[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7246 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7246

 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish standards for 
the publication of the poll tapes used in elections for Federal office, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 2, 2008

   Mr. Holt 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 establish standards for 
the publication of the poll tapes used in elections for Federal office, 
                        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 ``Poll Tape Transparency Act of 
2008''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING STATES TO MEET STANDARDS FOR PUBLICATION OF POLL 
              TAPES.

    (a) In General.--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) Requirements for publication of poll tapes.--
                    ``(A) Requirements.--Each State shall meet the 
                following requirements:
                            ``(i) Upon the closing of the polls at each 
                        polling place, the appropriate election 
                        official, under the observation of the 
                        certified tabulation observers admitted to the 
                        polling place under subparagraph (E) (if any), 
                        shall announce the vote orally, post a copy of 
                        the poll tape reflecting the totals from each 
                        voting machine upon which votes were cast in 
                        the election at the polling place, and prepare 
                        and post a statement of the total number of 
                        individuals who appeared at the polling place 
                        to cast ballots, determined by reference to the 
                        number of signatures in a sign-in book or other 
                        similar independent count. Such officials shall 
                        ensure that each of the certified tabulation 
                        observers admitted to the polling place has 
                        full access to observe the process by which the 
                        poll tapes and statement are produced and a 
                        reasonable period of time to review the poll 
                        tapes and statement before the polling place is 
                        closed, and (if feasible) shall provide such 
                        observers with identical duplicate copies of 
                        the poll tapes and statement.
                            ``(ii) As soon as practicable, but in no 
                        event later than noon of the day following the 
                        date of the election, the appropriate election 
                        official shall display (at a prominent location 
                        accessible to the public during regular 
                        business hours and in or within reasonable 
                        proximity to the polling place) a copy of each 
                        poll tape and statement prepared under clause 
                        (i), and the information shall be displayed on 
                        the official public websites of the applicable 
                        local election official and chief State 
                        election official, together with the name of 
                        the designated voting official who entered the 
                        information and the date and time the 
                        information was entered.
                            ``(iii) Each website on which information 
                        is posted under clause (ii) shall include 
                        information on the procedures by which 
                        discrepancies shall be reported to election 
                        officials. If any discrepancy exists between 
                        the posted information and the relevant poll 
                        tape or statement, the appropriate election 
                        official shall display information on the 
                        discrepancy on the website on which the 
                        information is posted under clause (ii) not 
                        later than 24 hours after the official is made 
                        aware of the discrepancy, and shall maintain 
                        the information on the discrepancy and its 
                        resolution (if applicable) on such website 
                        during the entire period for which results of 
                        the election are typically maintained on such 
                        website.
                            ``(iv) The appropriate election official 
                        shall preserve archived copies of the poll 
                        tapes and statements prepared under clause (i) 
                        and reports of discrepancies filed by certified 
                        tabulation observers for the period of time 
                        during which records and papers are required to 
                        be retained and preserved pursuant to title III 
                        of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (42 U.S.C. 1974 
                        et seq.) or for the same duration for which 
                        archived copies of other records of the 
                        election are required to be preserved under 
                        applicable State law, whichever is longer.
                    ``(B) Treatment of ballots cast at early voting 
                sites.--
                            ``(i) Application.--The requirements of 
                        this subparagraph shall apply with respect to 
                        poll tapes and statements of the number of 
                        voters who voted in person at designated sites 
                        prior to the date of the election.
                            ``(ii) Daily count of voters.--At the close 
                        of business on each day on which ballots 
                        described in clause (i) may be cast prior to 
                        the date of the election, the appropriate 
                        election official at each such site shall--
                                    ``(I) under the observation of 
                                certified tabulation observers admitted 
                                to the site under subparagraph (E) (if 
                                any), prepare and post a statement of 
                                the total number of individuals who 
                                appeared at the site to cast ballots, 
                                determined by reference to the number 
                                of signatures in a sign-in book or 
                                other similar independent count, and 
                                the total number of ballots cast 
                                (excluding information on the votes 
                                received by individual candidates), and 
                                shall ensure that each of the certified 
                                tabulation observers admitted to the 
                                site has full access to observe the 
                                process by which the statement is 
                                produced and a reasonable period of 
                                time to review the statement before the 
                                site is closed; and
                                    ``(II) display at the site during 
                                regular business hours for the duration 
                                of the early voting period a paper copy 
                                of the statement prepared under 
                                subclause (I).
                            ``(iii) Application of general requirements 
                        for poll tapes and statements.--Upon the 
                        closing of the polls on the date of the 
                        election, the appropriate election official at 
