Reps. Susan Davis and Kevin McCarthy Introduce Bill to Track Absentee Ballots

Press Release

Voters could check on incoming and outgoing absentee ballots

Many voters worry that they cannot determine whether their absentee ballots were actually sent out, received and counted. The Absentee Ballot Track, Receive and Confirm (TRAC) Act (H.R. 2510), introduced by Reps. Susan Davis (D-CA) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), would help states establish absentee ballot tracking systems.

An absentee ballot tracking system allows voters to easily find out, online or through an automated phone system, whether an elections office has sent out a ballot, whether a completed ballot has arrived back at the registrar's office and whether the ballot was actually counted. If a ballot is not counted, the voter would also learn the reason.

"In most cases, the fear of one's mail-in ballot somehow being lost in the system is unfounded--but we all know the concern is still there," said Davis, a member of the House Administration Committee, which oversees federal elections. "Sometimes there are problems we need to know about in order to fix them. I look forward to partnering with Congressman McCarthy to ensure that our nation's voters have the highest quality electoral experience."

"I am pleased to work with my friend, Rep. Susan Davis, on improving voter accountability and transparency," said McCarthy. "This bipartisan bill will help provide absentee ballot voters the peace of mind that their vote was counted, and the grant program ensures that states can establish tracking if they choose to do so, and not because of a Federal mandate."

The TRAC Act would allow the federal government to reimburse states, through a grants program, for establishing tracking systems. The bill does not mandate any state to set up a tracking system.

Many elections offices are already tracking ballots with great success. California law requires that all counties establish absentee ballot tracking systems, and the systems are quite popular with voters and elections officials.

Many of the phone calls to election offices are from voters trying to track their absentee ballot. Allowing voters to check on their ballot themselves would take a strain off elections offices and ultimately save costs, without compromising security or privacy. Moreover, the ability to check absentee status round the clock is a convenient service for voters, especially for military and overseas voters in various time zones.

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