Full bill text rendering is coming soon.
In the meantime, read the full text on Congress.gov ↗.
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
EAC Office of Accessibility with DOJ referral authority
Creates a new Office of Accessibility inside the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to advocate for voters with access needs, oversee state compliance with voting accessibility standards, and refer noncompliant states to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for enforcement. Directs the EAC's Office of Accessibility to establish a National Resource Center on Accessible Voting by January 1, 2027, to provide training and technical assistance to state and local election officials on making voting accessible for people with disabilities and older adults. Requires every state to build and maintain accessible election websites for voters and local officials, with partnerships with outside technical organizations to build the site and disability-focused groups to monitor it, through a stakeholder planning committee. Requires states to publicly notify voters within 7 days of any change to voting rules made within 180 days of a federal election, disclose polling place resources at least 30 days before an election, and allow voters to sign up for accessible notifications of changes. Requires all states to allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee ballot in federal elections without needing a reason, with minimum deadlines for registration and applications, electronic submission options, permanent absentee status, and assistive technology for marking ballots. Expands the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Board of Advisors from 37 to 49 members by adding 12 seats for representatives of voters with disabilities and older voters, appointed by the National Council on Disability, the Assistant Secretary for Aging, and congressional committees. Authorizes at least $5 million per year beginning in fiscal year 2027 to fund the National Resource Center on Accessible Voting, with funds remaining available until expended. Requires each state to designate one office responsible for providing election information to voters with disabilities and older adults, with duties including auditing polling places for accessibility, training poll workers, promoting hiring of people with disabilities as poll workers, and year-round advocacy engagement. Requires states to ensure all polling places and voter drop boxes are physically accessible to voters with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, and homeless voters, and directs states to consider curbside voting options and mobile polling sites for long-term care residents. Removes the existing restriction that blocked protection and advocacy (P&A) systems from using federal Help America Vote Act funds for litigation related to election-related disability access, allowing these organizations to pursue such litigation with federal funds. Requires the EAC to coordinate with its new Office of Accessibility when issuing voluntary guidance on the bill's new state accessibility requirements, and sets a January 1, 2027 deadline for issuing those recommendations.
- Population Scope High The merged component's mandates—no-excuse absentee voting, accessible polling places, state website requirements, and transparency rules—directly affect all eligible voters nationwide, well over 25% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes at least $5 million per fiscal year for the National Resource Center beginning FY2027, a recurring but modest appropriation relative to the broader $300 million grant program addressed separately.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new federal statutory office with enforcement referral authority, imposes binding mandates on all states for absentee voting and physical accessibility, and removes existing litigation funding restrictions—collectively a substantive restructuring of federal election law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted High The Director of Accessibility receives broad authority to set standards and guidelines, refer states to the Department of Justice (DOJ), and establish operating requirements for the National Resource Center, while states retain some adaptation latitude.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden High Creates overlapping compliance infrastructure—state audits, poll worker training, polling place disclosures, electronic submission systems, and a DOJ referral mechanism—imposing substantial ongoing obligations on all states and the new federal office.
- Temporal Commitment High The Office of Accessibility, state mandates, and litigation funding removal carry no sunset or expiry, persisting indefinitely until Congress acts to repeal or amend them.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations Top 5
Federal grant payments to states for election accessibility implementation
Creates a federal grant program paying states up to $300 million total over six years to implement election accessibility requirements, with funds distributed by voting-age population share, a $1 million per-state minimum, and at least 10% passed through to local governments for accessible website development.
- Population Scope High Reaches all 50 state governments and their local governments as grant recipients, and ultimately benefits all voters with disabilities and older adults across the country.
- Budgetary Magnitude High Authorizes $300 million over three biennial periods (FY2027–2032)—$100 million per two-year period—with funds available without fiscal year limitation once appropriated, a substantial multi-year discretionary grant commitment.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Establishes a new statutory grant program with eligibility criteria, allocation formula, local passthrough mandate, and reporting obligations, but these are procedural funding conditions rather than new substantive voting rights or prohibitions.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Director of the Office of Accessibility sets standards and guidelines for funded activities while states may refine those standards for local circumstances, creating shared discretion at both levels.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium States must apply with stakeholder plans, pass through 10% to localities, and submit post-period expenditure and complaint reports, creating recurring compliance and reporting obligations tied to each biennial funding cycle.
- Temporal Commitment Medium The program runs through FY2032 on a defined six-year timeline; once that authorization expires, Congress must affirmatively act to continue it, creating a forced revisit within 10 years.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations Top 5
Expanded and reauthorized disability voting access grants
Expands the purposes of federal disability voting access grants under existing law to cover accessible absentee voting, physical polling place improvements, and universally designed voting solutions, and reauthorizes the program with open-ended annual funding starting in fiscal year 2027.
- Population Scope High Reaches state and local governments nationwide as grant recipients and directly benefits all voters with disabilities, a population in the tens of millions across all jurisdictions.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes 'such sums as may be necessary' beginning FY2027 indefinitely—an open-ended reauthorization without a specified dollar ceiling, creating an ongoing but discretionary appropriations obligation.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Replaces existing HAVA grant purpose categories with new ones and adds a fund-obligation deadline with a reallocation mechanism—amending the statutory grant structure but not creating new substantive voting rights or prohibitions.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) retains discretion in administering the reallocation mechanism and overseeing grant compliance, while the open-ended authorization leaves annual funding levels to Congressional appropriators.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium The 4-year obligation deadline and reallocation mechanism require EAC to track expenditures across all grantees and execute pro-rata redistributions, creating recurring administrative compliance monitoring.
- Temporal Commitment High The open-ended 'such sums as may be necessary' authorization carries no sunset or end date, persisting indefinitely until Congress acts to repeal or amend it.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
National voter accessibility website and complaint database
Requires the EAC's Office of Accessibility to create a public national website with state-specific voting information for people with disabilities and older adults, and to maintain a public complaint database with anonymity protections, referring federal law violations to the DOJ.
- Population Scope High The public website and complaint database serve all voters with disabilities and older adults seeking election information, a population comprising tens of millions of Americans.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No specific dollar amount is authorized or appropriated for the national website or complaint database; costs are subsumed within the Office of Accessibility's general operations.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Imposes new procedural duties on the Office of Accessibility—administering a public website, maintaining a complaint database with anonymity protections, and referring federal violations to the Department of Justice (DOJ)—but does not alter substantive voting rights or create new private entitlements.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Office of Accessibility must establish and administer the website and database but retains discretion over content organization, data presentation, and the timing of DOJ referrals.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires standing up and continuously maintaining a public federal website and complaint database, with an ongoing DOJ referral obligation, creating recurring administrative load without civil penalties.
- Temporal Commitment High No sunset or expiry attaches to the website or complaint database duties, so they persist indefinitely until Congress acts to repeal them.
No signal yet
Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 5
Bar on guardianship-based voting disqualification
Prohibits states from denying voting rights in federal elections based solely on a person's guardianship status; states may only find someone unable to vote if a court issues an order based on clear and convincing evidence that the person cannot express a desire to vote even with accommodations.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects only individuals under legal guardianship, a small and discrete population well under 10% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized or appropriated; the provision is a legal prohibition with no associated spending.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new federally protected voting right by prohibiting states from disqualifying voters solely on guardianship status and requiring a court order with a clear-and-convincing-evidence standard as the exclusive permissible basis for disqualification.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low The prohibition is absolute in its scope—states 'shall not' deny voting rights based solely on guardianship—leaving no administrative discretion to states or federal agencies.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium States and courts must apply a new federal standard requiring individualized judicial findings, creating case-by-case adjudication burden for guardianship proceedings that touch federal election eligibility.
- Temporal Commitment High The prohibition carries no sunset or expiry and persists indefinitely as an amendment to HAVA until Congress acts to repeal it.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Grants for accessible remote voting system research and development
Directs the EAC to award grants to at least three entities to develop accessible and secure remote voting systems and devices for people with disabilities, requiring results by January 1, 2028, with all developed technology made publicly available and non-proprietary. Authorizes $30 million.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Grants for accessible remote voting system research and development
Directs the EAC to award grants to at least three entities to develop accessible and secure remote voting systems and devices for people with disabilities, requiring results by January 1, 2028, with all developed technology made publicly available and non-proprietary. Authorizes $30 million.
No signal yet
Summary
The Accessible Voting Act of 2026 sets new federal rules to make it easier for people with disabilities, older adults, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and people with limited English ability to register and vote in federal elections. It creates new offices and programs at the federal level and places new duties on states. Among other elements, the bill * creates an Office of Accessibility within the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to oversee voting access standards and refer noncompliant states to the Department of Justice (DOJ); * establishes a National Resource Center on Accessible Voting to train and assist state and local election officials; * requires states to maintain accessible election websites, designate a single office for disability and older-voter outreach, and publicly disclose polling place information and rule changes; * expands no-excuse absentee voting nationwide, with electronic options and assistive technology for marking ballots; * provides federal grant payments totaling up to $300 million over six years to help states implement accessibility requirements; * and expands and reauthorizes disability voting access grants, funds research into accessible remote voting systems, and removes restrictions on litigation funding for protection and advocacy systems.
AI-generated summary, pending human review.
| Version | Event | Date | User support | Your vote | Roll calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original |
Initial publication
Oct 1, 2026
|
Oct 1, 2026 | No votes yet | — | — |
Log in or create an account to record your vote on this legislation. Results are visible to all visitors.
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
EAC Office of Accessibility with DOJ referral authority
Creates a new Office of Accessibility inside the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to advocate for voters with access needs, oversee state compliance with voting accessibility standards, and refer noncompliant states to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for enforcement. Directs the EAC's Office of Accessibility to establish a National Resource Center on Accessible Voting by January 1, 2027, to provide training and technical assistance to state and local election officials on making voting accessible for people with disabilities and older adults. Requires every state to build and maintain accessible election websites for voters and local officials, with partnerships with outside technical organizations to build the site and disability-focused groups to monitor it, through a stakeholder planning committee. Requires states to publicly notify voters within 7 days of any change to voting rules made within 180 days of a federal election, disclose polling place resources at least 30 days before an election, and allow voters to sign up for accessible notifications of changes. Requires all states to allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee ballot in federal elections without needing a reason, with minimum deadlines for registration and applications, electronic submission options, permanent absentee status, and assistive technology for marking ballots. Expands the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) Board of Advisors from 37 to 49 members by adding 12 seats for representatives of voters with disabilities and older voters, appointed by the National Council on Disability, the Assistant Secretary for Aging, and congressional committees. Authorizes at least $5 million per year beginning in fiscal year 2027 to fund the National Resource Center on Accessible Voting, with funds remaining available until expended. Requires each state to designate one office responsible for providing election information to voters with disabilities and older adults, with duties including auditing polling places for accessibility, training poll workers, promoting hiring of people with disabilities as poll workers, and year-round advocacy engagement. Requires states to ensure all polling places and voter drop boxes are physically accessible to voters with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, and homeless voters, and directs states to consider curbside voting options and mobile polling sites for long-term care residents. Removes the existing restriction that blocked protection and advocacy (P&A) systems from using federal Help America Vote Act funds for litigation related to election-related disability access, allowing these organizations to pursue such litigation with federal funds. Requires the EAC to coordinate with its new Office of Accessibility when issuing voluntary guidance on the bill's new state accessibility requirements, and sets a January 1, 2027 deadline for issuing those recommendations.
- Population Scope High The merged component's mandates—no-excuse absentee voting, accessible polling places, state website requirements, and transparency rules—directly affect all eligible voters nationwide, well over 25% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes at least $5 million per fiscal year for the National Resource Center beginning FY2027, a recurring but modest appropriation relative to the broader $300 million grant program addressed separately.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new federal statutory office with enforcement referral authority, imposes binding mandates on all states for absentee voting and physical accessibility, and removes existing litigation funding restrictions—collectively a substantive restructuring of federal election law.
- Degree of Discretion Granted High The Director of Accessibility receives broad authority to set standards and guidelines, refer states to the Department of Justice (DOJ), and establish operating requirements for the National Resource Center, while states retain some adaptation latitude.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden High Creates overlapping compliance infrastructure—state audits, poll worker training, polling place disclosures, electronic submission systems, and a DOJ referral mechanism—imposing substantial ongoing obligations on all states and the new federal office.
- Temporal Commitment High The Office of Accessibility, state mandates, and litigation funding removal carry no sunset or expiry, persisting indefinitely until Congress acts to repeal or amend them.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
EAC Office of Accessibility with DOJ referral authority
Funding / Appropriations Top 5
Federal grant payments to states for election accessibility implementation
Creates a federal grant program paying states up to $300 million total over six years to implement election accessibility requirements, with funds distributed by voting-age population share, a $1 million per-state minimum, and at least 10% passed through to local governments for accessible website development.
- Population Scope High Reaches all 50 state governments and their local governments as grant recipients, and ultimately benefits all voters with disabilities and older adults across the country.
- Budgetary Magnitude High Authorizes $300 million over three biennial periods (FY2027–2032)—$100 million per two-year period—with funds available without fiscal year limitation once appropriated, a substantial multi-year discretionary grant commitment.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Establishes a new statutory grant program with eligibility criteria, allocation formula, local passthrough mandate, and reporting obligations, but these are procedural funding conditions rather than new substantive voting rights or prohibitions.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Director of the Office of Accessibility sets standards and guidelines for funded activities while states may refine those standards for local circumstances, creating shared discretion at both levels.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium States must apply with stakeholder plans, pass through 10% to localities, and submit post-period expenditure and complaint reports, creating recurring compliance and reporting obligations tied to each biennial funding cycle.
- Temporal Commitment Medium The program runs through FY2032 on a defined six-year timeline; once that authorization expires, Congress must affirmatively act to continue it, creating a forced revisit within 10 years.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Federal grant payments to states for election accessibility implementation
Funding / Appropriations Top 5
Expanded and reauthorized disability voting access grants
Expands the purposes of federal disability voting access grants under existing law to cover accessible absentee voting, physical polling place improvements, and universally designed voting solutions, and reauthorizes the program with open-ended annual funding starting in fiscal year 2027.
- Population Scope High Reaches state and local governments nationwide as grant recipients and directly benefits all voters with disabilities, a population in the tens of millions across all jurisdictions.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Authorizes 'such sums as may be necessary' beginning FY2027 indefinitely—an open-ended reauthorization without a specified dollar ceiling, creating an ongoing but discretionary appropriations obligation.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Replaces existing HAVA grant purpose categories with new ones and adds a fund-obligation deadline with a reallocation mechanism—amending the statutory grant structure but not creating new substantive voting rights or prohibitions.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) retains discretion in administering the reallocation mechanism and overseeing grant compliance, while the open-ended authorization leaves annual funding levels to Congressional appropriators.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium The 4-year obligation deadline and reallocation mechanism require EAC to track expenditures across all grantees and execute pro-rata redistributions, creating recurring administrative compliance monitoring.
- Temporal Commitment High The open-ended 'such sums as may be necessary' authorization carries no sunset or end date, persisting indefinitely until Congress acts to repeal or amend it.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Expanded and reauthorized disability voting access grants
Core Policy Mechanism Top 5
National voter accessibility website and complaint database
Requires the EAC's Office of Accessibility to create a public national website with state-specific voting information for people with disabilities and older adults, and to maintain a public complaint database with anonymity protections, referring federal law violations to the DOJ.
- Population Scope High The public website and complaint database serve all voters with disabilities and older adults seeking election information, a population comprising tens of millions of Americans.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No specific dollar amount is authorized or appropriated for the national website or complaint database; costs are subsumed within the Office of Accessibility's general operations.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Imposes new procedural duties on the Office of Accessibility—administering a public website, maintaining a complaint database with anonymity protections, and referring federal violations to the Department of Justice (DOJ)—but does not alter substantive voting rights or create new private entitlements.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The Office of Accessibility must establish and administer the website and database but retains discretion over content organization, data presentation, and the timing of DOJ referrals.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires standing up and continuously maintaining a public federal website and complaint database, with an ongoing DOJ referral obligation, creating recurring administrative load without civil penalties.
- Temporal Commitment High No sunset or expiry attaches to the website or complaint database duties, so they persist indefinitely until Congress acts to repeal them.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
National voter accessibility website and complaint database
Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 5
Bar on guardianship-based voting disqualification
Prohibits states from denying voting rights in federal elections based solely on a person's guardianship status; states may only find someone unable to vote if a court issues an order based on clear and convincing evidence that the person cannot express a desire to vote even with accommodations.
- Population Scope Low Directly affects only individuals under legal guardianship, a small and discrete population well under 10% of the U.S. population.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized or appropriated; the provision is a legal prohibition with no associated spending.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new federally protected voting right by prohibiting states from disqualifying voters solely on guardianship status and requiring a court order with a clear-and-convincing-evidence standard as the exclusive permissible basis for disqualification.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low The prohibition is absolute in its scope—states 'shall not' deny voting rights based solely on guardianship—leaving no administrative discretion to states or federal agencies.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium States and courts must apply a new federal standard requiring individualized judicial findings, creating case-by-case adjudication burden for guardianship proceedings that touch federal election eligibility.
- Temporal Commitment High The prohibition carries no sunset or expiry and persists indefinitely as an amendment to HAVA until Congress acts to repeal it.
No signal yet
Regulatory or Legal Changes
Bar on guardianship-based voting disqualification
Incomplete vote
You have not made a selection on all required items:
Choose Neutral if you prefer not to commit. Leaving without completing will remove all your votes for this bill from the totals.
Maximum recommendations reached
You have already recommended the maximum number of components allowed on this bill. To recommend [new component], choose one of your current recommendations to unselect: