II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 979 

To establish a Vote by Mail grant program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2007 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. KERRY) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To establish a Vote by Mail grant program. 

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 ‘‘Vote by Mail Act of 

5 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Supreme Court declared in Reynolds v. 

9 Sims that ‘‘[i]t has been repeatedly recognized that 

10 all qualified voters have a constitutionally protected 

11 right to vote . . . and to have their votes counted.’’. 


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1 (2) In the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, 

2 voting technology failures and procedural irregular3 ities deprived some Americans of their fundamental 

4 right to vote. 

5 (3) In 2000, faulty punch card ballots and 

6 other equipment failures prevented accurate vote 

7 counts nationwide. A report by the Caltech/MIT 

8 Voting Technology Project estimates that approxi9 mately 1,500,000 votes for president were intended 

10 to be cast but not counted in the 2000 election be11 cause of equipment failures. 

12 (4) In 2004, software errors, malfunctioning 

13 electronic voting systems, and long lines at the polls 

14 prevented accurate vote counts and prevented some 

15 people from voting. For instance, voters at Kenyon 

16 College in Gambier, Ohio waited in line for up to 12 

17 hours because there were only 2 machines available 

18 for 1,300 voters. 

19 (5) In 2006, election day problems plagued vot20 ers in a number of States as well. For instance, in 

21 Denver, Colorado, hundreds of voters were turned 

22 away when the database of registered voters crashed. 

23 In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, malfunctioning 

24 machines and an inadequate number of provisional 


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1 ballots generated long lines, causing many voters to 

2 leave without casting a vote. 

3 (6) Under the Oregon Vote by Mail system, 

4 election officials mail ballots to all registered voters 

5 at least 2 weeks before election day. Voters mark 

6 their ballots, seal the ballots in both unmarked se7 crecy envelopes and signed return envelopes, and re8 turn the ballots by mail or to secure drop boxes. 

9 Once a ballot is received, election officials scan the 

10 bar code on the ballot envelope, which brings up the 

11 voter’s signature on a computer screen. The election 

12 official compares the signature on the screen and the 

13 signature on the ballot envelope. Only if the signa14 ture on the ballot envelope is determined to be au15 thentic is the ballot forwarded on to be counted. 

16 (7) Oregon’s Vote by Mail system has deterred 

17 voter fraud because the system includes numerous 

18 security measures such as the signature authentica19 tion system. Potential misconduct is also discour20 aged by the power of the State to punish those who 

21 engage in voter fraud with up to five years in prison, 

22 $100,000 in fines, and the loss of their vote. 

23 (8) Oregon’s Vote by Mail system promotes uni24 formity and strict compliance with Federal and 

25 State voting laws because ballot processing is cenVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:28 Mar 28, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S979.IS S979

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1 tralized in county clerk’s offices, rather than at nu2 merous polling places. 

3 (9) Vote by Mail is one factor making voter 

4 turnout in Oregon consistently higher than the aver5 age national voter turnout. For example, Oregon ex6 perienced a record voting-age-eligible population 

7 turnout of 70.6 percent in the 2004 presidential 

8 election, compared to 58.4 percent nationally. Or9 egon’s turnout of registered voters for that election 

10 was 86.48 percent. 

11 (10) Women, younger voters, and homemakers 

12 also report that they vote more often using Vote by 

13 Mail. 

14 (11) Vote by Mail reduces election costs by 

15 eliminating the need to transport equipment to poll16 ing stations and to hire and train poll workers. Or17 egon has reduced its election-related costs by 30 per18 cent since implementing Vote by Mail. 

19 (12) Vote by Mail allows voters to educate 

20 themselves because they receive ballots well before 

21 election day, which provides them with ample time 

22 to research issues, study ballots, and deliberate in a 

23 way that is not possible at a polling place. 

24 (13) Vote by Mail is accurate—at least 2 stud25 ies comparing voting technologies show that absentee 


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1 voting methods, including Vote by Mail systems, re2 sult in a more accurate vote count. 

3 (14) Vote by Mail results in more up-to-date 

4 voter rolls, since election officials use forwarding in5 formation from the post office to update voter reg6 istration. 

7 (15) Vote by Mail allows voters to visually 

8 verify that their votes were cast correctly and pro9 duces a paper trail for recounts. 

10 (16) In a survey taken 5 years after Oregon im11 plemented the Vote by Mail system, more than 8 in 

12 10 Oregon voters said they preferred voting by mail 

13 to traditional voting. 

14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this Act: 

16 (1) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means 

17 any general, special, primary, or runoff election. 

18 (2) PARTICIPATING STATE.—The term ‘‘partici19 pating State’’ means a State receiving a grant under 

20 the Vote by Mail grant program under section 4. 

21 (3) RESIDUAL VOTE RATE.—The term ‘‘resid22 ual vote rate’’ means the sum of all votes that can23 not be counted in an election (overvotes, undervotes, 

24 and otherwise spoiled ballots) divided by the total 

25 number of votes cast. 


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1 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State 

2 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

3 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or pos4 session of the United States. 

5 (5) VOTING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘voting sys6 tem’’ has the meaning given such term under section 

7 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

8 U.S.C. 15481(b)). 

9 SEC. 4. VOTE BY MAIL GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 270 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance 

12 Commission shall establish a Vote by Mail grant program 

13 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘program’’). 

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the program is to 

15 make implementation grants to participating States solely 

16 for the implementation of procedures for the conduct of 

17 all elections by mail at the State or local government level. 

18 (c) LIMITATION ON USE OF FUNDS.—In no case may 

19 grants made under this section be used to reimburse a 

20 State for costs incurred in implementing mail-in voting for 

21 elections at the State or local government level if such 

22 costs were incurred prior to the date of enactment of this 

23 Act. 

24 (d) APPLICATION.—A State seeking to participate in 

25 the program under this section shall submit an application 


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1 to the Election Assistance Commission containing such in2 formation, and at such time, as the Election Assistance 

3 Commission may specify. 

4 (e) AMOUNT AND AWARDING OF IMPLEMENTATION

5 GRANTS; DURATION OF PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) AMOUNT OF IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graph (B), the amount of an implementation 

9 grant made to a participating State shall be, in 

10 the case of a State that certifies that it will im11 plement all elections by mail in accordance with 

12 the requirements of subsection (f), with respect 

13 to— 

14 (i) the entire State, $2,000,000; or 

15 (ii) any single unit or multiple units 

16 of local government within the State, 

17 $1,000,000. 

18 (B) EXCESS FUNDS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that 

20 there are excess funds in either of the first 

21 2 years of the program, such funds may be 

22 used to award implementation grants to 

23 participating States in subsequent years. 

24 (ii) EXCESS FUNDS DEFINED.—For 

25 purposes of clause (i), the term ‘‘excess 


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1 funds’’ means any amounts appropriated 

2 pursuant to the authorization under sub3 section (h)(1) with respect to a fiscal year 

4 that are not awarded to a participating 

5 State under an implementation grant dur6 ing such fiscal year. 

7 (C) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

8 AFTER APPROPRIATION.—An implementation 

9 grant made to a participating State under this 

10 section shall be available to the State without 

11 fiscal year limitation. 

12 (2) AWARDING OF IMPLEMENTATION

13 GRANTS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assist15 ance Commission shall award implementation 

16 grants during each year in which the program 

17 is conducted. 

18 (B) ONE GRANT PER STATE.—The Elec19 tion Assistance Commission shall not award 

20 more than 1 implementation grant to any par21 ticipating State under this section over the du22 ration of the program. 

23 (3) DURATION.—The program shall be con24 ducted for a period of 3 years. 

25 (f) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (1) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—A participating 

2 State shall establish and implement procedures for 

3 conducting all elections by mail in the area with re4 spect to which it receives an implementation grant 

5 to conduct such elections, including the following: 

6 (A) A process for recording electronically 

7 each voter’s registration information and signa8 ture. 

9 (B) A process for mailing ballots to all eli10 gible voters. 

11 (C) The designation of places for the de12 posit of ballots cast in an election. 

13 (D) A process for ensuring the secrecy and 

14 integrity of ballots cast in the election. 

15 (E) Procedures and penalties for pre16 venting election fraud and ballot tampering, in17 cluding procedures for the verification of the 

18 signature of the voter accompanying the ballot 

19 through comparison of such signature with the 

20 signature of the voter maintained by the State 

21 in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

22 (F) Procedures for verifying that a ballot 

23 has been received by the appropriate authority. 

24 (G) Procedures for obtaining a replace25 ment ballot in the case of a ballot which is deVerDate Aug 31 2005 00:28 Mar 28, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S979.IS S979

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1 stroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the 

2 voter. 

3 (H) A plan for training election workers in 

4 signature verification techniques. 

5 (I) Plans and procedures to ensure that 

6 voters who are blind, visually-impaired, or oth7 erwise disabled have the opportunity to partici8 pate in elections conducted by mail and to en9 sure compliance with the Help America Vote 

10 Act of 2002. Such plans and procedures shall 

11 be developed in consultation with disabled and 

12 other civil rights organizations, voting rights 

13 groups, State election officials, voter protection 

14 groups, and other interested community organi15 zations. 

