[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 281 Reported in House (RH)]
Union Calendar No. 359
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 281
[Report No. 110-581]
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters
to vote by mail in Federal elections.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 5, 2007
Mrs. Davis of California (for herself, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Larsen
of Washington, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Capps, Ms. Hooley, Ms. Woolsey, and Mr.
McDermott) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration
April 14, 2008
Additional sponsors: Mr. Filner, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Holt, Mr. Baca, Ms.
Eshoo, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Cleaver, Mr.
Carson, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Stark, Mr. Kind, Mr. Wynn, Mr.
Andrews, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Hare, Mr.
Blumenauer, Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr.
Farr, Mr. George Miller of California, Mr. Wu, Mr. McNerney, Mr.
Abercrombie, Ms. Clarke, Ms. Berkley, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of
California, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Becerra,
Mr. Honda, Mr. Braley of Iowa, Mr. Space, Mr. Levin, Mr. Davis of
Alabama, Mr. Kagen, Mr. Loebsack, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Walz of Minnesota,
Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Yarmuth, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Crowley, Mr.
Costa, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Wilson of Ohio, Ms. Norton, Ms. Sutton, Mr.
Clay, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Price of North
Carolina, Mr. Berman, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Rush, Mr. Udall of
New Mexico, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Mitchell, Ms. DeLauro, Mr.
Courtney, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Berry, Mr. Miller of
North Carolina, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Bishop of New York, Mr.
Thompson of California, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr.
Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Boswell, Ms. Watson, Mr. Inslee, and Mr.
Cardoza
April 14, 2008
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January
5, 2007]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters
to vote by mail in Federal elections.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act
of 2008''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) 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 not.
(2) Many voters often have work, family, or other
commitments that make getting to polls on the date of an
election difficult or impossible.
(3) Allowing voters to vote by mail can lead to increased
voter participation.
(4) Voting by mail is more convenient for many voters.
(5) Voting by mail gives voters more time to consider their
choices.
(6) Studies show that an overwhelming majority of voters
prefer voting by mail as an alternative to going to the polls.
(7) No evidence exists suggesting the potential for fraud
in absentee balloting is greater than the potential for fraud
by any other method of voting.
(8) 28 States currently allow universal absentee voting,
which permits any voter to request a mail-in ballot without
providing a reason for the request.
SEC. 3. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY MAIL IN FEDERAL
ELECTIONS.
(a) In General.--Subtitle A of title III of the Help America Vote
Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481 et seq.) is amended by inserting after
section 303 the following new section:
``SEC. 303A. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY MAIL.
``(a) In General.--If an individual in a State is eligible to cast
a vote in an election for Federal office, the State may not impose any
additional conditions or requirements on the eligibility of the
individual to cast the vote in such election by mail, except as
required under subsection (b) and 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
official.
``(b) Requiring Signature Verification.--A State may not accept and
process an absentee ballot submitted by any individual with respect to
an election for Federal office unless the State verifies the
identification of the individual by comparing the individual's
signature on the absentee ballot with the individual's signature on the
official list of registered voters in the State, in accordance with
such procedures as the State may adopt.
``(c) Effective Date.--A State shall be required to comply with the
requirements of this section with respect to the regularly scheduled
general elections for Federal office held in November 2010 and each
succeeding election for Federal office.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Enforcement.--Section 401 of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 15511) is amended by striking ``and 303'' and
inserting ``303, and 303A''.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for such Act is
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the
following new item:
``Sec. 303A. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.''.
Union Calendar No. 359
110th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 281
[Report No. 110-581]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters
to vote by mail in Federal elections.
_______________________________________________________________________
April 14, 2008
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed