# 119-s-4203: Voter Empowerment Act of 2026 119-s-4203, Voter Empowerment Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-29). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4203 - As of: 2026-04-29 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: 119-s-4203 - Congress: 119 - Title: Voter Empowerment Act of 2026 - Status: introduced - Introduced: 2026-03-25 - Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY) - Cosponsors: 0 - Policy area: Government Operations and Politics - Touches household money: yes - Last recorded action: 2026-04-29 ## Summary This bill would make registering and voting easier and more secure by requiring **online and automatic voter registration** and by updating accessibility, paper-ballot, and mail-voting rules. - Voters and registrants: States would have to offer continuous online registration on official websites, accept electronic signatures or uploads, and run automatic registration transfers from DMVs, Medicaid, Social Security, Veterans Affairs, colleges, and other agencies. It also creates same-day registration, allows processing for people age 16 and older for future eligibility, and requires written notices when voting rights are restored after convictions. - People with disabilities and older voters: States must create a single accessible chief election website that meets WCAG 2.0 AA and ensure at least one accessible voting system at each polling place. The bill funds pilots and grants for secure remote accessible voting and authorizes $10 million for accessibility studies. - Mail, overseas, and absentee voters: The bill sets uniform absentee rules with a 10-day cure period for signature defects, a 10-day acceptance window for postmarked ballots, prepaid postage and self-sealing return envelopes, ballot tracking reimbursement, and tighter UOCAVA deadlines and reporting. ## Provisions PRIA read - Accessible voting for seniors and disabled: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would require states to improve voting access for people with disabilities and older voters. States would provide at least one accessible voting system at each polling place that produces a voter-verified paper ballot and allows private, independent verification. The EAC could… - Early voting, waits, poll staffing rules: benefit, high. This would set a national early‑voting floor: in‑person early voting must start at least 15 days before a federal election and run through election day, with each site open at least 10 hours per day and including some time before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. States would have to provide enough mac… - Mail, absentee, and drop-box rules: benefit, high. This would expand and standardize absentee voting and returns for federal elections. States must accept ballots postmarked or shown mailed on or before election day if received within 10 days, allow many return options (drop boxes, in-person, a designated returner not paid per ballot), and provide… - Paper ballot and system safeguards: benefit, high. This would require voter‑verified, durable paper ballots for federal elections beginning in 2028. Systems must let you inspect and verify a paper ballot, offer hand‑marking options, and preserve paper ballots as the official record for recounts and audits. Ballots used in federal elections would ha… - Paper ballot standards and audits: benefit, high. If enacted, voter-verified paper ballots for federal elections would have to be printed on durable paper that retains markings for 22 months and can survive multiple hand counts. Ballots produced by ballot-marking devices would have to be clearly readable by voters and by assistive reading devices.… - Tougher bans on election deception: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would make it a federal crime to corruptly interfere with voter registration or to knowingly spread materially false information about when, where, or how to vote within 60 days before a covered federal election. Violations and attempts could bring fines (up to $100,000) and pr… - Election oversight and EAC changes: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would reauthorize Election Assistance Commission funding starting in fiscal year 2026 and remove a prior $10 million per-year cap. The EAC Board of Advisors would grow and add members representing disability and older-voter groups starting January 1, 2027. The bill would bar ch… - Military and overseas absentee fixes: benefit, medium. If enacted, states would have to send blank absentee ballots electronically to certain qualified requesters for the November 2028 general election and later (this transmission rule excludes absent uniformed services and overseas voters in one place but imposes other protections). If a state misses… - Notices and rights for restored voters: benefit, medium. This would require States and federal prison/probation authorities to notify people in writing when their right to vote is restored and to give them voter‑registration materials. The Attorney General could sue to enforce the Democracy Restoration Act, and individuals could notify the State official… - Restore voting rights and guardianship: benefit, medium. If enacted, people with past felony convictions could not be denied the right to vote in federal elections unless they are serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution on election day. Residential community treatment centers would not count as correctional institutions. States that recei… - Tools to stop false election information: benefit, medium. This would let the Attorney General send accurate corrections to the public if materially false election information is not fixed by state or local officials. It would also create a private federal right to sue to stop deceptive election messages and require the EAC to publish best practices and HA… - Tribal lands voting pickup and enforcement: benefit, medium. This would let Indian Tribes name one building per precinct on Indian lands as a free ballot pickup and collection site. States would have to collect ballots from those sites, provide ballots to registered people on Indian lands without a residential address, and give language assistance where requ… - Easier registration and privacy rules: benefit, medium. If enacted, states would have to treat mostly completed registration forms as valid and email voters who provided an email address with polling-place info at least 7 days before a federal election. Motor vehicle and the national mail registration forms could only ask for the last four digits of you… - Student and campus voter support: benefit, medium. If enacted, federal student-aid colleges would have to help students register and provide nonpartisan registration materials. Covered colleges must name a Campus Vote Coordinator and send registration information at least 30 days before registration deadlines. The Secretary of Education could award… - Grants for remote voting and youth outreach: benefit, low. This would authorize EAC grants to study and develop accessible, secure remote‑voting technology (at least three projects) with a $10 million authorization and require the work to be non‑proprietary. It would also authorize $25 million in two‑year grants to States to boost youth civic engagement an… - Modern online and automatic registration: mixed, high. This would require every State to offer public online voter registration starting January 1, 2027 and to run automatic voter registration that signs up eligible people unless they opt out. Agencies would send records and States must finish automatic registrations within 15 days and notify people wi… ## Related bills - 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 - 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026 - 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act - 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act - 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025 - 119-s-5283: Momnibus Act ## Sources - [119-s-4203 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4203) ## Related - [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120) - [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071) - [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022) - [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819) - [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541) - [119-s-5283: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5283) - [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4203 (as of 2026-04-29).