Help America Vote Act

Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Summary

The most significant parts of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) are in Titles I, II, and III. Overviews are provided below. Information on Titles IV through IX may be found in the full text of HAVA.

TITLE I - Punch Card and Lever Machine Buyout

Title I provided federal funding to replace punch card and lever voting systems. States that wished to participate in the buyout program received funds for each qualifying precinct. A qualifying precinct was defined as a precinct that used either a punch card or lever machine voting system in the 2000 General Election. Georgia participated in the Title I program to replace all such equipment in Georgia.

TITLE II - Election Assistance Commission and the “State Plan”

Title II created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), to facilitate the election reform process from the federal level.

Title II also required the Secretary of State to submit a "State Plan" to the EAC in order to qualify for federal funding under HAVA, and to amend that plan prior to receiving new funding. As part of that process the Secretary of State appoints and convenes a State Plan Committee pursuant to the provisions of HAVA. The State Plan Committee consists of local election officials, representatives of voters with disabilities, and others. In 2003, the Committee met several times prior to the Secretary of State submitting Georgia’s initial State Plan to the EAC. More information on the 2003 State Plan, the 2008 plan amendment and the supporting Committees can be found on the Election Division’s HAVA page.

Title III - Voting Requirements

Title III set forth voting system requirements and federal mandates that all states were required to implement prior to federal elections taking place in 2004. The State of Georgia had already met a majority of these HAVA requirements in the November 2002 General Election while implementing Georgia Senate Bill 414. (O.C.G.A. 21-2- 379 et seq.) which also implemented the statewide use of the Direct Recording Electronic Voting System. Remaining HAVA requirements were addressed in State HAVA Reform Legislation, Senate Bill 258, which passed both the House and the Senate during the 2003 Legislative Session and was signed into law by the Governor on June 2, 2003.