II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 450 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified 

paper record, to improve provisional balloting, to impose additional requirements under such Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 17, 2005 

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. KERRY, Mr. LAUTENBERG, and 

Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require 

a voter-verified paper record, to improve provisional balloting, to impose additional requirements under such Act, 

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 ‘‘Count Every Vote Act of 2005’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
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TITLE I—VOTER VERIFICATION AND AUDITING 

Sec. 101. Promoting accuracy, integrity, and security through preservation of 

a voter-verified paper record or hard copy. 

Sec. 102. Requirement for mandatory recounts. 

Sec. 103. Specific, delineated requirement of study, testing, and development of 

best practices. 

Sec. 104. Voter verification and audit capacity funding. 

Sec. 105. Reports and provision of security consultation services. 

Sec. 106. Improvements to voting systems. 

TITLE II—PROVISIONAL BALLOTS 

Sec. 201. Requirements for casting and counting provisional ballots. 

TITLE III—ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE HELP 

AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002 

Subtitle A—Shortening Voter Wait Times 

Sec. 301. Minimum required voting systems, poll workers, and election resources. 

Sec. 302. Requirements for jurisdictions with substantial voter wait times. 

Subtitle B—No-Excuse Absentee Voting 

Sec. 311. No-excuse absentee voting. 

Subtitle C—Collection and Dissemination of Election Data 

Sec. 321. Data collection. 

Subtitle D—Ensuring Well Run Elections 

Sec. 331. Training of election officials. 

Sec. 332. Impartial administration of elections. 

Subtitle E—Standards for Purging Voters 

Sec. 341. Standards for purging voters. 

Subtitle F—Election Day Registration and Early Voting 

Sec. 351. Election day registration. 

Sec. 352. Early voting. 

TITLE IV—VOTER REGISTRATION AND IDENTIFICATION 

Sec. 401. Voter registration. 

Sec. 402. Establishing voter identification. 

Sec. 403. Requirement for Federal certification of technological security of voter 

registration lists. 

TITLE V—PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 501. Prohibition on certain campaign activities. 

TITLE VI—ENDING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES 

Sec. 601. Ending deceptive practices. 
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TITLE VII—CIVIC PARTICIPATION BY EX-OFFENDERS 

Sec. 701. Voting rights of individuals convicted of criminal offenses. 

TITLE VIII—FEDERAL ELECTION DAY ACT 

Sec. 801. Short title. 

Sec. 802. Federal Election Day as a public holiday. 

Sec. 803. Study on encouraging government employees to serve as poll workers. 

TITLE IX—TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAINMENT 

OF ELECTORS 

Sec. 901. Transmission of certificate of ascertainment of electors. 

TITLE X—STRENGTHENING THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

COMMISSION 

Sec. 1001. Strengthening the Election Assistance Commission. 

Sec. 1002. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain 

Government contracting requirements. 

Sec. 1003. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 TITLE I—VOTER VERIFICATION 

2 AND AUDITING 

3 SEC. 101. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECU4 RITY THROUGH PRESERVATION OF A VOTER5 VERIFIED PAPER RECORD OR HARD COPY. 

6 (a) VOTER VERIFICATION AND MANUAL AUDIT CA7 PACITY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the 

9 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 

10 15481(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) VOTER VERIFICATION AND MANUAL AUDIT

12 CAPACITY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) VOTER VERIFICATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) The voting system shall produce 

15 an individual voter-verifiable paper record 

16 of the vote that shall be made available for 
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1 inspection and verification by the voter be2 fore the vote is cast. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The voting system shall provide 

4 the voter with an opportunity to correct 

5 any error made by the system in the voter6 verifiable paper record before the perma7 nent voter-verified paper record is pre8 served in accordance with subparagraph 

9 (B)(i). 

10 ‘‘(B) MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY.—The per11 manent voter-verified paper record produced in 

12 accordance with subparagraph (A) shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) be preserved within the polling 

14 place, in the manner, if any, in which all 

15 other paper ballots are preserved within 

16 that polling place, or, in the manner em17 ployed by the jurisdiction for preserving 

18 paper ballots in general, for later use in 

19 any manual audit; 

20 ‘‘(ii) be suitable for a manual audit 

21 equivalent to that of a paper ballot voting 

22 system; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) be available as the official record 

24 and shall be the official record used for 

25 any recount conducted with respect to any 
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1 Federal election in which the system is 

2 used.’’. 

3 (2) PROHIBITION OF USE OF THERMAL

4 PAPER.—Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote 

5 Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(7) PROHIBITION OF USE OF THERMAL

8 PAPER.—The voter-verified paper record produced in 

9 accordance with paragraph (2)(A) shall not be pro10 duced on thermal paper, but shall instead be pro11 duced on paper of archival quality.’’. 

12 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 301(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Help America Vote Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 15481(a)(1)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting 

15 ‘‘and before the paper record is produced under 

16 paragraph (2)’’ before the semicolon at the end. 

17 (b) VOTER-VERIFICATION OF RESULTS FOR INDIVID18 UALS WITH DISABILITIES AND LANGUAGE MINORITY

19 VOTERS.—Paragraph (3) of section 301(a) of the Help 

20 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)(3)) is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(3) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH

23 DISABILITIES AND FOR LANGUAGE MINORITIES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The voting system 

25 shall— 
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1 ‘‘(i) be accessible for individuals with 

2 disabilities, including nonvisual accessi3 bility for the blind and visually impaired, 

4 in a manner that provides the same oppor5 tunity for access, participation (including 

6 privacy and independence), inspection, and 

7 verification as for other voters; 

8 ‘‘(ii) be accessible for language minor9 ity individuals to the extent required under 

10 section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 

11 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa-1), in a manner 

12 that provides the same opportunity for ac13 cess, participation (including privacy and 

14 independence), inspection, and verification 

15 as for other voters; 

16 ‘‘(iii) satisfy the requirement of 

17 clauses (i) and (ii) through the use of at 

18 least one direct recording electronic voting 

19 system or other voting system equipped for 

20 individuals with disabilities at each polling 

21 place; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) if purchased with funds made 

23 available under title II on or after Novem24 ber 1, 2006, meet the voting system stand-
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1 ards for disability access (as outlined in 

2 this paragraph). 

3 ‘‘(B) VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Any 

4 direct recording electronic voting system or 

5 other voting system described in subparagraph 

6 (A)(iii) shall use a mechanism that separates 

7 the function of vote generation from the func8 tion of vote casting and shall produce, in ac9 cordance with paragraph (2)(A), an individual 

10 paper record which— 

11 ‘‘(i) shall be used to meet the require12 ments of paragraph (2)(B); 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall be available for visual, 

14 audio, and pictorial inspection and 

15 verification by the voter, with language 

16 translation available for all forms of in17 spection and verification in accordance 

18 with the requirements of section 203 of the 

19 Voting Rights Act of 1965; 

20 ‘‘(iii) shall not require the voter to 

21 handle the paper; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) shall not preclude the use of 

23 Braille or tactile ballots for those voters 

24 who need them. 
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1 The requirement of clause (iii) shall not apply 

2 to any voting system certified by the Inde3 pendent Testing Authorities before the date of 

4 the enactment of this Act. 

5 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS FOR LANGUAGE MI6 NORITIES.—Any record produced under sub7 paragraph (B) shall be subject to the require8 ments of section 203 of the Voting Rights Act 

9 of 1965 to the extent such section is applicable 

10 to the State or jurisdiction in which such record 

11 is produced.’’. 

12 (c) ADDITIONAL VOTING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

14 U.S.C. 15481(a)), as amended by subsection (a)(2), is 

15 amended by adding to the end the following new para16 graphs: 

17 ‘‘(8) INSTRUCTION OF ELECTION OFFICIALS.— 

18 Each State shall ensure that election officials are in19 structed on the right of any individual who requires 

20 assistance to vote by reason of blindness, other dis21 ability, or inability to read or write to be given as22 sistance by a person chosen by that individual under 

23 section 208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

24 ‘‘(9) PROHIBITION OF USE OF UNDISCLOSED

25 SOFTWARE IN VOTING SYSTEMS.—No voting system 
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1 shall at any time contain or use any undisclosed 

2 software. Any voting system containing or using 

3 software shall disclose the source code, object code, 

4 and executable representation of that software to the 

5 Commission, and the Commission shall make that 

6 source code, object code, and executable representa7 tion available for inspection upon request to any cit8 izen. 

9 ‘‘(10) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM10 MUNICATION DEVICES IN VOTING SYSTEMS.—No 

11 voting system shall use any wireless communication 

12 device. 

13 ‘‘(11) CERTIFICATION OF SOFTWARE AND

14 HARDWARE.—All software and hardware used in any 

15 electronic voting system shall be certified by labora16 tories accredited by the Commission as meeting the 

17 requirements of paragraphs (9) and (10). 

18 ‘‘(12) SECURITY STANDARDS FOR MANUFAC19 TURERS OF VOTING SYSTEMS USED IN FEDERAL

20 ELECTIONS.— 

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

22 be used in an election for Federal office unless 

23 the manufacturer of such system meets the re24 quirements described in subparagraph (B). 
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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—The 

2 requirements described in this subparagraph 

3 are as follows: 

4 ‘‘(i) The manufacturer shall conduct 

5 background checks on individuals who are 

6 programmers and developers before such 

7 individuals work on any software used in 

8 connection with the voting system. 

9 ‘‘(ii) The manufacturer shall docu10 ment the chain of custody for the handling 

11 of software used in connection with voting 

12 systems. 

13 ‘‘(iii) The manufacturer shall ensure 

14 that any software used in connection with 

15 the voting system is not transferred over 

16 the Internet. 

17 ‘‘(iv) In the same manner and to the 

18 same extent described in paragraph (9), 

19 the manufacturer shall provide the codes 

20 used in any software used in connection 

21 with the voting system to the Commission 

22 and may not alter such codes once certifi23 cation by the Independent Testing Au24 thorities has occurred unless such system 

25 is recertified. 
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1 ‘‘(v) The manufacturer shall imple2 ment procedures to ensure internal secu3 rity, as required by the Director of the Na4 tional Institute of Standards and Tech5 nology. 

6 ‘‘(vi) The manufacturer shall meet 

7 such other requirements as may be estab8 lished by the Director of the National In9 stitute of Standards and Technology.’’. 

10 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 

11 shall be required to comply with the amendments made 

12 by this section on and after November 1, 2006. 

13 SEC. 102. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY RECOUNTS. 

14 On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

15 the Election Assistance Commission shall conduct random 

16 unannounced manual mandatory recounts of the voter17 verified records of each election for Federal office (and, 

18 at the option of the State or jurisdiction involved, of elec19 tions for State and local office held at the same time as 

20 such an election for Federal office) in 2 percent of the 

21 polling locations (or, in the case of any polling location 

22 which serves more than 1 precinct, 2 percent of the pre23 cincts) in each State and with respect to 2 percent of the 

24 ballots cast by uniformed and overseas voters immediately 

25 following the election and shall promptly publish the re-
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1 sults of those recounts in the Federal Register. In addi2 tion, the verification system used by the Election Assist3 ance Commission shall meet the error rate standards de4 scribed in section 301(a)(5) of the Help America Vote Act 

5 of 2002. 

6 SEC. 103. SPECIFIC, DELINEATED REQUIREMENT OF 

7 STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF 

8 BEST PRACTICES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Help 

10 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381 et seq.) is 

11 amended by— 

12 (1) redesignating section 247 as section 248; 

13 and 

14 (2) by inserting after section 246 the following 

15 new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF BEST 

17 PRACTICES TO ENHANCE ACCESSIBILITY 

18 AND VOTER-VERIFICATION MECHANISMS 

19 FOR DISABLED VOTERS. 

20 ‘‘The Election Assistance Commission shall study, 

21 test, and develop best practices to enhance accessibility 

22 and voter-verification mechanisms for individuals with dis23 abilities.’’. 
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act. 

4 SEC. 104. VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY 

5 FUNDING. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help 

7 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15321 et seq.) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following new part: 

9 ‘‘PART 7—VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT 

10 CAPACITY FUNDING 

11 ‘‘SEC. 297. VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY 

12 FUNDING. 

13 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Subject to subsection 

14 (b), not later than the date that is 30 days after the date 

15 of the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, 

16 the Election Assistance Commission shall pay to each 

17 State an amount to assist the State in paying for the im18 plementation of the voter-verification and audit capacity 

19 requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 301(a), 

20 as amended by subsections (a) and (b) of section 2 of such 

21 Act. 

22 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount paid to a State 

23 under subsection (a) for each voting system purchased by 

24 a State may not exceed the average cost of adding a print25 er with accessibility features to each type of voting system 
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1 that the State could have purchased to meet the require2 ments described in such subsection. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 298. APPROPRIATION. 

4 ‘‘There are authorized and appropriated 

5 $500,000,000 to the Election Assistance Commission, 

6 without fiscal year limitation, to make payments to States 

7 in accordance with section 297(a). Furthermore, there are 

8 authorized and appropriated $20,000,000 to the Election 

9 Assistance Commission, for each of fiscal years 2006 

10 through 2010, in addition to any amounts otherwise ap11 propriated for administrative costs to assist with con12 ducting recounts, the implementation of voter verification 

13 systems, and improved security measures.’’. 

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

15 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act. 

17 SEC. 105. REPORTS AND PROVISION OF SECURITY CON18 SULTATION SERVICES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Help 

20 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381 et seq.), as 

21 amended by section 103, is amended by— 

22 (1) redesignating section 248 as section 249; 

23 and 

24 (2) by inserting after section 247 the following 

25 new section: 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 248. REPORTS AND PROVISION OF SECURITY CON2 SULTATION SERVICES. 

3 ‘‘(a) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON SECURITY RE4 VIEW.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the en5 actment of the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, the Com6 mission, in consultation with the Director of the National 

7 Institute of Standards and Technology, shall submit to 

8 Congress a report on a proposed security review and cer9 tification process for all voting systems used in elections 

10 for Federal office, including a description of the certifi11 cation process to be implemented under section 231. 

12 ‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON OPERATIONAL AND

13 MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.—Not later than 3 months after 

14 the date of the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act 

15 of 2005, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report 

16 on operational and management systems applicable with 

17 respect to elections for Federal office, including the secu18 rity standards for manufacturers described in section 

19 301(a)(7), that should be employed to safeguard the secu20 rity of voting systems, together with a proposed schedule 

21 for the implementation of each such system. 

22 ‘‘(c) PROVISION OF SECURITY CONSULTATION SERV23 ICES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of 

25 the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, 

26 the Commission, in consultation with the Director of 
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1 the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

2 shall provide security consultation services to States 

3 and local jurisdictions with respect to the adminis4 tration of elections for Federal office. 

5 ‘‘(2) APPROPRIATION.—To carry out the pur6 poses of paragraph (1), $2,000,000 is appropriated 

7 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010.’’. 

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

9 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act. 

11 SEC. 106. IMPROVEMENTS TO VOTING SYSTEMS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 

13 301(a)(1) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

14 U.S.C. 15481(a)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘, a punch 

15 card voting system, or a central count voting system’’. 

16 (b) CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PUNCH

17 CARD SYSTEMS.—Subparagraph (A) of section 301(a)(1) 

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

19 15481(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘punch card vot20 ing system,’’ after ‘‘any’’. 

21 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 

22 shall be required to comply with the amendments made 

23 by this section on and after November 1, 2006. 

24 (d) RESIDUAL VOTE BENCHMARK.—. 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The error rate of the voting 

2 system (as defined under section 301 of the Help 

3 America Vote Act of 2002) in counting ballots (de4 termined by taking into account only those errors 

5 which are attributable to the voting system and not 

6 attributable to an act of the voter) shall not exceed 

7 the error rate standards established under the voting 

8 systems standards issued and maintained by Elec9 tion Assistance Commission. 

10 (2) RESIDUAL BALLOT PERFORMANCE BENCH11 MARK.—In addition to the error rate standards de12 scribed in paragraph (1), the Election Assistance 

13 Commission shall issue and maintain a uniform 

14 benchmark for the residual ballot error rate that ju15 risdictions may not exceed. For purposes of the pre16 ceding sentence, the residual vote error rate shall be 

17 equal to the combination of overvotes, spoiled or un18 countable votes, and undervotes cast in the contest 

19 at the top of the ballot, but excluding an estimate, 

20 based upon the best available research, of intentional 

21 undervotes. The Commission shall base the bench22 mark issued and maintained under this subpara23 graph on evidence of good practices in representative 

24 jurisdictions. 
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1 (3) HISTORICALLY HIGH INTENTIONAL UNDER2 VOTES.— 

3 (A) Congress finds that there are certain 

4 distinct communities in certain geographic 

5 areas that have historically high rates of inten6 tional undervoting in elections for Federal of7 fice, relative to the rest of the Nation. 

8 (B) In establishing the benchmark de9 scribed in subparagraph (B), the Election As10 sistance Commission shall— 

11 (i) study and report to Congress on 

12 the occurrences of distinct communities 

13 that have significantly higher than average 

14 rates of historical intentional undervoting; 

15 and 

16 (ii) promulgate for local jurisdictions 

17 in which that distinct community has a 

18 substantial presence either a separate 

19 benchmark or an exclusion from the na20 tional benchmark, as appropriate. 

21 TITLE II—PROVISIONAL 

22 BALLOTS 

23 SEC. 201. REQUIREMENTS FOR CASTING AND COUNTING 

24 PROVISIONAL BALLOTS. 

25 (a) ELIGIBILITY OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 

2 302(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

3 U.S.C. 15482(a)(4)) is amended by inserting at the 

4 end the following new sentence: ‘‘The determination 

5 of eligibility shall be made without regard to the lo6 cation at which the voter cast the provisional ballot 

7 and without regard to any requirement to present 

8 identification to any election official.’’. 

9 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

10 by paragraph (1) shall apply to States and jurisdic11 tions on and after November 1, 2006. 

12 (b) TIMELY PROCESSING OF BALLOTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 

14 302 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

15 U.S.C. 15482(a)) is amended by inserting after 

16 paragraph (5) the following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(6) The appropriate State election official 

18 shall develop, according to guidelines established by 

19 the Election Assistance Commission, reasonable pro20 cedures to assure the timely processing and counting 

21 of provisional ballots, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) standards for timely processing and 

23 counting to assure that, after the conclusion of 

24 the provisional vote count, parties and can25 didates may have full, timely, and effective re-
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1 course to the recount and contest procedures 

2 provided by State law; and 

3 ‘‘(B) standards for the informed participa4 tion of candidates and parties such as are con5 sistent with reasonable procedures to protect 

6 the security, confidentiality, and integrity of 

7 personal information collected in the course of 

8 the processing and counting of provisional bal9 lots.’’. 

10 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (d) of sec11 tion 302 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

12 U.S.C. 15482(d)) is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), each State’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting at the end the following 

18 new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) PROCESSING.—Each State shall be re20 quired to comply with the requirements of subsection 

21 (a)(6) on and after the date that is 6 months after 

22 the date of the enactment of the Count Every Vote 

23 Act of 2005.’’. 
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1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by this subsection shall take effect on the date that 

3 is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL RE5 QUIREMENTS UNDER THE 

6 HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 

7 2002 

8 Subtitle A—Shortening Voter Wait 

9 Times 

10 SEC. 301. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS, POLL 

11 WORKERS, AND ELECTION RESOURCES. 

12 (a) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help Amer14 ica Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481 et seq.) is 

15 amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 subtitle: 

17 ‘‘Subtitle C—Additional 

18 Requirements 

19 ‘‘SEC. 321. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS AND 

20 POLL WORKERS. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall provide for the 

22 minimum required number of voting systems, poll workers, 

23 and other election resources (including all other physical 

24 resources) for each voting site on the day of any Federal 

25 election and on any days during which such State allows 
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1 early voting for a Federal election in accordance with the 

2 standards determined under section 299. 

3 ‘‘(b) VOTING SITE.—For purposes of this section and 

4 section 299, the term ‘voting site’ means a polling loca5 tion, except that in the case of any polling location which 

6 serves more than 1 precinct, such term shall mean a pre7 cinct. 

8 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re9 quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 

10 and after October 1, 2006.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 401 

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

13 15511) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and in14 serting ‘‘303, and subtitle C’’. 

15 (b) STANDARDS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Help America 

17 Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15321 et seq.) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following new 

19 subtitle: 
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1 ‘‘Subtitle E—Guidance and 

2 Standards 

3 ‘‘SEC. 299. STANDARDS FOR ESTABLISHING THE MINIMUM 

4 REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS AND POLL 

5 WORKERS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2006, 

7 the Commission shall issue standards regarding the min8 imum number of voting systems, poll workers, and other 

9 election resources (including all other physical resources) 

10 required under section 321 on the day of any Federal elec11 tion and on any days during which early voting is allowed 

12 for a Federal election. 

13 ‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The standards described in 

15 subsection (a) shall provide for a uniform and non16 discriminatory distribution of such systems, workers, 

17 and other resources, and shall take into account, 

18 among other factors, the following with respect to 

19 any voting site: 

20 ‘‘(A) The voting age population. 

21 ‘‘(B) Voter turnout in past elections. 

22 ‘‘(C) The number of voters registered. 

23 ‘‘(D) The number of voters who have reg24 istered since the most recent Federal election. 
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1 ‘‘(E) Census data for the population served 

2 by such voting site. 

3 ‘‘(F) The educational levels and socio-eco4 nomic factors of the population served by such 

5 voting site. 

6 ‘‘(G) The needs and numbers of disabled 

7 voters and voters with limited English pro8 ficiency. 

9 ‘‘(H) The type of voting systems used. 

10 ‘‘(2) NO FACTOR DISPOSITIVE.—The standards 

11 shall provide that any distribution of such systems 

12 shall take into account the totality of all relevant 

13 factors, and no single factor shall be dispositive 

14 under the standards. 

15 ‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—To the extent possible, the 

16 standards shall provide for a distribution of voting 

17 systems, poll workers, and other election resources 

18 with the goals of— 

19 ‘‘(A) ensuring an equal waiting time for all 

20 voters in the State; and 

21 ‘‘(B) preventing a waiting time of over 1 

22 hour at any polling place. 

