I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 92 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2019 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. BONAMICI, 

Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. COOPER, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. SWALWELL of 

California, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the 

Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

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 2019’’. 


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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 2016, 24 

12 percent of ballots in the United States were cast by 

13 mail, up from 10 percent in 2000. Voting by mail 

14 has become increasingly popular with voters who 

15 want to be certain that they are able to vote no mat16 ter what comes up on election day, as it reduces the 

17 physical obstacles and eases the time constraints 

18 connected with the act of voting. 

19 (9) The signature verification process, the 

20 tracking system for each ballot, and postal service 

21 cooperation in preventing ballots from being deliv22 ered to names not recognized as receiving mail at an 

23 address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud in 

24 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 50 percent in Ari14 zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Geor15 gia, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North 

16 Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and 

17 Washington). More than 40 percent of voters in the 

18 2016 election cast their ballot before election day. In 

19 Oregon, 7 years after vote-by-mail election imple20 mentation, over 80 percent of voters favored the 

21 vote-by-mail system. 

22 (13) Vote by mail typically increases turnout in 

23 all elections, but can be particularly effective in in24 creasing voter participation in special elections and 

25 primary elections. Oregon and Washington, the 2 


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1 States with the longest standing vote-by-mail sys2 tems, continue to have consistently high voter turn3 out rates. 

4 (14) A crucial component of a modern voting 

5 system is making it easy, affordable, and accessible 

6 to register to vote. Eighteen States and the District 

7 of Columbia introduced automatic voter registration 

8 legislation in 2015, and Oregon and California now 

9 automatically register their citizens to vote when 

10 they apply for a driver’s license. Automatic, perma11 nent voter registration has the potential to increase 

12 participation, protect election integrity, and reduce 

13 registration costs. 

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

15 IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

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

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

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

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

20 the following new section: 

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

22 MAIL. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli24 gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 

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1 ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 

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

3 State imposes a deadline for returning the ballot to the 

4 appropriate State or local election official. 

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

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

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

8 registered to vote in such election. 

9 ‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS10 ABILITIES.—All ballots provided under this section shall 

11 be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner 

12 that provides the same opportunity for access and partici13 pation (including for privacy and independence) as for 

14 other voters. 

15 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 

17 to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 

18 polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 

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

20 to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) with re21 spect to elections for Federal office held in years beginning 

22 with 2022.’’. 

23 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

24 ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 


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

2 and inserting ‘‘303, and 303A’’. 

3 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con4 tents for such Act is amended by inserting after the 

5 item relating to section 303 the following new item: 

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

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

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

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘§ 3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elec11 tions 

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

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

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

15 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND16 MENTS.— 

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

18 sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 

19 States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

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

21 (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA22 TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United 

23 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403 


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1 through 3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3403 through 

2 3407’’. 

3 SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH 

4 STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITIES. 

5 (a) AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION.—Section 5 

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

7 20504) is amended to read as follows: 

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

9 AUTHORITY. 

10 ‘‘(a) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REG11 ISTRATION AND APPLICATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLE

12 DRIVER’S LICENSE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO ELEC14 TION OFFICIALS.—Each State’s motor vehicle au15 thority, upon receiving any of the identifying infor16 mation described in paragraph (2) with respect to 

17 any applicable individual, shall securely transmit the 

18 identifying information to the appropriate State elec19 tion official. 

20 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION DESCRIBED.— 

21 The identifying information described in this para22 graph with respect to any individual is as follows: 

23 ‘‘(A) The individual’s legal name. 

24 ‘‘(B) The individual’s age. 

25 ‘‘(C) The individual’s residence. 


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

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

3 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF OFFICIALS RECEIVING INFORMA4 TION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving the identi6 fying information with respect to an applicable indi7 vidual under subsection (a), the appropriate State 

8 election official shall determine— 

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

10 vote in an election for Federal office; and 

11 ‘‘(B) whether such individual is currently 

12 registered to vote in elections for Federal office 

13 at the address provided in such identifying in14 formation. 

15 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO INDIVIDUALS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE UNREGISTERED INDIVID17 UALS.—In the case of an applicable individual 

18 who is eligible to vote in an election for Federal 

19 office and who is not currently registered to 

20 vote, the appropriate State election official shall 

21 issue a notification to the individual con22 taining— 

23 ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi24 vidual notifies the election official prior to 

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1 riod which begins on the date the official 

2 issued the notification that the individual 

3 declines to be registered to vote in elections 

4 for Federal office held in the State, the in5 dividual’s records and signature will con6 stitute a completed registration for the in7 dividual; and 

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

9 which the individual may decline to be reg10 istered to vote in elections for Federal of11 fice in the State. 

12 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED

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

14 applicable individual who is eligible to vote in 

15 an election for Federal office and who is reg16 istered to vote in such election at a different 

17 address than the address provided in the identi18 fying information, the appropriate State elec19 tion official shall issue a notification to the indi20 vidual containing— 

21 ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi22 vidual notifies the election official prior to 

23 the expiration of the 21-calendar-day pe24 riod which begins on the date the official 

25 issued the notification that the address 


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1 provided in the identifying information 

2 should not be used for voter registration 

3 purposes, the address provided in the iden4 tifying information shall be used as the in5 dividual’s address for voter registration 

6 purposes; and 

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

8 which the individual may decline a change 

9 of address for voter registration purposes. 

10 ‘‘(c) AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI11 VIDUALS; AUTOMATIC CHANGE OF ADDRESS.— 

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

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

14 the appropriate State election official issues a notifi15 cation to an individual under subsection (b)(2)(A), 

16 the official shall ensure that the individual is reg17 istered to vote in elections for Federal office held in 

18 the State unless— 

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

20 individual does not meet the eligibility require21 ments for registering to vote in such elections; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(B) prior to the expiration of such 21-cal24 endar-day period, the individual notifies the ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92

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1 ficial that the individual declines to be reg2 istered to vote in such elections. 

3 ‘‘(2) CHANGE OF ADDRESS.—Upon the expira4 tion of the 21-calendar-day period which begins on 

5 the date the appropriate State election official issues 

6 a notification to an individual under subsection 

7 (b)(2)(B), the official shall ensure that the indi8 vidual is registered to vote in elections for Federal 

9 office at the address provided in the identifying in10 formation unless— 

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

12 individual does not meet the eligibility require13 ments for registering to vote in such elections; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) prior to the expiration of such 21-cal16 endar-day period, the individual notifies the of17 ficial that the individual declines a change of 

18 address for voter registration purposes. 

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

20 section, the term ‘applicable individual’ means any indi21 vidual who seeks assistance from, receives benefits from, 

22 or receives service or assistance from a State motor vehicle 

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

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TIM25 ING OF REGISTRATION PRIOR TO ELECTIONS.—Section 


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

2 amended to read as follows: 

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

4 motor vehicle authority under section 5, if the 

5 identifying information with respect to the indi6 vidual is transmitted by the authority to the ap7 propriate State election official under section 

8 5(a)(1) not later than the lesser of 30 days, or 

9 the period provided by State law, before the 

10 date of the election;’’. 

11 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

12 4(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20503(a)(1)) is amended 

13 to read as follows: 

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

15 pursuant to section 5;’’. 

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

17 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

18 180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act. 

Æ 


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