{"bills":[{"photos":{"featured":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s3214-114/featured_vote-by-mail-act-of-2016-1476222624.jpg","featured_large":"https://assets.causes.com/bill/photo/s3214-114/featured_large_vote-by-mail-act-of-2016-1476222624.jpg","shareable":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s3214-114.png"},"introduced_on":"2016-07-14","title_override":"Should Voters Be Able to Cast Their Ballots by Mail in Federal Elections?","summary_override":"

This bill would give voters the ability to cast their ballots by mail for federal elections and allow people to automatically register to vote when obtaining their driver’s license or updating their information.

States would be required to mail ballots to registered voters at least two weeks before the election at no charge, and couldn’t place any restrictions on the right to vote by mail except for a deadline to return the ballot to state or local election officials.

","official_title":"A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail in Federal elections, to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to provide for automatic voter registration.","short_title":"Vote By Mail Act of 2016","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Vote by Mail Act of 2016\n\nThis bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to:\n\n prohibit a state from imposing any additional conditions or requirements on the eligibility of an individual to cast a vote in a federal election by mail, except to the extent of setting a deadline for returning the ballot to the appropriate state or local election official; and require each state to mail ballots, not later than two weeks before the election, and at no charge, to individuals registered to vote in it. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 is amended to revise requirements for simultaneous application for voter registration and for a motor vehicle driver's license to authorize automatic voter registration of individuals through state motor vehicle authorities.","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"People who want to vote by mail for federal elections or register to vote automatically when they got to the DMV; and state election officials and motor vehicle authorities.","argument_for":"Voting by mail is far more convenient than having to go wait in line at a polling place, and automatic voter registration at the DMV eliminates the hassle of having to deal with the state elections office too.","argument_against":"Voting by mail can be relatively expensive because of the the number of ballots that have to be sent, and not everyone who goes to the DMV to update their license or registration wants to be registered to vote.","bill_type":"s","published":true,"type":"FederalBill","id":"s3214-114","bill_id":"s3214-114","formal_id":"S. 3214","chamber":"senate","congress":114,"last_action_at":"2016-07-14T00:00:00.000Z","active":false,"enacted":false,"enacted_at":null,"vetoed":false,"last_vote_at":null,"debated_on":null,"congress_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/3214","plain_text_url":"https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-114s3214is/html/BILLS-114s3214is.htm","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/bills/s3214-114.png","congress_full_text_url":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th/senate-bill/3214/text","is_current_congress":false,"last_version_on":"2016-07-14","related_bill_ids":["hr5819-114"],"progress":"Introduced","house_passage_result":false,"senate_passage_result":false,"position_count":532,"committees":[{"name":"Committee on Rules and Administration","chamber":"senate","committee_id":"SSRA","subcommittee":false}],"links":{"rollCalls":"/api/roll_calls?bill_id=s3214-114","details":"/api/bills/s3214-114/details","sharingMessage":"/api/sharing_messages/s3214-114","positionsFor":"/api/bills/s3214-114/positions/for","positionsAgainst":"/api/bills/s3214-114/positions/against"},"upcoming":false,"cosponsors_count":1,"slug":"s3214-114-vote-by-mail-act-of-2016","latest_chamber_votes_id":null,"official_url":null,"target_video":true,"following":false,"vote_count":3855,"yea_vote_count":3272,"nay_vote_count":570,"passed_house":false,"passed_senate":false,"vote_id":null,"my_position_id":null,"topic_ids":["government"],"issue_ids":["elections","government","states"],"sponsor_id":526}],"votes":[],"issues":[{"id":"elections","name":"Elections","slug":"elections","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Elections. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"Elections Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/elections/black_elections-1429042069.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/elections/grey_elections-1429042069.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/elections/white_elections-1429042069.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"government","name":"Government","slug":"government","description":"Federal legislation related to the operations of the US Federal Government. 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Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. \r\n","page_title":"States Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/states/black_states-1453508817.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/states/grey_states-1453508817.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/states/white_states-1453508817.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"J","vote_count":161,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/5mbwxrb9/following","followers":"/api/users/5mbwxrb9/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":0,"is_following":null,"influence_score":30,"influence_level":10,"follower_count":1,"following_count":0,"position_count":43,"id":"5mbwxrb9","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"e3eb124d-0f9d-42f3-9a5d-c2c930eaf7d6","argument_for":"Any person of integrity should promote the ability to vote by masses of people in the easiest, convenient manner possible.","argument_against":null,"show_argument_for":true,"show_argument_against":false,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":0,"upvotes_against_count":null,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/e3eb124d-0f9d-42f3-9a5d-c2c930eaf7d6"},"body":"Any person of integrity should promote the ability to vote by masses of people in the easiest, convenient manner possible.","stance":"yea","created_at":"2017-03-03T05:12:09.549Z","shareable_image_url":"https://n.causes.com/share-images/positions/e3eb124d-0f9d-42f3-9a5d-c2c930eaf7d6.png","note_color":null,"note_text":null,"bill_id":"s3214-114","user_id":"5mbwxrb9","endorser_ids":[]}}

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Should Voters Be Able to Cast Their Ballots by Mail in Federal Elections?