II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 549 

To modernize voter registration, promote access to voting for individuals 

with disabilities, protect the ability of individuals to exercise the right 

to vote in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2019 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. MARKEY, and 

Mr. CARDIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To modernize voter registration, promote access to voting 

for individuals with disabilities, protect the ability of 

individuals to exercise the right to vote in elections for 

Federal office, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Voter Empowerment Act of 2019’’. 

6 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

7 United States that— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) all eligible citizens of the United States 

2 should access and exercise their constitutional right 

3 to vote in a free, fair, and timely manner; and 

4 (2) the integrity, security, and accountability of 

5 the voting process must be vigilantly protected, 

6 maintained, and enhanced in order to protect and 

7 preserve electoral and participatory democracy in the 

8 United States. 

9 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

10 The table of contents of this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; statement of policy. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

TITLE I—VOTER REGISTRATION MODERNIZATION 

Sec. 100. Short title. 

Subtitle A—Promoting Internet Registration 

Sec. 101. Requiring availability of Internet for voter registration. 

Sec. 102. Use of Internet to update registration information. 

Sec. 103. Provision of election information by electronic mail to individuals registered to vote. 

Sec. 104. Clarification of requirement regarding necessary information to show 

eligibility to vote. 

Sec. 105. Effective date. 

Subtitle B—Automatic Voter Registration 

Sec. 111. Short title; findings and purpose. 

Sec. 112. Automatic registration of eligible individuals. 

Sec. 113. Contributing agency assistance in registration. 

Sec. 114. One-time contributing agency assistance in registration of eligible voters in existing records. 

Sec. 115. Voter protection and security in automatic registration. 

Sec. 116. Registration portability and correction. 

Sec. 117. Payments and grants. 

Sec. 118. Treatment of exempt States. 

Sec. 119. Miscellaneous provisions. 

Sec. 120. Definitions. 

Sec. 121. Effective date. 

Subtitle C—Same Day Voter Registration 

Sec. 131. Same day registration. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 549 IS

Subtitle D—Conditions on Removal on Basis of Interstate Cross-Checks 

Sec. 141. Conditions on removal of registrants from official list of eligible voters on basis of interstate cross-checks. 

Subtitle E—Other Initiatives To Promote Voter Registration 

Sec. 151. Acceptance of voter registration applications from individuals under 

18 years of age. 

Sec. 152. Annual reports on voter registration statistics. 

Subtitle F—Availability of HAVA Requirements Payments 

Sec. 161. Availability of requirements payments under HAVA to cover costs of 

compliance with new requirements. 

Subtitle G—Prohibiting Interference With Voter Registration 

Sec. 171. Prohibiting hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration. 

Sec. 172. Establishment of best practices. 

Subtitle H—Saving Voters From Voter Purging 

Sec. 181. Short title. 

Sec. 182. Conditions for removal of voters from list of registered voters. 

TITLE II—ACCESS TO VOTING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH 

DISABILITIES 

Sec. 201. Requirements for States to promote access to voter registration and 

voting for individuals with disabilities. 

Sec. 202. Pilot programs for enabling individuals with disabilities to register to 

vote and vote privately and independently at residences. 

Sec. 203. Expansion and reauthorization of grant program to assure voting access for individuals with disabilities. 

TITLE III—PROHIBITING VOTER CAGING 

Sec. 301. Voter caging and other questionable challenges prohibited. 

Sec. 302. Development and adoption of best practices for preventing voter caging. 

TITLE IV—PROHIBITING DECEPTIVE PRACTICES AND 

PREVENTING VOTER INTIMIDATION 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Prohibition on deceptive practices in Federal elections. 

Sec. 403. Corrective action. 

Sec. 404. Reports to Congress. 

TITLE V—DEMOCRACY RESTORATION 

Sec. 501. Short title. 

Sec. 502. Rights of citizens. 

Sec. 503. Enforcement. 

Sec. 504. Notification of restoration of voting rights. 

Sec. 505. Definitions. 

Sec. 506. Relation to other laws. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 549 IS

Sec. 507. Federal prison funds. 

Sec. 508. Effective date. 

TITLE VI—PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECURITY 

THROUGH VOTER-VERIFIED PERMANENT PAPER BALLOT 

Sec. 601. Short title. 

Sec. 602. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements. 

Sec. 603. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities. 

Sec. 604. Durability and readability requirements for ballots. 

Sec. 605. Effective date for new requirements. 

Sec. 606. Clarification of ability of States to use election administration payments to meet requirements. 

TITLE VII—PROVISIONAL BALLOTS 

Sec. 701. Requirements for counting provisional ballots; establishment of uniform and nondiscriminatory standards. 

TITLE VIII—EARLY VOTING 

Sec. 801. Early voting. 

TITLE IX—VOTING BY MAIL 

Sec. 901. Voting by mail. 

TITLE X—ABSENT UNIFORMED SERVICES VOTERS AND 

OVERSEAS VOTERS 

Sec. 1001. Extending guarantee of residency for voting purposes to family 

members of absent military personnel. 

Sec. 1002. Pre-election reports on availability and transmission of absentee ballots. 

Sec. 1003. Enforcement. 

Sec. 1004. Revisions to 45-day absentee ballot transmission rule. 

Sec. 1005. Use of single absentee ballot application for subsequent elections. 

Sec. 1006. Effective date. 

TITLE XI—POLL WORKER RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING 

Sec. 1101. Leave to serve as a poll worker for Federal employees. 

Sec. 1102. Grants to States for poll worker recruitment and training. 

Sec. 1103. Model poll worker training program. 

Sec. 1104. State defined. 

TITLE XII—ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT 

Sec. 1201. Enhancement of enforcement of Help America Vote Act of 2002. 

TITLE XIII—FEDERAL ELECTION INTEGRITY 

Sec. 1301. Prohibition on campaign activities by chief State election administration officials. 

TITLE XIV—GRANTS FOR RISK-LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF 

ELECTIONS 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 549 IS

Sec. 1401. Grants to States for conducting risk-limiting audits of results of 

elections. 

Sec. 1402. GAO analysis of effects of audits. 

TITLE XV—PROMOTING VOTER ACCESS THROUGH ELECTION 

ADMINISTRATION IMPROVEMENTS 

Subtitle A—Promoting Voter Access 

Sec. 1501. Treatment of universities as voter registration agencies. 

Sec. 1502. Minimum notification requirements for voters affected by polling 

place changes. 

Sec. 1503. Election Day holiday. 

Sec. 1504. Permitting use of sworn written statement to meet identification requirements for voting. 

Sec. 1505. Postage-free ballots. 

Sec. 1506. Reimbursement for costs incurred by States in establishing program 

to track and confirm receipt of absentee ballots. 

Sec. 1507. Voter information response systems and hotline. 

Subtitle B—Improvements in Operation of Election Assistance Commission 

Sec. 1511. Reauthorization of Election Assistance Commission. 

Sec. 1512. Requiring States to participate in post-general election surveys. 

Sec. 1513. Reports by National Institute of Standards and Technology on use 

of funds transferred from Election Assistance Commission. 

Sec. 1514. Recommendations to improve operations of Election Assistance 

Commission. 

Sec. 1515. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain 

government contracting requirements. 

Subtitle C—Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 1521. Application of laws to Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. 

Sec. 1522. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain 

government contracting requirements. 

Sec. 1523. No effect on other laws. 

TITLE XVI—SEVERABILITY 

Sec. 1601. Severability. 

1 TITLE I—VOTER REGISTRATION 

2 MODERNIZATION 

3 SEC. 100. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Registration 

5 Modernization Act of 2019’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 549 IS

1 Subtitle A—Promoting Internet 

2 Registration 

3 SEC. 101. REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR 

4 VOTER REGISTRATION. 

5 (a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR

6 REGISTRATION.—The National Voter Registration Act of 

7 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

8 after section 6 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 6A. INTERNET REGISTRATION. 

10 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR

11 ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF ONLINE REGISTRA13 TION.—Each State, acting through the chief State 

14 election official, shall ensure that the following serv15 ices are available to the public at any time on the 

16 official public websites of the appropriate State and 

17 local election officials in the State, in the same man18 ner and subject to the same terms and conditions as 

19 the services provided by voter registration agencies 

20 under section 7(a): 

21 ‘‘(A) Online application for voter registra22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(B) Online assistance to applicants in ap24 plying to register to vote. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(C) Online completion and submission by 

2 applicants of the mail voter registration applica3 tion form prescribed by the Election Assistance 

4 Commission pursuant to section 9(a)(2), includ5 ing assistance with providing a signature as re6 quired under subsection (c). 

7 ‘‘(D) Online receipt of completed voter reg8 istration applications. 

9 ‘‘(b) ACCEPTANCE OF COMPLETED APPLICATIONS.— 

10 A State shall accept an online voter registration applica11 tion provided by an individual under this section, and en12 sure that the individual is registered to vote in the State, 

13 if— 

14 ‘‘(1) the individual meets the same voter reg15 istration requirements applicable to individuals who 

16 register to vote by mail in accordance with section 

17 6(a)(1) using the mail voter registration application 

18 form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commis19 sion pursuant to section 9(a)(2); and 

20 ‘‘(2) the individual meets the requirements of 

21 subsection (c) to provide a signature in electronic 

22 form (but only in the case of applications submitted 

23 during or after the second year in which this section 

24 is in effect in the State). 

25 ‘‘(c) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, an individual meets the requirements of this 

3 subsection as follows: 

4 ‘‘(A) In the case of an individual who has 

5 a signature on file with a State agency, includ6 ing the State motor vehicle authority, that is 

7 required to provide voter registration services 

8 under this Act or any other law, the individual 

9 consents to the transfer of that electronic signa10 ture. 

11 ‘‘(B) If subparagraph (A) does not apply, 

12 the individual submits with the application an 

13 electronic copy of the individual’s handwritten 

14 signature through electronic means. 

15 ‘‘(C) If subparagraph (A) and subpara16 graph (B) do not apply, the individual executes 

17 a computerized mark in the signature field on 

18 an online voter registration application, in ac19 cordance with reasonable security measures es20 tablished by the State, but only if the State ac21 cepts such mark from the individual. 

22 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNABLE TO

23 MEET REQUIREMENT.—If an individual is unable to 

24 meet the requirements of paragraph (1), the State 

25 shall— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(A) permit the individual to complete all 

2 other elements of the online voter registration 

3 application; 

4 ‘‘(B) permit the individual to provide a sig5 nature at the time the individual requests a bal6 lot in an election (whether the individual re7 quests the ballot at a polling place or requests 

8 the ballot by mail); and 

9 ‘‘(C) if the individual carries out the steps 

10 described in subparagraph (A) and subpara11 graph (B), ensure that the individual is reg12 istered to vote in the State. 

13 ‘‘(3) NOTICE.—The State shall ensure that in14 dividuals applying to register to vote online are noti15 fied of the requirements of paragraph (1) and of the 

16 treatment of individuals unable to meet such re17 quirements, as described in paragraph (2). 

18 ‘‘(d) CONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT.—Upon the 

20 online submission of a completed voter registration 

21 application by an individual under this section, the 

22 appropriate State or local election official shall send 

23 the individual a notice confirming the State’s receipt 

24 of the application and providing instructions on how 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 549 IS

1 the individual may check the status of the applica2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF DISPOSITION.—As soon as the 

4 appropriate State or local election official has ap5 proved or rejected an application submitted by an in6 dividual under this section, the official shall send the 

7 individual a notice of the disposition of the applica8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(3) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.—The appro10 priate State or local election official shall send the 

11 notices required under this subsection by regular 

12 mail, and, in the case of an individual who has re13 quested that the State provide voter registration and 

14 voting information through electronic mail, by both 

15 electronic mail and regular mail. 

16 ‘‘(e) PROVISION OF SERVICES IN NONPARTISAN

17 MANNER.—The services made available under subsection 

18 (a) shall be provided in a manner that ensures that, con19 sistent with section 7(a)(5)— 

20 ‘‘(1) the online application does not seek to in21 fluence an applicant’s political preference or party 

22 registration; and 

23 ‘‘(2) there is no display on the website pro24 moting any political preference or party allegiance, 

25 except that nothing in this paragraph may be conVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 549 IS

1 strued to prohibit an applicant from registering to 

2 vote as a member of a political party. 

3 ‘‘(f) PROTECTION OF SECURITY OF INFORMATION.— 

4 In meeting the requirements of this section, the State shall 

5 establish appropriate technological security measures to 

6 prevent to the greatest extent practicable any unauthor7 ized access to information provided by individuals using 

8 the services made available under subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(g) USE OF ADDITIONAL TELEPHONE-BASED SYS10 TEM.—A State shall make the services made available on11 line under subsection (a) available through the use of an 

12 automated telephone-based system, subject to the same 

13 terms and conditions applicable under this section to the 

14 services made available online, in addition to making the 

15 services available online in accordance with the require16 ments of this section. 

17 ‘‘(h) NONDISCRIMINATION AMONG REGISTERED

18 VOTERS USING MAIL AND ONLINE REGISTRATION.—In 

19 carrying out this Act, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 

20 or any other Federal, State, or local law governing the 

21 treatment of registered voters in the State or the adminis22 tration of elections for public office in the State, a State 

23 shall treat a registered voter who registered to vote online 

24 in accordance with this section in the same manner as the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 549 IS

1 State treats a registered voter who registered to vote by 

2 mail.’’. 

3 (b) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS

4 USING ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 

5 (1) TREATMENT AS INDIVIDUALS REGISTERING

6 TO VOTE BY MAIL FOR PURPOSES OF FIRST-TIME

7 VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

8 303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

9 (52 U.S.C. 21083(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 

10 ‘‘by mail’’ and inserting ‘‘by mail or online under 

11 section 6A of the National Voter Registration Act of 

12 1993’’. 

13 (2) REQUIRING SIGNATURE FOR FIRST-TIME

14 VOTERS IN JURISDICTION.—Section 303(b) of such 

15 Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(b)) is amended— 

16 (A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

17 paragraph (6); and 

18 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

19 following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(5) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST21 TIME VOTERS USING ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State shall, in a 

23 uniform and nondiscriminatory manner, require 

24 an individual to meet the requirements of sub25 paragraph (B) if— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(i) the individual registered to vote 

2 in the State online under section 6A of the 

3 National Voter Registration Act of 1993; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) the individual has not previously 

6 voted in an election for Federal office in 

7 the State. 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—An individual 

9 meets the requirements of this subparagraph 

10 if— 

11 ‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 

12 votes in person, the individual provides the 

13 appropriate State or local election official 

14 with a handwritten signature; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 

16 votes by mail, the individual submits with 

17 the ballot a handwritten signature. 

18 ‘‘(C) INAPPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph 

19 (A) does not apply in the case of an individual 

20 who is— 

21 ‘‘(i) entitled to vote by absentee ballot 

22 under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi23 zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 

24 20302 et seq.); 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) provided the right to vote other2 wise than in person under section 

3 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility 

4 for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 

5 U.S.C. 20102(b)(2)(B)(ii)); or 

6 ‘‘(iii) entitled to vote otherwise than 

7 in person under any other Federal law.’’. 

8 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

9 EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 303(d)(2)(A) of such 

10 Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(2)(A)) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro12 vided in subsection (b)(5), each State’’. 

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) TIMING OF REGISTRATION.—Section 8(a)(1) 

15 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 

16 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)) is amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub18 paragraph (C); 

19 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

20 subparagraph (E); and 

21 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

22 the following new subparagraph: 

23 ‘‘(D) in the case of online registration 

24 through the official public website of an election 

25 official under section 6A, if the valid voter regVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 549 IS

1 istration application is submitted online not 

2 later than the lesser of 30 days, or the period 

3 provided by State law, before the date of the 

4 election (as determined by treating the date on 

5 which the application is sent electronically as 

6 the date on which it is submitted); and’’. 

7 (2) INFORMING APPLICANTS OF ELIGIBILITY

8 REQUIREMENTS AND PENALTIES.—Section 8(a)(5) 

9 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(5)) is amended by 

10 striking ‘‘and 7’’ and inserting ‘‘6A, and 7’’. 

11 SEC. 102. USE OF INTERNET TO UPDATE REGISTRATION IN12 FORMATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (1) UPDATES TO INFORMATION CONTAINED ON

15 COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION

16 LIST.—Section 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act 

17 of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)) is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(6) USE OF INTERNET BY REGISTERED VOT20 ERS TO UPDATE INFORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate State 

22 or local election official shall ensure that any 

23 registered voter on the computerized list may at 

24 any time update the voter’s registration infor25 mation, including the voter’s address and elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 549 IS

1 tronic mail address, online through the official 

2 public website of the election official responsible 

3 for the maintenance of the list, so long as the 

4 voter attests to the contents of the update by 

5 providing a signature in electronic form in the 

6 same manner required under section 6A(c) of 

7 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. 

8 ‘‘(B) PROCESSING OF UPDATED INFORMA9 TION BY ELECTION OFFICIALS.—If a registered 

10 voter updates registration information under 

11 subparagraph (A), the appropriate State or 

12 local election official shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) revise any information on the 

14 computerized list to reflect the update 

15 made by the voter; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) if the updated registration infor17 mation affects the voter’s eligibility to vote 

18 in an election for Federal office, ensure 

19 that the information is processed with re20 spect to the election if the voter updates 

21 the information not later than the lesser of 

22 7 days, or the period provided by State 

23 law, before the date of the election. 

24 ‘‘(C) CONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(i) CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT.— 

2 Upon the online submission of updated 

3 registration information by an individual 

4 under this paragraph, the appropriate 

5 State or local election official shall send 

6 the individual a notice confirming the 

7 State’s receipt of the updated information 

8 and providing instructions on how the indi9 vidual may check the status of the update. 

10 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE OF DISPOSITION.—As 

11 soon as the appropriate State or local elec12 tion official has accepted or rejected up13 dated information submitted by an indi14 vidual under this paragraph, the official 

15 shall send the individual a notice of the 

16 disposition of the update. 

17 ‘‘(iii) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.— 

18 The appropriate State or local election offi19 cial shall send the notices required under 

20 this subparagraph by regular mail, and, in 

21 the case of an individual who has re22 quested that the State provide voter reg23 istration and voting information through 

24 electronic mail, by both electronic mail and 

25 regular mail.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

2 EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 303(d)(1)(A) of such 

3 Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(1)(A)) is amended by 

4 striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub5 paragraph (B) and subsection (a)(6)’’. 

6 (b) ABILITY OF REGISTRANT TO USE ONLINE UP7 DATE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON RESIDENCE.—Sec8 tion 8(d)(2)(A) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

9 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(d)(2)(A)) is amended— 

10 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘re11 turn the card’’ the following: ‘‘or update the reg12 istrant’s information on the computerized statewide 

13 voter registration list using the online method pro14 vided under section 303(a)(6) of the Help America 

15 Vote Act of 2002’’; and 

16 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘re17 turned,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘returned or if 

18 the registrant does not update the registrant’s infor19 mation on the computerized statewide voter registra20 tion list using such online method,’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 549 IS

1 SEC. 103. PROVISION OF ELECTION INFORMATION BY 

2 ELECTRONIC MAIL TO INDIVIDUALS REG3 ISTERED TO VOTE. 

4 (a) INCLUDING OPTION ON VOTER REGISTRATION

5 APPLICATION TO PROVIDE EMAIL ADDRESS AND RE6 CEIVE INFORMATION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the National 

8 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

9 20508(b)) is amended— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para11 graph (3); 

12 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

13 paragraph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(5) shall include a space for the applicant to 

17 provide (at the applicant’s option) an electronic mail 

18 address, together with a statement that, if the appli19 cant so requests, instead of using regular mail the 

20 appropriate State and local election officials shall 

21 provide to the applicant, through electronic mail sent 

22 to that address, the same voting information (as de23 fined in section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote 

24 Act of 2002) which the officials would provide to the 

25 applicant through regular mail.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) PROHIBITING USE FOR PURPOSES UNRE2 LATED TO OFFICIAL DUTIES OF ELECTION OFFI3 CIALS.—Section 9 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following new 

5 subsection: 

6 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITING USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL AD7 DRESSES FOR OTHER THAN OFFICIAL PURPOSES.—The 

8 chief State election official shall ensure that any electronic 

9 mail address provided by an applicant under subsection 

10 (b)(5) is used only for purposes of carrying out official 

11 duties of election officials and is not transmitted by any 

12 State or local election official (or any agent of such an 

13 official, including a contractor) to any person who does 

14 not require the address to carry out such official duties 

15 and who is not under the direct supervision and control 

16 of a State or local election official.’’. 

17 (b) REQUIRING PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY

18 ELECTION OFFICIALS.—Section 302(b) of the Help Amer19 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF OTHER INFORMATION BY

22 ELECTRONIC MAIL.—If an individual who is a reg23 istered voter has provided the State or local election 

24 official with an electronic mail address for the pur25 pose of receiving voting information (as described in 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•S 549 IS

1 section 9(b)(5) of the National Voter Registration 

2 Act of 1993), the appropriate State or local election 

3 official, through electronic mail transmitted not later 

4 than 7 days before the date of the election involved, 

5 shall provide the individual with information on how 

6 to obtain the following information by electronic 

7 means: 

8 ‘‘(A) The name and address of the polling 

9 place at which the individual is assigned to vote 

10 in the election. 

11 ‘‘(B) The hours of operation for the polling 

12 place. 

13 ‘‘(C) A description of any identification or 

14 other information the individual may be re15 quired to present at the polling place.’’. 

16 SEC. 104. CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT REGARDING 

17 NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW ELIGI18 BILITY TO VOTE. 

19 Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 

20 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub22 section (k); and 

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol24 lowing new subsection: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE TO REGISTER APPLI2 CANTS PROVIDING NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW

3 ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE.—For purposes meeting the re4 quirement of subsection (a)(1) that an eligible applicant 

5 is registered to vote in an election for Federal office within 

6 the deadlines required under such subsection, the State 

7 shall consider an applicant to have provided a ‘valid voter 

8 registration form’ if— 

9 ‘‘(1) the applicant has accurately completed the 

10 application form and attested to the statement re11 quired by section 9(b)(2); and 

12 ‘‘(2) in the case of an applicant who registers 

13 to vote online in accordance with section 6A, the ap14 plicant provides a signature in accordance with sub15 section (c) of such section.’’. 

16 SEC. 105. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

18 (b), the amendments made by this subtitle (other than the 

19 amendments made by section 104) shall take effect Janu20 ary 1, 2020. 

21 (b) WAIVER.—Subject to the approval of the Election 

22 Assistance Commission, if a State certifies to the Election 

23 Assistance Commission that the State will not meet the 

24 deadline referred to in subsection (a) because of extraor25 dinary circumstances and includes in the certification the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•S 549 IS

1 reasons for the failure to meet the deadline, subsection 

2 (a) shall apply to the State as if the reference in such 

3 subsection to ‘‘January 1, 2020’’ were a reference to 

4 ‘‘January 1, 2022’’. 

5 Subtitle B—Automatic Voter 

6 Registration 

7 SEC. 111. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

8 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This subtitle may be cited as the 

9 ‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2019’’. 

10 (b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

11 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

12 (A) the right to vote is a fundamental 

13 right of citizens of the United States; 

14 (B) it is the responsibility of the State and 

15 Federal governments to ensure that every eligi16 ble citizen is registered to vote; 

17 (C) existing voter registration systems can 

18 be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible and con19 fusing, with damaging effects on voter partici20 pation in elections and disproportionate impacts 

21 on young people, persons with disabilities, and 

22 racial and ethnic minorities; and 

23 (D) voter registration systems must be up24 dated with 21st century technologies and proce25 dures to maintain their security. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this sub2 title— 

3 (A) to establish that it is the responsibility 

4 of government at every level to ensure that all 

5 eligible citizens are registered to vote; 

6 (B) to enable the State and Federal gov7 ernments to register all eligible citizens to vote 

8 with accurate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date pro9 cedures; 

10 (C) to modernize voter registration and list 

11 maintenance procedures with electronic and 

12 Internet capabilities; and 

13 (D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 

14 accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 

15 electoral process for all eligible citizens. 

16 SEC. 112. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI17 VIDUALS. 

18 (a) REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPER19 ATE AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION SYSTEM.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election offi21 cial of each State shall establish and operate a sys22 tem of automatic registration for the registration of 

23 eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal 

24 office in the State, in accordance with the provisions 

25 of this subtitle. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘automatic reg2 istration’’ means a system that registers an indi3 vidual to vote in elections for Federal office in a 

4 State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the 

5 information necessary for registration from govern6 ment agencies to election officials of the State so 

7 that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to 

8 be registered, the individual will be registered to vote 

9 in such elections. 

10 (b) REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON NEW

11 AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief State election official 

12 shall— 

13 (1) not later than 15 days after a contributing 

14 agency has transmitted information with respect to 

15 an individual pursuant to section 113, ensure that 

16 the individual is registered to vote in elections for 

17 Federal office in the State if the individual is eligible 

18 to be registered to vote in such elections; and 

19 (2) send written notice to the individual, in ad20 dition to other means of notice established by this 

21 subtitle, of the individual’s voter registration status. 

22 (c) ONE-TIME REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON

23 EXISTING CONTRIBUTING AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief 

24 State election official shall— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) identify all individuals whose information is 

2 transmitted by a contributing agency pursuant to 

3 section 114 and who are eligible to be, but are not 

4 currently, registered to vote in that State; 

5 (2) promptly send each such individual written 

6 notice, in addition to other means of notice estab7 lished by this subtitle, which shall not identify the 

8 contributing agency that transmitted the informa9 tion but shall include— 

10 (A) an explanation that voter registration 

11 is voluntary, but if the individual does not de12 cline registration, the individual will be reg13 istered to vote; 

14 (B) a statement offering the opportunity to 

15 decline voter registration through means con16 sistent with the requirements of this subtitle; 

17 (C) in the case of a State in which affili18 ation or enrollment with a political party is re19 quired in order to participate in an election to 

20 select the party’s candidate in an election for 

21 Federal office, a statement offering the indi22 vidual the opportunity to affiliate or enroll with 

23 a political party or to decline to affiliate or en24 roll with a political party, through means con25 sistent with the requirements of this part; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•S 549 IS

1 (D) the substantive qualifications of an 

2 elector in the State as listed in the mail voter 

3 registration application form for elections for 

4 Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9 

5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 

6 the consequences of false registration, and a 

7 statement that the individual should decline to 

8 register if the individual does not meet all those 

9 qualifications; 

10 (E) instructions for correcting any erro11 neous information; and 

12 (F) instructions for providing any addi13 tional information which is listed in the mail 

14 voter registration application form for elections 

15 for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 

16 9 of the National Voter Registration Act of 

17 1993; 

18 (3) ensure that each such individual who is eli19 gible to register to vote in elections for Federal of20 fice in the State is promptly registered to vote not 

21 later than 45 days after the official sends the indi22 vidual the written notice under paragraph (2), un23 less, during the 30-day period which begins on the 

24 date the election official sends the individual such 

25 written notice, the individual declines registration in 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•S 549 IS

1 writing, through a communication made over the 

2 Internet, or by an officially logged telephone commu3 nication; and 

4 (4) send written notice to each such individual, 

5 in addition to other means of notice established by 

6 this subtitle, of the individual’s voter registration 

7 status. 

8 (d) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 YEARS

9 OF AGE.—A State may not refuse to treat an individual 

10 as an eligible individual for purposes of this subtitle on 

11 the grounds that the individual is less than 18 years of 

12 age at the time a contributing agency receives information 

13 with respect to the individual, so long as the individual 

14 is at least 16 years of age at such time. 

15 (e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCY DEFINED.—In this sub16 title, the term ‘‘contributing agency’’ means, with respect 

17 to a State, an agency listed in section 113(e). 

18 SEC. 113. CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN REG19 ISTRATION. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this subtitle, 

21 each contributing agency in a State shall assist the State’s 

22 chief election official in registering to vote all eligible indi23 viduals served by that agency. 

24 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRIBUTING AGEN25 CIES.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) INSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA2 TION.—With each application for service or assist3 ance, and with each related recertification, renewal, 

4 or change of address, or, in the case of an institu5 tion of higher education, with each registration of a 

6 student for enrollment in a course of study, each 

7 contributing agency that (in the normal course of its 

8 operations) requests individuals to affirm United 

9 States citizenship (either directly or as part of the 

10 overall application for service or assistance) shall in11 form each such individual who is a citizen of the 

12 United States of the following: 

13 (A) Unless that individual declines to reg14 ister to vote, or is found ineligible to vote, the 

15 individual will be registered to vote or, if appli16 cable, the individual’s registration will be up17 dated. 

18 (B) The substantive qualifications of an 

19 elector in the State as listed in the mail voter 

20 registration application form for elections for 

21 Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9 

22 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 

23 the consequences of false registration, and the 

24 individual should decline to register if the indi25 vidual does not meet all those qualifications. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•S 549 IS

1 (C) In the case of a State in which affili2 ation or enrollment with a political party is re3 quired in order to participate in an election to 

4 select the party’s candidate in an election for 

5 Federal office, the requirement that the indi6 vidual must affiliate or enroll with a political 

7 party in order to participate in such an election. 

8 (D) Voter registration is voluntary, and 

9 neither registering nor declining to register to 

10 vote will in any way affect the availability of 

11 services or benefits, nor be used for other pur12 poses. 

13 (2) OPPORTUNITY TO DECLINE REGISTRATION

14 REQUIRED.—Each contributing agency shall ensure 

15 that each application for service or assistance, and 

16 each related recertification, renewal, or change of 

17 address, or, in the case of an institution of higher 

18 education, each registration of a student for enroll19 ment in a course of study, cannot be completed until 

20 the individual is given the opportunity to decline to 

21 be registered to vote. 

22 (3) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL.—Upon the 

23 expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the 

24 date the contributing agency informs the individual 

25 of the information described in paragraph (1), each 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•S 549 IS

1 contributing agency shall electronically transmit to 

2 the appropriate State election official, in a format 

3 compatible with the statewide voter database main4 tained under section 303 of the Help America Vote 

5 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083), the following infor6 mation, unless during such 30-day period the indi7 vidual declined to be registered to vote: 

8 (A) The individual’s given name(s) and 

9 surname(s). 

10 (B) The individual’s date of birth. 

11 (C) The individual’s residential address. 

12 (D) Information showing that the indi13 vidual is a citizen of the United States. 

14 (E) The date on which information per15 taining to that individual was collected or last 

16 updated. 

17 (F) If available, the individual’s signature 

18 in electronic form. 

19 (G) Information regarding the individual’s 

20 affiliation or enrollment with a political party, 

21 if the individual provides such information. 

22 (H) Any additional information listed in 

23 the mail voter registration application form for 

24 elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant 

25 to section 9 of the National Voter Registration 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
32 

•S 549 IS

1 Act of 1993, including any valid driver’s license 

2 number or the last 4 digits of the individual’s 

3 social security number, if the individual pro4 vided such information. 

5 (c) ALTERNATE PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN CON6 TRIBUTING AGENCIES.—With each application for service 

7 or assistance, and with each related recertification, re8 newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu9 tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu10 dent for enrollment in a course of study, any contributing 

11 agency that in the normal course of its operations does 

12 not request individuals applying for service or assistance 

13 to affirm United States citizenship (either directly or as 

14 part of the overall application for service or assistance) 

15 shall— 

16 (1) complete the requirements of section 7(a)(6) 

17 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 

18 U.S.C. 20506(a)(6)); 

19 (2) ensure that each applicant’s transaction 

20 with the agency cannot be completed until the appli21 cant has indicated whether the applicant wishes to 

22 register to vote or declines to register to vote in elec23 tions for Federal office held in the State; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
33 

•S 549 IS

1 (3) for each individual who wishes to register to 

2 vote, transmit that individual’s information in ac3 cordance with subsection (b)(3). 

4 (d) REQUIRED AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATIC REG5 ISTRATION OPPORTUNITY WITH EACH APPLICATION FOR

6 SERVICE OR ASSISTANCE.—Each contributing agency 

7 shall offer each individual, with each application for serv8 ice or assistance, and with each related recertification, re9 newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu10 tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu11 dent for enrollment in a course of study, the opportunity 

12 to register to vote as prescribed by this section without 

13 regard to whether the individual previously declined a reg14 istration opportunity. 

15 (e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES.— 

16 (1) STATE AGENCIES.—In each State, each of 

17 the following agencies shall be treated as a contrib18 uting agency: 

19 (A) Each agency in a State that is re20 quired by Federal law to provide voter registra21 tion services, including the State motor vehicle 

22 authority and other voter registration agencies 

23 under the National Voter Registration Act of 

24 1993. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
34 

•S 549 IS

1 (B) Each agency in a State that admin2 isters a program pursuant to title III of the So3 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 501 et seq.), title 

4 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 

5 et seq.), or the Patient Protection and Afford6 able Care Act (Public Law 111–148). 

7 (C) Each State agency primarily respon8 sible for regulating the private possession of 

9 firearms. 

10 (D) Each State agency primarily respon11 sible for maintaining identifying information for 

12 students enrolled at public secondary schools, 

13 including, where applicable, the State agency 

14 responsible for maintaining the education data 

15 system described in section 6201(e)(2) of the 

16 America COMPETES Act (20 U.S.C. 

17 9871(e)(2)). 

18 (E) In the case of a State in which an in19 dividual disenfranchised by a criminal convic20 tion may become eligible to vote upon comple21 tion of a criminal sentence or any part thereof, 

22 or upon formal restoration of rights, the State 

23 agency responsible for administering that sen24 tence, or part thereof, or that restoration of 

25 rights. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
35 

•S 549 IS

1 (F) Any other agency of the State which is 

2 designated by the State as a contributing agen3 cy. 

4 (2) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In each State, each 

5 of the following agencies of the Federal Government 

6 shall be treated as a contributing agency with re7 spect to individuals who are residents of that State 

8 (except as provided in subparagraph (C)): 

9 (A) The Social Security Administration, 

10 the Department of Veterans Affairs, the De11 fense Manpower Data Center of the Depart12 ment of Defense, the Employee and Training 

13 Administration of the Department of Labor, 

14 and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Serv15 ices of the Department of Health and Human 

16 Services. 

17 (B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immi18 gration Services, but only with respect to indi19 viduals who have completed the naturalization 

20 process. 

21 (C) In the case of an individual who is a 

22 resident of a State in which an individual 

23 disenfranchised by a criminal conviction under 

24 Federal law may become eligible to vote upon 

25 completion of a criminal sentence or any part 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
36 

•S 549 IS

1 thereof, or upon formal restoration of rights, 

2 the Federal agency responsible for admin3 istering that sentence or part thereof (without 

4 regard to whether the agency is located in the 

5 same State in which the individual is a resi6 dent), but only with respect to individuals who 

7 have completed the criminal sentence or any 

8 part thereof. 

9 (D) Any other agency of the Federal Gov10 ernment which the State designates as a con11 tributing agency, but only if the State and the 

12 head of the agency determine that the agency 

13 collects information sufficient to carry out the 

14 responsibilities of a contributing agency under 

15 this section. 

16 (3) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

17 Each institution of higher education that receives 

18 Federal funds shall be treated as a contributing 

19 agency in the State in which it is located, but only 

20 with respect to students of the institution (including 

21 students who attend classes online) who reside in the 

22 State. An institution of higher education described 

23 in the previous sentence shall be exempt from the 

24 voter registration requirements of section 487(a)(23) 

25 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
37 

•S 549 IS

1 1094(a)(23)) if the institution is in compliance with 

2 the applicable requirements of this subtitle. 

3 (4) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 180 days 

4 prior to the date of each election for Federal office 

5 held in the State, the chief State election official 

6 shall publish on the public website of the official an 

7 updated list of all contributing agencies in that 

8 State. 

9 (5) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The chief State elec10 tion official of each State, in collaboration with each 

11 contributing agency, shall take appropriate measures 

12 to educate the public about voter registration under 

13 this section. 

14 SEC. 114. ONE-TIME CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE 

15 IN REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN 

16 EXISTING RECORDS. 

17 (a) INITIAL TRANSMITTAL OF INFORMATION.—For 

18 each individual already listed in a contributing agency’s 

19 records as of the date of enactment of this Act, and for 

20 whom the agency has the information listed in section 

21 113(b)(3), the agency shall promptly transmit that infor22 mation to the appropriate State election official in accord23 ance with section 113(b)(3) not later than the effective 

24 date described in section 111(a). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
38 

•S 549 IS

1 (b) TRANSITION.—For each individual listed in a con2 tributing agency’s records as of the effective date de3 scribed in section 111(a) (but who was not listed in a con4 tributing agency’s records as of the date of enactment of 

5 this Act), and for whom the agency has the information 

6 listed in section 113(b)(3), the Agency shall promptly 

7 transmit that information to the appropriate State election 

8 official in accordance with section 113(b)(3) not later than 

9 6 months after the effective date described in section 

10 111(a). 

11 SEC. 115. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTO12 MATIC REGISTRATION. 

13 (a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 

14 An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 

15 law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication concerning 

16 immigration status or naturalization, or subject to an alle17 gation in any legal proceeding that the individual is not 

18 a citizen of the United States on any of the following 

19 grounds: 

20 (1) The individual notified an election office of 

21 the individual’s automatic registration to vote under 

22 this subtitle. 

23 (2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec24 tions for Federal office but was automatically reg25 istered to vote under this subtitle. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
39 

•S 549 IS

1 (3) The individual was automatically registered 

2 to vote under this subtitle at an incorrect address. 

3 (4) The individual declined the opportunity to 

4 register to vote or did not make an affirmation of 

5 citizenship, including through automatic registration, 

6 under this subtitle. 

7 (b) LIMITS ON USE OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA8 TION.—The automatic registration of any individual or the 

9 fact that an individual declined the opportunity to register 

10 to vote or did not make an affirmation of citizenship (in11 cluding through automatic registration) under this subtitle 

12 may not be used as evidence against that individual in any 

13 State or Federal law enforcement proceeding, and an indi14 vidual’s lack of knowledge or willfulness of such registra15 tion may be demonstrated by the individual’s testimony 

16 alone. 

17 (c) PROTECTION OF ELECTION INTEGRITY.—Noth18 ing in subsections (a) or (b) may be construed to prohibit 

19 or restrict any action under color of law against an indi20 vidual who— 

21 (1) knowingly and willfully makes a false state22 ment to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter 

23 registration by any individual; or 

24 (2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in vio25 lation of State law or the laws of the United States. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
40 

•S 549 IS

1 (d) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES’ PROTECTION OF IN2 FORMATION.—Nothing in this subtitle authorizes a con3 tributing agency to collect, retain, transmit, or publicly 

4 disclose any of the following: 

5 (1) An individual’s decision to decline to reg6 ister to vote or not to register to vote. 

7 (2) An individual’s decision not to affirm his or 

8 her citizenship. 

9 (3) Any information that a contributing agency 

10 transmits pursuant to section 113(b)(3), except in 

11 pursuing the agency’s ordinary course of business. 

12 (e) ELECTION OFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OF INFOR13 MATION.— 

14 (1) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara16 graph (B), with respect to any individual for 

17 whom any State election official receives infor18 mation from a contributing agency, the State 

19 election officials shall not publicly disclose any 

20 of the following: 

21 (i) The identity of the contributing 

22 agency. 

23 (ii) Any information not necessary to 

24 voter registration. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
41 

•S 549 IS

1 (iii) Any voter information otherwise 

2 shielded from disclosure under State law or 

3 section 8(a) of the National Voter Reg4 istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

5 20507(a)). 

6 (iv) Any portion of the individual’s so7 cial security number. 

8 (v) Any portion of the individual’s 

9 motor vehicle driver’s license number. 

10 (vi) The individual’s signature. 

11 (vii) The individual’s telephone num12 ber. 

13 (viii) The individual’s email address. 

14 (B) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS REG15 ISTERED TO VOTE.—With respect to any indi16 vidual for whom any State election official re17 ceives information from a contributing agency 

18 and who, on the basis of such information, is 

19 registered to vote in the State under this sub20 title, the State election officials shall not pub21 licly disclose any of the following: 

22 (i) The identity of the contributing 

23 agency. 

24 (ii) Any information not necessary to 

25 voter registration. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
42 

•S 549 IS

1 (iii) Any voter information otherwise 

2 shielded from disclosure under State law or 

3 section 8(a) of the National Voter Reg4 istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

5 20507(a)). 

6 (iv) Any portion of the individual’s so7 cial security number. 

8 (v) Any portion of the individual’s 

9 motor vehicle driver’s license number. 

10 (vi) The individual’s signature. 

11 (2) VOTER RECORD CHANGES.—Each State 

12 shall maintain for at least 2 years and shall make 

13 available for public inspection and, where available, 

14 photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records of 

15 changes to voter records, including removals and up16 dates. 

17 (3) DATABASE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS.— 

18 The Director of the National Institute of Standards 

19 and Technology shall, after providing the public with 

20 notice and the opportunity to comment— 

21 (A) establish standards governing the com22 parison of data for voter registration list main23 tenance purposes, identifying as part of such 

24 standards the specific data elements, the 

25 matching rules used, and how a State may use 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
43 

•S 549 IS

1 the data to determine and deem that an indi2 vidual is ineligible under State law to vote in an 

3 election, or to deem a record to be a duplicate 

4 or outdated; 

5 (B) ensure that the standards developed 

6 pursuant to this paragraph are uniform and 

7 nondiscriminatory and are applied in a uniform 

8 and nondiscriminatory manner; and 

9 (C) publish the standards developed pursu10 ant to this paragraph on the Director’s website 

11 and make those standards available in written 

12 form upon request. 

13 (4) SECURITY POLICY.—The Director of the 

14 National Institute of Standards and Technology 

15 shall, after providing the public with notice and the 

16 opportunity to comment, publish privacy and secu17 rity standards for voter registration information. 

18 The standards shall require the chief State election 

19 official of each State to adopt a policy that shall 

20 specify— 

21 (A) each class of users who shall have au22 thorized access to the computerized statewide 

23 voter registration list, specifying for each class 

24 the permission and levels of access to be grant25 ed, and setting forth other safeguards to proVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
44 

•S 549 IS

1 tect the privacy, security, and accuracy of the 

2 information on the list; and 

3 (B) security safeguards to protect personal 

4 information transmitted through the informa5 tion transmittal processes of section 113 or sec6 tion 114, the online system used pursuant to 

7 section 117, any telephone interface, the main8 tenance of the voter registration database, and 

9 any audit procedure to track access to the sys10 tem. 

11 (5) STATE COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL

12 STANDARDS.— 

13 (A) CERTIFICATION.—The chief executive 

14 officer of the State shall annually file with the 

15 Election Assistance Commission a statement 

16 certifying to the Director of the National Insti17 tute of Standards and Technology that the 

18 State is in compliance with the standards re19 ferred to in paragraphs (4) and (5). A State 

20 may meet the requirement of the previous sen21 tence by filing with the Commission a statement 

22 which reads as follows: ‘‘lllll hereby 

23 certifies that it is in compliance with the stand24 ards referred to in paragraphs (4) and (5) of 

25 section 115(e) of the Automatic Voter RegistraVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
45 

•S 549 IS

1 tion Act of 2019.’’ (with the blank to be filled 

2 in with the name of the State involved). 

3 (B) PUBLICATION OF POLICIES AND PRO4 CEDURES.—The chief State election official of a 

5 State shall publish on the official’s website the 

6 policies and procedures established under this 

7 section, and shall make those policies and pro8 cedures available in written form upon public 

9 request. 

10 (C) FUNDING DEPENDENT ON CERTIFI11 CATION.—If a State does not timely file the cer12 tification required under this paragraph, it shall 

13 not receive any payment under this subtitle for 

14 the upcoming fiscal year. 

15 (D) COMPLIANCE OF STATES THAT RE16 QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case 

17 of a State that requires State legislation to 

18 carry out an activity covered by any certifi19 cation submitted under this paragraph, for a 

20 period of not more than 2 years the State shall 

21 be permitted to make the certification notwith22 standing that the legislation has not been en23 acted at the time the certification is submitted, 

24 and such State shall submit an additional cer25 tification once such legislation is enacted. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
46 

•S 549 IS

1 (f) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF INFORMATION.—No 

2 person acting under color of law may discriminate against 

3 any individual based on, or use for any purpose other than 

4 voter registration, election administration, or enforcement 

5 relating to election crimes, any of the following: 

6 (1) Voter registration records. 

7 (2) An individual’s declination to register to 

8 vote or complete an affirmation of citizenship under 

9 section 113(b). 

10 (3) An individual’s voter registration status. 

11 (g) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRA12 TION INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.—In13 formation collected under this subtitle shall not be used 

14 for commercial purposes. Nothing in this subsection may 

15 be construed to prohibit the transmission, exchange, or 

16 dissemination of information for political purposes, includ17 ing the support of campaigns for election for Federal, 

18 State, or local public office or the activities of political 

19 committees (including committees of political parties) 

20 under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. 

21 SEC. 116. REGISTRATION PORTABILITY AND CORRECTION. 

22 (a) CORRECTING REGISTRATION INFORMATION AT

23 POLLING PLACE.—Notwithstanding section 302(a) of the 

24 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(a)), if 

25 an individual is registered to vote in elections for Federal 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
47 

•S 549 IS

1 office held in a State, the appropriate election official at 

2 the polling pace for any such election (including a location 

3 used as a polling place on a date other than the date of 

4 the election) shall permit the individual to— 

5 (1) update the individual’s address for purposes 

6 of the records of the election official; 

7 (2) correct any incorrect information relating to 

8 the individual, including the individual’s name and 

9 political party affiliation, in the records of the elec10 tion official; and 

11 (3) cast a ballot in the election on the basis of 

12 the updated address or corrected information, and to 

13 have the ballot treated as a regular ballot and not 

14 as a provisional ballot under section 302(a) of such 

15 Act. 

16 (b) UPDATES TO COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER

17 REGISTRATION LISTS.—If an election official at the poll18 ing place receives an updated address or corrected infor19 mation from an individual under subsection (a), the offi20 cial shall ensure that the address or information is 

21 promptly entered into the computerized statewide voter 

22 registration list in accordance with section 

23 303(a)(1)(A)(vi) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

24 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(1)(A)(vi)). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
48 

•S 549 IS

1 SEC. 117. PAYMENTS AND GRANTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Commis3 sion shall make grants to each eligible State to assist the 

4 State in implementing the requirements of this subtitle 

5 (or, in the case of an exempt State, in implementing its 

6 existing automatic voter registration program). 

7 (b) ELIGIBILITY; APPLICATION.—A State is eligible 

8 to receive a grant under this section if the State submits 

9 to the Commission, at such time and in such form as the 

10 Commission may require, an application containing— 

11 (1) a description of the activities the State will 

12 carry out with the grant; 

13 (2) an assurance that the State shall carry out 

14 such activities without partisan bias and without 

15 promoting any particular point of view regarding 

16 any issue; and 

17 (3) such other information and assurances as 

18 the Commission may require. 

19 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT; PRIORITIES.—The Commis20 sion shall determine the amount of a grant made to an 

21 eligible State under this section. In determining the 

22 amounts of the grants, the Commission shall give priority 

23 to providing funds for those activities which are most like24 ly to accelerate compliance with the requirements of this 

25 subtitle (or, in the case of an exempt State, which are 

26 most likely to enhance the ability of the State to automatiVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
49 

•S 549 IS

1 cally register individuals to vote through its existing auto2 matic voter registration program), including— 

3 (1) investments supporting electronic informa4 tion transfer, including electronic collection and 

5 transfer of signatures, between contributing agencies 

6 and the appropriate State election officials; 

7 (2) updates to online or electronic voter reg8 istration systems already operating as of the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act; 

10 (3) introduction of online voter registration sys11 tems in jurisdictions in which those systems did not 

12 previously exist; and 

13 (4) public education on the availability of new 

14 methods of registering to vote, updating registration, 

15 and correcting registration. 

16 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

17 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 

18 be appropriated to carry out this section— 

19 (A) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; and 

20 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

21 each succeeding fiscal year. 

22 (2) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

23 Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority 

24 of this subsection shall remain available without fis25 cal year limitation until expended. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
50 

•S 549 IS

1 SEC. 118. TREATMENT OF EXEMPT STATES. 

2 (a) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—Except as pro3 vided in subsection (b), this subtitle does not apply with 

4 respect to an exempt State. 

5 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—The following provisions of this 

6 subtitle apply with respect to an exempt State: 

7 (1) Section 116 (relating to registration port8 ability and correction). 

9 (2) Section 117 (relating to payments and 

10 grants). 

11 (3) Section 119(e) (relating to enforcement). 

12 (4) Section 119(f) (relating to relation to other 

13 laws). 

14 SEC. 119. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

15 (a) ACCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION SERVICES.— 

16 Each contributing agency shall ensure that the services 

17 it provides under this subtitle are made available to indi18 viduals with disabilities to the same extent as services are 

19 made available to all other individuals. 

20 (b) TRANSMISSION THROUGH SECURE THIRD PARTY

21 PERMITTED.—Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed 

22 to prevent a contributing agency from contracting with a 

23 third party to assist the agency in meeting the information 

24 transmittal requirements of this subtitle, so long as the 

25 data transmittal complies with the applicable requirements 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
51 

•S 549 IS

1 of this subtitle, including the privacy and security provi2 sions of section 115. 

3 (c) NONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PROVISION

4 OF SERVICES.—The services made available by contrib5 uting agencies under this subtitle and by the State under 

6 sections 1006 and 1007 shall be made in a manner con7 sistent with paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a) 

8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

9 20506(a)). 

10 (d) NOTICES.—Each State may send notices under 

11 this subtitle via electronic mail if the individual has pro12 vided an electronic mail address and consented to elec13 tronic mail communications for election-related materials. 

14 All notices sent pursuant to this subtitle that require a 

15 response must offer the individual notified the opportunity 

16 to respond at no cost to the individual. 

17 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 11 of the National 

18 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510), relat19 ing to civil enforcement and the availability of private 

20 rights of action, shall apply with respect to this subtitle 

21 in the same manner as such section applies to such Act. 

22 (f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as pro23 vided, nothing in this subtitle may be construed to author24 ize or require conduct prohibited under, or to supersede, 

25 restrict, or limit the application of any of the following: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
52 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

2 10301 et seq.). 

3 (2) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab4 sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

5 (3) The National Voter Registration Act of 

6 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

7 (4) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

8 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 120. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ 

12 means, with respect to a State, the individual des13 ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na14 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

15 20509) to be responsible for coordination of the 

16 State’s responsibilities under such Act. 

17 (2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Election 

18 Assistance Commission. 

19 (3) The term ‘‘exempt State’’ means a State 

20 which, under law which is in effect continuously on 

21 and after the date of the enactment of this Act, op22 erates an automatic voter registration program 

23 under which an individual is automatically registered 

24 to vote in elections for Federal office in the State if 

25 the individual provides the motor vehicle authority of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
53 

•S 549 IS

1 the State with such identifying information as the 

2 State may require. 

3 (4) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

4 States and the District of Columbia. 

5 SEC. 121. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

7 (b), this subtitle and the amendments made by this sub8 title shall apply with respect to a State beginning January 

9 1, 2021. 

10 (b) WAIVER.—Subject to the approval of the Com11 mission, if a State certifies to the Commission that the 

12 State will not meet the deadline referred to in subsection 

13 (a) because of extraordinary circumstances and includes 

14 in the certification the reasons for the failure to meet the 

15 deadline, subsection (a) shall apply to the State as if the 

16 reference in such subsection to ‘‘January 1, 2021’’ were 

17 a reference to ‘‘January 1, 2023’’. 

18 Subtitle C—Same Day Voter 

19 Registration 

20 SEC. 131. SAME DAY REGISTRATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 

22 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 

24 sections 305 and 306; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
54 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following 

2 new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 304. SAME DAY REGISTRATION. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Notwithstanding section 

6 8(a)(1)(D) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

7 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)(D)), each State shall 

8 permit any eligible individual on the day of a Fed9 eral election and on any day when voting, including 

10 early voting, is permitted for a Federal election— 

11 ‘‘(A) to register to vote in such election at 

12 the polling place using a form that meets the 

13 requirements under section 9(b) of the National 

14 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the indi15 vidual is already registered to vote, to revise 

16 any of the individual’s voter registration infor17 mation); and 

18 ‘‘(B) to cast a vote in such election. 

19 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The requirements under 

20 paragraph (1) shall not apply to a State in which, 

21 under a State law in effect continuously on and after 

22 the date of the enactment of this section, there is no 

23 voter registration requirement for individuals in the 

24 State with respect to elections for Federal office. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
55 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means, with respect 

3 to any election for Federal office, an individual who is oth4 erwise qualified to vote in that election. 

5 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re6 quired to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) 

7 for the regularly scheduled general election for Federal of8 fice occurring in November 2020 and for any subsequent 

9 election for Federal office.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN11 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 

12 is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 

14 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 of such Act is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec17 tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 

18 306; and 

19 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec20 tion 303 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 304. Same day registration.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
56 

•S 549 IS

1 Subtitle D—Conditions on Removal 

2 on Basis of Interstate Cross-Checks 

3 SEC. 141. CONDITIONS ON REMOVAL OF REGISTRANTS 

4 FROM OFFICIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS 

5 ON BASIS OF INTERSTATE CROSS-CHECKS. 

6 (a) MINIMUM INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR RE7 MOVAL UNDER CROSS-CHECK.—Section 8(c)(2) of the 

8 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

9 20507(c)(2)) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub11 paragraph (D); and 

12 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol13 lowing new subparagraphs: 

14 ‘‘(B) To the extent that the program carried out by 

15 a State under subparagraph (A) to systematically remove 

16 the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligi17 ble voters uses information obtained in an interstate cross18 check, the State may not remove the name of the voter 

19 from such a list unless— 

20 ‘‘(i) the State obtained the voter’s full name 

21 (including the voter’s middle name, if any) and date 

22 of birth, and the last 4 digits of the voter’s social 

23 security number, in the interstate cross-check; or 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
57 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the State obtained documentation from the 

2 ERIC system that the voter is no longer a resident 

3 of the State. 

4 ‘‘(C) In this paragraph— 

5 ‘‘(i) the term ‘interstate cross-check’ means the 

6 transmission of information from an election official 

7 in one State to an election official of another State; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘ERIC system’ means the system 

10 operated by the Electronic Registration Information 

11 Center to share voter registration information and 

12 voter identification information among participating 

13 States.’’. 

14 (b) REQUIRING COMPLETION OF CROSS-CHECKS

15 NOT LATER THAN 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO ELECTION.— 

16 Subparagraph (A) of section 8(c)(2) of such Act (52 

17 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘not later 

18 than 90 days’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘not later than 

19 90 days (or, in the case of a program in which the State 

20 uses interstate cross-checks, not later than 6 months)’’. 

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph (F) 

22 of section 8(c)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘Subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘This paragraph’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
58 

•S 549 IS

1 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this Act shall apply with respect to elections held on or 

3 after the expiration of the 6-month period which begins 

4 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

5 Subtitle E—Other Initiatives To 

6 Promote Voter Registration 

7 SEC. 151. ACCEPTANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICA8 TIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 YEARS 

9 OF AGE. 

10 (a) ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 8 of 

11 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

12 20507), as amended by section 104, is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub14 section (l); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol16 lowing new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(k) ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FROM INDIVID18 UALS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may not refuse to 

20 accept or process an individual’s application to reg21 ister to vote in elections for Federal office on the 

22 grounds that the individual is under 18 years of age 

23 at the time the individual submits the application, so 

24 long as the individual is at least 16 years of age at 

25 such time. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
59 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON STATE VOTING AGE RE2 QUIREMENTS.—Nothing in paragraph (1) may be 

3 construed to require a State to permit an individual 

4 who is under 18 years of age at the time of an elec5 tion for Federal office to vote in the election.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

7 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections occur8 ring on or after January 1, 2020. 

9 SEC. 152. ANNUAL REPORTS ON VOTER REGISTRATION STA10 TISTICS. 

11 (a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 

12 the end of each year, each State shall submit to the Elec13 tion Assistance Commission and Congress a report con14 taining the following categories of information for the 

15 year: 

16 (1) The number of individuals who were reg17 istered under subtitle B. 

18 (2) The number of voter registration applica19 tion forms completed by individuals that were trans20 mitted by motor vehicle authorities in the State 

21 (pursuant to section 5(d) of the National Voter Reg22 istration Act of 1993) and voter registration agen23 cies in the State (as designated under section 7 of 

24 such Act) to the chief State election official of the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
60 

•S 549 IS

1 State, broken down by each such authority and 

2 agency. 

3 (3) The number of such individuals whose voter 

4 registration application forms were accepted and 

5 who were registered to vote in the State and the 

6 number of such individuals whose forms were re7 jected and who were not registered to vote in the 

8 State, broken down by each such authority and 

9 agency. 

10 (4) The number of change of address forms and 

11 other forms of information indicating that an indi12 vidual’s identifying information has been changed 

13 that were transmitted by such motor vehicle authori14 ties and voter registration agencies to the chief State 

15 election official of the State, broken down by each 

16 such authority and agency and the type of form 

17 transmitted. 

18 (5) The number of individuals on the statewide 

19 computerized voter registration list (as established 

20 and maintained under section 303 of the Help 

21 America Vote Act of 2002) whose voter registration 

22 information was revised by the chief State election 

23 official as a result of the forms transmitted to the 

24 official by such motor vehicle authorities and voter 

25 registration agencies (as described in paragraph 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
61 

•S 549 IS

1 (3)), broken down by each such authority and agen2 cy and the type of form transmitted. 

3 (6) The number of individuals who requested 

4 the chief State election official to revise voter reg5 istration information on such list, and the number of 

6 individuals whose information was revised as a result 

7 of such a request. 

8 (b) BREAKDOWN OF INFORMATION BY RACE AND

9 ETHNICITY OF INDIVIDUALS.—In preparing the report 

10 under this section, the State shall, for each category of 

11 information described in subsection (a), include a break12 down by race and ethnicity of the individuals whose infor13 mation is included in the category, to the extent that infor14 mation on the race and ethnicity of such individuals is 

15 available to the State. 

16 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION.—In pre17 paring and submitting a report under this section, the 

18 chief State election official shall ensure that no informa19 tion regarding the identification of any individual is re20 vealed. 

21 (d) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, a ‘‘State’’ in22 cludes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

23 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, 

24 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

25 Mariana Islands, but does not include any State in which, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
62 

•S 549 IS

1 under a State law in effect continuously on and after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, there is no voter reg3 istration requirement for individuals in the State with re4 spect to elections for Federal office. 

5 Subtitle F—Availability of HAVA 

6 Requirements Payments 

7 SEC. 161. AVAILABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 

8 UNDER HAVA TO COVER COSTS OF COMPLI9 ANCE WITH NEW REQUIREMENTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(b) of the Help Amer11 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(2) and (3)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘(2), (3), and (4)’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

15 paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN VOTER REGISTRATION ACTIVI17 TIES.—A State may use a requirements payment to 

18 carry out any of the requirements of the Voter Reg19 istration Modernization Act of 2019, including the 

20 requirements of the National Voter Registration Act 

21 of 1993 which are imposed pursuant to the amend22 ments made to such Act by the Voter Registration 

23 Modernization Act of 2019.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 254(a)(1) 

25 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21004(a)(1)) is amended by strikVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
63 

•S 549 IS

1 ing ‘‘section 251(a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

2 251(b)(2)’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2020 

5 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

6 Subtitle G—Prohibiting Inter7 ference With Voter Registration 

8 SEC. 171. PROHIBITING HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, 

9 OR PREVENTING VOTER REGISTRATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing new section: 

13 ‘‘§ 612. Hindering, interfering with, or preventing 

14 registering to vote 

15 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per16 son, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, to 

17 corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person 

18 from registering to vote or to corruptly hinder, interfere 

19 with, or prevent another person from aiding another per20 son in registering to vote. 

21 ‘‘(b) ATTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 

22 any offense described in subsection (a) shall be subject to 

23 the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense that 

24 the person attempted to commit. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
64 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 

2 (a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

3 than 5 years, or both.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

5 for chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘612. Hindering, interfering with, or preventing registering to vote.’’. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply with respect to elections held on 

9 or after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that 

10 no person may be found to have violated section 612 of 

11 title 18, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), 

12 on the basis of any act occurring prior to the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act. 

14 SEC. 172. ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES. 

15 (a) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assist17 ance Commission shall develop and publish recommenda18 tions for best practices for States to use to deter and pre19 vent violations of section 612 of title 18, United States 

20 Code (as added by section 171), and section 12 of the Na21 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) 

22 (relating to the unlawful interference with registering to 

23 vote, or voting, or attempting to register to vote or vote), 

24 including practices to provide for the posting of relevant 

25 information at polling places and voter registration agenVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
65 

•S 549 IS

1 cies under such Act, the training of poll workers and elec2 tion officials, and relevant educational materials. For pur3 poses of this subsection, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the 

4 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

5 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Is6 lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

7 Islands. 

8 (b) INCLUSION IN VOTER INFORMATION REQUIRE9 MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 

10 of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara12 graph (E); 

13 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub14 paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(G) information relating to the prohibi18 tions of section 612 of title 18, United States 

19 Code, and section 12 of the National Voter 

20 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) 

21 (relating to the unlawful interference with reg22 istering to vote, or voting, or attempting to reg23 ister to vote or vote), including information on 

24 how individuals may report allegations of viola25 tions of such prohibitions.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
66 

•S 549 IS

1 Subtitle H—Saving Voters From 

2 Voter Purging 

3 SEC. 181. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Automatically 

5 Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘Save Voters Act’’. 

7 SEC. 182. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF VOTERS FROM 

8 LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 

9 (a) CONDITIONS DESCRIBED.—The National Voter 

10 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is 

11 amended by inserting after section 8 the following new 

12 section: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 8A. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF VOTERS FROM 

14 OFFICIAL LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 

15 ‘‘(a) VERIFICATION ON BASIS OF OBJECTIVE AND

16 RELIABLE EVIDENCE OF INELIGIBILITY.—Notwith17 standing any other provision of this Act, a State may not 

18 remove any registrant from the official list of voters eligi19 ble to vote in elections for Federal office in the State un20 less the State verifies, on the basis of objective and reliable 

21 evidence, that the registrant is ineligible to vote in such 

22 elections on any of the grounds described in paragraph 

23 (3) or paragraph (4) of section 8(a). 

24 ‘‘(b) FACTORS NOT CONSIDERED AS OBJECTIVE AND

25 RELIABLE EVIDENCE OF INELIGIBILITY.—For purposes 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
67 

•S 549 IS

1 of subsection (a), the following factors, or any combination 

2 thereof, shall not be treated as objective and reliable evi3 dence of a registrant’s ineligibility to vote: 

4 ‘‘(1) The failure of the registrant to vote in any 

5 election. 

6 ‘‘(2) The failure of the registrant to respond to 

7 any notice sent under section 8(d). 

8 ‘‘(3) The failure of the registrant to take any 

9 other action with respect to voting in any election or 

10 with respect to the registrant’s status as a reg11 istrant.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

13 (1) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF

14 1993.—Section 8(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

15 20507(a)) is amended— 

16 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘pro17 vide’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, pro18 vide’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘con20 duct’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, con21 duct’’. 

22 (2) HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Section 

23 303(a)(4)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

24 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(4)(A)) is amended by striking 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
68 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘, registrants’’ and inserting ‘‘, and subject to sec2 tion 8A of such Act, registrants’’. 

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act. 

6 TITLE II—ACCESS TO VOTING 

7 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS8 ABILITIES 

9 SEC. 201. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES TO PROMOTE AC10 CESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 

11 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

12 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

13 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 

14 as amended by section 131(a), is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as 

16 sections 306 and 307; and 

17 (2) by inserting after section 304 the following 

18 new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 305. ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 

20 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

21 ‘‘(a) TREATMENT OF APPLICATIONS AND BAL22 LOTS.—Each State shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) permit individuals with disabilities to use 

24 absentee registration procedures and to vote by ab25 sentee ballot in elections for Federal office; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
69 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(2) accept and process, with respect to any 

2 election for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter 

3 registration application and absentee ballot applica4 tion from an individual with a disability if the appli5 cation is received by the appropriate State election 

6 official not less than 30 days before the election; 

7 ‘‘(3) in addition to any other method of reg8 istering to vote or applying for an absentee ballot in 

9 the State, establish procedures— 

10 ‘‘(A) for individuals with disabilities to re11 quest by mail and electronically voter registra12 tion applications and absentee ballot applica13 tions with respect to elections for Federal office 

14 in accordance with subsection (c); 

15 ‘‘(B) for States to send by mail and elec16 tronically (in accordance with the preferred 

17 method of transmission designated by the indi18 vidual under subparagraph (C)) voter registra19 tion applications and absentee ballot applica20 tions requested under subparagraph (A) in ac21 cordance with subsection (c); and 

22 ‘‘(C) by which such an individual can des23 ignate whether the individual prefers that such 

24 voter registration application or absentee ballot 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
70 

•S 549 IS

1 application be transmitted by mail or electroni2 cally; 

3 ‘‘(4) in addition to any other method of trans4 mitting blank absentee ballots in the State, establish 

5 procedures for transmitting by mail and electroni6 cally blank absentee ballots to individuals with dis7 abilities with respect to elections for Federal office 

8 in accordance with subsection (d); 

9 ‘‘(5) transmit a validly requested absentee bal10 lot to an individual with a disability— 

11 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subsection (e), 

12 in the case in which the request is received at 

13 least 45 days before an election for Federal of14 fice, not later than 45 days before the election; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case in which the request is re17 ceived less than 45 days before an election for 

18 Federal office— 

19 ‘‘(i) in accordance with State law; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) if practicable and as determined 

21 appropriate by the State, in a manner that 

22 expedites the transmission of such absen23 tee ballot; and 

24 ‘‘(6) if the State declares or otherwise holds a 

25 runoff election for Federal office, establish a written 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
71 

•S 549 IS

1 plan that provides absentee ballots are made avail2 able to individuals with disabilities in a manner that 

3 gives them sufficient time to vote in the runoff elec4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF SINGLE STATE OFFICE TO

6 PROVIDE INFORMATION ON REGISTRATION AND ABSEN7 TEE BALLOT PROCEDURES FOR ALL DISABLED VOTERS

8 IN STATE.—Each State shall designate a single office 

9 which shall be responsible for providing information re10 garding voter registration procedures and absentee ballot 

11 procedures to be used by individuals with disabilities with 

12 respect to elections for Federal office to all individuals 

13 with disabilities who wish to register to vote or vote in 

14 any jurisdiction in the State. 

15 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF MEANS OF ELECTRONIC COM16 MUNICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES TO

17 REQUEST AND FOR STATES TO SEND VOTER REGISTRA18 TION APPLICATIONS AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA19 TIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES RELATED TO VOTING

20 INFORMATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall, in addi22 tion to the designation of a single State office under 

23 subsection (b), designate not less than 1 means of 

24 electronic communication— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
72 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(A) for use by individuals with disabilities 

2 who wish to register to vote or vote in any ju3 risdiction in the State to request voter registra4 tion applications and absentee ballot applica5 tions under subsection (a)(3); 

6 ‘‘(B) for use by States to send voter reg7 istration applications and absentee ballot appli8 cations requested under such subsection; and 

9 ‘‘(C) for the purpose of providing related 

10 voting, balloting, and election information to in11 dividuals with disabilities. 

12 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION REGARDING PROVISION OF

13 MULTIPLE MEANS OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICA14 TION.—A State may, in addition to the means of 

15 electronic communication so designated, provide 

16 multiple means of electronic communication to indi17 viduals with disabilities, including a means of elec18 tronic communication for the appropriate jurisdic19 tion of the State. 

20 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION OF DESIGNATED MEANS OF

21 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH INFORMA22 TIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS THAT AC23 COMPANY BALLOTING MATERIALS.—Each State shall 

24 include a means of electronic communication so des25 ignated with all informational and instructional maVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
73 

•S 549 IS

1 terials that accompany balloting materials sent by 

2 the State to individuals with disabilities. 

3 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI4 CATED.—In the case where an individual with a dis5 ability does not designate a preference under sub6 section (a)(3)(C), the State shall transmit the voter 

7 registration application or absentee ballot application 

8 by any delivery method allowable in accordance with 

9 applicable State law, or if there is no applicable 

10 State law, by mail. 

11 ‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION OF BLANK ABSENTEE BALLOTS

12 BY MAIL AND ELECTRONICALLY.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish 

14 procedures— 

15 ‘‘(A) to securely transmit blank absentee 

16 ballots by mail and electronically (in accordance 

17 with the preferred method of transmission des18 ignated by the individual with a disability under 

19 subparagraph (B)) to individuals with disabil20 ities for an election for Federal office; and 

21 ‘‘(B) by which the individual with a dis22 ability can designate whether the individual pre23 fers that such blank absentee ballot be trans24 mitted by mail or electronically. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
74 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI2 CATED.—In the case where an individual with a dis3 ability does not designate a preference under para4 graph (1)(B), the State shall transmit the ballot by 

5 any delivery method allowable in accordance with ap6 plicable State law, or if there is no applicable State 

7 law, by mail. 

8 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF METHODS TO TRACK DE9 LIVERY TO AND RETURN OF BALLOT BY INDIVIDUAL

10 REQUESTING BALLOT.—Under the procedures estab11 lished under paragraph (1), the State shall apply 

12 such methods as the State considers appropriate, 

13 such as assigning a unique identifier to the ballot, 

14 to ensure that if an individual with a disability re15 quests the State to transmit a blank absentee ballot 

16 to the individual in accordance with this subsection, 

17 the voted absentee ballot which is returned by the 

18 individual is the same blank absentee ballot which 

19 the State transmitted to the individual. 

20 ‘‘(e) HARDSHIP EXEMPTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the chief State election 

22 official determines that the State is unable to meet 

23 the requirement under subsection (a)(5)(A) with re24 spect to an election for Federal office due to an 

25 undue hardship described in paragraph (2)(B), the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
75 

•S 549 IS

1 chief State election official shall request that the At2 torney General grant a waiver to the State of the 

3 application of such subsection. Such request shall in4 clude— 

5 ‘‘(A) a recognition that the purpose of 

6 such subsection is to individuals with disabil7 ities enough time to vote in an election for Fed8 eral office; 

9 ‘‘(B) an explanation of the hardship that 

10 indicates why the State is unable to transmit 

11 such individuals an absentee ballot in accord12 ance with such subsection; 

13 ‘‘(C) the number of days prior to the elec14 tion for Federal office that the State requires 

15 absentee ballots be transmitted to such individ16 uals; and 

17 ‘‘(D) a comprehensive plan to ensure that 

18 such individuals are able to receive absentee 

19 ballots which they have requested and submit 

20 marked absentee ballots to the appropriate 

21 State election official in time to have that ballot 

22 counted in the election for Federal office, which 

23 includes— 

24 ‘‘(i) the steps the State will undertake 

25 to ensure that such individuals have time 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
76 

•S 549 IS

1 to receive, mark, and submit their ballots 

2 in time to have those ballots counted in the 

3 election; 

4 ‘‘(ii) why the plan provides such indi5 viduals sufficient time to vote as a sub6 stitute for the requirements under such 

7 subsection; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) the underlying factual informa9 tion which explains how the plan provides 

10 such sufficient time to vote as a substitute 

11 for such requirements. 

12 ‘‘(2) APPROVAL OF WAIVER REQUEST.—The 

13 Attorney General shall approve a waiver request 

14 under paragraph (1) if the Attorney General deter15 mines each of the following requirements are met: 

16 ‘‘(A) The comprehensive plan under sub17 paragraph (D) of such paragraph provides indi18 viduals with disabilities sufficient time to re19 ceive absentee ballots they have requested and 

20 submit marked absentee ballots to the appro21 priate State election official in time to have that 

22 ballot counted in the election for Federal office. 

23 ‘‘(B) One or more of the following issues 

24 creates an undue hardship for the State: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
77 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(i) The State’s primary election date 

2 prohibits the State from complying with 

3 subsection (a)(5)(A). 

4 ‘‘(ii) The State has suffered a delay in 

5 generating ballots due to a legal contest. 

6 ‘‘(iii) The State Constitution prohibits 

7 the State from complying with such sub8 section. 

9 ‘‘(3) TIMING OF WAIVER.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

11 under subparagraph (B), a State that requests 

12 a waiver under paragraph (1) shall submit to 

13 the Attorney General the written waiver request 

14 not later than 90 days before the election for 

15 Federal office with respect to which the request 

16 is submitted. The Attorney General shall ap17 prove or deny the waiver request not later than 

18 65 days before such election. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a State requests a 

20 waiver under paragraph (1) as the result of an 

21 undue hardship described in paragraph 

22 (2)(B)(ii), the State shall submit to the Attor23 ney General the written waiver request as soon 

24 as practicable. The Attorney General shall ap25 prove or deny the waiver request not later than 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
78 

•S 549 IS

1 5 business days after the date on which the re2 quest is received. 

3 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF WAIVER.—A waiver ap4 proved under paragraph (2) shall only apply with re5 spect to the election for Federal office for which the 

6 request was submitted. For each subsequent election 

7 for Federal office, the Attorney General shall only 

8 approve a waiver if the State has submitted a re9 quest under paragraph (1) with respect to such elec10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec12 tion may be construed to allow the marking or casting of 

13 ballots over the Internet. 

14 ‘‘(g) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY DEFINED.— 

15 In this section, an ‘individual with a disability’ means an 

16 individual with an impairment that substantially limits 

17 any major life activities and who is otherwise qualified to 

18 vote in elections for Federal office. 

19 ‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

20 with respect to elections for Federal office held on or after 

21 January 1, 2020.’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

23 ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS24 SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 

25 U.S.C. 21101(b)) is amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
79 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

2 (2); 

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 

8 respect to section 305, January 1, 2020.’’. 

9 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 of such Act, as amended by section 131(c), is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec12 tions 305 and 306 as relating to sections 306 and 

13 307; and 

14 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec15 tion 304 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 305. Access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities.’’. 

16 SEC. 202. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR ENABLING INDIVIDUALS 

17 WITH DISABILITIES TO REGISTER TO VOTE 

18 AND VOTE PRIVATELY AND INDEPENDENTLY 

19 AT RESIDENCES. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAMS.—The 

21 Election Assistance Commission (hereafter referred to as 

22 the ‘‘Commission’’) shall make grants to eligible States to 

23 conduct pilot programs under which— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
80 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) individuals with disabilities may use elec2 tronic means (including the Internet and telephones 

3 utilizing assistive devices) to register to vote and to 

4 request and receive absentee ballots, in a manner 

5 which permits such individuals to do so privately 

6 and independently at their own residences; and 

7 (2) individuals with disabilities may use the 

8 telephone to cast ballots electronically from their 

9 own residences, but only if the telephone used is not 

10 connected to the Internet. 

11 (b) REPORTS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant for 

13 a year under this section shall submit a report to the 

14 Commission on the pilot programs the State carried 

15 out with the grant with respect to elections for pub16 lic office held in the State during the year. 

17 (2) DEADLINE.—A State shall submit a report 

18 under paragraph (1) not later than 90 days after 

19 the last election for public office held in the State 

20 during the year. 

21 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible to receive a 

22 grant under this section if the State submits to the Com23 mission, at such time and in such form as the Commission 

24 may require, an application containing such information 

25 and assurances as the Commission may require. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
81 

•S 549 IS

1 (d) TIMING.—The Commission shall make the first 

2 grants under this section for pilot programs which will be 

3 in effect with respect to elections for Federal office held 

4 in 2020, or, at the option of a State, with respect to other 

5 elections for public office held in the State in 2020. 

6 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated for grants for pilot pro8 grams under this section $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 

9 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

10 (f) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

11 ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common12 wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 

13 United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 

14 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

15 SEC. 203. EXPANSION AND REAUTHORIZATION OF GRANT 

16 PROGRAM TO ASSURE VOTING ACCESS FOR 

17 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

18 (a) PURPOSES OF PAYMENTS.—Section 261(b) of the 

19 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21021(b)) is 

20 amended by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) making absentee voting and voting at 

23 home accessible to individuals with the full range of 

24 disabilities (including impairments involving vision, 

25 hearing, mobility, or dexterity) through the impleVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
82 

•S 549 IS

1 mentation of accessible absentee voting systems that 

2 work in conjunction with assistive technologies for 

3 which individuals have access at their homes, inde4 pendent living centers, or other facilities; 

5 ‘‘(2) making polling places, including the path 

6 of travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas of each 

7 polling facility, accessible to individuals with disabil8 ities, including the blind and visually impaired, in a 

9 manner that provides the same opportunity for ac10 cess and participation (including privacy and inde11 pendence) as for other voters; and 

12 ‘‘(3) providing solutions to problems of access 

13 to voting and elections for individuals with disabil14 ities that are universally designed and provide the 

15 same opportunities for individuals with and without 

16 disabilities.’’. 

17 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 264(a) of such Act 

18 (52 U.S.C. 21024(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2020 and each succeeding 

21 fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary to carry 

22 out this part.’’. 

23 (c) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Section 

24 264 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21024) is amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
83 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Any 

2 amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub3 section (b), any amounts’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub5 section: 

6 ‘‘(c) RETURN AND TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FUNDS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR OBLIGATION AND EXPEND8 ITURE.—In the case of any amounts appropriated 

9 pursuant to the authority of subsection (a) for a 

10 payment to a State or unit of local government for 

11 fiscal year 2020 or any succeeding fiscal year, any 

12 portion of such amounts which have not been obli13 gated or expended by the State or unit of local gov14 ernment prior to the expiration of the 4-year period 

15 which begins on the date the State or unit of local 

16 government first received the amounts shall be 

17 transferred to the Commission. 

18 ‘‘(2) REALLOCATION OF TRANSFERRED

19 AMOUNTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

21 use the amounts transferred under paragraph 

22 (1) to make payments on a pro rata basis to 

23 each covered payment recipient described in 

24 subparagraph (B), which may obligate and ex25 pend such payment for the purposes described 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
84 

•S 549 IS

1 in section 261(b) during the 1-year period 

2 which begins on the date of receipt. 

3 ‘‘(B) COVERED PAYMENT RECIPIENTS DE4 SCRIBED.—In subparagraph (A), a ‘covered 

5 payment recipient’ is a State or unit of local 

6 government with respect to which— 

7 ‘‘(i) amounts were appropriated pur8 suant to the authority of subsection (a); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(ii) no amounts were transferred to 

11 the Commission under paragraph (1).’’. 

12 TITLE III—PROHIBITING VOTER 

13 CAGING 

14 SEC. 301. VOTER CAGING AND OTHER QUESTIONABLE 

15 CHALLENGES PROHIBITED. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 

17 States Code, as amended by section 171(a), is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 613. Voter caging and other questionable chal20 lenges 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

22 ‘‘(1) the term ‘voter caging document’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) a nonforwardable document that is 

24 returned to the sender or a third party as unde25 livered or undeliverable despite an attempt to 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
85 

•S 549 IS

1 deliver such document to the address of a reg2 istered voter or applicant; or 

3 ‘‘(B) any document with instructions to an 

4 addressee that the document be returned to the 

5 sender or a third party but is not so returned, 

6 despite an attempt to deliver such document to 

7 the address of a registered voter or applicant, 

8 unless at least two Federal election cycles have 

9 passed since the date of the attempted delivery; 

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘voter caging list’ means a list of 

11 individuals compiled from voter caging documents; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘unverified match list’ means a 

14 list produced by matching the information of reg15 istered voters or applicants for voter registration to 

16 a list of individuals who are ineligible to vote in the 

17 registrar’s jurisdiction, by virtue of death, convic18 tion, change of address, or otherwise; unless one of 

19 the pieces of information matched includes a signa20 ture, photograph, or unique identifying number en21 suring that the information from each source refers 

22 to the same individual. 

23 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AGAINST VOTER CAGING.—No 

24 State or local election official shall prevent an individual 

25 from registering or voting in any election for Federal ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
86 

•S 549 IS

1 fice, or permit in connection with any election for Federal 

2 office a formal challenge under State law to an individual’s 

3 registration status or eligibility to vote, if the basis for 

4 such decision is evidence consisting of— 

5 ‘‘(1) a voter caging document or voter caging 

6 list; 

7 ‘‘(2) an unverified match list; 

8 ‘‘(3) an error or omission on any record or 

9 paper relating to any application, registration, or 

10 other act requisite to voting, if such error or omis11 sion is not material to an individual’s eligibility to 

12 vote under section 2004 of the Revised Statutes, as 

13 amended (52 U.S.C. 10101(a)(2)(B)); or 

14 ‘‘(4) any other evidence so designated for pur15 poses of this section by the Election Assistance Com16 mission, 

17 except that the election official may use such evidence if 

18 it is corroborated by independent evidence of the individ19 ual’s ineligibility to register or vote. 

20 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGES BY PERSONS

21 OTHER THAN ELECTION OFFICIALS.—No person, other 

22 than a State or local election official, shall submit a formal 

23 challenge to an individual’s eligibility to register to vote 

24 in an election for Federal office or to vote in an election 

25 for Federal office unless that challenge is supported by 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
87 

•S 549 IS

1 personal knowledge regarding the grounds for ineligibility 

2 which is— 

3 ‘‘(1) documented in writing; and 

4 ‘‘(2) subject to an oath or attestation under 

5 penalty of perjury that the challenger has a good 

6 faith factual basis to believe that the individual who 

7 is the subject of the challenge is ineligible to register 

8 to vote or vote in that election, except a challenge 

9 which is based on the race, ethnicity, or national ori10 gin of the individual who is the subject of the chal11 lenge may not be considered to have a good faith 

12 factual basis for purposes of this paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES FOR KNOWING MISCONDUCT.— 

14 Whoever knowingly challenges the eligibility of one or 

15 more individuals to register or vote or knowingly causes 

16 the eligibility of such individuals to be challenged in viola17 tion of this section with the intent that one or more eligi18 ble voters be disqualified, shall be fined under this title 

19 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, for each such 

20 violation. Each violation shall be a separate offense. 

21 ‘‘(e) NO EFFECT ON RELATED LAWS.—Nothing in 

22 this section is intended to override the protections of the 

23 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

24 20501 et seq.) or to affect the Voting Rights Act of 1965 

25 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.).’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
88 

•S 549 IS

1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, as amended 

3 by section 171(b), is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

‘‘613. Voter caging and other questionable challenges.’’. 

5 SEC. 302. DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF BEST PRAC6 TICES FOR PREVENTING VOTER CAGING. 

7 (a) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assist9 ance Commission shall develop and publish for the use of 

10 States recommendations for best practices to deter and 

11 prevent violations of section 613 of title 18, United States 

12 Code, as added by section 1201(a), including practices to 

13 provide for the posting of relevant information at polling 

14 places and voter registration agencies, the training of poll 

15 workers and election officials, and relevant educational 

16 measures. For purposes of this subsection, the term 

17 ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common18 wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 

19 United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 

20 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

21 (b) INCLUSION IN VOTING INFORMATION REQUIRE22 MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 

23 of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)), as amended by section 

24 172(b), is amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
89 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara2 graph (F); 

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub4 paragraph (G) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(H) information relating to the prohibi8 tion against voter caging and other questionable 

9 challenges (as set forth in section 613 of title 

10 18, United States Code), including information 

11 on how individuals may report allegations of 

12 violations of such prohibition.’’. 

13 TITLE IV—PROHIBITING DECEP14 TIVE PRACTICES AND PRE15 VENTING VOTER INTIMIDA16 TION 

17 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Deceptive Practices 

19 and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019’’. 

20 SEC. 402. PROHIBITION ON DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN FED21 ERAL ELECTIONS. 

22 (a) PROHIBITION.—Subsection (b) of section 2004 of 

23 the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting the 

25 following: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
90 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person’’; and 

2 (2) by inserting at the end the following new 

3 paragraphs: 

4 ‘‘(2) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL

5 ELECTIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 

7 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 

8 within 60 days before an election described in 

9 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 

10 means of written, electronic, or telephonic com11 munications, communicate or cause to be com12 municated information described in subpara13 graph (B), or produce information described in 

14 subparagraph (B) with the intent that such in15 formation be communicated, if such person— 

16 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma17 terially false; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre19 vent another person from exercising the 

20 right to vote in an election described in 

21 paragraph (5). 

22 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor23 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 

24 information is regarding— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
91 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(i) the time, place, or manner of 

2 holding any election described in para3 graph (5); or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric5 tions on voter eligibility for any such elec6 tion, including— 

7 ‘‘(I) any criminal penalties asso8 ciated with voting in any such elec9 tion; or 

10 ‘‘(II) information regarding a 

11 voter’s registration status or eligi12 bility. 

13 ‘‘(3) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING PUBLIC

14 ENDORSEMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 

16 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 

17 within 60 days before an election described in 

18 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 

19 means of written, electronic, or telephonic com20 munications, communicate, or cause to be com21 municated, a materially false statement about 

22 an endorsement, if such person— 

23 ‘‘(i) knows such statement to be false; 

24 and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
92 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre2 vent another person from exercising the 

3 right to vote in an election described in 

4 paragraph (5). 

5 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF ‘MATERIALLY

6 FALSE’.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 

7 statement about an endorsement is ‘materially 

8 false’ if, with respect to an upcoming election 

9 described in paragraph (5)— 

10 ‘‘(i) the statement states that a spe11 cifically named person, political party, or 

12 organization has endorsed the election of a 

13 specific candidate for a Federal office de14 scribed in such paragraph; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) such person, political party, or 

16 organization has not endorsed the election 

17 of such candidate. 

18 ‘‘(4) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE19 VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.—No 

20 person, whether acting under color of law or other21 wise, shall intentionally hinder, interfere with, or 

22 prevent another person from voting, registering to 

23 vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to 

24 vote in an election described in paragraph (5). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
93 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(5) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election de2 scribed in this paragraph is any general, primary, 

3 run-off, or special election held solely or in part for 

4 the purpose of nominating or electing a candidate 

5 for the office of President, Vice President, presi6 dential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of 

7 the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Com8 missioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 

9 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 

11 2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)) 

12 is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever any person’’ 

14 and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) Whenever any person’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(2) Any person aggrieved by a violation of 

19 subsection (b)(2), (b)(3), or (b)(4) may institute a 

20 civil action for preventive relief, including an appli21 cation in a United States district court for a perma22 nent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or 

23 other order. In any such action, the court, in its dis24 cretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable 

25 attorney’s fee as part of the costs.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
94 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (A) Subsection (e) of section 2004 of the 

3 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(e)) is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in5 serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 

6 (B) Subsection (g) of section 2004 of the 

7 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(g)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in9 serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 

10 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

11 (1) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—Section 594 of title 18, 

12 United States Code, is amended— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(a) INTIMIDATION.—Whoever’’; 

16 (B) in subsection (a), as inserted by sub17 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘at any election’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘at any general, primary, run-off, 

19 or special election’’; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

21 subsections: 

22 ‘‘(b) DECEPTIVE ACTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL

24 ELECTIONS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
95 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 

2 for any person, whether acting under color of 

3 law or otherwise, within 60 days before an elec4 tion described in subsection (e), by any means, 

5 including by means of written, electronic, or tel6 ephonic communications, to communicate or 

7 cause to be communicated information de8 scribed in subparagraph (B), or produce infor9 mation described in subparagraph (B) with the 

10 intent that such information be communicated, 

11 if such person— 

12 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma13 terially false; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to mislead voters, 

15 or the intent to impede or prevent another 

16 person from exercising the right to vote in 

17 an election described in subsection (e). 

18 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor19 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 

20 information is regarding— 

21 ‘‘(i) the time or place of holding any 

22 election described in subsection (e); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric24 tions on voter eligibility for any such elec25 tion, including— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
96 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(I) any criminal penalties asso2 ciated with voting in any such elec3 tion; or 

4 ‘‘(II) information regarding a 

5 voter’s registration status or eligi6 bility. 

7 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para8 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 

9 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

10 ‘‘(c) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE11 VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for 

13 any person, whether acting under color of law or 

14 otherwise, to corruptly hinder, interfere with, or pre15 vent another person from voting, registering to vote, 

16 or aiding another person to vote or register to vote 

17 in an election described in subsection (e). 

18 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para19 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 

20 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

21 ‘‘(d) ATTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 

22 any offense described in subsection (a), (b)(1), or (c)(1) 

23 shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed 

24 for the offense that the person attempted to commit. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
97 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(e) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election described 

2 in this subsection is any general, primary, run-off, or spe3 cial election held solely or in part for the purpose of nomi4 nating or electing a candidate for the office of President, 

5 Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, 

6 Member of the House of Representatives, or Delegate or 

7 Commissioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 

8 (2) MODIFICATION OF PENALTY FOR VOTER IN9 TIMIDATION.—Section 594(a) of title 18, United 

10 States Code, as amended by paragraph (1), is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘fined under this title or im12 prisoned not more than one year’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned for not 

14 more than 5 years’’. 

15 (3) SENTENCING GUIDELINES.— 

16 (A) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.—Not later 

17 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

18 this Act, the United States Sentencing Commis19 sion, pursuant to its authority under section 

20 994 of title 28, United States Code, and in ac21 cordance with this section, shall review and, if 

22 appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing 

23 guidelines and policy statements applicable to 

24 persons convicted of any offense under section 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
98 

•S 549 IS

1 594 of title 18, United States Code, as amend2 ed by this section. 

3 (B) AUTHORIZATION.—The United States 

4 Sentencing Commission may amend the Federal 

5 Sentencing Guidelines in accordance with the 

6 procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sen7 tencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 note) as 

8 though the authority under that section had not 

9 expired. 

10 (4) PAYMENTS FOR REFRAINING FROM VOT11 ING.—Subsection (c) of section 11 of the Voting 

12 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10307) is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘either for registration to vote or for vot14 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘for registration to vote, for vot15 ing, or for not voting’’. 

16 SEC. 403. CORRECTIVE ACTION. 

17 (a) CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney General re19 ceives a credible report that materially false informa20 tion has been or is being communicated in violation 

21 of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2004(b) of the 

22 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by 

23 section 1302(a), and if the Attorney General deter24 mines that State and local election officials have not 

25 taken adequate steps to promptly communicate accuVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
99 

•S 549 IS

1 rate information to correct the materially false infor2 mation, the Attorney General shall, pursuant to the 

3 written procedures and standards under subsection 

4 (b), communicate to the public, by any means, in5 cluding by means of written, electronic, or telephonic 

6 communications, accurate information designed to 

7 correct the materially false information. 

8 (2) COMMUNICATION OF CORRECTIVE INFORMA9 TION.—Any information communicated by the Attor10 ney General under paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) shall— 

12 (i) be accurate and objective; 

13 (ii) consist of only the information 

14 necessary to correct the materially false in15 formation that has been or is being com16 municated; and 

17 (iii) to the extent practicable, be by a 

18 means that the Attorney General deter19 mines will reach the persons to whom the 

20 materially false information has been or is 

21 being communicated; and 

22 (B) shall not be designed to favor or dis23 favor any particular candidate, organization, or 

24 political party. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
100 

•S 549 IS

1 (b) WRITTEN PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS FOR

2 TAKING CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

5 General shall publish written procedures and stand6 ards for determining when and how corrective action 

7 will be taken under this section. 

8 (2) INCLUSION OF APPROPRIATE DEADLINES.— 

9 The procedures and standards under paragraph (1) 

10 shall include appropriate deadlines, based in part on 

11 the number of days remaining before the upcoming 

12 election. 

13 (3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the proce14 dures and standards under paragraph (1), the Attor15 ney General shall consult with the Election Assist16 ance Commission, State and local election officials, 

17 civil rights organizations, voting rights groups, voter 

18 protection groups, and other interested community 

19 organizations. 

20 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 

22 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this title. 

23 SEC. 404. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

25 each general election for Federal office, the Attorney GenVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
101 

•S 549 IS

1 eral shall submit to Congress a report compiling all allega2 tions received by the Attorney General of deceptive prac3 tices described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 

4 2004(b) of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as 

5 added by section 1302(a), relating to the general election 

6 for Federal office and any primary, run-off, or a special 

7 election for Federal office held in the 2 years preceding 

8 the general election. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each report submitted 

11 under subsection (a) shall include— 

12 (A) a description of each allegation of a 

13 deceptive practice described in subsection (a), 

14 including the geographic location, racial and 

15 ethnic composition, and language minority16 group membership of the persons toward whom 

17 the alleged deceptive practice was directed; 

18 (B) the status of the investigation of each 

19 allegation described in subparagraph (A); 

20 (C) a description of each corrective action 

21 taken by the Attorney General under section 

22 4(a) in response to an allegation described in 

23 subparagraph (A); 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
102 

•S 549 IS

1 (D) a description of each referral of an al2 legation described in subparagraph (A) to other 

3 Federal, State, or local agencies; 

4 (E) to the extent information is available, 

5 a description of any civil action instituted under 

6 section 2004(c)(2) of the Revised Statutes (52 

7 U.S.C. 10101(c)(2)), as added by section 

8 1302(b), in connection with an allegation de9 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

10 (F) a description of any criminal prosecu11 tion instituted under section 594 of title 18, 

12 United States Code, as amended by section 

13 402(c), in connection with the receipt of an alle14 gation described in subparagraph (A) by the 

15 Attorney General. 

16 (2) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

18 shall not include in a report submitted under 

19 subsection (a) any information protected from 

20 disclosure by rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of 

21 Criminal Procedure or any Federal criminal 

22 statute. 

23 (B) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN OTHER IN24 FORMATION.—The Attorney General may deter25 mine that the following information shall not be 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
103 

•S 549 IS

1 included in a report submitted under subsection 

2 (a): 

3 (i) Any information that is privileged. 

4 (ii) Any information concerning an 

5 ongoing investigation. 

6 (iii) Any information concerning a 

7 criminal or civil proceeding conducted 

8 under seal. 

9 (iv) Any other nonpublic information 

10 that the Attorney General determines the 

11 disclosure of which could reasonably be ex12 pected to infringe on the rights of any in13 dividual or adversely affect the integrity of 

14 a pending or future criminal investigation. 

15 (c) REPORT MADE PUBLIC.—On the date that the 

16 Attorney General submits the report under subsection (a), 

17 the Attorney General shall also make the report publicly 

18 available through the Internet and other appropriate 

19 means. 

20 TITLE V—DEMOCRACY 

21 RESTORATION 

22 SEC. 501. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Restora24 tion Act of 2019’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
104 

•S 549 IS

1 SEC. 502. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 

2 The right of an individual who is a citizen of the 

3 United States to vote in any election for Federal office 

4 shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has 

5 been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual 

6 is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 

7 or facility at the time of the election. 

8 SEC. 503. ENFORCEMENT. 

9 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

10 may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive 

11 relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this title. 

12 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 

14 by a violation of this title may provide written notice 

15 of the violation to the chief election official of the 

16 State involved. 

17 (2) RELIEF.—Except as provided in paragraph 

18 (3), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days 

19 after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or 

20 within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola21 tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 

22 election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 

23 may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunc24 tive relief with respect to the violation. 

25 (3) EXCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 

26 within 30 days before the date of an election for 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
105 

•S 549 IS

1 Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide 

2 notice to the chief election official of the State under 

3 paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain 

4 declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 

5 violation. 

6 SEC. 504. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 

7 RIGHTS. 

8 (a) STATE NOTIFICATION.— 

9 (1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 

10 under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writ11 ing any individual who has been convicted of a 

12 criminal offense under the law of that State that 

13 such individual has the right to vote in an election 

14 for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Res15 toration Act of 2019 and may register to vote in any 

16 such election. 

17 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

18 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

19 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

20 felony, the notification required under para21 graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 

22 the individual— 

23 (i) is sentenced to serve only a term 

24 of probation; or 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
106 

•S 549 IS

1 (ii) is released from the custody of 

2 that State (other than to the custody of 

3 another State or the Federal Government 

4 to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel5 ony conviction). 

6 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

7 case of such an individual who has been con8 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re9 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

10 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

11 by a State court. 

12 (b) FEDERAL NOTIFICATION.— 

13 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Any individual who has 

14 been convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 

15 law shall be notified in accordance with paragraph 

16 (2) that such individual has the right to vote in an 

17 election for Federal office pursuant to the Democ18 racy Restoration Act of 2019 and may register to 

19 vote in any such election. 

20 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

21 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

22 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

23 felony, the notification required under para24 graph (1) shall be given— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
107 

•S 549 IS

1 (i) in the case of an individual who is 

2 sentenced to serve only a term of proba3 tion, by the Assistant Director for the Of4 fice of Probation and Pretrial Services of 

5 the Administrative Office of the United 

6 States Courts on the date on which the in7 dividual is sentenced; or 

8 (ii) in the case of any individual com9 mitted to the custody of the Bureau of 

10 Prisons, by the Director of the Bureau of 

11 Prisons, during the period beginning on 

12 the date that is 6 months before such indi13 vidual is released and ending on the date 

14 such individual is released from the cus15 tody of the Bureau of Prisons. 

16 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

17 case of such an individual who has been con18 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re19 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

20 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

21 by a court established by an Act of Congress. 

22 SEC. 505. DEFINITIONS. 

23 For purposes of this title: 

24 (1) CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OR FACIL25 ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
108 

•S 549 IS

1 means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu2 tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 

3 convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 

4 privately operated, except that such term does not 

5 include any residential community treatment center 

6 (or similar public or private facility). 

7 (2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 

8 (A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 

9 election; 

10 (B) a convention or caucus of a political 

11 party held to nominate a candidate; 

12 (C) a primary election held for the selec13 tion of delegates to a national nominating con14 vention of a political party; or 

15 (D) a primary election held for the expres16 sion of a preference for the nomination of per17 sons for election to the office of President. 

18 (3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of19 fice’’ means the office of President or Vice President 

20 of the United States, or of Senator or Representa21 tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 

22 the Congress of the United States. 

23 (4) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 

24 probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
109 

•S 549 IS

1 court, with or without a condition on the individual 

2 involved concerning— 

3 (A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 

4 (B) the payment of damages by the indi5 vidual; 

6 (C) periodic reporting by the individual to 

7 an officer of the court; or 

8 (D) supervision of the individual by an of9 ficer of the court. 

10 SEC. 506. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

11 (a) STATE LAWS RELATING TO VOTING RIGHTS.— 

12 Nothing in this title be construed to prohibit the States 

13 from enacting any State law which affords the right to 

14 vote in any election for Federal office on terms less restric15 tive than those established by this title. 

16 (b) CERTAIN FEDERAL ACTS.—The rights and rem17 edies established by this title are in addition to all other 

18 rights and remedies provided by law, and neither rights 

19 and remedies established by this Act shall supersede, re20 strict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act 

21 of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) or the National Voter 

22 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

23 SEC. 507. FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS. 

24 No State, unit of local government, or other person 

25 may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
110 

•S 549 IS

1 prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal 

2 funds unless that person has in effect a program under 

3 which each individual incarcerated in that person’s juris4 diction who is a citizen of the United States is notified, 

5 upon release from such incarceration, of that individual’s 

6 rights under section 502. 

7 SEC. 508. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 This title shall apply to citizens of the United States 

9 voting in any election for Federal office held after the date 

10 of the enactment of this Act. 

11 TITLE VI—PROMOTING ACCU12 RACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECU13 RITY THROUGH VOTER14 VERIFIED PERMANENT 

15 PAPER BALLOT 

16 SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Confidence and 

18 Increased Accessibility Act of 2019’’. 

19 SEC. 602. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE20 QUIREMENTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 

22 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 

23 amended to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 

25 ‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
111 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 

2 (I) The voting system shall require the use 

3 of an individual, durable, voter-verified, 

4 paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall 

5 be marked and made available for inspec6 tion and verification by the voter before 

7 the voter’s vote is cast and counted, and 

8 which shall be counted by hand or read by 

9 an optical character recognition device or 

10 other counting device. For purposes of this 

11 subclause, the term ‘individual, durable, 

12 voter-verified, paper ballot’ means a paper 

13 ballot marked by the voter by hand or a 

14 paper ballot marked through the use of a 

15 nontabulating ballot marking device or sys16 tem, so long as the voter shall have the op17 tion to mark his or her ballot by hand. 

18 ‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 

19 the voter with an opportunity to correct 

20 any error on the paper ballot before the 

21 permanent voter-verified paper ballot is 

22 preserved in accordance with clause (ii). 

23 ‘‘(III) The voting system shall not 

24 preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in 

25 any manner that makes it possible, at any 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
112 

•S 549 IS

1 time after the ballot has been cast, to asso2 ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 

3 vote without the voter’s consent. 

4 ‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION AS OFFICIAL

5 RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter6 verified, paper ballot used in accordance 

7 with clause (i) shall constitute the official 

8 ballot and shall be preserved and used as 

9 the official ballot for purposes of any re10 count or audit conducted with respect to 

11 any election for Federal office in which the 

12 voting system is used. 

13 ‘‘(iii) MANUAL COUNTING REQUIRE14 MENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.—(I) 

15 Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 

16 (i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, 

17 and shall be counted by hand in any re18 count or audit conducted with respect to 

19 any election for Federal office. 

20 ‘‘(II) In the event of any inconsist21 encies or irregularities between any elec22 tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies de23 termined by counting by hand the indi24 vidual, durable, voter-verified, paper ballots 

25 used pursuant to clause (i), and subject to 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
113 

•S 549 IS

1 subparagraph (B), the individual, durable, 

2 voter-verified, paper ballots shall be the 

3 true and correct record of the votes cast. 

4 ‘‘(iv) APPLICATION TO ALL BAL5 LOTS.—The requirements of this subpara6 graph shall apply to all ballots cast in elec7 tions for Federal office, including ballots 

8 cast by absent uniformed services voters 

9 and overseas voters under the Uniformed 

10 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

11 and other absentee voters. 

12 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TREATMENT OF

13 DISPUTES WHEN PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN

14 SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the event 

16 that— 

17 ‘‘(I) there is any inconsistency 

18 between any electronic vote tallies and 

19 the vote tallies determined by count20 ing by hand the individual, durable, 

21 voter-verified, paper ballots used pur22 suant to subparagraph (A)(i) with re23 spect to any election for Federal of24 fice; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
114 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(II) it is demonstrated by clear 

2 and convincing evidence (as deter3 mined in accordance with the applica4 ble standards in the jurisdiction in5 volved) in any recount, audit, or con6 test of the result of the election that 

7 the paper ballots have been com8 promised (by damage or mischief or 

9 otherwise) and that a sufficient num10 ber of the ballots have been so com11 promised that the result of the elec12 tion could be changed, 

13 the determination of the appropriate rem14 edy with respect to the election shall be 

15 made in accordance with applicable State 

16 law, except that the electronic tally shall 

17 not be used as the exclusive basis for de18 termining the official certified result. 

19 ‘‘(ii) RULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF

20 BALLOTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH VOTING

21 MACHINE.—For purposes of clause (i), 

22 only the paper ballots deemed com23 promised, if any, shall be considered in the 

24 calculation of whether or not the result of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
115 

•S 549 IS

1 the election could be changed due to the 

2 compromised paper ballots.’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING APPLI4 CABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.— 

5 Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) 

6 is amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re7 quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys8 tem’’. 

9 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

10 301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count13 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

14 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count16 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

17 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 

18 (3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count19 ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 

20 accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 

21 (4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count22 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

23 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
116 

•S 549 IS

1 SEC. 603. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 

2 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of the Help 

4 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(3)(B)) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(B)(i) ensure that individuals with dis7 abilities and others are given an equivalent op8 portunity to vote, including with privacy and 

9 independence, in a manner that produces a 

10 voter-verified paper ballot as for other voters; 

11 ‘‘(ii) satisfy the requirement of subpara12 graph (A) through the use of at least one voting 

13 system equipped for individuals with disabil14 ities, including nonvisual and enhanced visual 

15 accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, 

16 and nonmanual and enhanced manual accessi17 bility for the mobility and dexterity impaired, at 

18 each polling place; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) meet the requirements of subpara20 graph (A) and paragraph (2)(A) by using a sys21 tem that— 

22 ‘‘(I) allows the voter to privately and 

23 independently verify the permanent paper 

24 ballot through the presentation, in acces25 sible form, of the printed or marked vote 

26 selections from the same printed or 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
117 

•S 549 IS

1 marked information that would be used for 

2 any vote counting or auditing; and 

3 ‘‘(II) allows the voter to privately and 

4 independently verify and cast the perma5 nent paper ballot without requiring the 

6 voter to manually handle the paper bal7 lot.’’. 

8 (b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, 

9 AND DEVELOPMENT OF ACCESSIBLE PAPER BALLOT

10 VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.— 

11 (1) STUDY AND REPORTING.—Subtitle C of 

12 title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 

13 amended— 

14 (A) by redesignating section 247 as section 

15 248; and 

16 (B) by inserting after section 246 the fol17 lowing new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE PAPER 

19 BALLOT VERIFICATION MECHANISMS. 

20 ‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Director of the Na21 tional Science Foundation shall make grants to not fewer 

22 than 3 eligible entities to study, test, and develop acces23 sible paper ballot voting, verification, and casting mecha24 nisms and devices and best practices to enhance the acces25 sibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
118 

•S 549 IS

1 for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary 

2 language is not English, and for voters with difficulties 

3 in literacy, including best practices for the mechanisms 

4 themselves and the processes through which the mecha5 nisms are used. 

6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 

7 grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 

8 time and in such form as the Director may require) an 

9 application containing— 

10 ‘‘(1) certifications that the entity shall specifi11 cally investigate enhanced methods or devices, in12 cluding non-electronic devices, that will assist such 

13 individuals and voters in marking voter-verified 

14 paper ballots and presenting or transmitting the in15 formation printed or marked on such ballots back to 

16 such individuals and voters, and casting such ballots; 

17 ‘‘(2) a certification that the entity shall com18 plete the activities carried out with the grant not 

19 later than December 31, 2020; and 

20 ‘‘(3) such other information and certifications 

21 as the Director may require. 

22 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech23 nology developed with the grants made under this section 

24 shall be treated as non-proprietary and shall be made 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
119 

•S 549 IS

1 available to the public, including to manufacturers of vot2 ing systems. 

3 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH GRANTS FOR TECH4 NOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—The Director shall carry out 

5 this section so that the activities carried out with the 

6 grants made under subsection (a) are coordinated with the 

7 research conducted under the grant program carried out 

8 by the Commission under section 271, to the extent that 

9 the Director and Commission determine necessary to pro10 vide for the advancement of accessible voting technology. 

11 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 

13 (a) $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con15 tents of such Act is amended— 

16 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 

17 section 247 as relating to section 248; and 

18 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

19 section 246 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible paper ballot verification mechanisms.’’. 

20 (c) CLARIFICATION OF ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS

21 UNDER VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDANCE.—In 

22 adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 

23 III of the Help America Vote Act with respect to the ac24 cessibility of the paper ballot verification requirements for 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
120 

•S 549 IS

1 individuals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Com2 mission shall include and apply the same accessibility 

3 standards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopt4 ed for accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 

5 (d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR PROTECTION

6 AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT ACTIONS TO EN7 FORCE ELECTION-RELATED DISABILITY ACCESS.—Sec8 tion 292(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

9 U.S.C. 21062(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ 

10 and all that follows and inserting a period. 

11 SEC. 604. DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS 

12 FOR BALLOTS. 

13 Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

14 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(7) DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIRE17 MENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) DURABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 PAPER BALLOTS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—All voter-verified 

21 paper ballots required to be used under 

22 this Act shall be marked or printed on du23 rable paper. 

24 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 

25 this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
121 

•S 549 IS

1 of withstanding multiple counts and re2 counts by hand without compromising the 

3 fundamental integrity of the ballots, and 

4 capable of retaining the information 

5 marked or printed on them for the full du6 ration of a retention and preservation pe7 riod of 22 months. 

8 ‘‘(B) READABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

9 PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING

10 DEVICE.—All voter-verified paper ballots com11 pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 

12 marking device shall be clearly readable by the 

13 voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses 

14 or other personal vision enhancing devices) and 

15 by an optical character recognition device or 

16 other device equipped for individuals with dis17 abilities.’’. 

18 SEC. 605. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 

19 Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

20 (52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re24 quired to comply with the requirements of this sec25 tion on and after January 1, 2006. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
122 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN REQUIRE2 MENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the requirements of 

5 this section which are first imposed on a State 

6 and jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments 

7 made by the Voter Confidence and Increased 

8 Accessibility Act of 2019 shall apply with re9 spect to voting systems used for any election for 

10 Federal office held in 2024 or any succeeding 

11 year. 

12 ‘‘(B) DELAY FOR JURISDICTIONS USING

13 CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR CERTAIN

14 SYSTEMS USING OR PRODUCING VOTER15 VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS IN 2022.— 

16 ‘‘(i) DELAY.—In the case of a juris17 diction described in clause (ii), subpara18 graph (A) shall apply to a voting system in 

19 the jurisdiction as if the reference in such 

20 subparagraph to ‘2024’ were a reference to 

21 ‘2026’, but only with respect to the fol22 lowing requirements of this section: 

23 ‘‘(I) Paragraph (2)(A)(i)(I) of 

24 subsection (a) (relating to the use of 

25 voter-marked paper ballots). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
123 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(II) Paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(I) and 

2 (II) of subsection (a) (relating to ac3 cess to verification from and casting 

4 of the durable paper ballot). 

5 ‘‘(III) Paragraph (7) of sub6 section (a) (relating to durability and 

7 readability requirements for ballots). 

8 ‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS DESCRIBED.—A 

9 jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju10 risdiction— 

11 ‘‘(I) which used voter verifiable 

12 paper record printers attached to di13 rect recording electronic voting ma14 chines, or which used other voting 

15 systems that used or produced paper 

16 records of the vote verifiable by voters 

17 but that are not in compliance with 

18 paragraphs (2)(A)(i)(I), (3)(B)(iii)(I) 

19 and (II), and (7) of subsection (a) (as 

20 amended or added by the Voter Con21 fidence and Increased Accessibility 

22 Act of 2019), for the administration 

23 of the regularly scheduled general 

24 election for Federal office held in No25 vember 2022; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
124 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(II) which will continue to use 

2 such printers or systems for the ad3 ministration of elections for Federal 

4 office held in years before 2024. 

5 ‘‘(iii) MANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF

6 PAPER BALLOTS AT POLLING PLACES

7 USING GRANDFATHERED PRINTERS AND

8 SYSTEMS.— 

9 ‘‘(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE

10 OFFERED AND PROVIDED.—The ap11 propriate election official at each poll12 ing place that uses a printer or sys13 tem described in clause (ii)(I) for the 

14 administration of elections for Federal 

15 office shall offer each individual who 

16 is eligible to cast a vote in the election 

17 at the polling place the opportunity to 

18 cast the vote using a blank pre-print19 ed paper ballot which the individual 

20 may mark by hand and which is not 

21 produced by the direct recording elec22 tronic voting machine or other such 

23 system. The official shall provide the 

24 individual with the ballot and the sup25 plies necessary to mark the ballot, and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
125 

•S 549 IS

1 shall ensure (to the greatest extent 

2 practicable) that the waiting period 

3 for the individual to cast a vote is the 

4 lesser of 30 minutes or the average 

5 waiting period for an individual who 

6 does not agree to cast the vote using 

7 such a paper ballot under this clause. 

8 ‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.— 

9 Any paper ballot which is cast by an 

10 individual under this clause shall be 

11 counted and otherwise treated as a 

12 regular ballot for all purposes (includ13 ing by incorporating it into the final 

14 unofficial vote count (as defined by 

15 the State) for the precinct) and not as 

16 a provisional ballot, unless the indi17 vidual casting the ballot would have 

18 otherwise been required to cast a pro19 visional ballot. 

20 ‘‘(III) POSTING OF NOTICE.— 

21 The appropriate election official shall 

22 ensure there is prominently displayed 

23 at each polling place a notice that de24 scribes the obligation of the official to 

25 offer individuals the opportunity to 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
126 

•S 549 IS

1 cast votes using a pre-printed blank 

2 paper ballot. 

3 ‘‘(IV) TRAINING OF ELECTION

4 OFFICIALS.—The chief State election 

5 official shall ensure that election offi6 cials at polling places in the State are 

7 aware of the requirements of this 

8 clause, including the requirement to 

9 display a notice under subclause (III), 

10 and are aware that it is a violation of 

11 the requirements of this title for an 

12 election official to fail to offer an indi13 vidual the opportunity to cast a vote 

14 using a blank pre-printed paper ballot. 

15 ‘‘(V) PERIOD OF APPLICA16 BILITY.—The requirements of this 

17 clause apply only during the period in 

18 which the delay is in effect under 

19 clause (i). 

20 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR JURISDICTIONS

21 USING CERTAIN NONTABULATING BALLOT

22 MARKING DEVICES.—In the case of a jurisdic23 tion which uses a nontabulating ballot marking 

24 device which automatically deposits the ballot 

25 into a privacy sleeve, subparagraph (A) shall 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
127 

•S 549 IS

1 apply to a voting system in the jurisdiction as 

2 if the reference in such subparagraph to ‘any 

3 election for Federal office held in 2024 or any 

4 succeeding year’ were a reference to ‘elections 

5 for Federal office occurring held in 2026 or 

6 each succeeding year’, but only with respect to 

7 paragraph (3)(B)(iii)(II) of subsection (a) (re8 lating to nonmanual casting of the durable 

9 paper ballot).’’. 

10 SEC. 606. CLARIFICATION OF ABILITY OF STATES TO USE 

11 ELECTION ADMINISTRATION PAYMENTS TO 

12 MEET REQUIREMENTS. 

13 Nothing in the amendments made by this title or in 

14 any provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 may 

15 be construed to prohibit a State from using any payment 

16 made under title I of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) 

17 or part 1 of subtitle D of title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

18 21001 et seq.) to comply with the requirements of the 

19 amendments made by this title. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
128 

•S 549 IS

1 TITLE VII—PROVISIONAL 

2 BALLOTS 

3 SEC. 701. REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTING PROVISIONAL 

4 BALLOTS; ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM AND 

5 NONDISCRIMINATORY STANDARDS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302 of the Help America 

7 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub9 section (f); and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol11 lowing new subsections: 

12 ‘‘(d) STATEWIDE COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BAL13 LOTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

15 (a)(4), notwithstanding the precinct or polling place 

16 at which a provisional ballot is cast within the State, 

17 the appropriate election official shall count each vote 

18 on such ballot for each election in which the indi19 vidual who cast such ballot is eligible to vote. 

20 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

21 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu22 ary 1, 2020. 

23 ‘‘(e) UNIFORM AND NONDISCRIMINATORY STAND24 ARDS.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
129 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the re2 quirements of this section, each State shall establish 

3 uniform and nondiscriminatory standards for the 

4 issuance, handling, and counting of provisional bal5 lots. 

6 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

7 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu8 ary 1, 2020.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(f) of 

10 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(f)), as redesignated by sub11 section (a), is amended by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and in12 serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsections (d)(2) and 

13 (e)(2), each State’’. 

14 TITLE VIII—EARLY VOTING 

15 SEC. 801. EARLY VOTING. 

16 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

17 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 

18 as amended by section 131(a) and section 201(a), is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating sections 306 and 307 as 

21 sections 307 and 308; and 

22 (2) by inserting after section 305 the following 

23 new section: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
130 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 306. EARLY VOTING. 

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING VOTING PRIOR TO DATE OF ELEC3 TION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall allow indi5 viduals to vote in an election for Federal office dur6 ing an early voting period which occurs prior to the 

7 date of the election, in the same manner as voting 

8 is allowed on such date. 

9 ‘‘(2) LENGTH OF PERIOD.—The early voting 

10 period required under this subsection with respect to 

11 an election shall consist of a period of consecutive 

12 days (including weekends) which begins on the 15th 

13 day before the date of the election (or, at the option 

14 of the State, on a day prior to the 15th day before 

15 the date of the election) and ends on the date of the 

16 election. 

17 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 Each polling place which allows voting during an early vot19 ing period under subsection (a) shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) allow such voting for no less than 4 hours 

21 on each day, except that the polling place may allow 

22 such voting for fewer than 4 hours on Sundays; and 

23 ‘‘(2) have uniform hours each day for which 

24 such voting occurs. 

25 ‘‘(c) LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES NEAR PUBLIC

26 TRANSPORTATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, a 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
131 

•S 549 IS

1 State shall ensure that each polling place which allows vot2 ing during an early voting period under subsection (a) is 

3 located within walking distance of a stop on a public trans4 portation route. 

5 ‘‘(d) STANDARDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue 

7 standards for the administration of voting prior to 

8 the day scheduled for a Federal election. Such 

9 standards shall include the nondiscriminatory geo10 graphic placement of polling places at which such 

11 voting occurs. 

12 ‘‘(2) DEVIATION.—The standards described in 

13 paragraph (1) shall permit States, upon providing 

14 adequate public notice, to deviate from any require15 ment in the case of unforeseen circumstances such 

16 as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or a change 

17 in voter turnout. 

18 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

19 with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 

20 2020.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

22 ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS23 SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 

24 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as amended by section 201(b), is 

25 amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
132 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

2 (3); 

3 (2) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(5) in the case of the recommendations with 

8 respect to section 306, June 30, 2020.’’. 

9 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 of such Act, as amended by section 131(c) and section 

11 201(c), is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec13 tions 306 and 307 as relating to sections 307 and 

14 308; and 

15 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec16 tion 305 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 306. Early voting.’’. 

17 TITLE IX—VOTING BY MAIL 

18 SEC. 901. VOTING BY MAIL. 

19 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

20 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 

21 as amended by section 131(a), section 201(a), and section 

22 801(a), is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating sections 307 and 308 as 

24 sections 308 and 309; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
133 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) by inserting after section 306 the following 

2 new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 307. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 

4 MAIL. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli6 gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 

7 State may not impose any additional conditions or require8 ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 

9 in such election by absentee ballot by mail, except as re10 quired under subsection (b) and except to the extent that 

11 the State imposes a deadline for requesting the ballot and 

12 related voting materials from the appropriate State or 

13 local election official and for returning the ballot to the 

14 appropriate State or local election official. 

15 ‘‘(b) REQUIRING SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.—A 

16 State may not accept and process an absentee ballot sub17 mitted by any individual with respect to an election for 

18 Federal office unless the State verifies the identification 

19 of the individual by comparing the individual’s signature 

20 on the absentee ballot with the individual’s signature on 

21 the official list of registered voters in the State, in accord22 ance with such procedures as the State may adopt. 

23 ‘‘(c) DEADLINE FOR PROVIDING BALLOTING MATE24 RIALS.—If an individual requests to vote by absentee bal25 lot in an election for Federal office, the appropriate State 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
134 

•S 549 IS

1 or local election official shall ensure that the ballot and 

2 relating voting materials are transmitted to the indi3 vidual— 

4 ‘‘(1) not later than 2 weeks before the date of 

5 the election; or 

6 ‘‘(2) in the case of a State which imposes a 

7 deadline for requesting an absentee ballot and re8 lated voting materials which is less than 2 weeks be9 fore the date of the election, as expeditiously as pos10 sible. 

11 ‘‘(d) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS12 ABILITIES.—Consistent with section 305, the State shall 

13 ensure that all absentee ballots and related voting mate14 rials in elections for Federal office are accessible to indi15 viduals with disabilities in a manner that provides the 

16 same opportunity for access and participation (including 

17 with privacy and independence) as for other voters. 

18 ‘‘(e) UNIFORM DEADLINE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF

19 MAILED BALLOTS.—If a ballot submitted by an individual 

20 by mail with respect to an election for Federal office in 

21 a State is postmarked on or before the date of the election, 

22 the State may not refuse to accept or process the ballot 

23 on the grounds that the individual did not meet a deadline 

24 for returning the ballot to the appropriate State or local 

25 election official. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
135 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(f) NO EFFECT ON BALLOTS SUBMITTED BY AB2 SENT MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Nothing in 

3 this section may be construed to affect the treatment of 

4 any ballot submitted by an individual who is entitled to 

5 vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas 

6 Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

7 ‘‘(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

8 with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 

9 2020.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

11 ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS12 SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 

13 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as amended by section 201(b) and sec14 tion 801(b), is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

16 (4); 

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of para18 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(6) in the case of the recommendations with 

22 respect to section 307, June 30, 2020.’’. 

23 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

24 of such Act, as amended by section 131(c), section 201(c), 

25 and section 801(c), is amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
136 

•S 549 IS

1 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec2 tions 307 and 308 as relating to sections 308 and 

3 309; and 

4 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec5 tion 306 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 307. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’. 

6 TITLE X—ABSENT UNIFORMED 

7 SERVICES VOTERS AND 

8 OVERSEAS VOTERS 

9 SEC. 1001. EXTENDING GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR 

10 VOTING PURPOSES TO FAMILY MEMBERS OF 

11 ABSENT MILITARY PERSONNEL. 

12 Section 705 of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act 

13 (50 U.S.C. 4025) is amended— 

14 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SPOUSES’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘FAMILY MEMBERS’’; and 

16 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(b) FAMILY MEMBERS.—For the purposes of voting 

19 for in any election for any Federal office (as defined in 

20 section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

21 (52 U.S.C. 30101)) or any State or local office, a spouse, 

22 domestic partner, or dependent of a person who is absent 

23 from a State in compliance with military or naval orders 

24 shall not, solely by reason of that person’s absence and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
137 

•S 549 IS

1 without regard to whether or not such family member is 

2 accompanying that person— 

3 ‘‘(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or 

4 domicile in that State, without regard to whether or 

5 not the person intends to return to that State; 

6 ‘‘(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or 

7 domicile in any other State; or 

8 ‘‘(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or 

9 a resident of any other State.’’. 

10 SEC. 1002. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON AVAILABILITY AND 

11 TRANSMISSION OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 

12 Section 102(c) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi13 zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(c)) is amend14 ed to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(c) REPORTS ON AVAILABILITY, TRANSMISSION, 

16 AND RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE

18 BALLOT AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 55 days be19 fore any regularly scheduled general election for 

20 Federal office, each State shall submit a report to 

21 the Attorney General, the Election Assistance Com22 mission (hereafter in this subsection referred to as 

23 the ‘Commission’), and the Presidential Designee, 

24 and make that report publicly available that same 

25 day, certifying that absentee ballots for the election 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
138 

•S 549 IS

1 are or will be available for transmission to absent 

2 uniformed services voters and overseas voters by not 

3 later than 45 days before the election. The report 

4 shall be in a form prescribed jointly by the Attorney 

5 General and the Commission and shall require the 

6 State to certify specific information about ballot 

7 availability from each unit of local government which 

8 will administer the election. 

9 ‘‘(2) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE

10 BALLOT TRANSMISSION.—Not later than 43 days be11 fore any regularly scheduled general election for 

12 Federal office, each State shall submit a report to 

13 the Attorney General, the Commission, and the 

14 Presidential Designee, and make that report publicly 

15 available that same day, certifying whether all ab16 sentee ballots have been transmitted by not later 

17 than 45 days before the election to all qualified ab18 sent uniformed services and overseas voters whose 

19 requests were received at least 45 days before the 

20 election. The report shall be in a form prescribed 

21 jointly by the Attorney General and the Commission, 

22 and shall require the State to certify specific infor23 mation about ballot transmission, including the total 

24 numbers of ballot requests received and ballots 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
139 

•S 549 IS

1 transmitted, from each unit of local government 

2 which will administer the election. 

3 ‘‘(3) POST-ELECTION REPORT ON NUMBER OF

4 ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RE5 CEIVED.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

6 each regularly scheduled general election for Federal 

7 office, each State and unit of local government 

8 which administered the election shall (through the 

9 State, in the case of a unit of local government) sub10 mit a report to the Attorney General, the Commis11 sion, and the Presidential Designee on the combined 

12 number of absentee ballots transmitted to absent 

13 uniformed services voters and overseas voters for the 

14 election and the combined number of such ballots 

15 which were returned by such voters and cast in the 

16 election, and shall make such report available to the 

17 general public that same day.’’. 

18 SEC. 1003. ENFORCEMENT. 

19 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CIVIL PENALTIES AND PRI20 VATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.—Section 105 of the Uniformed 

21 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 

22 20307) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT. 

24 ‘‘(a) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
140 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

2 bring civil action in an appropriate district court for 

3 such declaratory or injunctive relief as may be nec4 essary to carry out this title. 

5 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—In a civil action brought under 

6 paragraph (1), if the court finds that the State vio7 lated any provision of this title, it may, to vindicate 

8 the public interest, assess a civil penalty against the 

9 State— 

10 ‘‘(A) in an amount not to exceed $110,000 

11 for each such violation, in the case of a first 

12 violation; or 

13 ‘‘(B) in an amount not to exceed $220,000 

14 for each such violation, for any subsequent vio15 lation. 

16 ‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

17 December 31 of each year, the Attorney General 

18 shall submit to Congress an annual report on any 

19 civil action brought under paragraph (1) during the 

20 preceding year. 

21 ‘‘(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person who is 

22 aggrieved by a State’s violation of this title may bring a 

23 civil action in an appropriate district court for such declar24 atory or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out 

25 this title. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
141 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(c) STATE AS ONLY NECESSARY DEFENDANT.—In 

2 any action brought under this section, the only necessary 

3 party defendant is the State, and it shall not be a defense 

4 to any such action that a local election official or a unit 

5 of local government is not named as a defendant, notwith6 standing that a State has exercised the authority described 

7 in section 576 of the Military and Overseas Voter Em8 powerment Act to delegate to another jurisdiction in the 

9 State any duty or responsibility which is the subject of 

10 an action brought under this section.’’. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

12 this section shall apply with respect to violations alleged 

13 to have occurred on or after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act. 

15 SEC. 1004. REVISIONS TO 45-DAY ABSENTEE BALLOT 

16 TRANSMISSION RULE. 

17 (a) REPEAL OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Uni19 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 

20 (52 U.S.C. 20302) is amended by striking sub21 section (g). 

22 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

23 102(a)(8)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

24 20302(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘except as 

25 provided in subsection (g),’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
142 

•S 549 IS

1 (b) REQUIRING USE OF EXPRESS DELIVERY IN CASE

2 OF FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENT.—Section 102 of 

3 such Act (52 U.S.C. 20302), as amended by subsection 

4 (a), is amended by inserting after subsection (f) the fol5 lowing new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(g) REQUIRING USE OF EXPRESS DELIVERY IN

7 CASE OF FAILURE TO TRANSMIT BALLOTS WITHIN

8 DEADLINES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF BALLOT BY EXPRESS

10 DELIVERY.—If a State fails to meet the requirement 

11 of subsection (a)(8)(A) to transmit a validly re12 quested absentee ballot to an absent uniformed serv13 ices voter or overseas voter not later than 45 days 

14 before the election (in the case in which the request 

15 is received at least 45 days before the election)— 

16 ‘‘(A) the State shall transmit the ballot to 

17 the voter by express delivery; or 

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of a voter who has des19 ignated that absentee ballots be transmitted 

20 electronically in accordance with subsection 

21 (f)(1), the State shall transmit the ballot to the 

22 voter electronically. 

23 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR TRANSMISSION FEWER

24 THAN 40 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.—If, in car25 rying out paragraph (1), a State transmits an abVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
143 

•S 549 IS

1 sentee ballot to an absent uniformed services voter 

2 or overseas voter fewer than 40 days before the elec3 tion, the State shall enable the ballot to be returned 

4 by the voter by express delivery, except that in the 

5 case of an absentee ballot of an absent uniformed 

6 services voter for a regularly scheduled general elec7 tion for Federal office, the State may satisfy the re8 quirement of this paragraph by notifying the voter 

9 of the procedures for the collection and delivery of 

10 such ballots under section 103A.’’. 

11 (c) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF WEEK12 ENDS.—Section 102(a)(8)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

13 20302(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘the election;’’ 

14 and inserting the following: ‘‘the election (or, if the 45th 

15 day preceding the election is a weekend or legal public hol16 iday, not later than the most recent weekday which pre17 cedes such 45th day and which is not a legal public holi18 day, but only if the request is received by at least such 

19 most recent weekday);’’. 

20 SEC. 1005. USE OF SINGLE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA21 TION FOR SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Uniformed and 

23 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20306) 

24 is amended to read as follows: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
144 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 104. USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT 

2 ELECTIONS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a State accepts and processes 

4 an official post card form (prescribed under section 101) 

5 submitted by an absent uniformed services voter or over6 seas voter for simultaneous voter registration and absen7 tee ballot application (in accordance with section 

8 102(a)(4)) and the voter requests that the application be 

9 considered an application for an absentee ballot for each 

10 subsequent election for Federal office held in the State 

11 through the next regularly scheduled general election for 

12 Federal office (including any runoff elections which may 

13 occur as a result of the outcome of such general election), 

14 the State shall provide an absentee ballot to the voter for 

15 each such subsequent election. 

16 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR VOTERS CHANGING REGISTRA17 TION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to a 

18 voter registered to vote in a State for any election held 

19 after the voter notifies the State that the voter no longer 

20 wishes to be registered to vote in the State or after the 

21 State determines that the voter has registered to vote in 

22 another State or is otherwise no longer eligible to vote in 

23 the State. 

24 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATION ON

25 GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION.—A State may not 

26 refuse to accept or to process, with respect to any election 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
145 

•S 549 IS

1 for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter registration 

2 application or absentee ballot application (including the 

3 postcard form prescribed under section 101) submitted by 

4 an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter on 

5 the grounds that the voter submitted the application be6 fore the first date on which the State otherwise accepts 

7 or processes such applications for that election which are 

8 submitted by absentee voters who are not members of the 

9 uniformed services or overseas citizens.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to voter registration 

12 and absentee ballot applications which are submitted to 

13 a State or local election official on or after the date of 

14 the enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 1006. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

16 The amendments made by this title shall apply with 

17 respect to elections occurring on or after January 1, 2020. 

18 TITLE XI—POLL WORKER 

19 RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING 

20 SEC. 1101. LEAVE TO SERVE AS A POLL WORKER FOR FED21 ERAL EMPLOYEES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 63 of 

23 title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

24 section 6329c the following: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
146 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘§ 6329d. Absence in connection with serving as a 

2 poll worker 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—An employee in or under an Ex4 ecutive agency is entitled to leave, without loss of or reduc5 tion in pay, leave to which otherwise entitled, credit for 

6 time or service, or performance or efficiency rating, not 

7 to exceed 6 days in a leave year, in order— 

8 ‘‘(1) to provide election administration assist9 ance to a State or unit of local government at a poll10 ing place on the date of any election for public of11 fice; or 

12 ‘‘(2) to receive any training without which such 

13 employee would be ineligible to provide such assist14 ance. 

15 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—The Director of the Office of 

16 Personnel Management may prescribe regulations for the 

17 administration of this section, including regulations set18 ting forth the terms and conditions of the election admin19 istration assistance an employee may provide for purposes 

20 of subsection (a).’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

22 for chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

23 by inserting after the item relating to section 6329c the 

24 following: 

‘‘6329d. Absence in connection with serving as a poll worker.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
147 

•S 549 IS

1 SEC. 1102. GRANTS TO STATES FOR POLL WORKER RE2 CRUITMENT AND TRAINING. 

3 (a) GRANTS BY ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS4 SION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

6 Commission (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Commis7 sion’’) shall make a grant to each eligible State for 

8 recruiting and training individuals to serve as poll 

9 workers on dates of elections for public office. 

10 (2) USE OF COMMISSION MATERIALS.—In car11 rying out activities with a grant provided under this 

12 section, the recipient of the grant shall use the man13 ual prepared by the Commission on successful prac14 tices for poll worker recruiting, training and reten15 tion as an interactive training tool, and shall develop 

16 training programs with the participation and input 

17 of experts in adult learning. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 

19 (1) APPLICATION.—Each State that desires to 

20 receive a payment under this section shall submit an 

21 application for the payment to the Commission at 

22 such time and in such manner and containing such 

23 information as the Commission shall require. 

24 (2) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each appli25 cation submitted under paragraph (1) shall— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
148 

•S 549 IS

1 (A) describe the activities for which assist2 ance under this section is sought; 

3 (B) provide assurances that the funds pro4 vided under this section will be used to supple5 ment and not supplant other funds used to 

6 carry out the activities; 

7 (C) provide assurances that the State will 

8 furnish the Commission with information on the 

9 number of individuals who served as poll work10 ers after recruitment and training with the 

11 funds provided under this section; and 

12 (D) provide such additional information 

13 and certifications as the Commission deter14 mines to be essential to ensure compliance with 

15 the requirements of this section. 

16 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 

18 made to a State under this section shall be equal to 

19 the product of— 

20 (A) the aggregate amount made available 

21 for grants to States under this section; and 

22 (B) the voting age population percentage 

23 for the State. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
149 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) VOTING AGE POPULATION PERCENTAGE DE2 FINED.—In paragraph (1), the ‘‘voting age popu3 lation percentage’’ for a State is the quotient of— 

4 (A) the voting age population of the State 

5 (as determined on the basis of the most recent 

6 information available from the Bureau of the 

7 Census); and 

8 (B) the total voting age population of all 

9 States (as determined on the basis of the most 

10 recent information available from the Bureau of 

11 the Census). 

12 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

13 (1) REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF GRANTS.—Not 

14 later than 6 months after the date on which the 

15 final grant is made under this section, each recipient 

16 of a grant shall submit a report to the Commission 

17 on the activities conducted with the funds provided 

18 by the grant. 

19 (2) REPORTS BY COMMISSION.—Not later than 

20 1 year after the date on which the final grant is 

21 made under this section, the Commission shall sub22 mit a report to Congress on the grants made under 

23 this section and the activities carried out by recipi24 ents with the grants, and shall include in the report 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
150 

•S 549 IS

1 such recommendations as the Commission considers 

2 appropriate. 

3 (e) FUNDING.— 

4 (1) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNT AP5 PROPRIATED.—Any amount appropriated to carry 

6 out this section shall remain available without fiscal 

7 year limitation until expended. 

8 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

9 amount appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out 

10 this section, not more than 3 percent shall be avail11 able for administrative expenses of the Commission. 

12 SEC. 1103. MODEL POLL WORKER TRAINING PROGRAM. 

13 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM BY ELECTION AS14 SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance 

16 Commission shall develop and provide to each State mate17 rials for a model poll worker training program which the 

18 State may use to train individuals to serve as poll workers 

19 in elections for Federal office. 

20 (b) CONTENTS OF MATERIALS.—The materials for 

21 the model poll worker training program developed under 

22 this section shall include materials to provide training with 

23 respect to the following: 

24 (1) The relevant provisions of the Federal laws 

25 which apply to the administration of elections for 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
151 

•S 549 IS

1 Federal office in the State, including the Voting 

2 Rights Act of 1965 and the Help America Vote Act 

3 of 2002. 

4 (2) The provision of access to voting to individ5 uals with disabilities in a manner which preserves 

6 the dignity and privacy of such individuals. 

7 (3) The provision of access to voting to individ8 uals with limited English language proficiency, and 

9 to individuals who are members or racial or ethnic 

10 minorities, consistent with the protections provided 

11 for such individuals under relevant law, in a manner 

12 which preserves the dignity of such individuals. 

13 (4) Practical experience in the use of the voting 

14 machines which will be used in the election involved, 

15 including the accessibility features of such machines. 

16 (5) Such other election administration subjects 

17 as the Commission considers appropriate to ensure 

18 that poll workers are able to effectively assist with 

19 the administration of elections for Federal office. 

20 SEC. 1104. STATE DEFINED. 

21 In this title, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District 

22 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 

23 American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and 

24 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
152 

•S 549 IS

1 TITLE XII—ENHANCEMENT OF 

2 ENFORCEMENT 

3 SEC. 1201. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP 

4 AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 

5 (a) COMPLAINTS; AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT

6 OF ACTION.—Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act 

7 of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and in9 serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 sections: 

13 ‘‘(b) FILING OF COMPLAINTS BY AGGRIEVED PER14 SONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 

16 by a violation of title III which has occurred, is oc17 curring, or is about to occur may file a written, 

18 signed, notarized complaint with the Attorney Gen19 eral describing the violation and requesting the At20 torney General to take appropriate action under this 

21 section. The Attorney General shall immediately pro22 vide a copy of a complaint filed under the previous 

23 sentence to the entity responsible for administering 

24 the State-based administrative complaint procedures 

25 described in section 402(a) for the State involved. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
153 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(2) RESPONSE BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 

2 Attorney General shall respond to each complaint 

3 filed under paragraph (1), in accordance with proce4 dures established by the Attorney General that re5 quire responses and determinations to be made with6 in the same (or shorter) deadlines which apply to a 

7 State under the State-based administrative com8 plaint procedures described in section 402(a)(2). 

9 The Attorney General shall immediately provide a 

10 copy of the response made under the previous sen11 tence to the entity responsible for administering the 

12 State-based administrative complaint procedures de13 scribed in section 402(a) for the State involved. 

14 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC15 TION.—Any person who is authorized to file a complaint 

16 under subsection (b)(1) (including any individual who 

17 seeks to enforce the individual’s right to a voter-verified 

18 paper ballot, the right to have the voter-verified paper bal19 lot counted in accordance with this Act, or any other right 

20 under title III) may file an action under section 1979 of 

21 the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 

22 1983) to enforce the uniform and nondiscriminatory elec23 tion technology and administration requirements under 

24 subtitle A of title III. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
154 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(d) NO EFFECT ON STATE PROCEDURES.—Nothing 

2 in this section may be construed to affect the availability 

3 of the State-based administrative complaint procedures re4 quired under section 402 to any person filing a complaint 

5 under this subsection.’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 

8 with respect to elections for Federal office held in 2020 

9 or any succeeding year. 

10 TITLE XIII—FEDERAL ELECTION 

11 INTEGRITY 

12 SEC. 1301. PROHIBITION ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY 

13 CHIEF STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 

14 OFFICIALS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 

16 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 

17 amended by inserting after section 319 the following new 

18 section: 

19 ‘‘CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY CHIEF STATE ELECTION

20 ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS

21 ‘‘SEC. 319A. (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 

22 for a chief State election administration official to take 

23 an active part in political management or in a political 

24 campaign with respect to any election for Federal office 

25 over which such official has supervisory authority. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
155 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(b) CHIEF STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRATION OF2 FICIAL.—The term ‘chief State election administration of3 ficial’ means the highest State official with responsibility 

4 for the administration of Federal elections under State 

5 law. 

6 ‘‘(c) ACTIVE PART IN POLITICAL MANAGEMENT OR

7 IN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.—The term ‘active part in po8 litical management or in a political campaign’ means— 

9 ‘‘(1) serving as a member of an authorized com10 mittee of a candidate for Federal office; 

11 ‘‘(2) the use of official authority or influence 

12 for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the 

13 result of an election for Federal office; 

14 ‘‘(3) the solicitation, acceptance, or receipt of a 

15 contribution from any person on behalf of a can16 didate for Federal office; and 

17 ‘‘(4) any other act which would be prohibited 

18 under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 7323(b) of 

19 title 5, United States Code, if taken by an individual 

20 to whom such paragraph applies (other than any 

21 prohibition on running for public office). 

22 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION IN CASE OF RECUSAL FROM AD23 MINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS INVOLVING OFFICIAL OR

24 IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
156 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section does not apply 

2 to a chief State election administration official with 

3 respect to an election for Federal office in which the 

4 official or an immediate family member of the offi5 cial is a candidate, but only if such official recuses 

6 himself or herself from all of the official’s respon7 sibilities for the administration of such election. 

8 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.— 

9 In paragraph (1), the term ‘immediate family mem10 ber’ means, with respect to a candidate, a father, 

11 mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, 

12 wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections for 

15 Federal office held after December 2019. 

16 TITLE XIV—GRANTS FOR RISK17 LIMITING AUDITS OF RE18 SULTS OF ELECTIONS 

19 SEC. 1401. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CONDUCTING RISK-LIM20 ITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. 

21 (a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.—Subtitle D of title 

22 II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

23 21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new part: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
157 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘PART 7—GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK2 LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS 

3 ‘‘SEC. 297. GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK-LIMITING AU4 DITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. 

5 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.—The Commission 

6 shall make a grant to each eligible State to conduct risk7 limiting audits as described in subsection (b) with respect 

8 to the regularly scheduled general elections for Federal of9 fice held in November 2020 and each succeeding election 

10 for Federal office. 

11 ‘‘(b) RISK-LIMITING AUDITS DESCRIBED.—In this 

12 part, a ‘risk-limiting audit’ is a post-election process— 

13 ‘‘(1) which is conducted in accordance with 

14 rules and procedures established by the chief State 

15 election official of the State which meet the require16 ments of subsection (c); and 

17 ‘‘(2) under which, if the reported outcome of 

18 the election is incorrect, there is at least a predeter19 mined percentage chance that the audit will replace 

20 the incorrect outcome with the correct outcome as 

21 determined by a full, hand-to-eye tabulation of all 

22 votes validly cast in that election that ascertains 

23 voter intent manually and directly from voter24 verifiable paper records. 

25 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR RULES AND PROCE26 DURES.—The rules and procedures established for conVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00157 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
158 

•S 549 IS

1 ducting a risk-limiting audit shall include the following 

2 elements: 

3 ‘‘(1) Rules for ensuring the security of ballots 

4 and documenting that prescribed procedures were 

5 followed. 

6 ‘‘(2) Rules and procedures for ensuring the ac7 curacy of ballot manifests produced by election agen8 cies. 

9 ‘‘(3) Rules and procedures for governing the 

10 format of ballot manifests, cast vote records, and 

11 other data involved in the audit. 

12 ‘‘(4) Methods to ensure that any cast vote 

13 records used in the audit are those used by the vot14 ing system to tally the election results sent to the 

15 chief State election official and made public. 

16 ‘‘(5) Procedures for the random selection of 

17 ballots to be inspected manually during each audit. 

18 ‘‘(6) Rules for the calculations and other meth19 ods to be used in the audit and to determine wheth20 er and when the audit of an election is complete. 

21 ‘‘(7) Procedures and requirements for testing 

22 any software used to conduct risk-limiting audits. 

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this part, the following defi24 nitions apply: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
159 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(1) The term ‘ballot manifest’ means a record 

2 maintained by each election agency that meets each 

3 of the following requirements: 

4 ‘‘(A) The record is created without reliance 

5 on any part of the voting system used to tab6 ulate votes. 

7 ‘‘(B) The record functions as a sampling 

8 frame for conducting a risk-limiting audit. 

9 ‘‘(C) The record contains the following in10 formation with respect to the ballots cast and 

11 counted in the election: 

12 ‘‘(i) The total number of ballots cast 

13 and counted by the agency (including 

14 undervotes, overvotes, and other invalid 

15 votes). 

16 ‘‘(ii) The total number of ballots cast 

17 in each election administered by the agency 

18 (including undervotes, overvotes, and other 

19 invalid votes). 

20 ‘‘(iii) A precise description of the 

21 manner in which the ballots are physically 

22 stored, including the total number of phys23 ical groups of ballots, the numbering sys24 tem for each group, a unique label for each 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
160 

•S 549 IS

1 group, and the number of ballots in each 

2 such group. 

3 ‘‘(2) The term ‘election agency’ means any com4 ponent of a State, or any component of a unit of 

5 local government in a State, which is responsible for 

6 the administration of elections for Federal office in 

7 the State. 

8 ‘‘(3) The term ‘incorrect outcome’ means an 

9 outcome that differs from the outcome that would be 

10 determined by a full tabulation of all votes validly 

11 cast in the election, determining voter intent manu12 ally, directly from voter-verifiable paper records. 

13 ‘‘(4) The term ‘outcome’ means the winner of 

14 an election, whether a candidate or a position. 

15 ‘‘(5) The term ‘reported outcome’ means the 

16 outcome of an election which is determined accord17 ing to the canvass and which will become the official, 

18 certified outcome unless it is revised by an audit, re19 count, or other legal process. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 297A. ELIGIBILITY OF STATES. 

21 ‘‘A State is eligible to receive a grant under this part 

22 if the State submits to the Commission, at such time and 

23 in such form as the Commission may require, an applica24 tion containing— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
161 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(1) a certification that, not later than 5 years 

2 after receiving the grant, the State will conduct risk3 limiting audits of the results of elections for Federal 

4 office held in the State as described in section 297; 

5 ‘‘(2) a certification that, not later than one year 

6 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

7 chief State election official of the State has estab8 lished or will establish the rules and procedures for 

9 conducting the audits which meet the requirements 

10 of section 297(c); 

11 ‘‘(3) a certification that the audit shall be com12 pleted not later than the date on which the State 

13 certifies the results of the election; 

14 ‘‘(4) a certification that, after completing the 

15 audit, the State shall publish a report on the results 

16 of the audit, together with such information as nec17 essary to confirm that the audit was conducted prop18 erly; 

19 ‘‘(5) a certification that, if a risk-limiting audit 

20 conducted under this part leads to a full manual 

21 tally of an election, State law requires that the State 

22 or election agency shall use the results of the full 

23 manual tally as the official results of the election; 

24 and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
162 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(6) such other information and assurances as 

2 the Commission may require. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 297B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for grants 

5 under this part $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2019, to re6 main available until expended.’’. 

7 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 

9 relating to subtitle D of title II the following: 

‘‘PART 7—GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK-LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS

OF ELECTIONS

‘‘Sec. 297. Grants for conducting risk-limiting audits of results of elections. 

‘‘Sec. 297A. Eligibility of States. 

‘‘Sec. 297B. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

10 SEC. 1402. GAO ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF AUDITS. 

11 (a) ANALYSIS.—Not later than 6 months after the 

12 first election for Federal office is held after grants are 

13 first awarded to States for conducting risk-limiting under 

14 part 7 of subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote 

15 Act of 2002 (as added by section 1401) for conducting 

16 risk-limiting audits of elections for Federal office, the 

17 Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct 

18 an analysis of the extent to which such audits have im19 proved the administration of such elections and the secu20 rity of election infrastructure in the States receiving such 

21 grants. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
163 

•S 549 IS

1 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 

2 United States shall submit a report on the analysis con3 ducted under subsection (a) to the appropriate congres4 sional committees. 

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘appropriate congressional com7 mittees’’ means the Committees on Homeland Secu8 rity and House Administration of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committees on Homeland Secu10 rity and Governmental Affairs and Rules and Ad11 ministration of the Senate; 

12 (2) the term ‘‘election agency’’ means any com13 ponent of a State, or any component of a unit of 

14 local government in a State, which is responsible for 

15 the administration of elections for Federal office in 

16 the State; and 

17 (3) the term ‘‘election infrastructure’’ means 

18 storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote 

19 tabulation locations used to support the administra20 tion of elections for public office, as well as related 

21 information and communications technology, includ22 ing voter registration databases, voting machines, 

23 electronic mail and other communications systems 

24 (including electronic mail and other systems of ven25 dors who have entered into contracts with election 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
164 

•S 549 IS

1 agencies to support the administration of elections, 

2 manage the election process, and report and display 

3 election results), and other systems used to manage 

4 the election process and to report and display elec5 tion results on behalf of an election agency. 

6 TITLE XV—PROMOTING VOTER 

7 ACCESS THROUGH ELECTION 

8 ADMINISTRATION IMPROVE9 MENTS 

10 Subtitle A—Promoting Voter 

11 Access 

12 SEC. 1501. TREATMENT OF UNIVERSITIES AS VOTER REG13 ISTRATION AGENCIES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7(a) of the National Voter 

15 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub19 paragraph (A); 

20 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

21 subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

23 subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(C) each institution of higher education 

25 (as defined in section 101 of the Higher EduVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00164 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
165 

•S 549 IS

1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) in the 

2 State that receives Federal funds.’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (6)(A), by inserting ‘‘or, in 

4 the case of an institution of higher education, with 

5 each registration of a student for enrollment in a 

6 course of study’’ after ‘‘assistance,’’. 

7 (b) AMENDMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF

8 1965.—Section 487(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)) is amended by striking para10 graph (23). 

11 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO OPTION OF

12 STUDENTS TO REGISTER IN JURISDICTION OF INSTITU13 TION OF HIGHER EDUCATION OR JURISDICTION OF DOMI14 CILE.—It is the sense of Congress that, as provided under 

15 existing law, students who attend an institution of higher 

16 education and reside in the jurisdiction of the institution 

17 while attending the institution should have the option of 

18 registering to vote in elections for Federal office in that 

19 jurisdiction or in the jurisdiction of their own domicile. 

20 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section shall apply with respect to elections held on 

22 or after January 1, 2020. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
166 

•S 549 IS

1 SEC. 1502. MINIMUM NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 

2 VOTERS AFFECTED BY POLLING PLACE 

3 CHANGES. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 302 of the Help Amer5 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082), as amended by 

6 section 701(a), is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub8 section (g); and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(f) MINIMUM NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR

12 VOTERS AFFECTED BY POLLING PLACE CHANGES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State assigns an indi14 vidual who is a registered voter in a State to a poll15 ing place with respect to an election for Federal of16 fice which is not the same polling place to which the 

17 individual was previously assigned with respect to 

18 the most recent election for Federal office in the 

19 State in which the individual was eligible to vote— 

20 ‘‘(A) the State shall notify the individual of 

21 the location of the polling place not later than 

22 7 days before the date of the election; or 

23 ‘‘(B) if the State makes such an assign24 ment fewer than 7 days before the date of the 

25 election and the individual appears on the date 

26 of the election at the polling place to which the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
167 

•S 549 IS

1 individual was previously assigned, the State 

2 shall make every reasonable effort to enable the 

3 individual to vote on the date of the election. 

4 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

5 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu6 ary 1, 2020.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(g) of 

8 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(g)), as redesignated by sub9 section (a) and as amended by section 701(b), is amended 

10 by striking ‘‘(d)(2) and (e)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(2), 

11 (e)(2), and (f)(2)’’. 

12 SEC. 1503. ELECTION DAY HOLIDAY. 

13 (a) TREATMENT OF ELECTION DAY IN SAME MAN14 NER AS LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY FOR PURPOSES OF FED15 ERAL EMPLOYMENT.—For purposes of any law relating 

16 to Federal employment, the Tuesday next after the first 

17 Monday in November in 2020 and each even-numbered 

18 year thereafter shall be treated in the same manner as 

19 a legal public holiday described in section 6103 of title 

20 5, United States Code. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO TREATMENT

22 OF DAY BY PRIVATE EMPLOYERS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that private employers in the United States should 

24 give their employees a day off on the Tuesday next after 

25 the first Monday in November in 2020 and each evenVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00167 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
168 

•S 549 IS

1 numbered year thereafter to enable the employees to cast 

2 votes in the elections held on that day. 

3 SEC. 1504. PERMITTING USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATE4 MENT TO MEET IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE5 MENTS FOR VOTING. 

6 (a) PERMITTING USE OF STATEMENT.—Title III of 

7 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et 

8 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303 the fol9 lowing new section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 303A. PERMITTING USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATE11 MENT TO MEET IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE12 MENTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) USE OF STATEMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub15 section (c), if a State has in effect a requirement 

16 that an individual present identification as a condi17 tion of receiving and casting a ballot in an election 

18 for Federal office, the State shall permit the indi19 vidual to meet the requirement— 

20 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual who de21 sires to vote in person, by presenting the appro22 priate State or local election official with a 

23 sworn written statement, signed by the indi24 vidual under penalty of perjury, attesting to the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
169 

•S 549 IS

1 individual’s identification and attesting that the 

2 individual is eligible to vote in the election; or 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who de4 sires to vote by mail, by submitting with the 

5 ballot the statement described in subparagraph 

6 (A). 

7 ‘‘(2) PROVIDING PRE-PRINTED COPY OF STATE8 MENT.—A State which is subject to paragraph (1) 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) prepare a pre-printed version of the 

11 statement described in paragraph (1)(A) which 

12 includes a blank space for an individual to pro13 vide a name and signature; 

14 ‘‘(B) make copies of the pre-printed 

15 version available at polling places for election 

16 officials to distribute to individuals who desire 

17 to vote in person; and 

18 ‘‘(C) include a copy of the pre-printed 

19 version with each blank absentee or other ballot 

20 transmitted to an individual who desires to vote 

21 by mail. 

22 ‘‘(b) REQUIRING USE OF REGULAR BALLOT.—An in23 dividual who presents or submits a sworn written state24 ment in accordance with subsection (a)(1) shall be perVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00169 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
170 

•S 549 IS

1 mitted to cast a regular ballot in the election in the same 

2 manner as an individual who presents identification. 

3 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR FIRST-TIME VOTERS REG4 ISTERING BY MAIL.—Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply 

5 with respect to any individual described in paragraph (1) 

6 of section 303(b) who is required to meet the requirements 

7 of paragraph (2) of such section.’’. 

8 (b) REQUIRING STATES TO INCLUDE INFORMATION

9 ON USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATEMENT IN VOTING IN10 FORMATION MATERIAL POSTED AT POLLING PLACES.— 

11 Section 302(b)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)), 

12 as amended by section 172(b) and section 302(b), is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara15 graph (G); 

16 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub17 paragraph (H) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(I) in the case of a State that has in ef21 fect a requirement that an individual present 

22 identification as a condition of receiving and 

23 casting a ballot in an election for Federal office, 

24 information on how an individual may meet 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
171 

•S 549 IS

1 such requirement by presenting a sworn written 

2 statement in accordance with section 303A.’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

4 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

5 to section 303 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 303A. Permitting use of sworn written statement to meet identification 

requirements.’’. 

6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

7 this section shall apply with respect to elections occurring 

8 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 1505. POSTAGE-FREE BALLOTS. 

10 (a) ABSENTEE BALLOTS CARRIED FREE OF POST11 AGE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 

13 United States Code, is amended by adding after sec14 tion 3406 the following: 

15 ‘‘§ 3407. Absentee ballots carried free of postage 

16 ‘‘(a) Any absentee ballot for any election shall be car17 ried expeditiously and free of postage. 

18 ‘‘(b) As used in this section, the term ‘absentee ballot’ 

19 does not include any ballot covered by section 3406.’’. 

20 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec21 tions for chapter 34 of such title is amended by in22 serting after the item relating to section 3406 the 

23 following: 

‘‘3407. Absentee ballots carried free of postage.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
172 

•S 549 IS

1 (3) REIMBURSEMENT.—Section 2401(c) of title 

2 39, United States Code, is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘3406’’ and inserting ‘‘3407’’. 

4 (b) USE BY STATES OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS

5 UNDER HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002 TO REIM6 BURSE POSTAL SERVICE.— 

7 (1) AUTHORIZING USE OF PAYMENTS.—Section 

8 251(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

9 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘as pro11 vided in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘as otherwise provided in this subsection’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(4) REIMBURSEMENT OF POSTAL SERVICE

16 FOR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH ABSENTEE BAL17 LOTS.—A State shall use a requirements payment to 

18 reimburse the United States Postal Service for the 

19 revenue which the Postal Service would have ob20 tained as the result of the mailing of absentee bal21 lots in the State but for section 3407 of title 39, 

22 United States Code.’’. 

23 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

24 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to the re25 quirements payments made to a State under part 1 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
173 

•S 549 IS

1 of subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote 

2 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.)— 

3 (A) for fiscal year 2019 or any previous 

4 fiscal year, but only to the extent that any such 

5 payment remains unobligated or unexpended by 

6 the State as of the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act; and 

8 (B) for fiscal year 2020 and each suc9 ceeding fiscal year. 

10 SEC. 1506. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS INCURRED BY 

11 STATES IN ESTABLISHING PROGRAM TO 

12 TRACK AND CONFIRM RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE 

13 BALLOTS. 

14 (a) REIMBURSEMENT.—Subtitle D of title II of the 

15 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15401 et seq.), 

16 as amended by section 1401(a), is further amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new part: 

18 ‘‘PART 8—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES 

19 FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING 

20 PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RE21 CEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS 

22 ‘‘SEC. 298. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 

23 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF ESTABLISHING PRO24 GRAM.—In accordance with this section, the Commission 

25 shall make a payment to a State to reimburse the State 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
174 

•S 549 IS

1 for the costs incurred in establishing, if the State so choos2 es to establish, an absentee ballot tracking program with 

3 respect to elections for Federal office held in the State 

4 (including costs incurred prior to the date of the enact5 ment of this part). 

6 ‘‘(b) ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKING PROGRAM DE7 SCRIBED.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM DESCRIBED.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this part, an ‘ab10 sentee ballot tracking program’ is a program to 

11 track and confirm the receipt of absentee bal12 lots in an election for Federal office under 

13 which the State or local election official respon14 sible for the receipt of voted absentee ballots in 

15 the election carries out procedures to track and 

16 confirm the receipt of such ballots, and makes 

17 information on the receipt of such ballots avail18 able to the individual who cast the ballot, by 

19 means of online access using the Internet site 

20 of the official’s office. 

21 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION ON WHETHER VOTE

22 WAS COUNTED.—The information referred to 

23 under subparagraph (A) with respect to the re24 ceipt of an absentee ballot shall include infor25 mation regarding whether the vote cast on the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
175 

•S 549 IS

1 ballot was counted, and, in the case of a vote 

2 which was not counted, the reasons therefor. 

3 ‘‘(2) USE OF TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER

4 BY OFFICIALS WITHOUT INTERNET SITE.—A pro5 gram established by a State or local election official 

6 whose office does not have an Internet site may 

7 meet the description of a program under paragraph 

8 (1) if the official has established a toll-free telephone 

9 number that may be used by an individual who cast 

10 an absentee ballot to obtain the information on the 

11 receipt of the voted absentee ballot as provided 

12 under such paragraph. 

13 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND COSTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 

15 receive a payment under this section, a State shall 

16 submit to the Commission a statement containing— 

17 ‘‘(A) a certification that the State has es18 tablished an absentee ballot tracking program 

19 with respect to elections for Federal office held 

20 in the State; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a statement of the costs incurred by 

22 the State in establishing the program. 

23 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 

24 payment made to a State under this section shall be 

25 equal to the costs incurred by the State in estabVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00175 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
176 

•S 549 IS

1 lishing the absentee ballot tracking program, as set 

2 forth in the statement submitted under paragraph 

3 (1), except that such amount may not exceed the 

4 product of— 

5 ‘‘(A) the number of jurisdictions in the 

6 State which are responsible for operating the 

7 program; and 

8 ‘‘(B) $3,000. 

9 ‘‘(3) LIMIT ON NUMBER OF PAYMENTS RE10 CEIVED.—A State may not receive more than one 

11 payment under this part. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 298A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 

14 appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2020 and 

15 each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary 

16 for payments under this part. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any 

18 amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under 

19 this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

21 of such Act, as amended by section 1401(b), is further 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
177 

•S 549 IS

1 amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 

2 subtitle D of title II the following: 

‘‘PART 8—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE

BALLOTS

‘‘Sec. 298. Payments to States. 

‘‘Sec. 298A. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 

3 SEC. 1507. VOTER INFORMATION RESPONSE SYSTEMS AND 

4 HOTLINE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF SYSTEMS

6 AND SERVICES.— 

7 (1) STATE-BASED RESPONSE SYSTEMS.—The 

8 Attorney General shall coordinate the establishment 

9 of a State-based response system for responding to 

10 questions and complaints from individuals voting or 

11 seeking to vote, or registering to vote or seeking to 

12 register to vote, in elections for Federal office. Such 

13 system shall provide— 

14 (A) State-specific, same-day, and imme15 diate assistance to such individuals, including 

16 information on how to register to vote, the loca17 tion and hours of operation of polling places, 

18 and how to obtain absentee ballots; and 

19 (B) State-specific, same-day, and imme20 diate assistance to individuals encountering 

21 problems with registering to vote or voting, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00177 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
178 

•S 549 IS

1 cluding individuals encountering intimidation or 

2 deceptive practices. 

3 (2) HOTLINE.—The Attorney General, in con4 sultation with State election officials, shall establish 

5 and operate a toll-free telephone service, using a 

6 telephone number that is accessible throughout the 

7 United States and that uses easily identifiable nu8 merals, through which individuals throughout the 

9 United States— 

10 (A) may connect directly to the State11 based response system described in paragraph 

12 (1) with respect to the State involved; 

13 (B) may obtain information on voting in 

14 elections for Federal office, including informa15 tion on how to register to vote in such elections, 

16 the locations and hours of operation of polling 

17 places, and how to obtain absentee ballots; and 

18 (C) may report information to the Attor19 ney General on problems encountered in reg20 istering to vote or voting, including incidences 

21 of voter intimidation or suppression. 

22 (3) COLLABORATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL

23 ELECTION OFFICIALS.— 

24 (A) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION FROM

25 STATES.—The Attorney General shall coordiVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00178 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
179 

•S 549 IS

1 nate the collection of information on State and 

2 local election laws and policies, including infor3 mation on the statewide computerized voter reg4 istration lists maintained under title III of the 

5 Help America Vote Act of 2002, so that indi6 viduals who contact the free telephone service 

7 established under paragraph (2) on the date of 

8 an election for Federal office may receive an 

9 immediate response on that day. 

10 (B) FORWARDING QUESTIONS AND COM11 PLAINTS TO STATES.—If an individual contacts 

12 the free telephone service established under 

13 paragraph (2) on the date of an election for 

14 Federal office with a question or complaint with 

15 respect to a particular State or jurisdiction 

16 within a State, the Attorney General shall for17 ward the question or complaint immediately to 

18 the appropriate election official of the State or 

19 jurisdiction so that the official may answer the 

20 question or remedy the complaint on that date. 

21 (4) CONSULTATION REQUIREMENTS FOR DE22 VELOPMENT OF SYSTEMS AND SERVICES.—The At23 torney General shall ensure that the State-based re24 sponse system under paragraph (1) and the free 

25 telephone service under paragraph (2) are each deVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00179 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
180 

•S 549 IS

1 veloped in consultation with civil rights organiza2 tions, voting rights groups, State and local election 

3 officials, voter protection groups, and other inter4 ested community organizations, especially those that 

5 have experience in the operation of similar systems 

6 and services. 

7 (b) USE OF SERVICE BY INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS8 ABILITIES AND INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH

9 LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.—The Attorney General shall 

10 design and operate the telephone service established under 

11 this section in a manner that ensures that individuals with 

12 disabilities are fully able to use the service, and that as13 sistance is provided in any language in which the State 

14 (or any jurisdiction in the State) is required to provide 

15 election materials under section 203 of the Voting Rights 

16 Act of 1965. 

17 (c) VOTER HOTLINE TASK FORCE.— 

18 (1) APPOINTMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

19 The Attorney General shall appoint individuals (in 

20 such number as the Attorney General considers ap21 propriate but in no event fewer than 3) to serve on 

22 a Voter Hotline Task Force to provide ongoing anal23 ysis and assessment of the operation of the tele24 phone service established under this section, and 

25 shall give special consideration in making appointVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00180 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
181 

•S 549 IS

1 ments to the Task Force to individuals who rep2 resent civil rights organizations. At least one mem3 ber of the Task Force shall be a representative of 

4 an organization promoting voting rights or civil 

5 rights which has experience in the operation of simi6 lar telephone services or in protecting the rights of 

7 individuals to vote, especially individuals who are 

8 members of racial, ethnic, or linguistic minorities or 

9 of communities who have been adversely affected by 

10 efforts to suppress voting rights. 

11 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual shall be eligi12 ble to serve on the Task Force under this subsection 

13 if the individual meets such criteria as the Attorney 

14 General may establish, except that an individual may 

15 not serve on the Task Force if the individual has 

16 been convicted of any criminal offense relating to 

17 voter intimidation or voter suppression. 

18 (3) TERM OF SERVICE.—An individual ap19 pointed to the Task Force shall serve a single term 

20 of 2 years, except that the initial terms of the mem21 bers first appointed to the Task Force shall be stag22 gered so that there are at least 3 individuals serving 

23 on the Task Force during each year. A vacancy in 

24 the membership of the Task Force shall be filled in 

25 the same manner as the original appointment. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
182 

•S 549 IS

1 (4) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.—Mem2 bers of the Task Force shall serve without pay, but 

3 shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in 

4 lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable 

5 provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 

6 5, United States Code. 

7 (d) BI-ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 

8 than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Attorney 

9 General shall submit a report to Congress on the operation 

10 of the telephone service established under this section dur11 ing the previous 2 years, and shall include in the report— 

12 (1) an enumeration of the number and type of 

13 calls that were received by the service; 

14 (2) a compilation and description of the reports 

15 made to the service by individuals citing instances of 

16 voter intimidation or suppression; 

17 (3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the 

18 service in making information available to all house19 holds in the United States with telephone service; 

20 (4) any recommendations developed by the 

21 Task Force established under subsection (c) with re22 spect to how voting systems may be maintained or 

23 upgraded to better accommodate voters and better 

24 ensure the integrity of elections, including but not 

25 limited to identifying how to eliminate coordinated 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
183 

•S 549 IS

1 voter suppression efforts and how to establish effec2 tive mechanisms for distributing updates on changes 

3 to voting requirements; and 

4 (5) any recommendations on best practices for 

5 the State-based response systems established under 

6 subsection (a)(1). 

7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 

9 be appropriated to the Attorney General for fiscal 

10 year 2019 and each succeeding fiscal year such sums 

11 as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

12 (2) SET-ASIDE FOR OUTREACH.—Of the 

13 amounts appropriated to carry out this section for a 

14 fiscal year pursuant to the authorization under para15 graph (1), not less than 15 percent shall be used for 

16 outreach activities to make the public aware of the 

17 availability of the telephone service established under 

18 this section, with an emphasis on outreach to indi19 viduals with disabilities and individuals with limited 

20 proficiency in the English language. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
184 

•S 549 IS

1 Subtitle B—Improvements in Oper2 ation of Election Assistance 

3 Commission 

4 SEC. 1511. REAUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

5 COMMISSION. 

6 Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

7 (52 U.S.C. 20930) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘for each of the fiscal years 

9 2003 through 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 

10 2019 and each succeeding fiscal year’’; and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘(but not to exceed $10,000,000 

12 for each such year)’’. 

13 SEC. 1512. REQUIRING STATES TO PARTICIPATE IN POST14 GENERAL ELECTION SURVEYS. 

15 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Title III of the Help America 

16 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended 

17 by section 1504(a), is further amended by inserting after 

18 section 303A the following new section: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 303B. REQUIRING PARTICIPATION IN POST-GENERAL 

20 ELECTION SURVEYS. 

21 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall furnish to the 

22 Commission such information as the Commission may re23 quest for purposes of conducting any post-election survey 

24 of the States with respect to the administration of a regu25 larly scheduled general election for Federal office. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
185 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

2 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

3 Federal office held in November 2020 and any succeeding 

4 election.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

6 of such Act, as amended by section 1504(c), is further 

7 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

8 303A the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 303B. Requiring participation in post-general election surveys.’’. 

9 SEC. 1513. REPORTS BY NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STAND10 ARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ON USE OF FUNDS 

11 TRANSFERRED FROM ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

12 COMMISSION. 

13 (a) REQUIRING REPORTS ON USE OF FUNDS AS

14 CONDITION OF RECEIPT.—Section 231 of the Help Amer15 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20971) is amended by 

16 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(e) REPORT ON USE OF FUNDS TRANSFERRED

18 FROM COMMISSION.—To the extent that funds are trans19 ferred from the Commission to the Director of the Na20 tional Institute of Standards and Technology for purposes 

21 of carrying out this section during any fiscal year, the Di22 rector may not use such funds unless the Director certifies 

23 at the time of transfer that the Director will submit a re24 port to the Commission not later than 90 days after the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
186 

•S 549 IS

1 end of the fiscal year detailing how the Director used such 

2 funds during the year.’’. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

4 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2020 

5 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

6 SEC. 1514. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS 

7 OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION. 

8 (a) ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

9 AND CYBERSECURITY.—Not later than December 31, 

10 2019, the Election Assistance Commission shall carry out 

11 an assessment of the security and effectiveness of the 

12 Commission’s information technology systems, including 

13 the cybersecurity of such systems. 

14 (b) IMPROVEMENTS TO ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT

15 PROCEDURES.— 

16 (1) REVIEW OF PROCEDURES.—The Election 

17 Assistance Commission shall carry out a review of 

18 the effectiveness and efficiency of the State-based 

19 administrative complaint procedures established and 

20 maintained under section 402 of the Help America 

21 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21112) for the inves22 tigation and resolution of allegations of violations of 

23 title III of such Act. 

24 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS TO STREAMLINE PRO25 CEDURES.—Not later than December 31, 2019, the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
187 

•S 549 IS

1 Commission shall submit to Congress a report on 

2 the review carried out under paragraph (1), and 

3 shall include in the report such recommendations as 

4 the Commission considers appropriate to streamline 

5 and improve the procedures which are the subject of 

6 the review. 

7 SEC. 1515. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSIST8 ANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERN9 MENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205 of the Help America 

11 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20925) is amended by strik12 ing subsection (e). 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contracts entered 

15 into by the Election Assistance Commission on or after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 Subtitle C—Miscellaneous 

18 Provisions 

19 SEC. 1521. APPLICATION OF LAWS TO COMMONWEALTH OF 

20 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 

21 (a) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF

22 1993.—Section 3(4) of the National Voter Registration 

23 Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20502(4)) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘States and the District of Columbia’’ and inserting 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
188 

•S 549 IS

1 ‘‘States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth 

2 of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 

3 (b) HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.— 

4 (1) COVERAGE OF COMMONWEALTH OF THE

5 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.—Section 901 of the 

6 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141) 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘and the United States Vir8 gin Islands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin 

9 Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

10 Mariana Islands’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO HELP

12 AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Such Act is further 

13 amended as follows: 

14 (A) The second sentence of section 

15 213(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 20943(a)(2)) is amended 

16 by striking ‘‘and American Samoa’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 

18 of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 

19 (B) Section 252(c)(2) (52 U.S.C. 

20 21002(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘or the 

21 United States Virgin Islands’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘the United States Virgin Islands, or the Com23 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 

24 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

25 CONSULTATION OF HELP AMERICA VOTE FOUNDAVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Feb 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00188 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S549.IS S549

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
189 

•S 549 IS

1 TION WITH LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS.—Section 

2 90102(c) of title 36, United States Code, is amend3 ed by striking ‘‘and the United States Virgin Is4 lands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin Is5 lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar6 iana Islands’’. 

7 SEC. 1522. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSIST8 ANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERN9 MENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205 of the Help America 

11 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20925) is amended by strik12 ing subsection (e). 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contracts entered 

15 into by the Election Assistance Commission on or after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 1523. NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically provided, 

19 nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize or re20 quire conduct prohibited under any of the following laws, 

21 or to supersede, restrict, or limit the application of such 

22 laws: 

23 (1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

24 10301 et seq.). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
190 

•S 549 IS

1 (2) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 

2 Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20101 et seq.). 

3 (3) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab4 sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

5 (4) The National Voter Registration Act of 

6 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

7 (5) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

8 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

9 (6) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

10 701 et seq.). 

11 (b) NO EFFECT ON PRECLEARANCE OR OTHER RE12 QUIREMENTS UNDER VOTING RIGHTS ACT.—The ap13 proval by any person of a payment or grant application 

14 under this Act, or any other action taken by any person 

15 under this Act, shall not be considered to have any effect 

16 on requirements for preclearance under section 5 of the 

17 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10304) or any other 

18 requirements of such Act. 

19 TITLE XVI—SEVERABILITY 

20 SEC. 1601. SEVERABILITY. 

21 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

22 this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment 

23 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu24 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

25 by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
191 

•S 549 IS

1 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

2 affected by the holding. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS