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Bipartisan Federal Election Reform Act of 2001

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 24, 2001

Bipartisan Federal Election Reform Act of 2001 - Establishes the Blue Ribbon Study Panel to study, with respect to Federal elections, methods of: (1) voting and counting votes, of ballot design, of voter registration, of maintaining secure and accurate lists of registered voters, and of ensuring that all registered voters appear on the polling list at the appropriate polling site; (2) provisional voting; (3) ensuring accessibility of voting, registration, polling places, and voting equipment to all voters; (4) registering members of the armed forces and overseas citizens to vote, and ensuring that they timely receive ballots that will be properly and expeditiously handled and counted; (5) recruiting and improving the performance of poll workers; and (6) educating voters. Requires the Panel also to study: (1) Federal and State voting eligibility laws; (2) matters relevant to voting and administering elections in rural and urban areas; and (3) how the Federal Government can assist State and local authorities to improve election administration and what levels of funding would be necessary for such assistance.Requires the Panel to make related recommendations.Establishes the Election Administration Commission to: (1) adopt or modify and periodically update Panel recommendations; (2) issue or adopt updated voting system standards; and (3) perform a variety of other specified duties.Establishes the Federal Election Reform Grant Program under which the Commission may award grants to applicant States and localities to pay the Federal share of costs associated with implementing any recommendation adopted or modified by the Commission.Establishes the Election Administration Advisory Board.Amends the Voting Act concerning maximum access to polls by absent uniformed services and overseas voters to replace the current recommendation imposed upon the States to achieve such maximum access with a requirement that each State, in each Federal election, perform certain tasks.

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Who introduced it

Sen. McConnell, Mitch [R-KY] · R–KY

Committees

  • Rules and Administration Committee
70 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

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  1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

  2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S5631)

  3. Introduced in Senate

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Feb 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

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