I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7427 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish election contin-
gency plans to enable individuals to vote in elections for Federal office 
during an emergency, to require States to make early voting and absentee 
voting available to all individuals eligible to vote in such elections, to 
encourage voter registration, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 30, 2020 
Ms. LOFGREN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on 
Oversight and Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish 
election contingency plans to enable individuals to vote 
in elections for Federal office during an emergency, to 
require States to make early voting and absentee voting 
available to all individuals eligible to vote in such elec-
tions, to encourage voter registration, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘American Coronavirus/COVID–19 Election Safety and 
Security Act’’ or the ‘‘ACCESS Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Requirements for Federal election contingency plans in response to nat-
ural disasters and emergencies. 
Sec. 3. Early voting and voting by mail. 
Sec. 4. Permitting use of sworn written statement to meet identification re-
quirements for voting. 
Sec. 5. Voting materials postage. 
Sec. 6. Requiring transmission of blank absentee ballots under UOCAVA to 
certain voters. 
Sec. 7. Voter registration. 
Sec. 8. Accommodations for voters residing in Indian lands. 
Sec. 9. Payments by Election Assistance Commission to States to assist with 
costs of compliance. 
Sec. 10. Grants to States for conducting risk-limiting audits of results of elec-
tions. 
Sec. 11. Additional appropriations for the Election Assistance Commission. 
Sec. 12. Definition. 
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL ELECTION CONTIN-
GENCY PLANS IN RESPONSE TO NATURAL 
DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 
State and each jurisdiction in a State which is re-
sponsible for administering elections for Federal of-
fice shall establish and make publicly available a 
contingency plan to enable individuals to vote in 
elections for Federal office during a state of emer-
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gency, public health emergency, or national emer-
gency which has been declared for reasons includ-
ing— 
(A) a natural disaster; or 
(B) an infectious disease. 
(2) UPDATING.—Each State and jurisdiction 
shall update the contingency plan established under 
this subsection not less frequently than every 5 
years. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING
TO SAFETY.—The 
contingency plan established under subsection (a) shall in-
clude initiatives to provide equipment and resources need-
ed to protect the health and safety of poll workers and 
voters when voting in person. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RECRUITMENT OF 
POLL
WORKERS.—The contingency plan established 
under subsection (a) shall include initiatives by the chief 
State election official and local election officials to recruit 
poll workers from resilient or unaffected populations, 
which may include— 
(1) employees of other State and local govern-
ment offices; and 
(2) in the case in which an infectious disease 
poses significant increased health risks to elderly in-
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dividuals, students of secondary schools and institu-
tions of higher education in the State. 
(d) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney Gen-
eral may bring a civil action against any State or ju-
risdiction in an appropriate United States District 
Court for such declaratory and injunctive relief (in-
cluding a temporary restraining order, a permanent 
or temporary injunction, or other order) as may be 
necessary to carry out the requirements of this sec-
tion. 
(2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a viola-
tion of this section, any person who is aggrieved 
by such violation may provide written notice of 
the violation to the chief election official of the 
State involved. 
(B) RELIEF.—If the violation is not cor-
rected within 20 days after receipt of a notice 
under subparagraph (A), or within 5 days after 
receipt of the notice if the violation occurred 
within 120 days before the date of an election 
for Federal office, the aggrieved person may, in 
a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunctive 
relief with respect to the violation. 
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(C) SPECIAL RULE.—If the violation oc-
curred within 5 days before the date of an elec-
tion for Federal office, the aggrieved person 
need not provide notice to the chief election of-
ficial of the State involved under subparagraph 
(A) before bringing a civil action under sub-
paragraph (B). 
(e) DEFINITIONS.— 
(1) ELECTION
FOR
FEDERAL
OFFICE.—For 
purposes of this section, the term ‘‘election for Fed-
eral office’’ means a general, special, primary, or 
runoff election for the office of President or Vice 
President, or of Senator or Representative in, or 
Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con-
gress. 
