| 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. |