# The SWIFT VOTE Act: Making Voting Lines Shorter and More Transparent

This bill provides federal funding to help states and local election offices buy and maintain electronic poll books—basically computerized versions of the old paper sign-in sheets voters used at polling places. The real focus, though, is on something most voters care about: wait times. The bill specifically pushes election officials to track how long people are waiting in line and share that information publicly so voters can decide when to show up.

Here's what would actually happen if this passes. The federal government would give states and local election offices up to $120 million to either purchase new electronic poll books or develop systems to collect and publish wait time data. If an election office takes the money for wait time tracking, they'd have to post real-time information on their website during elections—updating it every hour for short voting days or at least four times throughout the day for longer ones. After each election, they'd also have to publish a detailed report showing wait times across all the days people could vote. The goal is straightforward: give voters useful information so they can avoid the longest lines and spread out voting throughout the day.

The bill prioritizes funding for jurisdictions that can show they actually need new equipment to reduce wait times and are willing to share wait time data. Election offices that receive money must follow federal certification standards for their electronic equipment, train their staff properly (including how to help voters with disabilities or limited English), and make sure the federal funds are truly new money—not just replacing money they were already planning to spend. This is designed to modernize voting infrastructure while making the voting experience more transparent and efficient for everyone.