Voter Eligibility Verification Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Voter Eligibility Verification 
Act''.

SEC. 2. VOTER ELIGIBILITY CONFIRMATION SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1101, note) is amended by inserting after the chapter heading 
for chapter 1 the following:

                ``voter eligibility confirmation system

    ``Sec. 401. (a) In General.--The Attorney General, in consultation 
with the Commissioner of Social Security, shall establish a 
confirmation system through which they--
            ``(1) respond to inquiries made to verify the citizenship 
        of an individual who has submitted a voter registration 
        application, by Federal, State, and local officials (including 
        voting registrars) with responsibility for determining an 
        individual's qualification to vote in a Federal, State, or 
        local election; and
            ``(2) maintain a record of the inquiries that were made and 
        of verifications provided (or not provided).
    ``(b) Initial Response.--The confirmation system shall provide for 
a confirmation or a tentative nonconfirmation of an individual's 
citizenship by the Commissioner of Social Security as soon as 
practicable after an initial inquiry to the Commissioner.
    ``(c) Secondary Verification Process in Case of Tentative 
Nonconfirmation.--In cases of tentative nonconfirmation, the Attorney 
General shall specify, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social 
Security and the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization 
Service, an available secondary verification process to confirm the 
validity of information provided and to provide a final confirmation or 
nonconfirmation as soon as practicable after the date of the tentative 
nonconfirmation.
    ``(d) Design and Operation of System.--The confirmation system 
shall be designed and operated--
            ``(1) to be used on a voluntary basis, as a supplementary 
        information source, by Federal, State, and local election 
        officials for the purpose of assessing the eligibility of voter 
        registration applicants, and administering voter registration, 
        through citizenship verification;
            ``(2) to respond to an inquiry concerning citizenship only 
        in a case where determining whether an individual is a citizen 
        is--
                    ``(A) necessary for determining whether the 
                individual is eligible to vote in an election for 
                Federal, State, or local office; and
                    ``(B) part of a program or activity to protect the 
                integrity of the electoral process that is uniform, 
                nondiscriminatory, and in compliance with the Voting 
                Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.);
            ``(3) to maximize its reliability and ease of use, 
        consistent with insulating and protecting the privacy and 
        security of the underlying information;
            ``(4) to permit inquiries to be made to the system through 
        a toll-free telephone line or other toll-free electronic media;
            ``(5) to respond to all inquiries made by authorized 
        persons and to register all times when the system is not 
        responding to inquiries because of a malfunction;
            ``(6) with appropriate administrative, technical, and 
        physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized disclosure of 
        personal information; and
            ``(7) to have reasonable safeguards against the system's 
        resulting in unlawful discriminatory practices based on 
        national origin or citizenship status, including the selective 
        or unauthorized use of the system.
    ``(e) Responsibilities of the Commissioner of Social Security.--
            ``(1) In general.--As part of the confirmation system, the 
        Commissioner of Social Security shall establish a reliable, 
        secure method, which compares the name and social security 
account number provided in an inquiry against such information 
maintained by the Commissioner in order to confirm (or not confirm) the 
validity of the information provided regarding an individual whose 
identity and citizenship must be confirmed, the correspondence of the 
name and number, and whether the individual is a citizen of the United 
States. The Commissioner shall not disclose or release social security 
information (other than such confirmation or nonconfirmation).
            ``(2) Provision of alien identification number.--In cases 
        of tentative nonconfirmation of an individual's citizenship by 
        the Commissioner of Social Security after an initial inquiry to 
        the Commissioner, the Commissioner, as part of the confirmation 
        system, shall provide to the person making the inquiry any 
        information the Commissioner maintains regarding an alien 
        identification or authorization number for the individual 
        established by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The 
        Attorney General, in consultation with the Commissioner, shall 
        specify the information to be provided under this paragraph.
    ``(f) Responsibilities of the Commissioner of the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service.--As part of the confirmation system, the 
Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service shall 
establish a reliable, secure method, which compares the name and alien 
identification or authorization number described in subsection (e)(2) 
which are provided in an inquiry against such information maintained by 
the Commissioner in order to confirm (or not confirm) the validity of 
the information provided, the correspondence of the name and number, 
and whether the individual is a citizen of the United States.
    ``(g) Updating Information.--The Commissioners of Social Security 
and the Immigration and Naturalization Service shall update their 
information in a manner that promotes the maximum accuracy and shall 
provide a process for the prompt correction of erroneous information, 
including instances in which it is brought to their attention in the 
secondary verification process described in subsection (c).
    ``(h) Limitation on Use of the Confirmation System and Any Related 
Systems.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, nothing in this section shall be construed to permit or 
        allow any department, bureau, or other agency of the United 
        States Government to utilize any information, data base, or 
        other records assembled under this section for any other 
        purpose other than as provided for under this section.
            ``(2) No national identification card.--Nothing in this 
        section shall be construed to authorize, directly or 
        indirectly, the issuance or use of national identification 
        cards or the establishment of a national identification card.
            ``(3) No new data bases.--Nothing in this section shall be 
        construed to authorize, directly or indirectly, the Attorney 
        General and the Commissioner of Social Security to create any 
        joint computer data base that is not in existence on the date 
        of the enactment of the Voter Eligibility Verification Act.
    ``(i) Actions by Voting Officials Unable to Confirm Citizenship.--
            ``(1) In general.--In a case where an official who is 
        authorized to receive information through use of the 
        confirmation system is unable, after completion of the 
        secondary verification process, to confirm the citizenship of 
        an individual, the official--
                    ``(A) shall so notify the individual in writing; 
                and
                    ``(B) shall inform the individual in writing of the 
                individual's right to use--
                            ``(i) the process provided under subsection 
                        (g) for the prompt correction of erroneous 
                        information in the confirmation system; or
                            ``(ii) any other process for establishing 
                        eligibility to vote provided under State or 
                        Federal law.
            ``(2) Registration applicants.--In the case of an 
        individual who is an applicant for voter registration, and who 
        receives a notice from an official under paragraph (1), the 
        official may, subject to, and in a manner consistent with, 
        State law, reject the application, or provisionally accept the 
        application, pending the official's receipt of adequate 
        confirmation of the citizenship of the individual.
            ``(3) Voter removal programs.--In the case of an individual 
        who is registered to vote, and who receives a notice from an 
        official under paragraph (1) in connection with a program to 
        remove the names of ineligible voters from an official list of 
        eligible voters, the official may, subject to, and in a manner 
        consistent with, State law, remove the name of the individual 
        from the list, or grant the individual provisional voting 
        status, pending the official's receipt of adequate confirmation 
        of the citizenship of the individual.''.
          (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by inserting before the item 
relating to section 402 the following:

``Sec. 401. Voter eligibility confirmation system .''.

SEC. 3. PERMITTING STATES TO REQUIRE APPLICANTS REGISTERING TO VOTE TO 
              PROVIDE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.

    Clauses (i) and (vi) of section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) are amended by inserting ``voter 
registration,'' after ``driver's license,''.

Summary: Voter Eligibility Verification Pilot Program Act of 1998 - Directs the Attorney General to establish a voter eligibility pilot confirmation program to respond to, and maintain records of, State and local election officials' inquiries to verify a voter registrant's citizenship. Terminates such program on September 30, 2001. Provides for: (1) an initial confirmation or nonconfirmation by the Commissioner of Social Security. And (2) in the case of an initial nonconfirmation, a secondary verification process by the Attorney General. Requires such program to: (1) be voluntary, (2) provide safeguards against discrimination. And (3) be applied, at a minimum, in California, New York, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security and the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to develop methods to confirm the reliability of the information provided. Prohibits Federal utilization of program information and related systems for purposes other than those authorized by this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding actions by officials unable to confirm an applicant's citizenship with respect to notification, registration, and ineligible voter removal programs. Authorizes State and local use of social security account numbers for purposes of this Act. Sets forth reporting requirements for the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Social Security. Authorizes appropriations.