,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #aeab ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #e1 #bjai,mr4 ,connolly 7for himself and ,mr4 ,langevin7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,house ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to provide funds to give ,states incentives to invest in practices and technology designed to expedite voting at the polls and simplify voter registration1 improve voting system security1 and promote automatic voter registration1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,fair1 ,accurate1 ,secure1 and ,timely ,voting ,act of #bjai or the ,,fast ,voting ,act of #bjai4 7b7 ,table of contents ,the table of contents of this ,act is as follows3 ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2 table of contents4 ,title ,i--,improving ,voter ,participation ,sec4 #aja4 ,incentives for ,states to invest in practices and technology designed to expedite voting at the polls and simplify voter registration4 ,sec4 #ajb4 ,criteria for awarding grants4 ,sec4 #ajc4 ,criteria for evaluating applications4 ,sec4 #ajd4 ,authorization of appropriations4 ,title ,,ii--,improving ,voting ,system ,security ,sec4 #bja4 ,incentives for ,states to improve voting system security4 ,sec4 #bjb4 ,criteria for awarding grants4 ,sec4 #bjc4 ,criteria for evaluating applications4 ,sec4 #bjd4 ,authorization of appropriations4 ,title ,,iii--,encouraging ,automatic ,voter ,registration ,sec4 #cja4 ,incentives for ,states to implement automatic voter registration4 ,sec4 #cjb4 ,applications4 ,sec4 #cjc4 ,authorization of appropriations4 ,title ,,iv--,general ,provisions ,sec4 #dja4 ,establishment of performance measures and targets4 ,sec4 #djb4 ,reporting requirements4 ,sec4 #djc4 ,state defined4 ,i ,improving ,voter ,participation #aja4 ,incentives for ,states to invest in practices and technology designed to expedite voting at the polls and simplify voter registration 7a7 ,grants authorized 7#a7 ,in general ,from the amounts made available under section #ajd for a fiscal year and not reserved under section 7b7 of section #ajd1 the ,election ,assistance ,commission 7hereafter in this title referred to as the ,commission7 shall award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to ,states in accordance with section #ajc4 7#b7 ,number of grants ,a ,state may not receive more than #a grant under this section per grant period4 7#c7 ,duration of grants 7,a7 ,in general ,a grant under this section shall be awarded for a period of not more than #d years4 7,b7 ,continuation of grants ,a ,state that is awarded a grant under this section shall not receive grant funds under this section for the second or any subsequent year of the grant unless the ,state demonstrates to the ,commission1 at such time and in such manner as determined by the ,commission1 that the ,state is-- 7i7 making progress in implementing the grant implementation plan described in section #ajb7;b7 at a rate that the ,commission determines will result in the ,state fully implementing such plan during the remainder of the grant period2 or 7ii7 making progress against the performance measures established under section #dja at a rate that the ,commission determines will result in the ,state reaching its targets and achieving the objectives of the grant during the remainder of the grant period4 7b7 ,use of funds ,each ,state that receives a grant under this title shall use the funds provided by the grant to carry out the ,state's grant implementation plan described in section #ajb7;b74 #ajb4 ,criteria for awarding grants 7a7 ,applications ,each ,state that desires to receive a grant under this title shall submit an application to the ,commission at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,commission may reasonably require4 ,at a minimum1 each such application shall include each of the following3 7#a7 ,a documentation of the ,state's record in carrying out the following in the administration of elections for public office3 7,a7 ,providing various voter registration opportunities and record of providing electronic transfer of voter registration information from government agencies to election officials4 7,b7 ,providing early voting4 7,c7 ,providing absentee voting4 7,d7 ,providing assistance to voters who do not speak ,english as a primary language4 7,e7 ,providing assistance to voters with disabilities at and beyond the level required by ,federal law4 7,f7 ,providing effective access to voting for members of the uniformed services at and beyond the level required by ,federal law4 7,g7 ,providing formal training of election officials4 7,h7 ,auditing waiting times at polling places4 7,i7 ,allocating polling locations1 equipment1 and staff to match population distribution4 7,j7 ,responding to voting irregularities and concerns raised at polling stations4 7,k7 ,creating and adhering to contingency voting plans in the event of a natural or other disaster4 7,l7 ,any other performance measure established under section #dja in providing various voter registration opportunities4 