Voter Empowerment Act of 2019
Latest action · Mar 22, 2019 Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
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.
- IntroducedFeb 14, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Voter Empowerment Act of 2019
This bill addresses access to voting, including by
- requiring states to allow online voter registration, establish automatic voter registration, permit same day voter registration, and accept voter registration applications from individuals under age 18;
- prohibiting interference with voter registration or voting;
- requiring paper ballots and manual counting for recounts and audits;
- requiring states to allow early voting and voting by mail without additional conditions;
- making grants to states for poll worker recruitment and training;
- prohibiting certain political activities by a state's chief state election administration official;
- making grants for conducting risk-limiting audits of the results of elections; and
- permanently reauthorizing the Election Assistance Commission.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 14, 2019 to Sep 10, 2019; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-SC | James E. Clyburn | Original | Feb 14, 2019 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Feb 14, 2019 |
| D-MD | Steny H. Hoyer | Original | Feb 14, 2019 |
| D-CO | Joe Neguse | May 22, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Jun 28, 2019 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Jun 28, 2019 | |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Jul 25, 2019 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Sep 10, 2019 |
Committees 6
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 Feb 14, 2019 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2019 |
| Constitution and Limited Government Subcommittee | Referred Mar 22, 2019 | |
| House | Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2019 |
| Research and Technology Subcommittee | Referred Feb 14, 2019 | |
| House | Veterans' Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2019 |
| House | Oversight and Government Reform Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2019 |
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2019 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 22, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
- Feb 14, 2019Introduced in House
- Feb 14, 2019Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, Veterans' Affairs, Oversight and Reform, and Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- Feb 14, 2019Referred to the Subcommittee on Research and Technology.
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. 165, no. 29, February 14, 2019, page H2034.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46406 | Voter Registration: Recent Developments and Issues for Congress | Report | Oct 30, 2026 |
| IN11508 | Elections Grant Funding for States: Recent Appropriations and Legislative Proposals Archived | Insight | Sep 18, 2020 |
Related bills 18
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 1 | For the People Act of 2019 | Related bill | Mar 14, 2019 |
| HR 93 | Same Day Registration Act of 2019 | Related bill | Jan 3, 2019 |
| S 549 | Voter Empowerment Act of 2019 | Identical bill | Feb 25, 2019 |
| S 624 | Same Day Registration Act | Related bill | Feb 28, 2019 |
| HR 650 | America Votes Act of 2019 | Related bill | Jan 17, 2019 |
Titles 8
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To modernize voter registration, promote access to voting for individuals with disabilities, protect the ability of individuals to exercise the right to vote in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Voter Empowerment Act of 2019
- Short Title(s) as Introduced for portions of this bill
- Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2019
- Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019
- Democracy Restoration Act of 2019
- Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019
- Stop Automatically Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States Act
- Save Voters Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Accounting and auditing
- Administrative remedies
- American Samoa
- Caribbean area
- Citizenship and naturalization
- Civil actions and liability
- Commemorative events and holidays
- Computer security and identity theft
- Computers and information technology
- Congressional elections
- Congressional oversight
- Correctional facilities and imprisonment
- Crime prevention
- Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
- Criminal procedure and sentencing
- Department of Commerce
- Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
- Disability and paralysis
- Election Assistance Commission
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Employee leave
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Fraud offenses and financial crimes
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Guam
- Higher education
- Immigration status and procedures
- Internet and video services
- Internet, web applications, social media
- Law enforcement administration and funding
- Licensing and registrations
- Military personnel and dependents
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Political advertising
- Postal service
- Public contracts and procurement
- Puerto Rico
- Racial and ethnic relations
- State and local government operations
- U.S. Postal Service
- U.S. territories and protectorates
- Virgin Islands
- Voting rights
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 14, 2019Introduced 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.
