I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5819 
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 
JULY 14, 2016 
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself and Mr. CICILLINE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and 
in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government 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 com-
mittee concerned 
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, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vote By Mail Act of 
2016’’. 
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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 more than 5,000,000 
voters waited more than an hour to vote. Under cur-
rent State laws, many of these voters are not per-
mitted to vote by mail. 
(3) Twenty-eight States currently allow uni-
versal 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 implemented no-excuse 
absentee voting has repealed it. 
(4) Three States currently hold elections en-
tirely by mail. Twenty-two States currently allow 
some elections to be conducted by mail, especially in 
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large and rural jurisdictions where voting by mail is 
especially convenient. Polling stations in rural juris-
dictions tend to have higher costs per voter, smaller 
staffs, and limited resources. Transportation is often 
a crucial barrier for rural voters. 
(5) 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. 
(6) 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 
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been facing difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers 
of poll workers. 
(7) 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 
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. 
(8) Voting by mail is preferable to many voters 
as an alternative to going to the polls. In 2012, 19 
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 mat-
ter what comes up on election day, as it reduces the 
physical obstacles and eases the time constraints 
connected with the act of voting. 
(9) The signature verification process, the 
tracking system for each ballot, and postal service 
cooperation in preventing ballots from being deliv-
ered to names not recognized as receiving mail at an 
address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud in 
vote-by-mail elections. Evidence of undue influence 
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or voter coercion after vote-by-mail implementation 
in Oregon has been nonexistent to minimal. 
(10) 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, 
which violate voters’ privacy while doing nothing to 
prevent voter fraud. 
(11) State laws which require voters to obtain 
a notary signature to vote by mail only add cost and 
inconvenience to voters without increasing security. 
(12) Many voters choose to cast ballots early 
when they have the option (over 40 percent in Ne-
vada, New Mexico, Texas, and Tennessee). Nearly 
one-third of voters in the 2012 election cast their 
ballot before election day, which is about double the 
rate of voters in 2000. In Oregon, 7 years after 
vote-by-mail election implementation, over 80 per-
cent of voters favored the vote-by-mail system. 
(13) Voting by mail typically increases turnout 
in all elections, but can be particularly effective in 
increasing voter participation in special elections and 
primary elections. Oregon and Washington, the 2 
States with the longest standing vote-by-mail sys-
tems, continue to have consistently high voter turn-
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out rates. In the 2012 primary elections, while the 
national average turnout was 18 percent, Oregon’s 
was 45 percent and Washington’s was 38 percent. 
(14) A crucial component of a modern voting 
system is making it easy, affordable, and accessible 
to register to vote. Eighteen States and the District 
of Columbia introduced automatic voter registration 
legislation in 2015, and Oregon and California now 
automatically register their citizens to vote when 
they apply for a driver’s license. Automatic, perma-
nent voter registration has the potential to increase 
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-
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ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 
in such election by mail, except to the extent that the 
State imposes a deadline for returning the ballot to the 
appropriate 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 subsection (a) with re-
spect to elections for Federal office held in years beginning 
with 2018.’’. 
(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 
‘‘Ballots mailed pursuant to section 303A(b) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (individually or in bulk) 
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.’’. 
(B) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United 
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403 
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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: 
‘‘(A) The individual’s legal name. 
‘‘(B) The individual’s age. 
‘‘(C) The individual’s residence. 
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