I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 939 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified 
paper record, to improve provisional balloting, to impose additional re-
quirements under such Act, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 17, 2005 
Mrs. JONES of Ohio introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee 
on 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 require 
a voter-verified paper record, to improve provisional bal-
loting, to impose additional requirements under such Act, 
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 
‘‘Count Every Vote Act of 2005’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—VOTER VERIFICATION AND AUDITING 
Sec. 101. Promoting accuracy, integrity, and security through preservation of 
a voter-verified paper record or hard copy. 
Sec. 102. Requirement for mandatory recounts. 
Sec. 103. Specific, delineated requirement of study, testing, and development of 
best practices. 
Sec. 104. Voter verification and audit capacity funding. 
Sec. 105. Reports and provision of security consultation services. 
Sec. 106. Improvements to voting systems. 
TITLE II—PROVISIONAL BALLOTS 
Sec. 201. Requirements for casting and counting provisional ballots. 
TITLE III—ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS UNDER THE HELP 
AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002 
Subtitle A—Shortening voter wait times 
Sec. 301. Minimum required voting systems, poll workers, and election re-
sources. 
Sec. 302. Requirements for jurisdictions with substantial voter wait times. 
Subtitle B—No-excuse absentee voting 
Sec. 311. No-excuse absentee voting. 
Subtitle C—Collection and dissemination of election data 
Sec. 321. Data collection. 
Subtitle D—Ensuring well run elections 
Sec. 331. Training of election officials. 
Sec. 332. Impartial administration of elections. 
Subtitle E—Standards for purging voters 
Sec. 341. Standards for purging voters. 
Subtitle F—Election day registration and early voting 
Sec. 351. Election day registration. 
Sec. 352. Early voting. 
TITLE IV—VOTER REGISTRATION AND IDENTIFICATION 
Sec. 401. Voter registration. 
Sec. 402. Establishing voter identification. 
Sec. 403. Requirement for Federal certification of technological security of 
voter registration lists. 
TITLE V—PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES 
Sec. 501. Prohibition on certain campaign activities. 
TITLE VI—ENDING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES
Sec. 601. Ending deceptive practices. 
TITLE VII—CIVIC PARTICIPATION BY EX-OFFENDERS 
Sec. 701. Voting rights of individuals convicted of criminal offenses. 
TITLE VIII—ELECTION DAY AS A PUBLIC HOLIDAY 
Sec. 801. Acceleration of study on Election Day as a public holiday. 
TITLE IX—TRANSMISSION OF CERTIFICATE OF ASCERTAINMENT 
OF ELECTORS 
Sec. 901. Transmission of certificate of ascertainment of electors. 
TITLE X—STRENGTHENING THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION 
Sec. 1001. Strengthening the Election Assistance Commission. 
Sec. 1002. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain 
Government contracting requirements. 
Sec. 1003. Extension of requirements payments. 
TITLE I—VOTER VERIFICATION 
AND AUDITING 
SEC. 101. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECU-
RITY THROUGH PRESERVATION OF A VOTER- 
VERIFIED PAPER RECORD OR HARD COPY. 
(a) VOTER VERIFICATION AND MANUAL AUDIT CA-
PACITY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15481(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) VOTER VERIFICATION AND MANUAL AUDIT 
CAPACITY.— 
‘‘(A) VOTER VERIFICATION.— 
‘‘(i) The voting system shall produce 
an individual voter-verifiable paper record 
of the vote that shall be made available for
inspection and verification by the voter be-
fore the vote is cast. 
‘‘(ii) The voting system shall provide 
the voter with an opportunity to correct 
any error made by the system in the voter- 
verifiable paper record before the perma-
nent voter-verified paper record is pre-
served in accordance with subparagraph 
(B)(i). 
