ACCESS Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7427 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish election contin- gency plans to enable individuals to vote in elections for Federal office during an emergency, to require States to make early voting and absentee voting available to all individuals eligible to vote in such elections, to encourage voter registration, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 30, 2020 Ms. LOFGREN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish election contingency plans to enable individuals to vote in elections for Federal office during an emergency, to require States to make early voting and absentee voting available to all individuals eligible to vote in such elec- tions, to encourage voter registration, and for other pur- poses. 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 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7427 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘American Coronavirus/COVID–19 Election Safety and 3 Security Act’’ or the ‘‘ACCESS Act’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Requirements for Federal election contingency plans in response to nat- ural disasters and emergencies. Sec. 3. Early voting and voting by mail. Sec. 4. Permitting use of sworn written statement to meet identification re- quirements for voting. Sec. 5. Voting materials postage. Sec. 6. Requiring transmission of blank absentee ballots under UOCAVA to certain voters. Sec. 7. Voter registration. Sec. 8. Accommodations for voters residing in Indian lands. Sec. 9. Payments by Election Assistance Commission to States to assist with costs of compliance. Sec. 10. Grants to States for conducting risk-limiting audits of results of elec- tions. Sec. 11. Additional appropriations for the Election Assistance Commission. Sec. 12. Definition. SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL ELECTION CONTIN- 7 GENCY PLANS IN RESPONSE TO NATURAL 8 DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.— 10 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, each 12 State and each jurisdiction in a State which is re- 13 sponsible for administering elections for Federal of- 14 fice shall establish and make publicly available a 15 contingency plan to enable individuals to vote in 16 elections for Federal office during a state of emer- 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7427 IH gency, public health emergency, or national emer- 1 gency which has been declared for reasons includ- 2 ing— 3 (A) a natural disaster; or 4 (B) an infectious disease. 5 (2) UPDATING.—Each State and jurisdiction 6 shall update the contingency plan established under 7 this subsection not less frequently than every 5 8 years. 9 (b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO SAFETY.—The 10 contingency plan established under subsection (a) shall in- 11 clude initiatives to provide equipment and resources need- 12 ed to protect the health and safety of poll workers and 13 voters when voting in person. 14 (c) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RECRUITMENT OF 15 POLL WORKERS.—The contingency plan established 16 under subsection (a) shall include initiatives by the chief 17 State election official and local election officials to recruit 18 poll workers from resilient or unaffected populations, 19 which may include— 20 (1) employees of other State and local govern- 21 ment offices; and 22 (2) in the case in which an infectious disease 23 poses significant increased health risks to elderly in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7427 IH dividuals, students of secondary schools and institu- 1 tions of higher education in the State. 2 (d) ENFORCEMENT.— 3 (1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney Gen- 4 eral may bring a civil action against any State or ju- 5 risdiction in an appropriate United States District 6 Court for such declaratory and injunctive relief (in- 7 cluding a temporary restraining order, a permanent 8 or temporary injunction, or other order) as may be 9 necessary to carry out the requirements of this sec- 10 tion. 11 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a viola- 13 tion of this section, any person who is aggrieved 14 by such violation may provide written notice of 15 the violation to the chief election official of the 16 State involved. 17 (B) RELIEF.—If the violation is not cor- 18 rected within 20 days after receipt of a notice 19 under subparagraph (A), or within 5 days after 20 receipt of the notice if the violation occurred 21 within 120 days before the date of an election 22 for Federal office, the aggrieved person may, in 23 a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunctive 24 relief with respect to the violation. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7427 IH (C) SPECIAL RULE.—If the violation oc- 1 curred within 5 days before the date of an elec- 2 tion for Federal office, the aggrieved person 3 need not provide notice to the chief election of- 4 ficial of the State involved under subparagraph 5 (A) before bringing a civil action under sub- 6 paragraph (B). 7 (e) DEFINITIONS.— 8 (1) ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.—For 9 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘election for Fed- 10 eral office’’ means a general, special, primary, or 11 runoff election for the office of President or Vice 12 President, or of Senator or Representative in, or 13 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Con- 14 gress. 15 (2) STATE.—For purposes of this section, the 16 term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the 17 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 18 Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the 19 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 20 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 21 respect to the regularly scheduled general election for Fed- 22 eral office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 23 election for Federal office. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7427 IH SEC. 3. EARLY VOTING AND VOTING BY MAIL. 1 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Title III of the Help America 2 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 3 by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 4 ‘‘Subtitle C—Other Requirements 5 ‘‘SEC. 321. EARLY VOTING. 6 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING ALLOWING VOTING PRIOR TO DATE 7 OF ELECTION.— 8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall allow indi- 9 viduals to vote in an election for Federal office dur- 10 ing an early voting period which occurs prior to the 11 date of the election, in the same manner as voting 12 is allowed on such date. 13 ‘‘(2) LENGTH OF PERIOD.—The early voting 14 period required under this subsection with respect to 15 an election shall consist of a period of consecutive 16 days (including weekends) which begins on the 15th 17 day before the date of the election (or, at the option 18 of the State, on a day prior to the 15th day before 19 the date of the election) and ends on the date of the 20 election. 21 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENTS.— 22 Each polling place which allows voting during an early vot- 23 ing period under subsection (a) shall— 24 ‘‘(1) allow such voting for no less than 10 hours 25 on each day; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7427 IH ‘‘(2) have uniform hours each day for which 1 such voting occurs; and 2 ‘‘(3) allow such voting to be held for some pe- 3 riod of time prior to 9:00 a.m (local time) and some 4 period of time after 5:00 p.m. (local time). 5 ‘‘(c) LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES.— 6 ‘‘(1) PROXIMITY TO PUBLIC TRANSPOR- 7 TATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, a State 8 shall ensure that each polling place which allows vot- 9 ing during an early voting period under subsection 10 (a) is located within walking distance of a stop on 11 a public transportation route. 12 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY IN RURAL AREAS.—The 13 State shall ensure that polling places which allow 14 voting during an early voting period under sub- 15 section (a) will be located in rural areas of the State, 16 and shall ensure that such polling places are located 17 in communities which will provide the greatest op- 18 portunity for residents of rural areas to vote during 19 the early voting period. 20 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue 22 standards for the administration of voting prior to 23 the day scheduled for a Federal election. Such 24 standards shall include the nondiscriminatory geo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7427 IH graphic placement of polling places at which such 1 voting occurs. 2 ‘‘(2) DEVIATION.—The standards described in 3 paragraph (1) shall permit States, upon providing 4 adequate public notice, to deviate from any require- 5 ment in the case of unforeseen circumstances such 6 as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or a change 7 in voter turnout. 8 ‘‘(e) BALLOT PROCESSING AND SCANNING REQUIRE- 9 MENTS.— 10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The State shall begin proc- 11 essing and scanning ballots cast during early voting 12 for tabulation at least 14 days prior to the date of 13 the election involved. 14 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 15 shall be construed to permit a State to tabulate bal- 16 lots in an election before the closing of the polls on 17 the date of the election. 18 ‘‘(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 19 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 20 Federal office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 21 election for Federal office. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7427 IH ‘‘SEC. 322. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 1 MAIL. 2 ‘‘(a) UNIFORM AVAILABILITY OF ABSENTEE VOTING 3 TO ALL VOTERS.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State 5 is eligible to cast a vote in an election for Federal 6 office, the State may not impose any additional con- 7 ditions or requirements on the eligibility of the indi- 8 vidual to cast the vote in such election by absentee 9 ballot by mail. 10 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF VOTING BY MAIL.— 11 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITING IDENTIFICATION RE- 12 QUIREMENT AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING BAL- 13 LOT.—A State may not require an individual to 14 provide any form of identification as a condition 15 of obtaining an absentee ballot, except that 16 nothing in this paragraph may be construed to 17 prevent a State from requiring a signature of 18 the individual or similar affirmation as a condi- 19 tion of obtaining an absentee ballot. 20 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITING REQUIREMENT TO PRO- 21 VIDE NOTARIZATION OR WITNESS SIGNATURE 22 AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING OR CASTING BAL- 23 LOT.—A State may not require notarization or 24 witness signature or other formal authentica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7427 IH tion (other than voter attestation) as a condi- 1 tion of obtaining or casting an absentee ballot. 2 ‘‘(C) DEADLINE FOR RETURNING BAL- 3 LOT.—A State may impose a deadline for re- 4 questing the absentee ballot and related voting 5 materials from the appropriate State or local 6 election official and for returning the ballot to 7 the appropriate State or local election official. 8 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION FOR ALL FUTURE ELEC- 9 TIONS.—At the option of an individual, a State shall 10 treat the individual’s application to vote by absentee 11 ballot by mail in an election for Federal office as an 12 application to vote by absentee ballot by mail in all 13 subsequent Federal elections held in the State. 14 ‘‘(b) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES 15 REQUIRING SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.— 16 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may not im- 18 pose a signature verification requirement as a 19 condition of accepting and counting an absentee 20 ballot submitted by any individual with respect 21 to an election for Federal office unless the 22 State meets the due process requirements de- 23 scribed in paragraph (2). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7427 IH ‘‘(B) SIGNATURE VERIFICATION REQUIRE- 1 MENT DESCRIBED.—In this subsection, a ‘sig- 2 nature verification requirement’ is a require- 3 ment that an election official verify the identi- 4 fication of an individual by comparing the indi- 5 vidual’s signature on the absentee ballot with 6 the individual’s signature on the official list of 7 registered voters in the State or another official 8 record or other document used by the State to 9 verify the signatures of voters. 10 ‘‘(2) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS.— 11 ‘‘(A) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE 12 DISCREPANCY.—If an individual submits an ab- 13 sentee ballot and the appropriate State or local 14 election official determines that a discrepancy 15 exists between the signature on such ballot and 16 the signature of such individual on the official 17 list of registered voters in the State or other of- 18 ficial record or document used by the State to 19 verify the signatures of voters, such election of- 20 ficial, prior to making a final determination as 21 to the validity of such ballot, shall— 22 ‘‘(i) make a good faith effort to imme- 23 diately notify the individual by mail, tele- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Aug 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7427.IH H7427 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7427 IH phone, and (if available) electronic mail 1 that— 2 ‘‘(I) a discrepancy exists [Text truncated for display. 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