,i  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #gch  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,january #bd1        
#bjbe,ms4 ,salinas 7for herself1 ,ms4   
,norton1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mr4 ,vargas1   
,mrs4 ,dingell1 ,mr4 ,mullin1 ,mr4      
,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 and  
,mr4 ,pocan7 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 #bjbe4  #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 #cf ,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 ,notice   
and opportunity ,to cure discrepancy or 
defect  7#a7 ,notice and opportunity to 
cure discrepancy in signatures ,if an   
individual submits a mail-in ballot or  
an absentee ballot 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 or other official record or  
document used by the ,state to verify   
the signatures of voters1 such election 
official1 prior to making a final       
determination as to the validity of such
 ballot1 shall-- 7,a7 as soon as        
practical1 but not later than the next  
business day after such determination is
 made1 make a good faith effort to      
notify the individual by mail1          
telephone1 and 7if available7 text      
message and electronic mail that-- 7i7 a
 discrepancy exists between the         
signature on such ballot and the        
signature of the individual on the      
official list of registered voters in   
the ,state or other official record or  
document used by the ,state to verify   
the signatures of voters2 and  7ii7 if  
such discrepancy is not cured prior to  
the expiration of the third day         

following the ,state's deadline for     
receiving mail-in ballots or absentee   
ballots1 such ballot will not be        
counted2 and  7,b7 cure such discrepancy
 and count the ballot if1 prior to the  
expiration of the third day following   
the ,state's deadline for receiving     
mail-in ballots or absentee ballots1 the
 individual provides the official with  
information to cure such discrepancy1   
either in person1 by telephone1 or by   
electronic methods4  7#b7 ,notice and   
opportunity to cure missing signature or
 other defect ,if an individual submits 
a mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot  
without a signature or submits a mail-in
 ballot or an absentee ballot with      
another defect which1 if left uncured1  
would cause the ballot to not be        
counted1 the appropriate ,state or local
 election official1 prior to making a   
final determination as to the validity  
of the ballot1 shall-- 7,a7 as soon as  
practical1 but not later than the next  
business day after such determination is

 made1 make a good faith effort to      
notify the individual by mail1          
telephone1 and 7if available7 text      
message and electronic mail that-- 7i7  
the ballot did not include a signature  
or has some other defect2 and  7ii7 if  
the individual does not provide the     
missing signature or cure the other     
defect prior to the expiration of the   
third day following the ,state's        
deadline for receiving mail-in ballots  
or absentee ballots1 such ballot will   
not be counted2 and  7,b7 count the     
ballot if1 prior to the expiration of   
the third day following the ,state's    
deadline for receiving mail-in ballots  
or absentee ballots1 the individual     
provides the official with the missing  
signature on a form proscribed by the   
,state or cures the other defect4  ,this
 paragraph does not apply with respect  
to a defect consisting of the failure of
 a ballot to meet the applicable        
deadline for the acceptance of the      
ballot under ,state law4  7c7 ,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  7d7 ,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 #bjbf4  4 
7b7 ,conforming amendment relating to   
enforcement ,section #dja of such ,act  
7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by    
striking and #cjd and inserting #cjc;,a1
 and #cjd4  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