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H.R. 5131: VOTE Act of 2016

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H.R. 5131: VOTE Act of 2016

114th Congress · introduced 2016-04-29 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2016-04-29 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [D-GA-4] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

VOTE Act of 2016

Plain summary

Verifying Optimal Tools for Elections Act of 2016 or the VOTE 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the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to make a payment to each eligible state in which a precinct used at least one outdated voting machine to administer the regularly scheduled federal general election held in November 2012. A state shall use the funds from such a payment to replace outdated voting machines in qualifying precincts with voting machines that: (1) have never been used in any federal general election and are not outdated voting machines, or have been used only with respect to federal general elections held after November 2012; and (2) are auditable and meet specified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 A state receiving such a payment shall ensure that all the outdated voting machines in its qualifying precincts have been replaced in time for the regularly scheduled federal general election in November 2018.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.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

VOTE Act of 2016

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [D-GA-4] · 13 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Stacey E. Plaskett (D-VI), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Marc A. Veasey (D-TX), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA), Julia Brownley (D-CA)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [D-GA-4] reported raising $514,399 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Appropriation
Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong114-hr5131 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114