IB 
Union Calendar No. 360 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5036 
[Report No. 110–582, Part I] 
To direct the Administrator of General Services to reimburse certain jurisdic-
tions for the costs of obtaining paper ballot voting systems for the 
general elections for Federal office to be held in November 2008, to 
reimburse jurisdictions for the costs incurred in conducting audits or 
hand counting of the results of the general elections for Federal office 
to be held in November 2008, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 17, 2008 
Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. EMAN-
UEL, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, 
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. 
ABERCROMBIE, Mr. INSLEE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. FARR, Mr. RYAN of 
Ohio, Mr. HONDA, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. HARE, Mr. 
LOEBSACK, Mr. SIRES, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. WEINER, Mr. 
BERMAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. OLVER, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. DOYLE, Ms. KAPTUR, 
Ms. WATSON, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. KLEIN of Florida, and Mr. CROWLEY) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Science and 
Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
APRIL 14, 2008 
Additional sponsors: Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. SUTTON, 
Mr. ELLISON, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Ms. GIFFORDS, Ms. 
CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. BOYD of Florida, Mr. THOMPSON of 
California, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. 
LEVIN, Mr. ALTMIRE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. 
MORAN of Virginia, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. WYNN, Ms. WOOL-
SEY, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. GENE GREEN of 
Texas, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. COOPER, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. 
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CLARKE, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 
KILDEE, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BARROW, Ms. 
LINDA T. SA´NCHEZ of California, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. 
STARK, Ms. SCHWARTZ, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. CLAY, 
Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. 
MATHESON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. MATSUI, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. 
RANGEL, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Ms. 
LEE, Mr. MURTHA, and Mr. SNYDER 
APRIL 14, 2008 
Reported from the Committee on House Administration with amendments 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
APRIL 14, 2008 
Committee on Science and Technology discharged; committed to the Com-
mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 
printed 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 17, 2008] 
A BILL 
To direct the Administrator of General Services to reimburse 
certain jurisdictions for the costs of obtaining paper bal-
lot voting systems for the general elections for Federal 
office to be held in November 2008, to reimburse juris-
dictions for the costs incurred in conducting audits or 
hand counting of the results of the general elections 
for Federal office to be held in November 2008, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Assistance 
for Secure Elections Act of 2008’’. 
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SEC. 2. PAYMENTS TO CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS CON-
DUCTING 2008 GENERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) REIMBURSEMENT
FOR CONVERSION
TO PAPER 
BALLOT VOTING SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Com-
mission shall pay to each eligible jurisdiction an 
amount equal to the sum of the following: 
(A) The documented reasonable costs paid 
or incurred by such jurisdiction to replace any 
voting systems used to conduct the general elec-
tions for Federal office held in November 2006 
that did not use or produce a paper ballot 
verified by the voter or a paper ballot printout 
verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast 
with paper ballot voting systems. 
(B) The documented reasonable costs paid 
or incurred by such jurisdiction to obtain non- 
tabulating ballot marking devices that are acces-
sible for individuals with disabilities in accord-
ance with the requirements of section 301(a)(3) 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
(C) The documented reasonable costs paid 
or incurred by such jurisdiction to obtain ballot 
marking stations or voting booths for the protec-
tion of voter privacy. 
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whether costs paid or incurred by a jurisdiction are 
reasonable shall be made by the Commission. 
(4) PAPER BALLOT VOTING SYSTEM DEFINED.— 
In this subsection, a ‘‘paper ballot voting system’’ 
means a voting system that uses a paper ballot 
marked by the voter by hand or a paper ballot 
marked by the voter with the assistance of a non-tab-
ulating ballot marking device described in paragraph 
(1)(B). 
(b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR RETROFITTING OF DIRECT 
RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS TO PRODUCE 
VOTER VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pay to 
each eligible jurisdiction an amount equal to the doc-
umented reasonable costs paid or incurred by such ju-
risdiction to retrofit direct recording electronic voting 
systems so that the systems will produce a voter 
verifiable paper record of the marked ballot for 
verification by the voter at the time the vote is cast, 
including the costs of obtaining printers to produce 
the records. 
(2) ELIGIBLE JURISDICTION DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, an ‘‘eligible jurisdiction’’ means a juris-
diction that submits to the Commission (and, in the 
case of a county or equivalent jurisdiction, provides 
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a copy to the State), at such time and in such form 
as the Commission may require, an application con-
taining— 
(A) assurances that the jurisdiction has ob-
tained or will obtain a printer for and retrofit 
each direct recording electronic voting system 
used to conduct the general elections for Federal 
office held in November 2008 so that the system 
will produce a voter verifiable paper record of 
the marked ballot for verification by the voter; 
(B) such information and assurances as the 
Commission may require to make the determina-
tions under paragraph (1); and 
(C) such other information and assurances 
as the Commission may require. 
(3) DETERMINATION
OF
REASONABLENESS
OF 
COSTS.—The determinations under paragraph (1) of 
whether costs paid or incurred by a jurisdiction are 
reasonable shall be made by the Commission. 
(c) REIMBURSEMENT
FOR PROVISION
OF BACKUP 
PAPER BALLOTS BY JURISDICTIONS USING DIRECT RE-
CORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pay to 
each eligible jurisdiction an amount equal to the doc-
umented reasonable costs paid or incurred by such ju-
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risdiction to obtain, deploy, and tabulate backup 
paper ballots (and related supplies and equipment) 
that may be used in the event of the failure of a direct 
recording electronic voting system in the regularly 
scheduled general elections for Federal office to be held 
in November 2008. 
(2) ELIGIBLE JURISDICTION DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, an ‘‘eligible jurisdiction’’ means a juris-
diction that submits to the Commission (and, in the 
case of a county or equivalent jurisdiction, provides 
a copy to the State), at such time and in such form 
as the Commission may require, an application con-
taining— 
(A) assurances that the jurisdiction will 
post, in a conspicuous manner at all polling 
places at which a direct recording electronic vot-
ing system will be used in such elections, a no-
tice stating that backup paper ballots are avail-
able at the polling place and that a voter is enti-
tled to use such a ballot upon the failure of a 
voting system; 
(B) assurances that the jurisdiction counts 
each such backup paper ballot cast by a voter as 
a regular ballot cast in the election, and does not 
treat it (for eligibility purposes) as a provisional 
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ballot under section 302(a) of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002, unless the individual casting 
the ballot would have otherwise been required to 
cast a provisional ballot; 
(C) such information and assurances as the 
Commission may require to make the determina-
tions under paragraph (1); and 
(D) such other information and assurances 
as the Commission may require. 
(3) DETERMINATION
OF
REASONABLENESS
OF 
COSTS.—The determinations under paragraph (1) of 
whether costs paid or incurred by a jurisdiction are 
reasonable shall be made by the Commission. 
(d) AMOUNTS.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Commission such sums as may be necessary 
for payments under this section. Any amounts appropriated 
pursuant to the authorization under this subsection shall 
remain available until expended. 
SEC. 3. PAYMENTS FOR CONDUCTING MANUAL AUDITS OF 
RESULTS OF 2008 GENERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) PAYMENTS.— 
(1) ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS.—If a State con-
ducts manual audits of the results of any of the regu-
larly scheduled general elections for Federal office in 
November 2008 (and, at the option of the State, con-
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ducts audits of elections for State and local office held 
at the same time as such election) in accordance with 
the requirements of this section, the Commission shall 
make a payment to the State in an amount equal to 
the documented reasonable costs incurred by the State 
in conducting the audits. 
(2) 
CERTIFICATION
OF
COMPLIANCE
AND 
COSTS.— 
(A) CERTIFICATION
REQUIRED.—In order 
to receive a payment under this section, a State 
shall submit to the Commission, in such form as 
the Commission may require, a statement con-
taining— 
(i) a certification that the State con-
ducted the audits in accordance with all of 
the requirements of this section; 
(ii) a statement of the reasonable costs 
incurred in conducting the audits; and 
(iii) such other information and assur-
ances as the Commission may require. 
(B) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of 
a payment made to a State under this section 
shall be equal to the reasonable costs incurred in 
conducting the audits. 
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(C) DETERMINATION OF REASONABLENESS 
OF COSTS.—The determinations under this para-
graph of whether costs incurred by a State are 
reasonable shall be made by the Commission. 
(3) TIMING
OF
PAYMENTS.—The Commission 
shall make the payment required under this section to 
a State not later than 30 days after receiving the 
statement submitted by the State under paragraph 
(2). 
(4) MANDATORY IMMEDIATE REIMBURSEMENT OF 
COUNTIES AND OTHER JURISDICTIONS.—If a county 
or other jurisdiction responsible for the administra-
tion of an election in a State incurs costs as the result 
of the State conducting an audit of the election in ac-
cordance with this section, the State shall reimburse 
the county or jurisdiction for such costs immediately 
upon receiving the payment from the Commission 
under paragraph (3). 
(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com-
mission such sums as may be necessary for payments 
under this section. Any amounts appropriated pursu-
ant to the authorization under this subsection shall 
remain available until expended. 
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(b) AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.—In order to receive a 
payment under this section for conducting an audit, the 
State shall meet the following minimum requirements: 
(1) Not later than 30 days before the date of the 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office 
in November 2008, the State shall establish and pub-
lish guidelines, standards, and procedures to be used 
in conducting audits in accordance with this section. 
(2) The State shall select an appropriate entity 
to oversee the administration of the audit, in accord-
ance with such criteria as the State considers appro-
priate consistent with the requirements of this section, 
except that the entity must meet a general standard 
of independence as defined by the State. 
(3) The State shall determine whether the units 
in which the audit will be conducted will be precincts 
or some alternative auditing unit, and shall apply 
that determination in a uniform manner for all au-
dits conducted in accordance with this section. 
(4) The State shall select the precincts or alter-
native auditing units in which audits are conducted 
in accordance with this section in a random manner 
following the election after the final unofficial vote 
count (as defined by the State) has been announced, 
such that each precinct or alternative auditing unit 
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in which the election was held has an equal chance 
of being selected, subject to paragraph (9), except that 
the State shall ensure that at least one precinct or al-
ternative auditing unit is selected in each county in 
which the election is held. 
(5) The audit shall be conducted in not less than 
2 percent of the precincts or alternative auditing 
units in the State (in the case of a general election 
for the office of Senator) or the Congressional district 
involved (in the case of an election for the office of 
Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commis-
sioner to, the Congress). 
(6) The State shall determine the stage of the 
tabulation process at which the audit will be con-
ducted, and shall apply that determination in a uni-
form manner for all audits conducted in accordance 
with this section, except that the audit shall com-
mence within 48 hours after the State or jurisdiction 
involved announces the final unofficial vote count (as 
defined by the State) in each precinct in which votes 
are cast in the election which is the subject of the 
audit. 
(7) With respect to each precinct or alternative 
audit unit audited, the State shall ensure that a voter 
verified paper ballot or paper ballot printout 
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verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast is 
available for every vote cast in the precinct or alter-
native audit unit, and that the tally produced by 
counting all of those paper ballots or paper ballot 
printouts by hand is compared with the cor-
responding final unofficial vote count (as defined by 
the State) announced with respect to that precinct or 
audit unit in the election. 
(8) Within each precinct or alternative audit 
unit, the audit shall include all ballots cast by all in-
dividuals who voted in or who are under the jurisdic-
tion of the precinct or alternative audit unit with re-
spect to the election, including absentee ballots (sub-
ject to paragraph (9)), early ballots, emergency bal-
lots, and provisional ballots, without regard to the 
time, place, or manner in which the ballots were cast. 
(9) If a State establishes a separate precinct for 
purposes of counting the absentee ballots cast in the 
election and treats all absentee ballots as having been 
cast in that precinct, and if the state does not make 
absentee ballots sortable by precinct and include those 
ballots in the hand count described in paragraph (7) 
which is administered with respect to that precinct, 
the State may divide absentee ballots into audit units 
approximately equal in size to the average precinct in 
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the State in terms of the number of ballots cast, and 
shall randomly select and include at least 2 percent 
of those audit units in the audit. Any audit carried 
out with respect to such an audit unit shall meet the 
same standards applicable under paragraph (7) to 
audits carried out with respect to other precincts and 
alternative audit units, including the requirement 
that all paper ballots be counted by hand. 
(10) The audit shall be conducted in a public 
and transparent manner, such that members of the 
public are able to observe the entire process. 
(c) COLLECTION AND SUBMISSION OF AUDIT RESULTS; 
PUBLICATION.— 
(1) STATE SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—In order to 
receive a payment under this section, a State shall 
submit to the Commission a report, in such form as 
the Commission may require, on the results of each 
audit conducted under this section. 
(2) COMMISSION ACTION.—The Commission may 
request additional information from a State based on 
the report submitted under paragraph (1). 
(3) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall pub-
lish each report submitted under paragraph (1) upon 
receipt. 
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(d) DELAY
IN
CERTIFICATION
OF
RESULTS
BY 
STATE.—No State may certify the results of any election 
which is subject to an audit under this section prior to com-
pleting the audit, resolving discrepancies discovered in the 
audit, and submitting the report required under subsection 
(c). 
SEC. 4. PAYMENTS FOR CONDUCTING HAND COUNTS OF RE-
SULTS OF 2008 GENERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) PAYMENTS.— 
(1) ELIGIBILITY
FOR
PAYMENTS.—If a State, 
county, or equivalent location tallies the results of 
any regularly scheduled general election for Federal 
office in November 2008 by conducting a hand count 
of the votes cast on the paper ballots used in the elec-
tion (including paper ballot printouts verifiable by 
the voter at the time the vote is cast) in accordance 
with the requirements of this section, the Commission 
shall make a payment to the State, county, or equiva-
lent location in an amount equal to the documented 
reasonable costs incurred by the State, county, or 
equivalent location in conducting the hand counts. 
(2) 
CERTIFICATION
OF
COMPLIANCE
AND 
COSTS.— 
(A) CERTIFICATION
REQUIRED.—In order 
to receive a payment under this section, a State, 
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county, or equivalent location shall submit to the 
Commission (and, in the case of a county or 
equivalent jurisdiction, shall provide a copy to 
the State), in such form as the Commission may 
require, a statement containing— 
(i) a certification that the State, coun-
ty, or equivalent location conducted the 
hand counts in accordance with all of the 
requirements of this section; 
(ii) a statement of the reasonable costs 
incurred by the State, county, or equivalent 
location in conducting the hand counts; and 
(iii) such other information and assur-
ances as the Commission may require. 
(B) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of 
a payment made to a State, county, or equiva-
lent location under this section shall be equal to 
the reasonable costs incurred by the State, coun-
ty, or equivalent location in conducting the hand 
counts. 
(C) DETERMINATION OF REASONABLENESS 
OF COSTS.—The determinations under this para-
graph of whether costs incurred by a State, coun-
ty, or equivalent location are reasonable shall be 
made by the Commission. 
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(3) TIMING
OF
PAYMENTS.—The Commission 
shall make the payment required under this section to 
a State, county, or equivalent location not later than 
30 days after receiving the statement submitted by the 
State, county, or equivalent location under paragraph 
(2). 
(4) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Com-
mission such sums as may be necessary for payments 
under this section. Any amounts appropriated pursu-
ant to the authorization under this subsection shall 
remain available until expended. 
(b) HAND COUNTS DESCRIBED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A hand count conducted in 
accordance with this section is a count of all of the 
paper ballots on which votes were cast in the election 
(including paper ballot printouts verifiable by the 
voter at the time the vote is cast), including votes cast 
on an early, absentee, emergency, and provisional 
basis, which is conducted by hand to determine the 
winner of the election and is conducted without using 
electronic equipment or software. 
