Oversight & Transparency Provisions

(To be included as a separate section or companion title in the Federal Ranked Choice Voting Act)

Section 1. Establishment of a Federal RCV Oversight Commission

1.1 Name and Purpose

• Establish the Ranked Choice Voting Oversight Commission (RCVOC) within the Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

• Purpose: Monitor, evaluate, and publicly report on the implementation, fairness, efficiency, and public confidence in RCV elections at the federal level.

1.2 Composition

• 9 voting members, including:

  • 3 appointed by the President (no more than 2 from same political party)

  • 2 appointed by the Speaker of the House

  • 2 appointed by the Senate Majority Leader

  • 2 appointed by nonpartisan civic institutions (e.g. League of Women Voters, National Association of Election Officials)

• Members must include experience in: election law, computer science, public administration, civic engagement, and voter access.

1.3 Term and Conduct

• Terms: 6 years, staggered.

• Members prohibited from holding elected office or serving on campaign committees during tenure.

Section 2. Responsibilities of the Commission

2.1 RCV Election Audits

• Oversee post-election risk-limiting audits of RCV results in all federal elections.

• Establish protocols for verifying ballot integrity, round tabulation accuracy, and error rates.

2.2 Algorithm & Software Certification

• Certify all tabulation software used in RCV elections to ensure:

  • Transparency: open-source or independently verifiable

  • Accuracy: 100% alignment with voter intent and election law

  • Security: end-to-end encryption, tamper-proof logs, secure chain of custody

  • Equity: system compatibility with accessibility requirements (ADA, multilingual ballots)

2.3 Voter Confidence & Experience Surveys

• Conduct anonymous voter experience surveys after each federal RCV election covering:

  • Ease of use

  • Understanding of ranking

  • Confidence in vote counting

  • Accessibility issues

• Disaggregate results by age, race, disability, language, and location.

2.4 Public Reporting Requirements

• Publish biannual RCV Oversight Reports including:

  • Audit outcomes

  • Disparities in ballot exhaustion or confusion

  • Tabulation transparency metrics

  • Public satisfaction ratings

  • Recommendations for improvement

• Reports must be published online in plain English and multiple languages.

Section 3. Enforcement & Compliance

3.1 State Reporting Mandates

• States must report to the RCVOC within 90 days of each federal election:

  • Detailed tabulation data

  • Ballot error and overvote rates

  • Machine and manual reconciliation data

  • Voter education and outreach expenditures

  • Accessibility and language assistance performance

3.2 Failure to Comply

• States or jurisdictions failing to meet minimum oversight and transparency benchmarks may:

  • Become ineligible for federal RCV implementation grants in the next cycle

  • Be required to submit a corrective action plan or face public compliance hearings

3.3 Civil Penalties

• EAC may refer egregious violations (fraud, suppression, software tampering) to the DOJ.

• Civil fines up to $1,000,000 for systemic noncompliance or intentional obstruction of audits.

Section 4. Voter Education & Public Transparency

4.1 Voter Education Standardization

• Develop national RCV voter education toolkit, including:

  • Animated explainer videos

  • Sample ballots

  • FAQs and multilingual guides

  • Live hotline and chatbot support

• All materials must be published 90 days prior to the first election using RCV.

4.2 Ballot Design Guidelines

• Commission must issue and enforce ballot layout best practices to reduce voter confusion:

  • Clear instructions

  • Visual ranking cues

  • Error prevention features

  • Multi-language support and plain language readability

4.3 Public Technology Demonstrations

• Require every jurisdiction to conduct public RCV tabulation demos at least once every four years.

Section 5. Funding

5.1 Federal Oversight Funding

• Allocate $100 million over 5 years for:

  • RCVOC staffing and operations

  • Nationwide audits

  • Technology evaluation labs

  • Voter education campaigns

• Appropriated annually and adjusted for inflation.

Legislative Note

This oversight framework draws from:

• Help America Vote Act (2002)

• Voter Choice Act oversight models

• State-level best practices in Maine, Alaska, and New York City

• Principles from international RCV usage (Ireland, Australia, New Zealand)