I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6072 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to promote accuracy, integrity, 

and security in the administration of elections for Federal office, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 20, 2016 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of 

Georgia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. HONDA, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. BISHOP of 

Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on 

Science, Space, and Technology, and 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 amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to promote 

accuracy, integrity, and security in the administration 

of elections for Federal office, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Election Integrity Act of 2016’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—INTEGRITY OF VOTING SYSTEMS AND BALLOTS 

Subtitle A—Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security Through VoterVerified Permanent Paper Ballot 

Sec. 101. Moratorium on acquisition of certain direct recording electronic voting systems and certain other voting systems. 

Sec. 102. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements. 

Sec. 103. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities. 

Subtitle B—Additional Voting System Requirements 

Sec. 111. Additional voting system requirements. 

Subtitle C—Funding 

Sec. 121. Availability of additional funding to enable States to meet costs of 

revised requirements. 

Sec. 122. Grants for development of compliant systems. 

Subtitle D—Effective Date 

Sec. 131. Effective date for new requirements. 

TITLE II—REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS BY 

HAND COUNT 

Sec. 201. Mandatory manual audits. 

‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual Audits 

‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring audits of results of elections. 

‘‘Sec. 322. Number of ballots counted under audit. 

‘‘Sec. 323. Process for administering audits. 

‘‘Sec. 324. Selection of precincts. 

‘‘Sec. 325. Publication of results. 

‘‘Sec. 326. Payments to States. 

‘‘Sec. 327. Exception for elections subject to recount under State law prior 

to certification. 

‘‘Sec. 328. Effective date. 

Sec. 202. Availability of enforcement under Help America Vote Act of 2002. 

Sec. 203. Guidance on best practices for alternative audit mechanisms. 

Sec. 204. Clerical amendment. 

TITLE III—OTHER REFORMS TO PROMOTE INTEGRITY OF 

ELECTIONS 

Subtitle A—Integrity of Election Administration 

Sec. 301. Prohibition on campaign activities by chief State election administration officials. 

Sec. 302. Mandatory training for poll workers. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 6072 IH

Sec. 303. Due process requirements for individuals proposed to be removed 

from list of eligible voters. 

Sec. 304. Mandatory response by Attorney General to allegations of voter intimidation or suppression by law enforcement officers and 

other government officials. 

Subtitle B—Removing Barriers to Voting 

Sec. 311. Requirements for counting provisional ballots; establishment of uniform and nondiscriminatory standards. 

Sec. 312. Prohibiting imposition of conditions on voting by mail. 

Sec. 313. Mandatory availability of early voting. 

Sec. 314. Requirements for availability of sufficient polling places, equipment, 

and resources. 

TITLE IV—RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

COMMISSION 

Sec. 401. Permitting Election Assistance Commission to exercise rulemaking 

authority. 

1 TITLE I—INTEGRITY OF VOTING 

2 SYSTEMS AND BALLOTS 

3 Subtitle A—Promoting Accuracy, 

4 Integrity, and Security Through 

5 Voter-Verified Permanent Paper 

6 Ballot 

7 SEC. 101. MORATORIUM ON ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN DI8 RECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYS9 TEMS AND CERTAIN OTHER VOTING SYS10 TEMS. 

11 Section 301 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

12 (52 U.S.C. 21081) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

14 subsections (d) and (e); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol16 lowing new subsection: 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(c) MORATORIUM ON ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN DI2 RECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS AND

3 CERTAIN OTHER VOTING SYSTEMS.—Beginning on the 

4 date of the enactment of the Election Integrity Act of 

5 2016, no State or jurisdiction may purchase or otherwise 

6 acquire for use in an election for Federal office a direct 

7 recording electronic voting system or other electronic vot8 ing system that does not produce a voter-verified paper 

9 record as required by section 301(a)(2) (as amended by 

10 such Act).’’. 

11 SEC. 102. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE12 QUIREMENTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 

14 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 

19 (I) The voting system shall require the use 

20 of an individual, durable, voter-verified, 

21 paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall 

22 be marked and made available for inspec23 tion and verification by the voter before 

24 the voter’s vote is cast and counted, and 

25 which shall be counted by hand or read by 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 6072 IH

1 an optical character recognition device or 

2 other counting device. For purposes of this 

3 subclause, the term ‘individual, durable, 

4 voter-verified, paper ballot’ means a paper 

5 ballot marked by the voter by hand or a 

6 paper ballot marked through the use of a 

7 nontabulating ballot marking device or sys8 tem, so long as the voter shall have the op9 tion to mark his or her ballot by hand. 

10 ‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 

11 the voter with an opportunity to correct 

12 any error on the paper ballot before the 

13 permanent voter-verified paper ballot is 

14 preserved in accordance with clause (ii). 

15 ‘‘(III) The voting system shall not 

16 preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in 

17 any manner that makes it possible, at any 

18 time after the ballot has been cast, to asso19 ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 

20 vote without the voter’s consent. 

21 ‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION AS OFFICIAL

22 RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter23 verified, paper ballot used in accordance 

24 with clause (i) shall constitute the official 

25 ballot and shall be preserved and used as 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 6072 IH

1 the official ballot for purposes of any re2 count or audit conducted with respect to 

3 any election for Federal office in which the 

4 voting system is used. 

5 ‘‘(iii) MANUAL COUNTING REQUIRE6 MENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.—(I) 

7 Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 

8 (i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, 

9 and shall be counted by hand in any re10 count or audit conducted with respect to 

11 any election for Federal office. 

12 ‘‘(II) In the event of any inconsist13 encies or irregularities between any elec14 tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies de15 termined by counting by hand the indi16 vidual, durable, voter-verified, paper ballots 

17 used pursuant to clause (i), and subject to 

18 subparagraph (B), the individual, durable, 

19 voter-verified, paper ballots shall be the 

20 true and correct record of the votes cast. 

21 ‘‘(iv) APPLICATION TO ALL BAL22 LOTS.—The requirements of this subpara23 graph shall apply to all ballots cast in elec24 tions for Federal office, including ballots 

25 cast by absent uniformed services voters 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 6072 IH

1 and overseas voters under the Uniformed 

2 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

3 and other absentee voters. 

4 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TREATMENT OF

5 DISPUTES WHEN PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN

6 SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the event 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(I) there is any inconsistency 

10 between any electronic vote tallies and 

11 the vote tallies determined by count12 ing by hand the individual, durable, 

13 voter-verified, paper ballots used pur14 suant to subparagraph (A)(i) with re15 spect to any election for Federal of16 fice; and 

17 ‘‘(II) it is demonstrated by clear 

18 and convincing evidence (as deter19 mined in accordance with the applica20 ble standards in the jurisdiction in21 volved) in any recount, audit, or con22 test of the result of the election that 

23 the paper ballots have been com24 promised (by damage or mischief or 

25 otherwise) and that a sufficient numVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ber of the ballots have been so com2 promised that the result of the elec3 tion could be changed, 

4 the determination of the appropriate rem5 edy with respect to the election shall be 

6 made in accordance with applicable State 

7 law, except that the electronic tally shall 

8 not be used as the exclusive basis for de9 termining the official certified result. 

10 ‘‘(ii) RULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF

11 BALLOTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH VOTING

12 MACHINE.—For purposes of clause (i), 

13 only the paper ballots deemed com14 promised, if any, shall be considered in the 

15 calculation of whether or not the result of 

16 the election could be changed due to the 

17 compromised paper ballots.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING APPLI19 CABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.— 

20 Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) 

21 is amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re22 quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys23 tem’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

2 301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend3 ed— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count5 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

6 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count8 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

9 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 

10 (3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count11 ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 

12 accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 

13 (4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count14 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

15 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 

16 SEC. 103. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 

17 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of the Help 

19 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(3)(B)) is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(B)(i) satisfy the requirement of subpara22 graph (A) through the use of at least one voting 

23 system equipped for individuals with disabil24 ities, including nonvisual and enhanced visual 

25 accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 6072 IH

1 and nonmanual and enhanced manual accessi2 bility for the mobility and dexterity impaired, at 

3 each polling place; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) meet the requirements of subpara5 graph (A) and paragraph (2)(A) by using a sys6 tem that— 

7 ‘‘(I) allows the voter to privately and 

8 independently verify the permanent paper 

9 ballot through the presentation, in acces10 sible form, of the printed or marked vote 

11 selections from the same printed or 

12 marked information that would be used for 

13 any vote counting or auditing; and 

14 ‘‘(II) allows the voter to privately and 

15 independently verify and cast the perma16 nent paper ballot without requiring the 

17 voter to manually handle the paper ballot; 

18 and’’. 

19 (b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, 

20 AND DEVELOPMENT OF ACCESSIBLE PAPER BALLOT

21 VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.— 

22 (1) STUDY AND REPORTING.—Subtitle C of 

23 title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 

24 amended— 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (A) by redesignating section 247 as section 

2 248; and 

3 (B) by inserting after section 246 the fol4 lowing new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE PAPER 

6 BALLOT VERIFICATION MECHANISMS. 

7 ‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Director of the Na8 tional Science Foundation shall make grants to not fewer 

9 than 3 eligible entities to study, test, and develop acces10 sible paper ballot voting, verification, and casting mecha11 nisms and devices and best practices to enhance the acces12 sibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms 

13 for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary 

14 language is not English, and for voters with difficulties 

15 in literacy, including best practices for the mechanisms 

16 themselves and the processes through which the mecha17 nisms are used. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 

19 grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 

20 time and in such form as the Director may require) an 

21 application containing— 

22 ‘‘(1) certifications that the entity shall specifi23 cally investigate enhanced methods or devices, in24 cluding nonelectronic devices, that will assist such 

25 individuals and voters in marking voter-verified 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 6072 IH

1 paper ballots and presenting or transmitting the in2 formation printed or marked on such ballots back to 

3 such individuals and voters, and casting such ballots; 

4 ‘‘(2) a certification that the entity shall com5 plete the activities carried out with the grant not 

6 later than December 31, 2018; and 

7 ‘‘(3) such other information and certifications 

8 as the Director may require. 

9 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech10 nology developed with the grants made under this section 

11 shall be treated as nonproprietary and shall be made avail12 able to the public, including to manufacturers of voting 

13 systems. 

14 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH GRANTS FOR TECH15 NOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—The Director shall carry out 

16 this section so that the activities carried out with the 

17 grants made under subsection (a) are coordinated with the 

18 research conducted under the grant program carried out 

19 by the Commission under section 271, to the extent that 

20 the Director and Commission determine necessary to pro21 vide for the advancement of accessible voting technology. 

22 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

23 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 

24 (a) $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents of such Act is amended— 

3 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 

4 section 247 as relating to section 248; and 

5 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

6 section 246 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible paper ballot verification mechanisms.’’. 

