Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020
Latest action · Mar 11, 2020 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 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.
- IntroducedMar 11, 2020
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020
This bill requires states and jurisdictions to adopt contingency plans and permit absentee voting in order to prevent the disruption of federal elections due to natural disasters or infectious diseases, including COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, the bill requires each state and jurisdiction to, within 30 days, create and publish a plan to operate their federal elections if a significant number of voters or poll workers are quarantined due to COVID-19. Such plan must (1) permit registered voters to submit online requests for absentee ballots and vote in federal elections by mail, and (2) extend vote-by-mail deadlines if postal service is disrupted as a result of COVID-19.
Additionally, when at least 25% of states have declared an emergency due to any single natural disaster or infectious disease, including COVID-19, states must
- allow registered voters to vote by absentee ballot,
- permit voters to submit online requests for absentee ballots,
- allow voters to receive electronic (i.e., print-at-home) ballots,
- accept absentee-ballot requests up to five days before an election for mailed ballots and one day before the election for print-at-home ballots, and
- accept ballots postmarked on or before the date of the election.
The bill also provides for an emergency voting period if a state governor declares a state of emergency.
States and jurisdictions must provide self-sealing return envelopes with prepaid postage for voter registration applications, absentee-ballot applications, and blank absentee ballots. The Election Assistance Commission must reimburse states for the costs of doing so.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Rules and Administration Committee | Referred Mar 11, 2020 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 11, 2020Introduced in Senate
- Mar 11, 2020Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and 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.
CRS reports 5
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 5
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R46949 | The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA): Overview and Ongoing Role in Election Administration Policy | Report | Mar 20, 2026 |
| R46455 | COVID-19 and Other Election Emergencies: Frequently Asked Questions and Recent Policy Developments Archived | Report | Jul 16, 2020 |
| R46407 | COVID-19: Remote Voting Trends and the Election Infrastructure Subsector Archived | Report | Jun 10, 2020 |
| LSB10470 | Election 2020 and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Legal Issues in Absentee and All-Mail Voting | Insight | May 15, 2020 |
| IF11456 | Disrupted Federal Elections: Policy Issues for Congress Archived | Resource | Mar 27, 2020 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 6202 | Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020 | Identical bill | Mar 11, 2020 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to require States to adopt contingency plans to prevent the disruption of Federal elections from the COVID-19 virus, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Resilient Elections During Quarantines and Natural Disasters Act of 2020
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Civil actions and liability
- Disaster relief and insurance
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Government liability
- Government Operations and Politics
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Intergovernmental relations
- Natural disasters
- Postal service
- State and local finance
- State and local government operations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 11, 2020Introduced in Senate
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.
