II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3822 

To establish DemocracyCorps to assist State and local governments administer 

elections and to promote democracy, to establish special procedures and 

authorize funding for Federal election in 2020 in response to COVID– 

19, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish additional 

permanent requirements for Federal elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 21, 2020 

Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To establish DemocracyCorps to assist State and local governments administer elections and to promote democracy, 

to establish special procedures and authorize funding 

for Federal election in 2020 in response to COVID– 

19, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to 

establish additional permanent requirements for Federal 

elections, and for other purposes. 

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, ETC. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘DemocracyCorps Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title, etc. 

TITLE I—DEMOCRACYCORPS 

Sec. 101. Establishment. 

Sec. 102. Board of directors. 

Sec. 103. Authorities and duties of the board of directors. 

Sec. 104. Chief executive officer. 

Sec. 105. Authorities and duties of the chief executive officer. 

Sec. 106. Officers. 

Sec. 107. Employees, consultants, and other personnel. 

Sec. 108. Members. 

Sec. 109. Reporting requirements. 

Sec. 110. Authorization of appropriations. 

TITLE II—SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO CERTAIN ELECTIONS IN 

2020 

Sec. 201. Special requirements for Federal elections in 2020 relating to 

COVID–19. 

Sec. 202. Polling place modifications. 

Sec. 203. Grants to promote safe, accessible, and efficient in-person voting. 

TITLE III—ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL 

ELECTIONS 

Sec. 301. Voting by mail in Federal elections. 

Sec. 302. Requirement to allow for early voting. 

Sec. 303. Requirement for acceptance of voter registration applications. 

TITLE IV—FUNDING 

Sec. 401. Suspension of state matching requirement for election security grants 

provided under the CARES Act. 

3 TITLE I—DEMOCRACYCORPS 

4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Govern6 ment corporation (as defined in section 103, of title 5, 

7 United States Code) to be know as ‘‘DemocracyCorps’’. 

8 (b) PURPOSE.—DemocracyCorps shall— 


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1 (1) assist States and local governments in the 

2 administration of Federal, State, and local elections; 

3 and 

4 (2) engage in activities that promote participa5 tion in American democracy. 

6 SEC. 102. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

7 (a) COMPOSITION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—DemocracyCorps shall have 

9 a Board of Directors (referred to in this title as the 

10 ‘‘Board’’) that shall be composed of— 

11 (A) 15 members appointed by the Presi12 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the 

13 Senate, of whom— 

14 (i) one shall be an individual between 

15 the ages of 16 and 25; 

16 (ii) one shall be a representative of 

17 the Native American community; and 

18 (iii) one shall be a representative of 

19 the disability community; and 

20 (B) the ex officio nonvoting members de21 scribed in paragraph (3). 

22 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—In make appointments 

23 under paragraph (1)(A), to the maximum extent 

24 practicable, the President— 


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1 (A) shall appoint individuals who have ex2 perience in expanding voting rights and pro3 tecting the right to vote; and 

4 (B) shall not appoint individuals who have 

5 conducted activities related to expanding, devel6 oping, or implementing any of the following: 

7 (i) A law which requires photograph8 bearing identification as a requirement to 

9 register to vote or to vote, except as may 

10 be required when serving as a nonpartisan 

11 poll worker and applying uniform proce12 dures to confirm individual’s eligibility to 

13 cast a ballot under applicable laws. 

14 (ii) A program that removes the 

15 names of ineligible voters from the official 

16 lists of eligible voters, except where a voter 

17 requests removal, is confirmed to have died 

18 or become ineligible by reason of incapacity 

19 or conviction, or is removed pursuant to 

20 the procedures set forth in section 8(d) of 

21 the National Voter Registration Act of 

22 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(d)). 

23 (iii) A law which prohibits voter reg24 istration unless the voter submits docu25 mentary proof of citizenship. 


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1 (iv) A law which prohibits voter reg2 istration unless the information on a voter 

3 registration application is an exact match 

4 with information previously provided to the 

5 State or jurisdiction. 

6 (v) Any law that has the effect of dis7 couraging or preventing any eligible voters 

8 from voting. 

9 (vi) Any law, policy, or activity that— 

10 (I) provides additional procedural 

11 or substantive prerequisites for reg12 istering to vote or voting; or 

13 (II) has the effect of discour14 aging or preventing any eligible voters 

15 from registering to vote or voting. 

16 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The following indi17 viduals (or a delegate of such individual) shall be ex 

18 officio nonvoting members described in this para19 graph: 

20 (A) The Attorney General. 

21 (B) Each member of the Election Assist22 ance Commission. 

23 (C) The Secretary of Housing and Urban 

24 Development. 

25 (D) The Secretary of Homeland Security. 


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1 (E) The Chief Executive Officer. 

2 (F) The Secretary of Defense. 

3 (b) OFFICERS.— 

4 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall ap5 point a member of the Board to serve as the initial 

6 Chairperson of the Board. Each subsequent Chair7 person shall be elected by the Board from among its 

8 members. 

9 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Board shall elect 

10 a Vice Chairperson from among its membership. 

11 (3) OTHER OFFICERS.—The Board may elect 

12 from among its membership such additional officers 

13 of the Board as the Board determines to be appro14 priate. 

15 (c) TERMS.—Subject to subsection (e), each ap16 pointed member shall serve for a term of 5 years. 

17 (d) VACANCIES.—If a vacancy occurs on the Board, 

18 a new member shall be appointed by the President, by and 

19 with the advice and consent of the Senate, and serve for 

20 the remainder of the term for which the predecessor of 

21 such member was appointed. The vacancy shall not affect 

22 the power of the remaining members to execute the duties 

23 of the Board. 

24 (e) SERVICE UNTIL APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR.— 

25 A voting member of the Board whose term has expired 


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1 may continue to serve on the Board until the date on 

2 which the member’s successor takes office, which period 

3 shall not exceed 1 year. 

4 SEC. 103. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DI5 RECTORS. 

6 (a) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less often 

7 than 4 times each year. The Board shall hold additional 

8 meetings at the call of the Chairperson of the Board, or 

9 if 6 members of the Board request such meetings in writ10 ing. 

11 (b) QUORUM.—A majority of the appointed members 

12 of the Board shall constitute a quorum. 

13 (c) AUTHORITIES OF OFFICERS.— 

14 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 

15 Board may call and conduct meetings of the Board. 

16 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice Chairperson 

17 of the Board may conduct meetings of the Board in 

18 the absence of the Chairperson. 

19 (d) EXPENSES.—While away from their homes or 

20 regular places of business on the business of the Board, 

21 members of such Board shall be allowed travel expenses, 

22 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author23 ized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chap24 ter 57 of title 5, United States Code, for persons employed 

25 intermittently in the Government service. 


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1 (e) SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—For pur2 poses of the provisions of chapter 11 of part I of title 18, 

3 United States Code, and any other provision of Federal 

4 law, a member of the Board (to whom such provisions 

5 would not otherwise apply except for this subsection) shall 

6 be a special Government employee. 

7 (f) DUTIES.—The Board shall have responsibility for 

8 setting overall policy for DemocracyCorps and shall work 

9 to expand the number of people who participate in Amer10 ican democracy. 

11 (g) LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION.—All employees 

12 and officers of DemocracyCorps shall recuse themselves 

13 from decisions that would constitute conflicts of interest. 

14 SEC. 104. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. 

15 (a) APPOINTMENT.—DemocracyCorps shall be head16 ed by an individual who shall serve as Chief Executive Of17 ficer of DemocracyCorps, and who shall be appointed by 

18 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 

19 Senate. 

20 (b) COMPENSATION.—The Chief Executive Officer 

21 shall be compensated at the rate provided for level III of 

22 the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, 

23 United States Code, plus 3 percent. 


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1 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

2 shall prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary 

3 or appropriate to carry out this title. 

4 SEC. 105. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EXECU5 TIVE OFFICER. 

6 (a) GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES.—The Chief Ex7 ecutive Officer shall be responsible for the exercise of the 

8 powers and the discharge of the duties of DemocracyCorps 

9 that are not reserved to the Board, and shall have author10 ity and control over all personnel of DemocracyCorps, ex11 cept as provided in section 8E of the Inspector General 

12 Act of 1978. 

13 (b) DUTIES.—The Chief Executive Officer, in col14 laboration with the State Commissions, shall— 

15 (1) prepare and submit to the Board a strategic 

16 plan every 2 years on the major functions and oper17 ations of DemocracyCorps; and 

18 (2) prepare and submit to the Board a proposal 

19 with respect to the allocation of members to States. 

20 (c) POWERS.—In addition to the authority conferred 

21 on the Chief Executive Officer under any other provision 

22 of law, the Chief Executive Officer may— 

23 (1) engage in hiring campaigns to recruit mem24 bers; 


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1 (2) file a civil action in any court of record of 

2 a State having general jurisdiction or in any district 

3 court of the Unite States, with respect to a claim 

4 arising under this title; and 

5 (3) generally perform such functions and take 

6 such steps consistent with the objectives and provi7 sions of this title and the laws described in section 

8 108(c)(4), as the Chief Executive Officer determines 

9 to be necessary or appropriate to carry out such pro10 visions. 

11 (d) DELEGATION.— 

12 (1) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection, 

13 the term ‘‘function’’ means any duty, obligation, 

14 power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, ac15 tivity, or program. 

16 (2) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise prohib17 ited by law or provided in this title, the Chief Execu18 tive Officer may delegate any function under this 

19 title, and authorize such successive redelegations of 

20 such function as may be necessary or appropriate. 

21 No delegation of a function by the Chief Executive 

22 Officer under this subsection or under any other 

23 provision of this title shall relieve such Chief Execu24 tive Officer of responsibility for the administration 

25 of such function. 


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1 (3) FUNCTION OF BOARD.—The Chief Execu2 tive Officer may not delegate a function of the 

3 Board without the permission of the Board. 

4 SEC. 106. OFFICERS. 

5 (a) MANAGING DIRECTORS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in 

7 DemocracyCorps 2 Managing Directors, who shall 

8 be appointed by the President, and who shall report 

9 to the Chief Executive Officer. 

10 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Managing Directors 

11 shall be compensated at the rate provided for level 

12 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 

13 title 5, United States Code. 

14 (3) DUTIES.—DemocracyCorps shall determine 

15 the programs for which the Managing Directors 

16 shall have primary responsibility and shall establish 

17 the divisions of DemocracyCorps to be headed by the 

18 Managing Directors. 

19 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

20 (1) OFFICE.—There shall be in Democracy21 Corps an Office of the Inspector General. 

22 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Office shall be headed 

23 by an Inspector General, appointed in accordance 

24 with the Inspector General Act of 1978. 

25 (c) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in Democra2 cyCorps a Chief Financial Officer, who shall be ap3 pointed by the Chief Executive Officer. 

4 (2) DUTIES.—The Chief Financial Officer 

5 shall— 

6 (A) report directly to the Chief Executive 

7 Officer regarding financial management mat8 ters; 

9 (B) oversee all financial management ac10 tivities relating to the programs and operations 

11 of DemocracyCorps; 

12 (C) develop and maintain an integrated ac13 counting and financial management system for 

14 DemocracyCorps, including financial reporting 

15 and internal controls; 

16 (D) develop and maintain any joint finan17 cial management systems with the Department 

18 of Education necessary to carry out the pro19 grams of DemocracyCorps; and 

20 (E) direct, manage, and provide policy 

21 guidance and oversight of the financial manage22 ment personnel, activities, and operations of 

23 DemocracyCorps. 


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1 SEC. 107. EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, AND OTHER PER2 SONNEL. 

3 (a) EMPLOYEES.—Except as provided in subsection 

4 (b), section 108, and section 8E of the Inspector General 

5 Act of 1978, the Chief Executive Officer shall, in accord6 ance with applicable provisions of title 5, United States 

7 Code, appoint and determine the compensation of such 

8 employees as the Chief Executive Officer determines to be 

9 necessary to carry out the duties of DemocracyCorps. 

10 (b) ALTERNATIVE PERSONNEL SYSTEM.— 

11 (1) AUTHORITY.—The Chief Executive Officer 

12 may designate positions in DemocracyCorps as posi13 tions to which the Chief Executive Officer may make 

14 appointments, and for which the Chief Executive Of15 ficer may determine compensation, without regard to 

16 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, gov17 erning appointments in the competitive service, and 

18 without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 

19 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 

20 classification and General Schedule pay rates, to the 

21 extent the Chief Executive Officer determines that 

22 such a designation is appropriate and desirable to 

23 further the effective operation of DemocracyCorps. 

24 The Chief Executive Officer may provide for ap25 pointments to such positions to be made on a limited 

26 term basis. 


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1 (2) APPOINTMENT IN THE COMPETITIVE SERV2 ICE AFTER EMPLOYMENT UNDER ALTERNATIVE PER3 SONNEL SYSTEM.—The Director of the Office of 

4 Personnel Management may grant competitive sta5 tus for appointment to the competitive service, under 

6 such conditions as the Director may prescribe, to an 

7 employee who is appointed under this subsection and 

8 who is separated from DemocracyCorps (other than 

9 by removal for cause). 