7 (c) CLARIFICATION OF ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS

8 UNDER VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDANCE.—In 

9 adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 

10 III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 with respect 

11 to the accessibility of the paper ballot verification require12 ments for individuals with disabilities, the Election Assist13 ance Commission shall include and apply the same accessi14 bility standards applicable under the voluntary guidance 

15 adopted for accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 

16 (d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR PROTECTION

17 AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT ACTIONS TO EN18 FORCE ELECTION-RELATED DISABILITY ACCESS.—Sec19 tion 292(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

20 U.S.C. 21062(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ 

21 and all that follows and inserting a period. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 6072 IH

1 Subtitle B—Additional Voting 

2 System Requirements 

3 SEC. 111. ADDITIONAL VOTING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—Section 301(a) of 

5 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) 

6 is amended by adding at the end the following new para7 graphs: 

8 ‘‘(7) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF PAPER BAL9 LOTS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a fail11 ure of voting equipment or other circumstance 

12 at a polling place in an election for Federal of13 fice that causes an unreasonable delay, the ap14 propriate election official at the polling place 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) immediately advise any individual 

17 who is waiting at the polling place to cast 

18 a ballot in the election at the time of the 

19 failure that the individual has the right to 

20 use an emergency paper ballot; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) upon the individual’s request, 

22 provide the individual with an emergency 

23 paper ballot for the election and the sup24 plies necessary to mark the ballot. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF BALLOTS.—Any 

2 paper ballot which is cast by an individual 

3 under this clause shall be counted and other4 wise treated as a regular ballot for all purposes 

5 (including by incorporating it into the final un6 official vote count (as defined by the State) for 

7 the precinct) and not as a provisional ballot, 

8 unless the individual casting the ballot would 

9 have otherwise been required to cast a provi10 sional ballot. 

11 ‘‘(8) PROHIBITING USE OF UNCERTIFIED ELEC12 TION-DEDICATED VOTING SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES; 

13 DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A voting system used 

15 in an election for Federal office in a State may 

16 not at any time during the election contain or 

17 use any election-dedicated voting system tech18 nology— 

19 ‘‘(i) which has not been certified by 

20 the State for use in the election; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) which has not been deposited 

22 with an accredited laboratory described in 

23 section 231 to be held in escrow and dis24 closed in accordance with this section. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR DISCLOSURE AND

2 LIMITATION ON RESTRICTING DISCLOSURE.— 

3 An accredited laboratory under section 231 

4 with whom an election-dedicated voting system 

5 technology has been deposited shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) hold the technology in escrow; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(ii) disclose technology and informa9 tion regarding the technology to another 

10 person if— 

11 ‘‘(I) the person is a qualified per12 son described in subparagraph (C) 

13 who has entered into a nondisclosure 

14 agreement with respect to the tech15 nology which meets the requirements 

16 of subparagraph (D); or 

17 ‘‘(II) the laboratory is permitted 

18 or required to disclose the technology 

19 to the person under State law, in ac20 cordance with the terms and condi21 tions applicable under such law. 

22 ‘‘(C) QUALIFIED PERSONS DESCRIBED.— 

23 With respect to the disclosure of election-dedi24 cated voting system technology by a laboratory 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 6072 IH

1 under subparagraph (B)(ii)(I), a ‘qualified per2 son’ is any of the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) A governmental entity with re4 sponsibility for the administration of vot5 ing and election-related matters for pur6 poses of reviewing, analyzing, or reporting 

7 on the technology. 

8 ‘‘(ii) A party to pre- or postelection 

9 litigation challenging the result of an elec10 tion or the administration or use of the 

11 technology used in an election, including 

12 but not limited to election contests or chal13 lenges to the certification of the tech14 nology, or an expert for a party to such 

15 litigation, for purposes of reviewing or ana16 lyzing the technology to support or oppose 

17 the litigation, and all parties to the litiga18 tion shall have access to the technology for 

19 such purposes. 

20 ‘‘(iii) A person not described in clause 

21 (i) or (ii) who reviews, analyzes, or reports 

22 on the technology solely for an academic, 

23 scientific, technological, or other investiga24 tion or inquiry concerning the accuracy or 

25 integrity of the technology. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR NONDISCLO2 SURE AGREEMENTS.—A nondisclosure agree3 ment entered into with respect to an election4 dedicated voting system technology meets the 

5 requirements of this subparagraph if the agree6 ment— 

7 ‘‘(i) is limited in scope to coverage of 

8 the technology disclosed under subpara9 graph (B) and any trade secrets and intel10 lectual property rights related thereto; 

11 ‘‘(ii) does not prohibit a signatory 

12 from entering into other nondisclosure 

13 agreements to review other technologies 

14 under this paragraph; 

15 ‘‘(iii) exempts from coverage any in16 formation the signatory lawfully obtained 

17 from another source or any information in 

18 the public domain; 

19 ‘‘(iv) remains in effect for not longer 

20 than the life of any trade secret or other 

21 intellectual property right related thereto; 

22 ‘‘(v) prohibits the use of injunctions 

23 barring a signatory from carrying out any 

24 activity authorized under subparagraph 

25 (C), including injunctions limited to the 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 6072 IH

1 period prior to a trial involving the tech2 nology; 

3 ‘‘(vi) is silent as to damages awarded 

4 for breach of the agreement, other than a 

5 reference to damages available under appli6 cable law; 

7 ‘‘(vii) allows disclosure of evidence of 

8 crime, including in response to a subpoena 

9 or warrant; 

10 ‘‘(viii) allows the signatory to perform 

11 analyses on the technology (including by 

12 executing the technology), disclose reports 

13 and analyses that describe operational 

14 issues pertaining to the technology (includ15 ing vulnerabilities to tampering, errors, 

16 risks associated with use, failures as a re17 sult of use, and other problems), and de18 scribe or explain why or how a voting sys19 tem failed or otherwise did not perform as 

20 intended; and 

21 ‘‘(ix) provides that the agreement 

22 shall be governed by the trade secret laws 

23 of the applicable State. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(E) ELECTION-DEDICATED VOTING SYS2 TEM TECHNOLOGY DEFINED.—For purposes of 

3 this paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘elec5 tion-dedicated voting system technology’ 

6 means the following: 

7 ‘‘(I) The source code used for the 

8 trusted build and its file signatures. 

9 ‘‘(II) A complete disk image of 

10 the prebuild, build environment, and 

11 any file signatures to validate that it 

12 is unmodified. 

13 ‘‘(III) A complete disk image of 

14 the postbuild, build environment, and 

15 any file signatures to validate that it 

16 is unmodified. 

17 ‘‘(IV) All executable code pro18 duced by the trusted build and any 

19 file signatures to validate that it is 

20 unmodified. 

21 ‘‘(V) Installation devices and 

22 software file signatures. 

23 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION.—Such term does 

24 not include ‘commercial-off-the-shelf’ soft25 ware and hardware defined under the 2015 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 6072 IH

1 voluntary voting system guidelines adopted 

2 by the Commission under section 222. 

3 ‘‘(9) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM4 MUNICATIONS DEVICES IN SYSTEMS OR DEVICES.— 

5 No system or device upon which ballots are marked 

6 or votes are cast or tabulated shall contain, use, or 

7 be accessible by any wireless, powerline, or concealed 

8 communication device, except that enclosed infrared 

9 communications devices which are certified for use 

10 in such device by the State and which cannot be 

11 used for any remote or wide area communications or 

12 used without the knowledge of poll workers shall be 

13 permitted. 

14 ‘‘(10) PROHIBITING CONNECTION OF SYSTEM

15 TO THE INTERNET.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No system or device 

17 upon which ballots are programmed or votes are 

18 cast or tabulated shall be connected to the 

19 Internet at any time. 

20 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITING ACCEPTANCE OF BAL21 LOTS TRANSMITTED ONLINE.—The voting sys22 tem may not accept any voted ballot which is 

23 transmitted to an election official online. 

24 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

25 contained in this paragraph shall be deemed to 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 6072 IH

1 prohibit the Commission from conducting the 

2 studies under section 242 or to conduct other 

3 similar studies under any other provision of law 

4 in a manner consistent with this paragraph. 

5 ‘‘(11) SECURITY STANDARDS FOR VOTING SYS6 TEMS USED IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No voting system may 

8 be used in an election for Federal office unless 

9 the manufacturer of such system and the elec10 tion officials using such system meet the appli11 cable requirements described in subparagraph 

12 (B). 

13 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—The 

14 requirements described in this subparagraph 

15 are as follows: 

16 ‘‘(i) The manufacturer and the elec17 tion officials shall document the secure 

18 chain of custody for the handling of all 

19 software, hardware, vote storage media, 

20 blank ballots, and completed ballots used 

21 in connection with voting systems, and 

22 shall make the information available upon 

23 request to the Commission. 

24 ‘‘(ii) The manufacturer shall disclose 

25 to an accredited laboratory under section 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 6072 IH

1 231 and to the appropriate election official 

2 any information required to be disclosed 

3 under paragraph (8). 

4 ‘‘(iii) After the appropriate election 

5 official has certified the election-dedicated 

6 and other voting system software for use in 

7 an election, the manufacturer may not— 

8 ‘‘(I) alter such software; or 

9 ‘‘(II) insert or use in the voting 

10 system any software, software patch, 

11 or other software modification not cer12 tified by the State for use in the elec13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(iv) At the request of the Commis15 sion— 

16 ‘‘(I) the appropriate election offi17 cial shall submit information to the 

18 Commission regarding the State’s 

19 compliance with this subparagraph; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) the manufacturer shall sub22 mit information to the Commission re23 garding the manufacturer’s compli24 ance with this subparagraph. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(C) DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF

2 BEST PRACTICES OF SECURE CHAIN OF CUS3 TODY.—Not later than August 1, 2018, the 

4 Commission shall develop and make publicly 

5 available best practices regarding the require6 ment of subparagraph (B)(i) and (B)(iii), and 

7 in the case of subparagraph (B)(iii), shall in8 clude best practices for certifying software 

9 patches and minor software modifications under 

10 short deadlines. 

11 ‘‘(D) DISCLOSURE OF SECURE CHAIN OF

12 CUSTODY.—The Commission shall make infor13 mation provided to the Commission under sub14 paragraph (B)(i) available to any person upon 

15 request. 

16 ‘‘(12) DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIRE17 MENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DURABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 PAPER BALLOTS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—All voter-verified 

21 paper ballots required to be used under 

22 this Act shall be marked or printed on du23 rable paper. 

24 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 

25 this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 6072 IH

1 of withstanding multiple counts and re2 counts by hand without compromising the 

3 fundamental integrity of the ballots, and 

4 capable of retaining the information 

5 marked or printed on them for the full du6 ration of a retention and preservation pe7 riod of 22 months. 

8 ‘‘(B) READABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

9 PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING

10 DEVICE.—All voter-verified paper ballots com11 pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 

12 marking device shall be clearly readable by the 

13 voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses 

14 or other personal vision-enhancing devices) and 

15 by an optical character recognition device or 

16 other device equipped for individuals with dis17 abilities. 

18 ‘‘(13) REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLICATION OF

19 POLL TAPES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—Each State shall 

21 meet the following requirements: 

22 ‘‘(i) Upon the closing of the polls at 

23 each polling place, the appropriate election 

24 official, under the observation of the cer25 tified tabulation observers admitted to the 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 6072 IH

1 polling place under subparagraph (E) (if 

2 any), shall announce the vote orally, post a 

3 copy of the poll tape reflecting the totals 

4 from each voting machine upon which 

5 votes were cast in the election at the poll6 ing place, and prepare and post a state7 ment of the total number of individuals 

8 who appeared at the polling place to cast 

9 ballots, determined by reference to the 

10 number of signatures in a sign-in book or 

11 other similar independent count. Such offi12 cials shall ensure that each of the certified 

13 tabulation observers admitted to the poll14 ing place has full access to observe the 

15 process by which the poll tapes and state16 ment are produced and a reasonable period 

17 of time to review the poll tapes and state18 ment before the polling place is closed, and 

19 (if feasible) shall provide such observers 

20 with identical duplicate copies of the poll 

21 tapes and statement. 

22 ‘‘(ii) As soon as practicable, but in no 

23 event later than noon of the day following 

24 the date of the election, the appropriate 

25 election official shall display (at a promiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 6072 IH

1 nent location accessible to the public dur2 ing regular business hours and in or within 

3 reasonable proximity to the polling place) a 

4 copy of each poll tape and statement pre5 pared under clause (i), and the information 

6 shall be displayed on the official public 

7 Web sites of the applicable local election 

8 official and chief State election official, to9 gether with the name of the designated 

10 voting official who entered the information 

11 and the date and time the information was 

12 entered. 

13 ‘‘(iii) Each Web site on which infor14 mation is posted under clause (ii) shall in15 clude information on the procedures by 

16 which discrepancies shall be reported to 

17 election officials. If any discrepancy exists 

18 between the posted information and the 

19 relevant poll tape or statement, the appro20 priate election official shall display infor21 mation on the discrepancy on the Web site 

22 on which the information is posted under 

23 clause (ii) not later than 24 hours after 

24 the official is made aware of the discrep25 ancy, and shall maintain the information 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 6072 IH

1 on the discrepancy and its resolution (if 

2 applicable) on such Web site during the 

3 entire period for which results of the elec4 tion are typically maintained on such Web 

5 site. 

6 ‘‘(iv) The appropriate election official 

7 shall preserve archived copies of the poll 

8 tapes and statements prepared under 

9 clause (i) and reports of discrepancies filed 

10 by certified tabulation observers for the pe11 riod of time during which records and pa12 pers are required to be retained and pre13 served pursuant to title III of the Civil 

14 Rights Act of 1960 (42 U.S.C. 1974 et 

15 seq.) or for the same duration for which 

16 archived copies of other records of the elec17 tion are required to be preserved under ap18 plicable State law, whichever is longer. 

19 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF BALLOTS CAST AT

20 EARLY VOTING SITES.— 

21 ‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—The requirements 

22 of this subparagraph shall apply with re23 spect to poll tapes and statements of the 

24 number of voters who voted in person at 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 6072 IH

1 designated sites prior to the date of the 

2 election. 

3 ‘‘(ii) DAILY COUNT OF VOTERS.—At 

4 the close of business on each day on which 

5 ballots described in clause (i) may be cast 

6 prior to the date of the election, the appro7 priate election official at each such site 

8 shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) under the observation of cer10 tified tabulation observers admitted to 

11 the site under subparagraph (E) (if 

12 any), prepare and post a statement of 

13 the total number of individuals who 

14 appeared at the site to cast ballots, 

15 determined by reference to the num16 ber of signatures in a sign-in book or 

17 other similar independent count, and 

18 the total number of ballots cast (ex19 cluding information on the votes re20 ceived by individual candidates), and 

21 shall ensure that each of the certified 

22 tabulation observers admitted to the 

23 site has full access to observe the 

24 process by which the statement is pro25 duced and a reasonable period of time 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 6072 IH

1 to review the statement before the site 

2 is closed; and 

3 ‘‘(II) display at the site during 

4 regular business hours for the dura5 tion of the early voting period a paper 

6 copy of the statement prepared under 

7 subclause (I). 

8 ‘‘(iii) APPLICATION OF GENERAL RE9 QUIREMENTS FOR POLL TAPES AND

10 STATEMENTS.—Upon the closing of the 

11 polls on the date of the election, the appro12 priate election official at each designated 

13 site described in this subparagraph shall 

14 meet the requirements of subparagraph 

15 (A) (including requirements relating to the 

16 role of certified tabulation observers) in 

17 the same manner as an election official at 

18 a polling place. 

19 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF ABSENTEE BAL20 LOTS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) DAILY COUNT OF BALLOTS

22 MAILED AND RECEIVED.—At the close of 

23 each business day on which a State mails 

24 or accepts absentee ballots cast in an elec25 tion for Federal office prior to the date of 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 6072 IH

1 the election, the appropriate election offi2 cial shall— 

3 ‘‘(I) under the observation of cer4 tified tabulation observers admitted 

5 under subparagraph (E) to the site at 

6 which the ballots are mailed and re7 ceived (if any), prepare and post a 

8 statement of the total number of ab9 sentee ballots mailed and received by 

10 the official during that day and a sep11 arate count of the number of absentee 

12 ballots received but rejected (sepa13 rated into categories of the reasons 

14 for rejection), and ensure that each of 

15 the certified tabulation observers ad16 mitted to the site has full access to 

17 observe the process by which the 

18 statement is produced and a reason19 able period of time to review the 

20 statement before the site is closed; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(II) display at the site during 

23 regular business hours for the dura24 tion of the period during which absen25 tee ballots are processed a paper copy 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 6072 IH

1 of the statement prepared under sub2 clause (I). 

3 ‘‘(ii) APPLICATION OF GENERAL RE4 QUIREMENTS FOR POLL TAPES AND

5 STATEMENTS.—At the close of business on 

6 the last day on which absentee ballots are 

7 counted prior to the certification of the 

8 election, the appropriate election official at 

9 the site at which absentee ballots are re10 ceived and counted shall meet the require11 ments of subparagraph (A) (including re12 quirements relating to the role of certified 

13 tabulation observers) in the same manner 

14 as an election official at a polling place. 

15 ‘‘(D) DAILY COUNT OF PROVISIONAL BAL16 LOTS.—At the close of business on the day on 

17 which the appropriate election official deter18 mines whether or not provisional ballots cast in 

19 an election for Federal office will be counted as 

20 votes in the election (as described in section 

21 302(a)(4)), the official shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) under the observation of certified 

23 tabulation observers admitted under sub24 paragraph (E) to the site at which the de25 termination is made (if any), prepare and 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 6072 IH

1 post a statement of the number of such 

2 ballots for which a determination was 

3 made, the number of ballots counted, and 

4 the number of ballots rejected (separated 

5 into categories of the reason for the rejec6 tion), and ensure that each of the certified 

7 tabulation observers admitted to the site 

8 has full access to observe the process by 

9 which the statement is produced and a rea10 sonable period of time to review the state11 ment before the site is closed; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) display at the site during regular 

13 business hours for the duration of the pe14 riod during which provisional ballots are 

15 processed a paper copy of the statement 

16 prepared under clause (i). 

17 ‘‘(E) ADMISSION OF CERTIFIED TABULA18 TION OBSERVERS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) CERTIFIED TABULATION OB20 SERVER DEFINED.—In this paragraph, a 

21 ‘certified tabulation observer’ is an indi22 vidual who is certified by an appropriate 

23 election official as authorized to carry out 

24 the responsibilities of a certified tabulation 

25 observer under this paragraph. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) SELECTION.—In determining 

2 which individuals to certify as tabulation 

3 observers and admit to a polling place or 

4 other location to serve as certified tabula5 tion observers with respect to an election 

6 for Federal office, the election official shall 

7 give preference to individuals who are af8 filiated with a candidate in the election, ex9 cept that— 

10 ‘‘(I) the number of individuals 

11 admitted who are affiliated with the 

12 same candidate for Federal office may 

13 not exceed one; and 

14 ‘‘(II) the maximum number of in15 dividuals who may be admitted shall 

16 equal the number of candidates in the 

17 election plus 3, or such greater num18 ber as may be authorized under State 

19 law. 

20 ‘‘(iii) NO EFFECT ON ADMISSION OF

21 OTHER OBSERVERS.—Nothing in this sub22 paragraph may be construed to limit or 

23 otherwise affect the authority of other indi24 viduals to enter and observe polling place 

25 operations under any other law, including 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
35 

•HR 6072 IH

1 international observers authorized under 

2 any treaty or observers of the Federal Gov3 ernment authorized under the Voting 

4 Rights Act of 1965. 

5 ‘‘(F) NO EFFECT ON OTHER TABULATION

6 REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this Act may be 

7 construed to supersede any requirement that an 

8 election official at a polling place report vote to9 tals to a central tabulation facility and address 

10 discrepancies the official finds in the aggrega11 tion of those totals with other vote totals.’’. 

12 (b) REQUIRING LABORATORIES TO MEET STAND13 ARDS PROHIBITING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AS CONDI14 TION OF ACCREDITATION FOR TESTING OF VOTING SYS15 TEM HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(b) of such Act 

17 (52 U.S.C. 20971(b)) is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new paragraphs: 

19 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST; 

20 ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF RESULTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A laboratory may not 

22 be accredited by the Commission for purposes 

23 of this section unless— 

24 ‘‘(i) the laboratory certifies that the 

25 only compensation it receives for the testVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
36 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ing carried out in connection with the cer2 tification, decertification, and recertifi3 cation of the manufacturer’s voting system 

4 hardware and software is the payment 

5 made from the Testing Escrow Account 

6 under paragraph (4); 

7 ‘‘(ii) the laboratory meets such stand8 ards as the Commission shall establish 

9 (after notice and opportunity for public 

10 comment) to prevent the existence or ap11 pearance of any conflict of interest in the 

12 testing carried out by the laboratory under 

13 this section, including standards to ensure 

14 that the laboratory does not have a finan15 cial interest in the manufacture, sale, and 

16 distribution of voting system hardware and 

17 software, and is sufficiently independent 

18 from other persons with such an interest; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the laboratory certifies that it 

20 will permit an expert designated by the 

21 Commission or by the State requiring cer22 tification of the system being tested to ob23 serve any testing the laboratory carries out 

24 under this section; and 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
37 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(iv) the laboratory, upon completion 

2 of any testing carried out under this sec3 tion, discloses the test protocols, results, 

4 and all communication between the labora5 tory and the manufacturer to the Commis6 sion. 

7 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF RESULTS.—Upon 

8 receipt of information under subparagraph (A), 

9 the Commission shall make the information 

10 available promptly to election officials and the 

11 public. 

