I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3463 

To reduce Federal spending and the deficit by terminating taxpayer financing 

of presidential election campaigns and party conventions and by terminating the Election Assistance Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2011 

Mr. HARPER (for himself and Mr. COLE) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition 

to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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 reduce Federal spending and the deficit by terminating 

taxpayer financing of presidential election campaigns and 

party conventions and by terminating the Election Assistance Commission. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 TITLE I—TERMINATION OF TAX2 PAYER FINANCING OF PRESI3 DENTIAL ELECTION CAM4 PAIGNS 

5 SECTION 101. TERMINATION OF TAXPAYER FINANCING OF 

6 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS. 

7 (a) TERMINATION OF DESIGNATION OF INCOME TAX

8 PAYMENTS.—Section 6096 of the Internal Revenue Code 

9 of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 

12 taxable years beginning after December 31, 2010.’’. 

13 (b) TERMINATION OF FUND AND ACCOUNT.— 

14 (1) TERMINATION OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

15 CAMPAIGN FUND.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 95 of subtitle 

17 H of such Code is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 9014. TERMINATION. 

20 ‘‘The provisions of this chapter shall not apply with 

21 respect to any presidential election (or any presidential 

22 nominating convention) after the date of the enactment 

23 of this section, or to any candidate in such an election.’’. 

24 (B) TRANSFER OF EXCESS FUNDS TO GEN25 ERAL FUND.—Section 9006 of such Code is 


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1 amended by adding at the end the following 

2 new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS REMAINING AFTER TER4 MINATION.—The Secretary shall transfer all amounts in 

5 the fund after the date of the enactment of this section 

6 to the general fund of the Treasury, to be used only for 

7 reducing the deficit.’’. 

8 (2) TERMINATION OF ACCOUNT.—Chapter 96 

9 of subtitle H of such Code is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 9043. TERMINATION. 

12 ‘‘The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to any 

13 candidate with respect to any presidential election after 

14 the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 

15 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) The table of sections for chapter 95 of sub17 title H of such Code is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9014. Termination.’’. 

19 (2) The table of sections for chapter 96 of sub20 title H of such Code is amended by adding at the 

21 end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 9043. Termination.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—TERMINATION OF 

2 ELECTION ASSISTANCE COM3 MISSION 

4 SEC. 201. TERMINATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COM5 MISSION. 

6 (a) TERMINATION.—The Help America Vote Act of 

7 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

8 the end the following new title: 

9 ‘‘TITLE X—TERMINATION OF 

10 COMMISSION 

11 ‘‘Subtitle A—Termination 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1001. TERMINATION. 

13 ‘‘Effective on the Commission termination date, the 

14 Commission (including the Election Assistance Commis15 sion Standards Board and the Election Assistance Com16 mission Board of Advisors under part 2 of subtitle A of 

17 title II) is terminated and may not carry out any programs 

18 or activities. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1002. TRANSFER OF OPERATIONS TO OFFICE OF MAN20 AGEMENT AND BUDGET DURING TRANSI21 TION. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office of 

23 Management and Budget shall, effective upon the Com24 mission termination date— 


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1 ‘‘(1) perform the functions of the Commission 

2 with respect to contracts and agreements described 

3 in subsection 1003(a) until the expiration of such 

4 contracts and agreements, but shall not renew any 

5 such contract or agreement; and 

6 ‘‘(2) shall take the necessary steps to wind up 

7 the affairs of the Commission. 

8 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR FUNCTIONS TRANSFERRED TO

9 OTHER AGENCIES.—Subsection (a) does not apply with 

10 respect to any functions of the Commission that are trans11 ferred under subtitle B. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1003. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) PRIOR CONTRACTS.—The termination of the 

14 Commission under this subtitle shall not affect any con15 tract that has been entered into by the Commission before 

16 the Commission termination date. All such contracts shall 

17 continue in effect until modified, superseded, terminated, 

18 set aside, or revoked in accordance with law by an author19 ized Federal official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or 

20 operation of law. 

21 ‘‘(b) OBLIGATIONS OF RECIPIENTS OF PAYMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The termination of the 

23 Commission under this subtitle shall not affect the 

24 authority of any recipient of a payment made by the 

25 Commission under this Act prior to the Commission 


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1 termination date to use any portion of the payment 

2 that remains unobligated as of the Commission ter3 mination date, and the terms and conditions that 

4 applied to the use of the payment at the time the 

5 payment was made shall continue to apply. 

6 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES RECEIVING

7 REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS.—In the case of a re8 quirements payment made to a State under part 1 

9 of subtitle D of title II, the terms and conditions ap10 plicable to the use of the payment for purposes of 

11 the State’s obligations under this subsection (as well 

12 as any obligations in effect prior to the termination 

13 of the Commission under this subtitle), and for pur14 poses of any applicable requirements imposed by 

15 regulations promulgated by the Director of the Of16 fice of Management and Budget, shall be the general 

17 terms and conditions applicable under Federal law, 

18 rules, and regulations to payments made by the Fed19 eral government to a State, except that to the extent 

20 that such general terms and conditions are incon21 sistent with the terms and conditions that are speci22 fied under part 1 of subtitle D of title II or section 

23 902, the terms and conditions specified under such 

24 part and such section shall apply. 

25 ‘‘(c) PENDING PROCEEDINGS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) NO EFFECT ON PENDING PROCEEDINGS.— 

2 The termination of the Commission under this sub3 title shall not affect any proceeding to which the 

4 Commission is a party that is pending on such date, 

5 including any suit to which the Commission is a 

6 party that is commenced prior to such date, and the 

7 applicable official shall be substituted or added as a 

8 party to the proceeding. 

9 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF ORDERS.—In the case of 

10 a proceeding described in paragraph (1), an order 

11 may be issued, an appeal may be taken, judgments 

12 may be rendered, and payments may be made as if 

13 the Commission had not been terminated. Any such 

14 order shall continue in effect until modified, termi15 nated, superseded, or revoked by an authorized Fed16 eral official, a court of competent jurisdiction, or op17 eration of law. 

18 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION RELATING TO DIS19 CONTINUANCE OR MODIFICATION.—Nothing in this 

20 subsection shall be deemed to prohibit the dis21 continuance or modification of any proceeding de22 scribed in paragraph (1) under the same terms and 

23 conditions and to the same extent that such pro24 ceeding could have been discontinued or modified if 

25 the Commission had not been terminated. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REGULATIONS FOR TRANSFER OF PRO2 CEEDINGS.—The Director of the Office of Manage3 ment and Budget may issue regulations providing 

4 for the orderly transfer of proceedings described in 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Orders and actions of the 

7 applicable official in the exercise of functions of the Com8 mission shall be subject to judicial review to the same ex9 tent and in the same manner as if such orders and actions 

10 had been issued or taken by the Commission. Any require11 ments relating to notice, hearings, action upon the record, 

12 or administrative review that apply to any function of the 

13 Commission shall apply to the exercise of such function 

14 by the applicable official. 

15 ‘‘(e) APPLICABLE OFFICIAL DEFINED.—In this sec16 tion, the ‘applicable official’ means, with respect to any 

17 proceeding, order, or action— 

18 ‘‘(1) the Director of the Office of Management 

19 and Budget, to the extent that the proceeding, 

20 order, or action relates to functions performed by 

21 the Director of the Office of Management and Budg22 et under section 1002; or 

23 ‘‘(2) the Federal Election Commission, to the 

24 extent that the proceeding, order, or action relates 

25 to a function transferred under subtitle B. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1004. COMMISSION TERMINATION DATE. 

2 ‘‘The ‘Commission termination date’ is the first date 

3 following the expiration of the 60-day period that begins 

4 on the date of the enactment of this subtitle. 

5 ‘‘Subtitle B—Transfer of Certain 

6 Authorities 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1011. TRANSFER OF ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 

8 FUNCTIONS TO FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS9 SION. 

10 ‘‘There are transferred to the Federal Election Com11 mission (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘FEC’) 

12 the following functions of the Commission: 

13 ‘‘(1) The adoption of voluntary voting system 

14 guidelines, in accordance with part 3 of subtitle A 

15 of title II. 

16 ‘‘(2) The testing, certification, decertification, 

17 and recertification of voting system hardware and 

18 software by accredited laboratories, in accordance 

19 with subtitle B of title II. 

20 ‘‘(3) The maintenance of a clearinghouse of in21 formation on the experiences of State and local gov22 ernments in implementing voluntary voting system 

23 guidelines and in operating voting systems in gen24 eral. 

25 ‘‘(4) The development of a standardized format 

26 for reports submitted by States under section 102(c) 


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1 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

2 Voting Act, and the making of such format available 

3 to States and units of local government submitting 

4 such reports, in accordance with section 703(b). 

5 ‘‘(5) Any functions transferred to the Commis6 sion under section 801 (relating to functions of the 

7 former Office of Election Administration of the 

8 FEC). 

9 ‘‘(6) Any functions transferred to the Commis10 sion under section 802 (relating to functions de11 scribed in section 9(a) of the National Voter Reg12 istration Act of 1993). 

13 ‘‘(7) Any functions of the Commission under 

14 section 1604(a) of the National Defense Authoriza15 tion Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107–107; 

16 115 Stat. 1277; 42 U.S.C. 1977ff note) (relating to 

17 establishing guidelines and providing technical as18 sistance with respect to electronic voting demonstra19 tion projects of the Secretary of Defense). 

20 ‘‘(8) Any functions of the Commission under 

21 section 589(e)(1) of the Military and Overseas Voter 

22 Empowerment Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–7(e)(1)) (re23 lating to providing technical assistance with respect 

24 to technology pilot programs for the benefit of ab25 sent uniformed services voters and overseas voters). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1012. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 ‘‘The transfers under this subtitle shall take effect 

3 on the Commission termination date described in section 

4 1004.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

6 of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘TITLE X—TERMINATION OF COMMISSION 

‘‘Subtitle A—Termination 

‘‘Sec. 1001. Termination. 

‘‘Sec. 1002. Transfer of operations to Office of Management and Budget during transition. 

‘‘Sec. 1003. Savings provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 1004. Commission termination date. 

‘‘Subtitle B—Transfer of Certain Authorities 

‘‘Sec. 1011. Transfer of election administration functions to Federal Election 

Commission. 

‘‘Sec. 1012. Effective date.’’. 

7 SEC. 202. REPLACEMENT OF STANDARDS BOARD AND 

8 BOARD OF ADVISORS WITH GUIDELINES RE9 VIEW BOARD. 

10 (a) REPLACEMENT.—Part 2 of subtitle A of title II 

11 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15341 

12 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘PART 2—GUIDELINES REVIEW BOARD 

14 ‘‘SEC. 211. ESTABLISHMENT. 

15 ‘‘There is established the Guidelines Review Board 

16 (hereafter in this part referred to as the ‘Board’). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 212. DUTIES. 

2 ‘‘The Board shall, in accordance with the procedures 

3 described in part 3, review the voluntary voting system 

4 guidelines under such part. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 213. MEMBERSHIP. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall be composed of 

7 82 members appointed as follows: 

8 ‘‘(1) One State or local election official from 

9 each State, to be selected by the chief State election 

10 official of the State, who shall take into account the 

11 needs of both State and local election officials in 

12 making the selection. 

13 ‘‘(2) 2 members appointed by the National Con14 ference of State Legislatures. 

15 ‘‘(3) 2 members appointed by the National As16 sociation of Secretaries of State. 

17 ‘‘(4) 2 members appointed by the National As18 sociation of State Election Directors. 

19 ‘‘(5) 2 members appointed by the National As20 sociation of County Recorders, Election Administra21 tors, and Clerks. 

22 ‘‘(6) 2 members appointed by the Election Cen23 ter. 

24 ‘‘(7) 2 members appointed by the International 

25 Association of County Recorders, Election Officials, 

26 and Treasurers. 


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1 ‘‘(8) 2 members appointed by the United States 

2 Commission on Civil Rights. 

3 ‘‘(9) 2 members appointed by the Architectural 

4 and Transportation Barrier Compliance Board 

5 under section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 

6 (29 U.S.C. 792). 

7 ‘‘(10) The chief of the Voting Section of the 

8 Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice 

9 or the chief’s designee. 

10 ‘‘(11) The director of the Federal Voting As11 sistance Program of the Department of Defense. 

12 ‘‘(12) The Director of the National Institute of 

13 Standards and Technology or the Director’s des14 ignee. 

15 ‘‘(13) 4 members representing professionals in 

16 the field of science and technology, of whom— 

17 ‘‘(A) one each shall be appointed by the 

18 Speaker and the minority leader of the House 

19 of Representatives; and 

20 ‘‘(B) one each shall be appointed by the 

21 majority leader and the minority leader of the 

22 Senate. 

23 ‘‘(14) 4 members representing voter interests, 

24 of whom— 


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1 ‘‘(A) one each shall be appointed by the 

2 chair and ranking minority member of the 

3 Committee on House Administration of the 

4 House of Representatives; and 

5 ‘‘(B) one each shall be appointed by the 

6 chair and ranking minority member of the 

7 Committee on Rules and Administration of the 

8 Senate. 

9 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF APPOINTMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Appointments shall be 

11 made to the Board under subsection (a) in a manner 

12 which ensures that the Board will be bipartisan in 

13 nature and will reflect the various geographic re14 gions of the United States. 

