,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fhdg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #ab1 #bjbj,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida 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 require ,states to conduct elections for ,federal office held in #bjbj solely through the use of mail-in absentee ballots1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,vote ,from ,home ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,requiring ,states to conduct elections in #bjbj solely through use of mail-in ballots 7a7 ,requirement ,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 ,special ,rules for ,elections ,held in #bjbj #cba4 ,requiring elections to be conducted solely through use of mail-in absentee ballots 7a7 ,requirement ,in the case of any election for ,federal office held in a ,state during the period described in subsection 7b7-- 7#a7 the ,state may not operate any polling place for the casting of ballots in the election2 and 7#b7 the ,state shall conduct the election solely through the use of mail-in absentee ballots in accordance with the requirements of section #cbb4 7b7 ,period described 7#a7 ,in general ,the period described in this subsection is the period which begins on the expiration of the #cj-;day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this subtitle and ends on ,january #e1 #bjba4 7#b7 ,application to primary elections occurring prior to period ,in the case of any election for ,federal office held in a ,state during the #cj-;day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this ,act-- 7,a7 the ,state may operate polling places for the casting of ballots in the election2 and 7,b7 the ,state shall make a good-faith effort to conduct the election through the use of mail-in absentee ballots in accordance with the requirements of section #cbb4 #cbb4 ,requirements for use of mail-in absentee ballots 7a7 ,automatic transmission of ballots by election officials 7#a7 ,in general ,the appropriate ,state or local election official shall transmit an absentee ballot for an election for ,federal office held during the period described in section #cba7;b7 to each individual who is registered to vote in the election1 or1 in the case of any ,state that does not register voters1 to every individual who is eligible to vote in the election4 7#b7 ,location to which ballots are transmitted ,the official shall transmit the ballot to an individual under this subsection to the mailing address which is on file for the individual on the list of registered voters in the election 7or1 in the case of any ,state that does not register voters1 the mailing address for the individual on the official record or other document used by the ,state to verify the eligibility of the individual to vote in the election71 except that the official shall transmit the ballot to an alternative mailing address provided to the official by the individual 7by telephone1 by mail1 or by an online method71 so long as the individual provides the alternative mailing address to the official not later than the date that is #b weeks before the date of the election involved or such alternative date as the ,state may establish1 whichever is closer to the date of the election4 7#c7 ,deadline for transmission ,the official shall transmit the ballot to an individual under this section not later than #c weeks before the date of the election4 7b7 ,no excuse required ,to vote by absentee ballot ,if an individual in the ,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 an absentee ballot transmitted under this section4 7c7 ,due process requirements for signature verification 7#a7 ,notice and opportunity to cure discrepancy ,if an individual submits an absentee ballot in an election for ,federal office during the period described in section #cba7;b7 and the appropriate ,state or local election official determines that a discrepancy exists between the signature on such ballot and the signature of such individual on the official list of registered voters in the ,state 7or1 in the case of any ,state that does not register voters1 on the official record or other document used by the ,state to verify the eligibility of the individual to vote in the election71 such election official1 prior to making a final determination as to the validity of such ballot1 shall make a good faith effort to immediately notify such individual by mail1 telephone1 and 7if available7 electronic mail that-- 7,a7 a discrepancy exists between the signature on such ballot and the signature of such individual on the official list of registered voters in the ,state 7or1 in the case of any ,state that does not register voters1 on the official record or other document used by the ,state to verify the eligibility of the individual to vote in the election72 7,b7 such individual may provide the official with information to cure such discrepancy1 either in person1 by telephone1 or by electronic methods2 and 7,c7 if such discrepancy is not cured prior to the expiration of the #g-;day period which begins on the date of the election1 such ballot will not be counted4 7#b7 ,opportunity to provide missing signature ,if an individual submits an absentee ballot without a signature1 the ,state shall notify the individual and give the individual an opportunity to provide the missing signature on a form proscribed by the ,state4 7#c7 ,other requirements ,an election official may not make a determination that a discrepancy exists between the signature on an absentee ballot and the signature of the individual who submits the ballot on the official list of registered voters in the ,state 7or1 in the case of any ,state that does not register voters1 on the official record or other document used by the ,state to verify the eligibility of the individual to vote in the election71 unless-- 7,a7 at least #b election officials make the determination2 and 7,b7 each official who makes the determination has received training in procedures used to verify signatures4 7d7 ,payment of postage on return envelopes 7#a7 ,provision of return envelope ,the appropriate ,state or local election official shall provide a self-sealing return envelope with each absentee ballot transmitted under this section4 7#b7 ,prepayment of postage ,consistent with regulations of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service1 the ,state or the unit of local government responsible for the administration of the election involved shall prepay the postage on any envelope provided under paragraph 7#a74 7e7 ,assistance for certain voters ,in the case of an individual with a disability or a serious illness or a language minority individual1 the ,state shall permit the individual to receive assistance from a person of the individual's choosing to complete and submit the ballot transmitted under this section4 #cbc4 ,payments to assist with costs of compliance 7a7 ,availability of payments ,the ,commission shall make a payment to each eligible ,state to assist with the costs incurred in complying with the requirements of this subtitle1 including costs attributable to postage1 equipment such as high-speed ballot scanners and automated mail sorting systems1 election personnel to process absentee ballots and related materials1 online voter registration systems1 public education campaigns1 and software to track absentee ballots4 7b7 ,amount of payment ,the amount of the payment made to a ,state under this section shall be determined by the ,commission on the basis of the information provided by the ,state in its application under subsection 7c71 except that the amount may not exceed the sum of-- 7#a7 the average of the costs incurred by the ,state in administering the #c most recent regularly scheduled general elections for ,federal office held in the ,state2 and 7#b7 if a regularly scheduled primary election for ,federal office is held in the ,state during the period described in section #cba7;b71 the average of the costs incurred by the ,state in administering the #c most recent regularly scheduled primary elections for ,federal office held in the ,state4 7c7 ,eligibility ,a ,state is eligible to receive a payment under this section if the ,state submits an application for the payment to the ,commission at such time and in such manner and containing such information as the ,commission shall require4 7d7 ,pass-,through of funds to local jurisdictions 7#a7 ,in general ,if a ,state receives a payment under this section for costs that include costs incurred by a local jurisdiction or ,tribal government within the ,state1 the ,state shall pass through to such local jurisdiction or ,tribal government a portion of such payment that is equal to the amount of the costs incurred by such local jurisdiction or ,tribal government4 7#b7 ,tribal government defined ,in this subsection1 the term ,tribal ,government means the recognized governing body of an ,indian tribe 7as defined in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd74 7e7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section4 #cbd4 ,coverage of ,northern ,mariana ,islands ,in this subtitle1 the term ,state includes the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 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 subtitle ,c of title ,,iii4 7c7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of such ,act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title ,,iii the following3 ,subtitle ,c--,special ,rules for ,elections ,held in #bjbj ,sec4 #cba4 ,requiring elections to be conducted solely through use of mail-in absentee ballots4 ,sec4 #cbb4 ,requirements for use of mail-in absentee ballots4 ,sec4 #cbc4 ,payments to assist with costs of compliance4 ,sec4 #cbd4 ,coverage of ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 4