Development Board comprised of seven members for the
purpose of developing uniform and nondiscriminatory standards
that define what constitutes a vote.
   (b) The board shall be comprised of the following members:
   (1) The Secretary of the Commonwealth or his designee.
   (2) Two county directors of election appointed by the
President pro tempore of the Senate, one of whom shall be from
a county in which votes are cast on paper ballots.
   (3) One county director of elections appointed by the
Minority Leader of the Senate, who shall be from a county in
which votes are cast on punch card voting systems.
   (4) Two county directors of election appointed by the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be
from a county in which votes are cast on direct recording
electronic voting systems.

   (5) One county director of elections appointed by the
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, who shall be
from a county in which votes are cast on optical scan voting
systems.
   (c) The Secretary of the Commonwealth shall serve as chair
of the board. Each member shall serve until the expiration of
his term. A vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointment.
   (d) The board shall meet as needed to fulfill the
requirements of this section.
   (e) Four members of the board shall constitute a quorum,
and an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the
board is required for the issuance of standards in accordance
with subsection (h).
   (f) The board may establish any rules necessary for its
operation, consistent with the provisions of subsection (e).
   (g) The members of the board shall receive no compensation
for their services on the board but shall be reimbursed by the
department for ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in the
performance of their duties.
   (h) (1) The board shall have the power and duty to develop
uniform and nondiscriminatory standards that define what
constitutes a valid vote cast through a paper ballot and what
constitutes a valid vote through each type of electronic voting
system used in the Commonwealth. On or before July 1, 2003, the
board shall adopt standards for paper ballots and each type of
electronic voting system. The department shall cause these
standards to be published as a notice in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin.
   (2) The standards adopted by the board and published by the
Department of State in the Pennsylvania Bulletin Volume 33
Number 31 on August 2, 2003, shall have the force and effect
of law until such time as a category of voting system, other
than the paper ballot or electronic voting system as defined
in section 1101-A, is approved by the secretary for use in this
Commonwealth under section 201(b). The secretary shall publish
the approval as a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
   ((h) amended May 15, 2013, P.L.25, No.6)
   (204 added Dec. 9, 2002, P.L.1246, No.150)
  Compiler's Note: Section 16 of Act 45 of 2006 provided that
      the amendment of section 204(h) shall take effect
      immediately.