WV HB5688

Creates the West Virginia Task Force on Election Integrity within the Office of the Secretary of State to identify optimal, secure, transparent, and auditable vote tabulation and election management methods

Task Force membership includes all State Election Commission members, four ex officio legislators (two from each party), one cybersecurity industry representative, four citizen members, and two county clerks, plus a Governor-designated Chair

Responsibilities include researching secure voting technologies, assessing whether election equipment is foreign-owned or produced, evaluating the feasibility of hand-counting paper ballots at precinct level, and investigating potential vulnerabilities in disabled networking capabilities

Task Force must hold its first meeting within 90 days of the effective date, meet quarterly thereafter, and submit an interim report at six months with annual reports due July 1, 2027 and July 1, 2028

Task Force terminates July 1, 2028, unless it completes its charge earlier by July 1, 2027 or the Governor extends its mandate