15 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN APPOINT16 MENTS.—The 2 individuals who are appointed as 

17 members of the Board under each of the paragraphs 

18 (2) through (9) of subsection (a) may not be mem19 bers of the same political party. 

20 ‘‘(c) TERM OF SERVICE; VACANCY.—Members of the 

21 Board shall serve for a term of 2 years, and may be re22 appointed. Any vacancy in the Board shall be filled in the 

23 manner in which the original appointment was made. 

24 ‘‘(d) EXECUTIVE BOARD.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

2 after the day on which the appointment of its mem3 bers is completed, the Board shall select 9 of its 

4 members to serve as the Executive Board of the 

5 Guidelines Review Board, of whom— 

6 ‘‘(A) not more than 5 may be State elec7 tion officials; 

8 ‘‘(B) not more than 5 may be local election 

9 officials; and 

10 ‘‘(C) not more than 5 may be members of 

11 the same political party. 

12 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—Except as provided in paragraph 

13 (3), members of the Executive Board of the Board 

14 shall serve for a term of 2 years and may not serve 

15 for more than 3 consecutive terms. 

16 ‘‘(3) STAGGERING OF INITIAL TERMS.—Of the 

17 members first selected to serve on the Executive 

18 Board of the Board— 

19 ‘‘(A) 3 shall serve for 1 term; 

20 ‘‘(B) 3 shall serve for 2 consecutive terms; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(C) 3 shall serve for 3 consecutive terms, 

23 as determined by lot at the time the members are 

24 first appointed. 


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1 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Executive Board of the 

2 Board shall carry out such duties of the Board as 

3 the Board may delegate. 

4 ‘‘(e) BYLAWS; DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The 

5 Board may promulgate such bylaws as it considers appro6 priate to provide for the operation of the Board, including 

7 bylaws that permit the Executive Board to grant to any 

8 of its members the authority to act on behalf of the Execu9 tive Board. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 214. POWERS; NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE. 

11 ‘‘(a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that funds 

13 are made available by the Federal Election Commis14 sion, the Board may hold such hearings for the pur15 pose of carrying out this Act, sit and act at such 

16 times and places, take such testimony, and receive 

17 such evidence as the Board considers advisable to 

18 carry out this title, except that the Board may not 

19 issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testi20 mony of witnesses or the production of any evidence. 

21 ‘‘(2) MEETINGS.—The Board shall hold a meet22 ing of its members— 

23 ‘‘(A) not less frequently than once every 2 

24 years for purposes selecting the Executive 

25 Board and voting on the voluntary voting sysVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:03 Nov 18, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3463.IH H3463

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1 tem guidelines referred to it under section 222; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) at such other times as it considers 

4 appropriate for purposes of conducting such 

5 other business as it considers appropriate con6 sistent with this title. 

7 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

8 The Board may secure directly from any Federal depart9 ment or agency such information as the Board considers 

10 necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Exec11 utive Board, the head of such department or agency shall 

12 furnish such information to the Board. 

13 ‘‘(c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Board may use the 

14 United States mails in the same manner and under the 

15 same conditions as a department or agency of the Federal 

16 Government. 

17 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon 

18 the request of the Executive Board, the Administrator of 

19 the General Services Administration shall provide to the 

20 Board, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative sup21 port services that are necessary to enable the Board to 

22 carry out its duties under this title. 

23 ‘‘(e) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.—Members of 

24 the Board shall not receive any compensation for their 

25 service, but shall be paid travel expenses, including per 


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1 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ2 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

3 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or 

4 regular places of business in the performance of services 

5 for the Board. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 215. STATUS OF BOARD AND MEMBERS FOR PUR7 POSES OF CLAIMS AGAINST BOARD. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of chapters 161 

9 and 171 of title 28, United States Code, shall apply with 

10 respect to the liability of the Board and its members for 

11 acts or omissions performed pursuant to and in the course 

12 of the duties and responsibilities of the Board. 

