Article 3. Inspection Of Certified And Conditionally Approved Voting Systems of California Elections Code >> Division 19. >> Chapter 3. >> Article 3.

The elections official of any county or city using a voting system shall inspect the machines or devices at least once every two years to determine their accuracy. Any county or city using leased or rented equipment shall determine if the equipment has been inspected for accuracy within the last two years before using it for any election. The inspection shall be made in accordance with regulations adopted and promulgated by the Secretary of State. The elections official shall certify the results of the inspection to the Secretary of State.

(a) If the Secretary of State has reason to believe that a local inspection of equipment is not adequate, he or she may cause the equipment to be reexamined, at any time prior to six months before a statewide election, to ensure that the voting system or parts of the voting system perform to adopted standards and tabulate votes accurately.
  (b) For the purpose of reexamining voting equipment, the Secretary of State may use state-approved testing agencies or expert technicians at the cost of the elections official.
  (c) The Secretary of State shall furnish a complete report of the findings to the Governor, to the Attorney General, to each county elections official, to the chairpersons of the elections committees of the Assembly and Senate, and to the manufacturer of the equipment.

The Secretary of State shall review voting systems periodically to determine if they are defective, obsolete, or otherwise unacceptable. The Secretary of State has the right to withdraw his or her certification or conditional approval previously granted under this chapter of any voting system or part of a voting system should it be defective or prove unacceptable after such review. Six months' notice shall be given before withdrawing certification or conditional approval unless the Secretary of State for good cause shown makes a determination that a shorter notice period is necessary. Any withdrawal by the Secretary of State of his or her previous certification or conditional approval of a voting system or part of a voting system shall not be effective as to any election conducted within six months of that withdrawal.

The Secretary of State shall conduct random audits of the software installed on direct recording electronic voting systems, as defined in Section 19271, to ensure that the installed software is identical to the software that has been approved for use on that voting system. The Secretary of State shall take steps to ensure that the process for conducting random audits does not intentionally cause a direct recording electronic voting system to become more vulnerable to any unauthorized changes to the software that has been approved for its use.