II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3725 

To expand vote by mail and early voting, and to improve the safety, accessibility, and efficiency of in-person voting during elections for Federal 

office. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 13, 2020 

Ms. HARRIS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To expand vote by mail and early voting, and to improve 

the safety, accessibility, and efficiency of in-person voting 

during elections for Federal office. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VoteSafe Act of 2020’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) The right to vote is the foundation of Amer8 ican democracy. Voting provides the citizenry with a 

9 vital check on their elected officials and grants peoVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:46 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3725.IS S3725

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 3725 IS

1 ple the political power necessary to exercise and de2 fend the rights guaranteed by the United States 

3 Constitution. 

4 (2) The Elections Clause of the United States 

5 Constitution gives Congress sweeping power to regu6 late the time, place, and manner of Federal elections 

7 (Article I, section 4 of the Constitution of the 

8 United States; see also Arizona v. Inter Tribal 

9 Council of Arizona, Inc., 570 U.S. 1 (2013)). Con10 gress also has enforcement power under the Four11 teenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitu12 tion of the United States. 

13 (3) As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explained in 

14 a speech delivered on May 17, 1957, ‘‘So long as I 

15 do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to 

16 vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my 

17 mind—it is made up for me. I cannot live as a 

18 democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped 

19 to enact—I can only submit to the edict of others.’’. 

20 (4) The right to vote was not guaranteed to all 

21 Americans at our Nation’s founding. The ratification 

22 of the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, the 

23 civil rights movement’s struggle for justice and 

24 equality, and the enactment of the Voting Rights 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 3725 IS

1 Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments suc2 ceeded in expanding access to the franchise. 

3 (5) Unfortunately, the barriers faced by voters 

4 who have historically experienced the greatest obsta5 cles to voting are exacerbated by the coronavirus 

6 (COVID–19) pandemic. 

7 (6) Strategies to mitigate the spread of 

8 COVID–19 include ‘‘social distancing’’, a practice 

9 that requires individuals to maintain a distance be10 tween themselves and other people in order to avoid 

11 acquiring or transmitting the virus. The need to em12 brace such precautions will require States to quickly 

13 modify voting processes to minimize person-to-per14 son contact. 

15 (7) Voting by mail is a critical part of the solu16 tion and must be expanded as quickly as possible, 

17 not simply as a means of ensuring access during 

18 public health emergencies, but also as a means of ex19 panding access to the franchise to those whose work, 

20 health, or ability to access the ballot may be limited. 

21 (8) However, safe and secure in-person voting 

22 remains vitally important for large groups of voters, 

23 including voters with disabilities, language minority 

24 voters, American Indian and Alaska Native voters, 

25 and African-American voters. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 3725 IS

1 (9) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

2 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and the Rehabilita3 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) require 

4 that individuals with disabilities have equal access to 

5 every aspect of the voting process. Vote-by-mail 

6 poses various accessibility challenges for voters with 

7 disabilities, including blind, low-vision, or other 

8 print-disabled voters who may require in-person vot9 ing or assistive technology in order to privately and 

10 independently mark their ballots. Remedies for vot11 ers with disabilities require an investment of re12 sources to ensure State and local election websites, 

13 online voter registration portals, and vote-by-mail 

14 systems are accessible; that in-person voting loca15 tions permit a safe, dignified, and accessible voting 

16 experience; and that the right of voters with disabil17 ities to a secret ballot is not sacrificed due to the 

18 pandemic. 

19 (10) Language minority voters face unique bar20 riers to voting that require additional resources and 

21 support to ensure full and equal access, including 

22 additional resources to ensure local compliance with 

23 the language minority voting protections in section 

24 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

25 10503) and greater language assistance services, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:46 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3725.IS S3725

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 3725 IS

1 cluding additional bilingual or multilingual poll 

2 workers and election workers. 

3 (11) American Indian and Alaska Native voters 

4 face unique obstacles in a vote-by-mail system. Trib5 al communities in rural areas often do not have tra6 ditional residential mailing addresses and have lim7 ited access to transportation. Tribal members have 

8 distant rural post offices, slow mail routes, limited 

9 numbers of post office operation, and too few post 

10 office boxes. As a result, rural Tribal communities 

11 require distinct voting accommodations to ensure 

12 participation in a vote-by-mail system. 

13 (12) Finally, in-person voting holds great sig14 nificance for African-American voters, for whom the 

15 right to vote was hard won. African Americans have 

16 been excluded from the franchise through State and 

17 local laws, poll taxes, voting literacy tests, physical 

18 violence, and lynchings. For many African-American 

19 voters today, casting a ballot at one’s polling place 

20 is a solemn ritual that honors those who sacrificed 

21 their safety and their lives in order to secure the 

22 right to vote. However, COVID–19 poses substantial 

23 risks to the African-American population and has in24 fected and killed African Americans in the United 

25 States at disproportionately high rates, highlighting 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 3725 IS

1 longstanding inequalities in resources and access to 

2 health care. 

3 (13) Social distancing designed to curb the 

4 COVID–19 pandemic will also greatly impact in-per5 son voter registration efforts, including voter reg6 istration drives and voter registration services re7 quired by the National Voter Registration Act. Many 

8 government offices, like State departments of motor 

9 vehicles, are currently closed to in-person traffic and 

10 are likely to remain closed for an indefinite period 

11 of time in 2020. 

12 (14) Therefore, it is appropriate for Congress 

13 to expand no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail while also 

14 ensuring the safety and accessibility of in-person 

15 voting and voter registration during exigent cir16 cumstances, including the current pandemic. 

17 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOT18 ING, EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING, AND PLAN 

19 TO ENSURE POLLING PLACES IMPLEMENT 

20 CDC GUIDANCE FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN 

21 2020. 

22 (a) APPLICABLE FEDERAL ELECTION.—For pur23 poses of this section, the term ‘‘applicable Federal elec24 tion’’ means any election for Federal office which occurs 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 3725 IS

1 on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2021. 

3 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In the case of any applicable 

4 Federal election, each State and local jurisdiction shall— 

5 (1) permit no-excuse mail-in absentee voting as 

6 described in subsection (c); 

7 (2) maintain an early in-person voting period as 

8 described in subsection (d); and 

9 (3) establish a plan as described in subsection 

10 (e) with respect to in-person voting, including during 

11 early voting periods and on the day of the election. 

12 (c) NO-EXCUSE MAIL-IN ABSENTEE VOTING.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—No-excuse mail-in absentee 

14 voting meets the requirements described in this sub15 section with respect to an applicable Federal elec16 tion, if the State— 

17 (A) provides a no-excuse mail-in absentee 

18 ballot to every registered voter who requests 

19 such a ballot (or, in the case of any State that 

20 does not register voters, to every individual who 

21 is eligible to vote and requests such a ballot); 

22 (B) allows voters to request a mail-in ab23 sentee ballot online; 

24 (C) if the State requires a signature for 

25 absentee ballots, allows voters to provide their 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 3725 IS

1 signature by providing a mark or signature 

2 stamp or by providing a signature with the use 

3 of an assistant because of age, disability, or 

4 other need; 

5 (D) accepts and counts ballots received be6 fore the State’s certification deadline if the bal7 lot— 

8 (i) is postmarked by the date of the 

9 election; or 

10 (ii) includes an indication that it was 

11 mailed by the date of the election; 

12 (E) provides a pre-paid and self-sealing re13 turn envelope for each ballot furnished by mail; 

14 (F) beginning with the date that is 45 

15 days before the date of the election and ending 

16 with the time that polls close on the date of the 

17 election, provides in-person, secured drop boxes 

18 for voters to submit completed absentee ballots 

19 as an alternative to submitting ballots by mail; 

20 (G) before discarding any absentee ballot 

21 for error or technicalities (including the failure 

22 to meet any signature matching requirement 

23 that is unrelated to the voter’s qualification)— 

24 (i) as soon as practicable, by mail, 

25 phone, email, or text message, notifies the 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 3725 IS

1 voter of such defects and explains that the 

2 voter may provide information to cure the 

3 ballot pursuant to clause (ii), or else the 

4 vote will not be counted; and 

5 (ii) provides the voter an opportunity 

6 to cure such defects that— 

7 (I) is uniform among all voters in 

8 the State; 

9 (II) allows the voter to provide 

10 confirmation or information to cure 

11 the defect through the same form of 

12 communication in which the notice 

13 under clause (i) is provided; and 

14 (III) in the case of any error re15 lating to a signature requirement, 

16 meets the requirements of paragraph 

17 (2); 

18 (H) in the case of any voter with disabil19 ities— 

20 (i) provides the voter with access to 

21 Remote Access Vote By Mail (RAVBM) 

22 systems, ballot marking software, and 

23 screen reading software; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 3725 IS

1 (ii) allows the voter to receive assist2 ance from a person of their choosing to 

3 complete and submit a mail-in ballot; 

4 (I) ensures adequate support for language 

5 minority voters, including multilingual versions 

6 of vote-by-mail materials and language assist7 ance services; and 

8 (J) allows voters to designate a person to 

9 return a voted and sealed absentee ballot in ac10 cordance with the requirements of paragraph 

11 (3). 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SIGNATURE

13 DEFECTS.—The requirements of this paragraph re14 lating to any defect described in paragraph 

15 (1)(G)(ii)(III) are the following: 

16 (A) In any case in which a ballot is re17 turned without a signature, or it is determined 

18 that the signature provided with the ballot is 

19 not the voter’s authentic signature, the voter 

20 shall be provided an opportunity to provide con21 firmation or information to cure the signature 

22 discrepancy. 

23 (B) Voters shall have until the day before 

24 certification of election results to provide con25 firmation that the signature in question is their 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 3725 IS

1 genuine signature. The State shall accept con2 firmation of a genuine signature orally, in writ3 ing, or electronically, and without a separate 

4 oath or affirmation. 

5 (C) The voter shall have the opportunity to 

6 appeal any rejection of the ballot based on the 

7 defect or the additional information provided. 

8 Such opportunity to appeal must be provided 

9 and decided before certification of election re10 sults. 

11 (D) Any final determination of the validity 

12 of the ballot with a signature mismatch shall be 

13 made by a group of 2 or more election officials. 

14 Where applicable, at least one of the election of15 ficials must be of an opposing party. The vote 

16 shall be counted unless the officials unani17 mously determine, beyond a reasonable doubt, 

18 that the ballot is not valid due to signature dis19 crepancy. 

20 (3) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ALLOWING

21 DESIGNATED PERSONS TO RETURN BALLOTS.—The 

22 requirements of this paragraph relating to allowing 

23 a voter to designate a person to return a voted and 

24 sealed absentee ballot are the following: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 3725 IS

1 (A) A voter may designate any person to 

2 return the voted and sealed absentee ballot to 

3 the post office, ballot drop-off location, tribally 

4 designated building, or election office. 

5 (B) A person designated by a voter under 

6 subparagraph (A) shall not receive any form of 

7 compensation based on the number of ballots 

8 that the person has returned, and no individual, 

9 group, or organization shall provide compensa10 tion to such person on such basis. 

11 (C) The State shall not limit how many 

12 voted and sealed ballots any person so des13 ignated may return. 

14 (d) EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING PERIOD.—The early 

15 in-person voting period described in this subsection with 

16 respect to an applicable Federal election is a period of at 

17 least 20 days. Such period must include at least 1 Satur18 day and 1 Sunday. For each day of early in-person voting 

19 during such period, polls must be open for a minimum 

20 of 10 hours, including hours before and after the standard 

21 work day. 

22 (e) PLAN TO IMPLEMENT CDC GUIDANCE.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement described 

24 in this subsection with respect to in-person voting is 

25 met if the State establishes a plan to ensure that 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 3725 IS

1 polling places are implementing Centers for Disease 

2 Control and Prevention guidance relating to 

3 COVID–19 preparedness. Such plan must be final4 ized and approved by the State within 30 days of the 

5 date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, 

7 a State plan established under this subsection must 

8 include a plan— 

9 (A) to keep as many voting locations as 

10 possible open during the pandemic; 

11 (B) to prepare polling locations to imple12 ment social distancing protocols in lines and at 

13 voting booths; 

14 (C) to provide sufficient quantities of hy15 giene and cleaning supplies at polling locations; 

16 (D) to increase the number of— 

17 (i) paper ballots and provisional bal18 lots (including the numbers of such ballots 

19 that are translated, multilingual, or in-lan20 guage ballots) available at each polling 

21 place; and 

22 (ii) disposable ballot marking utensils 

23 available at each polling place; 

24 (E) to provide masks and other personal 

25 protective equipment to poll workers; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 3725 IS

1 (F) to provide hazard pay to poll workers 

2 during the pandemic; 

3 (G) to increase the number of poll workers 

4 who can reliably staff voting locations; 

5 (H) to provide training to poll workers on 

6 pandemic conditions and COVID–19 prepared7 ness; and 

8 (I) to educate voters on changes to proce9 dures or voting opportunities during the pan10 demic. 

11 (f) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person ag12 grieved by a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 

13 (a) (relating to requirements for no-excuse mail-in absen14 tee voting and early in-person voting period) may bring 

15 an action for all appropriate remedies, including injunctive 

16 relief and compensatory and punitive damages, in a Fed17 eral district court of competent jurisdiction. 

18 (g) PAYMENTS TO STATES TO CARRY OUT REQUIRE19 MENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

21 Commission shall makes a payment to each State to 

22 carry out the requirements under this section. Such 

23 payments shall be made not later than 30 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act. 

25 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 3725 IS

1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of pay2 ment made to a State under this subsection 

3 shall be the voting age population proportion 

4 amount described in subparagraph (B) plus any 

5 additional amount determined by the Commis6 sion under subparagraph (C). 

7 (B) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPOR8 TION AMOUNT.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The voting age 

10 population proportion amount described in 

11 this paragraph is the product of— 

12 (I) the amount made available 

13 for payments under paragraph (3) 

14 minus the total of all of the additional 

15 payment amounts determined under 

16 subparagraph (C); and 

17 (II) the voting age population 

18 proportion for the State (as defined in 

19 clause (ii)). 

20 (ii) VOTING AGE POPULATION PRO21 PORTION DEFINED.—The term ‘‘voting age 

22 population proportion’’ means, with respect 

23 to any State, the amount equal to the 

24 quotient of— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 3725 IS

1 (I) the voting age population of 

2 the State (as determined by the most 

3 recent American Community Survey 

4 conducted by the Bureau of the Cen5 sus); and 

6 (II) the total voting age popu7 lation of all States (as determined by 

8 the most recent American Community 

9 Survey conducted by the Bureau of 

10 the Census). 

11 (C) DETERMINATION OF ADDITIONAL

12 AMOUNT BASED ON COSTS OF IMPLEMENTING

13 NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING AND EARLY IN14 PERSON VOTING IN STATE.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

16 shall, with respect to each eligible State, 

17 provide an amount of payment for the 

18 State in addition to the amount deter19 mined under subparagraph (B). 

20 (ii) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State shall 

21 be eligible for an additional amount of pay22 ment under this subparagraph if the State 

23 is not in compliance with paragraph (1) or 

24 (2) of subsection (b), or both of such subVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:46 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3725.IS S3725

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 3725 IS

1 paragraphs, as of the date of enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (iii) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.— 

4 In determining the amount of payment 

5 with respect to an eligible State under this 

6 subparagraph, the Commission shall con7 sider the costs to the State and local juris8 dictions of coming into compliance with ei9 ther or both of such paragraphs. 

10 (D) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO UNITS

11 OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—At least 70 percent 

12 of funds provided to a State under this sub13 section shall be distributed to units of local gov14 ernment to carry out the requirements under 

15 subsection (b). 

16 (3) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap17 propriated to make payments under this subsection, 

18 $2,500,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2020 

19 and 2021. Amounts appropriated under the pre20 ceding sentence shall remain available until Decem21 ber 31, 2024. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 3725 IS

1 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO PROMOTE SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND EF2 FICIENT IN-PERSON VOTING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help 

4 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘PART VII—GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE 

7 SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND EFFICIENT IN-PER8 SON VOTING 

9 ‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make a 

11 payment to each eligible State (as described in section 

12 298(a)). Such payments shall be made not later than 30 

13 days after the date of enactment of this part. 

14 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible State shall use the 

15 payment received under this part to carry out one or more 

16 of the authorized activities described in section 298(b) 

17 with respect to elections for Federal office. 

18 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of payment 

20 made to an eligible State under this section shall be 

21 the voting age population proportion amount de22 scribed in paragraph (2) plus any additional amount 

23 determined by the Commission under paragraph (3). 

24 ‘‘(2) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPORTION

25 AMOUNT.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The voting age popu2 lation proportion amount described in this para3 graph is the product of— 

4 ‘‘(i) the aggregate amount made avail5 able for payments under this section minus 

6 the total of all of the additional payment 

7 amounts determined under paragraph (3); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the voting age population propor10 tion for the State (as defined in subpara11 graph (B)). 

12 ‘‘(B) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPOR13 TION DEFINED.—The term ‘voting age popu14 lation proportion’ means, with respect to an eli15 gible State, the amount equal to the quotient 

16 of— 

17 ‘‘(i) the voting age population of the 

18 State (as determined by the most recent 

19 American Community Survey conducted by 

20 the Bureau of the Census); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the total voting age population of 

22 all States (as determined by the most re23 cent American Community Survey con24 ducted by the Bureau of the Census). 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNT

2 BASED ON NEEDS OF VOTING AGE POPULATION IN

3 STATE.—The Commission shall, with respect to each 

4 eligible State, determine an amount of payment for 

5 the State in addition to the amount determined 

6 under paragraph (2) based on the needs of the vot7 ing age population in the State. In determining such 

8 additional amount of payment with respect to an eli9 gible State, the Commission shall take into ac10 count— 

11 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals with in12 come below 250 percent of the poverty line ap13 plicable to a family of the size involved (as de14 termined under section 673(2) of the Commu15 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

16 9902(2))); 

17 ‘‘(B) the number of individuals in the vot18 ing age population of the State covered by sec19 tion 203 of the Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 

20 10503); 

21 ‘‘(C) the number of individuals with a dis22 ability as defined in section 3 of the Americans 

23 with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

24 12102); 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(D) the number of individuals who live in 

2 a nonmetropolitan area (as determined by the 

3 Bureau of the Census); and 

4 ‘‘(E) the number of individuals who belong 

5 to an Indian tribe (as such term is defined in 

6 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

7 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)). 

8 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS TO UNITS OF

9 LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—At least 70 percent of funds 

10 provided to a State under this part shall be distrib11 uted to units of local government to carry out one 

12 or more of the authorized activities described in sec13 tion 298(b) with respect to elections for Federal of14 fice. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 298. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT; AUTHORIZED AC16 TIVITIES. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that desires to re18 ceive a payment under this part shall submit a certifi19 cation of intent to use such funds for at least one of the 

20 authorized activities described in subsection (b) with re21 spect to elections for Federal office. 

22 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Funds 

23 provided under this part shall be used for one or more 

24 of the following authorized activities: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(1) FUNDING TO ENSURE ELECTIONS ARE AC2 CESSIBLE DURING PANDEMIC.—Ensuring voters can 

3 safely access polling sites during the COVID–19 

4 pandemic, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) expanding the number of voting loca6 tions, as well as the days and hours of early in7 person voting; 

8 ‘‘(B) providing mobile voting centers and 

9 temporary voting stations, including advance 

10 notice of schedule and locations; 

11 ‘‘(C) increasing the ratio of machines and 

12 poll workers to voters in each precinct; 

13 ‘‘(D) preparing polling locations to imple14 ment social distancing protocols in lines and 

15 voting booths; 

16 ‘‘(E) providing sufficient quantities of hy17 giene and cleaning supplies, including materials 

18 to sanitize voting machines after each use; 

19 ‘‘(F) increasing the number of paper bal20 lots available at each polling location; 

21 ‘‘(G) providing masks, gloves, and other 

22 personal protective equipment to poll workers; 

23 ‘‘(H) increasing pay for poll workers dur24 ing the COVID–19 pandemic; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(I) providing voter education on changes 

2 or improvements to election procedures, accessi3 bility, or voting opportunities during the pan4 demic. 

5 ‘‘(2) FUNDING TO ENSURE ELECTIONS ARE AC6 CESSIBLE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES DUR7 ING PANDEMIC.—Ensuring voters can safely reg8 ister, access polling sites, and vote by mail during 

9 the COVID–19 pandemic, in accordance with this 

10 Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 

11 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Voting Accessibility for 

12 the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee 

13 et seq.), and other applicable law, by improving poll14 ing place accessibility and providing accommodations 

15 for individuals with disabilities, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) purchasing Remote Access Vote By 

17 Mail (RAVBM) systems, ballot marking devices 

18 and software, and screen reading software, and 

19 making them available to voters with disabil20 ities; 

21 ‘‘(B) equipping polling locations with tech22 nologies that enable individuals with disabilities 

23 to privately and independently mark, verify, and 

24 cast their ballots, including through the availVerDate Sep 11 2014 15:46 Jun 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3725.IS S3725

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 3725 IS

1 ability of ballot marking devices, headsets, con2 trollers, and other assistive devices; 

3 ‘‘(C) making permanent or temporary 

4 modifications to render polling places accessible; 

5 ‘‘(D) ensuring appropriate polling place 

6 siting to avoid locations that pose higher health 

7 risks to the public; 

8 ‘‘(E) conducting analysis on polling place 

9 reconfiguration to account for social distancing 

10 and implementing changes; 

11 ‘‘(F) providing training for poll workers on 

12 how to best serve individuals during the pan13 demic, including specialized training for serving 

14 individuals with disabilities; 

15 ‘‘(G) assessing the accessibility of election 

16 websites and remediating any accessibility prob17 lems to ensure voter information is clear and 

18 accessible; and 

19 ‘‘(H) providing fully accessible online voter 

20 registration services. 

21 ‘‘(3) FUNDING TO ENSURE CONTINUING PRO22 TECTIONS FOR LANGUAGE MINORITY VOTERS.—En23 suring continuing protections for language minority 

24 voters, including— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(A) ensuring compliance with section 203 

2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

3 10503)— 

4 ‘‘(i) with respect to vote-by-mail and 

5 new voter registration procedures; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) with respect to voting materials 

7 (as such term is defined in such section); 

8 ‘‘(B) ensuring adequate support for such 

9 individuals (including for language minority 

10 voters who do not reside in jurisdictions covered 

11 by section 203 of the Voting Rights Act), in12 cluding through— 

13 ‘‘(i) language assistance hotlines in 

14 covered languages; 

15 ‘‘(ii) phone interpretation and inter16 preter services; 

17 ‘‘(iii) funding to produce, print, and 

18 distribute multi-lingual versions of mate19 rials; 

20 ‘‘(iv) enhancing in-language media ad21 vertising regarding polling place changes; 

22 ‘‘(v) recruiting and hiring bilingual or 

23 multilingual election workers; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) enhancing in-language media ad2 vertising regarding procedures for obtain3 ing and returning mail-in ballots; and 

4 ‘‘(C) providing voter education on activities 

5 carried out under this paragraph. 

6 ‘‘(4) FUNDING TO ENSURE VOTING ACCESS BY

7 AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE VOTERS AND

8 RURAL VOTERS.—Ensuring voting access American 

9 Indian and Alaska Native voters and rural voters, 

10 including— 

11 ‘‘(A) ensuring polling place availability 

12 within 20 miles of where voters live; 

13 ‘‘(B) providing transportation services for 

14 American Indian, Alaska Native, and rural vot15 ers to reach their nearest polling location; 

16 ‘‘(C) establishing polling places in Indian 

17 country, as defined in section 1151 of title 18, 

18 United States Code, and on any land in Alaska 

19 owned pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 

20 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), that 

21 are open for voting days and hours commensu22 rate with polling place days and hours in urban 

23 areas within the State; 

24 ‘‘(D) giving Indian tribes, as defined in 

25 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 3725 IS

1 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304), 

2 authority to designate buildings that can be 

3 used as a residential address for voter registra4 tion and for physical sites for ballot pickup, 

5 drop-off, and collection; 

6 ‘‘(E) offering information in unwritten lan7 guages or languages not widely used in written 

8 form, in consultation with relevant Tribal gov9 ernments; 

10 ‘‘(F) collecting ballots from remote polling 

11 locations, ballot collection boxes, and tribally 

12 designated buildings; 

13 ‘‘(G) carrying out any activities permitted 

14 under paragraph (2) to improve accessibility for 

15 American Indian and Alaska Native voters with 

16 disabilities; and 

17 ‘‘(H) providing voter education on the ac18 tivities carried out under this paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(5) CURBSIDE VOTING.—The implementation 

20 and promotion of curbside voting to allow individuals 

21 to pick up ballots, complete them, and return them 

22 to a poll worker from their vehicles. 

23 ‘‘(6) FUNDING TO MEET MAXIMUM WAIT TIME

24 STANDARD AT POLLING LOCATIONS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The implementation 

2 of standards that reduce wait times at polling 

3 locations. 

4 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—In 

5 the case where the State uses funds for pur6 poses described in subparagraph (A) with re7 spect to an election for Federal office, the State 

8 shall certify to the Commission within 120 days 

9 of the election that wait time standards were 

10 met in the State with respect to such election. 

11 ‘‘(7) FUNDING FOR PUBLICATION OF WAIT

12 TIMES.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The development or 

14 implementation of an accessible, web-based 

15 platform for the publication of wait times for 

16 voting in Federal elections. 

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—If a State uses 

18 funds for a purpose described in subparagraph 

19 (A), the State shall take reasonable steps before 

20 using such platform in an election for Federal 

21 office— 

22 ‘‘(i) to provide advance training to 

23 election workers regarding use of the plat24 form; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) to notify voters of the platform; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) to test and verify the security 

4 and functionality of the platform. 

5 ‘‘(8) METHODS TO IMPROVE LINE MANAGE6 MENT.—Implementing standards to improve line 

7 management systems and polling place management. 

8 ‘‘(9) STANDARDS FOR TRAINING AND RECRUIT9 MENT OF POLL WORKERS.—Providing for the train10 ing and recruitment of poll workers, including— 

11 ‘‘(A) developing poll worker training cur12 ricula and standards for serving individuals 

13 with disabilities and language minority voters; 

14 ‘‘(B) ensuring that poll workers receive 

15 training, which— 

16 ‘‘(i) may include remote training; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) may cover applicable Federal and 

18 State laws and regulations, recent changes 

19 in election laws and processes, election se20 curity and cyber vulnerabilities, ballot re21 views, incident response, polling accessi22 bility for language minorities and individ23 uals with disabilities, and COVID–19 pre24 paredness; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(C) expanding the number of election 

2 workers hired; 

3 ‘‘(D) hiring individuals to serve as election 

4 workers from among high school and college 

5 students and, where feasible, compensating 

6 such individuals with course credits; and 

7 ‘‘(E) hiring work-eligible non-citizens to 

8 satisfy the need for bilingual poll workers, 

9 where language assistance is required by law. 

10 ‘‘(10) IMPROVING ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRA11 TION.—Improving access to voter registration, in12 cluding— 

13 ‘‘(A) authorizing and implementing same 

14 day registration; 

15 ‘‘(B) ensuring that online voter registra16 tion systems are in place and have the capacity 

17 to process registration applications electroni18 cally; 

19 ‘‘(C) expanding online voter registration 

20 systems to allow use by the maximum number 

21 of individuals, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) by allowing individuals to register 

23 to vote without records in the department 

24 of motor vehicle system of the State by 

25 submitting their signatures online; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) by digitally uploading a picture 

2 of the required signature; 

3 ‘‘(iii) by allowing individuals to pro4 vide the required signature when voting at 

5 the polls or when returning a mail-in bal6 lot; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) by allowing individual to provide 

8 a required signature with a mark or signa9 ture stamp or through the use of an assist10 ant because of age, disability, or other 

11 need; 

12 ‘‘(D) sending a voter registration mailer, 

13 including a blank voter registration application, 

14 a self-sealing prepaid return envelope, and in15 structions on additional methods to register if 

16 the mailer is not accessible, to all eligible indi17 viduals with State records who are not cur18 rently registered to vote; and 

19 ‘‘(E) testing capacity to ensure that exist20 ing online voter registration systems can with21 stand the likely increase in usage. 

22 ‘‘(c) INTERAGENCY CONSULTATION.—Not later than 

23 15 days after the date of enactment of this part, the Com24 mission shall— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(1) consult with the Centers for Disease Con2 trol and Prevention on preventing transmission of 

3 COVID–19 at polling places and election offices; and 

4 ‘‘(2) consult with the Civil Rights Division of 

5 the Department of Justice to ensure changes to vot6 ing procedures made pursuant to this part are non7 discriminatory and comply with applicable Federal 

8 laws, including this Act, the Americans with Disabil9 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Vot10 ing Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped 

11 Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.), the Voting Rights 

12 Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the National 

13 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et 

14 seq.), and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

15 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘SEC. 299. FUNDING; REPORTS. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro18 priated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

19 appropriated, for the period of fiscal years 2020 and 2021, 

20 for making payments under this part, $2,500,000,000. 

21 Such amounts— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall be in addition to other amounts oth23 erwise available for such purposes; and 

24 ‘‘(2) shall remain available until December 31, 

25 2024. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 3725 IS

1 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Not later than one year after the 

2 applicable election for which a payment was provided 

3 under this part, each eligible State that received such 

4 funds shall submit a report to the Commission on the ac5 tivities conducted using such payment and to substantiate 

6 authorized activities described in section 298(b) carried 

7 out using such funds. Not later than 30 days after receipt 

8 of such reports, the Commission shall transmit such re9 ports to the Committee on Rules and Administration of 

10 the Senate and the Committee on House Administration 

11 of the House of Representatives.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

13 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

14 to section 296 the following: 

‘‘PART VII—GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND

EFFICIENT IN-PERSON VOTING

‘‘Sec. 297. Payments to States. 

‘‘Sec. 298. Eligibility for payment; authorized activities. 

‘‘Sec. 299. Funding; reports.’’. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS