Bill
Bill > HR5131
summary
Introduced
04/29/2016
04/29/2016
In Committee
09/30/2016
09/30/2016
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/03/2017
01/03/2017
Introduced Session
114th Congress
Bill Summary
VOTE Act of 2016 Verifying Optimal Tools for Elections Act of 2016 This bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to direct the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to make a payment to each eligible state in which a precinct used at least one outdated voting machine to administer the regularly scheduled federal general election held in November 2012. A state shall use the funds from such a payment to replace outdated voting machines in qualifying precincts with voting machines that: (1) have never been used in any federal general election and are not outdated voting machines, or have been used only with respect to federal general elections held after November 2012; and (2) are auditable and meet specified requirements. A state receiving such a payment shall ensure that all the outdated voting machines in its qualifying precincts have been replaced in time for the regularly scheduled federal general election in November 2018. The EAC shall make grants to states for the education and training, through webinars or other appropriate means, of election officials and poll workers on matters including voting machine maintenance, pre- and post-election voting machine testing, and the development of contingency plans. The EAC shall also make grants to state or local governments to conduct pilot testing with respect to, and carry out the implementation of, voting systems that use: (1) non-proprietary open source software, and (2) commercial or custom firmware and hardware. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shall develop, or fund the development of, a common data format allowing for voting-equipment device interoperability. A voting system used in a federal election in a state may not at any time during the election contain or use any election-dedicated voting system technology that is not deposited by the state with the NIST National Software Reference Library before the election.
AI Summary
This bill, known as the VOTE Act of 2016, aims to improve election technology and processes by amending the Help America Vote Act of 2002. It directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to provide funds to eligible states that used outdated voting machines in the November 2012 federal general election, with these funds specifically designated for replacing those machines with newer, auditable ones that have not been previously used or were only used after November 2012. States receiving these funds must ensure all outdated machines are replaced by the November 2018 federal election. The bill also authorizes grants for training election officials and poll workers on crucial topics like machine maintenance and contingency planning, and for pilot testing voting systems that utilize non-proprietary open-source software and commercial hardware. Furthermore, it mandates the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a common data format for voting equipment interoperability and requires that any election-dedicated voting system technology used in federal elections must be deposited with NIST's National Software Reference Library before the election, with specific provisions for disclosure and protection of this technology.
Committee Categories
Business and Industry, Government Affairs
Sponsors (14)
Hank Johnson (D)*,
Julia Brownley (D),
Steve Cohen (D),
Lloyd Doggett (D),
Raúl Grijalva (D),
Alcee Hastings (D),
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D),
Ted Lieu (D),
Chellie Pingree (D),
Stacey Plaskett (D),
Cedric Richmond (D),
Adam Smith (D),
Marc Veasey (D),
Bonnie Watson Coleman (D),
Last Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology. (on 09/30/2016)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
Loading...