Establishment of deadlines for counting ballots and certifying results of Federal elections

(a)

Deadlines

Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20181 et seq.), as amended by section 2(a) of the COCOA Act of 2024, is amended—(1)by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as sections 306 and 307; and(2)by inserting after section 304 the following new section:

305.

Deadlines for counting ballots and certifying results

(a)

Deadlines

(1)

Counting ballots

Not later than 72 hours after the closing of the polls for an election for Federal office held in a State, the State shall count not less than 90 percent of the ballots cast in the election and make the result of the count publicly available.(2)

Certifying results

Not later than 2 weeks after the closing of the polls for an election for Federal office held in a State, the State shall—(A)complete the counting of all of the ballots cast in the election; and(B)officially certify the result of the election and make the result publicly available.(b)

Exceptions

A State shall not be considered to be out of compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) if the Commission and the Attorney General certify that the State’s failure to meet such requirements is due to any of the following:(1)A bona fide emergency, including—(A)a major disaster (as defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122));(B)a significant public health emergency, such as a pandemic or widespread outbreak; or(C)a cyberattack, data breach, or other significant security threat to the election infrastructure.(2)Technical difficulties, including—(A)malfunctioning election equipment or software; or(B)errors in the tabulation of ballots or the transmission of results that could not have been reasonably anticipated or mitigated in advance.(3)The implementation of new election procedures or reforms and the State certifies that it is in the process of complying with all such requirements, except that this paragraph applies only with respect to the first election held after the implementation of the new procedures or reforms.(4)The conducting of a recount of the results of the election.(c)

Withholding of election administration funds for failure To comply with deadlines

If the Commission and the Attorney General each certify that a State is not in compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) with respect to an election, the State may not receive any funds from the Commission to support the administration of subsequent elections unless—(1)the State submits to the Commission and the Attorney General a plan to ensure that the State will comply with such requirements with respect to such subsequent elections; and(2)the Commission and the Attorney General each certify that the State has taken actions to comply with such plan.

(b)

Conforming amendment relating to existing enforcement provisions

Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111), as amended by section 2(b) of the COCOA Act of 2024, is amended by striking and 304 and inserting 304, and 305.(c)

Clerical amendment

The table of contents of such Act, as amended by section 2(c) of the COCOA Act of 2024, is amended—(1)by redesignating the items relating to sections 305 and 306 as relating to section 306 and 307; and(2)by inserting after the item relating to section 304 the following:

Sec. 305. Deadlines for counting ballots and certifying results.

(d)

Effective date

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply with respect to elections held after the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.