12 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING TESTING; 

13 PAYMENT OF USER FEES FOR COMPENSATION OF

14 ACCREDITED LABORATORIES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF ESCROW AC16 COUNT.—The Commission shall establish an es17 crow account (to be known as the Testing Es18 crow Account) for making payments to accred19 ited laboratories for the costs of the testing car20 ried out in connection with the certification, de21 certification, and recertification of voting sys22 tem hardware and software. 

23 ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE OF FEES.—In consulta24 tion with the accredited laboratories, the Com25 mission shall establish and regularly update a 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
38 

•HR 6072 IH

1 schedule of fees for the testing carried out in 

2 connection with the certification, decertification, 

3 and recertification of voting system hardware 

4 and software, based on the reasonable costs ex5 pected to be incurred by the accredited labora6 tories in carrying out the testing for various 

7 types of hardware and software. 

8 ‘‘(C) REQUESTS AND PAYMENTS BY MANU9 FACTURERS.—A manufacturer of voting system 

10 hardware and software may not have the hard11 ware or software tested by an accredited labora12 tory under this section unless— 

13 ‘‘(i) the manufacturer submits a de14 tailed request for the testing to the Com15 mission; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the manufacturer pays to the 

17 Commission, for deposit into the Testing 

18 Escrow Account established under sub19 paragraph (A), the applicable fee under the 

20 schedule established and in effect under 

21 subparagraph (B). 

22 ‘‘(D) SELECTION OF LABORATORY.—Upon 

23 receiving a request for testing and the payment 

24 from a manufacturer required under subpara25 graph (C), the Commission shall select, from all 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
39 

•HR 6072 IH

1 laboratories which are accredited under this 

2 section to carry out the specific testing re3 quested by the manufacturer, an accredited lab4 oratory to carry out the testing. 

5 ‘‘(E) PAYMENTS TO LABORATORIES.— 

6 Upon receiving a certification from a laboratory 

7 selected to carry out testing pursuant to sub8 paragraph (D) that the testing is completed, 

9 along with a copy of the results of the test as 

10 required under paragraph (3)(A)(iv), the Com11 mission shall make a payment to the laboratory 

12 from the Testing Escrow Account established 

13 under subparagraph (A) in an amount equal to 

14 the applicable fee paid by the manufacturer 

15 under subparagraph (C)(ii). 

16 ‘‘(5) DISSEMINATION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA17 TION ON ACCREDITED LABORATORIES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) INFORMATION ON TESTING.—Upon 

19 completion of the testing of a voting system 

20 under this section, the Commission shall 

21 promptly disseminate to the public the identi22 fication of the laboratory which carried out the 

23 testing. 

24 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION ON STATUS OF LAB25 ORATORIES.—The Commission shall promptly 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
40 

•HR 6072 IH

1 notify Congress, the chief State election official 

2 of each State, and the public whenever— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Commission revokes, termi4 nates, or suspends the accreditation of a 

5 laboratory under this section; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the Commission restores the ac7 creditation of a laboratory under this sec8 tion which has been revoked, terminated, 

9 or suspended; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) the Commission has credible evi11 dence of significant security failure at an 

12 accredited laboratory.’’. 

13 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 231 

14 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20971) is further amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘test16 ing, certification,’’ and all that follows and in17 serting the following: ‘‘testing of voting system 

18 hardware and software by accredited labora19 tories in connection with the certification, de20 certification, and recertification of the hardware 

21 and software for purposes of this Act.’’; 

22 (B) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘test23 ing, certification,’’ and all that follows and in24 serting the following: ‘‘testing of its voting sys25 tem hardware and software by the laboratories 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
41 

•HR 6072 IH

1 accredited by the Commission under this section 

2 in connection with certifying, decertifying, and 

3 recertifying the hardware and software.’’; 

4 (C) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘test5 ing, certification, decertification, and recertifi6 cation’’ and inserting ‘‘testing’’; and 

7 (D) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘testing, 

8 certification, decertification, and recertification’’ 

9 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘testing’’. 

10 (3) DEADLINE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF

11 STANDARDS, ESCROW ACCOUNT, AND SCHEDULE OF

12 FEES.—The Election Assistance Commission shall 

13 establish the standards described in section 

14 231(b)(3) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

15 and the Testing Escrow Account and schedule of 

16 fees described in section 231(b)(4) of such Act (as 

17 added by paragraph (1)) not later than January 1, 

18 2018. 

19 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Elec21 tion Assistance Commission such sums as may be 

22 necessary to carry out the Commission’s duties 

23 under paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 231 of the 

24 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by para25 graph (1)). 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
42 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (c) GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOPMENT OF

2 ELECTION-DEDICATED VOTING SYSTEM SOFTWARE.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the 

4 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 

5 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new part: 

7 ‘‘PART 7—GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOP8 MENT OF ELECTION-DEDICATED VOTING 

9 SYSTEM SOFTWARE 

10 ‘‘SEC. 297. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOPMENT OF 

11 ELECTION-DEDICATED VOTING SYSTEM 

12 SOFTWARE. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

14 Science Foundation (hereafter in this part referred to as 

15 the ‘Director’) shall make grants to not fewer than 3 eligi16 ble entities to conduct research on the development of elec17 tion-dedicated voting system software. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 

19 grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 

20 time and in such form as the Director may require) an 

21 application containing— 

22 ‘‘(1) certifications regarding the benefits of op23 erating voting systems on election-dedicated software 

24 which is easily understandable and which is written 

25 exclusively for the purpose of conducting elections; 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
43 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(2) certifications that the entity will use the 

2 funds provided under the grant to carry out research 

3 on how to develop voting systems that run on elec4 tion-dedicated software and that will meet the appli5 cable requirements for voting systems under title III; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(3) such other information and certifications 

8 as the Director may require. 

9 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech10 nology developed with the grants made under this section 

11 shall be treated as nonproprietary and shall be made avail12 able to the public, including to manufacturers of voting 

13 systems. 

14 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 is authorized to be appropriated for grants under this sec16 tion $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 and 2018, 

17 to remain available until expended.’’. 

18 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con19 tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 

20 of the items relating to subtitle D of title II the fol21 lowing: 

‘‘PART 7—GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTIONDEDICATED VOTING SYSTEM SOFTWARE

‘‘Sec. 297. Grants for research on development of election-dedicated voting system software.’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
44 

•HR 6072 IH

1 Subtitle C—Funding 

2 SEC. 121. AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO EN3 ABLE STATES TO MEET COSTS OF REVISED 

4 REQUIREMENTS. 

5 (a) EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS FOR

6 MEETING REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—Section 257(a) of 

7 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21007(a)) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new para9 graph: 

10 ‘‘(5) For each of the fiscal years 2017 and 

11 2018, $600,000,000, except that any funds provided 

12 under the authorization made by this paragraph 

13 shall be used by a State only to meet the require14 ments of title III which are first imposed on the 

15 State pursuant to the amendments made by title I 

16 of the Election Integrity Act of 2016, or to other17 wise modify or replace its voting systems in response 

18 to such amendments.’’. 

19 (b) USE OF REVISED FORMULA FOR ALLOCATION OF

20 FUNDS.—Section 252(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

21 21002(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(b) STATE ALLOCATION PERCENTAGE DEFINED.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the ‘State allocation percentage’ for a 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
45 

•HR 6072 IH

1 State is the amount (expressed as a percentage) 

2 equal to the quotient of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the voting age population of the State 

4 (as reported in the most recent decennial cen5 sus); and 

6 ‘‘(B) the total voting age population of all 

7 States (as reported in the most recent decennial 

8 census). 

9 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR PAYMENTS USED TO

10 MEET REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED UNDER ELECTION

11 INTEGRITY ACT OF 2016.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of the re13 quirements payment made to a State under the 

14 authorization made by section 257(a)(5) for fis15 cal years 2017 or 2018, the ‘State allocation 

16 percentage’ for a State is the amount (ex17 pressed as a percentage) equal to the quotient 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the sum of the number of non20 compliant precincts in the State and 50 

21 percent of the number of partially non22 compliant precincts in the State; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the number of non24 compliant precincts in all States and 50 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
46 

•HR 6072 IH

1 percent of the number of partially non2 compliant precincts in all States. 

3 ‘‘(B) NONCOMPLIANT PRECINCT DE4 FINED.—In this paragraph, a ‘noncompliant 

5 precinct’ means any precinct (or equivalent lo6 cation) within a State for which the voting sys7 tem used to administer the regularly scheduled 

8 general election for Federal office held in No9 vember 2016 did not meet either of the require10 ments described in subparagraph (D). 

11 ‘‘(C) PARTIALLY NONCOMPLIANT PRE12 CINCT DEFINED.—In this paragraph, a ‘par13 tially noncompliant precinct’ means any pre14 cinct (or equivalent location) within a State for 

15 which the voting system used to administer the 

16 regularly scheduled general election for Federal 

17 office held in November 2016 met only one of 

18 the requirements described in subparagraph 

19 (D). 

20 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—The 

21 requirements described in this subparagraph 

22 with respect to a voting system are as follows: 

23 ‘‘(i) The primary voting system re24 quired the use of durable paper ballots (as 

25 described in section 301(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) and 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
47 

•HR 6072 IH

1 301 (a)(12)(A)), as amended or added by 

2 the Election Integrity Act of 2016) for 

3 every vote cast. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The voting system allowed the 

5 voter to privately and independently verify 

6 the permanent paper ballot through the 

7 presentation of the same printed or 

8 marked information used for vote counting 

9 and auditing and to privately and inde10 pendently cast the permanent paper ballot 

11 without handling the ballot manually.’’. 

12 (c) REVISED CONDITIONS FOR RECEIPT OF

13 FUNDS.—Section 253 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21003) is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘A State is el16 igible’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub17 section (f), a State is eligible’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE FOR PAYMENTS USED TO MEET

21 REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED UNDER ELECTION INTEGRITY

22 ACT OF 2016.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

24 provision of this part, a State is eligible to receive 

25 a requirements payment under the authorization 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
48 

•HR 6072 IH

1 made by section 257(a)(5) for fiscal years 2017 or 

2 2018 if, not later than 90 days after the date of the 

3 enactment of the Election Integrity Act of 2016, the 

4 chief executive officer of the State, or designee, in 

5 consultation and coordination with the chief State 

6 election official— 

7 ‘‘(A) certifies to the Commission the num8 ber of noncompliant and partially noncompliant 

9 precincts in the State (as defined in section 

10 252(b)(2)); 

11 ‘‘(B) certifies to the Commission that the 

12 State will reimburse each unit of local govern13 ment in the State for any costs the unit incurs 

14 in carrying out the activities for which the pay15 ment may be used; and 

16 ‘‘(C) files a statement with the Commis17 sion describing the State’s need for the pay18 ment and how the State will use the payment 

19 to meet the requirements of title III (in accord20 ance with the limitations applicable to the use 

21 of the payment under section 257(a)(5)). 

