[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 979 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 979

               To establish a Vote by Mail grant program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 23, 2007

 Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Kerry) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
               To establish a Vote by Mail grant program.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Vote by Mail Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The Supreme Court declared in Reynolds v. Sims that 
        ``[i]t has been repeatedly recognized that all qualified voters 
        have a constitutionally protected right to vote . . . and to 
        have their votes counted.''.
            (2) In the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, voting 
        technology failures and procedural irregularities deprived some 
        Americans of their fundamental right to vote.
            (3) In 2000, faulty punch card ballots and other equipment 
        failures prevented accurate vote counts nationwide. A report by 
        the Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project estimates that 
        approximately 1,500,000 votes for president were intended to be 
        cast but not counted in the 2000 election because of equipment 
        failures.
            (4) In 2004, software errors, malfunctioning electronic 
        voting systems, and long lines at the polls prevented accurate 
        vote counts and prevented some people from voting. For 
        instance, voters at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio waited in 
        line for up to 12 hours because there were only 2 machines 
        available for 1,300 voters.
            (5) In 2006, election day problems plagued voters in a 
        number of States as well. For instance, in Denver, Colorado, 
        hundreds of voters were turned away when the database of 
        registered voters crashed. In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 
        malfunctioning machines and an inadequate number of provisional 
        ballots generated long lines, causing many voters to leave 
        without casting a vote.
            (6) Under the Oregon Vote by Mail system, election 
        officials mail ballots to all registered voters at least 2 
        weeks before election day. Voters mark their ballots, seal the 
        ballots in both unmarked secrecy envelopes and signed return 
        envelopes, and return the ballots by mail or to secure drop 
        boxes. Once a ballot is received, election officials scan the 
        bar code on the ballot envelope, which brings up the voter's 
        signature on a computer screen. The election official compares 
        the signature on the screen and the signature on the ballot 
        envelope. Only if the signature on the ballot envelope is 
        determined to be authentic is the ballot forwarded on to be 
        counted.
            (7) Oregon's Vote by Mail system has deterred voter fraud 
        because the system includes numerous security measures such as 
        the signature authentication system. Potential misconduct is 
        also discouraged by the power of the State to punish those who 
        engage in voter fraud with up to five years in prison, $100,000 
        in fines, and the loss of their vote.
            (8) Oregon's Vote by Mail system promotes uniformity and 
        strict compliance with Federal and State voting laws because 
        ballot processing is centralized in county clerk's offices, 
        rather than at numerous polling places.
            (9) Vote by Mail is one factor making voter turnout in 
        Oregon consistently higher than the average national voter 
        turnout. For example, Oregon experienced a record voting-age-
        eligible population turnout of 70.6 percent in the 2004 
        presidential election, compared to 58.4 percent nationally. 
        Oregon's turnout of registered voters for that election was 
        86.48 percent.
            (10) Women, younger voters, and homemakers also report that 
        they vote more often using Vote by Mail.
            (11) Vote by Mail reduces election costs by eliminating the 
        need to transport equipment to polling stations and to hire and 
        train poll workers. Oregon has reduced its election-related 
        costs by 30 percent since implementing Vote by Mail.
            (12) Vote by Mail allows voters to educate themselves 
        because they receive ballots well before election day, which 
        provides them with ample time to research issues, study 
        ballots, and deliberate in a way that is not possible at a 
        polling place.
            (13) Vote by Mail is accurate--at least 2 studies comparing 
        voting technologies show that absentee voting methods, 
        including Vote by Mail systems, result in a more accurate vote 
        count.
            (14) Vote by Mail results in more up-to-date voter rolls, 
        since election officials use forwarding information from the 
        post office to update voter registration.
            (15) Vote by Mail allows voters to visually verify that 
        their votes were cast correctly and produces a paper trail for 
        recounts.
            (16) In a survey taken 5 years after Oregon implemented the 
        Vote by Mail system, more than 8 in 10 Oregon voters said they 
        preferred voting by mail to traditional voting.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Election.--The term ``election'' means any general, 
        special, primary, or runoff election.
            (2) Participating state.--The term ``participating State'' 
        means a State receiving a grant under the Vote by Mail grant 
        program under section 4.
            (3) Residual vote rate.--The term ``residual vote rate'' 
        means the sum of all votes that cannot be counted in an 
        election (overvotes, undervotes, and otherwise spoiled ballots) 
        divided by the total number of votes cast.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means a State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, or a territory or possession of the United States.
            (5) Voting system.--The term ``voting system'' has the 
        meaning given such term under section 301(b) of the Help 
        America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(b)).

