Polling Place Protection Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 955 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to reduce waiting times for voters in Federal elections. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 28, 2019 Mr. MERKLEY introduced the following 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 reduce waiting times for voters in Federal elections. 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 ‘‘Polling Place Protec- 4 tion Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. REDUCING WAITING TIMES FOR VOTERS IN FED- 6 ERAL ELECTIONS. 7 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 955 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 1 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 2 et seq.) is amended— 3 (A) by redesignating sections 304 as sec- 4 tion 307; and 5 (B) by inserting after section 303 the fol- 6 lowing new section: 7 ‘‘SEC. 304. PREVENTING UNREASONABLE WAITING TIMES 8 FOR VOTERS. 9 ‘‘(a) PREVENTING UNREASONABLE WAITING 10 TIMES.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State and jurisdiction 12 which is responsible for administering elections for 13 Federal office shall provide a sufficient number of 14 voting systems, poll workers, and other election re- 15 sources, including physical resources, at a polling 16 place used in any election for Federal office, includ- 17 ing a polling place at which individuals may cast bal- 18 lots prior to the date of the election, to ensure— 19 ‘‘(A) a reasonably uniform ratio of election 20 staff and voting systems to registered voters in 21 the jurisdiction; 22 ‘‘(B) a reasonably uniform and geographic 23 distribution of polling places to ensure that all 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 955 IS voters in a jurisdiction have equal access to 1 polling places; 2 ‘‘(C) a fair and equitable waiting time for 3 all voters in the State; and 4 ‘‘(D) that no individual will be required to 5 wait longer than 30 minutes to cast a ballot at 6 the polling place. 7 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—In determining the number of 8 voting systems, poll workers, and other election re- 9 sources provided at a polling place for purposes of 10 paragraph (1), the jurisdiction shall take into ac- 11 count the following factors: 12 ‘‘(A) The voting age population. 13 ‘‘(B) Voter turnout in past and similar 14 elections. 15 ‘‘(C) The number of voters registered. 16 ‘‘(D) The number of voters who have reg- 17 istered since the most recent Federal election. 18 ‘‘(E) Census data for the population served 19 by the polling place, such as the proportion of 20 the voting age population who are under 25 21 years of age or who are naturalized citizens. 22 ‘‘(F) The needs and numbers of voters 23 with disabilities and voters with limited English 24 proficiency. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 955 IS ‘‘(G) The type of voting systems used. 1 ‘‘(H) The length and complexity of initia- 2 tives, referenda, and other questions on the bal- 3 lot. 4 ‘‘(I) Complaints received during and fol- 5 lowing prior elections about long wait times or 6 other problems voters experienced at polling 7 places in the jurisdiction, including whether and 8 in which ways polling places worked to remedy 9 such complaints. 10 ‘‘(J) Such other factors, if available, in- 11 cluding relevant demographic factors relating to 12 the population served by the polling place deter- 13 mined by the State or jurisdiction. 14 ‘‘(3) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 180 days 15 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 16 Commission shall establish and publish guidelines to 17 assist States and jurisdictions in meeting the re- 18 quirements of this subsection. 19 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 20 this subsection may be construed to authorize a 21 State or jurisdiction to meet the requirements of this 22 subsection by closing any polling place, prohibiting 23 an individual from entering a line at a polling place, 24 or refusing to permit an individual who has arrived 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 955 IS at a polling place prior to closing time from voting 1 at the polling place. 2 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF 3 ELECTION ADMINISTRATION PLANS, INCLUDING CONTIN- 4 GENCY PLANS.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each jurisdiction which ad- 6 ministers elections for Federal office shall develop, 7 and implement to the greatest extent practicable, an 8 election administration plan for each election for 9 Federal office, in accordance with applicable Federal 10 and State law. Such election administration plan 11 shall include a contingency plan under which the ju- 12 risdiction shall provide additional poll workers, ma- 13 chines, ballots, and other equipment and supplies (as 14 the case may be) on the date of the election to any 15 polling place used in an election for Federal office, 16 including a polling place at which individuals may 17 cast ballots prior to the date of the election, at 18 which waiting times exceed 30 minutes. Each such 19 contingency plan shall also include a provision by 20 which the jurisdiction shall extend the closing time 21 for the polling place in the case where there is a 22 delay in the timely opening or operation of a polling 23 place or when voters have waited more than 30 min- 24 utes to cast a ballot. Such extended poll hours shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 955 IS be commensurate with the total time of the delayed 1 opening or operation of the polling place and for the 2 total period of time exceeding 30 minutes that voters 3 had to wait in order to cast a ballot at the polling 4 place from the time of arrival. 5 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL OF PLAN BY COMMISSION.— 6 Notwithstanding section 209, the State shall ensure 7 that the contingency plan developed under para- 8 graph (1) is approved by the Commission prior to 9 the date of the election involved, in accordance with 10 such procedures as the Commission may establish. 11 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 12 with respect to elections held on or after the date that 13 is 180 days after the date of enactment of this section.’’. 14 (2) ENFORCEMENT; PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION 15 FOR UNREASONABLE WAITING TIMES FOR VOT- 16 ERS.— 17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 401 of the 18 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 19 21111) is amended— 20 (i) by striking the section heading and 21 inserting the following: ‘‘ENFORCE- 22 MENT’’; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 955 IS (ii) by striking ‘‘The Attorney Gen- 1 eral’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 2 The Attorney General’’; 3 (iii) in subsection (a), as added by 4 subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and 303’’ 5 and inserting ‘‘303, and 304’’; and 6 (iv) by adding at the end the following 7 new subsection: 8 ‘‘(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 9 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—A person who is aggrieved 10 by a State’s or jurisdiction’s violation of section 304, 11 relating to preventing unreasonable waiting times for 12 voter, may bring a civil action in an appropriate 13 United States District Court for such declaratory or 14 injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out the 15 requirements of such section. 16 ‘‘(2) COSTS AND ATTORNEY FEES.—The court 17 may award to a person aggrieved by a violation of 18 section 304 who prevails in an action brought under 19 paragraph (1) the costs of the action, including a 20 reasonable attorney fee. 21 ‘‘(c) EXTENSION OF POLLING HOURS.—A United 22 States District Court may extend the hours for a polling 23 location in any action brought under subsection (a) or (b) 24 to enforce the provisions of such section 304.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 955 IS (B) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of 1 contents of such Act is amended by amending 2 the item relating to section 401 to read as fol- 3 lows: 4 ‘‘Sec. 401. Enforcement.’’. (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 5 RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.—Section 209 of such Act 6 (52 U.S.C. 20929) is amended by striking ‘‘The 7 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 8 section 304(b)(2), the Commission’’. 9 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of 10 contents of such Act is amended— 11 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 12 section 304 as relating to section 307; and 13 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 14 section 303 the following new item: 15 ‘‘Sec. 304. Preventing unreasonable waiting times for voters.’’. (b) REPORT BY ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS- 16 SION.—Not later than June 30 of each odd-numbered 17 year, the Election Assistance Commission shall submit to 18 Congress a report assessing the impact of section 304 of 19 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by sub- 20 section (a)) on the administration of elections for Federal 21 office during the preceding 2-year period, and shall include 22 in the report such recommendations as the Commission 23 considers appropriate. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 955 IS (c) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF STATE TO PRO- 1 VIDE FOR LONGER PERIODS OF EARLY VOTING OR 2 GREATER AMOUNT OF RESOURCES AT POLLING 3 PLACES.—Nothing in this section or in any amendment 4 made by this section may be construed to prohibit a State, 5 with respect to any election for Federal office from pro- 6 viding (in an equitable and nondiscriminatory manner) a 7 greater number of systems, poll workers, and other elec- 8 tion resources at any polling place than the minimum 9 number required under section 304 of such Act (as added 10 by subsection (a)). 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:45 Apr 11, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S955.IS S955 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS