119-hr2694

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2694 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 2694

 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish deadlines for 
States to count the ballots cast in elections for Federal office and to 
 certify the results of elections for Federal office, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 April 7, 2025

 Mr. Obernolte (for himself, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Kiley of California, Mr. 
 Fong, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Issa, and Mr. McClintock) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
 Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish deadlines for 
States to count the ballots cast in elections for Federal office and to 
 certify the results of elections for Federal office, 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 ``Election Results Accountability 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEADLINES FOR COUNTING BALLOTS AND CERTIFYING 
 RESULTS OF FEDERAL ELECTIONS.

    (a) Deadlines.--Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 20181 et seq.), as amended by 

section 2

    (a) of the COCOA Act of 
2024, is 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. DEADLINES FOR COUNTING BALLOTS AND CERTIFYING RESULTS.

 ``

    (a) Deadlines.--
 ``

    (1) Counting ballots.--Not later than 72 hours after the 
 closing of the polls for an election for Federal office held in 
 a State, the State shall count not less than 90 percent of the 
 ballots cast in the election and make the result of the count 
 publicly available.
 ``

    (2) Certifying results.--Not later than 2 weeks after the 
 closing of the polls for an election for Federal office held in 
 a State, the State shall--
 ``
        (A) complete the counting of all of the ballots 
 cast in the election; and
 ``
        (B) officially certify the result of the election 
 and make the result publicly available.
 ``

    (b) Exceptions.--A State shall not be considered to be out of 
compliance with the requirements of subsection

    (a) if the Commission 
and the Attorney General certify that the State's failure to meet such 
requirements is due to any of the following:
 ``

    (1) A bona fide emergency, including--
 ``
        (A) a major disaster (as defined in 

section 102 
 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
 Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122));
 ``
        (B) a significant public health emergency, such 
 as a pandemic or widespread outbreak; or
 ``
            (C) a cyberattack, data breach, or other 
 significant security threat to the election 
 infrastructure.
 ``

    (2) Technical difficulties, including--
 ``
        (A) malfunctioning election equipment or 
 software; or
 ``
        (B) errors in the tabulation of ballots or the 
 transmission of results that could not have been 
 reasonably anticipated or mitigated in advance.
 ``

    (3) The implementation of new election procedures or 
 reforms and the State certifies that it is in the process of 
 complying with all such requirements, except that this 
 paragraph applies only with respect to the first election held 
 after the implementation of the new procedures or reforms.
 ``

    (4) The conducting of a recount of the results of the 
 election.
 ``
            (c) Withholding of Election Administration Funds for Failure To 
Comply With Deadlines.--If the Commission and the Attorney General each 
certify that a State is not in compliance with the requirements of 
subsection

    (a) with respect to an election, the State may not receive 
any funds from the Commission to support the administration of 
subsequent elections unless--
 ``

    (1) the State submits to the Commission and the Attorney 
 General a plan to ensure that the State will comply with such 
 requirements with respect to such subsequent elections; and
 ``

    (2) the Commission and the Attorney General each certify 
 that the State has taken actions to comply with such plan.''.

    (b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Existing Enforcement 
Provisions.--

Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111), as amended by 

section 2

    (b) of the COCOA Act of 2024, is amended by striking ``and 
304'' and inserting ``304, and 305''.
            (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act, as 
amended by 

section 2
            (c) of the COCOA Act of 2024, is amended--

    (1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 305 and 
 306 as relating to 

section 306 and 307; and

    (2) by inserting after the item relating to 

section 304 the 
 following:

``

Sec. 305. Deadlines for counting ballots and certifying results.''.
            (d) Effective Date.--This Act and the amendments made by this Act 
shall apply with respect to elections held after the expiration of the 
90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.
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