[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.
                                 <all>