In any general, special, or primary elections, an electronic voting system must be used and must comply with the requirements of this chapter.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 34; 

(a) An electronic voting system may be adopted, purchased, or used if it meets all of the following requirements:

(1) Each voting device must have a serial number permanently attached to or stamped to the device.

(2) Secure to the voter secrecy in the act of voting for or against as many questions as may be submitted.

(3) Permit the voter to vote for the candidates of 1 or more parties, or to write in the name or candidate of the voter’s choice for any office.

(4) Permit the voter to vote for as many persons for an office as the voter is lawfully entitled to vote for, and the automatic tabulating equipment used in such electronic voting systems shall reject choices recorded on any ballot card or any voting device if the number of such choices exceeds the number to which a voter is entitled.

(5) Prevent the voter from voting for the same person more than once for the same office.

(6) Permit the voter to vote for or against any question the voter may have the right to vote upon, but no other.

(7) Permit each voter in primary elections to vote only for the candidates of the party with which the voter has declared that voter’s own affiliation, and preclude the voter from voting for any candidate seeking nomination by any other political party.

(8) Correctly record and accurately count all votes cast for any and all candidates of a political party, and for or against any and all questions, and correctly record the names of all candidates written in by votes.

(9) Be provided with means for sealing the vote recording devices to prevent its use and to prevent tampering with ballot labels, both before and after the polls are open or before the operation of the vote recording device for any election is begun and immediately after the polls are closed or after the operation of the vote recording device for an election is completed.

(10) [Repealed.]

(11) Be so equipped that it shall prevent the voter from voting for all the candidates of 1 party by the use of a single mark, punch or other action; however, it shall be provided with a device or method for each party, for voting for all presidential electors of that party by 1 mark, punch or other action.

(b) All voting devices used in any election must be provided with side curtains and front shield to ensure that no person can see or know for whom any voter has voted or is voting.

(c) A voting device or system purchased by the State must be certified by the United States Election Assistance Commission, or designated federal authority, as meeting or exceeding the voluntary voting systems standards or guidelines as promulgated by the United States Election Assistance Commission, or designated federal authority, before delivery to and acceptance by the State.

(d) The Department shall prepare a plan that enables a voter to cast a ballot if every voting device in the polling place fails and consequently a voter is unable to vote on a voting device in the voter’s polling place.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 154, §§  1-4;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 35; 

Before any electronic voting system is purchased, rented or otherwise acquired, or used, the person owning or manufacturing such voting device must give an adequate guarantee in writing and post a bond accompanied by satisfactory surety with the State Election Commissioner guaranteeing and securing that such voting devices comply fully with the requirements contained in § 5001A of this title and will correctly and accurately record every vote cast and further guaranteeing such voting device against defects in labor and materials for a period of 5 years from the date of acquisition thereof, or, in the case of rented voting devices, for the period of rental.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 154, §  5;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  77 Del. Laws, c. 227, §  2; 

Electronic voting devices may be used throughout this State in all primary, general and special elections and in all municipal elections in all incorporated cities and towns of this State. In the event no contest exists, in municipal elections voting devices shall not be required. Voting devices may be used in elections held under Title 14. Incorporated cities or towns may use voting devices in the custody of the Department upon payment of all costs and expenses incident to their use.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  79 Del. Laws, c. 275, §  82; 

(a) In general elections, the Department shall supply each polling place with at least 1 voting device for every 650 registered voters or majority fraction thereof.

(b) In primary and special elections, the Department shall supply each polling place with at least 1 voting device for every 800 registered voters or majority fraction thereof.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 154, §§  6, 7;  74 Del. Laws, c. 411, §  23;  82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 36; 

(a) [Repealed.]

(b) (1) The party emblem which has been duly adopted by a party in accordance with law and the party name or other designation for each political party represented on the device must appear on the ballot.

(2) The titles of offices may be arranged horizontally, with the names of candidates for an office arranged vertically under the title of the office, or the titles of offices may be arranged vertically, with the names of candidates for an office arranged horizontally opposite the title of the office, each office to occupy as many columns or rows on the voting device as the number of candidates to be elected to that office.

(3) Except as otherwise provided under this chapter, the names of all candidates nominated by a party for an office must always appear in the row or column containing generally the names of candidates nominated by the party for other offices.

