II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1231 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters 

to vote by mail in Federal elections, to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to provide for automatic voter registration. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 25, 2017 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. UDALL, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. FRANKEN, Ms. 

HARRIS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. CARPER, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. COONS, Ms. WARREN, 

Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow 

all eligible voters to vote by mail in Federal elections, 

to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 

to provide for automatic voter registration. 

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 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) An inequity of voting rights exists in the 

4 United States because voters in some States have 

5 the universal right to vote by mail while voters in 

6 other States do not. 

7 (2) Many voters often have work, family, or 

8 other commitments that make getting to polls and 

9 waiting in line on the date of an election difficult or 

10 impossible. Many citizens with disabilities are phys11 ically unable to vote due to long lines, inadequate 

12 parking, no curb cuts, steep ramps, and large 

13 crowds. In 2012, 30 percent of voters with disabil14 ities had difficulty voting, and more than 5,000,000 

15 voters waited more than an hour to vote. Under cur16 rent State laws, many of these voters are not per17 mitted to vote by mail. 

18 (3) Twenty-eight States currently allow uni19 versal absentee voting (also known as ‘‘no-excuse’’ 

20 absentee voting), which permits any voter to request 

21 a mail-in ballot without providing a reason for the 

22 request. No State which has implemented no-excuse 

23 absentee voting has repealed it. 

24 (4) Three States currently hold elections en25 tirely by mail. Twenty-two States currently allow 

26 some elections to be conducted by mail, especially in 


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1 large and rural jurisdictions where voting by mail is 

2 especially convenient. Polling stations in rural juris3 dictions tend to have higher costs per voter, smaller 

4 staffs, and limited resources. Transportation is often 

5 a crucial barrier for rural voters. 

6 (5) Voting by mail gives voters more time to 

7 consider their choices, which is especially important 

8 as many ballots contain greater numbers of ques9 tions about complex issues than in the past due to 

10 the expanded use of the initiative and referendum 

11 process in many States. 

12 (6) Voting by mail is cost effective. After the 

13 State of Oregon adopted vote by mail for all voters 

14 in 1996, the cost to administer an election in the 

15 State dropped by nearly 30 percent over the next 

16 few elections, from $3.07 per voter to $2.21 per 

17 voter. After Colorado implemented all-mail balloting 

18 in 2013, voting administration costs decreased by an 

19 average of 40 percent. The cost of conducting vote20 by-mail elections is generally one-third to one-half 

21 less than conducting polling place elections. Voting 

22 by mail also saves a substantial amount by getting 

23 rid of the temporary labor costs of hiring poll work24 ers. In addition to that cost, many jurisdictions have 


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1 been facing difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers 

2 of poll workers. 

3 (7) Allowing all voters the option to vote by 

4 mail can reduce waiting times for those voters who 

5 choose to vote at the polls. In 2016, voters in Ari6 zona reported waiting in line from 1 to 5 hours to 

7 vote; in New York, voters reported that stations ran 

8 out of ballots and did not have staff during all of 

9 the hours scheduled for voting. 

10 (8) Voting by mail is preferable to many voters 

11 as an alternative to going to the polls. In 2012, 19 

12 percent of ballots in the United States were cast by 

13 mail, up from 10 percent in 2000. In 2016, nearly 

14 58 percent of California voters chose to vote by mail. 

15 Voting by mail has become increasingly popular with 

16 voters who want to be certain that they are able to 

17 vote no matter what comes up on election day, as it 

18 reduces the physical obstacles and eases the time 

19 constraints connected with the act of voting. 

20 (9) The signature verification process, the 

21 tracking system for each ballot, and postal service 

22 cooperation in preventing ballots from being deliv23 ered to names not recognized as receiving mail at an 

24 address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud in 

25 vote by mail elections. Evidence of undue influence 


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1 or voter coercion after vote-by-mail implementation 

2 in Oregon has been nonexistent to minimal. 

3 (10) Many of the reasons which voters in many 

4 States are required to provide in order to vote by 

5 mail require the revelation of personal information 

6 about health, travel plans, or religious activities, 

7 which violate voters’ privacy while doing nothing to 

8 prevent voter fraud. 

