[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 212 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 212

  To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure that voters in 
  elections for Federal office do not wait in long lines in order to 
                                 vote.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 21, 2015

Mrs. Boxer (for herself and Mr. Nelson) introduced the following bill; 
    which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 
                             Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure that voters in 
  elections for Federal office do not wait in long lines in order to 
                                 vote.

    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 ``Lines Interfere with National 
Elections Act of 2015'' or the ``LINE Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Excessive wait times at the election polls create an 
        obstacle to an eligible citizen's fundamental right to vote.
            (2) The Presidential Commission on Election Administration 
        found that, on the date of the 2012 Federal election, over 
        5,000,000 voters experienced wait times exceeding one hour, and 
        an additional 5,000,000 waited between a half hour and an hour.
            (3) The Presidential Commission on Election Administration 
        found that several million eligible voters stand in line for an 
        unacceptably long time in order to cast a vote in a Federal 
        election, year after year.
            (4) The Presidential Commission on Election Administration 
        found that excessive wait times are avoidable if the 
        jurisdiction has undergone proper planning and develops systems 
        to inform the responsible authorities when a breakdown occurs.
            (5) The Presidential Commission on Election Administration 
        concluded that, as a general rule, no voter should have to wait 
        more than half an hour in order to have an opportunity to vote.
            (6) The Presidential Commission on Election Administration 
        offered several recommendations and best practices that could 
        directly reduce voter lines.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to implement the 
Presidential Commission on Election Administration's recommendations 
aimed at reducing long lines at the election polls.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR JURISDICTIONS WITH SUBSTANTIAL VOTER WAIT 
              TIMES.

    (a) Remedial Plans for States With Excessive Wait Times.--
            (1) In general.--The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
        U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new title:

     ``TITLE X--REMEDIAL PLANS FOR STATES WITH EXCESSIVE WAIT TIMES

``SEC. 1001. REMEDIAL PLANS FOR STATES WITH EXCESSIVE WAIT TIMES.

    ``(a) In General.--Each jurisdiction for which the Attorney 
General, to the maximum extent practicable in coordination with the 
Commission, determines that a substantial number of voters waited more 
than 30 minutes to cast a vote in the election for Federal office held 
on November 6, 2012, or any election for Federal office held on or 
after such date, shall comply with a State remedial plan established 
under this section in accordance with subsection (b).
    ``(b) State Remedial Plans.--The Attorney General, to the maximum 
extent practicable in coordination with the Commission, shall establish 
for each State or jurisdiction which is required to comply with this 
section a State remedial plan to minimize the waiting times of 
individuals voting in the State or jurisdiction in any election for 
Federal office.
    ``(c) Jurisdiction Defined.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`jurisdiction' has the meaning given the term `registrar's 
jurisdiction' in section 8(j) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(j)).
    ``(d) Federal Register Notice.--Not later than March 1 of the year 
following the year in which an election for Federal office is held, the 
Attorney General, to the maximum extent practicable in coordination 
with the Commission, shall publish in the Federal Register a list of 
States and jurisdictions that are required to comply with a State 
remedial plan under this section.
    ``(e) State Remedial Plan Certification.--Not later than September 
1 of the year following the year in which the Attorney General 
publishes in the Federal Register a list described in subsection (d), 
the governor of each State included on the list shall submit to the 
Attorney General a letter certifying that the State has made a good 
faith effort to comply with the State remedial plan established for the 
State under this section.''.
            (2) Conforming amendment.--Section 401 of the Help America 
        Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ``and 
        403'' and inserting ``403, and the requirements of title X''.
            (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act 
        is amended by adding at the end the following:

     ``TITLE X--REMEDIAL PLANS FOR STATES WITH EXCESSIVE WAIT TIMES

``Sec. 1001. Remedial plans for States with excessive wait times.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
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