Voting Access Act
Bill: H.R.1343 | Sponsor: Rep. Grijalva, Raúl M. (D-AZ)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Voting Access Act
This bill requires the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to establish national standards and conduct studies relating to federal elections.
Specifically, the EAC must establish national standards for the location and operation of polling places used in elections for federal office. These standards must include a requirement that no individual shall be required to wait longer than 30 minutes to cast a vote at a polling place.
The bill requires each state to comply with the national standards established by the EAC.
Additionally, the EAC must study (1) instances of the misidentification by election officials of the political party registration of individuals attempting to vote in primary elections for federal office, and (2) instances of states purging their official voter registration lists to automatically remove individuals who do not vote.

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to meet 
  standards for the location and operation of polling places used in 
elections for Federal office, including a standard requiring States to 
 ensure that no individual waits for longer than 30 minutes to cast a 
            vote at a polling place, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Voting Access Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIRING STATES TO MEET STANDARDS FOR LOCATION AND OPERATION 
              OF POLLING PLACES USED IN ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.

    (a) Establishment of Standards.--
            (1) In general.--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. COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS FOR LOCATION AND OPERATION OF 
              POLLING PLACES.

    ``(a) Compliance.--Each State shall comply with the standards 
established by the Commission under this section for the location and 
operation of polling places used in elections for Federal office.
    ``(b) Establishment of Standards.--
            ``(1) Standards described.--In consultation with the chief 
        State election officials of the States, the Commission shall 
        establish national standards for the location and operation of 
        polling places used in elections for Federal office (other than 
        sites used as polling places on dates other than the date of 
        the election), including the following:
                    ``(A) A requirement that no individual shall be 
                required to wait for longer than 30 minutes in order to 
                cast a vote at a polling place except in the event of 
                an emergency or natural disaster.
                    ``(B) Standards for determining the number of 
                polling places within a jurisdiction on the basis of 
                the voting age population of the jurisdiction, taking 
                into consideration factors which include the linguistic 
                preferences of voters in the jurisdiction, the 
                availability of same-day voter registration in the 
                jurisdiction, and other relevant factors.
                    ``(C) Standards for the nondiscriminatory placement 
                and location of polling places within a jurisdiction, 
                including standards to ensure that polling places are 
                accessible to voters with disabilities and voters using 
                public transportation.
                    ``(D) Standards for ensuring that each polling 
                place has sufficient resources, including voting 
                systems, ballots, and election officials, to meet the 
                requirement described in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(E) Standards for ensuring that voters are given 
                timely, accurate, and current information in clear and 
                concise language regarding ballot information and the 
                location of polling places.
                    ``(F) Best practices for preventing violations of 
                laws prohibiting the intimidation or harassment of 
                voters at polling places.
                    ``(G) Standards for ensuring and improving the 
                security of voting systems and polling places.
            ``(2) Process for establishment of standards.--The 
        establishment of the standards under this section shall be 
        carried out by the Commission in a manner that provides for 
        each of the following:
                    ``(A) Publication of notice of the proposed 
                standards in the Federal Register.
                    ``(B) An opportunity for public comment on the 
                proposed standards.
                    ``(C) Publication of the final standards in the 
                Federal Register.
    ``(c) Deadline; Effective Date.--The Commission shall establish the 
standards under this section not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this section, and each State shall comply with the 
standards with respect to all elections for Federal office held on or 
after the expiration of the 180-day period which begins on the date the 
Commission establishes the standards.''.
            (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act 
        is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 303 
        the following new item:

``Sec. 303A. Compliance with standards for location and operation of 
                            polling places.''.
    (b) Enforcement.--Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) is 
amended by striking ``and 303'' and inserting ``303, and 303A''.
    (c) Funding.--Section 257(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21007(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) For the first fiscal year during which States are 
        subject to the requirements of section 303A (relating to 
        standards established by the Commission for the location and 
        operation of polling places), such sums as are necessary for 
        requirements of payments to enable the States to meet the 
        requirements of such section.''.

SEC. 3. STUDIES AND REPORTS ON MISIDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUAL 
              POLITICAL PARTY REGISTRATION AND PURGING OF VOTER 
              REGISTRATION LISTS.

    (a) Studies.--
            (1) Misidentification of political party registration.--The 
        Election Assistance Commission shall conduct a study of 
        instances of the misidentification by election officials of the 
        political party registration of individuals attempting to vote 
        in primary elections for Federal office, including an analysis 
        of the frequency of such misidentification among various 
        jurisdictions.
            (2) Purging of voter rolls.--The Election Assistance 
        Commission shall conduct a study of instances in which States 
        carry out purges of the official voter registration list or 
        implement similar ``use it or lose it'' policies which 
        automatically remove individuals who fail to vote from the 
        official voter registration list.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report 
on the studies conducted under subsection (a), and shall include in the 
report such recommendations as the Commission considers appropriate--
            (1) to prevent and respond to the misidentification of an 
        individual's political party registration, including 
        recommendations to permit individuals to correct their 
        political party registration at the polling place on the date 
        of voting; and
            (2) to respond to purges of official voter registration 
        lists, including recommendations for notifying a registrant 
        when a State initiates a process to remove the registrant from 
        the list and providing instructions on how the registrant may 
        renew the registrant's registration.
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