9 (11) State laws which require voters to obtain 

10 a notary signature to vote by mail only add cost and 

11 inconvenience to voters without increasing security. 

12 (12) Many voters choose to cast ballots early 

13 when they have the option (over 40 percent in Ne14 vada, New Mexico, Texas, and Tennessee). Nearly 

15 one-third of voters in the 2012 election cast their 

16 ballot before election day, which is about double the 

17 rate of voters in 2000. In Oregon, 7 years after 

18 vote-by-mail election implementation, over 80 per19 cent of voters favored the vote-by-mail system. 

20 (13) Vote-by-mail typically increases turnout in 

21 all elections, but can be particularly effective in in22 creasing voter participation in special elections and 

23 primary elections. Oregon, Washington, and Colo24 rado, the 3 States with entirely vote by mail elec25 tions, continue to have consistently high voter turnVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1231.IS S1231

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1 out rates. In the 2016 Presidential election, while 

2 the percentage of registered voters who cast a ballot 

3 nationally was 68.1 percent, Oregon’s was 80.3 per4 cent, Washington’s was 78.76 percent, and Colo5 rado’s was 74.3 percent. 

6 (14) A crucial component of a modern voting 

7 system is making it easy, affordable, and accessible 

8 to register to vote. Thirty States introduced auto9 matic voter registration legislation in the first 4 

10 months of 2017, and 7 States plus the District of 

11 Columbia automatically register their citizens to vote 

12 when they apply for or renew a driver’s license. 

13 Automatic, permanent voter registration has the po14 tential to increase participation, protect election in15 tegrity, and reduce registration costs. 

16 SEC. 3. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY MAIL 

17 IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

18 (a) VOTING BY MAIL IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

20 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 

21 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303 

22 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 303A. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 

2 MAIL. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli4 gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 

5 State may not impose any additional conditions or require6 ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 

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

8 State imposes a deadline for returning the ballot to the 

9 appropriate State or local election official. 

10 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF BALLOT MATERIALS.—Not later 

11 than 2 weeks before the date of any election for Federal 

12 office, each State shall mail ballots to individuals who are 

13 registered to vote in such election. 

14 ‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS15 ABILITIES.—All ballots provided under this section shall 

16 be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner 

17 that provides the same opportunity for access and partici18 pation (including for privacy and independence) as for 

19 other voters. 

20 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec21 tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 

22 to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 

23 polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 

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

25 to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) with reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 Jun 01, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1231.IS S1231

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1 spect to elections for Federal office held in years beginning 

2 with 2020.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

4 ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 

5 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘303, and 303A’’. 

7 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con8 tents for such Act is amended by inserting after the 

9 item relating to section 303 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 303A. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’. 

10 (b) FREE POSTAGE FOR VOTING BY MAIL.— 

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

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘§ 3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elec15 tions 

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

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

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

19 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND20 MENTS.— 

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

22 sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 

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


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1 (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA2 TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United 

3 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403 

4 through 3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3403 through 

5 3407’’. 

6 SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH 

7 STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITIES. 

8 (a) AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION.—Section 5 

9 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

10 20504) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 5. VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH MOTOR VEHICLE 

12 AUTHORITY. 

13 ‘‘(a) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REG14 ISTRATION AND APPLICATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLE

15 DRIVER’S LICENSE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO ELEC17 TION OFFICIALS.—Each State’s motor vehicle au18 thority, upon receiving any of the identifying infor19 mation described in paragraph (2) with respect to 

20 any applicable individual, shall securely transmit the 

21 identifying information to the appropriate State elec22 tion official. 

23 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION DESCRIBED.— 

24 The identifying information described in this para25 graph with respect to any individual is as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The individual’s legal name. 

2 ‘‘(B) The individual’s age. 

3 ‘‘(C) The individual’s residence. 

4 ‘‘(D) The individual’s citizenship status. 

5 ‘‘(E) The individual’s electronic signature. 

6 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF OFFICIALS RECEIVING INFORMA7 TION.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving the identi9 fying information with respect to an applicable indi10 vidual under subsection (a), the appropriate State 

11 election official shall determine— 

12 ‘‘(A) whether such individual is eligible to 

13 vote in an election for Federal office; and 

14 ‘‘(B) whether such individual is currently 

15 registered to vote in elections for Federal office 

16 at the address provided in such identifying in17 formation. 

18 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO INDIVIDUALS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE UNREGISTERED INDIVID20 UALS.—In the case of an applicable individual 

21 who is eligible to vote in an election for Federal 

22 office and who is not currently registered to 

23 vote, the appropriate State election official shall 

24 issue a notification to the individual con25 taining— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi2 vidual notifies the election official prior to 

3 the expiration of the 21-calendar-day pe4 riod which begins on the date the official 

5 issued the notification that the individual 

6 declines to be registered to vote in elections 

7 for Federal office held in the State, the in8 dividual’s records and signature will con9 stitute a completed registration for the in10 dividual; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) a description of the process by 

12 which the individual may decline to be reg13 istered to vote in elections for Federal of14 fice in the State. 

15 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED

16 AT A DIFFERENT ADDRESS.—In the case of an 

17 applicable individual who is eligible to vote in 

18 an election for Federal office and who is reg19 istered to vote in such election at a different 

20 address than the address provided in the identi21 fying information, the appropriate State elec22 tion official shall issue a notification to the indi23 vidual containing— 

24 ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi25 vidual notifies the election official prior to 


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1 the expiration of the 21-calendar-day pe2 riod which begins on the date the official 

3 issued the notification that the address 

4 provided in the identifying information 

5 should not be used for voter registration 

6 purposes, the address provided in the iden7 tifying information shall be used as the in8 dividual’s address for voter registration 

9 purposes; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) a description of the process by 

11 which the individual may decline a change 

12 of address for voter registration purposes. 

13 ‘‘(c) AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI14 VIDUALS; AUTOMATIC CHANGE OF ADDRESS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Upon the expiration of 

16 the 21-calendar-day period which begins on the date 

17 the appropriate State election official issues a notifi18 cation to an individual under subsection (b)(2)(A), 

19 the official shall ensure that the individual is reg20 istered to vote in elections for Federal office held in 

21 the State unless— 

22 ‘‘(A) the official later determines that the 

23 individual does not meet the eligibility require24 ments for registering to vote in such elections; 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(B) prior to the expiration of such 21-cal2 endar-day period, the individual notifies the of3 ficial that the individual declines to be reg4 istered to vote in such elections. 

5 ‘‘(2) CHANGE OF ADDRESS.—Upon the expira6 tion of the 21-calendar-day period which begins on 

7 the date the appropriate State election official issues 

8 a notification to an individual under subsection 

9 (b)(2)(B), the official shall ensure that the indi10 vidual is registered to vote in elections for Federal 

11 office at the address provided in the identifying in12 formation unless— 

13 ‘‘(A) the official later determines that the 

14 individual does not meet the eligibility require15 ments for registering to vote in such elections; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(B) prior to the expiration of such 21-cal18 endar-day period, the individual notifies the of19 ficial that the individual declines a change of 

20 address for voter registration purposes. 

21 ‘‘(d) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

22 section, the term ‘applicable individual’ means any indi23 vidual who seeks assistance from, receives benefits from, 

24 or receives service or assistance from a State motor vehicle 

25 authority that issues motor vehicle driver’s licenses.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TIM2 ING OF REGISTRATION PRIOR TO ELECTIONS.—Section 

3 8(a)(1)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)(A)) is 

4 amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of registration through a 

6 motor vehicle authority under section 5, if the 

7 identifying information with respect to the indi8 vidual is transmitted by the authority to the ap9 propriate State election official under section 

10 5(a)(1) not later than the lesser of 30 days, or 

11 the period provided by State law, before the 

12 date of the election;’’. 

13 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

14 4(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20503(a)(1)) is amended 

15 to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(1) through the State motor vehicle authority 

17 pursuant to section 5;’’. 

18 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

19 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

20 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

21 of this Act. 

Æ 


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