In terms of casting the ballot after a voter is registered, H.R. 1 would expand procedures that make it easier to vote. It expands vote-by-mail—which, contrary to many partisan arguments, does not overall boost turnout of one party over another. The bill would also allow curbside voting (so that older people and people with disabilities can vote from their vehicle) and pre-paying the postage on mail-in ballots so a citizen doesn’t miss out on casting their vote just because they could not afford a stamp.

The act also seeks to reduce wait times at the polls. Long wait times can impose undue hardships on voters—making voting physically hard on the elderly, for instance, or economically hard for hourly workers without childcare. A bipartisan commission recommends a 30-minute maximum wait time. But in the United States, not only do many voters wait longer than an hour and a half, lines are longer at polling places in predominantly black neighborhoods—regardless of whether that neighborhood is in a Democratic- or Republican-controlled state.

The For the People Act includes several provisions that would reduce wait times, including setting minimum hours and days for early voting availability, and funding states’ recruitment and training of more poll workers so that they can open more polling locations.

H.R. 1 also standardizes vote-by-mail procedures to reduce confusion that results in uncounted ballots. In 2020, many voters were left waiting for absentee ballots that either came too late or never arrived at all. Those who did get their ballots were often worried about their ballot arriving back at the board of elections in time to be counted. The act requires states to track and confirm the receipt of absentee ballots and make it easier for people to return ballots through secure dropboxes.