H.R. 8078
Voter Empowerment Act of 2026
Sponsor: James E. Clyburn
3 cosponsors
Official summary
Written by the Congressional Research Service.
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.
Text of the bill
I Voter Registration Modernization
A Promoting Internet Registration
B Automatic Voter Registration
C Same Day Voter Registration
D Conditions on Removal on Basis of Interstate Cross-Checks
E Other Initiatives To Promote Voter Registration
F Availability of HAVA Requirements Payments
G Prohibiting Interference With Voter Registration
H Voter Registration Efficiency Act
I Providing Voter Registration Information to Secondary School Students
J Voter Registration of Minors
II Access to Voting for Individuals With Disabilities
III Prohibiting Voter Caging
IV Prohibiting Deceptive Practices and Preventing Voter Intimidation
V Democracy Restoration
VI Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security Through Voter-Verified Permanent Paper Ballot
VII Provisional Ballots
VIII Early Voting
IX Voting by Mail
X Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters
XI Poll Worker Recruitment and Training
XII Enhancement of Enforcement
XIII Federal Election Integrity
XIV Promoting Voter Access Through Election Administration Improvements
A Promoting Voter Access
(a) Requirements. Section 302 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082), as amended by section 701(a), is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection:
(f) Minimum notification requirements for voters affected by polling place changes
(1) In general. If a State assigns an individual who is a registered voter in a State to a polling place with respect to an election for Federal office which is not the same polling place to which the individual was previously assigned with respect to the most recent election for Federal office in the State in which the individual was eligible to vote—
(A) the State shall notify the individual of the location of the polling place not later than 7 days before the date of the election or the first day of an early voting period (whichever occurs first); or
(B) if the State makes such an assignment fewer than 7 days before the date of the election and the individual appears on the date of the election at the polling place to which the individual was previously assigned, the State shall make every reasonable effort to enable the individual to vote on the date of the election.
(2) Methods of notification. The State shall notify an individual under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) by mail, telephone, and (if available) text message and electronic mail.
(3) Placement of signs at closed polling places. If a location which served as a polling place in an election for Federal office does not serve as a polling place in the next election for Federal office held in the jurisdiction involved, the State shall ensure that signs are posted at such location on the date of the election and during any early voting period for the election containing the following information:
(A) A statement that the location is not serving as a polling place in the election.
(B) The locations serving as polling places in the election in the jurisdiction involved.
(C) Contact information, including a telephone number and website, for the appropriate State or local election official through which an individual may find the polling place to which the individual is assigned for the election.
(4) Effective date. This subsection shall apply with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 2027.
(b) Conforming amendment. Section 302(g) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(g)), as redesignated by subsection (a) and as amended by section 701(b), is amended by striking (d)(2) and (e)(2) and inserting (d)(2), (e)(2), and (f)(4).
B Disaster and Emergency Contingency Plans
C Improvements in Operation of Election Assistance Commission
D Miscellaneous Provisions
XV Severability