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H.R. 787: Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2017

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H.R. 787: Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-02-01 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-02-01 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2017

Plain summary

Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2017 This bill amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to require each state to allow individuals to vote in a federal election on each day during the 15-day period ending on the second day immediately preceding the election date in the same manner as voting is allowed on election day. A state shall ensure that each polling place that allows early voting in a federal election is located within reasonable walking distance of a stop on a public transportation route. The Election Assistance Commission shall issue standards for the administration of early voting in a federal election. Each state shall provide a sufficient number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources (including physical resources) at a polling place used in a federal election to ensure: (1) a fair and equitable waiting time for all voters in the state, and (2) that no individual will be required to wait longer than one hour to cast a ballot at the polling place. Each state shall develop, and implement to the greatest extent practicable, a contingency plan under which it shall provide any polling place on a federal election day whose waiting times exceed one hour with additional poll workers, machines, ballots, and other equipment and supplies. Requirements are prescribed for the counting of provisional ballots that will be treated as votes. Civil money penalties, intervention by aggrieved parties, and private actions to address HAVA violations by a state or jurisdiction are allowed.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early (SIMPLE) Voting Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] · 32 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

John Garamendi (D-CA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Marc A. Veasey (D-TX), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Mark Takano (D-CA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Hakeem S. Jeffries (D-NY), André Carson (D-IN), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Judy Chu (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)

Sponsor's campaign money: Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] reported raising $785,039 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Jurisdiction
The area or the matters a government or court has authority over.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr787 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115