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S 955 116th Congress Senate Government Operations and Politics Civil actions and liability Congressional oversight Elections, voting, political campaign regulation Legal fees and court costs State and local government operations Voting rights

Polling Place Protection Act of 2019

Introduced: March 28, 2019 Introduced by: Merkley, Jeff Democratic · Oregon See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 28, 2019
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Mar 28, 2019
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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.

What's happening now March 28, 2019

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

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 955: Polling Place Protection Act of 2019. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-955/
MLA
"S. 955: Polling Place Protection Act of 2019." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-955/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 955, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-955/.
Markdown link
[S. 955: Polling Place Protection Act of 2019](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-S-955/)
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