VoteSafe Act of 2020
STATUS:
House of Representatives: Introduced on May 12, 2020 and now sits in the Committee on House Administration
Senate: Introduced on May 13, 2020 and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration
Analysis
It would “expand no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail while also ensuring the safety and accessibility of in-person voting and voter registration during exigent circumstances, including the current pandemic.”
Would require states
to provide no-excuse mail-in absentee voting for the 2020 elections and guarantee minimum due process protections for these voters;
to maintain an early in-person voting period of at least 20 days for the 2020 elections;
Would allocate
$2.5 billion for states to meet their obligations to offer no-excuse absentee voting and early in-person voting; and
$2.5 billion in additional discretionary grant funding for states to further improve the safety and accessibility of voting options during the pandemic, including:
Would ensure
accessible elections
adequate protections for language minority voters.
voting access for American Indian, Alaska Native, and rural voters.
Would
implement and promote curbside voting.
implement and meet a maximum wait time standard, or publish current wait times for voters.
provide for the training and recruitment of poll workers.
improve access to voter registration.
Which human? Whose security?
All Americans, as all Americans vote and if they choose not to, are still impacted by election results.
Fact reports
From the office of Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
From the ACLU.
“The VoteSafe Act [helps] make voting safe and accessible for all voters, including those who will face the greatest impediments to casting their ballots during the pandemic. This legislation helps ensure voters will not be forced to choose between casting their ballots and protecting their health.”
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT
House of Representatives
INTRODUCED BY:
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC)
CO-SPONSORS:
Rep. Fudge, Marcia L. [D-OH-11], Rep. Adams, Alma S. [D-NC-12], Rep. Aguilar, Pete [D-CA-31], Rep. Bass, Karen [D-CA-37], Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3], Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3], Rep. Brown, Anthony G. [D-MD-4], Rep. Butterfield, G. K. [D-NC-1], Rep. Cardenas, Tony [D-CA-29], Rep. Carson, Andre [D-IN-7], Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1], Rep. Cicilline, David N. [D-RI-1], Rep. Cisneros, Gilbert Ray, Jr. [D-CA-39], Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9], Rep. Clay, Wm. Lacy [D-MO-1], Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9], Rep. Davis, Danny K. [D-IL-7], Rep. DeFazio, Peter A. [D-OR-4], Rep. DeGette, Diana [D-CO-1], Rep. Demings, Val Butler [D-FL-10], Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-22], Rep. Doyle, Michael F. [D-PA-18], Rep. Engel, Eliot L. [D-NY-16], Rep. Espaillat, Adriano [D-NY-13], Rep. Evans, Dwight [D-PA-3], Rep. Garcia, Jesus G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4], Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29], Rep. Grijalva, Raul M. [D-AZ-3], Rep. Haaland, Debra A. [D-NM-1], Rep. Hastings, Alcee L. [D-FL-20], Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5], Rep. Heck, Denny [D-WA-10], Rep. Jeffries, Hakeem S. [D-NY-8], Rep. Johnson, Eddie Bernice [D-TX-30], Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [D-GA-4], Rep. Kelly, Robin L. [D-IL-2], Rep. Kennedy, Joseph P., III [D-MA-4], Rep. Khanna, Ro [D-CA-17], Rep. Kildee, Daniel T. [D-MI-5], Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-13], Rep. Levin, Andy [D-MI-9], Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-33], Rep. Lowenthal, Alan S. [D-CA-47], Rep. Lynch, Stephen F. [D-MA-8], Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4], Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2], Rep. McNerney, Jerry [D-CA-9], Rep. Meng, Grace [D-NY-6], Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4], Rep. Napolitano, Grace F. [D-CA-32], Rep. Neguse, Joe [D-CO-2], Rep. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large], Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8], Rep. Roybal-Allard, Lucille [D-CA-40], Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1], Rep. Ryan, Tim [D-OH-13], Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9], Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3], Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7], Rep. Shalala, Donna E. [D-FL-27], Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9], Rep. Takano, Mark [D-CA-41], Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2], Rep. Thompson, Mike [D-CA-5], Rep. Torres, Norma J. [D-CA-35], Rep. Trahan, Lori [D-MA-3], Rep. Veasey, Marc A. [D-TX-33], Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12], Rep. Castor, Kathy [D-FL-14], Rep. Casten, Sean [D-IL-6], Rep. Cox, TJ [D-CA-21], Rep. Kuster, Ann M. [D-NH-2], Rep. Maloney, Sean Patrick [D-NY-18], Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-6], Rep. Quigley, Mike [D-IL-5], Rep. Scott, David [D-GA-13].
Senate
INTRODUCED BY:
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA)
CO-SPONSORS:
Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT], Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH], Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV], Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL], Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL], Sen. Feinstein, Dianne [D-CA], Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI], Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA], Sen. Menendez, Robert [D-NJ], Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR], Sen. Rosen, Jacky [D-NV], Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT], Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA], Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA], Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR].
