I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1546 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish a minimum 
period for early voting in elections for Federal office. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 5, 2019 
Ms. WILD (for herself, Mr. SOTO, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. ROUDA, Mr. 
LUJA´N, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. COOPER, Mr. DELGADO, Ms. 
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. TITUS, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, and Ms. NOR-
TON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on House Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish 
a minimum period for early voting in elections for Fed-
eral office. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. EARLY VOTING. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 
sections 305 and 306; and 
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(2) by inserting after section 303 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 304. EARLY VOTING. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING VOTING PRIOR TO DATE OF ELEC-
TION.— 
‘‘(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 4 hours 
on each day, except that the polling place may allow 
such voting for fewer than 4 hours on Sundays; and 
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‘‘(2) have uniform hours each day for which 
such voting occurs. 
‘‘(c) LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES NEAR PUBLIC 
TRANSPORTATION.—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 trans-
portation route. 
‘‘(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-
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) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 
2020.’’. 
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(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS-
SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 21101(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(2); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 
respect to section 304, June 30, 2020.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 
306; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 303 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Early voting.’’. 
Æ 
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