Bush signs Help America Vote Act (HAVA), creating Election Assistance Commission after 2000 recount

President Bush signs the Help America Vote Act (HAVA, P.L. 107-252), the first major federal election administration reform in decades, responding to the 2000 presidential recount crisis in Florida. HAVA creates the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to set federal voting standards, requires states to replace punch-card and lever-based voting systems, mandates provisional ballots for voters whose registration is in question, and establishes statewide voter registration database requirements. The law appropriates $3.86 billion for the upgrades.