I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5645

To establish a Commission for the comprehensive study of voting practices

and procedures in Federal, State, and local elections, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DECEMBER 7, 2000

Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the

Judiciary, 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 a Commission for the comprehensive study of

voting practices and procedures in Federal, State, and

local elections, 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 ‘‘Commission on the

5 Comprehensive Study of Voting Practices and Procedures

6 Act of 2000’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

8 Congress finds that—
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1 (1) Americans are increasingly concerned about

2 current voting practices and procedures;

3 (2) Americans are increasingly concerned about

4 the speed and timeliness of vote counts;

5 (3) Americans are increasingly concerned about

6 the accuracy of vote counts;

7 (4) Americans are concerned about conflicts in

8 procedures used to file and count military ballots

9 and absentee ballots;

10 (5) Americans are increasingly concerned about

11 the security of voting procedures;

12 (6) the increasing use of technology in the

13 United States calls for a reassessment of the use of

14 standardized voting technology to assure accuracy in

15 the administration of Federal elections and an eval16 uation of the most accurate and ‘‘fail-safe’’ tech17 nologies available;

18 (7) Americans are concerned that the influence

19 of early predictions of results by the media on the

20 day of election may affect turnout in various regions

21 of the Nation; and

22 (8) there is a need for Congress to review meth23 ods for standardizing voting practices and proce24 dures in order to ensure the integrity of Federal

25 elections.
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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION.

2 There is established the Commission on the Com3 prehensive Study of Voting Practices and Procedures (in

4 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’).

5 SEC. 4. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

6 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date of

7 enactment of this Act, the Commission shall complete a

8 thorough study of all issues relating to voting practices

9 and procedures in Federal, State, and local elections, in10 cluding the following:

11 (1) Voting practices and procedures in Federal,

12 State, and local government elections.

13 (2) Voting practices and procedures that rep14 resent the best practices in Federal, State, and local

15 government elections.

16 (3) Legislation and regulatory efforts that af17 fect issues of voting practices and procedures.

18 (4) The implementation of standardized voting

19 procedures, including standardized technology, for

20 Federal, State, and local government elections.

21 (5) The speed and timeliness of vote counts in

22 Federal, State and local elections, including an as23 sessment of regional variations which may be af24 fected by early media predictions of election results.
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1 (6) The feasibility and advisability of estab2 lishing a uniform poll closing time applicable in all

3 States.

4 (7) The accuracy of vote counts in Federal,

5 State and local elections.

6 (8) The security of voting procedures in Fed7 eral, State and local elections.

8 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Commission shall de9 velop recommendations on the matters studied under sub10 section (a).

11 (c) REPORTS.—

12 (1) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days

13 after the expiration of the period referred to in sub14 section (a), the Commission shall submit a report,

15 that has been approved by a majority of the mem16 bers of the Commission, to the President and Con17 gress which shall contain a detailed statement of the

18 findings and conclusions of the Commission, to19 gether with its recommendations for such legislation

20 and administrative actions as it considers appro21 priate.

22 (2) INTERIM REPORTS.—The Commission may

23 submit to the President and Congress any interim

24 reports that are approved by a majority of the mem25 bers of the Commission.
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1 (3) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—The Commission

2 may, together with the report submitted under para3 graph (1), submit additional reports that contain

4 any dissenting or minority opinions of the members

5 of the Commission.

6 SEC. 5. MEMBERSHIP.

7 (a) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Commission

8 shall be composed of 5 members of whom—

9 (1) 1 shall be appointed by the President;

10 (2) 1 shall be appointed by the majority leader

11 of the Senate;

12 (3) 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader

13 of the Senate;

14 (4) 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the

15 House of Representatives; and

16 (5) 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader

17 of the House of Representatives.

18 (b) DATE OF APPOINTMENT.—The appointments of

19 the members of the Commission shall be made not later

20 than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

21 (c) TERMS.—Each member of the Commission shall

22 be appointed for the life of the Commission.

