I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3132 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to promote accuracy, integrity, 
and security in the administration of elections for Federal office, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 29, 2017 
Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Mrs. TORRES, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Ms. 
BROWNLEY of California, Mr. COHEN, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of 
Texas, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. BASS, Mr. SERRANO, 
Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. EVANS, Mr. SMITH of Wash-
ington, and Ms. CASTOR of Florida) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition 
to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Judiciary, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to promote 
accuracy, integrity, and security in the administration 
of elections for Federal office, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Restoring Confidence in America’s Elections Act’’. 
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(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—INTEGRITY OF VOTING SYSTEMS AND BALLOTS 
Subtitle A—Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security Through Voter- 
Verified Permanent Paper Ballot 
Sec. 101. Moratorium on acquisition of certain direct recording electronic vot-
ing systems and certain other voting systems. 
Sec. 102. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements. 
Sec. 103. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities. 
Subtitle B—Additional Voting System Requirements 
Sec. 111. Additional voting system requirements. 
Subtitle C—Funding 
Sec. 121. Availability of additional funding to enable States to meet costs of 
revised requirements. 
Sec. 122. Grants for development of compliant systems. 
Subtitle D—Effective Date 
Sec. 131. Effective date for new requirements. 
TITLE II—REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS BY 
HAND COUNT 
Sec. 201. Mandatory manual audits. 
‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual Audits 
‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring audits of results of elections. 
‘‘Sec. 322. Number of ballots counted under audit. 
‘‘Sec. 323. Process for administering audits. 
‘‘Sec. 324. Selection of precincts. 
‘‘Sec. 325. Publication of results. 
‘‘Sec. 326. Payments to States. 
‘‘Sec. 327. Exception for elections subject to recount under State law prior 
to certification. 
‘‘Sec. 328. Effective date. 
Sec. 202. Availability of enforcement under Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
Sec. 203. Guidance on best practices for alternative audit mechanisms. 
Sec. 204. Clerical amendment. 
TITLE III—OTHER REFORMS TO PROMOTE INTEGRITY OF 
ELECTIONS 
Subtitle A—Integrity of Election Administration 
Sec. 301. Prohibition on campaign activities by chief State election administra-
tion officials. 
Sec. 302. Mandatory training for poll workers. 
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Sec. 303. Due process requirements for individuals proposed to be removed 
from list of eligible voters. 
Sec. 304. Mandatory response by Attorney General to allegations of voter in-
timidation or suppression by law enforcement officers and 
other government officials. 
Subtitle B—Removing Barriers to Voting 
Sec. 311. Requirements for counting provisional ballots; establishment of uni-
form and nondiscriminatory standards. 
Sec. 312. Prohibiting imposition of conditions on voting by mail. 
Sec. 313. Mandatory availability of early voting. 
Sec. 314. Requirements for availability of sufficient polling places, equipment, 
and resources. 
TITLE IV—RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION 
Sec. 401. Permitting Election Assistance Commission to exercise rulemaking 
authority. 
TITLE I—INTEGRITY OF VOTING 
SYSTEMS AND BALLOTS 
Subtitle A—Promoting Accuracy, 
Integrity, and Security Through 
Voter-Verified Permanent Paper 
Ballot 
SEC. 101. MORATORIUM ON ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN DI-
RECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYS-
TEMS AND CERTAIN OTHER VOTING SYS-
TEMS. 
Section 301 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 
subsections (d) and (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
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‘‘(c) MORATORIUM ON ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN DI-
RECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS AND 
CERTAIN OTHER VOTING SYSTEMS.—Beginning on the 
date of the enactment of the Restoring Confidence in 
America’s Elections Act, no State or jurisdiction may pur-
chase or otherwise acquire for use in an election for Fed-
eral office a direct recording electronic voting system or 
other electronic voting system that does not produce a 
voter-verified paper record as required by section 
301(a)(2) (as amended by such Act).’’. 
SEC. 102. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 
(I) The voting system shall require the use 
of an individual, durable, voter-verified, 
paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall 
be marked and made available for inspec-
tion and verification by the voter before 
the voter’s vote is cast and counted, and 
which shall be counted by hand or read by 
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an optical character recognition device or 
other counting device. For purposes of this 
subclause, the term ‘individual, durable, 
voter-verified, paper ballot’ means a paper 
ballot marked by the voter by hand or a 
paper ballot marked through the use of a 
nontabulating ballot marking device or sys-
tem, so long as the voter shall have the op-
tion to mark his or her ballot by hand. 
‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 
the voter with an opportunity to correct 
any error on the paper ballot before the 
permanent voter-verified paper ballot is 
preserved in accordance with clause (ii). 
‘‘(III) The voting system shall not 
preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in 
any manner that makes it possible, at any 
time after the ballot has been cast, to asso-
ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 
vote without the voter’s consent. 
‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION
AS
OFFICIAL 
RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter- 
verified, paper ballot used in accordance 
with clause (i) shall constitute the official 
ballot and shall be preserved and used as 
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the official ballot for purposes of any re-
count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office in which the 
voting system is used. 
‘‘(iii) MANUAL
COUNTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.—(I) 
Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 
(i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, 
and shall be counted by hand in any re-
count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office. 
‘‘(II) In the event of any inconsist-
encies or irregularities between any elec-
tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies de-
termined by counting by hand the indi-
vidual, durable, voter-verified, paper ballots 
used pursuant to clause (i), and subject to 
subparagraph (B), the individual, durable, 
voter-verified, paper ballots shall be the 
true and correct record of the votes cast. 
‘‘(iv) APPLICATION
TO
ALL
BAL-
LOTS.—The requirements of this subpara-
graph shall apply to all ballots cast in elec-
tions for Federal office, including ballots 
cast by absent uniformed services voters 
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and overseas voters under the Uniformed 
and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 
and other absentee voters. 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TREATMENT OF 
DISPUTES WHEN PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN 
SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—In the event 
that— 
‘‘(I) there is any inconsistency 
between any electronic vote tallies and 
the vote tallies determined by count-
ing by hand the individual, durable, 
voter-verified, paper ballots used pur-
suant to subparagraph (A)(i) with re-
spect to any election for Federal of-
fice; and 
‘‘(II) it is demonstrated by clear 
and convincing evidence (as deter-
mined in accordance with the applica-
ble standards in the jurisdiction in-
volved) in any recount, audit, or con-
test of the result of the election that 
the paper ballots have been com-
promised (by damage or mischief or 
otherwise) and that a sufficient num-
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ber of the ballots have been so com-
promised that the result of the elec-
tion could be changed, 
the determination of the appropriate rem-
edy with respect to the election shall be 
made in accordance with applicable State 
law, except that the electronic tally shall 
not be used as the exclusive basis for de-
termining the official certified result. 
