I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 550
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified 
permanent paper record or hard copy under title III of such Act, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 2, 2005
Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. DICKS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. FARR, 
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. KIND, Mr. LANTOS, 
Ms. LEE, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 
MORAN
of Virginia, Mr. MOORE
of Kansas, Mr. NADLER, Ms. 
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WEXLER, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mrs. 
CAPPS, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 
SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. ALLEN, Ms. BALD-
WIN, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. LORETTA
SANCHEZ
of California, Mr. 
DEFAZIO, Mr. WU, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. 
COLE of Oklahoma, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. 
SABO, Mr. COOPER, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. HINCHEY, 
Mr. FILNER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. MOLLOHAN, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. OBEY, 
Mr. CASE, Mr. CLAY, and Ms. MCKINNEY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require 
a voter-verified permanent paper record or hard copy 
under title III of such Act, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Confidence and 
Increased Accessibility Act of 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECU-
RITY 
THROUGH 
VOTER-VERIFIED 
PERMA-
NENT RECORD OR HARD COPY. 
(a) VOTER VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15481(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPAC-
ITY.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—
‘‘(i) The voting system shall produce 
or require the use of an individual voter-
verified paper record of the voter’s vote 
that shall be made available for inspection 
and verification by the voter before the vot-
er’s vote is cast. For purposes of this 
clause, examples of such a record include a 
paper ballot prepared by the voter for the 
purpose of being read by an optical scan-
ner, a paper ballot prepared by the voter 
to be mailed to an election official (whether 
from a domestic or overseas location), a 
paper ballot created through the use of a
ballot marking device, or a paper print-out 
of the voter’s vote produced by a touch 
screen or other electronic voting machine, 
so long as in each case the record permits 
the voter to verify the record in accordance 
with this subparagraph. 
‘‘(ii) The voting system shall provide 
the voter with an opportunity to correct 
any error made by the system in the voter-
verified paper record before the permanent 
voter-verified paper record is preserved in 
accordance with subparagraph (B)(i). 
‘‘(iii) The voting system shall not pre-
serve the voter-verifiable paper records in 
any manner that makes it possible to asso-
ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 
vote. 
‘‘(iv) In the case of a voting system 
which is purchased to meet the disability 
access requirements of paragraph (3) and 
which will be used exclusively by individ-
uals with disabilities, the system does not 
need to meet the requirements of clauses 
(i) through (iii), but shall meet the require-
ments described in paragraph (3)(B)(ii).
‘‘(B) MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY.—
‘‘(i) The permanent voter-verified 
paper record produced in accordance with 
subparagraph (A) shall be preserved—
‘‘(I) in the case of votes cast at 
the polling place on the date of the 
election, within the polling place in 
the manner or method in which all 
other paper ballots are preserved 
within such polling place; 
‘‘(II) in the case of votes cast at 
the polling place prior to the date of 
the election or cast by mail, in a man-
ner which is consistent with the man-
ner employed by the jurisdiction for 
preserving such ballots in general; or 
‘‘(III) in the absence of either 
such manner or method, in a manner 
which is consistent with the manner 
employed by the jurisdiction for pre-
serving paper ballots in general. 
‘‘(ii) Each paper record produced pur-
suant to subparagraph (A) shall be suit-
able for a manual audit equivalent to that 
of a paper ballot voting system.
‘‘(iii) In the event of any inconsist-
encies or irregularities between any elec-
tronic records and the individual perma-
nent paper records, the individual perma-
nent paper records shall be the true and 
correct record of the votes cast. 
‘‘(iv) The individual permanent paper 
records produced pursuant to subpara-
graph (A) shall be the true and correct 
record of the votes cast and shall be used 
as the official records for purposes of any 
recount or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office in which the 
voting system is used. 
‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR VOTES CAST BY 
ABSENT MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS.—In 
the case of votes cast by absent uniformed serv-
ices voters and overseas voters under the Uni-
formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 
Act, the ballots cast by such voters shall serve 
as the permanent paper record under subpara-
graph (A) in accordance with protocols estab-
lished by the Commission in consultation with 
the Secretary of Defense which preserve the
privacy of the voter and are consistent with the 
requirements of such Act.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
301(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)(1)) is 
amended—
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord-
ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 
‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord-
ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 
(C) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 
‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord-
ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 
(b) ACCESSIBILITY AND VOTER VERIFICATION OF 
RESULTS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)(3)(B)) is amended to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(B)(i) satisfy the requirement of subpara-
graph (A) through the use of at least one direct 
recording electronic voting system or other vot-
ing system equipped for individuals with disabil-
ities at each polling place; and
‘‘(ii) meet the requirements of paragraph 
(2)(A) by using a system that—
‘‘(I) if strictly electronic, physically 
separates the function of vote generation 
from the functions of vote verification and 
casting, 
‘‘(II) allows the voter to verify and 
cast the permanent record on paper or on 
another individualized, permanent medium 
privately and independently, and 
‘‘(III) ensures that the entire process 
of voter verification and vote casting is ac-
cessible to the voter.’’. 
