I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 237 
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 Reg-
istration Act of 1993 to provide for automatic voter registration, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 11, 2021 
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. POCAN, Mr. LIEU, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. COOPER, Mr. 
SCHRADER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 
MOULTON, Mr. SWALWELL, and Ms. CHU) 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 con-
cerned 
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, and for other 
purposes. 
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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vote at Home Act of 
2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) An inequity of voting rights exists in the 
United States because voters in some States have 
the universal right to vote by mail while voters in 
other States do not. 
(2) Many voters often have work, family, or 
other commitments that make getting to polls and 
waiting in line on the date of an election difficult or 
impossible. Many citizens with disabilities are phys-
ically unable to vote due to long lines, inadequate 
parking, no curb cuts, steep ramps, and large 
crowds. In 2012, 30 percent of voters with disabil-
ities had difficulty voting, and in 2016, nearly two- 
thirds of the 137 polling places inspected on Elec-
tion Day had at least one impediment to people with 
disabilities. Under current State laws, many of these 
voters are not permitted to vote by mail. 
(3) In 2020, despite a global pandemic, the 
general election saw record high turnout as a result 
of increased vote by mail options, which allowed vot-
ers to cast a ballot and stay safe at the same time. 
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(4) 34 States and the District of Columbia cur-
rently allow universal absentee voting (also known as 
‘‘no-excuse’’ absentee voting), which permits any 
voter to request a mail-in ballot without providing a 
reason for the request. No State which has imple-
mented no-excuse absentee voting has repealed it. 
(5) 5 States currently hold elections entirely by 
mail. At least 22 States currently allow some elec-
tions to be conducted by mail, especially in large and 
rural jurisdictions where voting by mail is especially 
convenient. Polling stations in rural jurisdictions 
tend to have higher costs per voter, smaller staffs, 
and limited resources. Transportation is often a cru-
cial barrier for rural voters. 
(6) In 2020, in order to provide greater accessi-
bility and to protect the public health, 30 States 
adopted or changed their laws for the general elec-
tion to allow voters to cast their ballots from home. 
These changes included removing strict excuse re-
quirements or allowing COVID-19 concerns to be a 
valid excuse to vote absentee, allowing ballot drop 
boxes, offering prepaid postage on election mail and 
proactively sending all active registered voters appli-
cations to request an absentee ballot, with some even 
skipping that step and sending the actual ballots. 
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(7) Voting by mail gives voters more time to 
consider their choices, which is especially important 
as many ballots contain greater numbers of ques-
tions about complex issues than in the past due to 
the expanded use of the initiative and referendum 
process in many States. 
(8) Voting by mail is cost effective. After the 
State of Oregon adopted vote by mail for all voters 
in 1996, the cost to administer an election in the 
State dropped by nearly 30 percent over the next 
few elections, from $3.07 per voter to $2.21 per 
voter. After Colorado implemented all-mail balloting 
in 2013, voting administration costs decreased by an 
average of 40 percent. The cost of conducting vote- 
by-mail elections is generally one-third to one-half 
less than conducting polling place elections. Voting 
by mail also saves a substantial amount by getting 
rid of the temporary labor costs of hiring poll work-
ers. In addition to that cost, many jurisdictions have 
been facing difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers 
of poll workers. 
(9) Allowing all voters the option to vote by 
mail can reduce waiting times for those voters who 
choose to vote at the polls. In 2016, voters in Ari-
zona reported waiting in line from 1 to 5 hours to 
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vote; in New York, voters reported that stations ran 
out of ballots and did not have staff during all of 
the hours scheduled for voting. 
(10) Voting by mail is preferable to many vot-
ers as an alternative to going to the polls. In 2018, 
25.3 percent of ballots in the United States were 
cast by mail, up from 10 percent in 2000. Voting by 
mail has become increasingly popular with voters 
who want to be certain that they are able to vote no 
matter what comes up on Election Day, as it re-
duces the physical obstacles and eases the time con-
straints connected with the act of voting. 
(11) Despite attempts to claim that voting by 
mail is susceptible to fraud, it is not. Strategies such 
as the tracking systems for ballots and Postal Serv-
ice cooperation in preventing ballots from being de-
livered to names not recognized as receiving mail at 
an address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud 
in vote by mail elections. Evidence of undue influ-
ence or voter coercion after vote-by-mail implementa-
tion in Oregon has been nonexistent to minimal. 
(12) Many of the reasons which voters in many 
States are required to provide in order to vote by 
mail require the revelation of personal information 
about health, travel plans, or religious activities, 
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which violate voters’ privacy while doing nothing to 
prevent voter fraud. 
(13) State laws which require voters to obtain 
a notary signature to vote by mail only add cost and 
inconvenience to voters without increasing security. 
(14) Many voters choose to cast ballots early 
when they have the option (over 50 percent in Ari-
zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Geor-
gia, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North 
Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and 
Washington). More than 40 percent of voters in the 
2016 election cast their ballot before Election Day. 
In Oregon, 7 years after vote-by-mail election imple-
mentation, over 80 percent of voters favored the 
vote-by-mail system. 
(15) Vote-by-mail typically increases turnout in 
all elections, but can be particularly effective in in-
creasing voter participation in special elections and 
primary elections. Oregon, Washington, and Colo-
rado, 3 of the 5 States with entirely vote by mail 
systems, continue to have consistently high voter 
turnout rates. In the 2016 Presidential election, 
while the percentage of registered voters who cast a 
ballot nationally was 68.1 percent, Oregon’s was 
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80.3 percent, Washington’s was 78.76 percent, and 
Colorado’s was 74.3 percent. 
(16) A crucial component of a modern voting 
system is making it easy, affordable, and accessible 
to register to vote. Twenty states and the District of 
Columbia have enacted automatic voter registration 
policies, with Oregon and California becoming the 
first to automatically register their citizens to vote 
when they apply for a driver’s license. Automatic, 
permanent voter registration has the potential to in-
crease participation, protect election integrity, and 
reduce registration costs. 
SEC. 3. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY MAIL 
IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) VOTING BY MAIL IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303 
the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 303A. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 
MAIL. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli-
gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 
State may not impose any additional conditions or require-
ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 
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in such election by mail, except to the extent that the 
State imposes a deadline for requesting the ballot and re-
lated voting materials from the appropriate State or local 
election official and for returning the ballot to the appro-
priate State or local election official. 
‘‘(b) PROVISION OF BALLOT MATERIALS.—Not later 
than 2 weeks before the date of any election for Federal 
office, each State shall mail ballots to individuals who are 
registered to vote in such election. 
‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS-
ABILITIES.—All ballots provided under this section shall 
be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner 
that provides the same opportunity for access and partici-
pation (including for privacy and independence) as for 
other voters. 
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 
to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 
polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 
‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A State shall be required 
to comply with the requirements of this section with re-
spect to elections for Federal office held in years beginning 
with 2022.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 
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U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ 
and inserting ‘‘303, and 303A’’. 
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents for such Act is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 303 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 303A. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’. 
(b) FREE POSTAGE FOR VOTING BY MAIL.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘§ 3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elec-
tions 
‘‘Blank ballots mailed pursuant to section 303A(b) 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 which are mailed 
by a State or local election official (individually or in bulk) 
to a voter, and voted ballots which are mailed by a voter 
to an election official, shall be carried expeditiously and 
free of postage.’’. 
(2) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
MENTS.— 
(A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of 
sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elections.’’. 
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(B) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403 
through 3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3403 through 
3407’’. 
SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH 
STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITIES. 
(a) AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION.—Section 5 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20504) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 5. VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH MOTOR VEHICLE 
AUTHORITY. 
‘‘(a) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REG-
ISTRATION
AND APPLICATION
FOR MOTOR VEHICLE 
DRIVER’S LICENSE.— 
‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO ELEC-
TION OFFICIALS.—Each State’s motor vehicle au-
thority, upon receiving any of the identifying infor-
mation described in paragraph (2) with respect to 
any applicable individual, shall securely transmit the 
identifying information to the appropriate State elec-
tion official. 
‘‘(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION DESCRIBED.— 
The identifying information described in this para-
graph with respect to any individual is as follows: 
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‘‘(A) The individual’s legal name. 
‘‘(B) The individual’s age. 
‘‘(C) The individual’s residence. 
‘‘(D) The individual’s citizenship status. 
‘‘(E) The individual’s electronic signature. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES OF OFFICIALS RECEIVING INFORMA-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving the identi-
fying information with respect to an applicable indi-
vidual under subsection (a), the appropriate State 
election official shall determine— 
‘‘(A) whether such individual is eligible to 
vote in an election for Federal office; and 
‘‘(B) whether such individual is currently 
registered to vote in elections for Federal office 
at the address provided in such identifying in-
formation. 
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO INDIVIDUALS.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE
UNREGISTERED
INDIVID-
UALS.—In the case of an applicable individual 
who is eligible to vote in an election for Federal 
office and who is not currently registered to 
vote, the appropriate State election official shall 
issue a notification to the individual con-
taining— 
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‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi-
vidual notifies the election official prior to 
the expiration of the 21-calendar day pe-
riod which begins on the date the official 
issued the notification that the individual 
declines to be registered to vote in elections 
for Federal office held in the State, the in-
dividual’s records and signature will con-
stitute a completed registration for the in-
dividual; and 
‘‘(ii) a description of the process by 
which the individual may decline to be reg-
istered to vote in elections for Federal of-
fice in the State. 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED 
AT A DIFFERENT ADDRESS.—In the case of an 
applicable individual who is eligible to vote in 
an election for Federal office and who is reg-
istered to vote in such election at a different 
address than the address provided in the identi-
fying information, the appropriate State elec-
tion official shall issue a notification to the indi-
vidual containing— 
‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi-
vidual notifies the election official prior to 
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‘‘(B) prior to the expiration of such 21-cal-
endar day period, the individual notifies the of-
ficial that the individual declines to be reg-
istered to vote in such elections. 
‘‘(2) CHANGE OF ADDRESS.—Upon the expira-
tion of the 21-calendar day period which begins on 
the date the appropriate State election official issues 
a notification to an individual under subsection 
(b)(2)(B), the official shall ensure that the indi-
vidual is registered to vote in elections for Federal 
office at the address provided in the identifying in-
formation unless— 
‘‘(A) the official later determines that the 
individual does not meet the eligibility require-
ments for registering to vote in such elections; 
or 
‘‘(B) prior to the expiration of such 21-cal-
endar day period, the individual notifies the of-
ficial that the individual declines a change of 
address for voter registration purposes. 
‘‘(d) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 
section, the term ‘applicable individual’ means any indi-
vidual who seeks assistance from, receives benefits from, 
or receives service or assistance from a State motor vehicle 
authority that issues motor vehicle driver’s licenses.’’. 
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO TIM-
ING OF REGISTRATION PRIOR TO ELECTIONS.—Section 
8(a)(1)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)(A)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(A) in the case of registration through a 
motor vehicle authority under section 5, if the 
identifying information with respect to the indi-
vidual is transmitted by the authority to the ap-
propriate State election official under section 
5(a)(1) not later than the lesser of 30 days, or 
the period provided by State law, before the 
date of the election;’’. 
(c) OTHER
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
4(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20503(a)(1)) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) through the State motor vehicle authority 
pursuant to section 5;’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 
180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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