Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act of 2011
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and Labor Policy .
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 5, 2011
Voting Opportunity and Technology Enhancement Rights Act of 2011 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 with respect to: (1) use of a national federal write-in absentee ballot; (2) verified ballots; (3) preservation of voting records; (4) requirements for counting provisional ballots; (5) minimum required voting systems and poll workers in polling places; (6) standards for establishing the minimum required voting systems and poll workers; (7) election day registration; (8) removal from voter registration list; (9) early voting; (10) voting systems and voter registration; (11) Internet registration; (12) voter identification; (13) election administration requirements; (14) required use of publicly available open source software in voting machines; (15) standards for conducting recounts; and (16) standards for prohibiting conflicts of interest of entities involved in manufacture, distribution, or other activities relating to voting machines.
Amends the Revised Statutes to prohibit false statements, including those about public endorsements, intended to mislead voters in federal elections. Creates a private right of action for preventive relief against such false statements. Authorizes the Attorney General to communicate to the public corrections to materially false information if state or local election officials have not taken prompt and adequate steps to do so.
Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) increase the penalty for voter intimidation; and (2) prohibit voter caging and challenges based on certain evidence. Defines "voter caging document" as: (1) a nonforwardable document that is returned to the sender or a third party as undelivered or undeliverable despite an attempt to deliver it to the address of a registered voter or applicant; or (2) any document with instructions to an addressee that the document be returned to a sender or third party but is not so returned, despite an attempt to deliver it to the address of a registered voter, unless at least two federal election cycles have passed since the date of the attempted delivery.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Read full official summaryShow less
States that the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any election for federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense, unless such individual is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution or facility at the time of the election.
Treats election day in the same manner as a legal public holiday for purposes of federal employment.
Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress and the President on the impact of such treatment on voter participation.
Expresses the sense of Congress that private employers in the United States should give their employees a day off on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2012 and each even-numbered year thereafter to enable them to cast votes in the elections held on that day.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, U.S. Postal Service, and Labor Policy .
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E4)
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Bill text & related measures
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.108 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.108 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.108 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.108 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.