(2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TEST-
ING, AND
DEVELOPMENT
OF
ACCESSIBLE
VOTER 
VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.—
(A) STUDY AND REPORTING.—Subtitle C 
of title II of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15381 et seq.) 
is amended—
(i) by redesignating section 247 as 
section 248; and 
(ii) by inserting after section 246 the 
following new section:
‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE VOTER 
VERIFICATION MECHANISMS. 
‘‘The Commission shall study, test, and develop best 
practices to enhance the accessibility of voter-verification 
mechanisms for individuals with disabilities and for voters 
whose primary language is not English, including best 
practices for the mechanisms themselves and the processes 
through which the mechanisms are used.’’. 
(B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 
contents of such Act is amended—
(i) by redesignating the item relating 
to section 247 as relating to section 248; 
and 
(ii) by inserting after the item relating 
to section 246 the following new item:
‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible voter verification mechanisms.’’.
(c) ADDITIONAL VOTING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.—
(1) 
REQUIREMENTS
DESCRIBED.—Section 
301(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new para-
graphs: 
‘‘(7) INSTRUCTION OF ELECTION OFFICIALS.—
Each State shall ensure that all election officials are 
instructed on the right of any individual who re-
quires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, 
other disability, or inability to read or write to be
given assistance by a person chosen by that indi-
vidual under section 208 of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965. 
‘‘(8) PROHIBITION OF USE OF UNDISCLOSED 
SOFTWARE IN VOTING SYSTEMS.—No voting system 
shall at any time contain or use any undisclosed 
software. Any voting system containing or using 
software shall disclose the source code, object code, 
and executable representation of that software to the 
Commission, and the Commission shall make that 
source code, object code, and executable representa-
tion available for inspection upon request to any per-
son. 
‘‘(9) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM-
MUNICATIONS
DEVICES
IN
VOTING
SYSTEMS.—No 
voting system shall contain, use, or be accessible by 
any wireless, power-line, or concealed communication 
device at all. 
‘‘(10) CERTIFICATION
OF
SOFTWARE
AND 
HARDWARE.—All software and hardware used in any 
electronic voting system shall be certified by labora-
tories accredited by the Commission as meeting the 
requirements of paragraphs (8) and (9). 
‘‘(11) SECURITY STANDARDS FOR VOTING SYS-
TEMS USED IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No voting system may 
be used in an election for Federal office unless 
the manufacturer of such system and the elec-
tion officials using such system meet the appli-
cable requirements described in subparagraph 
(B). 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS
DESCRIBED.—The 
requirements described in this subparagraph 
are as follows: 
‘‘(i) The manufacturer and the elec-
tion officials shall document the chain of 
custody for the handling of software used 
in connection with voting systems. 
‘‘(ii) The manufacturer of the soft-
ware used in the operation of the system 
shall provide the Commission with updated 
information regarding the identification of 
each individual who participated in the 
writing of the software, including specific 
information regarding whether the indi-
vidual has ever been convicted of a crime 
involving election fraud. 
‘‘(iii) In the same manner and to the 
same extent described in paragraph (8), 
the manufacturer shall provide the codes
used in any software used in connection 
with the voting system to the Commission 
and may not alter such codes once the 
election officials have certified the system 
unless such system is recertified by such 
election officials. 
‘‘(iv) The manufacturer shall meet 
standards established by the Commission 
to prevent the existence or appearance of 
any conflict of interest with respect to can-
didates for public office and political par-
ties, including standards to ensure that the 
manufacturer and its officers and directors 
do not hold positions of authority in any 
political party or in any partisan political 
campaign. 
‘‘(12) PROHIBITING
CONNECTION
OF
SYSTEM 
OR TRANSMISSION OF SYSTEM INFORMATION OVER 
THE INTERNET.—No component of any voting de-
vice upon which votes are cast shall be connected to 
the Internet.’’. 
