on the results of the study conducted under subsection 
(a).’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 402. ESTABLISHING VOTER IDENTIFICATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) IN PERSON VOTING.—Clause (i) of section 
303(b)(2)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause (I) and by adding 
at the end the following new subclause: 
‘‘(III) executes a written affidavit 
attesting to such individual’s identity; 
or’’. 
(2) VOTING BY MAIL.—Clause (ii) of section 
303(b)(2)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(2)(A)(ii)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause (I), by striking the 
period at the end of subclause (II) and inserting ‘‘; 
or’’, and by adding at the end the following new sub-
clause: 
‘‘(III) a written affidavit, exe-
cuted by such individual, attesting to 
such individual’s identity.’’.
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and juris-
diction shall be required to comply with the amend-
ments made by this subsection on and after Novem-
ber 1, 2006. 
(b) STANDARDS FOR VERIFYING VOTER INFORMA-
TION.—Subtitle E of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 
as added and amended by this Act, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 299D. VOTER IDENTIFICATION. 
‘‘The Commission shall develop standards for 
verifying the identification information required under sec-
tion 303(a)(5) in connection with the registration of an 
individual to vote in a Federal election.’’. 
(c) FUNDING FOR FREE PHOTO IDENTIFICATIONS.— 
Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15401 et seq.), as amended by this Act, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART 8—PHOTO IDENTIFICATION 
‘‘SEC. 298A. PAYMENTS FOR FREE PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other pay-
ments made under this subtitle, the Election Assistance 
Commission shall make payments to States to promote the 
issuance to registered voters of free photo identifications. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State receiving a payment 
under this part shall use the payment only to provide free
photo identification cards to registered voters who do not 
have an identification card and who cannot obtain an iden-
tification card without undue hardship. 
‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of the grant 
made to a State under this part for a year shall be 
equal to the product of— 
‘‘(A) the total amount appropriated for 
payments under this part for the year under 
section 298B; and 
‘‘(B) an amount equal to— 
‘‘(i) the voting age population of the 
State (as reported in the most recent de-
cennial census); divided by 
‘‘(ii) the total voting age of all eligible 
States which submit an application for 
payments under this part (as reported in 
the most recent decennial census). 
‘‘(d) ENSURING DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO LOCAL 
GOVERNMENTS.—A State may not receive a grant under 
this part unless the State has established procedures to 
ensure that, to the extent that the provision of photo iden-
tification cards is carried out by a unit of local govern-
ment, the State will immediately distribute the grant di-
rectly to the unit of local government.
‘‘SEC. 298B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—In addition to any other 
amounts authorized to be appropriated under this subtitle, 
there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for 
fiscal year 2006 and such sums as are necessary for each 
subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of making payments 
under section 298A. 
‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated 
pursuant to the authority of this section shall remain 
available until expended.’’. 
SEC. 403. REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL CERTIFICATION OF 
TECHNOLOGICAL SECURITY OF VOTER REG-
ISTRATION LISTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a)(3) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(a)(3)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘measures to prevent the’’ and in-
serting ‘‘measures, as certified by the Election Assistance 
Commission, to prevent’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
TITLE V—PROHIBITION ON 
CERTAIN CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES 
SEC. 501. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CAMPAIGN ACTIVI-
TIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) is amended 
by inserting after section 319 the following new section: 
‘‘CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY ELECTION OFFICIALS AND 
VOTING SYSTEM MANUFACTURERS 
‘‘SEC. 319A. (a) PROHIBITION.— 
‘‘(1) CHIEF
STATE
ELECTION
OFFICIALS.—It 
shall be unlawful for any chief State election official 
to take part in prohibited political activities with re-
spect to any election for Federal office over which 
such official has managerial authority. 
‘‘(2) VOTING
SYSTEM
MANUFACTURERS.—It 
shall be unlawful for any person who owns or serves 
as the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, 
chief operating officer, or president of any entity 
that designs or manufacturers a voting system to 
take part in prohibited political activities with re-
spect to any election for a Federal office for which 
a voting system produced by such manufacturer is 
used. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL.—The 
term ‘chief State election official’ means the indi-
vidual designated as such under section 10 of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993.’’ 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITED POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.—The 
term ‘prohibited political activities’ means cam-
paigning to support or oppose a candidate or slate 
of candidates for Federal office, making public 
speeches in support of such a candidate, fundraising 
and collecting contributions on behalf of such a can-
didate, distributing campaign materials with respect 
to such a candidate, organizing campaign events 
with respect to such a candidate, and serving in any 
position on any political campaign committee of such 
a candidate. 
‘‘(b) OWNERSHIP.—For purposes of subsection 
(a)(2), a person shall be considered to own an entity if 
such person controls at least 20 percent, by vote or value, 
of the entity.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
TITLE VI—ENDING DECEPTIVE 
PRACTICES 
SEC. 601. ENDING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 905 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15544) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(c) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—Whoever knowingly deceives 
any person regarding— 
‘‘(1) the time, place, or manner of conducting 
a general, primary, run-off, or special election for 
the office of President, Vice President, presidential 
elector, Member of the Senate, or Member of the 
House of Representatives (including a Delegate or 
Resident Commissioner to the Congress); or 
‘‘(2) the qualifications or restrictions of voter 
eligibility for any general, primary, run-off or special 
election for the office of President, Vice President, 
presidential elector, Member of the Senate, or Mem-
ber of the House of Representatives (including a 
Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress) 
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, impris-
oned not more than one year, or both.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
TITLE 
VII—CIVIC 
PARTICIPA-
TION BY EX-OFFENDERS 
SEC. 701. VOTING RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF 
CRIMINAL OFFENSES. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 
Civic Participation Act of 2005. 
(b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following 
findings: 
(A) The right to vote is the most basic 
constitutive act of citizenship and regaining the 
right to vote reintegrates offenders into free so-
ciety. The right to vote may not be abridged or 
denied by the United States or by any State on 
account of race, color, gender, or previous con-
dition of servitude. Basic constitutional prin-
ciples of fairness and equal protection require 
an equal opportunity for United States citizens 
to vote in Federal elections. 
(B) Congress has ultimate supervisory 
power over Federal elections, an authority that 
has repeatedly been upheld by the Supreme 
Court. 
(C) Although State laws determine the 
qualifications for voting in Federal elections,
Congress must ensure that those laws are in ac-
cordance with the Constitution. Currently, those 
laws vary throughout the Nation, resulting in 
discrepancies regarding which citizens may vote 
in Federal elections. 
(D) An estimated 4,700,000 individuals in 
the United States, or 1 in 44 adults, currently 
cannot vote as a result of a felony conviction. 
Women represent about 676,000 of those 
4,700,000. 
(E) State disenfranchisement laws dis-
proportionately impact ethnic minorities. 
(F) Fourteen States disenfranchise some 
or all ex-offenders who have fully served their 
sentences, regardless of the nature or serious-
ness of the offense. 
(G) In those States that disenfranchise ex- 
offenders who have fully served their sentences, 
the right to vote can be regained in theory, but 
in practice this possibility is often illusory. 
(H) In those States that disenfranchise ex- 
offenders, an ex-offender’s right to vote can 
only be restored through a gubernatorial pardon 
or order, or a certificate granted by a parole 
board. Some States require waiting periods as
long as 10 years after completion of the sen-
tence before an ex-offender can initiate the ap-
plication for restoration of the right to vote. 
(I) Offenders convicted of a Federal of-
fense often have additional barriers to regaining 
voting rights. Many States do not offer a res-
toration procedure for Federal offenders who 
have completed supervision. The only method 
available to such persons is a Presidential par-
don. 
(J) Few persons who seek to have their 
right to vote restored have the financial and po-
litical resources needed to succeed. 
(K) Thirteen percent of the African-Amer-
ican adult male population, or 1,400,000 Afri-
can-American men, are disenfranchised. Given 
current rates of incarceration, 3 in 10 African- 
American men in the next generation will be 
disenfranchised at some point during their life-
times. Hispanic citizens are also disproportion-
ately disenfranchised, since those citizens are 
disproportionately represented in the criminal 
justice system. 
(L) The discrepancies described in this 
paragraph should be addressed by Congress, in
the name of fundamental fairness and equal 
protection. 
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this title is to 
restore fairness in the Federal election process by 
ensuring that ex-offenders who have fully served 
their sentences are not denied the right to vote. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this title: 
(1) CORRECTIONAL
INSTITUTION
OR
FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 
means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu-
tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 
convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 
privately operated, except that such term does not 
include any residential community treatment center 
(or similar public or private facility). 
(2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 
(A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 
election; 
(B) a convention or caucus of a political 
party held to nominate a candidate; 
(C) a primary election held for the selec-
tion of delegates to a national nominating con-
vention of a political party; or
(D) a primary election held for the expres-
sion of a preference for the nomination of per-
sons for election to the office of President. 
(3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of-
fice’’ means the office of President or Vice Presi-
dent, or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate 
or Resident Commissioner to, Congress. 
(4) PAROLE.—The term ‘‘parole’’ means parole 
(including mandatory parole), or conditional or su-
pervised release (including mandatory supervised re-
lease), imposed by a Federal, State, or local court. 
(5) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 
probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 
court, with or without a condition on the individual 
involved concerning— 
(A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 
(B) the payment of damages by the indi-
vidual; 
(C) periodic reporting by the individual to 
an officer of the court; or 
(D) supervision of the individual by an of-
ficer of the court. 
(d) RIGHTS OF CITIZENS.—The right of an individual 
who is a citizen of the United States to vote in any election 
for Federal office shall not be denied or abridged because
that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense 
unless, at the time of the election, such individual— 
(1) is serving a felony sentence in a correctional 
institution or facility; or 
(2) is on parole or probation for a felony of-
fense 
(e) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney Gen-
eral may bring a civil action in a court of competent 
jurisdiction to obtain such declaratory or injunctive 
relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this 
section. 
(2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
(A) NOTICE.—A person who is aggrieved 
by a violation of this section may provide writ-
ten notice of the violation to the chief election 
official of the State involved. 
(B) ACTION.—Except as provided in sub-
paragraph (C), if the violation is not corrected 
within 90 days after receipt of a notice provided 
under subparagraph (A), or within 20 days 
after receipt of the notice if the violation oc-
curred within 120 days before the date of an 
election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 
may bring a civil action in such a court to ob-
tain the declaratory or injunctive relief with re-
spect to the violation. 
(C) ACTION FOR VIOLATION SHORTLY BE-
FORE A FEDERAL ELECTION.—If the violation 
occurred within 30 days before the date of an 
election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 
shall not be required to provide notice to the 
chief election official of the State under sub-
paragraph (A) before bringing a civil action in 
such a court to obtain the declaratory or in-
junctive relief with respect to the violation. 
(f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 
(1) NO
PROHIBITION
ON
LESS
RESTRICTIVE 
LAWS.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
prohibit a State from enacting any State law that 
affords the right to vote in any election for Federal 
office on terms less restrictive than those terms es-
tablished by this section. 
(2) NO
LIMITATION
ON
OTHER
LAWS.—The 
rights and remedies established by this section shall 
be in addition to all other rights and remedies pro-
vided by law, and shall not supersede, restrict, or 
limit the application of the Voting Rights Act of 
1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.) or the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et 
seq.). 
(g) NOTIFICATION
OF RESTORATION
OF VOTING 
RIGHTS.—Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 330. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 
RIGHTS. 
‘‘(a) NOTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—On the date determined 
under subsection (b), each State shall notify any 
qualified ex-offender who resides in the State that 
such qualified ex-offender has the right to vote in an 
election for Federal office pursuant to the Civic Par-
ticipation Act of 2005 and may register to vote in 
any such election. 
‘‘(2) QUALIFIED EX-OFFENDER.—For the pur-
pose of this section, the term ‘qualified ex-offender’ 
means any individual who resides in the State who 
has been convicted of a criminal offense and is not 
serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 
or facility and who is not on parole or probation for 
a felony offense. 
‘‘(b) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.—The notification re-
quired under subsection (a) shall be given on the later of
the date on which such individual is released from a cor-
rectional institution or facility for serving a felony sen-
tence or the date on which such individual is released from 
parole for a felony offense. 
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—Any term which is used in this 
section that is also used in the Civic Participation Act of 
2005 shall have the meaning given to such term in that 
Act. 
‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 
and after the date of the enactment of the Civic Participa-
tion Act of 2005.’’. 
(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall apply to 
citizens of the United States voting in any election 
for Federal office after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. 
(2) AMENDMENTS.—The amendment made by 
subsection (g) shall take effect on the date of the en-
actment of this Act.
TITLE VIII—ELECTION DAY AS A 
PUBLIC HOLIDAY 
SEC. 801. ACCELERATION OF STUDY ON ELECTION DAY AS 
A PUBLIC HOLIDAY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 241 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) REPORT ON ELECTION DAY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The report required under 
subsection (a) with respect to election administration 
issues described under subsection (b)(10) shall be 
submitted not later than 6 months after the date of 
enactment of the Count Every Vote Act of 2005. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In addition 
to the requirements under subsection (c), the report 
described in paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) an assessment of the impact of mak-
ing Election Day a public holiday on low-wage 
hourly workers; 
‘‘(B) a discussion of incentives and strate-
gies to encourage Federal employees to serve as 
poll workers; and 
‘‘(C) a discussion of methods to encourage 
State and local government employees to serve 
as poll workers.
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Of 
the amount authorized to be appropriated under sec-
tion 210 for fiscal year 2006, $100,000 shall be au-
thorized solely to carry out this subsection.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
TITLE 
IX—TRANSMISSION 
OF 
CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAIN-
MENT OF ELECTORS 
SEC. 901. TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAIN-
MENT OF ELECTORS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of title 3, United States 
Code, is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘and before the date that is 6 
days before the date on which the electors are to 
meet under section 7,’’ after ‘‘under and in pursu-
ance of the laws of such State providing for such as-
certainment,’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘by registered mail’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘by overnight courier’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
TITLE X.—STRENGTHENING THE 
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COM-
MISSION 
SEC. 1001. STRENGTHENING THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION. 
(a) RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Part 1 of subtitle A 
of Title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 
U.S.C. 15321 et seq.) is amended by striking section 209. 
(b) BUDGET REQUESTS.—Part 1 of subtitle A of title 
II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15321 et seq.), as amended by subsection (a), is amended 
by inserting after section 208 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 209. SUBMISSION OF BUDGET REQUESTS. 
‘‘Whenever the Commission submits any budget esti-
mate or request to the President or the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, it shall concurrently transmit a copy 
of such estimate or request to the Congress and to the 
Committee on House Administration of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Rules and Administra-
tion of the Senate.’’. 
(c) EXEMPTION
FROM
PAPERWORK
REDUCTION 
ACT.—Paragraph (1) of section 3502 of title 44, United 
States Code, is amended by redesignating subparagraphs 
(B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E),
respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 
following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(B) the Election Assistance Commis-
sion;’’. 
(d) NIST AUTHORITY.—Subtitle E of title II of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added and amended 
by this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 299E. TECHNICAL SUPPORT. 
‘‘At the request of the Commission, the Director of 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall 
provide the Commission with technical support necessary 
for the Commission to carry out its duties under this 
title.’’. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15330) is amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 
2003 through 2005 such sums as may be necessary (but 
not to exceed $10,000,000 for each such year)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘$35,000,000 for fiscal year 2006 (of which 
$4,000,000 are authorized solely to carry out the purposes 
of section 299E) and such sums as may be necessary for 
succeeding fiscal year’’.
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 1002. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSIST-
ANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERN-
MENT 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). 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contracts entered 
into by the Election Assistance Commission on or after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 1003. EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS. 
(a) EXTENDING AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—Subsection (a) of section 257 of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15408(a)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2006, $3,000,000,000. 
‘‘(5) For each fiscal year after 2006, such sums 
as are necessary.’’. 
(b) ENSURING APPROPRIATE DISTRIBUTION OF PAY-
MENTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Section 254(a)(2) of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 15404(a)(2)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(C) the procedures the States will imple-
ment to ensure that, to the extent that an activ-
ity described in paragraph (1) is carried out by 
a unit of local government, the State will imme-
diately distribute the portion of the payment 
used to carry out the activity directly to the 
unit of local government.’’. 
Æ