Title: Election Certainty Act
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Election Certainty Act
This bill establishes certain requirements for delivered ballots in federal elections.
Specifically, the bill requires a ballot submitted by mail or otherwise delivered in a federal election, in order to be counted, to (1) include the signature of the voter, and (2) be received by the appropriate election official by the date of the election.
Further, the bill requires a ballot that is delivered by a third party on behalf of a voter to include the signature of the third party. It also restricts the types of individuals who can deliver such a ballot to certain family members of the voter.
The bill excludes absent uniformed service members and their family members from these requirements.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8815 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8815

    To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish certain 
  requirements with respect to a delivered ballot in an election for 
                Federal office, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 24, 2020

   Mr. LaMalfa (for himself, Mr. Budd, and Mr. Gibbs) introduced the 
     following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish certain 
  requirements with respect to a delivered ballot in an election for 
                Federal office, 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 ``Election Certainty Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO A DELIVERED BALLOT.

    (a) Requirements.--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. REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO A DELIVERED BALLOT.

    ``(a) In General.--A ballot submitted by mail or otherwise 
delivered in an election for Federal office shall not be counted unless 
such ballot--
            ``(1) includes the signature of the voter; and
            ``(2) is received by the appropriate election official by 
        the date of the election.
    ``(b) Ballots Delivered by a Third Party.--A ballot delivered to 
the appropriate election official in an election for Federal office by 
an individual who is not the voter shall not be counted unless the 
ballot includes the signature of the individual who delivers such 
ballot and such individual is one of the following family members of 
the voter:
            ``(1) A parent.
            ``(2) A spouse.
            ``(3) A child.
            ``(4) A grandparent.
            ``(5) A great-grandparent.
            ``(6) A grandchild.
            ``(7) A great-grandchild.
    ``(c) Exception.--This section shall not apply with respect to an 
absent uniformed services voter (as such term is defined in section 107 
of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 
20310).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Enforcement.--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 sections 304 and 
        305 as relating to sections 305 and 306, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the 
        following new item:

``Sec. 304. Requirements with respect to a delivered ballot.''.
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