VoteSafe Act of 2020
Latest action · May 12, 2020 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.
- IntroducedMay 12, 2020
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
VoteSafe Act of 2020
This bill expands vote-by-mail and early in-person voting during the 2020 federal elections. It also directs polling places to follow certain guidance related to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) preparedness.
Specifically, each state and local jurisdiction must permit no-excuse mail-in absentee voting. Among other things, each state and jurisdiction must (1) provide a mail-in ballot with prepaid return postage to each registered voter who requests such a ballot, (2) allow voters to submit online ballot requests, (3) allow voters to cure certain signature discrepancies, and (4) provide secured drop-off boxes from 45 days before the date of the election.
Each state and local jurisdiction must maintain an early in-person voting period of at least 20 days.
Additionally, each state must establish a plan to ensure that polling places are implementing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related to COVID-19 preparedness. Among other requirements, each plan must (1) keep as many voting locations open as possible, (2) prepare polling locations to implement social distancing protocols, (3) provide sufficient quantities of hygiene and cleaning supplies at polling locations, and (4) provide additional compensation and protective equipment to poll workers.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must make a payment, within 30 days, to each state to carry out these requirements.
Finally, the EAC must make payments to eligible states to carry out certain activities related to in-person voting, such as ensuring that elections are accessible to individuals with disabilities and implementing curbside voting.
Cosponsors 65
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 12, 2020 to May 19, 2020, with 54 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-IN | André Carson | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-MI | Daniel T. Kildee | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-NM | Debra A. Haaland | Original | May 12, 2020 |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Original | May 12, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 12, 2020Introduced in House
- May 12, 2020Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Related bills 3
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 3725 | VoteSafe Act of 2020 | Related bill | May 13, 2020 |
| S 3822 | DemocracyCorps Act | Related bill | May 21, 2020 |
| HR 7068 | VoteSafe Act of 2020 | Related bill | Jun 1, 2020 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Alaska Natives and Hawaiians
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Civil actions and liability
- Disability assistance
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Foreign language and bilingual programs
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Health promotion and preventive care
- Health technology, devices, supplies
- Indian social and development programs
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Postal service
- State and local finance
- State and local government operations
- Voting rights
- Wages and earnings
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 12, 2020Introduced 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.