# 119-hr-10700: Accessible Voting Act of 2026 119-hr-10700, Accessible Voting Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5] (D-PA); status introduced (as of 2026-10-22). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10700 - As of: 2026-10-22 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-hr-10700 - Congress: 119 - Title: Accessible Voting Act of 2026 - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-10-01 - Sponsor: Rep. Scanlon, Mary Gay [D-PA-5] (D-PA) - Cosponsors: 3 - Policy area: Government Operations and Politics - Touches household money: no - Last recorded action: 2026-10-22 ## Summary **Creates an Election Assistance Commission Office of Accessibility to expand and enforce accessible voting for older adults and people with disabilities.** The bill would set national standards for accessible election websites, require no‑excuse absentee voting options, and fund states and research to reduce barriers to voting. - Older adults and people with disabilities would get clearer access: States would have to maintain WCAG‑conforming accessible election websites, ensure accessible polling places and drop boxes, provide absentee ballot tracking and expedited transmission, and protect voting rights for people under guardianship. - State and local election officials would need to designate a single accessibility office, form stakeholder committees, partner with outside technical organizations, and may receive federal payments to meet requirements. States could receive allocations from a $100 million per two‑year payment pool with a $1 million minimum per State. - Advocacy groups, researchers, and vendors would gain new grant opportunities and resources: a National Resource Center funded at about $5 million per year and $30 million for accessible voting technology research, plus expanded Protection and Advocacy litigation funding. *Authorizes $100 million per two‑year period for State payments, about $5 million per year for a National Resource Center, and $30 million for technology grants, which would increase federal spending if appropriated.* ## Cosponsors (3) - Rep. Raskin, Jamie [D-MD-8] (D-MD), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z - Rep. Dean, Madeleine [D-PA-4] (D-PA), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z ## Provisions PRIA read - New rules for absentee voting access: benefit, high. If enacted, States would have to allow no-excuse absentee voting in Federal elections held on or after January 1, 2027. States would accept voter registration forms up to 21 days before an election and absentee ballot requests up to 7 days before. When a voter requests a blank absentee ballot at le… - Expanded grants for accessible voting: benefit, high. If enacted, Help America Vote Act grant purposes would be expanded to pay for accessible absentee voting systems, voting at an individual’s residence, accessible polling places and paths of travel, and universally designed solutions. The bill would authorize such sums as may be necessary for FY2027… - State accessible office, websites, and grants: benefit, high. If enacted, each State would have to designate a single office to provide federal election information to older voters and people with disabilities and to maintain an accessible State election website starting January 1, 2027. States would have to publish precinct-level accessibility and poll-worke… - Protect voting rights under guardianship: benefit, medium. If enacted, a State could not assume someone lacks the capacity to vote just because they have a guardian. A court would have to find by clear and convincing evidence that the person cannot communicate a desire to vote, even with accommodations, before removing voting rights. This rule would apply… - Grants for accessible voting technology: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Election Assistance Commission would award at least three grants, working with the Access Board and CISA, to study and develop accessible and secure remote voting systems and casting or verification devices. Grant projects would have to finish by January 1, 2028, deliver non-proprie… - New federal office for accessible voting: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create an Election Assistance Commission Office of Accessibility led by a Director who serves a 4-year term. The Office would run a public national voter accessibility website and keep an anonymized complaint database, and it would refer possible federal-law violations to… - More legal funding for voting access: benefit, low. If enacted, Protection and Advocacy systems would no longer be limited by statute in how they use their funds for election-related litigation. That would let those organizations use their existing funds more broadly for lawsuits to protect voting access for people with disabilities. The change does… - Change to election enforcement reference: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would change a Help America Vote Act enforcement cross-reference by replacing a short list of sections with a reference to subtitle A of title III. The text does not specify new procedures or direct remedies for voters. This technical change could alter which provisions are cov… ## Related bills - 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act - 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act - 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act - 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026 - 119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender… ## Sources - [119-hr-10700 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10700) ## Related - [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977) - [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151) - [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973) - [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658) - [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853) - [119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implem…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-1058) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10700 (as of 2026-10-22).