(a) A person, corporation, or public agency owning or having an interest in the sale or acquisition of a remote accessible vote by mail system or a part of a remote accessible vote by mail system may apply to the Secretary of State for certification or conditional approval that includes testing and examination of the applicant’s system and a report on the findings, which shall include the accuracy and efficiency of the remote accessible vote by mail system. As part of its application, the applicant of a remote accessible vote by mail system or a part of a remote accessible vote by mail 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 remote accessible vote by mail system or a part of the remote accessible vote by mail system submitted. The Secretary of State shall not begin his or her certification process until he or she receives a completed application from the applicant of the remote accessible vote by mail system or a part of the remote accessible vote by mail system. The applicant 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 19288. The Secretary of State shall complete his or her examination without undue delay.

(b) After receiving an applicant’s written notification of a defect, fault, or failure, the Secretary of State shall notify the United States Election Assistance Commission or its successor agency 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 agency. The report shall include any report regarding the problem submitted to the Secretary of State by the applicant.

(c)  As used in this chapter:

(1) “Defect” means any flaw in the hardware or documentation of a remote accessible vote by mail system that could result in a state of unfitness for use or nonconformance to the manufacturer’s specifications or applicable law.

(2) “Failure” means a discrepancy between the external results of the operation of any software or firmware in a remote accessible vote by mail system and the manufacturer’s product requirements for that software or firmware or applicable law.

(3) “Fault” means a step, process, or data definition in any software or firmware in a ballot marking system that is incorrect under the manufacturer’s program specification or applicable law.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 75, Sec. 11. (AB 2252) Effective January 1, 2017.)