Count the Vote Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
Count the Vote Act
This bill authorizes an individual to file a complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) for certain violations made by a state with respect to federal elections, such as for violations of required voting system standards or failure to provide provisional ballots. Currently, individuals may file such a complaint through a state-based administrative procedure.
Further, DOJ must immediately provide (1) a copy of the complaint to the entity responsible for administering the state-based administrative complaint procedure for the state involved in such complaint, and (2) a copy of the response to such entity.
The bill also permits such an individual, including an individual who seeks to enforce their right to a voter-verified ballot, to file a civil action for deprivation of rights.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 5, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 5, 2019: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Sharice Davids (D-KS) introduced it on March 5, 2019. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 5, 2019, 2746 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2746 days ago, on March 5, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers