‘‘(c) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each recipient of a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Commission a 
report describing the activities carried out with the 
funds provided under the grant. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE.—A recipient shall submit a re-
port required under paragraph (1) not later than 60 
days after the end of the fiscal year for which the 
recipient received the grant which is the subject of 
the report. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this 
part $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008, 2009, 
2010, and 2011.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to subtitle D of title II the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘PART 7—VOTING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM 
‘‘Sec. 297. Voting system improvement grant program.’’. 
SEC. 102. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY MANUAL AU-
DITS. 
(a) MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS.—Title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
title: 
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‘‘Subtitle C— Mandatory Manual 
Audits by Chief Auditors 
‘‘SEC. 321. MANUAL AUDITS BY STATE OFFICIALS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The chief auditor of each State 
shall administer the random unannounced manual manda-
tory recounts of the voter-verified paper ballots of each 
election for Federal office (and, at the option of the State 
or jurisdiction involved, of elections for State and local of-
fice held at the same time as such an election for Federal 
office). 
‘‘(b) CHIEF AUDITOR.— 
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION OF CHIEF AUDITOR.—Each 
State shall designate a State officer or employee as 
the chief auditor responsible for coordination of 
State responsibilities under this section. 
‘‘(2) DESIGNATION BY ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION.—In the event that no single official in 
the State meets the definition in subsection (1), the 
Commission shall designate a State official to serve 
as chief auditor of the State for purposes of this sec-
tion. 
‘‘(3) INDEPENDENCE OF CHIEF AUDITOR.—An 
individual does not qualify as the chief auditor of a 
State for purposes of this section if the individual— 
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‘‘(A) is designated as the chief election of-
ficial of the State under section 10 of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993, or is an 
employee of or reports to such chief election of-
ficial; 
‘‘(B) is serving in any position on any po-
litical campaign committee of any candidate for 
federal office in the election that is subject to 
the manual audit; or 
‘‘(C) serves as the chief executive officer, 
chief financial officer, chief operating officer, or 
president of any entity that designs, manufac-
turers, or sells a voting system used in an elec-
tion for Federal office. 
‘‘SEC. 322. NUMBER OF BALLOTS COUNTED UNDER AUDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the number of voter-verified paper ballots that will 
be subject to a hand count administered by the chief audi-
tor under this subtitle with respect to an election shall 
be determined as follows: 
‘‘(1) In the event that the initial vote count 
under section 324(a)(1) reveals that the margin 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 the election, the 
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hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots shall 
occur in 10 percent of all precincts (or equivalent lo-
cations) 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 initial vote count 
under section 324(a)(1) reveals that the margin 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 the election, the hand 
counts of the voter-verified paper ballots shall occur 
in 5 percent of all precincts (or equivalent locations) 
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 324(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 3 percent of all precincts 
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(or equivalent locations) in the Congressional district 
(in the case of an election for the House of Rep-
resentatives) or the State (in the case of any other 
election for Federal office). 
‘‘(b) USE OF ALTERNATE MECHANISM.—Notwith-
standing subsection (a), a State may adopt and apply an 
alternative mechanism to determine the number of voter- 
verified paper ballots that will be subject to the hand 
counts required under this subtitle with respect to an elec-
tion, so long as the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology determines that the alternative mechanism 
will be at least as effective in ensuring the accuracy of 
the election results and as transparent as the procedure 
under subsection (a). 
‘‘SEC. 323. SELECTION OF PRECINCTS. 
‘‘The selection of the precincts in the State in which 
the manual audit shall be conducted under this subtitle 
shall be made by the chief auditor on an entirely random 
basis using a uniform distribution in which all precincts 
(or other audited units permitted pursuant to section 
322(b)) in a State have an equal chance of being selected, 
in accordance with such procedures as the chief auditor 
determines appropriate, except that— 
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‘‘(1) at least one precinct or audited unit (or 
equivalent jurisdiction) shall be selected in each 
county (or equivalent jurisdiction); 
‘‘(2) the chief auditor shall publish the proce-
dures prior to the selection of the precincts or au-
dited units; and 
‘‘(3) the chief auditor shall conduct and an-
nounce the selection of the precincts at a public 
meeting. 
‘‘SEC. 324. PROCEDURE FOR CONDUCTING AUDITS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The chief auditor shall admin-
ister the conduct of an audit under this section of the re-
sults of an election in accordance with the following proce-
dures: 
‘‘(1) As soon as practicable following the closing 
of the polls, local or county election officials shall 
complete the initial vote count for every precinct and 
publicly announce and report to the State the results 
of each initial vote count. 
‘‘(2) Not later than 24 hours after the State 
announces the final vote count in each precinct in 
the State, the chief auditor shall determine and then 
announce the precincts (or other auditable units) in 
the State in which audits will be conducted. 
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‘‘(3) As soon as practicable after the announce-
ment of the precincts (or other auditable units) in 
which an audit shall be conducted, local or county 
elections staff, or wherever appropriate the chief 
auditor, shall begin to count by hand the voter- 
verified ballots produced and preserved under section 
301(a)(2)(A) in each precinct (or other auditable 
unit) in which the audit will be conducted and com-
pare those ballots with the initial count of such votes 
as announced by the State. 
‘‘(4) Local or county officials shall conduct the 
recount using procedures developed in consultation 
with the chief auditor and operating under the over-
sight of the chief auditor. 
‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AUDITS IF CAUSE SHOWN.—If the 
chief auditor finds that any of the hand counts conducted 
under this section do not match the initial vote count of 
the results of an election, the chief auditor shall admin-
ister hand counts under this section of such additional pre-
cincts (or equivalent jurisdictions) as the chief auditor 
considers appropriate to resolve any concerns about the 
accuracy of the results. 
‘‘(c) PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF THE AUDIT.—The au-
dits conducted under this subtitle shall be conducted in 
a manner that allows for observation by the public. Each 
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State shall issue uniform and nondiscriminatory standards 
for granting access to the audit that include reasonable 
restrictions designed to avoid disruption and crowding of 
the audit. 
‘‘(d) NO PRECLUSION OF STATE AUDITS.—Nothing 
in this subtitle shall be construed to preclude a State from 
conducting audits or recounts of the election in addition 
to those audits required under this subtitle. 
‘‘SEC. 325. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS. 
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the completion of an audit conducted under 
this subtitle, the Chief Auditor of a State shall submit to 
the Commission a report containing the results of the 
audit, including a list of any discrepancies between the ini-
tial vote count and any subsequent manual counts of the 
voter-verified paper record by precinct or audited unit, any 
explanations for such discrepancies, and a tally of all over-
votes, undervotes, blank ballots, spoiled ballots, and can-
cellations recorded on the voter-verified paper record. 
‘‘(b) PUBLICATION
BY COMMISSION.—Immediately 
after receiving the submission of the results of an audit 
from the Chief Auditor of a State under subsection (a), 
the Commission shall announce and publish the informa-
tion contained in the submission. 
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‘‘SEC. 326. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 
‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF CONDUCTING AU-
DITS.—The Commission shall make a payment to a State 
to cover the reasonable costs incurred by the State in car-
rying out this subtitle with respect to the elections that 
are the subject of the audits conducted under this subtitle. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Commission for 
fiscal year 2008 and each succeeding fiscal year such sums 
as may be necessary for payments under this section. 
‘‘SEC. 327. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
‘‘This subtitle shall apply with respect to regularly 
scheduled general elections for Federal office beginning 
with the elections held in November 2008.’’. 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15511) is amended by striking the 
period at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, or the 
requirements of subtitle C of title III.’’. 
(c) STUDY OF SELECTION OF PRECINCTS FOR MAN-
UAL AUDITS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance Commis-
sion shall conduct a study and make recommendations on 
methods to ensure that the mandatory manual audits con-
ducted under subtitle C of title III of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (as added by subsection (a)) reflect a 
representative demographic (including by socioeconomic, 
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age, and ethnicity) in the selection of the precincts or 
other audited units subject to the audits. 