23 ‘‘(c) DEVIATION.—The standards described in sub24 section (a) shall permit States, upon giving reasonable 

25 public notice, to deviate from any allocation requirements 
25 

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1 in the case of unforseen circumstances such as a natural 

2 disaster or terrorist attack.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 202 

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

5 15322) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (5) 

6 and (6) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively, and 

7 by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 

8 paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(5) carrying out the duties described under 

10 subtitle E;’’. 

11 SEC. 302. REQUIREMENTS FOR JURISDICTIONS WITH SUB12 STANTIAL VOTER WAIT TIMES. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Help America Vote Act of 

14 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

15 the end the following new title: 

16 ‘‘TITLE X—REMEDIAL PLANS 

17 FOR STATES WITH EXCESSIVE 

18 VOTER WAIT TIMES 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1001. REMEDIAL PLANS FOR STATES WITH EXCES20 SIVE VOTER WAIT TIMES. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each jurisdiction for which the 

22 Election Assistance Commission determines that a sub23 stantial number of voters waited more than 90 minutes 

24 to cast a vote in the election on November 2, 2004, shall 
26 

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1 comply with a State remedial plan established under this 

2 section. 

3 ‘‘(b) STATE REMEDIAL PLANS.—For each State or 

4 jurisdiction which is required to comply with this section, 

5 the Election Assistance Commission shall establish a State 

6 remedial plan to minimize the waiting times of voters. 

7 ‘‘(c) JURISDICTION.—For purposes of this section, 

8 the term ‘jurisdiction’ has the same meaning as the term 

9 ‘registrar’s jurisdiction’ under section 8 of the National 

10 Voter Registration Act of 1993.’’. 

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

12 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act. 

14 Subtitle B—No-Excuse Absentee 

15 Voting 

16 SEC. 311. NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING. 

17 Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote Act 

18 of 2002, as added by this Act, is amended by adding at 

19 the end the following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 322. NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State and jurisdiction shall 

22 permit any person who is otherwise qualified to vote in 

23 an election for Federal office to vote in such election in 

24 a manner other than in person without regard to any re25 strictions on absentee voting under State law. 
27 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(b) SUBMISSION AND PROCESSING.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any ballot cast under sub3 section (a) shall be submitted and processed in the 

4 manner provided for absentee ballots under State 

5 law. 

6 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE.—Any ballot cast under sub7 section (a) shall be counted if postmarked or signed 

8 before the close of the polls on election day and re9 ceived by the appropriate State election official on or 

10 before the date which is 10 days after the date of 

11 the election or the date provided for the receipt of 

12 absentee ballots under State law, whichever is later. 

13 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 

14 shall be required to comply with the requirements of this 

15 section on and after October 1, 2006.’’. 

16 Subtitle C—Collection and 

17 Dissemination of Election Data 

18 SEC. 321. DATA COLLECTION. 

19 Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote Act 

20 of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 323. PUBLIC REPORTS ON FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 

24 a Federal election, each State and jurisdiction shall pub-
28 

•S 450 IS

1 licly report information on such election, including the fol2 lowing information with respect to the election: 

3 ‘‘(1) The total number of individuals of voting 

4 age in the population. 

5 ‘‘(2) The total number of individuals registered 

6 to vote. 

7 ‘‘(3) The total number of registered voters who 

8 voted. 

9 ‘‘(4) The number of absentee and overseas bal10 lots requested, including the numbers of such ballots 

11 requested by military personnel and citizens living 

12 overseas. 

13 ‘‘(5) The number of absentee and overseas bal14 lots cast, including the numbers of such ballots cast 

15 by military personnel and citizens living overseas. 

16 ‘‘(6) The total number of absentee and overseas 

17 ballots counted, including the number of such ballots 

18 which were cast by military personnel and citizens 

19 living overseas that were counted. 

20 ‘‘(7) The total number of absentee and overseas 

21 ballots rejected, including the numbers of such bal22 lots which were cast by military personnel and citi23 zens living overseas that were rejected, and the rea24 sons for any such rejections. 
29 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(8) The number of votes cast in early voting 

2 at the polls before the day of the election. 

3 ‘‘(9) The number of provisional ballots cast. 

4 ‘‘(10) The number of provisional ballots count5 ed. 

6 ‘‘(11) The number of provisional ballots re7 jected and the reasons any provisional ballots were 

8 rejected. 

9 ‘‘(12) The number of voting sites (within the 

10 meaning of section 321(b)) in the State or jurisdic11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(13) The number of voting machines in each 

13 such voting site on election day and the type of each 

14 voting machine. 

15 ‘‘(14) The total number of voting machines 

16 available in the State or jurisdiction for distribution 

17 to each such voting site. 

18 ‘‘(15) The total number of voting machines ac19 tually distributed to such voting sites (including vot20 ing machines distributed as replacement voting ma21 chines on the day of the election). 

22 ‘‘(16) The total number of voting machines of 

23 any type, whether electronic or manual, that mal24 functioned on the day of the election and the reason 

25 for any malfunction. 
30 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(17) The total number of voting machines that 

2 were replaced on the day of the election. 

3 ‘‘(b) REPORT BY EAC.—The Commission shall col4 lect the information published under subsection (a) and 

5 shall report to Congress not later than 9 months after any 

6 Federal election the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) The funding and expenditures of each 

8 State under the provisions of this Act. 

9 ‘‘(2) The voter turnout in the election. 

10 ‘‘(3) The number of registered voters and the 

11 number of individuals eligible to register who are not 

12 registered. 

13 ‘‘(4) The number of voters who have registered 

14 to vote in a Federal election since the most recent 

15 such election. 

16 ‘‘(5) The extent to which voter registration in17 formation has been shared among government agen18 cies (including any progress on implementing state19 wide voter registration databases under section 

20 303(a)). 

21 ‘‘(6) The extent to which accurate voter infor22 mation has been maintained over time. 

23 ‘‘(7) The number and types of new voting sys24 tems purchased by States and jurisdictions. 
31 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(8) The amount of time individuals waited to 

2 vote. 

3 ‘‘(9) The number of early votes, provisional 

4 votes, absentee ballots, and overseas ballots distrib5 uted, cast, and counted. 

6 ‘‘(10) The amount of training that poll workers 

7 received. 

8 ‘‘(11) The number of poll workers. 

9 ‘‘(12) The number of polling locations and pre10 cincts. 

11 ‘‘(13) The ratio of the number of voting ma12 chines to the number of registered voters. 

13 ‘‘(14) any other information pertaining to elec14 toral participation as the Commission deems appro15 priate. 

16 ‘‘(c) Each State and jurisdiction shall be required to 

17 comply with the requirements of this section on and after 

18 November 1, 2006.’’. 

19 Subtitle D—Ensuring Well Run 

20 Elections 

21 SEC. 331. TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS. 

22 Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote Act 

23 of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following new section: 
32 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 324. TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State and jurisdiction shall 

3 require that each person who works in a polling place dur4 ing an election for Federal office receives adequate train5 ing not earlier than 3 months before the election. 

6 ‘‘(b) TRAINING.—The training required under sub7 section (a) shall, at a minimum, include— 

8 ‘‘(1) hands-on training on all voting systems 

9 used in the election; 

10 ‘‘(2) training on accommodating individuals 

11 with disabilities, individuals who are of limited 

12 English proficiency, and individuals who are illit13 erate; 

14 ‘‘(3) training on requirements for the identifica15 tion of voters; 

16 ‘‘(4) training on the appropriate use of provi17 sional ballots and the process for casting such bal18 lots; 

19 ‘‘(5) training on registering voters on the day 

20 of the election; 

21 ‘‘(6) training on which individuals have the au22 thority to challenge voter eligibility and the process 

23 for any such challenges; and 

24 ‘‘(7) training on security procedures. 
33 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 

2 shall be required to comply with the requirements of this 

3 section on and after August 1, 2006.’’. 

4 SEC. 332. IMPARTIAL ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS. 

5 Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote Act 

6 of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 325. ELECTION ADMINISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) PUBLICATION OF STATE ELECTION LAWS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall be re11 quired to publish all State laws, regulations, proce12 dures, and practices relating to Federal elections on 

13 January 1 of each year in which there is a regularly 

14 scheduled election for a Federal office. 

15 ‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF LAWS ON THE INTER16 NET.—Each State shall be required to maintain an 

17 updated version of all material published under 

18 paragraph (1) on an easily accessible public web site 

19 on the Internet. 

20 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF CHANGES IN STATE ELECTION

21 LAWS.—Not later than 15 days prior to any Federal elec22 tion, each State shall issue a public notice describing all 

23 changes in State law affecting voting in Federal elections 

24 and the administration of Federal elections since the most 

25 recent prior such election. If any State or local government 
34 

•S 450 IS

1 makes any change affecting the administration of Federal 

2 elections within 15 days of a Federal election, the State 

3 or local government shall provide adequate public notice. 

4 ‘‘(c) OBSERVERS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS.—Each State shall issue non6 discriminatory standards for granting access to non7 partisan election observers. Such standards shall 

8 take into account the need to avoid disruption and 

9 crowding in polling places. 

10 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall allow uni11 form and nondiscriminatory access to any polling 

12 place for purposes of observing a Federal election to 

13 nonpartisan domestic observers (including voting 

14 rights and civil rights organizations) and inter15 national observers in accordance with the standards 

16 published under paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(3) NOTICE OF DENIAL OF OBSERVATION RE18 QUEST.—Each State shall issue a public notice with 

19 respect to any denial of a request by any observer 

20 described in paragraph (2) for access to any polling 

21 place for purposes of observing a Federal election. 

22 Such notice shall be issued not later than 24 hours 

23 after such denial. 
35 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re2 quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 

3 and after October 1, 2006.’’. 

4 Subtitle E—Standards for Purging 

5 Voters 

6 SEC. 341. STANDARDS FOR PURGING VOTERS. 

7 Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote Act 

8 of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 326. REMOVAL FROM VOTER REGISTRATION LIST. 

11 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Not later than 45 days before 

12 any Federal election, each State shall provide public notice 

13 of— 

14 ‘‘(1) all names which have been removed from 

15 the voter registration list of such State under section 

16 303 since the later of the most recent election for 

17 Federal office or the day of the most recent previous 

18 public notice provided under this section; and 

19 ‘‘(2) the criteria, processes, and procedures 

20 used to determine which names were removed. 

21 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO INDIVIDUAL VOTERS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No individual shall be re23 moved from the voter registration list under section 

24 303 unless such individual is first provided with a 
36 

•S 450 IS

1 notice which meets the requirements of paragraph 

2 (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS OF NOTICE.—The notice 

4 required under paragraph (1) shall be— 

5 ‘‘(A) provided to each voter in a uniform 

6 and nondiscriminatory manner; 

7 ‘‘(B) consistent with the requirements of 

8 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 

9 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.); and 

10 ‘‘(C) in the form and manner prescribed by 

11 the Election Assistance Commission. 

12 ‘‘(c) PRIVACY.—No State or jurisdiction may disclose 

13 the reason for the removal of any voter from the voter 

14 registration list unless ordered to do so by a court of com15 petent jurisdiction. 

16 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re17 quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 

18 and after September 1, 2006.’’. 

19 Subtitle F—Election Day 

20 Registration and Early Voting 

21 SEC. 351. ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION. 

22 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle C of title III of the 

23 Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added and amended 

24 by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following 

25 new section: 
37 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 327. ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Notwithstanding section 

4 8(a)(1)(D) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

5 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6), each State shall permit 

6 any individual on the day of a Federal election— 

7 ‘‘(A) to register to vote in such election at 

8 the polling place using the form established by 

9 the Election Assistance Commission pursuant 

10 to section 299A; and 

11 ‘‘(B) to cast a vote in such election and 

12 have that vote counted in the same manner as 

13 a vote cast by an eligible voter who properly 

14 registered during the regular registration pe15 riod. 

16 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The requirements under 

17 paragraph (1) shall not apply to a State in which, 

18 under a State law in effect continuously on and after 

19 the date of the enactment of this Act, there is no 

20 voter registration requirement for individuals in the 

21 State with respect to elections for Federal office. 

22 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re23 quired to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) 

24 on and after October 1, 2006.’’. 

25 (b) ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION FORM.—Subtitle 

26 E of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, as 
38 

•S 450 IS

1 added by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 299A. ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION FORM. 

4 ‘‘The Commission shall develop an election day reg5 istration form for elections for Federal office.’’. 

6 SEC. 352. EARLY VOTING. 

7 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle C of title III of the 

8 Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added and amended 

9 by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 328. EARLY VOTING. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall allow individ13 uals to vote in an election for Federal office not less than 

14 15 days prior to the day scheduled for such election in 

15 the same manner as voting is allowed on such day. 

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

17 Each polling place which allows voting prior to the day 

18 of a Federal election pursuant to subsection (a) shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) allow such voting for no less than 4 hours 

20 on each day (other than Sunday); and 

21 ‘‘(2) have minimum uniform hours each day for 

22 which such voting occurs. 

23 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION

24 TO EARLY VOTING.—A State shall permit individuals to 

25 register to vote at each polling place which allows voting 
39 

•S 450 IS

1 prior to the day of a Federal election pursuant to sub2 section (a) in the same manner as the State is required 

3 to permit individuals to register to vote and vote on the 

4 day of the election under section 327. 

5 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re6 quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 

7 and after October 1, 2006.’’. 

8 (b) STANDARDS FOR EARLY VOTING.—Subtitle E of 

9 the Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added and amend10 ed by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 299B. STANDARDS FOR EARLY VOTING. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue 

14 standards for the administration of voting prior to the day 

15 scheduled for a Federal election. Such standards shall in16 clude the nondiscriminatory geographic placement of poll17 ing places at which such voting occurs and the public list18 ing of the date, time, and location of polling places no 

19 earlier than 10 days before the date on which such voting 

20 begins. 

21 ‘‘(b) DEVIATION.—The standards described in sub22 section (a) shall permit States, upon giving reasonable 

23 public notice, to deviate from any requirement in the case 

24 of unforeseen circumstances such as a natural disaster or 

25 a terrorist attack.’’. 
40 

•S 450 IS

1 TITLE IV—VOTER REGISTRA2 TION AND IDENTIFICATION 

3 SEC. 401. VOTER REGISTRATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 303(b) 

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

6 15483(b)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—On and after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act— 

10 ‘‘(i) in lieu of the questions and state11 ments required under subparagraph (A), 

12 such mail voter registration form shall in13 clude an affidavit to be signed by the reg14 istrant attesting both to citizenship and 

15 age; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) subparagraph (B) shall not 

17 apply.’’. 

18 (b) PROCESSING OF REGISTRATION APPLICA19 TIONS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title III of the 

21 Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added and 

22 amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the 

23 end the following new section: 
41 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 329. PROCESSING OF REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro3 vision of law, each State and jurisdiction shall accept and 

4 process a voter registration application for an election for 

5 Federal office unless there is a material omission or infor6 mation that specifically affects the eligibility of the voter. 

7 ‘‘(b) PRESUMPTION TO REGISTER.—There shall be a 

8 presumption that persons who submit voter registration 

9 applications should be registered. 

10 ‘‘(c) PRESUMPTION TO CURE MATERIAL OMIS11 SION.—Each State and jurisdiction shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide a process to permit voters an op13 portunity to cure any material omission within a 

14 reasonable period of time; and 

15 ‘‘(2) accept any application which is so cured as 

16 having been filed on the date on which such applica17 tion is originally received. 

18 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 

19 shall be required to comply with the requirements of this 

20 subsection on and after October 1, 2006.’’. 

21 (2) MATERIAL OMISSION.—Subtitle E of title II 

22 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added and 

23 amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the 

24 end the following new section: 
42 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 299C. STANDARDS FOR MATERIAL OMISSION FROM 

2 REGISTRATION FORMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Com4 mission shall establish guidelines as to what does and does 

5 not constitute a ‘material omission or information that 

6 specifically affects the eligibility of the voter’ for purposes 

7 of section 329. 

8 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN INFORMATION NOT A MATERIAL

9 OMISSION.—In establishing the guidelines under sub10 section (a), the Commission shall provide that the fol11 lowing shall not constitute a ‘material omission or infor12 mation that specifically affects the eligibility of the voter’: 

13 ‘‘(1) The failure to provide a social security 

14 number or driver’s license number. 

15 ‘‘(2) The failure to provide information con16 cerning citizenship or age in a manner other than 

17 the attestation required under section 9(b)(2) of the 

18 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 

19 1973–gg–7).’’. 

20 (c) INTERNET REGISTRATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the 

22 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381), 

23 as added and amended by this Act, is amended by 

24 redesignating section 249 as section 250 and by in25 serting after section 248 the following new section: 
43 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 249. STUDY ON INTERNET REGISTRATION AND 

2 OTHER USES OF THE INTERNET IN FEDERAL 

3 ELECTIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a study 

5 on— 

6 ‘‘(1) the feasibility of voter registration through 

7 the Internet for Federal elections; and 

8 ‘‘(2) other uses of the Internet in Federal elec9 tions, including— 

10 ‘‘(A) the use of the Internet to publicize 

11 information related to Federal elections; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the use of the Internet to vote in 

13 Federal elections. 

14 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the 

15 date of the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act of 

16 2005, the Commission shall transmit to Congress a report 

17 on the results of the study conducted under subsection 

18 (a).’’. 

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

20 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 

21 enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 402. ESTABLISHING VOTER IDENTIFICATION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

24 (1) IN PERSON VOTING.—Clause (i) of section 

25 303(b)(2)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

26 (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by strik-
44 

•S 450 IS

1 ing ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause (I) and by adding 

2 at the end the following new subclause: 

3 ‘‘(III) executes a written affidavit 

4 attesting to such individual’s identity; 

5 or’’. 

6 (2) VOTING BY MAIL.—Clause (ii) of section 

7 303(b)(2)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

8 (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended by strik9 ing ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause (I), by striking the 

10 period at the end of subclause (II) and inserting ‘‘; 

11 or’’, and by adding at the end the following new sub12 clause: 

13 ‘‘(III) a written affidavit, exe14 cuted by such individual, attesting to 

15 such individual’s identity.’’. 

16 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and juris17 diction shall be required to comply with the amend18 ments made by this subsection on and after Novem19 ber 1, 2006. 

20 (b) STANDARDS FOR VERIFYING VOTER INFORMA21 TION.—Subtitle E of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 

22 as added and amended by this Act, is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following new section: 
45 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 299D. VOTER IDENTIFICATION. 

2 ‘‘The Commission shall develop standards for 

3 verifying the identification information required under sec4 tion 303(a)(5) in connection with the registration of an 

5 individual to vote in a Federal election.’’. 

6 (c) FUNDING FOR FREE PHOTO IDENTIFICATIONS.— 

7 Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 

8 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15401 et seq.), as amended by this Act, 

9 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘PART 8—PHOTO IDENTIFICATION 

11 ‘‘SEC. 298A. PAYMENTS FOR FREE PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other pay13 ments made under this subtitle, the Election Assistance 

14 Commission shall make payments to States to promote the 

15 issuance to registered voters of free photo identifications. 

16 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State receiving a payment 

17 under this part shall use the payment only to provide free 

18 photo identification cards to registered voters who do not 

19 have an identification card and who cannot obtain an iden20 tification card without undue hardship. 

21 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 

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

23 made to a State under this part for a year shall be 

24 equal to the product of— 
46 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the total amount appropriated for 

2 payments under this part for the year under 

3 section 298B; and 

4 ‘‘(B) an amount equal to— 

5 ‘‘(i) the voting age population of the 

6 State (as reported in the most recent de7 cennial census); divided by 

8 ‘‘(ii) the total voting age of all eligible 

9 States which submit an application for 

10 payments under this part (as reported in 

11 the most recent decennial census). 

12 ‘‘SEC. 298B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other 

14 amounts authorized to be appropriated under this subtitle, 

15 there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for 

16 fiscal year 2006 and such sums as are necessary for each 

17 subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of making payments 

18 under section 298A. 

19 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated 

20 pursuant to the authority of this section shall remain 

21 available until expended.’’. 
47 

•S 450 IS

1 SEC. 403. REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL CERTIFICATION OF 

2 TECHNOLOGICAL SECURITY OF VOTER REG3 ISTRATION LISTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a)(3) of the Help 

5 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(a)(3)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘measures to prevent the’’ and in7 serting ‘‘measures, as certified by the Election Assistance 

8 Commission, to prevent’’. 

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

10 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 TITLE V—PROHIBITION ON 

13 CERTAIN CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES 

14 SEC. 501. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CAMPAIGN ACTIVI15 TIES. 

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

17 Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended 

18 by inserting after section 319 the following new section: 

19 ‘‘CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY ELECTION OFFICIALS AND

20 VOTING SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS

21 ‘‘SEC. 319A. (a) PROHIBITION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS.—It 

23 shall be unlawful for any chief State election official 

24 to take part in prohibited political activities with re25 spect to any election for Federal office over which 

26 such official has managerial authority. 
48 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(2) VOTING SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS.—It 

2 shall be unlawful for any person who owns or serves 

3 as the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, 

4 chief operating officer, or president of any entity 

5 that designs or manufacturers a voting system to 

6 take part in prohibited political activities with re7 spect to any election for a Federal office for which 

8 a voting system produced by such manufacturer is 

9 used. 

10 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL.—The 

12 term ‘chief State election official’ means the indi13 vidual designated as such under section 10 of the 

14 National Voter Registration Act of 1993.’’ 

15 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.—The 

16 term ‘prohibited political activities’ means cam17 paigning to support or oppose a candidate or slate 

18 of candidates for Federal office, making public 

19 speeches in support of such a candidate, fundraising 

20 and collecting contributions on behalf of such a can21 didate, distributing campaign materials with respect 

22 to such a candidate, organizing campaign events 

23 with respect to such a candidate, and serving in any 

24 position on any political campaign committee of such 

25 a candidate. 
49 

•S 450 IS

1 ‘‘(c) OWNERSHIP.—For purposes of subsection 

2 (a)(2), a person shall be considered to own an entity if 

3 such person controls at least 20 percent, by vote or value, 

4 of the entity.’’. 

