I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5664

To establish the 21st Century Bipartisan Electoral Commission to make

recommendations to carry out a Voters’ Bill of Rights for the 21st

century, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DECEMBER 14, 2000

Mr. MARKEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on

the Judiciary, and Commerce, 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 establish the 21st Century Bipartisan Electoral Commission to make recommendations to carry out a Voters’

Bill of Rights for the 21st century, and for other purposes.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voters’ Bill of Rights

5 for the 21st Century’’.
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1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING RIGHTS OF

2 AMERICAN VOTERS.

3 It is the sense of Congress that American voters in

4 the 21st century should be entitled to the following rights:

5 (1) The right to a ballot format that permits

6 clear identification of candidates and the accurate

7 implementation of voter’s preferences in the selection

8 of candidates.

9 (2) The right in the Information Age to use a

10 technology to select candidates that is fair and user

11 friendly.

12 (3) The right to vote in a manner not preju13 diced by media announcements of election results in

14 time zones where the polls have closed or when races

15 are too close to call.

16 (4) The right to vote in a manner not subject

17 to intimidation.

18 (5) The right of members of the uniformed

19 service and civilians who vote by absentee ballot to

20 have their votes counted on Election Day.

21 (6) The right to have a uniform statewide

22 standard for counting and recounting all votes.

23 (7) The right to have an Electoral College

24 which reflects the preferences of voters in a fair and

25 accurate manner.
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1 (8) The right to have complaints about elections

2 and election contests resolved fairly, accurately, and

3 efficiently.

4 (9) The right to vote on a day of the week

5 which maximizes voter turnout.

6 (10) The right to make the most informed deci7 sion on Election Day.

8 TITLE I—21ST CENTURY BIPAR9 TISAN ELECTORAL COMMIS10 SION

11 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

13 the 21st Century Bipartisan Electoral Commission (here14 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

15 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of the Commission

16 to protect and enforce the rights described in section 2

17 by carrying out the duties specified under this title.

18 SEC. 102. MEMBERSHIP; APPOINTMENT.

19 (a) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com20 posed of 20 members with the qualifications described in

21 subsection (b), who shall be appointed as follows:

22 (1) 5 shall be appointed by the majority leader

23 of the House of Representatives, of whom not more

24 than 2 may be elected officials and not fewer than
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1 3 shall be individuals who are not officers or employ2 ees of the Federal Government.

3 (2) 5 shall be appointed by the minority leader

4 of the House of Representatives, of whom not more

5 than 2 may be elected officials and not fewer than

6 3 shall be individuals who are not officers or employ7 ees of the Federal Government.

8 (3) 5 shall be appointed by the majority leader

9 of the Senate, of whom not more than 2 may be

10 elected officials and not fewer than 3 shall be indi11 viduals who are not officers or employees of the Fed12 eral Government.

13 (4) 5 shall be appointed by the minority leader

14 of the Senate, of whom not more than 2 may be

15 elected officials and not fewer than 3 shall be indi16 viduals who are not officers or employees of the Fed17 eral Government.

18 (b) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members shall be appointed

20 from among individuals who have expertise in Fed21 eral and State election laws, the United States Con22 stitution, voting rights, voting technology or other

23 pertinent qualifications or experience.

24 (2) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In appointing

25 members of the Commission, every effort shall be
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1 made to ensure that the members represent a broad

2 cross section of regional and demographic perspec3 tives in the United States.

4 (c) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—(1)

5 Members of the Commission shall be appointed not later

6 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. Ap7 pointments shall be for the life of the Commission.

8 (2) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect

9 the powers of the Commission, and shall be filled in the

10 same manner as the original appointment.

11 (d) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The members of the

12 Commission shall elect a chair and vice chair from among

13 the members of the Commission, except that the chair and

14 vice chair may not belong to the same political party.

15 (e) SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS AND HEARINGS.—The

16 Commission shall hold meetings and hearings under such

17 schedule as the chair may determine in consultation with

18 the vice chair.

19 (f) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

20 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction

21 of business.

22 SEC. 103. DUTIES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The duties of the Commission

24 shall be as follows:
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1 (1) The Commission shall develop a uniform

2 ballot format for Presidential elections that is clear,

3 accurate, and presents candidates in a readily rec4 ognizable way. The ballot must be easy to use for all

5 age groups and America’s diverse population.

6 (2) The Commission shall evaluate existing vot7 ing technologies to determine their accuracy and ef8 fectiveness in reflecting voter’s intentions and report

9 back to Congress on the results with the intent of

10 utilizing the most effective methods in future elec11 tions.

12 (3) The Commission shall make recommenda13 tions to Congress about the feasibility of a Federal

14 matching grant program for States to implement

15 changes in ballot formats and to purchase new, more

16 accurate, and user-friendly voting machines and tab17 ulation technologies.

18 (4) The Commission shall make recommenda19 tions about a method of voter identification to en20 sure accurate recognition of voters, while insuring

21 that no voter is subject to intimidation of any kind

22 in casting votes.

23 (5) The Commission shall establish, in consulta24 tion with the Secretary of Defense and the Post25 master General of the United States, standards for
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1 military voting that address issues of postmarks,

2 witnessing, and time of receipt of ballots to ensure

3 that the votes of members of the uniformed services

4 are counted on Election Day.

5 (6) The Commission shall establish standards

6 for civilian absentee ballots that address issues of

7 voter identification, witnessing, and time of receipt

8 to ensure that these ballots are counted on Election

9 Day.

10 (7) The Commission shall make recommenda11 tions to establish a uniform poll closing time.

12 (8) The Commission shall make recommenda13 tions on the appropriateness of changing Election

14 Day in Presidential election years to the first Sun15 day in November to increase voter participation.

16 (9) The Commission shall reassess the electoral

17 college and evaluate strategies to better reflect vot18 ers intentions across the country for electing the

19 President and Vice President in the 21st century,

20 whether by leaving the current provisions un21 changed, using only the direct popular vote, using

22 proportional electoral college votes depending on the

23 popular vote in each State, or by such other strate24 gies as it may consider.
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1 (10) The Commission shall examine State laws

2 to determine whether or not each State has a uni3 form statewide standard for vote tabulation, pro4 tests, and contests of national, State, and local elec5 tions which would protect against equal protection

6 violations under the Constitution.

7 (11) The Commission shall make recommenda8 tions on conducting a 21st Century Voter Education

9 Campaign to make its recommendations and the im10 plementation of those recommendations available to

11 the public through a variety of media.

12 (b) CONSULTATION WITH OFFICIALS.—In carrying

13 out its duties under this section, the Commission shall

14 seek guidance from the governors of the States and from

15 State and local election officials.

16 SEC. 104. FINAL REPORT.

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 24 months after

18 the date of the initial meeting of the Commission, the

19 Commission shall submit to the President and the Con20 gress a final report including—

21 (1) the findings and conclusions of the Commis22 sion with respect to each duty specified under sec23 tion 103(a); and

24 (2) recommendations for addressing the prob25 lems identified as part of the Commission’s analysis.
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1 (b) SEPARATE VIEWS.—Any member of the Commis2 sion may submit additional findings and recommendations

3 as part of the final report.

4 SEC. 105. POWERS.

5 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such

6 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such

7 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

8 may find advisable to fulfill the requirements of this Act.

9 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

10 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart11 ment or agency such information as the Commission con12 siders necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

13 Upon request of the chairperson of the Commission, the

14 head of such department or agency shall furnish such in15 formation to the Commission.

16 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use

17 the United States mails in the same manner and under

18 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

19 the Federal Government.

20 SEC. 106. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

21 (a) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commission

22 shall serve without pay, but shall be allowed travel ex23 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates

24 authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I

25 of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away
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1 from their homes or regular places of business in the per2 formance of services for the Commission.

3 (b) STAFF.—(1) The chairperson of the Commission

4 may appoint staff of the Commission, request the detail

5 of Federal employees, and accept temporary and intermit6 tent services in accordance with section 3161 of title 5,

7 United States Code.

8 (2) The employment of an executive director of the

9 Commission shall be subject to the approval of the Com10 mission.

11 (3) The rate of pay for the executive director and

12 other personnel of the Commission may not exceed the

13 rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under

14 section 5316 of such title.

15 SEC. 107. SUPPORT SERVICES.

16 The Administrator of General Services shall provide

17 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis such adminis18 trative support services as the Commission may request.

19 SEC. 108. WEBSITE.

20 The Commission shall establish and operate a website

21 to facilitate public comment on and participation in its ac22 tivities.
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1 SEC. 109. TERMINATION.

2 The Commission shall terminate not later than 30

3 days after the date the Commission submits its final re4 port under section 104.

5 SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000

7 for the Commission to carry out this Act, to remain avail8 able for the first 3 fiscal years which begin after the date

9 of the enactment of this Act.

10 TITLE II—REVIEW OF ROLE OF

11 MEDIA

12 SEC. 201. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING VOLUNTARY

13 AGREEMENT ON ELECTION REPORTING BY

14 MEDIA.

15 It is the sense of Congress that broadcasters and

16 other members of the media should review and take steps

17 to strengthen their participation in the voluntary agree18 ment on election reporting described in the report entitled

19 ‘‘Single Poll Closing Time for Presidential General Elec20 tions in the Continental United States’’ (Part 1 of House

21 Report 101–15, One Hundred First Congress, as printed

22 on March 23, 1989).

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