(2) 
REQUIRING
LABORATORIES
TO
MEET 
STANDARDS PROHIBITING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST 
AS CONDITION OF ACCREDITATION FOR TESTING OF 
VOTING SYSTEM HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(b) of such 
Act (42 U.S.C. 15371(b)) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) PROHIBITING
CONFLICTS
OF
INTEREST; 
ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF RESULTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A laboratory may not 
be accredited by the Commission for purposes 
of this section unless—
‘‘(i) the laboratory meets the stand-
ards applicable to the manufacturers of 
voting 
systems 
under 
section 
301(a)(11)(B)(iv), 
together 
with 
such 
standards as the Commission may estab-
lish to prevent the existence or appearance 
of any conflict of interest in the testing, 
certification, decertification, and recertifi-
cation carried out by the laboratory under 
this section, including standards to ensure 
that the laboratory does not have a finan-
cial interest in the manufacture, sale, and 
distribution of voting system hardware and 
software, and is sufficiently independent 
from other persons with such an interest; 
and
‘‘(ii) the laboratory, upon completion 
of any testing, certification, decertification, 
and recertification carried out under this 
section, discloses the results to the Com-
mission. 
‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY
OF
RESULTS.—Upon 
receipt of information under subparagraph 
(A)(ii), the Commission shall make the informa-
tion available to election officials and the pub-
lic.’’. 
(B) DEADLINE
FOR
ESTABLISHMENT
OF 
STANDARDS.—The Election Assistance Commis-
sion shall establish the standards described in 
section 231(b)(3) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (as added by subparagraph (A)) not 
later than January 1, 2006. 
(d) AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO EN-
ABLE STATES TO MEET COSTS OF REVISED REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
(1) EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 
FOR
MEETING
REVISED
REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
257(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 
U.S.C. 15407(a)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph:
‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2006, $150,000,000, except 
that any funds provided under the authorization 
made by this paragraph may be used by a State only 
to meet the requirements of title III which are first 
imposed on the State pursuant to the amendments 
made by section 2 of the Voter Confidence and In-
creased Accessibility Act of 2005.’’. 
(2) PERMITTING
USE
OF
FUNDS
FOR
REIM-
BURSEMENT FOR COSTS PREVIOUSLY INCURRED.—
Section 
251(c)(1) 
of 
such 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
15401(c)(1)) is amended by striking the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, or as a reim-
bursement for any costs incurred in meeting the re-
quirements of title III which are imposed pursuant 
to the amendments made by section 2 of the Voter 
Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 
2005.’’. 
SEC. 3. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP AMER-
ICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 
Section 401 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15511) is amend-
ed—
(1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; 
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(b) FILING OF COMPLAINTS BY AGGRIEVED PER-
SONS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 
by a violation of section 301, 302, or 303 which is 
occurring or which is about to occur may file a writ-
ten, signed, notarized complaint with the Attorney 
General describing the violation and requesting the 
Attorney General to take appropriate action under 
this section. 
‘‘(2) RESPONSE BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 
Attorney General shall respond to each complaint 
filed under paragraph (1), in accordance with proce-
dures established by the Attorney General that re-
quire responses and determinations to be made with-
in the same (or shorter) deadlines which apply to a 
State under the State-based administrative com-
plaint procedures described in section 402(a)(2). 
‘‘(c) CLARIFICATION OF AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE 
RIGHT OF ACTION.—Nothing in this section may be con-
strued to prohibit any person from bringing an action 
under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United 
States (42 U.S.C. 1983) to enforce the uniform and non-
discriminatory election technology and administration re-
quirements under sections 301, 302, and 303. 
‘‘(d) NO EFFECT ON STATE PROCEDURES.—Nothing 
in this section may be construed to affect the availability 
of the State-based administrative complaint procedures re-
quired under section 402 to any person filing a complaint 
under this subsection.’’. 
SEC. 4. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION OF 
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION. 
Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(42 U.S.C. 15330) is amended by striking ‘‘each of the 
fiscal years 2003 through 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘each fiscal 
year beginning with fiscal year 2003’’. 
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS 
BY HAND COUNT. 
(a) MANDATORY AUDITS IN RANDOM PRECINCTS.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 
Commission shall conduct random, unannounced, 
hand counts of the voter-verified records required to 
be produced and preserved pursuant to section 
301(a)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as 
amended by section 2) for each general election for 
Federal office (and, at the option of the State or ju-
risdiction involved, of elections for State and local 
office held at the same time as such an election for
Federal office) in at least 2 percent of the precincts 
(or equivalent locations) in each State. 
(2) PROCESS FOR CONDUCTING AUDITS.—The 
Commission shall conduct an audit under this sec-
tion of the results of an election in accordance with 
the following procedures: 
(A) Not later than 24 hours after a State 
announces the final vote count in each precinct 
in the State, the Commission shall determine 
and then announce the precincts in the State in 
which it will conduct the audits. 
