I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7068 

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

office. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 1, 2020 

Mr. CLYBURN (for himself, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. BASS, 

Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CASE, Mr. 

CICILLINE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, 

Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. 

GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. 

HAYES, Mr. HECK, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. 

KILDEE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. TED LIEU

of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 

Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. SOTO, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mrs. TRAHAN, Mr. VEASEY, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 

Administration 

A BILL 

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

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

during elections for Federal office. 


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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

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

9 vital check on their elected officials and grants peo10 ple the political power necessary to exercise and de11 fend the rights guaranteed by the United States 

12 Constitution. 

13 (2) The Elections Clause of the United States 

14 Constitution gives Congress sweeping power to regu15 late the time, place, and manner of Federal elections 

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

17 United States; see also Arizona v. Inter Tribal 

18 Council of Arizona, Inc., 570 U.S. 1 (2013)). Con19 gress also has enforcement power under the Four20 teenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitu21 tion of the United States. 

22 (3) As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., explained 

23 in a speech delivered on May 17, 1957, ‘‘So long as 

24 I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to 

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


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

2 democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped 

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

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

5 Americans at our Nation’s founding. The ratification 

6 of the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, the 

7 civil rights movement’s struggle for justice and 

8 equality, and the enactment of the Voting Rights 

9 Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments suc10 ceeded in expanding access to the franchise. 

11 (5) Unfortunately, the barriers faced by voters 

12 who have historically experienced the greatest obsta13 cles to voting are exacerbated by the coronavirus 

14 (COVID–19) pandemic. 

15 (6) Strategies to mitigate the spread of 

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

17 that requires individuals to maintain a distance be18 tween themselves and other people in order to avoid 

19 acquiring or transmitting the virus. The need to em20 brace such precautions will require States to quickly 

21 modify voting processes to minimize person-to-per22 son contact. 

23 (7) Voting by mail is a critical part of the solu24 tion and must be expanded as quickly as possible, 

25 not simply as a means of ensuring access during 


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1 public health emergencies, but also as a means of ex2 panding access to the franchise to those whose work, 

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

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

5 remains vitally important for large groups of voters, 

6 including voters with disabilities, language minority 

7 voters, American Indian and Alaska Native voters, 

8 and African-American voters. 

9 (9) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

10 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and the Rehabilita11 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) require 

12 that individuals with disabilities have equal access to 

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

14 poses various accessibility challenges for voters with 

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

16 print-disabled voters who may require in-person vot17 ing or assistive technology in order to privately and 

18 independently mark their ballots. Remedies for vot19 ers with disabilities require an investment of re20 sources to ensure State and local election websites, 

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

22 systems are accessible; that in-person voting loca23 tions permit a safe, dignified, and accessible voting 

24 experience; and that the right of voters with disabilVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7068.IH H7068

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1 ities to a secret ballot is not sacrificed due to the 

2 pandemic. 

3 (10) Language minority voters face unique bar4 riers to voting that require additional resources and 

5 support to ensure full and equal access, including 

6 additional resources to ensure local compliance with 

7 the language minority voting protections in section 

8 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

9 10503) and greater language assistance services, in10 cluding additional bilingual or multilingual poll 

11 workers and election workers. 

12 (11) American Indian and Alaska Native voters 

13 face unique obstacles in a vote-by-mail system. Trib14 al communities in rural areas often do not have tra15 ditional residential mailing addresses and have lim16 ited access to transportation. Tribal members have 

17 distant rural post offices, slow mail routes, limited 

18 numbers of post office operation, and too few post 

19 office boxes. As a result, rural Tribal communities 

20 require distinct voting accommodations to ensure 

21 participation in a vote-by-mail system. 

22 (12) Finally, in-person voting holds great sig23 nificance for African-American voters, for whom the 

24 right to vote was hard won. African Americans have 

25 been excluded from the franchise through State and 


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

2 violence, and lynchings. For many African-American 

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

4 is a solemn ritual that honors those who sacrificed 

5 their safety and their lives in order to secure the 

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

7 risks to the African-American population and has in8 fected and killed African Americans in the United 

9 States at disproportionately high rates, highlighting 

10 longstanding inequalities in resources and access to 

11 health care. 

12 (13) Social distancing designed to curb the 

13 COVID–19 pandemic will also greatly impact in-per14 son voter registration efforts, including voter reg15 istration drives and voter registration services re16 quired by the National Voter Registration Act. Many 

17 government offices, like State departments of motor 

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

19 are likely to remain closed for an indefinite period 

20 of time in 2020. 

21 (14) Therefore, it is appropriate for Congress 

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

23 ensuring the safety and accessibility of in-person 

24 voting and voter registration during exigent cir25 cumstances, including the current pandemic. 


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1 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOT2 ING, EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING, AND PLAN 

3 TO ENSURE POLLING PLACES IMPLEMENT 

4 CDC GUIDANCE FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN 

5 2020. 

6 (a) APPLICABLE FEDERAL ELECTION.—For pur7 poses of this section, the term ‘‘applicable Federal elec8 tion’’ means any election for Federal office which occurs 

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

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

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

12 Federal election, each State and local jurisdiction shall— 

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

14 described in subsection (c); 

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

16 described in subsection (d); and 

17 (3) establish a plan as described in subsection 

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

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

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

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

22 voting meets the requirements described in this sub23 section with respect to an applicable Federal elec24 tion, if the State— 

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

26 every registered voter who requests such a balVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:01 Jun 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7068.IH H7068

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1 lot (or, in the case of any State that does not 

2 register voters, to every individual who is eligi3 ble to vote and requests such a ballot); 

4 (B) allows voters to request a mail-in bal5 lot online; 

6 (C) if the State requires a signature for 

7 absentee ballots, allows voters to sign the ballot 

8 by providing a mark or signature stamp or by 

9 providing a signature with the use of an assist10 ant because of age, disability, or other need; 

11 (D) accepts and counts ballots received be12 fore the State’s certification deadline if the bal13 lot— 

14 (i) is postmarked by the date of the 

15 election; or 

16 (ii) includes an indication that it was 

17 mailed by the date of the election; 

18 (E) provides a pre-paid and self-sealing re19 turn envelope for each ballot furnished by mail; 

20 (F) beginning with the date that is 45 

21 days before the date of the election and ending 

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

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

24 (G) before discarding any absentee ballot 

25 for error or technicalities (including the failure 


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1 to meet any signature matching requirement 

2 that is unrelated to voter qualification)— 

3 (i) notifies the voter of any such de4 fects; and 

5 (ii) provides the voter an opportunity 

6 to cure such defects that— 

7 (I) is uniform among all voters in 

8 the State; and 

9 (II) in the case of any error re10 lating to a signature requirement, 

11 meets the requirements of paragraph 

12 (2); 

13 (H) in the case of any voter with disabil14 ities— 

15 (i) provides the voter with access to 

16 Remote Access Vote By Mail (RAVBM) 

17 systems, ballot marking software, and 

18 screen reading software; and 

19 (ii) allows the voter to receive assist20 ance from a person of their choosing to 

21 complete and submit a mail-in ballot; and 

22 (I) ensures adequate support for language 

23 minority voters, including multilingual versions 

24 of vote-by-mail materials and language assist25 ance services. 


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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SIGNATURE

2 DEFECTS.—The requirements of this paragraph re3 lating to any defect described in paragraph 

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

5 (A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

6 (B), the voter shall be allowed to cure the de7 fect through the same form of communication 

8 with respect to which the notice of such defect 

9 is provided. 

10 (B) In any case in which a required signa11 ture is missing, the voter shall be provided an 

12 opportunity to provide such signature on a form 

13 provided by the State. 

14 (C) Any determination of the validity of 

15 the ballot shall be made by a group of 2 or 

16 more election officials. 

17 (D) The voter shall have the opportunity 

18 to appeal any rejection of the ballot based on 

19 the defect. 

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

21 in-person voting period described in this subsection with 

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

23 least 20 days. Such period must include at least one Sat24 urday and one Sunday. For each day of early in-person 

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1 imum of 10 hours, including hours before and after the 

2 standard work day. 

3 (e) PLAN TO IMPLEMENT CDC GUIDANCE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement described 

5 in this subsection with respect to in person voting is 

6 met if the State establishes a plan to ensure that 

7 polling places are implementing Centers for Disease 

8 Control and Prevention guidance relating to 

9 COVID–19 preparedness. Such plan must be final10 ized and approved by the State within 30 days of the 

11 date of enactment of this Act. 

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

13 a State plan established under this subsection must 

14 include a plan— 

15 (A) to keep as many voting locations as 

16 possible open during the pandemic; 

17 (B) to prepare polling locations to imple18 ment social distancing protocols in lines and at 

19 voting booths; 

20 (C) to provide sufficient quantities of hy21 giene and cleaning supplies at polling locations; 

22 (D) to increase the number of— 

23 (i) paper ballots and provisional bal24 lots (including the numbers of such ballots 

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1 guage ballots) available at each polling 

2 place; and 

3 (ii) disposable ballot marking utensils 

4 available at each polling place; 

5 (E) to provide masks and other personal 

6 protective equipment to poll workers; 

7 (F) to provide additional compensation to 

8 poll workers during the pandemic; 

9 (G) to increase the number of poll workers 

10 who can reliably staff voting locations; 

11 (H) to provide training to poll workers on 

12 pandemic conditions and COVID–19 prepared13 ness; and 

14 (I) to educate voters on changes to proce15 dures or voting opportunities during the pan16 demic. 

17 (f) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person ag18 grieved by a violation of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection 

19 (a) (relating to requirements for no-excuse mail-in absen20 tee voting and early in-person voting period) may bring 

21 an action for all appropriate remedies, including injunctive 

22 relief and compensatory and punitive damages, in a Fed23 eral district court of competent jurisdiction. 

24 (g) PAYMENTS TO STATES TO CARRY OUT REQUIRE25 MENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

2 Commission shall make a payment to each State to 

3 carry out the requirements under this section. Such 

4 payments shall be made not later than 30 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount of pay8 ment made to a State under this subsection 

9 shall be the voting age population proportion 

10 amount described in subparagraph (B). 

11 (B) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPOR12 TION AMOUNT.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The voting age 

14 population proportion amount described in 

15 this paragraph is the product of— 

16 (I) the amount made available 

17 for payments under paragraph (3) 

18 section; and 

19 (II) the voting age population 

20 proportion for the State (as defined in 

21 clause (ii)). 

22 (ii) VOTING AGE POPULATION PRO23 PORTION DEFINED.—The term ‘‘voting age 

24 population proportion’’ means, with respect 


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1 to any State, the amount equal to the 

2 quotient of— 

3 (I) the voting age population of 

4 the State (as determined by the most 

5 recent American Community Survey 

6 conducted by the Bureau of the Cen7 sus); and 

8 (II) the total voting age popu9 lation of all States (as determined by 

10 the most recent American Community 

11 Survey conducted by the Bureau of 

12 the Census). 

13 (3) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap14 propriated to make payments under this subsection 

15 $2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2020. 

16 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO PROMOTE SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND EF17 FICIENT IN-PERSON VOTING. 

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

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

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘PART VII—GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE 

2 SAFE, ACCESSIBLE, AND EFFICIENT IN-PER3 SON VOTING 

4 ‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 

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

6 payment to each eligible State (as described in section 

7 298(a)). Such payments shall be made not later than 30 

8 days after the date of enactment of this part. 

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

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

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

12 with respect to elections for Federal office. 

13 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 

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

15 made to an eligible State under this section shall be 

16 the voting age population proportion amount de17 scribed in paragraph (2) plus any additional amount 

18 determined by the Commission under paragraph (3). 

