Congress·In Committee·S. 1887

Senate Democrats Push Vote at Home Act to Expand Mail Voting, Auto-Register Drivers Nationwide

Vote at Home Act of 2025

10 months ago·View on Congress.gov

Part of: Congress Proposes National Mail-In Voting and Automatic Registration

⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

Would require states to let any eligible voter vote by mail in federal elections, without extra “excuse” rules beyond request/return deadlines.
Would require states to mail federal election ballots to registered voters no later than 2 weeks before Election Day, starting with elections in 2026.
Would make mailing ballots free: blank ballots sent out by election offices and completed ballots mailed back by voters would not need postage.
Would change how voter sign-ups work at state driver’s license offices by simplifying forms and aiming to reduce repeat questions and extra paperwork.
Would create automatic voter registration through driver’s license offices for eligible citizens unless they opt out, with protections if someone is registered by mistake.

Civil Rights

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Positive Impacts(8)

Physical Disability

Helps

Sensory Disability

Helps

Cognitive Developmental

Helps

Mental Health

Helps

Immigrant

Helps

Green Card

Helps

Visa Holder

Helps

Undocumented

Helps

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

May 22, 2025Senate

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

May 22, 2025

Introduced in Senate

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

After enactment and leading into the 2026 election cycle

States begin preparing to mail ballots to all registered voters for federal elections

Election offices would need to update voter address lists, printing contracts, and mail operations so ballots can be sent to voters reliably.

As soon as the bill’s ballot-mailing system is in use for federal elections

Free-postage mailing applies to federal election ballots

Voters would not need stamps to return their completed ballot for federal elections, lowering a small but real barrier to voting.

Beginning with 2026 federal elections

Universal vote-by-mail requirement applies starting with federal elections held in 2026 and later

If you are registered, your state must send you a mail ballot for federal races at least 2 weeks before Election Day, while still being allowed to run polling places too.

Related News

2 articles

Truthout·10 months ago

State Voter Suppression Bills Could Disenfranchise Millions Ahead of Midterms

In Congress, Democrats have responded to the SAVE Act with their own bill, the Vote at Home Act, which would ensure that citizens can automatically register to vote at state motor vehicle offices, receive ballots in the mail ahead of elections, and have expanded options for voting by mail.

electionline·3 months ago

electionline Weekly - December 11, 2025

The Vote at Home Act (H.R. 2847 / S. 1887) was introduced by Rep. Hoyle and Sen. Wyden to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail in federal elections and streamline automatic voter registration through state motor vehicle authorities.