America Votes Act of 2015
Latest action · Jul 29, 2015 Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 29, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
America Votes Act of 2015
This bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to permit an individual required to present identification as a condition for voting in a federal election to meet the requirement by presenting the appropriate state or local election official with a sworn written statement, signed by the individual under penalty of perjury, attesting to the individual's identification and that he or she is registered to vote in the election. Allows an individual desiring to vote by mail to submit such a statement with the ballot.
Requires any state subject to this identification requirement to: (1) prepare a pre-printed version of the statement which includes a blank space for an individual to provide a name and signature, (2) make copies of the pre-printed version available at polling places for election officials to distribute to individuals who desire to vote in person, and (3) include a copy of the pre-printed version with each blank absentee or other ballot transmitted to an individual who desires to vote by mail.
Prohibits a state from requiring an individual who presents or submits such a sworn written statement to cast a provisional ballot in the election.
Excepts first-time voters registering by mail from application of this Act.
Requires states requiring an individual to present identification as a condition of receiving and casting a ballot in a federal election to include the use of a sworn written statement in voting information posted at polling places.
Cosponsors 68
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 29, 2015 to Dec 11, 2015; 33 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-LA | Cedric L. Richmond | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-WA | Denny Heck | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CT | Elizabeth H. Esty | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-NY | Gregory W. Meeks | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CT | James A. Himes | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-SC | James E. Clyburn | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CA | Janice Hahn | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-WA | Jim McDermott | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-OH | Joyce Beatty | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MA | Niki Tsongas | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-NY | Sean Patrick Maloney | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-NY | Steve Israel | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MO | Wm. Lacy Clay | Original | Jul 29, 2015 |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Jul 31, 2015 | |
| D-GU | Madeleine Z. Bordallo | Jul 31, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Norma J. Torres | Jul 31, 2015 | |
| D-IN | André Carson | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Charles B. Rangel | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-DE | John C. Carney, Jr. | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| D-FL | Kathy Castor | Sep 9, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Michael M. Honda | Sep 11, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Sep 16, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Sep 16, 2015 | |
| D-MI | Sander M. Levin | Sep 16, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Tony Cárdenas | Sep 16, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Eric Swalwell | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Sep 24, 2015 | |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Sep 29, 2015 | |
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Sep 29, 2015 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Oct 8, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Oct 20, 2015 | |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Oct 20, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Jackie Speier | Oct 20, 2015 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Oct 20, 2015 | |
| D-TX | Marc A. Veasey | Oct 21, 2015 | |
| D-NM | Michelle Lujan Grisham | Oct 21, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Oct 27, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Scott H. Peters | Oct 27, 2015 | |
| D-MA | Katherine M. Clark | Dec 11, 2015 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Committee on House Administration | Referred Jul 29, 2015 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 29, 2015Introduced in House
- Jul 29, 2015Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 121, July 29, 2015, page H5773.
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R42806 | State Voter Identification Requirements: Analysis, Legal Issues, and Policy Considerations Archived | Report | Oct 21, 2016 |
| RS20898 | The Help America Vote Act and Election Administration: Overview and Selected Issues for the 2016 Election Archived | Report | Oct 18, 2016 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2854 | America Votes Act of 2017 | Reintroduced Bill | Jun 8, 2017 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to permit an individual who is subject to a requirement to present identification as a condition of voting in an election for Federal office to meet such requirement by presenting a sworn written statement attesting to the individual's identification, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- America Votes Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 29, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
