West Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session
West Virginia HB5236: The purpose of this bill is to ensure compliance with state law requiring ballot tabulating equipment to not be connected to the internet, by requiring random inspections by the Secretary of State, including all necessary reporting.
Status: Introduced, February 5, 2026
What the bill says
To amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §3-4A-13a, relating to electronic voting systems; requiring county commission inspections and secretary of state audits of ballot tabulation equipment to ensure compliance with state law prohibition against any connectivity to the internet; and requiring reports of the inspections and audits. ARTICLE 4A. ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS. §3-4A-13a. Inspection of precinct tabulating equipment; reports by county commissions; pre-election audit by the Secretary of State. (a) By no later than one week prior t.
From the introduced text, February 5, 2026:
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding a new section, designated §3-4A-13a, relating to electronic voting systems; requiring county commission inspections and secretary of state audits of ballot tabulation equipment to ensure compliance with state law prohibition against any connectivity to the internet; and requiring reports of the inspections and audits. ARTICLE 4A. ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS. §3-4A-13a. Inspection of precinct tabulating equipment; reports by county commissions; pre-election audit by the Secretary of State. (a) By no later than one week prior to the start of the in-person voting period as provided in §3-3-3 of this code, the county commission of each county shall inspect all precinct tabulating equipment in accordance with the requirements of §3-4A-9(15) of this code, to ensure all tabulating equipment utilized in any election is independent, nonnetworked, and any component thereof, in whole or in part, shall not at any time connect to the internet. (b) The county commission shall submit a report of its findings to the Secretary of State on the day of the conclusion of the inspection, which shall include the (2) Verification that a sim card is not installed in each tabulator, accompanied by any available reports produced by each tabulator confirming the findings; (3) Verification that each tabulator was sealed for the election immediately after …