19 ‘‘(2) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPORTION

20 AMOUNT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The voting age popu22 lation proportion amount described in this para23 graph is the product of— 

24 ‘‘(i) the aggregate amount made avail25 able for payments under this section minus 

26 the total of all of the additional payment 


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1 amounts determined under paragraph (3); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the voting age population propor4 tion for the State (as defined in subpara5 graph (B)). 

6 ‘‘(B) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPOR7 TION DEFINED.—The term ‘voting age popu8 lation proportion’ means, with respect to an eli9 gible State, the amount equal to the quotient 

10 of— 

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

12 State (as determined by the most recent 

13 American Community Survey conducted by 

14 the Bureau of the Census); and 

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

16 all States (as determined by the most re17 cent American Community Survey con18 ducted by the Bureau of the Census). 

19 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNT

20 BASED ON NEEDS OF VOTING AGE POPULATION IN

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

22 eligible State, determine an amount of payment for 

23 the State in addition to the amount determined 

24 under paragraph (2) based on the needs of the vot25 ing age population in the State. In determining such 


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1 additional amount of payment with respect to an eli2 gible State, the Commission shall take into ac3 count— 

4 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals with in5 come below 250 percent of the poverty line ap6 plicable to a family of the size involved (as de7 termined under section 673(2) of the Commu8 nity Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 9902(2))); 

10 ‘‘(B) the number of individuals in the vot11 ing age population of the State covered by sec12 tion 203 of the Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 

13 10503); 

14 ‘‘(C) the number of individuals with a dis15 ability as defined in section 3 of the Americans 

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

17 12102); 

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

19 a nonmetropolitan area (as determined by the 

20 Bureau of the Census); and 

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

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

23 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

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


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

2 LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—At least 70 percent of funds 

3 provided to a State under this part shall be distrib4 uted to units of local government to carry out one 

5 or more of the authorized activities described in sec6 tion 298(b) with respect to elections for Federal of7 fice. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 298. ELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENT; AUTHORIZED AC9 TIVITIES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that desires to re11 ceive a payment under this part shall submit a certifi12 cation of intent to use such funds for at least one of the 

13 authorized activities described in subsection (b) with re14 spect to elections for Federal office. 

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

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

17 of the following authorized activities: 

18 ‘‘(1) FUNDING TO ENSURE ELECTIONS ARE AC19 CESSIBLE DURING PANDEMIC.—Ensuring voters can 

20 safely access polling sites during the COVID–19 

21 pandemic, including— 

22 ‘‘(A) expanding the number of voting loca23 tions, as well as the days and hours of early in24 person voting; 


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1 ‘‘(B) providing mobile voting centers and 

2 temporary voting stations, including advance 

3 notice of schedule and locations; 

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

5 poll workers to voters in each precinct; 

6 ‘‘(D) preparing polling locations to imple7 ment social distancing protocols in lines and 

8 voting booths; 

9 ‘‘(E) providing sufficient quantities of hy10 giene and cleaning supplies, including materials 

11 to sanitize voting machines after each use; 

12 ‘‘(F) increasing the number of paper bal13 lots available at each polling location; 

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

15 personal protective equipment to poll workers; 

16 ‘‘(H) increasing pay for poll workers dur17 ing the COVID–19 pandemic; and 

18 ‘‘(I) providing voter education on changes 

19 or improvements to election procedures, accessi20 bility, or voting opportunities during the pan21 demic. 

22 ‘‘(2) FUNDING TO ENSURE ELECTIONS ARE AC23 CESSIBLE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES DUR24 ING PANDEMIC.—Ensuring voters can safely reg25 ister, access polling sites, and vote by mail during 


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1 the COVID–19 pandemic, in accordance with this 

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

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

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

5 et seq.), and other applicable law, by improving poll6 ing place accessibility and providing accommodations 

7 for individuals with disabilities, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) purchasing Remote Access Vote By 

9 Mail (RAVBM) systems, ballot marking devices 

10 and software, and screen reading software, and 

11 making them available to voters with disabil12 ities; 

13 ‘‘(B) equipping polling locations with tech14 nologies that enable individuals with disabilities 

