I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 11 

To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and reduce the influence 

of big money in politics, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 18, 2023 

Mr. SARBANES (for himself, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. MORELLE, and Ms. SEWELL) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Science, Space, and Technology, Oversight and Accountability, Financial Services, Ways and Means, Natural Resources, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 

case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 

the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and reduce 

the influence of big money in politics, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to Vote Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION OF ACT INTO DIVISIONS; TABLE OF 

2 CONTENTS. 

3 (a) DIVISIONS.—This Act is organized into divisions 

4 as follows: 

5 (1) Division A—Voter Access. 

6 (2) Division B—Election Integrity. 

7 (3) Division C—Civic Participation and Em8 powerment. 

9 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

10 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Organization of Act into divisions; table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Findings of general constitutional authority. 

Sec. 4. Standards for judicial review. 

Sec. 5. Severability. 

DIVISION A—VOTER ACCESS 

TITLE I—ELECTION MODERNIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION 

Sec. 1000. Short title; statement of policy. 

Subtitle A—Voter Registration Modernization 

Sec. 1000A. Short title. 

PART 1—AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION

Sec. 1001. Short title; findings and purpose. 

Sec. 1002. Automatic registration of eligible individuals. 

Sec. 1003. Voter protection and security in automatic registration. 

Sec. 1004. Payments and grants. 

Sec. 1005. Miscellaneous provisions. 

Sec. 1006. Definitions. 

Sec. 1007. Effective date. 

PART 2—ELECTION DAY AS LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY

Sec. 1011. Election day as legal public holiday. 

PART 3—PROMOTING INTERNET REGISTRATION

Sec. 1021. Requiring availability of internet for voter registration. 

Sec. 1022. Use of internet to update registration information. 

Sec. 1023. Provision of election information by electronic mail to individuals 

registered to vote. 


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Sec. 1024. Clarification of requirement regarding necessary information to 

show eligibility to vote. 

Sec. 1025. Prohibiting State from requiring applicants to provide more than 

last 4 digits of social security number. 

Sec. 1026. Application of rules to certain exempt States. 

Sec. 1027. Report on data collection relating to online voter registration systems. 

Sec. 1028. Permitting voter registration application form to serve as application 

for absentee ballot. 

Sec. 1029. Effective date. 

PART 4—SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION

Sec. 1031. Same-day registration. 

Sec. 1032. Ensuring pre-election registration deadlines are consistent with timing of legal public holidays. 

PART 5—STREAMLINE VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION, ACCESS, AND

PRIVACY

Sec. 1041. Authorizing the dissemination of voter registration information displays following naturalization ceremonies. 

Sec. 1042. Inclusion of voter registration information with certain leases and 

vouchers for federally assisted rental housing and mortgage applications. 

Sec. 1043. Acceptance of voter registration applications from individuals under 

18 years of age. 

Sec. 1044. Requiring States to establish and operate voter privacy programs. 

PART 6—FUNDING SUPPORT TO STATES FOR COMPLIANCE

Sec. 1051. Availability of requirements payments under HAVA to cover costs 

of compliance with new requirements. 

Subtitle B—Access to Voting for Individuals With Disabilities 

Sec. 1101. Requirements for States to promote access to voter registration and 

voting for individuals with disabilities. 

Sec. 1102. Establishment and maintenance of State accessible election websites. 

Sec. 1103. Protections for in-person voting for individuals with disabilities and 

older individuals. 

Sec. 1104. Protections for individuals subject to guardianship. 

Sec. 1105. Expansion and reauthorization of grant program to assure voting 

access for individuals with disabilities. 

Sec. 1106. Pilot programs for enabling individuals with disabilities to register 

to vote privately and independently at residences. 

Sec. 1107. GAO analysis and report on voting access for individuals with disabilities. 

Subtitle C—Early Voting 

Sec. 1201. Early voting. 

Subtitle D—Voting by Mail 

Sec. 1301. Voting by mail. 

Sec. 1302. Balloting materials tracking program. 

Sec. 1303. Election mail and delivery improvements. 


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Sec. 1304. Carriage of election mail. 

Sec. 1305. Requiring States to provide secured drop boxes for voted ballots in 

elections for Federal office. 

Subtitle E—Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters 

Sec. 1401. Pre-election reports on availability and transmission of absentee ballots. 

Sec. 1402. Enforcement. 

Sec. 1403. Transmission requirements; repeal of waiver provision. 

Sec. 1404. Use of single absentee ballot application for subsequent elections. 

Sec. 1405. Extending guarantee of residency for voting purposes to family 

members of absent military personnel. 

Sec. 1406. Technical clarifications to conform to Military and Overseas Voter 

Empowerment Act amendments related to the Federal write-in 

absentee ballot. 

Sec. 1407. Treatment of postcard registration requests. 

Sec. 1408. Presidential designee report on voter disenfranchisement. 

Sec. 1409. Effective date. 

Subtitle F—Enhancement of Enforcement 

Sec. 1501. Enhancement of enforcement of Help America Vote Act of 2002. 

Subtitle G—Promoting Voter Access Through Election Administration 

Modernization Improvements 

PART 1—PROMOTING VOTER ACCESS

Sec. 1601. Minimum notification requirements for voters affected by polling 

place changes. 

Sec. 1602. Applicability to Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

Sec. 1603. Elimination of 14-day time period between general election and runoff election for Federal elections in the Virgin Islands and 

Guam. 

Sec. 1604. Application of Federal election administration laws to territories of 

the United States. 

Sec. 1605. Application of Federal voter protection laws to territories of the 

United States. 

Sec. 1606. Ensuring equitable and efficient operation of polling places. 

Sec. 1607. Prohibiting States from restricting curbside voting. 

PART 2—IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE

COMMISSION

Sec. 1611. Reauthorization of Election Assistance Commission. 

Sec. 1612. Recommendations to improve operations of Election Assistance 

Commission. 

Sec. 1613. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain 

government contracting requirements. 

PART 3—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 1621. Definition of election for Federal office. 

Sec. 1622. No effect on other laws. 

Sec. 1623. Clarification of exemption for States without voter registration. 

Sec. 1624. Clarification of exemption for States which do not collect telephone 

information. 


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Subtitle H—Democracy Restoration 

Sec. 1701. Short title. 

Sec. 1702. Findings. 

Sec. 1703. Rights of citizens. 

Sec. 1704. Enforcement. 

Sec. 1705. Notification of restoration of voting rights. 

Sec. 1706. Definitions. 

Sec. 1707. Relation to other laws. 

Sec. 1708. Federal prison funds. 

Sec. 1709. Effective date. 

Subtitle I—Voter Identification and Allowable Alternatives 

Sec. 1801. Requirements for voter identification. 

Subtitle J—Voter List Maintenance Procedures 

PART 1—VOTER CAGING PROHIBITED

Sec. 1901. Voter caging prohibited. 

PART 2—SAVING ELIGIBLE VOTERS FROM VOTER PURGING

Sec. 1911. Conditions for removal of voters from list of registered voters. 

Subtitle K—Severability 

Sec. 1921. Severability. 

DIVISION B—ELECTION INTEGRITY 

TITLE II—PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH VOTER 

REGISTRATION 

Sec. 2001. Prohibiting hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration. 

Sec. 2002. Establishment of best practices. 

TITLE III—PREVENTING ELECTION SUBVERSION 

Subtitle A—Restrictions on Removal of Election Administrators 

Sec. 3001. Restrictions on removal of local election administrators in administration of elections for Federal office. 

Subtitle B—Increased Protections for Election Workers 

Sec. 3101. Harassment of election workers prohibited. 

Sec. 3102. Protection of election workers. 

Subtitle C—Prohibiting Deceptive Practices and Preventing Voter 

Intimidation 

Sec. 3201. Short title. 

Sec. 3202. Prohibition on deceptive practices in Federal elections. 

Sec. 3203. Corrective action. 

Sec. 3204. Reports to Congress. 

Sec. 3205. Private rights of action by election officials. 


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Sec. 3206. Making intimidation of tabulation, canvass, and certification efforts 

a crime. 

Subtitle D—Protection of Election Records and Election Infrastructure 

Sec. 3301. Strengthen protections for Federal election records. 

Sec. 3302. Penalties; inspection; nondisclosure; jurisdiction. 

Sec. 3303. Judicial review to ensure compliance. 

Subtitle E—Judicial Protection of the Right To Vote and Non-Partisan Vote 

Tabulation 

PART 1—RIGHT TO VOTE ACT

Sec. 3401. Short title. 

Sec. 3402. Undue burdens on the ability to vote in elections for Federal office 

prohibited. 

Sec. 3403. Judicial review. 

Sec. 3404. Definitions. 

Sec. 3405. Rules of construction. 

Sec. 3406. Severability. 

Sec. 3407. Effective date. 

PART 2—CLARIFYING JURISDICTION OVER ELECTION DISPUTES

Sec. 3411. Findings. 

Sec. 3412. Clarifying authority of United States district courts to hear cases. 

Sec. 3413. Effective date. 

Subtitle F—Poll Worker Recruitment and Training 

Sec. 3501. Grants to States for poll worker recruitment and training. 

Sec. 3502. State defined. 

Subtitle G—Preventing Poll Observer Interference 

Sec. 3601. Protections for voters on Election Day. 

Subtitle H—Preventing Restrictions on Food and Beverages 

Sec. 3701. Short title; findings. 

Sec. 3702. Prohibiting restrictions on donations of food and beverages at polling stations. 

Subtitle I—Establishing Duty To Report Foreign Election Interference 

Sec. 3801. Findings relating to illicit money undermining our democracy. 

Sec. 3802. Federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts. 

Sec. 3803. Federal campaign foreign contact reporting compliance system. 

Sec. 3804. Criminal penalties. 

Sec. 3805. Report to congressional intelligence committees. 

Sec. 3806. Rule of construction. 

Subtitle J—Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security Through VoterVerifiable Permanent Paper Ballot 

Sec. 3901. Short title. 

Sec. 3902. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements. 

Sec. 3903. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities. 


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Sec. 3904. Durability and readability requirements for ballots. 

Sec. 3905. Study and report on optimal ballot design. 

Sec. 3906. Ballot marking device cybersecurity requirements. 

Sec. 3907. Effective date for new requirements. 

Sec. 3908. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and carrying out voting system security improvements. 

‘‘PART 8—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER BALLOT VOTING

SYSTEMS AND CARRYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS

‘‘Sec. 298. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and 

carrying out voting system security improvements. 

‘‘Sec. 298A. Voting system security improvements described. 

‘‘Sec. 298B. Eligibility of States. 

‘‘Sec. 298C. Reports to Congress. 

‘‘Sec. 298D. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle K—Provisional Ballots 

Sec. 3911. Requirements for counting provisional ballots; establishment of uniform and nondiscriminatory standards. 

TITLE IV—VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY 

Sec. 4001. Post-election audit requirement. 

Sec. 4002. Election infrastructure designation. 

Sec. 4003. Guidelines and certification for electronic poll books and remote ballot marking systems. 

Sec. 4004. Pre-election reports on voting system usage. 

Sec. 4005. Use of voting machines manufactured in the United States. 

Sec. 4006. Use of political party headquarters building fund for technology or 

cybersecurity-related purposes. 

Sec. 4007. Severability. 

DIVISION C—CIVIC PARTICIPATION AND EMPOWERMENT 

TITLE V—NONPARTISAN REDISTRICTING REFORM 

Sec. 5001. Finding of constitutional authority. 

Sec. 5002. Ban on mid-decade redistricting. 

Sec. 5003. Criteria for redistricting. 

Sec. 5004. Development of plan. 

Sec. 5005. Failure by State to enact plan. 

Sec. 5006. Civil enforcement. 

Sec. 5007. No effect on elections for State and local office. 

Sec. 5008. Effective date. 

TITLE VI—CAMPAIGN FINANCE TRANSPARENCY 

Subtitle A—DISCLOSE Act 

Sec. 6001. Short title. 

Sec. 6002. Findings. 

PART 1—CLOSING LOOPHOLES ALLOWING SPENDING BY FOREIGN

NATIONALS IN ELECTIONS


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Sec. 6003. Clarification of application of foreign money ban to certain disbursements and activities. 

Sec. 6004. Study and report on illicit foreign money in Federal elections. 

Sec. 6005. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in 

connection with ballot initiatives and referenda. 

Sec. 6006. Disbursements and activities subject to foreign money ban. 

Sec. 6007. Prohibiting establishment of corporation to conceal election contributions and donations by foreign nationals. 

PART 2—REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENTS

Sec. 6011. Reporting of campaign-related disbursements. 

Sec. 6012. Reporting of Federal judicial nomination disbursements. 

Sec. 6013. Coordination with FinCEN. 

Sec. 6014. Application of foreign money ban to disbursements for campaign-related disbursements consisting of covered transfers. 

Sec. 6015. Sense of Congress regarding implementation. 

Sec. 6016. Effective date. 

PART 3—OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS

Sec. 6021. Petition for certiorari. 

Sec. 6022. Judicial review of actions related to campaign finance laws. 

Sec. 6023. Effective date. 

Subtitle B—Honest Ads 

Sec. 6101. Short title. 

Sec. 6102. Purpose. 

Sec. 6103. Findings. 

Sec. 6104. Sense of Congress. 

Sec. 6105. Expansion of definition of public communication. 

Sec. 6106. Expansion of definition of electioneering communication. 

Sec. 6107. Application of disclaimer statements to online communications. 

Sec. 6108. Political record requirements for online platforms. 

Sec. 6109. Preventing contributions, expenditures, independent expenditures, 

and disbursements for electioneering communications by foreign nationals in the form of online advertising. 

Sec. 6110. Requiring online platforms to display notices identifying sponsors of 

political advertisements and to ensure notices continue to be 

present when advertisements are shared. 

Subtitle C—Spotlight Act 

Sec. 6201. Short title. 

Sec. 6202. Inclusion of contributor information on annual returns of certain organizations. 

TITLE VII—CAMPAIGN FINANCE OVERSIGHT 

Subtitle A—Stopping Super PAC–Candidate Coordination 

Sec. 7001. Short title. 

Sec. 7002. Clarification of treatment of coordinated expenditures as contributions to candidates. 

Subtitle B—Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections 


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Sec. 7101. Short title. 

Sec. 7102. Revision to enforcement process. 

Sec. 7103. Official exercising the responsibilities of the general counsel. 

Sec. 7104. Permitting appearance at hearings on requests for advisory opinions 

by persons opposing the requests. 

Sec. 7105. Permanent extension of administrative penalty authority. 

Sec. 7106. Restrictions on ex parte communications. 

Sec. 7107. Clarifying authority of FEC attorneys to represent FEC in Supreme 

Court. 

Sec. 7108. Requiring forms to permit use of accent marks. 

Sec. 7109. Extension of the statutes of limitations for offenses under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. 

Sec. 7110. Effective date; transition. 

Subtitle C—Imposition of Fee for Reports Filed by Paper 

Sec. 7201. Imposition of fee for reports filed by paper. 

TITLE VIII—CITIZEN EMPOWERMENT 

Subtitle A—Funding To Promote Democracy 

PART 1—PAYMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS TO STATES

Sec. 8001. Democracy Advancement and Innovation Program. 

Sec. 8002. State plan. 

Sec. 8003. Prohibiting reduction in access to participation in elections. 

Sec. 8004. Amount of State allocation. 

Sec. 8005. Procedures for disbursements of payments and allocations. 

Sec. 8006. Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation. 

PART 2—STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND INNOVATION TRUST FUND

Sec. 8011. State Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund. 

Sec. 8012. Uses of Fund. 

Sec. 8013. Assessments against fines and penalties. 

PART 3—GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 8021. Definitions. 

Sec. 8022. Rule of construction regarding calculation of deadlines. 

Subtitle B—Elections for House of Representatives 

Sec. 8101. Short title. 

PART 1—OPTIONAL DEMOCRACY CREDIT PROGRAM

Sec. 8102. Establishment of program. 

Sec. 8103. Credit program described. 

Sec. 8104. Reports. 

Sec. 8105. Election cycle defined. 

PART 2—OPTIONAL SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF ELECTIONS FOR HOUSE

OF REPRESENTATIVES

Sec. 8111. Benefits and eligibility requirements for candidates. 


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‘‘TITLE V—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF ELECTIONS FOR 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 

‘‘Sec. 501. Benefits for participating candidates. 

‘‘Sec. 502. Procedures for making payments. 

‘‘Sec. 503. Use of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 504. Qualified small dollar contributions described. 

‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and Certification 

‘‘Sec. 511. Eligibility. 

‘‘Sec. 512. Qualifying requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 513. Certification. 

‘‘Subtitle C—Requirements for Candidates Certified as Participating 

Candidates 

‘‘Sec. 521. Contribution and expenditure requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 522. Administration of campaign. 

‘‘Sec. 523. Preventing unnecessary spending of matching funds. 

‘‘Sec. 524. Remitting unspent funds after election. 

‘‘Subtitle D—Enhanced Match Support 

‘‘Sec. 531. Enhanced support for general election. 

‘‘Sec. 532. Eligibility. 

‘‘Sec. 533. Amount. 

‘‘Sec. 534. Waiver of authority to retain portion of unspent funds after 

election. 

‘‘Subtitle E—Administrative Provisions 

‘‘Sec. 541. Source of payments. 

‘‘Sec. 542. Administration through dedicated division within Commission. 

‘‘Sec. 543. Violations and penalties. 

‘‘Sec. 544. Indexing of amounts. 

‘‘Sec. 545. Election cycle defined. 

‘‘Sec. 546. Division Director defined. 

Sec. 8112. Contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political 

party committees on behalf of participating candidates. 

Sec. 8113. Prohibiting use of contributions by participating candidates for purposes other than campaign for election. 

Sec. 8114. Deadline for regulations; effective date. 

Subtitle C—Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditures 

Sec. 8201. Short title; findings; purpose. 

Sec. 8202. Treatment of payments for childcare and other personal use services 

as authorized campaign expenditure. 

Subtitle D—Empowering Small Dollar Donations 

Sec. 8301. Permitting political party committees to provide enhanced support 

for House candidates through use of separate small dollar accounts. 


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Subtitle E—Severability 

Sec. 8401. Severability. 

1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS OF GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHOR2 ITY. 

3 Congress finds that the Constitution of the United 

4 States grants explicit and broad authority to protect the 

5 right to vote, to regulate elections for Federal office, to 

6 prevent and remedy discrimination in voting, and to de7 fend the Nation’s democratic process. Congress enacts the 

8 Freedom to Vote Act pursuant to this broad authority, 

9 including but not limited to the following: 

10 (1) Congress finds that it has broad authority 

11 to regulate the time, place, and manner of congres12 sional elections under the Elections Clause of the 

13 Constitution, article I, section 4, clause 1. The Su14 preme Court has affirmed that the ‘‘substantive 

15 scope’’ of the Elections Clause is ‘‘broad’’; that 

16 ‘‘Times, Places, and Manner’’ are ‘‘comprehensive 

17 words which embrace authority to provide for a com18 plete code for congressional elections’’; and ‘‘[t]he 

19 power of Congress over the Times, Places and Man20 ner of congressional elections is paramount, and may 

21 be exercised at any time, and to any extent which 

22 it deems expedient; and so far as it is exercised, and 

23 no farther, the regulations effected supersede those 

24 of the State which are inconsistent therewith’’. AriVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H11.IH H11

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1 zona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, 570 U.S. 1, 

2 8–9 (2013) (internal quotation marks and citations 

3 omitted). Indeed, ‘‘Congress has plenary and para4 mount jurisdiction over the whole subject’’ of con5 gressional elections, Ex parte Siebold, 100 U.S. (10 

6 Otto) 371, 388 (1879), and this power ‘‘may be ex7 ercised as and when Congress sees fit’’, and ‘‘so far 

8 as it extends and conflicts with the regulations of 

9 the State, necessarily supersedes them’’. Id. at 384. 

10 Among other things, Congress finds that the Elec11 tions Clause was intended to ‘‘vindicate the people’s 

12 right to equality of representation in the House’’. 

13 Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 16 (1964), and to 

14 address partisan gerrymandering, Rucho v. Common 

15 Cause, 139 S. Ct. 2484 (2019). 

16 (2) Congress also finds that it has both the au17 thority and responsibility, as the legislative body for 

18 the United States, to fulfill the promise of article IV, 

19 section 4, of the Constitution, which states: ‘‘The 

20 United States shall guarantee to every State in this 

21 Union a Republican Form of Government[.]’’. Con22 gress finds that its authority and responsibility to 

23 enforce the Guarantee Clause is clear given that 

24 Federal courts have not enforced this clause because 


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1 they understood that its enforcement is committed 

2 to Congress by the Constitution. 

3 (3)(A) Congress also finds that it has broad au4 thority pursuant to section 5 of the Fourteenth 

5 Amendment to legislate to enforce the provisions of 

6 the Fourteenth Amendment, including its protec7 tions of the right to vote and the democratic process. 

8 (B) Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment 

9 protects the fundamental right to vote, which is ‘‘of 

10 the most fundamental significance under our con11 stitutional structure’’. Ill. Bd. of Election v. Socialist 

12 Workers Party, 440 U.S. 173, 184 (1979); see 

13 United States v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299 (1941) (‘‘Ob14 viously included within the right to choose, secured 

15 by the Constitution, is the right of qualified voters 

16 within a State to cast their ballots and have them 

17 counted . . .’’). As the Supreme Court has repeatedly 

18 affirmed, the right to vote is ‘‘preservative of all 

19 rights’’, Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 370 

20 (1886). Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment 

21 also protects the right to vote, granting Congress 

22 additional authority to reduce a State’s representa23 tion in Congress when the right to vote is abridged 

24 or denied. 


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1 (C) As a result, Congress finds that it has the 

2 authority pursuant to section 5 of the Fourteenth 

3 Amendment to protect the right to vote. Congress 

4 also finds that States and localities have eroded ac5 cess to the right to vote through restrictions on the 

6 right to vote including excessively onerous voter 

7 identification requirements, burdensome voter reg8 istration procedures, voter purges, limited and un9 equal access to voting by mail, polling place closures, 

10 unequal distribution of election resources, and other 

11 impediments. 

12 (D) Congress also finds that ‘‘the right of suf13 frage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of 

14 the weight of a citizen’s vote just as effectively as by 

15 wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise’’. 

16 Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 555 (1964). Con17 gress finds that the right of suffrage has been so di18 luted and debased by means of gerrymandering of 

19 districts. Congress finds that it has authority pursu20 ant to section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to 

21 remedy this debasement. 

22 (4)(A) Congress also finds that it has authority 

23 to legislate to eliminate racial discrimination in vot24 ing and the democratic process pursuant to both sec25 tion 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants 


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1 equal protection of the laws, and section 2 of the 

2 Fifteenth Amendment, which explicitly bars denial 

3 or abridgment of the right to vote on account of 

4 race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 

5 (B) Congress finds that racial discrimination in 

6 access to voting and the political process persists. 

7 Voting restrictions, redistricting, and other electoral 

8 practices and processes continue to disproportion9 ately impact communities of color in the United 

10 States and do so as a result of both intentional ra11 cial discrimination, structural racism, and the ongo12 ing structural socioeconomic effects of historical ra13 cial discrimination. 

14 (C) Recent elections and studies have shown 

15 that minority communities wait longer in lines to 

16 vote, are more likely to have their mail ballots re17 jected, continue to face intimidation at the polls, are 

18 more likely to be disenfranchised by voter purges, 

19 and are disproportionately burdened by excessively 

20 onerous voter identification and other voter restric21 tions. Research shows that communities of color are 

22 more likely to face nearly every barrier to voting 

23 than their white counterparts. 

24 (D) Congress finds that racial disparities in dis25 enfranchisement due to past felony convictions is 


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1 particularly stark. In 2022, according to the Sen2 tencing Project, an estimated 4,600,000 Americans 

3 could not vote due to a felony conviction. One in 19 

4 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, 

5 a rate 3.5 times greater than that of non-African 

6 Americans. In eight States—Alabama, Arizona, 

7 Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Ten8 nessee, and Virginia—more than one in ten African 

9 Americans is disenfranchised, nearly twice the na10 tional average for African Americans. Congress finds 

11 that felony disenfranchisement was one of the tools 

12 of intentional racial discrimination during the Jim 

13 Crow era. Congress further finds that current racial 

14 disparities in felony disenfranchisement are linked to 

15 this history of voter suppression, structural racism 

16 in the criminal justice system, and ongoing effects of 

17 historical discrimination. 

18 (5)(A) Congress finds that it further has the 

19 power to protect the right to vote from denial or 

20 abridgment on account of sex, age, or ability to pay 

21 a poll tax or other tax pursuant to the Nineteenth, 

22 Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments. 

23 (B) Congress finds that electoral practices in24 cluding voting rights restoration conditions for peo25 ple with convictions and other restrictions to the 


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1 franchise burden voters on account of their ability to 

2 pay. 

3 (C) Congress further finds that electoral prac4 tices including voting restrictions related to college 

5 campuses, age restrictions on mail voting, and simi6 lar practices burden the right to vote on account of 

7 age. 

8 SEC. 4. STANDARDS FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—For any action brought for declar10 atory or injunctive relief to challenge, whether facially or 

11 as-applied, the constitutionality or lawfulness of any provi12 sion of this Act or any amendment made by this Act or 

13 any rule or regulation promulgated under this Act, the fol14 lowing rules shall apply: 

15 (1) The action shall be filed in the United 

16 States District Court for the District of Columbia 

17 and an appeal from the decision of the district court 

18 may be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Dis19 trict of Columbia Circuit. These courts, and the Su20 preme Court of the United States on a writ of cer21 tiorari (if such writ is issued), shall have exclusive 

22 jurisdiction to hear such actions. 

23 (2) The party filing the action shall concur24 rently deliver a copy the complaint to the Clerk of 


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1 the House of Representatives and the Secretary of 

2 the Senate. 

3 (3) It shall be the duty of the United States 

4 District Court for the District of Columbia and the 

5 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir6 cuit to advance on the docket and to expedite to the 

7 greatest possible extent the disposition of the action 

8 and appeal. 

9 (b) CLARIFYING SCOPE OF JURISDICTION.—If an ac10 tion at the time of its commencement is not subject to 

11 subsection (a), but an amendment, counterclaim, cross12 claim, affirmative defense, or any other pleading or motion 

13 is filed challenging, whether facially or as-applied, the con14 stitutionality or lawfulness of this Act or any amendment 

15 made by this Act or any rule or regulation promulgated 

16 under this Act, the district court shall transfer the action 

17 to the District Court for the District of Columbia, and 

18 the action shall thereafter be conducted pursuant to sub19 section (a). 

20 (c) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—In 

21 any action described in subsection (a), any Member of the 

22 House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resi23 dent Commissioner to the Congress) or Senate shall have 

24 the right to intervene either in support of or opposition 

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1 stitutionality of the provision. To avoid duplication of ef2 forts and reduce the burdens placed on the parties to the 

3 action, the court in any such action may make such orders 

4 as it considers necessary, including orders to require 

5 interveners taking similar positions to file joint papers or 

6 to be represented by a single attorney at oral argument. 

7 SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 

8 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

9 by this Act, or the application of any such provision or 

10 amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

11 unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the appli12 cation of such provision or amendment to any other person 

13 or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 

14 DIVISION A—VOTER ACCESS 

15 TITLE I—ELECTION MODERNIZA16 TION AND ADMINISTRATION 

17 SEC. 1000. SHORT TITLE; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

18 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 

19 ‘‘Voter Empowerment Act of 2023’’. 

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

21 United States that— 

22 (1) the ability of all eligible citizens of the 

23 United States to access and exercise their constitu24 tional right to vote in a free, fair, and timely manner 


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1 must be vigilantly enhanced, protected, and main2 tained; and 

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

4 the voting process must be vigilantly protected, 

5 maintained, and enhanced in order to protect and 

6 preserve electoral and participatory democracy in the 

7 United States. 

8 Subtitle A—Voter Registration 

9 Modernization 

10 SEC. 1000A. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Registration 

12 Modernization Act of 2023’’. 

13 PART 1—AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION 

14 SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

15 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This part may be cited as the 

16 ‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2023’’. 

17 (b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

18 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

19 (A) the right to vote is a fundamental 

20 right of citizens of the United States; 

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

22 Federal governments to ensure that every eligi23 ble citizen is registered to vote; 

24 (C) existing voter registration systems can 

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1 fusing, with damaging effects on voter partici2 pation in elections for Federal office and dis3 proportionate impacts on young people, persons 

4 with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minori5 ties; and 

6 (D) voter registration systems must be up7 dated with 21st century technologies and proce8 dures to maintain their security. 

9 (2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this part— 

10 (A) to establish that it is the responsibility 

11 of government to ensure that all eligible citizens 

12 are registered to vote in elections for Federal 

13 office; 

14 (B) to enable the State governments to 

15 register all eligible citizens to vote with accu16 rate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date procedures; 

17 (C) to modernize voter registration and list 

18 maintenance procedures with electronic and 

19 internet capabilities; and 

20 (D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 

21 accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 

22 electoral process for all eligible citizens. 


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1 SEC. 1002. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI2 VIDUALS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Voter Registration 

4 Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504) is amended by inserting 

5 after section 5 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 5A. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION BY STATE MOTOR VE7 HICLE AUTHORITY. 

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

9 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE AGENCY.—The term ‘applica10 ble agency’ means, with respect to a State, the State 

11 motor vehicle authority responsible for motor vehicle 

12 driver’s licenses under State law. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE TRANSACTION.—The term 

14 ‘applicable transaction’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) an application to an applicable agency 

16 for a motor vehicle driver’s license; and 

17 ‘‘(B) any other service or assistance (in18 cluding for a change of address) provided by an 

19 applicable agency. 

20 ‘‘(3) AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION.—The term 

21 ‘automatic registration’ means a system that reg22 isters an individual to vote and updates existing reg23 istrations, in elections for Federal office in a State, 

24 if eligible, by electronically transferring the informa25 tion necessary for registration from the applicable 

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1 less the individual affirmatively declines to be reg2 istered or to update any voter registration, the indi3 vidual will be registered to vote in such elections. 

4 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 

5 individual’ means, with respect to an election for 

6 Federal office, an individual who is otherwise quali7 fied to vote in that election. 

8 ‘‘(5) REGISTER TO VOTE.—The term ‘register 

9 to vote’ includes updating an individual’s existing 

10 voter registration. 

11 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election of13 ficial of each State shall establish and operate a sys14 tem of automatic registration for the registration of 

15 eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal 

16 office in the State, in accordance with the provisions 

17 of this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON NEW

19 AGENCY RECORDS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The chief State elec21 tion official shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) subject to subparagraph (B), en23 sure that each eligible individual who com24 pletes an applicable transaction and does 


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1 not decline to register to vote is registered 

2 to vote— 

3 ‘‘(I) in the next upcoming elec4 tion for Federal office (and subse5 quent elections for Federal office), if 

6 an applicable agency transmits infor7 mation under subsection (c)(1)(E) 

8 with respect to the individual not later 

9 than the applicable date; and 

10 ‘‘(II) in subsequent elections for 

11 Federal office, if an applicable agency 

12 transmits such information with re13 spect to such individual after the ap14 plicable date; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) not later than 60 days after the 

16 receipt of such information with respect to 

17 an individual, send written notice to the in18 dividual, in addition to other means of no19 tice established by this section, of the indi20 vidual’s voter registration status. 

21 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE DATE.—For purposes of 

22 this subsection, the term ‘applicable date’ 

23 means, with respect to any election for Federal 

24 office, the later of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the date that is 28 days before 

2 the date of the election; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the last day of the period pro4 vided by State law for registration with re5 spect to such election. 

6 ‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this 

7 subsection shall prevent the chief State election 

8 official from registering an eligible individual to 

9 vote for the next upcoming election for Federal 

10 office in the State even if an applicable agency 

11 transmits information under subsection 

12 (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual after 

13 the applicable date. 

14 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18

15 YEARS OF AGE.—A State may not refuse to treat an 

16 individual as an eligible individual for purposes of 

17 this section on the grounds that the individual is less 

18 than 18 years of age at the time an applicable agen19 cy receives information with respect to the indi20 vidual, so long as the individual is at least 16 years 

21 of age at such time. Nothing in the previous sen22 tence may be construed to require a State to permit 

23 an individual who is under 18 years of age at the 

24 time of an election for Federal office to vote in the 

25 election. 


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1 ‘‘(c) APPLICABLE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) INSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA3 TION FOR AGENCIES COLLECTING CITIZENSHIP IN4 FORMATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

6 provided in this section, in the case of any ap7 plicable transaction for which an applicable 

8 agency (in the normal course of its operations) 

9 requests individuals to affirm United States 

10 citizenship (either directly or as part of the 

11 overall application for service or assistance or 

12 enrollment), the applicable agency shall inform 

13 each such individual who is a citizen of the 

14 United States of the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) Unless that individual declines to 

16 register to vote, or is found ineligible to 

17 vote, the individual will be registered to 

18 vote or, if applicable, the individual’s reg19 istration will be updated. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The substantive qualifications of 

21 an elector in the State as listed in the mail 

22 voter registration application form for elec23 tions for Federal office prescribed pursu24 ant to section 9, the consequences of false 

25 registration, and how the individual should 


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1 decline to register if the individual does 

2 not meet all those qualifications. 

3 ‘‘(iii) In the case of a State in which 

4 affiliation or enrollment with a political 

5 party is required in order to participate in 

6 an election to select the party’s candidate 

7 in an election for Federal office, the re8 quirement that the individual must affiliate 

9 or enroll with a political party in order to 

10 participate in such an election. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Voter registration is voluntary, 

12 and neither registering nor declining to 

13 register to vote will in any way affect the 

14 availability of services or benefits, nor be 

15 used for other purposes. 

16 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED

17 ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.—In the case in which 

18 the individual is a member of a group that con19 stitutes 3 percent or more of the overall popu20 lation within the State served by the applicable 

21 agency as measured by the United States Cen22 sus and are limited English proficient, the in23 formation described in clauses (i) through (iv) 

24 of subparagraph (A) shall be provided in a lan25 guage understood by the individual. 


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1 ‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION ON PROCEDURES FOR

2 INELIGIBLE VOTERS.—An applicable agency 

3 shall not provide an individual who did not af4 firm United States citizenship, or for whom the 

5 agency has conclusive documentary evidence ob6 tained through its normal course of operations 

7 that the individual is not a United States cit8 izen, the opportunity to register to vote under 

9 subparagraph (A). 

10 ‘‘(D) OPPORTUNITY TO DECLINE REG11 ISTRATION REQUIRED.—Except as otherwise 

12 provided in this section, each applicable agency 

13 shall ensure that each applicable transaction de14 scribed in subparagraph (A) with an eligible in15 dividual cannot be completed until the indi16 vidual is given the opportunity to decline to be 

17 registered to vote. In the case where the indi18 vidual is a member of a group that constitutes 

19 3 percent or more of the overall population 

20 within the State served by the applicable agency 

21 as measured by the United States Census and 

22 are limited English proficient, such opportunity 

23 shall be given in a language understood by the 

24 individual. 


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1 ‘‘(E) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL.—Not 

2 later than 10 days after an applicable trans3 action with an eligible individual, if the indi4 vidual did not decline to be registered to vote, 

5 the applicable agency shall electronically trans6 mit to the appropriate State election official the 

7 following information with respect to the indi8 vidual: 

9 ‘‘(i) The individual’s given name(s) 

10 and surname(s). 

11 ‘‘(ii) The individual’s date of birth. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The individual’s residential ad13 dress. 

14 ‘‘(iv) Information showing that the in15 dividual is a citizen of the United States. 

16 ‘‘(v) The date on which information 

17 pertaining to that individual was collected 

18 or last updated. 

19 ‘‘(vi) If available, the individual’s sig20 nature in electronic form. 

21 ‘‘(vii) In the case of a State in which 

22 affiliation or enrollment with a political 

23 party is required in order to participate in 

24 an election to select the party’s candidate 

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1 tion regarding the individual’s affiliation or 

2 enrollment with a political party, but only 

3 if the individual provides such information. 

4 ‘‘(viii) Any additional information list5 ed in the mail voter registration applica6 tion form for elections for Federal office 

7 prescribed pursuant to section 9, including 

8 any valid driver’s license number or the 

9 last 4 digits of the individual’s social secu10 rity number, if the individual provided 

11 such information. 

12 ‘‘(F) PROVISION OF INFORMATION RE13 GARDING PARTICIPATION IN PRIMARY ELEC14 TIONS.—In the case of a State in which affili15 ation or enrollment with a political party is re16 quired in order to participate in an election to 

17 select the party’s candidate in an election for 

18 Federal office, if the information transmitted 

19 under subparagraph (E) with respect to an in20 dividual does not include information regarding 

21 the individual’s affiliation or enrollment with a 

22 political party, the chief State election official 

23 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) notify the individual that such af2 filiation or enrollment is required to par3 ticipate in primary elections; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for the 

5 individual to update their registration with 

6 a party affiliation or enrollment. 

7 ‘‘(G) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this 

8 section shall be read to require an applicable 

9 agency to transmit to an election official the in10 formation described in subparagraph (E) for an 

11 individual who is ineligible to vote in elections 

12 for Federal office in the State, except to the ex13 tent required to pre-register citizens between 16 

14 and 18 years of age. 

15 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATE PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN

16 OTHER APPLICABLE AGENCIES.—With each applica17 ble transaction for which an applicable agency in the 

18 normal course of its operations does not request in19 dividuals to affirm United States citizenship (either 

20 directly or as part of the overall application for serv21 ice or assistance), the applicable agency shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) complete the requirements of section 

23 5; 

24 ‘‘(B) ensure that each applicant’s trans25 action with the applicable agency cannot be 


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1 completed until the applicant has indicated 

2 whether the applicant wishes to register to vote 

3 or declines to register to vote in elections for 

4 Federal office held in the State; and 

5 ‘‘(C) for each individual who wishes to reg6 ister to vote, transmit that individual’s informa7 tion in accordance with subsection (c)(1)(E), 

8 unless the applicable agency has conclusive doc9 umentary evidence obtained through its normal 

10 course of operations that the individual is not 

11 a United States citizen. 

12 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATIC

13 REGISTRATION OPPORTUNITY WITH EACH APPLICA14 TION FOR SERVICE OR ASSISTANCE.—Each applica15 ble agency shall offer each eligible individual, with 

16 each applicable transaction, the opportunity to reg17 ister to vote as prescribed by this section without re18 gard to whether the individual previously declined a 

19 registration opportunity. 

20 ‘‘(d) VOTER PROTECTION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE AGENCIES’ PROTECTION OF

22 INFORMATION.—Nothing in this section authorizes 

23 an applicable agency to collect, retain, transmit, or 

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1 essary to comply with title III of the Civil Rights 

2 Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq.): 

3 ‘‘(A) An individual’s decision to decline to 

4 register to vote or not to register to vote. 

5 ‘‘(B) An individual’s decision not to affirm 

6 his or her citizenship. 

7 ‘‘(C) Any information that an applicable 

8 agency transmits pursuant to subsection 

9 (c)(1)(E), except in pursuing the agency’s ordi10 nary course of business. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELECTION OFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OF IN12 FORMATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

15 (ii), with respect to any individual for 

16 whom any State election official receives 

17 information from an applicable agency, the 

18 State election official shall not publicly dis19 close any of the following: 

20 ‘‘(I) Any information not nec21 essary to voter registration. 

22 ‘‘(II) Any voter information oth23 erwise shielded from disclosure under 

24 State law or section 8(a). 


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1 ‘‘(III) Any portion of the individ2 ual’s social security number. 

3 ‘‘(IV) Any portion of the individ4 ual’s motor vehicle driver’s license 

5 number. 

6 ‘‘(V) The individual’s signature. 

7 ‘‘(VI) The individual’s telephone 

8 number. 

9 ‘‘(VII) The individual’s email ad10 dress. 

11 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS

12 REGISTERED TO VOTE.—The prohibition 

13 on public disclosure under clause (i) shall 

14 not apply with respect to the telephone 

15 number or email address of any individual 

16 for whom any State election official re17 ceives information from the applicable 

18 agency and who, on the basis of such infor19 mation, is registered to vote in the State 

20 under this section. 

21 ‘‘(e) MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) ACCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION SERV23 ICES.—Each applicable agency shall ensure that the 

24 services it provides under this section are made 

25 available to individuals with disabilities to the same 


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1 extent as services are made available to all other in2 dividuals. 

3 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION THROUGH SECURE THIRD

4 PARTY PERMITTED.—Nothing in this section or in 

5 the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2023 shall 

6 be construed to prevent an applicable agency from 

7 contracting with a third party to assist the agency 

8 in meeting the information transmittal requirements 

9 of this section, so long as the data transmittal com10 plies with the applicable requirements of this section 

11 and such Act, including provisions relating to pri12 vacy and security. 

13 ‘‘(3) NONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PRO14 VISION OF SERVICES.—The services made available 

15 by applicable agencies under this section shall be 

16 made in a manner consistent with paragraphs (4), 

17 (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a). 

18 ‘‘(4) NOTICES.—Each State may send notices 

19 under this section via electronic mail if the indi20 vidual has provided an electronic mail address and 

21 consented to electronic mail communications for 

22 election-related materials. All notices sent pursuant 

23 to this section that require a response must offer the 

24 individual notified the opportunity to respond at no 

25 cost to the individual. 


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1 ‘‘(5) REGISTRATION AT OTHER STATE OFFICES

2 PERMITTED.—Nothing in this section may be con3 strued to prohibit a State from offering voter reg4 istration services described in this section at offices 

5 of the State other than the State motor vehicle au6 thority. 

7 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall not apply 

9 to an exempt State. 

10 ‘‘(2) EXEMPT STATE DEFINED.—The term ‘ex11 empt State’ means a State that, under law that is 

12 in effect continuously on and after the date of enact13 ment of this section, either— 

14 ‘‘(A) has no voter registration requirement 

15 for any voter in the State with respect to a 

16 Federal election; or 

17 ‘‘(B) operates a system of automatic reg18 istration at the motor vehicle authority of the 

19 State or a Permanent Dividend Fund of the 

20 State under which an individual is provided the 

21 opportunity to decline registration during the 

22 transaction or by way of a notice sent by mail 

23 or electronically after the transaction.’’. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 4(a) of the National Voter Registra2 tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(a)) is amended 

3 by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as para4 graphs (3) and (4), respectively, and by inserting 

5 after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(2) by application made simultaneously with 

7 an application for a motor vehicle driver’s license 

8 pursuant to section 5A;’’. 

9 (2) Section 4(b) of the National Voter Registra10 tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(b)) is amend11 ed— 

12 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

13 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 

14 and indenting appropriately; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘STATES.—This Act’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘STATES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), this Act’’; and 

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

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA22 TION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 5A shall apply to a 

23 State described in paragraph (1), unless the State is 

24 an exempt State as defined in subsection (f)(2) of 

25 such section.’’. 


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1 (3) Section 8(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

2 20507(a)(1)) is amended by redesignating subpara3 graphs (B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), 

4 and (E), respectively, and by inserting after sub5 paragraph (A) the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(B) in the case of registration under sec7 tion 5A, within the period provided in section 

8 5A(b)(2);’’. 

9 SEC. 1003. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTO10 MATIC REGISTRATION. 

11 (a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 

12 An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 

13 or State law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication 

14 concerning immigration status or naturalization, or sub15 ject to an allegation in any legal proceeding that the indi16 vidual is not a citizen of the United States on any of the 

17 following grounds: 

18 (1) The individual notified an election office of 

19 the individual’s automatic registration to vote. 

20 (2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec21 tions for Federal office but was registered to vote 

22 due to individual or agency error. 

23 (3) The individual was automatically registered 

24 to vote at an incorrect address. 


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1 (4) The individual declined the opportunity to 

2 register to vote or did not make an affirmation of 

3 citizenship, including through automatic registration. 

4 (b) LIMITS ON USE OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA5 TION.—The automatic registration (within the meaning of 

6 section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 

7 1993) of any individual or the fact that an individual de8 clined the opportunity to register to vote or did not make 

9 an affirmation of citizenship (including through automatic 

10 registration) may not be used as evidence against that in11 dividual in any State or Federal law enforcement pro12 ceeding or any civil adjudication concerning immigration 

13 status or naturalization, and an individual’s lack of knowl14 edge or willfulness of such registration may be dem15 onstrated by the individual’s testimony alone. 

16 (c) PROTECTION OF ELECTION INTEGRITY.—Noth17 ing in subsection (a) or (b) may be construed to prohibit 

18 or restrict any action under color of law against an indi19 vidual who— 

20 (1) knowingly and willfully makes a false state21 ment to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter 

22 registration (within the meaning of section 5A of the 

23 National Voter Registration Act of 1993) by any in24 dividual; or 


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1 (2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in vio2 lation of State law or the laws of the United States. 

3 (d) ELECTION OFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OF INFOR4 MATION.— 

5 (1) VOTER RECORD CHANGES.—Each State 

6 shall maintain for not less than 2 years and shall 

7 make available for public inspection (and, where 

8 available, photocopying at a reasonable cost), includ9 ing in electronic form and through electronic meth10 ods, all records of changes to voter records, includ11 ing removals, the reasons for removals, and updates. 

12 (2) DATABASE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS.— 

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 

15 Standards and Technology, in consultation with 

16 State and local election officials and the Commis17 sion, shall, after providing the public with notice and 

18 the opportunity to comment— 

19 (A) establish standards governing the com20 parison of data for voter registration list main21 tenance purposes, identifying as part of such 

22 standards the specific data elements, the 

23 matching rules used, and how a State may use 

24 the data to determine and deem that an indi25 vidual is ineligible under State law to vote in an 


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

2 or outdated; 

3 (B) ensure that the standards developed 

4 pursuant to this paragraph are uniform and 

5 nondiscriminatory and are applied in a uniform 

6 and nondiscriminatory manner; 

7 (C) not later than 45 days after the dead8 line for public notice and comment, publish the 

9 standards developed pursuant to this paragraph 

10 on the Director’s website and make those 

11 standards available in written form upon re12 quest; and 

13 (D) ensure that the standards developed 

14 pursuant to this paragraph are maintained and 

15 updated in a manner that reflects innovations 

16 and best practices in the security of database 

17 management. 

18 (3) SECURITY POLICY.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di21 rector of the National Institute of Standards 

22 and Technology shall, after providing the public 

23 with notice and the opportunity to comment, 

24 publish privacy and security standards for voter 

25 registration information not later than 45 days 


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1 after the deadline for public notice and com2 ment. The standards shall require the chief 

3 State election official of each State to adopt a 

4 policy that shall specify— 

5 (i) each class of users who shall have 

6 authorized access to the computerized 

7 statewide voter registration list, specifying 

8 for each class the permission and levels of 

9 access to be granted, and setting forth 

10 other safeguards to protect the privacy, se11 curity, and accuracy of the information on 

12 the list; and 

13 (ii) security safeguards to protect per14 sonal information transmitted through the 

15 information transmittal processes of sec16 tion 5A(b) of the National Voter Registra17 tion Act of 1993, any telephone interface, 

18 the maintenance of the voter registration 

19 database, and any audit procedure to track 

20 access to the system. 

21 (B) MAINTENANCE AND UPDATING.—The 

22 Director of the National Institute of Standards 

23 and Technology shall ensure that the standards 

24 developed pursuant to this paragraph are main25 tained and updated in a manner that reflects 


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1 innovations and best practices in the privacy 

2 and security of voter registration information. 

3 (4) STATE COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL

4 STANDARDS.— 

5 (A) CERTIFICATION.—The chief State elec6 tion official of the State shall annually file with 

7 the Commission a statement certifying to the 

8 Director of the National Institute of Standards 

9 and Technology that the State is in compliance 

10 with the standards referred to in paragraphs 

11 (2) and (3). A State may meet the requirement 

12 of the previous sentence by filing with the Com13 mission a statement that reads as follows: 

14 ‘‘lllll hereby certifies that it is in 

15 compliance with the standards referred to in 

16 paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1003(d) of 

17 the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2023.’’ 

18 (with the blank to be filled in with the name of 

19 the State involved). 

20 (B) PUBLICATION OF POLICIES AND PRO21 CEDURES.—The chief State election official of a 

22 State shall publish on the official’s website the 

23 policies and procedures established under this 

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1 cedures available in written form upon public 

2 request. 

3 (C) FUNDING DEPENDENT ON CERTIFI4 CATION.—If a State does not timely file the cer5 tification required under this paragraph, it shall 

6 not receive any payment under this part for the 

7 upcoming fiscal year. 

8 (D) COMPLIANCE OF STATES THAT RE9 QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case 

10 of a State that requires State legislation to 

11 carry out an activity covered by any certifi12 cation submitted under this paragraph, for a 

13 period of not more than 2 years, the State shall 

14 be permitted to make the certification notwith15 standing that the legislation has not been en16 acted at the time the certification is submitted, 

17 and such State shall submit an additional cer18 tification once such legislation is enacted. 

19 (e) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF INFORMATION.—No 

20 person acting under color of law may discriminate against 

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

22 voter registration, election administration, juror selection, 

23 or enforcement relating to election crimes, any of the fol24 lowing: 

25 (1) Voter registration records. 


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

2 vote or complete an affirmation of citizenship under 

3 section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 

4 1993. 

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

6 (f) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRA7 TION INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.—In8 formation collected under this part or the amendments 

9 made by this part shall not be used for commercial pur10 poses. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to pro11 hibit the transmission, exchange, or dissemination of in12 formation for political purposes, including the support of 

13 campaigns for election for Federal, State, or local public 

14 office or the activities of political committees (including 

15 committees of political parties) under the Federal Election 

16 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.). 

17 SEC. 1004. PAYMENTS AND GRANTS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make 

19 grants to each eligible State to assist the State in imple20 menting the requirements of this part and the amend21 ments made by this part (or, in the case of an exempt 

22 State, in implementing its existing automatic voter reg23 istration program or expanding its automatic voter reg24 istration program in a manner consistent with the require25 ments of this part) with respect to the offices of the State 


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1 motor vehicle authority and any other offices of the State 

2 at which the State offers voter registration services as de3 scribed in this part and the amendments made by this 

4 part. 

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

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

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

8 Commission may require, an application containing— 

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

10 carry out with the grant; 

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

12 such activities without partisan bias and without 

13 promoting any particular point of view regarding 

14 any issue; and 

15 (3) such other information and assurances as 

16 the Commission may require. 

17 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT; PRIORITIES.—The Commis18 sion shall determine the amount of a grant made to an 

19 eligible State under this section. In determining the 

20 amounts of the grants, the Commission shall give priority 

21 to providing funds for those activities that are most likely 

22 to accelerate compliance with the requirements of this part 

23 (or, in the case of an exempt State, which are most likely 

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1 ister individuals to vote through its existing automatic 

2 voter registration program), including— 

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

5 transfer of signatures, between applicable agencies 

6 (as defined in section 5A of the National Voter Reg7 istration Act of 1993) and the appropriate State 

8 election officials; 

9 (2) updates to online or electronic voter reg10 istration systems already operating as of the date of 

11 enactment of this Act; 

12 (3) introduction of online voter registration sys13 tems in jurisdictions in which those systems did not 

14 previously exist; and 

15 (4) public education on the availability of new 

16 methods of registering to vote, updating registration, 

17 and correcting registration. 

18 (d) EXEMPT STATE.—For purposes of this section, 

19 the term ‘‘exempt State’’ has the meaning given that term 

20 in section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 

21 1993, and also includes a State in which, under law that 

22 is in effect continuously on and after the date of enact23 ment of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 

24 there is no voter registration requirement for any voter 

25 in the State with respect to an election for Federal office. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 

3 be appropriated to carry out this section— 

4 (A) $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

5 and 

6 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

7 each succeeding fiscal year. 

8 (2) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

9 Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority 

10 of this subsection shall remain available without fis11 cal year limitation until expended. 

12 SEC. 1005. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

13 (a) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 11 of the National 

14 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510), relat15 ing to civil enforcement and the availability of private 

16 rights of action, shall apply with respect to this part in 

17 the same manner as such section applies to such Act. 

18 (b) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as pro19 vided, nothing in this part or the amendments made by 

20 this part may be construed to authorize or require conduct 

21 prohibited under, or to supersede, restrict, or limit the ap22 plication of any of the following: 

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

24 10301 et seq.). 


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1 (2) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab2 sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

3 (3) The National Voter Registration Act of 

4 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) (other than section 

5 5A thereof). 

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

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

8 (5) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

9 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

10 SEC. 1006. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this part, the following definitions apply: 

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

13 means, with respect to a State, the individual des14 ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na15 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

16 20509) to be responsible for coordination of the 

17 State’s responsibilities under such Act. 

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

19 Assistance Commission. 

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

21 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

22 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

23 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

24 the Northern Mariana Islands. 


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1 SEC. 1007. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

3 (b), this part and the amendments made by this part shall 

4 apply on and after January 1, 2025. 

5 (b) WAIVER.—If a State certifies to the Commission 

6 not later than January 1, 2025, that the State will not 

7 meet the deadline described in subsection (a) because it 

8 would be impracticable to do so and includes in the certifi9 cation the reasons for the failure to meet such deadline, 

10 subsection (a) shall apply to the State as if the reference 

11 in such subsection to ‘‘January 1, 2025’’ were a reference 

12 to ‘‘January 1, 2027’’. 

13 PART 2—ELECTION DAY AS LEGAL PUBLIC 

14 HOLIDAY 

15 SEC. 1011. ELECTION DAY AS LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(a) of title 5, United 

17 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat18 ing to Columbus Day, the following: 

19 ‘‘Election Day, the Tuesday next after the first Mon20 day in November in each even-numbered year.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 241(b) of 

22 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20981(b)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) by striking paragraph (10); and 

25 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 

26 (19) as paragraphs (10) through (18), respectively. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

2 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the regularly 

3 scheduled general elections for Federal office held in No4 vember 2024 or any succeeding year. 

5 PART 3—PROMOTING INTERNET REGISTRATION 

6 SEC. 1021. REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR 

7 VOTER REGISTRATION. 

8 (a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR

9 REGISTRATION.—The National Voter Registration Act of 

10 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting 

11 after section 6 the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 6A. INTERNET REGISTRATION. 

13 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR

14 ONLINE REGISTRATION.—Each State, acting through the 

15 chief State election official, shall ensure that the following 

16 services are available to the public at any time on the offi17 cial public websites of the appropriate State and local elec18 tion officials in the State, in the same manner and subject 

19 to the same terms and conditions as the services provided 

20 by voter registration agencies under section 7(a): 

21 ‘‘(1) Online application for voter registration. 

22 ‘‘(2) Online assistance to applicants in applying 

23 to register to vote. 

24 ‘‘(3) Online completion and submission by ap25 plicants of the mail voter registration application 


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1 form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commis2 sion pursuant to section 9(a)(2), including assist3 ance with providing a signature as required under 

4 subsection (c). 

5 ‘‘(4) Online receipt of completed voter registra6 tion applications. 

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

8 A State shall accept an online voter registration applica9 tion provided by an individual under this section, and en10 sure that the individual is registered to vote in the State, 

11 if— 

12 ‘‘(1) the individual meets the same voter reg13 istration requirements applicable to individuals who 

14 register to vote by mail in accordance with section 

15 6(a)(1) using the mail voter registration application 

16 form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commis17 sion pursuant to section 9(a)(2); and 

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

19 subsection (c) to provide a signature in electronic 

20 form (but only in the case of applications submitted 

21 during or after the second year in which this section 

22 is in effect in the State). 

23 ‘‘(c) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS.— 


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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 under paragraph (1), the 

25 State shall— 


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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 subparagraphs (A) and (B), ensure 

11 that the individual is registered to vote in the 

12 State. 

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

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

18 ‘‘(d) CONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon the online sub21 mission of a completed voter registration appli22 cation by an individual under this section, the 

23 appropriate State or local election official shall 

24 provide the individual a notice confirming the 

25 State’s receipt of the application and providing 


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1 instructions on how the individual may check 

2 the status of the application. 

3 ‘‘(B) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.—The 

4 appropriate State or local election official shall 

5 provide the notice required under subparagraph 

6 (A) though the online submission process and— 

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

8 has provided the official with an electronic 

9 mail address, by electronic mail; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the individual, 

11 by text message. 

12 ‘‘(2) NOTICE OF DISPOSITION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days 

14 after the date on which the appropriate State or 

15 local election official approves or rejects an ap16 plication submitted by an individual under this 

17 section, the official shall provide the individual 

18 a notice of the disposition of the application. 

19 ‘‘(B) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.—The 

20 appropriate State or local election official shall 

21 provide the notice required under subparagraph 

22 (A) by regular mail and— 

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

24 has provided the official with an electronic 

25 mail address, by electronic mail; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the individual, 

2 by text message. 

3 ‘‘(e) PROVISION OF SERVICES IN NONPARTISAN

4 MANNER.—The services made available under subsection 

5 (a) shall be provided in a manner that ensures that— 

6 ‘‘(1) the online application does not seek to in7 fluence an applicant’s political preference or party 

8 registration; and 

9 ‘‘(2) there is no display on the website pro10 moting any political preference or party allegiance, 

11 except that nothing in this paragraph may be con12 strued to prohibit an applicant from registering to 

13 vote as a member of a political party. 

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

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

16 establish appropriate technological security measures to 

17 prevent to the greatest extent practicable any unauthor18 ized access to information provided by individuals using 

19 the services made available under subsection (a). 

20 ‘‘(g) ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES.—A State shall en21 sure that the services made available under this section 

22 are made available to individuals with disabilities to the 

23 same extent as services are made available to all other in24 dividuals. 


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1 ‘‘(h) NONDISCRIMINATION AMONG REGISTERED

2 VOTERS USING MAIL AND ONLINE REGISTRATION.—In 

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

4 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.), or any other Federal, State, 

5 or local law governing the treatment of registered voters 

6 in the State or the administration of elections for public 

7 office in the State, a State shall treat a registered voter 

8 who registered to vote online in accordance with this sec9 tion in the same manner as the State treats a registered 

10 voter who registered to vote by mail.’’. 

11 (b) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS

12 USING ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 

13 (1) TREATMENT AS INDIVIDUALS REGISTERING

14 TO VOTE BY MAIL FOR PURPOSES OF FIRST-TIME

15 VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

16 303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

17 (52 U.S.C. 21083(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 

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

19 section 6A of the National Voter Registration Act of 

20 1993’’. 

21 (2) REQUIRING SIGNATURE FOR FIRST-TIME

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

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

24 (A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

25 paragraph (6); and 


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

2 following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(5) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST4 TIME VOTERS USING ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 

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

6 uniform and nondiscriminatory manner, require 

7 an individual to meet the requirements of sub8 paragraph (B) if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the individual registered to vote 

10 in the State online under section 6A of the 

11 National Voter Registration Act of 1993; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the individual has not previously 

14 voted in an election for Federal office in 

15 the State. 

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—An individual 

17 meets the requirements of this subparagraph 

18 if— 

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

20 votes in person, the individual provides the 

21 appropriate State or local election official 

22 with a handwritten signature; or 

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

24 votes by mail, the individual submits with 

25 the ballot a handwritten signature. 


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1 ‘‘(C) INAPPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph 

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

3 who is— 

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

5 under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi6 zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 

7 20302 et seq.); 

8 ‘‘(ii) provided the right to vote other9 wise than in person under section 

10 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility 

11 for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 

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

13 ‘‘(iii) entitled to vote otherwise than 

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

15 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

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

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

18 striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro19 vided in subsection (b)(5), each State’’. 

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

22 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 

23 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)), as amended by section 

24 1002(b)(3), is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub2 paragraph (D); 

3 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 

4 subparagraph (F); and 

5 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

6 the following new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(E) in the case of online registration 

8 through the official public website of an election 

9 official under section 6A, if the valid voter reg10 istration application is submitted online not 

11 later than the lesser of 28 days, or the period 

12 provided by State law, before the date of the 

13 election (as determined by treating the date on 

14 which the application is sent electronically as 

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

16 (2) INFORMING APPLICANTS OF ELIGIBILITY

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

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

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

20 SEC. 1022. USE OF INTERNET TO UPDATE REGISTRATION 

21 INFORMATION. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

23 (1) UPDATES TO INFORMATION CONTAINED ON

24 COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION

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


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

2 at the end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(6) USE OF INTERNET BY REGISTERED VOT4 ERS TO UPDATE INFORMATION.— 

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

6 or local election official shall ensure that any 

7 registered voter on the computerized list may at 

8 any time update the voter’s registration infor9 mation, including the voter’s address and elec10 tronic mail address, online through the official 

11 public website of the election official responsible 

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

13 voter attests to the contents of the update by 

14 providing a signature in electronic form in the 

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

16 the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. 

17 ‘‘(B) PROCESSING OF UPDATED INFORMA18 TION BY ELECTION OFFICIALS.—If a registered 

19 voter updates registration information under 

20 subparagraph (A), the appropriate State or 

21 local election official shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) revise any information on the 

23 computerized list to reflect the update 

24 made by the voter; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) if the updated registration infor2 mation affects the voter’s eligibility to vote 

3 in an election for Federal office, ensure 

4 that the information is processed with re5 spect to the election if the voter updates 

6 the information not later than the lesser of 

7 7 days, or the period provided by State 

8 law, before the date of the election. 

9 ‘‘(C) CONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION.— 

10 ‘‘(i) CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT.— 

11 Upon the online submission of updated 

12 registration information by an individual 

13 under this paragraph, the appropriate 

14 State or local election official shall send 

15 the individual a notice confirming the 

16 State’s receipt of the updated information 

17 and providing instructions on how the indi18 vidual may check the status of the update. 

19 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE OF DISPOSITION.—Not 

20 later than 7 days after the appropriate 

21 State or local election official has accepted 

22 or rejected updated information submitted 

23 by an individual under this paragraph, the 

24 official shall send the individual a notice of 

25 the disposition of the update. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.— 

2 The appropriate State or local election offi3 cial shall send the notices required under 

4 this subparagraph by regular mail and— 

5 ‘‘(I) in the case of an individual 

6 who has requested that the State pro7 vide voter registration and voting in8 formation through electronic mail, by 

9 electronic mail; and 

10 ‘‘(II) at the option of the indi11 vidual, by text message.’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

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

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

15 striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub16 paragraph (B) and subsection (a)(6)’’. 

17 (b) ABILITY OF REGISTRANT TO USE ONLINE UP18 DATE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON RESIDENCE.—Sec19 tion 8(d)(2)(A) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

20 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(d)(2)(A)) is amended— 

21 (1) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘re22 turn the card’’ the following: ‘‘or update the reg23 istrant’s information on the computerized statewide 

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1 vided under section 303(a)(6) of the Help America 

2 Vote Act of 2002’’; and 

3 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘re4 turned,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘returned or if 

5 the registrant does not update the registrant’s infor6 mation on the computerized statewide voter registra7 tion list using such online method,’’. 

8 SEC. 1023. PROVISION OF ELECTION INFORMATION BY 

9 ELECTRONIC MAIL TO INDIVIDUALS REG10 ISTERED TO VOTE. 

11 (a) INCLUDING OPTION ON VOTER REGISTRATION

12 APPLICATION TO PROVIDE EMAIL ADDRESS AND RE13 CEIVE INFORMATION.— 

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

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

16 20508(b)) is amended— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para18 graph (3); 

19 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

20 (i) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), 

21 and (iii) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

22 (C), respectively; and 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (C), as so redes24 ignated, by striking the period at the end 

25 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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

2 paragraph: 

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

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

5 address, together with a statement that, if the appli6 cant so requests, instead of using regular mail the 

7 appropriate State and local election officials shall 

8 provide to the applicant, through electronic mail sent 

9 to that address, the same voting information (as de10 fined in section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote 

11 Act of 2002) that the officials would provide to the 

12 applicant through regular mail.’’. 

13 (2) PROHIBITING USE FOR PURPOSES UNRE14 LATED TO OFFICIAL DUTIES OF ELECTION OFFI15 CIALS.—Section 9 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following new 

17 subsection: 

18 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITING USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL AD19 DRESSES FOR OTHER THAN OFFICIAL PURPOSES.—The 

20 chief State election official shall ensure that any electronic 

21 mail address provided by an applicant under subsection 

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

23 duties of election officials and is not transmitted by any 

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

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


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1 not require the address to carry out such official duties 

2 and who is not under the direct supervision and control 

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

4 (b) REQUIRING PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY

5 ELECTION OFFICIALS.—Section 302(b) of the Help Amer6 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)) is amended 

7 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF OTHER INFORMATION BY

9 ELECTRONIC MAIL.—If an individual who is a reg10 istered voter has provided the State or local election 

11 official with an electronic mail address for the pur12 pose of receiving voting information (as described in 

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

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

15 official, through electronic mail transmitted not later 

16 than 7 days before the date of the election for Fed17 eral office involved, shall provide the individual with 

18 information on how to obtain the following informa19 tion by electronic means: 

20 ‘‘(A)(i) If the individual is assigned to vote 

21 in the election at a specific polling place— 

22 ‘‘(I) the name and address of the poll23 ing place; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the hours of operation for the 

25 polling place. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) If the individual is not assigned to 

2 vote in the election at a specific polling place— 

3 ‘‘(I) the name and address of loca4 tions at which the individual is eligible to 

5 vote; and 

6 ‘‘(II) the hours of operation for those 

7 locations. 

