IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 311 
Urging the President and Congress to take actions to fill vacancies on the 
Election Assistance Commission. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 19, 2013 
Mr. HOYER (for himself, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. LARSON of Con-
necticut, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LANGEVIN, Ms. 
FUDGE, Mr. HINOJOSA, and Ms. CHU) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 
RESOLUTION 
Urging the President and Congress to take actions to fill 
vacancies on the Election Assistance Commission. 
Whereas the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was es-
tablished by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) 
on a bipartisan basis, with the approval of 357 Members 
of the House of Representatives and 92 Senators; 
Whereas under section 202 of HAVA (42 U.S.C. 15322), the 
EAC was established to ‘‘serve as a national clearing-
house and resource for the compilation of information 
and review of procedures with respect to the administra-
tion of Federal elections’’, and its conferences, reference 
works, and instructional videos have saved State and 
local governments and election officials millions of dollars 
since its establishment; 
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•HRES 311 IH 
Whereas the EAC was established by Congress to help it 
carry out its duty to oversee Federal elections as provided 
in article I, section IV of the Constitution of the United 
States while respecting the primary role of States in the 
administration of elections; 
Whereas EAC’s guidance can help States avoid contested 
elections that can cost tens of millions of dollars and 
2012’s Hurricane Sandy showed how election administra-
tors can need the help that EAC’s Federal experts can 
provide in dealing with unexpected situations such as 
natural disasters, both of which demonstrate the value of 
EAC-produced materials covering Election Management 
Guidelines and Contingency and Disaster Planning and 
of having a Federal agency that election officials can call 
upon for guidance and advice in the event that an elec-
tion may be affected by unusual circumstances; 
Whereas HAVA strives to ensure that the EAC is bipartisan 
by authorizing ‘‘the Majority Leader of the Senate, the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority 
Leader of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the 
House of Representatives’’ under section 203 of the Act 
(42 U.S.C. 15323) to each submit recommendations to 
the President for nominations of individuals to serve as 
commissioners; and 
Whereas in spite of the great value that the EAC has pro-
vided to Federal, State, and particularly local govern-
ments in administering their elections efficiently as well 
as effectively, the EAC has been without a working 
quorum of commissioners since 2010 and without any 
commissioners since December 2011, denying the Amer-
ican people the full assistance the Commission can pro-
vide: Now, therefore, be it 
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•HRES 311 IH 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) urges the Majority Leader of the Senate, 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the 
Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Minority 
Leader of the House of Representatives, to exercise 
the authority granted by section 203 of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15323) by 
each submitting to the President a recommendation 
for a candidate to fill their respective vacancies on 
the Election Assistance Commission; 
(2) urges President Obama to consider such 
recommendations promptly and to submit to the 
Senate nominations to fill all 4 vacancies; 
(3) urges the Committee on Rules and Adminis-
tration of the Senate to hold hearings and votes 
promptly on those nominations; and 
(4) urges the full Senate to provide each nomi-
nee who is reported favorably by the Committee with 
an up-or-down vote on confirmation. 
Æ 
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