Voting Systems:  This bill would require voting machines to allow voters to verify their ballot selections via a paper record, an audio record, a pictoral record, or an electronic record.

Provisional Ballots:  This bill requires states to count eligible provisional ballots, even if they were cast at the wrong poll site.

Election Day Registration:  This bill would require states to allow an individual to register to vote on Election Day and cast a vote in that election.

Purges:  This bill would require states to provide public notice at least 45 days before a federal election of names removed from each state’s voter registration list. The State must send notices to each individual voter whose name has been removed from the State voter registration list.

Early Voting:  The bill would require each state to provide for early voting no less than 15 days before any federal election.

Election Day Holiday:  This bill would require the EAC to study the feasibility of making Election Day a federal holiday.

Voter ID:  This bill would add as acceptable proof of identify for in-person voting and voting by mail an executed, written affidavit attesting to one’s identity.

Impartial Election Administration:  This bill would require states to notify the public of changes in state federal election administration law at least 15 days before an election. Additionally, states would be required to allow uniform and nondiscriminatory access to poll sites to election observers, including party challengers, voting rights and civil rights organizations, and nonpartisan domestic and international observers.

Purges:  This bill would amend the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to make it easier for states to purge the voting rolls of voters who have not voted in two consecutive general elections.

Voter ID:  This bill would require all voters to provide government-issued photo ID when registering to vote by mail and for voting. The EAC is authorized to make grants to state to promote the issuance of free photo IDs to voters, but it does not make the free issuance of IDs mandatory. Additionally, this bill would amend the Social Security Act to require states to use individuals’ social security numbers to establish their identities for voter registration and other election administration activities.

Provisional Ballots:  This bill would prohibit states from counting provisional ballots if voters cast them at the wrong poll site.

Voting Systems:  The bill contains a number of provisions to increase the security of voting systems.  Its requirements are similar to those in H.R. 550, described below.

Provisional Ballots:  The bill would require states to count provisional ballots cast in the wrong polling place or cast by voters without ID.  It would also require provisional ballots to be counted in time for recounts and contest proceedings.

Allocation of Election Resources:  The bill would require each state to provide for a minimum number of voting systems, poll workers and other resources at each polling place, pursuant to a formula developed by the EAC, with the goal of ensuring equal waiting times of no longer than one hour.

Election Day Registration:  The bill would require each state to permit individuals to register and vote at their polling places on Election Day.

No Excuse Absentee Balloting:  The bill would require each state to allow citizens to vote by absentee ballot without showing a reason.

Early Voting:  The bill would require each state to provide for early voting no less than 15 days before any federal election.

Impartial Election Administration:  The bill would prohibit chief election officials and top officers at voting system manufacturers from participating in any political activities in federal campaigns.  It would also require states to publish all their laws and procedures for administering federal elections at the beginning of each election year.

Poll Worker Training:  This bill would establish minimum requirement of training for poll workers on a number of topics.

Purges:  The bill would require states to make the processes by which they purge their voter rolls more transparent and to provide notice to voters before purging their names from the rolls.

Processing Voter Registration Applications:  The bill would require states to accept and process voter registration applications regardless of technical mistakes or omissions, so long as there is no material omission or information to suggest that a registrant is ineligible to vote.

Voter ID:  The bill would allow first-time voters who registered by mail to vote regardless of whether they show ID so long as they execute an affidavit of eligibility.  It also would provide funds for states to distribute free photo IDs to those who do not have them.

Deceptive Practices:  This bill’s deceptive practices provisions are similar to those in Senator Obama’s bill, discussed below.

Past Criminal Convictions:  The bill would guarantee the right to vote of all citizens with past criminal convictions unless they are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole.

Election Day Holiday:  The bill would make Election Day a federal holiday.

Deceptive Practices:  This bill would prohibit unfair or deceptive practices that affect voting. It also requires the establishment of detailed procedures to document allegations of voting irregularities and responses to allegations.

Voting Systems:  Like S. 17, this bill would require the preservation of voter-verifiable paper records where “none of the means of verification […] may employ cryptography in the record” for audits. Additionally, the EAC would be required to develop standards for voting machine software and for conducting recounts.

Early Voting:  This bill would require states to permit same-day voter registration at poll sites that conduct early voting.

Impartial Election Administration:  This bill would prohibit party challengers and campaigners from interfering with election administration at poll sites. It would require the EAC to study the feasibility of nonpartisan election administration in the states and to develop standards to check for conflicts of interest.

Poll Worker Training:  This bill would require states to train election officials and poll workers.

Provisional Ballots:  This bill would require election officials to count provisional ballots cast by eligible voters at the incorrect polling place. Election officials must notify voters of their correct polling place if they are at the incorrect polling place.

Voter Registration:  This bill would require anyone who distributes more than 10 voter registration forms to provide their contact information and organizational information to voter registration applicants they assist and attest that applicants presented current, valid, government-issued photo ID with their current address. It prohibits anyone with a felony conviction from registering voters.

Absentee Ballots:  This bill would prohibit anyone other than the voter or any person authorized to handle material delivered to the individuals (such as a caregiver or guardian) from handling an absentee ballot.

Voter ID:  This provision requires the presentation of current, valid, government-issued photo ID in order to register to vote or to vote. The EAC can provide states with grants to subsidize the cost of issuing photo ID, with limitations.

Poll Worker Training:  This bill would require individuals to complete state training in order to serve as a poll worker on Election Day. The EAC can provide states with grants to implement training programs.

Early Voting:  This bill would require states to permit jurisdictions to conduct early voting. At least two of the days during the early voting period must be weekend days. Ballots cast before Election Day would be processed in the same way as absentee ballots. The locations of early voting poll sites must be proportional to the geographic distribution of the voting age population. 

Absentee Ballots:  This bill would permit voters to obtain absentee ballots for without providing a reason.

Election Day Holiday:  This bill would make Election Day a federal public holiday. Voting Leave:  This bill would require employers to allow employees to take up to 2 hours leave in order to vote on any workday on which a federal election is held. This leave may be paid or unpaid unrelated to any employment benefit.