22 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATIONS BY STATES THAT RE23 QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case of a 

24 State that requires State legislation to carry out any 

25 activity covered by any certification submitted under 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
49 

•HR 6072 IH

1 this subsection, the State shall be permitted to make 

2 the certification notwithstanding that the legislation 

3 has not been enacted at the time the certification is 

4 submitted and such State shall submit an additional 

5 certification once such legislation is enacted.’’. 

6 (d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR REIMBURSE7 MENT FOR COSTS PREVIOUSLY INCURRED.—Section 

8 251(c)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21001(c)(1)) is amended 

9 by striking the period at the end and inserting the fol10 lowing: ‘‘, or as a reimbursement for any costs incurred 

11 after November 2016 in meeting the requirements of title 

12 III which are imposed pursuant to the amendments made 

13 by title I of the Election Integrity Act of 2016 or in other14 wise upgrading or replacing voting systems in a manner 

15 consistent with such amendments (so long as the voting 

16 systems meet any of the requirements that apply with re17 spect to elections for Federal office held in 2018 and each 

18 succeeding year).’’. 

19 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING STATES

20 RECEIVING OTHER FUNDS FOR REPLACING PUNCH

21 CARD, LEVER, OR OTHER VOTING MACHINES.—Nothing 

22 in the amendments made by this section or in any other 

23 provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 may be 

24 construed to prohibit a State which received or was au25 thorized to receive a payment under title I or II of such 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
50 

•HR 6072 IH

1 Act for replacing punch card, lever, or other voting ma2 chines from receiving or using any funds which are made 

3 available under the amendments made by this section. 

4 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING USE OF

5 FUNDS RECEIVED IN PRIOR YEARS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing contained in this 

7 Act or the Help America Vote Act of 2002 may be 

8 construed to prohibit a State from using funds re9 ceived under title I or II of the Help America Vote 

10 Act of 2002 to purchase or acquire by other means 

11 a voting system that meets the requirements of sec12 tion 301 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as 

13 amended by this Act) in order to replace voting sys14 tems purchased with funds received under the Help 

15 America Vote Act of 2002 that do not meet such re16 quirements. 

17 (2) WAIVER OF NOTICE AND COMMENT RE18 QUIREMENTS.—The requirements of subparagraphs 

19 (A), (B), and (C) of section 254(a)(11) of the Help 

20 America Vote Act of 2002 shall not apply to any 

21 State using funds received under such Act for the 

22 purposes described in paragraph (1). 

23 SEC. 122. GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLIANT SYS24 TEMS. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
51 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (1) GRANTS TO DEVELOP VOTING SYSTEMS.— 

2 The Election Assistance Commission (hereafter re3 ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall establish and 

4 operate a program under which the Commission 

5 shall award grants to eligible entities for the devel6 opment of voting systems that meet the require7 ments of paragraph (2) and that may be used by 

8 States and units of local government to administer 

9 elections for Federal office. 

10 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTING SYSTEMS.— 

11 The requirements of this paragraph with respect to 

12 voting systems are as follows: 

13 (A) The system produces a voter-verified 

14 paper record of each vote cast on the system. 

15 (B) The system is demonstrably compat16 ible with commodity accessibility devices. 

17 (C) The system is fully accessible for the 

18 use of individuals with disabilities. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR RECIPI20 ENTS.—An entity is eligible to receive a grant under the 

21 program under this section if the entity submits to the 

22 Commission, at such time and in such form as the Com23 mission may require, an application containing— 

24 (1) a certification that any voting system devel25 oped with the funds provided under this section shall 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
52 

•HR 6072 IH

1 meet the requirements of paragraph (2) of sub2 section (a); and 

3 (2) such other information and assurances as 

4 the Commission may require. 

5 (c) APPLICABILITY OF REGULATIONS GOVERNING

6 PATENT RIGHTS IN INVENTIONS MADE WITH FEDERAL

7 ASSISTANCE.—Any invention made by the recipient of a 

8 grant under this section using funds provided under this 

9 section shall be subject to chapter 18 of title 35, United 

10 States Code (relating to patent rights in inventions made 

11 with Federal assistance). 

12 (d) REPORT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity which receives a 

14 grant under this section shall submit to the Commis15 sion a report describing the activities carried out 

16 with the funds provided under the grant. 

17 (2) DEADLINE.—An entity shall submit a re18 port required under paragraph (1) not later than 60 

19 days after the end of the fiscal year for which the 

20 entity received the grant which is the subject of the 

21 report. 

22 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

24 appropriated for grants under this section 

25 $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2017. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
53 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro2 priated pursuant to the authorization under this 

3 subsection shall remain available, without fiscal year 

4 limitation, until expended. 

5 Subtitle D—Effective Date 

6 SEC. 131. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 

7 Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

8 (52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re12 quired to comply with the requirements of this sec13 tion on and after January 1, 2006. 

14 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN REQUIRE15 MENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the requirements of 

18 this section which are first imposed on a State 

19 and jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments 

20 made by title I of the Election Integrity Act of 

21 2016 shall apply with respect to voting systems 

22 used for the regularly scheduled general election 

23 for Federal office held in 2018 and each suc24 ceeding election for Federal office. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
54 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(B) 2-YEAR DELAY FOR JURISDICTIONS

2 USING CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR

3 CERTAIN SYSTEMS USING OR PRODUCING

4 VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS IN 2016.— 

5 ‘‘(i) DELAY.—In the case of a juris6 diction described in clause (ii), subpara7 graph (A) shall apply to a voting system in 

8 the jurisdiction as if the reference in such 

9 subparagraph to ‘2018’ were a reference to 

10 ‘2020’, but only with respect to the fol11 lowing requirements of this section: 

12 ‘‘(I) Paragraph (2)(A)(i)(I) of 

13 subsection (a) (relating to the use of 

14 voter-marked paper ballots). 

15 ‘‘(II) Paragraph (3)(B)(ii) (I) 

16 and (II) of subsection (a) (relating to 

17 access to verification from and casting 

18 of the durable paper ballot). 

19 ‘‘(III) Paragraph (12) of sub20 section (a) (relating to durability and 

21 readability requirements for ballots). 

22 ‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS DESCRIBED.—A 

23 jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju24 risdiction— 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
55 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(I) which used voter verifiable 

2 paper record printers attached to di3 rect recording electronic voting ma4 chines, or which used other voting 

5 systems that used or produced paper 

6 records of the vote verifiable by voters 

7 but that are not in compliance with 

8 paragraphs (2)(A)(i)(I), (3)(B)(ii) (I) 

9 and (II), and (12) of subsection (a) 

10 (as amended or added by the Election 

11 Integrity Act of 2016), for the admin12 istration of the regularly scheduled 

13 general election for Federal office held 

14 in November 2016; and 

15 ‘‘(II) which will continue to use 

16 such printers or systems for the ad17 ministration of elections for Federal 

18 office held prior to the regularly 

19 scheduled general election for Federal 

20 office held in 2018. 

21 ‘‘(iii) MANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF

22 PAPER BALLOTS AT POLLING PLACES

23 USING GRANDFATHERED PRINTERS AND

24 SYSTEMS.— 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
56 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE

2 OFFERED AND PROVIDED.—The ap3 propriate election official at each poll4 ing place that uses a printer or sys5 tem described in clause (ii)(I) for the 

6 administration of elections for Federal 

7 office shall offer each individual who 

8 is eligible to cast a vote in the election 

9 at the polling place the opportunity to 

10 cast the vote using a blank preprinted 

11 paper ballot which the individual may 

12 mark by hand and which is not pro13 duced by the direct recording elec14 tronic voting machine or other such 

15 system. The official shall provide the 

16 individual with the ballot and the sup17 plies necessary to mark the ballot, and 

18 shall ensure (to the greatest extent 

19 practicable) that the waiting period 

20 for the individual to cast a vote is the 

21 lesser of 30 minutes or the average 

22 waiting period for an individual who 

23 does not agree to cast the vote using 

24 such a paper ballot under this clause. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
57 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.— 

2 Any paper ballot which is cast by an 

3 individual under this clause shall be 

4 counted and otherwise treated as a 

5 regular ballot for all purposes (includ6 ing by incorporating it into the final 

7 unofficial vote count (as defined by 

8 the State) for the precinct) and not as 

9 a provisional ballot, unless the indi10 vidual casting the ballot would have 

11 otherwise been required to cast a pro12 visional ballot. 

13 ‘‘(III) POSTING OF NOTICE.— 

14 The appropriate election official shall 

15 ensure there is prominently displayed 

16 at each polling place a notice that de17 scribes the obligation of the official to 

18 offer individuals the opportunity to 

19 cast votes using a preprinted blank 

20 paper ballot. 

21 ‘‘(IV) TRAINING OF ELECTION

22 OFFICIALS.—The chief State election 

23 official shall ensure that election offi24 cials at polling places in the State are 

25 aware of the requirements of this 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
58 

•HR 6072 IH

1 clause, including the requirement to 

2 display a notice under subclause (III), 

3 and are aware that it is a violation of 

4 the requirements of this title for an 

5 election official to fail to offer an indi6 vidual the opportunity to cast a vote 

7 using a blank preprinted paper ballot. 

8 ‘‘(V) PERIOD OF APPLICA9 BILITY.—The requirements of this 

10 clause apply only during the period in 

11 which the delay is in effect under 

12 clause (i). 

13 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR JURISDICTIONS

14 USING CERTAIN NONTABULATING BALLOT

15 MARKING DEVICES.—In the case of a jurisdic16 tion which uses a nontabulating ballot marking 

17 device, subparagraph (A) shall apply to a voting 

18 system in the jurisdiction as if the reference in 

19 such subparagraph to ‘the regularly scheduled 

20 general election for Federal office held in 2018’ 

21 were a reference to ‘the first election for Fed22 eral office held in 2020’, but only with respect 

23 to paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(II) of subsection (a) 

24 (relating to nonmanual casting of the durable 

25 paper ballot).’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
59 

•HR 6072 IH

1 TITLE II—REQUIREMENT FOR 

2 MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS 

3 BY HAND COUNT 

4 SEC. 201. MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS. 

5 Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

6 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following new subtitle: 

8 ‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual 

9 Audits 

10 ‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING AUDITS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this 

13 subtitle, each State shall administer, without ad14 vance notice to the precincts or alternative audit 

15 units selected, audits of the results of all elections 

16 for Federal office held in the State (and, at the op17 tion of the State or jurisdiction involved, of elections 

18 for State and local office held at the same time as 

19 such election) consisting of random hand counts of 

20 the voter-verified paper ballots required to be used 

21 and preserved pursuant to section 301(a)(2). 

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ELECTIONS.—A 

23 State shall not be required to administer an audit of 

24 the results of an election for Federal office under 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
60 

•HR 6072 IH

1 this subtitle if the winning candidate in the elec2 tion— 

3 ‘‘(A) had no opposition on the ballot; or 

4 ‘‘(B) received 80 percent or more of the 

5 total number of votes cast in the election, as de6 termined on the basis of the final unofficial vote 

7 count. 