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— 
(1) by redesignating section 247 as section 250; 
and 
(2) by inserting after section 246 the following 
new sections: 
‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF BEST 
PRACTICES TO IMPROVE VOTING SYSTEMS 
AND ENHANCE ACCESSIBILITY AND VOTER- 
VERIFICATION MECHANISMS FOR VOTERS 
WITH DISABILITIES. 
‘‘(a) STUDY; DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES.— 
The Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology shall study, test, and develop best practices 
to investigate and encourage existing and potential emerg-
ing technologies in voting systems and design innovations, 
and enhance the accessibility of ballot verification mecha-
nisms for individuals with disabilities, for alternative lan-
guage voters, and for voters with difficulties in literacy, 
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including best practices for the mechanisms themselves 
and the processes through which the mechanisms are used. 
‘‘(b) DEADLINE.—The Director shall complete the re-
quirements of subsection (a) not later than January 1, 
2010. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 
(a) $5,000,000, to remain available until expended. 
‘‘SEC. 248. STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF BEST 
PRACTICES REGARDING BALLOT CHAIN OF 
CUSTODY. 
‘‘The Commission shall study, test, and develop best 
practices for documenting the chain of custody for election 
ballots. 
‘‘SEC. 249. STUDY, TESTING, AND DEVELOPMENT OF BEST 
PRACTICES FOR DESIGN AND USABILITY 
TESTING OF BALLOTS. 
‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The National Institute for 
Standards and Technology shall conduct or contract 
with one or more parties to conduct studies on the 
best practices for ballot design, ballot instructions, 
and the testing of ballots, and shall produce one or 
more reports examining which practices increase and 
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decrease the likelihood that voter intent is accurately 
recorded. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE.—The National Institute for 
Standards and Technology shall complete and make 
available to the public the studies and reports de-
scribed in paragraph (1) not later than February 1, 
2008. 
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology 
$1,000,000 to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than May 1, 2008, the 
Commission shall adopt voluntary guidance on the best 
practices for ballot design, instructions, and testing based 
on the study and report under subsection (a).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the item relating to section 
247 as relating to section 250; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 246 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 247. Study, testing, and development of best practices to improve voting 
systems and enhance accessibility and voter-verification mecha-
nisms for voters with disabilities. 
‘‘Sec. 248. Study, testing, and development of best practices regarding ballot 
chain of custody. 
‘‘Sec. 249. Study, testing, and development of best practices for design and 
usability testing of ballots.’’. 
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(c) 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. 15401 et seq.), as 
amended by this Act, is amended by adding at the end 
the following new part: 
‘‘PART 8—VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT 
CAPACITY FUNDING 
‘‘SEC. 297A. 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 2007, 
the Commission shall pay to each State an amount to as-
sist the State in paying for the implementation of the 
voter-verification and audit capacity requirements of para-
graphs (2) and (3) of section 301(a), as amended by sub-
sections (a) and (b) of section 101 of the Count Every 
Vote Act of 2007. 
‘‘(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-
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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) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) PAYMENTS
TO
STATES.—There are au-
thorized to be appropriated $500,000,000, without 
fiscal year limitation, to make payments to States 
under this section. 
‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE BY COMMISSION.—There are 
authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 to the 
Commission, for each of fiscal years 2008 through 
2012, in addition to any amounts otherwise appro-
priated for administrative costs, to assist with the 
implementation of voter verification systems and im-
proved security measures.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by this Act, is amended by adding 
at the end of the items relating to subtitle D of title II 
the following: 
‘‘PART 8—VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY FUNDING 
‘‘Sec. 297A. Voter-verification and audit capacity funding.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
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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 this Act, is amended by inserting after section 
249 the following new section. 
‘‘SEC. 249A. 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 2007, 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 2007, 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)(12), that should be employed to safeguard the se-
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curity of voting systems, together with a proposed sched-
ule 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 2007, 
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) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
To carry out the purposes of paragraph (1), there 
are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by this Act, is amended by insert-
ing after the item relating to section 249 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 249A. Reports and provision of security consultation services.’’. 
SEC. 106. IMPROVEMENTS TO VOTING SYSTEMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(1)(B) 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.—Section 301(a)(1)(A) of such Act (42 
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