[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3232 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3232

  To direct the Federal Election Commission to make grants to States 
  which have adopted an instant runoff voting system for presidential 
                   elections, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 6, 2001

   Mr. Jackson of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was 
           referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Federal Election Commission to make grants to States 
  which have adopted an instant runoff voting system for presidential 
                   elections, 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 ``Voting Equipment Compatibility With 
Instant Runoff Voting Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In the three Presidential elections since 1988, most 
        States have awarded their electoral votes to a candidate who 
        earned less than half the popular vote in that State.
            (2) In many elections, the majority of voters split their 
        votes between two similar candidates, letting a third candidate 
        supported by only a minority of the electorate win the 
        election.
            (3) The principle of majority rule is violated when the 
        majority does not choose the winner of an election.
            (4) A simple solution to this problem of non majority 
        winners is to require the winner of an election to earn a 
        majority of votes.
            (5) Instant runoff voting, as used in Ireland, Australia, 
        and London, requires the winner of an election to earn a 
        majority of votes. Voters rank candidates in case their 
        favorite candidate is eliminated, and the votes of the 
        candidate's supporters count for their second choice in a 
        runoff round. This process continues until one candidate earns 
        a majority of votes.
            (6) There is increased interest in instant runoff voting. 
        For example, Alaskans in 2002 will vote on whether to adopt 
        instant runoff voting for Presidential elections in 2004. In 
        1999, the New Mexico Senate passed legislation providing for a 
        ballot measure under which voters would be allowed to implement 
        instant runoff voting for Presidential elections. In Vermont, 
        legislation to enact instant runoff voting for statewide 
        offices, including the Presidential race, has been endorsed by 
        Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, and the Grange. 
        Additionally, the legislatures of States such as Maine, 
        Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington in 2001 debated legislation 
        to enact instant runoff voting for Presidential elections, and 
        the Speaker of the California Assembly has introduced a bill to 
        implement instant runoff voting in elections to fill vacancies 
        in Congress.
            (7) In order to conduct an instant runoff election, voting 
        equipment must be compatible with ranked ballots.
            (8) Consistent with the national underinvestment in voting 
        equipment, much of the Nation's voting equipment is not 
        currently compatible with ranked ballots.
            (9) There are currently no Federal mandatory minimum 
        standards for voting equipment. Although the Federal Election 
        Commission has promulgated voluntary standards, these voluntary 
        standards do not include compatibility with ranked ballots.

SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR STATES IMPLEMENTING INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING FOR 
              PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.

    (a) Establishment of Grant Program.--There is established a program 
under which the Federal Election Commission (hereafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Commission'') shall make grants to eligible States 
which have adopted an instant runoff voting system for presidential 
elections to defray the costs of administering such a system, including 
the costs of purchasing voting equipment, software, and other 
technology necessary for such a system.
    (b) Plan for Program.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall develop and make public a 
plan describing the criteria to be used in the solicitation and 
approval of applications for grants under this Act and the criteria to 
be used in overseeing the use of funds provided under such grants, 
except that under such criteria the Commission may not require a State 
to match any portion of the amount awarded as a condition of 
eligibility.
    (c) Eligibility of States.--
            (1) In general.--A State is eligible to receive a grant 
        under the program under this section if it submits to the 
        Commission (in such form and manner as the Commission may 
        require) an application containing such information and 
        assurances as the Commission may require.
            (2) Deadline for application.--The Commission may not 
        consider an application for a grant under this section unless 
        the application is submitted prior to the expiration of the 60-
        day period which begins on the date the Commission makes public 
        the plan developed under subsection (b).
            (3) Deadline for response.--The Commission shall approve or 
        reject an application submitted under this subsection not later 
        than 120 days after receiving the application.
            (4) Criteria for rejection.--The Commission may not reject 
        an application submitted under this subsection unless it finds 
        that--
                    (A) the equipment, software, or other technology 
                used to administer elections in the State is not 
                compatible with an instant runoff voting system; or
                    (B) the State does not provide for appropriate 
                education for voters, poll workers, and election 
                officials in the use of an instant runoff voting 
                system.
    (d) Cap on Amount of Grant.--The amount of any grant awarded to a 
State under the program under this section may not exceed the product 
of--
            (1) the number of residents in the State at the time the 
        grant is awarded (based on the most recent decennial census); 
        and
            (2) $12.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out the program under this section--
            (1) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
            (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2003 and 
        each succeeding fiscal year.

SEC. 4. REQUIRING STATES TO USE VOTING EQUIPMENT COMPATIBLE WITH 
              INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each 
State shall administer elections for Federal office using voting 
equipment and technology which is compatible with an instant runoff 
voting system.
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held during 
2004 and each succeeding election for Federal office.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Instant Runoff Voting System.--In this Act, the term ``instant 
runoff voting system'' means a system for the election of candidates 
under which--
            (1) voters may rank candidates on the ballot according to 
        the order of preference;
            (2) runoff counts of candidates are conducted in rounds;
            (3) if in any round no candidate receives a majority of the 
        votes cast, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is 
        eliminated and the remaining candidates advance to the next 
        round;
            (4) in each round, a voter shall be considered to have cast 
        one vote for the candidate the voter ranked highest on the 
        ballot who has not been eliminated; and
            (5) the runoff counts are carried out automatically at the 
        time the votes are cast and tabulated.
    (b) State.--In this Act, the term ``State'' includes the District 
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and 
the United States Virgin Islands.

SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.

    Nothing in this Act may be construed to supersede or conflict with 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa et seq.) or the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.).
                                 <all>