8 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF ENTITY CONDUCTING AU9 DITS; APPLICATION OF GAO INDEPENDENCE STAND10 ARDS.—The State shall administer audits under this sub11 title through an entity selected for such purpose by the 

12 State in accordance with such criteria as the State con13 siders appropriate consistent with the requirements of this 

14 subtitle, except that the entity must meet the general 

15 standards established by the Comptroller General and as 

16 set forth in the Comptroller General’s Government Audit17 ing Standards to ensure the independence (including, ex18 cept as provided under section 323(b), the organizational 

19 independence) of entities performing financial audits, at20 testation engagements, and performance audits. 

21 ‘‘(c) REFERENCES TO ELECTION AUDITOR.—In this 

22 subtitle, the term ‘Election Auditor’ means, with respect 

23 to a State, the entity selected by the State under sub24 section (b). 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
61 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 322. NUMBER OF BALLOTS COUNTED UNDER AUDIT. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

3 (b), the number of voter-verified paper ballots which will 

4 be subject to a hand count administered by the Election 

5 Auditor of a State under this subtitle with respect to an 

6 election shall be determined as follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) In the event that the unofficial count as 

8 described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar9 gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 

10 the largest number of votes in the election is less 

11 than 1 percent of the total votes cast in that elec12 tion, the hand counts of the voter-verified paper bal13 lots shall occur in at least 10 percent of all precincts 

14 or equivalent locations (or alternative audit units 

15 used in accordance with the method provided for 

16 under subsection (b)) in the congressional district 

17 involved (in the case of an election for the House of 

18 Representatives) or the State (in the case of any 

19 other election for Federal office). 

20 ‘‘(2) In the event that the unofficial count as 

21 described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar22 gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 

23 the largest number of votes in the election is greater 

24 than or equal to 1 percent but less than 2 percent 

25 of the total votes cast in that election, the hand 

26 counts of the voter-verified paper ballots shall occur 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
62 

•HR 6072 IH

1 in at least 5 percent of all precincts or equivalent lo2 cations (or alternative audit units used in accord3 ance with the method provided for under subsection 

4 (b)) in the congressional district involved (in the 

5 case of an election for the House of Representatives) 

6 or the State (in the case of any other election for 

7 Federal office). 

8 ‘‘(3) In the event that the unofficial count as 

9 described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar10 gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 

11 the largest number of votes in the election is equal 

12 to or greater than 2 percent of the total votes cast 

13 in that election, the hand counts of the voter-verified 

14 paper ballots shall occur in at least 3 percent of all 

15 precincts or equivalent locations (or alternative audit 

16 units used in accordance with the method provided 

17 for under subsection (b)) in the congressional dis18 trict involved (in the case of an election for the 

19 House of Representatives) or the State (in the case 

20 of any other election for Federal office). 

21 ‘‘(b) USE OF ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) PERMITTING USE OF ALTERNATIVE MECH23 ANISM.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a State 

24 may adopt and apply an alternative mechanism to 

25 determine the number of voter-verified paper ballots 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
63 

•HR 6072 IH

1 which will be subject to the hand counts required 

2 under this subtitle with respect to an election, so 

3 long as the alternative mechanism uses the voter4 verified paper ballots to conduct the audit and the 

5 National Institute of Standards and Technology de6 termines that the alternative mechanism is in ac7 cordance with the principles set forth in paragraph 

8 (2). 

9 ‘‘(2) PRINCIPLES FOR APPROVAL.—In approv10 ing an alternative mechanism under paragraph (1), 

11 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

12 shall ensure that the audit procedure will have the 

13 property that for each election— 

14 ‘‘(A) the alternative mechanism will be at 

15 least as statistically effective in ensuring the ac16 curacy of the election results as the procedures 

17 under this subtitle; or 

18 ‘‘(B) the alternative mechanism will 

19 achieve at least a 95 percent confidence interval 

20 (as determined in accordance with criteria set 

21 forth by the National Institute of Standards 

22 and Technology) with respect to the outcome of 

23 the election. 

24 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE.—The Director 

25 of the National Institute of Standards and TechVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
64 

•HR 6072 IH

1 nology shall make a determination regarding a 

2 State’s request to approve an alternative mechanism 

3 under paragraph (1) not later than 30 days after re4 ceiving the State’s request. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 323. PROCESS FOR ADMINISTERING AUDITS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Auditor of a State 

7 shall administer an audit under this section of the results 

8 of an election in accordance with the following procedures: 

9 ‘‘(1) Within 24 hours after the State announces 

10 the final unofficial vote count (as defined by the 

11 State) in each precinct in the State, the Election 

12 Auditor shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) determine and then announce the 

14 precincts or equivalent locations (or alternative 

15 audit units used in accordance with the method 

16 provided under section 322(b)) in the State in 

17 which it will administer the audits; and 

18 ‘‘(B) with respect to votes cast at the pre19 cinct or equivalent location on or before the 

20 date of the election (other than provisional bal21 lots described in paragraph (2)), begin to ad22 minister the hand count of the votes on the 

23 voter-verified paper ballots required to be used 

24 and preserved under section 301(a)(2)(A) and 

25 the comparison of the count of the votes on 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
65 

•HR 6072 IH

1 those ballots with the final unofficial count of 

2 such votes as announced by the State. 

3 ‘‘(2) With respect to votes cast other than at 

4 the precinct on the date of the election (other than 

5 votes cast by provisional ballot on the date of the 

6 election which are certified and counted by the State 

7 on or after the date of the election), including votes 

8 cast by absent uniformed services voters and over9 seas voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi10 zens Absentee Voting Act, the Election Auditor shall 

11 administer the hand count of the votes on the appli12 cable voter-verified paper ballots required to be pro13 duced and preserved under section 301(a)(2)(A) and 

14 the comparison of the count of the votes on those 

15 ballots with the final unofficial count of such votes 

16 as announced by the State. 

17 ‘‘(b) USE OF PERSONNEL.—In administering the au18 dits, the Election Auditor may utilize the services of the 

19 personnel of the State or jurisdiction, including election 

20 administration personnel and poll workers, without regard 

21 to whether or not the personnel have professional auditing 

22 experience. 

23 ‘‘(c) LOCATION.—The Election Auditor shall admin24 ister an audit of an election— 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
66 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(1) at the location where the ballots cast in 

2 the election are stored and counted after the date of 

3 the election or such other appropriate and secure lo4 cation agreed upon by the Election Auditor and the 

5 individual that is responsible under State law for the 

6 custody of the ballots; and 

7 ‘‘(2) in the presence of the personnel who under 

8 State law are responsible for the custody of the bal9 lots. 

10 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE OF DELAY IN REPORT11 ING ABSENTEE VOTE COUNT.—In the case of a State in 

12 which the final count of absentee and provisional votes is 

13 not announced until after the date of the election, the 

14 Election Auditor shall initiate the process described in 

15 subsection (a) for administering the audit not later than 

16 24 hours after the State announces the final unofficial 

17 vote count for the votes cast at the precinct or equivalent 

18 location on or before the date of the election, and shall 

19 initiate the administration of the audit of the absentee and 

20 provisional votes pursuant to subsection (a)(2) not later 

21 than 24 hours after the State announces the final unoffi22 cial count of such votes. 

23 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL AUDITS IF CAUSE SHOWN.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Election Auditor 

25 finds that any of the hand counts administered 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
67 

•HR 6072 IH

1 under this section do not match the final unofficial 

2 tally of the results of an election, the Election Audi3 tor shall administer hand counts under this section 

4 of such additional precincts (or alternative audit 

5 units) as the Election Auditor considers appropriate 

6 to resolve any concerns resulting from the audit and 

7 ensure the accuracy of the election results. 

8 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT AND PUBLICATION OF

9 PROCEDURES GOVERNING ADDITIONAL AUDITS.— 

10 Not later than August 1, 2019, each State shall es11 tablish and publish procedures for carrying out the 

12 additional audits under this subsection, including the 

13 means by which the State shall resolve any concerns 

14 resulting from the audit with finality and ensure the 

15 accuracy of the election results. 

16 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF AUDITS.—Each audit 

17 conducted under this section shall be conducted in a man18 ner that allows public observation of the entire process. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 324. SELECTION OF PRECINCTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

21 (c), the selection of the precincts or alternative audit units 

22 in the State in which the Election Auditor of the State 

23 shall administer the hand counts under this subtitle shall 

24 be made by the Election Auditor on a random basis, in 

25 accordance with procedures adopted by the National InstiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
68 

•HR 6072 IH

1 tute of Standards and Technology, except that at least one 

2 precinct shall be selected at random in each county, with 

3 additional precincts selected by the Election Auditor at the 

4 Auditor’s discretion. 

5 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC SELECTION.—The random selection of 

6 precincts under subsection (a) shall be conducted in pub7 lic, at a time and place announced in advance. 

8 ‘‘(c) MANDATORY SELECTION OF PRECINCTS ESTAB9 LISHED SPECIFICALLY FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS.—If a 

10 State does not sort absentee ballots by precinct and in11 clude those ballots in the hand count with respect to that 

12 precinct, the State shall create absentee ballot precincts 

13 or audit units which are of similar size to the average pre14 cinct or audit unit in the jurisdiction being audited, and 

15 shall include those absentee precincts or audit units 

16 among the precincts in the State in which the Election 

17 Auditor shall administer the hand counts under this sub18 title. 

19 ‘‘(d) DEADLINE FOR ADOPTION OF PROCEDURES BY

20 COMMISSION.—The National Institute of Standards and 

21 Technology shall adopt the procedures described in sub22 section (a) not later than March 31, 2019, and shall pub23 lish them in the Federal Register upon adoption. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
69 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 325. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION.—As soon as prac3 ticable after the completion of an audit under this subtitle, 

4 the Election Auditor of a State shall submit to the Com5 mission the results of the audit, and shall include in the 

6 submission a comparison of the results of the election in 

7 the precinct as determined by the Election Auditor under 

8 the audit and the final unofficial vote count in the precinct 

9 as announced by the State and all undervotes, overvotes, 

10 blank ballots, and spoiled, voided, or cancelled ballots, as 

11 well as a list of any discrepancies discovered between the 

12 initial, subsequent, and final hand counts administered by 

13 the Election Auditor and such final unofficial vote count 

14 and any explanation for such discrepancies, broken down 

15 by the categories of votes described in paragraphs (1)(B) 

16 and (2) of section 323(a). 

17 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION BY COMMISSION.—Immediately 

18 after receiving the submission of the results of an audit 

19 from the Election Auditor of a State under subsection (a), 

20 the Commission shall publicly announce and publish the 

21 information contained in the submission. 

22 ‘‘(c) DELAY IN CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS BY

23 STATE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITING CERTIFICATION UNTIL COM25 PLETION OF AUDITS.—No State may certify the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
70 

•HR 6072 IH

1 sults of any election which is subject to an audit 

2 under this subtitle prior to— 

3 ‘‘(A) the completion of the audit (and, if 

4 required, any additional audit conducted under 

5 section 323(e)(1)) and the announcement and 

6 submission of the results of each such audit to 

7 the Commission for publication of the informa8 tion required under this section; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the completion of any procedure es10 tablished by the State pursuant to section 

11 323(e)(2) to resolve discrepancies and ensure 

12 the accuracy of results. 

