[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 4, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3097-S3098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Carper, Ms. Cantwell, 
        Mr. Merkley, and Mrs. Gillibrand):
  S. 3300. A bill to establish a Vote by Mail grant program; to the 
Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3300

       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 2010''.

     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 recent presidential elections, voting technology 
     failures, procedural irregularities, and long lines for 
     polling places deprived some Americans of their fundamental 
     right to vote.
       (3) 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.
       (4) 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 5 years in prison, 
     $100,000 in fines, and the loss of their vote.
       (5) Oregon's Vote by Mail system promotes uniformity and 
     strict compliance with Federal and State voting laws because 
     ballot processing is centralized in county clerks' offices, 
     rather than at numerous polling places.
       (6) Vote by Mail is 1 factor making voter turnout in Oregon 
     consistently higher than the average national voter turnout. 
     In the 2004 presidential election, for example, Oregon had a 
     turnout rate of 86.48 percent of registered voters, compared 
     to 69.96 percent turnout of registered voters nationally.
       (7) Women, younger voters, and homemakers also report that 
     they vote more often using Vote by Mail.
       (8) Vote by Mail reduces election costs by eliminating the 
     need to transport equipment to polling stations and to hire 
     and train poll workers. Oregon reduced its costs to 
     administer elections by nearly 30 percent after implementing 
     Vote by Mail. In Oregon's last polling place election in 
     1998, the cost per voter was $3.07. By 2004, the cost per 
     voter in Oregon had dropped to $2.21.
       (9) 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.
       (10) 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.
       (11) 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.
       (12) Vote by Mail allows voters to visually verify that 
     their votes were cast correctly and produces a paper trail 
     for election recounts.
       (13) 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.
       (14) Voters in other States are moving toward Vote by Mail 
     as well. In 2008, 89 percent of voters in Washington State 
     who cast ballots voted by mail, 64 percent of voters in 
     Colorado voted by mail, and 44 percent of voters in 
     California voted by mail.

     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

[[Page S3098]]

     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 
     2012 through 2014, $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 2012 through 2014, 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, 2013.
       (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, 2013, 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.
                                 ______