Sec. 2. Federal standards for mail-in ballots
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Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) is amended— by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as sections 305 and 306, respectively; and by inserting after section 303 the following new section: When otherwise permitted by State law, any vote-by-mail system used in an election for Federal office must be designed and implemented to ensure a secure, uniform, and timely system to cast a mail-in ballot in accordance with this section. Requests for a mail-in ballot under such system may be submitted electronically or by postal mail using a standardized form approved for such requests by the chief State election official.
The form for such requests must enable an election official who receives the request to confirm— the identity of the individual submitting the request; that the individual is validly registered to vote in the jurisdiction where the request is submitted; and that the individual continues to reside at the physical address where the individual is registered to vote (if different than the mailing address where the ballot is requested to be sent). Such request must be submitted by an individual and received by the office of the State or local election supervisor not later than 21 days before the date of the election for Federal office.
Upon receipt of such a request, the State or local election supervisor shall fulfill the request by mailing a mail-in ballot to the individual within 3 days. The office of the State or local election supervisor shall— record the total number of mail-in ballots sent to voters pursuant to this section; and include a notation on the voter rolls maintained by the office and provided to the individual polling locations, which identifies that a voter has received a mail-in ballot and the date that mail-in ballot was sent to the voter.
To be considered validly cast and eligible to be counted in an election for Federal office, a mail-in ballot must— be marked using blue or black ink, and properly designate the individual’s vote for each candidate; be signed by the individual using the same signature the individual used to register to vote; be dated; be received by the appropriate election official no later than the time polls close on the date of the election; include an attestation, signed by the individual, that the individual submitting the mail-in ballot is— the individual to whom the ballot was mailed; registered to vote in the jurisdiction where the ballot is being submitted; and submitting the mail-in ballot in lieu of casting a ballot in-person, and will not attempt to cast a ballot in-person after submitting the mail-in ballot.
An individual may choose to return a mail-in ballot in-person to the polling place where the individual is registered to vote in lieu of returning the ballot by mail. An individual who receives a mail-in ballot with respect to an election for Federal office may instead vote in-person in such election if the individual turns in the blank or incomplete mail-in ballot received by the individual to the polling location where the individual plans to vote in-person. If the individual attempts to vote in-person but does not bring their blank or incomplete mail-in ballot to the polling location, the individual shall be directed to complete a provisional ballot.
It shall be unlawful for any person to possess or return a mail-in ballot completed by another person, except as provided in this subsection. A person may possess or return a mail-in ballot completed by an immediate family member, provided that the person does not possess more than two such completed mail-in ballots other than his or her own. In this paragraph, the term immediate family member means the spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or sibling of the person. A caregiver may possess or return a mail-in ballot completed by a person under the supervision or care of the caregiver, provided that the caregiver does not possess more than two such completed mail-in ballots other than his or her own.
In this paragraph, the term caregiver means an individual who has the responsibility for the care of an older individual, either voluntarily, by contract, by receipt of payment for care, or as a result of the operation of law and means an individual who provides (on behalf of such individual or of a public or private agency, organization, or institution) compensated or uncompensated care to an older individual. The prohibition under paragraph
(1)shall not apply to the incidental possession of mail-in ballots by a postal worker or election official acting within the scope of his or her official capacity. Any person who violates this subsection shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. This section shall apply with respect to elections for Federal office held after the date of the enactment of this section. . Section 401 of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 21111 ) is amended by striking and 303 and inserting 303, and 304 .
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