Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/SECTION 1. Section 7-3-20(C) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 265 of 2012, is further amended to read:
"(C) The executive
director shall:
(1)
supervise the conduct of county board of elections and
voter registration of whatever name or denomination, as
established pursuant to Article 1, Chapter 5, which administer
elections and voter registration in the State and ensure those
boards' compliance with the requirements of this article and any
applicable federal law by all persons involved in the elections
process;
(2)
conduct reviews, audits, or other postelection
analysis of county board of elections and voter registration of
whatever name or denomination, as established pursuant to
Article 1, Chapter 5, to ensure those boards' compliance with
the requirements of this article and any applicable federal law
by all persons involved in the elections process;
(3)
maintain a complete master file of all qualified
electors by county and by precincts;
(2)(4) delete
the name of any elector:
(a)
who is deceased;
(b)
who is no longer qualified to vote in the precinct where
currently registered;
(c)
who has been convicted of a disqualifying crime;
(d)
who is otherwise no longer qualified to vote as may be
provided by law; or
(e)
who requests in writing that his name be removed;
(3)(5) enter
names on the master file as they are reported by the county
registration boards;
(4)(6) furnish
each county registration board with a master list of all
registered voters in the county, together with a copy of all
registered voters in each precinct of the county, at least ten
days prior to each election. The precinct copies shall be used
as the official list of voters;
(5)(7)
maintain all information furnished his office relating to
the inclusion or deletion of names from the master file for four
years;
(6)(8)
purchase, lease, or contract for the use of such equipment
as may be necessary to properly execute the duties of his
office, subject to the approval of the State Election
Commission;
(7)(9) secure
from the United States courts and federal and state agencies
available information as to persons convicted of disqualifying
crimes;
(8)(10) obtain
information from any other source which may assist him in
carrying out the purposes of this section;
(9)(11)
perform such other duties relating to elections as may be
assigned him by the State Election Commission;
(10)(12)
furnish at reasonable price any precinct lists to a
qualified elector requesting them;
(11)(13) serve
as the chief state election official responsible for
implementing and coordinating the state's responsibilities under
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993;
(12)(14) serve
as the chief state election official responsible for
implementing and enforcing the state's responsibilities under
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
(UOCAVA), as set forth in the U.S.C., Title 42, Section 1973ff,
et seq; and
(13)(15)
establish and maintain a statewide voter registration
database that shall be administered by the commission and made
continuously available to each board of elections and to other
agencies as authorized by law."
SECTION 2. Chapter 3, Title 7 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 7-3-25.
(A) In the event that the State
Election Commission, acting through its Executive Director,
determines that a county board of elections and voter
registration has failed to comply with applicable state or
federal law or State Election Commission policies and procedures
with regard to the conduct of the election or voter registration
process, the State Election Commission, acting through its
Executive Director or other designee, must supervise, pursuant
to Section 7-3-20(C)(1), the county board to the extent
necessary to:
(1)
identify the failure to comply with state or federal law
or State Election Commission policies and procedures;
(2)
establish a plan to correct the failure; and
(3)
implement the plan to correct the failure. The officials
and employees of the State Election Commission and the county
board must work together, in good faith, to remedy the failure
of the county board to adhere to state or federal law. In the
event of a difference of policy or opinion between a county
election official or employee and the State Election Commission
or its designee, pertaining to the manner in which particular
functions must be performed, the policy or opinion of the State
Election Commission shall control.
(B) If a county board
of voter registration and elections does not or cannot determine
and certify the results of an election or referendum for which
it is responsible by the time set for certification by
applicable law, the responsibility to determine and certify the
results is devolved upon the State Election Commission.
(C) If the State
Election Commission determines that an official or an employee
of a county board of voter registration and elections has
negligently failed to comply with applicable state or federal
law or State Election Commission policies and procedures with
regard to the election or voter registration process or fails to
comply with or cooperate with the corrective plan established by
the State Election Commission or its designee under the
provisions of subsection (A), the Commission may order the
decertification of that official or employee and if decertified
the Commission shall require that official to participate in a
retraining program approved by the Commission prior to
recertification. If the Commission finds that the failure to
comply with state or federal law or State Election Commission
policies and procedures by an official is wilful, it shall
recommend the termination of that official to the Governor or it
shall recommend termination of a staff member to the director of
the appropriate county board of voter registration and
elections."
SECTION 3. Section 7-5-10 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 100 of 2007, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-5-10.
(A)(1) Between the
first day of January and the fifteenth day of March in each
even-numbered year the The Governor shall
appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate upon the recommendation of the legislative
delegation of the counties, not less than three nor
more than five competent and discreet persons in each
county, who are qualified electors of that county and who must
be known as the 'Board of Voter Registration and
Elections of _________ County'. The total number of
members on the board must be not less than five nor more than
nine persons. At least one appointee on the board shall be a
member of the majority political party represented in the
General Assembly and at least one appointee shall be a member of
the largest minority political party represented in the General
Assembly.
(2)
After their appointment, the board members must
take and subscribe, before any officer authorized to administer
oaths, the following oath of office prescribed by Section 26 of
Article III of the Constitution: 'I do solemnly swear (or
affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the Constitution
of this State, to exercise the duties of the office to which I
have been appointed, and that I will, to the best of my ability,
discharge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect, and defend
the Constitution of this State and of the United States. So
help me God.'
(3)
The oath must be filed immediately in the office
of the clerk of court of common pleas of the county in which the
commissioners are appointed, or if there is no clerk of court,
in the office of the Secretary of State.
(4)
The Governor shall notify the State Election
Commission in writing of the appointments. The members
appointed are subject to removal by the Governor for incapacity,
misconduct, or neglect of duty.
(B)(1) The
Governor shall appoint the initial appointees within six months
of the effective date of this section. Four of the initial
appointees shall serve two-year terms, and the remaining initial
appointees shall serve four-year terms. Upon expiration of the
terms of those members initially appointed, the term of office
for the members of the board is four years, and until their
successors are appointed and qualify. Members may succeed
themselves.
(2)
A member must be present at a meeting in order
to vote. (3)
If a member misses three consecutive
meetings of the board, the chairman or his designee shall
immediately notify the Governor who shall then remove the member
from office.
(4)
In case of a vacancy on the board, the vacancy
must be filled in the same manner as an original appointment, as
provided in this section, for the unexpired term.
(5)
The board shall elect from among its members a
chairman and such other officers as it may consider desirable.
The board shall then notify the State Election Commission in
writing of the name of the persons elected as chairman and
officers of the board. Each officer shall be elected for a term
of two years.
(6)
The board must hire a director. The director is
responsible for hiring and managing the staff. Staff positions
are subject to the personnel system policies and procedures by
which all county employees are regulated, except that the
director serves at the pleasure of the board. A member of the
board must not be hired or serve as a member of the staff while
serving as a board member.
(7)
Members of the board and its staff shall receive
compensation as may be appropriated by the governing body of the
county.
(C) The
previous offices of county election commissions, voter
registration boards, or combined boards are abolished. The
powers and duties of the county election commissions, voter
registration boards, or combined boards are devolved upon the
board of voter registration and elections for each county
created in subsection (A). Those members currently serving on
the county election commissions, voter registration boards, or
combined boards shall continue to serve in a combined governing
capacity until at least five members of the successor board
members established under this section are appointed and
qualify.
(B)(D)(1)
Each member, and each staff person
designated by the board, must complete, within eighteen months
after a member's initial appointment or his reappointment
following a break in service, or within eighteen months after a
staff person's initial employment or reemployment following a
break in service, a training and certification program conducted
by the State Election Commission. When a member or staff person
has successfully completed the training and certification
program, the State Election Commission must issue the member or
staff person a certification, whether or not the member or staff
person applies for the certification.
(2)(a) The
provisions of this section do not exempt any member or staff
person from completing the training and certification program
required in item (1).
(b) Any
member appointed or reappointed after a break in service prior
to the effective date of this section or any staff person
employed or reemployed after a break in service prior to the
effective date of this section must successfully complete a
training and certification program by the latter of:
(i) eighteen
months after the member's appointment or reappointment after a
break in service or the staff person's employment or
reemployment after a break in service; or
(ii) ninety
days after the effective date of this section.
(c) On and
after the effective date of this section, any member appointed
or reappointed after a break in service or any staff person
employed or reemployed after a break in service must complete
the training and certification program required in item (1)
within eighteen months after the member's appointment or
reappointment after a break in service or staff person's
employment or reemployment after a break in service.
(3)(2) If a
member does not fulfill the training and certification program
as provided in this section, the Governor, upon notification,
must remove that member from the board unless the Governor
grants the member an extension to complete the training and
certification program based upon exceptional circumstances.
(4)(3)
Following completion of the training and certification
program required in item (1), each board member, and each staff
person designated by the board or commission, must take at least
one training course each year."
SECTION 4. Section 7-5-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-5-20. The board of voter registration and elections of each county may appoint deputy members of the board, in numbers as may be necessary, whose terms shall be for a period of time as determined by the boards. The deputy members shall have the same powers and duties as regular members of the board. The clerk to each board may be made a deputy member of the board for the purpose of taking applications."
SECTION 5. Section 7-5-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-5-30.
Such boards shall register and conduct the registration of
the electors who shall apply for registration in their
respective counties as herein required. Their office shall be
at the county seat, and they shall keep a record of all their
official acts and proceedings. Provided, that nothing herein
shall be construed as prohibiting the boards of registration
from taking their registration books across adjoining county
lines to register qualified electors of their respective county
whose regular place of employment is in an adjoining county or
who are otherwise unable to get to the county seat during office
hours to register. One member of the board shall constitute a
quorum for the purpose of registering or refusing to register
applications for registration. Their term of office
shall be for two years from the date of their appointment, and
they shall continue in office until their successors shall have
been appointed and shall qualify. In case of a vacancy from any
cause in any board of registration the Governor shall fill such
vacancy in the same manner as provided in Section
7-5-10."
SECTION 6. Section 7-11-30 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 61 of 2013, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-11-30.
(A) A party may choose to change
from nomination of candidates by primary to a method to
nominate candidates by convention for all offices
including, but not limited to, Governor, Lieutenant Governor,
United States Senator, United States House of Representatives,
Circuit Solicitor, State Senator, and members of the State House
of Representatives if:
(1)
there is a three-fourths vote of the total membership of
the convention to use the convention nomination process; and
(2)
a majority of voters in that party's next primary election
approve the use of the convention nomination process.
(B) A party may not
choose to nominate by party convention for an election cycle in
which the filing period for candidates has begun.
(C) A political party
nominating candidates by party convention shall nominate the
party candidates and make the nominations public not later than
the time for certifying candidates to the authority charged by
law with preparing ballots for the general or special
election.
(D) Nothing
in this section requires a political party that has nominated
candidates by convention in the previous election cycle to hold
a primary in order to continue using the convention method to
nominate candidates."
SECTION 7. Section 7-5-35, Section 7-13-70, and Chapter 27, Title 7 of the 1976 Code are repealed.
SECTION 8. For counties in which the previous offices of county election commissions and voter registration boards were not combined prior to the effective date of this act, the members of both the boards shall continue serving, in a combined capacity, until the Governor makes the combined board initial appointments pursuant to Section 7-5-10(B)(1). For counties in which the previous boards were separate and neither board had a director nor an acting or interim director prior to the effective date of this act, the chairman of the former board of voter registration shall serve as the director of the board acting in a combined capacity and the chairman of the former county election commission shall serve as the chairman of the board acting in a combined capacity until such time as the Governor has made all the appointments to constitute the initial combined board pursuant to Section 7-5-10(B)(1). Once the combined board has been fully constituted, the board may elect from among its members a chairman and such officers as it considers desirable, and must also hire a director, pursuant to the provisions of Section 7-5-10(B)(5) and (6).
SECTION 9. The code commissioner is directed to change all references in Title 7 to county election commissions or commissioners or county boards of voter registration to the "Board of Voter Registration and Elections of County" and board members as appropriate.
SECTION 10. The provisions of this act are severable. If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, item, subitem, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of the act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, item, subitem, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, items, subitems, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.
SECTION 11. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.