PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 28, 2019
Polling Place Protection Act of 2019
This bill requires states and jurisdictions responsible for administering elections to provide sufficient resources to ensure
a reasonably uniform ratio of staff and voting systems to registered voters,
a reasonably uniform geographic distribution of polling places,
a fair and equitable waiting time for voters, and
a wait of no longer than 30 minutes to cast a ballot at a polling place.
These states and jurisdictions must develop an election administration plan that includes a contingency plan for additional resources to be deployed if there are wait times of over 30 minutes at any polling place on an election day. Contingency plans must be approved by the Federal Election Commission.
This bill provides a private right of action for an individual aggrieved by a state or jurisdiction's violation of the voting wait time limit.
A U.S. district court may extend polling hours to enforce these requirements.
People & committees
Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · D–OR
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Jan 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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