1.This Act may be cited as the
Vote by Mail Act of
2007
.
2.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.
3.In this Act:
(1)The term election means any
general, special, primary, or runoff election.
(2)The term participating State
means a State receiving a grant under the Vote by Mail grant program under
section 4.
(3)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)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)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)).
4.Vote by mail grant program
(a)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)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 fundsIn 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)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)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)
(i)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)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
appropriationAn
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)The Election Assistance Commission shall
award implementation grants during each year in which the program is
conducted.
(B)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)The program shall be conducted for a period
of 3 years.
(f)
(1)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)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)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)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)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)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.).
5.Study on implementation of mail-in voting
for elections
(a)
(1)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)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)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)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.