13 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF AUDITS

14 OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.—In the case of an 

15 election for electors for President and Vice President 

16 which is subject to an audit under this subtitle, the 

17 State shall complete the audits and announce and 

18 submit the results to the Commission for publication 

19 of the information required under this section in 

20 time for the State to certify the results of the elec21 tion and provide for the final determination of any 

22 controversy or contest concerning the appointment 

23 of such electors prior to the deadline described in 

24 section 6 of title 3, United States Code. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
71 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 326. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 

2 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF CONDUCTING AU3 DITS.—In accordance with the requirements and proce4 dures of this section, the Commission shall make a pay5 ment to a State to cover the costs incurred by the State 

6 in carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elections 

7 that are the subject of the audits conducted under this 

8 subtitle. 

9 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND ANTICI10 PATED COSTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 

12 receive a payment under this section, a State shall 

13 submit to the Commission, in such form as the Com14 mission may require, a statement containing— 

15 ‘‘(A) a certification that the State will con16 duct the audits required under this subtitle in 

17 accordance with all of the requirements of this 

18 subtitle; 

19 ‘‘(B) a notice of the reasonable costs in20 curred or the reasonable costs anticipated to be 

21 incurred by the State in carrying out this sub22 title with respect to the elections involved; and 

23 ‘‘(C) such other information and assur24 ances as the Commission may require. 

25 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 

26 payment made to a State under this section shall be 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
72 

•HR 6072 IH

1 equal to the reasonable costs incurred or the reason2 able costs anticipated to be incurred by the State in 

3 carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elec4 tions involved, as set forth in the statement sub5 mitted under paragraph (1). 

6 ‘‘(3) TIMING OF NOTICE.—The State may not 

7 submit a notice under paragraph (1) until can8 didates have been selected to appear on the ballot 

9 for all of the elections for Federal office which will 

10 be the subject of the audits involved. 

11 ‘‘(c) TIMING OF PAYMENTS.—The Commission shall 

12 make the payment required under this section to a State 

13 not later than 30 days after receiving the notice submitted 

14 by the State under subsection (b). 

15 ‘‘(d) RECOUPMENT OF OVERPAYMENTS.—No pay16 ment may be made to a State under this section unless 

17 the State agrees to repay to the Commission the excess 

18 (if any) of— 

19 ‘‘(1) the amount of the payment received by the 

20 State under this section with respect to the elections 

21 involved; over 

22 ‘‘(2) the actual costs incurred by the State in 

23 carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elec24 tions involved. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
73 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 is authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 

3 fiscal year 2020 and each succeeding fiscal year 

4 $100,000,000 for payments under this section. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 327. EXCEPTION FOR ELECTIONS SUBJECT TO RE6 COUNT UNDER STATE LAW PRIOR TO CER7 TIFICATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) EXCEPTION.—This subtitle does not apply to 

9 any election for which a recount under State law will com10 mence prior to the certification of the results of the elec11 tion, including but not limited to a recount required auto12 matically because of the margin of victory between the 2 

13 candidates receiving the largest number of votes in the 

14 election, but only if each of the following applies to the 

15 recount: 

16 ‘‘(1) The recount commences prior to the deter17 mination and announcement by the Election Auditor 

18 under section 323(a)(1) of the precincts in the State 

19 in which it will administer the audits under this sub20 title. 

21 ‘‘(2) If the recount would apply to fewer than 

22 100 percent of the ballots cast in the election— 

23 ‘‘(A) the number of ballots counted will be 

24 at least as many as would be counted if an 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
74 

•HR 6072 IH

1 audit were conducted with respect to the elec2 tion in accordance with this subtitle; and 

3 ‘‘(B) the selection of the precincts in which 

4 the recount will be conducted will be made in 

5 accordance with the random selection proce6 dures applicable under section 324. 

7 ‘‘(3) The recount for the election meets the re8 quirements of section 323(f) (relating to public ob9 servation). 

10 ‘‘(4) The State meets the requirements of sec11 tion 325 (relating to the publication of results and 

12 the delay in the certification of results) with respect 

13 to the recount. 

14 ‘‘(b) CLARIFICATION OF EFFECT ON OTHER RE15 QUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this section may be construed 

16 to waive the application of any other provision of this Act 

17 to any election (including the requirement set forth in sec18 tion 301(a)(2) that the voter-verified paper ballots serve 

19 as the vote of record and shall be counted by hand in all 

20 audits and recounts, including audits and recounts de21 scribed in this subtitle). 

22 ‘‘SEC. 328. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 ‘‘This subtitle shall apply with respect to elections for 

24 Federal office held in 2020 or any succeeding year.’’. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
75 

•HR 6072 IH

1 SEC. 202. AVAILABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT UNDER HELP 

2 AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 

3 Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

4 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 

5 302, and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘title III’’. 

6 SEC. 203. GUIDANCE ON BEST PRACTICES FOR ALTER7 NATIVE AUDIT MECHANISMS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 1, 2019, the 

9 Director of the National Institute for Standards and Tech10 nology shall establish guidance for States that wish to es11 tablish alternative audit mechanisms under section 322(b) 

12 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 

13 201). Such guidance shall be based upon scientifically and 

14 statistically reasonable assumptions for the purpose of cre15 ating an alternative audit mechanism that will be con16 sistent with the principles for approval described in section 

17 322(b)(2) of such Act (as so added). 

18 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) 

20 $100,000, to remain available until expended. 

21 SEC. 204. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 

22 The table of contents of the Help America Vote Act 

23 of 2002 is amended by adding at the end of the items 

24 relating to title III the following: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual Audits 

‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring audits of results of elections. 

‘‘Sec. 322. Number of ballots counted under audit. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
76 

•HR 6072 IH

‘‘Sec. 323. Process for administering audits. 

‘‘Sec. 324. Selection of precincts. 

‘‘Sec. 325. Publication of results. 

‘‘Sec. 326. Payments to States. 

‘‘Sec. 327. Exception for elections subject to recount under State law prior to 

certification. 

‘‘Sec. 328. Effective date.’’. 

1 TITLE III—OTHER REFORMS TO 

2 PROMOTE INTEGRITY OF 

3 ELECTIONS 

4 Subtitle A—Integrity of Election 

5 Administration 

6 SEC. 301. PROHIBITION ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY 

7 CHIEF STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 

8 OFFICIALS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 

10 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 

11 amended by inserting after section 319 the following new 

12 section: 

13 ‘‘CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY CHIEF STATE ELECTION

14 ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS

15 ‘‘SEC. 319A. (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 

16 for a chief State election administration official to take 

17 an active part in political management or in a political 

18 campaign with respect to any election for Federal office 

19 over which such official has supervisory authority. 

20 ‘‘(b) CHIEF STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRATION OF21 FICIAL.—The term ‘chief State election administration of22 ficial’ means the highest State official with responsibility 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
77 

•HR 6072 IH

1 for the administration of Federal elections under State 

2 law. 

3 ‘‘(c) ACTIVE PART IN POLITICAL MANAGEMENT OR

4 IN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.—The term ‘active part in po5 litical management or in a political campaign’ means— 

6 ‘‘(1) serving as a member of an authorized com7 mittee of a candidate for Federal office; 

8 ‘‘(2) the use of official authority or influence 

9 for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the 

10 result of an election for Federal office; 

11 ‘‘(3) the solicitation, acceptance, or receipt of a 

12 contribution from any person on behalf of a can13 didate for Federal office; and 

14 ‘‘(4) any other act which would be prohibited 

15 under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 7323(b) of 

16 title 5, United States Code, if taken by an individual 

17 to whom such paragraph applies (other than any 

18 prohibition on running for public office). 

19 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR CAMPAIGNS OF OFFICIAL OR

20 IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section does not apply 

22 to a chief State election administration official with 

23 respect to an election for Federal office in which the 

24 official or an immediate family member of the offi25 cial is a candidate. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
78 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.— 

2 In paragraph (1), the term ‘immediate family mem3 ber’ means, with respect to a candidate, a father, 

4 mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, 

5 wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections for 

8 Federal office held after December 2016. 

9 SEC. 302. MANDATORY TRAINING FOR POLL WORKERS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 

11 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 

13 sections 305 and 306; and 

14 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following 

15 new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 304. MANDATORY TRAINING FOR POLL WORKERS. 

17 ‘‘(a) TRAINING IN APPLICABLE ELECTION LAWS AND

18 PROCEDURES REQUIRED FOR ALL POLL WORKERS.—A 

19 State may not assign an individual to serve as an election 

20 official at a polling place for an election for Federal office, 

21 including a location serving as a polling place on a day 

22 other than the date of the election, unless the State cer23 tifies to the Commission that the individual has received 

24 training in the election administration laws and proceVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
79 

•HR 6072 IH

1 dures applicable in the jurisdiction in which the polling 

2 place is located. 

3 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re4 quired to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) 

5 for the regularly scheduled general election for Federal of6 fice occurring in November 2016 and for any subsequent 

7 election for Federal office.’’. 

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

9 of such Act is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec11 tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 

12 306; and 

13 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec14 tion 303 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 304. Mandatory training for poll workers.’’. 

15 SEC. 303. DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS 

16 PROPOSED TO BE REMOVED FROM LIST OF 

17 ELIGIBLE VOTERS. 

18 (a) INTERNET POSTING OF LIST OF INDIVIDUALS

19 PROPOSED TO BE REMOVED FROM LIST.—Section 8 of 

20 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

21 20507) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub23 section (k); and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol25 lowing new subsection: 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
80 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(j) ADDITIONAL DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS

2 FOR INDIVIDUALS PROPOSED TO BE REMOVED FROM

3 LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) INTERNET POSTING OF NAMES.—On an 

5 ongoing basis, the chief State election official shall 

6 post on the Internet a list showing the name and ad7 dress of each individual whom the State intends to 

8 remove from the official list of eligible voters in elec9 tions for Federal office in the State, together with 

10 instructions on how an individual may challenge the 

11 proposed removal of the individual’s name from the 

12 list. 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIRING OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT

14 RECORD.—The State may not remove any individual 

15 from the official list of eligible voters in elections for 

16 Federal office in the State until the expiration of the 

17 60-day period which begins on the date the chief 

18 State election official posts the individual’s name 

19 and address on the Internet under paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(3) PUBLICIZING INFORMATION ON DUE PROC21 ESS REQUIREMENTS.—The chief State election offi22 cial shall disseminate information to the general 

23 public regarding the Internet posting of names and 

24 addresses under paragraph (1) and the opportunity 

25 for individuals to correct records under paragraph 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
81 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (2), including by sending information to media out2 lets in the State and by preparing information for 

3 distribution and display by offices of the State motor 

4 vehicle authority.’’. 

