U.S. Code » Title 52 » Subtitle Subtitle II— Voting Assistance and Election Administration › Chapter CHAPTER 209— ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IMPROVEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IMPROVEMENTS AND REPLACEMENT OF PUNCH CARD AND LEVER VOTING MACHINES

52 U.S.C. § 20901

Payments to States for activities to improve administration of elections

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(a) In general

Not later than 45 days after October 29, 2002, the Administrator of General Services (in this subchapter referred to as the “Administrator”) shall establish a program under which the Administrator shall make a payment to each State in which the chief executive officer of the State, or designee, in consultation and coordination with the chief State election official, notifies the Administrator not later than 6 months after October 29, 2002, that the State intends to use the payment in accordance with this section.

(b) Use of payment(1) In generalA State shall use the funds provided under a payment made under this section to carry out one or more of the following activities:(A) Complying with the requirements under subchapter III.(B) Improving the administration of elections for Federal office.(C) Educating voters concerning voting procedures, voting rights, and voting technology.(D) Training election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers.(E) Developing the State plan for requirements payments to be submitted under subpart 1 of part D of subchapter II.(F) Improving, acquiring, leasing, modifying, or replacing voting systems and technology and methods for casting and counting votes.(G) Improving the accessibility and quantity of polling places, including providing physical access for individuals with disabilities, providing nonvisual access for individuals with visual impairments, and providing assistance to Native Americans, Alaska Native citizens, and to individuals with limited proficiency in the English language.(H) Establishing toll-free telephone hotlines that voters may use to report possible voting fraud and voting rights violations, to obtain general election information, and to access detailed automated information on their own voter registration status, specific polling place locations, and other relevant information.(2) LimitationA State may not use the funds provided under a payment made under this section—(A) to pay costs associated with any litigation, except to the extent that such costs otherwise constitute permitted uses of a payment under this section; or(B) for the payment of any judgment.(c) Use of funds to be consistent with other laws and requirementsIn order to receive a payment under the program under this section, the State shall provide the Administrator with certifications that—(1) the State will use the funds provided under the payment in a manner that is consistent with each of the laws described in section 21145 of this title, as such laws relate to the provisions of this chapter; and(2) the proposed uses of the funds are not inconsistent with the requirements of subchapter III.(d) Amount of payment(1) In general

Subject to section 20903(b) of this title, the amount of payment made to a State under this section shall be the minimum payment amount described in paragraph (2) plus the voting age population proportion amount described in paragraph (3).

(2) Minimum payment amountThe minimum payment amount described in this paragraph is—(A) in the case of any of the several States or the District of Columbia, one-half of 1 percent of the aggregate amount made available for payments under this section; and(B) in the case of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the United States Virgin Islands, one-tenth of 1 percent of such aggregate amount.(3) Voting age population proportion amountThe voting age population proportion amount described in this paragraph is the product of—(A) the aggregate amount made available for payments under this section minus the total of all of the minimum payment amounts determined under paragraph (2); and(B) the voting age population proportion for the State (as defined in paragraph (4)).(4) Voting age population proportion definedThe term “voting age population proportion” means, with respect to a State, the amount equal to the quotient of—(A) the voting age population of the State (as reported in the most recent decennial census); and(B) the total voting age population of all States (as reported in the most recent decennial census).(Pub. L. 107–252, title I, § 101, Oct. 29, 2002, 116 Stat. 1668.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

Subchapter III, referred to in subsecs. (b)(1)(A) and (c)(2), was in the original “title III”, meaning title III of Pub. L. 107–252, Oct. 29, 2002, 116 Stat. 1704, which enacted subchapter III of this chapter and amended section 405 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of title III to the Code, see Tables.

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 107–252, Oct. 29, 2002, 116 Stat. 1666, known as the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.

Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 15301 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 36 cases (26 in the last 5 years), 2015–2026 · leading case: Trump v. New York, 592 U.S. 125 (2020).
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Trump v. New York, 592 U.S. 125 (2020). · cites it 2× “§47114 (d)(1)(B), or “reported,” 52 U. S. C. §20901 (d)(4), by the decennial census.”
A. Philip Randolph Inst. v. Jon Husted, 838 F.3d 699 (6th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (“HAVA”), 52 U.S.C. § 20901 et seq. Plaintiffs also sought an injunction requiring the Secretary either to reinstate otherwise eligible voters who were improperly removed from the rolls pursuant to the Supplemental Process, or to count…”
Colon-Marrero v. Garcia-Velez, 813 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2016). “See 52 U.S.C. § 20901 . Subchapter II establishes an independent Election Assistance Commission, id.”
Am. Civil Rights Union v. Brenda Snipes, 935 F.3d 1192 (11th Cir. 2019). “1666 (codified as amended at 52 U.S.C. §§ 20901 - 21145 (2012) ). This time, Congress mandated that the states create computerized statewide voter registration lists.”
Banfield, Aplts. v. Sec'y of the Com, 110 A.3d 155 (Pa. 2015). “In addition, electronic vote data can be removed from the DRE on external memory devices, such as flash drives and memory cards, and connected to a different electronic system to tally the votes.”
Pub. Interest Legal Found. v. Jocelyn Benson, 136 F.4th 613 (6th Cir. 2025). “1666 (codified as amended at 52 U.S.C. §§ 20901–21145 (2012)). HAVA’s provisions include a requirement that states “shall implement, in a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner, a single, uniform, official, .”
Baber v. Dunlap, 376 F. Supp. 3d 125 (D. Me. 2018). “I am unaware of any precedent in which the House of Representatives addressed a similar contest in the context of the Federal Contested Elections Act, 2 U.S.C. §§ 381 -396.”
Greater Birmingham Ministries v. Sec'y of State for the State of Alabama, 105 F.4th 1324 (11th Cir. 2024). “Several years after passing the NVRA, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20901 , et seq., (“HAVA”), which compelled states to adopt election and voter registration systems that comport with modern-day technology.”
Repub. Natl Cmte v. Wetzel, 120 F.4th 200 (5th Cir. 2024). “See Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 15–16; see also 52 U.S.C. § 20901 et seq. HAVA establishes a procedure for provisional voting when a voter’s eligibility is in question.”
United States v. Town of Thornapple, Wisconsin (7th Cir. 2025). · cites it 4× “107-252 (codified at 52 U.S.C. §§ 20901 et seq. (2002)). Section 301 of HAVA, titled “Voting Systems Standards,” lays out some of these minimum standards.”
Mason, Crystal (Tex. Crim. App. 2022). · cites it 2× “See 52 U.S.C.A. § 20901 . To qualify for federal funds, a state must spend the money in compliance with Title III of the Act.”
Crystal Mason v. the State of Texas (Tex. App. 2022). · cites it 2× “See 52 U.S.C.A. § 20901 . To qualify for federal funds, a state must spend the money in compliance with Title III of the Act.”
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