Vote By Mail Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 92 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail in Federal elections, to amend the National Voter Reg- istration Act of 1993 to provide for automatic voter registration. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. SCHRADER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. DEUTCH, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. COOPER, Mr. SMITH of Wash- ington, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. SWALWELL of California, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail in Federal elections, to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to provide for automatic voter registration. 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 ‘‘Vote By Mail Act of 4 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 92 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) An inequity of voting rights exists in the 3 United States because voters in some States have 4 the universal right to vote by mail while voters in 5 other States do not. 6 (2) Many voters often have work, family, or 7 other commitments that make getting to polls and 8 waiting in line on the date of an election difficult or 9 impossible. Many citizens with disabilities are phys- 10 ically unable to vote due to long lines, inadequate 11 parking, no curb cuts, steep ramps, and large 12 crowds. In 2012, 30 percent of voters with disabil- 13 ities had difficulty voting, and more than 5,000,000 14 voters waited more than an hour to vote. Under cur- 15 rent State laws, many of these voters are not per- 16 mitted to vote by mail. 17 (3) Twenty-eight States currently allow uni- 18 versal absentee voting (also known as ‘‘no-excuse’’ 19 absentee voting), which permits any voter to request 20 a mail-in ballot without providing a reason for the 21 request. No State which has implemented no-excuse 22 absentee voting has repealed it. 23 (4) Three States currently hold elections en- 24 tirely by mail. Twenty-two States currently allow 25 some elections to be conducted by mail, especially in 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 92 IH large and rural jurisdictions where voting by mail is 1 especially convenient. Polling stations in rural juris- 2 dictions tend to have higher costs per voter, smaller 3 staffs, and limited resources. Transportation is often 4 a crucial barrier for rural voters. 5 (5) Voting by mail gives voters more time to 6 consider their choices, which is especially important 7 as many ballots contain greater numbers of ques- 8 tions about complex issues than in the past due to 9 the expanded use of the initiative and referendum 10 process in many States. 11 (6) Voting by mail is cost effective. After the 12 State of Oregon adopted vote by mail for all voters 13 in 1996, the cost to administer an election in the 14 State dropped by nearly 30 percent over the next 15 few elections, from $3.07 per voter to $2.21 per 16 voter. After Colorado implemented all-mail balloting 17 in 2013, voting administration costs decreased by an 18 average of 40 percent. The cost of conducting vote- 19 by-mail elections is generally one-third to one-half 20 less than conducting polling place elections. Voting 21 by mail also saves a substantial amount by getting 22 rid of the temporary labor costs of hiring poll work- 23 ers. In addition to that cost, many jurisdictions have 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 92 IH been facing difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers 1 of poll workers. 2 (7) Allowing all voters the option to vote by 3 mail can reduce waiting times for those voters who 4 choose to vote at the polls. In 2016, voters in Ari- 5 zona reported waiting in line from 1 to 5 hours to 6 vote; in New York, voters reported that stations ran 7 out of ballots and did not have staff during all of 8 the hours scheduled for voting. 9 (8) Voting by mail is preferable to many voters 10 as an alternative to going to the polls. In 2016, 24 11 percent of ballots in the United States were cast by 12 mail, up from 10 percent in 2000. Voting by mail 13 has become increasingly popular with voters who 14 want to be certain that they are able to vote no mat- 15 ter what comes up on election day, as it reduces the 16 physical obstacles and eases the time constraints 17 connected with the act of voting. 18 (9) The signature verification process, the 19 tracking system for each ballot, and postal service 20 cooperation in preventing ballots from being deliv- 21 ered to names not recognized as receiving mail at an 22 address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud in 23 vote-by-mail elections. Evidence of undue influence 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 92 IH or voter coercion after vote-by-mail implementation 1 in Oregon has been nonexistent to minimal. 2 (10) Many of the reasons which voters in many 3 States are required to provide in order to vote by 4 mail require the revelation of personal information 5 about health, travel plans, or religious activities, 6 which violate voters’ privacy while doing nothing to 7 prevent voter fraud. 8 (11) State laws which require voters to obtain 9 a notary signature to vote by mail only add cost and 10 inconvenience to voters without increasing security. 11 (12) Many voters choose to cast ballots early 12 when they have the option (over 50 percent in Ari- 13 zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Geor- 14 gia, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North 15 Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and 16 Washington). More than 40 percent of voters in the 17 2016 election cast their ballot before election day. In 18 Oregon, 7 years after vote-by-mail election imple- 19 mentation, over 80 percent of voters favored the 20 vote-by-mail system. 21 (13) Vote by mail typically increases turnout in 22 all elections, but can be particularly effective in in- 23 creasing voter participation in special elections and 24 primary elections. Oregon and Washington, the 2 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 92 IH States with the longest standing vote-by-mail sys- 1 tems, continue to have consistently high voter turn- 2 out rates. 3 (14) A crucial component of a modern voting 4 system is making it easy, affordable, and accessible 5 to register to vote. Eighteen States and the District 6 of Columbia introduced automatic voter registration 7 legislation in 2015, and Oregon and California now 8 automatically register their citizens to vote when 9 they apply for a driver’s license. Automatic, perma- 10 nent voter registration has the potential to increase 11 participation, protect election integrity, and reduce 12 registration costs. 13 SEC. 3. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY MAIL 14 IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 15 (a) VOTING BY MAIL IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 17 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 18 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303 19 the following new section: 20 ‘‘SEC. 303A. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 21 MAIL. 22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli- 23 gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 24 State may not impose any additional conditions or require- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 92 IH ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 1 in such election by mail, except to the extent that the 2 State imposes a deadline for returning the ballot to the 3 appropriate State or local election official. 4 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF BALLOT MATERIALS.—Not later 5 than 2 weeks before the date of any election for Federal 6 office, each State shall mail ballots to individuals who are 7 registered to vote in such election. 8 ‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS- 9 ABILITIES.—All ballots provided under this section shall 10 be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner 11 that provides the same opportunity for access and partici- 12 pation (including for privacy and independence) as for 13 other voters. 14 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 15 tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 16 to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 17 polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 18 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A State shall be required 19 to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) with re- 20 spect to elections for Federal office held in years beginning 21 with 2022.’’. 22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 23 ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 92 IH U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ 1 and inserting ‘‘303, and 303A’’. 2 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 3 tents for such Act is amended by inserting after the 4 item relating to section 303 the following new item: 5 ‘‘Sec. 303A. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’. (b) FREE POSTAGE FOR VOTING BY MAIL.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 7 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 8 end the following: 9 ‘‘§ 3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elec- 10 tions 11 ‘‘Ballots mailed pursuant to section 303A(b) of the 12 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (individually or in bulk) 13 shall be carried expeditiously and free of postage.’’. 14 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND- 15 MENTS.— 16 (A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of 17 sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end 19 the following: 20 ‘‘3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elections.’’. (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA- 21 TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United 22 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 92 IH through 3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3403 through 1 3407’’. 2 SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH 3 STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITIES. 4 (a) AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION.—Section 5 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 6 20504) is amended to read as follows: 7 ‘‘SEC. 5. VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH MOTOR VEHICLE 8 AUTHORITY. 9 ‘‘(a) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REG- 10 ISTRATION AND APPLICATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLE 11 DRIVER’S LICENSE.— 12 ‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO ELEC- 13 TION OFFICIALS.—Each State’s motor vehicle au- 14 thority, upon receiving any of the identifying infor- 15 mation described in paragraph (2) with respect to 16 any applicable individual, shall securely transmit the 17 identifying information to the appropriate State elec- 18 tion official. 19 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION DESCRIBED.— 20 The identifying information described in this para- 21 graph with respect to any individual is as follows: 22 ‘‘(A) The individual’s legal name. 23 ‘‘(B) The individual’s age. 24 ‘‘(C) The individual’s residence. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 92 IH ‘‘(D) The individual’s citizenship status. 1 ‘‘(E) The individual’s electronic signature. 2 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF OFFICIALS RECEIVING INFORMA- 3 TION.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving the identi- 5 fying information with respect to an applicable indi- 6 vidual under subsection (a), the appropriate State 7 election official shall determine— 8 ‘‘(A) whether such individual is eligible to 9 vote in an election for Federal office; and 10 ‘‘(B) whether such individual is currently 11 registered to vote in elections for Federal office 12 at the address provided in such identifying in- 13 formation. 14 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO INDIVIDUALS.— 15 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE UNREGISTERED INDIVID- 16 UALS.—In the case of an applicable individual 17 who is eligible to vote in an election for Federal 18 office and who is not currently registered to 19 vote, the appropriate State election official shall 20 issue a notification to the individual con- 21 taining— 22 ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi- 23 vidual notifies the election official prior to 24 the expiration of the 21-calendar-day pe- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H92.IH H92 khammond on DSK30JT082PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 92 IH riod which begins on the date the official 1 issued the notification that the individual 2 declines to be registered to vote in elections 3 for Federal office held in the State, the in- 4 dividual’s records and signature will con- 5 stitute a completed registration for the in- 6 dividual; and 7 ‘‘(ii) a description of the process by 8 which the individual may decline to be reg- 9 istered to vote in elections for Federal of- 10 fice in the State. 11 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED 12 AT A DIFFERENT ADDRESS.—In the case of an 13 applicable individual who is eligible to vote in 14 an election for Federal office and who is reg- 15 istered to vote in such election at a different 16 address than the address provided in the identi- 17 fying information, the appropriate State elec- 18 tion official shall issue a notification to the indi- 19 vidual containing— 20 ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi- 21 vidual notifies the election official prior to 22 the expiration of the 21-calendar-day pe- 23 riod which begins on the date the official 24 issued the notification that the address 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jan 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fm [Text truncated for display. 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