Section 19262.

(a) A person or corporation owning or having an interest in a ballot marking system or a part of a ballot marking system may apply to the Secretary of State to examine it and report on its accuracy and efficiency to fulfill its purpose. As part of its application, the vendor of a ballot marking system or a part of a ballot marking system shall notify the Secretary of State in writing of any known defect, fault, or failure of the version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the ballot marking system or a part of the ballot marking system submitted. The Secretary of State shall not begin his or her examination until he or she receives a completed application from the vendor of the ballot marking system or a part of the ballot marking system. The vendor shall also notify the Secretary of State in writing of any defect, fault, or failure of the version of the hardware, software, or firmware of the ballot marking system or a part of the ballot marking system submitted that is discovered after the application is submitted and before the Secretary of State submits the report required by Section 19267. The Secretary of State shall complete his or her examination without undue delay.

(b) After receiving a vendor's written notification of a defect, fault, or failure, the Secretary of State shall notify the United States Election Assistance Commission or its successor entity of the problem as soon as practicable so as to present a reasonably complete description of the problem. The Secretary of State shall subsequently submit a report regarding the problem to the United States Election Assistance Commission or its successor entity. The report shall include any report regarding the problem submitted to the Secretary of State by the vendor.

(c) The following definitions apply for purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Defect" means any flaw in the hardware or documentation of an approved or conditionally approved ballot marking system that could result in a state of unfitness for use or nonconformance to the manufacturer's specifications.

(2) "Failure" means a discrepancy between the external results of the operation of any software or firmware in an approved or conditionally approved ballot marking system and the manufacturer's product requirements for that software or firmware.

(3) "Fault" means a step, process, or data definition in any software or firmware in an approved or conditionally approved ballot marking system that is incorrect under the manufacturer's program specification.

(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 694, Sec. 5. Effective September 28, 2012.)