(B) With respect to votes cast at the pre-
cinct or equivalent location on or before the 
date of the election (other than provisional bal-
lots described in subparagraph (C)), the Com-
mission shall count by hand the voter-verified 
records required to be produced and preserved 
under section 301(a)(2)(A) of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (as amended by section 2) 
and compare those records with the count of 
such votes as announced by the State. 
(C) With respect to votes cast other than 
at the precinct on the date of the election (other 
than votes cast before the date of the election 
described in subparagraph (B)) or votes cast by
provisional ballot on the date of the election 
which are certified and counted by the State on 
or after the date of the election, including votes 
cast by absent uniformed services voters and 
overseas voters under the Uniformed and Over-
seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Commis-
sion shall count by hand the applicable voter-
verified records required to be produced and 
preserved 
under 
section 
301(a)(2)(A) 
(as 
amended by section 2) and compare its count 
with the count of such votes as announced by 
the State. 
(3) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE OF DELAY IN RE-
PORTING ABSENTEE VOTE COUNT.—In the case of a 
State in which, under State law, the final count of 
absentee and provisional votes is not announced 
until after the expiration of the 7-day period which 
begins on the date of the election, the Commission 
shall initiate the process described in paragraph (2) 
for conducting the audit not later than 24 hours 
after the State announces the final vote count for 
the votes cast at the precinct or equivalent location 
on or before the date of the election, and shall ini-
tiate the recount of the absentee and provisional 
votes pursuant to paragraph (2)(C) not later than
24 hours after the State announces the final count 
of such votes. 
(4) AVAILABILITY
OF
INFORMATION.—Each 
State and jurisdiction in which an audit is conducted 
under this section shall provide the Commission with 
the information and materials requested by the 
Commission to enable it to carry out the audit. 
(b) SELECTION OF PRECINCTS.—The selection of the 
precincts in a State in which the Commission shall conduct 
hand counts under this section shall be made by the Com-
mission on an entirely random basis using a uniform dis-
tribution in which all precincts in a State have an equal 
chance of being selected, in accordance with such proce-
dures as the Commission determines appropriate, except 
that—
(1) at least one precinct shall be selected in 
each county (or equivalent jurisdiction); and 
(2) the Commission shall publish the procedures 
in the Federal Register prior to the selection of the 
precincts. 
(c) PUBLICATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 
the completion of an audit conducted under this sec-
tion, the Commission shall announce and publish the 
results of the audit, and shall include in the an-
nouncement a comparison of the results of the elec-
tion in the precinct as determined by the Commis-
sion under the audit and the final vote count in the 
precinct as announced by the State, broken down by 
the categories of votes described in subparagraphs 
(B) and (C) of subsection (a)(2). 
(2) DELAY IN CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS BY 
STATE.—No State may certify the results of any 
election which is subject to an audit under this sec-
tion prior to the completion of the audit and the an-
nouncement and publication of the results of the 
audit under paragraph (1), except to the extent nec-
essary to enable the State to provide for the final de-
termination of any controversy or contest concerning 
the appointment of its electors for President and 
Vice President prior to the deadline described in sec-
tion 6 of title 3, United States Code. 
(d) ADDITIONAL AUDITS IF CAUSE SHOWN.—If the 
Commission finds that any of the hand counts conducted 
under this section show cause for concern about the accu-
racy of the results of an election in a State or in a jurisdic-
tion within the State, the Commission may conduct hand 
counts under this section at such additional precincts (or 
equivalent locations) within the State or jurisdiction as the
Commission considers appropriate to resolve any concerns 
and ensure the accuracy of the results. 
(e) AVAILABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT UNDER HELP 
AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Section 401 of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15511), as amended 
by section 3, is amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘or to respond 
to an action taken by a State or jurisdiction in re-
sponse to an audit conducted by the Commission 
under the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessi-
bility Act of 2005 of the results of an election for 
Federal office or by the failure of a State or juris-
diction to take an action in response to such an 
audit.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘about to 
occur’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘about to occur, 
or by an action taken by a State or jurisdiction in 
response to an audit conducted by the Commission 
under the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessi-
bility Act of 2005 of the results of an election for 
Federal office or by the failure of a State or juris-
diction to take an action in response to such an 
audit’’; and
(3) in subsection (c), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘or to respond 
to an action taken by a State or jurisdiction in re-
sponse to an audit conducted by the Commission 
under the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessi-
bility Act of 2005 of the results of an election for 
Federal office or by the failure of a State or juris-
diction to take an action in response to such an 
audit.’’. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to any other amounts authorized to be appropriated 
under any other law, there are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Election Assistance Commission such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this section. 
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 
respect to regularly scheduled general elections for Fed-
eral office beginning with the elections held in November 
2006. 
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERNMENT 
CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15325) is amended by strik-
ing subsection (e).