(2) STATE.—For purposes of this section, the 
term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 
Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 
respect to the regularly scheduled general election for Fed-
eral office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 
election for Federal office. 
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SEC. 3. EARLY VOTING AND VOTING BY MAIL. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Title III of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Other Requirements 
‘‘SEC. 321. EARLY VOTING. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING ALLOWING VOTING PRIOR TO DATE 
OF ELECTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall allow indi-
viduals to vote in an election for Federal office dur-
ing an early voting period which occurs prior to the 
date of the election, in the same manner as voting 
is allowed on such date. 
‘‘(2) LENGTH
OF
PERIOD.—The early voting 
period required under this subsection with respect to 
an election shall consist of a period of consecutive 
days (including weekends) which begins on the 15th 
day before the date of the election (or, at the option 
of the State, on a day prior to the 15th day before 
the date of the election) and ends on the date of the 
election. 
‘‘(b) MINIMUM EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
Each polling place which allows voting during an early vot-
ing period under subsection (a) shall— 
‘‘(1) allow such voting for no less than 10 hours 
on each day; 
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‘‘(2) have uniform hours each day for which 
such voting occurs; and 
‘‘(3) allow such voting to be held for some pe-
riod of time prior to 9:00 a.m (local time) and some 
period of time after 5:00 p.m. (local time). 
‘‘(c) LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES.— 
‘‘(1) 
PROXIMITY
TO
PUBLIC
TRANSPOR-
TATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, a State 
shall ensure that each polling place which allows vot-
ing during an early voting period under subsection 
(a) is located within walking distance of a stop on 
a public transportation route. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY
IN
RURAL
AREAS.—The 
State shall ensure that polling places which allow 
voting during an early voting period under sub-
section (a) will be located in rural areas of the State, 
and shall ensure that such polling places are located 
in communities which will provide the greatest op-
portunity for residents of rural areas to vote during 
the early voting period. 
‘‘(d) STANDARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue 
standards for the administration of voting prior to 
the day scheduled for a Federal election. Such 
standards shall include the nondiscriminatory geo-
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graphic placement of polling places at which such 
voting occurs. 
‘‘(2) DEVIATION.—The standards described in 
paragraph (1) shall permit States, upon providing 
adequate public notice, to deviate from any require-
ment in the case of unforeseen circumstances such 
as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or a change 
in voter turnout. 
‘‘(e) BALLOT PROCESSING AND SCANNING REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The State shall begin proc-
essing and scanning ballots cast during early voting 
for tabulation at least 14 days prior to the date of 
the election involved. 
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 
shall be construed to permit a State to tabulate bal-
lots in an election before the closing of the polls on 
the date of the election. 
‘‘(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 
election for Federal office. 
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‘‘SEC. 322. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 
MAIL. 
‘‘(a) UNIFORM AVAILABILITY OF ABSENTEE VOTING 
TO ALL VOTERS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State 
is eligible to cast a vote in an election for Federal 
office, the State may not impose any additional con-
ditions or requirements on the eligibility of the indi-
vidual to cast the vote in such election by absentee 
ballot by mail. 
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF VOTING BY MAIL.— 
‘‘(A) PROHIBITING
IDENTIFICATION
RE-
QUIREMENT AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING BAL-
LOT.—A State may not require an individual to 
provide any form of identification as a condition 
of obtaining an absentee ballot, except that 
nothing in this paragraph may be construed to 
prevent a State from requiring a signature of 
the individual or similar affirmation as a condi-
tion of obtaining an absentee ballot. 
‘‘(B) PROHIBITING REQUIREMENT TO PRO-
VIDE
NOTARIZATION
OR
WITNESS
SIGNATURE 
AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING OR CASTING BAL-
LOT.—A State may not require notarization or 
witness signature or other formal authentica-
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tion (other than voter attestation) as a condi-
tion of obtaining or casting an absentee ballot. 
‘‘(C) DEADLINE
FOR
RETURNING
BAL-
LOT.—A State may impose a deadline for re-
questing the absentee ballot and related voting 
materials from the appropriate State or local 
election official and for returning the ballot to 
the appropriate State or local election official. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION
FOR
ALL
FUTURE
ELEC-
TIONS.—At the option of an individual, a State shall 
treat the individual’s application to vote by absentee 
ballot by mail in an election for Federal office as an 
application to vote by absentee ballot by mail in all 
subsequent Federal elections held in the State. 
‘‘(b) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS
FOR STATES 
REQUIRING SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may not im-
pose a signature verification requirement as a 
condition of accepting and counting an absentee 
ballot submitted by any individual with respect 
to an election for Federal office unless the 
State meets the due process requirements de-
scribed in paragraph (2). 
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‘‘(B) SIGNATURE VERIFICATION REQUIRE-
MENT DESCRIBED.—In this subsection, a ‘sig-
nature verification requirement’ is a require-
ment that an election official verify the identi-
fication of an individual by comparing the indi-
vidual’s signature on the absentee ballot with 
the individual’s signature on the official list of 
registered voters in the State or another official 
record or other document used by the State to 
verify the signatures of voters. 
‘‘(2) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE 
DISCREPANCY.—If an individual submits an ab-
sentee ballot and the appropriate State or local 
election official determines that a discrepancy 
exists between the signature on such ballot and 
the signature of such individual on the official 
list of registered voters in the State or other of-
ficial record or document used by the State to 
verify the signatures of voters, such election of-
ficial, prior to making a final determination as 
to the validity of such ballot, shall— 
‘‘(i) make a good faith effort to imme-
diately notify the individual by mail, tele-
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phone, and (if available) electronic mail 
that— 
‘‘(I) a discrepancy exists between 
the signature on such ballot and the 
signature of the individual on the offi-
cial list of registered voters in the 
State; and 
‘‘(II) if such discrepancy is not 
cured prior to the expiration of the 
10-day period which begins on the 
date the official notifies the individual 
of the discrepancy, such ballot will not 
be counted; and 
‘‘(ii) cure such discrepancy and count 
the ballot if, prior to the expiration of the 
10-day period described in clause (i)(II), 
the individual provides the official with in-
formation to cure such discrepancy, either 
in person, by telephone, or by electronic 
methods. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO PRO-
VIDE
MISSING
SIGNATURE.—If an individual 
submits an absentee ballot without a signature, 
the appropriate State or local election official, 
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prior to making a final determination as to the 
validity of the ballot, shall— 
‘‘(i) make a good faith effort to imme-
diately notify the individual by mail, tele-
phone, and (if available) electronic mail 
that— 
‘‘(I) the ballot did not include a 
signature; and 
‘‘(II) if the individual does not 
provide the missing signature prior to 
the expiration of the 10-day period 
which begins on the date the official 
notifies the individual that the ballot 
did not include a signature, such bal-
lot will not be counted; and 
‘‘(ii) count the ballot if, prior to the 
expiration of the 10-day period described 
in clause (i)(II), the individual provides the 
official with the missing signature on a 
form proscribed by the State. 
‘‘(C) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—An election 
official may not make a determination that a 
discrepancy exists between the signature on an 
absentee ballot and the signature of the indi-
vidual who submits the ballot on the official list 
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of registered voters in the State or other official 
record or other document used by the State to 
verify the signatures of voters unless— 
‘‘(i) at least 2 election officials make 
the determination; and 
‘‘(ii) each official who makes the de-
termination has received training in proce-
dures used to verify signatures. 
‘‘(3) REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 
days after the end of a Federal election cycle, 
each chief State election official shall submit to 
Congress a report containing the following in-
formation for the applicable Federal election 
cycle in the State: 
‘‘(i) The number of ballots invalidated 
due to a discrepancy under this subsection. 
‘‘(ii) Description of attempts to con-
tact voters to provide notice as required by 
this subsection. 
‘‘(iii) Description of the cure process 
developed by such State pursuant to this 
subsection, including the number of ballots 
determined valid as a result of such proc-
ess. 
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