Weekend Voting Act

Bill: 115-s-1828
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Reed, Jack [D-RI]
Introduced: 2017-09-18
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Congressional elections

Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Latest action: action_date: 2017-09-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S5804)

Summaries:
action_date: 2017-09-18
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Weekend Voting Act</b></p> <p>This bill amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to change the timing for regularly scheduled elections for the House of Representatives, Senate, and electors of the President and Vice President to the first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November.</p><p>Each state shall by law establish the hours of operation for polling places.</p> <p>This bill expresses the sense of Congress that the holding of elections over a weekend should be carried out in a manner which does not interfere with religious practices and should result in cost savings to the taxpayer.</p>

tv_txt: II 115th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1828 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 18, 2017 Mr. Reed (for himself, Ms. Klobuchar , Mr. Brown , Mr. King , Mr. Franken , and Mr. Whitehouse ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To change the date for regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office to the first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November in every even-numbered year.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Weekend Voting Act . 2. Weekend voting for regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office (a) Elections for House of Representatives and Senate Section 25 of the Revised Statutes of the United States ( 2 U.S.C. 7 ) is amended to read as follows: 25. Dates and time of elections (a) Dates of election The first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November, in every even-numbered year, are established as the dates for the election in each of the States of Representatives and Delegates to the next Congress commencing after the dates of the election. (b) Hours of operation of polling places Each State shall by law establish the hours of operation for polling places in the State on the dates of election established under subsection (a). (c) State defined In this section, the term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. . (b) Elections for President and Vice President (1) In general Section 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 1. Date and time of appointing electors (a) Dates of election The electors of President and Vice President shall be appointed, in each State, on the first Saturday and Sunday after the first Friday in November, in every fourth year succeeding every election of a President and Vice President. (b) Hours of operation of polling places Each State shall by law establish the hours of operation for polling places in the State on the dates of election established under subsection (a). . (2) Clerical amendment The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 3, United States Code, is amended by striking the item relating to section 1 and inserting the following: 1. Date and time of appointing electors. . (c) No interference with religious practices It is the sense of Congress that the holding of elections over a weekend, as established by this Act, should be carried out in a manner which does not interfere with religious practices. (d) Cost savings It is the sense of Congress that the holding of elections over a weekend, as established by this Act, should result in cost savings to the American taxpayer. (e) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office beginning with the elections held in November 2018.