,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ach  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #c1         
#bjai,mrs4 ,davis of ,california        
introduced the following bill2 which was
 referred to the ,committee on ,house   
,administration  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend   
the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb  
to allow all eligible voters to vote by 
mail in ,federal elections4  #a4 ,short 
,title ,this ,act may be cited as the   
,universal ,right to ,vote by ,mail ,act
 of #bjai4  #b4 ,findings ,congress     
finds the following3  7#a7 ,an inequity 
of voting rights exists in the ,united  
,states because voters in some ,states  
have the universal right to vote by mail
 while voters in other ,states do not4  
7#b7 ,many voters often have work1      
family1 or other commitments that make  
getting to polls on the date of an      
election difficult or impossible4 ,under
 current ,state laws1 many of these     
voters are not permitted to vote by     
mail4  7#c7 #cb ,states and the         

,district of ,columbia currently allow  
universal absentee voting 7also known as
 no-excuse absentee voting71 which      
permits any voter to request a mail-in  
ballot without providing a reason for   
the request1 and no ,state which has    
implemented no-excuse absentee voting   
has switched back4  7#d7 ,voting by mail
 gives voters more time to consider     
their choices1 which is especially      
important as many ballots contain       
greater numbers of questions about      
complex issues than in the past due to  
the expanded use of the initiative and  
referendum process in many ,states4     
7#e7 ,allowing all voters the option to 
vote by mail can lead to increased voter
 participation4  7#f7 ,allowing all     
voters the option to vote by mail can   
reduce waiting times for those voters   
who choose to vote at the polls4  7#g7  
,voting by mail is preferable to many   
voters as an alternative to going to the
 polls4 ,voting by mail has become      
increasingly popular with voters who    

want to be certain that they are able to
 vote no matter what comes up on        
,election ,day4  7#h7 ,no evidence      
exists suggesting the potential for     
fraud in absentee balloting is greater  
than the potential for fraud by any     
other method of voting4  7#i7 ,many of  
the reasons which voters in many ,states
 are required to provide in order to    
vote by mail require the revelation of  
personal information about health1      
travel plans1 or religious activities1  
which violate voters' privacy while     
doing nothing to prevent voter fraud4   
7#aj7 ,state laws which require voters  
to obtain a notary signature to vote by 
mail only add cost and inconvenience to 
voters without increasing security4  #c4
 ,promoting ,ability of ,voters to ,vote
 by ,mail in ,federal ,elections  7a7   
,in ,general ,subtitle ,a of title ,,iii
 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of    
#bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha et seq47 is 
amended by inserting after section #cjc 
the following new section3  #cjc;,a4    

,promoting ability of voters to vote by 
mail  7a7 ,in ,general ,if an individual
 in a ,state is eligible to cast a vote 
in an election for ,federal office1 the 
,state may not impose any additional    
conditions or requirements on the       
eligibility of the individual to cast   
the vote in such election by mail1      
except to the extent that the ,state    
imposes a deadline for requesting the   
ballot and related voting materials from
 the appropriate ,state or local        
election official and for returning the 
ballot to the appropriate ,state or     
local election official4  7b7 ,rule of  
,construction ,nothing in this section  
shall be construed to affect the        
authority of ,states to conduct         
elections for ,federal office through   
the use of polling places at which      
individuals cast ballots on the date of 
the election4  7c7 ,effective ,date ,a  
,state shall be required to comply with 
the requirements of this section with   
respect to elections for ,federal office

 held in years beginning with #bjbb4  4 
7b7 ,conforming ,amendment ,relating to 
,enforcement ,section #dja of such ,act 
7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by    
striking and #cjc and inserting #cjc1   
and #cjc;,a4  7c7 ,clerical ,amendment  
,the table of contents for such ,act is 
amended by inserting after the item     
relating to section #cjc the following  
new item3  ,sec4 #cjc;,a4 ,promoting    
ability of voters to vote by mail4  4