The Accessible Voting Act of 2024 outlines various measures to ensure accessible voting for all, including establishing a special office and websites to support accessible voting, providing absentee voting options, and protection measures for disabled and older individuals. The Act also includes grants and studies to improve voting access, with detailed state requirements and federal assistance programs to aid in implementing these accessibility features.

Congress recognizes ongoing challenges in voting access for groups such as older individuals, those with disabilities, Native Americans, and people with limited English skills, despite existing laws. This Act aims to improve their voting access by providing resources to enhance election accessibility and increasing federal oversight.

The section establishes the Election Assistance Commission Office of Accessibility, which advocates for voters with access needs, such as individuals with disabilities and older adults, to improve voting accessibility and compliance with federal standards. It outlines the duties of the office, which include promoting accessible voting systems, evaluating state proposals for voter accessibility, and providing educational resources, and describes the roles of the Director and Deputy Director of Accessibility.

The Election Assistance Commission Office of Accessibility is established to advocate for and improve voting accessibility for individuals with disabilities, older adults, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and those with limited English proficiency. It aims to educate election officials, ensure compliance with accessibility standards, provide educational resources, evaluate State proposals, and recommend policies to enhance voters' experience, while being overseen by a Director appointed every four years.

The section establishes the National Resource Center on Accessible Voting to help ensure that older individuals, people with disabilities, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and those with limited English proficiency can vote independently and privately. It outlines that the Center will provide information and assistance to election officials and workers, identify voting barriers, involves partnerships with organizations experienced in these areas, and authorizes funding of at least $5 million annually starting from 2025.

The section requires the establishment of a National Resource Center on Accessible Voting by the Office of Accessibility by January 1, 2025, to help ensure that older individuals, people with disabilities, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and those with limited English proficiency can vote easily and privately. It mandates the Center to provide assistance and resources to election officials and identifies eligible entities for grants based on expertise, experience, and certain partnerships, with a minimum of $5 million authorized annually for funding.

The section establishes a national website to help individuals with disabilities and older people access voter information easily. The website will also provide resources for local election officials to ensure polling places are accessible, maintain a database of voter complaints, and ensure the anonymity of individuals who submit complaints.

The bill section outlines the creation of a national voter accessibility website managed by the Office of Accessibility. This website will provide accessible voting information tailored for individuals with disabilities and older voters, offer details on state voting laws, and host a database of voting complaints, with outcomes of these complaints made public while keeping the complainants anonymous.

The section outlines requirements for each state to create accessible election websites that provide information and support for local election officials and voters, especially individuals with disabilities and older voters. It mandates partnerships with technical organizations to ensure websites are easy to use, establishes a committee to develop a state plan, and involves monitoring for accessibility through collaborations with various advocacy groups, with all provisions taking effect from January 1, 2025.

Each state must ensure that their election websites are accessible to people with disabilities and older individuals, providing necessary information and resources for voting. States are required to partner with technical organizations and various advocacy groups to create, maintain, and monitor these accessible websites, which must comply with web accessibility standards.

The section requires each state to designate a single office responsible for providing information about federal elections to individuals with disabilities and older individuals. This office must maintain an accessible election website, provide voting information, audit polling places for accessibility, assist election officials with accessible voting systems, include accessibility information in training, and promote hiring individuals with disabilities and older individuals as poll workers. This requirement takes effect on January 1, 2025.

The section requires each state to create a single office that gives information about voting in federal elections to people with disabilities and older people. This office will maintain an accessible election website, provide voter information, audit polling places for accessibility, help set up accessible voting systems, work with advocacy groups, integrate accessibility into training, train poll workers, and encourage hiring individuals with disabilities and older people as election staff, starting January 1, 2025.

The section requires States or political subdivisions to give public notice if they make voting-related changes within 180 days before a federal election, detailing any differences in voting procedures or polling place resources. This notice must be accessible to people with disabilities and older individuals and provided by electronic or mail updates when requested, with specific deadlines for posting these changes to help ensure transparency and accessibility in the electoral process.

The section focuses on transparency regarding voting changes and polling place resources. It requires states or political subdivisions to publicly disclose changes to voting processes at least 180 days before a Federal election, including updates to polling place resources, ensuring that information is accessible to voters, individuals with disabilities, and older people.

The bill section outlines new rules for absentee voting in federal elections, requiring states to let all eligible voters register and vote by absentee ballot without needing an excuse. It also mandates states to offer electronic options for requesting and submitting registration and ballot applications, ensures accessible communication methods, and prohibits online voting. These changes take effect for elections held on or after January 1, 2025.

Each state must allow eligible voters to register and vote absentee without an excuse by providing electronic and mail options for absentee ballots and voter registrations. The section sets guidelines for securely transmitting and tracking absentee ballots while ensuring these processes are accessible and protecting voter privacy.

The section amends election laws to improve voting access for individuals with disabilities and older people by ensuring polling places and voter drop boxes are accessible, reducing wait times, and allowing for mobile polling at long-term care facilities. It includes updates to terminology throughout related legislation and ensures these changes take effect for federal elections beginning January 1, 2025.

Each state must ensure polling places and voter drop boxes are accessible for individuals with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, and homeless individuals. Additionally, states should address long wait times and consider mobile polling sites to assist residents in long-term care facilities, starting with elections held on or after January 1, 2025.

In this bill section, it is stated that a state cannot decide a person cannot vote in a federal election just because they are under guardianship, unless a court clearly shows the person cannot express a wish to vote, even with help. This rule will begin applying to elections from January 1, 2025.

A State cannot decide that a person cannot vote in a Federal election just because they have a guardian, unless a court order clearly shows the person cannot express the wish to vote, even with help. This rule starts for elections on or after January 1, 2025.

The bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to authorize payments to states to improve accessibility for voters with disabilities and older voters, ensuring that election websites are accessible to everyone and not separate for these groups. States must apply for these funds, use them as specified, and submit reports on their spending and activities, while the Director sets guidelines and submits reports to relevant congressional committees.

The bill section describes how funds will be allocated to states to improve accessibility for voters with disabilities and older individuals, requiring states to use the money to make existing election websites accessible and to collaborate with disability and aging advocates. It outlines the application process for states to receive payments, mandates at least 10% of funds go towards local government improvements, specifies reporting requirements for states and the Director, and authorizes appropriations of $100 million for each two-year period from 2025 to 2030.

The section outlines changes to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, including updates to issue voluntary guidance and recommendations by the Election Assistance Commission, and revises enforcement provisions by specifying relevant sections for guidance and coordination with the Office of Accessibility.

The section expands and continues funding for a program to ensure voting access for people with disabilities and older individuals by making absentee voting and polling places more accessible, and allocating necessary funds each year. It also sets rules for unused funds, requiring them to be returned and reallocated to other states or local governments that can use them within a year.

The section mandates the Election Assistance Commission to provide grants to at least three eligible entities to study and develop secure, accessible remote voting technology for individuals with disabilities, ensuring the technology is non-proprietary and publicly available. The entities must complete their work by January 2026, and $30 million is authorized for these activities, which should be coordinated with existing research efforts to improve voting technology.

The section amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to increase the number of members on the Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors from 37 to 49. It includes new appointments by the National Council on Disability, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging, and several congressional committees, focusing on representing voters with disabilities and older voters. These changes will take effect on January 1, 2025.

The section removes restrictions on the use of funds for protection and advocacy groups to engage in lawsuits concerning election-related disability access, by amending the Help America Vote Act of 2002.