7#b7 ,evidence of established conditions of innovation and reform in the administration of elections for public office in the ,state and the ,state's proposed plan for implementing additional conditions4 7#c7 ,evidence of collaboration between relevant stakeholders in developing the grant implementation plan described in subsection 7b74 7#d7 ,annual performance measures and targets for the activities carried out with the grant4 7#e7 ,a description of the ,state's plan to conduct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried out with the grant4 7#f7 ,the grant implementation plan described in subsection 7b74 7b7 ,grant implementation plan ,the grant implementation plan described in this subsection is a plan developed by the ,state for using funds provided by the grant to improve the ,state's performance on the performance measures established under section #dja1 including how the ,state will carry out some or all of the following3 7#a7 ,providing flexible registration opportunities1 including online and same-day registration and registration updating4 7#b7 ,providing early voting1 at a minimum of #i of the #aj calendar days preceding an election1 at sufficient and flexible hours4 7#c7 ,providing absentee voting1 including no-excuse absentee voting4 7#d7 ,providing assistance to voters who do not speak ,english as a primary language beyond the minimum requirements of the ,voting ,rights ,act of #aife4 7#e7 ,providing assistance to voters with disabilities1 including visual impairment1 at and beyond the level required by ,federal law4 7#f7 ,providing effective access to voting for members of the uniformed services at and beyond the level required by ,federal law4 7#g7 ,providing formal training of election officials1 including ,state and county administrators and volunteers4 7#h7 ,auditing and reducing waiting times at polling places4 7#i7 ,allocating polling locations1 equipment1 and staff to match population distribution4 7#aj7 ,responding to any reports of voting irregularities or concerns raised at polling places4 7#aa7 ,creating contingency voting plans in the event of natural or other disaster4 7#ab7 ,improving the wait times at the persistently poorest performing polling stations4 #ajc4 ,criteria for evaluating applications 7a7 ,award basis ,the ,commission shall award grants to ,states under this title on a competitive basis1 based on the quality of the ,state's application submitted under section #ajb1 including-- 7#a7 the ,state's record in the areas described in paragraph 7#a7 of section #ajb7;a72 7#b7 the ,state's record of1 and commitment to1 establishing conditions for innovation and reform1 as described in paragraph 7#b7 of section #ajb7;a72 7#c7 the quality and likelihood of success of the ,state's grant implementation plan described in section #ajb7;b7 in showing improvement in the areas described in paragraph 7#a7 of section #ajb7;a71 including the ,state's capacity to implement the plan and evidence of collaboration as described in paragraph 7#c7 of section #ajb7;a72 and 7#d7 the ,state's evaluation plan as described in paragraph 7#e7 of section #ajb7;a74 7b7 ,explanation ,the ,commission shall publish an explanation of how the application review process under this paragraph will ensure an equitable and objective evaluation based on the criteria described in subsection 7a74 #ajd4 ,authorization of appropriations 7a7 ,in general ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year #bjai and each succeeding fiscal year to carry out this title4 7b7 ,reservation of funds ,from the amount made available to carry out this title for a fiscal year1 the ,commission may reserve not more than #aj percent of such amount to carry out activities related to-- 7#a7 technical assistance2 and 7#b7 outreach and dissemination4 ,,ii ,improving ,voting ,system ,security #bja4 ,incentives for ,states to improve voting system security 7a7 ,grants authorized 7#a7 ,in general ,from the amounts made available under section #bjd for a fiscal year and not reserved under section 7b7 of section #bjd1 the ,election ,assistance ,commission 7hereafter in this title referred to as the ,commission7 shall award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to ,states in accordance with section #bjc4 7#b7 ,number of grants ,a ,state may not receive more than #a grant under this section per grant period4 7#c7 ,duration of grants 7,a7 ,in general ,a grant under this section shall be awarded for a period of not more than #d years4 7,b7 ,continuation of grants ,a ,state that is awarded a grant under this section shall not receive grant funds under this section for the second or any subsequent year of the grant unless the ,state demonstrates to the ,commission1 at such time and in such manner as determined by the ,commission1 that the ,state is-- 7i7 making progress in implementing the grant implementation plan described in section #bjb7;b7 at a rate that the ,commission determines will result in the ,state fully implementing such plan during the remainder of the grant period2 or 7ii7 making