‘‘(B) MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY.—The per-
manent voter verified paper record produced in 
accordance with subparagraph (A) shall— 
‘‘(i) be preserved within the polling 
place, in the manner, if any, in which all 
other paper ballots are preserved within 
that polling place, or, in the manner em-
ployed by the jurisdiction for preserving 
paper ballots in general, for later use in 
any manual audit; 
‘‘(ii) be suitable for a manual audit 
equivalent to that of a paper ballot voting 
system; and 
‘‘(iii) be available as the official record 
and shall be the official record used for 
any recount conducted with respect to any
Federal election in which the system is 
used.’’. 
(2) 
PROHIBITION
OF
USE
OF
THERMAL 
PAPER.—Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(7) PROHIBITION
OF
USE
OF
THERMAL 
PAPER.—The voter verified paper record produced in 
accordance with paragraph (2)(A) shall not be pro-
duced on thermal paper, but shall instead be pro-
duced on paper of archival quality.’’. 
(3) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
301(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Help America Vote Act (42 
U.S.C. 15481(a)(1)(A)(ii)) is amended by inserting 
‘‘and before the paper record is produced under 
paragraph (2)’’ before the semicolon at the end. 
(b) VOTER VERIFICATION OF RESULTS FOR INDIVID-
UALS WITH DISABILITIES
AND LANGUAGE MINORITY 
VOTERS.—Paragraph (3) of section 301(a) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)(3)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(3) ACCESSIBILITY
FOR
INDIVIDUALS
WITH 
DISABILITIES AND FOR LANGUAGE MINORITIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The voting system 
shall—
‘‘(i) be accessible for individuals with 
disabilities, including nonvisual accessi-
bility for the blind and visually impaired, 
in a manner that provides the same oppor-
tunity for access, participation (including 
privacy and independence), inspection, and 
verification as for other voters; 
‘‘(ii) be accessible for language minor-
ity individuals to the extent required under 
section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 
1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa–1), in a manner 
that provides the same opportunity for ac-
cess, participation (including privacy and 
independence), inspection, and verification 
as for other voters; 
‘‘(iii) 
satisfy 
the 
requirement 
of 
clauses (i) and (ii) through the use of at 
least one direct recording electronic voting 
system or other voting system equipped for 
individuals with disabilities at each polling 
place; and 
‘‘(iv) if purchased with funds made 
available under title II on or after Novem-
ber 1, 2006, meet the voting system stand-
ards for disability access (as outlined in 
this paragraph). 
‘‘(B) VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Any 
direct recording electronic voting system or 
other voting system described in subparagraph 
(A)(iii) shall use a mechanism that separates 
the function of vote generation from the func-
tion of vote casting and shall produce, in ac-
cordance with paragraph (2)(A), an individual 
paper record which— 
‘‘(i) shall be used to meet the require-
ments of paragraph (2)(B); 
‘‘(ii) shall be available for visual, 
audio, 
and 
pictorial 
inspection 
and 
verification by the voter, with language 
translation available for all forms of in-
spection and verification in accordance 
with the requirements of section 203 of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965; 
‘‘(iii) shall not require the voter to 
handle the paper; and 
‘‘(iv) shall not preclude the use of 
braille or tactile ballots for those voters 
who need them.
The requirement of clause (iii) shall not apply 
to any voting system certified by the Inde-
pendent Testing Authorities before the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS FOR LANGUAGE MI-
NORITIES.—Any record produced under sub-
paragraph (B) shall be subject to the require-
ments of section 203 of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965 to the extent such section is applicable 
to the State or jurisdiction in which such record 
is produced.’’. 
(c) ADDITIONAL VOTING SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.— 
Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 
U.S.C. 15481(a)), as amended by subsection (a)(2), is 
amended by adding to the end the following new para-
graphs: 
‘‘(8) INSTRUCTION OF ELECTION OFFICIALS.— 
Each State shall ensure that election officials are in-
structed on the right of any individual who requires 
assistance to vote by reason of blindness, other dis-
ability, or inability to read or write to be given as-
sistance by a person chosen by that individual under 
section 208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 
‘‘(9) PROHIBITION OF USE OF UNDISCLOSED 
SOFTWARE IN VOTING SYSTEMS.—No voting system
shall at any time contain or use any undisclosed 
software. Any voting system containing or using 
software shall disclose the source code, object code, 
and executable representation of that software to the 
Commission, and the Commission shall make that 
source code, object code, and executable representa-
tion available for inspection upon request to any cit-
izen. 
