[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 550 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 550
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified
permanent paper record or hard copy under title III of such Act, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 2, 2005
Mr. Holt (for himself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Dicks, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Farr, Mr.
Hastings of Florida, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Kind, Mr. Lantos, Ms. Lee,
Mrs. Maloney, Mr. McDermott, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr.
Moore of Kansas, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr.
Wexler, Ms. Woolsey, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Tom Davis of Virginia, Mr.
Oberstar, Mr. Payne, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Baird, Mr.
Allen, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Kucinich, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California,
Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Wu, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Cole
of Oklahoma, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Sabo, Mr.
Cooper, Mr. Berman, Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Filner, Mr.
Schiff, Mr. Mollohan, Mr. Pascrell, Mr. Obey, Mr. Case, Mr. Clay, and
Ms. McKinney) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified
permanent paper record or hard copy under title III of such Act, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act of 2005''.
SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECURITY THROUGH VOTER-
VERIFIED PERMANENT RECORD OR HARD COPY.
(a) Voter Verification and Audit Capacity.--
(1) In general.--Section 301(a)(2) of the Help America Vote
Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)(2)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(2) Voter-verification and audit capacity.--
``(A) In general.--
``(i) The voting system shall produce or
require the use of an individual voter-verified
paper record of the voter's vote that shall be
made available for inspection and verification
by the voter before the voter's vote is cast.
For purposes of this clause, examples of such a
record include a paper ballot prepared by the
voter for the purpose of being read by an
optical scanner, a paper ballot prepared by the
voter to be mailed to an election official
(whether from a domestic or overseas location),
a paper ballot created through the use of a
ballot marking device, or a paper print-out of
the voter's vote produced by a touch screen or
other electronic voting machine, so long as in
each case the record permits the voter to
verify the record in accordance with this
subparagraph.
``(ii) The voting system shall provide the
voter with an opportunity to correct any error
made by the system in the voter-verified paper
record before the permanent voter-verified
paper record is preserved in accordance with
subparagraph (B)(i).
``(iii) The voting system shall not
preserve the voter-verifiable paper records in
any manner that makes it possible to associate
a voter with the record of the voter's vote.
``(iv) In the case of a voting system which
is purchased to meet the disability access
requirements of paragraph (3) and which will be
used exclusively by individuals with
disabilities, the system does not need to meet
the requirements of clauses (i) through (iii),
but shall meet the requirements described in
paragraph (3)(B)(ii).
``(B) Manual audit capacity.--
``(i) The permanent voter-verified paper
record produced in accordance with subparagraph
(A) shall be preserved--
``(I) in the case of votes cast at
the polling place on the date of the
election, within the polling place in
the manner or method in which all other
paper ballots are preserved within such
polling place;
``(II) in the case of votes cast at
the polling place prior to the date of
the election or cast by mail, in a
manner which is consistent with the
manner employed by the jurisdiction for
preserving such ballots in general; or
``(III) in the absence of either
such manner or method, in a manner
which is consistent with the manner
employed by the jurisdiction for
preserving paper ballots in general.
``(ii) Each paper record produced pursuant
to subparagraph (A) shall be suitable for a
manual audit equivalent to that of a paper
ballot voting system.
``(iii) In the event of any inconsistencies
or irregularities between any electronic
records and the individual permanent paper
records, the individual permanent paper records
shall be the true and correct record of the
votes cast.
``(iv) The individual permanent paper
records produced pursuant to subparagraph (A)
shall be the true and correct record of the
votes cast and shall be used as the official
records for purposes of any recount or audit
conducted with respect to any election for
Federal office in which the voting system is
used.
``(C) Special rule for votes cast by absent
military and overseas voters.--In the case of votes
cast by absent uniformed services voters and overseas
voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens
Absentee Voting Act, the ballots cast by such voters
shall serve as the permanent paper record under
subparagraph (A) in accordance with protocols
established by the Commission in consultation with the
Secretary of Defense which preserve the privacy of the
voter and are consistent with the requirements of such
Act.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--Section 301(a)(1) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 15481(a)(1)) is amended--
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ``counted''
and inserting ``counted, in accordance with paragraphs
(2) and (3)'';
(B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking
``counted'' and inserting ``counted, in accordance with
paragraphs (2) and (3)''; and
(C) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking
``counted'' and inserting ``counted, in accordance with
paragraphs (2) and (3)''.
