,,ii  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #he  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the 
,,united ,,states  ,january #bc         
7legislative day1 ,january #c71 #bjac   
,mr4 ,coons 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,warner1 
,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 and 
,mrs4 ,gillibrand7 introduced the       
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,rules   
and ,administration  ,a ,,bill  ,to     
provide incentives for ,states to invest
 in practices and technology that are   
designed to expedite voting at the polls
 and to simplify voter registration4    
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,louis ,l4 ,redding ,fair1      
,accurate1 ,secure1 and ,timely ,voting 
,act of #bjac or the ,,fast ,voting ,act
 of #bjac4  #b4 ,incentives for ,states 
to invest in practices and technology   
that are designed to expedite voting at 
the polls and simplify voter            
registration  7a7 ,purposes ,the        
purposes of this section are to--  7#a7 
provide incentives for ,states to invest

 in practices and technology that are   
designed to expedite voting at the      
polls2 and  7#b7 provide incentives for 
,states to simplify voter registration4 
7b7 ,reservation of funds ,from the     
amount made available to carry out this 
section for a fiscal year1 the ,attorney
 ,general may reserve not more than #aj 
percent of such amount to carry out     
activities related to--  7#a7 technical 
assistance2 and  7#b7 outreach and      
dissemination4  7c7 ,program authorized 
7#a7 ,in general ,from the amounts made 
available under subsection 7h7 for a    
fiscal year and not reserved under      
subsection 7b71 the ,attorney ,general  
shall award grants1 on a competitive    
basis1 to ,states in accordance with    
subsection 7d77#b71 to enable the       
,states to carry out the purposes of    
this section4  7#b7 ,number of grants ,a
 ,state may not receive more than #a    
grant under this section per grant      
period4  7#c7 ,duration of grants  7,a7 
,in general ,a grant under this section 

shall be awarded for a period of not    
more than #d years4  7,b7 ,continuation 
of grants ,a ,state that is awarded a   
grant under this section shall not      
receive grant funds under this section  
for the second or any subsequent year of
 the grant unless the ,state            
demonstrates to the ,attorney ,general1 
at such time and in such manner as      
determined by the ,attorney ,general1   
that the ,state is--  7i7 making        
progress in implementing the plan under 
subsection 7d77#a77;,c7 at a rate that  
the ,attorney ,general determines will  
result in the ,state fully implementing 
such plan during the remainder of the   
grant period2 or  7ii7 making progress  
against the performance measures set    
forth in subsection 7e7 at a rate that  
the ,attorney ,general determines will  
result in the ,state reaching its       
targets and achieving the objectives of 
the grant during the remainder of the   
grant period4  7d7 ,applications  7#a7  
,applications ,each ,state that desires 

to receive a grant under this section   
shall submit an application to the      
,attorney ,general at such time1 in such
 manner1 and containing such information
 as the ,attorney ,general may          
reasonably require4 ,at a minimum1 each 
such application shall include--  7,a7  
documentation of the applicant's record1
 as applicable--  7i7 in providing      
various voter registration              
opportunities2  7ii7 in providing early 
voting2  7iii7 in providing absentee    
voting2  7iv7 in providing assistance to
 voters who do not speak ,english as a  
primary language2  7v7 in providing     
assistance to voters with disabilities2 
7vi7 in providing effective access to   
voting for members of the armed         
services2  7vii7 in providing formal    
training of election officials2  7viii7 
in auditing or otherwise documenting    
waiting times at polling stations2  7ix7
 in allocating polling locations1       
equipment1 and staff to match population
 distribution2  7x7 in responding to    

voting irregularities and concerns      
raised at polling stations2  7xi7 in    
creating and adhering to contingency    
voting plans in the event of a natural  
or other disaster2 and  7xii7 with      
respect to any other performance measure
 described in subsection 7e7 that is not
 included in clauses 7i7 through 7xi72  
7,b7 evidence of conditions of          
innovation and reform that the applicant
 has established and the applicant's    
proposed plan for implementing          
additional conditions for innovation and
 reform1 including--  7i7 a description 
of how the applicant has identified and 
eliminated ineffective practices in the 
past and the applicant's plan for doing 
so in the future2  7ii7 a description of
 how the applicant has identified and   
promoted effective practices in the past
 and the applicant's plan for doing so  
in the future2 and  7iii7 steps the     
applicant has taken and will take to    
eliminate statutory1 regulatory1        
procedural1 or other barriers and to    

facilitate the full implementation of   
the proposed plan under this            
subparagraph2  7,c7 a comprehensive and 
coherent plan for using funds under this
 section1 and other ,federal1 ,state1   
and local funds1 to improve the         
applicant's performance on the measures 
described in subsection 7e71 consistent 
with criteria set forth by the ,attorney
 ,general1 including how the applicant  
will1 if applicable--  7i7 provide      
flexible registration opportunities1    
including online and same-day           
registration and registration updating2 
7ii7 provide early voting1 at a minimum 
of #i of the #aj calendar days preceding
 an election1 at sufficient and flexible
 hours2  7iii7 provide absentee voting1 
including no-excuse absentee voting2    
7iv7 provide assistance to voters who do
 not speak ,english as a primary        
language2  7v7 provide assistance to    
voters with disabilities1 including     
visual impairment2  7vi7 provide        
effective access to voting for members  

of the armed services2  7vii7 provide   
formal training of election officials1  
including ,state and county             
administrators and volunteers2  7viii7  
audit and reduce waiting times at       
polling stations2  7ix7 allocate polling
 locations1 equipment1 and staff to     
match population distribution2  7x7     
respond to any reports of voting        
irregularities or concerns raised at the
 polling station2  7xi7 create          
contingency voting plans in the event of
 a natural or other disaster2 and  7xii7
 improve the wait times at the          
persistently poorest performing polling 
stations within the jurisdiction of the 
applicant2  7,d7 evidence of            
collaboration between the ,state1 local 
election officials1 and other           
stakeholders1 in developing the plan    
described in subparagraph 7,c71         
including evidence of the commitment and
 capacity to implement the plan2  7,e7  
the applicant's annual performance      
measures and targets1 consistent with   

the requirements of subsection 7e72 and 
7,f7 a description of the applicant's   
plan to conduct a rigorous evaluation of
 the effectiveness of activities carried
 out with funds under this section4     
7#b7 ,criteria for evaluating           
applications  7,a7 ,award basis ,the    
,attorney ,general shall award grants   
under this section on a competitive     
basis1 based on the quality of the      
applications submitted under paragraph  
7#a71 including--  7i7 each applicant's 
record in the areas described in        
paragraph 7#a77;,a72  7ii7 each         
applicant's record of1 and commitment   
to1 establishing conditions for         
innovation and reform1 as described in  
paragraph 7#a77;,b72  7iii7 the quality 
and likelihood of success of each       
applicant's plan described in paragraph 
7#a77;,c7 in showing improvement in the 
areas described in paragraph 7#a77;,a71 
including each applicant's capacity to  
implement the plan and evidence of      
collaboration as described in paragraph 

7#a77;,d72 and  7iv7 each applicant's   
evaluation plan as described in         
paragraph 7#a77;,f74  7,b7 ,explanation 
,the ,attorney ,general shall publish an
 explanation of how the application     
review process under this paragraph will
 ensure an equitable and objective      
evaluation based on the criteria        
described in subparagraph 7,a74  7e7    
,performance measures ,each ,state      
receiving a grant under this section    
shall establish performance measures and
 targets1 approved by the ,attorney     
,general1 for the programs and          
activities carried out under this       
section4 ,these measures shall1 at a    
minimum1 track the ,state's progress--  
7#a7 in implementing its plan described 
in subsection 7d77#a77;,c72  7#b7 in    
expediting voting at the polls or       
simplifying voter registration1 as      
applicable2 and  7#c7 on any other      
measures identified by the ,attorney    
,general4  7f7 ,uses of funds ,each     
,state that receives a grant under this 

section shall use the grant funds for   
any purpose included in the ,state's    
plan under subsection 7d77#a77;,c74  7g7
 ,reporting ,a ,state that receives a   
grant under this section shall submit to
 the ,attorney ,general1 at such time   
and in such manner as the ,attorney     
,general may require1 an annual report  
including--  7#a7 data on the ,state's  
progress in achieving the targets for   
the performance measures established    
under subsection 7e72  7#b7 a           
description of the challenges the ,state
 has faced in implementing its program  
and how it has addressed or plans to    
address those challenges2 and  7#c7     
findings from the evaluation plan as    
described in subsection 7d77#a77;,f74   
7h7 ,authorization of appropriations    
,there are authorized to be appropriated
 such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out this section4