VOTER ID Act
Bill: H.R.1529 | Sponsor: Rep. Westerman, Bruce (R-AR)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Verification and Oversight for Transparent Elections, Registration, and Identifications Act or the VOTER ID Act
This bill requires states to conduct post-election audits of federal elections and attest to the integrity and security of voting procedures in those elections.
Specifically, states must conduct a post-election audit after each federal election. The audit must include the accuracy of voting systems used in the election and an assessment of state compliance with applicable election laws and procedures, including those governing the requirements for voter identification and use of mail-in voting.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must develop best practices for conducting post-election audits, including recommendations to (1) conduct an audit using a bipartisan entity, and (2) complete an audit within 30 days after the state certifies the results of a congressional election.
Additionally, states must attest to the integrity and security of their voter identification procedures and maintenance of voter registration lists.
States must submit to the EAC, and make publicly available on their websites, these audit results and attestations.

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct 
 post-election audits for elections for Federal office and to provide 
attestations of the integrity and security of voter identification and 
voter registration list maintenance procedures, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Verification and Oversight for 
Transparent Elections, Registration, and Identifications Act'' or the 
``VOTER ID Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING POST-ELECTION AUDITS OF ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.

    (a) Requirement.--Subtitle A of title III of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as sections 305 
        and 306; and
            (2) by inserting after section 303 the following new 
        section:

``SEC. 304. POST-ELECTION AUDITS.

    ``(a) Requirement.--Each State shall conduct an audit of the 
results of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal office 
held in the State and submit the audit to the Commission.
    ``(b) Contents of Audit.--The audit conducted under this section 
with respect to an election shall include an audit of the accuracy of 
the voting systems used to carry out the election, together with an 
assessment of the extent to which the State administered the election 
in compliance with applicable laws, rules, and procedures, including 
laws, rules, and procedures governing requirements for voter 
identification, the accuracy of voter registration lists, the use of 
absentee and mail-in voting, the effectiveness of the methods used by 
the State to ensure that voters with disabilities were able to cast 
ballots, the use of provisional ballots, and the timing of the 
tabulation of ballots.
    ``(c) Use of Designated Entity.--A State shall conduct the audit 
under this section through an entity designated by the State for 
purposes of this section which meets such requirements as the State may 
provide.
    ``(d) Provision of Information.--The appropriate State and local 
election officials shall provide the entity conducting an audit under 
this section with such information and assistance as the entity may 
require to conduct the audit in accordance with the deadline described 
in subsection (a).
    ``(e) Dissemination of Audits.--
            ``(1) Inclusion in survey.--The State shall include the 
        audit of the results of an election under this section in the 
        Election Administration and Voting Survey the State submits to 
        the Commission with respect to the election.
            ``(2) Online availability.--Each State shall make the 
        audits it conducts under this section publicly available on a 
        website of the State in a searchable and sortable electronic 
        manner.
    ``(f) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to the 
regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office held in 
November 2022 and each succeeding regularly scheduled general election 
for Federal office.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments Relating to Voluntary Guidance of 
Commission.--
            (1) Inclusion of recommendations for best practices.--
        Section 311 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101) is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as 
                subsections (c) and (d); and
                    (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following 
                new subsection:
    ``(b) Special Requirements for Guidance Relating to Post-Election 
Audits.--In the case of the recommendations with respect to the 
requirement under section 304 to conduct post-election audits, the 
following shall apply:
            ``(1) Notwithstanding section 212, the Election Assistance 
        Commission Standards Board under part 2 of subtitle A of title 
        II shall develop the recommendations directly.
            ``(2) The Standards Board shall include in the 
        recommendations best practices for conducting the audits 
        required under section 304.
            ``(3) The Standards Board shall include as part of such 
        best practices--
                    ``(A) a recommendation that the entity conducting 
                the audits is bipartisan; and
                    ``(B) a recommendation that, in the case of an 
                election for the office of Senator or Representative in 
                Congress (including an election for the office of 
                Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress), the 
                State complete the audit of the results of the election 
                not later than 30 days after the State certifies the 
                results of the election.''.
            (2) Timing.--Subsection (c) of section 311 of such Act (52 
        U.S.C. 21101), as redesignated by paragraph (1), is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph 
                (2);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph 
                (3) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(4) in the case of the recommendations with respect to 
        section 304, January 1, 2022.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment Relating to Enforcement.--Section 401 of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ``sections 301, 302, 
and 303'' and inserting ``subtitle A of title III''.
    (d) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 304 and 
        305 as relating to sections 305 and 306; and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the 
        following:

``Sec. 304. Post-election audits.''.

SEC. 3. ATTESTATIONS OF INTEGRITY OF VOTER IDENTIFICATION PROCEDURES 
              AND VOTER REGISTRATION LIST MAINTENANCE.

    (a) Requiring Attestations.--Subtitle A of title III of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended by 
section 2(a), is further amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as sections 306 
        and 307; and
            (2) by inserting after section 304 the following new 
        section:

``SEC. 305. ATTESTATIONS OF INTEGRITY OF PROCEDURES.

    ``(a) Requirement.--Each State shall include in the Policy Survey 
submitted to the Commission with respect to a regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office the following attestations:
            ``(1) An attestation that the State has in effect voter 
        identification procedures and practices which will ensure the 
        integrity and security of the election by providing a secure 
        method to match voters with the information contained in the 
        State's voter registration list.
            ``(2) An attestation that the State has in effect 
        procedures and practices which will ensure the integrity and 
        security of the State's voter registration list by performing 
        regular maintenance of the list in accordance with applicable 
        Federal and State law.
    ``(b) Inclusion of Information From Post-Election Audits.--Each 
State shall include in the attestations submitted under subsection (a) 
the results of the most recent post-election audit conducted by the 
State under section 304 with respect to the information provided in the 
attestation.
    ``(c) Online Availability.--Each State shall make the attestations 
under this section publicly available on a website of the State in a 
searchable and sortable electronic manner.
    ``(d) Effective Date.--This section shall apply with respect to the 
regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office held in 
November 2022 and each succeeding regularly scheduled general election 
for Federal office.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act, as 
amended by section 2(d), is further amended--
            (1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 305 and 
        306 as relating to sections 306 and 307; and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 304 the 
        following:

``Sec. 305. Attestations of integrity of procedures.''.
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