13 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR CRIMINAL ACTS AND OTHER

14 WILLFUL CONDUCT.—Subsection (a) may not be con15 strued to limit personal liability for criminal acts or omis16 sions, willful or malicious misconduct, acts or omissions 

17 for private gain, or any other act or omission outside the 

18 scope of the service of a member of the Board.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

20 (1) MEMBERSHIP ON TECHNICAL GUIDELINES

21 DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.—Section 221(c)(1) of 

22 such Act (42 U.S.C. 15361(c)(1)) is amended— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

24 clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) Members of the Guidelines Re2 view Board.’’; 

3 (B) by redesignating clause (iii) of sub4 paragraph (A) as clause (ii); and 

5 (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

6 ‘‘Standards Board or Board of Advisors’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘Guidelines Review Board’’. 

8 (2) CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED GUIDE9 LINES.—Section 222(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

10 15362(b)) is amended— 

11 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘BOARD OF

12 ADVISORS AND STANDARDS BOARD’’ and in13 serting ‘‘GUIDELINES REVIEW BOARD’’; and 

14 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES REVIEW BOARD.—The Execu17 tive Director of the Commission shall submit the 

18 guidelines proposed to be adopted under this part 

19 (or any modifications to such guidelines) to the 

20 Guidelines Review Board.’’. 

21 (3) REVIEW OF PROPOSED GUIDELINES.—Sec22 tion 222(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15362(c)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘the Board of Advisors and the 

24 Standards Board shall each review’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘the Guidelines Review Board shall review’’. 


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1 (4) FINAL ADOPTION OF PROPOSED GUIDE2 LINES.—Section 222(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 15362(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘the Board of Ad4 visors and the Standards Board’’ each place it ap5 pears in paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting ‘‘the 

6 Guidelines Review Board’’. 

7 (5) ASSISTANCE WITH NIST REVIEW OF TEST8 ING LABORATORIES.—Section 231(c)(1) of such Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 15371(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

10 Standards Board and the Board of Advisors’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘the Guidelines Review Board’’. 

12 (6) ASSISTING FEC WITH DEVELOPMENT OF

13 STANDARDIZED FORMAT FOR REPORTS ON ABSEN14 TEE BALLOTS OF ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES

15 AND OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Section 703(b) of such 

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1 note) is amended by strik17 ing ‘‘the Election Assistance Commission Board of 

18 Advisors and the Election Assistance Commission 

19 Standards Board’’ and inserting ‘‘the Guidelines Re20 view Board’’. 

21 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 of such Act is amended by amending the item relating to 

23 part 2 of subtitle A of title II to read as follows: 

‘‘PART 2—GUIDELINES REVIEW BOARD

‘‘Sec. 211. Establishment. 

‘‘Sec. 212. Duties. 

‘‘Sec. 213. Membership. 


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‘‘Sec. 214. Powers; no compensation for service. 

‘‘Sec. 215. Status of Board and members for purposes of claims against 

Board.’’. 

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the Commission termi3 nation date described in section 1004 of the Help America 

4 Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 201(a)). 

5 SEC. 203. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO TRANS6 FER OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES TO FEDERAL 

7 ELECTION COMMISSION. 

8 (a) DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF VOLUNTARY

9 VOTING SYSTEM GUIDELINES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part 3 of subtitle A of title 

11 II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 

12 15361 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 223. TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY TO FEDERAL ELEC15 TION COMMISSION. 

16 ‘‘(a) TRANSFER.—Effective on the Commission ter17 mination date described in section 1004, the Federal Elec18 tion Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as 

19 the ‘FEC’) shall be responsible for carrying out the duties 

20 and functions of the Commission under this part. 

21 ‘‘(b) ROLE OF STAFF DIRECTOR.—The FEC shall 

22 carry out the operation and management of its duties and 

23 functions under this part through the Office of the Staff 

24 Director of the FEC.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 

3 of the item relating to part 3 of subtitle A of title 

4 II the following: 

‘‘Sec. 223. Transfer of authority to Federal Election Commission.’’. 

5 (b) TESTING, CERTIFICATION, DECERTIFICATION, 

6 AND RECERTIFICATION OF VOTING SYSTEM HARDWARE

7 AND SOFTWARE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title II of such 

9 Act (42 U.S.C. 15371 et seq.) is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 232. TRANSFER OF AUTHORITY TO FEDERAL ELEC12 TION COMMISSION. 