23 (d) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission shall

24 not affect its powers, but shall be filled in the same man25 ner in which the original appointment was made.
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1 (e) MEETINGS.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall meet

3 at the call of the Chairperson or a majority if its

4 members.

5 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days

6 after the date on which all members of the Commis7 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold

8 its first meeting.

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

10 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser num11 ber of members may hold hearings.

12 (g) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

13 Commission shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chair14 person from among its members.

15 SEC. 6. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.

16 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission

17 may hold such hearings for the purpose of carrying out

18 this Act, sit and act at such times and places, take such

19 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission

20 considers advisable to carry out this Act. The Commission

21 may administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses ap22 pearing before the Commission.

23 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

24 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart25 ment or agency such information as the Commission con-
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1 siders necessary to carry out this Act. Upon request of

2 the Chairperson of the Commission, the head of such de3 partment or agency shall furnish such information to the

4 Commission.

5 (c) WEBSITE.—For purposes of conducting the study

6 under section 4(a), the Commission shall establish a

7 website to facilitate public comment and participation.

8 (d) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use

9 the United States mails in the same manner and under

10 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

11 the Federal Government.

12 (e) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon

13 the request of the Chairperson of the Commission, the Ad14 ministrator of the General Services Administration shall

15 provide to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, the

16 administrative support services that are necessary to en17 able the Commission to carry out its duties under this Act.

18 (f) CONTRACTS.—The Commission may contract with

19 and compensate persons and Federal agencies for supplies

20 and services without regard to section 3709 of the Revised

21 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 5).

22 (g) GIFTS AND DONATIONS.—The Commission may

23 accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of services

24 or property to carry out this Act.
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1 SEC. 7. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

2 (a) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.—Each member of

3 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of the

4 Federal Government shall be compensated at a rate equal

5 to the daily equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay pre6 scribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under sec7 tion 5315 of title 5, United States Code, for each day (in8 cluding travel time) during which such member is engaged

9 in the performance of the duties of the Commission. All

10 members of the Commission who are officers or employees

11 of the United States shall serve without compensation in

12 addition to that received for their services as officers or

13 employees of the United States.

14 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the Com15 mission shall be allowed travel expenses, including per

16 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ17 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title

18 5, United States Code, while away from their homes or

19 regular places of business in the performance of services

20 for the Commission.

21 (c) STAFF.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Chairperson of the

23 Commission may, without regard to the civil service

24 laws and regulations, appoint and terminate an exec25 utive director and such other additional personnel as

26 may be necessary to enable the Commission to per-
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1 form its duties. The employment of an executive di2 rector shall be subject to confirmation by the Com3 mission.

4 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Chairperson of the

5 Commission may fix the compensation of the execu6 tive director and other personnel without regard to

7 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title

8 5, United States Code, relating to classification of

9 positions and General Schedule pay rates, except

10 that the rate of pay for the executive director and

11 other personnel may not exceed the rate payable for

12 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5316

13 of such title.

14 (d) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Any

15 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the

16 Commission without reimbursement, and such detail shall

17 be without interruption or loss of civil service status or

18 privilege.

19 (e) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTERMIT20 TENT SERVICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission

21 may procure temporary and intermittent services under

22 section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates

23 for individuals which do not exceed the daily equivalent

24 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V of

25 the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such title.
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1 SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.

2 Any new contracting authority provided for in this

3 Act shall be effective only to the extent, or in the amounts,

4 provided for in advance in appropriations Acts.

5 SEC. 9. TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.

6 The Commission shall terminate 30 days after the

7 date on which the Commission submits its report under

8 section 4.

9 SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

10 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the

11 enactment of an Act with respect to voting practices and

12 procedures during the period in which the Commission is

13 carrying out its duties under this Act.

14 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro16 priated such sums as may be necessary to the Commission

17 to carry out this Act.

18 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under

19 the authorization contained in this section shall remain

20 available, without fiscal year limitation, until expended.

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