5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

6 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections for 

7 Federal office held during 2018 or any succeeding year. 

8 SEC. 304. MANDATORY RESPONSE BY ATTORNEY GENERAL 

9 TO ALLEGATIONS OF VOTER INTIMIDATION 

10 OR SUPPRESSION BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OF11 FICERS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFI12 CIALS. 

13 (a) MANDATORY RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

15 receiving an allegation described in subsection (b) 

16 from any person, the Attorney General shall— 

17 (A) initiate an investigation of the allega18 tion; or 

19 (B) provide the person with a written 

20 statement that the Attorney General will not in21 vestigate the allegation, and include in the 

22 statement the Attorney General’s reasons for 

23 not investigating the allegation. 

24 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR ALLEGATIONS RE25 CEIVED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF ELECTION.—If the AtVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
82 

•HR 6072 IH

1 torney General receives an allegation described in 

2 subsection (b) during the 30-day period which ends 

3 on the date of an election for Federal office, the At4 torney General shall meet the requirements of para5 graph (1) not later than 48 hours after receiving the 

6 allegation. 

7 (b) ALLEGATIONS DESCRIBED.—An allegation de8 scribed in this subsection is— 

9 (1) an allegation that a law enforcement officer 

10 or other official of a State or local government has 

11 intimidated, threatened, or coerced, or attempted to 

12 intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any individual for 

13 voting, or for attempting to vote, in an election for 

14 Federal office; or 

15 (2) an allegation that an election official of a 

16 State or local government has engaged or has at17 tempted to engage in voter suppression activity. 

18 Subtitle B—Removing Barriers to 

19 Voting 

20 SEC. 311. REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTING PROVISIONAL 

21 BALLOTS; ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM AND 

22 NONDISCRIMINATORY STANDARDS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302 of the Help America 

24 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082) is amended— 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
83 

•HR 6072 IH

1 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (f); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing new subsections: 

5 ‘‘(d) STATEWIDE COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BAL6 LOTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

8 (a)(4), notwithstanding the precinct or polling place 

9 at which a provisional ballot is cast within the State, 

10 the appropriate election official shall count each vote 

11 on such ballot for each election in which the indi12 vidual who cast such ballot is eligible to vote. 

13 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

14 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu15 ary 1, 2017. 

16 ‘‘(e) UNIFORM AND NONDISCRIMINATORY STAND17 ARDS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF STANDARDS BY COM19 MISSION.—The Commission shall establish uniform 

20 and nondiscriminatory standards for the issuance, 

21 handling, and counting of provisional ballots, con22 sistent with the requirements of this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS.—Each 

24 State shall comply with the standards established by 

25 the Commission under this subsection. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
84 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

2 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu3 ary 1, 2017.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EF5 FECTIVE DATE.—Section 302(f) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

6 21082(f)), as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended 

7 by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro8 vided in subsections (d)(2) and (e)(3), each State’’. 

9 SEC. 312. PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF CONDITIONS ON 

10 VOTING BY MAIL. 

11 (a) PROHIBITION.—Title III of the Help America 

12 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended 

13 by section 201, is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new subtitle: 

15 ‘‘Subtitle D—Other Requirements 

16 To Remove Barriers to Voting 

17 ‘‘SEC. 331. PROHIBITING IMPOSITION OF CONDITIONS ON 

18 VOTING BY MAIL. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli20 gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 

21 State may not impose any additional conditions or require22 ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 

23 in such election by mail (including by absentee ballot), ex24 cept as required under subsection (b) and except to the 

25 extent that the State imposes a deadline for requesting 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
85 

•HR 6072 IH

1 the ballot and related voting materials from the appro2 priate State or local election official and for returning the 

3 ballot to the appropriate State or local election official. 

4 ‘‘(b) REQUIRING SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.—A 

5 State may not accept and process an absentee ballot sub6 mitted by any individual with respect to an election for 

7 Federal office unless the State verifies the identification 

8 of the individual by comparing the individual’s signature 

9 on the absentee ballot with the individual’s signature on 

10 the official list of registered voters in the State, in accord11 ance with such procedures as the State may adopt. 

12 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

13 with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 

14 2018.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

16 ADOPTION OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS17 SISTANCE COMMISSION.— 

18 (1) APPLICABILITY OF VOLUNTARY GUID19 ANCE.—Section 311(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

20 21101(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘subtitle A’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘subtitle A and subtitle D’’. 

22 (2) DEADLINE FOR ADOPTION.—Section 311(b) 

23 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)) is amended— 

24 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para25 graph (2); 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
86 

•HR 6072 IH

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

2 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 

6 respect to subtitle D, June 30, 2017.’’. 

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

8 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 

9 relating to title III the following: 

‘‘Subtitle D—Other Requirements To Remove Barriers to Voting 

‘‘Sec. 331. Prohibiting imposition of conditions on voting by mail.’’. 

10 SEC. 313. MANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF EARLY VOTING. 

11 (a) MANDATORY AVAILABILITY.—Subtitle D of title 

12 III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added by 

13 section 312(a), is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 332. MANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF EARLY VOTING. 

16 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF VOTING PRIOR TO

17 DATE OF ELECTION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall allow indi19 viduals to vote in an election for Federal office dur20 ing an early voting period which occurs prior to the 

21 date of the election. 

22 ‘‘(2) LENGTH OF PERIOD.—The early voting 

23 period required under this subsection with respect to 

24 an election shall consist of a period of not fewer 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
87 

•HR 6072 IH

1 than 14 consecutive days (including weekends) which 

2 begins on the 17th day before the date of the elec3 tion (or, at the option of the State, on a day prior 

4 to the 17th day before the date of the election) and 

5 ends on the date of the election. 

6 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 Each polling place which allows voting during an early vot8 ing period under subsection (a) shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) allow such voting for no less than 12 hours 

10 on each day, except that the polling place may allow 

11 such voting for fewer than 12 hours on Sundays; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(2) have uniform hours each day for which 

14 such voting occurs. 

15 ‘‘(c) LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES NEAR PUBLIC

16 TRANSPORTATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, a 

17 State shall ensure that each polling place which allows vot18 ing during an early voting period under subsection (a) is 

19 located within walking distance of a stop on a public trans20 portation route. 

21 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue 

23 standards for the administration of voting prior to 

24 the day scheduled for a Federal election. Such 

25 standards shall include the nondiscriminatory geoVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:08 Sep 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6072.IH H6072

rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
88 

•HR 6072 IH

1 graphic placement of polling places at which such 

2 voting occurs. 

3 ‘‘(2) DEVIATION.—The standards described in 

4 paragraph (1) shall permit States, upon providing 

5 adequate public notice, to deviate from any require6 ment in the case of unforeseen circumstances such 

7 as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or a change 

8 in voter turnout. 

9 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

10 with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 

11 2018.’’. 

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

13 of such Act, as amended by section 312(c), is amended 

14 by adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle D 

15 of title III the following: 

‘‘Sec. 332. Mandatory availability of early voting.’’. 

16 SEC. 314. REQUIREMENTS FOR AVAILABILITY OF SUFFI17 CIENT POLLING PLACES, EQUIPMENT, AND 

18 RESOURCES. 

19 (a) REQUIRING STATES TO MEET REQUIRE20 MENTS.—Subtitle D of title III of the Help America Vote 

21 Act of 2002, as added by section 312(a) and as amended 

22 by section 313(a), is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following new section: 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
89 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘SEC. 333. AVAILABILITY OF SUFFICIENT POLLING PLACES, 

2 EQUIPMENT, AND RESOURCES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the stand4 ards established under subsection (b), each State shall 

5 provide for— 

6 ‘‘(1) an appropriate number and geographic 

7 distribution of voting sites on the day of any election 

8 for Federal office and on any days during which 

9 such State allows early voting in such elections; and 

10 ‘‘(2) the minimum required number of voting 

11 systems and other election resources (including all 

12 other voting equipment and supplies) for each such 

13 voting site. 

14 ‘‘(b) STANDARDS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 30, 

16 2017, the Commission shall conduct a study and, on 

17 the basis of the findings of the study, issue stand18 ards for States to follow in establishing an appro19 priate number and geographic distribution of voting 

20 sites in elections for Federal office on the day of any 

21 Federal election and on any days during which the 

22 State allows early voting in such elections, and in 

23 providing for the minimum number of voting sys24 tems and other election resources (including all 

25 other voting equipment and supplies) for each such 

26 voting site. 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
90 

•HR 6072 IH

1 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The standards de3 scribed in paragraph (1) shall provide for a uni4 form and nondiscriminatory distribution of such 

5 sites, systems, and other resources, and, to the 

6 extent possible, shall take into account, among 

7 other factors, the following: 

8 ‘‘(i) The voting age population. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Voter turnout in past elections. 

10 ‘‘(iii) The number of voters registered. 

11 ‘‘(iv) The number of voters who have 

12 registered since the most recent Federal 

13 election. 

14 ‘‘(v) Census data for the population 

15 served by each voting site. 

16 ‘‘(vi) The educational levels and socio17 economic factors of the population served 

18 by each voting site. 

19 ‘‘(vii) The needs and numbers of vot20 ers with disabilities and voters with limited 

21 English proficiency. 

22 ‘‘(viii) The type of voting systems 

23 used. 

24 ‘‘(B) NO FACTOR DISPOSITIVE.—The 

25 standards shall provide that the distribution of 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
91 

•HR 6072 IH

1 voting sites, systems, and resources should take 

2 into account the totality of all relevant factors, 

3 and no single factor shall be dispositive under 

4 the standards. 

5 ‘‘(C) PURPOSE.—To the extent possible, 

6 the standards shall provide for a distribution of 

7 voting sites, systems, and resources with the 

8 goals of— 

9 ‘‘(i) ensuring a fair and equitable 

10 waiting time for all voters in the State; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) preventing a waiting time of over 

13 1 hour at any voting site. 

14 ‘‘(3) DEVIATION.—The standards described in 

15 paragraph (1) shall permit States, upon giving rea16 sonable public notice, to deviate from any allocation 

17 requirements in the case of unforeseen cir18 cumstances such as a natural disaster or terrorist 

19 attack. 

20 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

21 with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 

22 2018.’’. 

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

24 of such Act, as amended by section 312(c) and section 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
92 

•HR 6072 IH

1 313(b), is amended by adding at the end of the items re2 lating to subtitle D of title III the following: 

‘‘Sec. 333. Availability of sufficient polling places, equipment, and resources.’’. 

3 TITLE IV—RULEMAKING AU4 THORITY OF ELECTION AS5 SISTANCE COMMISSION 

6 SEC. 401. PERMITTING ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS7 SION TO EXERCISE RULEMAKING AUTHOR8 ITY. 

9 (a) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—The Help America 

10 Vote Act of 2002 is amended by striking section 209 (52 

11 U.S.C. 20929). 

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

13 of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to 

14 section 209. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS