Voter Empowerment Act of 2026
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Voter Empowerment Act of 2026
This bill expands voter registration and voting access.
Specifically, the bill expands voter registration by requiring states to (1) make available online voter registration, (2) establish automatic voter registration systems, (3) permit same-day voter registration, and (4) accept voter registration applications from individuals under age 18.
Further, the bill limits removing voters from voter rolls and prohibits interference with voter registration or voting.
Next, the bill requires states to allow individuals with disabilities to use absentee registration procedures and to vote by absentee ballot in federal elections.
The bill also prohibits voter caging (the practice of sending mail to addresses on voter rolls, compiling a list of the undeliverable mail, and using the list to remove registered voters from voter rolls).
Next, the bill expands voting access by requiring states to allow early voting and voting by mail without additional conditions. It also requires states to provide secured drop boxes at which individuals may drop off their completed absentee ballots.
In addition, the bill declares that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any federal election shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless, at the time of the election, such individual is serving a felony sentence.
Finally, the bill permanently reauthorizes the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). It also directs the EAC to make grants to states for specified activities, including to implement automatic voter registration systems.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 25, 2026. 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 25, 2026: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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?
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced it on March 25, 2026. 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 25, 2026, 169 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 169 days ago, on March 25, 2026.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers