,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fbjb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #aa1 #bjbj,mr4 ,blumenauer 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 and ,ms4 ,del,bene7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,house ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to require ,states to adopt contingency plans to prevent the disruption of ,federal elections from the ,,covid-#ai virus1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,resilient ,elections ,during ,quarantines and ,natural ,disasters ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,requirements for ,federal election contingency plans in response to ,,covid-#ai 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 each ,state and jurisdiction shall establish and make publicly available a contingency plan to enable individuals to vote in elections for ,federal office in any case in which a significant number of individuals in such ,state or jurisdiction are unable to vote because-- 7#a7 they are under a quarantine that is-- 7,a7 imposed by a government order in response to the coronavirus disease #bjai 7referred to in this section as ,,covid-#ai72 or 7,b7 recommended by a government official or public health expert in response to ,,covid-#ai2 or 7#b7 their polling place is closed because poll workers or election officials are under a quarantine that is-- 7,a7 imposed by a government order in response to ,,covid-#ai2 or 7,b7 recommended by a government official or public health expert in response to ,,covid-#ai4 7b7 ,requirement ,to plan for voters ,to be able ,to request absentee ballots online and vote by mail ,the contingency plan established under subsection 7a7 shall-- 7#a7 permit all individuals who are registered to vote to-- 7,a7 submit an online request for an absentee ballot2 and 7,b7 cast a vote in ,federal elections by mail2 and 7#b7 provide for the extension of vote-by-mail deadlines if postal service is disrupted as a result of ,,covid-#ai4 7c7 ,state ,for purposes of this section1 the term ,state includes the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 7d7 ,enforcement ,the ,attorney ,general may bring a civil action against any ,state or jurisdiction in an appropriate ,united ,states ,district ,court for such declaratory and injunctive relief 7including a temporary restraining order1 a permanent or temporary injunction1 or other order7 as may be necessary to carry out the requirements of this section4 #c4 ,requirement to allow no-excuse absentee voting during certain periods 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle3 ,c ,other ,requirements #cba4 ,no-excuse absentee voting during national emergencies 7a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding section #f7;c7 of the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjeje7;c771 in the case of any election for ,federal office occurring during any period described in subsection 7b71 each ,state and jurisdiction shall-- 7#a7 permit any eligible voter to use absentee registration procedures and to vote by absentee ballot2 and 7#b7 comply with the requirements of subsection 7d74 ,for purposes of this subsection1 an election shall be considered to occur during a period described in subsection 7b7 if votes may be cast in such election 7through absentee balloting1 early voting1 or otherwise7 on any day during such period4 7b7 ,period described 7#a7 ,in general ,a period described in this subsection is a period-- 7,a7 subject to paragraph 7#b71 that begins with the date that is #cj days after the date on which at least #be percent of ,states have declared an emergency 7under the laws of the ,state7 with respect to any single natural disaster or infectious disease 7including the coronavirus disease #bjai 7referred to in this section as ,,covid-#ai772 and 7,b7 that ends with-- 7i7 in the case of a ,state that did not declare an emergency with respect to the single natural disaster or infectious disease described in subparagraph 7,a71 #ahj days after the first date on which less than #be percent of ,states have an emergency declaration in effect with respect to such natural disaster or disease2 and 7ii7 in the case of a ,state that did declare an emergency with respect to such natural disaster or infectious disease1 the later of-- 7,i7 #ahj days after the date on which the ,state declares that the emergency is no longer in effect2 and 7,,ii7 the date described in clause 7i74 7#b7 ,special period ,if1 as of the date of enactment of this section1 at least #be percent of ,states have declared an emergency 7under the laws of the ,state7 with respect to any single natural disaster or infectious disease 7including ,,covid-#ai71 then a period described in this subsection shall begin on the date that is #cj days after the date of enactment of this section4 7#c7 ,treatment of emergency declarations by certain counties and cities ,for purposes of this subsection1 a ,state shall be deemed to have declared an emergency under the laws of the ,state with respect to a natural disaster or infectious disease 7including ,,covid-#ai7 if an emergency is declared with respect to such disaster or infectious disease by a city1 county1 parish1 or other political subdivision of the ,state that has a population that is greater than #a1jjj1jjj4 7c7 ,state option ,to declare emergency voting period 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding section #f7;c7 of the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjeje7;c771 if the ,governor of a ,state has declared an emergency voting period with respect to the ,state in accordance with paragraph 7#b71 the ,state and any jurisdiction in the ,state1 with respect to any election for ,federal office occurring during such period1 shall-- 7,a7 permit any eligible voter to use absentee registration procedures and to vote by absentee ballot2 and 7,b7 comply with the requirements of subsection 7d74 ,for purposes of this paragraph1 an election shall be considered to occur during an emergency voting period if votes may be cast in such election 7through absentee balloting1 early voting1 or otherwise7 on any day during such period4 7#b7 ,emergency voting period 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,governor of a ,state may declare an emergency voting period in the ,state by-- 7i7 stating that a natural disaster or infectious disease 7including ,,covid-#ai7 has resulted in emergency conditions in the ,state2 and 7ii7 invoking the authority provided under this subsection to apply the absentee registration procedures and absentee voting requirements described in paragraph 7#a7 to the ,state4 7,b7 ,duration of emergency voting period ,an emergency voting period declared by a ,governor of a ,state under subparagraph 7,a7-- 7i7 shall begin on the date that is #cj days after the ,governor declares the emergency voting period in accordance with subparagraph 7,a72 and 7ii7 shall end on the later of-- 7,i7 #ahj days after the date on which the ,governor declares that emergency conditions no longer exist in the ,state2 and 7,,ii7 if applicable1 the date on which the period described in subsection 7b7 ends4 7d7 ,absentee registration and voting requirements ,the requirements described in this subsection are the following3 7#a7 ,deadline for absentee ballots ,if a ballot submitted by an individual by mail with respect to an election for ,federal office in the ,state is postmarked on or before the date of the election1 the ,state may not refuse to accept or process the ballot on the grounds that the individual did not meet a deadline for returning the ballot to the appropriate ,state or local election official4 7#b7 ,absentee ballot requests ,the ,state shall-- 7,a7 permit any eligible voter to submit an online request for an absentee ballot to vote in an election for ,federal office in the ,state2 7,b7 send an absentee ballot to vote in an election for ,federal office in the ,state by mail to any eligible voter that submits a request for such a ballot on or before the date that is #e days before the date of such election2 and 7,c7 on or before the date that is #a day before the date of an election for ,federal office in the ,state1 permit any eligible voter that submits a request for an absentee ballot to vote in such election to download or receive via electronic mail a version of such ballot that the voter may print out and mail in4 7#c7 ,no excuse required ,the ,state shall not require that an eligible voter provide a reason in order to vote by absentee ballot or request to receive an absentee ballot4 7#d7 ,no write-in ballots ,any absentee ballot for an election for ,federal office in the ,state that is provided to an eligible voter pursuant to paragraph 7#b7 shall include the name of each candidate for such office4 7e7 ,state ,for purposes of this section1 the term ,state includes the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 7f7 ,private right of action 7#a7 ,in general ,in the case of a violation of this section1 section #djb shall not apply and any person who is aggrieved by such violation may provide written notice of the violation to the chief election official of the ,state involved4 7#b7 ,relief ,if the violation is not corrected within #bj days after receipt of a notice under paragraph 7#a71 or within #e days after receipt of the notice if the violation occurred within #abj days before the date of an election for ,federal office1 the aggrieved person may1 in a civil action1 obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the violation4 4 7b7 ,enforcement by ,attorney ,general ,section #dja of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7 #eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by striking and #cjc and inserting #cjc1 and #cba4 7c7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #cab the following3 ,subtitle ,c--,other ,requirements ,sec4 #cba4 ,no-excuse absentee voting during national emergencies4 4 #d4 ,requirement for prepaid return envelopes for absentee ballots 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-- 7#a7 by redesignating sections #cjd and #cje as sections #cje and #cjf1 respectively2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #cjc the following new section3 #cjd4 ,use of prepaid self-sealing return envelopes 7a7 ,in general ,each ,state and local jurisdiction shall provide with any voter registration application1 absentee ballot application1 or blank absentee ballot sent by mail a self-sealing return envelope with prepaid postage or subject to an arrangement whereby the ,state will reimburse the ,united ,states ,postal ,service for the postage of any such return envelope that is sent by mail4 7b7 ,state ,for purposes of this section1 the term ,state includes the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 7c7 ,effective date ,the requirements of this section shall apply to materials sent by ,states and local jurisdictions after the date that is #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendment relating to enforcement ,section #dja of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa71 as amended by section #c7;b71 is amended by inserting #cjd1 after #cjc14 7c7 ,clerical amendments ,the table of contents of such ,act is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating the items relating to sections #cjd and #cje as relating to sections #cje and #cjf1 respectively2 and 7#b7 by inserting after the item relating to section #cjc the following new item3 ,sec4 #cjd4 ,use of prepaid self-sealing return envelopes4 4 #e4 ,reimbursements to ,states 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,d of title ,,ii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajja et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #g ,reimbursements for ,certain ,federal ,election ,expenditures #big4 ,reimbursements 7a7 ,in general ,the ,commission shall make payments to each ,state equal to the following costs incurred by the ,state 7and local jurisdictions within the ,state73 7#a7 ,costs of printing and mailing ballots and balloting material to absentee voters4 7#b7 ,costs for providing return envelopes and the postage associated with such envelopes pursuant to section #cjd4 7#c7 ,costs of purchasing high speed scanners and other equipment for processing absentee ballots4 7#d7 ,costs of purchasing and deploying absentee ballot drop boxes4 7#e7 ,costs paid or incurred in complying with section #b of the ,resilient ,elections ,during ,quarantines and ,natural ,disasters ,act of #bjbj4 7#f7 ,any costs not described in paragraph 7#a7 that are paid or incurred in complying with section #cba4 7b7 ,limitation ,no funds may be provided to a ,state under this section for costs attributable to the electronic return of marked ballots by any voter4 7c7 ,pass-,through of funds to local jurisdictions 7#a7 ,in general ,subject to paragraph 7#b71 if a ,state receives a payment under this section for costs that include costs incurred by a local jurisdiction within the ,state1 the ,state shall pass through to such local jurisdiction a portion of such payment that is equal to the amount of the costs incurred by such local jurisdiction4 7#b7 ,insufficient funds ,if a ,state receives a payment for a period under this section that1 as a result of the application of subsection 7d71 is less than the aggregate amount of costs described in subsection 7a7 for such ,state for such period1 than the portion of such payment that the ,state is required to pass through to a local jurisdiction under paragraph 7#a7 shall not exceed the amount which bears the same ratio to the total amount of costs incurred by such local jurisdiction for such period as-- 7,a7 the amount of the payment received by the ,state under this section for the period2 bears to 7,b7 the aggregate amount of costs described in subsection 7a7 for such ,state for such period4 7d7 ,insufficient funds ,if the amount appropriated under section #bih exceeds the aggregate costs incurred by all ,states for the amounts described in subsection 7a7 for any period1 the amount of payment made under such subsection to each ,state shall not exceed the amount which bears the same ratio to the aggregate amount of costs described in subsection 7a7 for such ,state for such period as-- 7#a7 the voting age population of the ,state 7as reported in the most recent decennial census72 bears to 7#b7 the total voting age population of all ,states 7as reported in the most recent decennial census74 7e7 ,state ,for purposes of this section1 the term ,state includes the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 #bih4 ,authorization of appropriations 7a7 ,in general ,there are authorized to be appropriated for payments under this part #ejj1jjj1jjj for fiscal year #bjbj4 7b7 ,availability of funds ,amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under this section shall remain available1 without fiscal year limitation1 until fiscal year #bjcj4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #bif the following3 ,part #g--,reimbursements for certain ,federal election expenditures ,sec4 #big4 ,reimbursements4 ,sec4 #bih4 ,authorization of appropriations4 4