Voting Systems:  The bill contains a number of provisions to increase the security of voting systems.  Its requirements are similar to those in H.R. 550, described below.

Provisional Ballots:  The bill would require states to count provisional ballots cast in the wrong polling place or cast by voters without ID.  It would also require provisional ballots to be counted in time for recounts and contest proceedings.

Allocation of Election Resources:  The bill would require each state to provide for a minimum number of voting systems, poll workers and other resources at each polling place, pursuant to a formula developed by the EAC, with the goal of ensuring equal waiting times of no longer than one hour.

Election Day Registration:  The bill would require each state to permit individuals to register and vote at their polling places on Election Day.

No Excuse Absentee Balloting:  The bill would require each state to allow citizens to vote by absentee ballot without showing a reason.

Early Voting:  The bill would require each state to provide for early voting no less than 15 days before any federal election.

Impartial Election Administration:  The bill would prohibit chief election officials and top officers at voting system manufacturers from participating in any political activities in federal campaigns.  It would also require states to publish all their laws and procedures for administering federal elections at the beginning of each election year.

Poll Worker Training:  This bill would establish minimum requirement of training for poll workers on a number of topics.

Purges:  The bill would require states to make the processes by which they purge their voter rolls more transparent and to provide notice to voters before purging their names from the rolls.

Processing Voter Registration Applications:  The bill would require states to accept and process voter registration applications regardless of technical mistakes or omissions, so long as there is no material omission or information to suggest that a registrant is ineligible to vote.

Voter ID:  The bill would allow first-time voters who registered by mail to vote regardless of whether they show ID so long as they execute an affidavit of eligibility.  It also would provide funds for states to distribute free photo IDs to those who do not have them.

Deceptive Practices:  This bill’s deceptive practices provisions are similar to those in Senator Obama’s bill, discussed below.

Past Criminal Convictions:  The bill would guarantee the right to vote of all citizens with past criminal convictions unless they are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole.

Election Day Holiday:  The bill would make Election Day a federal holiday.

Deceptive Practices:  This bill would prohibit unfair or deceptive practices that affect voting. It also requires the establishment of detailed procedures to document allegations of voting irregularities and responses to allegations.

Voting Systems:  Like S. 17, this bill would require the preservation of voter-verifiable paper records where “none of the means of verification […] may employ cryptography in the record” for audits. Additionally, the EAC would be required to develop standards for voting machine software and for conducting recounts.

Early Voting:  This bill would require states to permit same-day voter registration at poll sites that conduct early voting.

Impartial Election Administration:  This bill would prohibit party challengers and campaigners from interfering with election administration at poll sites. It would require the EAC to study the feasibility of nonpartisan election administration in the states and to develop standards to check for conflicts of interest.

Poll Worker Training:  This bill would require states to train election officials and poll workers.

Purges:  This bill would require the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish accuracy standards for states to meet to purge names from the voter rolls for reasons of felony status or death. States must post public notices listing purged names, the reasons for purging, and information about appealing a removal.

Provisional Ballots:  This bill would require states to count provisional ballots cast by eligible voters at the wrong poll site.

Voting Systems:  This bill would ban wireless, power-line, and concealed communication devices in voting systems and require that all technological information such as voting system software’s source code is available for inspection.

Impartial Election Administration:  This bill would require states to publish and update information about state election law on the internet. Additionally, states would be required to post a list of the names of all the registered voters within a jurisdiction as well as their poll site assignments at polling places.

Deceptive Practices:  This bill would prohibit anyone from providing false information regarding an individual’s eligibility to vote.