Title II — Special Rules Relating to Certain Elections in 2020

“VII Grant Program To Promote Safe, Accessible, and Efficient In-Person Voting

“297. Payments to States

“(a) In general—The Commission shall make a payment to each eligible State (as described in section 298(a)). Such payments shall be made not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this part.

“(b) Use of funds—An eligible State shall use the payment received under this part to carry out one or more of the authorized activities described in section 298(b) with respect to elections for Federal office.

“(c) Amount of payment

“(1) In general—The amount of payment made to an eligible State under this section shall be the voting age population proportion amount described in paragraph (2) plus any additional amount determined by the Commission under paragraph (3).

“(2) Voting age population proportion amount

“(A) In general—The voting age population proportion amount described in this paragraph is the product of—

“(i) the aggregate amount made available for payments under this section minus the total of all of the additional payment amounts determined under paragraph (3); and

“(ii) the voting age population proportion for the State (as defined in subparagraph (B)).

“(B) Voting age population proportion defined—The term voting age population proportion means, with respect to an eligible State, the amount equal to the quotient of—

“(i) the voting age population of the State (as determined by the most recent American Community Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census); and

“(ii) the total voting age population of all States (as determined by the most recent American Community Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census).

“(3) Determination of additional amount based on needs of voting age population in State—The Commission shall, with respect to each eligible State, determine an amount of payment for the State in addition to the amount determined under paragraph (2) based on the needs of the voting age population in the State. In determining such additional amount of payment with respect to an eligible State, the Commission shall take into account—

“(A) the number of individuals with income below 250 percent of the poverty line applicable to a family of the size involved (as determined under section 673(2) of the De­mo­cra­cy­Corps Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2));

“(B) the number of citizens of voting age not fluent in English, as calculated for the purpose of administering section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (52 U.S.C. 10503);

“(C) the number of individuals with a disability as defined in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102);

“(D) the number of individuals who live in a nonmetropolitan area (as determined by the Bureau of the Census); and

“(E) the number of individuals who belong to an Indian tribe (as such term is defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)).

“(4) Distribution of funds to units of local government—At least 80 percent of funds provided to a State under this part shall be distributed to units of local government to carry out one or more of the authorized activities described in section 298(b) with respect to elections for Federal office.

“298. Eligibility for payment; authorized activities

“(a) In general—Each State that desires to receive a payment under this part shall submit a certification of intent to use such funds for at least one of the authorized activities described in subsection (b) with respect to elections for Federal office.

“(b) Authorized activities described—Funds provided under this part shall be used for one or more of the following authorized activities:

“(1) Funding to ensure elections are accessible during pandemic—Ensuring voters can safely access polling sites during the COVID–19 pandemic, including—

“(A) expanding the number of voting locations, as well as the days and hours of early in-person voting;

“(B) providing mobile voting centers and temporary voting stations, including advance notice of schedule and locations;

“(C) increasing the ratio of machines and poll workers to voters in each precinct;

“(D) preparing polling locations to implement social distancing protocols in lines and voting booths;

“(E) providing sufficient quantities of hygiene and cleaning supplies, including materials to sanitize voting machines after each use;

“(F) increasing the number of paper ballots available at each polling location;

“(G) providing masks, gloves, and other personal protective equipment to poll workers;

“(H) increasing pay for poll workers during the COVID–19 pandemic; and

“(I) providing voter education on changes or improvements to election procedures, accessibility, or voting opportunities during the pandemic.

“(2) Funding to ensure elections are accessible to individuals with disabilities during pandemic—Ensuring voters can safely register, access polling sites, and vote by mail during the COVID–19 pandemic, in accordance with this Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.), and other applicable law, by improving polling place accessibility and providing accommodations for individuals with disabilities, including—

“(A) purchasing Remote Access Vote By Mail (RAVBM) systems, ballot marking devices and software, and screen reading software, and making them available to voters with disabilities;

“(B) equipping polling locations with technologies that enable individuals with disabilities to privately and independently mark, verify, and cast their ballots, including through the availability of ballot marking devices, headsets, controllers, and other assistive devices;

“(C) making permanent or temporary modifications to render polling places accessible;

“(D) ensuring appropriate polling place siting to avoid locations that pose higher health risks to the public;

“(E) conducting analysis on polling place reconfiguration to account for social distancing and implementing changes;

“(F) providing training for poll workers on how to best serve individuals during the pandemic, including training for serving individuals with disabilities;

“(G) assessing the accessibility of election websites and remediating any accessibility problems to ensure voter information is clear and accessible; and

“(H) providing fully accessible online voter registration services.

“(3) Funding to ensure continuing protections for language minority voters—Ensuring continuing protections for language minority voters, including—

“(A) ensuring compliance with section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503)—

“(i) with respect to vote-by-mail and new voter registration procedures; and

“(ii) with respect to voting materials (as such term is defined in such section);

“(B) ensuring adequate support for such individuals (including for language minority voters who do not reside in jurisdictions covered by section 203 of the Voting Rights Act), including through—

“(i) language assistance hotlines in covered languages;

“(ii) phone interpretation and interpreter services;

“(iii) funding to produce, print, and distribute multi-lingual versions of materials;

“(iv) enhancing in-language media advertising regarding polling place changes;

“(v) recruiting and hiring bilingual or multilingual election workers; and

“(vi) enhancing in-language media advertising regarding procedures for obtaining and returning mail-in ballots; and

“(C) providing voter education on activities carried out under this paragraph.

“(4) Funding to ensure voting access by American Indian and Alaska Native voters and rural voters—Ensuring voting access American Indian and Alaska Native voters and rural voters, including—

“(A) ensuring polling place availability within 20 miles of where voters live;

“(B) providing transportation services for American Indian, Alaska Native, and rural voters to reach their nearest polling location;

“(C) establishing in Indian country (as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States Code) and on any land in Alaska owned pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) polling places that are open for voting days and hours commensurate with polling place days and hours in urban areas within the State;

“(D) giving Indian tribes (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) authority to designate buildings that can be used as a residential address for voter registration and for physical sites for ballot pickup, drop-off, and collection;

“(E) offering information in unwritten languages or languages not widely used in written form, in consultation with relevant Tribal governments;

“(F) collecting ballots from remote polling locations, ballot collection boxes, and tribally designated buildings;

“(G) carrying out any activities permitted under paragraph (2) to improve accessibility for American Indian and Alaska Native voters with disabilities; and

“(H) providing voter education on the activities carried out under this paragraph.

“(5) Curbside voting—The implementation and promotion of a curbside voting option to allow individuals to pick up ballots, complete them, and return them to a poll worker from their vehicles.

“(6) Funding to meet maximum wait time standard at polling locations

“(A) In general—The implementation of standards that reduce wait times at polling locations.

“(B) Certification requirement—In the case where the State uses funds for purposes described in subparagraph (A) with respect to an election for Federal office, the State shall certify to the Commission within 120 days of the election that wait time standards were met in the State with respect to such election.

“(7) Funding for publication of wait times

“(A) In general—The development or implementation of an accessible, web-based platform for the publication of wait times for voting in Federal elections.

“(B) Requirement—If a State uses funds for a purpose described in subparagraph (A), the State shall take reasonable steps before using such platform in an election for Federal office—

“(i) to provide advance training to election workers regarding use of the platform;

“(ii) to notify voters of the platform; and

“(iii) to test and verify the security and functionality of the platform.

“(8) Methods to improve line management—Implementing standards to improve line management systems and polling place management.

“(9) Standards for training and recruitment of poll workers—Providing for the training and recruitment of poll workers, including—

“(A) developing poll worker training curricula and standards for serving individuals with disabilities and language minority voters;

“(B) ensuring that poll workers receive training, which—

“(i) may include remote training; and

“(ii) may cover applicable Federal and State laws and regulations, recent changes in election laws and processes, election security and cyber vulnerabilities, ballot reviews, incident response, polling accessibility for language minorities and individuals with disabilities, and COVID–19 preparedness;

“(C) expanding the number of election workers hired;

“(D) hiring individuals to serve as election workers from among high school and college students and, where feasible, compensating such individuals with course credits; and

“(E) hiring work-eligible non-citizens to satisfy the need for bilingual poll workers.

“(10) Improving access to voter registration—Improving access to voter registration, including—

“(A) authorizing and implementing same day registration;

“(B) ensuring that online voter registration systems are in place and have the capacity to process registration applications electronically;

“(C) expanding online voter registration systems to allow use by the maximum number of individuals, including—

“(i) by allowing individuals to register to vote without records in the department of motor vehicle system of the State by submitting their signatures online;

“(ii) by digitally uploading a picture of the required signature;

“(iii) by allowing individuals to provide the required signature when voting at the polls or when returning a mail-in ballot; or

“(iv) by allowing individual to provide a required signature with a mark or signature stamp or through the use of an assistant because of age, disability, or other need;

“(D) sending a voter registration mailer, including a blank voter registration application, a self-sealing prepaid return envelope, and instructions on additional methods to register if the mailer is not accessible, to all eligible individuals with State records who are not currently registered to vote; and

“(E) testing capacity to ensure that existing online voter registration systems can withstand the likely increase in usage.

“(c) Interagency consultation—Not later than 15 days after the date of enactment of this part, the Commission shall—

“(1) consult with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on preventing transmission of COVID–19 at polling places and election offices; and

“(2) consult with the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to ensure changes to voting procedures made pursuant to this part are nondiscriminatory and comply with applicable Federal laws, including this Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.), the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (42 U.S.C. 1973ee et seq.), the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.), and the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.).

“299. Funding; reports

“(a) In general—There is authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, for making payments under this part, $3,600,000,000. Such amount shall be in addition to other amounts otherwise available for such purposes.

“(b) Reports—Not later than one year after the applicable election for which a payment was provided under this part, each eligible State that received such funds shall submit a report to the Commission on the activities conducted using such payment and to substantiate authorized activities described in section 298(b) carried out using such funds. Not later than 30 days after receipt of such reports, the Commission shall transmit such reports to the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate and the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives.”