[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2045 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2045
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified
permanent record or hardcopy under title III of such Act, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 2, 2004
Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require a voter-verified
permanent record or hardcopy under title III of such Act, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Secure and
Verifiable Electronic Voting Act of 2004'' or the ``SAVE Voting Act of
2004''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Promoting accuracy, integrity, and security through voter-
verified permanent record or hard copy.
Sec. 3. Extension of time provided for States to request payments under
title I.
Sec. 4. Change in deadline for compliance with standards.
Sec. 5. Requirement for Federal certification of technological security
of voter registration lists.
Sec. 6. Requirement for mandatory recounts.
Sec. 7. Security standards for manufacturers of federally certified
voting systems.
Sec. 8. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from
certain Government contracting
requirements.
Sec. 9. Effective date.
SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECURITY THROUGH VOTER-
VERIFIED PERMANENT RECORD OR HARD COPY.
(a) 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.--The voting system shall
produce a voter-verified paper record suitable for a
manual audit equivalent or superior to that of a paper
ballot voting system and that meets the requirements of
subparagraph (B).
``(B) Manual audit capacity.--
``(i) The voting system shall produce a
permanent paper record, each individual paper
record of which shall be made available for
inspection and verification by the voter at the
time the vote is cast, and preserved within the
polling place in the manner in which all other
paper ballots are preserved within the polling
place on Election Day for later use in any
manual audit.
``(ii) The voting system shall provide the
voter with an opportunity to correct any error
made by the system before the permanent record
is preserved for use in any manual audit.
``(iii) The voter-verified paper record
produced under subparagraph (A) and this
subparagraph shall be available as an official
record and shall be the official record used
for any recount conducted with respect to any
election in which the system is used.
``(iv) The voter-verified paper record
produced under subparagraph (A) and this
subparagraph may not be produced on thermal
paper.
``(C) Software and modems.--
``(i) No voting system shall at any time
contain or use undisclosed software. Any voting
system containing or using software shall
disclose the source code of that software to
the Commission, and the Commission shall make
that source code available for inspection upon
request to any citizen.
``(ii) No voting system shall contain any
wireless communication device at all.
``(iii) All software and hardware used in
any electronic voting system shall be certified
by laboratories accredited by the Commission as
meeting the requirements of clauses (i) and
(ii).''.
(b) Voter Verification of Results for Individuals With
Disabilities.--Section 301(a)(3) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)(3)) is
amended--
(1) in the heading, by inserting ``and voter-verification
of results'' after ``accessibility'';
(2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before ``; and'' the
following: ``, and such voting system shall provide a mechanism
for voter-verification of results and manual audit capacity in
a manner analogous to the manner required under subparagraphs
(A) and (B) of paragraph (2), but that does not require the use
of paper''; and
(3) by amending subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
``(C) meet the voting system standards for
disability access and voter-verification of results as
outlined in this paragraph in accordance with the
deadline described in subsection (d), except that, if
it does not and a paper ballot voting system is used on
an interim basis in accordance with section
102(a)(3)(B), any individual who requires assistance to
vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability
to read or write shall have the option of using such
voting system with the assistance of a person chosen by
that individual in accordance with section 208 of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 or using the voting system
otherwise put in place for use by voters at the time in
question in accordance with this Act, as in effect
prior to the enactment of the Secure and Verifiable
Electronic Voting Act of 2004, except that `2006' shall
be substituted for `2007' in section 301(a)(3)(C).''.
(c) Notification of Right to Assistance of an Aide.--Section
302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15482(b)(2))
is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(G) information on the right of any individual
who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness,
disability, or inability to read or write to be given
assistance by a person chosen by that individual under
section 208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.''.
(d) Voter-Verification and Audit Capacity Funding.--Title II of the
Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the
following new part:
``PART 7--VOTER-VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY FUNDING
``SEC. 271. 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
Secure and Verifiable Electronic Voting Act of 2004, the Election
Assistance Commission shall pay to each State an amount to assist the
State in paying for the implementation 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 the
Secure and Verifiable Electronic Voting Act of 2004.
``(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 printer to each type of voting system that the State
could have purchased to meet the requirements described in such
subsection.
``SEC. 272. APPROPRIATION.
``Such sums are appropriated to the Election Assistance Commission,
without fiscal year limitation, as may be necessary to make payments to
States in accordance with section 271(a).''.