13 ‘‘(a) TRANSFER.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the Commis15 sion termination date described in section 1004, the 

16 Federal Election Commission (hereafter in this sec17 tion referred to as the ‘FEC’) shall be responsible 

18 for carrying out the duties and functions of the 

19 Commission under this subtitle. 

20 ‘‘(2) ROLE OF STAFF DIRECTOR.—The FEC 

21 shall carry out the operation and management of its 

22 duties and functions under this subtitle through the 

23 Office of the Staff Director of the FEC. 

24 ‘‘(b) TRANSFER OF OFFICE OF VOTING SYSTEM

25 TESTING AND CERTIFICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are transferred to 

2 the FEC all functions that the Office of Voting Sys3 tem Testing and Certification of the Commission 

4 (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘Office’) 

5 exercised under this subtitle before the Commission 

6 termination date. 

7 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF PROPERTY, RECORDS, AND

8 PERSONNEL.— 

9 ‘‘(A) PROPERTY AND RECORDS.—The con10 tracts, liabilities, records, property, appropria11 tions, and other assets and interests of the Of12 fice, together with the unexpended balances of 

13 any appropriations or other funds available to 

14 the Office, are transferred and made available 

15 to the FEC. 

16 ‘‘(B) PERSONNEL.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The personnel of 

18 the Office are transferred to the FEC, ex19 cept that the number of full-time equiva20 lent personnel so transferred may not ex21 ceed the number of full-time equivalent 

22 personnel of the Office as of January 1, 

23 2011. 

24 ‘‘(ii) TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEES AT

25 TIME OF TRANSFER.—An individual who is 


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1 an employee of the Office who is trans2 ferred under this section shall not be sepa3 rated or reduced in grade or compensation 

4 because of the transfer during the 1-year 

5 period that begins on the date of the trans6 fer.’’. 

7 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con8 tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 

9 of the items relating to subtitle B of title II the fol10 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 232. Transfer of authority to Federal Election Commission.’’. 

11 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDIZED FORMAT FOR

12 REPORTS ON ABSENTEE BALLOTING BY ABSENT UNI13 FORMED SERVICES VOTERS AND OVERSEAS VOTERS.— 

14 Section 703(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1 note) is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Effective 

16 on the Commission termination date described in section 

17 1004, the Federal Election Commission shall be respon18 sible for carrying out the duties and functions of the Com19 mission under this subsection.’’. 

20 SEC. 204. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO OTHER LAWS. 

21 (a) FEDERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971.— 

22 (1) DUTIES OF FEC.—Section 311(a) of the 

23 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 

24 438(a)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para2 graph (8); 

3 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

4 paragraph (9) and inserting a semicolon; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraphs: 

7 ‘‘(10) provide for the adoption of voluntary vot8 ing system guidelines, in accordance with part 3 of 

9 subtitle A of title II of the Help America Vote Act 

10 of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15361 et seq.); 

11 ‘‘(11) provide for the testing, certification, de12 certification, and recertification of voting system 

13 hardware and software by accredited laboratories, in 

14 accordance with subtitle B of title II of the Help 

15 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15371 et 

16 seq.); 

17 ‘‘(12) maintain a clearinghouse of information 

18 on the experiences of State and local governments in 

19 implementing voluntary voting system guidelines and 

20 in operating voting systems in general; 

21 ‘‘(13) carry out the duties described in section 

22 9(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; 

23 ‘‘(14) develop a standardized format for reports 

24 submitted by States under section 102(c) of the Uni25 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 


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1 make such format available to States and units of 

2 local government submitting such reports, and re3 ceive such reports in accordance with section 102(c) 

4 of such Act, in accordance with section 703(b) of the 

5 Help America Vote Act of 2002; 

6 ‘‘(15) carry out the duties described in section 

7 1604(a)(2) of the National Defense Authorization 

8 Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107–107; 115 

9 Stat. 1277; 42 U.S.C. 1977ff note); and 

10 ‘‘(16) carry out the duties described in section 

11 589(e)(1) of the Military and Overseas Voter Em12 powerment Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–7(e)(1)).’’. 

13 (2) AUTHORIZATION TO ENTER INTO PRIVATE

14 CONTRACTS TO CARRY OUT FUNCTIONS.—Section 

15 311 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 438) is amended by add16 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(g) Subject to applicable laws, the Commission may 

18 enter into contracts with private entities to carry out any 

19 of the authorities that are the responsibility of the Com20 mission under paragraphs (10) through (16) of subsection 

21 (a).’’. 