progress against the performance measures established under section #dja at a rate that the ,commission determines will result in the ,state reaching its targets and achieving the objectives of the grant during the remainder of the grant period4 7b7 ,use of funds ,each ,state that receives a grant under this title shall use the funds provided by the grant to carry out the ,state's grant implementation plan described in section #bjb7;b74 #bjb4 ,criteria for awarding grants 7a7 ,applications ,each ,state that desires to receive a grant under this title shall submit an application to the ,commission at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,commission may reasonably require4 ,at a minimum1 each such application shall include each of the following3 7#a7 ,a documentation of the ,state's record in carrying out the following in the administration of elections for public office3 7,a7 ,providing voting machines that are less than #aj years old4 7,b7 ,providing voting equipment that generates a verifiable paper trail at polling places4 7,c7 ,implementing strong chain of custody procedures for the physical security of voting equipment and paper records at all stages of the process4 7,d7 ,conducting pre-election testing on every voting machine and ensuring that paper ballots are available wherever electronic machines are used4 7,e7 ,mandating post-election risk-limiting audits to confirm the validity of electronic results4 7,f7 ,keeping offline backups of voter registration lists4 7,g7 ,providing a secure voter registration database that logs requests submitted to the database4 7,h7 ,publishing and enforcing a policy detailing use limitations and security safeguards to protect voters' personal information in the voter registration process4 7,i7 ,providing secure processes and procedures for reporting vote tallies4 7,j7 ,providing a secure platform for disseminating vote totals4 7,k7 ,any other performance measure established under section #dja in providing voting system security4 7#b7 ,evidence of established conditions of innovation and reform in providing voting system security and the ,state's proposed plan for implementing additional conditions4 7#c7 ,evidence of collaboration between relevant stakeholders in developing the grant implementation plan described in subsection 7b74 7#d7 ,annual performance measures and targets for the activities carried out with the grant4 7#e7 ,a description of the ,state's plan to conduct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried out with the grant4 7#f7 ,the grant implementation plan described in subsection 7b74 7b7 ,grant implementation plan ,the grant implementation plan described in this subsection is a plan developed by the ,state for using funds provided by the grant to improve the ,state's performance on the performance measures established under section #dja1 including how the ,state will carry out some or all of the following3 7#a7 ,providing voting machines that are less than #aj years old4 7#b7 ,updating voting equipment to provide a verifiable paper trail at polling stations4 7#c7 ,implementing strong chain of custody procedures for the physical security of voting equipment and paper records at all stages of the process4 7#d7 ,conducting pre-election testing on every voting machine and ensuring paper ballots are available wherever electronic machines are used4 7#e7 ,mandating post-election risk-limiting audits to confirm the validity of electronic results4 7#f7 ,keeping offline backups of voter registration lists4 7#g7 ,providing a secure voter registration database that logs requests submitted to the database4 7#h7 ,publishing and enforcing a policy detailing use limitations and security safeguards to protect voters' personal information in the voter registration process4 7#i7 ,providing secure processes and procedures for reporting vote tallies4 7#aj7 ,providing a secure platform for disseminating vote totals4 #bjc4 ,criteria for evaluating applications 7a7 ,award basis ,the ,commission shall award grants to ,states under this title on a competitive basis1 based on the quality of the ,state's application submitted under section #bjb1 including-- 7#a7 the ,state's record in the areas described in paragraph 7#a7 of section #bjb7;a72 7#b7 the ,state's record of1 and commitment to1 establishing conditions for innovation and reform1 as described in paragraph 7#b7 of section #bjb7;a72 7#c7 the quality and likelihood of success of the ,state's grant implementation plan described in section #bjb7;b7 in showing improvement in the areas described in paragraph 7#a7 of section #bjb7;a71 including the ,state's capacity to implement the plan and evidence of collaboration as described in paragraph 7#c7 of section #bjb7;a72 and 7#d7 the ,state's evaluation plan as described in paragraph 7#e7 of section #bjb7;a74 7b7 ,explanation ,the ,commission shall publish an explanation of how the application review process under this paragraph will ensure an equitable and objective evaluation based on the criteria described in subsection 7a74 #bjd4 ,authorization of appropriations 7a7 ,in general ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year #bjai and each succeeding fiscal year to carry out this title4 7b7 ,reservation of funds ,from the amount made available to carry out this title for a fiscal year1 the ,commission may reserve not more than #aj percent of such amount to carry out activities related to-- 7#a7 technical assistance2 and 7#b7 outreach and dissemination4 ,,iii ,encouraging ,automatic ,voter ,registration #cja4 ,incentives for ,states to implement automatic voter registration 7a7 ,grants authorized 7#a7 ,in general ,from the amounts made available under section #cjc for a fiscal year and not reserved under section 7b7 of section #cjc1 the ,election ,assistance ,commission 7hereafter in this title referred to as the ,commission7 shall award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to ,states in accordance with section #cjb4 7#b7 ,number of grants ,a ,state may not receive more than #a grant under this section per grant period4 7#c7 ,duration of grants 7,a7 ,in general ,a grant under this section shall be awarded for a period of not more than #d years4 7,b7 ,continuation of grants ,a ,state that is awarded a grant under this section shall not receive grant funds under this section for the second or any subsequent year of the grant unless the ,state demonstrates to the ,commission1 at such time and in such manner as determined by the ,commission1 that the ,state is-- 7i7 making progress in implementing the plan for the implementation of automatic voter registration in the ,state1 as described in section #cjb7;c71 at a rate that the ,commission determines will result in the ,state fully implementing such plan during the remainder of the grant period2 or 7ii7 making progress against the performance measures established under section #dja at a rate that the ,commission determines will result in the ,state reaching its targets and achieving the objectives of the grant during the remainder of the grant period4 7b7 ,use of funds ,each ,state that receives a grant under this title shall use the funds provided by the grant to carry out the ,state's plan for the implementation of automatic voter registration in the ,state1 as described in section #cjb7;c74 #cjb4 ,applications 7a7 ,in general ,each ,state that desires to receive a grant under this title shall submit an application to the ,commission at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,commission may reasonably require4 ,at a minimum1 each such application shall include the following3 7#a7 ,a detailed plan for the implementation of automatic voter registration in the ,state4 7#b7 ,annual performance measures and targets for the activities carried out with the grant4 7#c7 ,a description of the ,state's plan to conduct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried out with the grant4 7b7 ,selection of recipients ,the ,commission shall award grants to ,states under this title on a competitive basis1 based on the quality of the ,state's application submitted under subsection 7a74 7c7 ,automatic voter registration described ,in this title1 automatic voter registration means a system under which a ,state registers individuals to vote in elections for ,federal office who are eligible to vote in such elections by electronically transferring the information necessary for registration from government agencies to election officials of the ,state so that1 unless the individual affirmatively declines to be registered1 the individual will be registered to vote in such elections4 #cjc4 ,authorization of appropriations 7a7 ,in general ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year #bjai and each succeeding fiscal year to carry out this title4 7b7 ,reservation of funds ,from the amount made available to carry out this title for a fiscal year1 the ,commission may reserve not more than #aj percent of such amount to carry out activities related to-- 7#a7 technical assistance2 and 7#b7 outreach and dissemination4 ,,iv ,general ,provisions #dja4 ,establishment of performance measures and targets ,each ,state receiving a grant under this ,act shall establish performance measures and targets1 approved by the ,election ,assistance ,commission 7hereafter in this title referred to as the ,commission71 for the programs and activities carried out with the funds provided by the grant4 #djb4 ,reporting requirements ,each ,state receiving a grant under this ,act shall submit to the ,commission1 at such time and in such manner as the ,commission may require1 an annual report including-- 7#a7 data on the ,state's progress in achieving the targets for the performance measures established under section #dja2 7#b7 a description of the challenges the ,state has faced in implementing the programs and activities funded by the grant and how it has addressed or plans to address those challenges2 and 7#c7 findings from the evaluation plan for the grant4 #djc4 ,state defined ,in this ,act1 the term ,state means each of the several ,states and the ,district of ,columbia4