Voter Empowerment Act of 2026

Every state would have to let you apply to register, and update your details, on its official election website. The deadline is January 1, 2027, with a waiver to 2029 for states that cannot make it.

Listed agencies would send your name, birth date, and address to election officials. You would be registered unless you decline, starting January 1, 2028.

A state could not reject a registration form just because the person is 16 or 17. Nobody under 18 could vote; the form simply waits.

You could register, or fix your registration, at the polling place and vote the same day. It starts with the November 2028 general election.

The period runs the 15 days before Election Day, at least 10 hours each day. Some hours must fall before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. It starts in November 2028.

A state could not ask why you want a mail ballot, or demand ID or a notary to get one. You could apply online and stay on the list for later elections.

If your signature is missing or does not match, officials must try to reach you by mail, phone, text, and email. Two trained officials from different parties must agree before a ballot is called a mismatch.

A ballot mailed on or before Election Day would have to be counted if it reaches the office within 10 days. States could still choose to count ones that arrive later.

Each election office would need at least one box, and one more for every 20,000 registered voters. Boxes open 45 days out and close when the polls do.

Places that offer curbside voting could keep it, and no state could take that option away. It starts with the November 2028 general election.

In states with voter ID rules, you could instead sign a statement under penalty of perjury. This does not apply to first-time voters who registered by mail.

The bar would apply only while a person is serving a felony sentence behind bars. Probation, parole, and finished sentences would no longer block a federal vote.

States would have to add voting machines, poll workers, and supplies to keep waits short. The rule takes effect 180 days after the bill becomes law.

A state could rule that a person under guardianship cannot vote only if a judge finds clear proof. The test is whether the person can express a wish to vote.

States would run one accessible election website and let disabled voters request and return absentee ballots. All polling places must be accessible by January 1, 2029.

Officials could not strike a voter based on returned mail or a rough name match. Private challengers would need first-hand knowledge, sworn in writing, and none on Election Day.

To drop you based on another state's data, officials would need your full name, birth date, and last four Social Security digits. Those checks must finish six months before an election.

Tribes could name one building per precinct for ballot pickup, and voters could use it as their address. States must also mail ballots there without a written request.

Colleges would either register students through the automatic system or hand out forms and reminders. Each campus would name a staff member to coordinate voting.

States would lose the power to waive the 45-day mailing deadline for military and overseas voters. Miss it, and the state pays to send the ballot by express delivery or email.

The agency list covers motor vehicle offices, Medicaid, unemployment, the VA, Social Security, colleges, and the state office that handles gun permits. Each one must tell you first and give you a chance to say no.

The ban covers knowingly false claims about voting times, places, and rules, or fake endorsements, made within 60 days of an election to stop people voting. Fines reach $100,000.

Threatening or scaring voters is already a federal crime. The top prison term rises from one year to five, and the fine can reach $100,000.

It would be a crime to corruptly stop someone from registering, or from helping another person register. Trying counts the same as doing it.

Knowingly challenging voters in order to get eligible people thrown off carries up to a year in jail. Each voter challenged counts as a separate offense.

Every voter would get a durable paper ballot, marked by hand or by a machine that only marks. The rule starts in 2028, or 2030 where older equipment is still in use.

The paper is the official ballot for any recount or audit. If paper and machine disagree, the paper wins unless a court finds the ballots were tampered with.

States would keep every change to voter records on file for at least two years, with the reason for each removal. Anyone could inspect them, including online.

Each state would run a program showing whether your ballot arrived and was accepted. If it was rejected, the state must say why.

The top state election official could not hold a campaign job or raise money for a federal candidate they oversee. They may still run themselves if they step back from running that race.

Voters could file complaints with the Justice Department and sue in federal court. That includes suing over the right to a paper ballot.

A state that misses military and overseas ballot deadlines could be fined $110,000 the first time. Later violations cost up to $220,000 each.

The commission's funding authority in law still named 2003 through 2005. The bill funds it for 2026 and every year after, and drops the $10 million yearly limit.

The commission had been exempt from the usual federal contracting rules. That exemption ends for contracts signed after the bill becomes law.

If false voting information spreads and state officials do not fix it, the Attorney General would have to put out accurate information. It could not favor any candidate or party.

Your state or county would prepay the postage on ballots, absentee applications, and registration forms it mails you. It takes effect 90 days after the bill becomes law.

All paper ballots for federal elections would have to be printed in the United States on American-made paper. That work could not go to foreign suppliers.