(2) COMPLETENESS.—With respect to each juris-
diction in which a hand count is conducted, the State, 
county, or equivalent location shall ensure that a 
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voter verified paper ballot or paper ballot printout 
verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast is 
available for every vote cast in the jurisdiction. 
(c) PROCESS FOR CONDUCTING HAND COUNTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to meet the require-
ments of this section, a hand count of the ballots cast 
in an election shall be conducted in accordance with 
the following procedures: 
(A) After the closing of the polls on the date 
of the election, the appropriate election official 
shall secure the ballots at the polling place (or, 
in the case of ballots cast at any other location, 
at the office of the chief election official of the ju-
risdiction conducting the hand count). 
(B) Beginning at any time after the expira-
tion of the 8-hour period that begins at the time 
the polls close on the date of the election, the ju-
risdiction shall conduct an initial hand count of 
the ballots cast in the election, using the ballots 
which are eligible to be counted in the election as 
of the time the polls are closed. 
(C) Any ballot which is eligible to be count-
ed in the election but which is not included in 
the initial count conducted under subparagraph 
(B), including a provisional ballot cast by an in-
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dividual who is determined to be eligible to vote 
in the election or an absentee ballot received after 
the date of the election but prior to the applica-
ble deadline under State law for the receipt of 
absentee ballots, shall be subject to a hand count 
in accordance with this section and added to the 
tally conducted under subparagraph (B) not 
later than 48 hours after the ballot is determined 
to be eligible to be counted. 
(D) The hand count shall be conducted by 
a team of not fewer than 2 individuals who shall 
be witnessed by at least one observer sitting at 
the same table with such individuals. Except as 
provided in paragraph (2), all such individuals 
shall be election officials of the jurisdiction in 
which the hand count is conducted. The number 
of such individuals who are members of the polit-
ical party whose candidates received the greatest 
number of the aggregate votes cast in the regu-
larly scheduled general elections for Federal of-
fice held in the State in November 2006 shall be 
equal to the number of such individuals who are 
members of the political party whose candidates 
received the second greatest number of the aggre-
gate votes cast in the regularly scheduled general 
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elections for Federal office held in the State in 
November 2006. 
(E) After the completion of the hand count, 
the ballots may be run through a tabulating ma-
chine or scanner for comparison with the tally, 
if such a machine or scanner is available. The 
use of the tabulating machine or scanner shall be 
solely to compare with the tally determined by 
the hand count and not to substitute another 
tally of the ballots. 
(2) USE OF OTHER PERSONNEL.—An individual 
who is not an election official of the jurisdiction in 
which a hand count is conducted under this section 
may serve on a team conducting the hand count or 
may serve as an observer of a team conducting the 
hand count if the jurisdiction certifies that the indi-
vidual has completed such training as the jurisdiction 
deems appropriate to conduct or observe the hand 
count (as the case may be). 
(3) LOCATION.—The hand counts conducted 
under this section of the ballots cast in an election 
shall be conducted— 
(A) in the case of ballots cast at a polling 
place on the date of the election, at the polling 
place at which the ballots were cast; or 
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(B) in the case of any other ballots, at the 
office of the chief election official of the jurisdic-
tion conducting the hand count. 
(4) INFORMATION INCLUDED IN RESULTS.—Each 
hand count conducted under this section shall produce 
the following information with respect to the election: 
(A) The vote tally for each candidate. 
(B) The number of overvotes, undervotes, 
spoiled ballots, and blank ballots cast (or their 
equivalents, as defined by the State, county or 
equivalent location). 
(C) The number of write-in ballots and the 
names written in on such ballots pursuant to 
State law. 
(D) The total number of ballots cast. 
(E) A record of judgement calls made re-
garding voter intent. 
(5) PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF HAND COUNTS.— 
Each hand count conducted under this section shall be 
conducted in a manner that allows public observation 
of the entire process (including the opening of the bal-
lot boxes or removal of machine-printed ballots from 
their containers, the sorting, counting, and notation 
of results, and the announcement of final determina-
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tions) sufficient to confirm but not interfere with the 
proceedings. 
(6) ESTABLISHMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PRO-
CEDURES.—Prior to the date of the regularly sched-
uled general election for Federal office held in Novem-
ber 2008, a State, county, or equivalent location shall 
establish and publish procedures for carrying out 
hand counts under this subsection. 
(d) APPLICATION
TO JURISDICTIONS CONDUCTING 
ELECTIONS WITH DIRECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOT-
ING SYSTEMS.— 
(1) REQUIRING
SYSTEMS
TO
PRODUCE
VOTER 
VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORD.—If a State, county, or 
equivalent location uses a direct recording electronic 
voting system to conduct an election, the State, coun-
ty, or equivalent location may not receive a payment 
under this section for conducting a hand count of the 
votes cast in the election unless (in addition to meet-
ing the other requirements applicable under this sec-
tion) the State, county, or equivalent location certifies 
to the Commission that each such system produces a 
paper record printout of the marked ballot which is 
verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast. 
(2) TREATMENT
OF
PAPER
RECORD
PRINT-
OUTS.—In applying this section to a hand count con-
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ducted by a State, county, or equivalent location 
which provides a certification to the Commission 
under paragraph (1), the paper record printout re-
ferred to in such paragraph shall be treated as the 
paper ballot used in the election. 
(e) ANNOUNCEMENT
AND POSTING
OF RESULTS.— 
Upon the completion of a hand count conducted under this 
section, the State, county, or equivalent location shall an-
nounce the results to the public and post them on a public 
Internet site. 
(f) USE OF HAND COUNT IN CERTIFICATION OF RE-
SULTS.—The State shall use the results of the hand count 
conducted under this section for purposes of certifying the 
results of the election involved. Nothing in this section may 
be construed to affect the application or operation of any 
State law governing the recount of the results of an election. 
SEC. 5. STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROD-
UCTS AND PRACTICES TO ENSURE ACCESSI-
BILITY OF PAPER BALLOT VERIFICATION AND 
CASTING FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS. 
(a) STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT.—The Di-
rector of the National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology (hereafter in this section referred to as the ‘‘Direc-
tor’’) shall study, test, and develop products and practices 
that ensure the accessibility of paper ballot verification and 
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casting for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose 
primary language is not English, and for voters with dif-
ficulties in literacy, including the mechanisms themselves 
and the processes through which the mechanisms are used. 
In carrying out this subsection, the Director shall specifi-
cally investigate existing and potential methods or devices, 
including non-electronic devices, that will assist such indi-
viduals and voters in creating voter-verified paper ballots, 
presenting or transmitting the information printed or 
marked on such ballots back to such individuals and voters 
in an accessible form, and enabling the voters to cast the 
ballots. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than June 30, 2009, the Direc-
tor shall submit a report to Congress on the results of the 
studying, testing, and development of products and prac-
tices under subsection (a). 
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Director such sums as 
may be necessary to carry out this section, to remain avail-
able until expended. 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Election 
Assistance Commission; and 
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(2) the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Co-
lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 
American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Is-
lands. 
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to direct the 
Election Assistance Commission to reimburse certain ju-
risdictions for the costs of obtaining paper ballot voting 
systems for the general elections for Federal office to be 
held in November 2008, to reimburse jurisdictions for the 
costs incurred in conducting audits or hand counting of 
the results of the general elections for Federal office to 
be held in November 2008, and for other purposes.’’. 
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Union Calendar No. 360 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5036 
[Report No. 110–582, Part I] 
A BILL 
To direct the Administrator of General Services to 
reimburse certain jurisdictions for the costs of 
obtaining paper ballot voting systems for the 
general elections for Federal office to be held in 
November 2008, to reimburse jurisdictions for 
the costs incurred in conducting audits or hand 
counting of the results of the general elections 
for Federal office to be held in November 2008, 
and for other purposes. 
APRIL 14, 2008 
Committee on Science and Technology discharged; com-
mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
State of the Union and ordered to be printed 
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