                        each designated site described in this 
                        subparagraph shall meet the requirements of 
                        subparagraph (A) (including requirements 
                        relating to the role of certified tabulation 
                        observers) in the same manner as an election 
                        official at a polling place.
                    ``(C) Treatment of absentee ballots.--
                            ``(i) Daily count of ballots mailed and 
                        received.--At the close of each business day on 
                        which a State mails or accepts absentee ballots 
                        cast in an election for Federal office prior to 
                        the date of the election, the appropriate 
                        election official shall--
                                    ``(I) under the observation of 
                                certified tabulation observers admitted 
                                under subparagraph (E) to the site at 
                                which the ballots are mailed and 
                                received (if any), prepare and post a 
                                statement of the total number of 
                                absentee ballots mailed and received by 
                                the official during that day and a 
                                separate count of the number of 
                                absentee ballots received but rejected 
                                (separated into categories of the 
                                reasons for rejection), and ensure that 
                                each of the certified tabulation 
                                observers admitted to the site has full 
                                access to observe the process by which 
                                the statement is produced and a 
                                reasonable period of time to review the 
                                statement before the site is closed; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) display at the site during 
                                regular business hours for the duration 
                                of the period during which absentee 
                                ballots are processed a paper copy of 
                                the statement prepared under subclause 
                                (I).
                            ``(ii) Application of general requirements 
                        for poll tapes and statements.--At the close of 
                        business on the last day on which absentee 
                        ballots are counted prior to the certification 
                        of the election, the appropriate election 
                        official at the site at which absentee ballots 
                        are received and counted shall meet the 
                        requirements of subparagraph (A) (including 
                        requirements relating to the role of certified 
                        tabulation observers) in the same manner as an 
                        election official at a polling place.
                    ``(D) Daily count of provisional ballots.--At the 
                close of business on the day on which the appropriate 
                election official determines whether or not provisional 
                ballots cast in an election for Federal office will be 
                counted as votes in the election (as described in 
                section 302(a)(4)), the official shall--
                            ``(i) under the observation of certified 
                        tabulation observers admitted under 
                        subparagraph (E) to the site at which the 
                        determination is made (if any), prepare and 
                        post a statement of the number of such ballots 
                        for which a determination was made, the number 
                        of ballots counted, and the number of ballots 
                        rejected (separated into categories of the 
                        reason for the rejection), and ensure that each 
                        of the certified tabulation observers admitted 
                        to the site has full access to observe the 
                        process by which the statement is produced and 
                        a reasonable period of time to review the 
                        statement before the site is closed; and
                            ``(ii) display at the site during regular 
                        business hours for the duration of the period 
                        during which provisional ballots are processed 
                        a paper copy of the statement prepared under 
                        clause (i).
                    ``(E) Admission of certified tabulation 
                observers.--
                            ``(i) Certified tabulation observer 
                        defined.--In this paragraph, a `certified 
                        tabulation observer' is an individual who is 
                        certified by an appropriate election official 
                        as authorized to carry out the responsibilities 
                        of a certified tabulation observer under this 
                        paragraph.
                            ``(ii) Selection.--In determining which 
                        individuals to certify as tabulation observers 
                        and admit to a polling place or other location 
                        to serve as certified tabulation observers with 
                        respect to an election for Federal office, the 
                        election official shall give preference to 
                        individuals who are affiliated with a candidate 
                        in the election, except that--
                                    ``(I) the number of individuals 
                                admitted who are affiliated with the 
                                same candidate for Federal office may 
                                not exceed one; and
                                    ``(II) the maximum number of 
                                individuals who may be admitted shall 
                                equal the number of candidates in the 
                                election plus 3, or such greater number 
                                as may be authorized under State law.
                            ``(iii) No effect on admission of other 
                        observers.--Nothing in this subparagraph may be 
                        construed to limit or otherwise affect the 
                        authority of other individuals to enter and 
                        observe polling place operations under any 
                        other law, including international observers 
                        authorized under any treaty or observers of the 
                        Federal Government authorized under the Voting 
                        Rights Act of 1965.
                    ``(F) No effect on other tabulation requirements.--
                Nothing in this Act may be construed to supersede any 
                requirement that an election official at a polling 
                place report vote totals to a central tabulation 
                facility and address discrepancies the official finds 
                in the aggregation of those totals with other vote 
                totals.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--Section 301(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
15481(d)) is amended by striking ``January 1, 2006'' and inserting 
``January 1, 2006 (or, in the case of the requirements of subsection 
(a)(7), shall meet such requirements with respect to the first election 
for Federal office held after the date of the enactment of the Poll 
Tape Transparency Act of 2008 and each subsequent election for Federal 
office)''.
                                 <all>