(c) Official ballots for voting devices shall be prepared and furnished by the Department in the same manner as provided by law.

(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude the use of an electronic device where the ballot is electronically generated and displayed or which has the capability to generate and display multiple ballots.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 154, §§  8-11;  74 Del. Laws, c. 168, §  13;  77 Del. Laws, c. 227, §  68;  79 Del. Laws, c. 275, §  83;  82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 37; 

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 154, §  12;  77 Del. Laws, c. 227, §  69;  repealed by 82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 38, effective July 30, 2019.; 

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  repealed by 82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 39, effective July 30, 2019.; 

(a) (1) The Department shall cause sufficient voting devices to be delivered to the proper polling places before the time appointed for the election officers to report for duty.

(2) The Department shall certify that each voting device to be used in an election has been properly prepared and inspected by doing all of the following before each primary and general election:

a. Confirming that the most recent federally-approved software is installed.

b. Checking accuracy by doing the following:

1. Simulating voting by entering sample votes on the voting device.

2. Counting by hand the votes on each paper ballot from the voting device and comparing the paper ballot totals to the totals kept by the voting device electronically

(b) The Department shall mail written notices to the State Chairperson of each party with candidates listed on the ballot, stating the time and place at which the voting device will be inspected. The State Chairperson of each such political party may designate 1 representative to be present during the inspection.

(c) The Department shall designate at least 2 representatives of opposite political affiliation, other than the person preparing the voting devices, to do all of the following:

(1) Certify the numbers on the voting devices and the election districts for which they are designated.

(2) Certify that all voting devices are in proper working condition.

(3) Certify that the voting devices are properly sealed.

(d) [Repealed.]

(e) The Department shall test all voting systems to ascertain that the voting systems will accurately count the votes cast for all offices and on all questions. Public notice of the time and place of the test of both the voting device system and the absentee ballot system must be published and a test must be conducted within 10 days before the election.

(f) The certification required by this section is a public record and must be available at the Department.

(g) The Department shall require that all persons with custody of the voting devices, either for delivery or storage before and after the election, shall ensure the voting devices’ safety and protection.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 154, §§  13-17;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 40; 

Repealed by 70 Del. Laws, c. 154, § 18, effective July 7, 1995.

If during the conduct of an election a voting device becomes inoperative, the election officers shall seal it in such manner as to prevent further voting thereon. The Department shall maintain and hold in readiness a reasonable number of extra voting devices to be supplied to election districts where a voting device has become inoperative, and the Department shall take reasonable steps to ensure rapid delivery in such event.

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 41; 

63 Del. Laws, c. 409, §  1;  repealed by 82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 42, effective July 30, 2019.; 

(a) For purposes of this section, “audit” means counting by hand the votes on each paper ballot from a voting device and comparing the paper ballot totals to the totals kept by the voting device electronically.

(b) Within 48 hours of the certification of the results of the primary and general elections, and school board elections conducted under Title 14, the Department shall audit the results of 1 randomly selected voting device in each county and 1 randomly selected election district in the City of Wilmington.

(c) Within 60 days of the certification of the results of the primary and general elections, and school board elections conducted under Title 14, the Department shall conduct an audit of all such elections, as follows:

(1) The Department shall audit all results of 1 randomly selected election district in each county and 1 randomly selected election district in the City of Wilmington. An election district selected for audit under this paragraph (c)(1) of this section must be different than the election districts selected under subsection (b) and paragraph (c)(2) of this section.

(2) The Department shall audit the results of 1 randomly selected election district in each county and 1 randomly selected election district in the City of Wilmington in 1 randomly selected statewide race. An election district selected for audit under this paragraph (c)(2) of this section must be different than the election districts selected under subsection (b) and paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(d) The Department shall conduct an audit under this section in public.

(e) Within 60 days of an audit under this section, the Department shall do all of the following:

(1) Publish a report containing the results of the audit conducted under this section.

(2) Post the report on the Department’s website.

(f) The Department shall promulgate regulations to govern the procedure to be used if an audit reveals a discrepancy, including all of the following:

(1) The thresholds that trigger the Department or others to take a specific action.

(2) The specific actions to be taken by the Department or others once a threshold is triggered.

(3) The corrective actions that must be taken by the Department or others to avoid the discrepancy in the future.

82 Del. Laws, c. 170, § 43;