I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7118 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to conduct 

elections for Federal office held in 2020 solely through the use of mailin absentee ballots, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2020 

Ms. WILSON of Florida (for herself, Mr. CICILLINE, and Mr. TAKANO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 

Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require 

States to conduct elections for Federal office held in 

2020 solely through the use of mail-in absentee ballots, 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vote From Home 

5 America Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIRING STATES TO CONDUCT ELECTIONS IN 

2 2020 SOLELY THROUGH USE OF MAIL-IN BAL3 LOTS. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Title III of the Help America 

5 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 

7 ‘‘Subtitle C—Special Rules for 

8 Elections Held in 2020 

9 ‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING ELECTIONS TO BE CONDUCTED 

10 SOLELY THROUGH USE OF MAIL-IN ABSEN11 TEE BALLOTS. 

12 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—In the case of any election for 

13 Federal office held in a State during the period described 

14 in subsection (b)— 

15 ‘‘(1) the State may not operate any polling 

16 place for the casting of ballots in the election; and 

17 ‘‘(2) the State shall conduct the election solely 

18 through the use of mail-in absentee ballots in ac19 cordance with the requirements of section 322. 

20 ‘‘(b) PERIOD DESCRIBED.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The period described in 

22 this subsection is the period which begins on the ex23 piration of the 30-day period which begins on the 

24 date of the enactment of this subtitle and ends on 

25 January 5, 2021. 


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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO PRIMARY ELECTIONS OC2 CURRING PRIOR TO PERIOD.—In the case of any 

3 election for Federal office held in a State during the 

4 30-day period which begins on the date of the enact5 ment of this Act— 

6 ‘‘(A) the State may operate polling places 

7 for the casting of ballots in the election; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the State shall make a good-faith ef9 fort to conduct the election through the use of 

10 mail-in absentee ballots in accordance with the 

11 requirements of section 322. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 322. REQUIREMENTS FOR USE OF MAIL-IN ABSENTEE 

13 BALLOTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION OF BALLOTS BY

15 ELECTION OFFICIALS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate State or 

17 local election official shall transmit an absentee bal18 lot for an election for Federal office held during the 

19 period described in section 321(b) to each individual 

20 who is registered to vote in the election, or, in the 

21 case of any State that does not register voters, to 

22 every individual who is eligible to vote in the elec23 tion. 

24 ‘‘(2) LOCATION TO WHICH BALLOTS ARE

25 TRANSMITTED.—The official shall transmit the balVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Jun 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7118.IH H7118

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1 lot to an individual under this subsection to the 

2 mailing address which is on file for the individual on 

3 the list of registered voters in the election (or, in the 

4 case of any State that does not register voters, the 

5 mailing address for the individual on the official 

6 record or other document used by the State to verify 

7 the eligibility of the individual to vote in the elec8 tion), except that the official shall transmit the bal9 lot to an alternative mailing address provided to the 

10 official by the individual (by telephone, by mail, or 

11 by an online method), so long as the individual pro12 vides the alternative mailing address to the official 

13 not later than the date that is 2 weeks before the 

14 date of the election involved or such alternative date 

15 as the State may establish, whichever is closer to the 

16 date of the election. 

17 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR TRANSMISSION.—The offi18 cial shall transmit the ballot to an individual under 

19 this section not later than 3 weeks before the date 

20 of the election. 

21 ‘‘(b) NO EXCUSE REQUIRED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE

22 BALLOT.—If an individual in the State is eligible to cast 

23 a vote in an election for Federal office, the State may not 

24 impose any additional conditions or requirements on the 


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1 eligibility of the individual to cast the vote in such election 

2 by an absentee ballot transmitted under this section. 

3 ‘‘(c) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR SIGNATURE

4 VERIFICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE DIS6 CREPANCY.—If an individual submits an absentee 

7 ballot in an election for Federal office during the pe8 riod described in section 321(b) and the appropriate 

9 State or local election official determines that a dis10 crepancy exists between the signature on such ballot 

11 and the signature of such individual on the official 

12 list of registered voters in the State (or, in the case 

13 of any State that does not register voters, on the of14 ficial record or other document used by the State to 

15 verify the eligibility of the individual to vote in the 

16 election), such election official, prior to making a 

17 final determination as to the validity of such ballot, 

18 shall make a good faith effort to immediately notify 

19 such individual by mail, telephone, and (if available) 

20 electronic mail that— 

21 ‘‘(A) a discrepancy exists between the sig22 nature on such ballot and the signature of such 

23 individual on the official list of registered voters 

24 in the State (or, in the case of any State that 

25 does not register voters, on the official record 


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1 or other document used by the State to verify 

2 the eligibility of the individual to vote in the 

3 election); 

4 ‘‘(B) such individual may provide the offi5 cial with information to cure such discrepancy, 

6 either in person, by telephone, or by electronic 

7 methods; and 

8 ‘‘(C) if such discrepancy is not cured prior 

9 to the expiration of the 7-day period which be10 gins on the date of the election, such ballot will 

11 not be counted. 

12 ‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE MISSING SIG13 NATURE.—If an individual submits an absentee bal14 lot without a signature, the State shall notify the in15 dividual and give the individual an opportunity to 

16 provide the missing signature on a form proscribed 

17 by the State. 

18 ‘‘(3) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—An election offi19 cial may not make a determination that a discrep20 ancy exists between the signature on an absentee 

21 ballot and the signature of the individual who sub22 mits the ballot on the official list of registered voters 

23 in the State (or, in the case of any State that does 

24 not register voters, on the official record or other 


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1 document used by the State to verify the eligibility 

2 of the individual to vote in the election), unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) at least 2 election officials make the 

4 determination; and 

5 ‘‘(B) each official who makes the deter6 mination has received training in procedures 

7 used to verify signatures. 

8 ‘‘(d) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS9 ABILITIES.—The State shall ensure that all absentee bal10 lots and related voting materials transmitted under this 

11 section are accessible to individuals with disabilities in a 

12 manner that provides the same opportunity for access and 

13 participation (including with privacy and independence) as 

14 for other voters. 

15 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT OF POSTAGE ON RETURN ENVE16 LOPES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PROVISION OF RETURN ENVELOPE.—The 

18 appropriate State or local election official shall pro19 vide a self-sealing return envelope with each absen20 tee ballot transmitted under this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) PREPAYMENT OF POSTAGE.—Consistent 

22 with regulations of the United States Postal Service, 

23 the State or the unit of local government responsible 

24 for the administration of the election involved shall 


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1 prepay the postage on any envelope provided under 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(f) ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN VOTERS.—In the 

4 case of an individual with a disability or a serious illness 

5 or a language minority individual, the State shall permit 

6 the individual to receive assistance from a person of the 

7 individual’s choosing to complete and submit the ballot 

8 transmitted under this section. 

9 ‘‘(g) USE OF DROP-OFF BOXES TO COLLECT BAL10 LOTS.—The appropriate State or local election official 

11 shall provide in-person, secured drop boxes on the grounds 

12 outside of the official’s office, and on the grounds outside 

13 of locations which served as polling places in the regularly 

14 scheduled general elections for Federal office held in No15 vember 2018, to which individuals may drop off voted ab16 sentee ballot transmitted under this section. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 323. PAYMENTS TO ASSIST WITH COSTS OF COMPLI18 ANCE. 

19 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—The Commis20 sion shall make a payment to each eligible State to assist 

21 with the costs incurred in complying with the requirements 

22 of this subtitle, including costs attributable to postage, 

23 equipment such as high-speed ballot scanners and auto24 mated mail sorting systems, election personnel to process 

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1 istration systems, public education campaigns, and soft2 ware to track absentee ballots. 

3 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of the 

4 payment made to a State under this section shall be deter5 mined by the Commission on the basis of the information 

6 provided by the State in its application under subsection 

7 (c), except that the amount may not exceed the sum of— 

8 ‘‘(1) the average of the costs incurred by the 

9 State in administering the 3 most recent regularly 

10 scheduled general elections for Federal office held in 

11 the State; and 

12 ‘‘(2) if a regularly scheduled primary election 

13 for Federal office is held in the State during the pe14 riod described in section 321(b), the average of the 

15 costs incurred by the State in administering the 3 

16 most recent regularly scheduled primary elections for 

17 Federal office held in the State. 

18 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible to receive a 

19 payment under this section if the State submits an appli20 cation for the payment to the Commission at such time 

21 and in such manner and containing such information as 

22 the Commission shall require. 

23 ‘‘(d) PASS-THROUGH OF FUNDS TO LOCAL JURIS24 DICTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State receives a pay2 ment under this section for costs that include costs 

3 incurred by a local jurisdiction or Tribal government 

4 within the State, the State shall pass through to 

5 such local jurisdiction or Tribal government a por6 tion of such payment that is equal to the amount of 

7 the costs incurred by such local jurisdiction or Trib8 al government. 

9 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT DEFINED.—In this 

10 subsection, the term ‘Tribal Government’ means the 

11 recognized governing body of an Indian tribe (as de12 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

13 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

14 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

16 necessary to carry out this section. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 324. COVERAGE OF NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 

18 ‘‘In this subtitle, the term ‘State’ includes the Com19 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN21 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 

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

23 subtitle C of title III’’. 


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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 

3 relating to title III the following: 

‘‘Subtitle C—Special Rules for Elections Held in 2020 

‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring elections to be conducted solely through use of mail-in absentee ballots. 

‘‘Sec. 322. Requirements for use of mail-in absentee ballots. 

‘‘Sec. 323. Payments to assist with costs of compliance. 

‘‘Sec. 324. Coverage of Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 

Æ 


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