I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8754 
To require States to provide a minimum number of in-person, secured drop 
boxes in each county in the State at which individuals may drop off 
voted absentee ballots in elections for Federal office, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 16, 2020 
Ms. SCANLON (for herself, Ms. ESCOBAR, and Ms. GARCIA of Texas) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
Administration 
A BILL 
To require States to provide a minimum number of in- 
person, secured drop boxes in each county in the State 
at which individuals may drop off voted absentee ballots 
in elections 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 
of 2020’’. 
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SEC. 2. REQUIRING STATES TO PROVIDE SECURED DROP 
BOXES FOR VOTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS IN 
ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—The Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 
sections 305 and 306; 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 drop boxes at which individuals may, at any time 
during the period described in subsection (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 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS-
ABILITIES.—Each State shall ensure that the drop boxes 
provided under this section are accessible for use by indi-
viduals with disabilities. 
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‘‘(d) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER AND LOCATION 
OF DROP BOXES.—In determining the number and loca-
tion of drop boxes provided under this section, the State 
shall meet the following requirements: 
‘‘(1) The number of drop boxes provided by a 
State in a county shall be a number equal to or 
greater than the voting age population of the county 
divided by 15,000 (rounded to the nearest whole 
number). 
‘‘(2) The number and location of drop boxes 
within particular areas of the county shall be deter-
mined by applying such factors as will provide the 
maximum accessibility to the drop boxes for the 
greatest number of voters in the county, without re-
gard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sex-
ual orientation, gender identity, age, or disability 
status. 
‘‘(3) The drop boxes shall be placed at locations 
which are convenient for use by individuals who use 
public transportation. 
‘‘(4) The State shall ensure that drop boxes 
provided in a county are located in urban, suburban, 
and rural communities (if any) within the county 
and on Tribal lands (if any) within the county, 
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based on the density of the population in such com-
munities.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN-
FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (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; 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.’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to elections held dur-
ing 2021 or any succeeding year. 
Æ 
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