[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 51 (Friday, March 23, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3710-S3712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 979. A bill to establish a Vote by Mail grant program; to the 
Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, on Election Day 2006 in Tillamook County, 
OR, 13 inches of rain fell. Roads were closed. Parts of the county 
became unreachable. Governor Kulongoski declared a state of emergency. 
And yet--70 percent of the voters in the county still cast their 
ballots.
  Why? Because Oregonians in Tillamook County and all over the State 
cast their votes by mail.
  Even without weather like this, folks in other States around the 
country had trouble casting their votes.
  In Denver, CO, hundreds of voters were turned away when the database 
of registered voters crashed.
  Nearly a quarter of precincts in Indianapolis, IN, resorted to paper 
ballots when poll workers couldn't figure out how to connect optical 
scan voting machines with the new touch-screen models.
  In Johnson County, KS, poll workers used hand lotion to prevent the 
county's touch-screen voting machines from spitting out cards.
  In Missouri, poll workers were demanding photo identification despite 
a court ruling barring the practice.
  In Shaker Heights, OH, voters were turned from the polls when 
electronic voting machines failed to work.
  Voters in Washington State received phone calls instructing them to 
vote at the wrong precinct.
  A polling location in New Mexico received 150 ballots instead of 
1,500.
  The list goes on and on.
  The point is, vote by mail has worked in Oregon and not just in this 
election, but in every election it has been used.
  It's a pretty simple system. Voters get their ballots in the mail. 
Wherever and whenever they would like, right up to Election Day, voters 
complete their ballots and return them.
  Vote by mail makes polling place problems a thing of the past--no 
more polls opening late and no more long lines.
  There's no more confusion about whether you are on the voter rolls. 
Either you get the ballot in the mail, or you don't and if you don't, 
you have ample time to contact your election officials to sort it out.
  Vote by mail dramatically reduces the chance of voter fraud. Trained 
election officials match the signature on each ballot against the 
signature on each voter's registration card and no ballot is processed 
or counted until officials are satisfied that the two signatures match.
  Vote by mail ensures a paper trail--each voter marks up their ballot 
and sends it in. That ballot is counted and then becomes the paper 
record used in the event of a recount.
  There's less risk of voter intimidation and that's why a 2003 study 
of Oregon voters showed that those groups that would likely be most 
vulnerable to coercion, including the elderly, actually prefer vote by 
mail.
  Vote by mail leads to more educated voters. Because folks get their 
ballots weeks before the election, they have the time they need to get 
educated about the candidates and the issues, and deliberate in a way 
not possible at a polling place.
  And vote by mail generates costs savings that can be spent on other 
priorities like education, law enforcement and roads. Because there is 
no longer any 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.
  I think the Oregon experience can be copied elsewhere and that's why 
I am introducing my Vote by Mail Act of 2007 today, which creates a 
three year, $18 million grant program to help states adopt vote by mail 
election systems like the one that Oregon voters have been successfully 
using for some time now.
  To participate in the grant program, States must demonstrate that the 
vote by mail system they intend to implement includes the same elements 
that have made Oregon's system so successful, including a system for 
recording electronically each voter's registration and signature and a 
process for ensuring that the signature on each VBM ballot is verified 
against that voter's electronically recorded signature. States that 
decide to participate in the program have the option of adopting vote 
by mail State-wide, within a group of selected counties, or even in a 
single county. States transitioning to vote by mail State-wide will 
receive $2 million. States transitioning to VBM less than State-wide 
will receive $1 million.
  I think that vote by mail will improve the elections in every State 
that adopts it. But to be sure, my bill instructs the Government 
Accountability Office to evaluate the benefits of vote by mail and to 
produce a study comparing traditional voting methods and vote by mail.
  I urge my colleagues to lend their support to the Vote by Mail Act of 
2007. I believe it can help ensure hassle-free elections and help 
rebuild confidence in our election system.
  Because right now, some folks feel like they are so powerless to do 
anything to fix things that they throw their hands in the air and walk 
away. And society suffers. For democracies to work there needs to be 
public engagement. But that requires a sense of investedness--unless I 
think of the government as my government, which means it's considering 
my interests and, more importantly, trying to solve them, it's pretty 
hard to stay invested.
  The sense of resignation, of frustration, even dislocation, expressed 
by some folks troubles me. And I consider it my job to foster a greater 
sense of public investment. This means making sure that the government 
works for everyone and that there are tangible results that you can 
show people so that they understand that it's their government and that 
it works for them.
  I think election reform like my vote by mail bill accomplishes this 
goal at the most basic level. Without fair, trouble-free elections, 
you've got serious problems. You don't even get past go. The public 
can't have confidence in its government if it doesn't have confidence 
in the system that elected that government. As we saw in 2000 in 
Florida, it is extremely difficult to untangle problems after Election 
Day so you really have to get it right the first time. Vote by mail 
helps ensures this.
  I am pleased to have my esteemed colleague from Massachusetts, 
Senator Kerry as an original co-sponsor. I am also pleased that 
Congresswoman Susan David of California is introducing the House 
companion bill. I am also happy to announce that the American 
Association of People with Disabilities, the American Postal Workers 
Union, Common Cause, and the National Association of Postal Supervisors 
are publicly supporting this bill.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 979

       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.

[[Page S3711]]

       (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

[[Page S3712]]

     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.
                                 ______