text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely 
  Voting Act of 2012'' or the ``FAST Voting Act of 2012''.
  
  SEC. 2. INCENTIVES FOR STATES TO INVEST IN PRACTICES AND TECHNOLOGY 
                THAT ARE DESIGNED TO EXPEDITE VOTING AT THE POLLS AND 
                SIMPLIFY VOTER REGISTRATION.
  
      (a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are to--
              (1) provide incentives for States to invest in practices 
          and technology that are designed to expedite voting at the 
          polls; and
              (2) provide incentives for States to simplify voter 
          registration.
      (b) Reservation of Funds.--From the amount made available to carry 
  out this section for a fiscal year, the Attorney General may reserve 
  not more than 10 percent of such amount to carry out activities related 
  to--
              (1) technical assistance; and
              (2) outreach and dissemination.
      (c) Program Authorized.--
              (1) In general.--From the amounts made available under 
          subsection (h) for a fiscal year and not reserved under 
          subsection (b), the Attorney General shall award grants, on a 
          competitive basis, to States in accordance with subsection 
          (d)(2), to enable the States to carry out the purposes of this 
          section.
              (2) Number of grants.--A State may not receive more than 1 
          grant under this section per grant period.
              (3) Duration of grants.--
                      (A) In general.--A grant under this section shall 
                  be awarded for a period of not more than 4 years.
                      (B) Continuation of grants.--A State that is 
                  awarded a grant under this section shall not receive 
                  grant funds under this section for the second or any 
                  subsequent year of the grant unless the State 
                  demonstrates to the Attorney General, at such time and 
                  in such manner as determined by the Attorney General, 
                  that the State is--
                              (i) making progress in implementing the 
                          plan under subsection (d)(1)(C) at a rate that 
                          the Attorney General determines will result in 
                          the State fully implementing such plan during 
                          the remainder of the grant period; or
                              (ii) making progress against the 
                          performance measures set forth in subsection 
                          (e) at a rate that the Attorney General 
                          determines will result in the State reaching 
                          its targets and achieving the objectives of the 
                          grant during the remainder of the grant period.
      (d) Applications.--
              (1) Applications.--Each State that desires to receive a 
          grant under this section shall submit an application to the 
          Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and containing 
          such information as the Attorney General may reasonably 
          require. At a minimum, each such application shall include--
                      (A) documentation of the applicant's record, as 
                  applicable--
                              (i) in providing various voter registration 
                          opportunities;
                              (ii) in providing early voting;
                              (iii) in providing absentee voting;
                              (iv) in providing assistance to voters who 
                          do not speak English as a primary language;
                              (v) in providing assistance to voters with 
                          disabilities;
                              (vi) in providing effective access to 
                          voting for members of the armed services;
                              (vii) in providing formal training of 
                          election officials;
                              (viii) in auditing or otherwise documenting 
                          waiting times at polling stations;
                              (ix) in allocating polling locations, 
                          equipment, and staff to match population 
                          distribution;
                              (x) in responding to voting irregularities 
                          and concerns raised at polling stations;
                              (xi) in creating and adhering to 
                          contingency voting plans in the event of a 
                          natural or other disaster; and
                              (xii) with respect to any other performance 
                          measure described in subsection (e) that is not 
                          included in clauses (i) through (xi);
                      (B) evidence of conditions of innovation and reform 
                  that the applicant has established and the applicant's 
                  proposed plan for implementing additional conditions 
                  for innovation and reform, including--
                              (i) a description of how the applicant has 
                          identified and eliminated ineffective practices 
                          in the past and the applicant's plan for doing 
                          so in the future;
                              (ii) a description of how the applicant has 
                          identified and promoted effective practices in 
                          the past and the applicant's plan for doing so 
                          in the future; and
                              (iii) steps the applicant has taken and 
                          will take to eliminate statutory, regulatory, 
                          procedural, or other barriers and to facilitate 
                          the full implementation of the proposed plan 
                          under this subparagraph;
                      (C) a comprehensive and coherent plan for using 
                  funds under this section, and other Federal, State, and 
                  local funds, to improve the applicant's performance on 
                  the measures described in subsection (e), consistent 
                  with criteria set forth by the Attorney General, 
                  including how the applicant will, if applicable--
                              (i) provide flexible registration 
                          opportunities, including online and same-day 
                          registration and registration updating;