‘‘(10) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM-
MUNICATION
DEVICES
IN
VOTING
SYSTEMS.—No 
voting system shall use any wireless communication 
device. 
‘‘(11) CERTIFICATION
OF
SOFTWARE
AND 
HARDWARE.—All software and hardware used in any 
electronic voting system shall be certified by labora-
tories accredited by the Commission as meeting the 
requirements of paragraphs (9) and (10). 
‘‘(12) SECURITY
STANDARDS
FOR
MANUFAC-
TURERS
OF
VOTING
SYSTEMS
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 meets the re-
quirements described in subparagraph (B).
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS
DESCRIBED.—The 
requirements described in this subparagraph 
are as follows: 
‘‘(i) The manufacturer shall conduct 
background checks on individuals who are 
programmers and developers before such 
individuals work on any software used in 
connection with the voting system. 
‘‘(ii) The manufacturer shall docu-
ment the chain of custody for the handling 
of software used in connection with voting 
systems. 
‘‘(iii) The manufacturer shall ensure 
that any software used in connection with 
the voting system is not transferred over 
the Internet. 
‘‘(iv) In the same manner and to the 
same extent described in paragraph (9), 
the manufacturer shall provide the codes 
used in any software used in connection 
with the voting system to the Commission 
and may not alter such codes once certifi-
cation by the Independent Testing Au-
thorities has occurred unless such system 
is recertified.
‘‘(v) The manufacturer shall imple-
ment procedures to ensure internal secu-
rity, as required by the Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology. 
‘‘(vi) The manufacturer shall meet 
such other requirements as may be estab-
lished by the Director of the National In-
stitute of Standards and Technology.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 
shall be required to comply with the amendments made 
by this section on and after November 1, 2006. 
SEC. 102. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY RECOUNTS. 
On and after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Election Assistance Commission shall conduct random 
unannounced manual mandatory recounts of the voter- 
verified records of each election for Federal office (and, 
at the option of the State or jurisdiction involved, of elec-
tions for State and local office held at the same time as 
such an election for Federal office) in 2 percent of the 
polling locations (or, in the case of any polling location 
which serves more than 1 precinct, 2 percent of the pre-
cincts) in each State and with respect to 2 percent of the 
ballots cast by uniformed and overseas voters immediately 
following the election and shall promptly publish the re-
sults of those recounts in the Federal Register. In addi-
tion, the verification system used by the Election Assist-
ance Commission shall meet the error rate standards de-
scribed in section 301(a)(5) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002. 
SEC. 
103. 
SPECIFIC, 
DELINEATED 
REQUIREMENT 
OF 
STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
BEST PRACTICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381 et seq.) is 
amended by— 
(1) redesignating section 247 as section 248; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 246 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF BEST 
PRACTICES 
TO 
ENHANCE 
ACCESSIBILITY 
AND 
VOTER-VERIFICATION 
MECHANISMS 
FOR DISABLED VOTERS. 
‘‘The Election Assistance Commission shall study, 
test, and develop best practices to enhance accessibility 
and voter-verification mechanisms for individuals with dis-
abilities.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 104. VOTER VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY 
FUNDING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15321 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new part: 
‘‘PART 7—VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT 
CAPACITY FUNDING 
‘‘SEC. 297. VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY 
FUNDING. 
‘‘(a) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Subject to subsection 
(b), not later than the date that is 30 days after the date 
of the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, 
the Election Assistance Commission shall pay to each 
State an amount to assist the State in paying for the im-
plementation of the voter-verification and audit capacity 
requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 301(a), 
as amended by subsections (a) and (b) of section 2 of such 
Act. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount paid to a State 
under subsection (a) for each voting system purchased by 
a State may not exceed the average cost of adding a print-
er with accessibility features to each type of voting system
that the State could have purchased to meet the require-
ments described in such subsection. 