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

6 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act. 

8 TITLE VI—ENDING DECEPTIVE 

9 PRACTICES 

10 SEC. 601. ENDING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (1) Subsection (b) of section 2004 of the Re13 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1971(b)) is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person’’; and 

17 (B) by inserting at the end the following 

18 new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—No person, whether 

20 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall know21 ingly deceive any other person regarding the time, 

22 place, or manner of conducting a general, primary, 

23 run-off, or special election for the office of Presi24 dent, Vice President, presidential elector, Member of 

25 the Senate, or Member of the House of Representa-
50 

•S 450 IS

1 tives, Delegates, or Commissioners from the Terri2 tories or possessions; nor shall any person knowingly 

3 deceive any person regarding the qualifications or 

4 restrictions of voter eligibility for any general, pri5 mary, run-off, or special election for the office of 

6 President, Vice President, presidential elector, Mem7 ber of the Senate, or Member of the House of Rep8 resentatives, Delegates, or Commissioners from the 

9 Territories or possessions.’’. 

10 (2) The heading of section 2004(b) of the Re11 vised Statutes is amended by striking ‘‘OR COER12 CION’’ and inserting ‘‘COERCION, OR DECEPTIVE

13 ACTS’’. 

14 (b) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Section 594 of title 18, 

15 United States Code, is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(a) INTIMIDATION.—Whoever’’; and 

19 (2) by inserting at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(b) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—Whoever knowingly deceives 

21 any person regarding— 

22 ‘‘(1) the time, place, or manner of conducting 

23 a general, primary, run-off, or special election for 

24 the office of President, Vice President, presidential 

25 elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the 
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1 House of Representatives, Delegates, or Commis2 sioners from the Territories or possessions; or 

3 ‘‘(2) the qualifications or restrictions of voter 

4 eligibility for any general, primary, run-off or special 

5 election for the office of President, Vice President, 

6 presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Mem7 ber of the House of Representatives, Delegates, or 

8 Commissioners from the Territories or possessions 

9 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 

10 one year, or both.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act. 

14 TITLE VII—CIVIC PARTICIPA15 TION BY EX-OFFENDERS 

16 SEC. 701. VOTING RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF 

17 CRIMINAL OFFENSES. 

18 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 

19 Civic Participation Act of 2005. 

20 (b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

21 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following 

22 findings: 

23 (A) The right to vote is the most basic 

24 constitutive act of citizenship and regaining the 

25 right to vote reintegrates offenders into free so-
52 

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1 ciety. The right to vote may not be abridged or 

2 denied by the United States or by any State on 

3 account of race, color, gender, or previous con4 dition of servitude. Basic constitutional prin5 ciples of fairness and equal protection require 

6 an equal opportunity for United States citizens 

7 to vote in Federal elections. 

8 (B) Congress has ultimate supervisory 

9 power over Federal elections, an authority that 

10 has repeatedly been upheld by the Supreme 

11 Court. 

12 (C) Although State laws determine the 

13 qualifications for voting in Federal elections, 

14 Congress must ensure that those laws are in ac15 cordance with the Constitution. Currently, those 

16 laws vary throughout the Nation, resulting in 

17 discrepancies regarding which citizens may vote 

18 in Federal elections. 

19 (D) An estimated 4,700,000 individuals in 

20 the United States, or 1 in 44 adults, currently 

21 cannot vote as a result of a felony conviction. 

22 Women represent about 676,000 of those 

23 4,700,000. 

24 (E) State disenfranchisement laws dis25 proportionately impact ethnic minorities. 
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1 (F) Fourteen States disenfranchise some 

2 or all ex-offenders who have fully served their 

3 sentences, regardless of the nature or serious4 ness of the offense. 

5 (G) In those States that disenfranchise ex6 offenders who have fully served their sentences, 

7 the right to vote can be regained in theory, but 

8 in practice this possibility is often illusory. 

9 (H) In those States that disenfranchise ex10 offenders, an ex-offender’s right to vote can 

11 only be restored through a gubernatorial pardon 

12 or order, or a certificate granted by a parole 

13 board. Some States require waiting periods as 

14 long as 10 years after completion of the sen15 tence before an ex-offender can initiate the ap16 plication for restoration of the right to vote. 

17 (I) Offenders convicted of a Federal of18 fense often have additional barriers to regaining 

19 voting rights. Many States do not offer a res20 toration procedure for Federal offenders who 

21 have completed supervision. The only method 

22 available to such persons is a Presidential par23 don. 
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1 (J) Few persons who seek to have their 

2 right to vote restored have the financial and po3 litical resources needed to succeed. 

4 (K) Thirteen percent of the African-Amer5 ican adult male population, or 1,400,000 Afri6 can-American men, are disenfranchised. Given 

7 current rates of incarceration, 3 in 10 African8 American men in the next generation will be 

9 disenfranchised at some point during their life10 times. Hispanic citizens are also disproportion11 ately disenfranchised, since those citizens are 

12 disproportionately represented in the criminal 

13 justice system. 

14 (L) The discrepancies described in this 

15 paragraph should be addressed by Congress, in 

16 the name of fundamental fairness and equal 

17 protection. 

18 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to 

19 restore fairness in the Federal election process by 

20 ensuring that ex-offenders who have fully served 

21 their sentences are not denied the right to vote. 

22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this title: 

23 (1) CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OR FACIL24 ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 

25 means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu-
55 

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1 tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 

2 convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 

3 privately operated, except that such term does not 

4 include any residential community treatment center 

5 (or similar public or private facility). 

6 (2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 

7 (A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 

8 election; 

9 (B) a convention or caucus of a political 

10 party held to nominate a candidate; 

11 (C) a primary election held for the selec12 tion of delegates to a national nominating con13 vention of a political party; or 

14 (D) a primary election held for the expres15 sion of a preference for the nomination of per16 sons for election to the office of President. 

17 (3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of18 fice’’ means the office of President or Vice Presi19 dent, or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate 

20 or Resident Commissioner to, Congress. 

21 (4) PAROLE.—The term ‘‘parole’’ means parole 

22 (including mandatory parole), or conditional or su23 pervised release (including mandatory supervised re24 lease), imposed by a Federal, State, or local court. 
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1 (5) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 

2 probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 

3 court, with or without a condition on the individual 

4 involved concerning— 

5 (A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 

6 (B) the payment of damages by the indi7 vidual; 

8 (C) periodic reporting by the individual to 

9 an officer of the court; or 

10 (D) supervision of the individual by an of11 ficer of the court. 

12 (d) RIGHTS OF CITIZENS.—The right of an individual 

13 who is a citizen of the United States to vote in any election 

14 for Federal office shall not be denied or abridged because 

15 that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense 

16 unless, at the time of the election, such individual— 

17 (1) is serving a felony sentence in a correctional 

18 institution or facility; or 

19 (2) is on parole or probation for a felony of20 fense 

21 (e) ENFORCEMENT.— 

22 (1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney Gen23 eral may bring a civil action in a court of competent 

24 jurisdiction to obtain such declaratory or injunctive 
57 

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1 relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this 

2 section. 

3 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

4 (A) NOTICE.—A person who is aggrieved 

5 by a violation of this section may provide writ6 ten notice of the violation to the chief election 

7 official of the State involved. 

8 (B) ACTION.—Except as provided in sub9 paragraph (C), if the violation is not corrected 

10 within 90 days after receipt of a notice provided 

11 under subparagraph (A), or within 20 days 

12 after receipt of the notice if the violation oc13 curred within 120 days before the date of an 

14 election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 

15 may bring a civil action in such a court to ob16 tain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect 

17 to the violation. 

18 (C) ACTION FOR VIOLATION SHORTLY BE19 FORE A FEDERAL ELECTION.—If the violation 

20 occurred within 30 days before the date of an 

21 election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 

22 shall not be required to provide notice to the 

23 chief election official of the State under sub24 paragraph (A) before bringing a civil action in 
58 

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1 such a court to obtain declaratory or injunctive 

2 relief with respect to the violation. 

3 (f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

4 (1) NO PROHIBITION ON LESS RESTRICTIVE

5 LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

6 prohibit a State from enacting any State law that 

7 affords the right to vote in any election for Federal 

8 office on terms less restrictive than those terms es9 tablished by this section. 

10 (2) NO LIMITATION ON OTHER LAWS.—The 

11 rights and remedies established by this section shall 

12 be in addition to all other rights and remedies pro13 vided by law, and shall not supersede, restrict, or 

14 limit the application of the Voting Rights Act of 

15 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.) or the National Voter 

16 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et 

17 seq.). 

18 (g) NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING

19 RIGHTS.—Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote 

20 Act of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 330. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 

23 RIGHTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION.— 
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On the date determined 

2 under subsection (b), each State shall notify any 

3 qualified ex-offender who resides in the State that 

4 such qualified ex-offender has the right to vote in an 

5 election for Federal office pursuant to the Civic Par6 ticipation Act of 2005 and may register to vote in 

7 any such election. 

8 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED EX-OFFENDER.—For the pur9 pose of this section, the term ‘qualified ex-offender’ 

10 means any individual who resides in the State who 

11 has been convicted of a criminal offense and is not 

12 serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 

13 or facility and who is not on parole or probation for 

14 a felony offense. 

15 ‘‘(b) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.—The notification re16 quired under subsection (a) shall be given on the later of 

17 the date on which such individual is released from a cor18 rectional institution or facility for serving a felony sen19 tence or the date on which such individual is released from 

20 parole for a felony offense. 

21 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—Any term which is used in this 

22 section that is also used in the Civic Participation Act of 

23 2005 shall have the meaning given to such term in that 

24 Act. 
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1 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re2 quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 

3 and after the date of the enactment of the Civic Participa4 tion Act of 2005.’’. 

5 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall apply to 

7 citizens of the United States voting in any election 

8 for Federal office after the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act. 

10 (2) AMENDMENTS.—The amendment made by 

11 subsection (g) shall take effect on the date of the en12 actment of this Act. 

13 TITLE VIII—FEDERAL ELECTION 

14 DAY ACT 

15 SEC. 801. SHORT TITLE. 

16 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Election Day 

17 Act of 2005’’. 

18 SEC. 802. FEDERAL ELECTION DAY AS A PUBLIC HOLIDAY. 

19 (a) ELECTION DAY AS A FEDERAL HOLIDAY.—Sec20 tion 6103(a) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

21 by inserting after the matter relating to Columbus Day, 

22 the following undesignated paragraph: 

23 ‘‘Federal Election Day, the Tuesday next after 

24 the first Monday in November in each even num25 bered year.’’. 
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 241(b) of 

2 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381(b)) 

3 is amended by striking paragraph (10) and by redesig4 nating paragraphs (11) through (19) as paragraphs (10) 

5 through (18), respectively. 

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

7 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

8 of this Act. 

9 SEC. 803. STUDY ON ENCOURAGING GOVERNMENT EM10 PLOYEES TO SERVE AS POLL WORKERS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Help 

12 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381), as added 

13 and amended by this Act, is amended by redesignating 

14 section 250 as section 250A and by inserting after section 

15 249 the following new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 250. STUDY ON ENCOURAGING GOVERNMENT EM17 PLOYEES TO SERVE AS POLL WORKERS. 

18 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a study 

19 on appropriate methods to encourage State and local gov20 ernment employees to serve as poll workers in Federal 

21 elections. 

22 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the 

23 date of the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act of 

24 2005, the Commission shall transmit to Congress a report 

25 on the results of the study conducted under subsection (a). 
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1 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of the 

2 amount authorized to be appropriated under section 210 

3 for fiscal year 2006, $100,000 shall be authorized solely 

4 to carry out the purposes of this section.’’. 

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

6 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act. 

8 TITLE IX—TRANSMISSION OF 

9 CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAIN10 MENT OF ELECTORS 

11 SEC. 901. TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAIN12 MENT OF ELECTORS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of title 3, United States 

14 Code, is amended— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘and before the date that is 6 

16 days before the date on which the electors are to 

17 meet under section 7,’’ after ‘‘under and in pursu18 ance of the laws of such State providing for such as19 certainment,’’; and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘by registered mail’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘by overnight courier’’. 

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

23 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

24 of this Act. 
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1 TITLE X—STRENGTHENING THE 

2 ELECTION ASSISTANCE COM3 MISSION 

4 SEC. 1001. STRENGTHENING THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

5 COMMISSION. 

6 (a) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Part 1 of subtitle A 

7 of Title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

8 U.S.C. 15321 et seq.) is amended by striking section 209. 

9 (b) BUDGET REQUESTS.—Part 1 of subtitle A of title 

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

11 15321 et seq.), as amended by subsection (a), is amended 

12 by inserting after section 208 the following new section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 209. SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUESTS. 

14 ‘‘Whenever the Commission submits any budget esti15 mate or request to the President or the Office of Manage16 ment and Budget, it shall concurrently transmit a copy 

17 of such estimate or request to the Congress and to the 

18 Committee on House Administration of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committee on Rules and Administra20 tion of the Senate.’’. 

21 (c) EXEMPTION FROM PAPERWORK REDUCTION

22 ACT.—Paragraph (1) of section 3502 of title 44, United 

23 States Code, is amended by redesignating subparagraphs 

24 (B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), 
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1 respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 

2 following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(B) the Election Assistance Commis4 sion;’’. 

5 (d) NIST AUTHORITY.—Subtitle E of title II of the 

6 Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added and amended 

7 by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following 

8 new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 299E. TECHNICAL SUPPORT. 

10 ‘‘At the request of the Commission, the Director of 

11 the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall 

12 provide the Commission with technical support necessary 

13 for the Commission to carry out its duties under this 

14 title.’’. 

15 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

16 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 

17 15330) is amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 

18 2003 through 2005 such sums as may be necessary (but 

19 not to exceed $10,000,000 for each such year)’’ and in20 serting ‘‘$35,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 (of which 

21 $4,000,000 are authorized solely to carry out the purposes 

22 of section 299E) and such sums as may be necessary for 

23 the succeeding fiscal year’’. 
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1 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

3 of this Act. 

4 SEC. 1002. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSIST5 ANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERN6 MENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205 of the Help America 

8 Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15325) is amended by strik9 ing subsection (e). 

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

11 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contracts entered 

12 into by the Election Assistance Commission on or after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 1003. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 Subsection (a) of section 257 of the Help America 

16 Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15408(a)) is amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new paragraphs: 

18 ‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2006, $3,000,000,000. 

19 ‘‘(5) For each fiscal year after 2006, such sums 

20 as are necessary.’’. 

Æ