15 to privately and independently mark, verify, and 

16 cast their ballots, including through the avail17 ability of ballot marking devices, headsets, con18 trollers, and other assistive devices; 

19 ‘‘(C) making permanent or temporary 

20 modifications to render polling places accessible; 

21 ‘‘(D) ensuring appropriate polling place 

22 siting to avoid locations that pose higher health 

23 risks to the public; 


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1 ‘‘(E) conducting analysis on polling place 

2 reconfiguration to account for social distancing 

3 and implementing changes; 

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

5 how to best serve individuals during the pan6 demic, including specialized training for serving 

7 individuals with disabilities; 

8 ‘‘(G) assessing the accessibility of election 

9 websites and remediating any accessibility prob10 lems to ensure voter information is clear and 

11 accessible; and 

12 ‘‘(H) providing fully accessible online voter 

13 registration services. 

14 ‘‘(3) FUNDING TO ENSURE CONTINUING PRO15 TECTIONS FOR LANGUAGE MINORITY VOTERS.—En16 suring continuing protections for language minority 

17 voters, including— 

18 ‘‘(A) ensuring compliance with section 203 

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

20 10503)— 

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

22 new voter registration procedures; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) with respect to voting materials 

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


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1 ‘‘(B) ensuring adequate support for such 

2 individuals (including for language minority 

3 voters who do not reside in jurisdictions covered 

4 by section 203 of the Voting Rights Act), in5 cluding through— 

6 ‘‘(i) language assistance hotlines in 

7 covered languages; 

8 ‘‘(ii) phone interpretation and inter9 preter services; 

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

11 distribute multi-lingual versions of mate12 rials; 

13 ‘‘(iv) enhancing in-language media ad14 vertising regarding polling place changes; 

15 ‘‘(v) recruiting and hiring bilingual or 

16 multilingual election workers; and 

17 ‘‘(vi) enhancing in-language media ad18 vertising regarding procedures for obtain19 ing and returning mail-in ballots; and 

20 ‘‘(C) providing voter education on activities 

21 carried out under this paragraph. 

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

23 AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE VOTERS AND

24 RURAL VOTERS.—Ensuring voting access American 


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1 Indian and Alaska Native voters and rural voters, 

2 including— 

3 ‘‘(A) ensuring polling place availability 

4 within 20 miles of where voters live; 

5 ‘‘(B) providing transportation services for 

6 American Indian, Alaska Native, and rural vot7 ers to reach their nearest polling location; 

8 ‘‘(C) establishing polling places in Indian 

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

10 United States Code, and on any land in Alaska 

11 owned pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims 

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

13 are open for voting days and hours commensu14 rate with polling place days and hours in urban 

15 areas within the State; 

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

17 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

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

19 authority to designate buildings that can be 

20 used as a residential address for voter registra21 tion and for physical sites for ballot pickup, 

22 drop-off, and collection; 

23 ‘‘(E) offering information in unwritten lan24 guages or languages not widely used in written 


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1 form, in consultation with relevant Tribal gov2 ernments; 

3 ‘‘(F) collecting ballots from remote polling 

4 locations, ballot collection boxes, and tribally 

5 designated buildings; 

6 ‘‘(G) carrying out any activities permitted 

7 under paragraph (2) to improve accessibility for 

8 American Indian and Alaska Native voters with 

9 disabilities; and 

10 ‘‘(H) providing voter education on the ac11 tivities carried out under this paragraph. 

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

13 and promotion of curbside voting to allow individuals 

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

15 to a poll worker from their vehicles. 

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

17 STANDARD AT POLLING LOCATIONS.— 

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

19 of standards that reduce wait times at polling 

20 locations. 

21 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—In 

22 the case where the State uses funds for pur23 poses described in subparagraph (A) with re24 spect to an election for Federal office, the State 

25 shall certify to the Commission within 120 days 


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1 of the election that wait time standards were 

2 met in the State with respect to such election. 