                              (ii) provide early voting, at a minimum of 
                          9 of the 10 calendar days preceding an 
                          election, at sufficient and flexible hours;
                              (iii) provide absentee voting, including 
                          no-excuse absentee voting;
                              (iv) provide assistance to voters who do 
                          not speak English as a primary language;
                              (v) provide assistance to voters with 
                          disabilities, including visual impairment;
                              (vi) provide effective access to voting for 
                          members of the armed services;
                              (vii) provide formal training of election 
                          officials, including State and county 
                          administrators and volunteers;
                              (viii) audit and reduce waiting times at 
                          polling stations;
                              (ix) allocate polling locations, equipment, 
                          and staff to match population distribution;
                              (x) respond to any reports of voting 
                          irregularities or concerns raised at the 
                          polling station;
                              (xi) create contingency voting plans in the 
                          event of a natural or other disaster; and
                              (xii) improve the wait times at the 
                          persistently poorest performing polling 
                          stations within the jurisdiction of the 
                          applicant;
                      (D) evidence of collaboration between the State, 
                  local election officials, and other stakeholders, in 
                  developing the plan described in subparagraph (C), 
                  including evidence of the commitment and capacity to 
                  implement the plan;
                      (E) the applicant's annual performance measures and 
                  targets, consistent with the requirements of subsection 
                  (e); and
                      (F) a description of the applicant's plan to 
                  conduct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of 
                  activities carried out with funds under this section.
              (2) Criteria for evaluating applications.--
                      (A) Award basis.--The Attorney General shall award 
                  grants under this section on a competitive basis, based 
                  on the quality of the applications submitted under 
                  paragraph (1), including--
                              (i) each applicant's record in the areas 
                          described in paragraph (1)(A);
                              (ii) each applicant's record of, and 
                          commitment to, establishing conditions for 
                          innovation and reform, as described in 
                          paragraph (1)(B);
                              (iii) the quality and likelihood of success 
                          of each applicant's plan described in paragraph 
                          (1)(C) in showing improvement in the areas 
                          described in paragraph (1)(A), including each 
                          applicant's capacity to implement the plan and 
                          evidence of collaboration as described in 
                          paragraph (1)(D); and
                              (iv) each applicant's evaluation plan as 
                          described in paragraph (1)(F).
                      (B) Explanation.--The Attorney General shall 
                  publish an explanation of how the application review 
                  process under this paragraph will ensure an equitable 
                  and objective evaluation based on the criteria 
                  described in subparagraph (A).
      (e) Performance Measures.--Each State receiving a grant under this 
  section shall establish performance measures and targets, approved by 
  the Attorney General, for the programs and activities carried out under 
  this section. These measures shall, at a minimum, track the State's 
  progress--
              (1) in implementing its plan described in subsection 
          (d)(1)(C);
              (2) in expediting voting at the polls or simplifying voter 
          registration, as applicable; and
              (3) on any other measures identified by the Attorney 
          General.
      (f) Uses of Funds.--Each State that receives a grant under this 
  section shall use the grant funds for any purpose included in the 
  State's plan under subsection (d)(1)(C).
      (g) Reporting.--A State that receives a grant under this section 
  shall submit to the Attorney General, at such time and in such manner 
  as the Attorney General may require, an annual report including--
              (1) data on the State's progress in achieving the targets 
          for the performance measures established under subsection (e);
              (2) a description of the challenges the State has faced in 
          implementing its program and how it has addressed or plans to 
          address those challenges; and
              (3) findings from the evaluation plan as described in 
          subsection (d)(1)(F).
      (h) State Defined.--In this section, the term ``State'' means each 
  of the several States and the District of Columbia.
      (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
  appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
target: Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Voting Act of 2012 or FAST Voting Act of 2012 - Directs the Attorney General to award grants, on a competitive basis, to enable states to: (1) invest in practices and technology designed to expedite voting at the polls, and (2) simplify voter registration.
  
  Requires the grant application to include a comprehensive and coherent plan for using funds to improve the applicant's performance on specified measures with respect to: (1) flexible registration opportunities, (2) early voting, (3) assistance to non-English speaking voters, and (4) other related matters. Requires each grantee to establish performance measures and targets, approved by the Attorney General, that track its progress in implementing its plan and expediting voting at the polls or simplifying voter registration, as applicable.
feat_title: To provide incentives for States to invest in practices and technology that are designed to expedite voting at the polls and to simplify voter registration.