I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9688 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure that voters in 
elections for Federal office do not wait in long lines in order to vote. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 22, 2022 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself and Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure 
that voters in elections for Federal office do not wait 
in long lines in order to vote. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘People Over Long 
Lines Act (POLL Act)’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The right to vote for all Americans is fun-
damental and rules for voting and election adminis-
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tration should protect the right to vote and promote 
voter participation. 
(2) It is the responsibility of the State and Fed-
eral governments to ensure that every eligible citizen 
is able to register to vote and to cast a ballot. 
(3) There continues to be an alarming move-
ment to erect barriers to make it more difficult for 
Americans to participate in our Nation’s democratic 
process. The Nation has witnessed unprecedented ef-
forts to turn back the clock and erect barriers to 
voting for communities of color, which have faced 
historic and continuing discrimination, as well as 
disabled, young, elderly, and low-income Americans. 
(4) One way voting in communities of color has 
been suppressed is through long waits at polling lo-
cations. Studies have shown a number of contrib-
uting factors, including the drastic reduction of early 
voting days, poor allocation of resources to certain 
communities, cuts to election funding, and a reduc-
tion of polling locations. 
(5) A 2019 study led by economist Keith Chen 
of the University of California, Los Angeles, 
matched anonymous location data from 10,000,000 
smartphones to 93,000 polling places to create the 
most extensive map to date of voter wait times 
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across the United States. The results showed one 
very clear disparity: voters in predominantly Black 
neighborhoods waited 29 percent longer, on average, 
than those in White neighborhoods. They were also 
about 74 percent more likely to wait for more than 
half an hour. 
(6) Waiting in long lines discourages people 
from voting, undermines confidence in the electoral 
system, and imposes economic costs on voters. 
(7) Long lines are estimated to have deterred 
between 500,000 and 700,000 people from casting 
their ballot in 2012. 
(8) These problems led to the creation of the bi-
partisan Presidential Commission on Election Ad-
ministration, which issued a 2014 report that set 
forth a standard: ‘‘No citizen should have to wait 
more than 30 minutes to vote.’’. 
(9) Despite the work of the Presidential Com-
mission on Election Administration, long lines con-
tinue, particularly in communities of color where ra-
cial discrimination in voting is a clear and persistent 
problem. 
(10) In the Arizona 2016 Presidential primary, 
in one Maricopa County polling place for mostly 
Latino voters, some waited for 4 hours or more in 
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the 80-degree heat to cast their ballots. For the 
2016 general election, 3 people collapsed while wait-
ing to vote in an hours-long line in Georgia, and a 
line to vote in Cincinnati, Ohio was a half-mile long. 
(11) According to a nationwide study, in 2016, 
roughly 3 percent of people standing in line at vot-
ing locations left before they could vote as a result 
of long lines. 
(12) The disenfranchisement that long lines 
create for voters is not limited to that one election. 
Research suggests that for each hour would-be vot-
ers wait, their probability of voting in the next elec-
tion drops by 1 percentage point. 
(13) Congress has the authority under article I, 
section 4 of the Constitution of the United States to 
enact laws governing the time, place, and manner of 
Federal elections. 
(14) Congress also has authority under section 
2 of the 15th Amendment to enforce the right of 
citizens of the United States to vote, which shall not 
be denied or abridged by the United States, by legis-
lation. 
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SEC. 3. PREVENTING UNREASONABLE VOTER WAITING 
TIMES. 
(a) STATE PLANS REQUIRED.—Title III of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 
sections 305 and 306; and 
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 304. UNREASONABLE VOTER WAITING TIMES. 
‘‘(a) STATE PLANS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days be-
fore each election for Federal office, each State shall 
make public (including through the website of the 
State on which election information is normally pub-
lished) and submit to the Commission a written plan 
which meets the public notice and comment require-
ments of paragraph (2) and describes the measures 
it is implementing to ensure, to the greatest extent 
possible, an equitable waiting time for all voters in 
the State, and a waiting time of less than 30 min-
utes at any polling place in the election. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC
NOTICE
COMMENT
REQUIRE-
MENT.—The public notice and comment require-
ments of this paragraph are met if— 
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‘‘(A) not later than 30 days prior to the 
submission of the plan to the Commission, the 
State made a preliminary version of the plan 
available for public inspection and comment; 
‘‘(B) the State publishes notice that the 
preliminary version of the plan is so available; 
and 
‘‘(C) the State took the public comments 
made regarding the preliminary version of the 
plan into account in preparing the plan which 
was submitted to the Commission under para-
graph (1). 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON UNREASONABLE VOTER WAIT-
ING TIMES.—Each State shall ensure that no person vot-
ing in an election for Federal office shall wait for more 
than 30 minutes at any polling place for purposes of cast-
ing a vote in such election. 