(e) Specific, Delineated Requirement of Study, Testing, and
Development of Best Practices.--In addition to any other requirements
under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the Election Assistance
Commission shall study, test, and develop best practices to enhance
accessibility and voter-verification mechanisms for disabled voters.
SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF TIME PROVIDED FOR STATES TO REQUEST PAYMENTS UNDER
TITLE I.
(a) Payments for Activities to Improve Administration of
Elections.--Section 101(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42
U.S.C. 15301(a)) is amended by striking ``not later than 6 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act'' and inserting ``not later than
the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November 2004''.
(b) Payments for Replacement of Punch Card or Lever Voting
Machines.--Section 102(b)(1) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42
U.S.C. 15301(b)(1)) is amended by striking ``not later than the date
that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act'' and
inserting ``not later than the Tuesday next after the first Monday in
November 2004''.
(c) Extension of Period of Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--Section 104(a) of the Help America Vote
Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15304(a)) is amended by striking
``$650,000,000'' and inserting ``an aggregate amount of
$650,000,000 for fiscal years 2003 through 2005''.
(2) Date for transfer to election assistance commission of
unobligated funds.--Section 104(c)(2)(B) of the Help America
Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15304(c)(2)(B)) is amended by
striking ``September 1, 2003'' and inserting ``January 1,
2005''.
(d) Requirement To Deploy Interim Measure If Waiver Requested.--
Section 102(a)(3)(B) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C.
15301(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking the period at the end and
inserting the following: ``, except that any State requesting any such
waiver shall accept and implement a paper ballot voting system for use
on an interim basis as provided in section 4(b) of the Secure and
Verifiable Electronic Voting Act of 2004 in time for use in the
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in
November 2004.''.
SEC. 4. CHANGE IN DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS.
(a) In General.--Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of
2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(d)) is amended by striking ``on and after January
1, 2006'' and inserting ``in time for elections for Federal office
beginning with the regularly scheduled general election to be held in
November 2004''.
(b) Interim Paper Ballot Voting System.--Section 301 of the Help
America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(d)) is amended by adding at
the end the following new subsection:
``(e) Interim Paper Ballot Voting System.--Each State and
jurisdiction that certifies by July 1, 2004, in a manner similar to the
manner described in section 102(a)(3)(B) that it is unable to comply
with the requirements of section 301, as amended by the Secure and
Verifiable Electronic Voting Act of 2004, in time for the regularly
scheduled general election for Federal office to be held in November
2004 shall use a paper ballot voting system, based on paper ballot
voting systems in use in the jurisdiction, if any, that shall be deemed
compliant with section 301 by the Commission for use in the November
2004 general elections. The Commission shall reimburse the State or
jurisdiction for any costs incurred in using such a system.''.
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR FEDERAL CERTIFICATION OF TECHNOLOGICAL SECURITY
OF VOTER REGISTRATION LISTS.
Section 303(a)(3) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C.
15483(a)(3)) is amended by striking ``measures to prevent the'' and
inserting ``measures, as certified by the Election Assistance
Commission, to prevent''.
SEC. 6. REQUIREMENT FOR MANDATORY RECOUNTS.
The Election Assistance Commission shall conduct unannounced manual
recounts of the voter-verified records of each election for Federal
office (and, at the option of the State or jurisdiction involved,
elections for State and local office) in 0.5 percent of the
jurisdictions in each State (as defined in section 901 of the Help
America Vote Act of 2002) and, including overseas voters (as defined in
section 107(5) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting
Act), immediately following each general election for Federal office
and shall promptly publish the results of those recounts. The treatment
of the results of the recount shall be governed by applicable Federal,
State, or local law.
SEC. 7. SECURITY STANDARDS FOR MANUFACTURERS OF FEDERALLY CERTIFIED
VOTING SYSTEMS.
(a) In General.--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) Security standards for manufacturers 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 requirements 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 document 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) 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 certification has
occurred unless such system is recertified.
``(v) The manufacturer shall implement
procedures to ensure internal security, as
required by the Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology.
``(vi) The manufacturer shall meet such
other requirements as may be established by the
Director of the National Institute of Standards
and Technology.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to voting systems used on and after the date of the
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in
November 2004.
SEC. 8. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION FROM
CERTAIN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Section 205 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002
(42 U.S.C. 15325) is amended by striking subsection (e).
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
apply with respect to contracts entered into by the Election Assistance
Commission on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except as provided in sections 7(b) and 8(b), the amendments made
by this Act shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the
Help America Vote Act of 2002.
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