§20962 — Title 52 Voting and Elections | U.S. Code

§20962 Process for Adoption

Title 52 › Subtitle Subtitle II— Voting Assistance and Election Administration › Chapter 209— ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IMPROVEMENT › Subchapter II— COMMISSION › Part A— Establishment and General Organization › Subpart 3— technical guidelines development committee › § 20962

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Commission must follow a set process to approve or change the voluntary voting system guidelines. It must announce proposed guidelines in the Federal Register, give the public a chance to comment and speak at a hearing on the record, and then publish the final guidelines in the Federal Register. The Executive Director must use the Technical Guidelines Development Committee’s recommendations and send the proposed guidelines (or changes) to the Board of Advisors and the Executive Board of the Standards Board for review. Those boards will send comments and recommendations back to the Commission. The Commission can only adopt a guideline if it votes to approve it after considering those comments, and it must wait 90 days after sending the proposal to the boards before voting. The voting standards the Federal Election Commission had before October 29, 2002 are treated as the first set adopted by the Commission on October 29, 2002.

Title 52, §20962

Voting and Elections — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Consistent with the requirements of this section, the final adoption of the voluntary voting system guidelines (or modification of such a guideline) shall be carried out by the Commission in a manner that provides for each of the following:

(1)Publication of notice of the proposed guidelines in the Federal Register.

(2)An opportunity for public comment on the proposed guidelines.

(3)An opportunity for a public hearing on the record.

(4)Publication of the final guidelines in the Federal Register.

(b)(1)In developing the voluntary voting system guidelines and modifications of such guidelines under this section, the Executive Director of the Commission shall take into consideration the recommendations provided by the Technical Guidelines Development Committee under section 20961 of this title.

(2)The Executive Director of the Commission shall submit the guidelines proposed to be adopted under this subpart (or any modifications to such guidelines) to the Board of Advisors.

(3)The Executive Director of the Commission shall submit the guidelines proposed to be adopted under this subpart (or any modifications to such guidelines) to the Executive Board of the Standards Board, which shall review the guidelines (or modifications) and forward its recommendations to the Standards Board.

(c)Upon receipt of voluntary voting system guidelines described in subsection (b) (or a modification of such guidelines) from the Executive Director of the Commission, the Board of Advisors and the Standards Board shall each review and submit comments and recommendations regarding the guideline (or modification) to the Commission.

(d)(1)A voluntary voting system guideline described in subsection (b) (or modification of such a guideline) shall not be considered to be finally adopted by the Commission unless the Commission votes to approve the final adoption of the guideline (or modification), taking into consideration the comments and recommendations submitted by the Board of Advisors and the Standards Board under subsection (c).

(2)The Commission may not vote on the final adoption of a guideline described in subsection (b) (or modification of such a guideline) until the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on the date the Executive Director of the Commission submits the proposed guideline (or modification) to the Board of Advisors and the Standards Board under subsection (b).

(e)Notwithstanding any other provision of this subpart, the most recent set of voting system standards adopted by the Federal Election Commission prior to October 29, 2002, shall be deemed to have been adopted by the Commission as of October 29, 2002, as the first set of voluntary voting system guidelines adopted under this subpart.

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 15362 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

§20962 Process for Adoption

Summary

Title 52, §20962

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Citations & Metadata