Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2018
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Protecting American Votes and Elections Act of 2018
This bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voting systems for federal elections to use durable, paper ballots. Systems must make ballots available for verification by the voter before the vote is cast.
Each ballot shall be suitable for a manual audit and shall be counted by hand in any recount or audit.
The bill sets forth a rule for the treatment of disputes when paper ballots have been compromised.
The bill revises requirements for accessible voting for individuals with disabilities to require paper ballots and accessibility for individuals who are mobility and dexterity impaired.
The National Science Foundation shall make grants to study, test, and develop accessible paper voting mechanisms and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility of voting and verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulty in literacy.
Each state and jurisdiction shall audit the results of all federal elections.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 13, 2018. 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 June 13, 2018: Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 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 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 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?
EARL BLUMENAUER (D-OR) introduced it on June 13, 2018, and 9 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 9 Democrats.
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 June 13, 2018, 3011 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3011 days ago, on June 13, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 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