102 
(1) STUDY
AND
REPORTING.—Subtitle C of 
title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(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— 
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103 
‘‘(1) certifications that the entity shall specifi-
cally investigate enhanced methods or devices, in-
cluding non-electronic devices, that will assist such 
individuals and voters in marking voter-verified 
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, 2016; 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 non-proprietary and shall be made 
available to the public, including to manufacturers of vot-
ing 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. 
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104 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 
(a) $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 
(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 with respect to the ac-
cessibility of the paper ballot verification requirements for 
individuals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Com-
mission shall include and apply the same accessibility 
standards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopt-
ed 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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105 
SEC. 603. DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS 
FOR BALLOTS. 
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 paragraph: 
‘‘(7) DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(A) DURABILITY
REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—All voter-verified 
paper ballots required to be used under 
this Act shall be marked or printed on du-
rable paper. 
‘‘(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 
this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable 
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 
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106 
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.’’. 
SEC. 604. 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 Voter Confidence and In-
creased Accessibility Act of 2015 shall apply 
with respect to voting systems used for any 
election for Federal office held in 2020 or any 
succeeding year. 
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107 
‘‘(B) 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 (7) 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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108 
‘‘(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 (7) of subsection (a) (as 
amended or added by the Voter Con-
fidence and Increased Accessibility 
Act of 2015), for the administration 
of the regularly scheduled general 
election for Federal office held in No-
vember 2018; and 
‘‘(II) which will continue to use 
such printers or systems for the ad-
ministration of elections for Federal 
office held in years before 2020. 
‘‘(iii) MANDATORY
AVAILABILITY
OF 
PAPER
BALLOTS
AT
POLLING
PLACES 
USING
GRANDFATHERED
PRINTERS
AND 
SYSTEMS.— 
‘‘(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE 
OFFERED
AND
PROVIDED.—The ap-
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109 
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 pre-print-
ed paper ballot which the individual 
may mark by hand and which is not 
produced 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. 
‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.— 
Any paper ballot which is cast by an 
individual under this clause shall be 
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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 pre-printed 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 
clause, including the requirement to 
display a notice under subclause (III), 
and are aware that it is a violation of 
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111 
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 pre-printed 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 which automatically deposits the ballot 
into a privacy sleeve, subparagraph (A) shall 
apply to a voting system in the jurisdiction as 
if the reference in such subparagraph to ‘any 
election for Federal office held in 2020 or any 
succeeding year’ were a reference to ‘elections 
for Federal office occurring held in 2022 or 
each succeeding year’, but only with respect to 
paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(II) of subsection (a) (re-
lating to nonmanual casting of the durable 
paper ballot).’’. 
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112 
Subtitle B—Requirement for Man-
datory Manual Audits by Hand 
Count 
SEC. 611. 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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113 
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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115 
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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116 
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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117 
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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118 
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 before the date of the election described 
in paragraph (2)) or 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 elec-
tion, including votes cast by absent uniformed serv-
ices voters and overseas voters under the Uniformed 
and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the 
Election Auditor shall administer the hand count of 
the votes on the applicable voter-verified paper bal-
lots required to be produced and preserved under 
section 301(a)(2)(A) and the comparison of the 
count of the votes on those ballots with the final un-
official 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. 
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119 
‘‘(c) LOCATION.—The Election Auditor shall admin-
ister an audit of an election— 
‘‘(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.— 
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120 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—If the Election Auditor 
finds that any of the hand counts administered 
under this section do not match the final unofficial 
tally of the results of an election, the Election Audi-
tor shall administer hand counts under this section 
of such additional precincts (or alternative audit 
units) as the Election Auditor considers appropriate 
to resolve any concerns resulting from the audit and 
ensure the accuracy of the election results. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT
AND
PUBLICATION
OF 
PROCEDURES
GOVERNING
ADDITIONAL
AUDITS.— 
Not later than August 1, 2019, each State shall es-
tablish and publish procedures for carrying out the 
additional audits under this subsection, including the 
means by which the State shall resolve any concerns 
resulting from the audit with finality and ensure the 
accuracy of the election results. 
‘‘(f) PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF AUDITS.—Each audit 
conducted under this section shall be conducted in a man-
ner that allows public observation of the entire process. 
‘‘SEC. 324. SELECTION OF PRECINCTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(c), the selection of the precincts or alternative audit units 
in the State in which the Election Auditor of the State 
shall administer the hand counts under this subtitle shall 
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121 
be made by the Election Auditor on a random basis, in 
accordance with procedures adopted by the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology, except that at least one 
precinct shall be selected at random in each county, with 
additional precincts selected by the Election Auditor at the 
Auditor’s discretion. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC SELECTION.—The random selection of 
precincts under subsection (a) shall be conducted in pub-
lic, at a time and place announced in advance. 
‘‘(c) MANDATORY SELECTION OF PRECINCTS ESTAB-
LISHED SPECIFICALLY FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS.—If a 
State does not sort absentee ballots by precinct and in-
clude those ballots in the hand count with respect to that 
precinct, the State shall create absentee ballot precincts 
or audit units which are of similar size to the average pre-
cinct or audit unit in the jurisdiction being audited, and 
shall include those absentee precincts or audit units 
among the precincts in the State in which the Election 
Auditor shall administer the hand counts under this sub-
title. 
‘‘(d) DEADLINE FOR ADOPTION OF PROCEDURES BY 
COMMISSION.—The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology shall adopt the procedures described in sub-
section (a) not later than March 31, 2019, and shall pub-
lish them in the Federal Register upon adoption. 
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122 
‘‘SEC. 325. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS. 
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the completion of an audit under this subtitle, 
the Election Auditor of a State shall submit to the Com-
mission the results of the audit, and shall include in the 
submission a comparison of the results of the election in 
the precinct as determined by the Election Auditor under 
the audit and the final unofficial vote count in the precinct 
as announced by the State and all undervotes, overvotes, 
blank ballots, and spoiled, voided, or cancelled ballots, as 
well as a list of any discrepancies discovered between the 
initial, subsequent, and final hand counts administered by 
the Election Auditor and such final unofficial vote count 
and any explanation for such discrepancies, broken down 
by the categories of votes described in paragraphs (1)(B) 
and (2) of section 323(a). 
‘‘(b) PUBLICATION
BY COMMISSION.—Immediately 
after receiving the submission of the results of an audit 
from the Election Auditor of a State under subsection (a), 
the Commission shall publicly announce and publish the 
information contained in the submission. 
‘‘(c) DELAY
IN CERTIFICATION
OF RESULTS
BY 
STATE.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITING CERTIFICATION UNTIL COM-
PLETION OF AUDITS.—No State may certify the re-
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123 
sults of any election which is subject to an audit 
under this subtitle prior to— 
‘‘(A) to the completion of the audit (and, 
if required, any additional audit conducted 
under section 323(e)(1)) and the announcement 
and submission of the results of each such audit 
to the Commission for publication of the infor-
mation required under this section; and 
‘‘(B) the completion of any procedure es-
tablished by the State pursuant to section 
323(e)(2) to resolve discrepancies and ensure 
the accuracy of results. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF AUDITS 
OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.—In the case of an 
election for electors for President and Vice President 
which is subject to an audit under this subtitle, the 
State shall complete the audits and announce and 
submit the results to the Commission for publication 
of the information required under this section in 
time for the State to certify the results of the elec-
tion and provide for the final determination of any 
controversy or contest concerning the appointment 
of such electors prior to the deadline described in 
section 6 of title 3, United States Code. 
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124 
‘‘SEC. 326. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 
‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF CONDUCTING AU-
DITS.—In accordance with the requirements and proce-
dures of this section, the Commission shall make a pay-
ment to a State to cover the costs incurred by the State 
in carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elections 
that are the subject of the audits conducted under this 
subtitle. 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND ANTICI-
PATED COSTS.— 
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 
receive a payment under this section, a State shall 
submit to the Commission, in such form as the Com-
mission may require, a statement containing— 
‘‘(A) a certification that the State will con-
duct the audits required under this subtitle in 
accordance with all of the requirements of this 
subtitle; 
‘‘(B) a notice of the reasonable costs in-
curred or the reasonable costs anticipated to be 
incurred by the State in carrying out this sub-
title with respect to the elections involved; and 
‘‘(C) such other information and assur-
ances as the Commission may require. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 
payment made to a State under this section shall be 
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125 
equal to the reasonable costs incurred or the reason-
able costs anticipated to be incurred by the State in 
carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elec-
tions involved, as set forth in the statement sub-
mitted under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) TIMING OF NOTICE.—The State may not 
submit a notice under paragraph (1) until can-
didates have been selected to appear on the ballot 
for all of the elections for Federal office which will 
be the subject of the audits involved. 
‘‘(c) TIMING OF PAYMENTS.—The Commission shall 
make the payment required under this section to a State 
not later than 30 days after receiving the notice submitted 
by the State under subsection (b). 
‘‘(d) RECOUPMENT OF OVERPAYMENTS.—No pay-
ment may be made to a State under this section unless 
the State agrees to repay to the Commission the excess 
(if any) of— 
‘‘(1) the amount of the payment received by the 
State under this section with respect to the elections 
involved; over 
‘‘(2) the actual costs incurred by the State in 
carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elec-
tions involved. 
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126 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 
fiscal year 2020 and each succeeding fiscal year 
$100,000,000 for payments under this section. 
‘‘SEC. 327. EXCEPTION FOR ELECTIONS SUBJECT TO RE-
COUNT UNDER STATE LAW PRIOR TO CER-
TIFICATION. 
‘‘(a) EXCEPTION.—This subtitle does not apply to 
any election for which a recount under State law will com-
mence prior to the certification of the results of the elec-
tion, including but not limited to a recount required auto-
matically because of the margin of victory between the 2 
candidates receiving the largest number of votes in the 
election, but only if each of the following applies to the 
recount: 
‘‘(1) The recount commences prior to the deter-
mination and announcement by the Election Auditor 
under section 323(a)(1) of the precincts in the State 
in which it will administer the audits under this sub-
title. 
‘‘(2) If the recount would apply to fewer than 
100 percent of the ballots cast in the election— 
‘‘(A) the number of ballots counted will be 
at least as many as would be counted if an 
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127 
audit were conducted with respect to the elec-
tion in accordance with this subtitle; and 
‘‘(B) the selection of the precincts in which 
the recount will be conducted will be made in 
accordance with the random selection proce-
dures applicable under section 324. 
‘‘(3) The recount for the election meets the re-
quirements of section 323(f) (relating to public ob-
servation). 
‘‘(4) The State meets the requirements of sec-
tion 325 (relating to the publication of results and 
the delay in the certification of results) with respect 
to the recount. 
‘‘(b) CLARIFICATION OF EFFECT ON OTHER RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this section may be construed 
to waive the application of any other provision of this Act 
to any election (including the requirement set forth in sec-
tion 301(a)(2) that the voter verified paper ballots serve 
as the vote of record and shall be counted by hand in all 
audits and recounts, including audits and recounts de-
scribed in this subtitle). 
‘‘SEC. 328. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
‘‘This subtitle shall apply with respect to elections for 
Federal office held in 2020 or any succeeding year.’’. 
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128 
SEC. 612. AVAILABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT UNDER HELP 
AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 
Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, or the requirements 
of subtitle C of title III.’’. 
SEC. 613. GUIDANCE ON BEST PRACTICES FOR ALTER-
NATIVE AUDIT MECHANISMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than May 1, 2019, the 
Director of the National Institute for Standards and Tech-
nology shall establish guidance for States that wish to es-
tablish alternative audit mechanisms under section 322(b) 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 
611). Such guidance shall be based upon scientifically and 
statistically reasonable assumptions for the purpose of cre-
ating an alternative audit mechanism that will be con-
sistent with the principles for approval described in section 
322(b)(2) of such Act (as so added). 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) 
$100,000, to remain available until expended. 
SEC. 614. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 
The table of contents of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 is amended by adding at the end of the items 
relating to title III the following: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual Audits 
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‘‘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.’’. 
TITLE VII—PROVISIONAL 
BALLOTS 
SEC. 701. REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTING PROVISIONAL 
BALLOTS; ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM AND 
NONDISCRIMINATORY STANDARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(d) STATEWIDE COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BAL-
LOTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 
(a)(4), notwithstanding the precinct or polling place 
at which a provisional ballot is cast within the State, 
the appropriate election official shall count each vote 
on such ballot for each election in which the indi-
vidual who cast such ballot is eligible to vote. 
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‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 
apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2016. 
‘‘(e) UNIFORM
AND NONDISCRIMINATORY STAND-
ARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Consistent with the re-
quirements of this section, each State shall establish 
uniform and nondiscriminatory standards for the 
issuance, handling, and counting of provisional bal-
lots. 
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 
apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2016.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(f) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(f)), as redesignated by sub-
section (a), is amended by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and in-
serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsections (d)(2) and 
(e)(2), each State’’. 
TITLE VIII—EARLY VOTING AND 
VOTING BY MAIL 
SEC. 801. EARLY VOTING AND VOTING BY MAIL. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 
as amended by section 114(a) and section 201(a), is 
amended— 
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