‘‘(ii) RULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF 
BALLOTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH VOTING 
MACHINE.—For purposes of clause (i), 
only the paper ballots deemed com-
promised, if any, shall be considered in the 
calculation of whether or not the result of 
the election could be changed due to the 
compromised paper ballots.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING APPLI-
CABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.— 
Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re-
quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys-
tem’’. 
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(c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 
301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 
paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 
paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 
accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 
(4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 
paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 
SEC. 103. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(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 voting 
system equipped for individuals with disabil-
ities, including nonvisual and enhanced visual 
accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, 
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and nonmanual and enhanced manual accessi-
bility for the mobility and dexterity impaired, at 
each polling place; and 
‘‘(ii) meet the requirements of subpara-
graph (A) and paragraph (2)(A) by using a sys-
tem that— 
‘‘(I) allows the voter to privately and 
independently verify the permanent paper 
ballot through the presentation, in acces-
sible form, of the printed or marked vote 
selections from the same printed or 
marked information that would be used for 
any vote counting or auditing; and 
‘‘(II) allows the voter to privately and 
independently verify and cast the perma-
nent paper ballot without requiring the 
voter to manually handle the paper ballot; 
and’’. 
(b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, 
AND DEVELOPMENT
OF ACCESSIBLE PAPER BALLOT 
VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.— 
(1) STUDY
AND
REPORTING.—Subtitle C of 
title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 
amended— 
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(A) by redesignating section 247 as section 
248; and 
(B) by inserting after section 246 the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE PAPER 
BALLOT VERIFICATION MECHANISMS. 
‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation shall make grants to not fewer 
than 3 eligible entities to study, test, and develop acces-
sible paper ballot voting, verification, and casting mecha-
nisms and devices and best practices to enhance the acces-
sibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms 
for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary 
language is not English, and for voters with difficulties 
in literacy, including best practices for the mechanisms 
themselves and the processes through which the mecha-
nisms are used. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 
grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 
time and in such form as the Director may require) an 
application containing— 
‘‘(1) certifications that the entity shall specifi-
cally investigate enhanced methods or devices, in-
cluding nonelectronic devices, that will assist such 
individuals and voters in marking voter-verified 
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paper ballots and presenting or transmitting the in-
formation printed or marked on such ballots back to 
such individuals and voters, and casting such ballots; 
‘‘(2) a certification that the entity shall com-
plete the activities carried out with the grant not 
later than December 31, 2019; and 
‘‘(3) such other information and certifications 
as the Director may require. 
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY
OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech-
nology developed with the grants made under this section 
shall be treated as nonproprietary and shall be made avail-
able to the public, including to manufacturers of voting 
systems. 
‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH GRANTS
FOR TECH-
NOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—The Director shall carry out 
this section so that the activities carried out with the 
grants made under subsection (a) are coordinated with the 
research conducted under the grant program carried out 
by the Commission under section 271, to the extent that 
the Director and Commission determine necessary to pro-
vide for the advancement of accessible voting technology. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 
(a) $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 
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(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended— 
(A) by redesignating the item relating to 
section 247 as relating to section 248; and 
(B) by inserting after the item relating to 
section 246 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible paper ballot verification mecha-
nisms.’’. 
(c) CLARIFICATION OF ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS 
UNDER VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDANCE.—In 
adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 
III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 with respect 
to the accessibility of the paper ballot verification require-
ments for individuals with disabilities, the Election Assist-
ance Commission shall include and apply the same accessi-
bility standards applicable under the voluntary guidance 
adopted for accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 
(d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR PROTECTION 
AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT ACTIONS TO EN-
FORCE ELECTION-RELATED DISABILITY ACCESS.—Sec-
tion 292(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 21062(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ 
and all that follows and inserting a period. 
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Subtitle B—Additional Voting 
System Requirements 
SEC. 111. ADDITIONAL VOTING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—Section 301(a) of 
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graphs: 
‘‘(7) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF PAPER BAL-
LOTS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a fail-
ure of voting equipment or other circumstance 
at a polling place in an election for Federal of-
fice that causes an unreasonable delay, the ap-
propriate election official at the polling place 
shall— 
‘‘(i) immediately advise any individual 
who is waiting at the polling place to cast 
a ballot in the election at the time of the 
failure that the individual has the right to 
use an emergency paper ballot; and 
‘‘(ii) upon the individual’s request, 
provide the individual with an emergency 
paper ballot for the election and the sup-
plies necessary to mark the ballot. 
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‘‘(B) 
TREATMENT
OF
BALLOTS.—Any 
paper ballot which is cast by an individual 
under this clause shall be counted and other-
wise treated as a regular ballot for all purposes 
(including by incorporating it into the final un-
official vote count (as defined by the State) for 
the precinct) and not as a provisional ballot, 
unless the individual casting the ballot would 
have otherwise been required to cast a provi-
sional ballot. 
‘‘(8) PROHIBITING USE OF UNCERTIFIED ELEC-
TION-DEDICATED
VOTING
SYSTEM
TECHNOLOGIES; 
DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A voting system used 
in an election for Federal office in a State may 
not at any time during the election contain or 
use any election-dedicated voting system tech-
nology— 
‘‘(i) which has not been certified by 
the State for use in the election; and 
‘‘(ii) which has not been deposited 
with an accredited laboratory described in 
section 231 to be held in escrow and dis-
closed in accordance with this section. 
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‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT FOR DISCLOSURE AND 
LIMITATION
ON
RESTRICTING
DISCLOSURE.— 
An accredited laboratory under section 231 
with whom an election-dedicated voting system 
technology has been deposited shall— 
‘‘(i) hold the technology in escrow; 
and 
‘‘(ii) disclose technology and informa-
tion regarding the technology to another 
person if— 
‘‘(I) the person is a qualified per-
son described in subparagraph (C) 
who has entered into a nondisclosure 
agreement with respect to the tech-
nology which meets the requirements 
of subparagraph (D); or 
‘‘(II) the laboratory is permitted 
or required to disclose the technology 
to the person under State law, in ac-
cordance with the terms and condi-
tions applicable under such law. 
‘‘(C) QUALIFIED PERSONS DESCRIBED.— 
With respect to the disclosure of election-dedi-
cated voting system technology by a laboratory 
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under subparagraph (B)(ii)(I), a ‘qualified per-
son’ is any of the following: 
‘‘(i) A governmental entity with re-
sponsibility for the administration of vot-
ing and election-related matters for pur-
poses of reviewing, analyzing, or reporting 
on the technology. 
‘‘(ii) A party to pre- or postelection 
litigation challenging the result of an elec-
tion or the administration or use of the 
technology used in an election, including 
but not limited to election contests or chal-
lenges to the certification of the tech-
nology, or an expert for a party to such 
litigation, for purposes of reviewing or ana-
lyzing the technology to support or oppose 
the litigation, and all parties to the litiga-
tion shall have access to the technology for 
such purposes. 
‘‘(iii) A person not described in clause 
(i) or (ii) who reviews, analyzes, or reports 
on the technology solely for an academic, 
scientific, technological, or other investiga-
tion or inquiry concerning the accuracy or 
integrity of the technology. 
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‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
NONDISCLO-
SURE
AGREEMENTS.—A nondisclosure agree-
ment entered into with respect to an election- 
dedicated voting system technology meets the 
requirements of this subparagraph if the agree-
ment— 
‘‘(i) is limited in scope to coverage of 
the technology disclosed under subpara-
graph (B) and any trade secrets and intel-
lectual property rights related thereto; 
‘‘(ii) does not prohibit a signatory 
from entering into other nondisclosure 
agreements to review other technologies 
under this paragraph; 
‘‘(iii) exempts from coverage any in-
formation the signatory lawfully obtained 
from another source or any information in 
the public domain; 
‘‘(iv) remains in effect for not longer 
than the life of any trade secret or other 
intellectual property right related thereto; 
‘‘(v) prohibits the use of injunctions 
barring a signatory from carrying out any 
activity authorized under subparagraph 
(C), including injunctions limited to the 
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period prior to a trial involving the tech-
nology; 
‘‘(vi) is silent as to damages awarded 
for breach of the agreement, other than a 
reference to damages available under appli-
cable law; 
‘‘(vii) allows disclosure of evidence of 
crime, including in response to a subpoena 
or warrant; 
‘‘(viii) allows the signatory to perform 
analyses on the technology (including by 
executing the technology), disclose reports 
and analyses that describe operational 
issues pertaining to the technology (includ-
ing vulnerabilities to tampering, errors, 
risks associated with use, failures as a re-
sult of use, and other problems), and de-
scribe or explain why or how a voting sys-
tem failed or otherwise did not perform as 
intended; and 
‘‘(ix) provides that the agreement 
shall be governed by the trade secret laws 
of the applicable State. 
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‘‘(E) ELECTION-DEDICATED VOTING SYS-
TEM TECHNOLOGY DEFINED.—For purposes of 
this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘elec-
tion-dedicated voting system technology’ 
means the following: 
‘‘(I) The source code used for the 
trusted build and its file signatures. 
‘‘(II) A complete disk image of 
the prebuild, build environment, and 
any file signatures to validate that it 
is unmodified. 
‘‘(III) A complete disk image of 
the postbuild, build environment, and 
any file signatures to validate that it 
is unmodified. 
‘‘(IV) All executable code pro-
duced by the trusted build and any 
file signatures to validate that it is 
unmodified. 
‘‘(V) Installation devices and 
software file signatures. 
‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION.—Such term does 
not include ‘commercial-off-the-shelf’ soft-
ware and hardware defined under the 2015 
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voluntary voting system guidelines adopted 
by the Commission under section 222. 
‘‘(9) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM-
MUNICATIONS DEVICES IN SYSTEMS OR DEVICES.— 
No system or device upon which ballots are marked 
or votes are cast or tabulated shall contain, use, or 
be accessible by any wireless, powerline, or concealed 
communication device, except that enclosed infrared 
communications devices which are certified for use 
in such device by the State and which cannot be 
used for any remote or wide area communications or 
used without the knowledge of poll workers shall be 
permitted. 
‘‘(10) PROHIBITING
CONNECTION
OF
SYSTEM 
TO THE INTERNET.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No system or device 
upon which ballots are programmed or votes are 
cast or tabulated shall be connected to the 
Internet at any time. 
‘‘(B) PROHIBITING ACCEPTANCE OF BAL-
LOTS TRANSMITTED ONLINE.—The voting sys-
tem may not accept any voted ballot which is 
transmitted to an election official online. 
‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 
contained in this paragraph shall be deemed to 
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prohibit the Commission from conducting the 
studies under section 242 or to conduct other 
similar studies under any other provision of law 
in a manner consistent with this paragraph. 
‘‘(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 secure 
chain of custody for the handling of all 
software, hardware, vote storage media, 
blank ballots, and completed ballots used 
in connection with voting systems, and 
shall make the information available upon 
request to the Commission. 
‘‘(ii) The manufacturer shall disclose 
to an accredited laboratory under section 
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231 and to the appropriate election official 
any information required to be disclosed 
under paragraph (8). 
‘‘(iii) After the appropriate election 
official has certified the election-dedicated 
and other voting system software for use in 
an election, the manufacturer may not— 
‘‘(I) alter such software; or 
‘‘(II) insert or use in the voting 
system any software, software patch, 
or other software modification not cer-
tified by the State for use in the elec-
tion. 
‘‘(iv) At the request of the Commis-
sion— 
‘‘(I) the appropriate election offi-
cial shall submit information to the 
Commission regarding the State’s 
compliance with this subparagraph; 
and 
‘‘(II) the manufacturer shall sub-
mit information to the Commission re-
garding the manufacturer’s compli-
ance with this subparagraph. 
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of withstanding multiple counts and re-
counts by hand without compromising the 
fundamental integrity of the ballots, and 
capable 
of 
retaining 
the 
information 
marked or printed on them for the full du-
ration of a retention and preservation pe-
riod of 22 months. 
‘‘(B) READABILITY
REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING 
DEVICE.—All voter-verified paper ballots com-
pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 
marking device shall be clearly readable by the 
voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses 
or other personal vision-enhancing devices) and 
by an optical character recognition device or 
other device equipped for individuals with dis-
abilities. 
‘‘(13) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
PUBLICATION
OF 
POLL TAPES.— 
‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS.—Each State shall 
meet the following requirements: 
‘‘(i) Upon the closing of the polls at 
each polling place, the appropriate election 
official, under the observation of the cer-
tified tabulation observers admitted to the 
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polling place under subparagraph (E) (if 
any), shall announce the vote orally, post a 
copy of the poll tape reflecting the totals 
from each voting machine upon which 
votes were cast in the election at the poll-
ing place, and prepare and post a state-
ment of the total number of individuals 
who appeared at the polling place to cast 
ballots, determined by reference to the 
number of signatures in a sign-in book or 
other similar independent count. Such offi-
cials shall ensure that each of the certified 
tabulation observers admitted to the poll-
ing place has full access to observe the 
process by which the poll tapes and state-
ment are produced and a reasonable period 
of time to review the poll tapes and state-
ment before the polling place is closed, and 
(if feasible) shall provide such observers 
with identical duplicate copies of the poll 
tapes and statement. 
‘‘(ii) As soon as practicable, but in no 
event later than noon of the day following 
the date of the election, the appropriate 
election official shall display (at a promi-
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nent location accessible to the public dur-
ing regular business hours and in or within 
reasonable proximity to the polling place) a 
copy of each poll tape and statement pre-
pared under clause (i), and the information 
shall be displayed on the official public 
Web sites of the applicable local election 
official and chief State election official, to-
gether with the name of the designated 
voting official who entered the information 
and the date and time the information was 
entered. 
‘‘(iii) Each Web site on which infor-
mation is posted under clause (ii) shall in-
clude information on the procedures by 
which discrepancies shall be reported to 
election officials. If any discrepancy exists 
between the posted information and the 
relevant poll tape or statement, the appro-
priate election official shall display infor-
mation on the discrepancy on the Web site 
on which the information is posted under 
clause (ii) not later than 24 hours after 
the official is made aware of the discrep-
ancy, and shall maintain the information 
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on the discrepancy and its resolution (if 
applicable) on such website during the en-
tire period for which results of the election 
are typically maintained on such Web site. 
‘‘(iv) The appropriate election official 
shall preserve archived copies of the poll 
tapes and statements prepared under 
clause (i) and reports of discrepancies filed 
by certified tabulation observers for the pe-
riod of time during which records and pa-
pers are required to be retained and pre-
served pursuant to title III of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1960 (42 U.S.C. 1974 et 
seq.) or for the same duration for which 
archived copies of other records of the elec-
tion are required to be preserved under ap-
plicable State law, whichever is longer. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF BALLOTS CAST AT 
EARLY VOTING SITES.— 
‘‘(i) APPLICATION.—The requirements 
of this subparagraph shall apply with re-
spect to poll tapes and statements of the 
number of voters who voted in person at 
designated sites prior to the date of the 
election. 
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‘‘(ii) DAILY COUNT OF VOTERS.—At 
the close of business on each day on which 
ballots described in clause (i) may be cast 
prior to the date of the election, the appro-
priate election official at each such site 
shall— 
‘‘(I) under the observation of cer-
tified tabulation observers admitted to 
the site under subparagraph (E) (if 
any), prepare and post a statement of 
the total number of individuals who 
appeared at the site to cast ballots, 
determined by reference to the num-
ber of signatures in a sign-in book or 
other similar independent count, and 
the total number of ballots cast (ex-
cluding information on the votes re-
ceived by individual candidates), and 
shall ensure that each of the certified 
tabulation observers admitted to the 
site has full access to observe the 
process by which the statement is pro-
duced and a reasonable period of time 
to review the statement before the site 
is closed; and 
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‘‘(II) display at the site during 
regular business hours for the dura-
tion of the early voting period a paper 
copy of the statement prepared under 
subclause (I). 
‘‘(iii) APPLICATION OF GENERAL RE-
QUIREMENTS
FOR
POLL
TAPES
AND 
STATEMENTS.—Upon the closing of the 
polls on the date of the election, the appro-
priate election official at each designated 
site described in this subparagraph shall 
meet the requirements of subparagraph 
(A) (including requirements relating to the 
role of certified tabulation observers) in 
the same manner as an election official at 
a polling place. 
‘‘(C) TREATMENT
OF
ABSENTEE
BAL-
LOTS.— 
‘‘(i) 
DAILY
COUNT
OF
BALLOTS 
MAILED AND RECEIVED.—At the close of 
each business day on which a State mails 
or accepts absentee ballots cast in an elec-
tion for Federal office prior to the date of 
the election, the appropriate election offi-
cial shall— 
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‘‘(ii) APPLICATION OF GENERAL RE-
QUIREMENTS
FOR
POLL
TAPES
AND 
STATEMENTS.—At the close of business on 
the last day on which absentee ballots are 
counted prior to the certification of the 
election, the appropriate election official at 
the site at which absentee ballots are re-
ceived and counted shall meet the require-
ments of subparagraph (A) (including re-
quirements relating to the role of certified 
tabulation observers) in the same manner 
as an election official at a polling place. 
‘‘(D) DAILY COUNT OF PROVISIONAL BAL-
LOTS.—At the close of business on the day on 
which the appropriate election official deter-
mines whether or not provisional ballots cast in 
an election for Federal office will be counted as 
votes in the election (as described in section 
302(a)(4)), the official shall— 
‘‘(i) under the observation of certified 
tabulation observers admitted under sub-
paragraph (E) to the site at which the de-
termination is made (if any), prepare and 
post a statement of the number of such 
ballots for which a determination was 
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made, the number of ballots counted, and 
the number of ballots rejected (separated 
into categories of the reason for the rejec-
tion), and ensure that each of the certified 
tabulation observers admitted to the site 
has full access to observe the process by 
which the statement is produced and a rea-
sonable period of time to review the state-
ment before the site is closed; and 
‘‘(ii) display at the site during regular 
business hours for the duration of the pe-
riod during which provisional ballots are 
processed a paper copy of the statement 
prepared under clause (i). 
‘‘(E) ADMISSION OF CERTIFIED TABULA-
TION OBSERVERS.— 
‘‘(i) 
CERTIFIED
TABULATION
OB-
SERVER DEFINED.—In this paragraph, a 
‘certified tabulation observer’ is an indi-
vidual who is certified by an appropriate 
election official as authorized to carry out 
the responsibilities of a certified tabulation 
observer under this paragraph. 
‘‘(ii) 
SELECTION.—In 
determining 
which individuals to certify as tabulation 
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observers and admit to a polling place or 
other location to serve as certified tabula-
tion observers with respect to an election 
for Federal office, the election official shall 
give preference to individuals who are af-
filiated with a candidate in the election, ex-
cept that— 
‘‘(I) the number of individuals 
admitted who are affiliated with the 
same candidate for Federal office may 
not exceed one; and 
‘‘(II) the maximum number of in-
dividuals who may be admitted shall 
equal the number of candidates in the 
election plus 3, or such greater num-
ber as may be authorized under State 
law. 
‘‘(iii) NO EFFECT ON ADMISSION OF 
OTHER OBSERVERS.—Nothing in this sub-
paragraph may be construed to limit or 
otherwise affect the authority of other indi-
viduals to enter and observe polling place 
operations under any other law, including 
international observers authorized under 
any treaty or observers of the Federal Gov-
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ernment authorized under the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965. 
‘‘(F) NO EFFECT ON OTHER TABULATION 
REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this Act may be 
construed to supersede any requirement that an 
election official at a polling place report vote to-
tals to a central tabulation facility and address 
discrepancies the official finds in the aggrega-
tion of those totals with other vote totals.’’. 
(b) REQUIRING LABORATORIES TO MEET STAND-
ARDS PROHIBITING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AS CONDI-
TION OF ACCREDITATION FOR TESTING OF VOTING SYS-
TEM HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(b) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 20971(b)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(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 certifies that the 
only compensation it receives for the test-
ing carried out in connection with the cer-
tification, decertification, and recertifi-
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cation of the manufacturer’s voting system 
hardware and software is the payment 
made from the Testing Escrow Account 
under paragraph (4); 
‘‘(ii) the laboratory meets such stand-
ards as the Commission shall establish 
(after notice and opportunity for public 
comment) to prevent the existence or ap-
pearance of any conflict of interest in the 
testing 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; 
‘‘(iii) the laboratory certifies that it 
will permit an expert designated by the 
Commission or by the State requiring cer-
tification of the system being tested to ob-
serve any testing the laboratory carries out 
under this section; and 
‘‘(iv) the laboratory, upon completion 
of any testing carried out under this sec-
tion, discloses the test protocols, results, 
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and all communication between the labora-
tory and the manufacturer to the Commis-
sion. 
‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY
OF
RESULTS.—Upon 
receipt of information under subparagraph (A), 
the Commission shall make the information 
available promptly to election officials and the 
public. 
‘‘(4) PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING TESTING; 
PAYMENT OF USER FEES FOR COMPENSATION OF 
ACCREDITED LABORATORIES.— 
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
ESCROW
AC-
COUNT.—The Commission shall establish an es-
crow account (to be known as the Testing Es-
crow Account) for making payments to accred-
ited laboratories for the costs of the testing car-
ried out in connection with the certification, de-
certification, and recertification of voting sys-
tem hardware and software. 
‘‘(B) SCHEDULE OF FEES.—In consulta-
tion with the accredited laboratories, the Com-
mission shall establish and regularly update a 
schedule of fees for the testing carried out in 
connection with the certification, decertification, 
and recertification of voting system hardware 
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and software, based on the reasonable costs ex-
pected to be incurred by the accredited labora-
tories in carrying out the testing for various 
types of hardware and software. 
‘‘(C) REQUESTS AND PAYMENTS BY MANU-
FACTURERS.—A manufacturer of voting system 
hardware and software may not have the hard-
ware or software tested by an accredited labora-
tory under this section unless— 
‘‘(i) the manufacturer submits a de-
tailed request for the testing to the Com-
mission; and 
‘‘(ii) the manufacturer pays to the 
Commission, for deposit into the Testing 
Escrow Account established under sub-
paragraph (A), the applicable fee under the 
schedule established and in effect under 
subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(D) SELECTION OF LABORATORY.—Upon 
receiving a request for testing and the payment 
from a manufacturer required under subpara-
graph (C), the Commission shall select, from all 
laboratories which are accredited under this 
section to carry out the specific testing re-
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quested by the manufacturer, an accredited lab-
oratory to carry out the testing. 
‘‘(E) PAYMENTS
TO
LABORATORIES.— 
Upon receiving a certification from a laboratory 
selected to carry out testing pursuant to sub-
paragraph (D) that the testing is completed, 
along with a copy of the results of the test as 
required under paragraph (3)(A)(iv), the Com-
mission shall make a payment to the laboratory 
from the Testing Escrow Account established 
under subparagraph (A) in an amount equal to 
the applicable fee paid by the manufacturer 
under subparagraph (C)(ii). 
‘‘(5) DISSEMINATION OF ADDITIONAL INFORMA-
TION ON ACCREDITED LABORATORIES.— 
‘‘(A) INFORMATION
ON
TESTING.—Upon 
completion of the testing of a voting system 
under this section, the Commission shall 
promptly disseminate to the public the identi-
fication of the laboratory which carried out the 
testing. 
‘‘(B) INFORMATION ON STATUS OF LAB-
ORATORIES.—The Commission shall promptly 
notify Congress, the chief State election official 
of each State, and the public whenever— 
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‘‘(i) the Commission revokes, termi-
nates, or suspends the accreditation of a 
laboratory under this section; 
‘‘(ii) the Commission restores the ac-
creditation of a laboratory under this sec-
tion which has been revoked, terminated, 
or suspended; or 
‘‘(iii) the Commission has credible evi-
dence of significant security failure at an 
accredited laboratory.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 231 
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20971) is further amended— 
(A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘test-
ing, certification,’’ and all that follows and in-
serting the following: ‘‘testing of voting system 
hardware and software by accredited labora-
tories in connection with the certification, de-
certification, and recertification of the hardware 
and software for purposes of this Act.’’; 
(B) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘test-
ing, certification,’’ and all that follows and in-
serting the following: ‘‘testing of its voting sys-
tem hardware and software by the laboratories 
accredited by the Commission under this section 
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in connection with certifying, decertifying, and 
recertifying the hardware and software.’’; 
(C) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘test-
ing, certification, decertification, and recertifi-
cation’’ and inserting ‘‘testing’’; and 
(D) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘testing, 
certification, decertification, and recertification’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘testing’’. 
(3) 
DEADLINE
FOR
ESTABLISHMENT
OF 
STANDARDS, ESCROW ACCOUNT, AND SCHEDULE OF 
FEES.—The Election Assistance Commission shall 
establish 
the 
standards 
described 
in 
section 
231(b)(3) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
and the Testing Escrow Account and schedule of 
fees described in section 231(b)(4) of such Act (as 
added by paragraph (1)) not later than January 1, 
2019. 
(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Elec-
tion Assistance Commission such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the Commission’s duties 
under paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 231 of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by para-
graph (1)). 
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(c) GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOPMENT OF 
ELECTION-DEDICATED VOTING SYSTEM SOFTWARE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new part: 
‘‘PART 7—GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOP-
MENT 
OF 
ELECTION-DEDICATED 
VOTING 
SYSTEM SOFTWARE 
‘‘SEC. 297. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOPMENT OF 
ELECTION-DEDICATED 
VOTING 
SYSTEM 
SOFTWARE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 
Science Foundation (hereafter in this part referred to as 
the ‘Director’) shall make grants to not fewer than 3 eligi-
ble entities to conduct research on the development of elec-
tion-dedicated voting system software. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 
grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 
time and in such form as the Director may require) an 
application containing— 
‘‘(1) certifications regarding the benefits of op-
erating voting systems on election-dedicated software 
which is easily understandable and which is written 
exclusively for the purpose of conducting elections; 
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‘‘(2) certifications that the entity will use the 
funds provided under the grant to carry out research 
on how to develop voting systems that run on elec-
tion-dedicated software and that will meet the appli-
cable requirements for voting systems under title III; 
and 
‘‘(3) such other information and certifications 
as the Director may require. 
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY
OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech-
nology developed with the grants made under this section 
shall be treated as nonproprietary and shall be made avail-
able to the public, including to manufacturers of voting 
systems. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated for grants under this sec-
tion $1,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 and 2019, 
to remain available until expended.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to subtitle D of title II the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘PART 7—GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTION- 
DEDICATED VOTING SYSTEM SOFTWARE 
‘‘Sec. 297. Grants for research on development of election-dedicated voting sys-
tem software.’’. 
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Subtitle C—Funding 
SEC. 121. AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO EN-
ABLE STATES TO MEET COSTS OF REVISED 
REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS FOR 
MEETING REVISED REQUIREMENTS.—Section 257(a) of 
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21007(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(5) For each of the fiscal years 2018 and 
2019, $600,000,000, except that any funds provided 
under the authorization made by this paragraph 
shall be used by a State only to meet the require-
ments of title III which are first imposed on the 
State pursuant to the amendments made by title I 
of the Restoring Confidence in America’s Elections 
Act, or to otherwise modify or replace its voting sys-
tems in response to such amendments.’’. 
(b) USE OF REVISED FORMULA FOR ALLOCATION OF 
FUNDS.—Section 252(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
21002(b)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) STATE ALLOCATION PERCENTAGE DEFINED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the ‘State allocation percentage’ for a 
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State is the amount (expressed as a percentage) 
equal to the quotient of— 
‘‘(A) the voting age population of the State 
(as reported in the most recent decennial cen-
sus); and 
‘‘(B) the total voting age population of all 
States (as reported in the most recent decennial 
census). 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR PAYMENTS USED TO 
MEET REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED UNDER RESTORING 
CONFIDENCE IN AMERICA’S ELECTIONS ACT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of the re-
quirements payment made to a State under the 
authorization made by section 257(a)(5) for fis-
cal year 2018 or 2019, the ‘State allocation 
percentage’ for a State is the amount (ex-
pressed as a percentage) equal to the quotient 
of— 
‘‘(i) the sum of the number of non-
compliant precincts in the State and 50 
percent of the number of partially non-
compliant precincts in the State; and 
‘‘(ii) the sum of the number of non-
compliant precincts in all States and 50 
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percent of the number of partially non-
compliant precincts in all States. 
‘‘(B) 
NONCOMPLIANT
PRECINCT
DE-
FINED.—In this paragraph, a ‘noncompliant 
precinct’ means any precinct (or equivalent lo-
cation) within a State for which the voting sys-
tem used to administer the regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office held in No-
vember 2018 did not meet either of the require-
ments described in subparagraph (D). 
‘‘(C) PARTIALLY
NONCOMPLIANT
PRE-
CINCT
DEFINED.—In this paragraph, a ‘par-
tially noncompliant precinct’ means any pre-
cinct (or equivalent location) within a State for 
which the voting system used to administer the 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal 
office held in November 2018 met only one of 
the requirements described in subparagraph 
(D). 
‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS
DESCRIBED.—The 
requirements described in this subparagraph 
with respect to a voting system are as follows: 
‘‘(i) The primary voting system re-
quired the use of durable paper ballots (as 
described in sections 301(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) 
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and 301(a)(12)(A), as amended or added 
by the Restoring Confidence in America’s 
Elections Act) for every vote cast. 
‘‘(ii) The voting system allowed the 
voter to privately and independently verify 
the permanent paper ballot through the 
presentation of the same printed or 
marked information used for vote counting 
and auditing and to privately and inde-
pendently cast the permanent paper ballot 
without handling the ballot manually.’’. 
(c) 
REVISED
CONDITIONS
FOR
RECEIPT
OF 
FUNDS.—Section 253 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21003) is 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘A State is el-
igible’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub-
section (f), a State is eligible’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE FOR PAYMENTS USED TO MEET 
REQUIREMENTS
IMPOSED
UNDER
RESTORING
CON-
FIDENCE IN AMERICA’S ELECTIONS ACT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this part, a State is eligible to receive 
a requirements payment under the authorization 
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made by section 257(a)(5) for fiscal year 2018 or 
2019 if, not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of the Restoring Confidence in America’s 
Elections Act, the chief executive officer of the 
State, or designee, in consultation and coordination 
with the chief State election official— 
‘‘(A) certifies to the Commission the num-
ber of noncompliant and partially noncompliant 
precincts in the State (as defined in section 
252(b)(2)); 
‘‘(B) certifies to the Commission that the 
State will reimburse each unit of local govern-
ment in the State for any costs the unit incurs 
in carrying out the activities for which the pay-
ment may be used; and 
‘‘(C) files a statement with the Commis-
sion describing the State’s need for the pay-
ment and how the State will use the payment 
to meet the requirements of title III (in accord-
ance with the limitations applicable to the use 
of the payment under section 257(a)(5)). 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATIONS
BY
STATES
THAT
RE-
QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case of a 
State that requires State legislation to carry out any 
activity covered by any certification submitted under 
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this subsection, the State shall be permitted to make 
the certification notwithstanding that the legislation 
has not been enacted at the time the certification is 
submitted and such State shall submit an additional 
certification once such legislation is enacted.’’. 
(d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR REIMBURSE-
MENT
FOR
COSTS
PREVIOUSLY
INCURRED.—Section 
251(c)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21001(c)(1)) is amended 
by striking the period at the end and inserting the fol-
lowing: ‘‘, or as a reimbursement for any costs incurred 
after November 2018 in meeting the requirements of title 
III which are imposed pursuant to the amendments made 
by title I of the Restoring Confidence in America’s Elec-
tions Act or in otherwise upgrading or replacing voting 
systems in a manner consistent with such amendments (so 
long as the voting systems meet any of the requirements 
that apply with respect to elections for Federal office held 
in 2020 and each succeeding year).’’. 
(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING STATES 
RECEIVING
OTHER
FUNDS
FOR
REPLACING
PUNCH 
CARD, LEVER, OR OTHER VOTING MACHINES.—Nothing 
in the amendments made by this section or in any other 
provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 may be 
construed to prohibit a State which received or was au-
thorized to receive a payment under title I or II of such 
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Act for replacing punch card, lever, or other voting ma-
chines from receiving or using any funds which are made 
available under the amendments made by this section. 
(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING USE OF 
FUNDS RECEIVED IN PRIOR YEARS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing contained in this 
Act or the Help America Vote Act of 2002 may be 
construed to prohibit a State from using funds re-
ceived under title I or II of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 to purchase or acquire by other means 
a voting system that meets the requirements of sec-
tion 301 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as 
amended by this Act) in order to replace voting sys-
tems purchased with funds received under the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 that do not meet such re-
quirements. 
(2) WAIVER
OF
NOTICE
AND
COMMENT
RE-
QUIREMENTS.—The requirements of subparagraphs 
(A), (B), and (C) of section 254(a)(11) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 shall not apply to any 
State using funds received under such Act for the 
purposes described in paragraph (1). 
SEC. 122. GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COMPLIANT SYS-
TEMS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.— 
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(1) GRANTS TO DEVELOP VOTING SYSTEMS.— 
The Election Assistance Commission (hereafter re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall establish and 
operate a program under which the Commission 
shall award grants to eligible entities for the devel-
opment of voting systems that meet the require-
ments of paragraph (2) and that may be used by 
States and units of local government to administer 
elections for Federal office. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
VOTING
SYSTEMS.— 
The requirements of this paragraph with respect to 
voting systems are as follows: 
(A) The system produces a voter-verified 
paper record of each vote cast on the system. 
(B) The system is demonstrably compat-
ible with commodity accessibility devices. 
(C) The system is fully accessible for the 
use of individuals with disabilities. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
RECIPI-
ENTS.—An entity is eligible to receive a grant under the 
program under this section if the entity submits to the 
Commission, at such time and in such form as the Com-
mission may require, an application containing— 
(1) a certification that any voting system devel-
oped with the funds provided under this section shall 
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meet the requirements of paragraph (2) of sub-
section (a); and 
(2) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
(c) APPLICABILITY
OF REGULATIONS GOVERNING 
PATENT RIGHTS IN INVENTIONS MADE WITH FEDERAL 
ASSISTANCE.—Any invention made by the recipient of a 
grant under this section using funds provided under this 
section shall be subject to chapter 18 of title 35, United 
States Code (relating to patent rights in inventions made 
with Federal assistance). 
(d) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity which receives a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Commis-
sion a report describing the activities carried out 
with the funds provided under the grant. 
(2) DEADLINE.—An entity shall submit a re-
port required under paragraph (1) not later than 60 
days after the end of the fiscal year for which the 
entity received the grant which is the subject of the 
report. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated 
for 
grants 
under 
this 
section 
$60,000,000 for fiscal year 2018. 
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(2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appro-
priated pursuant to the authorization under this 
subsection shall remain available, without fiscal year 
limitation, until expended. 
Subtitle D—Effective Date 
SEC. 131. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of this sec-
tion on and after January 1, 2006. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
CERTAIN
REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraphs (B) and (C), the requirements of 
this section which are first imposed on a State 
and jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments 
made by title I of the Restoring Confidence in 
America’s Elections Act shall apply with respect 
to voting systems used for the regularly sched-
uled general election for Federal office held in 
2020 and each succeeding election for Federal 
office. 
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‘‘(B) 2-YEAR DELAY FOR JURISDICTIONS 
USING CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR 
CERTAIN
SYSTEMS
USING
OR
PRODUCING 
VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS IN 2018.— 
‘‘(i) DELAY.—In the case of a juris-
diction described in clause (ii), subpara-
graph (A) shall apply to a voting system in 
the jurisdiction as if the reference in such 
subparagraph to ‘2020’ were a reference to 
‘2022’, but only with respect to the fol-
lowing requirements of this section: 
‘‘(I) Paragraph (2)(A)(i)(I) of 
subsection (a) (relating to the use of 
voter-marked paper ballots). 
‘‘(II) Paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(I) and 
(II) of subsection (a) (relating to ac-
cess to verification from and casting 
of the durable paper ballot). 
‘‘(III) Paragraph (12) of sub-
section (a) (relating to durability and 
readability requirements for ballots). 
‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS
DESCRIBED.—A 
jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju-
risdiction— 
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‘‘(I) which used voter verifiable 
paper record printers attached to di-
rect recording electronic voting ma-
chines, or which used other voting 
systems that used or produced paper 
records of the vote verifiable by voters 
but that are not in compliance with 
paragraphs (2)(A)(i)(I), (3)(B)(ii)(I) 
and (II), and (12) of subsection (a) 
(as amended or added by the Restor-
ing Confidence in America’s Elections 
Act), for the administration of the 
regularly scheduled general election 
for Federal office held in November 
2018; and 
‘‘(II) which will continue to use 
such printers or systems for the ad-
ministration of elections for Federal 
office held prior to the regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal 
office held in 2020. 
‘‘(iii) MANDATORY
AVAILABILITY
OF 
PAPER
BALLOTS
AT
POLLING
PLACES 
USING
GRANDFATHERED
PRINTERS
AND 
SYSTEMS.— 
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‘‘(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE 
OFFERED
AND
PROVIDED.—The ap-
propriate election official at each poll-
ing place that uses a printer or sys-
tem described in clause (ii)(I) for the 
administration of elections for Federal 
office shall offer each individual who 
is eligible to cast a vote in the election 
at the polling place the opportunity to 
cast the vote using a blank preprinted 
paper ballot which the individual may 
mark by hand and which is not pro-
duced by the direct recording elec-
tronic voting machine or other such 
system. The official shall provide the 
individual with the ballot and the sup-
plies necessary to mark the ballot, and 
shall ensure (to the greatest extent 
practicable) that the waiting period 
for the individual to cast a vote is the 
lesser of 30 minutes or the average 
waiting period for an individual who 
does not agree to cast the vote using 
such a paper ballot under this clause. 
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‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.— 
Any paper ballot which is cast by an 
individual under this clause shall be 
counted and otherwise treated as a 
regular ballot for all purposes (includ-
ing by incorporating it into the final 
unofficial vote count (as defined by 
the State) for the precinct) and not as 
a provisional ballot, unless the indi-
vidual casting the ballot would have 
otherwise been required to cast a pro-
visional ballot. 
‘‘(III) POSTING
OF
NOTICE.— 
The appropriate election official shall 
ensure there is prominently displayed 
at each polling place a notice that de-
scribes the obligation of the official to 
offer individuals the opportunity to 
cast votes using a preprinted blank 
paper ballot. 
‘‘(IV) TRAINING
OF
ELECTION 
OFFICIALS.—The chief State election 
official shall ensure that election offi-
cials at polling places in the State are 
aware of the requirements of this 
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clause, including the requirement to 
display a notice under subclause (III), 
and are aware that it is a violation of 
the requirements of this title for an 
election official to fail to offer an indi-
vidual the opportunity to cast a vote 
using a blank preprinted paper ballot. 
‘‘(V) 
PERIOD
OF
APPLICA-
BILITY.—The requirements of this 
clause apply only during the period in 
which the delay is in effect under 
clause (i). 
‘‘(C) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
JURISDICTIONS 
USING
CERTAIN
NONTABULATING
BALLOT 
MARKING DEVICES.—In the case of a jurisdic-
tion which uses a nontabulating ballot marking 
device, subparagraph (A) shall apply to a voting 
system in the jurisdiction as if the reference in 
such subparagraph to ‘the regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office held in 2020’ 
were a reference to ‘the first election for Fed-
eral office held in 2022’, but only with respect 
to paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(II) of subsection (a) 
(relating to nonmanual casting of the durable 
paper ballot).’’. 
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TITLE 
II—REQUIREMENT 
FOR 
MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS 
BY HAND COUNT 
SEC. 201. MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS. 
Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual 
Audits 
‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING AUDITS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In accordance with this 
subtitle, each State shall administer, without ad-
vance notice to the precincts or alternative audit 
units selected, audits of the results of all elections 
for Federal office held in the State (and, at the op-
tion of the State or jurisdiction involved, of elections 
for State and local office held at the same time as 
such election) consisting of random hand counts of 
the voter-verified paper ballots required to be used 
and preserved pursuant to section 301(a)(2). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ELECTIONS.—A 
State shall not be required to administer an audit of 
the results of an election for Federal office under 
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this subtitle if the winning candidate in the elec-
tion— 
‘‘(A) had no opposition on the ballot; or 
‘‘(B) received 80 percent or more of the 
total number of votes cast in the election, as de-
termined on the basis of the final unofficial vote 
count. 
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF ENTITY CONDUCTING AU-
DITS; APPLICATION
OF GAO INDEPENDENCE STAND-
ARDS.—The State shall administer audits under this sub-
title through an entity selected for such purpose by the 
State in accordance with such criteria as the State con-
siders appropriate consistent with the requirements of this 
subtitle, except that the entity must meet the general 
standards established by the Comptroller General and as 
set forth in the Comptroller General’s Government Audit-
ing Standards to ensure the independence (including, ex-
cept as provided under section 323(b), the organizational 
independence) of entities performing financial audits, at-
testation engagements, and performance audits. 
‘‘(c) REFERENCES TO ELECTION AUDITOR.—In this 
subtitle, the term ‘Election Auditor’ means, with respect 
to a State, the entity selected by the State under sub-
section (b). 
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‘‘SEC. 322. NUMBER OF BALLOTS COUNTED UNDER AUDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the number of voter-verified paper ballots which will 
be subject to a hand count administered by the Election 
Auditor of a State under this subtitle with respect to an 
election shall be determined as follows: 
‘‘(1) In the event that the unofficial count as 
described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar-
gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 
the largest number of votes in the election is less 
than 1 percent of the total votes cast in that elec-
tion, the hand counts of the voter-verified paper bal-
lots shall occur in at least 10 percent of all precincts 
or equivalent locations (or alternative audit units 
used in accordance with the method provided for 
under subsection (b)) in the congressional district 
involved (in the case of an election for the House of 
Representatives) or the State (in the case of any 
other election for Federal office). 
‘‘(2) In the event that the unofficial count as 
described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar-
gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 
the largest number of votes in the election is greater 
than or equal to 1 percent but less than 2 percent 
of the total votes cast in that election, the hand 
counts of the voter-verified paper ballots shall occur 
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in at least 5 percent of all precincts or equivalent lo-
cations (or alternative audit units used in accord-
ance with the method provided for under subsection 
(b)) in the congressional district involved (in the 
case of an election for the House of Representatives) 
or the State (in the case of any other election for 
Federal office). 
‘‘(3) In the event that the unofficial count as 
described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar-
gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 
the largest number of votes in the election is equal 
to or greater than 2 percent of the total votes cast 
in that election, the hand counts of the voter-verified 
paper ballots shall occur in at least 3 percent of all 
precincts or equivalent locations (or alternative audit 
units used in accordance with the method provided 
for under subsection (b)) in the congressional dis-
trict involved (in the case of an election for the 
House of Representatives) or the State (in the case 
of any other election for Federal office). 
‘‘(b) USE OF ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM.— 
‘‘(1) PERMITTING USE OF ALTERNATIVE MECH-
ANISM.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a State 
may adopt and apply an alternative mechanism to 
determine the number of voter-verified paper ballots 
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which will be subject to the hand counts required 
under this subtitle with respect to an election, so 
long as the alternative mechanism uses the voter- 
verified paper ballots to conduct the audit and the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology de-
termines that the alternative mechanism is in ac-
cordance with the principles set forth in paragraph 
(2). 
‘‘(2) PRINCIPLES FOR APPROVAL.—In approv-
ing an alternative mechanism under paragraph (1), 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
shall ensure that the audit procedure will have the 
property that for each election— 
‘‘(A) the alternative mechanism will be at 
least as statistically effective in ensuring the ac-
curacy of the election results as the procedures 
under this subtitle; or 
‘‘(B) 
the 
alternative 
mechanism 
will 
achieve at least a 95 percent confidence interval 
(as determined in accordance with criteria set 
forth by the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology) with respect to the outcome of 
the election. 
‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE.—The Director 
of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
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nology shall make a determination regarding a 
State’s request to approve an alternative mechanism 
under paragraph (1) not later than 30 days after re-
ceiving the State’s request. 
‘‘SEC. 323. PROCESS FOR ADMINISTERING AUDITS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Auditor of a State 
shall administer an audit under this section of the results 
of an election in accordance with the following procedures: 
‘‘(1) Within 24 hours after the State announces 
the final unofficial vote count (as defined by the 
State) in each precinct in the State, the Election 
Auditor shall— 
‘‘(A) determine and then announce the 
precincts or equivalent locations (or alternative 
audit units used in accordance with the method 
provided under section 322(b)) in the State in 
which it will administer the audits; and 
‘‘(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 paragraph (2)), begin to ad-
minister the hand count of the votes on the 
voter-verified paper ballots required to be used 
and preserved under section 301(a)(2)(A) and 
the comparison of the count of the votes on 
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those ballots with the final unofficial count of 
such votes as announced by the State. 
‘‘(2) With respect to votes cast other than at 
the precinct on the date of the election (other than 
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 over-
seas voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-
zens Absentee Voting Act, the Election Auditor shall 
administer the hand count of the votes on the appli-
cable voter-verified paper ballots required to be pro-
duced and preserved under section 301(a)(2)(A) and 
the comparison of the count of the votes on those 
ballots with the final unofficial count of such votes 
as announced by the State. 
‘‘(b) USE OF PERSONNEL.—In administering the au-
dits, the Election Auditor may utilize the services of the 
personnel of the State or jurisdiction, including election 
administration personnel and poll workers, without regard 
to whether or not the personnel have professional auditing 
experience. 
‘‘(c) LOCATION.—The Election Auditor shall admin-
ister an audit of an election— 
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‘‘(1) at the location where the ballots cast in 
the election are stored and counted after the date of 
the election or such other appropriate and secure lo-
cation agreed upon by the Election Auditor and the 
individual that is responsible under State law for the 
custody of the ballots; and 
‘‘(2) in the presence of the personnel who under 
State law are responsible for the custody of the bal-
lots. 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE OF DELAY IN REPORT-
ING ABSENTEE VOTE COUNT.—In the case of a State in 
which the final count of absentee and provisional votes is 
not announced until after the date of the election, the 
Election Auditor shall initiate the process described in 
subsection (a) for administering the audit not later than 
24 hours after the State announces the final unofficial 
vote count for the votes cast at the precinct or equivalent 
location on or before the date of the election, and shall 
initiate the administration of the audit of the absentee and 
provisional votes pursuant to subsection (a)(2) not later 
than 24 hours after the State announces the final unoffi-
cial count of such votes. 
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL AUDITS IF CAUSE SHOWN.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—If the Election Auditor 
finds that any of the hand counts administered 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
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