8 ‘‘(B) A description of any identification or 

9 other information the individual may be re10 quired to present at the polling place or a loca11 tion described in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I) to vote 

12 in the election.’’. 

13 SEC. 1024. CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT REGARDING 

14 NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW ELIGI15 BILITY TO VOTE. 

16 Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 

17 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub19 section (k); and 

20 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE TO REGISTER APPLI23 CANTS PROVIDING NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW

24 ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE.—For purposes meeting the re25 quirement of subsection (a)(1) that an eligible applicant 


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

2 the deadlines required under such subsection, the State 

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

4 registration form’ if— 

5 ‘‘(1) the applicant has substantially completed 

6 the application form and attested to the statement 

7 required by section 9(b)(2); and 

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

9 to vote online in accordance with section 6A, the ap10 plicant provides a signature in accordance with sub11 section (c) of such section.’’. 

12 SEC. 1025. PROHIBITING STATE FROM REQUIRING APPLI13 CANTS TO PROVIDE MORE THAN LAST 4 DIG14 ITS OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

15 (a) FORM INCLUDED WITH APPLICATION FOR

16 MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER’S LICENSE.—Section 

17 5(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

18 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by strik19 ing the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘, and to the extent that the application requires the appli21 cant to provide a social security number, may not require 

22 the applicant to provide more than the last 4 digits of such 

23 number;’’. 

24 (b) NATIONAL MAIL VOTER REGISTRATION FORM.— 

25 Section 9(b)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508(b)(1)) is 


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1 amended by striking the semicolon at the end and insert2 ing the following: ‘‘, and to the extent that the form re3 quires the applicant to provide a social security number, 

4 the form may not require the applicant to provide more 

5 than the last 4 digits of such number;’’. 

6 SEC. 1026. APPLICATION OF RULES TO CERTAIN EXEMPT 

7 STATES. 

8 Section 4 of the National Voter Registration Act of 

9 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF INTERNET VOTER REGISTRA12 TION RULES.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), the fol13 lowing provisions shall apply to a State described in para14 graph (2) thereof: 

15 ‘‘(1) Section 6A (as added by section 1021(a) 

16 of the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 

17 2023). 

18 ‘‘(2) Section 8(a)(1)(E) (as added by section 

19 1021(c)(1) of the Voter Registration Modernization 

20 Act of 2023). 

21 ‘‘(3) Section 8(a)(5) (as amended by section 

22 1021(c)(2) of Voter Registration Modernization Act 

23 of 2023), but only to the extent such provision re24 lates to section 6A. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Section 8(j) (as added by section 1024 of 

2 the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2023), 

3 but only to the extent such provision relates to sec4 tion 6A.’’. 

5 SEC. 1027. REPORT ON DATA COLLECTION RELATING TO 

6 ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEMS. 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 

9 a report on local, State, and Federal personally identifi10 able information data collections efforts related to online 

11 voter registration systems, the cybersecurity resources 

12 necessary to defend such efforts from online attacks, and 

13 the impact of a potential data breach of local, State, or 

14 Federal online voter registration systems. 

15 SEC. 1028. PERMITTING VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICA16 TION FORM TO SERVE AS APPLICATION FOR 

17 ABSENTEE BALLOT. 

18 Section 5(c) of the National Voter Registration Act 

19 of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(c)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub22 paragraph (D); 

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

24 subparagraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(F) at the option of the applicant, shall serve 

4 as an application to vote by absentee ballot in the 

5 next election for Federal office held in the State and 

6 in each subsequent election for Federal office held in 

7 the State.’’; and 

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

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3)(A) In the case of an individual who is treated 

11 as having applied for an absentee ballot in the next elec12 tion for Federal office held in the State and in each subse13 quent election for Federal office held in the State under 

14 paragraph (2)(F), such treatment shall remain effective 

15 until the earlier of such time as— 

16 ‘‘(i) the individual is no longer registered to 

17 vote in the State; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) the individual provides an affirmative writ19 ten notice revoking such treatment. 

20 ‘‘(B) The treatment of an individual as having ap21 plied for an absentee ballot in the next election for Federal 

22 office held in the State and in each subsequent election 

23 for Federal office held in the State under paragraph 

24 (2)(F) shall not be revoked on the basis that the individual 

25 has not voted in an election’’. 


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1 SEC. 1029. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

3 (b), the amendments made by this part (other than the 

4 amendments made by section 1024) shall apply with re5 spect to the regularly scheduled general election for Fed6 eral office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 

7 election for Federal office. 

8 (b) WAIVER.—If a State certifies to the Election As9 sistance Commission not later than 180 days after the 

10 date of enactment of this Act that the State will not meet 

11 the deadline described in subsection (a) because it would 

12 be impracticable to do so and includes in the certification 

13 the reasons for the failure to meet such deadline, sub14 section (a) shall apply to the State as if the reference in 

15 such subsection to ‘‘the regularly scheduled general elec16 tion for Federal office held in November 2024’’ were a 

17 reference to ‘‘January 1, 2026’’. 

18 PART 4—SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION 

19 SEC. 1031. SAME-DAY REGISTRATION. 

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

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

22 (1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 

23 sections 305 and 306, respectively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following 

25 new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 304. SAME-DAY REGISTRATION. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Each State shall permit 

4 any eligible individual on the day of a Federal elec5 tion and on any day when voting, including early 

6 voting, is permitted for a Federal election— 

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

8 the polling place using a form that meets the 

9 requirements under section 9(b) of the National 

10 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the indi11 vidual is already registered to vote, to revise 

12 any of the individual’s voter registration infor13 mation); and 

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

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

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

17 under a State law in effect continuously on and after 

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

19 voter registration requirement for individuals in the 

20 State with respect to elections for Federal office. 

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

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

23 to any election for Federal office, an individual who is oth24 erwise qualified to vote in that election. 

25 ‘‘(c) ENSURING AVAILABILITY OF FORMS.—The 

26 State shall ensure that each polling place has copies of 


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1 any forms an individual may be required to complete in 

2 order to register to vote or revise the individual’s voter 

3 registration information under this section. 

4 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

6 each State shall be required to comply with the re7 quirements of this section for the regularly sched8 uled general election for Federal office occurring in 

9 November 2024 and for any subsequent election for 

10 Federal office. 

11 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES FOR ELECTIONS BEFORE

12 NOVEMBER 2026.— 

13 ‘‘(A) ELECTIONS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER

14 2026 GENERAL ELECTION.—A State shall be 

15 deemed to be in compliance with the require16 ments of this section for the regularly scheduled 

17 general election for Federal office occurring in 

18 November 2024 and subsequent elections for 

19 Federal office occurring before the regularly 

20 scheduled general election for Federal office in 

21 November 2026 if at least 1 location for each 

22 15,000 registered voters in each jurisdiction in 

23 the State meets such requirements, and such lo24 cation is reasonably located to serve voting pop25 ulations equitably across the jurisdiction. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NOVEMBER 2026 GENERAL ELEC2 TION.—If a State certifies to the Election As3 sistance Commission not later than November 

4 3, 2026, that the State will not be in compli5 ance with the requirements of this section for 

6 the regularly scheduled general election for 

7 Federal office occurring in November 2026 be8 cause it would be impracticable to do so and in9 cludes in the certification the reasons for the 

10 failure to meet such requirements, the State 

11 shall be deemed to be in compliance with the re12 quirements of this section for such election if at 

13 least one location for each 15,000 registered 

14 voters in each jurisdiction in the State meets 

15 such requirements, and such location is reason16 ably located to serve voting populations equi17 tably across the jurisdiction.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN19 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 

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

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

22 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

23 of such Act is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec2 tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 

3 306, respectively; and 

4 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec5 tion 303 the following new item: 

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

6 SEC. 1032. ENSURING PRE-ELECTION REGISTRATION DEAD7 LINES ARE CONSISTENT WITH TIMING OF 

8 LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(a)(1) of the National 

10 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)) 

11 is amended by striking ‘‘30 days’’ each place it appears 

12 and inserting ‘‘28 days’’. 

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

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections held 

15 in 2024 or any succeeding year. 

16 PART 5—STREAMLINE VOTER REGISTRATION 

17 INFORMATION, ACCESS, AND PRIVACY 

18 SEC. 1041. AUTHORIZING THE DISSEMINATION OF VOTER 

19 REGISTRATION INFORMATION DISPLAYS 

20 FOLLOWING NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 

22 Security shall establish a process for authorizing the chief 

23 State election official of a State to disseminate voter reg24 istration information at the conclusion of any naturalizaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00076 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H11.IH H11

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1 tion ceremony conducted by the Department of Homeland 

2 Security, its constituent agencies, or the Federal judiciary. 

3 (b) NO EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

4 this section shall be construed to imply that a Federal 

5 agency cannot provide voter registration services beyond 

6 those minimally required herein, or to imply that agencies 

7 not named may not distribute voter registration informa8 tion or provide voter registration services up to the limits 

9 of their statutory and funding authority. 

10 (c) DESIGNATED VOTER REGISTRATION AGEN11 CIES.—In any State or other location in which a Federal 

12 agency is designated as a voter registration agency under 

13 section 7(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration 

14 Act, the voter registration responsibilities incurred 

15 through such designation shall supersede the requirements 

16 described in this section. 

17 SEC. 1042. INCLUSION OF VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMA18 TION WITH CERTAIN LEASES AND VOUCHERS 

19 FOR FEDERALLY ASSISTED RENTAL HOUSING 

20 AND MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) BUREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 

23 Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. 

24 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

25 the Director of the Bureau. 


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1 (3) FEDERAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—The term 

2 ‘‘Federal rental assistance’’ means rental assistance 

3 provided under— 

4 (A) any covered housing program, as de5 fined in section 41411(a) of the Violence 

6 Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 

7 12491(a)); 

8 (B) title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

9 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.), including voucher assist10 ance under section 542 of such title (42 U.S.C. 

11 1490r); 

12 (C) the Housing Trust Fund program 

13 under section 1338 of the Federal Housing En14 terprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act 

15 of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4588); or 

16 (D) subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney17 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 11381 et seq.). 

19 (4) FEDERALLY BACKED MULTIFAMILY MORT20 GAGE LOAN.—The term ‘‘federally backed multi21 family mortgage loan’’ includes any loan (other than 

22 temporary financing such as a construction loan) 

23 that— 

24 (A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien 

25 on residential multifamily real property deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H11.IH H11

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1 signed principally for the occupancy of 5 or 

2 more families, including any such secured loan, 

3 the proceeds of which are used to prepay or pay 

4 off an existing loan secured by the same prop5 erty; and 

6 (B) is made in whole or in part, or in7 sured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in 

8 any way, by any officer or agency of the Fed9 eral Government or under or in connection with 

10 a housing or urban development program ad11 ministered by the Secretary of Housing and 

12 Urban Development or a housing or related 

13 program administered by any other such officer 

14 or agency, or is purchased or securitized by the 

15 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or 

16 the Federal National Mortgage Association. 

17 (5) OWNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ has the mean18 ing given the term in section 8(f) of the United 

19 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(f)). 

20 (6) PUBLIC HOUSING; PUBLIC HOUSING AGEN21 CY.—The terms ‘‘public housing’’ and ‘‘public hous22 ing agency’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

23 section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 

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


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1 (7) RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN.—The term 

2 ‘‘residential mortgage loan’’ includes any loan that is 

3 secured by a first or subordinate lien on residential 

4 real property, including individual units of con5 dominiums and cooperatives, designed principally for 

6 the occupancy of from 1 to 4 families. 

7 (b) UNIFORM STATEMENT.— 

8 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—The Director, after con9 sultation with the Election Assistance Commission, 

10 shall develop a uniform statement designed to pro11 vide recipients of the statement pursuant to this sec12 tion with information on how the recipient can reg13 ister to vote and the voting rights of the recipient 

14 under law. 

15 (2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—In developing the uni16 form statement, the Director shall be responsible 

17 for— 

18 (A) establishing the format of the state19 ment; 

20 (B) consumer research and testing of the 

21 statement; and 

22 (C) consulting with and obtaining from the 

23 Election Assistance Commission the content re24 garding voter rights and registration issues 


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1 needed to ensure the statement complies with 

2 the requirements of paragraph (1). 

3 (3) LANGUAGES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The uniform statement 

5 required under paragraph (1) shall be developed 

6 and made available in English and in each of 

7 the 10 languages most commonly spoken by in8 dividuals with limited English proficiency, as 

9 determined by the Director using information 

10 published by the Director of the Bureau of the 

11 Census. 

12 (B) PUBLICATION.—The Director shall 

13 make all translated versions of the uniform 

14 statement required under paragraph (1) pub15 licly available in a centralized location on the 

16 website of the Bureau. 

17 (c) LEASES AND VOUCHERS FOR FEDERALLY AS18 SISTED RENTAL HOUSING.—Each Federal agency admin19 istering a Federal rental assistance program shall re20 quire— 

21 (1) each public housing agency to provide a 

22 copy of the uniform statement developed pursuant to 

23 subsection (b) to each lessee of a dwelling unit in 

24 public housing administered by the agency— 


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1 (A) together with the lease for the dwelling 

2 unit, at the same time the lease is signed by the 

3 lessee; and 

4 (B) together with any income verification 

5 form, at the same time the form is provided to 

6 the lessee; 

7 (2) each public housing agency that administers 

8 rental assistance under the Housing Choice Voucher 

9 program under section 8(o) of the United States 

10 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), includ11 ing the program under paragraph (13) of such sec12 tion 8(o), to provide a copy of the uniform statement 

13 developed pursuant to subsection (b) to each assisted 

14 family or individual— 

15 (A) together with the voucher for the as16 sistance, at the time the voucher is issued for 

17 the family or individual; and 

18 (B) together with any income verification 

19 form, at the time the voucher is provided to the 

20 applicant or assisted family or individual; and 

21 (3) each owner of a dwelling unit assisted with 

22 Federal rental assistance to provide a copy of the 

23 uniform statement developed pursuant to subsection 

24 (b) to the lessee of the dwelling unit— 


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1 (A) together with the lease for such dwell2 ing unit, at the same time the lease is signed 

3 by the lessee; and 

4 (B) together with any income verification 

5 form, at the same time the form is provided to 

6 the applicant or tenant. 

7 (d) APPLICATIONS FOR RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE

8 LOANS.—The Director shall require each creditor (within 

9 the meaning of such term as used in section 1026.2(a)(17) 

10 of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations) that receives an 

11 application (within the meaning of such term as used in 

12 section 1026.2(a)(3)(ii) of title 12, Code of Federal Regu13 lations) to provide a copy of the uniform statement devel14 oped pursuant to subsection (b) in written form to the 

15 applicant for the residential mortgage loan not later than 

16 5 business days after the date of the application. 

17 (e) FEDERALLY BACKED MULTIFAMILY MORTGAGE

18 LOANS.—The head of the Federal agency insuring, guar19 anteeing, supplementing, or assisting a federally backed 

20 multifamily mortgage loan, or the Director of the Federal 

21 Housing Finance Agency in the case of a federally backed 

22 multifamily mortgage loan that is purchased or securitized 

23 by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the 

24 Federal National Mortgage Association, shall require the 

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1 tifamily mortgage loan to provide a copy of the uniform 

2 statement developed pursuant to subsection (b) in written 

3 form to each lessee of a dwelling unit assisted by that loan 

4 at the time the lease is signed by the lessee. 

5 (f) OPTIONAL COMPLETION OF VOTER REGISTRA6 TION.—Nothing in this section may be construed to re7 quire any individual to complete a voter registration form. 

8 (g) REGULATIONS.—The head of a Federal agency 

9 administering a Federal rental assistance program, the 

10 head of the Federal agency insuring, guaranteeing, 

11 supplementing, or assisting a federally backed multifamily 

12 mortgage loan, the Director of the Federal Housing Fi13 nance Agency, and the Director may issue such regula14 tions as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

15 (h) NO EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITY.—Nothing in 

16 this section shall be construed to imply that a Federal 

17 agency cannot provide voter registration services beyond 

18 those minimally required herein, or to imply that agencies 

19 not named may not distribute voter registration informa20 tion or provide voter registration services up to the limits 

21 of their statutory and funding authority. 

22 (i) DESIGNATED VOTER REGISTRATION AGENCIES.— 

23 In any State or other location in which a Federal agency 

24 is designated as a voter registration agency under section 

25 7(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration Act, the 


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1 voter registration responsibilities incurred through such 

2 designation shall supersede the requirements described in 

3 this section. 

4 SEC. 1043. ACCEPTANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION APPLI5 CATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 

6 YEARS OF AGE. 

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

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

9 20507), as amended by section 1024, is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub11 section (l); and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol13 lowing new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(k) ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FROM INDIVID15 UALS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE.— 

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

17 accept or process an individual’s application to reg18 ister to vote in elections for Federal office on the 

19 grounds that the individual is under 18 years of age 

20 at the time the individual submits the application, so 

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

22 such time. 

23 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON STATE VOTING AGE RE24 QUIREMENTS.—Nothing in paragraph (1) may be 

25 construed to require a State to permit an individual 


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1 who is under 18 years of age at the time of an elec2 tion for Federal office to vote in the election.’’. 

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

4 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections occur5 ring on or after January 1, 2024. 

6 SEC. 1044. REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPER7 ATE VOTER PRIVACY PROGRAMS. 

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

9 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended 

10 by section 1031(a), is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as 

12 sections 306 and 307, respectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after section 304 the following 

14 new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 305. VOTER PRIVACY PROGRAMS. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish and 

17 operate a privacy program to enable victims of domestic 

18 violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault, and traf19 ficking to have personally identifiable information that 

20 State or local election officials maintain with respect to 

21 an individual voter registration status for purposes of elec22 tions for Federal office in the State, including addresses, 

23 be kept confidential. 

24 ‘‘(b) NOTICE.—Each State shall notify residents of 

25 that State of the information that State and local election 


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1 officials maintain with respect to an individual voter reg2 istration status for purposes of elections for Federal office 

3 in the State, how that information is shared or sold and 

4 with whom, what information is automatically kept con5 fidential, what information is needed to access voter infor6 mation online, and the privacy programs that are avail7 able. 

8 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Each State shall make 

9 information about the program established under sub10 section (a) available on a publicly accessible website. 

11 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘dating violence’, ‘domestic vio13 lence’, ‘sexual assault’, and ‘stalking’ have the mean14 ings given those terms in section 40002 of the Vio15 lence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 

16 12291). 

17 ‘‘(2) The term ‘trafficking’ means an act or 

18 practice described in paragraph (11) or (12) of sec19 tion 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 

20 of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102). 

21 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 

22 shall be required to comply with the requirements of this 

23 section on and after January 1, 2025.’’. 

24 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

25 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec2 tions 305 and 306 as relating to sections 306 and 

3 307, respectively; and 

4 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec5 tion 304 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 305. Voter privacy programs.’’. 

6 PART 6—FUNDING SUPPORT TO STATES FOR 

7 COMPLIANCE 

8 SEC. 1051. AVAILABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 

9 UNDER HAVA TO COVER COSTS OF COMPLI10 ANCE WITH NEW REQUIREMENTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(b) of the Help Amer12 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘as provided 

14 in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘as other15 wise provided in this subsection’’; and 

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

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN VOTER REGISTRATION ACTIVI19 TIES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (3), a State may 

20 use a requirements payment to carry out any of the 

21 requirements of the Voter Registration Moderniza22 tion Act of 2023, including the requirements of the 

23 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 that are 

24 imposed pursuant to the amendments made to such 


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1 Act by the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 

2 2023.’’. 

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

4 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21004(a)(1)) is amended by strik5 ing ‘‘section 251(a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

6 251(b)(2)’’. 

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

8 this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2024 

9 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

10 Subtitle B—Access to Voting for 

11 Individuals With Disabilities 

12 SEC. 1101. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES TO PROMOTE AC13 CESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 

14 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

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

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

17 as amended by section 1031(a) and section 1044(a), is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) by redesignating sections 306 and 307 as 

20 sections 307 and 308, respectively; and 

21 (2) by inserting after section 305 the following 

22 new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 306. ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 

2 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

3 ‘‘(a) TREATMENT OF APPLICATIONS AND BAL4 LOTS.—Each State shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) ensure that absentee registration forms, 

6 absentee ballot applications, and absentee ballots 

7 that are available electronically are accessible (as de8 fined in section 307); 

9 ‘‘(2) permit individuals with disabilities to use 

10 absentee registration procedures and to vote by ab11 sentee ballot in elections for Federal office; 

12 ‘‘(3) accept and process, with respect to any 

13 election for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter 

14 registration application and absentee ballot applica15 tion from an individual with a disability if the appli16 cation is received by the appropriate State election 

17 official within the deadline for the election which is 

18 applicable under Federal law; 

19 ‘‘(4) in addition to any other method of reg20 istering to vote or applying for an absentee ballot in 

21 the State, establish procedures— 

22 ‘‘(A) for individuals with disabilities to re23 quest by mail and electronically voter registra24 tion applications and absentee ballot applica25 tions with respect to elections for Federal office 

26 in accordance with subsection (c); 


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1 ‘‘(B) for States to send by mail and elec2 tronically (in accordance with the preferred 

3 method of transmission designated by the indi4 vidual under subparagraph (C)) voter registra5 tion applications and absentee ballot applica6 tions requested under subparagraph (A) in ac7 cordance with subsection (c); and 

8 ‘‘(C) by which such an individual can des9 ignate whether the individual prefers that such 

10 voter registration application or absentee ballot 

11 application be transmitted by mail or electroni12 cally; 

13 ‘‘(5) in addition to any other method of trans14 mitting blank absentee ballots in the State, establish 

15 procedures for transmitting by mail and electroni16 cally blank absentee ballots to individuals with dis17 abilities with respect to elections for Federal office 

18 in accordance with subsection (d); and 

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

20 runoff election for Federal office, establish a written 

21 plan that provides absentee ballots are made avail22 able to individuals with disabilities in a manner that 

23 gives them sufficient time to vote in the runoff elec24 tion. 


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

2 PROVIDE INFORMATION ON REGISTRATION AND ABSEN3 TEE BALLOT PROCEDURES FOR VOTERS WITH DISABIL4 ITIES IN STATE.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall designate 

6 a single office that shall be responsible for providing 

7 information regarding voter registration procedures, 

8 absentee ballot procedures, and in-person voting pro9 cedures to be used by individuals with disabilities 

10 with respect to elections for Federal office to all in11 dividuals with disabilities who wish to register to 

12 vote or vote in any jurisdiction in the State. 

13 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each State shall, 

14 through the office designated under paragraph (1)— 

15 ‘‘(A) provide information to election offi16 cials— 

17 ‘‘(i) on how to set up and operate ac18 cessible voting systems; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) regarding the accessibility of vot20 ing procedures, including guidance on com21 patibility with assistive technologies such 

22 as screen readers and ballot marking de23 vices; 

24 ‘‘(B) integrate information on accessibility, 

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1 uals into regular training materials for poll 

2 workers and election administration officials; 

3 ‘‘(C) train poll workers on how to make 

4 polling places accessible for individuals with dis5 abilities and older individuals; 

6 ‘‘(D) promote the hiring of individuals with 

7 disabilities and older individuals as poll workers 

8 and election staff; and 

9 ‘‘(E) publicly post the results of any audits 

10 to determine the accessibility of polling places 

11 not later than 6 months after the completion of 

12 the audit. 

13 ‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF MEANS OF ELECTRONIC COM14 MUNICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES TO

15 REQUEST AND FOR STATES TO SEND VOTER REGISTRA16 TION APPLICATIONS AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA17 TIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES RELATED TO VOTING

18 INFORMATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall, in addi20 tion to the designation of a single State office under 

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

22 accessible electronic communication— 

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

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1 tion applications and absentee ballot applica2 tions under subsection (a)(4); 

3 ‘‘(B) for use by States to send voter reg4 istration applications and absentee ballot appli5 cations requested under such subsection; and 

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

7 voting, balloting, and election information to in8 dividuals with disabilities. 

9 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION REGARDING PROVISION OF

10 MULTIPLE MEANS OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICA11 TION.—A State may, in addition to the means of 

12 electronic communication so designated, provide 

13 multiple means of electronic communication to indi14 viduals with disabilities, including a means of elec15 tronic communication for the appropriate jurisdic16 tion of the State. 

17 ‘‘(3) INCLUSION OF DESIGNATED MEANS OF

18 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH INFORMA19 TIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS THAT AC20 COMPANY BALLOTING MATERIALS.—Each State shall 

21 include a means of electronic communication so des22 ignated with all informational and instructional ma23 terials that accompany balloting materials sent by 

24 the State to individuals with disabilities. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI2 CATED.—In the case in which an individual with a 

3 disability does not designate a preference under sub4 section (a)(4)(C), the State shall transmit the voter 

5 registration application or absentee ballot application 

6 by any delivery method allowable in accordance with 

7 applicable State law, or if there is no applicable 

8 State law, by mail. 

9 ‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION OF BLANK ABSENTEE BALLOTS

10 BY MAIL AND ELECTRONICALLY.— 

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

12 procedures— 

13 ‘‘(A) to securely transmit blank absentee 

14 ballots by mail and electronically (in accordance 

15 with the preferred method of transmission des16 ignated by the individual with a disability under 

17 subparagraph (B)) to individuals with disabil18 ities for an election for Federal office; and 

19 ‘‘(B) by which the individual with a dis20 ability can designate whether the individual pre21 fers that such blank absentee ballot be trans22 mitted by mail or electronically. 

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1 graph (1)(B), the State shall transmit the ballot by 

2 any delivery method allowable in accordance with ap3 plicable State law, or if there is no applicable State 

4 law, by mail. 

5 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF METHODS TO TRACK DE6 LIVERY TO AND RETURN OF BALLOT BY INDIVIDUAL

7 REQUESTING BALLOT.—Under the procedures estab8 lished under paragraph (1), the State shall apply 

9 such methods as the State considers appropriate, 

10 such as assigning a unique identifier to the ballot 

11 envelope, to ensure that if an individual with a dis12 ability requests the State to transmit a blank absen13 tee ballot to the individual in accordance with this 

14 subsection, the voted absentee ballot that is returned 

15 by the individual is the same blank absentee ballot 

16 that the State transmitted to the individual. 

17 ‘‘(e) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY DEFINED.—In 

18 this section, an ‘individual with a disability’ means an in19 dividual with an impairment that substantially limits any 

20 major life activities and who is otherwise qualified to vote 

21 in elections for Federal office. 

22 ‘‘(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

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

24 January 1, 2024.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

2 ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS3 SISTANCE COMMISSION.— 

4 (1) TIMING OF ISSUANCE.—Section 311(b) of 

5 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)) is amended— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para7 graph (2); 

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

9 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

11 paragraph: 

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

13 respect to section 306, January 1, 2024.’’. 

14 (2) REDESIGNATION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Title III of such Act 

16 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by redes17 ignating sections 311 and 312 as sections 321 

18 and 322, respectively. 

19 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

20 321(a) of such Act, as redesignated by subpara21 graph (A), is amended by striking ‘‘section 

22 312’’ and inserting ‘‘section 322’’. 

23 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

24 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c) and section 

25 1044(b), is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec2 tions 306 and 307 as relating to sections 307 and 

3 308, respectively; and 

4 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec5 tion 305 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 306. Access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities.’’. 

6 SEC. 1102. ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF STATE 

7 ACCESSIBLE ELECTION WEBSITES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the Help 

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

10 amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), and section 

11 1101(a), is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating sections 307 and 308 as 

13 sections 308 and 309, respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after section 306 the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 307. ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF ACCES16 SIBLE ELECTION WEBSITES. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2025, 

18 each State shall establish a single election website that is 

19 accessible and meets the following requirements: 

20 ‘‘(1) LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS.—The 

21 website shall provide local election officials, poll 

22 workers, and volunteers with— 

23 ‘‘(A) guidance to ensure that polling places 

24 are accessible for individuals with disabilities 


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1 and older individuals in a manner that provides 

2 the same opportunity for access and participa3 tion (including privacy and independence) as for 

4 other voters; and 

5 ‘‘(B) online training and resources on— 

6 ‘‘(i) how best to promote the access 

7 and participation of individuals with dis8 abilities and older individuals in elections 

9 for public office; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the voting rights and protections 

11 for individuals with disabilities and older 

12 individuals under State and Federal law. 

13 ‘‘(2) VOTERS.—The website shall provide infor14 mation about voting, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) the accessibility of all polling places 

16 within the State, including outreach programs 

17 to inform individuals about the availability of 

18 accessible polling places; 

19 ‘‘(B) how to register to vote and confirm 

20 voter registration in the State; 

21 ‘‘(C) the location and operating hours of 

22 all polling places in the State; 

23 ‘‘(D) the availability of aid or assistance 

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1 vides the same opportunity for access and par2 ticipation (including privacy and independence) 

3 as for other voters at polling places; 

4 ‘‘(E) the availability of transportation aid 

5 or assistance to the polling place for individuals 

6 with disabilities or older individuals; 

7 ‘‘(F) the rights and protections under 

8 State and Federal law for individuals with dis9 abilities and older individuals to participate in 

10 elections; and 

11 ‘‘(G) how to contact State, local, and Fed12 eral officials with complaints or grievances if in13 dividuals with disabilities, older individuals, Na14 tive Americans, Alaska Natives, and individuals 

15 with limited proficiency in the English language 

16 feel their ability to register to vote or vote has 

17 been blocked or delayed. 

18 ‘‘(b) PARTNERSHIP WITH OUTSIDE TECHNICAL OR19 GANIZATION.—The chief State election official of each 

20 State, through the committee of appropriate individuals 

21 under subsection (c)(2), shall partner with an outside 

22 technical organization with demonstrated experience in es23 tablishing accessible and easy to use accessible election 

24 websites to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) update an existing election website of the 

2 State to make the website fully accessible in accord3 ance with this section; or 

4 ‘‘(2) develop an election website of the State 

5 that is fully accessible in accordance with this sec6 tion. 

7 ‘‘(c) STATE PLAN.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT.—The chief State election 

9 official of each State shall, through a committee of 

10 appropriate individuals as described in paragraph 

11 (2), develop a State plan that describes how the 

12 State and local governments will meet the require13 ments under this section. 

14 ‘‘(2) COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP.—The com15 mittee shall comprise at least the following individ16 uals: 

17 ‘‘(A) The chief election officials of the 4 

18 most populous jurisdictions within the State. 

19 ‘‘(B) The chief election officials of the 4 

20 least populous jurisdictions within the State. 

21 ‘‘(C) Representatives from 2 disability ad22 vocacy groups, including not fewer than 1 such 

23 representative who is an individual with a dis24 ability. 


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1 ‘‘(D) Representatives from 2 older indi2 vidual advocacy groups, including not fewer 

3 than 1 such representative who is an older indi4 vidual. 

5 ‘‘(E) Representatives from 2 independent 

6 non-governmental organizations with expertise 

7 in establishing and maintaining accessible 

8 websites. 

9 ‘‘(F) Representatives from 2 independent 

10 non-governmental voting rights organizations. 

11 ‘‘(G) Representatives from State protection 

12 and advocacy systems, as defined in section 102 

13 of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance 

14 and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 

15 15002). 

16 ‘‘(d) PARTNERSHIP TO MONITOR AND VERIFY AC17 CESSIBILITY.—The chief State election official of each eli18 gible State, through the committee of appropriate individ19 uals established under subsection (c)(2), shall partner with 

20 not fewer than 2 of the following organizations to monitor 

21 and verify the accessibility of the election website of the 

22 State and the completeness of the election information and 

23 the accuracy of the disability information provided on such 

24 website: 


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1 ‘‘(1) University Centers for Excellence in Devel2 opmental Disabilities Education, Research, and 

3 Services established under subtitle D of title I of the 

4 Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 

5 Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15061 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(2) Centers for independent living, as de7 scribed in part C of title VII of the Rehabilitation 

8 Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(3) The State Council on Developmental Dis10 abilities established under section 125 of the Devel11 opmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights 

12 Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15025). 

13 ‘‘(4) State protection and advocacy systems, as 

14 defined in section 102 of the Developmental Disabil15 ities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 

16 U.S.C. 15002). 

17 ‘‘(5) Statewide Independent Living Councils es18 tablished under section 705 of the Rehabilitation Act 

19 of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796d). 

20 ‘‘(6) State programs established under the As21 sistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et 

22 seq.). 

23 ‘‘(7) A visual access advocacy organization. 

24 ‘‘(8) An organization for the deaf. 

25 ‘‘(9) A mental health organization. 


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1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, 

2 section 305, and section 307: 

3 ‘‘(1) ACCESSIBLE.—The term ‘accessible’ 

4 means— 

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of the election website 

6 under subsection (a) or an electronic commu7 nication under section 305— 

8 ‘‘(i) that the functions and content of 

9 the website or electronic communication, 

10 including all text, visual, and aural con11 tent, are as accessible to people with dis12 abilities as to those without disabilities; 

13 ‘‘(ii) that the functions and content of 

14 the website or electronic communication 

15 are accessible to individuals with limited 

16 proficiency in the English language; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) that the website or electronic 

18 communication meets, at a minimum, con19 formance to Level AA of the Web Content 

20 Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 of the Web Ac21 cessibility Initiative (or any successor 

22 guidelines); and 

23 ‘‘(B) in the case of a facility (including a 

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1 ities and older individuals, as determined under 

2 the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design 

3 of the Department of Justice, published on Sep4 tember 15, 2010 (or any successor standards). 

5 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.—The 

6 term ‘individual with a disability’ means an indi7 vidual with a disability, as defined in section 3 of the 

8 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

9 12102), and who is otherwise qualified to vote in 

10 elections for Federal office. 

11 ‘‘(3) OLDER INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘older in12 dividual’ means an individual who is 60 years of age 

13 or older and who is otherwise qualified to vote in 

14 elections for Federal office.’’. 

15 (b) VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of 

16 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated 

17 by section 1101(b), is amended by striking ‘‘section 306’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘sections 306 and 307’’. 

19 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

20 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 

21 1044(b), and section 1101(c), is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec23 tions 307 and 308 as relating to sections 308 and 

24 309, respectively; and 


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1 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec2 tion 306 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 307. Establishment and maintenance of accessible election websites.’’. 

3 SEC. 1103. PROTECTIONS FOR IN-PERSON VOTING FOR IN4 DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND OLDER 

5 INDIVIDUALS. 

6 (a) REQUIREMENT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

8 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 

9 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), section 

10 1044(a), section 1101(a), and section 1102(a), is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) by redesignating sections 308 and 309 

13 as sections 309 and 310, respectively; and 

14 (B) by inserting after section 307 the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 308. ACCESS TO VOTING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS17 ABILITIES AND OLDER INDIVIDUALS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) ensure all polling places within the State 

20 are accessible, as defined in section 306; 

21 ‘‘(2) consider procedures to address long wait 

22 times at polling places that allow individuals with 

23 disabilities and older individuals alternate options to 

24 cast a ballot in person in an election for Federal of25 fice, such as the option to cast a ballot outside of 


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1 the polling place or from a vehicle, or providing an 

2 expedited voting line; and 

3 ‘‘(3) consider options to establish mobile polling 

4 sites to allow election officials or volunteers to travel 

5 to long-term care facilities and assist residents who 

6 request assistance in casting a ballot in order to 

7 maintain the privacy and independence of voters in 

8 those facilities. 

9 ‘‘(b) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in this section shall 

10 be construed to alter the requirements under Federal law 

11 that all polling places for Federal elections are accessible 

12 to individuals with disabilities and older individuals. 

13 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

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

15 January 1, 2026.’’. 

16 (2) VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) 

17 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and re18 designated by section 1101(b) and as amended by 

19 section 1102(b), is amended by striking ‘‘and 307’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘, 307, and 308’’. 

21 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of 

22 contents of such Act, as amended by section 

23 1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), and sec24 tion 1102(c), is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating the items relating to 

2 sections 308 and 309 as relating to sections 

3 309 and 310, respectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

5 section 307 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 308. Access to voting for individuals with disabilities and older individuals.’’. 

6 (b) REVISIONS TO VOTING ACCESSIBILITY FOR THE

7 ELDERLY AND HANDICAPPED ACT.— 

8 (1) REPORTS TO ELECTION ASSISTANCE COM9 MISSION.—Section 3(c) of the Voting Accessibility 

10 for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 

11 20102(c)) is amended— 

12 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

13 ‘‘FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION’’ and in14 serting ‘‘ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION’’; 

15 (B) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by 

16 striking ‘‘Federal Election Commission’’ and in17 serting ‘‘Election Assistance Commission’’; and 

18 (C) by striking paragraph (3). 

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

20 REFERENCES.—The Voting Accessibility for the El21 derly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20101 et 

22 seq.), as amended by paragraph (1), is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘handicapped and elderly 

24 individuals’’ each place it appears and inserting 


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1 ‘‘individuals with disabilities and older individ2 uals’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘handicapped and elderly 

4 voters’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘in5 dividuals with disabilities and older individ6 uals’’; 

7 (C) in section 3(b)(2)(B), by striking 

8 ‘‘handicapped or elderly voter’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘individual with a disability or older indi10 vidual’’; 

11 (D) in section 5(b), by striking ‘‘handi12 capped voter’’ and inserting ‘‘individual with a 

13 disability’’; and 

14 (E) in section 8— 

15 (i) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) 

16 and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) ‘accessible’ has the meaning given that 

18 term in section 307 of the Help America Vote Act 

19 of 2002, as added by section 1102(a) of the Free20 dom to Vote Act; 

21 ‘‘(2) ‘older individual’ has the meaning given 

22 that term in such section 307;’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking paragraph (4), and in24 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) ‘individual with a disability’ has the mean2 ing given that term in such section 306; and’’. 

3 (3) SHORT TITLE AMENDMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 1 of the Voting 

5 Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped 

6 Act (Public Law 98–435; 42 U.S.C. 1973ee 

7 note) is amended by striking ‘‘for the Elderly 

8 and Handicapped’’ and inserting ‘‘for Individ9 uals with Disabilities and Older Individuals’’. 

10 (B) REFERENCES.—Any reference in any 

11 other provision of law, regulation, document, 

12 paper, or other record of the United States to 

13 the ‘‘Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 

14 Handicapped Act’’ shall be deemed to be a ref15 erence to the ‘‘Voting Accessibility for Individ16 uals with Disabilities and Older Individuals 

17 Act’’. 

18 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

19 by this subsection shall take effect on January 1, 

20 2026, and shall apply with respect to elections for 

21 Federal office held on or after that date. 

22 SEC. 1104. PROTECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO 

23 GUARDIANSHIP. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the Help 

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


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1 amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 

2 1101(a), section 1102(a), and section 1103(a)(1), is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating sections 309 and 310 as 

5 sections 310 and 311, respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after section 308 the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 309. PROTECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO 

8 GUARDIANSHIP. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State shall not determine that 

10 an individual lacks the capacity to vote in an election for 

11 Federal office on the ground that the individual is subject 

12 to guardianship, unless a court of competent jurisdiction 

13 issues a court order finding by clear and convincing evi14 dence that the individual cannot communicate, with or 

15 without accommodations, a desire to participate in the vot16 ing process. 

17 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

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

19 January 1, 2024.’’. 

20 (b) VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of 

21 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated 

22 by section 1101(b) and as amended by sections 1102 and 

23 1103, is amended by striking ‘‘and 308’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘308, and 309’’. 


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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

2 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 

3 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), and section 

4 1103(a)(3), is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec6 tions 309 and 310 as relating to sections 310 and 

7 311, respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec9 tion 308 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 309. Protections for individuals subject to guardianship.’’. 

10 SEC. 1105. EXPANSION AND REAUTHORIZATION OF GRANT 

11 PROGRAM TO ASSURE VOTING ACCESS FOR 

12 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

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

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

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

16 the following: 

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

18 home accessible to individuals with the full range of 

19 disabilities (including impairments involving vision, 

20 hearing, mobility, or dexterity) through the imple21 mentation of accessible absentee voting systems that 

22 work in conjunction with assistive technologies for 

23 which individuals have access at their homes, inde24 pendent living centers, or other facilities; 


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

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

3 polling facility, accessible to individuals with disabil4 ities, including the blind and visually impaired, in a 

5 manner that provides the same opportunity for ac6 cess and participation (including privacy and inde7 pendence) as for other voters; and 

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

9 to voting and elections for individuals with disabil10 ities that are universally designed and provide the 

11 same opportunities for individuals with and without 

12 disabilities.’’. 

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

14 (52 U.S.C. 21024(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding 

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

18 out this part.’’. 

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

20 264 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21024) is amended— 

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

22 amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub23 section (c), any amounts’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 


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

2 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR OBLIGATION AND EXPEND3 ITURE.—In the case of any amounts appropriated 

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

5 payment to a State or unit of local government for 

6 fiscal year 2024 or any succeeding fiscal year, any 

7 portion of such amounts which have not been obli8 gated or expended by the State or unit of local gov9 ernment prior to the expiration of the 4-year period 

10 that begins on the date the State or unit of local 

11 government first received the amounts shall be 

12 transferred to the Commission. 

13 ‘‘(2) REALLOCATION OF TRANSFERRED

14 AMOUNTS.— 

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

16 use the amounts transferred under paragraph 

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

18 each covered payment recipient described in 

19 subparagraph (B), which may obligate and ex20 pend such payment for the purposes described 

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

22 which begins on the date of receipt. 

23 ‘‘(B) COVERED PAYMENT RECIPIENTS DE24 SCRIBED.—In subparagraph (A), a ‘covered 


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1 payment recipient’ is a State or unit of local 

2 government with respect to which— 

3 ‘‘(i) amounts were appropriated pur4 suant to the authority of subsection (a); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) no amounts were transferred to 

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

8 SEC. 1106. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR ENABLING INDIVIDUALS 

9 WITH DISABILITIES TO REGISTER TO VOTE 

10 PRIVATELY AND INDEPENDENTLY AT RESI11 DENCES. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PILOT PROGRAMS.—The 

13 Election Assistance Commission (hereafter referred to as 

14 the ‘‘Commission’’) shall, subject to the availability of ap15 propriations to carry out this section, make grants to eligi16 ble States to conduct pilot programs under which individ17 uals with disabilities may use electronic means (including 

18 the internet and telephones utilizing assistive devices) to 

19 register to vote and to request and receive absentee ballots 

20 in a manner which permits such individuals to do so pri21 vately and independently at their own residences. 

22 (b) REPORTS.— 

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

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

25 Commission on the pilot programs the State carried 


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1 out with the grant with respect to elections for pub2 lic office held in the State during the year. 

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

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

5 the last election for public office held in the State 

6 during the year. 

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

8 grant under this section if the State submits to the Com9 mission, at such time and in such form as the Commission 

10 may require, an application containing such information 

11 and assurances as the Commission may require. 

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

13 grants under this section for pilot programs which will be 

14 in effect with respect to elections for Federal office held 

15 in 2024, or, at the option of a State, with respect to other 

16 elections for public office held in the State in 2024. 

17 (e) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

18 ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common19 wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 

20 United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 

21 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

22 SEC. 1107. GAO ANALYSIS AND REPORT ON VOTING ACCESS 

23 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

24 (a) ANALYSIS.—The Comptroller General of the 

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1 larly scheduled general election for Federal office with re2 spect to the following: 

3 (1) In relation to polling places located in 

4 houses of worship or other facilities that may be ex5 empt from accessibility requirements under the 

6 Americans with Disabilities Act— 

7 (A) efforts to overcome accessibility chal8 lenges posed by such facilities; and 

9 (B) the extent to which such facilities are 

10 used as polling places in elections for Federal 

11 office. 

12 (2) Assistance provided by the Election Assist13 ance Commission, Department of Justice, or other 

14 Federal agencies to help State and local officials im15 prove voting access for individuals with disabilities 

16 during elections for Federal office. 

17 (3) When accessible voting machines are avail18 able at a polling place, the extent to which such ma19 chines— 

20 (A) are located in places that are difficult 

21 to access; 

22 (B) malfunction; or 

23 (C) fail to provide sufficient privacy to en24 sure that the ballot of the individual cannot be 

25 seen by another individual. 


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1 (4) The process by which Federal, State, and 

2 local governments track compliance with accessibility 

3 requirements related to voting access, including 

4 methods to receive and address complaints. 

5 (5) The extent to which poll workers receive 

6 training on how to assist individuals with disabil7 ities, including the receipt by such poll workers of 

8 information on legal requirements related to voting 

9 rights for individuals with disabilities. 

10 (6) The extent and effectiveness of training pro11 vided to poll workers on the operation of accessible 

12 voting machines. 

13 (7) The extent to which individuals with a de14 velopmental or psychiatric disability experience 

15 greater barriers to voting, and whether poll worker 

16 training adequately addresses the needs of such indi17 viduals. 

18 (8) The extent to which State or local govern19 ments employ, or attempt to employ, individuals 

20 with disabilities to work at polling sites. 

21 (b) REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months 

23 after the date of a regularly scheduled general elec24 tion for Federal office, the Comptroller General shall 

25 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 


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1 a report with respect to the most recent regularly 

2 scheduled general election for Federal office that 

3 contains the following: 

4 (A) The analysis required by subsection 

5 (a). 

6 (B) Recommendations, as appropriate, to 

7 promote the use of best practices used by State 

8 and local officials to address barriers to accessi9 bility and privacy concerns for individuals with 

10 disabilities in elections for Federal office. 

11 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 

13 ‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on House Administra15 tion of the House of Representatives; 

16 (B) the Committee on Rules and Adminis17 tration of the Senate; 

18 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

19 the House of Representatives; and 

20 (D) the Committee on Appropriations of 

21 the Senate. 

22 Subtitle C—Early Voting 

23 SEC. 1201. EARLY VOTING. 

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

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


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1 as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 

2 1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), and section 

3 1104(a), is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating sections 310 and 311 as 

5 sections 311 and 312, respectively; and 

6 (2) by inserting after section 309 the following 

7 new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 310. EARLY VOTING. 

9 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING VOTING PRIOR TO DATE OF ELEC10 TION.—Each election jurisdiction shall allow individuals to 

11 vote in an election for Federal office during an early voting 

12 period which occurs prior to the date of the election, in 

13 a manner that allows the individual to receive, complete, 

14 and cast their ballot in person. 

15 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) LENGTH OF PERIOD.—The early vot18 ing period required under this subsection with 

19 respect to an election shall consist of a period 

20 of consecutive days (including weekends) which 

21 begins on the 15th day before the date of the 

22 election (or, at the option of the State, on a day 

23 prior to the 15th day before the date of the 

24 election) and ends no earlier than the second 

25 day before the date of the election. 


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1 ‘‘(B) HOURS FOR EARLY VOTING.—Each 

2 polling place which allows voting during an 

3 early voting period under subparagraph (A) 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(i) allow such voting for no less than 

6 10 hours on each day during the period; 

7 ‘‘(ii) have uniform hours each day for 

8 which such voting occurs; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) allow such voting to be held for 

10 some period of time prior to 9:00 a.m. 

11 (local time) and some period of time after 

12 5:00 p.m. (local time). 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTE-BY-MAIL JURIS14 DICTIONS.—In the case of a jurisdiction that sends 

15 every registered voter a ballot by mail— 

16 ‘‘(A) paragraph (1) shall not apply; 

17 ‘‘(B) such jurisdiction shall allow eligible 

18 individuals to vote during an early voting period 

19 that ensures voters are provided the greatest 

20 opportunity to cast ballots ahead of Election 

21 Day and which includes at least one consecutive 

22 Saturday and Sunday; and 

23 ‘‘(C) each polling place which allows voting 

24 during an early voting period under subpara25 graph (B) shall allow such voting— 


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1 ‘‘(i) during the election office’s reg2 ular business hours; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) for a period of not less than 8 

4 hours on Saturdays and Sundays included 

5 in the early voting period. 

6 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL JURISDIC7 TIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a juris9 diction described in subparagraph (B), para10 graph (1)(B) shall not apply so long as all eligi11 ble individuals in the jurisdiction have the op12 portunity to vote— 

13 ‘‘(i) at each polling place which allows 

14 voting during the early voting period de15 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)— 

16 ‘‘(I) during the election office’s 

17 regular business hours; and 

18 ‘‘(II) for a period of not less than 

19 8 hours on at least one Saturday and 

20 at least one Sunday included in the 

21 early voting period; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) at 1 or more polling places in the 

23 county in which such jurisdiction is located 

24 that allows voting during the early voting 

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1 cordance with the requirements under 

2 paragraph (1)(B). 

3 ‘‘(B) JURISDICTION DESCRIBED.—A juris4 diction is described in this subparagraph if such 

5 jurisdiction— 

6 ‘‘(i) had less than 3,000 registered 

7 voters at the time of the most recent prior 

8 election for Federal office; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) consists of a geographic area 

10 that is smaller than the jurisdiction of the 

11 county in which such jurisdiction is lo12 cated. 

13 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

14 this subsection shall be construed— 

15 ‘‘(A) to limit the availability of additional 

16 temporary voting sites which provide voters 

17 more opportunities to cast their ballots but 

18 which do not meet the requirements of this sub19 section; 

20 ‘‘(B) to limit a polling place from being 

21 open for additional hours outside of the uniform 

22 hours set for the polling location on any day of 

23 the early voting period; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) to limit a State or jurisdiction from 

2 offering early voting on the Monday before 

3 Election Day. 

4 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF POLLING PLACES.—To the 

5 greatest extent practicable, each State and jurisdiction 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) ensure that there are an appropriate num8 ber of polling places which allow voting during an 

9 early voting period; and 

10 ‘‘(2) ensure that such polling places provide the 

11 greatest opportunity for residents of the jurisdiction 

12 to vote. 

13 ‘‘(d) LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PROXIMITY TO PUBLIC TRANSPOR15 TATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, each 

16 State and jurisdiction shall ensure that each polling 

17 place which allows voting during an early voting pe18 riod under subsection (b) is located within walking 

19 distance of a stop on a public transportation route. 

20 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY IN RURAL AREAS.—In the 

21 case of a jurisdiction that includes a rural area, the 

22 State or jurisdiction shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 

24 polling places, but not less than 1, that allow 

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1 section (b) will be located in such rural areas; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places are lo4 cated in communities which will provide the 

5 greatest opportunity for residents of rural areas 

6 to vote during the early voting period. 

7 ‘‘(3) CAMPUSES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

8 EDUCATION.—In the case of a jurisdiction that is 

9 not considered a vote by mail jurisdiction described 

10 in subsection (b)(2) or a small jurisdiction described 

11 in subsection (b)(3) and that includes an institution 

12 of higher education (as defined under section 102 of 

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

14 1002)), including a branch campus of such an insti15 tution, the State or jurisdiction shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 

17 polling places, but not less than 1, that allow 

18 voting during the early voting period under sub19 section (b) will be located on the physical cam20 pus of each such institution, including each 

21 such branch campus; and 

22 ‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places pro23 vide the greatest opportunity for residents of 

24 the jurisdiction to vote. 


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1 ‘‘(e) STANDARDS.—Not later than June 30, 2024, 

2 the Commission shall issue voluntary standards for the ad3 ministration of voting during voting periods which occur 

4 prior to the date of a Federal election. Subject to sub5 section (d), such voluntary standards shall include the 

6 nondiscriminatory geographic placement of polling places 

7 at which such voting occurs. 

8 ‘‘(f) BALLOT PROCESSING AND SCANNING REQUIRE9 MENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State or jurisdiction 

11 shall begin processing and scanning ballots cast dur12 ing in-person early voting for tabulation not later 

13 than the date that is 14 days prior to the date of 

14 the election involved, except that a State or jurisdic15 tion may begin processing and scanning ballots cast 

16 during in-person early voting for tabulation after 

17 such date if the date on which the State or jurisdic18 tion begins such processing and scanning ensures, to 

19 the greatest extent practical, that ballots cast before 

20 the date of the election are processed and scanned 

21 before the date of the election. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 

23 shall be construed— 

24 ‘‘(A) to permit a State or jurisdiction to 

25 tabulate ballots in an election before the closing 


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1 of the polls on the date of the election unless 

2 such tabulation is a necessary component of 

3 preprocessing in the State or jurisdiction and is 

4 performed in accordance with existing State 

5 law; or 

6 ‘‘(B) to permit an official to make public 

7 any results of tabulation and processing before 

8 the closing of the polls on the date of the elec9 tion. 

10 ‘‘(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

11 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

12 Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 

13 election for Federal office.’’. 

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

15 ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS16 SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 321(b) of such Act (52 

17 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as redesignated and amended by sec18 tion 1101(b), is amended— 

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

20 (3); 

21 (2) by striking the period at the end of para22 graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(5) except as provided in paragraph (4), in the 

2 case of the recommendations with respect to any sec3 tion added by the Freedom to Vote Act, June 30, 

4 2024.’’. 

5 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

6 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 

7 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 

8 1103(a), and section 1104(c), is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec10 tions 310 and 311 as relating to sections 311 and 

11 312, respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec13 tion 309 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 310. Early voting.’’. 

14 Subtitle D—Voting by Mail 

15 SEC. 1301. VOTING BY MAIL. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of 

18 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

19 21081 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), sec20 tion 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), sec21 tion 1103(a), section 1104(a), and section 1201(a), 

22 is amended— 

23 (A) by redesignating sections 311 and 312 

24 as sections 312 and 313, respectively; and 


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1 (B) by inserting after section 310 the fol2 lowing new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 311. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 

4 MAIL. 

5 ‘‘(a) UNIFORM AVAILABILITY OF ABSENTEE VOTING

6 TO ALL VOTERS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State 

8 is eligible to cast a vote in an election for Federal 

9 office, the State may not impose any additional con10 ditions or requirements on the eligibility of the indi11 vidual to cast the vote in such election by absentee 

12 ballot by mail. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF VOTING BY MAIL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITING IDENTIFICATION RE15 QUIREMENT AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING OR

16 CASTING BALLOT.—A State may not require an 

17 individual to submit any form of identifying 

18 document as a condition of obtaining or casting 

19 an absentee ballot, except that nothing in this 

20 subparagraph may be construed to prevent a 

21 State from requiring— 

22 ‘‘(i) the information required to com23 plete an application for voter registration 

24 for an election for Federal office under sec25 tion 303(a)(5)(A), provided that a State 


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1 may not deny a voter a ballot or the oppor2 tunity to cast it on the grounds that the 

3 voter does not possess a current and valid 

4 driver’s license number or a social security 

5 number; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) a signature of the individual or 

7 similar affirmation as a condition of ob8 taining or casting an absentee ballot. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITING FAULTY MATCHING RE10 QUIREMENTS FOR IDENTIFYING INFORMA11 TION.—A State may not deny a voter an absen12 tee ballot or reject an absentee ballot cast by a 

13 voter— 

14 ‘‘(i) on the grounds that the voter 

15 provided a different form of identifying in16 formation under subparagraph (A) than 

17 the voter originally provided when reg18 istering to vote or when requesting an ab19 sentee ballot; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) due to an error in, or omission 

21 of, identifying information required by a 

22 State under subparagraph (A), if such 

23 error or omission is not material to an in24 dividual’s eligibility to vote under section 


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1 2004(a)(2)(B) of the Revised Statutes (52 

2 U.S.C. 10101(a)(2)(B)). 

3 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITING REQUIREMENT TO PRO4 VIDE NOTARIZATION OR WITNESS SIGNATURE

5 AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING OR CASTING BAL6 LOT.—A State may not require notarization or 

7 witness signature or other formal authentica8 tion (other than voter attestation) as a condi9 tion of obtaining or casting an absentee ballot, 

10 except that nothing in this subparagraph may 

11 be construed to prohibit a State from enforcing 

12 a law which has a witness signature require13 ment for a ballot where a voter oath is attested 

14 to with a mark rather than a voter’s signature. 

15 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE16 MENTS FOR FIRST-TIME VOTERS REGISTERING BY

17 MAIL.—Nothing in this subsection may be construed 

18 to exempt any individual described in paragraph (1) 

19 of section 303(b) from meeting the requirements of 

20 paragraph (2) of such section or to exempt an indi21 vidual described in paragraph (5)(A) of section 

22 303(b) from meeting the requirements of paragraph 

23 (5)(B). 

24 ‘‘(b) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES

25 REQUIRING SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may not im3 pose a signature verification requirement as a 

4 condition of accepting and counting a mail-in 

5 ballot or absentee ballot submitted by any indi6 vidual with respect to an election for Federal 

7 office unless the State meets the due process re8 quirements described in paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(B) SIGNATURE VERIFICATION REQUIRE10 MENT DESCRIBED.—In this subsection, a ‘sig11 nature verification requirement’ is a require12 ment that an election official verify the identi13 fication of an individual by comparing the sig14 nature of the individual on the mail-in ballot or 

15 absentee ballot with the individual’s signature 

16 on the official list of registered voters in the 

17 State or another official record or other docu18 ment used by the State to verify the signatures 

19 of voters. 

20 ‘‘(2) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE

22 DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES.—If an indi23 vidual submits a mail-in ballot or an absentee 

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1 ists between the signature on such ballot and 

2 the signature of such individual on the official 

3 list of registered voters in the State or other of4 ficial record or document used by the State to 

5 verify the signatures of voters, such election of6 ficial, prior to making a final determination as 

7 to the validity of such ballot, shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but not later 

9 than the next business day after such de10 termination is made, make a good faith ef11 fort to notify the individual by mail, tele12 phone, and (if available) text message and 

13 electronic mail that— 

14 ‘‘(I) a discrepancy exists between 

15 the signature on such ballot and the 

16 signature of the individual on the offi17 cial list of registered voters in the 

18 State or other official record or docu19 ment used by the State to verify the 

20 signatures of voters; and 

21 ‘‘(II) if such discrepancy is not 

22 cured prior to the expiration of the 

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1 sentee ballots, such ballot will not be 

2 counted; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) cure such discrepancy and count 

4 the ballot if, prior to the expiration of the 

5 third day following the State’s deadline for 

6 receiving mail-in ballots or absentee bal7 lots, the individual provides the official 

8 with information to cure such discrepancy, 

9 either in person, by telephone, or by elec10 tronic methods. 

11 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE

12 MISSING SIGNATURE OR OTHER DEFECT.—If an 

13 individual submits a mail-in ballot or an absen14 tee ballot without a signature or submits a 

15 mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot with another 

16 defect which, if left uncured, would cause the 

17 ballot to not be counted, the appropriate State 

18 or local election official, prior to making a final 

19 determination as to the validity of the ballot, 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but not later 

22 than the next business day after such de23 termination is made, make a good faith ef24 fort to notify the individual by mail, teleVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H11.IH H11

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1 phone, and (if available) text message and 

2 electronic mail that— 

3 ‘‘(I) the ballot did not include a 

4 signature or has some other defect; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) if the individual does not 

7 provide the missing signature or cure 

8 the other defect prior to the expira9 tion of the third day following the 

10 State’s deadline for receiving mail-in 

11 ballots or absentee ballots, such ballot 

12 will not be counted; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) count the ballot if, prior to the 

14 expiration of the third day following the 

15 State’s deadline for receiving mail-in bal16 lots or absentee ballots, the individual pro17 vides the official with the missing signa18 ture on a form proscribed by the State or 

19 cures the other defect. 

20 This subparagraph does not apply with respect 

21 to a defect consisting of the failure of a ballot 

22 to meet the applicable deadline for the accept23 ance of the ballot, as described in subsection 

24 (e). 

25 ‘‘(C) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An election official 

2 may not make a determination that a dis3 crepancy exists between the signature on a 

4 mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot and the 

5 signature of the individual on the official 

6 list of registered voters in the State or 

7 other official record or other document 

8 used by the State to verify the signatures 

9 of voters unless— 

10 ‘‘(I) not fewer than 2 election of11 ficials make the determination; 

12 ‘‘(II) each official who makes the 

13 determination has received training in 

14 procedures used to verify signatures; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(III) of the officials who make 

17 the determination, not fewer than 1 is 

18 affiliated with the political party 

19 whose candidate received the most 

20 votes in the most recent statewide 

21 election for Federal office held in the 

22 State and not fewer than 1 is affili23 ated with the political party whose 

24 candidate received the second most 

25 votes in the most recent statewide 


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1 election for Federal office held in the 

2 State. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i)(III) 

4 shall not apply to any State in which, 

5 under a law that is in effect continuously 

6 on and after the date of enactment of this 

7 section, determinations regarding signature 

8 discrepancies are made by election officials 

9 who are not affiliated with a political 

10 party. 

11 ‘‘(3) REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

13 days after the end of a Federal election cycle, 

14 each chief State election official shall submit to 

15 the Commission a report containing the fol16 lowing information for the applicable Federal 

17 election cycle in the State: 

18 ‘‘(i) The number of ballots invalidated 

19 due to a discrepancy under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Description of attempts to con21 tact voters to provide notice as required by 

22 this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(iii) Description of the cure process 

24 developed by such State pursuant to this 

25 subsection, including the number of ballots 


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1 determined valid as a result of such proc2 ess. 

3 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not 

4 later than 10 days after receiving a report 

5 under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall 

6 transmit such report to Congress. 

7 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL ELECTION CYCLE DE8 FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

9 term ‘Federal election cycle’ means, with re10 spect to any regularly scheduled election for 

11 Federal office, the period beginning on the day 

12 after the date of the preceding regularly sched13 uled general election for Federal office and end14 ing on the date of such regularly scheduled gen15 eral election. 

16 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

17 this subsection shall be construed— 

18 ‘‘(A) to prohibit a State from rejecting a 

19 ballot attempted to be cast in an election for 

20 Federal office by an individual who is not eligi21 ble to vote in the election; or 

22 ‘‘(B) to prohibit a State from providing an 

23 individual with more time and more methods 

24 for curing a discrepancy in the individual’s sig25 nature, providing a missing signature, or curing 


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1 any other defect than the State is required to 

2 provide under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to such other 

5 methods as the State may establish for an individual 

6 to apply for an absentee ballot, each State shall per7 mit an individual to submit an application for an ab8 sentee ballot online. 

9 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF WEBSITES.—A State shall 

10 be considered to meet the requirements of paragraph 

11 (1) if the website of the appropriate State or local 

12 election official allows an application for an absentee 

13 ballot to be completed and submitted online and if 

14 the website permits the individual— 

15 ‘‘(A) to print the application so that the 

16 individual may complete the application and re17 turn it to the official; or 

18 ‘‘(B) to request that a paper copy of the 

19 application be transmitted to the individual by 

20 mail or electronic mail so that the individual 

21 may complete the application and return it to 

22 the official. 

23 ‘‘(3) ENSURING DELIVERY PRIOR TO ELEC24 TION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an individual who is 

2 eligible to vote in an election for Federal office 

3 submits an application for an absentee ballot in 

4 the election and such application is received by 

5 the appropriate State or local election official 

6 not later than 13 days (excluding Saturdays, 

7 Sundays, and legal public holidays) before the 

8 date of the election, the election official shall 

9 ensure that the ballot and related voting mate10 rials are promptly mailed to the individual. 

11 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS RECEIVED CLOSE TO

12 ELECTION DAY.—If an individual who is eligible 

13 to vote in an election for Federal office submits 

14 an application for an absentee ballot in the elec15 tion and such application is received by the ap16 propriate State or local election official after 

17 the date described in subparagraph (A) but not 

18 later than 7 days (excluding Saturdays, Sun19 days, and legal public holidays) before the date 

20 of the election, the election official shall, to the 

21 greatest extent practical, ensure that the ballot 

22 and related voting materials are mailed to the 

23 individual within 1 business day of the receipt 

24 of the application. 


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1 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing 

2 in this paragraph shall preclude a State or local 

3 jurisdiction from allowing for the acceptance 

4 and processing of absentee ballot applications 

5 submitted or received after the date described 

6 in subparagraph (B). 

7 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION FOR ALL FUTURE ELEC8 TIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the option of an 

10 individual, the individual’s application to vote 

11 by absentee ballot by mail in an election for 

12 Federal office shall be treated as an application 

13 for an absentee ballot by mail in all subsequent 

14 elections for Federal office held in the State. 

15 ‘‘(B) DURATION OF TREATMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an 

17 individual who is treated as having applied 

18 for an absentee ballot for all subsequent 

19 elections for Federal office held in the 

20 State under subparagraph (A), such treat21 ment shall remain effective until the earlier 

22 of such time as— 

23 ‘‘(I) the individual is no longer 

24 registered to vote in the State; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) the individual provides an 

2 affirmative written notice revoking 

3 such treatment. 

