What This Bill Does
This bill requires states to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail in federal elections without needing an excuse. It also establishes automatic voter registration through state motor vehicle authorities. The bill aims to make voting more accessible and remove barriers that prevent people from casting ballots.
Who It Affects
Eligible voters in all states. State election officials. State motor vehicle authorities. The United States Postal Service.
Key Provisions
• States cannot add extra conditions for voters to cast ballots by mail in federal elections, except for setting reasonable deadlines to request and return ballots. (Sec. 303A(a))
• States must mail ballots to all registered voters at least two weeks before any federal election. (Sec. 303A(b))
• All ballots must be accessible to people with disabilities in the same way as for other voters, including privacy and independence. (Sec. 303A(c))
• When someone interacts with a state motor vehicle authority to get or renew a driver's license, the authority must send the person's information to election officials. (Sec. 5(a)(1))
• Election officials must notify eligible people not yet registered to vote. Those people have 21 days to decline registration or they are automatically registered. (Sec. 5(b)(2)(A) and Sec. 5(c)(1))
• Blank ballots and voted ballots sent through the mail for federal elections travel free of postage. (§ 3407)
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, every state must allow any eligible voter to request a mail-in ballot for federal elections without providing a reason. States must mail ballots to all registered voters before each federal election. Anyone who interacts with a state motor vehicle authority will have their information automatically sent to election officials, and they will be registered to vote unless they opt out within 21 days. Voters will not pay postage to mail their ballots back.
Important Definitions
"Applicable individual" means any person who seeks help from, receives benefits from, or gets services from a state motor vehicle authority that issues driver's licenses. (Sec. 5(d))
Effective Date
States must follow the mail voting rules starting with federal elections in 2024. (Sec. 303A(e)) The automatic voter registration changes take effect 180 days after the bill is signed into law. (Sec. 4(d))
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1439
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, and
for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 2023
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms.
SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. CASTOR of Florida,
Mr. MULLIN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. CASE, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. CARTER of Lou-
isiana, Mr. TAKANO, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administra-
tion, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability,
for a period to be subsequently determined 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, 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,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vote at Home Act of
2
2023’’.
3
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
4
Congress finds the following:
5
(1) An inequity of voting rights exists in the
6
United States because voters in some States have
7
the universal right to vote by mail while voters in
8
other States do not.
9
(2) Many voters often have work, family, or
10
other commitments that make getting to polls and
11
waiting in line on the date of an election difficult or
12
impossible. Many citizens with disabilities are phys-
13
ically unable to vote due to long lines, inadequate
14
parking, no curb cuts, steep ramps, and large
15
crowds. In 2012, 30 percent of voters with disabil-
16
ities had difficulty voting, and in 2016, nearly two-
17
thirds of the 137 polling places inspected on Elec-
18
tion Day had at least one impediment to people with
19
disabilities. However, with expanded access to mail-
20
in ballots, people with disabilities made large gains
21
in 2020 with a historic voter turnout surge.
22
(3) In 2020, despite a global pandemic, the
23
general election saw record high turnout as a result
24
of increased vote by mail options, which allowed vot-
25
ers to cast a ballot and stay safe at the same time.
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•HR 1439 IH
(4) 34 States and the District of Columbia cur-
1
rently allow universal absentee voting (also known as
2
‘‘no-excuse’’ absentee voting), which permits any
3
voter to request a mail-in ballot without providing a
4
reason for the request. No State which has imple-
5
mented no-excuse absentee voting has repealed it.
6
(5) 5 States currently hold elections entirely by
7
mail. 8 States proactively send all registered voters
8
a ballot to be submitted by mail or dropped off at
9
a designated location. At least 22 States currently
10
allow some elections to be conducted by mail, espe-
11
cially in large and rural jurisdictions where voting by
12
mail is especially convenient. Polling stations in
13
rural jurisdictions tend to have higher costs per
14
voter, smaller staffs, and limited resources. Trans-
15
portation is often a crucial barrier for rural voters.
16
(6) In 2020, in order to provide greater accessi-
17
bility and to protect the public health, 30 States
18
adopted or changed their laws for the general elec-
19
tion to allow voters to cast their ballots from home.
20
These changes included removing strict excuse re-
21
quirements or allowing COVID–19 concerns to be a
22
valid excuse to vote absentee, allowing ballot drop
23
boxes, offering prepaid postage on election mail and
24
proactively sending all active registered voters appli-
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•HR 1439 IH
cations to request an absentee ballot, with some even
1
skipping that step and sending the actual ballots.
2
(7) Voting by mail gives voters more time to
3
consider their choices, which is especially important
4
as many ballots contain greater numbers of ques-
5
tions about complex issues than in the past due to
6
the expanded use of the initiative and referendum
7
process in many States.
8
(8) Voting by mail is cost effective. After the
9
State of Oregon adopted vote by mail for all voters
10
in 1996, the cost to administer an election in the
11
State dropped by nearly 30 percent over the next
12
few elections, from $3.07 per voter to $2.21 per
13
voter. After Colorado implemented all-mail balloting
14
in 2013, voting administration costs decreased by an
15
average of 40 percent. The cost of conducting vote-
16
by-mail elections is generally one-third to one-half
17
less than conducting polling place elections. Voting
18
by mail also saves a substantial amount by getting
19
rid of the temporary labor costs of hiring poll work-
20
ers. In addition to that cost, many jurisdictions have
21
been facing difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers
22
of poll workers.
23
(9) Allowing all voters the option to vote by
24
mail can reduce waiting times for those voters who
25
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•HR 1439 IH
choose to vote at the polls. In 2016, voters in Ari-
1
zona reported waiting in line from 1 to 5 hours to
2
vote; in New York, voters reported that stations ran
3
out of ballots and did not have staff during all of
4
the hours scheduled for voting.
5
(10) Voting by mail is preferable to many vot-
6
ers as an alternative to going to the polls. In 2020,
7
43.2 percent of ballots in the United States were
8
cast by mail, up from 10 percent in 2000. Voting by
9
mail has become increasingly popular with voters
10
who want to be certain that they are able to vote no
11
matter what comes up on Election Day, as it re-
12
duces the physical obstacles and eases the time con-
13
straints connected with the act of voting.
14
(11) Despite attempts to claim that voting by
15
mail is susceptible to fraud, it is not. Strategies such
16
as the tracking systems for ballots and Postal Serv-
17
ice cooperation in preventing ballots from being de-
18
livered to names not recognized as receiving mail at
19
an address nearly eliminate the potential for fraud
20
in vote by mail elections. Evidence of undue influ-
21
ence or voter coercion after vote-by-mail implementa-
22
tion in Oregon has been nonexistent to minimal.
23
(12) Many of the reasons which voters in many
24
States are required to provide in order to vote by
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•HR 1439 IH
mail require the revelation of personal information
1
about health, travel plans, or religious activities,
2
which violate voters’ privacy while doing nothing to
3
prevent voter fraud.
4
(13) State laws which require voters to obtain
5
a notary signature to vote by mail only add cost and
6
inconvenience to voters without increasing security.
7
(14) Many voters choose to cast ballots early
8
when they have the option (over 50 percent in Ari-
9
zona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Geor-
10
gia, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North
11
Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and
12
Washington). Approximately 70 percent of voters in
13
the 2020 election cast their ballot before Election
14
Day. In Oregon, 7 years after vote-by-mail election
15
implementation, over 80 percent of voters favored
16
the vote-by-mail system.
17
(15) Vote-by-mail typically increases turnout in
18
all elections, but can be particularly effective in in-
19
creasing voter participation in special elections and
20
primary elections. Oregon, Washington, and Colo-
21
rado, 3 of the 5 States with entirely vote by mail
22
systems, continue to have consistently high voter
23
turnout rates. In 2020, the Presidential election
24
turnout was about 7 percentage points higher than
25
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•HR 1439 IH
in 2016, and turnout rates increased in every State
1
compared with 2016. In the 10 States where it rose
2
the most, 7 conducted their vote entirely or mostly
3
by mail, with 6 of those States having recently
4
adopted all-mail voting, either permanently (Utah
5
and Hawaii) or for the 2020 elections only.
6
(16) A crucial component of a modern voting
7
system is making it easy, affordable, and accessible
8
to register to vote. Twenty-two states and the Dis-
9
trict of Columbia have enacted automatic voter reg-
10
istration policies, with Oregon and California becom-
11
ing the first to automatically register their citizens
12
to vote when they apply for a driver’s license. Auto-
13
matic, permanent voter registration has the potential
14
to increase participation, protect election integrity,
15
and reduce registration costs.
16
SEC. 3. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY MAIL
17
IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.
18
(a) VOTING BY MAIL IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.—
19
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the
20
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081
21
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303
22
the following new section:
23
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•HR 1439 IH
‘‘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 requesting the ballot and re-
8
lated voting materials from the appropriate State or local
9
election official and for returning the ballot to the appro-
10
priate State or local election official.
11
‘‘(b) PROVISION OF BALLOT MATERIALS.—Not later
12
than 2 weeks before the date of any election for Federal
13
office, each State shall mail ballots to individuals who are
14
registered to vote in such election.
15
‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS-
16
ABILITIES.—All ballots provided under this section shall
17
be accessible to individuals with disabilities in a manner
18
that provides the same opportunity for access and partici-
19
pation (including for privacy and independence) as for
20
other voters.
21
‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
22
tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States
23
to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of
24
polling places at which individuals cast ballots.
25
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•HR 1439 IH
‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A State shall be required
1
to comply with the requirements of this section with re-
2
spect to elections for Federal office held in years beginning
3
with 2024.’’.
4
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO
5
ENFORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52
6
U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’
7
and inserting ‘‘303, and 303A’’.
8
(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
9
tents for such Act is amended by inserting after the
10
item relating to section 303 the following new item:
11
‘‘Sec. 303A. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’.
(b) FREE POSTAGE FOR VOTING BY MAIL.—
12
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39,
13
United States Code, is amended by adding at the
14
end the following:
15
‘‘§ 3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elec-
16
tions
17
‘‘Blank ballots mailed pursuant to section 303A(b)
18
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 which are mailed
19
by a State or local election official (individually or in bulk)
20
to a voter, and voted ballots which are mailed by a voter
21
to an election official, shall be carried expeditiously and
22
free of postage.’’.
23
(2) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
24
MENTS.—
25
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•HR 1439 IH
(A) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of
1
sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United
2
States Code, is amended by adding at the end
3
the following:
4
‘‘3407. Ballots provided for voting in Federal elections.’’.
(B)
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
5
TIONS.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, United
6
States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘3403
7
through 3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3403 through
8
3407’’.
9
SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH
10
STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITIES.
11
(a) AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION.—Section 5
12
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C.
13
20504) is amended to read as follows:
14
‘‘SEC. 5. VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH MOTOR VEHICLE
15
AUTHORITY.
16
‘‘(a) SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REG-
17
ISTRATION
AND APPLICATION
FOR MOTOR VEHICLE
18
DRIVER’S LICENSE.—
19
‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO ELEC-
20
TION OFFICIALS.—Each State’s motor vehicle au-
21
thority, upon receiving any of the identifying infor-
22
mation described in paragraph (2) with respect to
23
any applicable individual, shall securely transmit the
24
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•HR 1439 IH
identifying information to the appropriate State elec-
1
tion official.
2
‘‘(2) IDENTIFYING INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—
3
The identifying information described in this para-
4
graph with respect to any individual is as follows:
5
‘‘(A) The individual’s legal name.
6
‘‘(B) The individual’s age.
7
‘‘(C) The individual’s residence.
8
‘‘(D) The individual’s citizenship status.
9
‘‘(E) The individual’s electronic signature.
10
‘‘(b) DUTIES OF OFFICIALS RECEIVING INFORMA-
11
TION.—
12
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving the identi-
13
fying information with respect to an applicable indi-
14
vidual under subsection (a), the appropriate State
15
election official shall dete
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]