Voter Empowerment Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced
Summary
Modernize voter registration and expand voting access nationwide. The bill would require online and automatic registration, strengthen accessibility for voters with disabilities and older individuals, and set uniform rules for early voting, absentee ballots, and ballot handling.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
21 provisions identified: 19 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Accessible ballots and state websites
This bill would require at least one accessible voting system at every polling place that lets voters privately verify and cast a paper ballot without staff handling it. Ballots must be durable and machine readable and ballot-marking devices must produce clearly readable paper. Each State would also have a single official, accessible election website meeting Level AA web standards and ADA facility rules. The GAO would study polling-place accessibility after each general election and report to Congress.
Automatic registration and online signups
This bill would expand Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) and online registration across States. It would add many State and some Federal agencies, and some colleges, to the list of agencies that must send voter data to election officials. States would have to run statewide AVR systems starting January 1, 2028, accept online applications, and follow new privacy and data standards set by NIST. The bill would authorize federal grants (including $500 million for FY2027) to help States build secure electronic transfers and online systems.
Emergency plans to keep voting safe
This bill would require each State and election jurisdiction to adopt and post a contingency plan to let people vote during declared emergencies, including natural disasters and infectious outbreaks. Plans must be posted within 90 days after enactment, updated at least every five years, protect poll workers and voters, supply needed equipment, and recruit backup poll workers. The Attorney General and private parties would have enforcement routes with notice and cure rules; the rules start with the November 2028 general Federal election.
Federal tools to fight election lies
This bill would give the Attorney General and others new tools to stop and correct materially false information about Federal elections. The Attorney General could make public corrective communications when State or local officials have not acted and must publish procedures within 180 days. The bill would also add a private civil remedy for certain false-statement violations and let people file notarized complaints with the Attorney General with faster response deadlines and a private right to sue under Federal law.
Limit Social Security number collection
If enacted, the bill would bar motor vehicle driver's license applications and the national mail voter registration form from asking for more than the last four digits of an applicant's Social Security number. This change would take effect on January 1, 2027.
Longer early voting, more scanning
This bill would require States to offer early in-person voting that begins 15 days before a Federal election and runs through Election Day. Each early polling place would have at least 10 consecutive hours of uniform daily hours, including some time before 9 a.m. and some after 5 p.m. States would begin processing and scanning early in-person ballots at least 14 days before the election, but may not tabulate results before polls close. States would also have to limit polling-place wait-time extremes and follow rules on statewide hour variation.
New penalties for election deception
If enacted, the bill would make it illegal within 60 days before certain federal elections to knowingly spread materially false information about when, where, or who can vote if the intent is to impede voting. It would also bar materially false endorsement statements in that 60-day window and ban the chief State official who runs federal elections from active participation in campaigns for those elections after December 2026. Penalties would increase up to fines of $100,000 and up to 5 years in prison, and attempts carry the same penalties.
Same-day registration and fixes
This bill would let eligible people register and vote at the polling place on the same day, including during early voting, starting with the November 2028 general election. Poll workers must allow registered voters to correct address or registration details at the polling place and treat the resulting ballot as a regular ballot (not provisional) starting January 1, 2028. Provisional ballots cast outside a voter’s precinct would be counted by the official in the voter’s registered jurisdiction for elections on or after January 1, 2027.
Stronger mail and drop-box rules
This bill would strengthen rules for absentee ballots, drop boxes, and election mail. Each jurisdiction must provide at least one secured, accessible drop box (and more where registered-voter counts are larger) available from 45 days before the election until polls close. States must accept mailed absentee ballots postmarked on or before Election Day if received within 10 days after the election. The Postal Service would have to carry voter registration forms and absentee ballots under first-class standards and mark mailing dates. The bill would also require online absentee applications and timely delivery when requests arrive at least five business days before the election. Some mailing and counting rules take effect in 2027 and most apply starting November 2028.
Stronger rules to protect voter registration
If enacted, the bill would limit when states can remove people from voter rolls using interstate cross-checks, generally requiring full name, date of birth, and last four SSN digits or ERIC move documentation and finishing removals at least six months before an election. It would bar using voter-caging lists, unverified-match lists, or minor address errors as the sole basis to cancel registration or stop someone from voting. Private challengers would need sworn personal-knowledge statements and could not challenge on Election Day or within 10 days before an election (with a narrow registration-timing exception). The bill would allow states to use HAVA requirements payments for voter-registration modernization starting in fiscal year 2027 and would add the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to NVRA and HAVA coverage.
Easier absentee voting and tracking
If enacted, the bill would require states to transmit blank absentee ballots electronically to qualified requesters, while marked ballots may not be returned electronically. States must follow language and accessibility rules, get a signed electronic affirmation from requesters, and follow a 45-day transmission rule for some categories of voters (effective for elections on or after January 1, 2027). States must pay express-delivery costs when the law requires it and must allow multiple return options including in-person drop-off and designated-person returns (with limits on paid collection). States must operate absentee-ballot tracking that shows receipt and disposition, and the Commission may reimburse setup costs up to (number of jurisdictions in the State) × $3,000, with a State eligible for only one such payment. Some transmission, return-location, designated-person, and tracking rules start with the November 2028 federal general election.
Absentee signature cure protections
This bill would limit rejecting absentee ballots for signature mismatches unless officials follow new due-process steps. Officials would try to notify voters by mail, phone, and, if available, text and email and give a 10-day cure period. Two trained election officials with bipartisan representation would have to agree on a discrepancy. State chiefs must report invalidated and cured ballots to the Election Assistance Commission after each Federal election cycle. These rules would start with the November 2028 general election.
EAC and state reporting oversight
This bill would boost federal oversight and reporting about how elections are run. States must send biennial voter-registration reports and provide information for post-election surveys to the Election Assistance Commission. The EAC must publish best practices to deter certain violations and study its IT and complaint procedures and report recommendations to Congress by the dates the bill sets.
More accessible voting for disabled voters
If enacted, the bill would fund at least three projects (authorizing $10,000,000) to develop non‑proprietary remote voting technology for people with disabilities. Recipients must certify completion by January 1, 2029. The bill would let protection and advocacy groups use HAVA funds to enforce disability access upon enactment. States could not ban curbside voting starting with the November 2028 federal general election. A court would have to find by clear and convincing evidence that a person cannot communicate a desire to vote before a guardianship alone could bar voting for federal elections on or after January 1, 2027.
More election materials in other languages
If enacted, the bill would update the law that requires language access to use the 2020 census. Covered jurisdictions would need to provide registration and voting notices, forms, ballots, and other election materials in the applicable minority language and in English starting with the November 2028 federal elections. There are limited exceptions where a language is oral or a tribe declines written translations.
Phased timing for new voting rules
This bill would set staggered effective dates for many new voting rules. Most changes would apply to elections on or after January 1, 2027. New voting-system rules generally apply to systems used in 2028 or later, but jurisdictions that used certain equipment in November 2026 may delay some requirements until 2030. Delayed jurisdictions must still offer blank paper ballots, post notices, and train staff while delayed.
Tribal ballot pickup and delivery
This bill would let an Indian Tribe name one building per precinct on Indian lands as a free ballot pickup and collection site. The State or local government would collect ballots from those sites and provide mail or absentee ballots to registered people on Indian lands without requiring a street address or a separate request. States must provide accurate precinct maps 60 days before the election. These rules would start with the November 2028 general election.
Grants to recruit and train poll workers
If enacted, the bill would let the EAC give grants to states to recruit and train poll workers. Grants must use the Commission's manual as an interactive training tool, use adult-learning and culturally competent methods for voters with limited English or disabilities, and require states to assure funds supplement existing spending. Grant amounts would be split by each state's share of the national voting-age population and the EAC's administrative costs are capped at 3% of appropriations.
Protections for military and overseas voters
This bill would add protections for absent uniformed services and overseas voters. States must submit pre- and post-election reports about absentee ballot availability and transmission, and a single application can cover subsequent Federal elections through the next regularly scheduled general election. The bill would also protect spouses' and dependents' voting residence when a service member is absent. Some reporting rules apply beginning January 1, 2027 and some ballot rules start on enactment.
Grants to boost youth and campus voting
If enacted, the bill would authorize $25,000,000 for the EAC to fund state grants that increase civic involvement for people under 18 and require grantees to use funds over a two-year period and report results within six months after the grant ends. The bill would also fund competitive grants to colleges that show strong voter-registration work and run a one-year pilot to give local schools money to provide voter-registration information to 12th graders in the year after enactment.
Changes to Election Assistance Commission
If enacted, the bill would reauthorize funding for the Election Assistance Commission for fiscal year 2026 and each year after and remove the prior $10,000,000 per-year statutory cap. It would expand the EAC Board of Advisors from 37 to 49 members and add seats for disability and older-voter groups effective January 1, 2027. The bill would also remove a contracting exemption that previously applied to the EAC for contracts entered into after enactment.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
NY • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov