ExecutiveOrdersEO
EO 14019Executive OrderBiden · D Quiet signal

Executive Order 14019

Promoting Access to Voting

This executive order directs federal agencies to expand voter registration access and election information, particularly for historically underserved groups including people of color, people with disabilities, military personnel overseas, Native Americans, and individuals in federal custody. It mandates strategic plans, website modernization, and interagency coordination to reduce barriers to voting.

Federal Register Open PDF 86 FR 13623

Impact dates

  1. Interagency Steering Group on Native American Voting Rights produces report with recommendations

  2. NIST publishes accessibility recommendations for Federal Voter Registration Form and barriers analysis

  3. Agency heads submit strategic plans for voter registration promotion

  4. GSA submits Vote.gov modernization strategic plan

  5. OPM provides recommendations on federal employee voting leave and poll worker support

  6. Defense Secretary establishes annual military voter registration procedures

  7. Defense Secretary evaluates feasibility of online military voting system

  8. Defense Secretary submits absentee ballot tracking system strategic plan

Key directives

  • Agency heads shall evaluate ways to promote voter registration and voter participation through public-facing materials, websites, and services (Sec. 3(a))
  • Agency heads shall submit strategic plans within 200 days (Sec. 3(b))
  • GSA shall modernize Vote.gov with accessibility, multilingual support, and 21st Century IDEA compliance (Sec. 5)
  • OPM shall provide recommendations within 200 days on federal employee voting leave and poll worker support (Sec. 6)
  • Defense Secretary shall establish annual military voter registration procedures within 200 days (Sec. 8(a))
  • Defense Secretary shall evaluate online military voting system feasibility within 200 days (Sec. 8(b))
  • Defense Secretary shall submit absentee ballot tracking plan within 200 days (Sec. 8(c))
  • NIST shall evaluate accessibility and publish recommendations within 270 days (Sec. 7)
  • Attorney General shall establish procedures for voter registration education in federal prisons and coordination with jails and probation (Sec. 9(a)-(c))
  • Attorney General shall support formerly incarcerated individuals obtaining voter ID (Sec. 9(d))
  • Steering Group shall produce Native American voting rights report within 1 year (Sec. 10(d))

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • EO supersedes Executive Order 12926 section 3 regarding NVRA designation
  • agencies must agree to NVRA voter registration agency designation if requested by states

Near term (90d)

  • agency heads submit strategic plans for voter registration promotion (200 days)
  • GSA submits Vote.gov modernization plan (200 days)
  • OPM recommends strategies for federal employee voting leave and poll worker support (200 days)
  • Defense Secretary establishes annual voter registration procedures for active duty military (200 days)
  • Defense Secretary evaluates online system feasibility for military voting (200 days)
  • Defense Secretary submits absentee ballot tracking system plan (200 days)
  • NIST evaluates Federal Voter Registration Form accessibility (270 days)
  • Steering Group produces report on Native American voting rights (1 year)

Long term

  • potential implementation of agency voter registration services
  • Vote.gov modernization and multilingual expansion
  • military absentee ballot tracking system deployment
  • state and local adoption of Tribal ID cards for voting
  • sustained interagency coordination through Steering Group

Risks & tensions

  • Many provisions are prefaced with 'consistent with applicable law,' 'to the greatest extent practicable,' and 'as appropriate,' creating implementation flexibility that may weaken enforcement
  • Appropriations limitation in Sec. 12(b) may constrain agency action without dedicated funding
  • State voter ID laws may conflict with federal agency document issuance authority (Sec. 3(a)(v))
  • NVRA designation requests from states are mandatory only 'to the greatest extent practicable,' allowing potential agency declination with written explanation (Sec. 4(b))
  • Partisan polarization around voting access may affect agency willingness and state cooperation
  • Unclear whether 'within 200 days' deadlines for multiple agencies represent simultaneous or staggered obligations
Executive Order 14019: Promoting Access to Voting · Executive Orders