| This bill establishes a procedure for regular scientific |
audits of the State's election machinery on a biennial basis, by |
means of manually recounting the ballots of a random sample of |
all voting machines in the State. The bill also establishes an |
escalating recount procedure in the event that unacceptable |
discrepancies are discovered during the random sample recount |
process, and it mandates the regular statistical analysis of |
those discrepancies. This bill establishes the Maine Electoral |
Transparency Fund to provide reimbursement for costs incurred in |
performing the recounts. Resources of the fund come from an |
income tax checkoff and voluntary contributions. Contingencies |
for shortages and surpluses in the fund are also addressed. |