I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 533
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to protect voting rights 
and to improve the administration of Federal elections, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 2, 2005
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, 
Ms. LEE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 
KUCINICH, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WOOLSEY, 
Mr. WEINER, Mr. CLAY, Mr. OWENS, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. JACKSON of Illi-
nois, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. CORRINE 
BROWN of Florida, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Ms. 
CARSON, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, and Mrs. 
CAPPS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to protect 
voting rights and to improve the administration of Fed-
eral elections, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement 
Rights Act of 2005’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 
Sec. 3.
Enhanced protections against voter intimidation, threats, coercion, and 
deception. 
Sec. 4. National Federal write-in absentee ballot. 
Sec. 5. Verified ballots; preservation. 
Sec. 6. Requirements for counting provisional ballots. 
Sec. 7. Minimum required voting systems and poll workers in polling places. 
Sec. 8. Election day registration. 
Sec. 9. Integrity of voter registration list. 
Sec. 10. Early voting. 
Sec. 11. Acceleration of study on election day as a public holiday. 
Sec. 12. Improvements to voting systems. 
Sec. 13. Voter registration. 
Sec. 14. Establishing voter identification. 
Sec. 15. Impartial administration of elections. 
Sec. 16. Strengthening the Election Assistance Commission. 
Sec. 17. Additional protections to ensure fair administration of Federal elec-
tions. 
Sec. 18. Authorization of appropriations. 
Sec. 19. Effective date.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) The right of all eligible citizens to vote and 
have their vote counted is the cornerstone of a demo-
cratic form of government and the core precondition 
of government of the people, by the people, and for 
the people.
(2) The right of citizens of the United States 
to vote is a fundamental civil right guaranteed under 
the United States Constitution. 
(3) Congress has an obligation to reaffirm the 
right of each American to have an equal opportunity 
to vote and have that vote counted in Federal elec-
tions, regardless of color, ethnicity, disability, lan-
guage, or the resources of the community in which 
they live. 
(4) Congress has an obligation to ensure the 
uniform and nondiscriminatory exercise of that right 
by removing barriers in the form of election adminis-
tration procedures and technology and insufficient 
and unequal resources of State and local govern-
ments. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are as fol-
lows: 
(1) To secure the opportunity to participate in 
democracy for all eligible American citizens by estab-
lishing a national Federal write-in absentee ballot 
for Federal elections. 
(2) To expand and establish uniform and non-
discriminatory requirements and standards to re-
move administrative procedural barriers and techno-
logical obstacles to casting a vote and having that 
vote counted in Federal elections. 
(3) To expand and establish uniform and non-
discriminatory requirements and standards to pro-
vide for the accessibility, accuracy, verifiability, pri-
vacy, and security of all voting systems and tech-
nology used in Federal elections. 
(4) To provide a Federal funding mechanism 
for the States to implement the requirements and 
standards to preserve and protect voting rights and 
the integrity of Federal elections in the United 
States. 
SEC. 3. ENHANCED PROTECTIONS AGAINST VOTER INTIMI-
DATION, THREATS, COERCION, AND DECEP-
TION. 
(a) PROHIBITING UNFAIR
AND DECEPTIVE ACTS 
AND PRACTICES AFFECTING VOTING IN FEDERAL ELEC-
TIONS.—
(1) DECLARATION OF UNLAWFULNESS; POWER 
TO PROHIBIT UNFAIR PRACTICES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for 
any person to engage in unfair or deceptive acts 
or practices in or affecting voting in Federal 
elections, and the Attorney General is hereby 
empowered and directed to prevent persons,
partnerships, or corporations from using unfair 
or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting 
voting in Federal elections. 
(B) PROCEEDING
BY
ATTORNEY
GEN-
ERAL.—Whenever the Attorney General shall 
have reason to believe that any such person, 
partnership, or corporation has been or is using 
any unfair or deceptive act or practice in or af-
fecting voting, he shall issue and serve upon 
such person, partnership, or corporation a com-
plaint stating its charges in that respect and 
containing a notice of a hearing upon a day and 
at a place therein fixed at least 7 days after the 
service of said complaint. The person, partner-
ship, or corporation so complained of shall have 
the right to appear at the place and time so 
fixed and show cause why an order should not 
be entered by the Attorney General requiring 
such person, partnership, or corporation to 
cease and desist from the violation of the law 
so charged in said complaint. If upon such 
hearing the Attorney General shall be of the 
opinion that the method of competition or the 
act or practice in question is prohibited by this 
subchapter, it shall make a report in writing in
which it shall state its findings as to the facts 
and shall issue and cause to be served on such 
person, partnership, or corporation an order re-
quiring such person, partnership, or corporation 
to cease and desist from using such method of 
competition or such act or practice. 
(C) PENALTY.—Any person, partnership, 
or corporation who violates an order of the At-
torney General under this paragraph after it 
has become final, and while such order is in ef-
fect, shall be fined in accordance with title 18, 
United States Code. Each separate violation of 
such an order shall be a separate offense. 
(D) CIVIL
ACTION
BY
AGGRIEVED
PER-
SON.—A person who is aggrieved by a violation 
of this section may, in a civil action, obtain de-
claratory and injunctive relief with respect to 
the violation. The court in an action under this 
subsection may award the prevailing party 
(other than the United States) reasonable attor-
neys fees, including litigation expenses and ex-
pert witness fees, as part of the costs; fees may 
be awarded to a prevailing defendant only when 
a plaintiff’s civil action is shown to be frivolous, 
unreasonable, or without foundation. The Attor-
ney General may intervene as a party in a civil 
action brought under this subsection. 
(2) 
DOCUMENTARY
EVIDENCE; 
SUBPOENA 
POWER.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—For the purposes of 
this subsection the Attorney General shall at all 
reasonable times have access to, for the purpose 
of examination, and the right to copy any docu-
mentary evidence of any person, partnership, or 
corporation being investigated or proceeded 
against; and the Attorney General shall have 
power to require by subpoena the attendance 
and testimony of witnesses and the production 
of all such documentary evidence relating to 
any matter under investigation. 
(B) PENALTIES.—Any person who shall 
neglect or refuse to attend and testify, or to an-
swer any lawful inquiry or to produce any docu-
mentary evidence under this subsection, if in 
his power to do so, in obedience to an order of 
a District Court of the United States directing 
compliance with the subpoena or lawful require-
ment of the Attorney General shall be guilty of 
an offense and upon conviction thereof by a 
court of competent jurisdiction shall be fined in
accordance with title 18, United States Code, or 
imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. 
(3) UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES 
RULEMAKING PROCEEDINGS.—The Attorney General 
shall—
(A) review information and receive com-
plaints alleging unfair or deceptive acts or prac-
tices in or affecting voting in Federal elections; 
(B) make public through the Internet, 
radio, television, and newspaper advertisements 
information on the responsibilities, contact in-
formation and complaint procedures of the At-
torney General under this section; 
(C) prescribe interpretive rules and general 
statements of policy with respect to unfair or 
deceptive acts or practices in or affecting vot-
ing; and 
(D) prescribe rules which define with speci-
ficity acts or practices which are unfair or de-
ceptive acts or practices in or affecting voting 
(within the meaning of paragraph (1)), includ-
ing but not limited to so-called ‘‘caging’’ or se-
lective use of poll and registration challenges. 
Rules under this subsection shall include re-
quirements prescribed for the purpose of pre-
venting such acts or practices on a proactive 
basis. 
(4) CIVIL ACTIONS FOR VIOLATIONS OF RULES 
AND CEASE AND DESIST ORDERS RESPECTING UN-
FAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES.—
(A) SUITS
AGAINST
PERSONS, PARTNER-
SHIPS, OR CORPORATIONS; JURISDICTION; RE-
LIEF FOR DISHONEST OR FRAUDULENT ACTS.—
(i) If any person, partnership, or cor-
poration violates any rule under this sub-
chapter respecting unfair or deceptive acts 
or practices (within the meaning of para-
graph (1)), then the Attorney General may 
commence a civil action against such per-
son, partnership, or corporation for relief 
under this subsection in a United States 
District Court or in any court of com-
petent jurisdiction of a State. 
(ii) If any person, partnership, or cor-
poration engages in any unfair or deceptive 
act or practice (within the meaning of 
paragraph (1)) with respect to which the 
Attorney General has issued a final cease 
and desist order which is applicable to 
such person, partnership, or corporation,
then the Attorney General may commence 
a civil action against such person, partner-
ship, or corporation in a United States 
District Court or in any court of com-
petent jurisdiction of a State. 
(B) NATURE OF RELIEF AVAILABLE.—The 
court in an action under subparagraph (A) shall 
have jurisdiction to grant such relief as the 
court finds necessary to redress injury to voters 
or other persons, partnerships, and corporations 
resulting from the rule violation or the unfair 
or deceptive act or practice, as the case may be. 
Such relief may include, but shall not be limited 
to, rescission or reformation of contracts, the 
refund of money or return of property, the pay-
ment of damages, and public notification re-
specting the rule violation or the unfair or de-
ceptive act or practice, as the case may be, in-
cluding exemplary or punitive damages. 
(5) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in this sub-
section may be construed to authorize or re-
quire conduct prohibited under the following 
laws, or supersede, restrict, or limit—
(i) the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.); or 
(ii) the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 
U.S.C. 1973aa et seq.). 
(B) NO
EFFECT
ON
PRECLEARANCE
OR 
OTHER REQUIREMENTS UNDER VOTING RIGHTS 
ACT.—Any action taken by the Attorney Gen-
eral or a State under this subsection may not 
be considered to have any effect on require-
ments for preclearance under section 5 of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965 or any other require-
ments of such Act. 
(b) REVISIONS TO CURRENT PROTECTIONS.—
(1) SECTION
2004
OF
THE
REVISED
STAT-
UTES.—Section 2004(b) of the Revised Statutes (42 
U.S.C. 1971(b)) is amended—
(A) by inserting after ‘‘coerce,’’ the fol-
lowing: ‘‘knowingly deceive,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘or coerce’’ and inserting 
‘‘coerce, or knowingly deceive’’. 
(2) TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE.—
(A) SECTION 245.—Section 245 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(e) Whoever, whether or not acting under color of 
law, knowingly deceives or attempts to knowingly deceive 
any person because he is or has been, or in order to intimi-
date such person or any other person or class of persons 
from carrying out an activity specified in subparagraph 
(A) of subsection (b)(1), shall be punished as provided for 
a violation of subsection (b)(1)(A).’’. 
(B) SECTION
241.—Section 241 of such 
title is amended by striking ‘‘or intimidate’’ and 
inserting ‘‘intimidate, or knowingly deceive’’. 
(c) ENHANCED SYSTEM
FOR TRACKING, DOCU-
MENTING, AND
MONITORING
ELECTION
IRREGULAR-
ITIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 
direct the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil 
Rights Division and the Chief of the Voting Section 
to—
(A) develop and implement procedures to 
ensure that the Voting Section has a reliable 
method of tracking and documenting allegations 
of voting irregularities and actions taken to ad-
dress them, including establishing precise cat-
egories for recording types of allegations and 
actions taken, development of instructions on 
completing the telephone logs, and development