I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3867 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit a State from 
establishing certain restrictions on voting by mail in an election for 
Federal office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 14, 2021 
Mrs. DEMINGS (for herself and Mr. SARBANES) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in 
addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a pe-
riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con-
sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit 
a State from establishing certain restrictions on voting 
by mail in an election for Federal office, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Every Vote Counts 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Congress has the authority under article 1, 
section 4 of the Constitution of the United States to 
enact laws governing the time, place, and manner of 
Federal elections. 
(2) Congress has the authority under section 2 
of the 15th Amendment to enforce the right of citi-
zens of the United States to vote, which shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States, by legisla-
tion. 
(3) Section 1 of the 14th Amendment guaran-
tees due process of law and equal protection of the 
laws. 
(4) The right to vote is the foundation of Amer-
ican democracy. Voting provides the citizenry with a 
vital check on their elected officials and grants peo-
ple the political power necessary to exercise and de-
fend the rights guaranteed by the United States 
Constitution. 
(5) As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explained in 
a speech delivered on May 17, 1957, ‘‘So long as I 
do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to 
vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my 
mind—it is made up for me. I cannot live as a 
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democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped 
to enact—I can only submit to the edict of others’’. 
(6) The right to vote for all Americans is fun-
damental and rules for voting and election adminis-
tration should protect the right to vote and promote 
voter participation. 
(7) Waiting in long lines discourages people 
from voting, undermines confidence in the electoral 
system, and imposes economic costs on voters. 
(8) Multiple studies have shown that voters of 
all races are more likely to wait in line to vote longer 
in counties with higher population density, and 
Latino and Black voters disproportionately live in 
these areas. 
(9) 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. 
(10) These problems led to the creation of the 
bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Ad-
ministration, which issued a 2014 report that set 
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forth a standard: ‘‘No citizen should have to wait 
more than 30 minutes to vote’’. 
(11) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 
and equal protection require an equal opportunity 
for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal 
elections. The right to vote may not be abridged or 
denied by the United States or by any State on ac-
count of race, color, gender, or previous condition of 
servitude. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 
26th Amendments to the Constitution empower Con-
gress to enact measures to protect the right to vote 
in Federal elections. The 8th Amendment to the 
Constitution provides for no excessive bail to be re-
quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 
unusual punishments inflicted. 
(12) American Indian and Alaska Native voters 
face unique obstacles in a vote-by-mail system. Trib-
al communities in rural areas often do not have tra-
ditional residential mailing addresses and have lim-
ited access to transportation. Tribal members have 
distant rural post offices, slow mail routes, limited 
numbers of post office operation, and too few post 
office boxes. As a result, rural Tribal communities 
require distinct voting accommodations to ensure 
participation in a vote-by-mail system. 
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(13) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Se-
curity Agency Elections Infrastructure Government 
Coordinating Council and Sector Coordinating Coun-
cils Joint COVID Working Group designated ballot 
drop boxes are a secure and convenient means for 
votes to return their mail ballot. 
(14) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Se-
curity Agency Elections Infrastructure Government 
Coordinating Council and Sector Coordinating Coun-
cils Joint COVID Working Group says best practices 
require one drop box for every 15,000 voters and no 
more than 50 miles in between drop boxes in rural 
areas. 
SEC. 3. ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKING PROGRAM. 
(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, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 304. ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKING PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall carry out a 
program to track and confirm the receipt of absentee bal-
lots in an election for Federal office under which the State 
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or local election official responsible for the receipt of voted 
absentee ballots in the election carries out procedures to 
track and confirm the receipt of such ballots, and makes 
information on the receipt of such ballots available to the 
individual who cast the ballot, by means of online access 
using the Internet site of the official’s office. 
‘‘(b) INFORMATION
ON
WHETHER
VOTE
WAS 
COUNTED.—The information referred to under subsection 
(a) with respect to the receipt of an absentee ballot shall 
include information regarding whether the vote cast on the 
ballot was counted, and, in the case of a vote which was 
not counted, the reasons therefor. 
‘‘(c) USE OF TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER BY 
OFFICIALS WITHOUT INTERNET SITE.—A program estab-
lished by a State or local election official whose office does 
not have an Internet site may meet the requirements of 
subsection (a) if the official has established a toll-free tele-
phone number that may be used by an individual who cast 
an absentee ballot to obtain the information on the receipt 
of the voted absentee ballot as provided under such sub-
section. 
‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office held in November 2022 and each succeeding 
election for Federal office.’’. 
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(b) REIMBURSEMENT
FOR COSTS INCURRED
BY 
STATES IN ESTABLISHING PROGRAM.—Subtitle D of title 
II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 
15401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new part: 
‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES 
FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING 
PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RE-
CEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS 
‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 
‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF PROGRAM.—In ac-
cordance with this section, the Commission shall make a 
payment to a State to reimburse the State for the costs 
incurred in establishing the absentee ballot tracking pro-
gram under section 305 (including costs incurred prior to 
the date of the enactment of this part). 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND COSTS.— 
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 
receive a payment under this section, a State shall 
submit to the Commission a statement containing— 
‘‘(A) a certification that the State has es-
tablished an absentee ballot tracking program 
with respect to elections for Federal office held 
in the State; and 
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‘‘(B) a statement of the costs incurred by 
the State in establishing the program. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 
payment made to a State under this section shall be 
equal to the costs incurred by the State in estab-
lishing the absentee ballot tracking program, as set 
forth in the statement submitted under paragraph 
(1), except that such amount may not exceed the 
product of— 
‘‘(A) the number of jurisdictions in the 
State which are responsible for operating the 
program; and 
‘‘(B) $3,000. 
‘‘(3) LIMIT
ON
NUMBER
OF
PAYMENTS
RE-
CEIVED.—A State may not receive more than one 
payment under this part. 
‘‘SEC. 297A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2022 and 
each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary 
for payments under this part. 
‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any 
amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under 
this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 
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