,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bjag  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #af1 #bjac ,mr4 
,brady of ,pennsylvania 7for himself1   
,ms4 ,lofgren1 and ,mr4 ,vargas7        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,house   
,administration  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend   
the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb  
to improve the operations of the        
,election ,assistance ,commission1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title2  
findings  7a7 ,short title ,this ,act   
may be cited as the ,,eac ,improvements 
,act of #bjac4  7b7 ,findings ,congress 
finds the following3  7#a7 ,the         
elections for ,federal office which were
 held in ,november #bjab were plagued   
with a number of serious problems1      
including--  7,a7 long lines at polling 
places2  7,b7 poll workers who were     
trained inadequately2  7,c7 the         
reduction of hours for early voting2 and
  7,d7 the imposition of practices which
 restricted eligible individuals from   

voting1 such as requirements to produce 
photo identification4  7#b7 ,at the time
 these problems were developing1 the    
,election ,assistance ,commission1 an   
agency of the ,federal ,government which
 was established to assist the ,states  
in the administration of elections1     
lacked a quorum in its membership and   
therefore could not meet1 appoint an    
executive director or general counsel1  
or otherwise take any actions to prevent
 these problems from occurring4  7#c7   
,the inability of the ,commission to    
carry out its duties meant that it could
 not convene its ,standards ,board1 a   
collection of ,state and local election 
officials with the authority to review  
guidelines for the voluntary standards  
applicable to the voting systems used to
 administer these elections and to make 
recommendations for best practices for  
election administration4  7#d7 ,the     
inability of the ,commission to carry   
out its duties meant that no new        
laboratories could be certified to      

develop and test the equipment used in  
these elections4  7#e7 ,the ,election   
,assistance ,commission should be       
allowed to investigate fully the        
problems which plagued the elections    
held in ,november #bjab and to develop  
solutions4  7#f7 ,the ,election         
,assistance ,commission should be given 
the tools it needs to carry out its     
mission in a manner immune from illogic 
and partisan bickering1 so that it can  
provide ,states and others involved in  
the administration of elections with the
 guidance that will enable them to      
provide each citizen who wishes to      
participate in the electoral process the
 ability to do so4  7#g7 ,the ,election 
,assistance ,commission should be       
permitted to provide to taxpayers and   
election officials accurate information 
on the voting equipment used to         
administer elections and to hold the    
vendors of such equipment accountable   
for any problems that may arise with its
 use4  #b4 ,reauthorization of          

,commission  7a7 ,reauthorization       
,section #baj of the ,help ,america     
,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#db ,u4,s4,c4      
#aeccj7 is amended by striking for each 
of the fiscal years #bjjc through #bjje 
and inserting for each of the fiscal    
years #bjad through #bjah4  7b7         
,treatment of commission in same manner 
as federal election commission for      
purposes of paperwork reduction act     
,section #cejb7a7 of title #dd1 ,united 
,states ,code1 is amended--  7#a7 by    
redesignating subparagraphs 7,b71 7,c71 
and 7,d7 as subparagraphs 7,c71 7,d71   
and 7,e72 and  7#b7 by inserting after  
subparagraph 7,a7 the following new     
subparagraph3  7,b7 the ,election       
,assistance ,commission2  4  #c4        
,requiring states to participate in     
post-general election surveys  7a7      
,requirement ,title ,,iii of the ,help  
,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#db       
,u4,s4,c4 #aedha et seq47 is amended by 
inserting after section #cjc the        
following new section3  #cjc;,a4        

,requiring participation in post-general
 election surveys  7a7 ,requirement     
,each ,state shall furnish to the       
,commission such information as the     
,commission may request for purposes of 
conducting any post-election survey of  
the ,states with respect to the         
administration of a regularly scheduled 
general election for ,federal office4   
7b7 ,effective date ,this section shall 
apply with respect to the regularly     
scheduled general election for ,federal 
office held in ,november #bjad and any  
succeeding election4  4  7b7 ,conforming
 amendment relating to enforcement      
,section #dja of such ,act 7#db         
,u4,s4,c4 #aeeaa7 is amended by striking
 and #cjc and inserting #cjc1 and       
#cjc;,a4  7c7 ,clerical amendment ,the  
table of contents of such ,act is       
amended by inserting after the item     
relating to section #cjc the following  
new item3  ,sec4 #cjc;,a4 ,requiring    
participation in post-general election  
surveys4  4  #d4 ,determining extent to 

which disabled individuals have access  
to polling places  7a7 ,ongoing surveys 
of compliance with ,,ada ,in accordance 
with section #bda of the ,help ,america 
,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#db ,u4,s4,c4      
#aecha71 not later than #ahj days after 
the date of the regularly scheduled     
general election for ,federal office    
held in ,november #bjad and each        
succeeding regularly scheduled general  
election for ,federal office1 the       
,election ,assistance ,commission1      
shall1 with the assistance of the       
,comptroller ,general1 conduct and      
publish a survey of each polling place  
used for the election to determine the  
percentage of such polling places that  
were in compliance with the standards   
applicable to such locations under the  
,americans ,with ,disabilities ,act of  
#aiij4  7b7 ,evaluation of need ,to     
continue surveys ,at the time the       
,election ,assistance ,commission       
publishes the results of the survey     
conducted under subsection 7a7 with     

respect to the regularly scheduled      
general election for ,federal office    
held in ,november #bjbb1 the ,commission
 shall evaluate and make a              
recommendation to ,congress regarding   
whether the percentage of polling places
 in compliance with the standards       
applicable to such locations under the  
,americans ,with ,disabilities ,act of  
#aiij has increased to such an extent   
that there is no longer a need to       
conduct surveys under subsection 7a7    
with respect to subsequent elections4   
#e4 ,establishment of procedures and fee
 schedules for conducting testing of    
voting equipment hardware and software2 
payment of user fees for compensation of
 accredited laboratories  7a7 ,in       
,general ,section #bca7;b7 of the ,help 
,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#db       
,u4,s4,c4 #aecga7;b77 is amended by     
adding at the end the following new     
paragraphs3  7#c7 ,procedures for       
conducting testing2 payment of user fees
 for compensation of accredited         

laboratories  7,a7 ,establishment of    
escrow account ,the ,commission shall   
establish an escrow account 7to be known
 as the ,testing ,escrow ,account7 that 
will serve as the exclusive source for  
making payments to accredited           
laboratories for the costs of the       
testing carried out in connection with  
the certification1 decertification1 and 
recertification of voting system        
hardware and software4  7,b7 ,schedule  
of fees ,in consultation with the       
accredited laboratories1 the ,commission
 shall establish and regularly update a 
schedule of fees for the testing carried
 out in connection with the             
certification1 decertification1 and     
recertification of voting system        
hardware and software1 based on the     
reasonable costs expected to be incurred
 by the accredited laboratories in      
carrying out the testing for various    
types of hardware and software4  7,c7   
,requests and payments by manufacturers 
,a manufacturer of voting system        

hardware and software may not have the  
hardware or software tested by an       
accredited laboratory under this section
 unless--  7i7 the manufacturer submits 
a detailed request for the testing to   
the ,commission2  7ii7 the request      
provides sufficient information for the 
,commission to determine the applicable 
fee for the testing under the schedule  
established and in effect under         
subparagraph 7,b72  7iii7 the           
,commission approves the request2 and   
7iv7 the manufacturer pays to the       
,commission1 for deposit into the       
,testing ,escrow ,account established   
under subparagraph 7,a71 the applicable 
fee for the testing4  7,d7 ,selection of
 laboratory ,upon approving a request   
for testing and receiving the payment   
from a manufacturer required under      
subparagraph 7,c71 the ,commission shall
 select at random 7to the greatest      
extent practicable71 from all           
laboratories which are accredited under 
this section to carry out the specific  

testing requested by the manufacturer1  
an accredited laboratory to carry out   
the testing4  7,e7 ,payments to         
laboratories ,upon determining that a   
laboratory selected to carry out testing
 pursuant to subparagraph 7,d7 has      
completed the testing in accordance with
 the approved request1 the ,commission  
shall make a payment to the laboratory  
from the ,testing ,escrow ,account      
established under subparagraph 7,a7 in  
an amount equal to the applicable fee   
paid by the manufacturer under          
subparagraph 7,c77iv74  7#d7            
,dissemination of additional information
 on accredited laboratories  7,a7 ,list 
of accredited laboratories ,the         
,commission shall maintain and publish  
an updated list of all accredited       
laboratories under this section4  7,b7  
,information on status of laboratories  
,in addition to updating the list       
maintained and published under          
subparagraph 7,a71 the ,commission shall
 promptly notify ,congress1 the chief   

