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<chapter num="02" heading="Minimum System Requirements" title_num="33" subtitle_num="09">
  <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".01" heading="In General.">
    <text>The requirements of this chapter represent a minimum level of the system capabilities needed to assure reliable and accurate elections.</text>
  </regulation>
  <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".02" heading="Voting Options.">
    <paragraph num="A.">
      <text>In General. The voting system shall permit each voter to vote in any election:</text>
      <paragraph num="(1)">
        <text>For all individuals and offices for which the voter is entitled to vote;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(2)">
        <text>For as many individuals for an office as the voter is entitled to vote for; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(3)">
        <text>For or against any question on which the voter is entitled to vote.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="B.">
      <text>Presidential and Gubernatorial Candidates. The voting system shall permit a voter in a:</text>
      <paragraph num="(1)">
        <text>Presidential general election, to vote by one operation for electors for a pair of candidates for president and vice-president of the United States; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(2)">
        <text>Gubernatorial election, to vote by one operation for a pair of candidates for governor and lieutenant-governor of Maryland.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="C.">
      <text>Write-In Option (General Elections). The voting system shall:</text>
      <paragraph num="(1)">
        <text>Provide a method for write-in voting in general elections; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(2)">
        <text>Report the number of votes cast in each contest in write-in voting positions.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="D.">
      <text>Adjustment for Primaries. In a primary election, the voting system shall be capable of adjustment so that a voter is:</text>
      <paragraph num="(1)">
        <text>Able to vote for candidates seeking nomination by:</text>
        <paragraph num="(a)">
          <text>The party with which the voter is affiliated, or</text>
        </paragraph>
        <paragraph num="(b)">
          <text>A party that otherwise authorizes that voter's participation; and</text>
        </paragraph>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(2)">
        <text>Precluded from voting for candidates seeking nomination by any other party.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
  </regulation>
  <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".03" heading="Secrecy.">
    <text>The voting system shall ensure voting in secrecy.</text>
  </regulation>
  <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".04" heading="Counter.">
    <text>Each voting machine shall be equipped with a public counter that, during any period of voting, will show the total number of voters who have operated the machine during that period of voting.</text>
  </regulation>
  <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".05" heading="Registering and Recording Votes.">
    <paragraph num="A.">
      <text>In General. The voting system shall correctly register and record votes that have been properly voted.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="B.">
      <text>Over-Voting or Improper Voting. The voting system may not count the votes in a contest that has been over-voted or otherwise improperly voted.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="C.">
      <text>Misplaced Votes. In vote counting, the voting system shall ignore any mark that is not in a voting position:</text>
      <paragraph num="(1)">
        <text>For a candidate whose name is on the ballot;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(2)">
        <text>Designated for write-in voting; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(3)">
        <text>For a question printed on the ballot.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
  </regulation>
  <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".06" heading="Ballot Totaling and Reporting.">
    <paragraph num="A.">
      <text>What To Be Reported. The voting system shall total and report:</text>
      <paragraph num="(1)">
        <text>The number of ballots voted in an election;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(2)">
        <text>The number of votes cast for a candidate;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(3)">
        <text>The number of votes cast for or against a question;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(4)">
        <text>The number of undervotes in a contest; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(5)">
        <text>In a primary election:</text>
        <paragraph num="(a)">
          <text>The number of ballots voted in each party's primary, and</text>
        </paragraph>
        <paragraph num="(b)">
          <text>The number of ballots voted in any nonpartisan ballot election.</text>
        </paragraph>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="B.">
      <text>How To Be Reported. For each of these items, the voting system shall report by:</text>
      <paragraph num="(1)">
        <text>Precinct; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(2)">
        <text>Groups of precincts (such as districts, wards, and countywide).</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
  </regulation>
  <regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".07" heading="Audit Trail Required.">
    <text>The voting system shall be capable of providing an audit trail of all ballots cast so that, in a recount, the election can be reconstructed, starting with the individual votes of all eligible voters.</text>
  </regulation>
  <annotations>
    <annotation type="Authority">Election Law Article, §§2-102(b)(4), 2-202(b), and 9-102(b), Annotated Code of Maryland</annotation>
    <annotation type="History" subtype="Administrative History">Effective date:</annotation>
    <annotation type="History" subtype="Administrative History">Regulations .01—.07 adopted as an emergency provision effective February 1, 2000 (27:6 Md. R. 636); adopted permanently effective April 17, 2000 (27:7 Md. R. 708)</annotation>
    <annotation type="History" subtype="Administrative History">Regulation .04 amended effective August 19, 2013 (40:16 Md. R. 1346)</annotation>
  </annotations>
</chapter>