SEC. 4. VOTE BY MAIL GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance Commission shall 
establish a Vote by Mail grant program (in this section referred to as 
the ``program'').
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program is to make implementation 
grants to participating States solely for the implementation of 
procedures for the conduct of all elections by mail at the State or 
local government level.
    (c) Limitation on Use of Funds.--In no case may grants made under 
this section be used to reimburse a State for costs incurred in 
implementing mail-in voting for elections at the State or local 
government level if such costs were incurred prior to the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (d) Application.--A State seeking to participate in the program 
under this section shall submit an application to the Election 
Assistance Commission containing such information, and at such time, as 
the Election Assistance Commission may specify.
    (e) Amount and Awarding of Implementation Grants; Duration of 
Program.--
            (1) Amount of implementation grants.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                amount of an implementation grant made to a 
                participating State shall be, in the case of a State 
                that certifies that it will implement all elections by 
                mail in accordance with the requirements of subsection 
                (f), with respect to--
                            (i) the entire State, $2,000,000; or
                            (ii) any single unit or multiple units of 
                        local government within the State, $1,000,000.
                    (B) Excess funds.--
                            (i) In general.--To the extent that there 
                        are excess funds in either of the first 2 years 
                        of the program, such funds may be used to award 
                        implementation grants to participating States 
                        in subsequent years.
                            (ii) Excess funds defined.--For purposes of 
                        clause (i), the term ``excess funds'' means any 
                        amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
                        authorization under subsection (h)(1) with 
                        respect to a fiscal year that are not awarded 
                        to a participating State under an 
                        implementation grant during such fiscal year.
                    (C) Continuing availability of funds after 
                appropriation.--An implementation grant made to a 
                participating State under this section shall be 
                available to the State without fiscal year limitation.
            (2) Awarding of implementation grants.--
                    (A) In general.--The Election Assistance Commission 
                shall award implementation grants during each year in 
                which the program is conducted.
                    (B) One grant per state.--The Election Assistance 
                Commission shall not award more than 1 implementation 
                grant to any participating State under this section 
                over the duration of the program.
            (3) Duration.--The program shall be conducted for a period 
        of 3 years.
    (f) Requirements.--
            (1) Required procedures.--A participating State shall 
        establish and implement procedures for conducting all elections 
        by mail in the area with respect to which it receives an 
        implementation grant to conduct such elections, including the 
        following:
                    (A) A process for recording electronically each 
                voter's registration information and signature.
                    (B) A process for mailing ballots to all eligible 
                voters.
                    (C) The designation of places for the deposit of 
                ballots cast in an election.
                    (D) A process for ensuring the secrecy and 
                integrity of ballots cast in the election.
                    (E) Procedures and penalties for preventing 
                election fraud and ballot tampering, including 
                procedures for the verification of the signature of the 
                voter accompanying the ballot through comparison of 
                such signature with the signature of the voter 
                maintained by the State in accordance with subparagraph 
                (A).
                    (F) Procedures for verifying that a ballot has been 
                received by the appropriate authority.
                    (G) Procedures for obtaining a replacement ballot 
                in the case of a ballot which is destroyed, spoiled, 
                lost, or not received by the voter.
                    (H) A plan for training election workers in 
                signature verification techniques.
                    (I) Plans and procedures to ensure that voters who 
                are blind, visually-impaired, or otherwise disabled 
                have the opportunity to participate in elections 
                conducted by mail and to ensure compliance with the 
                Help America Vote Act of 2002. Such plans and 
                procedures shall be developed in consultation with 
                disabled and other civil rights organizations, voting 
                rights groups, State election officials, voter 
                protection groups, and other interested community 
                organizations.
                    (J) Plans and procedures to ensure the translation 
                of ballots and voting materials in accordance with 
                section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 
                1973aa-1a)).
    (g) Best Practices, Technical Assistance, and Reports.--
            (1) In general.--The Election Assistance Commission shall--
                    (A) develop, periodically issue, and, as 
                appropriate, update best practices for conducting 
                elections by mail;
                    (B) provide technical assistance to participating 
                States for the purpose of implementing procedures for 
                conducting elections by mail; and
                    (C) submit to the appropriate committees of 
                Congress--
                            (i) annual reports on the implementation of 
                        such procedures by participating States during 
                        each year in which the program is conducted; 
                        and
                            (ii) upon completion of the program 
                        conducted under this section, a final report on 
                        the program, together with recommendations for 
                        such legislation or administrative action as 
                        the Election Assistance Commission determines 
                        to be appropriate.
            (2) Consultation.--In developing, issuing, and updating 
        best practices, developing materials to provide technical 
        assistance to participating States, and developing the annual 
        and final reports under paragraph (1), the Election Assistance 
        Commission shall consult with interested parties, including--
                    (A) State and local election officials;
                    (B) the United States Postal Service;
                    (C) the Postal Regulatory Commission established 
                under section 501 of title 39, United States Code; and
                    (D) voting rights groups, voter protection groups, 
                groups representing the disabled, and other civil 
                rights or community organizations.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) Grants.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        award grants under this section, for each of fiscal years 2007 
        through 2009, $6,000,000, to remain available without fiscal 
        year limitation until expended.
            (2) Administration.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to administer the program under this section, 
        $200,000 for the period of fiscal years 2007 through 2009, to 
        remain available without fiscal year limitation until expended.
    (i) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act may be construed to 
authorize or require conduct prohibited under any of the following 
laws, or to supersede, restrict, or limit the application of such laws:
            (1) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15301 et 
        seq.).
            (2) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).
            (3) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 
        Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.).
            (4) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 
        Act(42 U.S.C. 1973ff et seq.).
            (5) The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 
        1973gg et seq.).
            (6) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
        12101 et seq.).
            (7) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.).

SEC. 5. STUDY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF MAIL-IN VOTING FOR ELECTIONS.

    (a) Study.--
            (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
        States (in this section referred to as the ``Comptroller 
        General'') shall conduct a study evaluating the benefits of 
        broader implementation of mail-in voting in elections, taking 
        into consideration the annual reports submitted by the Election 
        Assistance Commission under section 4(g)(1)(C)(i) before 
        November 1, 2009.
            (2) Specific issues studied.--The study conducted under 
        paragraph (1) shall include a comparison of traditional voting 
        methods and mail-in voting with respect to--
                    (A) the likelihood of voter fraud and misconduct;
                    (B) the accuracy of voter rolls;
                    (C) the accuracy of election results;
                    (D) voter participation in urban and rural 
                communities and by minorities, language minorities (as 
                defined in section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 
                (42 U.S.C. 1973aa-1a)), and individuals with 
                disabilities and by individuals who are homeless or who 
                frequently change their official residences;
                    (E) public confidence in the election system;
                    (F) the residual vote rate, including such rate 
                based on voter age, education, income, race, or 
                ethnicity or whether a voter lives in an urban or rural 
                community, is disabled, or is a language minority (as 
                so defined); and
                    (G) cost savings.
            (3) Consultation.--In conducting the study under paragraph 
        (1), the Comptroller General shall consult with interested 
        parties, including--
                    (A) State and local election officials;
                    (B) the United States Postal Service;
                    (C) the Postal Regulatory Commission established 
                under section 501 of title 39, United States Code; and
                    (D) voting rights groups, voter protection groups, 
                groups representing the disabled, and other civil 
                rights or community organizations.
    (b) Report.--Not later than November 1, 2009, the Comptroller 
General shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress a report on the study conducted under subsection (a), together 
with such recommendations for legislation or administrative action as 
the Comptroller General determines to be appropriate.
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