10 (3) SELECTION AND COMPENSATION SYSTEM.— 

11 (A) ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM.—The 

12 Chief Executive Officer, after obtaining the ap13 proval of the Director of the Office of Personnel 

14 Management, shall issue regulations estab15 lishing a selection and compensation system for 

16 employees of DemocracyCorps appointed under 

17 paragraph (1). In issuing such regulations, the 

18 Chief Executive Officer shall take into consider19 ation the need for flexibility in such a system. 

20 (B) APPLICATION.—The Chief Executive 

21 Officer shall appoint and determine the com22 pensation of employees in accordance with the 

23 selection and compensation system established 

24 under subparagraph (A). 


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1 (C) SELECTION.—The system established 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall provide for the 

3 selection of employees— 

4 (i) through a competitive process; and 

5 (ii) on the basis of the qualifications 

6 of applicants and the requirements of the 

7 positions. 

8 (D) COMPENSATION.—The system estab9 lished under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

10 scheme for the classification of positions in 

11 DemocracyCorps. The system shall require that 

12 the compensation of an employee be determined 

13 in part on the basis of the job performance of 

14 the employee, and in a manner consistent with 

15 the principles described in section 5301 of title 

16 5, United States Code. The rate of compensa17 tion for each employee compensated under the 

18 system shall not exceed the annual rate of basic 

19 pay payable for level IV of the Executive Sched20 ule under section 5315 of title 5, United States 

21 Code. 

22 (c) CONSULTANTS.—The Chief Executive Officer 

23 may procure the temporary and intermittent services of 

24 experts and consultants and compensate the experts and 


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1 consultants in accordance with section 3109(b) of title 5, 

2 United States Code. 

3 (d) DETAILS OF PERSONNEL.—The head of any Fed4 eral department or agency may detail on a reimbursable 

5 basis, or on a nonreimbursable basis for not to exceed 180 

6 calendar days during any fiscal year, as agreed upon by 

7 the Chief Executive Officer and the head of the Federal 

8 agency, any of the personnel of that department or agency 

9 to DemocracyCorps to assist the DemocracyCorps in car10 rying out the duties of DemocracyCorps under this title. 

11 Any detail shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil 

12 service status or privileges of the Federal employee. 

13 (e) ADVISORY COMMITTEES.— 

14 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Chief Executive Of15 ficer, acting upon the recommendation of the Board, 

16 may establish advisory committees in Democracy17 Corps to advise the Board with respect to the alloca18 tion members to States in accordance with section 

19 108(d)(1). 

20 (2) COMPOSITION.—Such an advisory com21 mittee shall be composed of members appointed by 

22 the Chief Executive Officer, with such qualifications 

23 as the Chief Executive Officer may specify. 


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1 (3) EXPENSES.—Members of such an advisory 

2 committee may be allowed travel expenses as de3 scribed in section 103(d). 

4 (4) STAFF.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), the Chief Executive Officer 

7 is authorized to appoint and fix the compensa8 tion of such staff as the Chief Executive Officer 

9 determines to be necessary to carry out the 

10 functions of the advisory committee, without re11 gard to— 

12 (i) the provisions of title 5, United 

13 States Code, governing appointments in 

14 the competitive service; and 

15 (ii) the provisions of chapter 51 and 

16 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title 

17 relating to classification and General 

18 Schedule pay rates. 

19 (B) COMPENSATION.—If a member of the 

20 staff appointed under subparagraph (A) was 

21 appointed without regard to the provisions de22 scribed in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph 

23 (A), the rate of compensation for such member 

24 may not exceed the maximum rate of basic pay 

25 payable for GS–13 of the General Schedule 


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1 under section 5332 of title 5, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (f) PERSONAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.—Democracy4 Corps may enter into personal services contracts to carry 

5 out research, evaluation, and public awareness related to 

6 the provisions of this title and the laws described in section 

7 108(c)(4). 

8 SEC. 108. MEMBERS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—DemocracyCorps shall— 

10 (1) recruit and employ members as provided in 

11 subsection (b); 

12 (2) train members as provided in subsection (c); 

13 and 

14 (3) assign and manage members as provided in 

15 subsection (d). 

16 (b) MEMBERS.— 

17 (1) CAPACITY.—The DemocracyCorps shall em18 ploy not more than 35,000 members. 

19 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—No person may be a 

20 member unless such person is at least 18 years of 

21 age. 

22 (3) TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT.— 

23 (A) DURATION.—A member shall be em24 ployed for a 2-year period that commences at 


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1 the conclusion of each regularly scheduled elec2 tion for Federal office. 

3 (B) HOURS.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Members shall not 

5 be required to work more than 40 hours 

6 per week. 

7 (ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall not 

8 apply to the 30-day period preceding the 

9 date of any election in the jurisdiction to 

10 which the member is assigned. 

11 (C) COMPENSATION.— 

12 (i) WAGES.— 

13 (I) IN GENERAL.—Members shall 

14 be compensated at a rate equal to $15 

15 per hour plus locality pay determined 

16 in the same manner as provided in 

17 section 5304 of title 5, United States 

18 Code. 

19 (II) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

20 In the case of any calendar year be21 ginning after 2020, the $15 amount 

22 in subclause (I) shall be increased by 

23 the percent difference determined 

24 under section 315(c)(1)(A) of the 

25 Federal Election Campaign Act of 


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1 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(c)(1)(A)) (de2 termined as if the base year were 

3 2019)). If any amount after adjust4 ment under the preceding sentence is 

5 not a multiple of $0.10, such amount 

6 shall be rounded to the nearest mul7 tiple of $0.10. 

8 (ii) STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT AND

9 FORBEARANCE.— 

10 (I) IN GENERAL.—Democracy11 Corps shall— 

12 (aa) repay qualified student 

13 loans in accordance with sub14 clause (II); and 

15 (bb) pay interest expenses in 

16 accordance with regulations pre17 scribed pursuant to subclause 

18 (III). 

19 (II) STUDENT LOAN REPAY20 MENT.— 

21 (aa) APPLICATION.—A 

22 member who desires to receive 

23 repayment of qualified student 

24 loans shall submit, in a manner 

25 prescribed by DemocracyCorps, 


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1 an application to Democracy2 Corps. 

3 (bb) DISBURSEMENT.— 

4 Upon receipt of an application 

5 from a member, DemocracyCorps 

6 shall disburse an amount equal 

7 to the maximum amount of a 

8 Federal Pell Grant under section 

9 401 of the Higher Education Act 

10 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a) that 

11 a student eligible for such Grant 

12 may receive in the aggregate 

13 (without regard to whether the 

14 funds are provided through dis15 cretionary or mandatory appro16 priations), for the award year 

17 during which the application was 

18 received. Such disbursement shall 

19 be made by check or other means 

20 that is payable to the holder of 

21 the loan and requires the en22 dorsement or other certification 

23 by the member. 

