[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 511 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 511

 To amend the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act 
to ensure the equal right of individuals with disabilities to vote, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 2, 1999

  Mr. McCain introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act 
to ensure the equal right of individuals with disabilities to vote, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF VOTING ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE ELDERLY AND 
              HANDICAPPED ACT.

    (a) Purpose.--Section 2 of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly 
and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee) is amended by--
            (1) striking ``It'' and inserting ``(a) It''; and
            (2) adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) It is the intention of Congress in enacting this Act to 
ensure that--
            ``(1) no individual may be denied the right to vote in a 
        Federal election on the basis of being disabled; and
            ``(2) every voter has the right to vote independently in a 
        Federal election.''.
    (b) Accessibility of Polling Places.--Section 3 of the Voting 
Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee-1) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``each political 
        subdivision'' and all that follows through ``conducting 
        elections'' and inserting ``the chief election officer of the 
        State'';
            (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply to a polling place in the case 
of any unforeseeable natural disaster such as a fire, storm, 
earthquake, or flood.''; and
            (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
    ``(c) The chief election officer of a State shall ensure that all 
polling methods selected and used for Federal elections are accessible 
to disabled and elderly voters, including--
            ``(1) the provision of ballots in a variety of accessible 
        media;
            ``(2) the provision of instructions that are printed in 
        large type, conspicuously displayed at each polling place;
            ``(3) the provision of printed information that is 
        generally available to other voters using a variety of 
        accessible media; and
            ``(4) ensuring that all polling methods used enable 
        disabled and elderly voters to cast votes at polling places 
        during times and under conditions of privacy available to other 
        voters.''.
    (c) Accessibility of Registration Facilities and Services.--Section 
5(a) of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1973ee-3(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the end; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) registration information by telecommunications 
        devices for the deaf and in a variety of accessible media; and
            ``(3) accessible registration procedures to allow each 
        eligible voter to register at the residence of the voter, by 
        mail, or by other means.''.
    (d) Enforcement.--Section 6 of the Voting Accessibility for the 
Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee-4) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``45'' and inserting 
        ``21''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
    ``(c) In an action brought under subsection (a), the State or 
political subdivision shall be fined an amount--
            ``(1) not to exceed $5,000 for the first violation of such 
        section; and
            ``(2) not to exceed $10,000 for each subsequent 
        violation.''.
    (e) Relationship With Other Laws.--Section 7 of the Voting 
Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee-5) 
is amended--
            (1) in the heading, by striking ``voting rights act of 
        1965'' and inserting ``other laws;
            (2) by striking ``This'' and inserting ``(a) This''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to invalidate or limit 
the laws of any State or political subdivision that provide greater or 
equal access to registration or polling for disabled and elderly 
voters.''.
    (f) Definitions.--Section 8 of the Voting Accessibility for the 
Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee-6) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``chief election'' 
        through ``involved'' and inserting ``Access Board'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ``permanent physical 
        disability; and'' and inserting ``permanent disability;'';
            (3) in paragraph (5), by striking the period and inserting 
        a semicolon; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) `Access Board' means the Architectural and 
        Transportation Barriers Compliance Board established under 
        section 502 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 792);
            ``(7) `chief election officer' means the State officer or 
        entity, designated by State law or established by practice, 
        responsible for elections within the State;
            ``(8) `independently' means without the assistance of 
        another individual; and
            ``(9) `media' includes formats using large type, braille, 
        sound recording, or digital text.''.
    (g) References.--
            (1) In general.--The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly 
        and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.) is amended by 
        striking ``handicapped'' each place it appears and inserting 
        ``disabled''.
            (2) References in other laws.--Except where inappropriate, 
        any reference to ``handicapped'' in relation to the Voting 
        Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 
        1973ee et seq.) in any law, Executive Order, rule, or other 
        document shall include a reference to ``disabled''.
    (h) Conforming Amendment.--Section 502(b)(3) of the Rehabilitation 
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 792(b)(3)) is amended by inserting before the 
semicolon ``and section 3 of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly 
and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee-1)''.

SEC. 2. REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate regulations 
implementing this Act. Such regulations shall be consistent with the 
minimum guidelines established by the Access Board.
    (b) Access Board Guidelines.--Not later than 9 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Access Board shall issue minimum 
guidelines relating to the requirements in the amendments made by 
section 1(b) of this Act.
    (c) Definition.--In this section, the term ``Access Board'' means 
the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

SEC. 3. TRANSITION PLAN.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 3 months after the date on which 
regulations are promulgated under section 2(a), the chief election 
officer of each State shall develop a transition plan to ensure that 
polling places in the State are in compliance with the requirements of 
the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 
1973ee et seq.), as amended by this Act.
    (b) Coordination With Local Election Officials.--The plan under 
subsection (a) shall be developed in coordination with--
            (1) local election officials; and
            (2) individuals with disabilities or organizations 
        representing individuals with disabilities.
    (c) Contents and Availability of Plan.--The plan under subsection 
(a) shall--
            (1) include specific recommendations necessary to comply 
        with the requirements of the Voting Accessibility for the 
        Elderly and Handicapped Act; and
            (2) be available for public inspection in such manner as 
        the chief election officer determines appropriate.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by section 1 of this Act shall apply beginning 
on the earliest of--
            (1) the date that is 6 months after the date on which 
        regulations are promulgated under section 2(a); or
            (2) the date of the first Federal election taking place in 
        the State after December 31, 2000.
                                 <all>