(a) The committee may create a debt or debts, liability or liabilities, of the State of California, in the aggregate amount of not more than two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000), exclusive of refunding bonds, in the manner provided herein for the purpose of creating a fund to assist counties in the purchase of updated voting systems.

(b) The proceeds of bonds issued and sold pursuant to this article shall be deposited in the Voting Modernization Fund, which is hereby established.

(c) A county is eligible to apply to the board for fund money if it meets all of the following requirements:

(1) The county has purchased a new voting system after January 1, 1999, and is continuing to make payments on that system on the date that this article becomes effective.

(2) The county matches fund moneys at a ratio of one dollar ($1) of county moneys for every three dollars ($3) of fund moneys.

(3) The county has not previously requested fund money for the purchase of a new voting system. Applications for expansion of an existing system or components related to a previously certified or conditionally approved application shall be accepted.

(d) (1) Fund moneys shall only be used to purchase systems certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State.

(2) A county may use fund moneys to contract and pay for the following:

(A) Research and development of a new voting system that has not been certified or conditionally approved by the Secretary of State and uses only nonproprietary software and firmware with disclosed source code, except for unmodified commercial off-the-shelf software and firmware, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 19209.

(B) Manufacture of the minimum number of voting system units reasonably necessary for either of the following purposes:

(i) To test and seek certification or conditional approval for the voting system pursuant to Sections 19210 to 19214, inclusive.

(ii) To test and demonstrate the capabilities of the voting system in a pilot program pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of, and subdivision (c) of, Section 19209.

(3) Fund moneys shall not be used to purchase a voting system that uses prescored punch card ballots.

(e) Any voting system purchased using bond funds that does not require a voter to directly mark on the ballot must produce, at the time the voter votes his or her ballot or at the time the polls are closed, a paper version or representation of the voted ballot or of all the ballots cast on a unit of the voting system. The paper version shall not be provided to the voter but shall be retained by elections officials for use during the 1 percent manual recount or other recount, audit, or contest.

(Added by renumbering Section 19234 by Stats. 2013, Ch. 602, Sec. 52. (SB 360) Effective January 1, 2014. Note: This section (as originally numbered) was added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 902, and approved in Prop. 41 on March 5, 2002.)