I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3232
To direct the Federal Election Commission to make grants to States which
have adopted an instant runoff voting system for presidential elections,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 6, 2001
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on House Administration
A BILL
To direct the Federal Election Commission to make grants
to States which have adopted an instant runoff voting
system for presidential 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.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voting Equipment
Compatibility With Instant Runoff Voting Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In the three Presidential elections since
1988, most States have awarded their electoral votes
to a candidate who earned less than half the popular
vote in that State.
(2) In many elections, the majority of voters
split their votes between two similar candidates, let-
ting a third candidate supported by only a minority
of the electorate win the election.
(3) The principle of majority rule is violated
when the majority does not choose the winner of an
election.
(4) A simple solution to this problem of non
majority winners is to require the winner of an elec-
tion to earn a majority of votes.
(5) Instant runoff voting, as used in Ireland,
Australia, and London, requires the winner of an
election to earn a majority of votes. Voters rank can-
didates in case their favorite candidate is eliminated,
and the votes of the candidate’s supporters count for
their second choice in a runoff round. This process
continues until one candidate earns a majority of
votes.
(6) There is increased interest in instant runoff
voting. For example, Alaskans in 2002 will vote on
whether to adopt instant runoff voting for Presi-
dential elections in 2004. In 1999, the New Mexico
Senate passed legislation providing for a ballot
measure under which voters would be allowed to im-
plement instant runoff voting for Presidential elec-
tions. In Vermont, legislation to enact instant runoff
voting for statewide offices, including the Presi-
dential race, has been endorsed by Common Cause,
the League of Women Voters, and the Grange. Addi-
tionally, the legislatures of States such as Maine,
Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington in 2001 de-
bated legislation to enact instant runoff voting for
Presidential elections, and the Speaker of the Cali-
fornia Assembly has introduced a bill to implement
instant runoff voting in elections to fill vacancies in
Congress.
(7) In order to conduct an instant runoff elec-
tion, voting equipment must be compatible with
ranked ballots.
(8) Consistent with the national underinvest-
ment in voting equipment, much of the Nation’s vot-
ing equipment is not currently compatible with
ranked ballots.
(9) There are currently no Federal mandatory
minimum standards for voting equipment. Although
the Federal Election Commission has promulgated
voluntary standards, these voluntary standards do
not include compatibility with ranked ballots.
SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR STATES IMPLEMENTING INSTANT
RUNOFF VOTING FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELEC-
TIONS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—There is
established a program under which the Federal Election
Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to as the
‘‘Commission’’) shall make grants to eligible States which
have adopted an instant runoff voting system for presi-
dential elections to defray the costs of administering such
a system, including the costs of purchasing voting equip-
ment, software, and other technology necessary for such
a system.
(b) PLAN FOR PROGRAM.—Not later than 60 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion shall develop and make public a plan describing the
criteria to be used in the solicitation and approval of appli-
cations for grants under this Act and the criteria to be
used in overseeing the use of funds provided under such
grants, except that under such criteria the Commission
may not require a State to match any portion of the
amount awarded as a condition of eligibility.
(c) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—A State is eligible to receive
a grant under the program under this section if it
submits to the Commission (in such form and man-
ner as the Commission may require) an application
containing such information and assurances as the
Commission may require.
(2) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION.—The Com-
mission may not consider an application for a grant
under this section unless the application is sub-
mitted prior to the expiration of the 60-day period
which begins on the date the Commission makes
public the plan developed under subsection (b).
(3) DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE.—The Commis-
sion shall approve or reject an application submitted
under this subsection not later than 120 days after
receiving the application.
(4) CRITERIA FOR REJECTION.—The Commis-
sion may not reject an application submitted under
this subsection unless it finds that—
(A) the equipment, software, or other tech-
nology used to administer elections in the State
is not compatible with an instant runoff voting
system; or
(B) the State does not provide for appro-
priate education for voters, poll workers, and
election officials in the use of an instant runoff
voting system.
(d) CAP ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of
any grant awarded to a State under the program under
this section may not exceed the product of—
(1) the number of residents in the State at the
time the grant is awarded (based on the most recent
decennial census); and
(2) $12.
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pro-
gram under this section—
(1) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal
year 2003 and each succeeding fiscal year.
SEC. 4. REQUIRING STATES TO USE VOTING EQUIPMENT
COMPATIBLE WITH INSTANT RUNOFF VOT-
ING FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, each State shall administer elections for Fed-
eral office using voting equipment and technology which
is compatible with an instant runoff voting system.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply
with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for
Federal office held during 2004 and each succeeding elec-
tion for Federal office.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
(a) INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING SYSTEM.—In this Act,
the term ‘‘instant runoff voting system’’ means a system
for the election of candidates under which—
(1) voters may rank candidates on the ballot ac-
cording to the order of preference;
(2) runoff counts of candidates are conducted
in rounds;
(3) if in any round no candidate receives a ma-
jority of the votes cast, the candidate with the fewest
number of votes is eliminated and the remaining
candidates advance to the next round;
(4) in each round, a voter shall be considered
to have cast one vote for the candidate the voter
ranked highest on the ballot who has not been elimi-
nated; and
(5) the runoff counts are carried out automati-
cally at the time the votes are cast and tabulated.
(b) STATE.—In this Act, the term ‘‘State’’ includes
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Vir-
gin Islands.
SEC. 6. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.
Nothing in this Act may be construed to supersede
or conflict with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C.
1973aa et seq.) or the National Voter Registration Act
of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.).
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