Voluntarily Offered Tools for Election Reforms by States Act

Bill: 118-hr-4407
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Feenstra, Randy [R-IA-4]
Introduced: 2023-06-30
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2023-06-30
text: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-06-30
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p><b>Voluntarily Offered Tools for Election Reforms by States Act or the VOTERS Act</b></p> <p>This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission's Standards Board to release voluntary considerations from states with respect to the administration of federal elections. The board must examine and consolidate information provided by states and release considerations with respect to specified categories (e.g., processes for the administration of ballots delivered by mail, methods used to recruit poll workers, and procedures used to carry out postelection audits).</p> <p>The bill allows states to use certain grant funds to implement any of the released voluntary considerations.</p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4407 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 30, 2023 Mr. Feenstra 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 direct the Standards Board of the Election Assistance Commission to release voluntary considerations with respect to the administration of elections for Federal office.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Voluntarily Offered Tools for Election Reforms by States Act or the VOTERS Act . 2. Election integrity voluntary considerations (a) In general Subtitle C of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 20981 et seq. ) is amended— (1) by redesignating section 247 as section 248; and (2) by inserting after section 246 the following new section: 247. Release of voluntary considerations by Standards Board with respect to election administration (a) In general The Standards Board shall draw from experiences in their home jurisdictions and information voluntarily provided by and between States on what has worked and not worked and release voluntary considerations with respect to the administration of an election for Federal office. (b) Matters To consider In releasing the voluntary considerations under subsection (a), the Standards Board shall examine and consolidate information provided by States and release considerations with respect to each of the following categories: (1) The process for the administration of ballots delivered by mail, including— (A) deadlines for the return and receipt of such ballots to the appropriate election official; (B) the design of such ballots, including the envelopes used to deliver the ballots; (C) the process for requesting and tracking the return of such ballots; and (D) the processing of such ballots upon receipt by the appropriate election official, including the schedule for counting the ballots and the reporting of the unofficial results of such counting. (2) The signature verification procedures used to verify the identity of voters in an election, which shall include an evaluation of human and machine methods of signature verification, an assessment of the training provided to individuals tasked to carry out such verification procedures, and the proposal of other less subjective methods of confirming the identity of a voter such as requiring the identification number of a valid government-issued photo identification or the last four digits of the voter’s social security number to be provided along with the voter’s signature. (3) The processes used to carry out maintenance of the official list of persons registered to vote in each State. (4) Rules and requirements with respect to the access provided to election observers. (5) The processes used to ensure the timely and accurate reporting of the unofficial results of ballot counting in each polling place in a State and the reporting of the unofficial results of such counting. (6) The methods used to recruit poll workers and designate the location of polling places during a pandemic, natural disaster, or other emergency. (7) The education of the public with respect to the certification and testing of voting machines prior to the use of such machines in an election for Federal office, including education with respect to how such machines are tested for accuracy and logic. (8) The processes and procedures used to carry out a post-election audit. (9) The processes and procedures used to ensure a secure chain of custody with respect to ballots and election equipment. (c) Release of voluntary considerations (1) Deadline for release Not later than December 31, 2024, the Standards Board shall release voluntary considerations with respect to each of the categories described in subsection (b). (2) Transmission and notification requirements Not later than 15 days after the date the Standards Board releases voluntary considerations with respect to a category described in subsection (b), the Commission shall— (A) transmit the considerations to the chief State election official of each State and the elected leadership of the legislature of each State, including the elected leadership of any committee of the legislature of a State with jurisdiction with respect to elections; (B) make the considerations available on a publicly accessible Government website; and (C) notify and transmit the considerations to the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives and the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate. (d) Use of requirements payments for implementation of voluntary considerations A State may use a requirements payment provided under this Act to implement any of the voluntary considerations released under subsection (a). (e) Rule of construction Nothing in this section may be construed— (1) to require compliance with the voluntary considerations released under subsection (a), including as a condition of the receipt of Federal funds; or (2) to treat the lack of compliance with such considerations as a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 or to treat compliance with such considerations as a defense against an alleged violation of such Act. . (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents of such Act is amended— (1) by redesignating the item relating to section 247 as relating to section 248; and (2) by inserting after the item relating to section 246 the following new item: Sec. 247. Release of voluntary considerations by Standards Board with respect to election administration. .