,state election official of each ,state1
 and the public whenever--  7i7 the     
,commission revokes1 terminates1 or     
suspends the accreditation of a         
laboratory under this section2  7ii7 the
 ,commission restores the accreditation 
of a laboratory under this section which
 has been revoked1 terminated1 or       
suspended2 or  7iii7 the ,commission has
 credible evidence of a significant     
security failure at an accredited       
laboratory4  7,c7 ,information on       
testing ,upon completion of the testing 
of a voting system under this section1  
the ,commission shall promptly          
disseminate to the public the           
identification of the laboratory which  
carried out the testing4  4  7b7        
,conforming ,amendments ,section #bca of
 such ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aecga7 is    
further amended--  7#a7 in subsection   
7a77#a71 by striking testing1           
certification1 and all that follows and 
inserting the following3 testing of     
voting system hardware and software by  

accredited laboratories in connection   
with the certification1 decertification1
 and recertification of the hardware and
 software for purposes of this ,act42   
7#b7 in subsection 7a77#b71 by striking 
testing1 certification1 and all that    
follows and inserting the following3    
testing of its voting system hardware   
and software by the laboratories        
accredited by the ,commission under this
 section in connection with certifying1 
decertifying1 and recertifying the      
hardware and software42  7#c7 in        
subsection 7b77#a71 by striking testing1
 certification1 decertification1 and    
recertification and inserting testing2  
and  7#d7 in subsection 7d71 by striking
 testing1 certification1                
decertification1 and recertification    
each place it appears and inserting     
testing4  7c7 ,deadline for             
,establishment of ,escrow ,account and  
,schedule of ,fees ,the ,election       
,assistance ,commission shall establish 
the ,testing ,escrow ,account and       

schedule of fees described in section   
#bca7;b77#c7 of the ,help ,america ,vote
 ,act of #bjjb 7as added by subsection  
7a77 not later than ,january #a1 #bjad4 
#f4 ,study of methods to reduce costs of
 administering elections  7a7 ,analysis 
of factors affecting costs of           
administering elections ,the ,election  
,assistance ,commission shall conduct a 
study analyzing various factors that    
affect the costs to ,states and units of
 local government of administering      
elections for ,federal office1 including
 the following specific factors3  7#a7  
,the durability of the equipment used in
 voting systems4  7#b7 ,the extent to   
which ,states and units of local        
government must replace existing systems
 because such systems are not capable of
 using enhanced software or are not     
capable of being upgraded in a          
cost-effective manner4  7#c7 ,the lack  
of competition among vendors and        
manufacturers of the equipment used in  
voting systems because of consolidation 

in the voting system industry4  7b7     
,recommendations for steps ,to reduce   
costs ,the ,commission shall include in 
the study conducted under this section  
such recommendations as the ,commission 
shall consider appropriate to reduce the
 costs incurred by ,states and units of 
local government in administering       
elections for ,federal office1 including
 recommendations for legislative action 
by ,congress or the ,states4  7c7       
,deadline ,not later than #ahj days     
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,commission shall submit the  
study conducted under this section to   
,congress4  #g4 ,study of methods for   
increasing efficiency and               
cost-effectiveness of election          
assistance commission  7a7 ,study ,the  
,comptroller ,general shall conduct a   
study of the administrative operations  
of the ,election ,assistance            
,commission1 and shall include in the   
study an analysis of various methods for
 increasing the efficiency and          

cost-effectiveness of such operations4  
7b7 ,deadline2 report ,not later than   
#ij days after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general
 shall submit to ,congress a report on  
the study conducted under subsection    
7a71 and shall include in the report    
such recommendations as the ,comptroller
 ,general considers appropriate4  7c7   
,participation of ,election ,assistance 
,commission ,the ,election ,assistance  
,commission shall provide the           
,comptroller ,general with such         
assistance as the ,comptroller ,general 
may require to carry out this section4