‘‘(c) REMEDIAL PLANS FOR STATES WITH EXCES-
SIVE VOTER WAIT TIMES.— 
‘‘(1) REVIEW
OF
VOTER
WAIT
TIMES.—After 
each election for Federal office, the Commission 
shall review voter waiting times for each jurisdiction 
for which voting in such election took place and 
make publicly available a report on its findings. 
‘‘(2) STATE REMEDIAL PLANS.— 
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‘‘(A) REMEDIAL PLANS.—Notwithstanding 
section 209, each jurisdiction for which the 
Commission, after the review conducted under 
paragraph (1), determines that a substantial 
number of voters waited more than 60 minutes 
to cast a vote, or in which there were substan-
tial violations of the standards established 
under section 299, shall comply with a State re-
medial plan established by the Commission to 
provide for the effective allocation of resources 
to administer elections for Federal office held in 
the State and to reduce the waiting time of vot-
ers. 
‘‘(B) 
COORDINATION
WITH
ATTORNEY 
GENERAL
AND
STATES.—Each remedial plan 
established by the Commission shall provide for 
coordination between the Commission, the At-
torney General, and the State involved to mon-
itor the compliance of the State with the reme-
dial plan during the period leading up to the 
election and on the date of the election and to 
respond to serious delays in the ability of voters 
to cast their ballots at polling places. 
‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—A jurisdiction shall 
not be required to comply with a State remedial 
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plan required under subparagraph (A) if the 
Commission determines that the voter waiting 
times were less than 60 minutes for 2 consecu-
tive regularly scheduled general elections for 
Federal office. 
‘‘(3) JURISDICTION DEFINED.—For purposes of 
this subsection, the term ‘jurisdiction’ has the mean-
ing given the term ‘registrar’s jurisdiction’ in section 
8(j) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
(42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(j)). 
‘‘(4) STANDARDS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
Commission shall establish standards for conducting 
the review under paragraph (1) and for establishing 
remedial plans under paragraph (2)(A). 
‘‘(5) APPROPRIATIONS.—In addition to other 
amounts authorized to be appropriated to the Com-
mission, there are authorized to be appropriated for 
each of the fiscal years 2023 through 2032, 
$5,000,000 for each such year for the Commission 
to carry out this subsection. 
‘‘(d) EMERGENCY BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a failure of 
voting equipment or other circumstance at a polling 
place that causes an unreasonable delay, any indi-
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vidual who is waiting at the polling place to cast a 
ballot in an election for Federal office at the time 
of the failure shall be advised immediately of the in-
dividual’s right to use an emergency paper ballot, 
and upon request shall be provided with such an 
emergency paper ballot for the election and the sup-
plies necessary to mark the ballot. 
‘‘(2) BALLOT REQUIREMENTS.—Any emergency 
paper ballot provided under paragraph (1) shall— 
‘‘(A) include the names of each candidate 
for each Federal office for which voting occurs 
at such polling place; and 
‘‘(B) be available in each language for 
which other ballots provided at the polling place 
are available. 
‘‘(3) DISPOSITION OF BALLOT.—Any emergency 
paper ballot which is cast by an individual under 
this subsection shall be counted in the same manner 
as a regular ballot, unless the individual casting the 
ballot would have otherwise been required to cast a 
provisional ballot in the absence of the delay, in 
which case that ballot shall be treated in the same 
manner as a provisional ballot.’’. 
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(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Title IV of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 403. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION FOR UNREASON-
ABLE VOTER WAITING TIME. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a violation of sec-
tion 304(b), section 402 shall not apply and any person 
who is aggrieved by such violation may commence a civil 
action in any appropriate district court of the United 
States for relief. 
‘‘(b) RELIEF.—In any civil action commenced under 
subsection (a): 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the court finds a viola-
tion of section 304(b), the court shall assess a civil 
penalty equal to the sum of— 
‘‘(A) $50; plus 
‘‘(B) an additional $50 for each additional 
hour the person waited at the polling place to 
cast a vote; plus 
‘‘(C) reasonable attorney fees, including 
litigation expenses, and costs. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If the court determines 
that the violation was due to an intentional action 
to suppress votes or was made with reckless dis-
regard of the requirements of section 304— 
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‘‘(A) paragraph (1)(A) shall be applied by 
substituting ‘$650’ for ‘$50’; and 
‘‘(B) paragraph (1)(B) shall be applied by 
substituting ‘$150’ for ‘$50’.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 202 of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 20922) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 
paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) carrying out the duties described in section 
304(c);’’. 
(d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 
306, and by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 303 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Allocation of election resources.’’; 
and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 402 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 403. Private right of action for unreasonable voter waiting time.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
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SEC. 4. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS, POLL 
WORKERS, AND ELECTION RESOURCES. 
(a) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Additional 
Requirements 
‘‘SEC. 321. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS AND 
POLL WORKERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall provide for the 
minimum required number of voting systems, poll workers, 
and other election resources (including all other physical 
resources) for each voting site on the day of any Federal 
election and on any days during which such State allows 
early voting for a Federal election in accordance with the 
standards determined under section 299. 
‘‘(b) VOTING SITE.—For purposes of this section and 
section 299, the term ‘voting site’ means a polling loca-
tion, except that in the case of any polling location that 
serves more than 1 precinct, such term shall mean a pre-
cinct. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of this section on 
and after January 1, 2023.’’. 
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(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 401 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 
21111) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and in-
serting ‘‘303, and subtitle C’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to title III the following: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Additional Requirements 
‘‘Sec. 321. Minimum required voting systems and poll workers.’’. 
(b) STANDARDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20921 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle E—Guidance and 
Standards 
‘‘SEC. 299. STANDARDS FOR ESTABLISHING THE MINIMUM 
REQUIRED 
VOTING 
SYSTEMS 
AND 
POLL 
WORKERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 15, 
2023, the Attorney General, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable in coordination with the Commission, shall issue 
standards regarding the minimum number of voting sys-
tems, poll workers, and other election resources (including 
all other physical resources) required under section 321 
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on the day of any Federal election and on any days during 
which early voting is allowed for a Federal election. 
‘‘(b) DISTRIBUTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The standards described in 
subsection (a) shall provide for a uniform and non-
discriminatory distribution of such systems, workers, 
and other resources, and shall take into account, 
among other factors, the following with respect to 
any voting site (as defined in section 321(b)): 
‘‘(A) The voting-age population. 
‘‘(B) Voter turnout in past elections. 
‘‘(C) The number of voters registered. 
‘‘(D) The number of voters who have reg-
istered since the most recent Federal election. 
‘‘(E) Census data for the population served 
by such voting site. 
‘‘(F) The educational levels and socio-eco-
nomic factors of the population served by such 
voting site. 
‘‘(G) The needs and numbers of disabled 
voters and voters with limited English pro-
ficiency. 
‘‘(H) The type of voting systems used. 
‘‘(2) NO FACTOR DISPOSITIVE.—The standards 
shall provide that any distribution of such systems 
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shall take into account the totality of all relevant 
factors, and no single factor shall be dispositive 
under the standards. 
‘‘(3) PURPOSE.—To the extent possible, the 
standards shall provide for a distribution of voting 
systems, poll workers, and other election resources, 
with the goals of— 
‘‘(A) ensuring an equal waiting time for all 
voters in the State; and 
‘‘(B) preventing a waiting time of over 30 
minutes at any polling place. 
‘‘(4) SPECIAL
RULE
REGARDING
ELECTRONIC 
POLL BOOKS.—Notwithstanding paragraphs (1), (2), 
and (3), in the case of any voting site that uses an 
electronic poll book, the standards described in sub-
section (a) shall require at least 1 paper poll book 
(containing identical information to the information 
in the electronic poll book) for each such electronic 
poll book used at such voting site. 
‘‘(c) DEVIATION.—The standards described in sub-
section (a) shall permit States, upon giving reasonable 
public notice, to deviate from any allocation requirements 
in the case of unforeseen circumstances such as a natural 
disaster or terrorist attack.’’. 
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(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 202 
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20922), as amended by sec-
tion 3(c), is amended— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), 
and (6) as paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respec-
tively; and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) carrying out the duties described in sub-
title E;’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 
of the items relating to title II the following: 
‘‘Subtitle E—Guidance and Standards 
‘‘Sec. 299. Standards for establishing the minimum required voting systems 
and poll workers.’’. 
SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY CHIEF 
STATE 
ELECTION 
ADMINISTRATION 
OFFI-
CIALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 319 the following new 
section: 
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‘‘CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY CHIEF STATE ELECTION 
ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS 
‘‘SEC. 319A. (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 
for a chief State election administration official to take 
an active part in political management or in a political 
campaign with respect to any election for Federal office 
over which such official has supervisory authority. 
‘‘(b) CHIEF STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRATION OF-
FICIAL.—The term ‘chief State election administration of-
ficial’ means the highest State official with responsibility 
for the administration of Federal elections under State 
law. 
‘‘(c) ACTIVE PART IN POLITICAL MANAGEMENT OR 
IN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.—The term ‘active part in po-
litical management or in a political campaign’ means— 
‘‘(1) serving as a member of an authorized com-
mittee of a candidate for Federal office; 
‘‘(2) the use of official authority or influence 
for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the 
result of an election for Federal office; 
‘‘(3) the solicitation, acceptance, or receipt of a 
contribution from any person on behalf of a can-
didate for Federal office; and 
‘‘(4) any other act which would be prohibited 
under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 7323(b) of 
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title 5, United States Code, if taken by an individual 
to whom such paragraph applies (other than any 
prohibition on running for public office). 
‘‘(d) EXCEPTION IN CASE OF RECUSAL FROM AD-
MINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS INVOLVING ELECTION OF-
FICIAL OR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section does not apply 
to a chief State election administration official with 
respect to an election for Federal office in which 
such official or an immediate family member of the 
official is a candidate, but only if— 
‘‘(A) such official recuses himself or herself 
from all of the official’s responsibilities for the 
administration of such election; and 
‘‘(B) the official who assumes responsi-
bility for supervising the administration of the 
election does not report directly to such official. 
‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.— 
In paragraph (1), the term ‘immediate family mem-
ber’ means, with respect to a candidate, a father, 
mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, 
wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections for 
Federal office held after January 1, 2023. 
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SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO STATES TO PREVENT UNREASON-
ABLE WAIT TIMES AND PROMOTE WELL-RUN 
ELECTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART VII—PAYMENTS FOR PREVENTING 
UNREASONABLE VOTER WAIT TIMES 
‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make a 
payment to each eligible State. Such payments shall be 
made not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this part. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE STATE.—For purposes of this section, 
a State is an eligible State if such State has filed with 
the Commission a State plan covering the fiscal year in 
which the State describes how it intends to use the funds 
provided under this section. 
‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible State shall use the 
payment received under this part to meet the requirements 
of section 304 and 321. 
‘‘(d) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amount of payment 
made to a State under this section shall be the min-
imum payment amount described in paragraph (2) 
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plus the voting age population proportion amount 
described in paragraph (3). 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The min-
imum payment amount described in this paragraph 
is— 
‘‘(A) in the case of any of the several 
States or the District of Columbia, one-half of 
1 percent of the aggregate amount made avail-
able for payments under this section; and 
‘‘(B) in the case of the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the 
United States Virgin Islands, one-tenth of 1 
percent of such aggregate amount. 
‘‘(3) VOTING
AGE
POPULATION
PROPORTION 
AMOUNT.—The voting age population proportion 
amount described in this paragraph is the product 
of— 
‘‘(A) the aggregate amount made available 
for payments under this section minus the total 
of all of the minimum payment amounts deter-
mined under paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(B) the voting age population proportion 
for the State (as defined in paragraph (4)). 
‘‘(4) VOTING
AGE
POPULATION
PROPORTION 
DEFINED.—The term ‘voting age population propor-
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tion’ means, with respect to a State, the amount 
equal to the quotient of— 
‘‘(A) the voting age population of the State 
(as reported in the most recent decennial cen-
sus); and 
‘‘(B) the total voting age population of all 
States (as reported in the most recent decennial 
census). 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated for payments under this section 
$500,000,000 for each fiscal year. 
‘‘(2) 
AVAILABILITY.—Any 
amounts 
appro-
priated pursuant to the authority of paragraph (1) 
shall remain available without fiscal year limitation 
until expended.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 296 the following: 
‘‘PART VII—PAYMENTS FOR PREVENTING UNREASONABLE VOTER WAIT 
TIMES 
‘‘Sec. 297. Payments to States.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
22:22 Jan 09, 2023
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pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB