SEC. 4. PAYMENTS FOR CONDUCTING HAND COUNTS OF RESULTS OF 2008 GENERAL ELECTIONS.
PAYMENTS.—
ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS.—If a State, county, or equivalent location tallies the results of any regularly scheduled general election for Federal office in November 2008 by conducting a hand count of the votes cast on the paper ballots used in the election (including paper ballot printouts verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast) in accordance with the requirements of this section, the Administrator shall make a payment to the State, county, or equivalent location in an amount equal to the documented reasonable costs incurred by the State, county, or equivalent location in conducting the hand counts.
CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND COSTS.—
CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to receive a payment under this section, a State, county, or equivalent location shall submit to the Administrator (and, in the case of a county or equivalent jurisdiction, shall provide a copy to the State), in such form as the Administrator may require, a statement containing— (i) a certification that the State, county, or equivalent location conducted the hand counts in accordance with all of the requirements of this section; (ii) a statement of the reasonable costs incurred by the State, county, or equivalent location in conducting the hand counts; and (iii) such other information and assurances as the Administrator may require.
AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a payment made to a State, county, or equivalent location under this section shall be equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the State, county, or equivalent location in conducting the hand counts.
DETERMINATION OF REASONABLENESS OF COSTS.—The determinations under this paragraph of whether costs incurred by a State, county, or equivalent location are reasonable shall be made by the Administrator in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission.
TIMING OF PAYMENTS.—The Administrator shall make the payment required under this section to a State, county, or equivalent location not later than 30 days after receiving the statement submitted by the State, county, or equivalent location under paragraph(2).
AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— There are authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator $30,000,000 for payments under this section. Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under this subsection shall remain available until expended.
HAND COUNTS DESCRIBED.—
IN GENERAL.—A hand count conducted in accordance with this section is a count of all of the paper ballots on which votes were cast in the election (including paper ballot printouts verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast), including votes cast on an early, absentee, emergency, and provisional basis, which is conducted by hand to determine the winner of the election and is conducted without using electronic equipment or software.
COMPLETENESS.—With respect to each jurisdiction in which a hand count is conducted, the State, county, or equivalent location shall ensure that a voter verified paper ballot or paper ballot printout verifiable by the voter at the time the vote is cast is available for every vote cast in the jurisdiction.
PROCESS FOR CONDUCTING HAND COUNTS.—
IN GENERAL.—In order to meet the requirements of this section, a hand count of the ballots cast in an election shall be conducted in accordance with the following procedures:
On the date of the election, the jurisdiction shall conduct an initial hand count of the ballots cast in the election, using the ballots which are eligible to be counted in the election as of the time the polls are closed.
Any ballot which is eligible to be counted in the election but which is not included in the initial count conducted under sub-paragraph (A), including a provisional ballot cast by an individual who is determined to be eligible to vote in the election or an absentee ballot received after the date of the election but prior to the applicable deadline under State law for the receipt of absentee ballots, shall be subject to a hand count in accordance with this section and added to the tally conducted under subparagraph (A) not later than 48 hours after the ballot is determined to be eligible to be counted.
The hand count shall be conducted by a team of not fewer than 2 individuals who shall be witnessed by at least one observer sitting at the same table with such individuals.
Except as provided in paragraph (2), all such individuals shall be election officials of the jurisdiction in which the hand count is conducted.
USE OF OTHER PERSONNEL.—An individual who is not an election official of the jurisdiction in which a hand count is conducted under this section may serve on a team conducting the hand count or may serve as an observer of a team conducting the hand count if the jurisdiction certifies that the individual has completed such training as the jurisdiction deems appropriate to conduct or observe the hand count (as the case may be).
LOCATION.—The hand counts conducted under this section of the ballots cast in an election shall be conducted—
(A)in the case of ballots cast at a polling place on the date of the election, at the polling place at which the ballots were cast; or (B) in the case of any other ballots, at the office of the chief election official of the jurisdiction conducting the hand count.
INFORMATION INCLUDED IN RESULTS.— Each hand count conducted under this section shall produce the following information with respect to the election:
The vote tally for each candidate.
The number of overvotes, undervotes, spoiled ballots, and blank ballots cast (or their equivalents, as defined by the State, county or equivalent location).
The number of write-in ballots and the names written in on such ballots pursuant to State law.
The total number of ballots cast.
A record of judgement calls made regarding voter intent.
PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF HAND COUNTS.— Each hand count conducted under this section shall be conducted in a manner that allows public observation of the entire process (including the opening of the ballot boxes or removal of machine-printed ballots from their containers, the sorting, counting, and notation of results, and the announcement of final determinations) sufficient to confirm but not interfere with the proceedings.
ESTABLISHMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PROCEDURES.—Prior to the date of the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2008, a State, county, or equivalent location shall establish and publish procedures for carrying out hand counts under this subsection.
ANNOUNCEMENT AND POSTING OF RESULTS.— Upon the completion of a hand count conducted under this section, the State, county, or equivalent location shall announce the results to the public and post them on a public Internet site.
USE OF HAND COUNT IN CERTIFICATION OF RESULTS.—The State shall use the results of the hand count conducted under this section for purposes of certifying the results of the election involved. Nothing in this section may be construed to affect the application or operation of any State law governing the recount of the results of an election.
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