‘‘(c) ENSURING DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO LOCAL 
GOVERNMENTS.—A State may not receive any payment 
under this section unless the State has established proce-
dures to ensure that, to the extent that the implementa-
tion of the voter-verification and audit capacity require-
ments of paragraphs (2) and (3) is carried out by a unit 
of local government, the State will immediately distribute 
the payment directly to the unit of local government. 
‘‘SEC. 298. APPROPRIATION. 
‘‘There 
are 
authorized 
to 
be 
appropriated 
$500,000,000 to the Election Assistance Commission, 
without fiscal year limitation, to make payments to States 
in accordance with section 297(a). Furthermore, there are 
authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 to the Election 
Assistance Commission, for each of fiscal years 2006 
through 2010, in addition to any amounts otherwise ap-
propriated for administrative costs to assist with con-
ducting recounts, the implementation of voter verification 
systems, and improved security measures.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
SEC. 105. REPORTS AND PROVISION OF SECURITY CON-
SULTATION SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title II of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15381 et seq.), as 
amended by section 6, is amended by— 
(1) redesignating section 248 as section 249; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 247 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 248. REPORTS AND PROVISION OF SECURITY CON-
SULTATION SERVICES. 
‘‘(a) REPORT
TO CONGRESS
ON SECURITY RE-
VIEW.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the en-
actment of the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, the Com-
mission, in consultation with the Director of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, shall submit to 
Congress a report on a proposed security review and cer-
tification process for all voting systems used in elections 
for Federal office, including a description of the certifi-
cation process to be implemented under section 231. 
‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON OPERATIONAL AND 
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.—Not later than 3 months after 
the date of the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act 
of 2005, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report 
on operational and management systems applicable with 
respect to elections for Federal office, including the secu-
rity standards for manufacturers described in section 
301(a)(7), that should be employed to safeguard the secu-
rity of voting systems, together with a proposed schedule 
for the implementation of each such system. 
‘‘(c) PROVISION OF SECURITY CONSULTATION SERV-
ICES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On and after the date of 
the enactment of the Count Every Vote Act of 2005, 
the Commission, in consultation with the Director of 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
shall provide security consultation services to States 
and local jurisdictions with respect to the adminis-
tration of elections for Federal office. 
‘‘(2) APPROPRIATION.—To carry out the pur-
poses of paragraph (1), $2,000,000 is authorized to 
be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2006 
through 2010.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 106. IMPROVEMENTS TO VOTING SYSTEMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (B) of section 
301(a)(1) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 
U.S.C. 15481(a)(1)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘, a punch 
card voting system, or a central count voting system’’.
(b) CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR PUNCH 
CARD SYSTEMS.—Subparagraph (A) of section 301(a)(1) 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15481(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘punch card vot-
ing system,’’ after ‘‘any’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 
shall be required to comply with the amendments made 
by this section on and after November 1, 2006. 
(d) RESIDUAL VOTE BENCHMARK.—. 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The error rate of the voting 
system (as defined under section 301 of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002) in counting ballots (de-
termined by taking into account only those errors 
which are attributable to the voting system and not 
attributable to an act of the voter) shall not exceed 
the error rate standards established under the voting 
systems standards issued and maintained by Elec-
tion Assistance Commission. 
(2) RESIDUAL BALLOT PERFORMANCE BENCH-
MARK.—In addition to the error rate standards de-
scribed in paragraph (1), the Election Assistance 
Commission shall issue and maintain a uniform 
benchmark for the residual ballot error rate that ju-
risdictions may not exceed. For purposes of the pre-
ceding sentence, the residual vote error rate shall be
equal to the combination of overvotes, spoiled or un-
countable votes, and undervotes cast in the contest 
at the top of the ballot, but excluding an estimate, 
based upon the best available research, of intentional 
undervotes. The Director shall base the benchmark 
issued and maintained under this subparagraph on 
evidence of good practice in representative jurisdic-
tions. 
(3) HISTORICALLY HIGH INTENTIONAL UNDER-
VOTES.— 
(A) Congress finds that there are certain 
distinct communities in certain geographic 
areas that have historically high rates of inten-
tional undervoting in elections for Federal of-
fice, relative to the rest of the Nation. 
(B) In establishing the benchmark de-
scribed in subparagraph (B), the Election As-
sistance Commission shall— 
(i) study and report to Congress on 
the occurrences of distinct communities 
that have significantly higher than average 
rates of historical intentional undervoting; 
and 
(ii) promulgate for local jurisdictions 
in which that distinct community has a
substantial presence either a separate 
benchmark or an exclusion from the na-
tional benchmark, as appropriate. 
TITLE II—PROVISIONAL 
BALLOTS 
SEC. 201. REQUIREMENTS FOR CASTING AND COUNTING 
PROVISIONAL BALLOTS. 
(a) ELIGIBILITY OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Paragraph (4) of section 
302(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 
U.S.C. 15482(a)(4)) is amended by inserting at the 
end the following new sentence: ‘‘The determination 
of eligibility shall be made without regard to the lo-
cation at which the voter cast the provisional ballot 
and without regard to any requirement to present 
identification to any election official.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall apply to States and jurisdic-
tions on and after November 1, 2006. 
(b) TIMELY PROCESSING OF BALLOTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 
302 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 
U.S.C. 15482(a)) is amended by inserting after 
paragraph (5) the following new paragraph:
‘‘(6) The appropriate State election official 
shall develop, according to guidelines established by 
the Election Assistance Commission, reasonable pro-
cedures to assure the timely processing and counting 
of provisional ballots, including— 
‘‘(A) standards for timely processing and 
counting to assure that, after the conclusion of 
the provisional vote count, parties and can-
didates may have full, timely, and effective re-
course to the recount and contest procedures 
provided by State law; and 
‘‘(B) standards for the informed participa-
tion of candidates and parties such as are con-
sistent with reasonable procedures to protect 
the security, confidentiality, and integrity of 
personal information collected in the course of 
the processing and counting of provisional bal-
lots.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (d) of sec-
tion 302 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 
U.S.C. 15482(d)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), each State’’; and
(B) by inserting at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) PROCESSING.—Each State shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of subsection 
(a)(6) on and after the date that is six months after 
the date of the enactment of the Count Every Vote 
Act of 2005.’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall take effect on the date that 
is six months after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
TITLE 
III—ADDITIONAL 
RE-
QUIREMENTS 
UNDER 
THE 
HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 
2002 
Subtitle A—Shortening Voter Wait 
Times 
SEC. 301. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS, POLL 
WORKERS, AND ELECTION RESOURCES. 
(a) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
subtitle:
‘‘Subtitle C—Additional 
Requirements 
‘‘SEC. 321. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS AND 
POLL WORKERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall provide for the 
minimum required number of voting systems, poll workers, 
and other election resources (including all other physical 
resources) for each voting site on the day of any Federal 
election and on any days during which such State allows 
early voting for a Federal election in accordance with the 
standards determined under section 299. 
‘‘(b) VOTING SITE.—For purposes of this section and 
section 299, the term ‘voting site’ means a polling loca-
tion, except that in the case of any polling location which 
serves more than 1 precinct, such term shall mean a pre-
cinct. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 
and after October 1, 2006.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 401 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15511) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and in-
serting ‘‘303, and subtitle C’’. 
(b) STANDARDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15321 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle E—Guidance and 
Standards 
‘‘SEC. 299. STANDARDS FOR ESTABLISHING THE MINIMUM 
REQUIRED 
VOTING 
SYSTEMS 
AND 
POLL 
WORKERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2006, 
the Commission shall issue standards regarding the min-
imum number of voting systems, poll workers, and other 
election resources (including all other physical resources) 
required under section 321 on the day of any Federal elec-
tion and on any days during which early voting is allowed 
for a Federal election. 
‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The standards described in 
subsection (a) shall provide for a uniform and non-
discriminatory distribution of such systems, workers, 
and other resources, and shall take into account, 
among other factors, the following with respect to 
any voting site: 
‘‘(A) The voting age population. 
‘‘(B) Voter turnout in past elections.
‘‘(C) The number of voters registered. 
‘‘(D) The number of voters who have reg-
istered since the most recent Federal election. 
‘‘(E) Census data for the population served 
by such voting site. 
‘‘(F) The educational levels and socio-eco-
nomic factors of the population served by such 
voting site. 
‘‘(G) The needs and numbers of disabled 
voters and voters with limited English pro-
ficiency. 
‘‘(H) The type of voting systems used. 
‘‘(2) NO FACTOR DISPOSITIVE.—The standards 
shall provide that any distribution of such systems 
shall take into account the totality of all relevant 
factors, and no single factor shall be dispositive 
under the standards. 
‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—To the extent possible, the 
standards shall provide for a distribution of voting 
systems, poll workers, and other election resources 
with the goals of— 
‘‘(A) ensuring an equal waiting time for all 
voters in the State; and 
‘‘(B) preventing a waiting time of over 1 
hour at any polling place.
‘‘(c) DEVIATION.—The standards described in sub-
section (a) shall permit States, upon giving reasonable 
public notice, to deviate from any allocation requirements 
in the case of unforseen circumstances such as a natural 
disaster or terrorist attack.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 202 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15322) is amended by redesignating paragraphs (5) 
and (6) as paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively, and 
by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) carrying out the duties described under 
subtitle E;’’. 
SEC. 302. REQUIREMENTS FOR JURISDICTIONS WITH SUB-
STANTIAL VOTER WAIT TIMES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new title: 
‘‘TITLE 
X—REMEDIAL 
PLANS 
FOR STATES WITH EXCESSIVE 
VOTER WAIT TIMES 
‘‘SEC. 1001. REMEDIAL PLANS FOR STATES WITH EXCES-
SIVE VOTER WAIT TIMES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each jurisdiction for which the 
Election Assistance Commission determines that a sub-
stantial number of voters waited more than 90 minutes 
to cast a vote in the election on November 2, 2004, shall 
comply with a State remedial plan established under this 
section. 
‘‘(b) STATE REMEDIAL PLANS.—For each State or 
jurisdiction which is required to comply with this section, 
the Election Assistance Commission shall establish a State 
remedial plan to minimize the waiting times of voters. 
‘‘(c) JURISDICTION.—For purposes of this section, 
the term ‘jurisdiction’ has the same meaning as the term 
‘registrar’s jurisdiction’ under section 8 of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Subtitle B—No-excuse Absentee 
Voting 
SEC. 311. NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING. 
Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002, as added by this Act, is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 322. NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State and jurisdiction shall 
permit any person who is otherwise qualified to vote in 
an election for Federal office to vote in such election in
a manner other than in person without regard to any re-
strictions on absentee voting under State law. 
‘‘(b) SUBMISSION AND PROCESSING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any ballot cast under sub-
section (a) shall be submitted and processed in the 
manner provided for absentee ballots under State 
law. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE.—Any ballot cast under sub-
section (a) shall be counted if postmarked or signed 
before the close of the polls on election day and re-
ceived by the appropriate State election official on or 
before the date which is 10 days after the date of 
the election or the date provided for the receipt of 
absentee ballots under State law, whichever is later. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 
shall be required to comply with the requirements of this 
section on and after October 1, 2006.’’. 
Subtitle C—Collection and 
Dissemination of Election Data 
SEC. 321. DATA COLLECTION. 
Subtitle C o f title III of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amended 
adding at the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 323. PUBLIC REPORTS ON FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after 
a Federal election, each State and jurisdiction shall pub-
licly report information on such election, including the fol-
lowing information with respect to the election: 
‘‘(1) The total number of individuals of voting 
age population. 
‘‘(2) The total number of individuals registered 
to vote. 
‘‘(3) The total number of registered voters who 
voted. 
‘‘(4) The number of absentee and overseas bal-
lots requested, including the numbers of such ballots 
requested by military personnel and citizens living 
overseas. 
‘‘(5) The number of absentee and overseas bal-
lots cast, including the numbers of such ballots cast 
by military personnel and citizens living overseas. 
‘‘(6) The total number of absentee and overseas 
ballots counted, including the number of such ballots 
which were cast by military personnel and citizens 
living overseas that were counted. 
‘‘(7) The total number of absentee and overseas 
ballots rejected, including the numbers of such bal-
lots which were cast by military personnel and citi-
zens living overseas that were rejected, and the rea-
sons for any such rejections. 
‘‘(8) The number of votes cast in early voting 
at the polls before the day of the election. 
‘‘(9) The number of provisional ballots cast. 
‘‘(10) The number of provisional ballots count-
ed. 
‘‘(11) The number of provisional ballots re-
jected and the reasons any provisional ballots were 
rejected. 
‘‘(12) The number of voting sites (within the 
meaning of section 321(b)) in the State or jurisdic-
tion. 
‘‘(13) The number of voting machines in each 
such voting site on election day and the type of each 
voting machine. 
‘‘(14) The total number of voting machines 
available in the State or jurisdiction for distribution 
to each such voting site. 
‘‘(15) The total number of voting machines ac-
tually distributed to such voting sites (including vot-
ing machines distributed as replacement voting ma-
chines on the day of the election). 
‘‘(16) The total number of voting machines of 
any type, whether electronic or manual, that mal-
functioned on the day of the election and the reason 
for any malfunction. 
‘‘(17) The total number of voting machines that 
were replaced on the day of the election. 
‘‘(b) REPORT BY EAC.—The Commission shall col-
lect the information published under subsection (a) and 
shall report to Congress not later than 9 months after any 
Federal election the following: 
‘‘(1) The funding and expenditures of each 
State under th provisions of this Act. 
‘‘(2) The voter turnout in the election. 
‘‘(3) The number of registered voters and the 
number of individuals eligible to register who are not 
registered. 
‘‘(4) The number of voters who have registered 
to vote in a Federal election since the most recent 
such election. 
‘‘(5) The extent to which voter registration in-
formation has been shared among government agen-
cies (including any progress on implementing state-
wide voter registration databases under section 
303(a)). 
‘‘(6) The extent to which accurate voter infor-
mation has been maintained over time.
‘‘(7) The number and types of new voting sys-
tems purchased by States and jurisdictions. 
‘‘(8) The amount of time individuals waited to 
vote. 
‘‘(9) The number of early votes, provisional 
votes, absentee ballots, and overseas ballots distrib-
uted, cast, and counted. 
‘‘(10) The amount of training that poll workers 
received. 
‘‘(11) The number of poll workers. 
‘‘(12) The number of polling locations and pre-
cincts. 
‘‘(13) The ratio of the number voting machines 
to the number registered voters. 
‘‘(14) any other information pertaining to elec-
toral participation as the Commission deems appro-
priate. 
‘‘(c) Each State and jurisdiction shall be required to 
comply with the requirements of this section on and after 
November 1, 2006.’’.
Subtitle D—Ensuring Well Run 
Elections 
SEC. 331. TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS. 
Subtitle C of title III of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002, as added and amended by this Act, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 324. TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State and jurisdiction shall 
require that each person who works in a polling place dur-
ing an election for Federal office receives adequate train-
ing not earlier than 3 months before the election. 
‘‘(b) TRAINING.—The training required under sub-
section (a) shall, at a minimum, include— 
‘‘(1) hands-on training on all voting systems 
used in the election; 
‘‘(2) training on accommodating individuals 
with disabilities, individuals who are of limited 
English proficiency, and individuals who are illit-
erate; 
‘‘(3) training on requirements for the identifica-
tion of voters; 
‘‘(4) training on the appropriate use of provi-
sional ballots and the process for casting such bal-
lots;