22 (3) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE RE23 QUIREMENTS ON STATES AND UNITS OF LOCAL GOV24 ERNMENT.—Section 311 of such Act (2 U.S.C. 

25 438), as amended by paragraph (2), is further 


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1 amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 subsection: 

3 ‘‘(h) Nothing in paragraphs (10) through (16) of sub4 section (a) or any other provision of this Act shall be con5 strued to grant the Commission the authority to issue any 

6 rule, promulgate any regulation, or take any other actions 

7 that imposes any requirement on any State or unit of local 

8 government, except to the extent that the Commission had 

9 such authority prior to the enactment of this subsection 

10 or to the extent permitted under section 9(a) of the Na11 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg– 

12 7(a)).’’. 

13 (b) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF

14 1993.—Section 9(a) of the National Voter Registration 

15 Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–7(a)) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘Election Assistance Commission’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘Federal Election Commission’’. 

18 (c) UNIFORMED AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS ABSEN19 TEE VOTING ACT.— 

20 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS FOR STATE

21 REPORTS.—Section 101(b)(11) of the Uniformed 

22 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 1973ff(b)(11)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

24 Election Assistance Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

25 Federal Election Commission’’. 


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1 (2) RECEIPT OF REPORTS ON NUMBER OF AB2 SENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RECEIVED.— 

3 Section 102(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff–1(c)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘the Election Assistance 

5 Commission (established under the Help America 

6 Vote Act of 2002)’’ and inserting ‘‘the Federal Elec7 tion Commission’’. 

8 (d) ELECTRONIC VOTING DEMONSTRATION

9 PROJECTS FOR SECRETARY OF DEFENSE.—Section 

10 1604(a)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act for 

11 Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107–107; 115 Stat. 1277; 

12 42 U.S.C. 1977ff note) is amended by striking ‘‘the Elec13 tion Assistance Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘the Federal 

14 Election Commission’’. 

15 (e) TECHNOLOGY PILOT PROGRAM FOR ABSENT

16 MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Section 589(e)(1) of 

17 the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 1973ff–7(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘Election 

19 Assistance Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal Election 

20 Commission’’. 

21 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

22 this section shall take effect on the Commission termi23 nation date described in section 1004 of the Help America 

24 Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 201(a)). 


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1 SEC. 205. OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING 

2 TO TERMINATION. 

3 (a) HATCH ACT.—Section 7323(b)(2)(B)(i)(I) of title 

4 5, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘or the 

5 Election Assistance Commission’’. 

6 (b) SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—Section 

7 3132(a)(1)(C) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

8 by striking ‘‘or the Election Assistance Commission’’. 

9 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF 1978.—Section 

10 8G(a)(2) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

11 App.) is amended by striking ‘‘the Election Assistance 

12 Commission,’’. 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall take effect on the Commission termi15 nation date described in section 1004 of the Help America 

16 Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 201(a)). 

17 SEC. 206. STUDIES. 

18 (a) PROCEDURES FOR ADOPTION AND MODIFICATION

19 OF VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDELINES.— 

20 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall 

21 conduct a study of the procedures used to adopt and 

22 modify the voluntary voting system guidelines appli23 cable to the administration of elections for Federal 

24 office, and shall develop recommendations on meth25 ods to improve such procedures, taking into account 

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1 cluding State and local election officials, voters with 

2 disabilities, absent military and overseas voters, and 

3 the manufacturers of voting systems. 

4 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

6 General shall submit a report to Congress on the 

7 study conducted under paragraph (1), and shall in8 clude in the report the recommendations developed 

9 under such paragraph. 

10 (b) PROCEDURES FOR VOTING SYSTEM TESTING AND

11 CERTIFICATION.— 

12 (1) STUDY.—The Federal Election Commission 

13 shall conduct a study of the procedures for the test14 ing, certification, decertification, and recertification 

15 of voting system hardware and software used in elec16 tions for Federal office, and shall develop a rec17 ommendation on the entity that is best suited to 

18 oversee and carry out such procedures, taking into 

19 consideration the needs of persons affected by such 

20 procedures, including State and local election offi21 cials, voters with disabilities, absent military and 

22 overseas voters, and the manufacturers of voting 

23 systems. 

24 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

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1 tion Commission shall submit a report to Congress 

2 on the study conducted under paragraph (1), and 

3 shall include in the report the recommendation de4 veloped under such paragraph. 

Æ 


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