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1 MENT.—DemocracyCorps shall pro2 vide by regulation for the payment on 

3 behalf of a member of interest that 

4 accrues during a period for which 

5 such member has obtained forbear6 ance in the repayment of a qualified 

7 student loan, if the member success8 fully completes the member’s term of 

9 employment. Such regulations shall be 

10 prescribed after consultation with the 

11 Secretary of Education. 

12 (IV) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED

13 STUDENT LOANS.—As used in this 

14 clause, the term ‘‘qualified student 

15 loans’’ means— 

16 (aa) any loan made, insured, 

17 or guaranteed pursuant to title 

18 IV of the Higher Education Act 

19 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), 

20 other than a loan to a parent of 

21 a student pursuant to section 

22 428B of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

23 1078–2); 

24 (bb) any loan made pursu25 ant to title VII or VIII of the 


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1 Public Health Service Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 292a et seq.); and 

3 (cc) any loan (other than a 

4 loan described in item (aa) or 

5 (bb)) determined by an institu6 tion of higher education to be 

7 necessary to cover a student’s 

8 educational expenses and made, 

9 insured, or guaranteed by— 

10 (AA) an eligible lender, 

11 as defined in section 435 of 

12 the Higher Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085); 

14 (BB) the direct student 

15 loan program under part D 

16 of title IV of such Act (20 

17 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); 

18 (CC) a State agency; or 

19 (DD) a lender other20 wise determined eligible by 

21 DemocracyCorps. 

22 (c) TRAINING.—Members shall be trained by 

23 DemocracyCorps (in consultation with election officials in 

24 the jurisdictions to which such members are assigned 

25 under subsection (d)) in the following areas: 


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1 (1) Voter registration (including automatic 

2 voter registration, same-day voter registration, reg3 istration with application for a motor vehicle driver’s 

4 license, mail-in registration, in-person registration, 

5 and pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds). 

6 (2) Election administration (including voting by 

7 mail, early voting, in-person voting, canvassing, and 

8 certification). 

9 (3) The history of voting rights in the United 

10 States. 

11 (4) The requirements of the following laws: 

12 (A) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

13 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.). 

14 (B) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 

15 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 

16 (C) The Voting Accessibility for the Elder17 ly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20101 et 

18 seq.). 

19 (D) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

20 Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

21 (E) The National Voter Registration Act 

22 of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

23 (F) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

24 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

25 (5) Best practices and policies with respect to— 


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1 (A) voters with disabilities; 

2 (B) Limited English proficiency voters; 

3 (C) Native American and Alaskan Native 

4 voters; 

5 (D) rural voters; and 

6 (E) voters who reside in high-density 

7 areas; 

8 (6) The role of the United States Postal Service 

9 in elections. 

10 (7) Natural disaster and public health emer11 gency preparedness and safety measures. 

12 (8) Election security. 

13 (d) ASSIGNMENT AND DUTIES OF MEMBERS.— 

14 (1) ASSIGNMENT.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each member shall be 

16 assigned to a State. 

17 (B) MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ASSIGNMENTS

18 PER STATE.—The number of members assigned 

19 to any State shall be determined by the Chief 

20 Executive Officer based on the following: 

21 (i) The total population of the State. 

22 (ii) The population within the State 

23 located in the Indian Country (as defined 

24 in section 1151 of title 18, United States 

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1 suant to the Alaska Native Claims Settle2 ment Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). 

3 (iii) The number of elected positions 

4 within the State. 

5 (2) DUTIES.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Members assigned to a 

7 State shall carry out the following duties: 

8 (i) DEMOCRACY BUILDING.—Notwith9 standing whether a State has an agree10 ment with DemocracyCorps relating to any 

11 services provided by members, members as12 signed to a State shall carry out the fol13 lowing duties in the State: 

14 (I) Voter registration. 

15 (II) Voter mobilization. 

16 (III) Voter education (including 

17 education about new procedures re18 quired under the amendments made 

19 by this Act). 

20 (ii) ELECTION ADMINISTRATION.—In 

21 the case of members assigned to a State 

22 that has an agreement with Democracy23 Corps to carry out such duties, members 

24 assigned to a State shall carry out the fol25 lowing additional duties: 


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•S 3822 IS

1 (I) Training and assisting State 

2 and local election officials. 

3 (II) Participating at the direction 

4 of State and local election officials in 

5 the administration of elections carried 

6 out in such State (including as poll 

7 workers). 

8 (B) PROHIBITION.—A member shall not 

9 perform any service that expands, develops, or 

10 implements any of the following: 

11 (i) A law which requires photograph12 bearing identification as a requirement to 

13 register to vote or to vote, except as may 

14 be required when serving as a nonpartisan 

15 poll worker and applying uniform proce16 dures to confirm individual’s eligibility to 

17 cast a ballot under applicable laws. 

18 (ii) A program that removes the 

19 names of ineligible voters from the official 

20 lists of eligible voters, except where a voter 

21 requests removal, is confirmed to have died 

22 or become ineligible by reason of incapacity 

23 or conviction, or is removed pursuant to 

24 the procedures set forth in section 8(d) of 


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•S 3822 IS

1 the National Voter Registration Act of 

2 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(d)). 

3 (iii) A law which prohibits voter reg4 istration unless the voter submits docu5 mentary proof of citizenship. 

6 (iv) A law which prohibits voter reg7 istration unless the information on a voter 

8 registration application is an exact match 

9 with information previously provided to the 

10 State or jurisdiction. 

11 (v) Any law, policy, or activity that— 

12 (I) provides additional procedural 

13 or substantive prerequisites for reg14 istering to vote or voting; or 

15 (II) has the effect of discour16 aging or preventing any eligible voters 

17 from registering to vote or voting. 

18 SEC. 109. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

19 Not later than March 1 of each odd numbered year, 

20 DemocracyCorps shall submit to Congress a report on the 

21 activities carried out by members in each State and juris22 diction during the preceding two-year period. 


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•S 3822 IS

1 SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to carry out this title $1,100,000,000 for each of 

4 fiscal year beginning with fiscal year 2020. 

5 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Funds appropriated pursuant to 

6 the authorization of appropriations in subsection (a) shall 

7 remain available until expended. 

8 TITLE II—SPECIAL RULES RE9 LATING TO CERTAIN ELEC10 TIONS IN 2020 

11 SEC. 201. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL ELEC12 TIONS IN 2020 RELATING TO COVID–19. 

13 (a) APPLICABLE FEDERAL ELECTION.—For pur14 poses of this section, the term ‘‘applicable Federal elec15 tion’’ means any election for Federal office which occurs 

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

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

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any applicable 

20 Federal election, each State and local jurisdiction 

21 shall— 

22 (A) permit no-excuse mail-in absentee vot23 ing as described in subsection (c); and 

24 (B) establish a plan as described in sub25 section (d) with respect to in-person voting, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822

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•S 3822 IS

1 cluding during early voting periods and on the 

2 day of the election. 

3 (2) EARLY VOTING AND VOTER REGISTRATION

4 REQUIREMENTS.—For additional requirements ap5 plicable to certain elections for Federal office in 

6 2020 and subsequent year, see sections 322 and 323 

7 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by 

8 title III of this Act). 

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

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

11 voting meets the requirements described in this sub12 section with respect to an applicable Federal elec13 tion, if the State— 

14 (A) provides a no-excuse mail-in ballot to 

15 every registered voter who requests such a bal16 lot (or, in the case of any State that does not 

17 register voters, to every individual who is eligi18 ble to vote and requests such a ballot); 

19 (B) allows voters to request a mail-in bal20 lot online; 

21 (C) if the State requires a signature for 

22 absentee ballots, allows voters to sign the ballot 

23 by providing a mark or signature stamp or by 

24 providing a signature with the use of an assist25 ant because of age, disability, or other need; 


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•S 3822 IS

1 (D) accepts and counts ballots received be2 fore the state’s certification deadline if the bal3 lot— 

4 (i) is postmarked by the date of the 

5 election; or 

6 (ii) includes an indication that it was 

7 mailed by the date of the election; 

8 (E) provides a pre-paid and self-sealing re9 turn envelope for each ballot furnished by mail; 

10 (F) beginning with the date that is 45 

11 days before the date of the election and ending 

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

13 election, provides in-person, secured drop boxes; 

14 (G) before discarding any absentee ballot 

15 for error or technicalities (including the failure 

16 to meet any signature matching requirement 

17 that is unrelated to voter qualification)— 

18 (i) notifies the voter of any such de19 fects; and 

20 (ii) provides the voter an opportunity 

21 to cure such defects that— 

22 (I) is uniform among all voters in 

23 the State; and 

24 (II) in the case of any error re25 lating to a signature requirement, 


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•S 3822 IS

1 meets the requirements of paragraph 

2 (2); 

3 (H) in the case of any voter with disabil4 ities— 

5 (i) provides the voter with access to 

6 Remote Access Vote By Mail (RAVBM) 

7 systems, ballot marking software, and 

8 screen reading software; and 

9 (ii) allows the voter to receive assist10 ance from a person of their choosing to 

11 complete and submit a mail-in ballot; and 

12 (I) ensures adequate support for language 

13 minority voters, including multilingual versions 

14 of vote-by-mail materials and language assist15 ance services. 

16 (2) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SIGNATURE

17 DEFECTS.—The requirements of this paragraph re18 lating to any defect described in paragraph 

19 (1)(G)(ii)(II) are the following: 

20 (A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

21 (B), the voter shall be allowed to cure the de22 fect through the same form of communication 

23 with respect to which the notice of such defect 

24 is provided. 


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•S 3822 IS

1 (B) In any case in which a required signa2 ture is missing, the voter shall be provided an 

3 opportunity to provide such signature on a form 

4 provided by the State. 

5 (C) Any determination of the validity of 

6 the ballot shall be made by a group of two or 

7 more election officials. 

8 (D) The voter shall have the opportunity 

9 to appeal any rejection of the ballot based on 

10 the defect. 

11 (d) PLAN TO IMPLEMENT CDC GUIDANCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement described 

13 in this subsection with respect to in person voting is 

14 met if the State establishes a plan to ensure that 

15 polling places are implementing Centers for Disease 

16 Control and Prevention guidance relating to 

17 COVID–19 preparedness. Such plan must be final18 ized and approved by the State within 30 days of the 

19 date of enactment of this Act. 

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

21 a State plan established under this subsection must 

22 include a plan— 

23 (A) to keep as many voting locations as 

24 possible open during the pandemic; 


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•S 3822 IS

1 (B) to prepare polling locations to imple2 ment social distancing protocols in lines and at 

3 voting booths; 

4 (C) to provide sufficient quantities of hy5 giene and cleaning supplies at polling locations; 

6 (D) to increase the number of— 

7 (i) voting machines available at each 

8 polling place; 

9 (ii) paper ballots and provisional bal10 lots (including the numbers of such ballots 

11 that are translated, multilingual, or in-lan12 guage ballots) available at each polling 

13 place; and 

14 (iii) disposable ballot marking utensils 

15 available at each polling place; 

16 (E) to provide masks and other personal 

17 protective equipment to poll workers; 

18 (F) to provide additional compensation to 

19 poll workers during the pandemic; 

20 (G) to increase the number of poll workers 

21 who can reliably staff voting locations; 

22 (H) to provide training to poll workers on 

23 pandemic conditions and COVID–19 prepared24 ness; and 


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•S 3822 IS

1 (I) to educate voters on changes to proce2 dures or voting opportunities during the pan3 demic. 

4 (e) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person ag5 grieved by a violation of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) 

6 (relating to requirements for no-excuse mail-in absentee 

7 voting) may bring an action for all appropriate remedies, 

8 including injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive 

9 damages, in a Federal district court of competent jurisdic10 tion. 

11 (f) PAYMENTS TO STATES TO CARRY OUT REQUIRE12 MENTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

14 Commission shall makes a payment to each State to 

15 carry out the requirements under this section. Such 

16 payments shall be made not later than 30 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act. 

18 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of pay20 ment made to a State under this subsection 

21 shall be the voting age population proportion 

22 amount described in subparagraph (B). 

23 (B) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPOR24 TION AMOUNT.— 


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•S 3822 IS

1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The voting age 

2 population proportion amount described in 

3 this paragraph is the product of— 

4 (I) the amount made available 

5 for payments under paragraph (3) 

6 section; and 

7 (II) the voting age population 

8 proportion for the State (as defined in 

9 clause (ii)). 

10 (ii) VOTING AGE POPULATION PRO11 PORTION DEFINED.—The term ‘‘voting age 

12 population proportion’’ means, with respect 

13 to any State, the amount equal to the 

14 quotient of— 

15 (I) the voting age population of 

16 the State (as determined by the most 

17 recent American Community Survey 

18 conducted by the Bureau of the Cen19 sus); and 

20 (II) the total voting age popu21 lation of all States (as determined by 

22 the most recent American Community 

23 Survey conducted by the Bureau of 

24 the Census). 


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•S 3822 IS

1 (3) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap2 propriated to make payments under this subsection 

3 $2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

4 SEC. 202. VOTING POLICY MODIFICATION NOTIFICATIONS. 

5 Not later than 4 weeks before the date of an election 

6 for Federal office, election administrators shall notify vot7 ers and the public by mailed notice and accessible publica8 tion online of any modifications to polling place locations, 

9 voter registration procedures, absentee ballot procedures, 

10 or deadlines for voter registration or submission of absen11 tee ballots in such election made to account for COVID– 

12 19. 

13 SEC. 203. GRANTS TO PROMOTE SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND 

14 EFFICIENT IN-PERSON VOTING. 

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

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

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘PART VII—GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE 

19 SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND EFFICIENT IN-PER20 SON VOTING 

21 ‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 

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

23 payment to each eligible State (as described in section 

24 298(a)). Such payments shall be made not later than 30 

25 days after the date of enactment of this part. 


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•S 3822 IS

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

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

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

4 with respect to elections for Federal office. 

5 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 

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

7 made to an eligible State under this section shall be 

8 the voting age population proportion amount de9 scribed in paragraph (2) plus any additional amount 

10 determined by the Commission under paragraph (3). 

11 ‘‘(2) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPORTION

12 AMOUNT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The voting age popu14 lation proportion amount described in this para15 graph is the product of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the aggregate amount made avail17 able for payments under this section minus 

18 the total of all of the additional payment 

19 amounts determined under paragraph (3); 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the voting age population propor22 tion for the State (as defined in subpara23 graph (B)). 

24 ‘‘(B) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPOR25 TION DEFINED.—The term ‘voting age popuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822

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•S 3822 IS

1 lation proportion’ means, with respect to an eli2 gible State, the amount equal to the quotient 

3 of— 

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

5 State (as determined by the most recent 

6 American Community Survey conducted by 

7 the Bureau of the Census); and 

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

9 all States (as determined by the most re10 cent American Community Survey con11 ducted by the Bureau of the Census). 

12 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNT

13 BASED ON NEEDS OF VOTING AGE POPULATION IN

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

15 eligible State, determine an amount of payment for 

16 the State in addition to the amount determined 

17 under paragraph (2) based on the needs of the vot18 ing age population in the State. In determining such 

19 additional amount of payment with respect to an eli20 gible State, the Commission shall take into ac21 count— 

22 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals with in23 come below 250 percent of the poverty line ap24 plicable to a family of the size involved (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822

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•S 3822 IS

1 termined under section 673(2) of the Democra2 cyCorps Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)); 

3 ‘‘(B) the number of citizens of voting age 

4 not fluent in English, as calculated for the pur5 pose of administering section 203 of the Voting 

6 Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 10503); 

7 ‘‘(C) the number of individuals with a dis8 ability as defined in section 3 of the Americans 

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

10 12102); 

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

12 a nonmetropolitan area (as determined by the 

13 Bureau of the Census); and 

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

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

16 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

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

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

19 LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—At least 80 percent of funds 

20 provided to a State under this part shall be distrib21 uted to units of local government to carry out one 

22 or more of the authorized activities described in sec23 tion 298(b) with respect to elections for Federal of24 fice. 


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•S 3822 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 298. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT; AUTHORIZED AC2 TIVITIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that desires to re4 ceive a payment under this part shall submit a certifi5 cation of intent to use such funds for at least one of the 

6 authorized activities described in subsection (b) with re7 spect to elections for Federal office. 

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

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

10 of the following authorized activities: 

11 ‘‘(1) FUNDING TO ENSURE ELECTIONS ARE AC12 CESSIBLE DURING PANDEMIC.—Ensuring voters can 

13 safely access polling sites during the COVID–19 

14 pandemic, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) expanding the number of voting loca16 tions, as well as the days and hours of early in17 person voting; 

18 ‘‘(B) providing mobile voting centers and 

19 temporary voting stations, including advance 

20 notice of schedule and locations; 

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

22 poll workers to voters in each precinct; 

23 ‘‘(D) preparing polling locations to imple24 ment social distancing protocols in lines and 

25 voting booths; 


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•S 3822 IS

1 ‘‘(E) providing sufficient quantities of hy2 giene and cleaning supplies, including materials 

3 to sanitize voting machines after each use; 

4 ‘‘(F) increasing the number of paper bal5 lots available at each polling location; 

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

7 personal protective equipment to poll workers; 

8 ‘‘(H) increasing pay for poll workers dur9 ing the COVID–19 pandemic; and 

10 ‘‘(I) providing voter education on changes 

11 or improvements to election procedures, accessi12 bility, or voting opportunities during the pan13 demic. 

14 ‘‘(2) FUNDING TO ENSURE ELECTIONS ARE AC15 CESSIBLE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES DUR16 ING PANDEMIC.—Ensuring voters can safely reg17 ister, access polling sites, and vote by mail during 

18 the COVID–19 pandemic, in accordance with this 

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

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

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

22 et seq.), and other applicable law, by improving poll23 ing place accessibility and providing accommodations 

24 for individuals with disabilities, including— 


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•S 3822 IS

1 ‘‘(A) purchasing Remote Access Vote By 

2 Mail (RAVBM) systems, ballot marking devices 

3 and software, and screen reading software, and 

4 making them available to voters with disabil5 ities; 

6 ‘‘(B) equipping polling locations with tech7 nologies that enable individuals with disabilities 

8 to privately and independently mark, verify, and 

9 cast their ballots, including through the avail10 ability of ballot marking devices, headsets, con11 trollers, and other assistive devices; 

12 ‘‘(C) making permanent or temporary 

13 modifications to render polling places accessible; 

14 ‘‘(D) ensuring appropriate polling place 

15 siting to avoid locations that pose higher health 

16 risks to the public; 

17 ‘‘(E) conducting analysis on polling place 

18 reconfiguration to account for social distancing 

19 and implementing changes; 

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

21 how to best serve individuals during the pan22 demic, including training for serving individuals 

23 with disabilities; 

24 ‘‘(G) assessing the accessibility of election 

25 websites and remediating any accessibility probVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822

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•S 3822 IS

1 lems to ensure voter information is clear and 

2 accessible; and 

3 ‘‘(H) providing fully accessible online voter 

4 registration services. 

5 ‘‘(3) FUNDING TO ENSURE CONTINUING PRO6 TECTIONS FOR LANGUAGE MINORITY VOTERS.—En7 suring continuing protections for language minority 

8 voters, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) ensuring compliance with section 203 

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

11 10503)— 

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

13 new voter registration procedures; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) with respect to voting materials 

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

16 ‘‘(B) ensuring adequate support for such 

17 individuals (including for language minority 

18 voters who do not reside in jurisdictions covered 

19 by section 203 of the Voting Rights Act), in20 cluding through— 

21 ‘‘(i) language assistance hotlines in 

22 covered languages; 

23 ‘‘(ii) phone interpretation and inter24 preter services; 


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•S 3822 IS

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

2 distribute multi-lingual versions of mate3 rials; 

4 ‘‘(iv) enhancing in-language media ad5 vertising regarding polling place changes; 

6 ‘‘(v) recruiting and hiring bilingual or 

7 multilingual election workers; and 

8 ‘‘(vi) enhancing in-language media ad9 vertising regarding procedures for obtain10 ing and returning mail-in ballots; and 

11 ‘‘(C) providing voter education on activities 

12 carried out under this paragraph. 

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

14 AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE VOTERS AND

15 RURAL VOTERS.—Ensuring voting access American 

16 Indian and Alaska Native voters and rural voters, 

17 including— 

18 ‘‘(A) ensuring polling place availability 

19 within 20 miles of where voters live; 

20 ‘‘(B) providing transportation services for 

21 American Indian, Alaska Native, and rural vot22 ers to reach their nearest polling location; 

23 ‘‘(C) establishing in Indian country (as de24 fined in section 1151 of title 18, United States 

25 Code) and on any land in Alaska owned pursuVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822

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•S 3822 IS

1 ant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 

2 (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) polling places that are 

3 open for voting days and hours commensurate 

4 with polling place days and hours in urban 

5 areas within the State; 

6 ‘‘(D) giving Indian tribes (as defined in 

7 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

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

9 authority to designate buildings that can be 

10 used as a residential address for voter registra11 tion and for physical sites for ballot pickup, 

12 drop-off, and collection; 

13 ‘‘(E) offering information in unwritten lan14 guages or languages not widely used in written 

15 form, in consultation with relevant Tribal gov16 ernments; 

17 ‘‘(F) collecting ballots from remote polling 

18 locations, ballot collection boxes, and tribally 

19 designated buildings; 

20 ‘‘(G) carrying out any activities permitted 

21 under paragraph (2) to improve accessibility for 

22 American Indian and Alaska Native voters with 

23 disabilities; and 

24 ‘‘(H) providing voter education on the ac25 tivities carried out under this paragraph. 


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•S 3822 IS

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

2 and promotion of a curbside voting option to allow 

3 individuals to pick up ballots, complete them, and 

4 return them to a poll worker from their vehicles. 

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

6 STANDARD AT POLLING LOCATIONS.— 

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

8 of standards that reduce wait times at polling 

9 locations. 

10 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—In 

11 the case where the State uses funds for pur12 poses described in subparagraph (A) with re13 spect to an election for Federal office, the State 

14 shall certify to the Commission within 120 days 

15 of the election that wait time standards were 

16 met in the State with respect to such election. 

17 ‘‘(7) FUNDING FOR PUBLICATION OF WAIT

18 TIMES.— 

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

20 implementation of an accessible, web-based 

21 platform for the publication of wait times for 

22 voting in Federal elections. 

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

24 funds for a purpose described in subparagraph 

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


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•S 3822 IS

1 using such platform in an election for Federal 

2 office— 

3 ‘‘(i) to provide advance training to 

4 election workers regarding use of the plat5 form; 

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

7 and 

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

9 and functionality of the platform. 

10 ‘‘(8) METHODS TO IMPROVE LINE MANAGE11 MENT.—Implementing standards to improve line 

12 management systems and polling place management. 

13 ‘‘(9) STANDARDS FOR TRAINING AND RECRUIT14 MENT OF POLL WORKERS.—Providing for the train15 ing and recruitment of poll workers, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) developing poll worker training cur17 ricula and standards for serving individuals 

18 with disabilities and language minority voters; 

19 ‘‘(B) ensuring that poll workers receive 

20 training, which— 

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

22 ‘‘(ii) may cover applicable Federal and 

23 State laws and regulations, recent changes 

24 in election laws and processes, election se25 curity and cyber vulnerabilities, ballot reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822

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•S 3822 IS

1 views, incident response, polling accessi2 bility for language minorities and individ3 uals with disabilities, and COVID–19 pre4 paredness; 

5 ‘‘(C) expanding the number of election 

6 workers hired; 

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

8 workers from among high school and college 

9 students and, where feasible, compensating 

10 such individuals with course credits; and 

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

12 satisfy the need for bilingual poll workers. 

13 ‘‘(10) IMPROVING ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRA14 TION.—Improving access to voter registration, in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(A) authorizing and implementing same 

17 day registration; 

18 ‘‘(B) ensuring that online voter registra19 tion systems are in place and have the capacity 

20 to process registration applications electroni21 cally; 

22 ‘‘(C) expanding online voter registration 

23 systems to allow use by the maximum number 

24 of individuals, including— 


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•S 3822 IS

1 ‘‘(i) by allowing individuals to register 

2 to vote without records in the department 

3 of motor vehicle system of the State by 

4 submitting their signatures online; 

5 ‘‘(ii) by digitally uploading a picture 

6 of the required signature; 

7 ‘‘(iii) by allowing individuals to pro8 vide the required signature when voting at 

9 the polls or when returning a mail-in bal10 lot; or 

11 ‘‘(iv) by allowing individual to provide 

12 a required signature with a mark or signa13 ture stamp or through the use of an assist14 ant because of age, disability, or other 

15 need; 

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

17 including a blank voter registration application, 

18 a self-sealing prepaid return envelope, and in19 structions on additional methods to register if 

20 the mailer is not accessible, to all eligible indi21 viduals with State records who are not cur22 rently registered to vote; and 

23 ‘‘(E) testing capacity to ensure that exist24 ing online voter registration systems can with25 stand the likely increase in usage. 


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•S 3822 IS

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

2 15 days after the date of enactment of this part, the Com3 mission shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) consult with the Centers for Disease Con5 trol and Prevention on preventing transmission of 

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

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

8 the Department of Justice to ensure changes to vot9 ing procedures made pursuant to this part are non10 discriminatory and comply with applicable Federal 

11 laws, including this Act, the Americans with Disabil12 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Vot13 ing Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped 

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

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

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

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

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

19 ‘‘SEC. 299. FUNDING; REPORTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro21 priated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

22 appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 

23 2020, for making payments under this part, 

24 $3,600,000,000. Such amount shall be in addition to other 

25 amounts otherwise available for such purposes. 


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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 PROTECT IN-PERSON VOTING

‘‘Sec. 297. Payments to States. 

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

‘‘Sec. 299. Funding; reports.’’. 

15 TITLE III—ADDITIONAL RE16 QUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL 

17 ELECTIONS 

18 SEC. 301. VOTING BY MAIL IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Title III of the Help America 

20 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new subtitle: 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle C—Additional 

2 Requirements 

3 ‘‘SEC. 321. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 

4 MAIL. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli6 gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 

7 State may not impose any additional conditions or require8 ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 

9 in such election by mail, except to the extent that the 

10 State imposes a deadline for returning the ballot to the 

11 appropriate State or local election official. 

12 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF BALLOT REQUESTED MATE13 RIALS.—Not later than 4 weeks before the date of any 

14 election for Federal office, each State shall mail ballots 

15 to individuals who are registered to vote in such election. 

16 ‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS17 ABILITIES.—All ballots provided under this section shall 

18 be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner 

19 that provides the same opportunity for access and partici20 pation (including for privacy and independence) as for 

21 other voters. 

22 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec23 tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 

24 to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 

25 polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 


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1 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A State shall be required 

2 to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) with re3 spect to elections for Federal office held in years after 

4 2020.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN6 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘303, and 

8 subtitle C of title III’’. 

9 (c) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Title IV of the 

10 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111 et seq.) 

11 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 403. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF 

13 SUBTITLE C. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a violation of sub15 title C of title III, section 402 shall not apply and any 

16 person who is aggrieved by such violation may provide 

17 written notice of the violation to the chief election official 

18 of the State involved. 

19 ‘‘(b) RELIEF.—If the violation is not corrected within 

20 20 days after receipt of a notice under subsection (a), or 

21 within 5 days after receipt of the notice if the violation 

22 occurred within 120 days before the date of an election 

23 for Federal office, the aggrieved person may, in a civil ac24 tion, obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect 

25 to the violation. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE.—If the violation occurred within 

2 5 days before the date of an election for Federal office, 

3 the aggrieved person need not provide notice to the chief 

4 election official of the State involved under subsection (a) 

5 before bringing a civil action under subsection (b).’’. 

6 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO VOL7 UNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS8 SION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

12 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 

15 respect to subtitle C, 1 year after the date of enact16 ment of such subtitle.’’. 

17 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

18 of such Act is amended— 

19 (1) by inserting after the item relating to sec20 tion 312 the following: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Additional Requirements 

‘‘Sec. 321. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec23 tion 402 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 403. Private right of action for violations of subtitle C.’’. 


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1 (f) FREE POSTAGE FOR VOTING BY MAIL.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 

3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

4 end the following: 

5 ‘‘§ 3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elec6 tions 

7 ‘‘Ballots mailed pursuant to section 303A(b) of the 

8 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (individually or in bulk) 

9 shall be carried expeditiously and free of postage.’’. 

10 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND11 MENTS.— 

12 (A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of 

13 sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

‘‘3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elections.’’. 

16 (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA17 TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United 

18 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403 

19 through 3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3403 through 

20 3407’’. 

21 SEC. 302. REQUIREMENT TO ALLOW FOR EARLY VOTING. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title III of the Help 

23 America Vote Act of 2002, as added by section 301, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 322. AVAILABILITY OF EARLY VOTING. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State and jurisdiction 

3 shall, with respect to the general election occurring on No4 vember 3, 2020, and each subsequent election for Federal 

5 office— 

6 ‘‘(1) allow individuals otherwise eligible to vote 

7 in such election to vote in such election prior to the 

8 date of the election through early voting which meets 

9 the requirements of subsection (b); and 

10 ‘‘(2) publicize the details of any voting allowed 

11 under paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(b) EARLY VOTING.—Early voting meets the re13 quirements of this subsection— 

14 ‘‘(1) if such voting occurs— 

15 ‘‘(A) for a 20-day period preceding the 

16 date of the election so that such days constitute 

17 consecutive weekdays and include at least one 

18 weekend, which period may end on a date cho19 sen by the chief election official of the State 

20 that is between the date of the election and 4 

21 days preceding such date; and 

22 ‘‘(B) for no less than 8 hours on each of 

23 the 20 days such early voting occurs; and 

24 ‘‘(2) each early voting location in the State of25 fers a ballot drop-off box for voters to submit their 

26 voted and sealed absentee ballots. 


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1 ‘‘(c) STATE.— For purposes of this section, the term 

2 ‘State’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common3 wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 

4 United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 

5 the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 

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

7 of such Act, as amended by section 301, is amended by 

8 inserting after the item relating to section 321 the fol9 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 322. Availability of early voting.’’. 

10 SEC. 303. REQUIREMENT FOR ACCEPTANCE OF VOTER REG11 ISTRATION APPLICATIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of title III of the Help 

13 America Vote Act of 2002, as added by section 301 and 

14 amended by section 302, is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 323. ACCEPTANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION APPLI17 CATIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF ONLINE REGISTRATION AND

19 CORRECTION OF EXISTING REGISTRATION INFORMA20 TION.—Each State, acting through the chief State election 

21 official, shall ensure that the following services are avail22 able to the public at any time on the official public 

23 websites of the appropriate State and local election offi24 cials in the State, in the same manner and subject to the 

25 same terms and conditions as the services provided by 


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1 voter registration agencies under section 7(a) of the Na2 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

3 20506(a)): 

4 ‘‘(1) Online application for voter registration. 

5 ‘‘(2) Online assistance to applicants in applying 

6 to register to vote. 

7 ‘‘(3) Online completion and submission by ap8 plicants of the mail voter registration application 

9 form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commis10 sion pursuant to section 9(a)(2) of such Act (52 

11 U.S.C. 20508(a)(2)). 

12 ‘‘(4) Online receipt of completed voter registra13 tion applications. 

14 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCEPTANCE AND PROC15 ESSING OF VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS.—Each 

16 State and local jurisdiction shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) accept voter registration applications sub18 mitted in person, by mail, or online as described in 

19 subsection (a); and 

20 ‘‘(2) process such voter registration applications 

21 at least 21 days prior to the date of an election for 

22 Federal office, 

23 except nothing this subsection shall preclude a State or 

24 local jurisdiction from allowing for the acceptance and 


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1 processing of voter registration applications submitted or 

2 received after such required period. 

3 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—This section shall not apply with 

4 respect to any State or local jurisdiction that allows— 

5 ‘‘(1) voter registration during early voting; or 

6 ‘‘(2) same day voter registration. 

7 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply be8 ginning on the date that is 60 days after the date of enact9 ment of this section.’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

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

12 to section 322, as added by section 302, the following new 

13 item: 

‘‘Sec. 323. Acceptance of voter registration applications.’’. 

14 TITLE IV—FUNDING 

15 SEC. 401. SUSPENSION OF STATE MATCHING REQUIRE16 MENT FOR ELECTION SECURITY GRANTS 

17 PROVIDED UNDER THE CARES ACT. 

18 The matter under the heading ‘‘Election security 

19 grants’’ under the heading ‘‘Election Assistance Commis20 sion’’ under the heading ‘‘Independent agencies’’ in title 

21 V of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, is amend22 ed by striking ‘‘: Provided further, That not later than two 

23 years after receiving a payment under this heading, a 

24 State shall make available funds for such activities in an 


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1 amount equal to 20 percent of the total amount of the 

2 payment made to the State under this heading’’. 

Æ 


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