YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesTransparency & AccountabilityCaps voting lines at 30 minutes in federal races, and lets you sue for $50 or more if you wait longer.
Civil Liberties
States would have to keep every polling place under a 30-minute wait in federal elections. The rule would start 180 days after the bill became law.
A voter who waits too long could sue in federal court and win $50, plus $50 for each extra hour and lawyer fees. That first amount rises to $650 if a judge finds the delay was meant to block votes.
If a voting machine breaks, poll workers must hand out paper ballots to people in line. Those ballots list every federal race and come in the same languages.
The Justice Department would set how many machines, workers, and supplies each site needs. It would use local head counts and past turnout, and add one paper backup book for each digital sign-in book.
Where many voters waited over an hour, the Justice Department would run a fix-it plan for that area. The plan ends once waits stay under an hour for two elections in a row.
Transparency & Accountability
Each state would post a draft plan 30 days early and take public comments. The plan must show how the state will keep lines short and fair for all voters.
A federal agency would check wait times in each voting area and post what it found. Those results decide which areas get a federal fix-it plan.
A state's top election chief could not join a campaign, raise money for it, or use the job to sway a race they run. They can only take part if they hand off that race to someone else.
More about this bill
You would not have to wait more than 30 minutes to vote in a federal election. States would have to meet that limit at every polling place. If voting machines broke down, poll workers would have to offer you a paper ballot on the spot. By January 2027, each site would also need a set minimum of machines, poll workers, and supplies. The Justice Department would write those minimums, based on local population, turnout, and the needs of disabled voters. Up to $500 million a year in federal grants would help states cover the cost. Voters who waited longer could sue in federal court. A win would pay at least $50, plus $50 for each extra hour and lawyer fees. That minimum rises to $650 if a judge finds the long line was meant to block votes. The rule would take effect 180 days after the bill became law. After each election, a federal election agency would publish wait times for every voting area. Places where many people waited over an hour would fall under a Justice Department improvement plan. States would also post their own plans 60 days before each election, with time for public comment. Starting in 2027, a state's top election official could no longer run or raise money for a federal campaign they oversee.
Congressional Summary
People Over Long Lines Act or the POLL ActThis bill sets forth provisions related to voting and the administration of federal elections.Specifically, the bill requires states to ensure that voters wait no more than 30 minutes at any polling place to cast their vote in a federal election, establishes a private right of action for voters who experience longer waiting times, and directs the Election Assistance Commission to make payments to eligible states to prevent unreasonable waiting times.Next, the bill requires each state to provide for the minimum required number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources for each polling location on the day of any federal election and each day of early voting. The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division must issue uniform standards regarding the minimum number and distribution of such systems, workers, and other resources.The bill also prohibits a chief state election administration official from taking an active part in political management or in a political campaign with respect to any federal election over which the official has supervisory authority, with certain exceptions.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-08-05
- Date Added
- 2026-04-06
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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