VoteSafe Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6807 To expand vote by mail and early voting, and to improve the safety, accessi- bility, and efficiency of in-person voting during elections for Federal office. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 12, 2020 Mr. CLYBURN (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. CISNEROS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. GARCI´A of Illi- nois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE, Mrs. NAPOLI- TANO, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RYAN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. SHALALA, Mr. SOTO, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. RUSH) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To expand vote by mail and early voting, and to improve the safety, accessibility, and efficiency of in-person voting during elections for Federal office. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6807 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VoteSafe Act of 2020’’. 2 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) The right to vote is the foundation of Amer- 5 ican democracy. Voting provides the citizenry with a 6 vital check on their elected officials and grants peo- 7 ple the political power necessary to exercise and de- 8 fend the rights guaranteed by the United States 9 Constitution. 10 (2) The Elections Clause of the United States 11 Constitution gives Congress sweeping power to regu- 12 late the time, place, and manner of Federal elections 13 (article I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 14 States; see also Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of 15 Arizona, Inc., 570 U.S. 1 (2013)). Congress also has 16 enforcement power under the Fourteenth and Fif- 17 teenth Amendments of the Constitution of the 18 United States. 19 (3) As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., explained 20 in a speech delivered on May 17, 1957, ‘‘So long as 21 I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to 22 vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my 23 mind—it is made up for me. I cannot live as a 24 democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped 25 to enact—I can only submit to the edict of others.’’. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6807 IH (4) The right to vote was not guaranteed to all 1 Americans at our Nation’s founding. The ratification 2 of the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, the 3 civil rights movement’s struggle for justice and 4 equality, and the enactment of the Voting Rights 5 Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments suc- 6 ceeded in expanding access to the franchise. 7 (5) Unfortunately, the barriers faced by voters 8 who have historically experienced the greatest obsta- 9 cles to voting are exacerbated by the coronavirus 10 (COVID-19) pandemic. 11 (6) Strategies to mitigate the spread of 12 COVID-19 include ‘‘social distancing’’, a practice 13 that requires individuals to maintain a distance be- 14 tween themselves and other people in order to avoid 15 acquiring or transmitting the virus. The need to em- 16 brace such precautions will require States to quickly 17 modify voting processes to minimize person-to-per- 18 son contact. 19 (7) Voting by mail is a critical part of the solu- 20 tion and must be expanded as quickly as possible, 21 not simply as a means of ensuring access during 22 public health emergencies, but also as a means of ex- 23 panding access to the franchise to those whose work, 24 health, or ability to access the ballot may be limited. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6807 IH (8) However, safe and secure in-person voting 1 remains vitally important for large groups of voters, 2 including voters with disabilities, language minority 3 voters, American Indian and Alaska Native voters, 4 and African American voters. 5 (9) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 6 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) and the Rehabilita- 7 tion Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.) require 8 that individuals with disabilities have equal access to 9 every aspect of the voting process. Vote-by-mail 10 poses various accessibility challenges for voters with 11 disabilities, including blind, low-vision, or other 12 print-disabled voters who may require in-person vot- 13 ing or assistive technology in order to privately and 14 independently mark their ballots. Remedies for vot- 15 ers with disabilities require an investment of re- 16 sources to ensure State and local election websites, 17 online voter registration portals, and vote-by-mail 18 systems are accessible; that in-person voting loca- 19 tions permit a safe, dignified, and accessible voting 20 experience; and that the right of voters with disabil- 21 ities to a secret ballot is not sacrificed due to the 22 pandemic. 23 (10) Language minority voters face unique bar- 24 riers to voting that require additional resources and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6807 IH support to ensure full and equal access, including 1 additional resources to ensure local compliance with 2 the language minority voting protections in section 3 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 4 10503) and greater language assistance services, in- 5 cluding additional bilingual or multilingual poll 6 workers and election workers. 7 (11) American Indian and Alaska Native voters 8 face unique obstacles in a vote-by-mail system. Trib- 9 al communities in rural areas often do not have tra- 10 ditional residential mailing addresses and have lim- 11 ited access to transportation. Tribal members have 12 distant rural post offices, slow mail routes, limited 13 numbers of post office operation, and too few post 14 office boxes. As a result, rural Tribal communities 15 require distinct voting accommodations to ensure 16 participation in a vote-by-mail system. 17 (12) Finally, in-person voting holds great sig- 18 nificance for African American voters, for whom the 19 right to vote was hard won. African Americans have 20 been excluded from the franchise through State and 21 local laws, poll taxes, voting literacy tests, physical 22 violence, and lynchings. For many African American 23 voters today, casting a ballot at one’s polling place 24 is a solemn ritual that honors those who sacrificed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6807 IH their safety and their lives in order to secure the 1 right to vote. However, COVID-19 poses substantial 2 risks to the African American population and has in- 3 fected and killed African Americans in the United 4 States at disproportionately high rates, highlighting 5 longstanding inequalities in resources and access to 6 health care. 7 (13) Social distancing designed to curb the 8 COVID-19 pandemic will also greatly impact in-per- 9 son voter registration efforts, including voter reg- 10 istration drives and voter registration services re- 11 quired by the National Voter Registration Act. Many 12 government offices, like State departments of motor 13 vehicles, are currently closed to in-person traffic and 14 are likely to remain closed for an indefinite period 15 of time in 2020. 16 (14) Therefore, it is appropriate for Congress 17 to expand no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail while also 18 ensuring the safety and accessibility of in-person 19 voting and voter registration during exigent cir- 20 cumstances, including the current pandemic. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6807 IH SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOT- 1 ING, EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING, AND PLAN 2 TO ENSURE POLLING PLACES IMPLEMENT 3 CDC GUIDANCE FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN 4 2020. 5 (a) APPLICABLE FEDERAL ELECTION.—For pur- 6 poses of this section, the term ‘‘applicable Federal elec- 7 tion’’ means any election for Federal office which occurs 8 on or after the date that is 60 days after the date of the 9 enactment of this Act and before January 1, 2021. 10 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In the case of any applicable 11 Federal election, each State and local jurisdiction shall— 12 (1) permit no-excuse mail-in absentee voting as 13 described in subsection (c); 14 (2) maintain an early in-person voting period as 15 described in subsection (d); and 16 (3) establish a plan as described in subsection 17 (e) with respect to in-person voting, including during 18 early voting periods and on the day of the election. 19 (c) NO-EXCUSE MAIL-IN ABSENTEE VOTING.— 20 (1) IN GENERAL.—No-excuse mail-in absentee 21 voting meets the requirements described in this sub- 22 section with respect to an applicable Federal elec- 23 tion, if the State— 24 (A) provides a no-excuse mail-in ballot to 25 every registered voter who requests such a bal- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6807 IH lot (or, in the case of any State that does not 1 register voters, to every individual who is eligi- 2 ble to vote and requests such a ballot); 3 (B) allows voters to request a mail-in bal- 4 lot online; 5 (C) requires a signature for absentee bal- 6 lots, allows voters to sign the ballot by pro- 7 viding a mark or signature stamp or by pro- 8 viding a signature with the use of an assistant 9 because of age, disability, or other need; 10 (D) accepts and counts ballots received be- 11 fore the state’s certification deadline if the bal- 12 lot— 13 (i) is postmarked by the date of the 14 election; or 15 (ii) includes an indication that it was 16 mailed by the date of the election; 17 (E) provides a pre-paid and self-sealing re- 18 turn envelope for each ballot furnished by mail; 19 (F) beginning with the date that is 45 20 days before the date of the election and ending 21 with the time that polls close on the date of the 22 election, provides in-person, secured drop boxes; 23 (G) before discarding any absentee ballot 24 for error or technicalities (including the failure 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6807 IH to meet any signature matching requirement 1 that is unrelated to voter qualification)— 2 (i) notifies the voter of any such de- 3 fects; and 4 (ii) provides the voter an opportunity 5 to cure such defects that— 6 (I) is uniform among all voters in 7 the State; and 8 (II) in the case of any error re- 9 lating to a signature requirement, 10 meets the requirements of paragraph 11 (2); 12 (H) in the case of any voter with disabil- 13 ities— 14 (i) provides the voter with access to 15 Remote Access Vote By Mail (RAVBM) 16 systems, ballot marking software, and 17 screen reading software; and 18 (ii) allows the voter to receive assist- 19 ance from a person of their choosing to 20 complete and submit a mail-in ballot; and 21 (I) ensures adequate support for language 22 minority voters, including multilingual versions 23 of vote-by-mail materials and language assist- 24 ance services. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6807 IH (2) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SIGNATURE 1 DEFECTS.—The requirements of this paragraph re- 2 lating to any defect described in paragraph 3 (1)(G)(ii)(II) are the following: 4 (A) Except as provided in subparagraph 5 (B), the voter shall be allowed to cure the de- 6 fect through the same form of communication 7 with respect to which the notice of such defect 8 is provided. 9 (B) In any case in which a required signa- 10 ture is missing, the voter shall be provided an 11 opportunity to provide such signature on a form 12 provided by the State. 13 (C) Any determination of the validity of 14 the ballot shall be made by a group of 2 or 15 more election officials. 16 (D) The voter shall have the opportunity 17 to appeal any rejection of the ballot based on 18 the defect. 19 (d) EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING PERIOD.—The early 20 in-person voting period described in this subsection with 21 respect to an applicable Federal election is a period of at 22 least 20 days. Such period must include at least 1 Satur- 23 day and 1 Sunday. For each day of early in-person voting 24 during such period, polls must be open for a minimum 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:58 Jun 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6807.IH H6807 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6807 IH of 10 hours, including hours before and after the standard 1 work day. 2 (e) PLAN TO IMPLEMENT CDC GUIDANCE.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement described 4 in this subsection with respect to in person voting is 5 met if the State establishes a plan to ensure that 6 polling places are implementing Centers for Disease 7 Control and Prevention guidance relating to COVID- 8 19 preparedness. Such plan must be finalized and 9 approved by the State within 30 days of the date of 10 enactment of this Act. 11 (2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, 12 a State plan established under this subsection must 13 include a plan— 14 (A) to keep as many voting locations as 15 possible open during the pandemic; 16 (B) to prepare polling locations to imple- 17 ment social distancing protocols in lines and at 18 voting booths; 19 (C) to provide sufficient quantities of hy- 20 giene and cleaning supplies at polling locations; 21 (D) to increase the number of— 22 (i) paper ballots and provisional bal- 23 lots (including the numbers of such ballots 24 that are translated, multilingual, or in-lan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]