I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10215 

To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to treat the lease 

for a dwelling unit under certain federally assisted housing programs 

as a simultaneous application for voter registration in elections for Federal office, to designate owners of dwelling units under certain federally 

assisted housing programs as voter registration agencies for purposes 

of such Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois (for himself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. SCANLON, 

Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. 

POCAN, Mr. TONKO, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. SOTO, Mr. LIEU, 

Ms. TLAIB, Ms. STANSBURY, and Ms. BARRAGA ́N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to 

treat the lease for a dwelling unit under certain federally 

assisted housing programs as a simultaneous application 

for voter registration in elections for Federal office, to 

designate owners of dwelling units under certain federally 

assisted housing programs as voter registration agencies 

for purposes of such Act, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Our Homes, Our Votes 

3 Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PROMOTING VOTER REGISTRATION FOR RESI5 DENTS OF UNITS UNDER CERTAIN FEDER6 ALLY ASSISTED HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) TREATMENT OF LEASE AS SIMULTANEOUS AP8 PLICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The National Voter Reg10 istration Act of 1993 is amended by inserting after 

11 section 5 (52 U.S.C. 20504) the following new sec12 tion: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 5A. SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REG14 ISTRATION AND LEASE FOR PHA-ASSISTED 

15 HOUSING. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

17 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRA18 TION.—Each lease and annual income recertification 

19 for a PHA-assisted dwelling unit (as such term is 

20 defined in subsection (h)) submitted to the applica21 ble public housing agency for such unit shall serve 

22 as an application for voter registration with respect 

23 to elections for Federal office for each lessee who 

24 signs the lease unless the lessee fails to sign the 

25 voter registration application. 


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1 ‘‘(2) UPDATE.—An application for voter reg2 istration submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 

3 be considered as updating any previous voter reg4 istration by the applicant. 

5 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON USE OF INFORMATION.—No in6 formation relating to the failure of a lessee of PHA-as7 sisted dwelling unit to sign a voter registration application 

8 may be used for any purpose other than voter registration. 

9 ‘‘(c) FORMS AND PROCEDURES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) INCLUSION.—Each owner of a PHA-as11 sisted dwelling unit shall include a voter registration 

12 application form for elections for Federal office as 

13 part of a lease for such dwelling unit. 

14 ‘‘(2) INCLUDED INFORMATION.—The voter reg15 istration application portion of a lease for a PHA16 assisted dwelling unit— 

17 ‘‘(A) may not require any information that 

18 duplicates information required in the lease por19 tion of the form (other than a second signature 

20 or other information necessary under subpara21 graph (C)); 

22 ‘‘(B) may require only the minimum 

23 amount of information necessary to— 

24 ‘‘(i) prevent duplicate voter registra25 tions; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) enable State election officials to 

2 assess the eligibility of the applicant and to 

3 administer voter registration and other 

4 parts of the election process; 

5 ‘‘(C) shall include a statement that— 

6 ‘‘(i) states each eligibility requirement 

7 (including citizenship); 

8 ‘‘(ii) contains an attestation that the 

9 applicant meets each such requirement; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iii) requires the signature of the ap12 plicant, under penalty of perjury; 

13 ‘‘(D) shall include, in print that is identical 

14 to that used in the attestation portion of the 

15 application— 

16 ‘‘(i) the information required in sub17 paragraphs (A) and (B) of section 8(a)(5) 

18 of this Act; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a statement that, if an applicant 

20 declines to register to vote, the fact that 

21 the applicant has declined to register will 

22 remain confidential and will be used only 

23 for voter registration purposes; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) a statement that if an applicant 

25 does register to vote, the office at which 


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1 the applicant submits a voter registration 

2 application will remain confidential and 

3 will be used only for voter registration pur4 poses; and 

5 ‘‘(E) shall be made available (as submitted 

6 by the applicant, or in machine readable or 

7 other format) to the appropriate State election 

8 official as provided by State law. 

9 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS TO ENSURE COMPLI10 ANCE WITH VOTER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) TRAINING FOR EMPLOYEES.—The owner 

12 of a PHA-assisted dwelling unit shall ensure that its 

13 employees receive annual training on voter registra14 tion procedures applicable to the PHA-assisted 

15 dwelling unit under this Act. 

16 ‘‘(2) LANGUAGE ACCESS FOR CITIZENS WITH

17 LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.—In accordance 

18 with section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 

19 (52 U.S.C. 10503), the owner of a PHA-assisted 

20 dwelling unit shall ensure that its employees provide 

21 the services required under this Act in a manner 

22 which ensures that individuals who are members of 

23 a single language minority and are limited-English 

24 proficient receive such services, including the por25 tions of the leasing document which serve as voter 


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1 registration materials and the assistance provided by 

2 the owner in the administration of such materials, in 

3 the language of the applicable minority group as well 

4 as in the English language. 

5 ‘‘(3) COMPLIANCE FOR PRIVATE LANDLORDS OF

6 SUBSIDIZED HOUSING.—The owner of a PHA-as7 sisted dwelling unit described in subsection 

8 (h)(1)(B) shall include a clause in its contract with 

9 the applicable public housing agency that mandates 

10 compliance with voter registration duties under this 

11 section or any other Federal law, rule, or regulation, 

12 including Executive Order 14019. Failure to comply 

13 may result in penalties or sanctions under the De14 partment of Housing and Urban Development con15 tract. 

16 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT AND OVERSIGHT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL RESPONSI18 BILITY.—The chief State election official designated 

19 under section 10 to be responsible for coordination 

20 of State responsibilities under this Act, in consulta21 tion with the Election Assistance Commission and 

22 the Attorney General shall oversee the compliance of 

23 owners of PHA-assisted dwelling units with the re24 quirements of this section, including requirements 


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1 for the timely transmittal of voter registration mate2 rials. 

3 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR NONCOMPLI4 ANCE.—An owner of a PHA-assisted dwelling unit 

5 who fails to comply with this section, including fail6 ing to transmit voter registration materials to the 

7 appropriate election offices in a timely manner, shall 

8 be subject to the criminal penalties described in sec9 tion 12. 

10 ‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS TO REPORT ON COMPLIANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) BIANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR

12 OWNERS OF PHA-ASSISTED DWELLING UNITS.—The 

13 owner of a PHA-assisted dwelling unit shall submit 

14 biannual reports to chief State election official des15 ignated under section 10 to be responsible for co16 ordination of State responsibilities under this Act 

17 detailing the compliance of the unit with the applica18 ble provisions of this Act, including the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) REGISTERING VOTERS.—The number 

20 of voter registration applications submitted on 

21 behalf of eligible tenants residing in the unit. 

22 ‘‘(B) TRAINING EMPLOYEES.—Documenta23 tion of staff participation in the annual voter 

24 registration training mandated under subsection 

25 (d)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(C) LANGUAGE ACCESS SUPPORT.—A 

2 summary of language access services provided 

3 to non-English-speaking tenants who are eligi4 ble to register to vote, as required under sub5 section (d)(2). 

6 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION WITH STATE ELECTION

7 OFFICIALS.—The owner of a PHA-assisted dwelling 

8 unit shall coordinate with State election officials to 

9 ensure that the owner’s voter registration activities 

10 comply with the requirements of this Act, and shall, 

11 in accordance with such deadlines as may be estab12 lished by the chief State election official designated 

13 under section 10 to be responsible for coordination 

14 of State responsibilities under this Act— 

15 ‘‘(A) certify to such official that the unit 

16 has processed all voter registration applications 

17 submitted to the owner in a timely manner and 

18 in accordance with State law; and 

19 ‘‘(B) submit to such official evidence of the 

20 owner’s ongoing compliance with all applicable 

21 voter registration provisions of this Act. 

22 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON REQUIRE23 MENTS IN REPORTS TO COMMISSION.—The biannual 

24 reports submitted by the State election official to the 

25 Election Assistance Commission under the Help 


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1 America Vote Act of 2002 shall specifically include 

2 sections detailing the efforts of owners of PHA-as3 sisted dwelling units to ensure that all eligible ten4 ants have access to voter registration forms and 

5 services under this section, as well as their compli6 ance with the registration requirements outlined in 

7 this section. 

8 ‘‘(g) TRANSMITTAL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) BY OWNER.—In the case of lease or an10 nual income recertification for a PHA-assisted dwell11 ing unit described in subsection (h)(1)(B), the owner 

12 of the dwelling unit shall transmit a completed voter 

13 registration portion of a lease or annual income re14 certification to the public housing agency providing 

15 assistance with respect to such unit not later than 

16 10 days after the date of acceptance. 

17 ‘‘(2) BY PHA.—Subject to paragraph (3), a 

18 completed voter registration portion of a lease or an19 nual income recertification for a PHA-assisted dwell20 ing unit accepted by the public housing agency as 

21 owner of such a dwelling unit, or pursuant to para22 graph (1), shall be transmitted to the appropriate 

23 State election official not later than 10 days after 

24 the date of acceptance. 


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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED WITHIN 5 DAYS

2 OF REGISTRATION DEADLINE.—If a registration ap3 plication is accepted by a public housing agency pur4 suant to paragraph (2) within 5 days before the last 

5 day for registration to vote in an election, the appli6 cation shall be transmitted to the appropriate State 

7 election official not later than 5 days after the date 

8 of acceptance. 

9 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) PHA-ASSISTED DWELLING UNIT.—The 

11 term ‘PHA-assisted dwelling unit’ means a dwelling 

12 unit— 

13 ‘‘(A) in public housing, as such term is de14 fined in section 3(b) of the United States Hous15 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)); or 

16 ‘‘(B) that is assisted under the program 

17 for tenant-based rental assistance under section 

18 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

19 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), including the program 

20 under paragraph (13) of such section 8(o). 

21 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCY.—The term 

22 ‘public housing agency’ has the meaning given such 

23 term in section 3(b) of the United States Housing 

24 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 


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1 ‘‘(3) OWNER.—The term ‘owner’ means, with 

2 respect to a PHA-assisted dwelling unit— 

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of a unit described in 

4 paragraph (1)(A) of this subsection, the public 

5 housing agency that owns or operates such unit; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(B) in the case of a unit described in 

8 paragraph (1)(B) of this subsection, the private 

9 person or entity having the legal right to lease 

10 such unit.’’. 

11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

12 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to leases 

13 entered into on or after the expiration of the 90-day 

14 period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 (b) TREATMENT OF OWNERS OF UNITS AS VOTER

17 REGISTRATION AGENCIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7 of such Act (52 

19 U.S.C. 20506) is amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (a)(2)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

24 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

25 and’’; and 


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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) each owner (as such term is defined in 

4 subsection (e)) of a dwelling unit assisted under a 

5 covered federally assisted housing program (as such 

6 term is defined in such subsection) located within 

7 such State, subject to section 5A in the case of an 

8 owner described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub9 section (e)(1), except that such an owner shall be a 

10 voter registration agency for purposes of this section 

11 only with respect to lessees of such dwelling units of 

12 such owner located within such State.’’; and 

13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

14 subsection: 

15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) COVERED FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING

17 PROGRAM.—The term ‘covered federally assisted 

18 housing program’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) the public housing program under 

20 title I of the United States Housing Act of 

21 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(B) the programs for rental housing as23 sistance under section 8 of the United States 

24 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), includ25 ing— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the program for tenant-based 

2 rental assistance under subsection (o) of 

3 such section 8; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the program for project-based 

5 rental assistance under such section 8; 

6 ‘‘(C) the program for supportive housing 

7 for the elderly under section 202 of the Hous8 ing Act of 1959 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); 

9 ‘‘(D) the program for supportive housing 

10 for persons with disabilities under section 811 

11 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

12 Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 8013); 

13 ‘‘(E) the program for housing opportuni14 ties for persons with AIDS under subtitle D of 

15 title VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez National 

16 Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et 

17 seq.); 

18 ‘‘(F) the program under subtitle A of title 

19 IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(G) the HOME Investment Partnerships 

22 Program under subtitle A of title II of the 

23 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Hous24 ing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(H) the program under paragraph (3) of 

2 section 221(d) of the National Housing Act (12 

3 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(3)) that bears interest at a 

4 rate determined under the proviso under para5 graph (5) of such section 221(d); 

6 ‘‘(I) the rental assistance program under 

7 section 236 of the National Housing Act (12 

8 U.S.C. 1715z–1); 

9 ‘‘(J) the programs for rural housing assist10 ance provided under sections 514, 515, 516, 

11 522, and 538 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

12 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, 1486, 1490m, and 1490p– 

13 2); 

14 ‘‘(K) the low income housing tax credit 

15 program under section 42 of the Internal Rev16 enue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 42); 

17 ‘‘(L) the program for rural housing vouch18 ers under section 542 of the Housing Act of 

19 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r); 

20 ‘‘(M) the program for assistance from the 

21 Housing Trust Fund established under section 

22 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Fi23 nancial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 

24 U.S.C. 4568); and 


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1 ‘‘(N) the program for assistance for Indian 

2 tribes and tribally designated housing entities 

3 authorized under title I of the Native American 

4 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

5 of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(2) OWNER.—The term ‘owner’ means, with 

7 respect to a dwelling unit assisted under a covered 

8 federally assisted housing program— 

9 ‘‘(A) in the case of a dwelling unit assisted 

10 under a program specified in subparagraph (A) 

11 or (B)(1) of paragraph (1) of this subsection, 

12 the public housing agency that owns or operates 

13 such unit or provides rental assistance with re14 spect to such unit, as applicable; or 

15 ‘‘(B) in the case of a dwelling unit assisted 

16 under any other covered federally assisted hous17 ing program, the private person or entity hav18 ing the legal right to lease such unit.’’. 

19 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

20 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to assist21 ance provided on or after the expiration of the 90- 

22 day period beginning on the date of the enactment 

23 of this Act. 

Æ 


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