II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3300 

To establish a Vote by Mail grant program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 4, 2010 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. KERRY, Mr. CARPER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. 

MERKLEY, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) 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 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

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

9 Sims that ‘‘øi¿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 recent presidential elections, voting tech2 nology failures, procedural irregularities, and long 

3 lines for polling places deprived some Americans of 

4 their fundamental right to vote. 

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

6 election officials mail ballots to all registered voters 

7 at least 2 weeks before election day. Voters mark 

8 their ballots, seal the ballots in both unmarked se9 crecy envelopes and signed return envelopes, and re10 turn the ballots by mail or to secure drop boxes. 

11 Once a ballot is received, election officials scan the 

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

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

14 official compares the signature on the screen and the 

15 signature on the ballot envelope. Only if the signa16 ture on the ballot envelope is determined to be au17 thentic is the ballot forwarded on to be counted. 

18 (4) Oregon’s Vote by Mail system has deterred 

19 voter fraud because the system includes numerous 

20 security measures such as the signature authentica21 tion system. Potential misconduct is also discour22 aged by the power of the State to punish those who 

23 engage in voter fraud with up to 5 years in prison, 

24 $100,000 in fines, and the loss of their vote. 


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1 (5) Oregon’s Vote by Mail system promotes uni2 formity and strict compliance with Federal and 

3 State voting laws because ballot processing is cen4 tralized in county clerks’ offices, rather than at nu5 merous polling places. 

6 (6) Vote by Mail is 1 factor making voter turn7 out in Oregon consistently higher than the average 

8 national voter turnout. In the 2004 presidential elec9 tion, for example, Oregon had a turnout rate of 

10 86.48 percent of registered voters, compared to 

11 69.96 percent turnout of registered voters nation12 ally. 

13 (7) Women, younger voters, and homemakers 

14 also report that they vote more often using Vote by 

15 Mail. 

16 (8) Vote by Mail reduces election costs by elimi17 nating the need to transport equipment to polling 

18 stations and to hire and train poll workers. Oregon 

19 reduced its costs to administer elections by nearly 30 

20 percent after implementing Vote by Mail. In Or21 egon’s last polling place election in 1998, the cost 

22 per voter was $3.07. By 2004, the cost per voter in 

23 Oregon had dropped to $2.21. 

24 (9) Vote by Mail allows voters to educate them25 selves because they receive ballots well before elecVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:20 May 05, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3300.IS S3300

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1 tion day, which provides them with ample time to re2 search issues, study ballots, and deliberate in a way 

3 that is not possible at a polling place. 

4 (10) Vote by Mail is accurate—at least 2 stud5 ies comparing voting technologies show that absentee 

6 voting methods, including Vote by Mail systems, re7 sult in a more accurate vote count. 

8 (11) Vote by Mail results in more up-to-date 

9 voter rolls, since election officials use forwarding in10 formation from the post office to update voter reg11 istration. 

12 (12) Vote by Mail allows voters to visually 

13 verify that their votes were cast correctly and pro14 duces a paper trail for election recounts. 

15 (13) In a survey taken 5 years after Oregon im16 plemented the Vote by Mail system, more than 8 in 

17 10 Oregon voters said they preferred voting by mail 

18 to traditional voting. 

19 (14) Voters in other States are moving toward 

20 Vote by Mail as well. In 2008, 89 percent of voters 

21 in Washington State who cast ballots voted by mail, 

22 64 percent of voters in Colorado voted by mail, and 

23 44 percent of voters in California voted by mail. 

24 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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

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

3 (2) PARTICIPATING STATE.—The term ‘‘partici4 pating State’’ means a State receiving a grant under 

5 the Vote by Mail grant program under section 4. 

6 (3) RESIDUAL VOTE RATE.—The term ‘‘resid7 ual vote rate’’ means the sum of all votes that can8 not be counted in an election (overvotes, undervotes, 

9 and otherwise spoiled ballots) divided by the total 

10 number of votes cast. 

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

12 of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 

13 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or pos14 session of the United States. 

