Protecting Democracy by Securing the Right To Vote by Mail Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8092 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish the methods by which individuals may apply for an absentee ballot in elections for Federal office, to permit individuals to cast absentee ballots at polling places and early voting locations on or before the date of the election, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 22, 2020 Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. TONKO, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. MCNERNEY, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. MFUME, Ms. SHERRILL, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. CUELLAR, and Mr. NEGUSE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, 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 con- cerned A BILL To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish the methods by which individuals may apply for an ab- sentee ballot in elections for Federal office, to permit individuals to cast absentee ballots at polling places and early voting locations on or before the date of the elec- tion, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8092.IH H8092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8092 IH 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; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Protecting Democracy by Securing the Right To Vote by 5 Mail Act’’. 6 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The freedoms of the press and of speech 8 guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Constitu- 9 tion and the establishment of a national postal sys- 10 tem, an authority vested by the Constitution in the 11 Congress in article I, section 8, clause 7, are indis- 12 pensable features of a strong and stable democracy. 13 (2) A national postal system to collect and dis- 14 tribute mail efficiently, affordably, reliably, and 15 without regard to the sender’s or recipient’s race, 16 creed, color, national origin, religion, region of resi- 17 dence, or political affiliation strengthens and for- 18 tifies democracy by enabling all persons to commu- 19 nicate with any or all other Americans. 20 (3) A functioning and effective national postal 21 system strengthens the economy by facilitating the 22 efficient delivery of goods and services, promotes the 23 public health by facilitating the timely delivery of 24 needed medical supplies and prescription drugs to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8092.IH H8092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8092 IH senior citizens and veterans, and enriches civil soci- 1 ety by facilitating the delivery of letters of greetings, 2 sympathy, congratulations, and love, thus strength- 3 ening the mystic bonds of affection of Americans for 4 each other and for the United States. 5 SEC. 2. RULES FOR TREATMENT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 7 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 8 by inserting after section 303 the following new section: 9 ‘‘SEC. 303A. RULES FOR TREATMENT OF ABSENTEE BAL- 10 LOTS. 11 ‘‘(a) METHODS FOR REQUESTING BALLOT.—In addi- 12 tion to such other methods as the State may establish for 13 an individual to request an absentee ballot, the State shall 14 permit an individual to submit a request for an absentee 15 ballot through the internet or mobile application and by 16 telephone. The State shall be considered to meet the re- 17 quirements of this paragraph if the website of the appro- 18 priate State or local election official allows an absentee 19 ballot request application to be completed and submitted 20 online and if the website permits the individual— 21 ‘‘(1) to print the application so that the indi- 22 vidual may complete the application and return it to 23 the official; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8092.IH H8092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8092 IH ‘‘(2) to request that a paper copy of the appli- 1 cation be transmitted to the individual by mail or 2 electronic mail so that the individual may complete 3 the application and return it to the official. 4 ‘‘(b) METHODS FOR RETURNING BALLOTS.—In addi- 5 tion to permitting an individual to whom an absentee bal- 6 lot in an election was provided to return the ballot to an 7 election official by mail, the State shall permit the indi- 8 vidual to cast the ballot by delivering the ballot at such 9 times and to such locations as the State may establish, 10 including— 11 ‘‘(1) permitting the individual to deliver the bal- 12 lot to a polling place on any date on which voting 13 in the election is held at the polling place; and 14 ‘‘(2) permitting the individual to deliver the bal- 15 lot to a designated ballot drop-off location. 16 ‘‘(c) DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF BALLOTS.—A 17 State may not refuse to accept or process an absentee bal- 18 lot submitted by an individual by mail with respect to an 19 election for Federal office in the State on the grounds that 20 the individual did not meet a deadline for returning the 21 ballot to the appropriate State or local election official if— 22 ‘‘(1) the ballot is postmarked, signed, or other- 23 wise indicated by the United States Postal Service to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8092.IH H8092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8092 IH have been mailed on or before the date of the elec- 1 tion; and 2 ‘‘(2) the ballot is received by the appropriate 3 election official prior to the expiration of the 10-day 4 period (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal 5 public holidays) which begins on the date of the elec- 6 tion.’’. 7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN- 8 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 9 is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘303, and 10 303A’’. 11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 12 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 13 to section 303 the following new item: 14 ‘‘Sec. 303A. Rules for treatment of absentee ballots.’’. SEC. 3. GAO REPORT ON POSTAL SERVICE. 15 Not later than 260 days after the date of enactment 16 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report 17 to Congress on the critical need for a fully staffed and 18 fully operational United States Postal Service to carry out 19 elections, domestic and international commerce, and pro- 20 tection of constitutional rights including the First Amend- 21 ment rights of freedom of speech, assembly, press, and 22 religion. The report shall include— 23 (1) a review of the current level of Postal Serv- 24 ice staffing, funding, equipment, technology, vehi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8092.IH H8092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8092 IH cles, training, compensation, recruitment and reten- 1 tion, diversity, and opportunities provided to workers 2 for advancement and stable work, as well as com- 3 petitive income; and 4 (2) recommendations on how the Postal Service 5 may be improved to provide low-cost and efficient 6 postal delivery services 6 days a week to every gov- 7 ernment, residential, and business address. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:11 Sep 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8092.IH H8092 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS