Vote By Mail Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 26 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. MUR- RAY, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. WARREN, and Mr. CARPER) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 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 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 26 IS (1) An inequity of voting rights exists in the 1 United States because voters in some States have 2 the universal right to vote by mail while voters in 3 other States do not. 4 (2) Many voters often have work, family, or 5 other commitments that make getting to polls and 6 waiting in line on the date of an election difficult or 7 impossible. Many citizens with disabilities are phys- 8 ically unable to vote due to long lines, inadequate 9 parking, no curb cuts, steep ramps, and large 10 crowds. In 2012, 30 percent of voters with disabil- 11 ities had difficulty voting, and more than 5,000,000 12 voters waited more than an hour to vote. Under cur- 13 rent State laws, many of these voters are not per- 14 mitted to vote by mail. 15 (3) Twenty-eight States currently allow uni- 16 versal absentee voting (also known as ‘‘no-excuse’’ 17 absentee voting), which permits any voter to request 18 a mail-in ballot without providing a reason for the 19 request. No State which has implemented no-excuse 20 absentee voting has repealed it. 21 (4) Three States currently hold elections en- 22 tirely by mail. Twenty-two States currently allow 23 some elections to be conducted by mail, especially in 24 large and rural jurisdictions where voting by mail is 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 26 IS especially convenient. Polling stations in rural juris- 1 dictions tend to have higher costs per voter, smaller 2 staffs, and limited resources. Transportation is often 3 a crucial barrier for rural voters. 4 (5) Voting by mail gives voters more time to 5 consider their choices, which is especially important 6 as many ballots contain greater numbers of ques- 7 tions about complex issues than in the past due to 8 the expanded use of the initiative and referendum 9 process in many States. 10 (6) Voting by mail is cost effective. After the 11 State of Oregon adopted vote by mail for all voters 12 in 1996, the cost to administer an election in the 13 State dropped by nearly 30 percent over the next 14 few elections, from $3.07 per voter to $2.21 per 15 voter. After Colorado implemented all-mail balloting 16 in 2013, voting administration costs decreased by an 17 average of 40 percent. The cost of conducting vote- 18 by-mail elections is generally one-third to one-half 19 less than conducting polling place elections. Voting 20 by mail also saves a substantial amount by getting 21 rid of the temporary labor costs of hiring poll work- 22 ers. In addition to that cost, many jurisdictions have 23 been facing difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers 24 of poll workers. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 26 IS (7) Allowing all voters the option to vote by 1 mail can reduce waiting times for those voters who 2 choose to vote at the polls. In 2016, voters in Ari- 3 zona reported waiting in line from 1 to 5 hours to 4 vote; in New York, voters reported that stations ran 5 out of ballots and did not have staff during all of 6 the hours scheduled for voting. 7 (8) Voting by mail is preferable to many voters 8 as an alternative to going to the polls. In 2016, 24 9 percent of ballots in the United States were cast by 10 mail, up from 10 percent in 2000. In 2016, nearly 11 58 percent of California voters chose to vote by mail. 12 Voting by mail has become increasingly popular with 13 voters who want to be certain that they are able to 14 vote no matter what comes up on election day, as it 15 reduces the physical obstacles and eases the time 16 constraints connected with the act of voting. 17 (9) The signature verification process, the 18 tracking system for each ballot, and postal service 19 cooperation in preventing ballots from being deliv- 20 ered to names not recognized as receiving mail at an 21 address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud in 22 vote by mail elections. Evidence of undue influence 23 or voter coercion after vote-by-mail implementation 24 in Oregon has been nonexistent to minimal. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 26 IS (10) Many of the reasons which voters in many 1 States are required to provide in order to vote by 2 mail require the revelation of personal information 3 about health, travel plans, or religious activities, 4 which violate voters’ privacy while doing nothing to 5 prevent voter fraud. 6 (11) State laws which require voters to obtain 7 a notary signature to vote by mail only add cost and 8 inconvenience to voters without increasing security. 9 (12) Many voters choose to cast ballots early 10 when they have the option (over 50 percent in Ari- 11 zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Geor- 12 gia, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North 13 Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and 14 Washington). More than 40 percent of voters in the 15 2016 election cast their ballot before election day. In 16 Oregon, 7 years after vote-by-mail election imple- 17 mentation, over 80 percent of voters favored the 18 vote-by-mail system. 19 (13) Vote-by-mail typically increases turnout in 20 all elections, but can be particularly effective in in- 21 creasing voter participation in special elections and 22 primary elections. Oregon, Washington, and Colo- 23 rado, the 3 States with entirely vote by mail elec- 24 tions, continue to have consistently high voter turn- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 26 IS out rates. In the 2016 Presidential election, while 1 the percentage of registered voters who cast a ballot 2 nationally was 68.1 percent, Oregon’s was 80.3 per- 3 cent, Washington’s was 78.76 percent, and Colo- 4 rado’s was 74.3 percent. 5 (14) A crucial component of a modern voting 6 system is making it easy, affordable, and accessible 7 to register to vote. Thirty States introduced auto- 8 matic voter registration legislation in the first 4 9 months of 2017, and 7 States plus the District of 10 Columbia automatically register their citizens to vote 11 when they apply for or renew a driver’s license. 12 Automatic, permanent voter registration has the po- 13 tential to increase participation, protect election in- 14 tegrity, and reduce registration costs. 15 SEC. 3. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY MAIL 16 IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 17 (a) VOTING BY MAIL IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 19 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 20 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303 21 the following new section: 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 26 IS ‘‘SEC. 303A. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 1 MAIL. 2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli- 3 gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 4 State may not impose any additional conditions or require- 5 ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 6 in such election by mail, except to the extent that the 7 State imposes a deadline for returning the ballot to the 8 appropriate State or local election official. 9 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF BALLOT MATERIALS.—Not later 10 than 2 weeks before the date of any election for Federal 11 office, each State shall mail ballots to individuals who are 12 registered to vote in such election. 13 ‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS- 14 ABILITIES.—All ballots provided under this section shall 15 be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner 16 that provides the same opportunity for access and partici- 17 pation (including for privacy and independence) as for 18 other voters. 19 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 20 tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 21 to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 22 polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 23 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A State shall be required 24 to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) with re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 26 IS spect to elections for Federal office held in years beginning 1 with 2020.’’. 2 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 3 ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 4 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ 5 and inserting ‘‘303, and 303A’’. 6 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 7 tents for such Act is amended by inserting after the 8 item relating to section 303 the following new item: 9 ‘‘Sec. 303A. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’. (b) FREE POSTAGE FOR VOTING BY MAIL.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 11 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 12 end the following: 13 ‘‘§ 3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elec- 14 tions 15 ‘‘Ballots mailed pursuant to section 303A(b) of the 16 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (individually or in bulk) 17 shall be carried expeditiously and free of postage.’’. 18 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND- 19 MENTS.— 20 (A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of 21 sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 22 States Code, is amended by adding at the end 23 the following: 24 ‘‘3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elections.’’. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 26 IS (B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA- 1 TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United 2 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403 3 through 3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3403 through 4 3407’’. 5 SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH 6 STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITIES. 7 (a) AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION.—Section 5 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 9 20504) is amended to read as follows: 10 ‘‘SEC. 5. VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH MOTOR VEHICLE 11 AUTHORITY. 12 ‘‘(a) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REG- 13 ISTRATION AND APPLICATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLE 14 DRIVER’S LICENSE.— 15 ‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO ELEC- 16 TION OFFICIALS.—Each State’s motor vehicle au- 17 thority, upon receiving any of the identifying infor- 18 mation described in paragraph (2) with respect to 19 any applicable individual, shall securely transmit the 20 identifying information to the appropriate State elec- 21 tion official. 22 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION DESCRIBED.— 23 The identifying information described in this para- 24 graph with respect to any individual is as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 26 IS ‘‘(A) The individual’s legal name. 1 ‘‘(B) The individual’s age. 2 ‘‘(C) The individual’s residence. 3 ‘‘(D) The individual’s citizenship status. 4 ‘‘(E) The individual’s electronic signature. 5 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF OFFICIALS RECEIVING INFORMA- 6 TION.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving the identi- 8 fying information with respect to an applicable indi- 9 vidual under subsection (a), the appropriate State 10 election official shall determine— 11 ‘‘(A) whether such individual is eligible to 12 vote in an election for Federal office; and 13 ‘‘(B) whether such individual is currently 14 registered to vote in elections for Federal office 15 at the address provided in such identifying in- 16 formation. 17 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION TO INDIVIDUALS.— 18 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE UNREGISTERED INDIVID- 19 UALS.—In the case of an applicable individual 20 who is eligible to vote in an election for Federal 21 office and who is not currently registered to 22 vote, the appropriate State election official shall 23 issue a notification to the individual con- 24 taining— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 26 IS ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi- 1 vidual notifies the election official prior to 2 the expiration of the 21-calendar-day pe- 3 riod which begins on the date the official 4 issued the notification that the individual 5 declines to be registered to vote in elections 6 for Federal office held in the State, the in- 7 dividual’s records and signature will con- 8 stitute a completed registration for the in- 9 dividual; and 10 ‘‘(ii) a description of the process by 11 which the individual may decline to be reg- 12 istered to vote in elections for Federal of- 13 fice in the State. 14 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED 15 AT A DIFFERENT ADDRESS.—In the case of an 16 applicable individual who is eligible to vote in 17 an election for Federal office and who is reg- 18 istered to vote in such election at a different 19 address than the address provided in the identi- 20 fying information, the appropriate State elec- 21 tion official shall issue a notification to the indi- 22 vidual containing— 23 ‘‘(i) a statement that, unless the indi- 24 vidual notifies the election official prior to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jan 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S26.IS S26 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 26 IS the expiration of the 21-calendar-day pe- 1 riod which b [Text truncated for display. 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