HB357 Alabama 2021 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Corley EllisRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2021

Title

Elections, public testing of voting machines, Sec. 17-7-21 am'd.

Summary

HB357 requires public testing of electronic voting equipment before elections to ensure accurate results and transparency.

What This Bill Does

The bill adds a mandatory public test of automatic tabulating equipment before each election, in addition to existing requirements. Local officials (judge of probate or municipal clerk) must publicly test the equipment and announce the test time and location, with tests held as close as possible to the election but not more than 14 days prior. The Secretary of State would establish rules to implement these changes.

Who It Affects

• County judges of probate and municipal clerks: must publicly test the automatic tabulating equipment before elections and publish notice of the test.
• Voters and the general public: gain transparency and assurance about how votes are counted thanks to public testing.

Key Provisions

• Public testing of automatic tabulating equipment prior to an election, with the test date as close as possible to the election and not more than 14 days before.
• The equipment must meet a list of functional requirements (secrecy, vote for all entitled, straight-ticket operation, overvote rejection, correct counting, primary and presidential voting rules, write-in method, precinct and total tallies, cross-party tallying, printed totals, and certified tally).
• Public notice of the test must be published in a newspaper of general circulation or on the official website.
• The Secretary of State will adopt rules to implement these testing requirements.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Elections