15 (5) VOTING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘voting sys16 tem’’ has the meaning given such term under section 

17 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

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

19 SEC. 4. VOTE BY MAIL GRANT PROGRAM. 

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

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

22 Commission shall establish a Vote by Mail grant program 

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

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

25 make implementation grants to participating States solely 


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1 for the implementation of procedures for the conduct of 

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

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

4 grants made under this section be used to reimburse a 

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

6 elections at the State or local government level if such 

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

8 Act. 

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

10 the program under this section shall submit an application 

11 to the Election Assistance Commission containing such in12 formation, and at such time, as the Election Assistance 

13 Commission may specify. 

14 (e) AMOUNT AND AWARDING OF IMPLEMENTATION

15 GRANTS; DURATION OF PROGRAM.— 

16 (1) AMOUNT OF IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara18 graph (B), the amount of an implementation 

19 grant made to a participating State shall be, in 

20 the case of a State that certifies that it will im21 plement all elections by mail in accordance with 

22 the requirements of subsection (f), with respect 

23 to— 

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


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1 (ii) any single unit or multiple units 

2 of local government within the State, 

3 $1,000,000. 

4 (B) EXCESS FUNDS.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that 

6 there are excess funds in either of the first 

7 2 years of the program, such funds may be 

8 used to award implementation grants to 

9 participating States in subsequent years. 

10 (ii) EXCESS FUNDS DEFINED.—For 

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

12 funds’’ means any amounts appropriated 

13 pursuant to the authorization under sub14 section (h)(1) with respect to a fiscal year 

15 that are not awarded to a participating 

16 State under an implementation grant dur17 ing such fiscal year. 

18 (C) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

19 AFTER APPROPRIATION.—An implementation 

20 grant made to a participating State under this 

21 section shall be available to the State without 

22 fiscal year limitation. 

23 (2) AWARDING OF IMPLEMENTATION

24 GRANTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assist2 ance Commission shall award implementation 

3 grants during each year in which the program 

4 is conducted. 

5 (B) ONE GRANT PER STATE.—The Elec6 tion Assistance Commission shall not award 

7 more than 1 implementation grant to any par8 ticipating State under this section over the du9 ration of the program. 

10 (3) DURATION.—The program shall be con11 ducted for a period of 3 years. 

12 (f) REQUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) REQUIRED PROCEDURES.—A participating 

14 State shall establish and implement procedures for 

15 conducting all elections by mail in the area with re16 spect to which it receives an implementation grant 

17 to conduct such elections, including the following: 

18 (A) A process for recording electronically 

19 each voter’s registration information and signa20 ture. 

21 (B) A process for mailing ballots to all eli22 gible voters. 

23 (C) The designation of places for the de24 posit of ballots cast in an election. 


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1 (D) A process for ensuring the secrecy and 

2 integrity of ballots cast in the election. 

3 (E) Procedures and penalties for pre4 venting election fraud and ballot tampering, in5 cluding procedures for the verification of the 

6 signature of the voter accompanying the ballot 

7 through comparison of such signature with the 

8 signature of the voter maintained by the State 

9 in accordance with subparagraph (A). 

10 (F) Procedures for verifying that a ballot 

11 has been received by the appropriate authority. 

12 (G) Procedures for obtaining a replace13 ment ballot in the case of a ballot which is de14 stroyed, spoiled, lost, or not received by the 

15 voter. 

16 (H) A plan for training election workers in 

17 signature verification techniques. 

18 (I) Plans and procedures to ensure that 

19 voters who are blind, visually impaired, or oth20 erwise disabled have the opportunity to partici21 pate in elections conducted by mail and to en22 sure compliance with the Help America Vote 

23 Act of 2002. Such plans and procedures shall 

24 be developed in consultation with disabled and 

25 other civil rights organizations, voting rights 


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1 groups, State election officials, voter protection 

2 groups, and other interested community organi3 zations. 

4 (J) Plans and procedures to ensure the 

5 translation of ballots and voting materials in 

6 accordance with section 203 of the Voting 

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

8 (g) BEST PRACTICES, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND

9 REPORTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

11 Commission shall— 

12 (A) develop, periodically issue, and, as ap13 propriate, update best practices for conducting 

14 elections by mail; 

15 (B) provide technical assistance to partici16 pating States for the purpose of implementing 

17 procedures for conducting elections by mail; and 

18 (C) submit to the appropriate committees 

19 of Congress— 

20 (i) annual reports on the implementa21 tion of such procedures by participating 

22 States during each year in which the pro23 gram is conducted; and 

24 (ii) upon completion of the program 

25 conducted under this section, a final report 


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1 on the program, together with rec2 ommendations for such legislation or ad3 ministrative action as the Election Assist4 ance Commission determines to be appro5 priate. 

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

7 and updating best practices, developing materials to 

8 provide technical assistance to participating States, 

9 and developing the annual and final reports under 

10 paragraph (1), the Election Assistance Commission 

11 shall consult with interested parties, including— 

12 (A) State and local election officials; 

13 (B) the United States Postal Service; 

14 (C) the Postal Regulatory Commission es15 tablished under section 501 of title 39, United 

16 States Code; and 

17 (D) voting rights groups, voter protection 

18 groups, groups representing the disabled, and 

19 other civil rights or community organizations. 

20 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (1) GRANTS.—There are authorized to be ap22 propriated to award grants under this section, for 

23 each of fiscal years 2012 through 2014, $6,000,000, 

24 to remain available without fiscal year limitation 

25 until expended. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—There are authorized to 

2 be appropriated to administer the program under 

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

4 2012 through 2014, to remain available without fis5 cal year limitation until expended. 

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

7 may be construed to authorize or require conduct prohib8 ited under any of the following laws, or to supersede, re9 strict, or limit the application of such laws: 

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

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

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

13 1973 et seq.). 

14 (3) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 

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

16 (4) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab17 sentee Voting Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.). 

18 (5) The National Voter Registration Act of 

19 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.). 

20 (6) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

21 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

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

23 701 et seq.). 


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

2 FOR ELECTIONS. 

3 (a) STUDY.— 

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

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

6 ‘‘Comptroller General’’) shall conduct a study evalu7 ating the benefits of broader implementation of mail8 in voting in elections, taking into consideration the 

9 annual reports submitted by the Election Assistance 

10 Commission under section 4(g)(1)(C)(i) before No11 vember 1, 2013. 

12 (2) SPECIFIC ISSUES STUDIED.—The study 

13 conducted under paragraph (1) shall include a com14 parison of traditional voting methods and mail-in 

15 voting with respect to— 

16 (A) the likelihood of voter fraud and mis17 conduct; 

18 (B) the accuracy of voter rolls; 

19 (C) the accuracy of election results; 

20 (D) voter participation in urban and rural 

21 communities and by minorities, language mi22 norities (as defined in section 203 of the Voting 

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

24 and individuals with disabilities and by individ25 uals who are homeless or who frequently change 

26 their official residences; 


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1 (E) public confidence in the election sys2 tem; 

3 (F) the residual vote rate, including such 

4 rate based on voter age, education, income, 

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

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

7 language minority (as so defined); and 

8 (G) cost savings. 

9 (3) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study 

10 under paragraph (1), the Comptroller General shall 

11 consult with interested parties, including— 

12 (A) State and local election officials; 

13 (B) the United States Postal Service; 

14 (C) the Postal Regulatory Commission es15 tablished under section 501 of title 39, United 

16 States Code; and 

17 (D) voting rights groups, voter protection 

18 groups, groups representing the disabled, and 

19 other civil rights or community organizations. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than November 1, 2013, the 

21 Comptroller General shall prepare and submit to the ap22 propriate committees of Congress a report on the study 

23 conducted under subsection (a), together with such recVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:20 May 05, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3300.IS S3300

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1 ommendations for legislation or administrative action as 

2 the Comptroller General determines to be appropriate. 

Æ 


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