Sec. 3. Requirement to allow for early voting and no-excuse absentee voting
1,219 words·~6 min read·
/bill/116/s/3529/is/section-3A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 21081 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle: Each State and jurisdiction shall, with respect to the 2020 general election occurring on November 3, 2020, and each subsequent election for Federal office— allow individuals to vote in such election prior to the date of the election through— early voting which meets the requirements of subsection (b); and voting by mail which meets the requirements of subsection (c); publicize the details of any voting allowed under paragraph (1); comply with the absentee voting requirements of subsection (d); and comply with the vote counting requirements of subsection (e).
Early voting meets the requirements of this subsection— if such voting occurs— for a 20-day period preceding the date of the election so that such days constitute consecutive weekdays and include at least one weekend, which period may end on a date chosen by the chief election official of the State that is between the date of the election and 4 days preceding such date; and for no less than 8 hours on each of the 20 days such early voting occurs; and each early voting location in the State offers a ballot drop-off box for voters to submit their voted and sealed absentee ballots.
Voting by mail meets the requirements of this subsection if— the State does not require an excuse in order to obtain and cast a ballot by mail for any election for Federal office; the State permits any eligible voter to submit an online request for an absentee ballot to vote in an election for Federal office, which requirement is satisfied if the local, county, or State election official’s website allows an absentee ballot request application to be completed and submitted online and if— an absentee ballot request application to be printed for the voter to complete and mail; or a voter is able to submit an online request via the internet to have a hard-copy absentee ballot request application mailed or e-mailed to them to complete and mail; the State sends an absentee ballot to vote in an election for Federal office in the State by mail to any eligible voter that submits a request for such a ballot and that request is received by the appropriate election office on or before the date that is 5 days, not including weekend days, before the date of such election, except that nothing in this paragraph shall preclude a State or local jurisdiction from allowing for the acceptance and processing of ballot requests submitted or received after such required period; the State permits any eligible voter to have the option to request an absentee ballot for subsequent elections on all absentee ballot requests; the State does not require any form of identification for an absentee ballot request; the State does not include any requirements for notarization or witness signature or other formal authentication (other than voter attestation); the State permits voters to submit an absentee ballot by dropping it off at designated locations before the close of polls on the date of the election, including at any polling location on the date of the election before the close of polls; the State— permits a voter to designate any person to return a voted and sealed absentee ballot to the post office, a ballot drop-off location, tribally designated building, or election office and that such person designated to return an absentee ballot shall not receive any form of compensation based on the number of ballots that the person has returned and no individual, group, or organization shall provide compensation on this basis; or does not put any limits on how many voted and sealed absentee ballots any designated person can return to the post office, a ballot drop off location, tribally designated building, or election office; and the State permits any eligible voter that submits a request for an absentee ballot to vote in such election, but does not receive their absentee ballot at least 2 days prior to election day to download and mark at home an absentee ballot provided by the State pursuant to section 103C of the Uniformed Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act or section 322 of this Act.
The requirements described in this subsection are that a State shall count a ballot submitted by an individual by mail with respect to an election for Federal office in the State— if it is postmarked, signed, or otherwise indicated by the United States Postal Service to have been mailed on or before the close of polls on the date of the election; and received by the appropriate State election official on or before the date that is 10 days after the date of such election. The requirement described in this subsection is that the State begins processing and scanning ballots cast during early voting or through vote by mail for tabulation at least 14 days prior to election day.
Nothing in this subsection shall allow for the tabulation of ballots before the close of polls on the date of the election. For purposes of this section, the term State includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. . Section 401 of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 21111 ) is amended by striking and 303 and inserting 303, and subtitle C of title III . Title IV of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 21111 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
In the case of a violation of subtitle C of title III, section 402 shall not apply and any person who is aggrieved by such violation may provide written notice of the violation to the chief election official of the State involved. If the violation is not corrected within 20 days after receipt of a notice under subsection (a), or within 5 days after receipt of the notice if the violation occurred within 120 days before the date of an election for Federal office, the aggrieved person may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the violation.
If the violation occurred within 5 days before the date of an election for Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide notice to the chief election official of the State involved under subsection
(a)before bringing a civil action under subsection (b). . Section 311(b) of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 21101 ) is amended— in paragraph (2), by striking and ; in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: in the case of the recommendations with respect to subtitle C, 1 year after the date of enactment of the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 . . The table of contents of such Act is amended— by inserting after the item relating to section 312 the following: Subtitle C—Additional Requirements Sec. 321. Availability of early voting and voting by mail. ; and by inserting after the item relating to section 402 the following: Sec. 403. Private right of action for violations of Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020. .
Connectionstraces to 3
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 3
Requirement to allow for early voting and no-excuse absentee voting
Cites 3Cited by 0 across 0 sources