I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1165
To provide for the establishment of an Election Voting Systems Standards
Commission, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 22, 2001
Mr. BARCIA (for himself, Ms. RIVERS, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr.
UDALL of Colorado, Mr. LAMPSON, and Mr. WEINER) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science
A BILL
To provide for the establishment of an Election Voting
Systems Standards Commission, 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 ‘‘Election Voting Sys-
tems Standards Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. ELECTION VOTING SYSTEMS STANDARDS COMMIS-
SION.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, in consultation
with the chairman of the Federal Election Commission,
shall establish the Election Voting Systems Standards
Commission (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’).
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall consist of
the following members:
(1) The Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, who shall serve as the
chair of the Commission.
(2) The chairman of the Federal Election Com-
mission, who shall serve as the vice-chair of the
Commission.
(3) Two representatives of the National Asso-
ciation of State Election Directors, selected by that
association.
(4) Two representatives of the National Gov-
ernors Association, selected by that association.
(5) One representative of the American Na-
tional Standards Institute, selected by that institute.
(6) Not more than 5 additional members that
the Director of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, in consultation with the chairman
of the Federal Election Commission, the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader
of the House of Representatives, the Majority Lead-
er of the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the
Senate, considers appropriate.
(c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—
(1) STANDARDS AND CRITERIA.—The Commis-
sion shall establish—
(A) a set of technical performance-based
standards relating to the accuracy, integrity,
and security of voting products and systems
used in Federal elections; and
(B) criteria for the selection of an organi-
zation to operate the National Election Systems
Standards Laboratory under section 3.
Not later than 9 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commission shall transmit to
the Congress a report containing the standards and
criteria established under this paragraph.
(2) TESTING AND CERTIFICATION.—The Com-
mission shall—
(A) develop uniform testing and evaluation
procedures suitable for determining the con-
formance of voting products and systems to the
standards established under paragraph (1)(A);
(B) establish procedures for the certifi-
cation, by the Laboratory established under sec-
tion 3, of non-Federal laboratories to perform
the testing and evaluation procedures developed
under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; and
(C) make recommendations for methods of
promoting the use of the testing and evaluation
procedures developed under subparagraph (A)
of this paragraph.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Commission shall transmit to
the Congress a report containing the procedures de-
veloped or established under subparagraphs (A) and
(B) of this paragraph, and the recommendations de-
scribed in subparagraph (C).
SEC. 3. NATIONAL ELECTION SYSTEMS STANDARDS LAB-
ORATORY.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology shall select an or-
ganization to operate the National Election Systems
Standards Laboratory (in this section referred to as the
‘‘Laboratory’’).
(b) SELECTION.—Selection of the Laboratory under
subsection (a) shall be carried out—
(1) in accordance with criteria established
under section 2(c)(1)(B); and
(2) through a merit-based competition open to
any nonprofit, nonpartisan research entity or consor-
tium.
(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Laboratory shall—
(1) investigate and analyze issues with respect
to voting products and systems and their conform-
ance to the standards established under section
2(c)(1)(A), including—
(A) human factors in the design and appli-
cation of voting systems; and
(B) the design of remote-access voting sys-
tems;
(2) certify non-Federal laboratories to perform
the testing and evaluation procedures developed
under section 2(c)(2)(A); and
(3) maintain and make available to the public
a list of voting products and systems that have been
tested and evaluated by non-Federal laboratories
certified under paragraph (2) and that are found to
be in conformance with the standards established
under section 2(c)(1)(A).
Æ