(b) Accessibility and Voter Verification of Results for Individuals
With Disabilities.--
(1) In general.--Section 301(a)(3)(B) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 15481(a)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
``(B)(i) satisfy the requirement of subparagraph
(A) through the use of at least one direct recording
electronic voting system or other voting system
equipped for individuals with disabilities at each
polling place; and
``(ii) meet the requirements of paragraph (2)(A) by
using a system that--
``(I) if strictly electronic, physically
separates the function of vote generation from
the functions of vote verification and casting,
``(II) allows the voter to verify and cast
the permanent record on paper or on another
individualized, permanent medium privately and
independently, and
``(III) ensures that the entire process of
voter verification and vote casting is
accessible to the voter.''.
(2) Specific requirement of study, testing, and development
of accessible voter verification mechanisms.--
(A) Study and reporting.--Subtitle C of title II of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 15381 et seq.) is amended--
(i) by redesignating section 247 as section
248; and
(ii) by inserting after section 246 the
following new section:
``SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE VOTER VERIFICATION
MECHANISMS.
``The Commission shall study, test, and develop best practices to
enhance the accessibility of voter-verification mechanisms for
individuals with disabilities and for voters whose primary language is
not English, including best practices for the mechanisms themselves and
the processes through which the mechanisms are used.''.
(B) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of
such Act is amended--
(i) by redesignating the item relating to
section 247 as relating to section 248; and
(ii) by inserting after the item relating
to section 246 the following new item:
``Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible voter verification
mechanisms.''.
(c) Additional Voting System Requirements.--
(1) Requirements described.--Section 301(a) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 15481(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraphs:
``(7) Instruction of election officials.--Each State shall
ensure that all election officials are instructed on the right
of any individual who requires assistance to vote by reason of
blindness, other disability, or inability to read or write to
be given assistance by a person chosen by that individual under
section 208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
``(8) Prohibition of use of undisclosed software in voting
systems.--No voting system shall at any time contain or use any
undisclosed software. Any voting system containing or using
software shall disclose the source code, object code, and
executable representation of that software to the Commission,
and the Commission shall make that source code, object code,
and executable representation available for inspection upon
request to any person.
``(9) Prohibition of use of wireless communications devices
in voting systems.--No voting system shall contain, use, or be
accessible by any wireless, power-line, or concealed
communication device at all.
``(10) Certification of software and hardware.--All
software and hardware used in any electronic voting system
shall be certified by laboratories accredited by the Commission
as meeting the requirements of paragraphs (8) and (9).
``(11) Security standards for voting systems used in
federal elections.--
``(A) In general.--No voting system may be used in
an election for Federal office unless the manufacturer
of such system and the election officials using such
system meet the applicable requirements described in
subparagraph (B).
``(B) Requirements described.--The requirements
described in this subparagraph are as follows:
``(i) The manufacturer and the election
officials shall document the chain of custody
for the handling of software used in connection
with voting systems.
``(ii) The manufacturer of the software
used in the operation of the system shall
provide the Commission with updated information
regarding the identification of each individual
who participated in the writing of the
software, including specific information
regarding whether the individual has ever been
convicted of a crime involving election fraud.
``(iii) In the same manner and to the same
extent described in paragraph (8), the
manufacturer shall provide the codes used in
any software used in connection with the voting
system to the Commission and may not alter such
codes once the election officials have
certified the system unless such system is
recertified by such election officials.
``(iv) The manufacturer shall meet
standards established by the Commission to
prevent the existence or appearance of any
conflict of interest with respect to candidates
for public office and political parties,
including standards to ensure that the
manufacturer and its officers and directors do
not hold positions of authority in any
political party or in any partisan political
campaign.
``(12) Prohibiting connection of system or transmission of
system information over the internet.--No component of any
voting device upon which votes are cast shall be connected to
the Internet.''.
