[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6200 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6200

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct 
 Presidential elections using paper ballots and to count those ballots 
                    by hand, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 27, 2006

Mr. Kucinich (for himself, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, Mr. Clay, Mr. 
   Conyers, Mr. Filner, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Hastings of 
   Florida, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jackson-Lee of 
  Texas, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Kaptur, Ms. Lee, Mr. 
 McDermott, Ms. McKinney, Mrs. Maloney, Ms. Solis, Ms. Waters, and Ms. 
   Woolsey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct 
 Presidential elections using paper ballots and to count those ballots 
                    by hand, 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 ``Paper Ballot Act of 2006''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING USE OF HAND-COUNTED PAPER BALLOTS IN PRESIDENTIAL 
              ELECTIONS.

    Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15481(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) Special rules for presidential elections.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, in the 
        case of a regularly scheduled general election for the electors 
        of President and Vice President (beginning with the election in 
        November 2008), the following rules shall apply:
                    ``(A) The State shall conduct the election using 
                only paper ballots.
                    ``(B) The State shall ensure that the number of 
                ballots cast at a precinct or equivalent location which 
                are placed inside a single box or similar container 
                does not exceed 500.
                    ``(C) The ballots cast at a precinct or equivalent 
                location shall be counted by hand by election officials 
                at the precinct, and a representative of each political 
                party with a candidate on the ballot, as well as any 
                interested member of the public, may observe the 
                officials as they count the ballots. The previous 
                sentence shall not apply with respect to provisional 
                ballots cast under section 302(a).''.

SEC. 3. MOVING OBSERVATION OF WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY TO ELECTION DAY 
              DURING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION YEARS.

    Section 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``the Tuesday next after the first Monday 
        in November in 2008 and every fourth year thereafter, and'' 
        after ``Washington's Birthday,''; and
            (2) by inserting ``in any other year'' after ``February''.
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