119-hr4911

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4911 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4911

 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure that voters in 
 elections for Federal office do not wait in long lines in order to 
 vote, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 August 5, 2025

 Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Ansari, Ms. 
 Brown, Mr. Carson, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Clarke of New York, 
 Ms. DelBene, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
 Fields, Mr. Figures, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. 
 Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. 
Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Lynch, Ms. McClellan, Mrs. 
McIver, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Mfume, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Norton, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. 
Salinas, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Sewell, Ms. Simon, 
Ms. Strickland, Mrs. Sykes, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, 
 Ms. Tlaib, and Mr. Tonko) introduced the following bill; which was 
 referred to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure that voters in 
 elections for Federal office do not wait in long lines in order to 
 vote, and for other purposes.

 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 ``People Over Long Lines Act'' or the 
``POLL Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress makes the following findings:

    (1) The right to vote for all Americans is fundamental and 
 rules for voting and election administration should protect the 
 right to vote and promote voter participation.

    (2) It is the responsibility of the State and Federal 
 Governments to ensure that every eligible citizen is able to 
 register to vote and to cast a ballot.

    (3) There continues to be an alarming movement to erect 
 barriers to make it more difficult for Americans to participate 
 in our Nation's democratic process. The Nation has witnessed 
 unprecedented efforts to turn back the clock and erect barriers 
 to voting for communities of color, which have faced historic 
 and continuing discrimination, as well as disabled, young, 
 elderly, and low-income Americans.

    (4) One way voting in communities of color has been 
 suppressed is through long waits at polling locations. Studies 
 have shown a number of contributing factors, including the 
 drastic reduction of early voting days, poor allocation of 
 resources to certain communities, cuts to election funding, and 
 a reduction of polling locations.

    (5) A 2019 study led by economist Keith Chen of the 
 University of California, Los Angeles, matched anonymous 
 location data from 10,000,000 smart phones to 93,000 polling 
 places to create the most extensive map to date of voter wait 
 times across the United States. The results showed one very 
 clear disparity: voters in predominantly Black neighborhoods 
 waited 29 percent longer, on average, than those in White 
 neighborhoods. They were also about 74 percent more likely to 
 wait for more than half an hour.

    (6) Waiting in long lines discourages people from voting, 
 undermines confidence in the electoral system, and imposes 
 economic costs on voters.

    (7) Long lines are estimated to have deterred between 
 500,000 and 700,000 people from casting their ballot in 2012.

    (8) These problems led to the creation of the bipartisan 
 Presidential Commission on Election Administration, which 
 issued a 2014 report that set forth a standard: ``No citizen 
 should have to wait more than 30 minutes to vote.''.

    (9) Despite the work of the Presidential Commission on 
 Election Administration, long lines continue, particularly in 
 communities of color where racial discrimination in voting is a 
 clear and persistent problem.

    (10) In the Arizona 2016 Presidential primary, in one 
 Maricopa County polling place for mostly Latino voters, some 
 waited for 4 hours or more in the 80-degree heat to cast their 
 ballots. For the 2016 general election, 3 people collapsed 
 while waiting to vote in an hours-long line in Georgia, and a 
 line to vote in Ohio was a half-mile long.

    (11) According to a nationwide study, in 2016, roughly 3 
 percent of people standing in line at voting locations left 
 before they could vote as a result of long lines.

    (12) The disenfranchisement that long lines create for 
 voters is not limited to that one election. Research suggests 
 that for each hour would-be voters wait, their probability of 
 voting in the next election drops by 1 percentage point.

    (13) Congress has the authority under article I, 

section 4 
 of the Constitution of the United States to enact laws 
 governing the time, place, and manner of Federal elections.

    (14) Congress also has authority under 

section 2 of the 
 15th Amendment to enforce the right of citizens of the United 
 States to vote, which shall not be denied or abridged by the 
 United States, by legislation.

SEC. 3. PREVENTING UNREASONABLE VOTER WAITING TIMES.

    (a) State Plans Required.--Title III of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.), as amended by 

section 2

    (a) of the 
COCOA Act of 2024, is amended--

    (1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as sections 306 
 and 307; and

    (2) by inserting after 

section 304 the following new 
 section:

``

SEC. 305. UNREASONABLE VOTER WAITING TIMES.

 ``

    (a) State Plans.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days before each 
 election for Federal office, each State shall make public 
 (including through the website of the State on which election 
 information is normally published) and submit to the Commission 
 a written plan which meets the public notice and comment 
 requirements of paragraph

    (2) and describes the measures it is 
 implementing to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, an 
 equitable waiting time for all voters in the State, including 
 for voters with disabilities, and a waiting time of less than 
 30 minutes at any polling place in the election.
 ``

    (2) Public notice comment requirement.--The public notice 
 and comment requirements of this paragraph are met if--
 ``
        (A) not later than 30 days prior to the 
 submission of the plan to the Commission, the State 
 made a preliminary version of the plan available for 
 public inspection and comment;
 ``
        (B) the State publishes notice that the 
 preliminary version of the plan is so available; and
 ``
            (C) the State took the public comments made 
 regarding the preliminary version of the plan into 
 account in preparing the plan which was submitted to 
 the Commission under paragraph

    (1) .
 ``

    (b) Prohibition on Unreasonable Voter Waiting Times.--Each State 
shall ensure that no person voting in an election for Federal office 
shall wait for more than 30 minutes at any polling place for purposes 
of casting a vote in such election.
 ``
            (c) Remedial Plans for States With Excessive Voter Wait Times.--
 ``

    (1) Review of voter wait times.--After each election for 
 Federal office, the Commission shall review voter waiting times 
 for each jurisdiction for which voting in such election took 
 place and make publicly available a report on its findings.
 ``

    (2) State remedial plans.--
 ``
        (A) Remedial plans.--Notwithstanding 

section 209, 
 each jurisdiction for which the Commission, after the 
 review conducted under paragraph

    (1) , determines that a 
 substantial number of voters, including voters with 
 disabilities, waited more than 60 minutes to cast a 
 vote, or in which there were substantial violations of 
 the standards established under 

section 299, shall 
 comply with a State remedial plan established by the 
 Attorney General to provide for the effective 
 allocation of resources to administer elections for 
 Federal office held in the State and to reduce the 
 waiting time of voters.
 ``
        (B) Coordination.--Each remedial plan established 
 by the Attorney General shall provide for coordination 
 between the Commission, the Attorney General, and the 
 State involved to monitor the compliance of the State 
 with the remedial plan during the period leading up to 
 the election and on the date of the election and to 
 respond to serious delays in the ability of voters, 
 including voters with disabilities, to cast their 
 ballots at polling places.
 ``
            (C) Termination.--A jurisdiction shall not be 
 required to comply with a State remedial plan required 
 under subparagraph
        (A) if the Commission determines 
 that the voter waiting times were less than 60 minutes 
 for 2 consecutive regularly scheduled general elections 
 for Federal office.
 ``

    (3) Jurisdiction defined.--For purposes of this 
 subsection, the term `jurisdiction' has the meaning given the 
 term `registrar's jurisdiction' in 

section 8

    (j) of the National 
 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6

    (j) ).
 ``

    (4) Standards.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this section, the Attorney General shall 
 establish standards for conducting the review under paragraph

    (1) and for establishing remedial plans under paragraph

    (2)
        (A) .
 ``

    (5) Role of office of civil rights and commission.--The 
 Attorney General shall carry out this section acting through 
 the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of 
 the Department of Justice and in consultation with the 
 Commission.
 ``

    (6) Appropriations.--In addition to other amounts 
 authorized to be appropriated to the Commission, there are 
 authorized to be appropriated for each of the fiscal years 2025 
 through 2034, $5,000,000 for each such year for the Commission 
 to carry out this subsection.
 ``
            (d) Emergency Ballots.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--In the event of a failure of voting 
 equipment or other circumstance at a polling place that causes 
 an unreasonable delay, any individual who is waiting at the 
 polling place to cast a ballot in an election for Federal 
 office at the time of the failure shall be advised immediately 
 of the individual's right to use an emergency paper ballot, and 
 upon request shall be provided with such an emergency paper 
 ballot for the election and the supplies necessary to mark the 
 ballot.
 ``

    (2) Ballot requirements.--Any emergency paper ballot 
 provided under paragraph

    (1) shall--
 ``
        (A) include the names of each candidate for each 
 Federal office for which voting occurs at such polling 
 place; and
 ``
        (B) be available in each language for which other 
 ballots provided at the polling place are available.
 ``

    (3) Disposition of ballot.--Any emergency paper ballot 
 which is cast by an individual under this subsection shall be 
 counted in the same manner as a regular ballot, unless the 
 individual casting the ballot would have otherwise been 
 required to cast a provisional ballot in the absence of the 
 delay, in which case that ballot shall be treated in the same 
 manner as a provisional ballot.''.

    (b) Private Right of Action.--Title IV of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new section:

``

SEC. 403. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION FOR UNREASONABLE VOTER WAITING 
 TIME.

 ``

    (a) In General.--In the case of a violation of 

section 305

    (b) , 

section 402 shall not apply and any person who is aggrieved by such 
violation may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court 
of the United States for relief.
 ``

    (b) Relief.--In any civil action commenced under subsection

    (a) :
 ``

    (1) In general.--If the court finds a violation of 
 

section 305

    (b) , the court shall assess a civil penalty equal to 
 the sum of--
 ``
        (A) $50; plus
 ``
        (B) an additional $50 for each additional hour 
 the person waited at the polling place to cast a vote; 
 plus
 ``
            (C) reasonable attorney fees, including 
 litigation expenses, and costs.
 ``

    (2) Special rule.--If the court determines that the 
 violation was due to an intentional action to suppress votes or 
 was made with reckless disregard of the requirements of 

section 305--
 ``
        (A) paragraph

    (1)
        (A) shall be applied by 
 substituting `$650' for `$50'; and
 ``
        (B) paragraph

    (1)
        (B) shall be applied by 
 substituting `$150' for `$50'.''.
            (c) Conforming Amendment.--

Section 202 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
20922) is amended--

    (1) by redesignating paragraphs

    (5) and

    (6) as paragraphs

    (6) and

    (7) , respectively; and

    (2) by inserting after paragraph

    (4) the following new 
 paragraph:
 ``

    (5) carrying out the duties described in 

section 305
            (c) ;''.
            (d) Clerical Amendments.--The table of contents of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 is amended--

    (1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 305 and 
 306 as relating to sections 306 and 307, and by inserting after 
 the item relating to 

section 304 the following new item:

``

Sec. 305. Unreasonable voter waiting times.'';
 and

    (2) by inserting after the item relating to 

section 402 the 
 following new item:

``

Sec. 403. Private right of action for unreasonable voter waiting 
 time.''.

    (e) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to elections held on or after the expiration of the 
180-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS, POLL WORKERS, AND ELECTION 
 RESOURCES.

    (a) Minimum Requirements.--

    (1) In general.--Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 
 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
 the following new subtitle:

 ``Subtitle C--Additional Requirements

``

SEC. 321. MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING SYSTEMS AND POLL WORKERS.

 ``

    (a) In General.--Each State shall provide for the minimum 
required number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election 
resources (including all other physical resources) for each voting site 
on the day of any Federal election and on any days during which such 
State allows early voting for a Federal election in accordance with the 
standards determined under 

section 299.
 ``

    (b) 

=== Definitions. ===
-For purposes of this section and 

section 299--
 ``

    (1) the term `voting site' means a polling location; and
 ``

    (2) the term `voting system' means the total combination 
 of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment 
 (including the software, firmware, and documentation required 
 to program, control, and support the equipment) that is used at 
 a voting site--
 ``
        (A) to check the official list of eligible voters 
 for purposes of confirming that an individual is 
 eligible to cast a vote at the site;
 ``
        (B) to cast and count votes; and
 ``
            (C) to maintain and produce any audit trail 
 information.
 ``
            (c) Effective Date.--Each State shall be required to comply with 
the requirements of this section on and after January 1, 2027.''.

    (2) Conforming amendment.--

Section 401 of the Help America 
 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ``and 
 303'' and inserting ``303, and subtitle C''.

    (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act 
 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title 
 III the following:

 ``Subtitle C--Additional Requirements

``

Sec. 321. Minimum required voting systems and poll workers.''.

    (b) Standards.--

    (1) In general.--Title II of the Help America Vote Act of 
 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
 the following new subtitle:

 ``Subtitle E--Guidance and Standards

``

SEC. 299. STANDARDS FOR ESTABLISHING THE MINIMUM REQUIRED VOTING 
 SYSTEMS AND POLL WORKERS.

 ``

    (a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of the POLL Act, the Attorney General, acting through the 
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the 
Department of Justice and in consultation with the Commission, shall 
issue standards regarding the minimum number of voting systems, poll 
workers, and other election resources (including all other physical 
resources) required under 

section 321 on the day of any Federal 
election and on any days during which early voting is allowed for a 
Federal election.
 ``

    (b) Distribution.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The standards described in subsection

    (a) shall provide for a uniform and nondiscriminatory 
 distribution of such systems, workers, and other resources, and 
 shall take into account, among other factors, the following 
 with respect to any voting site (as defined in 

section 321

    (b) ):
 ``
        (A) The voting-age population.
 ``
        (B) Voter turnout in past elections.
 ``
            (C) The number of voters registered.
 ``
            (D) The number of voters who have registered 
 since the most recent Federal election.
 ``
        (E) Census data for the population served by such 
 voting site.
 ``
        (F) The educational levels and socio-economic 
 factors of the population served by such voting site.
 ``
        (G) The needs and numbers of disabled voters and 
 voters with limited English proficiency.
 ``
        (H) The type of voting systems used.
 ``

    (2) No factor dispositive.--The standards shall provide 
 that any distribution of such systems shall take into account 
 the totality of all relevant factors, including the effects of 
 State laws on the availability of such systems and resources 
 for use by local election officials, and no single factor shall 
 be dispositive under the standards.
 ``

    (3) === Purpose ===
-To the extent possible, the standards shall 
 provide for a distribution of voting systems, poll workers, and 
 other election resources, with the goals of--
 ``
        (A) ensuring an equal waiting time for all voters 
 in the State; and
 ``
        (B) preventing a waiting time of over 30 minutes 
 at any polling place.
 ``

    (4) Special rule regarding electronic poll books.--
 Notwithstanding paragraphs

    (1) ,

    (2) , and

    (3) , in the case of 
 any voting site that uses an electronic poll book, the 
 standards described in subsection

    (a) shall require at least 1 
 paper poll book (containing all of the information necessary to 
 confirm that an individual is eligible to cast a vote at the 
 site) for each such electronic poll book used at such voting 
 site.
 ``
            (c) Deviation.--The standards described in subsection

    (a) shall 
permit States, upon giving reasonable public notice, to deviate from 
any allocation requirements in the case of unforeseen circumstances 
such as a natural disaster or terrorist attack.''.

    (2) Conforming amendment.--

Section 202 of such Act (52 
 U.S.C. 20922), as amended by 

section 3
            (c) , is amended--
        (A) by redesignating paragraphs

    (4) ,

    (5) , and

    (6) as paragraphs

    (5) ,

    (6) , and

    (7) , respectively; and
        (B) by inserting after paragraph

    (4) the following 
 new paragraph:
 ``

    (5) carrying out the duties described in subtitle E;''.

    (3) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act 
 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title 
 II the following:

 ``Subtitle E--Guidance and Standards

``

Sec. 299. Standards for establishing the minimum required voting 
 systems and poll workers.''.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY CHIEF STATE ELECTION 
 ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

section 319 the following new section:

 ``campaign activities by chief state election administration officials

 ``

Sec. 319A.

    (a) Prohibition.--It shall be unlawful for a chief 
State election administration official to take an active part in 
political management or in a political campaign with respect to any 
election for Federal office over which such official has supervisory 
authority.
 ``

    (b) Chief State Election Administration Official.--The term 
`chief State election administration official' means the highest State 
official with responsibility for the administration of Federal 
elections under State law.
 ``
            (c) Active Part in Political Management or in a Political 
Campaign.--The term `active part in political management or in a 
political campaign' means--
 ``

    (1) serving as a member of an authorized committee of a 
 candidate for Federal office;
 ``

    (2) the use of official authority or influence for the 
 purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an 
 election for Federal office;
 ``

    (3) the solicitation, acceptance, or receipt of a 
 contribution from any person on behalf of a candidate for 
 Federal office; and
 ``

    (4) any other act which would be prohibited under 
 paragraph

    (2) or

    (3) of 

section 7323

    (b) of title 5, United 
 States Code, if taken by an individual to whom such paragraph 
 applies (other than any prohibition on running for public 
 office).
 ``
            (d) Exception in Case of Recusal From Administration of Elections 
Involving Election Official or Immediate Family Member.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--This section does not apply to a chief 
 State election administration official with respect to an 
 election for Federal office in which such official or an 
 immediate family member of the official is a candidate, but 
 only if--
 ``
        (A) such official recuses himself or herself from 
 all of the official's responsibilities for the 
 administration of such election; and
 ``
        (B) the official who assumes responsibility for 
 supervising the administration of the election does not 
 report directly to such official.
 ``

    (2) Immediate family member defined.--In paragraph

    (1) , 
 the term `immediate family member' means, with respect to a 
 candidate, a father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, 
 husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.''.

    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection

    (a) shall 
apply with respect to elections for Federal office held after January 
1, 2027.

SEC. 6. PAYMENTS TO STATES TO PREVENT UNREASONABLE WAIT TIMES AND 
 PROMOTE WELL-RUN ELECTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

 ``PART VII--PAYMENTS FOR PREVENTING UNREASONABLE VOTER WAIT TIMES

``

SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall make a payment to each 
eligible State. Such payments shall be made not later than 30 days 
after the date of enactment of this part.
 ``

    (b) Eligible State.--For purposes of this section, a State is an 
eligible State if such State has filed with the Commission a State plan 
covering the fiscal year in which the State describes how it intends to 
use the funds provided under this section.
 ``
            (c) Use of Funds.--An eligible State shall use the payment 
received under this part to meet the requirements of sections 305 and 
321.
 ``
            (d) Amount of Payment.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The amount of payment made to a State 
 under this section shall be the minimum payment amount 
 described in paragraph

    (2) plus the voting age population 
 proportion amount described in paragraph

    (3) .
 ``

    (2) Minimum payment amount.--The minimum payment amount 
 described in this paragraph is--
 ``
        (A) in the case of any of the several States or 
 the District of Columbia, one-half of 1 percent of the 
 aggregate amount made available for payments under this 
 section; and
 ``
        (B) in the case of the Commonwealth of Puerto 
 Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the United States Virgin 
 Islands, one-tenth of 1 percent of such aggregate 
 amount.
 ``

    (3) Voting age population proportion amount.--The voting 
 age population proportion amount described in this paragraph is 
 the product of--
 ``
        (A) the aggregate amount made available for 
 payments under this section minus the total of all of 
 the minimum payment amounts determined under paragraph

    (2) ; and
 ``
        (B) the voting age population proportion for the 
 State (as defined in paragraph

    (4) ).
 ``

    (4) Voting age population proportion defined.--The term 
 `voting age population proportion' means, with respect to a 
 State, the amount equal to the quotient of--
 ``
        (A) the voting age population of the State (as 
 reported in the most recent decennial census); and
 ``
        (B) the total voting age population of all States 
 (as reported in the most recent decennial census).
 ``

    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
 for payments under this section $500,000,000 for each fiscal 
 year.
 ``

    (2) Availability.--Any amounts appropriated pursuant to 
 the authority of paragraph

    (1) shall remain available without 
 fiscal year limitation until expended.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to 

section 296 the 
following:

 ``Part VII--Payments for Preventing Unreasonable Voter Wait Times

``

Sec. 297. Payments to States.''.
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