I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 776 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to provide 
secured drop boxes for voted absentee ballots in an election for Federal 
office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 3, 2021 
Ms. SCANLON (for herself, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, and Ms. ESCOBAR) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require 
States to provide secured drop boxes for voted absentee 
ballots 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 ‘‘Dropbox Access Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REQUIRING STATES TO PROVIDE SECURED DROP 
BOXES FOR VOTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS IN 
ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—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. USE OF SECURED DROP BOXES FOR VOTED AB-
SENTEE BALLOTS. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING USE OF DROP BOXES.—In each 
county in the State, each State shall provide in-person, 
secured, and clearly labeled drop boxes at which individ-
uals may, at any time during the period described in sub-
section (b), drop off voted absentee ballots in an election 
for Federal office. 
‘‘(b) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR AVAILABILITY OF DROP 
BOXES.—The period described in this subsection is, with 
respect to an election, the period which begins 45 days 
before the date of the election and which ends at the time 
the polls close for the election in the county involved. 
‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State shall ensure 
that the drop boxes provided under this section are 
accessible for use— 
‘‘(A) by individuals with disabilities, as de-
termined in consultation with the protection 
and advocacy systems (as defined in section 102 
of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance 
and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 
15002)) of the State; and 
‘‘(B) by individuals with limited proficiency 
in the English language. 
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF ACCESSIBILITY FOR 
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—For purposes of 
this subsection, drop boxes shall be considered to be 
accessible for use by individuals with disabilities if 
the drop boxes meet such criteria as the Attorney 
General may establish for such purposes. 
‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If a State pro-
vides a drop box under this section on the grounds 
of or inside a building or facility which serves as a 
polling place for an election during the period de-
scribed in subsection (b), nothing in this subsection 
may be construed to waive any requirements regard-
ing the accessibility of such polling place for the use 
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of individuals with disabilities or individuals with 
limited proficiency in the English language. 
‘‘(d) NUMBER OF DROP BOXES.— 
‘‘(1) FORMULA FOR DETERMINATION OF NUM-
BER.—The number of drop boxes provided under 
this section in a county with respect to an election 
shall be determined as follows: 
‘‘(A) In the case of a county in which the 
number of individuals who are residents of the 
county and who are registered to vote in the 
election is equal to or greater than 20,000, the 
number of drop boxes shall be a number equal 
to or greater than the number of such individ-
uals divided by 20,000 (rounded to the nearest 
whole number). 
‘‘(B) In the case of any other county, the 
number of drop boxes shall be equal to or 
greater than one. 
‘‘(2) TIMING.—For purposes of this subsection, 
the number of individuals who reside in a county 
and who are registered to vote in the election shall 
be determined as of the 90th day before the date of 
the election. 
‘‘(e) LOCATION OF DROP BOXES.—The State shall 
determine the location of drop boxes provided under this 
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section in a county on the basis of criteria which ensure 
that the drop boxes are— 
‘‘(1) available to all voters on a non-discrimina-
tory basis; 
‘‘(2) accessible to voters with disabilities (in ac-
cordance with subsection (c)); 
‘‘(3) accessible by public transportation to the 
greatest extent possible; 
‘‘(4) available during all hours of the day; and 
‘‘(5) sufficiently available in all communities in 
the county, including rural communities and on 
Tribal lands within the county (subject to subsection 
(f)). 
‘‘(f) RULES FOR DROP BOXES ON TRIBAL LANDS.— 
In making a determination of the number and location of 
drop boxes provided under this section on Tribal lands in 
a county, the appropriate State and local election officials 
shall— 
‘‘(1) consult with Tribal leaders prior to making 
the determination; and 
‘‘(2) take into account criteria such as the 
availability of direct-to-door residential mail delivery, 
the distance and time necessary to travel to the drop 
box locations (including in inclement weather), 
modes of transportation available, conditions of 
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roads, and the availability (if any) of public trans-
portation. 
‘‘(g) POSTING OF INFORMATION.—On or adjacent to 
each drop box provided under this section, the State shall 
post information on the requirements that voted absentee 
ballots must meet in order to be counted and tabulated 
in the election. 
‘‘(h) 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.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN-
FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘and 
303’’ and inserting ‘‘303, and 304’’. 
(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, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 303 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Use of secured drop boxes for voted absentee ballots.’’. 
Æ 
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