(2) Requiring laboratories to meet standards prohibiting
conflicts of interest as condition of accreditation for testing
of voting system hardware and software.--
(A) In general.--Section 231(b) of such Act (42
U.S.C. 15371(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(3) Prohibiting conflicts of interest; ensuring
availability of results.--
``(A) In general.--A laboratory may not be
accredited by the Commission for purposes of this
section unless--
``(i) the laboratory meets the standards
applicable to the manufacturers of voting
systems under section 301(a)(11)(B)(iv),
together with such standards as the Commission
may establish to prevent the existence or
appearance of any conflict of interest in the
testing, certification, decertification, and
recertification carried out by the laboratory
under this section, including standards to
ensure that the laboratory does not have a
financial interest in the manufacture, sale,
and distribution of voting system hardware and
software, and is sufficiently independent from
other persons with such an interest; and
``(ii) the laboratory, upon completion of
any testing, certification, decertification,
and recertification carried out under this
section, discloses the results to the
Commission.
``(B) Availability of results.--Upon receipt of
information under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Commission
shall make the information available to election
officials and the public.''.
(B) Deadline for establishment of standards.--The
Election Assistance Commission shall establish the
standards described in section 231(b)(3) of the Help
America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by subparagraph (A))
not later than January 1, 2006.
(d) Availability of Additional Funding to Enable States to Meet
Costs of Revised Requirements.--
(1) Extension of requirements payments for meeting revised
requirements.--Section 257(a) of the Help America Vote Act of
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15407(a)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
``(4) For fiscal year 2006, $150,000,000, except that any
funds provided under the authorization made by this paragraph
may be used by a State only to meet the requirements of title
III which are first imposed on the State pursuant to the
amendments made by section 2 of the Voter Confidence and
Increased Accessibility Act of 2005.''.
(2) Permitting use of funds for reimbursement for costs
previously incurred.--Section 251(c)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C.
15401(c)(1)) is amended by striking the period at the end and
inserting the following: ``, or as a reimbursement for any
costs incurred in meeting the requirements of title III which
are imposed pursuant to the amendments made by section 2 of the
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005.''.
SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.
Section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15511) is amended--
(1) by striking ``The Attorney General'' and inserting
``(a) In General.--The Attorney General''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
``(b) Filing of Complaints by Aggrieved Persons.--
``(1) In general.--A person who is aggrieved by a violation
of section 301, 302, or 303 which is occurring or which is
about to occur may file a written, signed, notarized complaint
with the Attorney General describing the violation and
requesting the Attorney General to take appropriate action
under this section.
``(2) Response by attorney general.--The Attorney General
shall respond to each complaint filed under paragraph (1), in
accordance with procedures established by the Attorney General
that require responses and determinations to be made within the
same (or shorter) deadlines which apply to a State under the
State-based administrative complaint procedures described in
section 402(a)(2).
``(c) Clarification of Availability of Private Right of Action.--
Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit any person from
bringing an action under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the
United States (42 U.S.C. 1983) to enforce the uniform and
nondiscriminatory election technology and administration requirements
under sections 301, 302, and 303.
``(d) No Effect on State Procedures.--Nothing in this section may
be construed to affect the availability of the State-based
administrative complaint procedures required under section 402 to any
person filing a complaint under this subsection.''.
SEC. 4. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE
COMMISSION.
Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15330)
is amended by striking ``each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2005''
and inserting ``each fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2003''.
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS BY HAND COUNT.
(a) Mandatory Audits in Random Precincts.--
(1) In general.--The Election Assistance Commission shall
conduct random, unannounced, hand counts of the voter-verified
records required to be produced and preserved pursuant to
section 301(a)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as
amended by section 2) for each general election for Federal
office (and, at the option of the State or jurisdiction
involved, of elections for State and local office held at the
same time as such an election for Federal office) in at least 2
percent of the precincts (or equivalent locations) in each
State.
(2) Process for conducting audits.--The Commission shall
conduct an audit under this section of the results of an
election in accordance with the following procedures:
(A) Not later than 24 hours after a State announces
the final vote count in each precinct in the State, the
Commission shall determine and then announce the
precincts in the State in which it will conduct the
audits.
(B) With respect to votes cast at the precinct or
equivalent location on or before the date of the
election (other than provisional ballots described in
subparagraph (C)), the Commission shall count by hand
the voter-verified records required to be produced and
preserved under section 301(a)(2)(A) of the Help
America Vote Act of 2002 (as amended by section 2) and
compare those records with the count of such votes as
announced by the State.
(C) With respect to votes cast other than at the
precinct on the date of the election (other than votes
cast before the date of the election described in
subparagraph (B)) or votes cast by provisional ballot
on the date of the election which are certified and
counted by the State on or after the date of the
election, including votes cast by absent uniformed
services voters and overseas voters under the Uniformed
and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the
Commission shall count by hand the applicable voter-
verified records required to be produced and preserved
under section 301(a)(2)(A) (as amended by section 2)
and compare its count with the count of such votes as
announced by the State.
(3) Special rule in case of delay in reporting absentee
vote count.--In the case of a State in which, under State law,
the final count of absentee and provisional votes is not
announced until after the expiration of the 7-day period which
begins on the date of the election, the Commission shall
initiate the process described in paragraph (2) for conducting
the audit not later than 24 hours after the State announces the
final vote count for the votes cast at the precinct or
equivalent location on or before the date of the election, and
shall initiate the recount of the absentee and provisional
votes pursuant to paragraph (2)(C) not later than 24 hours
after the State announces the final count of such votes.
(4) Availability of information.--Each State and
jurisdiction in which an audit is conducted under this section
shall provide the Commission with the information and materials
requested by the Commission to enable it to carry out the
audit.
(b) Selection of Precincts.--The selection of the precincts in a
State in which the Commission shall conduct hand counts under this
section shall be made by the Commission on an entirely random basis
using a uniform distribution in which all precincts in a State have an
equal chance of being selected, in accordance with such procedures as
the Commission determines appropriate, except that--
(1) at least one precinct shall be selected in each county
(or equivalent jurisdiction); and
(2) the Commission shall publish the procedures in the
Federal Register prior to the selection of the precincts.
(c) Publication.--
(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the
completion of an audit conducted under this section, the
Commission shall announce and publish the results of the audit,
and shall include in the announcement a comparison of the
results of the election in the precinct as determined by the
Commission under the audit and the final vote count in the
precinct as announced by the State, broken down by the
categories of votes described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of
subsection (a)(2).
(2) Delay in certification of results by state.--No State
may certify the results of any election which is subject to an
audit under this section prior to the completion of the audit
and the announcement and publication of the results of the
audit under paragraph (1), except to the extent necessary to
enable the State to provide for the final determination of any
controversy or contest concerning the appointment of its
electors for President and Vice President prior to the deadline
described in section 6 of title 3, United States Code.
(d) Additional Audits If Cause Shown.--If the Commission finds that
any of the hand counts conducted under this section show cause for
concern about the accuracy of the results of an election in a State or
in a jurisdiction within the State, the Commission may conduct hand
counts under this section at such additional precincts (or equivalent
locations) within the State or jurisdiction as the Commission considers
appropriate to resolve any concerns and ensure the accuracy of the
results.
(e) Availability of Enforcement Under Help America Vote Act of
2002.--Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C.
15511), as amended by section 3, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking the period at the end
and inserting the following: ``or to respond to an action taken
by a State or jurisdiction in response to an audit conducted by
the Commission under the Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act of 2005 of the results of an election for
Federal office or by the failure of a State or jurisdiction to
take an action in response to such an audit.'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``about to occur''
and inserting the following: ``about to occur, or by an action
taken by a State or jurisdiction in response to an audit
conducted by the Commission under the Voter Confidence and
Increased Accessibility Act of 2005 of the results of an
election for Federal office or by the failure of a State or
jurisdiction to take an action in response to such an audit'';
and
(3) in subsection (c), by striking the period at the end
and inserting the following: ``or to respond to an action taken
by a State or jurisdiction in response to an audit conducted by
the Commission under the Voter Confidence and Increased
Accessibility Act of 2005 of the results of an election for
Federal office or by the failure of a State or jurisdiction to
take an action in response to such an audit.''.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to any other
amounts authorized to be appropriated under any other law, there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Election Assistance Commission
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
(g) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to
regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office beginning with
the elections held in November 2006.
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION FROM
CERTAIN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 205 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002
(42 U.S.C. 15325) is amended by striking subsection (e).
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to contracts entered into by the Election Assistance
Commission on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL CERTIFICATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL SECURITY
OF VOTER REGISTRATION LISTS.
Section 303(a)(3) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C.
15483(a)(3)) is amended by striking ``measures to prevent the'' and
inserting ``measures, as certified by the Election Assistance
Commission, to prevent''.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as provided in section 6(b), the amendments made by this Act
shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the Help America
Vote Act of 2002.
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