Accessible Voting Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2941 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to increase voting accessibility for individuals with disabilities and older individuals, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2021 Ms. SCANLON (for herself and Mr. RASKIN) 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 increase voting accessibility for individuals with disabilities and older individuals, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Accessible Voting Act of 2021’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings; purpose. TITLE I—ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION OFFICE OF ACCESSIBILITY VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2941 IH Sec. 101. Establishment of the Election Assistance Commission Office of Acces- sibility. Sec. 102. National Resource Center on Accessible Voting. Sec. 103. Establishment of national voter accessibility website. TITLE II—STATE REQUIREMENTS AND PAYMENTS Sec. 201. Establishment and maintenance of State accessible election websites. Sec. 202. Designation of single State office. Sec. 203. Transparency regarding changes. Sec. 204. Access to absentee voter registration procedures and no-excuse absen- tee voting for all voters. Sec. 205. Protections for in-person voting for individuals with disabilities and older individuals. Sec. 206. Protections for individuals subject to guardianship. Sec. 207. Payments to States for implementation of accessibility requirements. Sec. 208. Technical and conforming amendments relating to issuance of vol- untary guidance and enforcement. TITLE III—FEDERAL ASSISTANCE Sec. 301. Expansion and reauthorization of grant program to assure voting ac- cess for individuals with disabilities and older individuals. Sec. 302. Study and report on accessible voting options. Sec. 303. Appointments to EAC Board of Advisors. Sec. 304. Removal of limitation on use of funds for participation of protection and advocacy systems in litigation related to election-related disability access. Sec. 305. Funding for protection and advocacy systems. SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Since its founding, America has steadily 3 worked to ensure the right to vote for all through 4 State law, Federal law, and constitutional amend- 5 ments. 6 (2) Almost a quarter of the electorate will be 65 7 years old or older in 2020. 8 (3) Of the 37,000,000 voting age individuals 9 with disabilities in America, an estimated 10 14,300,000 citizens with disabilities reported voting 11 in the November 2018 election. 12 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2941 IH (4) Older individuals who have been lifelong 1 voters and who now find it difficult to leave their 2 home often cannot vote in person. 3 (5) Despite Federal laws requiring fully acces- 4 sible voting places, barriers to vote for people with 5 disabilities and older individuals still exist. 6 (6) In 2016 only 40 percent of polling places 7 were architecturally accessible and only 45 percent 8 of voting booths were accessible. 9 (7) Combining deficiencies in architectural and 10 voting booth access, only 17 percent of polling places 11 could be considered fully accessible in 2016. 12 (8) People with disabilities voted at a rate of 13 4.7 percent less than non-disabled individuals in 14 2016. 15 (9) In 2017, the Native American Voting 16 Rights Coalition found that the distance needed to 17 travel to polling locations and drop off boxes for ab- 18 sentee ballots greatly affected the ability of Native 19 Americans to cast ballots. 20 (10) The National Congress of American Indi- 21 ans found that the turnout rate for Native Ameri- 22 cans and Alaska Native registered voters is between 23 5 to 14 percent lower than turnout rates of other ra- 24 cial and ethnic groups. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2941 IH (11) According to the United States Census 1 Bureau, there are nearly 26,000,000 individuals in 2 the United States with limited English proficiency 3 and more than 66,000,000 who speak a language 4 other than English at home. Americans with limited 5 English proficiency can face challenges when at- 6 tempting to register to vote and cast a ballot. 7 (12) A strong legislative focus on the needs of 8 older individuals, individuals with disabilities, Native 9 Americans, Alaska Natives, and individuals with lim- 10 ited proficiency in the English language is necessary 11 to remove obstacles to vote and ensure they can ex- 12 ercise their right to vote. 13 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to improve 14 access for older individuals, individuals with disabilities, 15 Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and individuals with 16 limited proficiency in the English language to register to 17 vote and to cast a ballot by— 18 (1) providing States and local governments with 19 resources to improve accessibility when registering to 20 vote, voting by absentee, and casting a ballot in per- 21 son; and 22 (2) expanding Federal oversight and support to 23 ensure greater accessibility to State voting systems. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2941 IH TITLE I—ELECTION ASSISTANCE 1 COMMISSION OFFICE OF AC- 2 CESSIBILITY 3 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE 4 COMMISSION OFFICE OF ACCESSIBILITY. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title II of the Help 6 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20921) is amended 7 by adding at the end the following new part: 8 ‘‘PART 4—ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 9 OFFICE OF ACCESSIBILITY 10 ‘‘SEC. 223. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION OFFICE OF 11 ACCESSIBILITY. 12 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 13 the Election Assistance Commission Office of Accessibility 14 (hereinafter in this part referred to as the ‘Office of Acces- 15 sibility’). 16 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Office of Accessibility shall— 17 ‘‘(1) serve as the effective and visible advocate 18 on behalf of voters with access needs, including older 19 individuals, individuals with disabilities, Native 20 Americans, Alaska Native citizens, and individuals 21 with limited proficiency in the English language— 22 ‘‘(A) within the Election Assistance Com- 23 mission and with other departments and agen- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2941 IH cies of the Federal Government regarding all 1 Federal policies affecting such individuals; and 2 ‘‘(B) in the States to promote the en- 3 hanced accessibility of voting systems and com- 4 pliance with this Act and other Federal law and 5 regulations; 6 ‘‘(2) ensure State and local election officials are 7 taking steps to maintain voting systems that meet 8 Department of Justice accessibility standards; 9 ‘‘(3) if the Director of the Office of Accessibility 10 finds that a State has not taken steps to meet such 11 standards, refer the finding to the Department of 12 Justice for enforcement; 13 ‘‘(4) evaluate State proposals to expand voter 14 accessibility in order to meet the requirements of 15 sections 304 through 309; 16 ‘‘(5) ensure State and local governments meet 17 the requirements of sections 304 through 309 (relat- 18 ing to accessible election websites and other accessi- 19 bility requirements), including through referral to 20 the Attorney General for action under section 401 as 21 appropriate; 22 ‘‘(6) administer and evaluate payments to 23 States for the establishment and maintenance of ac- 24 cessible election websites under section 297; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2941 IH ‘‘(7) establish and operate the National Re- 1 source Center on Accessible Voting under section 2 224; 3 ‘‘(8) establish the national voter accessibility 4 website under section 225; 5 ‘‘(9) collect and disseminate information related 6 to challenges experienced by older individuals, indi- 7 viduals with disabilities, Native Americans, Alaska 8 Natives, and individuals with limited proficiency in 9 the English language when registering to vote or 10 casting a ballot; and 11 ‘‘(10) recommend policies and priorities to im- 12 prove the accessibility of State voter registration sys- 13 tems, voting systems, the casting of ballots, and the 14 application for and casting of absentee ballots. 15 ‘‘(c) OBJECTIVES.—The Office of Accessibility shall 16 have the following primary objectives: 17 ‘‘(1) Educating State and local election officials 18 on the challenges faced by older individuals, individ- 19 uals with disabilities, Native Americans, Alaska Na- 20 tives, and individuals with limited proficiency in the 21 English language when voting, and teaching evi- 22 dence-based strategies for overcoming those chal- 23 lenges. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2941 IH ‘‘(2) Educating State and local election officials 1 regarding the needs of individuals with disabilities 2 and older individuals. 3 ‘‘(3) Providing educational resources in plain 4 language to older individuals and individuals with 5 disabilities on their rights and resources when reg- 6 istering to vote and voting. 7 ‘‘(4) Providing translated educational resources 8 for Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and individ- 9 uals with limited proficiency in the English language 10 on their rights and resources when registering to 11 vote and voting. 12 ‘‘(5) Studying potential improvements and pro- 13 viding strategies that State and local election offi- 14 cials may implement, and encouraging the enact- 15 ment of State or local laws as necessary for such im- 16 plementation, with the goal of— 17 ‘‘(A) ensuring that individuals with disabil- 18 ities and older individuals are provided the op- 19 portunity to cast a private and independent bal- 20 lot in person in an election for Federal office, 21 including— 22 ‘‘(i) identification of barriers to in- 23 person voting and strategies for remedi- 24 ating architectural, attitudinal, transpor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2941 IH tation, and other barriers to accessible in- 1 person voting; 2 ‘‘(ii) strategies to reduce adversely 3 long wait times for casting ballots; 4 ‘‘(iii) alternative options to cast a bal- 5 lot on the day of an election, such as pro- 6 viding the option to cast a ballot outside of 7 the polling place or from a vehicle; 8 ‘‘(iv) strategies and criteria to create 9 expedited voting lines for those needing 10 such service; or 11 ‘‘(v) the ability for an individual who 12 cannot physically wait in line to exit the 13 line without losing their place; 14 ‘‘(B) ensuring that individuals with disabil- 15 ities and older individuals are provided the op- 16 portunity to cast a private and independent ab- 17 sentee ballot, including— 18 ‘‘(i) ensuring the process for request- 19 ing and securing an absentee ballot is ac- 20 cessible to individuals with disabilities and 21 older individuals; 22 ‘‘(ii) ensuring the process for submit- 23 ting an absentee ballot is accessible to indi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2941 IH viduals with disabilities and older individ- 1 uals; and 2 ‘‘(iii) ensuring the process for mark- 3 ing an absentee ballot is accessible to indi- 4 viduals with disabilities and older individ- 5 uals; and 6 ‘‘(C) implementing policies that encourage 7 more individuals with disabilities and older indi- 8 viduals to serve as poll workers, including per- 9 mitting shorter shifts to accommodate individ- 10 uals who cannot work a full Election Day. 11 ‘‘(6) Promoting research into the use of acces- 12 sible ballot marking devices and educating State and 13 local election officials on the secure use of accessible 14 ballot marking devices. 15 ‘‘(d) DIRECTOR OF ACCESSIBILITY.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Accessibility 17 shall be headed by a Director of Accessibility (re- 18 ferred to in this part as the ‘Director’) who shall be 19 appointed by the Executive Director of the Election 20 Assistance Commission. 21 ‘‘(2) TERM OF SERVICE FOR THE DIRECTOR.— 22 The Director shall serve for a term of 4 years. The 23 term of the first individual appointed to the position 24 of Director shall end on January 3, 2026, and the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2941.IH H2941 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2941 IH term of each individual appointed for a full term to 1 the position of Director thereafter shall end on Jan- 2 uary 3 of each fourth year thereafter. 3 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURE FOR APPOINTMENT.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On the date that is 6 5 months prior to the date on which a vacancy is 6 scheduled to occur in the position of the Direc- 7 tor or the date on which the Director submits 8 a Letter of Resignation, the Election Assistance 9 Commission Standards Board and Election As- 10 sistance Commission Board of Advisors under 11 part 2 of this subtitle (hereafter in this part re- 12 ferred to as the ‘Standards Board’ and the 13 ‘Board of Advisors’, respectively), shall each ap- 14 point a search committee to recommend at least 15 three nominees for the position. 16 ‘‘(B) REQUIRING CONSIDERATION OF 17 NOMINEES.—The Executive Director of the 18 Election Assistance Commission shall consider 19 the nominees recommended by the Standards 20 Board and the Board of Advisors in appointing 21 the Director. 22 ‘‘(4) PROCEDURE FOR REAPPOINTMENT.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director may be 24 reappointed for one or more additional full 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 000 [Text truncated for display. 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