Every Vote Counts Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3867 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit a State from establishing certain restrictions on voting by mail in an election for Federal office, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 14, 2021 Mrs. DEMINGS (for herself and Mr. SARBANES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a pe- riod to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for con- sideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit a State from establishing certain restrictions on voting by mail in an election for Federal office, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Every Vote Counts 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3867 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) Congress has the authority under article 1, 3 section 4 of the Constitution of the United States to 4 enact laws governing the time, place, and manner of 5 Federal elections. 6 (2) Congress has the authority under section 2 7 of the 15th Amendment to enforce the right of citi- 8 zens of the United States to vote, which shall not be 9 denied or abridged by the United States, by legisla- 10 tion. 11 (3) Section 1 of the 14th Amendment guaran- 12 tees due process of law and equal protection of the 13 laws. 14 (4) The right to vote is the foundation of Amer- 15 ican democracy. Voting provides the citizenry with a 16 vital check on their elected officials and grants peo- 17 ple the political power necessary to exercise and de- 18 fend the rights guaranteed by the United States 19 Constitution. 20 (5) As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explained in 21 a speech delivered on May 17, 1957, ‘‘So long as I 22 do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to 23 vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my 24 mind—it is made up for me. I cannot live as a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3867 IH democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped 1 to enact—I can only submit to the edict of others’’. 2 (6) The right to vote for all Americans is fun- 3 damental and rules for voting and election adminis- 4 tration should protect the right to vote and promote 5 voter participation. 6 (7) Waiting in long lines discourages people 7 from voting, undermines confidence in the electoral 8 system, and imposes economic costs on voters. 9 (8) Multiple studies have shown that voters of 10 all races are more likely to wait in line to vote longer 11 in counties with higher population density, and 12 Latino and Black voters disproportionately live in 13 these areas. 14 (9) One way voting in communities of color has 15 been suppressed is through long waits at polling lo- 16 cations. Studies have shown a number of contrib- 17 uting factors, including the drastic reduction of early 18 voting days, poor allocation of resources to certain 19 communities, cuts to election funding, and a reduc- 20 tion of polling locations. 21 (10) These problems led to the creation of the 22 bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Ad- 23 ministration, which issued a 2014 report that set 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3867 IH forth a standard: ‘‘No citizen should have to wait 1 more than 30 minutes to vote’’. 2 (11) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 3 and equal protection require an equal opportunity 4 for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal 5 elections. The right to vote may not be abridged or 6 denied by the United States or by any State on ac- 7 count of race, color, gender, or previous condition of 8 servitude. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 9 26th Amendments to the Constitution empower Con- 10 gress to enact measures to protect the right to vote 11 in Federal elections. The 8th Amendment to the 12 Constitution provides for no excessive bail to be re- 13 quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 14 unusual punishments inflicted. 15 (12) American Indian and Alaska Native voters 16 face unique obstacles in a vote-by-mail system. Trib- 17 al communities in rural areas often do not have tra- 18 ditional residential mailing addresses and have lim- 19 ited access to transportation. Tribal members have 20 distant rural post offices, slow mail routes, limited 21 numbers of post office operation, and too few post 22 office boxes. As a result, rural Tribal communities 23 require distinct voting accommodations to ensure 24 participation in a vote-by-mail system. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3867 IH (13) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Se- 1 curity Agency Elections Infrastructure Government 2 Coordinating Council and Sector Coordinating Coun- 3 cils Joint COVID Working Group designated ballot 4 drop boxes are a secure and convenient means for 5 votes to return their mail ballot. 6 (14) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Se- 7 curity Agency Elections Infrastructure Government 8 Coordinating Council and Sector Coordinating Coun- 9 cils Joint COVID Working Group says best practices 10 require one drop box for every 15,000 voters and no 11 more than 50 miles in between drop boxes in rural 12 areas. 13 SEC. 3. ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKING PROGRAM. 14 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 15 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) 16 is amended— 17 (1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 18 sections 305 and 306, respectively; and 19 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following 20 new section: 21 ‘‘SEC. 304. ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKING PROGRAM. 22 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall carry out a 23 program to track and confirm the receipt of absentee bal- 24 lots in an election for Federal office under which the State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3867 IH or local election official responsible for the receipt of voted 1 absentee ballots in the election carries out procedures to 2 track and confirm the receipt of such ballots, and makes 3 information on the receipt of such ballots available to the 4 individual who cast the ballot, by means of online access 5 using the Internet site of the official’s office. 6 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION ON WHETHER VOTE WAS 7 COUNTED.—The information referred to under subsection 8 (a) with respect to the receipt of an absentee ballot shall 9 include information regarding whether the vote cast on the 10 ballot was counted, and, in the case of a vote which was 11 not counted, the reasons therefor. 12 ‘‘(c) USE OF TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER BY 13 OFFICIALS WITHOUT INTERNET SITE.—A program estab- 14 lished by a State or local election official whose office does 15 not have an Internet site may meet the requirements of 16 subsection (a) if the official has established a toll-free tele- 17 phone number that may be used by an individual who cast 18 an absentee ballot to obtain the information on the receipt 19 of the voted absentee ballot as provided under such sub- 20 section. 21 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 22 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 23 Federal office held in November 2022 and each succeeding 24 election for Federal office.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3867 IH (b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS INCURRED BY 1 STATES IN ESTABLISHING PROGRAM.—Subtitle D of title 2 II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 3 15401 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing new part: 5 ‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES 6 FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING 7 PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RE- 8 CEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS 9 ‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 10 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF PROGRAM.—In ac- 11 cordance with this section, the Commission shall make a 12 payment to a State to reimburse the State for the costs 13 incurred in establishing the absentee ballot tracking pro- 14 gram under section 305 (including costs incurred prior to 15 the date of the enactment of this part). 16 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND COSTS.— 17 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 18 receive a payment under this section, a State shall 19 submit to the Commission a statement containing— 20 ‘‘(A) a certification that the State has es- 21 tablished an absentee ballot tracking program 22 with respect to elections for Federal office held 23 in the State; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3867 IH ‘‘(B) a statement of the costs incurred by 1 the State in establishing the program. 2 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 3 payment made to a State under this section shall be 4 equal to the costs incurred by the State in estab- 5 lishing the absentee ballot tracking program, as set 6 forth in the statement submitted under paragraph 7 (1), except that such amount may not exceed the 8 product of— 9 ‘‘(A) the number of jurisdictions in the 10 State which are responsible for operating the 11 program; and 12 ‘‘(B) $3,000. 13 ‘‘(3) LIMIT ON NUMBER OF PAYMENTS RE- 14 CEIVED.—A State may not receive more than one 15 payment under this part. 16 ‘‘SEC. 297A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 17 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 18 appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2022 and 19 each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary 20 for payments under this part. 21 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any 22 amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under 23 this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3867 IH (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN- 1 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 2 is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 3 inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 4 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 5 of such Act is amended— 6 (1) by adding at the end of the items relating 7 to subtitle D of title II the following: 8 ‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ES- TABLISHING PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS ‘‘Sec. 297. Payments to States. ‘‘Sec. 297A. Authorization of appropriations.’’; (2) by redesignating the items relating to sec- 9 tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 10 306, respectively; and 11 (3) by inserting after the item relating to sec- 12 tion 303 the following new item: 13 ‘‘Sec. 304. Absentee ballot tracking program.’’. SEC. 4. REQUIRING STATES TO PROVIDE SECURED DROP 14 BOXES FOR VOTED ABSENTEE BALLOTS IN 15 ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 16 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of the 17 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 18 as amended by section 3(a), is amended— 19 (1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as 20 sections 306 and 307, respectively; and 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3867 IH (2) by inserting after section 304 the following 1 new section: 2 ‘‘SEC. 305. USE OF SECURED DROP BOXES FOR VOTED AB- 3 SENTEE BALLOTS. 4 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING USE OF DROP BOXES.—In each 5 county in the State, each State shall provide in-person, 6 secured, and clearly labeled drop boxes at which individ- 7 uals may, at any time during the period described in sub- 8 section (b), drop off voted absentee ballots in an election 9 for Federal office. 10 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR AVAILABILITY OF DROP 11 BOXES.—The period described in this subsection is, with 12 respect to an election, the period which begins 45 days 13 before the date of the election and which ends at the time 14 the polls close for the election in the county involved. 15 ‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall ensure 17 that the drop boxes provided under this section are 18 accessible for use— 19 ‘‘(A) by individuals with disabilities, as de- 20 termined in consultation with the protection 21 and advocacy systems (as defined in section 102 22 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance 23 and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 24 15002)) of the State; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3867 IH ‘‘(B) by individuals with limited proficiency 1 in the English language. 2 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF ACCESSIBILITY FOR 3 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—For purposes of 4 this subsection, drop boxes shall be considered to be 5 accessible for use by individuals with disabilities if 6 the drop boxes meet such criteria as the Attorney 7 General may establish for such purposes. 8 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If a State pro- 9 vides a drop box under this section on the grounds 10 of or inside a building or facility which serves as a 11 polling place for an election during the period de- 12 scribed in subsection (b), nothing in this subsection 13 may be construed to waive any requirements regard- 14 ing the accessibility of such polling place for the use 15 of individuals with disabilities or individuals with 16 limited proficiency in the English language. 17 ‘‘(d) NUMBER OF DROP BOXES.— 18 ‘‘(1) FORMULA FOR DETERMINATION OF NUM- 19 BER.—The number of drop boxes provided under 20 this section in a county with respect to an election 21 shall be determined as follows: 22 ‘‘(A) In the case of a county in which the 23 number of individuals who are residents of the 24 county and who are registered to vote in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 Jul 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3867.IH H3867 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3867 IH election is equal to or great [Text truncated for display. 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