4 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION ON REVOCATION

5 BASED ON FAILURE TO VOTE.—The treat6 ment of an individual as having applied for 

7 an absentee ballot for all subsequent elec8 tions held in the State under subparagraph 

9 (A) shall not be revoked on the basis that 

10 the individual has not voted in an election. 

11 ‘‘(d) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS12 ABILITIES.—Each State shall ensure that all absentee bal13 lot applications, 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.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State or local election of21 ficial may not refuse to accept or process a ballot 

22 submitted by an individual by mail with respect to 

23 an election for Federal office in the State on the 

24 grounds that the individual did not meet a deadline 


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1 for returning the ballot to the appropriate State or 

2 local election official if— 

3 ‘‘(A) the ballot is postmarked or otherwise 

4 indicated by the United States Postal Service to 

5 have been mailed on or before the date of the 

6 election; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the ballot is received by the appro8 priate election official prior to the expiration of 

9 the 7-day period which begins on the date of 

10 the election. 

11 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

12 this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a State 

13 from having a law that allows for counting of ballots 

14 in an election for Federal office that are received 

15 through the mail after the date that is 7 days after 

16 the date of the election. 

17 ‘‘(f) ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF RETURNING BAL18 LOTS.—In addition to permitting an individual to whom 

19 a ballot in an election was provided under this section to 

20 return the ballot to an election official by mail, each State 

21 shall permit the individual to cast the ballot by delivering 

22 the ballot at such times and to such locations as the State 

23 may establish, including— 

24 ‘‘(1) permitting the individual to deliver the bal25 lot to a polling place within the jurisdiction in which 


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1 the individual is registered or otherwise eligible to 

2 vote on any date on which voting in the election is 

3 held at the polling place; and 

4 ‘‘(2) permitting the individual to deliver the bal5 lot to a designated ballot drop-off location, a tribally 

6 designated building, or the office of a State or local 

7 election official. 

8 ‘‘(g) BALLOT PROCESSING AND SCANNING REQUIRE9 MENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State or jurisdiction 

11 shall begin processing and scanning ballots cast by 

12 mail for tabulation not later than the date that is 14 

13 days prior to the date of the election involved, except 

14 that a State may begin processing and scanning bal15 lots cast by mail for tabulation after such date if the 

16 date on which the State begins such processing and 

17 scanning ensures, to the greatest extent practical, 

18 that ballots cast before the date of the election are 

19 processed and scanned before the date of the elec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 

22 shall be construed— 

23 ‘‘(A) to permit a State to tabulate ballots 

24 in an election before the closing of the polls on 

25 the date of the election unless such tabulation 


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1 is a necessary component of preprocessing in 

2 the State and is performed in accordance with 

3 existing State law; or 

4 ‘‘(B) to permit an official to make public 

5 any results of tabulation and processing before 

6 the closing of the polls on the date of the elec7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(h) PROHIBITING RESTRICTIONS ON DISTRIBUTION

9 OF ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS BY THIRD PAR10 TIES.—A State may not prohibit any person from pro11 viding an application for an absentee ballot in the election 

12 to any individual who is eligible to vote in the election. 

13 ‘‘(i) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec14 tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 

15 to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 

16 polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 

17 ‘‘(j) NO EFFECT ON BALLOTS SUBMITTED BY AB18 SENT MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Nothing in 

19 this section may be construed to affect the treatment of 

20 any ballot submitted by an individual who is entitled to 

21 vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas 

22 Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

23 ‘‘(k) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

24 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 


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1 Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 

2 election for Federal office.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of 

4 contents of such Act, as amended by section 

5 1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 

6 1102(c), section 1103(a), section 1104(c), and sec7 tion 1201(c), is amended— 

8 (A) by redesignating the items relating to 

9 sections 311 and 312 as relating to sections 

10 312 and 313, respectively; and 

11 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

12 section 310 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 311. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’. 

13 (b) SAME-DAY PROCESSING OF ABSENTEE BAL14 LOTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 

16 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following: 

18 ‘‘§ 3407. Same-day processing of ballots 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall ensure, 

20 to the maximum extent practicable, that any ballot carried 

21 by the Postal Service is processed by and cleared from 

22 any postal facility or post office on the same day that the 

23 ballot is received by that facility or post office. 

24 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the term ‘ballot’ means any ballot trans2 mitted by a voter by mail in an election for Federal 

3 office, but does not include any ballot covered by 

4 section 3406; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘election for Federal office’ means 

6 a general, special, primary, or runoff election for the 

7 office of President or Vice President, or of Senator 

8 or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com9 missioner to, the Congress.’’. 

10 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND11 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 

12 39, United States Code, is amended by adding at 

13 the end the following: 

‘‘3407. Same-day processing of ballots.’’. 

14 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

15 by this subsection shall apply to absentee ballots re16 lating to an election for Federal office occurring on 

17 or after January 1, 2024. 

18 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE VERIFICATION

19 METHODS.— 

20 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.—The Di21 rector of the National Institute of Standards, in con22 sultation with the Election Assistance Commission, 

23 shall develop standards for the use of alternative 

24 methods which could be used in place of signature 

25 verification requirements for purposes of verifying 


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1 the identification of an individual voting by mail-in 

2 or absentee ballot in elections for Federal office. 

3 (2) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The Di4 rector of the National Institute of Standards shall 

5 solicit comments from the public in the development 

6 of standards under paragraph (1). 

7 (3) DEADLINE.—Not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

9 the National Institute of Standards shall publish the 

10 standards developed under paragraph (1). 

11 SEC. 1302. BALLOTING MATERIALS TRACKING PROGRAM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (1) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of 

14 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

15 21081 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), sec16 tion 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), sec17 tion 1103(a), section 1104(a), section 1201(a), and 

18 section 1301(a), is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating sections 312 and 313 

20 as sections 313 and 314, respectively; and 

21 (B) by inserting after section 311 the fol22 lowing new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 312. BALLOT MATERIALS TRACKING PROGRAM. 

24 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall carry out a 

25 program to track and confirm the receipt of mail-in ballots 


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1 and absentee ballots in an election for Federal office under 

2 which the State or local election official responsible for the 

3 receipt of such voted ballots in the election carries out pro4 cedures to track and confirm the receipt of such ballots, 

5 and makes information on the receipt of such ballots avail6 able to the individual who cast the ballot. 

7 ‘‘(b) MEANS OF CARRYING OUT PROGRAM.—A State 

8 may meet the requirements of subsection (a)— 

9 ‘‘(1) through a program— 

10 ‘‘(A) which is established by the State; 

11 ‘‘(B) under which the State or local elec12 tion official responsible for the receipt of voted 

13 mail-in ballots and voted absentee ballots in the 

14 election— 

15 ‘‘(i) carries out procedures to track 

16 and confirm the receipt of such ballots; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) makes information on the receipt 

19 of such ballots available to the individual 

20 who cast the ballot; and 

21 ‘‘(C) which meets the requirements of sub22 section (c); or 

23 ‘‘(2) through the ballot materials tracking serv24 ice established under section 1302(b) of the Free25 dom to Vote Act. 


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1 ‘‘(c) STATE PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The re2 quirements of this subsection are as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION ON WHETHER VOTE WAS

4 ACCEPTED.—The information referred to under sub5 section (b)(1)(B)(ii) with respect to the receipt of 

6 mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot shall include in7 formation regarding whether the vote cast on the 

8 ballot was accepted, and, in the case of a vote which 

9 was rejected, the reasons therefor. 

10 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—Infor11 mation on whether a ballot was accepted or rejected 

12 shall be available within 1 business day of the State 

13 accepting or rejecting the ballot. 

14 ‘‘(3) ACCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION.— 

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

16 under subparagraph (B), the information pro17 vided under the program shall be available by 

18 means of online access using the internet site of 

19 the State or local election office. 

20 ‘‘(B) USE OF TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE

21 NUMBER BY OFFICIALS WITHOUT INTERNET

22 SITE.—In the case of a State or local election 

23 official whose office does not have an internet 

24 site, the program shall require the official to es25 tablish a toll-free telephone number that may be 


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1 used by an individual who cast an absentee bal2 lot to obtain the information required under 

3 subsection (b)(1)(B). 

4 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

5 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

6 Federal office held in November 2026 and each succeeding 

7 election for Federal office.’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 102 

9 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 

10 Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302) is amended by strik11 ing subsection (h) and redesignating subsection (i) 

12 as subsection (h). 

13 (b) BALLOTING MATERIALS TRACKING SERVICE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

15 2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con16 sultation with the Chair of the Election Assistance 

17 Commission, the Postmaster General, the Director 

18 of the General Services Administration, the Presi19 dential designee, and State election officials, shall 

20 establish a balloting materials tracking service to be 

21 used by State and local jurisdictions to inform voters 

22 on the status of voter registration applications, ab23 sentee ballot applications, absentee ballots, and mail24 in ballots. 


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1 (2) INFORMATION TRACKED.—The balloting 

2 materials tracking service established under para3 graph (1) shall provide to a voter the following infor4 mation with respect to that voter: 

5 (A) In the case of balloting materials sent 

6 by mail, tracking information from the United 

7 States Postal Service and the Presidential des8 ignee on balloting materials sent to the voter 

9 and, to the extent feasible, returned by the 

10 voter. 

11 (B) The date on which any request by the 

12 voter for an application for voter registration or 

13 an absentee ballot was received. 

14 (C) The date on which any such requested 

15 application was sent to the voter. 

16 (D) The date on which any such completed 

17 application was received from the voter and the 

18 status of such application. 

19 (E) The date on which any mail-in ballot 

20 or absentee ballot was sent to the voter. 

21 (F) The date on which any mail-in ballot 

22 or absentee ballot was out for delivery to the 

23 voter. 

24 (G) The date on which the post office proc25 esses the ballot. 


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1 (H) The date on which the returned ballot 

2 was out for delivery to the election office. 

3 (I) Whether such ballot was accepted and 

4 counted, and in the case of any ballot not 

5 counted, the reason why the ballot was not 

6 counted. 

7 The information described in subparagraph (I) shall 

8 be available not later than 1 day after a determina9 tion is made on whether or not to accept and count 

10 the ballot. 

11 (3) METHOD OF PROVIDING INFORMATION.— 

12 The balloting materials tracking service established 

13 under paragraph (1) shall allow voters the option to 

14 receive the information described in paragraph (2) 

15 through email (or other electronic means) or through 

16 the mail. 

17 (4) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF LIMITED INFOR18 MATION.—Information described in subparagraphs 

19 (E), (G), and (I) of paragraph (2) shall be made 

20 available to political parties and voter registration 

21 organizations, at cost to cover the expense of pro22 viding such information, for use, in accordance with 

23 State guidelines and procedures, in helping to return 

24 or cure mail-in ballots during any period in which 

25 mail-in ballots may be returned. 


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1 (5) PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Director may 

2 not charge any fee to a State or jurisdiction for use 

3 of the balloting materials tracking service in connec4 tion with any Federal, State, or local election. 

5 (6) PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE.—For purposes 

6 of this subsection, the term ‘‘Presidential designee’’ 

7 means the Presidential designee under section 

8 101(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab9 sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301(a)). 

10 (7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Di12 rector such sums as are necessary for purposes of 

13 carrying out this subsection. 

14 (c) REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS INCURRED BY

15 STATES IN ESTABLISHING PROGRAM.—Subtitle D of title 

16 II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

17 21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new part: 

19 ‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES 

20 FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING 

21 PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RE22 CEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS 

23 ‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 

24 ‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF PROGRAM.—In ac25 cordance with this section, the Commission shall make a 


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1 payment to a State to reimburse the State for the costs 

2 incurred in establishing the absentee ballot tracking pro3 gram under section 322(b)(1) (including costs incurred 

4 prior to the date of enactment of this part). 

5 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND COSTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 

7 receive a payment under this section, a State shall 

8 submit to the Commission a statement containing— 

9 ‘‘(A) a certification that the State has es10 tablished an absentee ballot tracking program 

11 with respect to elections for Federal office held 

12 in the State; and 

13 ‘‘(B) a statement of the costs incurred by 

14 the State in establishing the program. 

15 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 

16 payment made to a State under this section shall be 

17 equal to the costs incurred by the State in estab18 lishing the absentee ballot tracking program, as set 

19 forth in the statement submitted under paragraph 

20 (1), except that such amount may not exceed the 

21 product of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the number of jurisdictions in the 

23 State which are responsible for operating the 

24 program; and 

25 ‘‘(B) $3,000. 


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1 ‘‘(3) LIMIT ON NUMBER OF PAYMENTS RE2 CEIVED.—A State may not receive more than one 

3 payment under this part. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 297A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 

6 appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2024 and 

7 each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary 

8 for payments under this part. 

9 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any 

10 amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under 

11 this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 

12 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

13 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), 1044(b), sec14 tion 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 1103(a), section 

15 1104(c), section 1201(c), and section 1301(a), is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) by adding at the end of the items relating 

18 to subtitle D of title II the following: 

‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE

BALLOTS

‘‘Sec. 297. Payments to States. 

‘‘Sec. 297A. Authorization of appropriations.’’; 

19 (2) by redesignating the items relating to sec20 tions 312 and 313 as relating to sections 313 and 

21 314, respectively; and 


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1 (3) by inserting after the item relating to sec2 tion 311 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 312. Ballot materials tracking program.’’. 

3 SEC. 1303. ELECTION MAIL AND DELIVERY IMPROVE4 MENTS. 

5 (a) POSTMARK REQUIRED FOR BALLOTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 

7 United States Code, as amended by section 1301(b), 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 3408. Postmark required for ballots 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any absentee bal11 lot carried by the Postal Service, the Postal Service shall 

12 indicate on the ballot envelope, using a postmark or other13 wise— 

14 ‘‘(1) the fact that the ballot was carried by the 

15 Postal Service; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the date on which the ballot was mailed. 

17 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 

18 ‘‘(1) the term ‘absentee ballot’ means any ballot 

19 transmitted by a voter by mail in an election for 

20 Federal office, but does not include any ballot cov21 ered by section 3406; and 

22 ‘‘(2) the term ‘election for Federal office’ means 

23 a general, special, primary, or runoff election for the 

24 office of President or Vice President, or of Senator 


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1 or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com2 missioner to, the Congress.’’. 

3 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND4 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 

5 39, United States Code, as amended by section 

6 1301(b), is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

‘‘3408. Postmark required for ballots.’’. 

8 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by this subsection shall apply to absentee ballots re10 lating to an election for Federal office occurring on 

11 or after January 1, 2024. 

12 (b) GREATER VISIBILITY FOR BALLOTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

14 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 

15 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), section 

16 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), section 

17 1103(a), section 1104(a), section 1201(a), section 

18 1301(a), and section 1302(a), is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating sections 313 and 314 

20 as sections 314 and 315, respectively; and 

21 (B) by inserting after section 312 the fol22 lowing new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 313. BALLOT VISIBILITY. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State or local election offi25 cial shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) affix Tag 191, Domestic and International 

2 Mail-In Ballots (or any successor tag designated by 

3 the United States Postal Service), to any tray or 

4 sack of official ballots relating to an election for 

5 Federal office that is destined for a domestic or 

6 international address; 

7 ‘‘(2) use the Official Election Mail logo to des8 ignate official ballots relating to an election for Fed9 eral office that is destined for a domestic or inter10 national address; and 

11 ‘‘(3) if an intelligent mail barcode is utilized for 

12 any official ballot relating to an election for Federal 

13 office that is destined for a domestic or international 

14 address, ensure the specific ballot service type identi15 fier for such mail is visible. 

16 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this 

17 section shall apply to elections for Federal office occurring 

18 on and after January 1, 2024.’’. 

19 (2) VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) 

20 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and re21 designated by section 1101(b) and as amended by 

22 sections 1102, 1103 and 1104, is amended by strik23 ing ‘‘and 309’’ and inserting ‘‘309, and 313’’. 

24 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of 

25 contents of such Act, as amended by section 


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1 1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 

2 1102(c), section 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 

3 1201(c), section 1301(a), and section 1302(a), is 

4 amended— 

5 (A) by redesignating the items relating to 

6 sections 313 and 314 as relating to sections 

7 314 and 315; and 

8 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

9 section 312 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 313. Ballot visibility.’’. 

10 SEC. 1304. CARRIAGE OF ELECTION MAIL. 

11 (a) TREATMENT OF ELECTION MAIL.— 

12 (1) TREATMENT AS FIRST-CLASS MAIL; FREE

13 POSTAGE.—Chapter 34 of title 39, United States 

14 Code, as amended by section 1301(b) and section 

15 1303(a), is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘§ 3409. Domestic election mail; restriction of oper18 ational changes prior to elections 

19 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘election 

20 mail’ means— 

21 ‘‘(1) a blank or completed voter registration ap22 plication form, voter registration card, or similar 

23 materials, relating to an election for Federal office; 

24 ‘‘(2) a blank or completed absentee and other 

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1 pleted absentee or other mail-in ballot, relating to an 

2 election for Federal office, and 

3 ‘‘(3) other materials relating to an election for 

4 Federal office that are mailed by a State or local 

5 election official to an individual who is registered to 

6 vote. 

7 ‘‘(b) CARRIAGE OF ELECTION MAIL.—Election mail 

8 (other than balloting materials covered under section 3406 

9 (relating to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting 

10 Act)), individually or in bulk, shall be carried in accord11 ance with the service standards established for first-class 

12 mail under section 3691. 

13 ‘‘(c) NO POSTAGE REQUIRED FOR COMPLETED BAL14 LOTS.—Completed absentee or other mail-in ballots (other 

15 than balloting materials covered under section 3406 (relat16 ing to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act)) 

17 shall be carried free of postage. 

18 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTION OF OPERATIONAL CHANGES.— 

19 During the 120-day period that ends on the date of an 

20 election for Federal office, the Postal Service may not 

21 carry out any new operational change that would restrict 

22 the prompt and reliable delivery of election mail. This sub23 section applies to operational changes which include— 

24 ‘‘(1) removing or eliminating any mail collection 

25 box without immediately replacing it; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) removing, decommissioning, or any other 

2 form of stopping the operation of mail sorting ma3 chines, other than for routine maintenance. 

4 ‘‘(e) ELECTION MAIL COORDINATOR.—The Postal 

5 Service shall appoint an Election Mail Coordinator at each 

6 area office and district office to facilitate relevant informa7 tion sharing with State, territorial, local, and Tribal elec8 tion officials in regards to the mailing of election mail.’’. 

9 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF POSTAL SERVICE FOR

10 REVENUE FORGONE.—Section 2401(c) of title 39, 

11 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sec12 tions 3217 and 3403 through 3406’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘sections 3217, 3403 through 3406, and 3409’’. 

14 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

15 The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 

16 States Code, as amended by section 1301(b) and section 

17 1303(a), is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3409. Domestic election mail; restriction of operational changes prior to elections.’’. 

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

19 this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

20 180-day period that begins on the date of enactment of 

21 this section. 


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1 SEC. 1305. REQUIRING STATES TO PROVIDE SECURED 

2 DROP BOXES FOR VOTED BALLOTS IN ELEC3 TIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

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

6 as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 

7 1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), section 

8 1104(a), section 1201(a), section 1301(a), section 

9 1302(a), and section 1303(b) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating sections 314 and 315 as 

11 sections 315 and 316, respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after section 313 the following 

13 new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 314. USE OF SECURED DROP BOXES FOR VOTED BAL15 LOTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING USE OF DROP BOXES.—Each juris17 diction shall provide in-person, secured, and clearly labeled 

18 drop boxes at which individuals may, at any time during 

19 the period described in subsection (b), drop off voted bal20 lots in an election for Federal office. 

21 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR AVAILABILITY OF DROP

22 BOXES.—The period described in this subsection is, with 

23 respect to an election, the period that begins on the first 

24 day on which the jurisdiction sends mail-in ballots or ab25 sentee ballots (other than ballots for absent uniformed 

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1 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 

2 U.S.C. 20310(1))) or overseas voters (as defined in section 

3 107(5) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20310(5)))) to voters for 

4 such election and which ends at the time the polls close 

5 for the election in the jurisdiction involved. 

6 ‘‘(c) ACCESSIBILITY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) HOURS OF ACCESS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), each drop box provided 

10 under this section shall be accessible to voters 

11 for a reasonable number of hours each day. 

12 ‘‘(B) 24-HOUR DROP BOXES.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the number of 

14 drop boxes provided in any jurisdiction, 

15 not less than the required number shall be 

16 accessible for 24 hours per day during the 

17 period described in subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(ii) REQUIRED NUMBER.—The re19 quired number is the greater of— 

20 ‘‘(I) 25 percent of the drop boxes 

21 required under subsection (d); or 

22 ‘‘(II) 1 drop box. 

23 ‘‘(2) POPULATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Drop boxes provided 

25 under this section shall be accessible for use— 


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1 ‘‘(i) by individuals with disabilities, as 

2 determined in consultation with the protec3 tion and advocacy systems (as defined in 

4 section 102 of the Developmental Disabil5 ities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 

6 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002)) of the State; 

7 ‘‘(ii) by individuals with limited pro8 ficiency in the English language; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) by homeless individuals (as de10 fined in section 103 of the McKinney– 

11 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 11302)) within the State. 

13 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF ACCESSIBILITY

14 FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—For 

15 purposes of this paragraph, drop boxes shall be 

16 considered to be accessible for use by individ17 uals with disabilities if the drop boxes meet 

18 such criteria as the Attorney General may es19 tablish for such purposes. 

20 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—If a drop 

21 box provided under this section is on the 

22 grounds of or inside a building or facility which 

23 serves as a polling place for an election during 

24 the period described in subsection (b), nothing 

25 in this subsection may be construed to waive 


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1 any requirements regarding the accessibility of 

2 such polling place for the use of individuals 

3 with disabilities, individuals with limited pro4 ficiency in the English language, or homeless 

5 individuals. 

6 ‘‘(d) NUMBER OF DROP BOXES.—Each jurisdiction 

7 shall have— 

8 ‘‘(1) in the case of any election for Federal of9 fice prior to the regularly scheduled general election 

10 for Federal office held in November 2026, not less 

11 than 1 drop box for every 45,000 registered voters 

12 located in the jurisdiction; and 

13 ‘‘(2) in the case of the regularly scheduled gen14 eral election for Federal office held in November 

15 2026 and each election for Federal office occurring 

16 thereafter, not less than the greater of— 

17 ‘‘(A) 1 drop box for every 45,000 reg18 istered voters located in the jurisdiction; or 

19 ‘‘(B) 1 drop box for every 15,000 votes 

20 that were cast by mail in the jurisdiction in the 

21 most recent general election that includes an 

22 election for the office of President. 

23 In no case shall a jurisdiction have fewer than 1 

24 drop box for any election for Federal office. 


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1 ‘‘(e) LOCATION OF DROP BOXES.—The State shall 

2 determine the location of drop boxes provided under this 

3 section in a jurisdiction on the basis of criteria which en4 sure that the drop boxes are— 

5 ‘‘(1) available to all voters on a non-discrimina6 tory basis; 

7 ‘‘(2) accessible to voters with disabilities (in ac8 cordance with subsection (c)); 

9 ‘‘(3) accessible by public transportation to the 

10 greatest extent possible; 

11 ‘‘(4) available during all hours of the day; 

12 ‘‘(5) sufficiently available in all communities in 

13 the jurisdiction, including rural communities and on 

14 Tribal lands within the jurisdiction (subject to sub15 section (f)); and 

16 ‘‘(6) geographically distributed to provide a rea17 sonable opportunity for voters to submit their voted 

18 ballot in a timely manner. 

19 ‘‘(f) TIMING OF SCANNING AND PROCESSING OF

20 BALLOTS.—For purposes of section 311(g) (relating to 

21 the timing of the processing and scanning of ballots for 

22 tabulation), a vote cast using a drop box provided under 

23 this section shall be treated in the same manner as a ballot 

24 cast by mail. 


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1 ‘‘(g) POSTING OF INFORMATION.—On or adjacent to 

2 each drop box provided under this section, the State shall 

3 post information on the requirements that voted absentee 

4 ballots must meet in order to be counted and tabulated 

5 in the election. 

6 ‘‘(h) REMOTE SURVEILLANCE.—Nothing in this sec7 tion shall prohibit a State from providing for the security 

8 of drop boxes through remote or electronic surveillance. 

9 ‘‘(i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

10 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

11 Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 

12 election for Federal office.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

14 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 

15 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 

16 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 

17 1301(c), section 1302(a), and section 1303(b), is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec20 tions 314 and 315 as relating to sections 315 and 

21 316, respectively; and 

22 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec23 tion 313 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 314. Use of secured drop boxes for voted ballots.’’. 


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1 Subtitle E—Absent Uniformed 

2 Services Voters and Overseas 

3 Voters 

4 SEC. 1401. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON AVAILABILITY AND 

5 TRANSMISSION OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 

6 Section 102(c) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi7 zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(c)) is amend8 ed to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(c) REPORTS ON AVAILABILITY, TRANSMISSION, 

10 AND RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE

12 BALLOT AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 55 days be13 fore any regularly scheduled general election for 

14 Federal office, each State shall submit a report to 

15 the Attorney General certifying that absentee ballots 

16 for the election are or will be available for trans17 mission to absent uniformed services voters and 

18 overseas voters by not later than 46 days before the 

19 election. The report shall be in a form prescribed by 

20 the Attorney General and shall require the State to 

21 certify specific information about ballot availability 

22 from each unit of local government which will ad23 minister the election. 

24 ‘‘(2) PRE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE

25 BALLOTS TRANSMITTED.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 43 

2 days before any election for Federal office held 

3 in a State, the chief State election official of 

4 such State shall submit a report containing the 

5 information in subparagraph (B) to the Attor6 ney General. 

7 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION REPORTED.—The re8 port under subparagraph (A) shall consist of 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The total number of absentee bal11 lots validly requested by absent uniformed 

12 services voters and overseas voters whose 

13 requests were received by the 47th day be14 fore the election by each unit of local gov15 ernment within the State that will transmit 

16 absentee ballots. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The total number of ballots 

18 transmitted to such voters by the 46th day 

19 before the election by each unit of local 

20 government within the State that will ad21 minister the election. 

22 ‘‘(iii) Specific information about any 

23 late transmitted ballots. 

24 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT TO SUPPLEMENT IN25 COMPLETE INFORMATION.—If the report under 


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1 subparagraph (A) has incomplete information 

2 on any items required to be included in the re3 port, the chief State election official shall make 

4 all reasonable efforts to expeditiously supple5 ment the report with complete information. 

6 ‘‘(D) FORMAT.—The report under sub7 paragraph (A) shall be in a format prescribed 

8 by the Attorney General in consultation with 

9 the chief State election officials of each State. 

10 ‘‘(3) POST-ELECTION REPORT ON NUMBER OF

11 ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RE12 CEIVED.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 

13 each regularly scheduled general election for Federal 

14 office, each State and unit of local government 

15 which administered the election shall (through the 

16 State, in the case of a unit of local government) sub17 mit a report to the Election Assistance Commission 

18 on the combined number of absentee ballots trans19 mitted to absent uniformed services voters and over20 seas voters for the election and the combined num21 ber of such ballots which were returned by such vot22 ers and cast in the election, and shall make such re23 port available to the general public that same day.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1402. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) AVAILABILITY OF CIVIL PENALTIES AND PRI3 VATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.—Section 105 of the Uniformed 

4 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 

5 20307) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT. 

7 ‘‘(a) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attor8 ney General may bring civil action in an appropriate dis9 trict court for such declaratory or injunctive relief as may 

10 be necessary to carry out this title. 

11 ‘‘(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person who is 

12 aggrieved by a violation of this title may bring a civil ac13 tion in an appropriate district court for such declaratory 

14 or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out this 

15 title. 

16 ‘‘(c) STATE AS ONLY NECESSARY DEFENDANT.—In 

17 any action brought under this section, the only necessary 

18 party defendant is the State, and it shall not be a defense 

19 to any such action that a local election official or a unit 

20 of local government is not named as a defendant, notwith21 standing that a State has exercised the authority described 

22 in section 576 of the Military and Overseas Voter Em23 powerment Act to delegate to another jurisdiction in the 

24 State any duty or responsibility which is the subject of 

25 an action brought under this section.’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply with respect to violations alleged 

3 to have occurred on or after the date of enactment of this 

4 Act. 

5 SEC. 1403. TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS; REPEAL OF 

6 WAIVER PROVISION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (8) of section 102(a) 

8 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 

9 Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(8) transmit a validly requested absentee bal11 lot to an absent uniformed services voter or overseas 

12 voter by the date and in the manner determined 

13 under subsection (g);’’. 

14 (b) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND

15 REPEAL OF WAIVER PROVISION.—Subsection (g) of sec16 tion 102 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(g)) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(g) BALLOT TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

20 (a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 

21 absentee ballot is received at least 47 days before an 

22 election for Federal office, the following rules shall 

23 apply: 


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1 ‘‘(A) TRANSMISSION DEADLINE.—The 

2 State shall transmit the absentee ballot not 

3 later than 46 days before the election. 

4 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES IN CASE OF FAILURE

5 TO TRANSMIT ON TIME.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the State fails 

7 to transmit any absentee ballot by the 46th 

8 day before the election as required by sub9 paragraph (A) and the absent uniformed 

10 services voter or overseas voter did not re11 quest electronic ballot transmission pursu12 ant to subsection (f), the State shall trans13 mit such ballot by express delivery. 

14 ‘‘(ii) EXTENDED FAILURE.—If the 

15 State fails to transmit any absentee ballot 

16 by the 41st day before the election, in ad17 dition to transmitting the ballot as pro18 vided in clause (i), the State shall— 

19 ‘‘(I) in the case of absentee bal20 lots requested by absent uniformed 

21 services voters with respect to regu22 larly scheduled general elections, no23 tify such voters of the procedures es24 tablished under section 103A for the 


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1 collection and delivery of marked ab2 sentee ballots; and 

3 ‘‘(II) in any other case, provide 

4 for the return of such ballot by ex5 press delivery. 

6 ‘‘(iii) COST OF EXPRESS DELIVERY.— 

7 In any case in which express delivery is re8 quired under this subparagraph, the cost 

9 of such express delivery— 

10 ‘‘(I) shall not be paid by the 

11 voter; and 

12 ‘‘(II) if determined appropriate 

13 by the chief State election official, 

14 may be required by the State to be 

15 paid by a local jurisdiction. 

16 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTION.—Clause (ii)(II) 

17 shall not apply when an absent uniformed 

18 services voter or overseas voter indicates 

19 the preference to return the late sent ab20 sentee ballot by electronic transmission in 

21 a State that permits return of an absentee 

22 ballot by electronic transmission. 

23 ‘‘(v) ENFORCEMENT.—A State’s com24 pliance with this subparagraph does not 

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1 ditional remedies necessary to fully resolve 

2 or prevent ongoing, future, or systematic 

3 violations of this provision or to effectuate 

4 the purposes of this Act. 

5 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL PROCEDURE IN EVENT OF

6 DISASTER.—If a disaster (hurricane, tornado, 

7 earthquake, storm, volcanic eruption, landslide, 

8 fire, flood, or explosion), or an act of terrorism 

9 prevents the State from transmitting any ab10 sentee ballot by the 46th day before the election 

11 as required by subparagraph (A), the chief 

12 State election official shall notify the Attorney 

13 General as soon as practicable and take all ac14 tions necessary, including seeking any necessary 

15 judicial relief, to ensure that affected absent 

16 uniformed services voters and overseas voters 

17 are provided a reasonable opportunity to receive 

18 and return their absentee ballots in time to be 

19 counted. 

20 ‘‘(2) REQUESTS RECEIVED AFTER 47TH DAY

21 BEFORE ELECTION.—For purposes of subsection 

22 (a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 

23 absentee ballot is received less than 47 days but not 

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1 fice, the State shall transmit the absentee ballot 

2 within one business day of receipt of the request.’’. 

3 SEC. 1404. USE OF SINGLE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA4 TION FOR SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Uniformed and 

6 Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20306) 

7 is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 104. TREATMENT OF BALLOT REQUESTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a State accepts and processes 

10 an official postcard form (prescribed under section 101) 

11 submitted by an absent uniformed services voter or over12 seas voter for simultaneous voter registration and absen13 tee ballot application (in accordance with section 

14 102(a)(4)) and the voter requests that the application be 

15 considered an application for an absentee ballot for each 

16 subsequent election for Federal office held in the State 

17 through the end of the calendar year following the next 

18 regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the 

19 State shall provide an absentee ballot to the voter for each 

20 such subsequent election. 

21 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR VOTERS CHANGING REGISTRA22 TION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to a 

23 voter registered to vote in a State for any election held 

24 after the voter notifies the State that the voter no longer 

25 wishes to be registered to vote in the State or after the 


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1 State determines that the voter has registered to vote in 

2 another State or is otherwise no longer eligible to vote in 

3 the State. 

4 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATION ON

5 GROUNDS OF EARLY SUBMISSION.—A State may not 

6 refuse to accept or to process, with respect to any election 

7 for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter registration 

8 application or absentee ballot application (including the 

9 postcard form prescribed under section 101) submitted by 

10 an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter on 

11 the grounds that the voter submitted the application be12 fore the first date on which the State otherwise accepts 

13 or processes such applications for that election which are 

14 submitted by absentee voters who are not members of the 

15 uniformed services or overseas citizens.’’. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR REVISION TO POSTCARD

17 FORM.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Presidential designee 

19 shall ensure that the official postcard form pre20 scribed under section 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed 

21 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 

22 U.S.C. 20301(b)(2)) enables a voter using the form 

23 to— 

24 (A) request an absentee ballot for each 

25 election for Federal office held in a State 


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1 through the end of the calendar year following 

2 the next regularly scheduled general election for 

3 Federal office; or 

4 (B) request an absentee ballot for a spe5 cific election or elections for Federal office held 

6 in a State during the period described in sub7 paragraph (A). 

8 (2) PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE.—For purposes 

9 of this paragraph, the term ‘‘Presidential designee’’ 

10 means the individual designated under section 

11 101(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab12 sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301(a)). 

13 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to voter registration 

15 and absentee ballot applications which are submitted to 

16 a State or local election official on or after the date of 

17 enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 1405. EXTENDING GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR 

19 VOTING PURPOSES TO FAMILY MEMBERS OF 

20 ABSENT MILITARY PERSONNEL. 

21 Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

22 Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302), as amended by 

23 section 1302, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(i) GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR SPOUSES AND

2 DEPENDENTS OF ABSENT MEMBERS OF UNIFORMED

3 SERVICE.—For the purposes of voting in any election for 

4 any Federal office or any State or local office, a spouse 

5 or dependent of an individual who is an absent uniformed 

6 services voter described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sec7 tion 107(1) shall not, solely by reason of that individual’s 

8 absence and without regard to whether or not such spouse 

9 or dependent is accompanying that individual— 

10 ‘‘(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or 

11 domicile in that State, without regard to whether or 

12 not that individual intends to return to that State; 

13 ‘‘(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or 

14 domicile in any other State; or 

15 ‘‘(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or 

16 a resident of any other State.’’. 

17 SEC. 1406. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS TO CONFORM TO 

18 MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTER EMPOWER19 MENT ACT AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE 

20 FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102(a)(3) of the Uni22 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 

23 U.S.C. 20302(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘general elec24 tions’’ and inserting ‘‘general, special, primary, and runoff 

25 elections’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 103 of 

2 such Act (52 U.S.C. 20303) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘gen4 eral’’; and 

5 (2) in the heading thereof, by striking ‘‘GEN6 ERAL’’. 

7 SEC. 1407. TREATMENT OF POSTCARD REGISTRATION RE8 QUESTS. 

9 Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 

10 Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302), as amended by 

11 sections 1302 and 1405, is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(j) TREATMENT OF POSTCARD REGISTRATIONS.— 

14 A State shall not remove any absent uniformed services 

15 voter or overseas voter who has registered to vote using 

16 the official postcard form (prescribed under section 101) 

17 from the official list of registered voters except in accord18 ance with subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 8(a)(3) 

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

20 20507).’’. 

21 SEC. 1408. PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE REPORT ON VOTER 

22 DISENFRANCHISEMENT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Presidential designee 

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1 spread mail-in voting on the ability of active duty military 

2 service members to vote, how quickly the votes of those 

3 individuals are counted, and whether higher volumes of 

4 mail-in votes makes it harder for such individuals to vote 

5 in elections for Federal elections. 

6 (b) PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE.—For purposes of this 

7 section, the term ‘‘Presidential designee’’ means the indi8 vidual designated under section 101(a) of the Uniformed 

9 and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 

10 20301(a)). 

11 SEC. 1409. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

12 Except as provided in section 1402(b) and section 

13 1404(c), the amendments made by this subtitle shall apply 

14 with respect to elections occurring on or after January 1, 

15 2024. 

16 Subtitle F—Enhancement of 

17 Enforcement 

18 SEC. 1501. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP 

19 AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 

20 (a) COMPLAINTS; AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT

21 OF ACTION.—Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act 

22 of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and in24 serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; 

25 and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub2 sections: 

3 ‘‘(b) FILING OF COMPLAINTS BY AGGRIEVED PER4 SONS.—A person who is aggrieved by a violation of title 

5 III that impairs their ability to cast a ballot or a provi6 sional ballot, to register or maintain one’s registration to 

7 vote, or to vote on a voting system meeting the require8 ments of such title, which has occurred, is occurring, or 

9 is about to occur may file a written, signed, and notarized 

10 complaint with the Attorney General describing the viola11 tion and requesting the Attorney General to take appro12 priate action under this section. The Attorney General 

13 shall immediately provide a copy of a complaint filed under 

14 the previous sentence to the entity responsible for admin15 istering the State-based administrative complaint proce16 dures described in section 402(a) for the State involved. 

17 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC18 TION.—Any person who is authorized to file a complaint 

19 under subsection (b) (including any individual who seeks 

20 to enforce the individual’s right to a voter-verifiable paper 

21 ballot, the right to have the voter-verifiable paper ballot 

22 counted in accordance with this Act, or any other right 

23 under title III) may file an action under section 1979 of 

24 the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 

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1 tion technology and administration requirements under 

2 subtitle A of title III. 

3 ‘‘(d) NO EFFECT ON STATE PROCEDURES.—Nothing 

4 in this section may be construed to affect the availability 

5 of the State-based administrative complaint procedures re6 quired under section 402 to any person filing a complaint 

7 under this subsection.’’. 

8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

9 this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 

10 with respect to elections for Federal office held in 2024 

11 or any succeeding year. 

12 Subtitle G—Promoting Voter Ac13 cess Through Election Adminis14 tration Modernization Improve15 ments 

16 PART 1—PROMOTING VOTER ACCESS 

17 SEC. 1601. MINIMUM NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 

18 VOTERS AFFECTED BY POLLING PLACE 

19 CHANGES. 

20 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 302 of the Help Amer21 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub23 section (e); and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol25 lowing new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR

2 VOTERS AFFECTED BY POLLING PLACE CHANGES.— 

3 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT FOR PRECINCT-BASED

4 POLLING.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an applicable indi6 vidual has been assigned to a polling place that 

7 is different than the polling place that such in8 dividual was assigned with respect to the most 

9 recent past election for Federal office in which 

10 the individual was eligible to vote— 

11 ‘‘(i) the appropriate election official 

12 shall, not later than 2 days before the be13 ginning of an early voting period— 

14 ‘‘(I) notify the individual of the 

15 location of the polling place; and 

16 ‘‘(II) post a general notice on the 

17 website of the State or jurisdiction, on 

18 social media platforms (if available), 

19 and on signs at the prior polling 

20 place; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) if such assignment is made after 

22 the date that is 2 days before the begin23 ning of an early voting period and the indi24 vidual appears on the date of the election 

25 at the polling place to which the individual 


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1 was previously assigned, the jurisdiction 

2 shall make every reasonable effort to en3 able the individual to vote a ballot on the 

4 date of the election without the use of a 

5 provisional ballot. 

6 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.—For pur7 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘applicable 

8 individual’ means, with respect to any election 

9 for Federal office, any individual— 

10 ‘‘(i) who is registered to vote in a ju11 risdiction for such election and was reg12 istered to vote in such jurisdiction for the 

13 most recent past election for Federal of14 fice; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) whose voter registration address 

16 has not changed since such most recent 

17 past election for Federal office. 

18 ‘‘(C) METHODS OF NOTIFICATION.—The 

19 appropriate election official shall notify an indi20 vidual under clause (i)(I) of subparagraph (A) 

21 by mail, telephone, and (if available) text mes22 sage and electronic mail. 

23 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTE CENTERS.—In 

24 the case of a jurisdiction in which individuals are 

25 not assigned to specific polling places, not later than 


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1 2 days before the beginning of an early voting pe2 riod, the appropriate election official shall notify 

3 each individual eligible to vote in such jurisdiction of 

4 the location of all polling places at which the indi5 vidual may vote. 

6 ‘‘(3) NOTICE WITH RESPECT TO CLOSED POLL7 ING PLACES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a location which 

9 served as a polling place for an election for 

10 Federal office in a State does not serve as a 

11 polling place in the next election for Federal of12 fice held in the State, the State shall ensure 

13 that signs are posted at such location on the 

14 date of the election and during any early voting 

15 period for the election containing the following 

16 information: 

17 ‘‘(i) A statement that the location is 

18 not serving as a polling place in the elec19 tion. 

20 ‘‘(ii) The locations serving as polling 

21 places in the election in the jurisdiction in22 volved. 

23 ‘‘(iii) The name and address of any 

24 substitute polling place serving the same 


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1 precinct and directions from the former 

2 polling place to the new polling place. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Contact information, including a 

4 telephone number and website, for the ap5 propriate State or local election official 

6 through which an individual may find the 

7 polling place to which the individual is as8 signed for the election. 

9 ‘‘(B) INTERNET POSTING.—Each State 

10 which is required to post signs under subpara11 graph (A) shall also provide such information 

12 through a website and through social media (if 

13 available). 

14 ‘‘(4) LINGUISTIC PREFERENCE.—The notices 

15 required under this subsection shall comply with the 

16 requirements of section 203 of the Voting Rights 

17 Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503). 

18 ‘‘(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

19 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu20 ary 1, 2024.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(e) of 

22 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(e)), as redesignated by sub23 section (a), is amended by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and in24 serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (d)(4), each 

25 State’’. 


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1 SEC. 1602. APPLICABILITY TO COMMONWEALTH OF THE 

2 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 

3 Paragraphs (6) and (8) of section 107 of the Uni4 formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 

5 U.S.C. 20310) are each amended by striking ‘‘and Amer6 ican Samoa’’ and inserting ‘‘American Samoa, and the 

7 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 

8 SEC. 1603. ELIMINATION OF 14-DAY TIME PERIOD BETWEEN 

9 GENERAL ELECTION AND RUNOFF ELECTION 

10 FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN THE VIRGIN IS11 LANDS AND GUAM. 

12 Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide that 

13 the unincorporated territories of Guam and the Virgin Is14 lands shall each be represented in Congress by a Delegate 

15 to the House of Representatives’’, approved April 10, 

16 1972 (48 U.S.C. 1712), is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) The Delegate’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘The Delegate’’; 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘on the fourteenth day following 

20 such an election’’ in the fourth sentence of sub21 section (a); and 

22 (3) by striking subsection (b). 


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1 SEC. 1604. APPLICATION OF FEDERAL ELECTION ADMINIS2 TRATION LAWS TO TERRITORIES OF THE 

3 UNITED STATES. 

4 (a) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF

5 1993.—Section 3(4) of the National Voter Registration 

6 Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20502(4)) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘States and the District of Columbia’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

9 Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 

10 Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

11 Mariana Islands’’. 

12 (b) HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.— 

13 (1) COVERAGE OF COMMONWEALTH OF THE

14 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.—Section 901 of the 

15 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141) 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘and the United States Vir17 gin Islands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin 

18 Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands’’. 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO HELP

21 AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Such Act is further 

22 amended as follows: 

23 (A) The second sentence of section 

24 213(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 20943(a)(2)) is amended 

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1 ing ‘‘American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 

2 of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 

3 (B) Section 252(c)(2) (52 U.S.C. 

4 21002(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘or the 

5 United States Virgin Islands’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘the United States Virgin Islands, or the Com7 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 

8 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

9 CONSULTATION OF HELP AMERICA VOTE FOUNDA10 TION WITH LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS.—Section 

11 90102(c) of title 36, United States Code, is amend12 ed by striking ‘‘and the United States Virgin Is13 lands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin Is14 lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar15 iana Islands’’. 

16 SEC. 1605. APPLICATION OF FEDERAL VOTER PROTECTION 

17 LAWS TO TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED 

18 STATES. 

19 (a) INTIMIDATION OF VOTERS.—Section 594 of title 

20 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Delegate 

21 from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commis22 sioner,’’ and inserting ‘‘or Delegate or Resident Commis23 sioner to the Congress’’. 

24 (b) INTERFERENCE BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOY25 EES.—Section 595 of title 18, United States Code, is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘Delegate from the District of Co2 lumbia, or Resident Commissioner,’’ and inserting ‘‘or 

3 Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress’’. 

4 (c) VOTING BY NONCITIZENS.—Section 611(a) of 

5 title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Del6 egate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commis7 sioner,’’ and inserting ‘‘or Delegate or Resident Commis8 sioner to the Congress’’. 

9 SEC. 1606. ENSURING EQUITABLE AND EFFICIENT OPER10 ATION OF POLLING PLACES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

12 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of 

13 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

14 21081 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), sec15 tion 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), sec16 tion 1103(a), section 1104(a), section 1201(a), sec17 tion 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), and 

18 section 1305(a), is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating sections 315 and 316 

20 as sections 316 and 317, respectively; and 

21 (B) by inserting after section 314 the fol22 lowing new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 315. ENSURING EQUITABLE AND EFFICIENT OPER2 ATION OF POLLING PLACES. 

3 ‘‘(a) PREVENTING UNREASONABLE WAITING TIMES

4 FOR VOTERS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State or jurisdiction 

6 shall take reasonable efforts to provide a sufficient 

7 number of voting systems, poll workers, and other 

8 election resources (including physical resources) at a 

9 polling place used in any election for Federal office, 

10 including a polling place at which individuals may 

11 cast ballots prior to the date of the election, to en12 sure— 

13 ‘‘(A) a fair and equitable waiting time for 

14 all voters in the State or jurisdiction; and 

15 ‘‘(B) that no individual will be required to 

16 wait longer than 30 minutes to cast a ballot at 

17 the polling place. 

18 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—In determining the number of 

19 voting systems, poll workers, and other election re20 sources provided at a polling place for purposes of 

21 paragraph (1), the State or jurisdiction shall take 

22 into account the following factors: 

23 ‘‘(A) The voting age population. 

24 ‘‘(B) Voter turnout in past elections. 

25 ‘‘(C) The number of voters registered. 


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1 ‘‘(D) The number of voters who have reg2 istered since the most recent Federal election. 

3 ‘‘(E) Census data for the population served 

4 by the polling place, such as the proportion of 

5 the voting-age population who are under 25 

6 years of age or who are naturalized citizens. 

7 ‘‘(F) The needs and numbers of voters 

8 with disabilities and voters with limited English 

9 proficiency. 

10 ‘‘(G) The type of voting systems used. 

11 ‘‘(H) The length and complexity of initia12 tives, referenda, and other questions on the bal13 lot. 

14 ‘‘(I) Such other factors, including relevant 

15 demographic factors relating to the population 

16 served by the polling place, as the State con17 siders appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

19 this subsection may be construed— 

20 ‘‘(A) to authorize a State or jurisdiction to 

21 meet the requirements of this subsection by 

22 closing any polling place, prohibiting an indi23 vidual from entering a line at a polling place, 

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1 rived at a polling place prior to closing time 

2 from voting at the polling place; or 

3 ‘‘(B) to limit the use of mobile voting cen4 ters. 

5 ‘‘(b) LIMITING VARIATIONS ON NUMBER OF HOURS

6 OF OPERATION OF POLLING PLACES WITHIN A STATE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B) and paragraph (2), each 

10 State shall establish hours of operation for all 

11 polling places in the State on the date of any 

12 election for Federal office held in the State 

13 such that the polling place with the greatest 

14 number of hours of operation on such date is 

15 not in operation for more than 2 hours longer 

16 than the polling place with the fewest number 

17 of hours of operation on such date. 

18 ‘‘(B) PERMITTING VARIANCE ON BASIS OF

19 POPULATION.—Subparagraph (A) does not 

20 apply to the extent that the State establishes 

21 variations in the hours of operation of polling 

22 places on the basis of the overall population or 

23 the voting age population (as the State may se24 lect) of the unit of local government in which 

25 such polling places are located. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS FOR POLLING PLACES WITH

2 HOURS ESTABLISHED BY UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERN3 MENT.—Paragraph (1) does not apply in the case of 

4 a polling place— 

5 ‘‘(A) whose hours of operation are estab6 lished, in accordance with State law, by the unit 

7 of local government in which the polling place 

8 is located; or 

9 ‘‘(B) which is required pursuant to an 

10 order by a court to extend its hours of oper11 ation beyond the hours otherwise established. 

12 ‘‘(c) ENSURING ACCESS TO POLLING PLACES FOR

13 VOTERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PROXIMITY TO PUBLIC TRANSPOR15 TATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, each 

16 State and jurisdiction shall ensure that each polling 

17 place used on the date of the election is located with18 in walking distance of a stop on a public transpor19 tation route. 

20 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY IN RURAL AREAS.—In the 

21 case of a jurisdiction that includes a rural area, the 

22 State or jurisdiction shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 

24 polling places (not less than one) used on the 


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1 date of the election will be located in such rural 

2 areas; and 

3 ‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places are lo4 cated in communities which will provide the 

5 greatest opportunity for residents of rural areas 

6 to vote on the date of the election. 

7 ‘‘(3) CAMPUSES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

8 EDUCATION.—In the case of a jurisdiction that is 

9 not considered a vote by mail jurisdiction described 

10 in section 310(b)(2) or a small jurisdiction described 

11 in section 310(b)(3) and that includes an institution 

12 of higher education (as defined under section 102 of 

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

14 1002)), including a branch campus of such an insti15 tution, the State or jurisdiction shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 

17 polling places (not less than one) used on the 

18 date of the election will be located on the phys19 ical campus of each such institution, including 

20 each such branch campus; and 

21 ‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places pro22 vide the greatest opportunity for residents of 

23 the jurisdiction to vote. 


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1 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef2 fect upon the expiration of the 180-day period which be3 gins on the date of enactment of this subsection.’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO

5 ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION

6 ASSISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 321(b) of such 

7 Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as redesignated and 

8 amended by section 1101(b) and as amended by sec9 tions, 1102, 1103, 1104, and 1201, is amended— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para11 graph (4); 

12 (B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

13 paragraph (6); 

14 (C) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, 

15 by striking ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘paragraph (4) or (5)’’; and 

17 (D) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

18 following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(5) in the case of the recommendations with 

20 respect to section 315, 180 days after the date of 

21 enactment of such section; and’’. 

22 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of 

23 contents of such Act, as amended by section 

24 1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 

25 1102(c), section 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 


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1 1201(c), section 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 

2 1303(b), and section 1305(b), is amended— 

3 (A) by redesignating the items relating to 

4 sections 315 and 316 as relating to sections 

5 316 and 317, respectively; and 

6 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

7 section 314 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 315. Ensuring equitable and efficient operation of polling places.’’. 

8 (b) STUDY OF METHODS TO ENFORCE FAIR AND

9 EQUITABLE WAITING TIMES.— 

10 (1) STUDY.—The Election Assistance Commis11 sion and the Comptroller General of the United 

12 States shall conduct a joint study of the effective13 ness of various methods of enforcing the require14 ments of section 315(a) of the Help America Vote 

15 Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a), including 

16 methods of best allocating resources to jurisdictions 

17 which have had the most difficulty in providing a 

18 fair and equitable waiting time at polling places to 

19 all voters, and to communities of color in particular. 

20 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Election As22 sistance Commission and the Comptroller General of 

23 the United States shall publish and submit to Con24 gress a report on the study conducted under para25 graph (1). 


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1 SEC. 1607. PROHIBITING STATES FROM RESTRICTING 

2 CURBSIDE VOTING. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

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

5 as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 

6 1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), section 

7 1104(a), section 1201(a), section 1301(a), section 

8 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 1305(a), and section 

9 1606(a)(1), is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating sections 316 and 317 as 

11 sections 317 and 318, respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after section 315 the following 

13 new section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 316. PROHIBITING STATES FROM RESTRICTING 

15 CURBSIDE VOTING. 

16 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—A State may not— 

17 ‘‘(1) prohibit any jurisdiction administering an 

18 election for Federal office in the State from utilizing 

19 curbside voting as a method by which individuals 

20 may cast ballots in the election; or 

21 ‘‘(2) impose any restrictions which would ex22 clude any individual who is eligible to vote in such 

23 an election in a jurisdiction which utilizes curbside 

24 voting from casting a ballot in the election by such 

25 method. 


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1 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

2 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

3 Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 

4 election for Federal office.’’. 

5 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

6 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 

7 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 

8 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 

9 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 

10 1305(a), and section 1606(a)(3), is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec12 tions 316 and 317 as relating to sections 317 and 

13 318, respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec15 tion 315 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 316. Prohibiting States from restricting curbside voting.’’. 

16 PART 2—IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATION OF 

17 ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 

18 SEC. 1611. REAUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

19 COMMISSION. 

20 Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

21 (52 U.S.C. 20930) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘for each of the fiscal years 

23 2003 through 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 

24 2024 and each succeeding fiscal year’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘(but not to exceed $10,000,000 

2 for each such year)’’. 

3 SEC. 1612. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS 

4 OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION. 

5 (a) ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

6 AND CYBERSECURITY.—Not later than June 30, 2024, 

7 the Election Assistance Commission shall carry out an as8 sessment of the security and effectiveness of the Commis9 sion’s information technology systems, including the cy10 bersecurity of such systems. 

11 (b) IMPROVEMENTS TO ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT

12 PROCEDURES.— 

13 (1) REVIEW OF PROCEDURES.—The Election 

14 Assistance Commission shall carry out a review of 

15 the effectiveness and efficiency of the State-based 

16 administrative complaint procedures established and 

17 maintained under section 402 of the Help America 

18 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21112) for the inves19 tigation and resolution of allegations of violations of 

20 title III of such Act. 

21 (2) RECOMMENDATIONS TO STREAMLINE PRO22 CEDURES.—Not later than June 30, 2024, the Com23 mission shall submit to Congress a report on the re24 view carried out under paragraph (1), and shall in25 clude in the report such recommendations as the 


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1 Commission considers appropriate to streamline and 

2 improve the procedures which are the subject of the 

3 review. 

4 SEC. 1613. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSIST5 ANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERN6 MENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205 of the Help America 

8 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20925) is amended by strik9 ing subsection (e). 

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

11 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contracts entered 

12 into by the Election Assistance Commission on or after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act. 

14 PART 3—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

15 SEC. 1621. DEFINITION OF ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OF16 FICE. 

17 (a) DEFINITION.—Title IX of the Help America Vote 

18 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141 et seq.) is amended by add19 ing at the end the following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 907. ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OFFICE DEFINED. 

21 ‘‘For purposes of titles I through III, the term ‘elec22 tion for Federal office’ means a general, special, primary, 

23 or runoff election for the office of President or Vice Presi24 dent, or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or 

25 Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.’’. 


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

2 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 

3 relating to title IX the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 907. Election for Federal office defined.’’. 

4 SEC. 1622. NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically provided, 

6 nothing in this title may be construed to authorize or re7 quire conduct prohibited under any of the following laws, 

8 or to supersede, restrict, or limit the application of such 

9 laws: 

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

11 10301 et seq.). 

12 (2) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 

13 Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20101 et seq.). 

14 (3) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab15 sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

16 (4) The National Voter Registration Act of 

17 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

18 (5) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 

19 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 

20 (6) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 

21 701 et seq.). 

22 (b) NO EFFECT ON PRECLEARANCE OR OTHER RE23 QUIREMENTS UNDER VOTING RIGHTS ACT.—The ap24 proval by any person of a payment or grant application 

25 under this title, or any other action taken by any person 


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1 under this title, shall not be considered to have any effect 

2 on requirements for preclearance under section 5 of the 

3 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10304) or any other 

4 requirements of such Act. 

5 (c) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF STATES TO PRO6 VIDE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOTING.—Nothing 

7 in this title or the amendments made by this title may 

8 be construed to prohibit any State from enacting any law 

9 which provides greater opportunities for individuals to reg10 ister to vote and to vote in elections for Federal office than 

11 are provided by this title and the amendments made by 

12 this title. 

13 SEC. 1623. CLARIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FOR STATES 

14 WITHOUT VOTER REGISTRATION. 

15 To the extent that any provision of this title or any 

16 amendment made by this title imposes a requirement on 

17 a State relating to registering individuals to vote in elec18 tions for Federal office, such provision shall not apply in 

19 the case of any State in which, under law that is in effect 

20 continuously on and after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act, there is no voter registration requirement for any 

22 voter in the State with respect to an election for Federal 

23 office. 


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1 SEC. 1624. CLARIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FOR STATES 

2 WHICH DO NOT COLLECT TELEPHONE INFOR3 MATION. 

4 (a) AMENDMENT TO HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF

5 2002.—Subtitle A of title III of the Help America Vote 

6 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended by 

7 section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 

8 1102(a), section 1103(a), section 1104(a), section 

9 1201(a), section 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 

10 1303(b), section 1305(a), section 1606(a)(1), and section 

11 1607(a), is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating sections 317 and 318 as 

13 sections 318 and 319, respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after section 316 the following 

15 new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 317. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO 

17 STATES WHICH DO NOT COLLECT TELE18 PHONE INFORMATION. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that any provision 

20 of this title imposes a requirement on a State or jurisdic21 tion relating to contacting voters by telephone, such provi22 sion shall not apply in the case of any State which continu23 ously on and after the date of enactment of this Act, does 

24 not collect telephone numbers for voters as part of voter 

25 registration in the State with respect to an election for 

26 Federal office. 


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1 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply in 

2 any case in which the voter has voluntarily provided tele3 phone information.’’. 

4 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 

5 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 

6 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 

7 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 

8 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 

9 1305(a), section 1606(a)(3), and section 1607(b), is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec12 tions 317 and 318 as relating to sections 318 and 

13 319, respectively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec15 tion 316 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 317. Application of certain provisions to States which do not collect telephone information.’’. 

16 Subtitle H—Democracy Restoration 

17 SEC. 1701. SHORT TITLE. 

18 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Res19 toration Act of 2023’’. 

20 SEC. 1702. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress makes the following findings: 

22 (1) The right to vote is the most basic constitu23 tive act of citizenship. Regaining the right to vote 


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1 reintegrates individuals with criminal convictions 

2 into free society, helping to enhance public safety. 

3 (2) Article I, section 4, of the Constitution 

4 grants Congress ultimate supervisory power over 

5 Federal elections, an authority which has repeatedly 

6 been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. 

7 (3) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 

8 and equal protection require an equal opportunity 

9 for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal 

10 elections. The right to vote may not be abridged or 

11 denied by the United States or by any State on ac12 count of race, color, gender, or previous condition of 

13 servitude. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, 

14 Nineteenth, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth 

15 Amendments to the Constitution empower Congress 

16 to enact measures to protect the right to vote in 

17 Federal elections. The Eighth Amendment to the 

18 Constitution provides for no excessive bail to be re19 quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 

20 unusual punishments inflicted. 

21 (4) There are 3 areas in which discrepancies in 

22 State laws regarding criminal convictions lead to un23 fairness in Federal elections— 

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1 parity and unequal participation in Federal 

2 elections based solely on where a person lives; 

3 (B) laws governing the restoration of vot4 ing rights after a criminal conviction vary 

5 throughout the country and persons in some 

6 States can easily regain their voting rights 

7 while in other States persons effectively lose 

8 their right to vote permanently; and 

9 (C) State disenfranchisement laws dis10 proportionately impact racial and ethnic minori11 ties. 

12 (5) State disenfranchisement laws vary widely. 

13 Two States (Maine and Vermont) and the Common14 wealth of Puerto Rico do not disenfranchise individ15 uals with criminal convictions at all. In 2020, the 

16 District of Columbia re-enfranchised its citizens who 

17 are under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of 

18 Prisons. Twenty-five States disenfranchise certain 

19 individuals on felony probation or parole. During 

20 2023, lawmakers in Minnesota and New Mexico ex21 panded voting rights to citizens on felony probation 

22 and parole. In 11 States, a conviction for certain of23 fenses can result in lifetime disenfranchisement. 

24 (6) Several States deny the right to vote to in25 dividuals convicted of certain misdemeanors. 


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1 (7) In 2022, over 4,600,000 citizens of the 

2 United States, or about 1 in 50 adults in the United 

3 States, could not vote as a result of a felony convic4 tion. Of the 4,600,000 citizens barred from voting 

5 then, only 23 percent were in prison or jail. By con6 trast, 75 percent of persons disenfranchised then re7 sided in their communities while on probation or pa8 role or after having completed their sentences. Ap9 proximately 2,200,000 citizens who had completed 

10 their sentences were disenfranchised due to restric11 tive State laws. Over 930,000 Floridians who com12 pleted their sentence remain disenfranchised because 

13 of a pay-to-vote requirement that was enacted by 

14 Florida lawmakers in 2019 to undermine the impact 

15 of a 2018 ballot initiative that eliminated the life16 time ban for persons with certain felony convictions. 

17 In 3 States—Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee— 

18 more than 8 percent of the total population is 

19 disenfranchised. 

20 (8) In those States that disenfranchise individ21 uals post-sentence, the right to vote can be regained 

22 in theory, but in practice this possibility is often 

23 granted in a non-uniform and potentially discrimina24 tory manner. Disenfranchised individuals sometimes 

25 must either obtain a pardon or an order from the 


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1 Governor or an action by the parole or pardon 

2 board, depending on the offense and State. Financial 

3 restrictions may also inhibit individuals who have 

4 completed their sentences from re-enfranchisement. 

5 Individuals convicted of a Federal offense often have 

6 additional barriers to regaining voting rights. 

7 (9) Many felony disenfranchisement laws today 

8 derive directly from post-Civil War efforts to stifle 

9 the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Between 

10 1865 and 1880, at least 14 States—Alabama, Ar11 kansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mis12 sissippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Caro13 lina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas—en14 acted or expanded their felony disenfranchisement 

15 laws. One of the primary goals of these laws was to 

16 prevent African Americans from voting. Of the 

17 States that enacted or expanded their felony dis18 enfranchisement laws during this post-Civil War pe19 riod, at least 11 continue to preclude persons on fel20 ony probation or parole from voting. 

21 (10) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor22 tionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. In re23 cent years, African Americans have been imprisoned 

24 at over 5 times the rate of Whites. More than 6 per25 cent of the voting-age African-American population, 


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1 or 1,800,000 African Americans, are disenfranchised 

2 due to a felony conviction. In 9 States—Alabama 

3 (16 percent), Arizona (13 percent), Florida (15 per4 cent), Kentucky (15 percent), Mississippi (16 per5 cent), South Dakota (14 percent), Tennessee (21 

6 percent), Virginia (16 percent), and Wyoming (36 

7 percent)—more than 1 in 8 African Americans are 

8 unable to vote because of a felony conviction, twice 

9 the national average for African Americans. 

10 (11) Latino citizens are also disproportionately 

11 disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate 

12 representation in the criminal justice system. Al13 though data on ethnicity in correctional populations 

14 are unevenly reported and undercounted in some 

15 States, a conservative estimate is that at least 

16 506,000 Latino Americans or 1.7 percent of the vot17 ing-age population are disenfranchised. In 31 States 

18 Latinos are disenfranchised at a higher rate than 

19 the general population. In Arizona and Tennessee 

20 over 6 percent of Latino voters are disenfranchised 

21 due to a felony conviction. 

22 (12) Women have been significantly impacted 

23 by mass incarceration since the early 1980s. Ap24 proximately 1,000,000 women were disenfranchised 


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1 in 2022, comprising over 20 percent of the total 

2 disenfranchised population. 

3 (13) Disenfranchising citizens who have been 

4 convicted of a criminal offense and who are living 

5 and working in the community serves no compelling 

6 State interest and hinders their rehabilitation and 

7 reintegration into society. Models of successful re8 entry for persons convicted of a crime emphasize the 

9 importance of community ties, feeling vested and in10 tegrated, and prosocial attitudes. Individuals with 

11 criminal convictions who succeed in avoiding recidi12 vism are typically more likely to see themselves as 

13 law-abiding members of the community. Restoration 

14 of voting rights builds those qualities and facilitates 

15 reintegration into the community. That is why allow16 ing citizens with criminal convictions who are living 

17 in a community to vote is correlated with a lower 

18 likelihood of recidivism. Restoration of voting rights 

19 thus reduces violence and protects public safety. 

20 (14) State disenfranchisement laws can sup21 press electoral participation among eligible voters by 

22 discouraging voting among family and community 

23 members of disenfranchised persons. Future elec24 toral participation by the children of disenfranchised 

25 parents may be impacted as well. 


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1 (15) The United States is one of the only West2 ern democracies that permits the permanent denial 

3 of voting rights for individuals with felony convic4 tions. 

5 (16) The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on 

6 cruel and unusual punishments ‘‘guarantees individ7 uals the right not to be subjected to excessive sanc8 tions’’. (Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 560 

9 (2005)). That right stems from the basic precept of 

10 justice ‘‘that punishment for crime should be grad11 uated and proportioned to [the] offense’’. Id. 

12 (quoting Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349, 

13 367 (1910)). As the Supreme Court has long recog14 nized, ‘‘[t]he concept of proportionality is central to 

15 the Eighth Amendment’’. (Graham v. Florida, 560 

16 U.S. 48, 59 (2010)). Many State disenfranchisement 

17 laws are grossly disproportional to the offenses that 

18 lead to disenfranchisement and thus violate the bar 

19 on cruel and unusual punishments. For example, a 

20 number of States mandate lifetime disenfranchise21 ment for a single felony conviction or just two felony 

22 convictions, even where the convictions were for non23 violent offenses. In numerous other States, dis24 enfranchisement can last years or even decades while 

25 individuals remain on probation or parole, often only 


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1 because a person cannot pay their legal financial ob2 ligations. These kinds of extreme voting bans run 

3 afoul of the Eighth Amendment. 

4 (17) The Twenty-Fourth Amendment provides 

5 that the right to vote ‘‘shall not be denied or 

6 abridged by the United States or any State by rea7 son of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax’’. Sec8 tion 2 of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment gives Con9 gress the power to enforce this article by appropriate 

10 legislation. Court fines and fees that individuals 

11 must pay to have their voting rights restored con12 stitute an ‘‘other tax’’ for purposes of the Twenty13 Fourth Amendment. At least five States explicitly 

14 require the payment of fines and fees before individ15 uals with felony convictions can have their voting 

16 rights restored. More than 20 other States effec17 tively tie the right to vote to the payment of fines 

18 and fees, by requiring that individuals complete their 

19 probation or parole before their rights are restored. 

20 In these States, the non-payment of fines and fees 

21 is a basis on which probation or parole can be ex22 tended. Moreover, these States sometimes do not 

23 record the basis on which an individual’s probation 

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1 ment of fines and fees is the reason that an indi2 vidual remains on probation or parole. For these 

3 reasons, the only way to ensure that States do not 

4 deny the right to vote based solely on non-payment 

5 of fines and fees is to prevent States from condi6 tioning voting rights on the completion of probation 

7 or parole. 

8 SEC. 1703. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 

9 The right of an individual who is a citizen of the 

10 United States to vote in any election for Federal office 

11 shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has 

12 been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual 

13 is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 

14 or facility at the time of the election. 

15 SEC. 1704. ENFORCEMENT. 

16 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

17 may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive 

18 relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this subtitle. 

19 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 

21 by a violation of this subtitle may provide written 

22 notice of the violation to the chief election official of 

23 the State involved. 

24 (2) RELIEF.—Except as provided in paragraph 

25 (3), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days 


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1 after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or 

2 within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola3 tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 

4 election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 

5 may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunc6 tive relief with respect to the violation. 

7 (3) EXCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 

8 within 30 days before the date of an election for 

9 Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide 

10 notice to the chief election official of the State under 

11 paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain 

12 declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 

13 violation. 

14 SEC. 1705. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 

15 RIGHTS. 

16 (a) STATE NOTIFICATION.— 

17 (1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 

18 under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writ19 ing any individual who has been convicted of a 

20 criminal offense under the law of that State that 

21 such individual has the right to vote in an election 

22 for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Res23 toration Act of 2023 and may register to vote in any 

24 such election and provide such individuals with any 


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1 materials that are necessary to register to vote in 

2 any such election. 

3 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

4 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

5 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

6 felony, the notification required under para7 graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 

8 the individual— 

9 (i) is sentenced to serve only a term 

10 of probation; or 

11 (ii) is released from the custody of 

12 that State (other than to the custody of 

13 another State or the Federal Government 

14 to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel15 ony conviction). 

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 State court. 

22 (b) FEDERAL NOTIFICATION.— 

23 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Any individual who has 

24 been convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 

25 law shall be notified in accordance with paragraph 


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1 (2) that such individual has the right to vote in an 

2 election for Federal office pursuant to the Democ3 racy Restoration Act of 2023 and may register to 

4 vote in any such election. 

5 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

6 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

7 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

8 felony, the notification required under para9 graph (1) shall be given— 

10 (i) in the case of an individual who is 

11 sentenced to serve only a term of proba12 tion, by the Assistant Director for the Of13 fice of Probation and Pretrial Services of 

14 the Administrative Office of the United 

15 States Courts on the date on which the in16 dividual is sentenced; or 

17 (ii) in the case of any individual com18 mitted to the custody of the Bureau of 

19 Prisons, by the Director of the Bureau of 

20 Prisons, during the period beginning on 

21 the date that is 6 months before such indi22 vidual is released and ending on the date 

23 such individual is released from the cus24 tody of the Bureau of Prisons. 


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1 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

2 case of such an individual who has been con3 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re4 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

5 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

6 by a court established by an Act of Congress. 

7 SEC. 1706. DEFINITIONS. 

8 For purposes of this subtitle: 

9 (1) CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OR FACIL10 ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 

11 means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu12 tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 

13 convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 

14 privately operated, except that such term does not 

15 include any residential community treatment center 

16 (or similar public or private facility). 

17 (2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 

18 (A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 

19 election; 

20 (B) a convention or caucus of a political 

21 party held to nominate a candidate; 

22 (C) a primary election held for the selec23 tion of delegates to a national nominating con24 vention of a political party; or 


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1 (D) a primary election held for the expres2 sion of a preference for the nomination of per3 sons for election to the office of President. 

4 (3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of5 fice’’ means the office of President or Vice President 

6 of the United States, or of Senator or Representa7 tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 

8 the Congress of the United States. 

9 (4) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 

10 probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 

11 court, with or without a condition on the individual 

12 involved concerning— 

13 (A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 

14 (B) the payment of damages by the indi15 vidual; 

16 (C) periodic reporting by the individual to 

17 an officer of the court; or 

18 (D) supervision of the individual by an of19 ficer of the court. 

20 SEC. 1707. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

21 (a) STATE LAWS RELATING TO VOTING RIGHTS.— 

22 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any 

23 State from enacting any State law which affords the right 

24 to vote in any election for Federal office on terms less 

25 restrictive than those established by this Act. 


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1 (b) CERTAIN FEDERAL ACTS.—The rights and rem2 edies established by this subtitle are in addition to all 

3 other rights and remedies provided by law, and neither 

4 rights and remedies established by this subtitle shall su5 persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting 

6 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the Na7 tional Voter Registration Act (52 U.S.C. 20501), or the 

8 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 

9 SEC. 1708. FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS. 

10 No State, unit of local government, or other person 

11 may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a 

12 prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal 

13 funds unless that State, unit of local government, or per14 son— 

15 (1) is in compliance with section 1703; and 

16 (2) has in effect a program under which each 

17 individual incarcerated in that person’s jurisdiction 

18 who is a citizen of the United States is notified, 

19 upon release from such incarceration, of that indi20 vidual’s rights under section 1703. 

21 SEC. 1709. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 This subtitle shall apply to citizens of the United 

23 States voting in any election for Federal office held on 

24 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 Subtitle I—Voter Identification and 

2 Allowable Alternatives 

3 SEC. 1801. REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTER IDENTIFICATION. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE IDENTIFICATION AS

5 CONDITION OF RECEIVING BALLOT.—Section 303 of the 

6 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083) is 

7 amended by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as sub8 sections (d) and (e), respectively, and by inserting after 

9 subsection (b) the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(c) VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT

12 DEFINED.—For purposes of this subsection: 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘voter iden14 tification requirement’ means any requirement 

15 that an individual desiring to vote in person in 

16 an election for Federal office present identifica17 tion as a requirement to receive or cast a ballot 

18 in person in such election. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Such term does not in20 clude any requirement described in subsection 

21 (b)(2)(A) as applied with respect to an indi22 vidual described in subsection (b)(1). 

23 ‘‘(2) IN GENERAL.—If a State or local jurisdic24 tion has a voter identification requirement, the State 

25 or local jurisdiction— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall treat any applicable identifying 

2 document as meeting such voter identification 

3 requirement; 

4 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding the failure to present 

5 an applicable identifying document, shall treat 

6 an individual desiring to vote in person in an 

7 election for Federal office as meeting such voter 

8 identification requirement if— 

9 ‘‘(i) the individual presents the appro10 priate State or local election official with a 

11 sworn written statement, signed in the 

12 presence of the official by an adult who 

13 has known the individual for not less than 

14 6 months under penalty of perjury, attest15 ing to the individual’s identity; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the official has known the indi17 vidual for at least six months; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a resident of a 

19 State-licensed care facility, an employee of 

20 the facility confirms the individual’s iden21 tity; and 

22 ‘‘(C) shall permit any individual desiring to 

23 vote in an election for Federal office who does 

24 not present an applicable identifying document 

25 required under subparagraph (A) or qualify for 


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1 an exception under subparagraph (B) to cast a 

2 provisional ballot with respect to the election 

3 under section 302(a) in accordance with para4 graph (3). 

5 ‘‘(3) RULES FOR PROVISIONAL BALLOT.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual may 

7 cast a provisional ballot pursuant to paragraph 

8 (2)(C) so long as the individual presents the ap9 propriate State or local election official with a 

10 sworn written statement, signed by the indi11 vidual under penalty of perjury, attesting to the 

12 individual’s identity. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON OTHER REQUIRE14 MENTS.—Except as otherwise provided this 

15 paragraph, a State or local jurisdiction may not 

16 impose any other additional requirement or con17 dition with respect to the casting of a provi18 sional ballot by an individual described in para19 graph (2)(C). 

20 ‘‘(C) COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BAL21 LOT.—In the case of a provisional ballot cast 

22 pursuant to paragraph (2)(C), the appropriate 

23 State or local election official shall not make a 

24 determination under section 302(a)(4) that the 


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1 individual is eligible under State law to vote in 

2 the election unless— 

3 ‘‘(i) the official determines that the 

4 signature on such statement matches the 

5 signature of such individual on the official 

6 list of registered voters in the State or 

7 other official record or document used by 

8 the State to verify the signatures of voters; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(ii) not later than 10 days after cast11 ing the provisional ballot, the individual 

12 presents an applicable identifying docu13 ment, either in person or by electronic 

14 methods, to the official and the official 

15 confirms the individual is the person iden16 tified on the applicable identifying docu17 ment. 

18 ‘‘(D) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE

19 DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES OR OTHER DE20 FECTS ON PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO

22 CURE DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES.—If 

23 an individual casts a provisional ballot 

24 under this paragraph and the appropriate 

25 State or local election official determines 


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1 that a discrepancy exists between the sig2 nature on such ballot and the signature of 

3 such individual on the official list of reg4 istered voters in the State or other official 

5 record or document used by the State to 

6 verify the signatures of voters, such elec7 tion official, prior to making a final deter8 mination as to the validity of such ballot, 

9 shall— 

10 ‘‘(I) as soon as practical, but not 

11 later than the next business day after 

12 such determination is made, make a 

13 good faith effort to notify the indi14 vidual by mail, telephone, and (if 

15 available) text message and electronic 

16 mail that— 

17 ‘‘(aa) a discrepancy exists 

18 between the signature on such 

19 ballot and the signature of the 

20 individual on the official list of 

21 registered voters in the State or 

22 other official record or document 

23 used by the State to verify the 

24 signatures of voters; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) if such discrepancy is 

2 not cured prior to the expiration 

3 of the third day following the 

4 State’s deadline for receiving 

5 mail-in ballots or absentee bal6 lots, such ballot will not be 

7 counted; and 

8 ‘‘(II) cure such discrepancy and 

9 count the ballot if, prior to the expira10 tion of the third day following the 

11 State’s deadline for receiving mail-in 

12 ballots or absentee ballots, the indi13 vidual provides the official with infor14 mation to cure such discrepancy, ei15 ther in person, by telephone, or by 

16 electronic methods. 

17 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO

18 CURE OTHER DEFECTS.—If an individual 

19 casts a provisional ballot under this para20 graph with a defect which, if left uncured, 

21 would cause the ballot to not be counted, 

22 the appropriate State or local election offi23 cial, prior to making a final determination 

24 as to the validity of the ballot, shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) as soon as practical, but not 

2 later than the next business day after 

3 such determination is made, make a 

4 good faith effort to notify the indi5 vidual by mail, telephone, and (if 

6 available) text message and electronic 

7 mail that— 

8 ‘‘(aa) the ballot has some 

9 defect; and 

10 ‘‘(bb) if the individual does 

11 not cure the other defect prior to 

12 the expiration of the third day 

13 following the State’s deadline for 

14 receiving mail-in ballots or absen15 tee ballots, such ballot will not be 

16 counted; and 

17 ‘‘(II) count the ballot if, prior to 

18 the expiration of the third day fol19 lowing the State’s deadline for receiv20 ing mail-in ballots or absentee ballots, 

21 the individual cures the defect. 

22 ‘‘(E) NO EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding 

23 section 302(a), States described in section 4(b) 

24 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 


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1 shall be required to meet the requirements of 

2 paragraph (2)(C). 

3 ‘‘(F) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in para5 graph (2)(C) or this paragraph shall be 

6 construed to prevent a State from permit7 ting an individual who provides a sworn 

8 statement described in subparagraph (A) 

9 to cast a regular ballot in lieu of a provi10 sional ballot. 

11 ‘‘(ii) REGULAR BALLOT.—For purpose 

12 of this subparagraph, the term ‘regular 

13 ballot’ means a ballot which is cast and 

14 counted in the same manner as ballots cast 

15 by individuals meeting the voter identifica16 tion requirement (and all other applicable 

17 requirements with respect to voting in the 

18 election). 

19 ‘‘(4) DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF PRE-PRINTED

20 VERSION OF STATEMENT BY COMMISSION.— 

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

22 develop pre-printed versions of the statements 

23 described in paragraphs (2)(B)(i) and (3)(A) 

24 which include appropriate blank spaces for the 

25 provision of names and signatures. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PROVIDING PRE-PRINTED COPY OF

2 STATEMENT.—Each State and jurisdiction that 

3 has a voter identification requirement shall 

4 make copies of the pre-printed version of the 

5 statement developed under subparagraph (A) 

6 available at polling places for use by individuals 

7 voting in person. 

8 ‘‘(5) REQUIRED PROVISION OF IDENTIFYING

9 DOCUMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each State and juris11 diction that has a voter identification require12 ment shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) for each individual who, on or 

14 after the applicable date, is registered to 

15 vote in such State or jurisdiction in elec16 tions for Federal office, provide the indi17 vidual with a government-issued identifica18 tion that meets the requirements of this 

19 subsection without charge; 

20 ‘‘(ii) for each individual who, before 

21 the applicable date, was registered to vote 

22 in such State or jurisdiction in elections 

23 for Federal office but does not otherwise 

24 possess an identifying document, provide 

25 the individual with a government-issued 


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1 identification that meets the requirements 

2 of this subsection without charge, so long 

3 as the State provides the individual with 

4 reasonable opportunities to obtain such 

5 identification prior to the date of the elec6 tion; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) for each individual who is pro8 vided with an identification under clause 

9 (i) or clause (ii), provide the individual 

10 with such assistance without charge upon 

11 request as may be necessary to enable the 

12 individual to obtain and process any docu13 mentation necessary to obtain the identi14 fication. 

15 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE DATE.—For purposes of 

16 this paragraph, the term ‘applicable date’ 

17 means the later of— 

18 ‘‘(i) January 1, 2024, or 

19 ‘‘(ii) the first date after the date of 

20 enactment of this subsection for which the 

21 State or local jurisdiction has in effect a 

22 voter identification requirement. 

23 ‘‘(6) APPLICABLE IDENTIFYING DOCUMENT.— 

24 For purposes of this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘applicable 

2 identifying document’ means, with respect to 

3 any individual, any document issued to such in4 dividual containing the individual’s name. 

5 ‘‘(B) INCLUDED DOCUMENTS.—The term 

6 ‘applicable identifying document’ shall include 

7 any of the following (so long as such document 

8 is not expired, as indicated by an expiration 

9 date included on the document): 

10 ‘‘(i) A valid driver’s license or an 

11 identification card issued by a State, the 

12 Federal Government, or a State or feder13 ally recognized Tribal government. 

14 ‘‘(ii) A State-issued identification de15 scribed in paragraph (4). 

16 ‘‘(iii) A valid United States passport 

17 or passport card. 

18 ‘‘(iv) A valid employee identification 

19 card issued by— 

20 ‘‘(I) any branch, department, 

21 agency, or entity of the United States 

22 Government or of any State, 

23 ‘‘(II) any State or federally rec24 ognized Tribal government, or 


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1 ‘‘(III) any county, municipality, 

2 board, authority, or other political 

3 subdivision of a State. 

4 ‘‘(v) A valid student identification 

5 card issued by an institution of higher edu6 cation, or a valid high school identification 

7 card issued by a State-accredited high 

8 school. 

9 ‘‘(vi) A valid military identification 

10 card issued by the United States. 

11 ‘‘(vii) A valid gun license or concealed 

12 carry permit. 

13 ‘‘(viii) A valid Medicare card or Social 

14 Security card. 

15 ‘‘(ix) A valid birth certificate. 

16 ‘‘(x) A valid voter registration card. 

17 ‘‘(xi) A valid hunting or fishing li18 cense issued by a State. 

19 ‘‘(xii) A valid identification card 

20 issued to the individual by the Supple21 mental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(xiii) A valid identification card 

24 issued to the individual by the Temporary 


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1 Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 

2 program. 

3 ‘‘(xiv) A valid identification card 

4 issued to the individual by Medicaid. 

5 ‘‘(xv) A valid bank card or valid debit 

6 card. 

7 ‘‘(xvi) A valid utility bill issued within 

8 six months of the date of the election. 

9 ‘‘(xvii) A valid lease or mortgage doc10 ument issued within six months of the date 

11 of the election. 

12 ‘‘(xviii) A valid bank statement issued 

13 within six months of the date of the elec14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(xix) A valid health insurance card 

16 issued to the voter. 

17 ‘‘(xx) Any other document containing 

18 the individual’s name issued by— 

19 ‘‘(I) any branch, department, 

20 agency, or entity of the United States 

21 Government or of any State; 

22 ‘‘(II) any State or federally rec23 ognized tribal government; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) any county, municipality, 

2 board, authority, or other political 

3 subdivision of a State. 

4 ‘‘(C) COPIES AND ELECTRONIC DOCU5 MENTS ACCEPTED.—The term ‘applicable iden6 tifying document’ includes— 

7 ‘‘(i) any copy of a document described 

8 in subparagraph (A) or (B); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) any document described in sub10 paragraph (A) or (B) which is presented in 

11 electronic format.’’. 

12 (b) PAYMENTS TO STATES TO COVER COSTS OF RE13 QUIRED IDENTIFICATION DOCUMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

15 Commission shall make payments to States to cover 

16 the costs incurred in providing identifications under 

17 section 303(c)(5) of the Help America Vote Act of 

18 2002, as amended by this section. 

19 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of the 

20 payment made to a State under this subsection for 

21 any year shall be equal to the amount of fees which 

22 would have been collected by the State during the 

23 year in providing the identifications required under 

24 section 303(c)(5) of such Act if the State had 

25 charged the usual and customary rates for such 


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1 identifications, as determined on the basis of infor2 mation furnished to the Commission by the State at 

3 such time and in such form as the Commission may 

4 require. 

5 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated for pay7 ments under this subsection an aggregate amount of 

8 $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 4 

9 succeeding fiscal years. 

10 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

11 303(b)(2)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

12 U.S.C. 21083(b)(2)(A)) is amended— 

13 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘in person’’ and all 

14 that follows and inserting ‘‘in person, presents to the 

15 appropriate State or local election official an applica16 ble identifying document (as defined in subsection 

17 (c)(6)); or’’; and 

18 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘by mail’’ and all 

19 that follows and inserting ‘‘by mail, submits with the 

20 ballot an applicable identifying document (as so de21 fined).’’. 

22 (d) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 

23 the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the 

24 District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

25 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin IsVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00237 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H11.IH H11

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1 lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

2 Islands. 

3 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 303(e) of such Act 

4 (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(2)), as redesignated by subsection 

5 (a), is amended by adding at the end the following new 

6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(3) VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE8 MENTS.—Each State and jurisdiction shall be re9 quired to comply with the requirements of subsection 

10 (c) with respect to elections for Federal office held 

11 on or after January 1, 2024.’’. 

12 Subtitle J—Voter List Maintenance 

13 Procedures 

14 PART 1—VOTER CAGING PROHIBITED 

15 SEC. 1901. VOTER CAGING PROHIBITED. 

16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

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

18 (A) a non-forwardable document sent by 

19 any person other than a State or local election 

20 official that is returned to the sender or a third 

21 party as undelivered or undeliverable despite an 

22 attempt to deliver such document to the address 

23 of a registered voter or applicant; or 

24 (B) any document sent by any person 

25 other than a State or local election official with 


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1 instructions to an addressee that the document 

2 be returned to the sender or a third party but 

3 is not so returned, despite an attempt to deliver 

4 such document to the address of a registered 

5 voter or applicant; 

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

7 individuals compiled from voter caging documents; 

8 and 

9 (3) the term ‘‘unverified match list’’ means any 

10 list produced by matching the information of reg11 istered voters or applicants for voter registration to 

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

13 registrar’s jurisdiction, by virtue of death, convic14 tion, change of address, or otherwise, unless one of 

15 the pieces of information matched includes a signa16 ture, photograph, or unique identifying number en17 suring that the information from each source refers 

18 to the same individual. 

19 (b) PROHIBITION AGAINST VOTER CAGING.—No 

20 State or local election official shall prevent an individual 

21 from registering or voting in any election for Federal of22 fice, or permit in connection with any election for Federal 

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

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

25 such decision is evidence consisting of— 


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1 (1) a voter caging document or voter caging 

2 list; 

3 (2) an unverified match list; 

4 (3) an error or omission on any record or paper 

5 relating to any application, registration, or other act 

6 requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not 

7 material to an individual’s eligibility to vote under 

8 section 2004(a)(2)(B) of the Revised Statutes (52 

9 U.S.C. 10101(a)(2)(B)); or 

10 (4) any other evidence so designated for pur11 poses of this section by the Election Assistance Com12 mission, 

13 except that the election official may use such evidence if 

14 it is corroborated by independent evidence of the individ15 ual’s ineligibility to register or vote. 

16 (c) ENFORCEMENT.— 

17 (1) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

19 may bring a civil action in an appropriate dis20 trict court for such declaratory or injunctive re21 lief as is necessary to carry out this section. 

22 (B) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—A person who is ag24 grieved by a violation of this section may 

25 provide written notice of the violation to 


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1 the chief election official of the State in2 volved. 

3 (ii) RELIEF.—Except as provided in 

4 clause (iii), if the violation is not corrected 

5 within 90 days after receipt of a notice 

6 under clause (i), or within 20 days after 

7 receipt of the notice if the violation oc8 curred within 120 days before the date of 

9 an election for Federal office, the ag10 grieved person may, in a civil action, ob11 tain declaratory or injunctive relief with re12 spect to the violation. 

13 (iii) EXCEPTION.—If the violation oc14 curred within 30 days before the date of 

15 an election for Federal office, on the date 

16 of the election, or after the date of the 

17 election but prior to the completion of the 

18 canvass, the aggrieved person need not 

19 provide notice under clause (i) before 

20 bringing a civil action to obtain declaratory 

21 or injunctive relief with respect to the vio22 lation. 

23 (2) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly 

24 challenges the eligibility of one or more individuals 

25 to register or vote or knowingly causes the eligibility 


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1 of such individuals to be challenged in violation of 

2 this section with the intent that one or more eligible 

3 voters be disqualified, shall be fined under title 18, 

4 United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 1 

5 year, or both, for each such violation. Each violation 

6 shall be a separate offense. 

7 (d) NO EFFECT ON RELATED LAWS.—Nothing in 

8 this section is intended to override the protections of the 

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

10 20501 et seq.) or to affect the Voting Rights Act of 1965 

11 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 

12 PART 2—SAVING ELIGIBLE VOTERS FROM VOTER 

13 PURGING 

14 SEC. 1911. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF VOTERS FROM 

15 LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 

16 (a) CONDITIONS DESCRIBED.—The National Voter 

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

18 amended by inserting after section 8 the following new 

19 section: 

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

21 OFFICIAL LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 

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

23 RELIABLE EVIDENCE OF INELIGIBILITY.— 

24 ‘‘(1) REQUIRING VERIFICATION.—Notwith25 standing any other provision of this Act, a State 


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1 may not remove the name of any registrant from the 

2 official list of voters eligible to vote in elections for 

3 Federal office in the State unless the State verifies, 

4 on the basis of objective and reliable evidence, that 

5 the registrant is ineligible to vote in such elections. 

6 ‘‘(2) FACTORS NOT CONSIDERED AS OBJECTIVE

7 AND RELIABLE EVIDENCE OF INELIGIBILITY.—For 

8 purposes of paragraph (1), except as permitted 

9 under section 8(d) after a notice described in para10 graph (2) of such section has been sent, the fol11 lowing factors, or any combination thereof, shall not 

12 be treated as objective and reliable evidence of a reg13 istrant’s ineligibility to vote: 

14 ‘‘(A) The failure of the registrant to vote 

15 in any election. 

16 ‘‘(B) The failure of the registrant to re17 spond to any election mail, unless the election 

18 mail has been returned as undeliverable. 

19 ‘‘(C) The failure of the registrant to take 

20 any other action with respect to voting in any 

21 election or with respect to the registrant’s sta22 tus as a registrant. 

23 ‘‘(3) REMOVAL BASED ON OFFICIAL

24 RECORDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall prohibit a State from removing a reg3 istrant from the official list of eligible voters in 

4 elections for Federal office if, on the basis of of5 ficial records maintained by the State, a State 

6 or local election official knows, on the basis of 

7 objective and reliable evidence, that the reg8 istrant has— 

9 ‘‘(i) died; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) permanently moved out of the 

11 State and is no longer eligible to vote in 

12 the State. 

13 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE

14 ELIGIBILITY.—The State shall provide a voter 

15 removed from the official list of eligible voters 

16 in elections for Federal office under this para17 graph an opportunity to demonstrate that the 

18 registrant is eligible to vote and be reinstated 

19 on the official list of eligible voters in elections 

20 for Federal office in the State. 

21 ‘‘(b) NOTICE AFTER REMOVAL.— 

22 ‘‘(1) NOTICE TO INDIVIDUAL REMOVED.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 48 

24 hours after a State removes the name of a reg25 istrant from the official list of eligible voters, 


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1 the State shall send notice of the removal to the 

2 former registrant, and shall include in the no3 tice the grounds for the removal and informa4 tion on how the former registrant may contest 

5 the removal or be reinstated, including a tele6 phone number for the appropriate election offi7 cial. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 

9 does not apply in the case of a registrant— 

10 ‘‘(i) who sends written confirmation to 

11 the State that the registrant is no longer 

12 eligible to vote in the registrar’s jurisdic13 tion in which the registrant was registered; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(ii) who is removed from the official 

16 list of eligible voters by reason of the death 

17 of the registrant. 

18 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Not later than 48 hours 

19 after conducting any general program to remove the 

20 names of ineligible voters from the official list of eli21 gible voters (as described in section 8(a)(4)), the 

22 State shall disseminate a public notice through such 

23 methods as may be reasonable to reach the general 

24 public (including by publishing the notice in a news25 paper of wide circulation and posting the notice on 


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1 the websites of the appropriate election officials) 

2 that list maintenance is taking place and that reg3 istrants should check their registration status to en4 sure no errors or mistakes have been made. The 

5 State shall ensure that the public notice dissemi6 nated under this paragraph is in a format that is 

7 reasonably convenient and accessible to voters with 

8 disabilities, including voters who have low vision or 

9 are blind.’’. 

10 (b) CONDITIONS FOR TRANSMISSION OF NOTICES OF

11 REMOVAL.—Section 8(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

12 20507(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

13 new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(4) A State may not transmit a notice to a 

15 registrant under this subsection unless the State ob16 tains objective and reliable evidence (in accordance 

17 with the standards for such evidence which are de18 scribed in section 8A(a)(2)) that the registrant has 

19 changed residence to a place outside the registrar’s 

20 jurisdiction in which the registrant is registered.’’. 

21 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF

23 1993.—Section 8(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

24 20507(a)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘pro2 vide’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, pro3 vide’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘con5 duct’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, con6 duct’’. 

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

8 303(a)(4)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

9 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(4)(A)) is amended by striking 

10 ‘‘registrants’’ the second place it appears and insert11 ing ‘‘and subject to section 8A of such Act, reg12 istrants’’. 

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

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

15 this Act. 

16 Subtitle K—Severability 

17 SEC. 1921. SEVERABILITY. 

18 If any provision of this title or any amendment made 

19 by this title, or the application of any such provision or 

20 amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

21 unconstitutional, the remainder of this title, and the appli22 cation of such provision or amendment to any other person 

23 or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 


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1 DIVISION B—ELECTION 

2 INTEGRITY 

3 TITLE II—PROHIBITING INTER4 FERENCE WITH VOTER REG5 ISTRATION 

6 SEC. 2001. PROHIBITING HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, 

7 OR PREVENTING VOTER REGISTRATION. 

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

9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing new section: 

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

12 registering to vote 

13 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per14 son, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, to 

15 corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person 

16 from registering to vote or to corruptly hinder, interfere 

17 with, or prevent another person from aiding another per18 son in registering to vote. 

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

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

21 the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense that 

22 the person attempted to commit. 

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

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

25 than 5 years, or both.’’. 


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

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

3 by adding at the end the following new item: 

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

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

5 this section shall apply with respect to elections held on 

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

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

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

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

10 enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 2002. ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES. 

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

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen14 eral shall develop and publish recommendations for best 

15 practices for States to use to deter and prevent violations 

16 of section 612 of title 18, United States Code (as added 

17 by section 2001), and section 12 of the National Voter 

18 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) (relating to 

19 the unlawful interference with registering to vote, or vot20 ing, or attempting to register to vote or vote), including 

21 practices to provide for the posting of relevant information 

22 at polling places and voter registration agencies under 

23 such Act, the training of poll workers and election offi24 cials, and relevant educational materials. For purposes of 

25 this subsection, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of 


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1 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 

2 American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and 

3 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

4 (b) INCLUSION IN VOTER INFORMATION REQUIRE5 MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 

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

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara8 graph (E); 

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub10 paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(G) information relating to the prohibi14 tions of section 612 of title 18, United States 

15 Code, and section 12 of the National Voter 

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

17 (relating to the unlawful interference with reg18 istering to vote, or voting, or attempting to reg19 ister to vote or vote), including information on 

20 how individuals may report allegations of viola21 tions of such prohibitions.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—PREVENTING 

2 ELECTION SUBVERSION 

3 Subtitle A—Restrictions on Re4 moval of Election Administra5 tors 

6 SEC. 3001. RESTRICTIONS ON REMOVAL OF LOCAL ELEC7 TION ADMINISTRATORS IN ADMINISTRATION 

8 OF ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find10 ings: 

11 (1) Congress has explicit and broad authority to 

12 regulate the time, place, and manner of Federal elec13 tions under the Elections Clause under article I, sec14 tion 4, clause 1 of the Constitution, including by es15 tablishing standards for the fair, impartial, and uni16 form administration of Federal elections by State 

17 and local officials. 

18 (2) The Elections Clause was understood from 

19 the framing of the Constitution to contain ‘‘words of 

20 great latitude’’, granting Congress broad power over 

21 Federal elections and a plenary right to preempt 

22 State regulation in this area. As made clear at the 

23 Constitutional Convention and the State ratification 

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1 tions’’, promote the uniform administration of Fed2 eral elections, and ‘‘preserve and restore to the peo3 ple their equal and sacred rights of election’’. 

4 (3) In the founding debates on the Elections 

5 Clause, many delegates also argued that a broad 

6 grant of authority to Congress over Federal elections 

7 was necessary to check any ‘‘abuses that might be 

8 made of the discretionary power’’ to regulate the 

9 time, place, and manner of elections granted the 

10 States, including attempts at partisan entrenchment, 

11 malapportionment, and the exclusion of political mi12 norities. As the Supreme Court has recognized, the 

13 Elections Clause empowers Congress to ‘‘protect the 

14 elections on which its existence depends’’, Ex parte 

15 Yarbrough, 110 U.S. 651, 658 (1884), and ‘‘protect 

16 the citizen in the exercise of rights conferred by the 

17 Constitution of the United States essential to the 

18 healthy organization of the government itself’’, id. at 

19 666. 

20 (4) The Elections Clause grants Congress ‘‘ple21 nary and paramount jurisdiction over the whole sub22 ject’’ of Federal elections, Ex parte Siebold, 100 

23 U.S. 371, 388 (1879), allowing Congress to imple24 ment ‘‘a complete code for congressional elections’’. 

25 Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 366 (1932). The 


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1 Elections Clause, unlike, for example, the Commerce 

2 Clause, has been found to grant Congress the au3 thority to compel States to alter their regulations as 

4 to Federal elections, id. at 366–67, even if these al5 terations would impose additional costs on the 

6 States to execute or enforce. Association of Commu7 nity Organizations for Reform Now v. Miller, 129 

8 F.3d 833 (6th Cir. 1997). 

9 (5) The phrase ‘‘manner of holding elections’’ 

10 in the Elections Clause has been interpreted by the 

11 Supreme Court to authorize Congress to regulate all 

12 aspects of the Federal election process, including 

13 ‘‘notices, registration, supervision of voting, protec14 tion of voters, prevention of fraud and corrupt prac15 tices, counting of votes, duties of inspectors and can16 vassers, and the making and publication of election 

17 returns’’. Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 366 

18 (1932). 

19 (6) The Supreme Court has recognized the 

20 broad ‘‘substantive scope’’ of the Elections Clause 

21 and upheld Federal laws promulgated thereunder 

22 regulating redistricting, voter registration, campaign 

23 finance, primary elections, recounts, party affiliation 

24 rules, and balloting. 


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1 (7) The authority of Congress under the Elec2 tions Clause also entails the power to ensure en3 forcement of its laws regulating Federal elections. 

4 ‘‘[I]f Congress has the power to make regulations, it 

5 must have the power to enforce them.’’. Ex parte 

6 Siebold, 100 U.S. 371, 387 (1879). The Supreme 

7 Court has noted that there can be no question that 

8 Congress may impose additional penalties for of9 fenses committed by State officers in connection 

10 with Federal elections even if they differ from the 

11 penalties prescribed by State law for the same acts. 

12 Id. at 387–88. 

13 (8) The fair and impartial administration of 

14 Federal elections by State and local officials is cen15 tral to ‘‘the successful working of this government’’, 

16 Ex parte Yarbrough, 110 U.S. 651, 666 (1884), and 

17 to ‘‘protect the act of voting . . . and the election 

18 itself from corruption or fraud’’, id. at 661–62. 

19 (9) The Elections Clause thus grants Congress 

20 the authority to ensure that the administration of 

21 Federal elections is free of political bias or discrimi22 nation and that election officials are insulated from 

23 political influence or other forms of coercion in dis24 charging their duties in connection with Federal 

25 elections. 


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1 (10) In some States, oversight of local election 

2 administrators has been allocated to State Election 

3 Boards, or special commissions formed by those 

4 boards, that are appointed by the prevailing political 

5 party in a State, as opposed to nonpartisan or elect6 ed office holders. 

7 (11) In certain newly enacted State policies, 

8 these appointed statewide election administrators 

9 have been granted wide latitude to suspend or re10 move local election administrators in cases where the 

11 statewide election administrators identify whatever 

12 the State deems to be a violation. There is no re13 quirement that there be a finding of intent by the 

14 local election administrator to commit the violation. 

15 (12) Local election administrators across the 

16 country can be suspended or removed according to 

17 different standards, potentially exposing them to dif18 ferent political pressures or biases that could result 

19 in uneven administration of Federal elections. 

20 (13) The Elections Clause grants Congress the 

21 ultimate authority to ensure that oversight of State 

22 and local election administrators is fair and impar23 tial in order to ensure equitable and uniform admin24 istration of Federal elections. 

25 (b) RESTRICTION.— 


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1 (1) STANDARD FOR REMOVAL OF A LOCAL

2 ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR.—A statewide election 

3 administrator may only suspend, remove, or relieve 

4 the duties of a local election administrator in the 

5 State with respect to the administration of an elec6 tion for Federal office for inefficiency, neglect of 

7 duty, or malfeasance in office. 

8 (2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any local election ad10 ministrator suspended, removed, or otherwise 

11 relieved of duties in violation of paragraph (1) 

12 with respect to the administration of an election 

13 for Federal office or against whom any pro14 ceeding for suspension, removal, or relief from 

15 duty in violation of paragraph (1) with respect 

16 to the administration of an election for Federal 

17 office may be pending, may bring an action in 

18 an appropriate district court of the United 

19 States for declaratory or injunctive relief with 

20 respect to the violation. Any such action shall 

21 name as the defendant the statewide election 

22 administrator responsible for the adverse ac23 tion. The district court shall, to the extent prac24 ticable, expedite any such proceeding. 


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1 (B) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—Any ac2 tion brought under this subsection must be 

3 commenced not later than one year after the 

4 date of the suspension, removal, relief from du5 ties, or commencement of the proceeding to re6 move, suspend, or relieve the duties of a local 

7 election administrator with respect to the ad8 ministration of an election for Federal office. 

9 (3) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action or pro10 ceeding under this subsection, the court may allow 

11 a prevailing plaintiff, other than the United States, 

12 reasonable attorney’s fees as part of the costs, and 

13 may include expert fees as part of the attorney’s fee. 

14 The term ‘‘prevailing plaintiff’’ means a plaintiff 

15 that substantially prevails pursuant to a judicial or 

16 administrative judgment or order, or an enforceable 

17 written agreement. 

18 (4) REMOVAL OF STATE PROCEEDINGS TO FED19 ERAL COURT.—A local election administrator who is 

20 subject to an administrative or judicial proceeding 

21 for suspension, removal, or relief from duty by a 

22 statewide election administrator with respect to the 

23 administration of an election for Federal office may 

24 remove the proceeding to an appropriate district 

25 court of the United States. Any order remanding a 


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1 case to the State court or agency from which it was 

2 removed under this subsection shall be reviewable by 

3 appeal or otherwise. 

4 (5) RIGHT OF UNITED STATES TO INTER5 VENE.— 

6 (A) NOTICE TO ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

7 Whenever any administrative or judicial pro8 ceeding is brought to suspend, remove, or re9 lieve the duties of any local election adminis10 trator by a statewide election administrator 

11 with respect to the administration of an election 

12 for Federal office, the statewide election admin13 istrator who initiated such proceeding shall de14 liver a copy of the pleadings instituting the pro15 ceeding to the Assistant Attorney General for 

16 the Civil Rights Division of the Department of 

17 Justice. The local election administrator against 

18 whom such proceeding is brought may also de19 liver such pleadings to the Assistant Attorney 

20 General. 

21 (B) RIGHT TO INTERVENE.—The United 

22 States may intervene in any administrative or 

23 judicial proceeding brought to suspend, remove, 

24 or relieve the duties of any local election admin25 istrator by a statewide election administrator 


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1 with respect to the administration of an election 

2 for Federal office and in any action initiated 

3 pursuant to paragraph (2) or in any removal 

4 pursuant to paragraph (4). 

5 (6) REVIEW.—In reviewing any action brought 

6 under this section, a court of the United States shall 

7 not afford any deference to any State official, ad8 ministrator, or tribunal that initiated, approved, ad9 judicated, or reviewed any administrative or judicial 

10 proceeding to suspend, remove, or otherwise relieve 

11 the duties of a local election administrator. 

12 (c) REPORTS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

14 the suspension, removal, or relief of the duties of a 

15 local election administrator by a statewide election 

16 administrator, the statewide election administrator 

17 shall submit to the Assistant Attorney General for 

18 the Civil Rights Divisions of the Department of Jus19 tice a report that includes the following information: 

20 (A) A statement that a local election ad21 ministrator was suspended, removed, or relieved 

22 of their duties. 

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1 cient or to have engaged in neglect of duty or 

2 malfeasance in office. 

3 (C) A description of the effect that the 

4 suspension, removal, or relief of the duties of 

5 the local election administrator will have on— 

6 (i) the administration of elections and 

7 voters in the election jurisdictions for 

8 which the local election official provided 

9 such duties; and 

10 (ii) the administration of elections and 

11 voters in the State at large. 

12 (D) Demographic information about the 

13 local election official suspended, removed, or re14 lieved and the jurisdictions for which such elec15 tion official was providing the duties suspended, 

16 removed, or relieved. 

17 (E) Such other information as requested 

18 by the Assistant Attorney General for the pur19 poses of determining— 

20 (i) whether such suspension, removal, 

21 or relief of duties was based on unlawful 

22 discrimination; and 

23 (ii) whether such suspension, removal, 

24 or relief of duties was due to inefficiency, 

25 neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. 


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1 (2) EXPEDITED REPORTING FOR ACTIONS

2 WITHIN 30 DAYS OF AN ELECTION.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a suspension, re4 moval, or relief of duties of a local adminis5 trator described in paragraph (1) occurs during 

6 the period described in subparagraph (B), the 

7 report required under paragraph (1) shall be 

8 submitted not later than 48 hours after such 

9 suspension, removal, or relief of duties. 

10 (B) PERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period de11 scribed in this subparagraph is any period 

12 which begins 60 days before the date of an elec13 tion for Federal office and which ends 60 days 

14 after such election. 

15 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi16 nitions apply: 

17 (1) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ has the 

18 meaning given the term in section 301(1) of the 

19 Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

20 30101(1)). 

21 (2) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of22 fice’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

23 301(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

24 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(3)). 


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1 (3) LOCAL ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

2 term ‘‘local election administrator’’ means, with re3 spect to a local jurisdiction in a State, the individual 

4 or entity responsible for the administration of elec5 tions for Federal office in the local jurisdiction. 

6 (4) STATEWIDE ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR.— 

7 The term ‘‘statewide election administrator’’ means, 

8 with respect to a State— 

9 (A) the individual or entity, including a 

10 State elections board, responsible for the ad11 ministration of elections for Federal office in 

12 the State on a statewide basis; or 

13 (B) a statewide legislative or executive en14 tity with the authority to suspend, remove, or 

15 relieve a local election administrator. 

16 (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec17 tion shall be construed to grant any additional authority 

18 to remove a local elections administrator beyond any au19 thority provided under the law of the State. 

20 Subtitle B—Increased Protections 

21 for Election Workers 

22 SEC. 3101. HARASSMENT OF ELECTION WORKERS PROHIB23 ITED. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 594 of title 18, United 6 

25 States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Whoever intimidates’’ and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Whoever intimidates’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(b) INTIMIDATION OF ELECTION WORKERS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever intimidates, 

8 threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threat9 en, or coerce, any election worker with intent to im10 pede, intimidate, or interfere with such election 

11 worker while engaged in the performance of official 

12 duties, or with intent to retaliate against such elec13 tion worker on account of the performance of official 

14 duties shall be fined under this title or imprisoned 

15 not more than one year, or both. 

16 ‘‘(2) ELECTION WORKER.—For purposes of 

17 paragraph (1), the term ‘election worker’ means any 

18 individual who is an election official, poll worker, or 

19 an election volunteer in connection with an election 

20 for a Federal office.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

22 (1) The heading of section 594 of title 18, 

23 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

24 election workers’’ after ‘‘voters’’. 


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1 (2) The item relating to section 594 in the table 

2 of sections for chapter 29 of title 18, United States 

3 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and election work4 ers’’ after ‘‘voters’’. 

5 SEC. 3102. PROTECTION OF ELECTION WORKERS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 594(b) of title 18, United 

7 States Code, as amended by section 3101, is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para9 graph (3); and 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON PUBLICATION OF PER13 SONAL INFORMATION.—Whoever knowingly makes 

14 restricted personal information about an election 

15 worker, or a member of the immediate family of that 

16 election worker, publicly available in connection with 

17 such election worker’s official duties— 

18 ‘‘(A) with the intent to threaten, intimi19 date, or incite the commission of a crime of vio20 lence against that election worker, or a member 

21 of the immediate family of that election worker; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(B) with the intent and knowledge that 

24 the restricted personal information will be used 

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1 mission of a crime of violence against that elec2 tion worker, or a member of the immediate 

3 family of that election worker, 

4 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

5 than 1 year, or both.’’. 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Paragraph (3) of section 594(b) 

7 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by section 

8 3101 and redesignated by subsection (a), is amended— 

9 (1) by striking all that precedes ‘‘term’’ and in10 serting the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub12 section— 

13 ‘‘(A) ELECTION WORKER.—The’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(B) OTHER TERMS.—The terms ‘re16 stricted personal information’, ‘crime of vio17 lence’, and ‘immediate family’ have the respec18 tive meanings given such terms under section 

19 119.’’. 

20 Subtitle C—Prohibiting Deceptive 

21 Practices and Preventing Voter 

22 Intimidation 

23 SEC. 3201. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Deceptive Prac25 tices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 3202. PROHIBITION ON DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN 

2 FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

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

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

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

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person’’; and 

8 (2) by inserting at the end the following new 

9 paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(2) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL

11 ELECTIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 

13 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 

14 within 60 days before an election described in 

15 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 

16 means of written, electronic, or telephonic com17 munications, communicate or cause to be com18 municated information described in subpara19 graph (B), or produce information described in 

20 subparagraph (B) with the intent that such in21 formation be communicated, if such person— 

22 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma23 terially false; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre25 vent another person from exercising the 


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1 right to vote in an election described in 

2 paragraph (5). 

3 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor4 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 

5 information is regarding— 

6 ‘‘(i) the time, place, or manner of 

7 holding any election described in para8 graph (5); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric10 tions on voter eligibility for any such elec11 tion, including— 

12 ‘‘(I) any criminal, civil, or other 

13 legal penalties associated with voting 

14 in any such election; or 

15 ‘‘(II) information regarding a 

16 voter’s registration status or eligi17 bility. 

18 ‘‘(3) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING PUBLIC

19 ENDORSEMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 

21 acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 

22 within 60 days before an election described in 

23 paragraph (5), by any means, including by 

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1 municated, a materially false statement about 

2 an endorsement, if such person— 

3 ‘‘(i) knows such statement to be false; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre6 vent another person from exercising the 

7 right to vote in an election described in 

8 paragraph (5). 

9 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF ‘MATERIALLY

10 FALSE’.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 

11 statement about an endorsement is ‘materially 

12 false’ if, with respect to an upcoming election 

13 described in paragraph (5)— 

14 ‘‘(i) the statement states that a spe15 cifically named person, political party, or 

16 organization has endorsed the election of a 

17 specific candidate for a Federal office de18 scribed in such paragraph; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) such person, political party, or 

20 organization has not endorsed the election 

21 of such candidate. 

22 ‘‘(4) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE23 VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.—No 

24 person, whether acting under color of law or other25 wise, shall intentionally hinder, interfere with, or 


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1 prevent another person from voting, registering to 

2 vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to 

3 vote in an election described in paragraph (5), in4 cluding by operating a polling place or ballot box 

5 that falsely purports to be an official location estab6 lished for such an election by a unit of government. 

7 ‘‘(5) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election de8 scribed in this paragraph is any general, primary, 

9 runoff, or special election held solely or in part for 

10 the purpose of nominating or electing a candidate 

11 for the office of President, Vice President, Presi12 dential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of 

13 the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Com14 missioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 

15 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 

17 2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)) 

18 is amended— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Whenever any person’’ 

20 and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any person’’; and 

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

23 paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTION.—Any person aggrieved by a 

25 violation of this section may institute a civil action 


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1 for preventive relief, including an application in a 

2 United States district court for a permanent or tem3 porary injunction, restraining order, or other order. 

4 In any such action, the court, in its discretion, may 

5 allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee 

6 as part of the costs.’’. 

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 2004 

8 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101) is 

9 amended— 

10 (A) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘sub11 section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘sub14 section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 

15 (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

16 (1) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—Section 594 of title 18, 

17 United States Code, as amended by sections 3101 

18 and 3102, is amended— 

19 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘at any 

20 election’’ and inserting ‘‘at any general, pri21 mary, runoff, or special election’’; and 

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

23 subsections: 

24 ‘‘(c) DECEPTIVE ACTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL

2 ELECTIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 

4 for any person, whether acting under color of 

5 law or otherwise, within 60 days before an elec6 tion described in subsection (f), by any means, 

7 including by means of written, electronic, or tel8 ephonic communications, to communicate or 

9 cause to be communicated information de10 scribed in subparagraph (B), or produce infor11 mation described in subparagraph (B) with the 

12 intent that such information be communicated, 

13 if such person— 

14 ‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma15 terially false; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre17 vent another person from exercising the 

18 right to vote in an election described in 

19 subsection (f). 

20 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—Infor21 mation is described in this subparagraph if such 

22 information is regarding— 

23 ‘‘(i) the time or place of holding any 

24 election described in subsection (e); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric2 tions on voter eligibility for any such elec3 tion, including— 

4 ‘‘(I) any criminal, civil, or other 

5 legal penalties associated with voting 

6 in any such election; or 

7 ‘‘(II) information regarding a 

8 voter’s registration status or eligi9 bility. 

10 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para11 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 

12 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

13 ‘‘(d) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE14 VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for 

16 any person, whether acting under color of law or 

17 otherwise, to corruptly hinder, interfere with, or pre18 vent another person from voting, registering to vote, 

19 or aiding another person to vote or register to vote 

20 in an election described in subsection (f). 

21 ‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para22 graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 

23 imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 

24 ‘‘(e) ATTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 

25 any offense described in subsection (c)(1) or (d)(1) shall 


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1 be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for 

2 the offense that the person attempted to commit. 

3 ‘‘(f) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election described 

4 in this subsection is any general, primary, runoff, or spe5 cial election held solely or in part for the purpose of nomi6 nating or electing a candidate for the office of President, 

7 Vice President, Presidential elector, Senator, Member of 

8 the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Resident 

9 Commissioner to the Congress.’’. 

10 (2) MODIFICATIONS TO PENALTY FOR VOTER

11 AND ELECTION WORKER INTIMIDATION.—Section 

12 594(a) of title 18, United States Code, as amended 

13 by this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘fined under this 

14 title or imprisoned not more than one year’’ and in15 serting ‘‘fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned 

16 for not more than 5 years’’. 

17 (3) SENTENCING GUIDELINES.— 

18 (A) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.—Not later 

19 than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

20 this Act, the United States Sentencing Commis21 sion, pursuant to its authority under section 

22 994 of title 28, United States Code, and in ac23 cordance with this section, shall review and, if 

24 appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing 

25 guidelines and policy statements applicable to 


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1 persons convicted of any offense under section 

2 594 of title 18, United States Code, as amend3 ed by this section. 

4 (B) AUTHORIZATION.—The United States 

5 Sentencing Commission may amend the Federal 

6 Sentencing Guidelines in accordance with the 

7 procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sen8 tencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 note) as 

9 though the authority under that section had not 

10 expired. 

11 (4) PAYMENTS FOR REFRAINING FROM VOT12 ING.—Subsection (c) of section 11 of the Voting 

13 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10307) is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘either for registration to vote or for vot15 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘for registration to vote, for vot16 ing, or for not voting’’. 

17 SEC. 3203. CORRECTIVE ACTION. 

18 (a) CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney General re20 ceives a credible report that materially false informa21 tion has been or is being communicated in violation 

22 of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2004(b) of the 

23 Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by 

24 section 3202(a), and if the Attorney General deter25 mines that State and local election officials have not 


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1 taken adequate steps to promptly communicate accu2 rate information to correct the materially false infor3 mation, the Attorney General shall, pursuant to the 

4 written procedures and standards under subsection 

5 (b), communicate to the public, by any means, in6 cluding by means of written, electronic, or telephonic 

7 communications, accurate information designed to 

8 correct the materially false information. 

9 (2) COMMUNICATION OF CORRECTIVE INFORMA10 TION.—Any information communicated by the Attor11 ney General under paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) shall— 

13 (i) be accurate and objective; 

14 (ii) consist of only the information 

15 necessary to correct the materially false in16 formation that has been or is being com17 municated; and 

18 (iii) to the extent practicable, be by a 

19 means that the Attorney General deter20 mines will reach the persons to whom the 

21 materially false information has been or is 

22 being communicated; and 

23 (B) shall not be designed to favor or dis24 favor any particular candidate, organization, or 

25 political party. 


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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 subtitle. 

23 SEC. 3204. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

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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 3202(a), relating to the general election 

6 for Federal office and any primary, runoff, 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 3203(a) in response to an allegation described 

23 in subparagraph (A); 


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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 3202(b), in connection with an allegation de9 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

10 (F) a description of any criminal prosecu11 tion instituted under subsection (c) or (d) of 

12 section 594 of title 18, United States Code, as 

13 amended by section 3202(c), in connection with 

14 the receipt of an allegation described in sub15 paragraph (A) by the 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 


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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 SEC. 3205. PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION BY ELECTION OFFI21 CIALS. 

22 Subsection (c)(2) of section 2004 of the Revised Stat23 utes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by section 3202(b), 

24 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Any person’’ and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(B) INTIMIDATION, ETC.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A person ag8 grieved by a violation of subsection (b)(1) 

9 shall include, without limitation, an officer 

10 responsible for maintaining order and pre11 venting intimidation, threats, or coercion 

12 in or around a location at which voters 

13 may cast their votes. 

14 ‘‘(ii) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—If the At15 torney General receives a credible report 

16 that conduct that violates or would be rea17 sonably likely to violate subsection (b)(1) 

18 has occurred or is likely to occur, and if 

19 the Attorney General determines that 

20 State and local officials have not taken 

21 adequate steps to promptly communicate 

22 that such conduct would violate subsection 

23 (b)(1) or applicable State or local laws, the 

24 Attorney General shall communicate to the 

25 public, by any means, including by means 


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1 of written, electronic, or telephonic commu2 nications, accurate information designed to 

3 convey the unlawfulness of proscribed con4 duct under subsection (b)(1) and the re5 sponsibilities of and resources available to 

6 State and local officials to prevent or cor7 rect such violations.’’. 

8 SEC. 3206. MAKING INTIMIDATION OF TABULATION, CAN9 VASS, AND CERTIFICATION EFFORTS A 

10 CRIME. 

11 Section 12(1) of the National Voter Registration Act 

12 (52 U.S.C. 20511) is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

14 the end; and 

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

17 ‘‘(D) processing or scanning ballots, or 

18 tabulating, canvassing, or certifying voting re19 sults; or’’. 


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1 Subtitle D—Protection of Election 

2 Records and Election Infra3 structure 

4 SEC. 3301. STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR FEDERAL 

5 ELECTION RECORDS. 

6 (a) FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.— 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) Congress has explicit and broad authority to 

9 regulate the time, place, and manner of Federal elec10 tions under the Elections Clause under article I, sec11 tion 4, clause 1 of the Constitution, including by es12 tablishing standards for the fair, impartial, and uni13 form administration of Federal elections by State 

14 and local officials. 

15 (2) The Elections Clause grants Congress ‘‘ple16 nary and paramount jurisdiction over the whole sub17 ject’’ of Federal elections, Ex parte Siebold, 100 

18 U.S. 371, 388 (1879), allowing Congress to imple19 ment ‘‘a complete code for congressional elections’’. 

20 Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 366 (1932). 

21 (3) The fair and impartial administration of 

22 Federal elections by State and local officials is cen23 tral to ‘‘the successful working of this government’’, 

24 Ex parte Yarbrough, 110 U.S. 651, 666 (1884), and 


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1 to ‘‘protect the act of voting . . . and the election 

2 itself from corruption or fraud’’, id. at 661–62. 

3 (4) The Elections Clause thus grants Congress 

4 the authority to strengthen the protections for Fed5 eral election records. 

6 (5) Congress has intervened in the electoral 

7 process to protect the health and legitimacy of fed8 eral elections, including for example, Congress’ en9 actment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 as 

10 a response to several issues that occurred during the 

11 2000 Presidential election. See ‘‘The Elections 

12 Clause: Constitutional Interpretation and Congres13 sional Exercise’’, Hearing Before Comm. on House 

14 Administration, 117th Cong. (2021), written testi15 mony of Vice Dean Franita Tolson at 3. 

16 (b) STRENGTHENING OF PROTECTIONS.—Section 

17 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Every officer’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Every officer’’; 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘records and papers’’ and in23 serting ‘‘records (including electronic records), pa24 pers, and election equipment’’ each place the term 

25 appears; 


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1 (3) by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or elec3 tion equipment’’; 

4 (4) by inserting ‘‘(but only under the direct ad5 ministrative supervision of an election officer). Not6 withstanding any other provision of this section, the 

7 paper record of a voter’s cast ballot shall remain the 

8 official record of the cast ballot for purposes of this 

9 title’’ after ‘‘upon such custodian’’; 

10 (5) by inserting ‘‘, or acts in reckless disregard 

11 of,’’ after ‘‘fails to comply with’’; and 

12 (6) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(b) ELECTION EQUIPMENT.—The requirement in 

15 subsection (a) to preserve election equipment shall not be 

16 construed to prevent the reuse of such equipment in any 

17 election that takes place within twenty-two months of a 

18 Federal election described in subsection (a), provided that 

19 all electronic records, files, and data from such equipment 

20 related to such Federal election are retained and pre21 served. 

22 ‘‘(c) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this subsection, the Director of the 

24 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the 

25 Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with 


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1 the Election Assistance Commission and the Attorney 

2 General, shall issue guidance regarding compliance with 

3 subsections (a) and (b), including minimum standards and 

4 best practices for retaining and preserving records and pa5 pers in compliance with subsection (a). Such guidance 

6 shall also include protocols for enabling the observation 

7 of the preservation, security, and transfer of records and 

8 papers described in subsection (a) by the Attorney General 

9 and by a representative of each party, as defined by the 

10 Attorney General.’’. 

11 (c) PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF PAPER BAL12 LOTS IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 

13 (1) PROTOCOLS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSPEC14 TION OF BALLOTS.—Not later than 60 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

16 General, in consultation with the Director of the Cy17 bersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of 

18 the Department of Homeland Security and the Elec19 tion Assistance Commission, shall promulgate regu20 lations establishing the election security protocols 

21 and conditions, including appropriate chain of cus22 tody and proper preservation practices, which will 

23 apply to the inspection of the paper ballots which 

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1 tion 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 

2 20701). 

3 (2) CAUSE OF ACTION FOR INJUNCTIVE AND

4 DECLARATORY RELIEF.—The Attorney General may 

5 bring an action in an appropriate district court of 

6 the United States for such declaratory or injunctive 

7 relief as may be necessary to ensure compliance with 

8 the regulations promulgated under subsection (a). 

9 SEC. 3302. PENALTIES; INSPECTION; NONDISCLOSURE; JU10 RISDICTION. 

11 (a) EXPANSION OF SCOPE OF PENALTIES FOR IN12 TERFERENCE.—Section 302 of the Civil Rights Act of 

13 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20702) is amended— 

14 (1) by inserting ‘‘, or whose reckless disregard 

15 of section 301 results in the theft, destruction, con16 cealment, mutilation, or alteration of,’’ after ‘‘or al17 ters’’; and 

18 (2) by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or elec20 tion equipment’’. 

21 (b) INSPECTION, REPRODUCTION, AND COPYING.— 

22 Section 303 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20703) is amended 

23 by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ each place it appears and 

24 inserting ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or 

25 election equipment’’. 


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1 (c) NONDISCLOSURE.—Section 304 of such Act (52 

2 U.S.C. 20704) is amended by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, 

4 or election equipment’’. 

5 (d) JURISDICTION TO COMPEL PRODUCTION.—Sec6 tion 305 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20705) is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘record or paper’’ each place it appears and in8 serting ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or 

9 election equipment’’. 

10 SEC. 3303. JUDICIAL REVIEW TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE. 

11 Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 

12 20701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 307. JUDICIAL REVIEW TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE. 

15 ‘‘(a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—The Attorney General, a 

16 representative of the Attorney General, or a candidate in 

17 a Federal election described in section 301 may bring an 

18 action in the district court of the United States for the 

19 judicial district in which a record or paper is located, or 

20 in the United States District Court for the District of Co21 lumbia, to compel compliance with the requirements of 

22 section 301. 

23 ‘‘(b) DUTY TO EXPEDITE.—It shall be the duty of 

24 the court to advance on the docket, and to expedite to 


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1 the greatest possible extent the disposition of, the action 

2 and any appeal under this section.’’. 

3 Subtitle E—Judicial Protection of 

4 the Right To Vote and Non-Par5 tisan Vote Tabulation 

6 PART 1—RIGHT TO VOTE ACT 

7 SEC. 3401. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This part may be cited as the ‘‘Right to Vote Act’’. 

9 SEC. 3402. UNDUE BURDENS ON THE ABILITY TO VOTE IN 

10 ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE PROHIB11 ITED. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Every citizen of legal voting age 

13 shall have the right to vote and have one’s vote counted 

14 in elections for Federal office free from any burden on 

15 the time, place, or manner of voting, as set forth in sub16 sections (b) and (c). 

17 (b) RETROGRESSION.—A government may not dimin18 ish the ability to vote or to have one’s vote counted in 

19 an election for Federal office unless the law, rule, stand20 ard, practice, procedure, or other governmental action 

21 causing the diminishment is the least restrictive means of 

22 significantly furthering an important, particularized gov23 ernment interest. 

24 (c) SUBSTANTIAL IMPAIRMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A government may not sub2 stantially impair the ability of an individual to vote 

3 or to have one’s vote counted in an election for Fed4 eral office unless the law, rule, standard, practice, 

5 procedure, or other governmental action causing the 

6 impairment significantly furthers an important, par7 ticularized governmental interest. 

8 (2) SUBSTANTIAL IMPAIRMENT.—For purposes 

9 of this section, a substantial impairment is a non10 trivial impairment that makes it more difficult to 

11 vote or to have one’s vote counted than if the law, 

12 rule, standard, practice, procedure, or other govern13 mental action had not been adopted or implemented. 

14 An impairment may be substantial even if the voter 

15 or other similarly situated voters are able to vote or 

16 to have one’s vote counted notwithstanding the im17 pairment. 

18 SEC. 3403. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

19 (a) CIVIL ACTION.—An action challenging a violation 

20 of this part may be brought by any aggrieved person or 

21 the Attorney General in the district court for the District 

22 of Columbia, or the district court for the district in which 

23 the violation took place or where any defendant resides 

24 or does business, at the selection of the plaintiff, to obtain 

25 all appropriate relief, whether declaratory or injunctive, or 


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1 facial or as-applied. Process may be served in any district 

2 where a defendant resides, does business, or may be found. 

3 (b) STANDARDS TO BE APPLIED.—A court adjudi4 cating an action brought under this part shall apply the 

5 following standards: 

6 (1) RETROGRESSION.— 

7 (A) A plaintiff establishes a prima facie 

8 case of retrogression by demonstrating by a 

9 preponderance of the evidence that a rule, 

10 standard, practice, procedure, or other govern11 mental action diminishes the ability, or other12 wise makes it more difficult, to vote, or have 

13 one’s vote counted. 

14 (B) If a plaintiff establishes a prima facie 

15 case as described in subparagraph (A), the gov16 ernment shall be provided an opportunity to 

17 demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence 

18 that the diminishment is necessary to signifi19 cantly further an important, particularized gov20 ernmental interest. 

21 (C) If the government meets its burden 

22 under subparagraph (B), the challenged rule, 

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1 derance of the evidence that the government 

2 could adopt or implement a less-restrictive 

3 means of furthering the particularized impor4 tant governmental interest. 

5 (2) SUBSTANTIAL IMPAIRMENT.— 

6 (A) A plaintiff establishes a prima facie 

7 case of substantial impairment by dem8 onstrating by a preponderance of the evidence 

9 that a rule, standard, practice, procedure, or 

10 other governmental action is a non-trivial im11 pairment of the ability to vote or to have one’s 

12 vote counted. 

13 (B) If a plaintiff establishes a prima facie 

14 case as described in subparagraph (A), the gov15 ernment shall be provided an opportunity to 

16 demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence 

17 that the impairment significantly furthers an 

18 important, particularized governmental interest. 

19 (c) DUTY TO EXPEDITE.—It shall be the duty of the 

20 court to advance on the docket and to expedite to the 

21 greatest reasonable extent the disposition of the action 

22 and appeal under this section. 

23 (d) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re24 vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘or section 40302’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘section 40302’’; and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘, the court’’ and inserting ‘‘, or 

4 section 3402(a) of the Freedom to Vote Act, the 

5 court’’. 

6 SEC. 3404. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this part— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘covered entity’’ means the Dis9 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 

10 Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 

11 Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the North12 ern Mariana Islands; 

13 (2) the terms ‘‘election’’ and ‘‘Federal office’’ 

14 have the meanings given such terms in section 301 

15 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

16 U.S.C. 30101); 

17 (3) the term ‘‘have one’s vote counted’’ means 

18 all actions necessary to have a vote included in the 

19 appropriate totals of votes cast with respect to can20 didates for public office for which votes are received 

21 in an election and reflected in the certified vote to22 tals by any government responsible for tallying or 

23 certifying the results of elections for Federal office; 

24 (4) the term ‘‘government’’ includes a branch, 

25 department, agency, instrumentality, and official (or 


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1 other person acting under color of law) of the 

2 United States, of any State, of any covered entity, 

3 or of any political subdivision of any State or cov4 ered entity; and 

5 (5) the term ‘‘vote’’ means all actions necessary 

6 to make a vote effective, including registration or 

7 other action required by law as a prerequisite to vot8 ing, casting a ballot. 

9 SEC. 3405. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

10 (a) BURDENS NOT AUTHORIZED.—Nothing in this 

11 part may be construed to authorize a government to bur12 den the right to vote in elections for Federal office. 

13 (b) OTHER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—Nothing in 

14 this part shall be construed to alter any rights existing 

15 under a State constitution or the Constitution of the 

16 United States, or to limit any remedies for any other viola17 tions of Federal, State, or local law. 

18 (c) OTHER PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.—Nothing in 

19 this subtitle shall be construed as affecting section 1703 

20 of this Act (relating to rights of citizens). 

21 (d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—The definitions set forth 

22 in section 3404 shall apply only to this part and shall not 

23 be construed to amend or interpret any other provision 

24 of law. 


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1 SEC. 3406. SEVERABILITY. 

2 If any provision of this part or the application of such 

3 provision to any citizen or circumstance is held to be un4 constitutional, the remainder of this part and the applica5 tion of the provisions of such to any citizen or cir6 cumstance shall not be affected thereby. 

7 SEC. 3407. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

8 (a) ACTIONS BROUGHT FOR RETROGRESSION.—Sub9 section (b) of section 3402 shall apply to any law, rule, 

10 standard, practice, procedure, or other governmental ac11 tion that was not in effect during the November 2022 gen12 eral election for Federal office but that will be in effect 

13 with respect to elections for Federal office occurring on 

14 or after January 1, 2024, even if such law, rule, standard, 

15 practice, procedure, or other governmental action is al16 ready in effect as of the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act. 

18 (b) ACTIONS BROUGHT FOR SUBSTANTIAL IMPAIR19 MENT.—Subsection (c) of section 3402 shall apply to any 

20 law, rule, standard, practice, procedure, or other govern21 mental action in effect with respect to elections for Fed22 eral office occurring on or after January 1, 2024. 


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1 PART 2—CLARIFYING JURISDICTION OVER 

2 ELECTION DISPUTES 

3 SEC. 3411. FINDINGS. 

4 In addition to providing for the statutory rights de5 scribed in part 1, including judicial review under section 

6 3403, Congress makes the following findings regarding en7 forcement of constitutional provisions protecting the right 

8 to vote: 

9 (1) It is a priority of Congress to ensure that 

10 pending and future disputes arising under the Fif11 teenth Amendment or any other constitutional provi12 sions protecting the right to vote may be heard in 

13 Federal court. 

14 (2) The Fifth Circuit has misconstrued section 

15 1344 of title 28, United States Code, to deprive 

16 Federal courts of subject matter jurisdiction in cer17 tain classes of cases that implicate voters’ constitu18 tional rights, see, e.g., Keyes v. Gunn, 890 F.3d 232 

19 (5th Cir. 2018), cert. denied, 139 S. Ct. 434 (2018); 

20 Johnson v. Stevenson, 170 F.2d 108 (5th Cir. 

21 1948). 

22 (3) Section 1344 of such title is also super23 fluous in light of other broad grants of Federal ju24 risdiction. See, e.g., section 1331, section 

25 1343(a)(3), and section 1343(a)(4) of title 28, 

26 United States Code. 


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1 (4) Congress therefore finds that a repeal of 

2 section 1344 is appropriate and that such repeal will 

3 ensure that Federal courts nationwide are empow4 ered to enforce voters’ constitutional rights in Fed5 eral elections and State legislative elections. 

6 SEC. 3412. CLARIFYING AUTHORITY OF UNITED STATES 

7 DISTRICT COURTS TO HEAR CASES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1344 of title 28, United 

9 States Code, is repealed. 

10 (b) CONTINUING AUTHORITY OF COURTS TO HEAR

11 CASES UNDER OTHER EXISTING AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

12 in this part may be construed to affect the authority of 

13 district courts of the United States to exercise jurisdiction 

14 pursuant to existing provisions of law, including sections 

15 1331, 1343(a)(3), and 1343(a)(4) of title 28, United 

16 States Code, in any cases arising under the Constitution, 

17 laws, or treaties of the United States concerning the ad18 ministration, conduct, or results of an election for Federal 

19 office or state legislative office. 

20 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

21 for chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 

22 by striking the item relating to section 1344. 

23 SEC. 3413. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

24 This part and the amendments made by this part 

25 shall apply to actions brought on or after the date of the 


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1 enactment of this Act and to actions brought before the 

2 date of enactment of this Act which are pending as of such 

3 date. 

4 Subtitle F—Poll Worker 

5 Recruitment and Training 

6 SEC. 3501. GRANTS TO STATES FOR POLL WORKER RE7 CRUITMENT AND TRAINING. 

8 (a) GRANTS BY ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS9 SION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

11 Commission (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Commis12 sion’’) shall, subject to the availability of appropria13 tions provided to carry out this section, make a 

14 grant to each eligible State for recruiting and train15 ing individuals to serve as poll workers on dates of 

16 elections for public office. 

17 (2) USE OF COMMISSION MATERIALS.—In car18 rying out activities with a grant provided under this 

19 section, the recipient of the grant shall use the man20 ual prepared by the Commission on successful prac21 tices for poll worker recruiting, training, and reten22 tion as an interactive training tool, and shall develop 

23 training programs with the participation and input 

24 of experts in adult learning. 


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1 (3) ACCESS AND CULTURAL CONSIDER2 ATIONS.—The Commission shall ensure that the 

3 manual described in paragraph (2) provides training 

4 in methods that will enable poll workers to provide 

5 access and delivery of services in a culturally com6 petent manner to all voters who use their services, 

7 including those with limited English proficiency, di8 verse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, 

9 and regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gen10 der identity. These methods must ensure that each 

11 voter will have access to poll worker services that are 

12 delivered in a manner that meets the unique needs 

13 of the voter. 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 

15 (1) APPLICATION.—Each State that desires to 

16 receive a payment under this section shall submit an 

17 application for the payment to the Commission at 

18 such time and in such manner and containing such 

19 information as the Commission shall require. 

20 (2) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each appli21 cation submitted under paragraph (1) shall— 

22 (A) describe the activities for which assist23 ance under this section is sought; 

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1 ment and not supplant other funds used to 

2 carry out the activities; 

3 (C) provide assurances that the State will 

4 furnish the Commission with information on the 

5 number of individuals who served as poll work6 ers after recruitment and training with the 

7 funds provided under this section; 

8 (D) provide assurances that the State will 

9 dedicate poll worker recruitment efforts with re10 spect to— 

11 (i) youth and minors, including by re12 cruiting at institutions of higher education 

13 and secondary education; and 

14 (ii) diversity, including with respect to 

15 race, ethnicity, and disability; and 

16 (E) provide such additional information 

17 and certifications as the Commission deter18 mines to be essential to ensure compliance with 

19 the requirements of this section. 

20 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 

22 made to a State under this section shall be equal to 

23 the product of— 

24 (A) the aggregate amount made available 

25 for grants to States under this section; and 


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1 (B) the voting age population percentage 

2 for the State. 

3 (2) VOTING AGE POPULATION PERCENTAGE DE4 FINED.—In paragraph (1), the ‘‘voting age popu5 lation percentage’’ for a State is the quotient of— 

6 (A) the voting age population of the State 

7 (as determined on the basis of the most recent 

8 information available from the Bureau of the 

9 Census); and 

10 (B) the total voting age population of all 

11 States (as determined on the basis of the most 

12 recent information available from the Bureau of 

13 the Census). 

14 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

15 (1) REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF GRANTS.—Not 

16 later than 6 months after the date on which the 

17 final grant is made under this section, each recipient 

18 of a grant shall submit a report to the Commission 

19 on the activities conducted with the funds provided 

20 by the grant. 

21 (2) REPORTS BY COMMISSION.—Not later than 

22 1 year after the date on which the final grant is 

23 made under this section, the Commission shall sub24 mit a report to Congress on the grants made under 

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1 ents with the grants, and shall include in the report 

2 such recommendations as the Commission considers 

3 appropriate. 

4 (e) FUNDING.— 

5 (1) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNT AP6 PROPRIATED.—Any amount appropriated to carry 

7 out this section shall remain available without fiscal 

8 year limitation until expended. 

9 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

10 amount appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out 

11 this section, not more than 3 percent shall be avail12 able for administrative expenses of the Commission. 

13 SEC. 3502. STATE DEFINED. 

14 In this subtitle, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the Dis15 trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

16 Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Is17 lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

18 Islands. 

19 Subtitle G—Preventing Poll 

20 Observer Interference 

21 SEC. 3601. PROTECTIONS FOR VOTERS ON ELECTION DAY. 

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

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

24 is amended by inserting after section 303 the following 

25 new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 303A. VOTER PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGES BY PERSONS

3 OTHER THAN ELECTION OFFICIALS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGES.—No 

5 person, other than a State or local election official, 

6 shall submit a formal challenge to an individual’s eli7 gibility to register to vote in an election for Federal 

8 office or to vote in an election for Federal office un9 less that challenge is supported by personal knowl10 edge with respect to each individual challenged re11 garding the grounds for ineligibility which is— 

12 ‘‘(A) documented in writing; and 

13 ‘‘(B) subject to an oath or attestation 

14 under penalty of perjury that the challenger has 

15 a good faith factual basis to believe that the in16 dividual who is the subject of the challenge is 

17 ineligible to register to vote or vote in that elec18 tion, except a challenge which is based on the 

19 race, ethnicity, or national origin of the indi20 vidual who is the subject of the challenge may 

21 not be considered to have a good faith factual 

22 basis for purposes of this paragraph. 

23 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON CHALLENGES ON OR

24 NEAR DATE OF ELECTION.—No person, other than 

25 a State or local election official, shall be permitted— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to challenge an individual’s eligibility 

2 to vote in an election for Federal office on the 

3 date of the election on grounds that could have 

4 been made in advance of such date; or 

5 ‘‘(B) to challenge an individual’s eligibility 

6 to register to vote in an election for Federal of7 fice or to vote in an election for Federal office 

8 less than 10 days before the election unless the 

9 individual registered to vote less than 20 days 

10 before the election. 

11 ‘‘(b) BUFFER RULE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is serving as 

13 a poll observer with respect to an election for Fed14 eral office may not come within 8 feet of— 

15 ‘‘(A) a voter or ballot at a polling location 

16 during any period of voting (including any pe17 riod of early voting) in such election; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a ballot at any time during which the 

19 processing, scanning, tabulating, canvassing, or 

20 certifying voting results is occurring. 

21 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

22 paragraph (1) may be construed to limit the ability 

23 of a State or local election official to require poll ob24 servers to maintain a distance greater than 8 feet. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

2 with respect to elections for Federal office occurring on 

3 and after January 1, 2024.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO VOL5 UNTARY GUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of such Act (52 

6 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated by section 

7 1101(b) and as amended by sections 1102, 1103, 1104, 

8 and 1303, is amended by striking ‘‘and 313’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘313, and 303A’’. 

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

11 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

12 to section 303 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 303A. Voter protection requirements.’’. 

13 Subtitle H—Preventing Restric14 tions on Food and Beverages 

15 SEC. 3701. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

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

17 ‘‘Voters’ Access to Water Act’’. 

18 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

19 (1) States have a legitimate interest in prohib20 iting electioneering at or near polling places, and 

21 each State has some form of restriction on political 

22 activities near polling places when voting is taking 

23 place. 

24 (2) In recent elections, voters have waited in 

25 unacceptably long lines to cast their ballot. During 


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1 the 2018 midterm election, more than 3,000,000 

2 voters were made to wait longer than the acceptable 

3 threshold for wait times set by the Presidential 

4 Commission on Election Administration, including 

5 many well-documented cases where voters were made 

6 to wait for several hours. A disproportionate number 

7 of those who had to wait long periods were Black or 

8 Latino voters, who were more likely than White vot9 ers to wait in the longest lines on Election Day. 

10 (3) Allowing volunteers to donate food and 

11 water to all people waiting in line at a polling place, 

12 regardless of the voters’ political preference and 

13 without engaging in electioneering activities or par14 tisan advocacy, helps ensure Americans who face 

15 long lines at their polling place can still exercise 

16 their constitutional right to vote, without risk of de17 hydration, inadequate food, discomfort, and risks to 

18 health. 

19 SEC. 3702. PROHIBITING RESTRICTIONS ON DONATIONS OF 

20 FOOD AND BEVERAGES AT POLLING STA21 TIONS. 

22 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of the 

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

24 as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 

25 1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), section 


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1 1104(a), section 1201(a), section 1301(a), section 

2 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 1305(a), section 

3 1606(a)(1), section 1607(a), and section 1624(a) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating sections 318 and 319 as 

6 sections 319 and 320, respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after section 317 the following 

8 new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 318. PROHIBITING STATES FROM RESTRICTING DO10 NATIONS OF FOOD AND BEVERAGES AT 

11 POLLING STATIONS. 

12 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—Subject to the exception in sub13 section (b), a State may not impose any restriction on the 

14 donation of food and nonalcoholic beverages to persons 

15 outside of the entrance to the building where a polling 

16 place for a Federal election is located, provided that such 

17 food and nonalcoholic beverages are distributed without 

18 regard to the electoral participation or political pref19 erences of the recipients. 

20 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—A State may require persons dis21 tributing food and nonalcoholic beverages outside the en22 trance to the building where a polling place for a Federal 

23 election is located to refrain from political or election24 eering activity. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

2 with respect to elections for Federal office occurring on 

3 and after January 1, 2024.’’. 

4 (b) VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of 

5 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated 

6 by section 1101(b) and as amended by sections 1102, 

7 1103, 1104, 1303, and 3601(b), is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘and 303A’’ and inserting ‘‘303A, and 317’’. 

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

10 of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 

11 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 

12 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 

13 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 

14 1305(a), section 1606(a)(3), section 1607(b), and section 

15 1624(b) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec17 tions 318 and 319 as relating to sections 319 and 

18 320, respectively; and 

19 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec20 tion 317 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 318. Prohibiting States from restricting donations of food and beverages 

at polling stations.’’. 


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1 Subtitle I—Establishing Duty To 

2 Report Foreign Election Inter3 ference 

4 SEC. 3801. FINDINGS RELATING TO ILLICIT MONEY UNDER5 MINING OUR DEMOCRACY. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Criminals, terrorists, and corrupt govern8 ment officials frequently abuse anonymously held 

9 Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), also known as 

10 ‘‘shell companies’’, to hide, move, and launder the 

11 dirty money derived from illicit activities such as 

12 trafficking, bribery, exploitation, and embezzlement. 

13 Ownership and control of the finances that run 

14 through shell companies are obscured to regulators 

15 and law enforcement because little information is re16 quired and collected when establishing these entities. 

17 (2) The public release of the ‘‘Panama Papers’’ 

18 in 2016 and the ‘‘Paradise Papers’’ in 2017 revealed 

19 that these shell companies often purchase and sell 

20 United States real estate. United States anti-money 

21 laundering laws do not apply to cash transactions in22 volving real estate, effectively concealing the bene23 ficiaries and transactions from regulators and law 

24 enforcement. 


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1 (3) Since the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citi2 zens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 

3 U.S. 310 (2010), billions of dollars have flowed into 

4 super PACs through LLCs whose funders are anon5 ymous or intentionally obscured. Criminal investiga6 tions have uncovered LLCs that were used to hide 

7 illegal campaign contributions from foreign criminal 

8 fugitives, to advance international influence-buying 

9 schemes, and to conceal contributions from donors 

10 who were already under investigation for bribery and 

11 racketeering. Voters have no way to know the true 

12 sources of the money being routed through these 

13 LLCs to influence elections, including whether any 

14 of the funds come from foreign or other illicit 

15 sources. 

16 (4) Congress should curb the use of anonymous 

17 shell companies for illicit purposes by requiring 

18 United States companies to disclose their beneficial 

19 owners, strengthening anti-money laundering and 

20 counter-terrorism finance laws. 

21 (5) Congress should examine the money laun22 dering and terrorist financing risks in the real estate 

23 market, including the role of anonymous parties, and 

24 review legislation to address any vulnerabilities iden25 tified in this sector. 


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1 (6) Congress should examine the methods by 

2 which corruption flourishes and the means to detect 

3 and deter the financial misconduct that fuels this 

4 driver of global instability. Congress should monitor 

5 government efforts to enforce United States 

6 anticorruption laws and regulations. 

7 SEC. 3802. FEDERAL CAMPAIGN REPORTING OF FOREIGN 

8 CONTACTS. 

9 (a) INITIAL NOTICE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal 

11 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104) 

12 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

13 subsection: 

14 ‘‘(j) DISCLOSURE OF REPORTABLE FOREIGN CON15 TACTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) COMMITTEE OBLIGATION TO NOTIFY.— 

17 Not later than 1 week after a reportable foreign con18 tact, each political committee shall notify the Fed19 eral Bureau of Investigation and the Commission of 

20 the reportable foreign contact and provide a sum21 mary of the circumstances with respect to such re22 portable foreign contact. The Federal Bureau of In23 vestigation, not later than 1 week after receiving a 

24 notification from a political committee under this 

25 paragraph, shall submit to the political committee, 


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1 the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of 

2 the House of Representatives, and the Select Com3 mittee on Intelligence of the Senate written or elec4 tronic confirmation of receipt of the notification. 

5 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUAL OBLIGATION TO NOTIFY.— 

6 Not later than 3 days after a reportable foreign con7 tact— 

8 ‘‘(A) each candidate and each immediate 

9 family member of a candidate shall notify the 

10 treasurer or other designated official of the 

11 principal campaign committee of such candidate 

12 of the reportable foreign contact and provide a 

13 summary of the circumstances with respect to 

14 such reportable foreign contact; and 

15 ‘‘(B) each official, employee, or agent of a 

16 political committee shall notify the treasurer or 

17 other designated official of the committee of the 

18 reportable foreign contact and provide a sum19 mary of the circumstances with respect to such 

20 reportable foreign contact. 

21 ‘‘(3) REPORTABLE FOREIGN CONTACT.—In this 

22 subsection: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘reportable 

24 foreign contact’ means any direct or indirect 

25 contact or communication that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is between— 

2 ‘‘(I) a candidate, an immediate 

3 family member of the candidate, a po4 litical committee, or any official, em5 ployee, or agent of such committee; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) an individual that the per8 son described in subclause (I) knows, 

9 has reason to know, or reasonably be10 lieves is a covered foreign national; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the person described in clause 

13 (i)(I) knows, has reason to know, or rea14 sonably believes involves— 

15 ‘‘(I) an offer or other proposal 

16 for a contribution, donation, expendi17 ture, disbursement, or solicitation de18 scribed in section 319; or 

19 ‘‘(II) direct or indirect coordina20 tion or collaboration with, or a direct 

21 or indirect offer or provision of infor22 mation or services to or from, a cov23 ered foreign national in connection 

24 with an election. 

25 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) CONTACTS IN OFFICIAL CAPACITY

2 AS ELECTED OFFICIAL.—The term ‘report3 able foreign contact’ shall not include any 

4 contact or communication with a covered 

5 foreign national by an elected official or an 

6 employee of an elected official solely in an 

7 official capacity as such an official or em8 ployee. 

9 ‘‘(ii) CONTACTS FOR PURPOSES OF

10 ENABLING OBSERVATION OF ELECTIONS

11 BY INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS.—The 

12 term ‘reportable foreign contact’ shall not 

13 include any contact or communication with 

14 a covered foreign national by any person 

15 which is made for purposes of enabling the 

16 observation of elections in the United 

17 States by a foreign national or the obser18 vation of elections outside of the United 

19 States by a candidate, political committee, 

20 or any official, employee, or agent of such 

21 committee. 

22 ‘‘(iii) EXCEPTIONS NOT APPLICABLE

23 IF CONTACTS OR COMMUNICATIONS IN24 VOLVE PROHIBITED DISBURSEMENTS.—A 

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1 ficial or an employee of an elected official 

2 shall not be considered to be made solely 

3 in an official capacity for purposes of 

4 clause (i), and a contact or communication 

5 shall not be considered to be made for pur6 poses of enabling the observation of elec7 tions for purposes of clause (ii), if the con8 tact or communication involves a contribu9 tion, donation, expenditure, disbursement, 

10 or solicitation described in section 319. 

11 ‘‘(C) COVERED FOREIGN NATIONAL DE12 FINED.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 

14 the term ‘covered foreign national’ 

15 means— 

16 ‘‘(I) a foreign principal (as de17 fined in section 1(b) of the Foreign 

18 Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 

19 U.S.C. 611(b)) that is a government 

20 of a foreign country or a foreign polit21 ical party; 

22 ‘‘(II) any person who acts as an 

23 agent, representative, employee, or 

24 servant, or any person who acts in 

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1 quest, or under the direction or con2 trol, of a foreign principal described in 

3 subclause (I) or of a person any of 

4 whose activities are directly or indi5 rectly supervised, directed, controlled, 

6 financed, or subsidized in whole or in 

7 major part by a foreign principal de8 scribed in subclause (I); or 

9 ‘‘(III) any person included in the 

10 list of specially designated nationals 

11 and blocked persons maintained by 

12 the Office of Foreign Assets Control 

13 of the Department of the Treasury 

14 pursuant to authorities relating to the 

15 imposition of sanctions relating to the 

16 conduct of a foreign principal de17 scribed in subclause (I). 

18 ‘‘(ii) CLARIFICATION REGARDING AP19 PLICATION TO CITIZENS OF THE UNITED

20 STATES.—In the case of a citizen of the 

21 United States, subclause (II) of clause (i) 

22 applies only to the extent that the person 

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1 cipal described in subclause (I) of clause 

2 (i). 

3 ‘‘(4) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.—In this 

4 subsection, the term ‘immediate family member’ 

5 means, with respect to a candidate, a parent, parent6 in-law, spouse, adult child, or sibling.’’. 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

8 by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to report9 able foreign contacts which occur on or after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 (b) INFORMATION INCLUDED ON REPORT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 304(b) of such Act 

13 (52 U.S.C. 30104(b)) is amended— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para15 graph (7); 

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

17 paragraph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

19 paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(9) for any reportable foreign contact (as de21 fined in subsection (j)(3))— 

22 ‘‘(A) the date, time, and location of the 

23 contact; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the date and time of when a des2 ignated official of the committee was notified of 

3 the contact; 

4 ‘‘(C) the identity of individuals involved; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(D) a description of the contact, including 

7 the nature of any contribution, donation, ex8 penditure, disbursement, or solicitation involved 

9 and the nature of any activity described in sub10 section (j)(3)(A)(ii)(II) involved.’’. 

11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

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

13 filed on or after the expiration of the 60-day period 

14 which begins on the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act. 

16 SEC. 3803. FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FOREIGN CONTACT RE17 PORTING COMPLIANCE SYSTEM. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302 of the Federal Elec19 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30102) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(j) REPORTABLE FOREIGN CONTACTS COMPLIANCE

22 POLICY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REPORTING.—Each political committee 

24 shall establish a policy that requires all officials, em25 ployees, and agents of such committee (and, in the 


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1 case of an authorized committee, the candidate and 

2 each immediate family member of the candidate) to 

3 notify the treasurer or other appropriate designated 

4 official of the committee of any reportable foreign 

5 contact (as defined in section 304(j)) not later than 

6 3 days after such contact was made. 

7 ‘‘(2) RETENTION AND PRESERVATION OF

8 RECORDS.—Each political committee shall establish 

9 a policy that provides for the retention and preserva10 tion of records and information related to reportable 

11 foreign contacts (as so defined) for a period of not 

12 less than 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon filing its state15 ment of organization under section 303(a), and 

16 with each report filed under section 304(a), the 

17 treasurer of each political committee (other 

18 than an authorized committee) shall certify 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(i) the committee has in place poli21 cies that meet the requirements of para22 graphs (1) and (2); 

23 ‘‘(ii) the committee has designated an 

24 official to monitor compliance with such 

25 policies; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) not later than 1 week after the 

2 beginning of any formal or informal affili3 ation with the committee, all officials, em4 ployees, and agents of such committee 

5 will— 

6 ‘‘(I) receive notice of such poli7 cies; 

8 ‘‘(II) be informed of the prohibi9 tions under section 319; and 

10 ‘‘(III) sign a certification affirm11 ing their understanding of such poli12 cies and prohibitions. 

13 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED COMMITTEES.—With 

14 respect to an authorized committee, the can15 didate shall make the certification required 

16 under subparagraph (A).’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

19 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to political 

20 committees which file a statement of organization 

21 under section 303(a) of the Federal Election Cam22 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30103(a)) on or after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (2) TRANSITION RULE FOR EXISTING COMMIT25 TEES.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the 


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1 enactment of this Act, each political committee 

2 under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

3 shall file a certification with the Federal Election 

4 Commission that the committee is in compliance 

5 with the requirements of section 302(j) of such Act 

6 (as added by subsection (a)). 

7 SEC. 3804. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

8 Section 309(d)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign 

9 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(d)(1)) is amended by add10 ing at the end the following new subparagraphs: 

11 ‘‘(E) Any person who knowingly and willfully com12 mits a violation of subsection (j) or (b)(9) of section 304 

13 or section 302(j) shall be fined not more than $500,000, 

14 imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 

15 ‘‘(F) Any person who knowingly and willfully conceals 

16 or destroys any materials relating to a reportable foreign 

17 contact (as defined in section 304(j)) shall be fined not 

18 more than $1,000,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years, 

19 or both.’’. 

20 SEC. 3805. REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE 

21 COMMITTEES. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

24 the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall 

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1 port relating to notifications received by the Federal Bu2 reau of Investigation under section 304(j)(1) of the Fed3 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by section 

4 4902(a) of this Act). 

5 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report under subsection (a) 

6 shall include, at a minimum, the following with respect 

7 to notifications described in subsection (a): 

8 (1) The number of such notifications received 

9 from political committees during the year covered by 

10 the report. 

11 (2) A description of protocols and procedures 

12 developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation re13 lating to receipt and maintenance of records relating 

14 to such notifications. 

15 (3) With respect to such notifications received 

16 during the year covered by the report, a description 

17 of any subsequent actions taken by the Director re18 sulting from the receipt of such notifications. 

19 (c) CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEES

20 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘congressional intel21 ligence committees’’ has the meaning given that term in 

22 section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 

23 3003). 


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1 SEC. 3806. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

2 Nothing in this subtitle or the amendments made by 

3 this subtitle shall be construed— 

4 (1) to impede legitimate journalistic activities; 

5 or 

6 (2) to impose any additional limitation on the 

7 right to express political views or to participate in 

8 public discourse of any individual who— 

9 (A) resides in the United States; 

10 (B) is not a citizen of the United States or 

11 a national of the United States, as defined in 

12 section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Na13 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)); and 

14 (C) is not lawfully admitted for permanent 

15 residence, as defined by section 101(a)(20) of 

16 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

17 1101(a)(20)). 

18 Subtitle J—Promoting Accuracy, 

19 Integrity, and Security Through 

20 Voter-Verifiable Permanent 

21 Paper Ballot 

22 SEC. 3901. SHORT TITLE. 

23 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Confidence 

24 and Increased Accessibility Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 3902. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE2 QUIREMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 

4 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER BAL8 LOTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) The voting system shall require 

10 the use of an individual, durable, voter11 verifiable paper ballot of the voter’s vote 

12 selections that shall be marked by the 

13 voter and presented to the voter for 

14 verification before the voter’s ballot is pre15 served in accordance with subparagraph 

16 (B), and which shall be counted by hand or 

17 other counting device or read by a ballot 

18 tabulation device. For purposes of this sub19 clause, the term ‘individual, durable, voter20 verifiable paper ballot’ means a paper bal21 lot marked by the voter by hand or a paper 

22 ballot marked through the use of a nontab23 ulating ballot marking device or system, so 

24 long as the voter shall have the option at 

25 every in-person voting location to mark by 


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1 hand a printed ballot that includes all rel2 evant contests and candidates. 

3 ‘‘(ii) The voting system shall provide 

4 the voter with an opportunity to correct 

5 any error on the paper ballot before the 

6 permanent voter-verifiable paper ballot is 

7 preserved in accordance with subparagraph 

8 (B). 

9 ‘‘(iii) The voting system shall not pre10 serve the voter-verifiable paper ballots in 

11 any manner that makes it possible, at any 

12 time after the ballot has been cast, to asso13 ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 

14 vote selections. 

15 ‘‘(iv) The voting system shall prevent, 

16 through mechanical means or through 

17 independently verified protections, the 

18 modification or addition of vote selections 

19 on a printed or marked ballot at any time 

20 after the voter has been provided an oppor21 tunity to correct errors on the ballot pur22 suant to clause (ii). 

23 ‘‘(B) PRESERVATION AS OFFICIAL

24 RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter25 verifiable paper ballot used in accordance with 


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1 subparagraph (A) shall constitute the official 

2 ballot and shall be preserved and used as the 

3 official ballot for purposes of any recount or 

4 audit conducted with respect to any election for 

5 Federal office in which the voting system is 

6 used. 

7 ‘‘(C) MANUAL COUNTING REQUIREMENTS

8 FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) Each paper ballot used pursuant 

10 to subparagraph (A) shall be suitable for a 

11 manual audit, and such ballots, or at least 

12 those ballots the machine could not count, 

13 shall be counted by hand in any recount or 

14 audit conducted with respect to any elec15 tion for Federal office. 

16 ‘‘(ii) In the event of any inconsist17 encies or irregularities between any elec18 tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies de19 termined by counting by hand the indi20 vidual, durable, voter-verifiable paper bal21 lots used pursuant to subparagraph (A), 

22 the individual, durable, voter-verifiable 

23 paper ballots shall be the true and correct 

24 record of the votes cast. 


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1 ‘‘(D) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the 

2 sense of Congress that as innovation occurs in 

3 the election infrastructure sector, Congress 

4 should ensure that this Act and other Federal 

5 requirements for voting systems are updated to 

6 keep pace with best practices and recommenda7 tions for security and accessibility.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING APPLI9 CABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.— 

10 Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) 

11 is amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re12 quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys13 tem’’. 

14 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

15 301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count18 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

19 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 

20 (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count21 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

22 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 

23 (3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count24 ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 

25 accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 


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1 (4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count2 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 

3 paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 

4 SEC. 3903. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 

5 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 301(a) 

7 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

8 21081(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(3) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH

10 DISABILITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The voting system 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) be accessible for individuals with 

14 disabilities, including nonvisual accessi15 bility for the blind and visually impaired, 

16 in a manner that provides the same oppor17 tunity for access and participation (includ18 ing privacy and independence) as for other 

19 voters; 

20 ‘‘(ii)(I) ensure that individuals with 

21 disabilities and others are given an equiva22 lent opportunity to vote, including with pri23 vacy and independence, in a manner that 

24 produces a voter-verifiable paper ballot; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) satisfy the requirement of clause 

2 (i) through the use at in-person polling lo3 cations of a sufficient number (not less 

4 than one) of voting systems equipped to 

5 serve individuals with and without disabil6 ities, including nonvisual and enhanced vis7 ual accessibility for the blind and visually 

8 impaired, and nonmanual and enhanced 

9 manual accessibility for the mobility and 

10 dexterity impaired; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) if purchased with funds made 

12 available under title II on or after January 

13 1, 2007, meet the voting system standards 

14 for disability access (as outlined in this 

15 paragraph). 

16 ‘‘(B) MEANS OF MEETING REQUIRE17 MENTS.—A voting system may meet the re18 quirements of subparagraph (A)(i) and para19 graph (2) by— 

20 ‘‘(i) allowing the voter to privately 

21 and independently verify the permanent 

22 paper ballot through the presentation, in 

23 accessible form, of the printed or marked 

24 vote selections from the same printed or 


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1 marked information that would be used for 

2 any vote tabulation or auditing; 

3 ‘‘(ii) allowing the voter to privately 

4 and independently verify and cast the per5 manent paper ballot without requiring the 

6 voter to manually handle the paper ballot; 

7 ‘‘(iii) marking ballots that are iden8 tical in size, ink, and paper stock to those 

9 ballots that would either be marked by 

10 hand or be marked by a ballot marking de11 vice made generally available to voters; or 

12 ‘‘(iv) combining ballots produced by 

13 any ballot marking devices reserved for in14 dividuals with disabilities with ballots that 

15 have either been marked by voters by hand 

16 or marked by ballot marking devices made 

17 generally available to voters, in a way that 

18 prevents identification of the ballots that 

19 were cast using any ballot marking device 

20 that was reserved for individuals with dis21 abilities. 

22 ‘‘(C) SUFFICIENT NUMBER.—For purposes 

23 of subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the sufficient num24 ber of voting systems for any in-person polling 

25 location shall be determined based on guidance 


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1 from the Attorney General, in consultation with 

2 the Architectural and Transportation Barriers 

3 Compliance Board established under section 

4 502(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

5 U.S.C. 792(a)(1)) (commonly referred to as the 

6 United States Access Board) and the Commis7 sion.’’. 

8 (b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, 

9 AND DEVELOPMENT OF ACCESSIBLE VOTING OPTIONS.— 

10 (1) STUDY AND REPORTING.—Subtitle C of 

11 title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) by redesignating section 247 as section 

14 248; and 

15 (B) by inserting after section 246 the fol16 lowing new section: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE VOTING 

18 OPTIONS. 

19 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STUDY AND REPORT.—The Com20 mission, in coordination with the Access Board and the 

21 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, shall 

22 make grants to not fewer than 2 eligible entities to study, 

23 test, and develop— 

24 ‘‘(1) accessible and secure remote voting sys25 tems; 


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1 ‘‘(2) voting, verification, and casting devices to 

2 enhance the accessibility of voting and verification 

3 for individuals with disabilities; or 

4 ‘‘(3) both of the matters described in paragraph 

5 (1) and (2). 

6 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 

7 grant under this part if it submits to the Commission (at 

8 such time and in such form as the Commission may re9 quire) an application containing— 

10 ‘‘(1) a certification that the entity shall com11 plete the activities carried out with the grant not 

12 later than January 1, 2026; and 

13 ‘‘(2) such other information and certifications 

14 as the Commission may require. 

15 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech16 nology developed with the grants made under this section 

17 shall be treated as non-proprietary and shall be made 

18 available to the public, including to manufacturers of vot19 ing systems. 

20 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH GRANTS FOR TECH21 NOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—The Commission shall carry 

22 out this section so that the activities carried out with the 

23 grants made under subsection (a) are coordinated with the 

24 research conducted under the grant program carried out 

25 by the Commission under section 271, to the extent that 


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1 the Commission determine necessary to provide for the ad2 vancement of accessible voting technology. 

3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 

5 (a) $10,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 

6 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con7 tents of such Act is amended— 

8 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 

9 section 247 as relating to section 248; and 

10 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

11 section 246 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible voting options.’’. 

12 (c) CLARIFICATION OF ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS

13 UNDER VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDANCE.—In 

14 adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 

15 III of the Help America Vote Act with respect to the ac16 cessibility of the paper ballot verification requirements for 

17 individuals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Com18 mission shall include and apply the same accessibility 

19 standards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopt20 ed for accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 

21 (d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR PROTECTION

22 AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT ACTIONS TO EN23 FORCE ELECTION-RELATED DISABILITY ACCESS.—Sec24 tion 292(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 


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1 U.S.C. 21062(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ 

2 and all that follows and inserting a period. 

3 SEC. 3904. DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS 

4 FOR BALLOTS. 

5 Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

6 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(7) DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIRE9 MENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) DURABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

11 PAPER BALLOTS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—All voter-verifiable 

13 paper ballots required to be used under 

14 this Act shall be marked or printed on du15 rable paper. 

16 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 

17 this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable 

18 of withstanding multiple counts and re19 counts by hand without compromising the 

20 fundamental integrity of the ballots, and 

21 capable of retaining the information 

22 marked or printed on them for the full du23 ration of a retention and preservation pe24 riod of 22 months. 


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1 ‘‘(B) READABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

2 PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING

3 DEVICE.—All voter-verifiable paper ballots com4 pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 

5 marking device shall be clearly readable by the 

6 voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses 

7 or other personal vision-enhancing devices) and 

8 by a ballot tabulation device or other device 

9 equipped for individuals with disabilities.’’. 

10 SEC. 3905. STUDY AND REPORT ON OPTIMAL BALLOT DE11 SIGN. 

12 (a) STUDY.—The Election Assistance Commission 

13 shall conduct a study of the best ways to design ballots 

14 used in elections for public office, including paper ballots 

15 and electronic or digital ballots, to minimize confusion and 

16 user errors. 

17 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance Com19 mission shall submit to Congress a report on the study 

20 conducted under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 3906. BALLOT MARKING DEVICE CYBERSECURITY RE22 QUIREMENTS. 

23 Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

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1 ther amended by adding at the end the following new para2 graphs: 

3 ‘‘(8) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM4 MUNICATIONS DEVICES IN SYSTEMS OR DEVICES.— 

5 No system or device upon which ballot marking de6 vices or ballot tabulation devices are configured, 

7 upon which ballots are marked by voters at a polling 

8 place (except as necessary for individuals with dis9 abilities to use ballot marking devices that meet the 

10 accessibility requirements of paragraph (3)), or upon 

11 which votes are cast, tabulated, or aggregated shall 

12 contain, use, or be accessible by any wireless, power13 line, or concealed communication device. 

14 ‘‘(9) PROHIBITING CONNECTION OF SYSTEM TO

15 THE INTERNET.—No system or device upon which 

16 ballot marking devices or ballot tabulation devices 

17 are configured, upon which ballots are marked by 

18 voters at a voting place, or upon which votes are 

19 cast, tabulated, or aggregated shall be connected to 

20 the internet or any non-local computer system via 

21 telephone or other communication network at any 

22 time.’’. 

23 SEC. 3907. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 

24 Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

25 (52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re4 quired to comply with the requirements of this sec5 tion on and after January 1, 2006. 

6 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN REQUIRE7 MENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraphs (B) and (C), the requirements of 

10 this section which are first imposed on a State 

11 or jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments 

12 made by the Voter Confidence and Increased 

13 Accessibility Act of 2023 shall apply with re14 spect to voting systems used for any election for 

15 Federal office held in 2024 or any succeeding 

16 year. 

17 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR JURISDICTIONS

18 USING CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR

19 CERTAIN SYSTEMS USING OR PRODUCING

20 VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS IN 2022.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

22 jurisdiction described in clause (ii), the re23 quirements of paragraphs (2)(A)(i) and (7) 

24 of subsection (a) (as amended or added by 

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1 sibility Act of 2023) shall not apply before 

2 the date on which the jurisdiction replaces 

3 the printers or systems described in clause 

4 (ii)(I) for use in the administration of elec5 tions for Federal office. 

6 ‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS DESCRIBED.—A 

7 jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju8 risdiction— 

9 ‘‘(I) which used voter-verifiable 

10 paper record printers attached to di11 rect recording electronic voting ma12 chines, or which used other voting 

13 systems that used or produced paper 

14 records of the vote verifiable by voters 

15 but that are not in compliance with 

16 paragraphs (2)(A)(i) and (7) of sub17 section (a) (as amended or added by 

18 the Voter Confidence and Increased 

19 Accessibility Act of 2023), for the ad20 ministration of the regularly sched21 uled general election for Federal office 

22 held in November 2022; and 

23 ‘‘(II) which will continue to use 

24 such printers or systems for the ad25 ministration of elections for Federal 


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1 office held in years before the applica2 ble year. 

3 ‘‘(iii) MANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF

4 PAPER BALLOTS AT POLLING PLACES

5 USING GRANDFATHERED PRINTERS AND

6 SYSTEMS.— 

7 ‘‘(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE

8 OFFERED AND PROVIDED.—The ap9 propriate election official at each poll10 ing place that uses a printer or sys11 tem described in clause (ii)(I) for the 

12 administration of elections for Federal 

13 office shall offer each individual who 

14 is eligible to cast a vote in the election 

15 at the polling place the opportunity to 

16 cast the vote using a blank printed 

17 paper ballot which the individual may 

18 mark by hand and which is not pro19 duced by the direct recording elec20 tronic voting machine or other such 

21 system. The official shall provide the 

22 individual with the ballot and the sup23 plies necessary to mark the ballot, and 

24 shall ensure (to the greatest extent 

25 practicable) that the waiting period 


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1 for the individual to cast a vote is the 

2 lesser of 30 minutes or the average 

3 waiting period for an individual who 

4 does not agree to cast the vote using 

5 such a paper ballot under this clause. 

6 ‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.— 

7 Any paper ballot which is cast by an 

8 individual under this clause shall be 

9 counted and otherwise treated as a 

10 regular ballot for all purposes (includ11 ing by incorporating it into the final 

12 unofficial vote count (as defined by 

13 the State) for the precinct) and not as 

14 a provisional ballot, unless the indi15 vidual casting the ballot would have 

16 otherwise been required to cast a pro17 visional ballot. 

18 ‘‘(III) POSTING OF NOTICE.— 

19 The appropriate election official shall 

20 ensure there is prominently displayed 

21 at each polling place a notice that de22 scribes the obligation of the official to 

23 offer individuals the opportunity to 

24 cast votes using a printed blank paper 

25 ballot. The notice shall comply with 


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1 the requirements of section 203 of the 

2 Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

3 10503). 

4 ‘‘(IV) TRAINING OF ELECTION

5 OFFICIALS.—The chief State election 

6 official shall ensure that election offi7 cials at polling places in the State are 

8 aware of the requirements of this 

9 clause, including the requirement to 

10 display a notice under subclause (III), 

11 and are aware that it is a violation of 

12 the requirements of this title for an 

13 election official to fail to offer an indi14 vidual the opportunity to cast a vote 

15 using a blank printed paper ballot. 

16 ‘‘(V) PERIOD OF APPLICA17 BILITY.—The requirements of this 

18 clause apply only during the period 

19 beginning on January 1, 2024, and 

20 ending on the date on which the juris21 diction replaces the printers or sys22 tems described in clause (ii)(I) for use 

23 in the administration of elections for 

24 Federal office. 


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1 ‘‘(C) DELAY FOR CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS

2 USING VOTING SYSTEMS WITH WIRELESS COM3 MUNICATION DEVICES OR INTERNET CONNEC4 TIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) DELAY.—In the case of a juris6 diction described in clause (ii), subpara7 graph (A) shall apply to a voting system in 

8 the jurisdiction as if the reference in such 

9 subparagraph to ‘2024’ were a reference to 

10 ‘the applicable year’, but only with respect 

11 to the following requirements of this sec12 tion: 

13 ‘‘(I) Paragraph (8) of subsection 

14 (a) (relating to prohibition of wireless 

15 communication devices). 

16 ‘‘(II) Paragraph (9) of subsection 

17 (a) (relating to prohibition of con18 necting systems to the internet). 

19 ‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS DESCRIBED.—A 

20 jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju21 risdiction— 

22 ‘‘(I) which used a voting system 

23 which is not in compliance with para24 graphs (8) or (9) of subsection (a) (as 

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1 fidence and Increased Accessibility 

2 Act of 2023) for the administration of 

3 the regularly scheduled general elec4 tion for Federal office held in Novem5 ber 2022; 

6 ‘‘(II) which was not able, to all 

7 extent practicable, to comply with 

8 paragraph (8) and (9) of subsection 

9 (a) before January 1, 2024; and 

10 ‘‘(III) which will continue to use 

11 such printers or systems for the ad12 ministration of elections for Federal 

13 office held in years before the applica14 ble year. 

15 ‘‘(iii) APPLICABLE YEAR.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

17 provided in subclause (II), the term 

18 ‘applicable year’ means 2028. 

19 ‘‘(II) EXTENSION.—If a State or 

20 jurisdiction certifies to the Commis21 sion not later than January 1, 2028, 

22 that the State or jurisdiction will not 

23 meet the requirements described in 

24 subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (i) by 

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1 tical to do so and includes in the cer2 tification the reasons for the failure to 

3 meet the deadline, the term ‘applica4 ble year’ means 2032.’’. 

5 SEC. 3908. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER 

6 BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING 

7 OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVE8 MENTS. 

9 (a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the 

11 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 

12 et seq.), as amended by section 1302(c), is amended 

13 by adding at the end the following new part: 

14 ‘‘PART 8—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT 

15 PAPER BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CAR16 RYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IM17 PROVEMENTS 

18 ‘‘SEC. 298. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER 

19 BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING 

20 OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVE21 MENTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY AND USE OF GRANT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

24 make a grant to each eligible State— 

25 ‘‘(A) to replace a voting system— 


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1 ‘‘(i) which does not meet the require2 ments which are first imposed on the State 

3 pursuant to the amendments made by the 

4 Voter Confidence and Increased Accessi5 bility Act of 2023 with a voting system 

6 which— 

7 ‘‘(I) does meet such require8 ments; and 

9 ‘‘(II) in the case of a grand10 fathered voting system (as defined in 

11 paragraph (2)), is in compliance with 

12 the most recent voluntary voting sys13 tem guidelines; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) which does meet such require15 ments but which is not in compliance with 

16 the most recent voluntary voting system 

17 guidelines with another system which does 

18 meet such requirements and is in compli19 ance with such guidelines; 

20 ‘‘(B) to carry out voting system security 

21 improvements described in section 298A with 

22 respect to the regularly scheduled general elec23 tion for Federal office held in November 2024 

24 and each succeeding election for Federal office; 


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1 ‘‘(C) to implement and model best prac2 tices for ballot design, ballot instructions, and 

3 the testing of ballots; and 

4 ‘‘(D) to purchase or acquire accessible vot5 ing systems that meet the requirements of 

6 paragraph (2) and paragraph (3)(A)(i) of sec7 tion 301(a) by the means described in para8 graph (3)(B) of such section. 

9 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION OF GRANDFATHERED VOTING

10 SYSTEM.—In this subsection, the term ‘grand11 fathered voting system’ means a voting system that 

12 is used by a jurisdiction described in subparagraph 

13 (B)(ii) or (C)(ii) of section 301(d)(2). 

14 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of payment 

16 made to an eligible State under this section shall be 

17 the minimum payment amount described in para18 graph (2) plus the voting age population proportion 

19 amount described in paragraph (3). 

20 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The min21 imum payment amount described in this paragraph 

22 is— 

23 ‘‘(A) in the case of any of the several 

24 States or the District of Columbia, one-half of 


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1 1 percent of the aggregate amount made avail2 able for payments under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of the Commonwealth of 

4 Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 

5 United States Virgin Islands, or the Common6 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, one7 tenth of 1 percent of such aggregate amount. 

8 ‘‘(3) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPORTION

9 AMOUNT.—The voting age population proportion 

10 amount described in this paragraph is the product 

11 of— 

12 ‘‘(A) the aggregate amount made available 

13 for payments under this section minus the total 

14 of all of the minimum payment amounts deter15 mined under paragraph (2); and 

16 ‘‘(B) the voting age population proportion 

17 for the State (as defined in paragraph (4)). 

18 ‘‘(4) VOTING AGE POPULATION PROPORTION

19 DEFINED.—The term ‘voting age population propor20 tion’ means, with respect to a State, the amount 

21 equal to the quotient of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the voting age population of the State 

23 (as reported in the most recent decennial cen24 sus); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the total voting age population of all 

2 States (as reported in the most recent decennial 

3 census). 

4 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENT RELATING TO PURCHASE

5 OF ACCESSIBLE VOTING SYSTEMS.—An eligible State 

6 shall use not less than 10 percent of funds received 

7 by the State under this section to purchase acces8 sible voting systems described in subsection 

9 (a)(1)(D). 

10 ‘‘SEC. 298A. VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS 

11 DESCRIBED. 

12 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED USES.—A voting system security 

13 improvement described in this section is any of the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(1) The acquisition of goods and services from 

16 qualified election infrastructure vendors by purchase, 

17 lease, or such other arrangements as may be appro18 priate. 

19 ‘‘(2) Cyber and risk mitigation training. 

20 ‘‘(3) A security risk and vulnerability assess21 ment of the State’s election infrastructure (as de22 fined in section 3908(b) of the Voter Confidence and 

23 Increased Accessibility Act of 2023) which is carried 

24 out by a provider of cybersecurity services under a 


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1 contract entered into between the chief State elec2 tion official and the provider. 

3 ‘‘(4) The maintenance of infrastructure used 

4 for elections, including addressing risks and 

5 vulnerabilities which are identified under either of 

6 the security risk and vulnerability assessments de7 scribed in paragraph (3), except that none of the 

8 funds provided under this part may be used to ren9 ovate or replace a building or facility which is not 

10 a primary provider of information technology serv11 ices for the administration of elections, and which is 

12 used primarily for purposes other than the adminis13 tration of elections for public office. 

14 ‘‘(5) Providing increased technical support for 

15 any information technology infrastructure that the 

16 chief State election official deems to be part of the 

17 State’s election infrastructure (as so defined) or des18 ignates as critical to the operation of the State’s 

19 election infrastructure (as so defined). 

20 ‘‘(6) Enhancing the cybersecurity and oper21 ations of the information technology infrastructure 

22 described in paragraph (4). 

23 ‘‘(7) Enhancing the cybersecurity of voter reg24 istration systems. 


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1 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE VEN2 DORS DESCRIBED.—For purposes of this part, a ‘qualified 

3 election infrastructure vendor’ is any person who provides, 

4 supports, or maintains, or who seeks to provide, support, 

5 or maintain, election infrastructure (as defined in section 

6 3908(b) of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessi7 bility Act of 2023) on behalf of a State, unit of local gov8 ernment, or election agency (as defined in section 3908(b) 

9 of such Act) who meets the criteria described in section 

10 3908(b) of such Act. 

11 ‘‘SEC. 298B. ELIGIBILITY OF STATES. 

12 ‘‘A State is eligible to receive a grant under this part 

13 if the State submits to the Commission, at such time and 

14 in such form as the Commission may require, an applica15 tion containing— 

16 ‘‘(1) a description of how the State will use the 

17 grant to carry out the activities authorized under 

18 this part; 

19 ‘‘(2) a certification and assurance that, not 

20 later than 5 years after receiving the grant, the 

21 State will carry out voting system security improve22 ments, as described in section 298A; and 

23 ‘‘(3) such other information and assurances as 

24 the Commission may require. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 298C. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

2 ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal 

3 year, the Commission shall submit a report to the Com4 mittees on Homeland Security, House Administration, and 

5 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 

6 Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Af7 fairs, the Judiciary, and Rules and Administration of the 

8 Senate, on the activities carried out with the funds pro9 vided under this part. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 298D. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 

12 appropriated for grants under this part— 

13 ‘‘(1) $2,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 

14 ‘‘(2) $175,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

15 2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032. 

16 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Any 

17 amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 

18 this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con20 tents of such Act, as amended by section 1402(c), 

21 is amended by adding at the end of the items relat22 ing to subtitle D of title II the following: 

‘‘PART 8—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER BALLOT VOTING

SYSTEMS AND CARRYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS

‘‘Sec. 298. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and 

carrying out voting system security improvements. 

‘‘Sec. 298A. Voting system security improvements described. 

‘‘Sec. 298B. Eligibility of States. 


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‘‘Sec. 298C. Reports to Congress. 

‘‘Sec. 298D. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 (b) QUALIFIED ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE VEN2 DORS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta4 tion with the Chair, shall establish and publish cri5 teria for qualified election infrastructure vendors for 

6 purposes of section 298A of the Help America Vote 

7 Act of 2002 (as added by this Act). 

8 (2) CRITERIA.—The criteria established under 

9 paragraph (1) shall include each of the following re10 quirements: 

11 (A) The vendor shall— 

12 (i) be owned and controlled by a cit13 izen or permanent resident of the United 

14 States or a member of the Five Eyes intel15 ligence-sharing alliance; and 

16 (ii) in the case of any election infra17 structure which is a voting machine, en18 sure that such voting machine is assembled 

19 in the United States. 

20 (B) The vendor shall disclose to the Sec21 retary and the Chair, and to the chief State 

22 election official of any State to which the ven23 dor provides any goods and services with funds 

24 provided under part 8 of subtitle D of title II 


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1 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as 

2 added by this Act), of any sourcing outside the 

3 United States for parts of the election infra4 structure. 

5 (C) The vendor shall disclose to the Sec6 retary and the Chair, and to the chief State 

7 election official of any State to which the ven8 dor provides any goods and services with funds 

9 provided under such part 8, the identification of 

10 any entity or individual with a more than 5 per11 cent ownership interest in the vendor. 

12 (D) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 

13 election infrastructure will be developed and 

14 maintained in a manner that is consistent with 

15 the cybersecurity best practices issued by the 

16 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 

17 Agency of the Department of Homeland Secu18 rity. 

19 (E) The vendor agrees to maintain its in20 formation technology infrastructure in a man21 ner that is consistent with the cybersecurity 

22 best practices issued by the Cybersecurity and 

23 Infrastructure Security Agency of the Depart24 ment of Homeland Security. 


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1 (F) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 

2 election infrastructure will be developed and 

3 maintained in a manner that is consistent with 

4 the supply chain best practices issued by the 

5 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 

6 Agency of the Department of Homeland Secu7 rity. 

8 (G) The vendor agrees to ensure that it 

9 has personnel policies and practices in place 

10 that are consistent with personnel best prac11 tices, including cybersecurity training and back12 ground checks, issued by the Cybersecurity and 

13 Infrastructure Security Agency of the Depart14 ment of Homeland Security. 

15 (H) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 

16 election infrastructure will be developed and 

17 maintained in a manner that is consistent with 

18 data integrity best practices, including require19 ments for encrypted transfers and validation, 

20 testing and checking printed materials for accu21 racy, and disclosure of quality control incidents, 

22 issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 

23 Security Agency of the Department of Home24 land Security. 


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1 (I) The vendor agrees to meet the require2 ments of paragraph (3) with respect to any 

3 known or suspected cybersecurity incidents in4 volving any of the goods and services provided 

5 by the vendor pursuant to a grant under part 

6 8 of subtitle D of title II of the Help America 

7 Vote Act of 2002 (as added by this Act). 

8 (J) The vendor agrees to permit inde9 pendent security testing by the Election Assist10 ance Commission (in accordance with section 

11 231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

12 (52 U.S.C. 20971)) and by the Secretary of the 

13 goods and services provided by the vendor pur14 suant to a grant under part 8 of subtitle D of 

15 title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

16 (as added by this Act). 

17 (3) CYBERSECURITY INCIDENT REPORTING RE18 QUIREMENTS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—A vendor meets the re20 quirements of this paragraph if, upon becoming 

21 aware of the possibility that an election cyberse22 curity incident has occurred involving any of 

23 the goods and services provided by the vendor 

24 pursuant to a grant under part 8 of subtitle D 


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1 of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 

2 2002 (as added by this Act)— 

3 (i) the vendor promptly assesses 

4 whether or not such an incident occurred, 

5 and submits a notification meeting the re6 quirements of subparagraph (B) to the 

7 Secretary and the Chair of the assessment 

8 as soon as practicable (but in no case later 

9 than 3 days after the vendor first becomes 

10 aware of the possibility that the incident 

11 occurred); 

12 (ii) if the incident involves goods or 

13 services provided to an election agency, the 

14 vendor submits a notification meeting the 

15 requirements of subparagraph (B) to the 

16 agency as soon as practicable (but in no 

17 case later than 3 days after the vendor 

18 first becomes aware of the possibility that 

19 the incident occurred), and cooperates with 

20 the agency in providing any other nec21 essary notifications relating to the inci22 dent; and 

23 (iii) the vendor provides all necessary 

24 updates to any notification submitted 

25 under clause (i) or clause (ii). 


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1 (B) CONTENTS OF NOTIFICATIONS.—Each 

2 notification submitted under clause (i) or clause 

3 (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall contain the fol4 lowing information with respect to any election 

5 cybersecurity incident covered by the notifica6 tion: 

7 (i) The date, time, and time zone 

8 when the election cybersecurity incident 

9 began, if known. 

10 (ii) The date, time, and time zone 

11 when the election cybersecurity incident 

12 was detected. 

13 (iii) The date, time, and duration of 

14 the election cybersecurity incident. 

15 (iv) The circumstances of the election 

16 cybersecurity incident, including the spe17 cific election infrastructure systems be18 lieved to have been accessed and informa19 tion acquired, if any. 

20 (v) Any planned and implemented 

21 technical measures to respond to and re22 cover from the incident. 

23 (vi) In the case of any notification 

24 which is an update to a prior notification, 

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1 ing to the incident, including technical 

2 data, as it becomes available. 

3 (C) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA FOR RE4 PORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 

6 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 

7 Agency shall, in consultation with the Election 

8 Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council, de9 velop criteria for incidents which are required to 

10 be reported in accordance with subparagraph 

11 (A). 

12 (4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

13 (A) CHAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the 

14 Chair of the Election Assistance Commission. 

15 (B) CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL.— 

16 The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ means, 

17 with respect to a State, the individual des18 ignated by the State under section 10 of the 

19 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 

20 U.S.C. 20509) to be responsible for coordina21 tion of the State’s responsibilities under such 

22 Act. 

23 (C) ELECTION AGENCY.—The term ‘‘elec24 tion agency’’ means any component of a State, 

25 or any component of a unit of local government 


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1 in a State, which is responsible for the adminis2 tration of elections for Federal office in the 

3 State. 

4 (D) ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE.—The 

5 term ‘‘election infrastructure’’ means storage 

6 facilities, polling places, and centralized vote 

7 tabulation locations used to support the admin8 istration of elections for public office, as well as 

9 related information and communications tech10 nology, including voter registration databases, 

11 voting machines, electronic mail and other com12 munications systems (including electronic mail 

13 and other systems of vendors who have entered 

14 into contracts with election agencies to support 

15 the administration of elections, manage the 

16 election process, and report and display election 

17 results), and other systems used to manage the 

18 election process and to report and display elec19 tion results on behalf of an election agency. 

20 (E) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

21 means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

22 (F) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 901 of the 

24 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

25 21141). 


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1 Subtitle K—Provisional Ballots 

2 SEC. 3911. REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTING PROVISIONAL 

3 BALLOTS; ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM AND 

4 NONDISCRIMINATORY STANDARDS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302 of the Help America 

6 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082), as amended by sec7 tion 1601(a), is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub9 section (h); and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol11 lowing new subsections: 

12 ‘‘(e) COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

14 ‘‘(A) For purposes of subsection (a)(4), if 

15 a provisional ballot is cast within the same 

16 county in which the voter is registered or other17 wise eligible to vote, then notwithstanding the 

18 precinct or polling place at which a provisional 

19 ballot is cast within the county, the appropriate 

20 election official of the jurisdiction in which the 

21 individual is registered or otherwise eligible to 

22 vote shall count each vote on such ballot for 

23 each election in which the individual who cast 

24 such ballot is eligible to vote. 


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1 ‘‘(B) In addition to the requirements under 

2 subsection (a), for each State or political sub3 division that provides voters provisional ballots, 

4 challenge ballots, or affidavit ballots under the 

5 State’s applicable law governing the voting 

6 processes for those voters whose eligibility to 

7 vote is determined to be uncertain by election 

8 officials, election officials shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) provide clear written instructions 

10 indicating the reason the voter was given a 

11 provisional ballot, the information or docu12 ments the voter needs to prove eligibility, 

13 the location at which the voter must ap14 pear to submit these materials or alter15 native methods, including email or fac16 simile, that the voter may use to submit 

17 these materials, and the deadline for sub18 mitting these materials; 

19 ‘‘(ii) provide a verbal translation of 

20 any written instructions to the voter if nec21 essary; 

22 ‘‘(iii) permit any voter who votes pro23 visionally at any polling place on Indian 

24 lands to appear at any polling place or at 

25 a central location for the election board to 


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1 submit the documentation or information 

2 to prove eligibility; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) notify the voter as to whether 

4 the voter’s provisional ballot was counted 

5 or rejected and provide the reason for re6 jection if the voter’s provisional ballot was 

7 rejected after the voter provided the re8 quired information or documentation on 

9 eligibility. 

10 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

11 this subsection shall prohibit a State or jurisdiction 

12 from counting a provisional ballot which is cast in 

13 a different county within the State than the county 

14 in which the voter is registered or otherwise eligible 

15 to vote. 

16 ‘‘(f) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES RE17 QUIRING SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may not im20 pose a signature verification requirement as a 

21 condition of accepting and counting a provi22 sional ballot submitted by any individual with 

23 respect to an election for Federal office unless 

24 the State meets the due process requirements 

25 described in paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(B) SIGNATURE VERIFICATION REQUIRE2 MENT DESCRIBED.—In this subsection, a ‘sig3 nature verification requirement’ is a require4 ment that an election official verify the identi5 fication of an individual by comparing the indi6 vidual’s signature on the provisional ballot with 

7 the individual’s signature on the official list of 

8 registered voters in the State or another official 

9 record or other document used by the State to 

10 verify the signatures of voters. 

11 ‘‘(2) DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE

13 DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES.—If an indi14 vidual submits a provisional ballot and the ap15 propriate State or local election official deter16 mines that a discrepancy exists between the sig17 nature on such ballot and the signature of such 

18 individual on the official list of registered voters 

19 in the State or other official record or document 

20 used by the State to verify the signatures of 

21 voters, such election official, prior to making a 

22 final determination as to the validity of such 

23 ballot, shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but no later 

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1 termination is made, make a good faith ef2 fort to notify the individual by mail, tele3 phone, and (if available) text message and 

4 electronic mail that— 

5 ‘‘(I) a discrepancy exists between 

6 the signature on such ballot and the 

7 signature of the individual on the offi8 cial list of registered voters in the 

9 State or other official record or docu10 ment used by the State to verify the 

11 signatures of voters; and 

12 ‘‘(II) if such discrepancy is not 

13 cured prior to the expiration of the 

14 third day following the State’s dead15 line for receiving mail-in ballots or ab16 sentee ballots, such ballot will not be 

17 counted; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) cure such discrepancy and count 

19 the ballot if, prior to the expiration of the 

20 third day following the State’s deadline for 

21 receiving mail-in ballots or absentee bal22 lots, the individual provides the official 

23 with information to cure such discrepancy, 

24 either in person, by telephone, or by elec25 tronic methods. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE

2 MISSING SIGNATURE OR OTHER DEFECT.—If an 

3 individual submits a provisional ballot without a 

4 signature or submits a provisional ballot with 

5 another defect which, if left uncured, would 

6 cause the ballot to not be counted, the appro7 priate State or local election official, prior to 

8 making a final determination as to the validity 

9 of the ballot, shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but no later 

11 than the next business day after such de12 termination is made, make a good faith ef13 fort to notify the individual by mail, tele14 phone, and (if available) text message and 

15 electronic mail that— 

16 ‘‘(I) the ballot did not include a 

17 signature or has some other defect; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) if the individual does not 

20 provide the missing signature or cure 

21 the other defect prior to the expira22 tion of the third day following the 

23 State’s deadline for receiving mail-in 

24 ballots or absentee ballots, such ballot 

25 will not be counted; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) count the ballot if, prior to the 

2 expiration of the third day following the 

3 State’s deadline for receiving mail-in bal4 lots or absentee ballots, the individual pro5 vides the official with the missing signa6 ture on a form proscribed by the State or 

7 cures the other defect. 

8 ‘‘(C) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An election official 

10 may not make a determination that a dis11 crepancy exists between the signature on a 

12 provisional ballot and the signature of the 

13 individual on the official list of registered 

14 voters in the State or other official record 

15 or other document used by the State to 

16 verify the signatures of voters unless— 

17 ‘‘(I) at least 2 election officials 

18 make the determination; 

19 ‘‘(II) each official who makes the 

20 determination has received training in 

21 procedures used to verify signatures; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(III) of the officials who make 

24 the determination, at least one is af25 filiated with the political party whose 


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1 candidate received the most votes in 

2 the most recent statewide election for 

3 Federal office held in the State and at 

4 least one is affiliated with the political 

5 party whose candidate received the 

6 second most votes in the most recent 

7 statewide election for Federal office 

8 held in the State. 

9 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i)(III) 

10 shall not apply to any State in which, 

11 under a law that is in effect continuously 

12 on and after the date of enactment of this 

13 section, determinations regarding signature 

14 discrepancies are made by election officials 

15 who are not affiliated with a political 

16 party. 

17 ‘‘(3) REPORT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

19 days after the end of a Federal election cycle, 

20 each chief State election official shall submit to 

21 the Commission a report containing the fol22 lowing information for the applicable Federal 

23 election cycle in the State: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The number of provisional ballots 

2 invalidated due to a discrepancy under this 

3 subsection. 

4 ‘‘(ii) Description of attempts to con5 tact voters to provide notice as required by 

6 this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(iii) Description of the cure process 

8 developed by such State pursuant to this 

9 subsection, including the number of provi10 sional ballots determined valid as a result 

11 of such process. 

12 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not 

13 later than 10 days after receiving a report 

14 under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall 

15 transmit such report to Congress. 

16 ‘‘(C) FEDERAL ELECTION CYCLE DE17 FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

18 term ‘Federal election cycle’ means, with re19 spect to any regularly scheduled election for 

20 Federal office, the period beginning on the day 

21 after the date of the preceding regularly sched22 uled general election for Federal office and end23 ing on the date of such regularly scheduled gen24 eral election. 


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1 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

2 this subsection shall be construed— 

3 ‘‘(A) to prohibit a State from rejecting a 

4 ballot attempted to be cast in an election for 

5 Federal office by an individual who is not eligi6 ble to vote in the election; or 

7 ‘‘(B) to prohibit a State from providing an 

8 individual with more time and more methods 

9 for curing a discrepancy in the individual’s sig10 nature, providing a missing signature, or curing 

11 any other defect than the State is required to 

12 provide under this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

14 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu15 ary 1, 2024. 

16 ‘‘(g) UNIFORM AND NONDISCRIMINATORY STAND17 ARDS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with the re19 quirements of this section, each State shall establish 

20 uniform and nondiscriminatory standards for the 

21 issuance, handling, and counting of provisional bal22 lots. 

23 ‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 

24 apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu25 ary 1, 2024. 


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1 ‘‘(h) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS PROHIBITED.—If an 

2 individual in a State is eligible to cast a provisional ballot 

3 as provided under this section, the State may not impose 

4 any additional conditions or requirements (including con5 ditions or requirements regarding the timeframe in which 

6 a provisional ballot may be cast) on the eligibility of the 

7 individual to cast such provisional ballot.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(h) of 

9 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(g)), as amended by section 

10 1601(a) and redesignated by subsection (a), is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘subsection (d)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections 

12 (d)(4), (e)(3), and (f)(2)’’. 

13 TITLE IV—VOTING SYSTEM 

14 SECURITY 

15 SEC. 4001. POST-ELECTION AUDIT REQUIREMENT. 

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

17 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended 

18 by section 3601, is amended by inserting after section 

19 303A the following new section: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 303B. POST-ELECTION AUDITS. 

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

22 ‘‘(1) POST-ELECTION AUDIT.—Except as pro23 vided in subsection (c)(1)(B), the term ‘post-election 

24 audit’ means, with respect to any election contest, a 

25 post-election process that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has a probability of at least 95 per2 cent of correcting the reported outcome if the 

3 reported outcome is not the correct outcome; 

4 ‘‘(B) will not change the outcome if the re5 ported outcome is the correct outcome; and 

6 ‘‘(C) involves a manual adjudication of 

7 voter intent from some or all of the ballots val8 idly cast in the election contest. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORTED OUTCOME; CORRECT OUTCOME; 

10 OUTCOME.— 

11 ‘‘(A) REPORTED OUTCOME.—The term ‘re12 ported outcome’ means the outcome of an elec13 tion contest which is determined according to 

14 the canvass and which will become the official, 

15 certified outcome unless it is revised by an 

16 audit, recount, or other legal process. 

17 ‘‘(B) CORRECT OUTCOME.—The term ‘cor18 rect outcome’ means the outcome that would be 

19 determined by a manual adjudication of voter 

20 intent for all votes validly cast in the election 

21 contest. 

22 ‘‘(C) OUTCOME.—The term ‘outcome’ 

23 means the winner or set of winners of an elec24 tion contest. 


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1 ‘‘(3) MANUAL ADJUDICATION OF VOTER IN2 TENT.—The term ‘manual adjudication of voter in3 tent’ means direct inspection and determination by 

4 humans, without assistance from electronic or me5 chanical tabulation devices, of the ballot choices 

6 marked by voters on each voter-verifiable paper 

7 record. 

8 ‘‘(4) BALLOT MANIFEST.—The term ‘ballot 

9 manifest’ means a record maintained by each juris10 diction that— 

11 ‘‘(A) is created without reliance on any 

12 part of the voting system used to tabulate 

13 votes; 

14 ‘‘(B) functions as a sampling frame for 

15 conducting a post-election audit; and 

16 ‘‘(C) accounts for all ballots validly cast re17 gardless of how they were tabulated and in18 cludes a precise description of the manner in 

19 which the ballots are physically stored, includ20 ing the total number of physical groups of bal21 lots, the numbering system for each group, a 

22 unique label for each group, and the number of 

23 ballots in each such group. 

24 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) AUDITS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each State and 

3 jurisdiction shall administer post-election 

4 audits of the results of all election contests 

5 for Federal office held in the State in ac6 cordance with the requirements of para7 graph (2). 

8 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall 

9 not apply to any election contest for which 

10 the State or jurisdiction conducts a full re11 count through a manual adjudication of 

12 voter intent. 

13 ‘‘(B) FULL MANUAL TABULATION.—If a 

14 post-election audit conducted under subpara15 graph (A) corrects the reported outcome of an 

16 election contest, the State or jurisdiction shall 

17 use the results of the manual adjudication of 

18 voter intent conducted as part of the post-elec19 tion audit as the official results of the election 

20 contest. 

21 ‘‘(2) AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 

24 years after the date of the enactment of 

25 this section, the chief State election official 


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1 of the State shall establish rules and proce2 dures for conducting post-election audits. 

3 ‘‘(ii) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The rules 

4 and procedures established under clause (i) 

5 shall include the following: 

6 ‘‘(I) Rules and procedures for en7 suring the security of ballots and doc8 umenting that prescribed procedures 

9 were followed. 

10 ‘‘(II) Rules and procedures for 

11 ensuring the accuracy of ballot mani12 fests produced by jurisdictions. 

13 ‘‘(III) Rules and procedures for 

14 governing the format of ballot mani15 fests and other data involved in post16 election audits. 

17 ‘‘(IV) Methods to ensure that 

18 any cast vote records used in a post19 election audit are those used by the 

20 voting system to tally the results of 

21 the election contest sent to the chief 

22 State election official of the State and 

23 made public. 


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1 ‘‘(V) Rules and procedures for 

2 the random selection of ballots to be 

3 inspected manually during each audit. 

4 ‘‘(VI) Rules and procedures for 

5 the calculations and other methods to 

6 be used in the audit and to determine 

7 whether and when the audit of each 

8 election contest is complete. 

9 ‘‘(VII) Rules and procedures for 

10 testing any software used to conduct 

11 post-election audits. 

12 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC REPORT.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After the comple14 tion of the post-election audit and at least 

15 5 days before the election contest is cer16 tified by the State, the State shall make 

17 public and submit to the Commission a re18 port on the results of the audit, together 

19 with such information as necessary to con20 firm that the audit was conducted prop21 erly. 

22 ‘‘(ii) FORMAT OF DATA.—All data 

23 published with the report under clause (i) 

24 shall be published in machine-readable, 

25 open data formats. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PROTECTION OF ANONYMITY OF

2 VOTES.—Information and data published 

3 by the State under this subparagraph shall 

4 not compromise the anonymity of votes. 

5 ‘‘(iv) REPORT MADE AVAILABLE BY

6 COMMISSION.—After receiving any report 

7 submitted under clause (i), the Commis8 sion shall make such report available on its 

9 website. 

10 ‘‘(3) EFFECTIVE DATE; WAIVER.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

12 subparagraphs (B) and (C), each State and ju13 risdiction shall be required to comply with the 

14 requirements of this subsection for the first reg15 ularly scheduled election for Federal office oc16 curring in 2034 and for each subsequent elec17 tion for Federal office. 

18 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—Except as provided in sub19 paragraph (C), if a State certifies to the Elec20 tion Assistance Commission not later than the 

21 first regularly scheduled election for Federal of22 fice occurring in 2034, that the State will not 

23 meet the deadline described in subparagraph 

24 (A) because it would be impracticable to do so 

25 and includes in the certification the reasons for 


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1 the failure to meet such deadline, subparagraph 

2 (A) and subsection (c)(2) shall be applied to the 

3 State by substituting ‘2036’ for ‘2034’. 

4 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL WAIVER PERIOD.—If a 

5 State certifies to the Election Assistance Com6 mission not later than the first regularly sched7 uled election for Federal office occurring in 

8 2036, that the State will not meet the deadline 

9 described in subparagraph (A) (after applica10 tion of subparagraph (B)) because it would be 

11 impracticable to do so and includes in the cer12 tification the reasons for the failure to meet 

13 such deadline, subparagraph (A) and subsection 

14 (c)(2) shall be applied to the State by sub15 stituting ‘2038’ for ‘2034’. 

16 ‘‘(c) PHASED IMPLEMENTATION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) POST-ELECTION AUDITS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the regularly 

19 scheduled elections for Federal office occurring 

20 in 2026 and 2028, each State shall administer 

21 a post-election audit of the result of at least one 

22 statewide election contest for Federal office held 

23 in the State, or if no such statewide contest is 

24 on the ballot, one election contest for Federal 

25 office chosen at random. 


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1 ‘‘(B) POST-ELECTION AUDIT DEFINED.— 

2 In this subsection, the term ‘post-election audit’ 

3 means a post-election process that involves a 

4 manual adjudication of voter intent from a 

5 sample of ballots validly cast in the election 

6 contest. 

7 ‘‘(2) POST-ELECTION AUDITS FOR SELECT CON8 TESTS.—Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 

9 subsection (b)(3), for the regularly scheduled elec10 tions for Federal office occurring in 2030 and for 

11 each subsequent election for Federal office that oc12 curs prior to the first regularly scheduled election 

13 for Federal office occurring in 2034, each State 

14 shall administer a post-election audit of the result of 

15 at least one statewide election contest for Federal of16 fice held in the State, or if no such statewide contest 

17 is on the ballot, one election contest for Federal of18 fice chosen at random. 

19 ‘‘(3) STATES THAT ADMINISTER POST-ELEC20 TION AUDITS FOR ALL CONTESTS.—A State shall be 

21 exempt from the requirements of this subsection for 

22 any regularly scheduled election for Federal office in 

23 which the State meets the requirements of sub24 section (b).’’. 


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

2 for such Act, as amended by section 3601, is amended 

3 by inserting after the item relating to section 303A the 

4 following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 303B. Post-election audits.’’. 

5 (c) STUDY ON POST-ELECTION AUDIT BEST PRAC6 TICES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

8 Institute of Standards and Technology shall estab9 lish an advisory committee to study post-election au10 dits and establish best practices for post-election 

11 audit methodologies and procedures. 

12 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Director of 

13 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

14 shall appoint individuals to the advisory committee 

15 and secure the representation of— 

16 (A) State and local election officials; 

17 (B) individuals with experience and exper18 tise in election security; 

19 (C) individuals with experience and exper20 tise in post-election audit procedures; and 

21 (D) individuals with experience and exper22 tise in statistical methods. 

23 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 


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1 as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this 

2 subsection. 

3 SEC. 4002. ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGNATION. 

4 Subparagraph (J) of section 2001(3) of the Home5 land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601(3)) is amended 

6 by inserting ‘‘, including election infrastructure’’ before 

7 the period at the end. 

8 SEC. 4003. GUIDELINES AND CERTIFICATION FOR ELEC9 TRONIC POLL BOOKS AND REMOTE BALLOT 

10 MARKING SYSTEMS. 

11 (a) INCLUSION UNDER VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM

12 GUIDELINES.—Section 222 of the Help America Vote Act 

13 of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20962) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 

15 (d), and (e) as subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f); 

16 (2) by inserting after the section heading the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(a) VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDELINES.— 

19 The Commission shall adopt voluntary voting system 

20 guidelines that describe functionality, accessibility, and se21 curity principles for the design, development, and oper22 ation of voting systems, electronic poll books, and remote 

23 ballot marking systems.’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub25 sections: 


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1 ‘‘(g) INITIAL GUIDELINES FOR ELECTRONIC POLL

2 BOOKS AND REMOTE BALLOT MARKING SYSTEMS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION DATE.—The Commission shall 

4 adopt initial voluntary voting system guidelines for 

5 electronic poll books and remote ballot marking sys6 tems not later than 1 year after the date of the en7 actment of the Freedom to Vote Act. 

8 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR INITIAL GUIDE9 LINES.—The Commission may adopt initial vol10 untary voting system guidelines for electronic poll 

11 books and remote ballot marking systems without 

12 modifying the most recently adopted voluntary vot13 ing system guidelines for voting systems. 

14 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ELECTRONIC POLL BOOK.—The term ‘elec16 tronic poll book’ means the total combination of me17 chanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment 

18 (including the software, firmware, and documenta19 tion required to program, control, and support the 

20 equipment) that is used— 

21 ‘‘(A) to retain the list of registered voters 

22 at a polling location, or vote center, or other lo23 cation at which voters cast votes in an election 

24 for Federal office; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) to identify registered voters who are 

2 eligible to vote in an election. 

3 ‘‘(2) REMOTE BALLOT MARKING SYSTEM.—The 

4 term ‘remote ballot marking system’ means an elec5 tion system that— 

6 ‘‘(A) is used by a voter to mark their bal7 lots outside of a voting center or polling place; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) allows a voter to receive a blank bal10 lot to mark electronically, print, and then cast 

11 by returning the printed ballot to the elections 

12 office or other designated location.’’. 

13 (b) PROVIDING FOR CERTIFICATION OF ELECTRONIC

14 POLL BOOKS AND REMOTE BALLOT MARKING SYSTEM.— 

15 Section 231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

16 U.S.C. 20971(a)) is amended, in each of paragraphs (1) 

17 and (2), by inserting ‘‘, electronic poll books, and remote 

18 ballot marking systems’’ after ‘‘software’’. 

19 SEC. 4004. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 

20 USAGE. 

21 (a) REQUIRING STATES TO SUBMIT REPORTS.—Title 

22 III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

23 21081 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 301 

24 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 301A. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 

2 USAGE. 

3 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING STATES TO SUBMIT REPORTS.— 

4 Not later than 120 days before the date of each regularly 

5 scheduled general election for Federal office, the chief 

6 State election official of a State shall submit a report to 

7 the Commission containing a detailed voting system usage 

8 plan for each jurisdiction in the State which will admin9 ister the election, including a detailed plan for the usage 

10 of electronic poll books and other equipment and compo11 nents of such system. If a jurisdiction acquires and imple12 ments a new voting system within the 120 days before the 

13 date of the election, it shall notify the chief State election 

14 official of the State, who shall submit to the Commission 

15 in a timely manner an updated report under the preceding 

16 sentence. 

17 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 

18 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

19 Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 

20 regularly scheduled general election for Federal office’’. 

21 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

22 of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

23 to section 301 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 301A. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4005. USE OF VOTING MACHINES MANUFACTURED IN 

2 THE UNITED STATES. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 301(a) of the Help 

4 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as 

5 amended by section 3904 and section 3906, is further 

6 amended by adding at the end the following new para7 graph: 

8 ‘‘(10) VOTING MACHINE REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) MANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 By not later than the date of the regularly 

11 scheduled general election for Federal office oc12 curring in November 2026, each State shall 

13 seek to ensure to the extent practicable that 

14 any voting machine used in such election and in 

15 any subsequent election for Federal office is 

16 manufactured in the United States. 

17 ‘‘(B) ASSEMBLY REQUIREMENTS.—By not 

18 later than the date of the regularly scheduled 

19 general election for Federal office occurring in 

20 November 2026, each State shall seek to ensure 

21 that any voting machine purchased or acquired 

22 for such election and in any subsequent election 

23 for Federal office is assembled in the United 

24 States. 

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1 ularly scheduled general election for Federal of2 fice occurring in November 2026, each State 

3 shall seek to ensure that any software or code 

4 developed for any voting system purchased or 

5 acquired for such election and in any subse6 quent election for Federal office is developed 

7 and stored in the United States.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EF9 FECTIVE DATE.—Section 301(d)(1) of such Act (52 

10 U.S.C. 21081(d)(1)), as amended by section 3907, is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub12 section (a)(10) and paragraph (2)’’. 

13 SEC. 4006. USE OF POLITICAL PARTY HEADQUARTERS 

14 BUILDING FUND FOR TECHNOLOGY OR CY15 BERSECURITY-RELATED PURPOSES. 

16 (a) PERMITTING USE OF FUND.—Section 

17 315(a)(9)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

18 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(9)(B)) is amended by striking 

19 the period at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and 

20 to defray technology or cybersecurity-related expenses.’’. 

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

22 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to calendar year 

23 2024 and each succeeding calendar year. 


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1 SEC. 4007. SEVERABILITY. 

2 If any provision of this title or any amendment made 

3 by this title, or the application of any such provision or 

4 amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

5 unconstitutional, the remainder of this title, and the appli6 cation of such provision or amendment to any other person 

7 or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 

8 DIVISION C—CIVIC PARTICIPA9 TION AND EMPOWERMENT 

10 TITLE V—NONPARTISAN 

11 REDISTRICTING REFORM 

12 SEC. 5001. FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 

13 Congress finds that it has the authority to establish 

14 the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying 

15 out congressional redistricting after an apportionment of 

16 Members of the House of Representatives because— 

17 (1) the authority granted to Congress under ar18 ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 

19 States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov20 erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 

21 Members of the House of Representatives; 

22 (2) the authority granted to Congress under 

23 section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Con24 stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 

25 enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires 


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1 Representatives to be apportioned among the several 

2 States according to their number; 

3 (3) the authority granted to Congress under 

4 section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Con5 stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 

6 enforce section 1 of such amendment, including pro7 tections against excessive partisan gerrymandering 

8 that Federal courts have not enforced because they 

9 understand such enforcement to be committed to 

10 Congress by the Constitution; 

11 (4) of the authority granted to Congress to en12 force article IV, section 4, of the Constitution, and 

13 the guarantee of a Republican Form of Government 

14 to every State, which Federal courts have not en15 forced because they understand such enforcement to 

16 be committed to Congress by the Constitution; 

17 (5) requiring States to use uniform redistricting 

18 criteria is an appropriate and important exercise of 

19 such authority; and 

20 (6) partisan gerrymandering dilutes citizens’ 

21 votes because partisan gerrymandering injures vot22 ers and political parties by infringing on their First 

23 Amendment right to associate freely and their Four24 teenth Amendment right to equal protection of the 

25 laws. 


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1 SEC. 5002. BAN ON MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING. 

2 A State that has been redistricted in accordance with 

3 this title may not be redistricted again until after the next 

4 apportionment of Representatives under section 22(a) of 

5 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and 

6 subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap7 portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 

8 June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), unless a court requires the 

9 State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to comply 

10 with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting 

11 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the terms 

12 or conditions of this title, or applicable State law. 

13 SEC. 5003. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING. 

14 (a) REQUIRING PLANS TO MEET CRITERIA.—A 

15 State may not use a congressional redistricting plan en16 acted following the notice of apportionment transmitted 

17 to the President on April 26, 2021, or any subsequent no18 tice of apportionment, if such plan is not in compliance 

19 with this section, without regard to whether or not the 

20 plan was enacted by the State before, on, or after the ef21 fective date of this title. 

22 (b) RANKED CRITERIA.—Under the redistricting plan 

23 of a State, there shall be established single-member con24 gressional districts using the following criteria as set forth 

25 in the following order of priority: 


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1 (1) Districts shall comply with the United 

2 States Constitution, including the requirement that 

3 they substantially equalize total population, without 

4 regard to age, citizenship status, or immigration sta5 tus. 

6 (2) Districts shall comply with the Voting 

7 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), in8 cluding by creating any districts where, if based 

9 upon the totality of the circumstances, 2 or more po10 litically cohesive groups protected by such Act are 

11 able to elect representatives of choice in coalition 

12 with one another, and all applicable Federal laws. 

13 (3)(A) Districts shall be drawn, to the extent 

14 that the totality of the circumstances warrant, to en15 sure the practical ability of a group protected under 

16 the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 

17 seq.) to participate in the political process and to 

18 nominate candidates and to elect representatives of 

19 choice is not diluted or diminished, regardless of 

20 whether or not such protected group constitutes a 

21 majority of a district’s population, voting age popu22 lation, or citizen voting age population. 

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1 resentatives of choice shall require the consideration 

2 of the following factors: 

3 (i) Whether the group is politically cohe4 sive. 

5 (ii) Whether there is racially polarized vot6 ing in the relevant geographic region. 

7 (iii) If there is racially polarized voting in 

8 the relevant geographic region, whether the pre9 ferred candidates of the group nevertheless re10 ceive a sufficient amount of consistent crossover 

11 support from other voters such that the group 

12 is a functional majority with the ability to both 

13 nominate candidates and elect representatives 

14 of choice. 

15 (4)(A) Districts shall be drawn to represent 

16 communities of interest and neighborhoods to the 

17 extent practicable after compliance with the require18 ments of paragraphs (1) through (3). A community 

19 of interest is defined as an area for which the record 

20 before the entity responsible for developing and 

21 adopting the redistricting plan demonstrates the ex22 istence of broadly shared interests and representa23 tional needs, including shared interests and rep24 resentational needs rooted in common ethnic, racial, 

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1 toric identities, or arising from similar socioeconomic 

2 conditions. The term communities of interest may, if 

3 the record warrants, include political subdivisions 

4 such as counties, municipalities, Indian lands, or 

5 school districts, but shall not include common rela6 tionships with political parties or political can7 didates. 

8 (B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), in con9 sidering the needs of multiple, overlapping commu10 nities of interest, the entity responsible for devel11 oping and adopting the redistricting plan shall give 

12 greater weight to those communities of interest 

13 whose representational needs would most benefit 

14 from the community’s inclusion in a single congres15 sional district. 

16 (c) NO FAVORING OR DISFAVORING OF POLITICAL

17 PARTIES.— 

18 (1) PROHIBITION.—A State may not use a re19 districting plan to conduct an election if the plan’s 

20 congressional districts, when considered cumulatively 

21 on a statewide basis, have been drawn with the in22 tent or have the effect of materially favoring or 

23 disfavoring any political party. 

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1 fect of materially favoring or disfavoring a political 

2 party shall be based on an evaluation of the totality 

3 of circumstances which, at a minimum, shall involve 

4 consideration of each of the following factors: 

5 (A) Computer modeling based on relevant 

6 statewide general elections for Federal office 

7 held over the 8 years preceding the adoption of 

8 the redistricting plan setting forth the probable 

9 electoral outcomes for the plan under a range 

10 of reasonably foreseeable conditions. 

11 (B) An analysis of whether the redis12 tricting plan is statistically likely to result in 

13 partisan advantage or disadvantage on a state14 wide basis, the degree of any such advantage or 

15 disadvantage, and whether such advantage or 

16 disadvantage is likely to be present under a 

17 range of reasonably foreseeable electoral condi18 tions. 

19 (C) A comparison of the modeled electoral 

20 outcomes for the redistricting plan to the mod21 eled electoral outcomes for alternative plans 

22 that demonstrably comply with the require23 ments of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of sub24 section (b) in order to determine whether rea25 sonable alternatives exist that would result in 


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1 materially lower levels of partisan advantage or 

2 disadvantage on a statewide basis. For purposes 

3 of this subparagraph, alternative plans consid4 ered may include both actual plans proposed 

5 during the redistricting process and other plans 

6 prepared for purposes of comparison. 

7 (D) Any other relevant information, includ8 ing how broad support for the redistricting plan 

9 was among members of the entity responsible 

10 for developing and adopting the plan and 

11 whether the processes leading to the develop12 ment and adoption of the plan were transparent 

13 and equally open to all members of the entity 

14 and to the public. 

15 (3) REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION.— 

16 (A) TRIGGER.—In any civil action brought 

17 under section 5006 in which a party asserts a 

18 claim that a State has enacted a redistricting 

19 plan which is in violation of this subsection, a 

20 party may file a motion not later than 30 days 

21 after the enactment of the plan (or, in the case 

22 of a plan enacted before the effective date of 

23 this Act, not later than 30 days after the effec24 tive date of this Act) requesting that the court 

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1 lation exists. If such a motion is timely filed, 

2 the court shall hold a hearing not later than 15 

3 days after the date the motion is filed to assess 

4 whether a presumption of such a violation ex5 ists. 

6 (B) ASSESSMENT.—To conduct the assess7 ment required under subparagraph (A), the 

8 court shall do the following: 

9 (i) Determine the number of congres10 sional districts under the plan that would 

11 have been carried by each political party’s 

12 candidates for the office of President and 

13 the office of Senator in the 2 most recent 

14 general elections for the office of President 

15 and the 2 most recent general elections for 

16 the office of Senator (other than special 

17 general elections) immediately preceding 

18 the enactment of the plan, except that if a 

19 State conducts a primary election for the 

20 office of Senator which is open to can21 didates of all political parties, the primary 

22 election shall be used instead of the gen23 eral election and the number of districts 

24 carried by a party’s candidates for the of25 fice of Senator shall be determined on the 


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1 basis of the combined vote share of all can2 didates in the election who are affiliated 

3 with such party. 

4 (ii) Determine, for each of the 4 elec5 tions assessed under clause (i), whether 

6 the number of districts that would have 

7 been carried by any party’s candidate as 

8 determined under clause (i) results in par9 tisan advantage or disadvantage in excess 

10 of the applicable threshold described in 

11 subparagraph (C). The degree of partisan 

12 advantage or disadvantage shall be deter13 mined by one or more standard quan14 titative measures of partisan fairness 

15 that— 

16 (I) use a party’s share of the 

17 statewide vote to calculate a cor18 responding benchmark share of seats; 

19 and 

20 (II) measure the amount by 

21 which the share of seats the party’s 

22 candidate would have won in the elec23 tion involved exceeds the benchmark 

24 share of seats. 


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1 (C) APPLICABLE THRESHOLD DE2 SCRIBED.—The applicable threshold described 

3 in this subparagraph is, with respect to a State 

4 and a number of seats, the greater of— 

5 (i) an amount equal to 7 percent of 

6 the number of congressional districts in 

7 the State; or 

8 (ii) one congressional district. 

9 (D) DESCRIPTION OF QUANTITATIVE

10 MEASURES; PROHIBITING ROUNDING.—In car11 rying out this subsection— 

12 (i) the standard quantitative measures 

13 of partisan fairness used by the court may 

14 include the simplified efficiency gap but 

15 may not include strict proportionality; and 

16 (ii) the court may not round any num17 ber. 

18 (E) PRESUMPTION OF VIOLATION.—A plan 

19 is presumed to violate paragraph (1) if, on the 

20 basis of at least one standard quantitative 

21 measure of partisan fairness, it exceeds the ap22 plicable threshold described in subparagraph 

23 (C) with respect to 2 or more of the 4 elections 

24 assessed under subparagraph (B). 


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1 (F) STAY OF USE OF PLAN.—Notwith2 standing any other provision of this title, in any 

3 action under this paragraph, the following rules 

4 shall apply: 

5 (i) Upon filing of a motion under sub6 paragraph (A), a State’s use of the plan 

7 which is the subject of the motion shall be 

8 automatically stayed pending resolution of 

9 such motion. 

10 (ii) If after considering the motion, 

11 the court rules that the plan is presumed 

12 under subparagraph (E) to violate para13 graph (1), a State may not use such plan 

14 until and unless the court which is car15 rying out the determination of the effect of 

16 the plan under paragraph (2) determines 

17 that, notwithstanding the presumptive vio18 lation, the plan does not violate paragraph 

19 (1). 

20 (G) NO EFFECT ON OTHER ASSESS21 MENTS.—The absence of a presumption of a 

22 violation with respect to a redistricting plan as 

23 determined under this paragraph shall not af24 fect the determination of the effect or intent of 

25 the plan under this section. 


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1 (4) DETERMINATION OF INTENT.—A court may 

2 rely on all available evidence when determining 

3 whether a redistricting plan was drawn with the in4 tent to materially favor or disfavor a political party, 

5 including evidence of the partisan effects of a plan, 

6 the degree of support the plan received from mem7 bers of the entity responsible for developing and 

8 adopting the plan, and whether the processes leading 

9 to development and adoption of the plan were trans10 parent and equally open to all members of the entity 

11 and to the public. 

12 (5) NO VIOLATION BASED ON CERTAIN CRI13 TERIA.—No redistricting plan shall be found to be 

14 in violation of paragraph (1) because of the proper 

15 application of the criteria set forth in paragraphs 

16 (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b), unless one or more 

17 alternative plans could have complied with such 

18 paragraphs without having the effect of materially 

19 favoring or disfavoring a political party. 

20 (d) FACTORS PROHIBITED FROM CONSIDERATION.— 

21 In developing the redistricting plan for the State, the 

22 State may not take into consideration any of the following 

23 factors, except as necessary to comply with the criteria 

24 described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b), 

25 to achieve partisan fairness and comply with subsection 


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1 (b), and to enable the redistricting plan to be measured 

2 against the external metrics described in section 5004(c): 

3 (1) The residence of any Member of the House 

4 of Representatives or candidate. 

5 (2) The political party affiliation or voting his6 tory of the population of a district. 

7 (e) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—A State may not rely 

8 upon criteria, districting principles, or other policies of the 

9 State which are not set forth in this section to justify non10 compliance with the requirements of this section. 

11 (f) APPLICABILITY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section applies to any 

13 authority, whether appointed, elected, judicial, or 

14 otherwise, responsible for enacting the congressional 

15 redistricting plan of a State. 

16 (2) DATE OF ENACTMENT.—This section ap17 plies to any congressional redistricting plan enacted 

18 following the notice of apportionment transmitted to 

19 the President on April 26, 2021, regardless of the 

20 date of enactment by the State of the congressional 

21 redistricting plan. 

22 (g) SEVERABILITY OF CRITERIA.—If any provision of 

23 this section, or the application of any such provision to 

24 any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, 

25 the remainder of this section, and the application of such 


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1 provision to any other person or circumstance, shall not 

2 be affected by the holding. 

3 SEC. 5004. DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN. 

4 (a) PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT.— 

5 (1) USE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROC6 ESS.—The entity responsible for developing and 

7 adopting the congressional redistricting plan of a 

8 State shall solicit and take into consideration com9 ments from the public throughout the process of de10 veloping the plan, and shall carry out its duties in 

11 an open and transparent manner which provides for 

12 the widest public dissemination reasonably possible 

13 of its proposed and final redistricting plans. 

14 (2) WEBSITE.— 

15 (A) FEATURES.—The entity shall maintain 

16 a public internet site which is not affiliated with 

17 or maintained by the office of any elected offi18 cial and which includes the following features: 

19 (i) All proposed redistricting plans 

20 and the final redistricting plan, including 

21 the accompanying written evaluation under 

22 subsection (c). 

23 (ii) All comments received from the 

24 public submitted under paragraph (1). 


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1 (iii) Access in an easily usable format 

2 to the demographic and other data used by 

3 the entity to develop and analyze the pro4 posed redistricting plans, together with any 

5 reports analyzing and evaluating such 

6 plans and access to software that members 

7 of the public may use to draw maps of pro8 posed districts. 

9 (iv) A method by which members of 

10 the public may submit comments directly 

11 to the entity. 

12 (B) SEARCHABLE FORMAT.—The entity 

13 shall ensure that all information posted and 

14 maintained on the site under this paragraph, 

15 including information and proposed maps sub16 mitted by the public, shall be maintained in an 

17 easily searchable format. 

18 (3) MULTIPLE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR

19 ALL NOTICES.—The entity responsible for developing 

20 and adopting the plan shall make each notice which 

21 is required to be posted and published under this 

22 section available in any language in which the State 

23 (or any jurisdiction in the State) is required to pro24 vide election materials under section 203 of the Vot25 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503). 


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1 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

2 (1) HEARINGS.—The entity responsible for de3 veloping and adopting the congressional redistricting 

4 plan shall hold hearings both before and after releas5 ing proposed plans in order to solicit public input on 

6 the content of such plans. These hearings shall— 

7 (A) be held in different regions of the 

8 State and streamed live on the public internet 

9 site maintained under subsection (a)(2); 

10 (B) be sufficient in number, scheduled at 

11 times and places, and noticed and conducted in 

12 a manner to ensure that all members of the 

13 public, including members of racial, ethnic, and 

14 language minorities protected under the Voting 

15 Rights Act of 1965, have a meaningful oppor16 tunity to attend and provide input both before 

17 and after the entity releases proposed plans. 

18 (2) POSTING OF MAPS.—The entity responsible 

19 for developing and adopting the congressional redis20 tricting plan shall make proposed plans, amend21 ments to proposed plans, and the data needed to 

22 analyze such plans for compliance with the criteria 

23 of this title available for public review, including on 

24 the public internet site required under subsection 

25 (a)(2), for a period of not less than 5 days before 


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1 any vote or hearing is held on any such plan or any 

2 amendment to such a plan. 

3 (c) RELEASE OF WRITTEN EVALUATION OF PLAN

4 AGAINST EXTERNAL METRICS REQUIRED PRIOR TO

5 VOTE.—The entity responsible for developing and adopt6 ing the congressional redistricting plan for a State may 

7 not hold a vote on a proposed redistricting plan, including 

8 a vote in a committee, unless at least 48 hours prior to 

9 holding the vote the State has released a written evalua10 tion that measures each such plan against external metrics 

11 which cover the criteria set forth in section 5003(b), in12 cluding the impact of the plan on the ability of members 

13 of a class of citizens protected by the Voting Rights Act 

14 of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) to elect candidates of 

15 choice, the degree to which the plan preserves or divides 

16 communities of interest, and any analysis used by the 

17 State to assess compliance with the requirements of sec18 tion 5003(b) and (c). 

19 (d) PUBLIC INPUT AND COMMENTS.—The entity re20 sponsible for developing and adopting the congressional 

21 redistricting plan for a State shall make all public com22 ments received about potential plans, including alternative 

23 plans, available to the public on the internet site required 

24 under subsection (a)(2), at no cost, not later than 24 

25 hours prior to holding a vote on final adoption of a plan. 


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1 SEC. 5005. FAILURE BY STATE TO ENACT PLAN. 

2 (a) DEADLINE FOR ENACTMENT OF PLAN.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para4 graph (2), each State shall enact a final congres5 sional redistricting plan following transmission of a 

6 notice of apportionment to the President by the ear7 liest of— 

8 (A) the deadline set forth in State law, in9 cluding any extension to the deadline provided 

10 in accordance with State law; 

11 (B) February 15 of the year in which reg12 ularly scheduled general elections for Federal 

13 office are held in the State; or 

14 (C) 90 days before the date of the next 

15 regularly scheduled primary election for Federal 

16 office held in the State. 

17 (2) SPECIAL RULE FOR PLANS ENACTED PRIOR

18 TO EFFECTIVE DATE OF TITLE.—If a State enacted 

19 a final congressional redistricting plan prior to the 

20 effective date of this title and the plan is not in com21 pliance with the requirements of this title, the State 

22 shall enact a final redistricting plan which is in com23 pliance with the requirements of this title not later 

24 than 45 days after the effective date of this title. 

25 (b) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN BY COURT IN CASE OF

26 MISSED DEADLINE.—If a State has not enacted a final 


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1 congressional redistricting plan by the applicable deadline 

2 under subsection (a), or it appears reasonably likely that 

3 a State will fail to enact a final congressional redistricting 

4 plan by such deadline— 

5 (1) any citizen of the State may file an action 

6 in the United States district court for the applicable 

7 venue asking the district court to assume jurisdic8 tion; 

9 (2) the United States district court for the ap10 plicable venue, acting through a 3-judge court con11 vened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, United 

12 States Code, shall have the exclusive authority to de13 velop and publish the congressional redistricting 

14 plan for the State; and 

15 (3) the final congressional redistricting plan de16 veloped and published by the court under this sec17 tion shall be deemed to be enacted on the date on 

18 which the court publishes the final congressional re19 districting plan, as described in subsection (e). 

20 (c) APPLICABLE VENUE.—For purposes of this sec21 tion, the ‘‘applicable venue’’ with respect to a State is the 

22 District of Columbia or the judicial district in which the 

23 capital of the State is located, as selected by the first party 

24 to file with the court sufficient evidence that a State has 

25 failed to, or is reasonably likely to fail to, enact a final 


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1 redistricting plan for the State prior to the expiration of 

2 the applicable deadline set forth in subsection (a). 

3 (d) PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 

4 (1) CRITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 

5 plan for a State under this section, the court shall 

6 adhere to the same terms and conditions that ap7 plied (or that would have applied, as the case may 

8 be) to the development of a plan by the State under 

9 section 5003. 

10 (2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS.— 

11 The court shall have access to any information, 

12 data, software, or other records and material that 

13 was used (or that would have been used, as the case 

14 may be) by the State in carrying out its duties 

15 under this title. 

16 (3) HEARING; PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In de17 veloping a redistricting plan for a State, the court 

18 shall— 

19 (A) hold one or more evidentiary hearings 

20 at which interested members of the public may 

21 appear and be heard and present testimony, in22 cluding expert testimony, in accordance with 

23 the rules of the court; and 

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1 districting plans to cover the entire State or 

2 any portion of the State. 

3 (4) USE OF SPECIAL MASTER.—To assist in the 

4 development and publication of a redistricting plan 

5 for a State under this section, the court may appoint 

6 a special master to make recommendations to the 

7 court on possible plans for the State. 

8 (e) PUBLICATION OF PLAN.— 

9 (1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL PLAN.— 

10 Upon completing the development of one or more 

11 initial redistricting plans, the court shall make the 

12 plans available to the public at no cost, and shall 

13 also make available the underlying data used to de14 velop the plans and a written evaluation of the plans 

15 against external metrics (as described in section 

16 5004(c)). 

17 (2) PUBLICATION OF FINAL PLAN.—At any 

18 time after the expiration of the 14-day period which 

19 begins on the date the court makes the plans avail20 able to the public under paragraph (1), and taking 

21 into consideration any submissions and comments by 

22 the public which are received during such period, the 

23 court shall develop and publish the final redistricting 

24 plan for the State. 


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1 (f) USE OF INTERIM PLAN.—In the event that the 

2 court is not able to develop and publish a final redis3 tricting plan for the State with sufficient time for an up4 coming election to proceed, the court may develop and 

5 publish an interim redistricting plan which shall serve as 

6 the redistricting plan for the State until the court develops 

7 and publishes a final plan in accordance with this section. 

8 Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit or 

9 otherwise affect the authority or discretion of the court 

10 to develop and publish the final redistricting plan, includ11 ing the discretion to make any changes the court deems 

12 necessary to an interim redistricting plan. 

13 (g) APPEALS.—Review on appeal of any final or in14 terim plan adopted by the court in accordance with this 

15 section shall be governed by the appellate process in sec16 tion 5006. 

17 (h) STAY OF STATE PROCEEDINGS.—The filing of an 

18 action under this section shall act as a stay of any pro19 ceedings in State court with respect to the State’s congres20 sional redistricting plan unless otherwise ordered by the 

21 court. 

22 SEC. 5006. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 

23 (a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 


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1 (1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At2 torney General may bring a civil action for such re3 lief as may be appropriate to carry out this title. 

4 (2) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC5 TION.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person residing or 

7 domiciled in a State who is aggrieved by the 

8 failure of the State to meet the requirements of 

9 the Constitution or Federal law, including this 

10 title, with respect to the State’s congressional 

11 redistricting, may bring a civil action in the 

12 United States district court for the applicable 

13 venue for such relief as may be appropriate to 

14 remedy the failure. 

15 (B) SPECIAL RULE FOR CLAIMS RELATING

16 TO PARTISAN ADVANTAGE.—For purposes of 

17 subparagraph (A), a person who is aggrieved by 

18 the failure of a State to meet the requirements 

19 of section 5003(c) may include— 

20 (i) any political party or committee in 

21 the State; and 

22 (ii) any registered voter in the State 

23 who resides in a congressional district that 

24 the voter alleges was drawn in a manner 


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1 that contributes to a violation of such sec2 tion. 

3 (C) NO AWARDING OF DAMAGES TO PRE4 VAILING PARTY.—Except for an award of attor5 ney’s fees under subsection (d), a court in a 

6 civil action under this section shall not award 

7 the prevailing party any monetary damages, 

8 compensatory, punitive, or otherwise. 

9 (3) DELIVERY OF COMPLAINT TO HOUSE AND

10 SENATE.—In any action brought under this section, 

11 a copy of the complaint shall be delivered promptly 

12 to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 

13 Secretary of the Senate. 

14 (4) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND APPLICABLE

15 VENUE.—The district courts of the United States 

16 shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and deter17 mine claims asserting that a congressional redis18 tricting plan violates the requirements of the Con19 stitution or Federal law, including this title. The ap20 plicable venue for such an action shall be the United 

21 States District Court for the District of Columbia or 

22 for the judicial district in which the capital of the 

23 State is located, as selected by the person bringing 

24 the action. In a civil action that includes a claim 

25 that a redistricting plan is in violation of subsection 


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1 (b) or (c) of section 5003, the United States District 

2 Court for the District of Columbia shall have juris3 diction over any defendant who has been served in 

4 any United States judicial district in which the de5 fendant resides, is found, or has an agent, or in the 

6 United States judicial district in which the capital of 

7 the State is located. Process may be served in any 

8 United States judicial district where a defendant re9 sides, is found, or has an agent, or in the United 

10 States judicial district in which the capital of the 

11 State is located. 

12 (5) USE OF 3-JUDGE COURT.—If an action 

13 under this section raises statewide claims under the 

14 Constitution or this title, the action shall be heard 

15 by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to section 

16 2284 of title 28, United States Code. 

17 (6) REVIEW OF FINAL DECISION.—A final deci18 sion in an action brought under this section shall be 

19 reviewable on appeal by the United States Court of 

20 Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which 

21 shall hear the matter sitting en banc. There shall be 

22 no right of appeal in such proceedings to any other 

23 court of appeals. Such appeal shall be taken by the 

24 filing of a notice of appeal within 10 days of the 

25 entry of the final decision. A final decision by the 


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1 Court of Appeals may be reviewed by the Supreme 

2 Court of the United States by writ of certiorari. 

3 (b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—In any action 

4 brought under this section, it shall be the duty of the dis5 trict court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 

6 District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of 

7 the United States (if it chooses to hear the action) to ad8 vance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos9 sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 

10 (c) REMEDIES.— 

11 (1) ADOPTION OF REPLACEMENT PLAN.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the district court in 

13 an action under this section finds that the con14 gressional redistricting plan of a State violates, 

15 in whole or in part, the requirements of this 

16 title— 

17 (i) the court shall adopt a replacement 

18 congressional redistricting plan for the 

19 State in accordance with the process set 

20 forth in section 5005; or 

21 (ii) if circumstances warrant and no 

22 delay to an upcoming regularly scheduled 

23 election for the House of Representatives 

24 in the State would result, the district 

25 court, in its discretion, may allow a State 


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1 to develop and propose a remedial congres2 sional redistricting plan for review by the 

3 court to determine whether the plan is in 

4 compliance with this title, except that— 

5 (I) the State may not develop 

6 and propose a remedial plan under 

7 this clause if the court determines 

8 that the congressional redistricting 

9 plan of the State was enacted with 

10 discriminatory intent in violation of 

11 the Constitution or section 5003(b); 

12 and 

13 (II) nothing in this clause may be 

14 construed to permit a State to use 

15 such a remedial plan which has not 

16 been approved by the court. 

17 (B) PROHIBITING USE OF PLANS IN VIOLA18 TION OF REQUIREMENTS.—No court shall order 

19 a State to use a congressional redistricting plan 

20 which violates, in whole or in part, the require21 ments of this title, or to conduct an election 

22 under terms and conditions which violate, in 

23 whole or in part, the requirements of this title. 


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1 (C) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE FINAL ADJU2 DICATION NOT EXPECTED WITHIN 3 MONTHS

3 OF ELECTION.— 

4 (i) DUTY OF COURT.—If final adju5 dication of an action under this section is 

6 not reasonably expected to be completed at 

7 least 3 months prior to the next regularly 

8 scheduled primary election for the House 

9 of Representatives in the State, the district 

10 court shall— 

11 (I) develop, adopt, and order the 

12 use of an interim congressional redis13 tricting plan in accordance with sec14 tion 5005(f) to address any claims 

15 under this title for which a party 

16 seeking relief has demonstrated a sub17 stantial likelihood of success; or 

18 (II) order adjustments to the 

19 timing of primary elections for the 

20 House of Representatives and other 

21 related deadlines, as needed, to allow 

22 sufficient opportunity for adjudication 

23 of the matter and adoption of a reme24 dial or replacement plan for use in the 

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1 tions for the House of Representa2 tives. 

3 (ii) PROHIBITING FAILURE TO ACT ON

4 GROUNDS OF PENDENCY OF ELECTION.— 

5 The court may not refuse to take any ac6 tion described in clause (i) on the grounds 

7 of the pendency of the next election held in 

8 the State or the potential for disruption, 

9 confusion, or additional burdens with re10 spect to the administration of the election 

11 in the State. 

12 (2) NO STAY PENDING APPEAL.—Notwith13 standing the appeal of an order finding that a con14 gressional redistricting plan of a State violates, in 

15 whole or in part, the requirements of this title, no 

16 stay shall issue which shall bar the development or 

17 adoption of a replacement or remedial plan under 

18 this subsection, as may be directed by the district 

19 court, pending such appeal. If such a replacement or 

20 remedial plan has been adopted, no appellate court 

21 may stay or otherwise enjoin the use of such plan 

22 during the pendency of an appeal, except upon an 

23 order holding, based on the record, that adoption of 

24 such plan was an abuse of discretion. 


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1 (3) SPECIAL AUTHORITY OF COURT OF AP2 PEALS.— 

3 (A) ORDERING OF NEW REMEDIAL

4 PLAN.—If, upon consideration of an appeal 

5 under this title, the Court of Appeals deter6 mines that a plan does not comply with the re7 quirements of this title, it shall direct that the 

8 District Court promptly develop a new remedial 

9 plan with assistance of a special master for con10 sideration by the Court of Appeals. 

11 (B) FAILURE OF DISTRICT COURT TO

12 TAKE TIMELY ACTION.—If, at any point during 

13 the pendency of an action under this section, 

14 the District Court fails to take action necessary 

15 to permit resolution of the case prior to the 

16 next regularly scheduled election for the House 

17 of Representatives in the State or fails to grant 

18 the relief described in paragraph (1)(C), any 

19 party may seek a writ of mandamus from the 

20 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 

21 Circuit. The Court of Appeals shall have juris22 diction over the motion for a writ of mandamus 

23 and shall establish an expedited briefing and 

24 hearing schedule for resolution of the motion. If 

25 the Court of Appeals determines that a writ 


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1 should be granted, the Court of Appeals shall 

2 take any action necessary, including developing 

3 a congressional redistricting plan with assist4 ance of a special master to ensure that a reme5 dial plan is adopted in time for use in the next 

6 regularly scheduled election for the House of 

7 Representatives in the State. 

8 (4) EFFECT OF ENACTMENT OF REPLACEMENT

9 PLAN.—A State’s enactment of a redistricting plan 

10 which replaces a plan which is the subject of an ac11 tion under this section shall not be construed to 

12 limit or otherwise affect the authority of the court 

13 to adjudicate or grant relief with respect to any 

14 claims or issues not addressed by the replacement 

15 plan, including claims that the plan which is the 

16 subject of the action was enacted, in whole or in 

17 part, with discriminatory intent, or claims to con18 sider whether relief should be granted under section 

19 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

20 10302(c)) based on the plan which is the subject of 

21 the action. 

22 (d) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 

23 section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 

24 than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ25 ing litigation expenses, and costs. 


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1 (e) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 

2 (1) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES ADDITIONAL TO

3 OTHER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES.—The rights and 

4 remedies established by this section are in addition 

5 to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and 

6 neither the rights and remedies established by this 

7 section nor any other provision of this title shall su8 persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Vot9 ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 

10 (2) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.—Nothing in 

11 this title authorizes or requires conduct that is pro12 hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

13 10301 et seq.). 

14 (f) LEGISLATIVE PRIVILEGE.—No person, legisla15 ture, or State may claim legislative privilege under either 

16 State or Federal law in a civil action brought under this 

17 section or in any other legal challenge, under either State 

18 or Federal law, to a redistricting plan enacted under this 

19 title. 

20 (g) REMOVAL.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—At any time, a civil action 

22 brought in a State court which asserts a claim for 

23 which the district courts of the United States have 

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1 venor, by filing, in the district court for an applica2 ble venue under this section, a notice of removal 

3 signed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of 

4 Civil Procedure containing a short and plain state5 ment of the grounds for removal. Consent of parties 

6 shall not be required for removal. 

7 (2) CLAIMS NOT WITHIN THE ORIGINAL OR

8 SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION.—If a civil action re9 moved in accordance with paragraph (1) contains 

10 claims not within the original or supplemental juris11 diction of the district court, the district court shall 

12 sever all such claims and remand them to the State 

13 court from which the action was removed. 

14 SEC. 5007. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND 

15 LOCAL OFFICE. 

16 Nothing in this title or in any amendment made by 

17 this title may be construed to affect the manner in which 

18 a State carries out elections for State or local office, in19 cluding the process by which a State establishes the dis20 tricts used in such elections. 

21 SEC. 5008. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—This title and the amendments 

23 made by this title shall apply on the date of enactment 

24 of this title. 


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1 (b) APPLICATION TO CONGRESSIONAL REDIS2 TRICTING PLANS RESULTING FROM 2020 DECENNIAL

3 CENSUS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), this title and 

4 the amendments made by this title, other than section 

5 5004, shall apply with respect to each congressional redis6 tricting plan enacted pursuant to the notice of apportion7 ment transmitted to the President on April 26, 2021, 

8 without regard to whether or not a State enacted such 

9 a plan prior to the date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 TITLE VI—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 

11 TRANSPARENCY 

12 Subtitle A—DISCLOSE Act 

13 SEC. 6001. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Is 

15 Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections 

16 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act of 2023’’. 

17 SEC. 6002. FINDINGS. 

18 Congress finds the following: 

19 (1) Campaign finance disclosure is a narrowly 

20 tailored and minimally restrictive means to advance 

21 substantial government interests, including fostering 

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1 force other campaign finance laws, including cam2 paign contribution limits and the prohibition on for3 eign money in U.S. campaigns. To further these 

4 substantial interests, campaign finance disclosure 

5 must be timely and complete, and must disclose the 

6 true and original source of money given, transferred, 

7 and spent to influence Federal elections. Current law 

8 does not meet this objective because corporations 

9 and other entities that the Supreme Court has per10 mitted to spend money to influence Federal elections 

11 are subject to few if any transparency requirements. 

12 (2) As the Supreme Court recognized in its per 

13 curiam opinion in Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 

14 (1976), ‘‘disclosure requirements certainly in most 

15 applications appear to be the least restrictive means 

16 of curbing the evils of campaign ignorance and cor17 ruption that Congress found to exist’’. Buckley, 424 

18 U.S. at 68. In Citizens United v. FEC, the Court re19 iterated that ‘‘disclosure is a less restrictive alter20 native to more comprehensive regulations of speech’’. 

21 558 U.S. 310, 369 (2010). 

22 (3) No subsequent decision has called these 

23 holdings into question, including the Court’s decision 

24 in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 

25 141 S. Ct. 2373 (2021). That case did not involve 


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1 campaign finance disclosure, and the Court did not 

2 overturn its longstanding recognition of the substan3 tial interests furthered by such disclosure. 

4 (4) Campaign finance disclosure is also essen5 tial to enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act’s 

6 prohibition on contributions by and solicitations of 

7 foreign nationals. See section 319 of the Federal 

8 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121). 

9 (5) Congress should close loopholes allowing 

10 spending by foreign nationals in domestic elections. 

11 For example, in 2021, the Federal Election Commis12 sion, the independent Federal agency charged with 

13 protecting the integrity of the Federal campaign fi14 nance process, found reason to believe and concil15 iated a matter where an experienced political con16 sultant knowingly and willfully violated Federal law 

17 by soliciting a contribution from a foreign national 

18 by offering to transmit a $2,000,000 contribution to 

19 a super PAC through his company and two 

20 501(c)(4) organizations, to conceal the origin of the 

21 funds. This scheme was only unveiled after appear22 ing in a The Telegraph UK article and video cap23 turing the solicitation. See Conciliation Agreement, 

24 MURs 7165 & 7196 (Great America PAC, et al.), 

25 date June 28, 2021; Factual and Legal Analysis, 


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1 MURs 7165 & 7196 (Jesse Benton), dated Mar. 2, 

2 2021. 

3 PART 1—CLOSING LOOPHOLES ALLOWING 

4 SPENDING BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN ELEC5 TIONS 

6 SEC. 6003. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 

7 MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN DISBURSEMENTS 

8 AND ACTIVITIES. 

9 Section 319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

10 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

12 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and by 

13 moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘As used in this section, the 

15 term’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘DEFINITIONS.— 

16 For purposes of this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) FOREIGN NATIONAL.—The term’’; 

18 (3) by moving paragraphs (1) and (2) two ems 

19 to the right and redesignating them as subpara20 graphs (A) and (B), respectively; and 

21 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(2) CONTRIBUTION AND DONATION.—For pur24 poses of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), 

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1 bursement to a political committee which accepts do2 nations or contributions that do not comply with any 

3 of the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re4 quirements of this Act (or any disbursement to or on 

5 behalf of any account of a political committee which 

6 is established for the purpose of accepting such do7 nations or contributions), or to any other person for 

8 the purpose of funding an expenditure, independent 

9 expenditure, or electioneering communication (as de10 fined in section 304(f)(3)).’’. 

11 SEC. 6004. STUDY AND REPORT ON ILLICIT FOREIGN 

12 MONEY IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 

13 (a) STUDY.—For each 4-year election cycle (begin14 ning with the 4-year election cycle ending in 2020), the 

15 Comptroller General shall conduct a study on the inci16 dence of illicit foreign money in all elections for Federal 

17 office held during the preceding 4-year election cycle, in18 cluding what information is known about the presence of 

19 such money in elections for Federal office. 

20 (b) REPORT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the applicable 

22 date with respect to any 4-year election cycle, the 

23 Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate 

24 congressional committees a report on the study con25 ducted under subsection (a). 


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1 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The report sub2 mitted under paragraph (1) shall include a descrip3 tion of the extent to which illicit foreign money was 

4 used to target particular groups, including rural 

5 communities, African-American and other minority 

6 communities, and military and veteran communities, 

7 based on such targeting information as is available 

8 and accessible to the Comptroller General. 

9 (3) APPLICABLE DATE.—For purposes of para10 graph (1), the term ‘‘applicable date’’ means— 

11 (A) in the case of the 4-year election cycle 

12 ending in 2020, the date that is 1 year after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act; and 

14 (B) in the case of any other 4-year election 

15 cycle, the date that is 1 year after the date on 

16 which such 4-year election cycle ends. 

17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

18 (1) 4-YEAR ELECTION CYCLE.—The term ‘‘4- 

19 year election cycle’’ means the 4-year period ending 

20 on the date of the general election for the offices of 

21 President and Vice President. 

22 (2) ILLICIT FOREIGN MONEY.—The term ‘‘illicit 

23 foreign money’’ means any contribution, donation, 

24 expenditure, or disbursement by a foreign national 

25 (as defined in section 319(b) of the Federal Election 


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1 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b))) pro2 hibited under such section. 

3 (3) ELECTION; FEDERAL OFFICE.—The terms 

4 ‘‘election’’ and ‘‘Federal office’’ have the meanings 

5 given such terms under section 301 of the Federal 

6 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101). 

7 (4) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com9 mittees’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on House Administra11 tion of the House of Representatives; 

12 (B) the Committee on Rules and Adminis13 tration of the Senate; 

14 (C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

15 House of Representatives; and 

16 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

17 Senate. 

18 (d) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply to any 4- 

19 year election cycle beginning after the election for the of20 fices of President and Vice President in 2032. 


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1 SEC. 6005. PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA2 TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN CONNEC3 TION WITH BALLOT INITIATIVES AND 

4 REFERENDA. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 319(b) of the Federal 

6 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)), as 

7 amended by section 6003, is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL ELECTION.— 

10 The term ‘Federal, State, or local election’ includes 

11 a State or local ballot initiative or referendum, but 

12 only in the case of— 

13 ‘‘(A) a covered foreign national described 

14 in section 304(j)(3)(C); or 

15 ‘‘(B) a foreign principal described in sec16 tion 1(b)(2) or 1(b)(3) of the Foreign Agent 

17 Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 

18 U.S.C. 611(b)(2) or (b)(3)) or an agent of such 

19 a foreign principal under such Act.’’. 

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

21 this section shall apply with respect to elections held in 

22 2024 or any succeeding year. 


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1 SEC. 6006. DISBURSEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO 

2 FOREIGN MONEY BAN. 

3 (a) DISBURSEMENTS DESCRIBED.—Section 

4 319(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 

5 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

7 (B); and 

8 (2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) an expenditure; 

11 ‘‘(D) an independent expenditure; 

12 ‘‘(E) a disbursement for an electioneering 

13 communication (within the meaning of section 

14 304(f)(3)); 

15 ‘‘(F) a disbursement for a communication 

16 which is placed or promoted for a fee on a 

17 website, web application, or digital application 

18 that refers to a clearly identified candidate for 

19 election for Federal office and is disseminated 

20 within 60 days before a general, special or run21 off election for the office sought by the can22 didate or 30 days before a primary or pref23 erence election, or a convention or caucus of a 

24 political party that has authority to nominate a 

25 candidate for the office sought by the can26 didate; 


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1 ‘‘(G) a disbursement by a covered foreign 

2 national described in section 304(j)(3)(C) for a 

3 broadcast, cable or satellite communication, or 

4 for a communication which is placed or pro5 moted for a fee on a website, web application, 

6 or digital application, that promotes, supports, 

7 attacks or opposes the election of a clearly iden8 tified candidate for Federal, State, or local of9 fice (regardless of whether the communication 

10 contains express advocacy or the functional 

11 equivalent of express advocacy); 

12 ‘‘(H) a disbursement for a broadcast, 

13 cable, or satellite communication, or for any 

14 communication which is placed or promoted for 

15 a fee on an online platform (as defined in sec16 tion 304(k)(3)), that discusses a national legis17 lative issue of public importance in a year in 

18 which a regularly scheduled general election for 

19 Federal office is held, but only if the disburse20 ment is made by a covered foreign national de21 scribed in section 304(j)(3)(C); 

22 ‘‘(I) a disbursement by a covered foreign 

23 national described in section 304(j)(3)(C) to 

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1 tion of a clearly identified candidate for Fed2 eral, State, or local office (regardless of whether 

3 the activity contains express advocacy or the 

4 functional equivalent of express advocacy); or 

5 ‘‘(J) a disbursement by a covered foreign 

6 national described in section 304(j)(3)(C) for a 

7 Federal judicial nomination communication (as 

8 defined in section 324(g)(2));’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

10 this section shall apply with respect to disbursements 

11 made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 SEC. 6007. PROHIBITING ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORA13 TION TO CONCEAL ELECTION CONTRIBU14 TIONS AND DONATIONS BY FOREIGN NATION15 ALS. 

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

17 States Code, as amended by section 2001(a), is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘§ 613. Establishment of corporation to conceal elec20 tion contributions and donations by for21 eign nationals 

22 ‘‘(a) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for an owner, 

23 officer, attorney, or incorporation agent of a corporation, 

24 company, or other entity to establish or use the corpora25 tion, company, or other entity with the intent to conceal 


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1 an activity of a foreign national (as defined in section 319 

2 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

3 30121)) prohibited under such section 319. 

4 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 

5 (a) shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined 

6 under this title, or both.’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 

8 chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, as amended 

9 by section 2001(b), is amended by inserting after the item 

10 relating to section 612 the following: 

‘‘613. Establishment of corporation to conceal election contributions and donations by foreign nationals.’’. 

11 PART 2—REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED 

12 DISBURSEMENTS 

13 SEC. 6011. REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE14 MENTS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 324 of the Federal Elec16 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE19 MENTS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 

20 ‘‘(a) DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any covered organization 

22 that makes campaign-related disbursements aggre23 gating more than $10,000 in an election reporting 

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1 sure date, file a statement with the Commission 

2 made under penalty of perjury that contains the in3 formation described in paragraph (2)— 

4 ‘‘(A) in the case of the first statement filed 

5 under this subsection, for the period beginning 

6 on the first day of the election reporting cycle 

7 (or, if earlier, the period beginning one year be8 fore the first such disclosure date) and ending 

9 on the first such disclosure date; and 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state11 ment filed under this subsection, for the period 

12 beginning on the previous disclosure date and 

13 ending on such disclosure date. 

14 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION DESCRIBED.—The informa15 tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 

16 ‘‘(A) The name of the covered organization 

17 and the principal place of business of such or18 ganization and, in the case of a covered organi19 zation that is a corporation (other than a busi20 ness concern that is an issuer of a class of secu21 rities registered under section 12 of the Securi22 ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l) or 

23 that is required to file reports under section 

24 15(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d))) or an en25 tity described in subsection (e)(2), a list of the 


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1 beneficial owners (as defined in paragraph 

2 (4)(A)) of the entity that— 

3 ‘‘(i) identifies each beneficial owner by 

4 name and current residential or business 

5 street address; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) if any beneficial owner exercises 

7 control over the entity through another 

8 legal entity, such as a corporation, partner9 ship, limited liability company, or trust, 

10 identifies each such other legal entity and 

11 each such beneficial owner who will use 

12 that other entity to exercise control over 

13 the entity. 

14 ‘‘(B) The amount of each campaign-related 

15 disbursement made by such organization during 

16 the period covered by the statement of more 

17 than $1,000, and the name and address of the 

18 person to whom the disbursement was made. 

19 ‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis20 bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 

21 election to which the campaign-related disburse22 ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 

23 for a public communication, the name of any 

24 candidate identified in such communication and 


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1 if such communication is in support of or in op2 position to the identified candidate. 

3 ‘‘(D) A certification by the chief executive 

4 officer or person who is the head of the covered 

5 organization that the campaign-related dis6 bursement is not made in cooperation, consulta7 tion, or concert with or at the request or sug8 gestion of a candidate, authorized committee, or 

9 agent of a candidate, political party, or agent of 

10 a political party. 

11 ‘‘(E)(i) If the covered organization makes 

12 campaign-related disbursements using exclu13 sively funds in a campaign-related disbursement 

14 segregated fund, for each payment made to the 

15 account by a person other than the covered or16 ganization— 

17 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

18 person who made such payment to the ac19 count during the period covered by the 

20 statement; 

21 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

22 payment; and 

23 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

24 such payments made by the person during 

25 the period beginning on the first day of the 


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1 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

2 period beginning one year before the dis3 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

4 date, 

5 but only if such payment was made by a person 

6 who made payments to the account in an aggre7 gate amount of $10,000 or more during the pe8 riod beginning on the first day of the election 

9 reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the period begin10 ning one year before the disclosure date) and 

11 ending on the disclosure date. 

12 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2024, sec13 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de14 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

15 such section applies to the limitations estab16 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

17 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 

18 purposes of applying such section to the 

19 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

20 period’ shall be calendar year 2024. 

21 ‘‘(F)(i) If the covered organization makes 

22 campaign-related disbursements using funds 

23 other than funds in a campaign-related dis24 bursement segregated fund, for each payment 

25 to the covered organization— 


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1 ‘‘(I) the name and address of each 

2 person who made such payment during the 

3 period covered by the statement; 

4 ‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 

5 payment; and 

6 ‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 

7 such payments made by the person during 

8 the period beginning on the first day of the 

9 election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

10 period beginning one year before the dis11 closure date) and ending on the disclosure 

12 date, 

13 but only if such payment was made by a person 

14 who made payments to the covered organization 

15 in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more 

16 during the period beginning on the first day of 

17 the election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 

18 period beginning one year before the disclosure 

19 date) and ending on the disclosure date. 

20 ‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2024, sec21 tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de22 scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 

23 such section applies to the limitations estab24 lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 

25 (a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 


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1 purposes of applying such section to the 

2 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 

3 period’ shall be calendar year 2024. 