16 (J) Plans and procedures to ensure the 

17 translation of ballots and voting materials in 

18 accordance with section 203 of the Voting 

19 Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa–1a)). 

20 (g) BEST PRACTICES, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND

21 REPORTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

23 Commission shall— 


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1 (A) develop, periodically issue, and, as ap2 propriate, update best practices for conducting 

3 elections by mail; 

4 (B) provide technical assistance to partici5 pating States for the purpose of implementing 

6 procedures for conducting elections by mail; and 

7 (C) submit to the appropriate committees 

8 of Congress— 

9 (i) annual reports on the implementa10 tion of such procedures by participating 

11 States during each year in which the pro12 gram is conducted; and 

13 (ii) upon completion of the program 

14 conducted under this section, a final report 

15 on the program, together with rec16 ommendations for such legislation or ad17 ministrative action as the Election Assist18 ance Commission determines to be appro19 priate. 

20 (2) CONSULTATION.—In developing, issuing, 

21 and updating best practices, developing materials to 

22 provide technical assistance to participating States, 

23 and developing the annual and final reports under 

24 paragraph (1), the Election Assistance Commission 

25 shall consult with interested parties, including— 


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1 (A) State and local election officials; 

2 (B) the United States Postal Service; 

3 (C) the Postal Regulatory Commission es4 tablished under section 501 of title 39, United 

5 States Code; and 

6 (D) voting rights groups, voter protection 

7 groups, groups representing the disabled, and 

8 other civil rights or community organizations. 

9 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

10 (1) GRANTS.—There are authorized to be ap11 propriated to award grants under this section, for 

12 each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009, $6,000,000, 

13 to remain available without fiscal year limitation 

14 until expended. 

15 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—There are authorized to 

16 be appropriated to administer the program under 

17 this section, $200,000 for the period of fiscal years 

18 2007 through 2009, to remain available without fis19 cal year limitation until expended. 

20 (i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

21 may be construed to authorize or require conduct prohib22 ited under any of the following laws, or to supersede, re23 strict, or limit the application of such laws: 

24 (1) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

25 U.S.C. 15301 et seq.). 


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1 (2) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

2 1973 et seq.). 

3 (3) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 

4 Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.). 

5 (4) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab6 sentee Voting Act(42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.). 

7 (5) The National Voter Registration Act of 

8 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.). 

9 (6) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

10 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

11 (7) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

12 701 et seq.). 

13 SEC. 5. STUDY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF MAIL-IN VOTING 

14 FOR ELECTIONS. 

15 (a) STUDY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 

17 the United States (in this section referred to as the 

18 ‘‘Comptroller General’’) shall conduct a study evalu19 ating the benefits of broader implementation of mail20 in voting in elections, taking into consideration the 

21 annual reports submitted by the Election Assistance 

22 Commission under section 4(g)(1)(C)(i) before No23 vember 1, 2009. 

24 (2) SPECIFIC ISSUES STUDIED.—The study 

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1 parison of traditional voting methods and mail-in 

2 voting with respect to— 

3 (A) the likelihood of voter fraud and mis4 conduct; 

5 (B) the accuracy of voter rolls; 

6 (C) the accuracy of election results; 

7 (D) voter participation in urban and rural 

8 communities and by minorities, language mi9 norities (as defined in section 203 of the Voting 

10 Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973aa–1a)), 

11 and individuals with disabilities and by individ12 uals who are homeless or who frequently change 

13 their official residences; 

14 (E) public confidence in the election sys15 tem; 

16 (F) the residual vote rate, including such 

17 rate based on voter age, education, income, 

18 race, or ethnicity or whether a voter lives in an 

19 urban or rural community, is disabled, or is a 

20 language minority (as so defined); and 

21 (G) cost savings. 

22 (3) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study 

23 under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall 

24 consult with interested parties, including— 

25 (A) State and local election officials; 


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1 (B) the United States Postal Service; 

2 (C) the Postal Regulatory Commission es3 tablished under section 501 of title 39, United 

4 States Code; and 

5 (D) voting rights groups, voter protection 

6 groups, groups representing the disabled, and 

7 other civil rights or community organizations. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than November 1, 2009, the 

9 Comptroller General shall prepare and submit to the ap10 propriate committees of Congress a report on the study 

11 conducted under subsection (a), together with such rec12 ommendations for legislation or administrative action as 

13 the Comptroller General determines to be appropriate. 

Æ 


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