3 ‘‘(7) FUNDING FOR PUBLICATION OF WAIT

4 TIMES.— 

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

6 implementation of an accessible, web-based 

7 platform for the publication of wait times for 

8 voting in Federal elections. 

9 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—If a State uses 

10 funds for a purpose described in subparagraph 

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

12 using such platform in an election for Federal 

13 office— 

14 ‘‘(i) to provide advance training to 

15 election workers regarding use of the plat16 form; 

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

18 and 

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

20 and functionality of the platform. 

21 ‘‘(8) METHODS TO IMPROVE LINE MANAGE22 MENT.—Implementing standards to improve line 

23 management systems and polling place management. 


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1 ‘‘(9) STANDARDS FOR TRAINING AND RECRUIT2 MENT OF POLL WORKERS.—Providing for the train3 ing and recruitment of poll workers, including— 

4 ‘‘(A) developing poll worker training cur5 ricula and standards for serving individuals 

6 with disabilities and language minority voters; 

7 ‘‘(B) ensuring that poll workers receive 

8 training, which— 

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

10 ‘‘(ii) may cover applicable Federal and 

11 State laws and regulations, recent changes 

12 in election laws and processes, election se13 curity and cyber vulnerabilities, ballot re14 views, incident response, polling accessi15 bility for language minorities and individ16 uals with disabilities, and COVID–19 pre17 paredness; 

18 ‘‘(C) expanding the number of election 

19 workers hired; 

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

21 workers from among high school and college 

22 students and, where feasible, compensating 

23 such individuals with course credits; and 


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

2 satisfy the need for bilingual poll workers, 

3 where language assistance is required by law. 

4 ‘‘(10) IMPROVING ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRA5 TION.—Improving access to voter registration, in6 cluding— 

7 ‘‘(A) authorizing and implementing same 

8 day registration; 

9 ‘‘(B) ensuring that online voter registra10 tion systems are in place and have the capacity 

11 to process registration applications electroni12 cally; 

13 ‘‘(C) expanding online voter registration 

14 systems to allow use by the maximum number 

15 of individuals, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) by allowing individuals to register 

17 to vote without records in the department 

18 of motor vehicle system of the State by 

19 submitting their signatures online; 

20 ‘‘(ii) by digitally uploading a picture 

21 of the required signature; 

22 ‘‘(iii) by allowing individuals to pro23 vide the required signature when voting at 

24 the polls or when returning a mail-in bal25 lot; or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) by allowing individual to provide 

2 a required signature with a mark or signa3 ture stamp or through the use of an assist4 ant because of age, disability, or other 

5 need; 

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

7 including a blank voter registration application, 

8 a self-sealing prepaid return envelope, and in9 structions on additional methods to register if 

10 the mailer is not accessible, to all eligible indi11 viduals with State records who are not cur12 rently registered to vote; and 

13 ‘‘(E) testing capacity to ensure that exist14 ing online voter registration systems can with15 stand the likely increase in usage. 

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

17 15 days after the date of enactment of this part, the Com18 mission shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) consult with the Centers for Disease Con20 trol and Prevention on preventing transmission of 

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

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

23 the Department of Justice to ensure changes to vot24 ing procedures made pursuant to this part are non25 discriminatory and comply with applicable Federal 


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1 laws, including this Act, the Americans with Disabil2 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Vot3 ing Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped 

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

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

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

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

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

9 ‘‘SEC. 299. FUNDING; REPORTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro11 priated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise 

12 appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 

13 2020, for making payments under this part, 

14 $2,500,000,000. Such amount shall be in addition to other 

15 amounts otherwise available for such purposes. 

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

17 applicable election for which a payment was provided 

18 under this part, each eligible State that received such 

19 funds shall submit a report to the Commission on the ac20 tivities conducted using such payment and to substantiate 

21 authorized activities described in section 298(b) carried 

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

23 of such reports, the Commission shall transmit such re24 ports to the Committee on Rules and Administration of 


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1 the Senate and the Committee on House Administration 

2 of the House of Representatives.’’. 

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

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

5 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.’’. 

Æ 


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