4 ‘‘(G) Such other information as required in 

5 rules established by the Commission to promote 

6 the purposes of this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS RECEIVED IN ORDINARY

9 COURSE OF BUSINESS.—The requirement to in10 clude in a statement filed under paragraph (1) 

11 the information described in paragraph (2) 

12 shall not apply to amounts received by the cov13 ered organization in commercial transactions in 

14 the ordinary course of any trade or business 

15 conducted by the covered organization or in the 

16 form of investments (other than investments by 

17 the principal shareholder in a limited liability 

18 corporation) in the covered organization. For 

19 purposes of this subparagraph, amounts re20 ceived by a covered organization as remittances 

21 from an employee to the employee’s collective 

22 bargaining representative shall be treated as 

23 amounts received in commercial transactions in 

24 the ordinary course of the business conducted 

25 by the covered organization. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DONOR RESTRICTION ON USE OF

2 FUNDS.—The requirement to include in a state3 ment submitted under paragraph (1) the infor4 mation described in subparagraph (F) of para5 graph (2) shall not apply if— 

6 ‘‘(i) the person described in such sub7 paragraph prohibited, in writing, the use of 

8 the payment made by such person for cam9 paign-related disbursements; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the covered organization agreed 

11 to follow the prohibition and deposited the 

12 payment in an account which is segregated 

13 from a campaign-related disbursement seg14 regated fund and any other account used 

15 to make campaign-related disbursements. 

16 ‘‘(C) THREAT OF HARASSMENT OR RE17 PRISAL.—The requirement to include any infor18 mation relating to the name or address of any 

19 person (other than a candidate) in a statement 

20 submitted under paragraph (1) shall not apply 

21 if the inclusion of the information would subject 

22 the person to serious threats, harassment, or 

23 reprisals. 

24 ‘‘(4) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

25 this section: 


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1 ‘‘(A) BENEFICIAL OWNER DEFINED.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro3 vided in clause (ii), the term ‘beneficial 

4 owner’ means, with respect to any entity, 

5 a natural person who, directly or indi6 rectly— 

7 ‘‘(I) exercises substantial control 

8 over an entity through ownership, vot9 ing rights, agreement, or otherwise; or 

10 ‘‘(II) has a substantial interest in 

11 or receives substantial economic bene12 fits from the assets of an entity. 

13 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—The term ‘bene14 ficial owner’ shall not include— 

15 ‘‘(I) a minor child; 

16 ‘‘(II) a person acting as a nomi17 nee, intermediary, custodian, or agent 

18 on behalf of another person; 

19 ‘‘(III) a person acting solely as 

20 an employee of an entity and whose 

21 control over or economic benefits from 

22 the entity derives solely from the em23 ployment status of the person; 

24 ‘‘(IV) a person whose only inter25 est in an entity is through a right of 


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1 inheritance, unless the person also 

2 meets the requirements of clause (i); 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(V) a creditor of an entity, un5 less the creditor also meets the re6 quirements of clause (i). 

7 ‘‘(iii) ANTI-ABUSE RULE.—The excep8 tions under clause (ii) shall not apply if 

9 used for the purpose of evading, circum10 venting, or abusing the provisions of clause 

11 (i) or paragraph (2)(A). 

12 ‘‘(B) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT

13 SEGREGATED FUND.—The term ‘campaign-re14 lated disbursement segregated fund’ means a 

15 segregated bank account consisting of funds 

16 that were paid directly to such account by per17 sons other than the covered organization that 

18 controls the account. 

19 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE DATE.—The term ‘dis20 closure date’ means— 

21 ‘‘(i) the first date during any election 

22 reporting cycle by which a person has 

23 made campaign-related disbursements ag24 gregating more than $10,000; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any other date during such elec2 tion reporting cycle by which a person has 

3 made campaign-related disbursements ag4 gregating more than $10,000 since the 

5 most recent disclosure date for such elec6 tion reporting cycle. 

7 ‘‘(D) ELECTION REPORTING CYCLE.—The 

8 term ‘election reporting cycle’ means the 2-year 

9 period beginning on the date of the most recent 

10 general election for Federal office. 

11 ‘‘(E) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ in12 cludes any contribution, donation, transfer, pay13 ment of dues, or other payment. 

14 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION WITH OTHER PROVISIONS.—In15 formation included in a statement filed under this section 

16 may be excluded from statements and reports filed under 

17 section 304. 

18 ‘‘(c) FILING.—Statements required to be filed under 

19 subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec20 tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 

21 as if such reports had been required under subsection (c) 

22 or (g) of section 304. 

23 ‘‘(d) CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT DE24 FINED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

2 ‘campaign-related disbursement’ means a disburse3 ment by a covered organization for any of the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(A) An independent expenditure which ex6 pressly advocates the election or defeat of a 

7 clearly identified candidate for election for Fed8 eral office, or is the functional equivalent of ex9 press advocacy because, when taken as a whole, 

10 it can be interpreted by a reasonable person 

11 only as advocating the election or defeat of a 

12 candidate for election for Federal office. 

13 ‘‘(B) An applicable public communication. 

14 ‘‘(C) An electioneering communication, as 

15 defined in section 304(f)(3). 

16 ‘‘(D) A covered transfer. 

17 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘applicable 

19 public communication’ means any public com20 munication that refers to a clearly identified 

21 candidate for election for Federal office and 

22 which promotes or supports the election of a 

23 candidate for that office, or attacks or opposes 

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1 pressly advocates a vote for or against a can2 didate for that office. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not in4 clude any news story, commentary, or editorial 

5 distributed through the facilities of any broad6 casting station or any print, online, or digital 

7 newspaper, magazine, publication, or periodical, 

8 unless such facilities are owned or controlled by 

9 any political party, political committee, or can10 didate. 

11 ‘‘(e) COVERED ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—In this 

12 section, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(1) A corporation (other than an organization 

15 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev16 enue Code of 1986). 

17 ‘‘(2) A limited liability corporation that is not 

18 otherwise treated as a corporation for purposes of 

19 this Act (other than an organization described in 

20 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

21 1986). 

22 ‘‘(3) An organization described in section 

23 501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 

24 under section 501(a) of such Code (other than an 


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1 organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such 

2 Code). 

3 ‘‘(4) A labor organization (as defined in section 

4 316(b)). 

5 ‘‘(5) Any political organization under section 

6 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 

7 than a political committee under this Act (except as 

8 provided in paragraph (6)). 

9 ‘‘(6) A political committee with an account that 

10 accepts donations or contributions that do not com11 ply with the contribution limits or source prohibi12 tions under this Act, but only with respect to such 

13 accounts. 

14 ‘‘(f) COVERED TRANSFER DEFINED.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 

16 ‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 

17 funds by a covered organization to another person if 

18 the covered organization— 

19 ‘‘(A) designates, requests, or suggests that 

20 the amounts be used for— 

21 ‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 

22 (other than covered transfers); or 

23 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

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1 ing for such campaign-related disburse2 ments; 

3 ‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re4 sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 

5 donation or payment for— 

6 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam7 paign-related disbursements (other than 

8 covered transfers); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 

10 person for the purpose of making or pay11 ing for such campaign-related disburse12 ments; 

13 ‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re14 cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 

15 ‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam16 paign-related disbursements (other than 

17 covered transfers); or 

18 ‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 

19 amount of such transfer or payment to an20 other person for the purpose of making or 

21 paying for such campaign-related disburse22 ments; or 

23 ‘‘(D) knew or had reason to know that the 

24 person receiving the transfer or payment would 

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1 gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 

2 2-year period beginning on the date of the 

3 transfer or payment. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered transfer’ 

5 does not include any of the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) A disbursement made by a covered 

7 organization in a commercial transaction in the 

8 ordinary course of any trade or business con9 ducted by the covered organization or in the 

10 form of investments made by the covered orga11 nization. 

12 ‘‘(B) A disbursement made by a covered 

13 organization if— 

14 ‘‘(i) the covered organization prohib15 ited, in writing, the use of such disburse16 ment for campaign-related disbursements; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) the recipient of the disbursement 

19 agreed to follow the prohibition and depos20 ited the disbursement in an account which 

21 is segregated from a campaign-related dis22 bursement segregated fund and any other 

23 account used to make campaign-related 

24 disbursements. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING TRANSFERS

2 AMONG AFFILIATES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL RULE.—A transfer of an 

4 amount by one covered organization to another 

5 covered organization which is treated as a 

6 transfer between affiliates under subparagraph 

7 (C) shall be considered a covered transfer by 

8 the covered organization which transfers the 

9 amount only if the aggregate amount trans10 ferred during the year by such covered organi11 zation to that same covered organization is 

12 equal to or greater than $50,000. 

13 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

14 CERTAIN PAYMENTS AMONG AFFILIATES.—In 

15 determining the amount of a transfer between 

16 affiliates for purposes of subparagraph (A), to 

17 the extent that the transfer consists of funds 

18 attributable to dues, fees, or assessments which 

19 are paid by individuals on a regular, periodic 

20 basis in accordance with a per-individual cal21 culation which is made on a regular basis, the 

22 transfer shall be attributed to the individuals 

23 paying the dues, fees, or assessments and shall 

24 not be attributed to the covered organization. 


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1 ‘‘(C) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE2 TWEEN AFFILIATES.—A transfer of amounts 

3 from one covered organization to another cov4 ered organization shall be treated as a transfer 

5 between affiliates if— 

6 ‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af7 filiate of the other organization; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) each of the organizations is an 

9 affiliate of the same organization, 

10 except that the transfer shall not be treated as 

11 a transfer between affiliates if one of the orga12 nizations is established for the purpose of mak13 ing campaign-related disbursements. 

14 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA15 TUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (C), a 

16 covered organization is an affiliate of another 

17 covered organization if— 

18 ‘‘(i) the governing instrument of the 

19 organization requires it to be bound by de20 cisions of the other organization; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the governing board of the orga22 nization includes persons who are specifi23 cally designated representatives of the 

24 other organization or are members of the 

25 governing board, officers, or paid executive 


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1 staff members of the other organization, or 

2 whose service on the governing board is 

3 contingent upon the approval of the other 

4 organization; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) the organization is chartered by 

6 the other organization. 

7 ‘‘(E) COVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF8 FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZATIONS.— 

9 This paragraph shall apply with respect to an 

10 amount transferred by a covered organization 

11 to an organization described in paragraph (3) 

12 of section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 

13 of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

14 501(a) of such Code in the same manner as 

15 this paragraph applies to an amount trans16 ferred by a covered organization to another cov17 ered organization. 

18 ‘‘(g) NO EFFECT ON OTHER REPORTING REQUIRE19 MENTS.—Except as provided in subsection (b)(1), nothing 

20 in this section shall be construed to waive or otherwise 

21 affect any other requirement of this Act which relates to 

22 the reporting of campaign-related disbursements.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 304(f)(6) 

24 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

2 section 324(b), any requirement’’. 

3 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 months after 

4 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 

5 Commission shall promulgate regulations relating the ap6 plication of the exemption under section 324(a)(3)(C) of 

7 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by 

8 subsection (a)). Such regulations— 

9 (1) shall require that the legal burden of estab10 lishing eligibility for such exemption is upon the or11 ganization required to make the report required 

12 under section 324(a)(1) of such Act (as added by 

13 subsection (a)), and 

14 (2) shall be consistent with the principles ap15 plied in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commis16 sion, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). 

17 SEC. 6012. REPORTING OF FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINA18 TION DISBURSEMENTS. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find20 ings: 

21 (1) A fair and impartial judiciary is critical for 

22 our democracy and crucial to maintain the faith of 

23 the people of the United States in the justice sys24 tem. As the Supreme Court held in Caperton v. 

25 Massey, ‘‘there is a serious risk of actual bias— 


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1 based on objective and reasonable perceptions— 

2 when a person with a personal stake in a particular 

3 case had a significant and disproportionate influence 

4 in placing the judge on the case’’. (Caperton v. A. 

5 T. Massey Coal Co., 556 U.S. 868, 884 (2009)). 

6 (2) Public trust in government is at a historic 

7 low. According to polling, most Americans believe 

8 that corporations have too much power and influence 

9 in politics and the courts. 

10 (3) The prevalence and pervasiveness of dark 

11 money drives public concern about corruption in pol12 itics and the courts. Dark money is funding for or13 ganizations and political activities that cannot be 

14 traced to actual donors. It is made possible by loop15 holes in our tax laws and regulations, weak oversight 

16 by the Internal Revenue Service, and donor-friendly 

17 court decisions. 

18 (4) Under current law, ‘‘social welfare’’ organi19 zations and business leagues can use funds to influ20 ence elections so long as political activity is not their 

21 ‘‘primary’’ activity. Super PACs can accept and 

22 spend unlimited contributions from any non-foreign 

23 source. These groups can spend tens of millions of 

24 dollars on political activities. Such dark money 


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1 groups spent an estimated $1,050,000,000 in the 

2 2020 election cycle. 

3 (5) Dark money is used to shape judicial deci4 sion making. This can take many forms, akin to 

5 agency capture: influencing judicial selection by con6 trolling who gets nominated and funding candidate 

7 advertisements; creating public relations campaigns 

8 aimed at mobilizing the judiciary around particular 

9 issues; and drafting law review articles, amicus 

10 briefs, and other products which tell judges how to 

11 decide a given case and provide ready-made argu12 ments for willing judges to adopt. 

13 (6) Over the past decade, nonprofit organiza14 tions that do not disclose their donors have spent 

15 hundreds of millions of dollars to influence the nomi16 nation and confirmation process for Federal judges. 

17 One organization alone has spent nearly 

18 $40,000,000 on advertisements supporting or oppos19 ing Supreme Court nominees since 2016. 

20 (7) Anonymous money spent on judicial nomi21 nations is not subject to any disclosure require22 ments. Federal election laws only regulate contribu23 tions and expenditures relating to electoral politics; 

24 thus, expenditures, contributions, and advocacy ef25 forts for Federal judgeships are not covered under 


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1 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. With2 out more disclosure, the public has no way of know3 ing whether the people spending money supporting 

4 or opposing judicial nominations have business be5 fore the courts. 

6 (8) Congress and the American people have a 

7 compelling interest in knowing who is funding these 

8 campaigns to select and confirm judges to lifetime 

9 appointments on the Federal bench. 

10 (b) REPORTING.—Section 324 of the Federal Elec11 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126), as amend12 ed by section 6011, is amended by redesignating sub13 section (g) as subsection (h) and by inserting after sub14 section (f) the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION TO FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINA16 TIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec18 tion— 

19 ‘‘(A) a disbursement by a covered organi20 zation for a Federal judicial nomination com21 munication shall be treated as a campaign-re22 lated disbursement; and 

23 ‘‘(B) in the case of campaign-related dis24 bursements which are for Federal judicial nomi25 nation communications— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the dollar amounts in paragraphs 

2 (1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall be ap3 plied separately with respect to such dis4 bursements and other campaign-related 

5 disbursements; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the election reporting cycle shall 

7 be the calendar year in which the disburse8 ment for the Federal judicial nomination 

9 communication is made; 

10 ‘‘(iii) references to a candidate in sub11 sections (a)(2)(C), (a)(2)(D), and 

12 (a)(3)(C) shall be treated as references to 

13 a nominee for a Federal judge or justice; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(iv) the reference to an election in 

16 subsection (a)(2)(C) shall be treated as a 

17 reference to the nomination of such nomi18 nee. 

19 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINATION COMMU20 NICATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal ju22 dicial nomination communication’ means any 

23 communication— 

24 ‘‘(i) that is by means of any broad25 cast, cable, or satellite, paid internet, or 


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1 paid digital communication, paid pro2 motion, newspaper, magazine, outdoor ad3 vertising facility, mass mailing, telephone 

4 bank, telephone messaging effort of more 

5 than 500 substantially similar calls or elec6 tronic messages within a 30-day period, or 

7 any other form of general public political 

8 advertising; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) which promotes, supports, at10 tacks, or opposes the nomination or Senate 

11 confirmation of an individual as a Federal 

12 judge or justice. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Such term shall not in14 clude any news story, commentary, or editorial 

15 distributed through the facilities of any broad16 casting station or any print, online, or digital 

17 newspaper, magazine, publication, or periodical, 

18 unless such facilities are owned or controlled by 

19 any political party, political committee, or can20 didate. 

21 ‘‘(C) INTENT NOT REQUIRED.—A disburse22 ment for an item described in subparagraph (A) 

23 shall be treated as a disbursement for a Federal 

24 judicial nomination communication regardless 


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1 of the intent of the person making the disburse2 ment.’’. 

3 SEC. 6013. COORDINATION WITH FINCEN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Financial 

5 Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the 

6 Treasury shall provide the Federal Election Commission 

7 with such information as necessary to assist in admin8 istering and enforcing section 324 of the Federal Election 

9 Campaign Act of 1971, as amended by this part. 

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal 

12 Election Commission, in consultation with the Director of 

13 the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the De14 partment of the Treasury, shall submit to Congress a re15 port with recommendations for providing further legisla16 tive authority to assist in the administration and enforce17 ment of such section 324. 

18 SEC. 6014. APPLICATION OF FOREIGN MONEY BAN TO DIS19 BURSEMENTS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED DIS20 BURSEMENTS CONSISTING OF COVERED 

21 TRANSFERS. 

22 Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign 

23 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)), as amended by 

24 section 6003, is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘includes any disbursement’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘includes— 

3 ‘‘(A) any disbursement’’; 

4 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert5 ing ‘‘; and’’, and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(B) any disbursement, other than a dis9 bursement described in section 324(a)(3)(A), to 

10 another person who made a campaign-related 

11 disbursement consisting of a covered transfer 

12 (as described in section 324) during the 2-year 

13 period ending on the date of the disburse14 ment.’’. 

15 SEC. 6015. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING IMPLEMENTA16 TION. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Election 

18 Commission should simplify the process for filing any dis19 closure required under the provisions of, and amendments 

20 made by, this part in order to ensure that such process 

21 is as easy and accessible as possible. 

22 SEC. 6016. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

23 The amendments made by this part shall apply with 

24 respect to disbursements made on or after January 1, 

25 2024, and shall take effect without regard to whether or 


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1 not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

2 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

3 PART 3—OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 

4 SEC. 6021. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI. 

5 Section 307(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 

6 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30107(a)(6)) is amended by in7 serting ‘‘(including a proceeding before the Supreme 

8 Court on certiorari)’’ after ‘‘appeal’’. 

9 SEC. 6022. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ACTIONS RELATED TO 

10 CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Federal Election 

12 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30141 et seq.) is 

13 amended by inserting after section 406 the following new 

14 section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 407. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If any action is brought for de17 claratory or injunctive relief to challenge, whether facially 

18 or as-applied, the constitutionality or lawfulness of any 

19 provision of this Act, including title V, or of chapter 95 

20 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or is brought 

21 to with respect to any action of the Commission under 

22 chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

23 the following rules shall apply: 

24 ‘‘(1) The action shall be filed in the United 

25 States District Court for the District of Columbia 


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1 and an appeal from the decision of the district court 

2 may be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Dis3 trict of Columbia Circuit. 

4 ‘‘(2) In the case of an action relating to declar5 atory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu6 tionality of a provision, the party filing the action 

7 shall concurrently deliver a copy of the complaint to 

8 the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 

9 Secretary of the Senate. 

10 ‘‘(3) It shall be the duty of the United States 

11 District Court for the District of Columbia and the 

12 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir13 cuit to advance on the docket and to expedite to the 

14 greatest possible extent the disposition of the action 

15 and appeal. 

16 ‘‘(b) CLARIFYING SCOPE OF JURISDICTION.—If an 

17 action at the time of its commencement is not subject to 

18 subsection (a), but an amendment, counterclaim, cross19 claim, affirmative defense, or any other pleading or motion 

20 is filed challenging, whether facially or as-applied, the con21 stitutionality or lawfulness of this Act or of chapter 95 

22 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or is brought 

23 to with respect to any action of the Commission under 

24 chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

25 the district court shall transfer the action to the District 


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1 Court for the District of Columbia, and the action shall 

2 thereafter be conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(c) INTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 

4 In any action described in subsection (a) relating to de5 claratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu6 tionality of a provision, any Member of the House of Rep7 resentatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commis8 sioner to the Congress) or Senate shall have the right to 

9 intervene either in support of or opposition to the position 

10 of a party to the case regarding the constitutionality of 

11 the provision. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce 

12 the burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court 

13 in any such action may make such orders as it considers 

14 necessary, including orders to require interveners taking 

15 similar positions to file joint papers or to be represented 

16 by a single attorney at oral argument. 

17 ‘‘(d) CHALLENGE BY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.—Any 

18 Member of Congress may bring an action, subject to the 

19 special rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory 

20 or injunctive relief to challenge, whether facially or as-ap21 plied, the constitutionality of any provision of this Act or 

22 chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) Section 9011 of the Internal Revenue Code 

25 of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 9011. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

2 ‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of certifi3 cations, determinations, and actions by the Commission 

4 under this chapter, see section 407 of the Federal Election 

5 Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

6 (2) Section 9041 of the Internal Revenue Code 

7 of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 9041. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

9 ‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of actions 

10 by the Commission under this chapter, see section 407 of 

11 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 

12 (3) Section 310 of the Federal Election Cam13 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30110) is repealed. 

14 (4) Section 403 of the Bipartisan Campaign 

15 Reform Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 30110 note) is re16 pealed. 

17 SEC. 6023. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 The amendments made by this subtitle shall take ef19 fect and apply on the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 

21 Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out this 

22 subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle. 

23 Subtitle B—Honest Ads 

24 SEC. 6101. SHORT TITLE. 

25 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Honest Ads Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 6102. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this subtitle is to enhance the integ3 rity of American democracy and national security by im4 proving disclosure requirements for online political adver5 tisements in order to uphold the Supreme Court’s well6 established standard that the electorate bears the right to 

7 be fully informed. 

8 SEC. 6103. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress makes the following findings: 

10 (1) In 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform 

11 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–155) became law, es12 tablishing disclosure requirements for political adver13 tisements distributed from a television or radio 

14 broadcast station or provider of cable or satellite tel15 evision. In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld regula16 tions on electioneering communications established 

17 under the Act, noting that such requirements ‘‘pro18 vide the electorate with information and insure that 

19 the voters are fully informed about the person or 

20 group who is speaking’’. The Court reaffirmed this 

21 conclusion in 2010 by an 8–1 vote. 

22 (2) In its 2006 rulemaking, the Federal Elec23 tion Commission, the independent Federal agency 

24 charged with protecting the integrity of the Federal 

25 campaign finance process, noted that 18 percent of 

26 all Americans cited the internet as their leading 


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1 source of news about the 2004 Presidential election. 

2 By contrast, Gallup and the Knight Foundation 

3 found in 2020 that the majority of Americans, 58 

4 percent, got most of their news about elections on5 line. 

6 (3) According to studies from AdImpact and 

7 Borrell Associates, in 2020, an estimated 

8 $1,700,000,000 was spent on online political adver9 tising, more than 10 times the amount spent in 

10 2012. 

11 (4) In order to enhance transparency of all po12 litical advertisement funding, it is prudent to extend 

13 to online internet platforms the same types of polit14 ical advertisement disclosure requirements applicable 

15 to broadcast television and radio stations, and pro16 viders of cable and satellite television. 

17 (5) Effective and complete transparency for vot18 ers must include information about the true and 

19 original source of money given, transferred, and 

20 spent on political advertisements made online. 

21 (6) Requiring the disclosure of this information 

22 is a necessary and narrowly tailored means to in23 form the voting public of who is behind digital ad24 vertising disseminated to influence their votes and to 

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1 partment of Justice to detect and prosecute illegal 

2 foreign spending on local, State, and Federal elec3 tions and other campaign finance violations. 

4 (7) Paid advertising on large online platforms is 

5 different from advertising placed on other common 

6 media in terms of the comparatively low cost of 

7 reaching large numbers of people, the availability of 

8 sophisticated microtargeting, and the ease with 

9 which online advertisers, particularly those located 

10 outside the United States, can evade disclosure re11 quirements. Requiring large online platforms to 

12 maintain public files of information about the online 

13 political ads they disseminate is the best and least 

14 restrictive means to ensure the voting public has 

15 complete information about who is trying to influ16 ence their votes and to aid enforcement of other 

17 laws, including the prohibition on foreign money in 

18 domestic campaigns. 

19 (8) The reach of a few large internet plat20 forms—larger than any broadcast, satellite, or cable 

21 provider—has greatly facilitated the scope and effec22 tiveness of disinformation campaigns. For instance, 

23 the largest platform has over 247,000,000 American 

24 users—over 153,000,000 of them on a daily basis. 

25 By contrast, the largest cable television provider has 


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1 16,142,000 subscribers, while the largest satellite 

2 television provider has 13,300,000 subscribers. And 

3 the most-watched television broadcast in United 

4 States history had 118,000,000 viewers. 

5 (9) The public nature of broadcast television, 

6 radio, and satellite ensures a level of publicity for 

7 any political advertisement. These communications 

8 are accessible to the press, fact-checkers, and polit9 ical opponents. This creates strong disincentives for 

10 a candidate to disseminate materially false, inflam11 matory, or contradictory messages to the public. So12 cial media platforms, in contrast, can target portions 

13 of the electorate with direct, ephemeral advertise14 ments often on the basis of private information the 

15 platform has on individuals, enabling political adver16 tisements that are contradictory, racially or socially 

17 inflammatory, or materially false. 

18 (10) Large social media platforms are the only 

19 entities in possession of certain key data related to 

20 paid online ads, including the exact audience tar21 geted by those ads and their number of impressions. 

22 Such information, which cannot be reliably disclosed 

23 by the purchasers of ads, is extremely useful for in24 forming the electorate, guarding against corruption, 


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1 and aiding in the enforcement of existing campaign 

2 finance regulations. 

3 (11) Paid advertisements on social media plat4 forms have served as critical tools for foreign online 

5 influence campaigns—even those that rely on large 

6 amounts of unpaid content—because such ads allow 

7 foreign actors to test the effectiveness of different 

8 messages, expose their messages to audiences who 

9 have not sought out such content, and recruit audi10 ences for future campaigns and posts. 

11 (12) In a 2019 Senate Select Committee on In12 telligence report on Russian Active Measures Cam13 paigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, 

14 Volume II: Russia’s Use of Social Media with Addi15 tional Views, the Committee recommended ‘‘that 

16 Congress examine legislative approaches to ensuring 

17 Americans know the sources of online political ad18 vertisements. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 

19 1971 requires political advertisements on television, 

20 radio and satellite to disclose the sponsor of the ad21 vertisement. The same requirements should apply 

22 online. This will also help to ensure that the IRA or 

23 any similarly situated actors cannot use paid adver24 tisements for purposes of foreign interference.’’. 


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1 (13) On March 16, 2021, the Office of the Di2 rector of National Intelligence released the declas3 sified Intelligence Community assessment of foreign 

4 threats to the 2020 U.S. Federal elections. The de5 classified report found: ‘‘Throughout the election 

6 cycle, Russia’s online influence actors sought to af7 fect US public perceptions of the candidates, as well 

8 as advance Moscow’s longstanding goals of under9 mining confidence in US election processes and in10 creasing sociopolitical divisions among the American 

11 people.’’. The report also determined that Iran 

12 sought to influence the election by ‘‘creating and 

13 amplifying social media content that criticized [can14 didates]’’. 

15 (14) According to a Wall Street Journal report 

16 in April 2021, voluntary ad libraries operated by 

17 major platforms rely on foreign governments to self18 report political ad purchases. These ad buys, includ19 ing those diminishing major human rights violations 

20 like the Uighur genocide, are under-reported by for21 eign government purchasers, with no substantial 

22 oversight or repercussions from the platforms. 

23 (15) Multiple reports have indicated that online 

24 ads have become a key vector for strategic influence 

25 by the People’s Republic of China. An April 2021 


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1 Wall Street Journal report noted that the Chinese 

2 government and Chinese State-owned enterprises are 

3 major purchasers of ads on the U.S.’s largest social 

4 media platform, including to advance Chinese propa5 ganda. 

6 (16) Large online platforms have made changes 

7 to their policies intended to make it harder for for8 eign actors to purchase political ads. However, these 

9 private actions have not been taken by all platforms, 

10 have not been reliably enforced, and are subject to 

11 immediate change at the discretion of the platforms. 

12 (17) The Federal Election Commission’s cur13 rent regulations on political advertisements do not 

14 provide sufficient transparency to uphold the 

15 public’s right to be fully informed about political ad16 vertisements made online. 

17 SEC. 6104. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

18 It is the sense of Congress that— 

19 (1) the dramatic increase in digital political ad20 vertisements, and the growing centrality of online 

21 platforms in the lives of Americans, requires the 

22 Congress and the Federal Election Commission to 

23 take meaningful action to ensure that laws and reg24 ulations provide the accountability and transparency 

25 that is fundamental to our democracy; 


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1 (2) free and fair elections require both trans2 parency and accountability which give the public a 

3 right to know the true sources of funding for polit4 ical advertisements, be they foreign or domestic, in 

5 order to make informed political choices and hold 

6 elected officials accountable; and 

7 (3) transparency of funding for political adver8 tisements is essential to enforce other campaign fi9 nance laws, including the prohibition on campaign 

10 spending by foreign nationals. 

11 SEC. 6105. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF PUBLIC COMMU12 NICATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (22) of section 301 of 

14 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

15 30101(22)) is amended by striking ‘‘or satellite commu16 nication’’ and inserting ‘‘satellite, paid internet, or paid 

17 digital communication’’. 

18 (b) TREATMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI19 TURES.—Section 301 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30101) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (8)(B)(v), by striking ‘‘on 

22 broadcasting stations, or in newspapers, magazines, 

23 or similar types of general public political adver24 tising’’ and inserting ‘‘in any public communica25 tion’’; and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (9)(B)— 

2 (A) by amending clause (i) to read as fol3 lows: 

4 ‘‘(i) any news story, commentary, or 

5 editorial distributed through the facilities 

6 of any broadcasting station or any print, 

7 online, or digital newspaper, magazine, 

8 publication, periodical, blog, or platform, 

9 unless such broadcasting, print, online, or 

10 digital facilities are owned or controlled by 

11 any political party, political committee, or 

12 candidate;’’; and 

13 (B) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘on broad14 casting stations, or in newspapers, magazines, 

15 or similar types of general public political ad16 vertising’’ and inserting ‘‘in any public commu17 nication’’. 

18 (c) DISCLOSURE AND DISCLAIMER STATEMENTS.— 

19 Subsection (a) of section 318 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

20 30120) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘financing any communication 

22 through any broadcasting station, newspaper, maga23 zine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or any 

24 other type of general public political advertising’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘financing any public communication’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘solicits any contribution 

4 through any broadcasting station, newspaper, maga5 zine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or any 

6 other type of general public political advertising’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘solicits any contribution through any 

8 public communication’’. 

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

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

11 of this Act and shall take effect without regard to whether 

12 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

13 the final regulations necessary to carry out this part and 

14 the amendments made by this part by the deadline set 

15 forth in subsection (e). 

16 (e) REGULATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 

18 Commission shall promulgate regulations on what con19 stitutes a paid internet or paid digital communication for 

20 purposes of paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal 

21 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(22)), 

22 as amended by subsection (a), except that such regulation 

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1 ment consists of internal resources, such as employee com2 pensation, of the entity paying for the communication. 

3 SEC. 6106. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF ELECTION4 EERING COMMUNICATION. 

5 (a) EXPANSION TO ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS.— 

6 (1) APPLICATION TO QUALIFIED INTERNET AND

7 DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of 

9 section 304(f)(3) of the Federal Election Cam10 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)) 

11 is amended by striking ‘‘or satellite communica12 tion’’ each place it appears in clauses (i) and 

13 (ii) and inserting ‘‘satellite, or qualified internet 

14 or digital communication’’. 

15 (B) QUALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL

16 COMMUNICATION.—Paragraph (3) of section 

17 304(f) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)) is 

18 amended by adding at the end the following 

19 new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(D) QUALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL

21 COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘qualified internet 

22 or digital communication’ means any commu23 nication which is placed or promoted for a fee 

24 on an online platform (as defined in subsection 

25 (k)(3)).’’. 


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1 (2) NONAPPLICATION OF RELEVANT ELEC2 TORATE TO ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 

3 304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

4 30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting ‘‘any 

5 broadcast, cable, or satellite’’ before ‘‘communica6 tion’’. 

7 (3) NEWS EXEMPTION.—Section 

8 304(f)(3)(B)(i) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

9 30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(i) a communication appearing in a 

11 news story, commentary, or editorial dis12 tributed through the facilities of any 

13 broadcasting station or any online or dig14 ital newspaper, magazine, publication, peri15 odical, blog, or platform, unless such 

16 broadcasting, online, or digital facilities are 

17 owned or controlled by any political party, 

18 political committee, or candidate;’’. 

19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

20 this section shall apply with respect to communications 

21 made on or after January 1, 2024, and shall take effect 

22 without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 

23 Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out 

24 such amendments. 


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1 SEC. 6107. APPLICATION OF DISCLAIMER STATEMENTS TO 

2 ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS. 

3 (a) CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS MANNER REQUIRE4 MENT.—Subsection (a) of section 318 of the Federal Elec5 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘shall clearly state’’ each place 

8 it appears in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and in9 serting ‘‘shall state in a clear and conspicuous man10 ner’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following flush 

12 sentence: ‘‘For purposes of this section, a commu13 nication does not make a statement in a clear and 

14 conspicuous manner if it is difficult to read or hear 

15 or if the placement is easily overlooked.’’. 

16 (b) SPECIAL RULES FOR QUALIFIED INTERNET OR

17 DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 318 of such Act (52 

19 U.S.C. 30120) is amended by adding at the end the 

20 following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR QUALIFIED INTERNET OR

22 DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL RULES WITH RESPECT TO STATE24 MENTS.—In the case of any qualified internet or 

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1 dium in which the provision of all of the information 

2 specified in this section is not possible, the commu3 nication shall, in a clear and conspicuous manner— 

4 ‘‘(A) state the name of the person who 

5 paid for the communication; and 

6 ‘‘(B) provide a means for the recipient of 

7 the communication to obtain the remainder of 

8 the information required under this section with 

9 minimal effort and without receiving or viewing 

10 any additional material other than such re11 quired information. 

12 ‘‘(2) SAFE HARBOR FOR DETERMINING CLEAR

13 AND CONSPICUOUS MANNER.—A statement in quali14 fied internet or digital communication (as defined in 

15 section 304(f)(3)(D)) shall be considered to be made 

16 in a clear and conspicuous manner as provided in 

17 subsection (a) if the communication meets the fol18 lowing requirements: 

19 ‘‘(A) TEXT OR GRAPHIC COMMUNICA20 TIONS.—In the case of a text or graphic com21 munication, the statement— 

22 ‘‘(i) appears in letters at least as large 

23 as the majority of the text in the commu24 nication; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) meets the requirements of para2 graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c). 

3 ‘‘(B) AUDIO COMMUNICATIONS.—In the 

4 case of an audio communication, the statement 

5 is spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible 

6 manner at the beginning or end of the commu7 nication and lasts at least 3 seconds. 

8 ‘‘(C) VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS.—In the 

9 case of a video communication which also in10 cludes audio, the statement— 

11 ‘‘(i) is included at either the beginning 

12 or the end of the communication; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) is made both in— 

14 ‘‘(I) a written format that meets 

15 the requirements of subparagraph (A) 

16 and appears for at least 4 seconds; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(II) an audible format that 

19 meets the requirements of subpara20 graph (B). 

21 ‘‘(D) OTHER COMMUNICATIONS.—In the 

22 case of any other type of communication, the 

23 statement is at least as clear and conspicuous 

24 as the statement specified in subparagraph (A), 

25 (B), or (C).’’. 


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1 (2) NONAPPLICATION OF CERTAIN EXCEP2 TIONS.—The exceptions provided in section 

3 110.11(f)(1)(i) and (ii) of title 11, Code of Federal 

4 Regulations, or any successor to such rules, shall 

5 have no application to qualified internet or digital 

6 communications (as defined in section 304(f)(3)(D) 

7 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971). 

8 (c) MODIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

9 FOR CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318(d) of such 

10 Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘which is transmitted 

13 through radio’’ and inserting ‘‘which is in an 

14 audio format’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘BY RADIO’’ in the heading 

16 and inserting ‘‘AUDIO FORMAT’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘which is transmitted 

19 through television’’ and inserting ‘‘which is in 

20 video format’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘BY TELEVISION’’ in the 

22 heading and inserting ‘‘VIDEO FORMAT’’; and 

23 (3) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘transmitted through radio 

2 or television’’ and inserting ‘‘made in audio or 

3 video format’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘through television’’ in the 

5 second sentence and inserting ‘‘in video for6 mat’’. 

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

8 subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact9 ment of this Act and shall take effect without regard to 

10 whether or not the Federal Election Commission has pro11 mulgated regulations to carry out such amendments. 

12 SEC. 6108. POLITICAL RECORD REQUIREMENTS FOR ON13 LINE PLATFORMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal Elec15 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as amend16 ed by section 3802, is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following new subsection: 

18 ‘‘(k) DISCLOSURE OF CERTAIN ONLINE ADVERTISE19 MENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS FOR ONLINE PLAT22 FORMS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An online plat24 form shall maintain, and make available 

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1 readable format, a complete record of any 

2 qualified political advertisement which is 

3 purchased by a person whose aggregate 

4 purchases of qualified political advertise5 ments on such online platform during the 

6 calendar year exceeds $500. 

7 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT RELATING TO PO8 LITICAL ADS SOLD BY THIRD-PARTY AD9 VERTISING VENDORS.—An online platform 

10 that displays a qualified political advertise11 ment sold by a third-party advertising ven12 dor shall include on its own platform— 

13 ‘‘(I) an easily accessible and 

14 identifiable link to the records main15 tained by the third-party advertising 

16 vendor under clause (i) regarding 

17 such qualified political advertisement; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(II) in any case in which the 

20 third-party advertising vendor does 

21 not make such records available, a 

22 statement that no records from the 

23 third-party advertising vendor’s 

24 records are available. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVER2 TISERS.—Any person who requests to purchase 

3 a qualified political advertisement on an online 

4 platform shall provide the online platform with 

5 such information as is necessary for the online 

6 platform to comply with the requirements of 

7 subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF RECORD.—A record main9 tained under paragraph (1)(A) shall contain— 

10 ‘‘(A) a digital copy of the qualified political 

11 advertisement; 

12 ‘‘(B) a description of the audience that re13 ceived the advertisement, the number of views 

14 generated from the advertisement, and the date 

15 and time that the advertisement is first dis16 played and last displayed; and 

17 ‘‘(C) information regarding— 

18 ‘‘(i) the total cost of the advertise19 ment (which may be rounded to the near20 est $100); 

21 ‘‘(ii) the name of the candidate to 

22 which the advertisement refers and the of23 fice to which the candidate is seeking elec24 tion, the election to which the advertise25 ment refers, or the national legislative 


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1 issue to which the advertisement refers (as 

2 applicable); 

3 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a request made 

4 by, or on behalf of, a candidate, the name 

5 of the candidate, the authorized committee 

6 of the candidate, and the treasurer of such 

7 committee; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) in the case of any request not 

9 described in clause (iii), the name of the 

10 person purchasing the advertisement, the 

11 name and address of a contact person for 

12 such person, and a list of the chief execu13 tive officers or members of the executive 

14 committee or of the board of directors of 

15 such person. 

16 ‘‘(3) ONLINE PLATFORM.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

18 subsection, subject to subparagraph (B), the 

19 term ‘online platform’ means any public-facing 

20 website, web application, or digital application 

21 (including a social network, ad network, or 

22 search engine) which— 

23 ‘‘(i)(I) sells qualified political adver24 tisements; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) has 50,000,000 or more unique 

2 monthly United States visitors or users for 

3 a majority of months during the preceding 

4 12 months; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) is a third-party advertising ven6 dor that has 50,000,000 or more unique 

7 monthly United States visitors in the ag8 gregate on any advertisement space that it 

9 has sold or bought for a majority of 

10 months during the preceding 12 months, 

11 as measured by an independent digital rat12 ings service accredited by the Media Rat13 ings Council (or its successor). 

14 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION.—Such term shall not 

15 include any online platform that is a distribu16 tion facility of any broadcasting station or 

17 newspaper, magazine, blog, publication, or peri18 odical. 

19 ‘‘(C) THIRD-PARTY ADVERTISING VENDOR

20 DEFINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

21 term ‘third-party advertising vendor’ includes 

22 any third-party advertising vendor network, ad23 vertising agency, advertiser, or third-party ad24 vertisement serving company that buys and 

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1 ated third-party websites, search engines, dig2 ital applications, or social media sites. 

3 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT.— 

4 For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘qualified 

5 political advertisement’ means any advertisement 

6 (including search engine marketing, display adver7 tisements, video advertisements, native advertise8 ments, and sponsorships) that— 

9 ‘‘(A) is made by or on behalf of a can10 didate; or 

11 ‘‘(B) communicates a message relating to 

12 any political matter of national importance, in13 cluding— 

14 ‘‘(i) a candidate; 

15 ‘‘(ii) any election to Federal office; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) a national legislative issue of 

17 public importance. 

18 ‘‘(5) TIME TO MAINTAIN FILE.—The informa19 tion required under this subsection shall be made 

20 available as soon as possible and shall be retained by 

21 the online platform for a period of not less than 4 

22 years. 

23 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of this sub24 section, multiple versions of an advertisement that 

25 contain no material differences (such as versions 


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1 that differ only because they contain a recipient’s 

2 name, or differ only in size, color, font, or layout) 

3 may be treated as a single qualified political adver4 tisement. 

5 ‘‘(7) PENALTIES.—For penalties for failure by 

6 online platforms, and persons requesting to purchase 

7 a qualified political advertisement on online plat8 forms, to comply with the requirements of this sub9 section, see section 309.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

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

12 of this Act and shall take effect without regard to whether 

13 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

14 the final regulations necessary to carry out this part and 

15 the amendments made by this part by the deadline set 

16 forth in subsection (c). 

17 (c) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 120 days after the 

18 date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 

19 Commission shall establish rules— 

20 (1) for determining whether an advertisement 

21 communicates a national legislative issue for pur22 poses of section 304(k) of the Federal Election Cam23 paign Act of 1971 (as added by subsection (a)); 

24 (2) requiring common data formats for the 

25 record required to be maintained under such section 


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1 304(k) so that all online platforms submit and main2 tain data online in a common, machine-readable and 

3 publicly accessible format; and 

4 (3) establishing search interface requirements 

5 relating to such record, including searches by can6 didate name, issue, purchaser, and date. 

7 (d) REPORTING.—Not later than 2 years after the 

8 date of the enactment of this Act, and biannually there9 after, the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission 

10 shall submit a report to Congress on— 

11 (1) matters relating to compliance with and the 

12 enforcement of the requirements of section 304(k) of 

13 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 

14 added by subsection (a); 

15 (2) recommendations for any modifications to 

16 such section to assist in carrying out its purposes; 

17 and 

18 (3) identifying ways to bring transparency and 

19 accountability to political advertisements distributed 

20 online for free. 


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1 SEC. 6109. PREVENTING CONTRIBUTIONS, EXPENDITURES, 

2 INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES, AND DIS3 BURSEMENTS FOR ELECTIONEERING COM4 MUNICATIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN 

5 THE FORM OF ONLINE ADVERTISING. 

6 Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

7 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the 

8 end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF BROADCAST STATIONS, 

10 PROVIDERS OF CABLE AND SATELLITE TELEVISION, AND

11 ONLINE PLATFORMS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each television or radio 

13 broadcast station, provider of cable or satellite tele14 vision, or online platform (as defined in section 

15 304(k)(3)) shall make reasonable efforts to ensure 

16 that communications described in section 318(a) and 

17 made available by such station, provider, or platform 

18 are not purchased by a foreign national, directly or 

19 indirectly. 

20 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 

21 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

22 the Commission shall promulgate regulations on 

23 what constitutes reasonable efforts under paragraph 

24 (1).’’. 


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1 SEC. 6110. REQUIRING ONLINE PLATFORMS TO DISPLAY 

2 NOTICES IDENTIFYING SPONSORS OF POLIT3 ICAL ADVERTISEMENTS AND TO ENSURE NO4 TICES CONTINUE TO BE PRESENT WHEN AD5 VERTISEMENTS ARE SHARED. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal Elec7 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as amend8 ed by section 3802 and section 6108(a), is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(l) ENSURING DISPLAY AND SHARING OF SPONSOR

11 IDENTIFICATION IN ONLINE POLITICAL ADVERTISE12 MENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Any online platform that 

14 displays a qualified political advertisement (regard15 less of whether such qualified political advertisement 

16 was purchased directly from the online platform) 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) display with the advertisement a visi19 ble notice identifying the sponsor of the adver20 tisement (or, if it is not practical for the plat21 form to display such a notice, a notice that the 

22 advertisement is sponsored by a person other 

23 than the platform); and 

24 ‘‘(B) ensure that the notice will continue to 

25 be displayed if a viewer of the advertisement 


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1 shares the advertisement with others on that 

2 platform. 

3 ‘‘(2) SAFE HARBOR.—An online platform shall 

4 not be treated as having failed to comply with the 

5 requirements of paragraph (1)(A) for the 

6 misidentification of a person as the sponsor of an 

7 advertisement if— 

8 ‘‘(A) the person placing the online adver9 tisement designated the person displayed in the 

10 advertisement as the sponsor; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the online platform relied on such 

12 designation in good faith. 

13 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

14 ‘‘(A) the term ‘online platform’ has the 

15 meaning given such term in subsection (k)(3); 

16 ‘‘(B) the term ‘‘qualified political adver17 tisement’ has the meaning given such term in 

18 subsection (k)(4); and 

19 ‘‘(C) the term ‘sponsor’ means the person 

20 purchasing the advertisement.’’. 

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

22 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to advertisements 

23 displayed on or after the 120-day period which begins on 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act and shall take effect 

25 without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 


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1 Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out 

2 such amendments. 

3 Subtitle C—Spotlight Act 

4 SEC. 6201. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Spotlight Act’’. 

6 SEC. 6202. INCLUSION OF CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION ON 

7 ANNUAL RETURNS OF CERTAIN ORGANIZA8 TIONS. 

9 (a) REPEAL OF REGULATIONS.—The final regula10 tions of the Department of the Treasury relating to guid11 ance under section 6033 regarding the reporting require12 ments of exempt organizations (published at 85 Fed. Reg. 

13 31959 (May 28, 2020)) shall have no force and effect. 

14 (b) INCLUSION OF CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION.— 

15 (1) SOCIAL WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS.—Sec16 tion 6033(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

17 1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘(5),’’ after ‘‘para18 graphs’’. 

19 (2) LABOR ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESS

20 LEAGUES.—Section 6033 of such Code is amended 

21 by redesignating subsection (o) as subsection (p) 

22 and by inserting after subsection (n) the following 

23 new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(o) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZA25 TIONS DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTIONS (c)(5) AND (c)(6) OF


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1 SECTION 501.—Every organization which is described in 

2 paragraph (5) or (6) of section 501(c) and which is subject 

3 to the requirements of subsection (a) shall include on the 

4 return required under subsection (a) the information re5 ferred to in subsection (b)(5).’’. 

6 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

7 by this subsection shall apply to returns required to 

8 be filed for taxable years ending after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 (c) MODIFICATION TO DISCRETIONARY EXCEP11 TIONS.—Section 6033(a)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue 

12 Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) DISCRETIONARY EXCEPTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) 

15 shall not apply to any organization if the 

16 Secretary made a determination under this 

17 subparagraph before July 16, 2018, that 

18 such filing is not necessary to the efficient 

19 administration of the internal revenue 

20 laws. 

21 ‘‘(ii) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OTHER

22 EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may rec23 ommend to Congress that Congress relieve 

24 any organization required under paragraph 

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1 ing such a return if the Secretary deter2 mines that such filing does not advance a 

3 national security, law enforcement, or tax 

4 administration purpose.’’. 

5 TITLE VII—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 

6 OVERSIGHT 

7 Subtitle A—Stopping Super PAC– 

8 Candidate Coordination 

9 SEC. 7001. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Super PAC– 

11 Candidate Coordination Act’’. 

12 SEC. 7002. CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF COORDI13 NATED EXPENDITURES AS CONTRIBUTIONS 

14 TO CANDIDATES. 

15 (a) TREATMENT AS CONTRIBUTION TO CAN16 DIDATE.—Section 301(8)(A) of the Federal Election Cam17 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(8)(A)) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i); 

19 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

20 (ii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

22 clause: 

23 ‘‘(iii) any payment made by any person 

24 (other than a candidate, an authorized com25 mittee of a candidate, or a political committee 


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1 of a political party) for a coordinated expendi2 ture (as such term is defined in section 325) 

3 which is not otherwise treated as a contribution 

4 under clause (i) or clause (ii).’’. 

5 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Title III of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

6 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 325. PAYMENTS FOR COORDINATED EXPENDITURES. 

9 ‘‘(a) COORDINATED EXPENDITURES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 

11 301(8)(A)(iii), the term ‘coordinated expenditure’ 

12 means— 

13 ‘‘(A) any expenditure, or any payment for 

14 a covered communication described in sub15 section (e), which is made in cooperation, con16 sultation, or concert with, or at the request or 

17 suggestion of, a candidate, an authorized com18 mittee of a candidate, a political committee of 

19 a political party, or agents of the candidate or 

20 committee, as defined in subsection (b); or 

21 ‘‘(B) any payment for any communication 

22 which republishes, disseminates, or distributes, 

23 in whole or in part, any video or broadcast or 

24 any written, graphic, or other form of campaign 

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1 mittee or by agents of the candidate or com2 mittee (including any excerpt or use of any 

3 video from any such broadcast or written, 

4 graphic, or other form of campaign material). 

5 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN

6 COMMUNICATIONS.—A payment for a communication 

7 (including a covered communication described in 

8 subsection (e)) shall not be treated as a coordinated 

9 expenditure under this subsection if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the communication appears in a news 

11 story, commentary, or editorial distributed 

12 through the facilities of any broadcasting sta13 tion, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical 

14 publication, unless such facilities are owned or 

15 controlled by any political party, political com16 mittee, or candidate; or 

17 ‘‘(B) the communication constitutes a can18 didate debate or forum conducted pursuant to 

19 regulations adopted by the Commission pursu20 ant to section 304(f)(3)(B)(iii), or which solely 

21 promotes such a debate or forum and is made 

22 by or on behalf of the person sponsoring the de23 bate or forum. 

24 ‘‘(b) COORDINATION DESCRIBED.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec2 tion, a payment is made ‘in cooperation, consulta3 tion, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion 

4 of,’ a candidate, an authorized committee of a can5 didate, a political committee of a political party, or 

6 agents of the candidate or committee, if the pay7 ment, or any communication for which the payment 

8 is made, is not made entirely independently of the 

9 candidate, committee, or agents. For purposes of the 

10 previous sentence, a payment or communication not 

11 made entirely independently of the candidate or 

12 committee includes any payment or communication 

13 made pursuant to any general or particular under14 standing with, or pursuant to any communication 

15 with, the candidate, committee, or agents about the 

16 payment or communication. 

17 ‘‘(2) NO FINDING OF COORDINATION BASED

18 SOLELY ON SHARING OF INFORMATION REGARDING

19 LEGISLATIVE OR POLICY POSITION.—For purposes 

20 of this section, a payment shall not be considered to 

21 be made by a person in cooperation, consultation, or 

22 concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a 

23 candidate or committee, solely on the grounds that 

24 the person or the person’s agent engaged in discus25 sions with the candidate or committee, or with any 


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1 agent of the candidate or committee, regarding that 

2 person’s position on a legislative or policy matter 

3 (including urging the candidate or committee to 

4 adopt that person’s position), so long as there is no 

5 communication between the person and the can6 didate or committee, or any agent of the candidate 

7 or committee, regarding the candidate’s or commit8 tee’s campaign advertising, message, strategy, pol9 icy, polling, allocation of resources, fundraising, or 

10 other campaign activities. 

11 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON PARTY COORDINATION

12 STANDARD.—Nothing in this section shall be con13 strued to affect the determination of coordination 

14 between a candidate and a political committee of a 

15 political party for purposes of section 315(d). 

16 ‘‘(c) PAYMENTS BY COORDINATED SPENDERS FOR

17 COVERED COMMUNICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS MADE IN COOPERATION, CON19 SULTATION, OR CONCERT WITH CANDIDATES.—For 

20 purposes of subsection (a)(1)(A), if the person who 

21 makes a payment for a covered communication, as 

22 defined in subsection (e), is a coordinated spender 

23 under paragraph (2) with respect to the candidate 

24 as described in paragraph (2), the payment for the 


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1 covered communication is made in cooperation, con2 sultation, or concert with the candidate. 

3 ‘‘(2) COORDINATED SPENDER DEFINED.—For 

4 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘coordinated 

5 spender’ means, with respect to a candidate or an 

6 authorized committee of a candidate, a person (other 

7 than a political committee of a political party) for 

8 which any of the following applies: 

9 ‘‘(A) During the 4-year period ending on 

10 the date on which the person makes the pay11 ment, the person was directly or indirectly 

12 formed or established by or at the request or 

13 suggestion of, or with the encouragement of, 

14 the candidate (including an individual who later 

15 becomes a candidate) or committee or agents of 

16 the candidate or committee, including with the 

17 approval of the candidate or committee or 

18 agents of the candidate or committee. 

19 ‘‘(B) The candidate or committee or any 

20 agent of the candidate or committee solicits 

21 funds, appears at a fundraising event, or en22 gages in other fundraising activity on the per23 son’s behalf during the election cycle involved, 

24 including by providing the person with names of 

25 potential donors or other lists to be used by the 


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1 person in engaging in fundraising activity, re2 gardless of whether the person pays fair market 

3 value for the names or lists provided. For pur4 poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘election 

5 cycle’ means, with respect to an election for 

6 Federal office, the period beginning on the day 

7 after the date of the most recent general elec8 tion for that office (or, if the general election 

9 resulted in a runoff election, the date of the 

10 runoff election) and ending on the date of the 

11 next general election for that office (or, if the 

12 general election resulted in a runoff election, 

13 the date of the runoff election). 

14 ‘‘(C) The person is established, directed, or 

15 managed by the candidate or committee or by 

16 any person who, during the 4-year period end17 ing on the date on which the person makes the 

18 payment, has been employed or retained as a 

19 political, campaign media, or fundraising ad20 viser or consultant for the candidate or com21 mittee or for any other entity directly or indi22 rectly controlled by the candidate or committee, 

23 or has held a formal position with the candidate 

24 or committee (including a position as an em25 ployee of the office of the candidate at any time 


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1 the candidate held any Federal, State, or local 

2 public office during the 4-year period). 

3 ‘‘(D) The person has retained the profes4 sional services of any person who, during the 2- 

5 year period ending on the date on which the 

6 person makes the payment, has provided or is 

7 providing professional services relating to the 

8 campaign to the candidate or committee, unless 

9 the person providing the professional services 

10 used a firewall or similar procedure in accord11 ance with subsection (d). For purposes of this 

12 subparagraph, the term ‘professional services’ 

13 includes any services in support of the can14 didate’s or committee’s campaign activities, in15 cluding advertising, message, strategy, policy, 

16 polling, allocation of resources, fundraising, and 

17 campaign operations, but does not include ac18 counting or legal services. 

19 ‘‘(E) The person is established, directed, or 

20 managed by a member of the immediate family 

21 of the candidate, or the person or any officer or 

22 agent of the person has had more than inci23 dental discussions about the candidate’s cam24 paign with a member of the immediate family 

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1 graph, the term ‘immediate family’ has the 

2 meaning given such term in section 9004(e) of 

3 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(d) USE OF FIREWALL AS SAFE HARBOR.— 

5 ‘‘(1) NO COORDINATION IF FIREWALL AP6 PLIES.—A person shall not be determined to have 

7 made a payment in cooperation, consultation, or 

8 concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a 

9 candidate or committee in accordance with this sec10 tion if the person established and used a firewall or 

11 similar procedure to restrict the sharing of informa12 tion between individuals who are employed by or who 

13 are serving as agents for the person making the pay14 ment, but only if the firewall or similar procedures 

15 meet the requirements of paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—The re17 quirements described in this paragraph with respect 

18 to a firewall or similar procedure are as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) The firewall or procedure is designed 

20 and implemented to prohibit the flow of infor21 mation between employees and consultants pro22 viding services for the person paying for the 

23 communication and those employees or consult24 ants providing, or who previously provided, 

25 services to a candidate who is clearly identified 


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1 in the communication or an authorized com2 mittee of the candidate, the candidate’s oppo3 nent or an authorized committee of the can4 didate’s opponent, or a committee of a political 

5 party. 

6 ‘‘(B) The firewall or procedure must be de7 scribed in a written policy that is distributed, 

8 signed, and dated by all relevant employees, 

9 consultants, and clients subject to the policy. 

10 ‘‘(C) The policy must be preserved and re11 tained by the person for at least 5 years fol12 lowing any termination or cessation of represen13 tation by employees, consultants, and clients 

14 who are subject to the policy. 

15 ‘‘(D) The policy must prohibit any employ16 ees, consultants, and clients who are subject to 

17 the policy from attending meetings, trainings, 

18 or other discussions where nonpublic plans, 

19 projects, activities, or needs of candidates for 

20 election for Federal office or political commit21 tees are discussed. 

22 ‘‘(E) The policy must prohibit each owner 

23 of an organization, and each executive, man24 ager, and supervisor within an organization, 

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1 ployees and consultants who are subject to the 

2 firewall or procedure. 

3 ‘‘(F) The policy must place restrictions on 

4 internal and external communications, including 

5 by establishing separate emailing lists, for em6 ployees, consultants, and clients who are subject 

7 to the firewall or procedure and those who are 

8 not subject to the firewall or procedure. 

9 ‘‘(G) The policy must require the person to 

10 establish separate files, including electronic file 

11 folders— 

12 ‘‘(i) for employees, consultants, and 

13 clients who are subject to the firewall or 

14 procedure and to prohibit access to such 

15 files by employees, consultants, and clients 

16 who are not subject to the firewall or pro17 cedure; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) for employees, consultants, and 

19 clients who are not subject to the firewall 

20 or procedure and to prohibit access to such 

21 files by employees, consultants, and clients 

22 who are subject to the firewall or proce23 dure. 

24 ‘‘(H) The person must conduct a training 

25 on the applicable requirements and obligations 


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1 of this Act and the policy for all employees, 

2 consultants, and clients. 

3 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION IF INFORMATION IS SHARED

4 REGARDLESS OF FIREWALL.—A person who estab5 lished and used a firewall or similar procedure which 

6 meets the requirements of paragraph (2) shall be de7 termined to have made a payment in cooperation, 

8 consultation, or concert with, or at the request or 

9 suggestion of, a candidate or committee in accord10 ance with this section if specific information indi11 cates that, notwithstanding the establishment and 

12 use of the firewall or similar procedure, information 

13 about the candidate’s or committee’s campaign 

14 plans, projects, activities, or needs that is material 

15 to the creation, production, or distribution of the 

16 covered communication was used or conveyed to the 

17 person paying for the communication. 

18 ‘‘(4) USE AS DEFENSE TO ENFORCEMENT AC19 TION.—If, in a procedure or action brought by the 

20 Commission under section 309, a person who is al21 leged to have committed a violation of this Act which 

22 involves the making of a contribution which consists 

23 of a payment for a coordinated expenditure raises 

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1 fense, the person shall provide the Commission 

2 with— 

3 ‘‘(A) a copy of the signed and dated fire4 wall or procedure policy which applied to the 

5 person’s employees, consultants, or clients 

6 whose conduct is at issue in the procedure or 

7 action; and 

8 ‘‘(B) a sworn, written affidavit of the em9 ployees, consultants, or clients who were subject 

10 to the policy that the terms, conditions, and re11 quirements of the policy were met. 

12 ‘‘(e) COVERED COMMUNICATION DEFINED.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec14 tion, the term ‘covered communication’ means, with 

15 respect to a candidate or an authorized committee of 

16 a candidate, a public communication (as defined in 

17 section 301(22)) which— 

18 ‘‘(A) expressly advocates the election of the 

19 candidate or the defeat of an opponent of the 

20 candidate (or contains the functional equivalent 

21 of express advocacy); 

22 ‘‘(B) promotes or supports the election of 

23 the candidate, or attacks or opposes the election 

24 of an opponent of the candidate (regardless of 

25 whether the communication expressly advocates 


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1 the election or defeat of a candidate or contains 

2 the functional equivalent of express advocacy); 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(C) refers to the candidate or an oppo5 nent of the candidate but is not described in 

6 subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B), but 

7 only if the communication is disseminated dur8 ing the applicable election period. 

9 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE ELECTION PERIOD.—In para10 graph (1)(C), the ‘applicable election period’ with re11 spect to a communication means— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of a communication which 

13 refers to a candidate in a general, special, or 

14 runoff election, the 120-day period which ends 

15 on the date of the election; or 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a communication which 

17 refers to a candidate in a primary or preference 

18 election, or convention or caucus of a political 

19 party that has authority to nominate a can20 didate, the 60-day period which ends on the 

21 date of the election or convention or caucus. 

22 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR COMMUNICATIONS IN23 VOLVING CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES.—For pur24 poses of this subsection, a public communication 

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1 tion with respect to a candidate for election for an 

2 office other than the office of President or Vice 

3 President unless it is publicly disseminated or dis4 tributed in the jurisdiction of the office the can5 didate is seeking. 

6 ‘‘(f) PENALTY.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT.—Any per8 son who knowingly and willfully commits a violation 

9 of this Act which involves the making of a contribu10 tion which consists of a payment for a coordinated 

11 expenditure shall be fined an amount equal to the 

12 greater of— 

13 ‘‘(A) in the case of a person who makes a 

14 contribution which consists of a payment for a 

15 coordinated expenditure in an amount exceeding 

16 the applicable contribution limit under this Act, 

17 300 percent of the amount by which the 

18 amount of the payment made by the person ex19 ceeds such applicable contribution limit; or 

20 ‘‘(B) in the case of a person who is prohib21 ited under this Act from making a contribution 

22 in any amount, 300 percent of the amount of 

23 the payment made by the person for the coordi24 nated expenditure. 


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1 ‘‘(2) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.—Any di2 rector, manager, or officer of a person who is subject 

3 to a penalty under paragraph (1) shall be jointly and 

4 severally liable for any amount of such penalty that 

5 is not paid by the person prior to the expiration of 

6 the 1-year period which begins on the date the Com7 mission imposes the penalty or the 1-year period 

8 which begins on the date of the final judgment fol9 lowing any judicial review of the Commission’s ac10 tion, whichever is later.’’. 

11 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

12 (1) REPEAL OF EXISTING REGULATIONS ON CO13 ORDINATION.—Effective upon the expiration of the 

14 90-day period which begins on the date of the enact15 ment of this Act— 

16 (A) the regulations on coordinated commu17 nications adopted by the Federal Election Com18 mission which are in effect on the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act (as set forth under the 

20 heading ‘‘Coordination’’ in subpart C of part 

21 109 of title 11, Code of Federal Regulations) 

22 are repealed; and 

23 (B) the Federal Election Commission shall 

24 promulgate new regulations on coordinated 


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1 communications which reflect the amendments 

2 made by this Act. 

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

4 by this section shall apply with respect to payments 

5 made on or after the expiration of the 120-day pe6 riod which begins on the date of the enactment of 

7 this Act, without regard to whether or not the Fed8 eral Election Commission has promulgated regula9 tions in accordance with paragraph (1)(B) as of the 

10 expiration of such period. 

11 Subtitle B—Restoring Integrity to 

12 America’s Elections 

13 SEC. 7101. SHORT TITLE. 

14 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring Integrity 

15 to America’s Elections Act’’. 

16 SEC. 7102. REVISION TO ENFORCEMENT PROCESS. 

17 (a) STANDARD FOR INITIATING INVESTIGATIONS AND

18 DETERMINING WHETHER VIOLATIONS HAVE OC19 CURRED.— 

20 (1) REVISION OF STANDARDS.—Section 309(a) 

21 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

22 U.S.C. 30109(a)) is amended by striking paragraphs 

23 (2) and (3) and inserting the following: 

24 ‘‘(2)(A) The general counsel, upon receiving a com25 plaint filed with the Commission under paragraph (1) or 


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1 upon the basis of information ascertained by the Commis2 sion in the normal course of carrying out its supervisory 

3 responsibilities, shall make a determination as to whether 

4 or not there is reason to believe that a person has com5 mitted, or is about to commit, a violation of this Act or 

6 chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code 

7 of 1986, and as to whether or not the Commission should 

8 either initiate an investigation of the matter or that the 

9 complaint should be dismissed. The general counsel shall 

10 promptly provide notification to the Commission of such 

11 determination and the reasons therefore, together with 

12 any written response submitted under paragraph (1) by 

13 the person alleged to have committed the violation. Upon 

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

15 date the general counsel provides such notification, the 

16 general counsel’s determination shall take effect, unless 

17 during such 30-day period the Commission, by vote of a 

18 majority of the members of the Commission who are serv19 ing at the time, overrules the general counsel’s determina20 tion. If the determination by the general counsel that the 

21 Commission should investigate the matter takes effect, or 

22 if the determination by the general counsel that the com23 plaint should be dismissed is overruled as provided under 

24 the previous sentence, the general counsel shall initiate an 

25 investigation of the matter on behalf of the Commission. 


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1 ‘‘(B) If the Commission initiates an investigation 

2 pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Commission, through 

3 the Chair, shall notify the subject of the investigation of 

4 the alleged violation. Such notification shall set forth the 

5 factual basis for such alleged violation. The Commission 

6 shall make an investigation of such alleged violation, which 

7 may include a field investigation or audit, in accordance 

8 with the provisions of this section. The general counsel 

9 shall provide notification to the Commission of any intent 

10 to issue a subpoena or conduct any other form of discovery 

11 pursuant to the investigation. Upon the expiration of the 

12 15-day period which begins on the date the general counsel 

13 provides such notification, the general counsel may issue 

14 the subpoena or conduct the discovery, unless during such 

15 15-day period the Commission, by vote of a majority of 

16 the members of the Commission who are serving at the 

17 time, prohibits the general counsel from issuing the sub18 poena or conducting the discovery. 

19 ‘‘(3)(A) Upon completion of an investigation under 

20 paragraph (2), the general counsel shall make a deter21 mination as to whether or not there is probable cause to 

22 believe that a person has committed, or is about to com23 mit, a violation of this Act or chapter 95 or chapter 96 

24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall promptly 

25 submit such determination to the Commission, and shall 


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1 include with the determination a brief stating the position 

2 of the general counsel on the legal and factual issues of 

3 the case. 

4 ‘‘(B) At the time the general counsel submits to the 

5 Commission the determination under subparagraph (A), 

6 the general counsel shall simultaneously notify the re7 spondent of such determination and the reasons therefore, 

8 shall provide the respondent with an opportunity to submit 

9 a brief within 30 days stating the position of the respond10 ent on the legal and factual issues of the case and replying 

11 to the brief of the general counsel. The general counsel 

12 shall promptly submit such brief to the Commission upon 

13 receipt. 

14 ‘‘(C) Upon the expiration of the 30-day period which 

15 begins on the date the general counsel submits the deter16 mination to the Commission under subparagraph (A) (or, 

17 if the respondent submits a brief under subparagraph (B), 

18 upon the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on 

19 the date the general counsel submits the respondent’s brief 

20 to the Commission under such subparagraph), the general 

21 counsel’s determination shall take effect, unless during 

22 such 30-day period the Commission, by vote of a majority 

23 of the members of the Commission who are serving at the 

24 time, overrules the general counsel’s determination. If the 

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1 able cause to believe that a person has committed, or is 

2 about to commit, a violation of this Act or chapter 95 or 

3 chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or if 

4 the determination by the general counsel that there is not 

5 probable cause that a person has committed or is about 

6 to commit such a violation is overruled as provided under 

7 the previous sentence, for purposes of this subsection, the 

8 Commission shall be deemed to have determined that there 

9 is probable cause that the person has committed or is 

10 about to commit such a violation.’’. 

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

12 INITIAL RESPONSE TO FILING OF COMPLAINT.—Sec13 tion 309(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(1)) 

14 is amended— 

15 (A) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the 

16 Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘the general coun17 sel’’; and 

18 (B) by amending the fourth sentence to 

19 read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 15 days after 

20 receiving notice from the general counsel under 

21 the previous sentence, the person may provide 

22 the general counsel with a written response that 

23 no action should be taken against such person 

24 on the basis of the complaint.’’. 


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1 (b) REVISION OF STANDARD FOR REVIEW OF DIS2 MISSAL OF COMPLAINTS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 309(a)(8) of such 

4 Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(8)) is amended to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(8)(A)(i) Any party aggrieved by an order of the 

7 Commission dismissing a complaint filed by such party 

8 may file a petition with the United States District Court 

9 for the District of Columbia. Any petition under this sub10 paragraph shall be filed within 60 days after the date on 

11 which the party received notice of the dismissal of the 

12 complaint. 

13 ‘‘(ii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, the 

14 court shall determine by de novo review whether the agen15 cy’s dismissal of the complaint is contrary to law. In any 

16 matter in which the penalty for the alleged violation is 

17 greater than $50,000, the court should disregard any 

18 claim or defense by the Commission of prosecutorial dis19 cretion as a basis for dismissing the complaint. 

20 ‘‘(B)(i) Any party who has filed a complaint with the 

21 Commission and who is aggrieved by a failure of the Com22 mission, within one year after the filing of the complaint, 

23 to act on such complaint, may file a petition with the 

24 United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, the 

2 court shall determine by de novo review whether the agen3 cy’s failure to act on the complaint is contrary to law. 

4 ‘‘(C) In any proceeding under this paragraph the 

5 court may declare that the dismissal of the complaint or 

6 the failure to act is contrary to law, and may direct the 

7 Commission to conform with such declaration within 30 

8 days, failing which the complainant may bring, in the 

9 name of such complainant, a civil action to remedy the 

10 violation involved in the original complaint.’’. 

11 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

12 by paragraph (1) shall apply— 

13 (A) in the case of complaints which are 

14 dismissed by the Federal Election Commission, 

15 with respect to complaints which are dismissed 

16 on or after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act; and 

18 (B) in the case of complaints upon which 

19 the Federal Election Commission failed to act, 

20 with respect to complaints which were filed on 

21 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 

24 Commission shall promulgate new regulations on the en25 forcement process under section 309 of the Federal ElecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00512 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H11.IH H11

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1 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109) to take 

2 into account the amendments made by this section. 

3 SEC. 7103. OFFICIAL EXERCISING THE RESPONSIBILITIES 

4 OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL. 

5 Section 306(f)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign 

6 Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30106(f)(1)) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘In the event 

8 of a vacancy in the position of the General Counsel, the 

9 most senior attorney employed within the Office of the 

10 General Counsel at the time the vacancy arises shall exer11 cise all the responsibilities of the General Counsel until 

12 the vacancy is filled.’’. 

13 SEC. 7104. PERMITTING APPEARANCE AT HEARINGS ON RE14 QUESTS FOR ADVISORY OPINIONS BY PER15 SONS OPPOSING THE REQUESTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 308 of such Act (52 

17 U.S.C. 30108) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(e) To the extent that the Commission provides an 

20 opportunity for a person requesting an advisory opinion 

21 under this section (or counsel for such person) to appear 

22 before the Commission to present testimony in support of 

23 the request, and the person (or counsel) accepts such op24 portunity, the Commission shall provide a reasonable op25 portunity for an interested party who submitted written 


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1 comments under subsection (d) in response to the request 

2 (or counsel for such interested party) to appear before the 

3 Commission to present testimony in response to the re4 quest.’’. 

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

6 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to requests for advi7 sory opinions under section 308 of the Federal Election 

8 Campaign Act of 1971 which are made on or after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 7105. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF ADMINISTRATIVE 

11 PENALTY AUTHORITY. 

12 Section 309(a)(4)(C)(v) of the Federal Election Cam13 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘, and that end on or before Decem15 ber 31, 2023’’. 

16 SEC. 7106. RESTRICTIONS ON EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS. 

17 Section 306(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

18 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30106(e)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘(e) The Commission’’ and in20 serting ‘‘(e)(1) The Commission’’; and 

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

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(2) Members and employees of the Commission shall 

24 be subject to limitations on ex parte communications, as 

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1 sion regarding such communications which are in effect 

2 on the date of the enactment of this paragraph.’’. 

3 SEC. 7107. CLARIFYING AUTHORITY OF FEC ATTORNEYS TO 

4 REPRESENT FEC IN SUPREME COURT. 

5 (a) CLARIFYING AUTHORITY.—Section 306(f)(4) of 

6 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

7 30106(f)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘any action instituted 

8 under this Act, either (A) by attorneys’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘any action instituted under this Act, including an action 

10 before the Supreme Court of the United States, either (A) 

11 by the General Counsel of the Commission and other at12 torneys’’. 

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

14 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to actions instituted 

15 before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 7108. REQUIRING FORMS TO PERMIT USE OF ACCENT 

17 MARKS. 

18 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 311(a)(1) of the Fed19 eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 

20 30111(a)(1)) is amended by striking the semicolon at the 

21 end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and shall ensure that 

22 all such forms (including forms in an electronic format) 

23 permit the person using the form to include an accent 

24 mark as part of the person’s identification;’’. 


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

2 subsection (a) shall take effect upon the expiration of the 

3 90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 

4 of this Act. 

5 SEC. 7109. EXTENSION OF THE STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS 

6 FOR OFFENSES UNDER THE FEDERAL ELEC7 TION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971. 

8 (a) CIVIL OFFENSES.—Section 309(a) of the Federal 

9 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)) is 

10 amended by inserting after paragraph (9) the following 

11 new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(10) No person shall be subject to a civil penalty 

13 under this subsection with respect to a violation of this 

14 Act unless a complaint is filed with the Commission with 

15 respect to the violation under paragraph (1), or the Com16 mission responds to information with respect to the viola17 tion which is ascertained in the normal course of carrying 

18 out its supervisory responsibilities under paragraph (2), 

19 not later than 10 years after the date on which the viola20 tion occurred.’’. 

21 (b) CRIMINAL OFFENSES.—Section 406(a) of such 

22 Act (52 U.S.C. 30145(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘5 

23 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 


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

2 this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 

3 on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 7110. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, this 

6 subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall 

7 take effect and apply on the date of the enactment of this 

8 Act, without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 

9 Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out this 

10 subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle. 

11 (b) TRANSITION.— 

12 (1) NO EFFECT ON EXISTING CASES OR PRO13 CEEDINGS.—Nothing in this subtitle or in any 

14 amendment made by this subtitle shall affect any of 

15 the powers exercised by the Federal Election Com16 mission prior to the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act, including any investigation initiated by the 

18 Commission prior to such date or any proceeding 

19 (including any enforcement action) pending as of 

20 such date. 

21 (2) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN COMPLAINTS.—If, 

22 as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Gen23 eral Counsel of the Federal Election Commission has 

24 not made any recommendation to the Commission 

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1 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109) with respect 

2 to a complaint filed prior to the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, this subtitle and the amendments 

4 made by this subtitle shall apply with respect to the 

5 complaint in the same manner as this subtitle and 

6 the amendments made by this subtitle apply with re7 spect to a complaint filed on or after the date of the 

8 enactment of this Act. 

9 Subtitle C—Imposition of Fee for 

10 Reports Filed by Paper 

11 SEC. 7201. IMPOSITION OF FEE FOR REPORTS FILED BY 

12 PAPER. 

13 Section 304(a)(11)(A) of the Federal Election Cam14 paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(a)(11)(A)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i); 

17 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

18 (ii) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

20 clause: 

21 ‘‘(iii) shall be assessed a $20.00 filing fee for 

22 any designation, statement, or report under this Act 

23 filed by paper, with the fees received by the Commis24 sion under this clause deposited into the general 


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1 fund of the Treasury for the purposes of deficit re2 duction.’’. 

3 TITLE VIII—CITIZEN 

4 EMPOWERMENT 

5 Subtitle A—Funding To Promote 

6 Democracy 

7 PART 1—PAYMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS TO 

8 STATES 

9 SEC. 8001. DEMOCRACY ADVANCEMENT AND INNOVATION 

10 PROGRAM. 

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a pro12 gram to be known as the ‘‘Democracy Advancement and 

13 Innovation Program’’ under which the Director of the Of14 fice of Democracy Advancement and Innovation shall 

15 make allocations to each State for each fiscal year to carry 

16 out democracy promotion activities described in subsection 

17 (b). 

18 (b) DEMOCRACY PROMOTION ACTIVITIES DE19 SCRIBED.—The democracy promotion activities described 

20 in this subsection are as follows: 

21 (1) Activities to promote innovation to improve 

22 efficiency and smooth functioning in the administra23 tion of elections for Federal office and to secure the 

24 infrastructure used in the administration of such 

25 elections, including making upgrades to voting 


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1 equipment and voter registration systems, securing 

2 voting locations, expanding polling places and the 

3 availability of early and mail voting, recruiting and 

4 training nonpartisan election officials, and pro5 moting cybersecurity. 

6 (2) Activities to ensure equitable access to de7 mocracy, including the following: 

8 (A) Enabling candidates who seek office in 

9 the State to receive payments as participating 

10 candidates under title V of the Federal Election 

11 Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by subtitle 

12 B), but only if the State will enable candidates 

13 to receive such payments during an entire elec14 tion cycle. 

15 (B) Operating a Democracy Credit Pro16 gram under part 1 of subtitle B, but only if the 

17 State will operate the program during an entire 

18 election cycle. 

19 (C) Other activities to ensure equitable ac20 cess to democracy, including administering a 

21 ranked-choice voting system and carrying out 

22 Congressional redistricting through independent 

23 commissions. 

24 (3) Activities to increase access to voting in 

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1 nities, individuals with disabilities, racial and lan2 guage minority groups, individuals entitled to vote 

3 by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Over4 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and voters resid5 ing in Indian lands. 

6 (c) PERMITTING STATES TO RETAIN AND RESERVE

7 ALLOCATIONS FOR FUTURE USE.—A State may retain 

8 and reserve an allocation received for a fiscal year to carry 

9 out democracy promotion activities in any subsequent fis10 cal year. 

11 (d) REQUIRING SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF

12 STATE PLAN.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall receive an allo14 cation under the Program for a fiscal year if— 

15 (A) not later than 90 days before the first 

16 day of the fiscal year, the chief State election 

17 official of the State submits to the Director the 

18 State plan described in section 8002; and 

19 (B) not later than 45 days before the first 

20 day of the fiscal year, the Director, in consulta21 tion with the Election Assistance Commission 

22 and the Federal Election Commission as de23 scribed in paragraph (3), determines that the 

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1 mocracy promotion activities and approves the 

2 plan. 

3 (2) SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF REVISED

4 PLAN.—If the Director does not approve the State 

5 plan as submitted by the State under paragraph (1) 

6 with respect to a fiscal year, the State shall receive 

7 a payment under the Program for the fiscal year if, 

8 at any time prior to the end of the fiscal year— 

9 (A) the chief State election official of the 

10 State submits a revised version of the State 

11 plan; and 

12 (B) the Director, in consultation with the 

13 Election Assistance Commission and the Fed14 eral Election Commission as described in para15 graph (3), determines that the revised version 

16 of the State plan will enable the State to carry 

17 out democracy promotion activities and ap18 proves the plan. 

19 (3) ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION AND

20 FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION CONSULTATION.— 

21 With respect to a State plan submitted under para22 graph (1) or a revised plan submitted under para23 graph (2)— 

24 (A) the Director shall, prior to making a 

25 determination on approval of the plan, consult 


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1 with the Election Assistance Commission with 

2 respect to the proposed State activities de3 scribed in subsection (b)(1) and with the Fed4 eral Election Commission with respect to the 

5 proposed State activities described in subsection 

6 (b)(2)(A) and (b)(2)(B); and 

7 (B) the Election Assistance Commission 

8 and the Federal Election Commission shall sub9 mit to the Director a written assessment with 

10 respect to whether the proposed activities of the 

11 plan satisfy the requirements of this Act. 

12 (4) CONSULTATION WITH LEGISLATURE.—The 

13 chief State election official of the State shall develop 

14 the State plan submitted under paragraph (1) and 

15 the revised plan submitted under paragraph (2) in 

16 consultation with the majority party and minority 

17 party leaders of each house of the State legislature. 

18 (e) STATE REPORT ON USE OF ALLOCATIONS.—Not 

19 later than 90 days after the last day of a fiscal year for 

20 which an allocation was made to the State under the Pro21 gram, the chief State election official of the State shall 

22 submit a report to the Director describing how the State 

23 used the allocation, including a description of the democ24 racy promotion activities the State carried out with the 

25 allocation. 


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1 (f) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 

2 (1) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WEBSITE.—The Di3 rector shall make available on a publicly accessible 

4 website the following: 

5 (A) State plans submitted under para6 graph (1) of subsection (d) and revised plans 

7 submitted under paragraph (2) of subsection 

8 (d). 

9 (B) The Director’s notifications of deter10 minations with respect to such plans under sub11 section (d). 

12 (C) Reports submitted by States under 

13 subsection (e). 

14 (2) REDACTION.—The Director may redact in15 formation required to be made available under para16 graph (1) if the information would be properly with17 held from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, 

18 United States Code, or if the public disclosure of the 

19 information is otherwise prohibited by law. 

20 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 

21 respect to fiscal year 2025 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

22 SEC. 8002. STATE PLAN. 

23 (a) CONTENTS.—A State plan under this section with 

24 respect to a State is a plan containing each of the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (1) A description of the democracy promotion 

2 activities the State will carry out with the payment 

3 made under the Program. 

4 (2) A statement of whether or not the State in5 tends to retain and reserve the payment for future 

6 democracy promotion activities. 

7 (3) A description of how the State intends to 

8 allocate funds to carry out the proposed activities, 

9 which shall include the amount the State intends to 

10 allocate to each such activity, including (if applica11 ble) a specific allocation for— 

12 (A) activities described in subsection 

13 8001(b)(1) (relating to election administration); 

14 (B) activities described in section 

15 8001(b)(2)(A) (relating to payments to partici16 pating candidates in the State under title V of 

17 the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971), 

18 together with the information required under 

19 subsection (c); 

20 (C) activities described in section 

21 8001(b)(2)(B) (relating to the operation of a 

22 Democracy Credit Program under part 1 of 

23 subtitle B); 


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1 (D) activities described in section 

2 8001(b)(2)(C) (relating to other activities to en3 sure equitable access to democracy); and 

4 (E) activities described in section 

5 8001(b)(3) (relating to activities to increase ac6 cess to voting in elections for Federal office by 

7 certain communities). 

8 (4) A description of how the State will establish 

9 the fund described in subsection (b) for purposes of 

10 administering the democracy promotion activities 

11 which the State will carry out with the payment, in12 cluding information on fund management. 

13 (5) A description of the State-based administra14 tive complaint procedures established for purposes of 

15 section 8003(b). 

16 (6) A statement regarding whether the pro17 posed activities to be funded are permitted under 

18 State law, or whether the official intends to seek 

19 legal authorization for such activities. 

20 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FUND.— 

21 (1) FUND DESCRIBED.—For purposes of sub22 section (a)(4), a fund described in this subsection 

23 with respect to a State is a fund which is established 

24 in the treasury of the State government, which is 


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1 used in accordance with paragraph (2), and which 

2 consists of the following amounts: 

3 (A) Amounts appropriated or otherwise 

4 made available by the State for carrying out the 

5 democracy promotion activities for which the 

6 payment is made to the State under the Pro7 gram. 

8 (B) The payment made to the State under 

9 the Program. 

10 (C) Such other amounts as may be appro11 priated under law. 

12 (D) Interest earned on deposits of the 

13 fund. 

14 (2) USE OF FUND.—Amounts in the fund shall 

15 be used by the State exclusively to carry out democ16 racy promotion activities for which the payment is 

17 made to the State under the Program. 

18 (3) TREATMENT OF STATES THAT REQUIRE

19 CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case of a State 

20 that requires State legislation to establish the fund 

21 described in this subsection, the Director shall defer 

22 disbursement of the payment to such State under 

23 the Program until such time as legislation estab24 lishing the fund is enacted. 


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1 (c) SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON USE OF FUNDS TO

2 ENABLE CANDIDATES TO PARTICIPATE IN MATCHING

3 FUNDS PROGRAM.—If the State plan under this section 

4 includes an allocation for activities described in section 

5 8001(b)(2)(A) (relating to payments to participating can6 didates in the State under title V of the Federal Election 

7 Campaign Act of 1971), the State shall include in the plan 

8 specific information on how the amount of the allocation 

9 will enable the State to provide for the viable participation 

10 of candidates in the State under such title, including the 

11 assumptions made by the State in determining the amount 

12 of the allocation. 

13 SEC. 8003. PROHIBITING REDUCTION IN ACCESS TO PAR14 TICIPATION IN ELECTIONS. 

15 (a) PROHIBITING USE OF PAYMENTS.—A State may 

16 not use a payment made under the Program to carry out 

17 any activity which has the purpose or effect of diminishing 

18 the ability of any citizen of the United States to partici19 pate in the electoral process. 

20 (b) STATE-BASED ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT

21 PROCEDURES.— 

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—A State receiving a pay23 ment under the Program shall establish uniform and 

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1 lieves that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred, 

2 is occurring, or is about to occur may file a com3 plaint. 

4 (2) NOTIFICATION TO DIRECTOR.—The State 

5 shall transmit to the Director a description of each 

6 complaint filed under the procedures, together 

7 with— 

8 (A) if the State provides a remedy with re9 spect to the complaint, a description of the rem10 edy; or 

11 (B) if the State dismisses the complaint, a 

12 statement of the reasons for the dismissal. 

13 (3) REVIEW BY DIRECTOR.— 

14 (A) REQUEST FOR REVIEW.—Any person 

15 who is dissatisfied with the final decision under 

16 a State-based administrative complaint proce17 dure under this subsection may, not later than 

18 60 days after the decision is made, file a re19 quest with the Director to review the decision. 

20 (B) ACTION BY DIRECTOR.—Upon receiv21 ing a request under subparagraph (A), the Di22 rector shall review the decision and, in accord23 ance with such procedures as the Director may 

24 establish, including procedures to provide notice 

25 and an opportunity for a hearing, may uphold 


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1 the decision or reverse the decision and provide 

2 an appropriate remedy. 

3 (C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF MATE4 RIAL.—The Director shall make available on a 

5 publicly accessible website all material relating 

6 to a request for review and determination by 

7 the Director under this paragraph, except that 

8 the Director may redact material required to be 

9 made available under this subparagraph if the 

10 material would be properly withheld from dis11 closure under section 552 of title 5, United 

12 States Code, or if the public disclosure of the 

13 material is otherwise prohibited by law. 

14 (4) RIGHT TO PETITION FOR REVIEW.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved 

16 by an action of the Director under subpara17 graph (B) of paragraph (3) may file a petition 

18 with the United States District Court for the 

19 District of Columbia. 

20 (B) DEADLINE TO FILE PETITION.—Any 

21 petition under this subparagraph shall be filed 

22 not later than 60 days after the date of the ac23 tion taken by the Director under subparagraph 

24 (B) of paragraph (3). 


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1 (C) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In any pro2 ceeding under this paragraph, the court shall 

3 determine whether the action of the Director 

4 was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discre5 tion, or otherwise not in accordance with law 

6 under section 706 of title 5, United States 

7 Code, and may direct the Office to conform 

8 with any such determination within 30 days. 

9 (c) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR DECLARA10 TORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Attorney General 

11 may bring a civil action against any State in an appro12 priate United States District Court for such declaratory 

13 and injunctive relief (including a temporary restraining 

14 order, a permanent or temporary injunction, or other 

15 order) as may be necessary to enforce subsection (a). 

16 SEC. 8004. AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOCATION. 

17 (a) STATE-SPECIFIC AMOUNT.—The amount of the 

18 allocation made to a State under the Program for a fiscal 

19 year shall be equal to the product of— 

20 (1) the Congressional district allocation amount 

21 (determined under subsection (b)); and 

22 (2) the number of Congressional districts in the 

23 State for the next regularly scheduled general elec24 tion for Federal office held in the State. 


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1 (b) CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ALLOCATION

2 AMOUNT.—For purposes of subsection (a), the ‘‘Congres3 sional district allocation amount’’ with respect to a fiscal 

4 year is equal to the quotient of— 

5 (1) the aggregate amount available for alloca6 tions to States under the Program for the fiscal 

7 year, as determined by the Director under sub8 section (c); divided by 

9 (2) the total number of Congressional districts 

10 in all States. 

11 (c) DETERMINATION OF AGGREGATE AMOUNT

12 AVAILABLE FOR ALLOCATIONS; NOTIFICATION TO

13 STATES.—Not later than 120 days before the first day 

14 of each fiscal year, the Director— 

15 (1) shall, in accordance with section 8012, de16 termine and establish the aggregate amount avail17 able for allocations to States under the Program for 

18 the fiscal year; and 

19 (2) shall notify each State of the amount of the 

20 State’s allocation under the Program for the fiscal 

21 year. 

22 (d) SOURCE OF PAYMENTS.—The amounts used to 

23 make allocations and payments under the Program shall 

24 be derived solely from the Trust Fund. 


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1 SEC. 8005. PROCEDURES FOR DISBURSEMENTS OF PAY2 MENTS AND ALLOCATIONS. 

3 (a) DIRECT PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CERTAIN AC4 TIVITIES UNDER STATE PLAN.— 

5 (1) DIRECT PAYMENT.—If the approved State 

6 plan of a State includes activities for which alloca7 tions are not made under subsections (b), (c), or (d), 

8 upon approving the State plan under section 8002, 

9 the Director shall direct the Secretary of the Treas10 ury to disburse amounts from the Trust Fund for 

11 payment to the State in the aggregate amount pro12 vided under the plan for such activities. 

13 (2) TIMING.—As soon as practicable after the 

14 Director directs the Secretary of the Treasury to 

15 disburse amounts for payment to a State under 

16 paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

17 make the payment to the State under such para18 graph. 

19 (3) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

20 AFTER APPROPRIATION.—A payment made to a 

21 State under this subsection shall be available with22 out fiscal year limitation. 

23 (b) ALLOCATION TO ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS24 SION FOR PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CERTAIN ELECTION

25 ADMINISTRATION ACTIVITIES.— 


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1 (1) ALLOCATION.—If the approved State plan 

2 of a State includes activities described in section 

3 8001(b)(1), upon approving the State plan under 

4 section 8002, the Director shall direct the Secretary 

5 of the Treasury to allocate to the Election Assist6 ance Commission the amount provided for such ac7 tivities under the plan. 

8 (2) PAYMENT TO STATE.—As soon as prac9 ticable after receiving an allocation under paragraph 

10 (1) with respect to a State, the Election Assistance 

11 Commission shall make a payment to the State in 

12 the amount of the State’s allocation. 

13 (3) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

14 AFTER APPROPRIATION.—A payment made to a 

15 State by the Election Assistance Commission under 

16 this subsection shall be available without fiscal year 

17 limitation. 

18 (c) ALLOCATION TO FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS19 SION FOR PAYMENTS TO PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES

20 FROM STATE.—If the approved State plan of a State in21 cludes activities described in section 8001(b)(2)(A), relat22 ing to payments to participating candidates in the State 

23 under title V of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

24 1971, upon approving the State plan under section 8002, 

25 the Director shall direct the Secretary of the Treasury to 


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1 allocate to the Federal Election Commission the amount 

2 provided for such activities under the plan. 

3 (d) ALLOCATION TO FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS4 SION FOR PAYMENTS FOR DEMOCRACY CREDIT PRO5 GRAM.—If the approved State plan of a State includes ac6 tivities described in section 8001(b)(2)(B), relating to pay7 ments to the State for the operation of a Democracy Cred8 it Program under part 1 of subtitle B, upon approving 

9 the State plan under section 8002, the Director shall di10 rect the Secretary of the Treasury to allocate to the Fed11 eral Election Commission the amount provided for such 

12 activities under the plan. 

13 (e) CERTAIN PAYMENTS MADE DIRECTLY TO LOCAL

14 ELECTION ADMINISTRATORS.—Under rules established by 

15 the Director not later than 270 days after the date of the 

16 enactment of this Act, portions of amounts disbursed to 

17 States by the Secretary of the Treasury under subsection 

18 (a) and payments made to States by the Election Assist19 ance Commission under subsection (b) may be provided 

20 directly to local election administrators carrying out activi21 ties in the State plan which may be carried out with such 

22 amounts and payments. 


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1 SEC. 8006. OFFICE OF DEMOCRACY ADVANCEMENT AND IN2 NOVATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an 

4 independent establishment in the executive branch the Of5 fice of Democracy Advancement and Innovation. 

6 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 

8 by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Presi9 dent with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

10 (2) TERM OF SERVICE.—The Director shall 

11 serve for a term of 6 years and may be reappointed 

12 to an additional term, and may continue serving as 

13 Director until a replacement is appointed. A vacancy 

14 in the position of Director shall be filled in the same 

15 manner as the original appointment. 

16 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

17 paid at an annual rate of pay equal to the annual 

18 rate in effect for level II of the Executive Schedule. 

19 (4) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 

20 from office by the President. If the President re21 moves the Director, the President shall communicate 

22 in writing the reasons for the removal to both 

23 Houses of Congress not later than 30 days before24 hand. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 

25 to prohibit a personnel action otherwise authorized 

26 by law. 


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1 (c) GENERAL COUNSEL AND OTHER STAFF.— 

2 (1) GENERAL COUNSEL.—The Director shall 

3 appoint a general counsel who shall be paid at an 

4 annual rate of pay equal to the annual rate in effect 

5 for level III of the Executive Schedule. In the event 

6 of a vacancy in the position of the Director, the 

7 General Counsel shall exercise all the responsibilities 

8 of the Director until such vacancy is filled. 

9 (2) SENIOR STAFF.—The Director may appoint 

10 and fix the pay of staff designated as Senior staff, 

11 such as a Deputy Director, who may be paid at an 

12 annual rate of pay equal to the annual rate in effect 

13 for level IV of the Executive Schedule. 

14 (3) OTHER STAFF.—In addition to the General 

15 Counsel and Senior staff, the Director may appoint 

16 and fix the pay of such other staff as the Director 

17 considers necessary to carry out the duties of the 

18 Office, except that no such staff may be com19 pensated at an annual rate exceeding the daily 

20 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect 

21 for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule. 

22 (d) DUTIES.—The duties of the Office are as follows: 

23 (1) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.—The Di24 rector shall administer the Program, in consultation 

25 with the Election Assistance Commission and the 


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1 Federal Election Commission, including by holding 

2 quarterly meetings of representatives from such 

3 Commissions. 

4 (2) OVERSIGHT OF TRUST FUND.—The Direc5 tor shall oversee the operation of the Trust Fund 

6 and monitor its balances, in consultation with the 

7 Secretary of the Treasury. The Director may hold 

8 funds in reserve to cover the expenses of the Office 

9 and to preserve the solvency of the Trust Fund. 

10 (3) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date of the regularly scheduled general election 

12 for Federal office held in 2026 and each succeeding 

13 regularly scheduled general election for Federal of14 fice thereafter, the Director shall submit to the 

15 Committee on House Administration of the House of 

16 Representatives and the Committee on Rules and 

17 Administration of the Senate a report on the activi18 ties carried out under the Program and the amounts 

19 deposited into and paid from the Trust Fund during 

20 the two most recent fiscal years. 

21 (e) COVERAGE UNDER INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF

22 1978 FOR CONDUCTING AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 415(a)(1)(A) of title 

24 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘the 


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1 Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation,’’ 

2 after ‘‘Election Assistance Commission,’’. 

3 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

4 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 180 days after the 

5 appointment of the Director. 

6 (f) COVERAGE UNDER HATCH ACT.—Clause (i) of 

7 section 7323(b)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause 

10 (XIII); and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub12 clause: 

13 ‘‘(XV) the Office of Democracy Advance14 ment and Innovation; or’’. 

15 (g) REGULATIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), not later than 270 days after the date of 

18 enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate 

19 such rules and regulations as the Director considers 

20 necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties of 

21 the Office under this Act and the amendments made 

22 by this Act. 

23 (2) STATE PLAN SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL

24 AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Not later than 90 

25 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Director shall promulgate such rules and regulations 

2 as the Director considers necessary and appropriate 

3 to carry out the requirements of this part and the 

4 amendments made by this part. 

5 (3) COMMENTS BY THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE

6 COMMISSION AND THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS7 SION.—The Election Assistance Commission and the 

8 Federal Election Assistance shall timely submit com9 ments with respect to any proposed regulations pro10 mulgated by the Director under this subsection. 

11 (h) INTERIM AUTHORITY PENDING APPOINTMENT

12 AND CONFIRMATION OF DIRECTOR.— 

13 (1) AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF

14 MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—Notwithstanding sub15 section (b), during the transition period, the Direc16 tor of the Office of Management and Budget is au17 thorized to perform the functions of the Office under 

18 this title, and shall act for all purposes as, and with 

19 the full powers of, the Director. 

20 (2) INTERIM ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.— 

21 (A) AUTHORITY OF OFFICE OF MANAGE22 MENT AND BUDGET.—During the transition pe23 riod, the Director of the Office of Management 

24 and Budget may provide administrative services 

25 necessary to support the Office. 


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1 (B) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY; PER2 MITTING EXTENSION.—The Director of the Of3 fice of Management and Budget shall cease pro4 viding interim administrative services under this 

5 paragraph upon the expiration of the transition 

6 period, except that the Director of the Office of 

7 Management and Budget may continue to pro8 vide such services after the expiration of the 

9 transition period if the Director and the Direc10 tor of the Office of Management and Budget 

11 jointly transmit to the Committee on House Ad12 ministration of the House of Representatives 

13 and the Committee on Rules and Administra14 tion of the Senate— 

15 (i) a written determination that an or16 derly implementation of this title is not 

17 feasible by the expiration of the transition 

18 period; 

19 (ii) an explanation of why an exten20 sion is necessary for the orderly implemen21 tation of this title; 

22 (iii) a description of the period during 

23 which the Director of the Office of Man24 agement and Budget shall continue proVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 Aug 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00541 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H11.IH H11

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1 viding services under the authority of this 

2 subparagraph; and 

3 (iv) a description of the steps that will 

4 be taken to ensure an orderly and timely 

5 implementation of this title during the pe6 riod described in clause (iii). 

7 (3) TRANSITION PERIOD DEFINED.—In this 

8 subsection, the ‘‘transition period’’ is the period 

9 which begins on the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act and ends on the date on which the Director is 

11 appointed and confirmed. 

12 (4) LIMIT ON LENGTH OF PERIOD OF INTERIM

13 AUTHORITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

14 of this subsection, the Director of the Office of Man15 agement and Budget may not exercise any authority 

16 under this subsection after the expiration of the 24- 

17 month period which begins on the date of the enact18 ment of this Act. 

19 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated from the Trust Fund 

21 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the activities 

22 of the Office for fiscal year 2025 and each succeeding fis23 cal year. 


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1 PART 2—STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND 

2 INNOVATION TRUST FUND 

3 SEC. 8011. STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND INNOVATION 

4 TRUST FUND. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

6 Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘‘State Election As7 sistance and Innovation Trust Fund’’. 

8 (b) CONTENTS.—The Trust Fund shall consist solely 

9 of— 

10 (1) amounts transferred under section 3015 of 

11 title 18, United States Code, section 9706 of title 

12 31, United States Code, and section 6761 of the In13 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by section 

14 8013); and 

15 (2) gifts or bequests deposited pursuant to sub16 section (d). 

17 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Trust Fund 

18 shall be used to make payments and allocations under the 

19 Program (as described in section 8012(a)) and to carry 

20 out the activities of the Office. 

21 (d) ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS.—The Office may accept 

22 gifts or bequests for deposit into the Trust Fund. 

23 (e) NO TAXPAYER FUNDS PERMITTED.—No tax24 payer funds may be deposited into the Trust Fund. For 

25 purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘taxpayer funds’’ 


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1 means revenues received by the Internal Revenue Service 

2 from tax liabilities. 

3 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

4 on the date of the enactment of this subtitle. 

5 SEC. 8012. USES OF FUND. 

6 (a) PAYMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS DESCRIBED.—For 

7 each fiscal year, amounts in the Fund shall be used as 

8 follows: 

9 (1) Payments to States under the Program, as 

10 described in section 8005(a). 

11 (2) Allocations to the Election Assistance Com12 mission, to be used for payments for certain election 

13 administration activities, as described in section 

14 8005(b). 

15 (3) Allocations to the Federal Election Commis16 sion, to be used for payments to participating can17 didates under title V of the Federal Election Cam18 paign Act of 1971, as described in section 8005(c). 

19 (4) Allocations to the Federal Election Commis20 sion, to be used for payments to States operating a 

21 Democracy Credit Program under part 1 of subtitle 

22 B, as described in section 8005(d). 

23 (b) DETERMINATION OF AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF

24 STATE ALLOCATIONS.—The Director shall determine and 

25 establish the aggregate amount of State allocations for 


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1 each fiscal year, taking into account the anticipated bal2 ances of the Trust Fund. In carrying out this subsection, 

3 the Director shall consult with the Federal Election Com4 mission and the Election Assistance Commission, but shall 

5 be solely responsible for making the final determinations 

6 under this subsection. 

7 SEC. 8013. ASSESSMENTS AGAINST FINES AND PENALTIES. 

8 (a) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CRIMINAL OF9 FENSES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 201 of title 18, 

11 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following new section: 

13 ‘‘§ 3015. Special assessments for State Election Assist14 ance and Innovation Trust Fund 

15 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) CONVICTIONS OF CRIMES.—In addition to 

17 any assessment imposed under this chapter, the 

18 court shall assess on any organizational defendant or 

19 any defendant who is a corporate officer or person 

20 with equivalent authority in any other organization 

21 who is convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 

22 law an amount equal to 4.75 percent of any fine im23 posed on that defendant in the sentence imposed for 

24 that conviction. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SETTLEMENTS.—The court shall assess on 

2 any organizational defendant or defendant who is a 

3 corporate officer or person with equivalent authority 

4 in any other organization who has entered into a 

5 settlement agreement or consent decree with the 

6 United States in satisfaction of any allegation that 

7 the defendant committed a criminal offense under 

8 Federal law an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 

9 amount of the settlement. 

10 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF COLLECTION.—An amount as11 sessed under subsection (a) shall be collected in the man12 ner in which fines are collected in criminal cases. 

13 ‘‘(c) TRANSFERS.—In a manner consistent with sec14 tion 3302(b) of title 31, there shall be transferred from 

15 the General Fund of the Treasury to the State Election 

16 Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund under section 8011 

17 of the Freedom to Vote Act an amount equal to the 

18 amount of the assessments collected under this section.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions of chapter 201 of title 18, United States Code, 

21 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘3015. Special assessments for State Election Assistance and Innovation Trust 

Fund.’’. 

22 (b) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CIVIL PEN23 ALTIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 97 of title 31, 

2 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

3 end the following new section: 

4 ‘‘§ 9706. Special assessments for State Election Assist5 ance and Innovation Trust Fund 

6 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Any entity of the Fed8 eral Government which is authorized under any law, 

9 rule, or regulation to impose a civil penalty shall as10 sess on each person, other than a natural person 

11 who is not a corporate officer or person with equiva12 lent authority in any other organization, on whom 

13 such a penalty is imposed an amount equal to 4.75 

14 percent of the amount of the penalty. 

15 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.—Any entity 

16 of the Federal Government which is authorized 

17 under any law, rule, or regulation to impose an ad18 ministrative penalty shall assess on each person, 

19 other than a natural person who is not a corporate 

20 officer or person with equivalent authority in any 

21 other organization, on whom such a penalty is im22 posed an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 

23 amount of the penalty. 

24 ‘‘(3) SETTLEMENTS.—Any entity of the Federal 

25 Government which is authorized under any law, rule, 


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1 or regulation to enter into a settlement agreement or 

2 consent decree with any person, other than a natural 

3 person who is not a corporate officer or person with 

4 equivalent authority in any other organization, in 

5 satisfaction of any allegation of an action or omis6 sion by the person which would be subject to a civil 

7 penalty or administrative penalty shall assess on 

8 such person an amount equal to 4.75 percent of the 

9 amount of the settlement. 

10 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF COLLECTION.—An amount as11 sessed under subsection (a) shall be collected— 

12 ‘‘(1) in the case of an amount assessed under 

13 paragraph (1) of such subsection, in the manner in 

14 which civil penalties are collected by the entity of the 

15 Federal Government involved; 

16 ‘‘(2) in the case of an amount assessed under 

17 paragraph (2) of such subsection, in the manner in 

18 which administrative penalties are collected by the 

19 entity of the Federal Government involved; and 

20 ‘‘(3) in the case of an amount assessed under 

21 paragraph (3) of such subsection, in the manner in 

22 which amounts are collected pursuant to settlement 

23 agreements or consent decrees entered into by the 

24 entity of the Federal Government involved. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TRANSFERS.—In a manner consistent with sec2 tion 3302(b) of this title, there shall be transferred from 

3 the General Fund of the Treasury to the State Election 

4 Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund under section 8011 

5 of the Freedom to Vote Act an amount equal to the 

6 amount of the assessments collected under this section. 

7 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTION FOR PENALTIES AND SETTLE8 MENTS UNDER AUTHORITY OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE

9 CODE OF 1986.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No assessment shall be 

11 made under subsection (a) with respect to any civil 

12 or administrative penalty imposed, or any settlement 

13 agreement or consent decree entered into, under the 

14 authority of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

15 ‘‘(2) CROSS REFERENCE.—For application of 

16 special assessments for the State Election Assistance 

17 and Innovation Trust Fund with respect to certain 

18 penalties under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 

19 see section 6761 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec22 tions of chapter 97 of title 31, United States Code, 

23 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘9706. Special assessments for State Election Assistance and Innovation Trust 

Fund.’’. 


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1 (c) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN PEN2 ALTIES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF

3 1986.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 68 of the Internal 

5 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new subchapter: 

7 ‘‘Subchapter D—Special Assessments for 

8 State Election Assistance and Innovation 

9 Trust Fund 

10 ‘‘SEC. 6761. SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR STATE ELECTION 

11 ASSISTANCE AND INNOVATION TRUST FUND. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each person required to pay a 

13 covered penalty shall pay an additional amount equal to 

14 4.75 percent of the amount of such penalty. 

15 ‘‘(b) COVERED PENALTY.—For purposes of this sec16 tion, the term ‘covered penalty’ means any addition to tax, 

17 additional amount, penalty, or other liability provided 

18 under subchapter A or B. 

19 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a taxpayer 

21 who is an individual, subsection (a) shall not apply 

22 to any covered penalty if such taxpayer is an exempt 

23 taxpayer for the taxable year for which such covered 

24 penalty is assessed. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXEMPT TAXPAYER.—For purposes of this 

2 subsection, a taxpayer is an exempt taxpayer for any 

3 taxable year if the taxable income of such taxpayer 

4 for such taxable year does not exceed the dollar 

5 amount at which begins the highest rate bracket in 

6 effect under section 1 with respect to such taxpayer 

7 for such taxable year. 

8 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION OF CERTAIN RULES.—Except as 

9 provided in subsection (e), the additional amount deter10 mined under subsection (a) shall be treated for purposes 

11 of this title in the same manner as the covered penalty 

12 to which such additional amount relates. 

13 ‘‘(e) TRANSFER TO STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRA14 TION AND INNOVATION TRUST FUND.—The Secretary 

15 shall deposit any additional amount under subsection (a) 

16 in the General Fund of the Treasury and shall transfer 

17 from such General Fund to the State Election Assistance 

18 and Innovation Trust Fund under section 8011 of the 

19 Freedom to Vote Act an amount equal to the amounts 

20 so deposited (and, notwithstanding subsection (d), such 

21 additional amount shall not be the basis for any deposit, 

22 transfer, credit, appropriation, or any other payment, to 

23 any other trust fund or account). Rules similar to the rules 

24 of section 9601 shall apply for purposes of this sub25 section.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sub2 chapters for chapter 68 of such Code is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER D—SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS FOR STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE

AND INNOVATION TRUST FUND’’. 

4 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

7 shall apply with respect to convictions, agreements, 

8 and penalties which occur on or after the date of the 

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 (2) ASSESSMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN PEN11 ALTIES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE OF

12 1986.—The amendments made by subsection (c) 

13 shall apply to covered penalties assessed after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 PART 3—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

16 SEC. 8021. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: 

18 (1) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ has 

19 the meaning given such term in section 253(e) of the 

20 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

21 21003(e)). 

22 (2) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

23 the Office. 


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1 (3) The term ‘‘election cycle’’ means the period 

2 beginning on the day after the date of the most re3 cent regularly scheduled general election for Federal 

4 office and ending on the date of the next regularly 

5 scheduled general election for Federal office. 

6 (4) The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ includes— 

7 (A) Indian country, as defined under sec8 tion 1151 of title 18, United States Code; 

9 (B) any land in Alaska owned, pursuant to 

10 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

11 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), by an Indian Tribe that 

12 is a Native village (as defined in section 3 of 

13 that Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) or by a Village Cor14 poration that is associated with an Indian Tribe 

15 (as defined in section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

16 1602)); 

17 (C) any land on which the seat of the Trib18 al government is located; and 

19 (D) any land that is part or all of a Tribal 

20 designated statistical area associated with an 

21 Indian Tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na22 tive village statistical area associated with an 

23 Indian Tribe, as defined by the Census Bureau 

24 for the purposes of the most recent decennial 

25 census. 


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1 (5) The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of De2 mocracy Advancement and Innovation established 

3 under section 8005. 

4 (6) The term ‘‘Program’’ means the Democracy 

5 Advancement and Innovation Program established 

6 under section 8001. 

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

8 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

9 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 

10 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 

11 Northern Mariana Islands. 

12 (8) The term ‘‘Trust Fund’’ means the State 

13 Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund es14 tablished under section 8011. 

15 SEC. 8022. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING CALCULA16 TION OF DEADLINES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the calculation of 

18 any period of time for the purposes of a deadline in this 

19 subtitle, the last day of the period shall be included in 

20 such calculation, unless such day is a Saturday, a Sunday, 

21 or a legal public holiday, in which case the period of such 

22 deadline shall be extended until the end of the next day 

23 which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal public holi24 day. 


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1 (b) LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY DEFINED.—For the 

2 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘legal public holiday’’ 

3 means a day described in section 6103(a) of title 5, United 

4 States Code. 

5 Subtitle B—Elections for House of 

6 Representatives 

7 SEC. 8101. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Government By 

9 the People Act of 2023’’. 

10 PART 1—OPTIONAL DEMOCRACY CREDIT 

11 PROGRAM 

12 SEC. 8102. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Federal Election Com14 mission (hereafter in this part referred to as the ‘‘Commis15 sion’’) shall establish a program under which the Commis16 sion shall make payments to States to operate a credit 

17 program which is described in section 8103 during an elec18 tion cycle. 

19 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAM.—A State is eligi20 ble to operate a credit program under this part with re21 spect to an election cycle if, not later than 120 days before 

22 the cycle begins, the State submits to the Commission a 

23 statement containing— 


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1 (1) information and assurances that the State 

2 will operate a credit program which contains the ele3 ments described in section 8103(a); 

4 (2) information and assurances that the State 

5 will establish fraud prevention mechanisms described 

6 in section 8103(b); 

7 (3) information and assurances that the State 

8 will establish a commission to oversee and implement 

9 the program as described in section 8103(c); 

10 (4) information and assurances that the State 

11 will carry out a public information campaign as de12 scribed in section 8103(d); 

13 (5) information and assurances that the State 

14 will submit reports as required under section 8104; 

15 (6) information and assurances that, not later 

16 than 60 days before the beginning of the cycle, the 

17 State will complete any actions necessary to operate 

18 the program during the cycle; and 

19 (7) such other information and assurances as 

20 the Commission may require. 

21 (c) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.— 

22 (1) REIMBURSEMENT.—Upon receiving the re23 port submitted by a State under section 8104(a) 

24 with respect to an election cycle, the Commission 

25 shall transmit a payment to the State in an amount 


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1 equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the State 

2 in operating the credit program under this part dur3 ing the cycle. 

4 (2) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Payments to a State 

5 under the program shall be made using amounts al6 located to the Commission for purposes of making 

7 payments under this part with respect to the State 

8 from the State Election Assistance and Innovation 

9 Trust Fund (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’) 

10 under section 8012, in the amount allocated with re11 spect to the State under section 8005(d). 

12 (3) CAP ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The aggre13 gate amount of payments made to any State with re14 spect to two consecutive election cycles may not ex15 ceed $10,000,000. If the State determines that the 

16 maximum payment amount under this paragraph 

17 with respect to such cycles is not, or may not be, 

18 sufficient to cover the reasonable costs incurred by 

19 the State in operating the program under this part 

20 for such cycles, the State shall reduce the amount of 

21 the credit provided to each qualified individual by 

22 such pro rata amount as may be necessary to ensure 

23 that the reasonable costs incurred by the State in 

24 operating the program will not exceed the amount 

25 paid to the State with respect to such cycles. 


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1 (d) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AFTER

2 APPROPRIATION.—A payment made to a State under this 

3 part shall be available without fiscal year limitation. 

4 SEC. 8103. CREDIT PROGRAM DESCRIBED. 

5 (a) GENERAL ELEMENTS OF PROGRAM.— 

6 (1) ELEMENTS DESCRIBED.—The elements of a 

7 credit program operated by a State under this part 

8 are as follows: 

9 (A) The State shall provide each qualified 

10 individual upon the individual’s request with a 

11 credit worth $25 to be known as a ‘‘Democracy 

12 Credit’’ during the election cycle which will be 

13 assigned a routing number and which at the op14 tion of the individual will be provided in either 

15 paper or electronic form. 

16 (B) Using the routing number assigned to 

17 the Democracy Credit, the individual may sub18 mit the Democracy Credit in either electronic or 

19 paper form to qualified candidates for election 

20 for the office of Representative in, or Delegate 

21 or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress and 

22 allocate such portion of the value of the Democ23 racy Credit in increments of $5 as the indi24 vidual may select to any such candidate. 


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1 (C) If the candidate transmits the Democ2 racy Credit to the Commission, the Commission 

3 shall pay the candidate the portion of the value 

4 of the Democracy Credit that the individual al5 located to the candidate, which shall be consid6 ered a contribution by the individual to the can7 didate for purposes of the Federal Election 

8 Campaign Act of 1971. 

9 (2) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED INDIVID10 UALS.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), a ‘‘quali11 fied individual’’ with respect to a State means an in12 dividual— 

13 (A) who is a resident of the State; 

14 (B) who will be of voting age as of the 

15 date of the election for the candidate to whom 

16 the individual submits a Democracy Credit; and 

17 (C) who is not prohibited under Federal 

18 law from making contributions to candidates 

19 for election for Federal office. 

20 (3) TREATMENT AS CONTRIBUTION TO CAN21 DIDATE.—For purposes of the Federal Election 

22 Campaign Act of 1971, the submission of a Democ23 racy Credit to a candidate by an individual shall be 

24 treated as a contribution to the candidate by the in25 dividual in the amount of the portion of the value 


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1 of the Credit that the individual allocated to the can2 didate. 

3 (b) FRAUD PREVENTION MECHANISM.—In addition 

4 to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper5 ating a credit program under this part shall permit an 

6 individual to revoke a Democracy Credit not later than 

7 2 days after submitting the Democracy Credit to a can8 didate. 

9 (c) OVERSIGHT COMMISSION.—In addition to the ele10 ments described in subsection (a), a State operating a 

11 credit program under this part shall establish a commis12 sion or designate an existing entity to oversee and imple13 ment the program in the State, except that no such com14 mission or entity may be comprised of elected officials. 

15 (d) PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN.—In addition 

16 to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper17 ating a credit program under this part shall carry out a 

18 public information campaign to disseminate awareness of 

19 the program among qualified individuals. 

20 (e) NO TAXPAYER FUNDS PERMITTED TO CARRY

21 OUT PROGRAM.—No taxpayer funds shall be used to carry 

22 out the credit program under this part. For purposes of 

23 this subsection, the term ‘‘taxpayer funds’’ means reve24 nues received by the Internal Revenue Service from tax 

25 liabilities. 


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1 SEC. 8104. REPORTS. 

2 (a) STATE REPORTS.—Not later than 6 months after 

3 each first election cycle during which the State operates 

4 a program under this part, the State shall submit to the 

5 Commission and the Office of Democracy Advancement 

6 and Innovation a report analyzing the operation and effec7 tiveness of the program during the cycle and including 

8 such other information as the Commission may require. 

9 (b) STUDY AND REPORT ON IMPACT AND EFFEC10 TIVENESS OF CREDIT PROGRAMS.— 

11 (1) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a 

12 study on the efficacy of political credit programs, in13 cluding the program under this part and other simi14 lar programs, in expanding and diversifying the pool 

15 of individuals who participate in the electoral proc16 ess, including those who participate as donors and 

17 those who participate as candidates. 

18 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 first election cycle for which States operate the pro20 gram under this part, the Commission shall publish 

21 and submit to Congress a report on the study con22 ducted under paragraph (1). 

23 SEC. 8105. ELECTION CYCLE DEFINED. 

24 In this part, the term ‘‘election cycle’’ means the pe25 riod beginning on the day after the date of the most recent 

26 regularly scheduled general election for Federal office and 


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1 ending on the date of the next regularly scheduled general 

2 election for Federal office. 

3 PART 2—OPTIONAL SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING 

4 OF ELECTIONS FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTA5 TIVES 

6 SEC. 8111. BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 

7 FOR CANDIDATES. 

8 The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

9 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘TITLE V—SMALL DOLLAR FI12 NANCING OF ELECTIONS FOR 

13 HOUSE OF REPRESENTA14 TIVES 

15 ‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 

16 ‘‘SEC. 501. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a candidate for election to the 

18 office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com19 missioner to, the Congress is certified as a participating 

20 candidate under this title with respect to an election for 

21 such office, the candidate shall be entitled to payments 

22 as provided under this title. 

23 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a pay24 ment made under this title shall be equal to 600 percent 

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1 ceived by the candidate since the most recent payment 

2 made to the candidate under this title during the election 

3 cycle, without regard to whether or not the candidate re4 ceived any of the contributions before, during, or after the 

5 Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period applicable to 

6 the candidate under section 511(c). 

7 ‘‘(c) LIMIT ON AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF PAY8 MENTS.—The aggregate amount of payments made to a 

9 participating candidate with respect to an election cycle 

10 under this title may not exceed 50 percent of the average 

11 of the 20 greatest amounts of disbursements made by the 

12 authorized committees of any winning candidate for the 

13 office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com14 missioner to, the Congress during the most recent election 

15 cycle, rounded to the nearest $100,000. 

16 ‘‘(d) NO TAXPAYER FUNDS PERMITTED.—No tax17 payer funds shall be used to make payments under this 

18 title. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘taxpayer 

19 funds’ means revenues received by the Internal Revenue 

20 Service from tax liabilities. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 502. PROCEDURES FOR MAKING PAYMENTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Division Director shall 

23 make a payment under section 501 to a candidate who 

24 is certified as a participating candidate upon receipt from 

25 the candidate of a request for a payment which includes— 


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1 ‘‘(1) a statement of the number and amount of 

2 qualified small dollar contributions received by the 

3 candidate since the most recent payment made to 

4 the candidate under this title during the election 

5 cycle; 

6 ‘‘(2) a statement of the amount of the payment 

7 the candidate anticipates receiving with respect to 

8 the request; 

9 ‘‘(3) a statement of the total amount of pay10 ments the candidate has received under this title as 

11 of the date of the statement; and 

12 ‘‘(4) such other information and assurances as 

13 the Division Director may require. 

14 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS ON SUBMISSION OF RE15 QUESTS.—A candidate may not submit a request under 

16 subsection (a) unless each of the following applies: 

17 ‘‘(1) The amount of the qualified small dollar 

18 contributions in the statement referred to in sub19 section (a)(1) is equal to or greater than $5,000, un20 less the request is submitted during the 30-day pe21 riod which ends on the date of a general election. 

22 ‘‘(2) The candidate did not receive a payment 

23 under this title during the 7-day period which ends 

24 on the date the candidate submits the request. 


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1 ‘‘(c) TIME OF PAYMENT.—The Division Director 

2 shall, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, 

3 take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that the 

4 Secretary is able to make payments under this section 

5 from the Treasury not later than 2 business days after 

6 the receipt of a request submitted under subsection (a). 

7 ‘‘SEC. 503. USE OF FUNDS. 

8 ‘‘(a) USE OF FUNDS FOR AUTHORIZED CAMPAIGN

9 EXPENDITURES.—A candidate shall use payments made 

10 under this title, including payments provided with respect 

11 to a previous election cycle which are withheld from remit12 tance to the Commission in accordance with section 

13 524(a)(2), only for making direct payments for the receipt 

14 of goods and services which constitute authorized expendi15 tures (as determined in accordance with title III) in con16 nection with the election cycle involved. 

17 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITING USE OF FUNDS FOR LEGAL EX18 PENSES, FINES, OR PENALTIES.—Notwithstanding title 

19 III, a candidate may not use payments made under this 

20 title for the payment of expenses incurred in connection 

21 with any action, claim, or other matter before the Commis22 sion or before any court, hearing officer, arbitrator, or 

23 other dispute resolution entity, or for the payment of any 

24 fine or civil monetary penalty. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 504. QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS DE2 SCRIBED. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In this title, the term ‘qualified 

4 small dollar contribution’ means, with respect to a can5 didate and the authorized committees of a candidate, a 

6 contribution that meets the following requirements: 

7 ‘‘(1) The contribution is in an amount that is— 

8 ‘‘(A) not less than $1; and 

9 ‘‘(B) not more than $200. 

10 ‘‘(2)(A) The contribution is made directly by an 

11 individual to the candidate or an authorized com12 mittee of the candidate and is not— 

13 ‘‘(i) forwarded from the individual making 

14 the contribution to the candidate or committee 

15 by another person; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com17 mittee with the knowledge that the contribution 

18 was made at the request, suggestion, or rec19 ommendation of another person. 

20 ‘‘(B) In this paragraph— 

21 ‘‘(i) the term ‘person’ does not include an 

22 individual (other than an individual described in 

23 section 304(i)(7) of the Federal Election Cam24 paign Act of 1971), a political committee of a 

25 political party, or any political committee which 

26 is not a separate segregated fund described in 


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1 section 316(b) of the Federal Election Cam2 paign Act of 1971 and which does not make 

3 contributions or independent expenditures, does 

4 not engage in lobbying activity under the Lob5 bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 

6 seq.), and is not established by, controlled by, 

7 or affiliated with a registered lobbyist under 

8 such Act, an agent of a registered lobbyist 

9 under such Act, or an organization which re10 tains or employs a registered lobbyist under 

11 such Act; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) a contribution is not ‘made at the re13 quest, suggestion, or recommendation of an14 other person’ solely on the grounds that the 

15 contribution is made in response to information 

16 provided to the individual making the contribu17 tion by any person, so long as the candidate or 

18 authorized committee does not know the iden19 tity of the person who provided the information 

20 to such individual. 

21 ‘‘(3) The individual who makes the contribution 

22 does not make contributions to the candidate or the 

23 authorized committees of the candidate with respect 

24 to the election involved in an aggregate amount that 

25 exceeds the amount described in paragraph (1)(B), 


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1 or any contribution to the candidate or the author2 ized committees of the candidate with respect to the 

3 election involved that otherwise is not a qualified 

4 small dollar contribution. 

5 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF DEMOCRACY CREDITS.—Any 

6 payment received by a candidate and the authorized com7 mittees of a candidate which consists of a Democracy 

8 Credit under the Freedom to Vote Act shall be considered 

9 a qualified small dollar contribution for purposes of this 

10 title, so long as the individual making the payment meets 

11 the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 

12 (a). 

13 ‘‘(c) RESTRICTION ON SUBSEQUENT CONTRIBU14 TIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITING DONOR FROM MAKING SUB16 SEQUENT NONQUALIFIED CONTRIBUTIONS DURING

17 ELECTION CYCLE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual who 

19 makes a qualified small dollar contribution to a 

20 candidate or the authorized committees of a 

21 candidate with respect to an election may not 

22 make any subsequent contribution to such can23 didate or the authorized committees of such 

24 candidate with respect to the election cycle 


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1 which is not a qualified small dollar contribu2 tion. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO

4 CANDIDATES WHO VOLUNTARILY WITHDRAW

5 FROM PARTICIPATION DURING QUALIFYING PE6 RIOD.—Subparagraph (A) does not apply with 

7 respect to a contribution made to a candidate 

8 who, during the Small Dollar Democracy quali9 fying period described in section 511(c), sub10 mits a statement to the Commission under sec11 tion 513(c) to voluntarily withdraw from par12 ticipating in the program under this title. 

13 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF SUBSEQUENT NON14 QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTIONS.—If, notwithstanding 

15 the prohibition described in paragraph (1), an indi16 vidual who makes a qualified small dollar contribu17 tion to a candidate or the authorized committees of 

18 a candidate with respect to an election makes a sub19 sequent contribution to such candidate or the au20 thorized committees of such candidate with respect 

21 to the election which is prohibited under paragraph 

22 (1) because it is not a qualified small dollar con23 tribution, the candidate may take one of the fol24 lowing actions: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Not later than 2 weeks after receiving 

2 the contribution, the candidate may return the 

3 subsequent contribution to the individual. In 

4 the case of a subsequent contribution which is 

5 not a qualified small dollar contribution because 

6 the contribution fails to meet the requirements 

7 of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) (relating to 

8 the aggregate amount of contributions made to 

9 the candidate or the authorized committees of 

10 the candidate by the individual making the con11 tribution), the candidate may return an amount 

12 equal to the difference between the amount of 

13 the subsequent contribution and the amount de14 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) of subsection (a). 

15 ‘‘(B) The candidate may retain the subse16 quent contribution, so long as not later than 2 

17 weeks after receiving the subsequent contribu18 tion, the candidate remits to the Commission an 

19 amount equal to any payments received by the 

20 candidate under this title which are attributable 

21 to the qualified small dollar contribution made 

22 by the individual involved. Such amount shall 

23 be used to supplement the allocation made to 

24 the Commission with respect to candidates from 


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1 the State in which the candidate seeks office, as 

2 described in section 541(a). 

3 ‘‘(3) NO EFFECT ON ABILITY TO MAKE MUL4 TIPLE CONTRIBUTIONS.—Nothing in this section 

5 may be construed to prohibit an individual from 

6 making multiple qualified small dollar contributions 

7 to any candidate or any number of candidates, so 

8 long as each contribution meets each of the require9 ments of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection 

10 (a). 

11 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR CAN12 DIDATES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—Each authorized com14 mittee of a candidate who seeks to be a participating 

15 candidate under this title shall provide the following 

16 information in any materials for the solicitation of 

17 contributions, including any internet site through 

18 which individuals may make contributions to the 

19 committee: 

20 ‘‘(A) A statement that if the candidate is 

21 certified as a participating candidate under this 

22 title, the candidate will receive matching pay23 ments in an amount which is based on the total 

24 amount of qualified small dollar contributions 

25 received. 


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1 ‘‘(B) A statement that a contribution 

2 which meets the requirements set forth in sub3 section (a) shall be treated as a qualified small 

4 dollar contribution under this title. 

5 ‘‘(C) A statement that if a contribution is 

6 treated as a qualified small dollar contribution 

7 under this title, the individual who makes the 

8 contribution may not make any contribution to 

9 the candidate or the authorized committees of 

10 the candidate during the election cycle which is 

11 not a qualified small dollar contribution. 

12 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF MEETING RE13 QUIREMENTS.—An authorized committee may meet 

14 the requirements of paragraph (1)— 

15 ‘‘(A) by including the information de16 scribed in paragraph (1) in the receipt provided 

17 under section 512(b)(3) to a person making a 

18 qualified small dollar contribution; or 

19 ‘‘(B) by modifying the information it pro20 vides to persons making contributions which is 

21 otherwise required under title III (including in22 formation it provides through the internet). 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and 

2 Certification 

3 ‘‘SEC. 511. ELIGIBILITY. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate for the office of 

5 Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 

6 to, the Congress is eligible to be certified as a participating 

7 candidate under this title with respect to an election if 

8 the candidate meets the following requirements: 

9 ‘‘(1) The candidate files with the Commission a 

10 statement of intent to seek certification as a partici11 pating candidate. 

12 ‘‘(2) The candidate meets the qualifying re13 quirements of section 512. 

14 ‘‘(3) The candidate files with the Commission a 

15 statement certifying that the authorized committees 

16 of the candidate meet the requirements of section 

17 504(d). 

18 ‘‘(4) Not later than the last day of the Small 

19 Dollar Democracy qualifying period, the candidate 

20 files with the Commission an affidavit signed by the 

21 candidate and the treasurer of the candidate’s prin22 cipal campaign committee declaring that the can23 didate— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has complied and, if certified, will 

2 comply with the contribution and expenditure 

3 requirements of section 521; 

4 ‘‘(B) if certified, will run only as a partici5 pating candidate for all elections for the office 

6 that such candidate is seeking during that elec7 tion cycle; and 

8 ‘‘(C) has either qualified or will take steps 

9 to qualify under State law to be on the ballot. 

10 ‘‘(5) The candidate files with the Commission a 

11 certification that the candidate will not use any allo12 cation from the Fund to directly or indirectly pay 

13 salaries, fees, consulting expenses, or any other com14 pensation for services rendered to themselves, family 

15 members (including spouses as well as children, par16 ents, siblings, or any of their spouses), or any entity 

17 or organization in which they have an ownership in18 terest. 

19 ‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTION.—Notwithstanding sub20 section (a), a candidate shall not be eligible to be certified 

21 as a participating candidate under this title for a general 

22 election or a general runoff election unless the candidate’s 

23 party nominated the candidate to be placed on the ballot 

24 for the general election or the candidate is otherwise quali25 fied to be on the ballot under State law. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SMALL DOLLAR DEMOCRACY QUALIFYING PE2 RIOD DEFINED.—The term ‘Small Dollar Democracy 

3 qualifying period’ means, with respect to any candidate 

4 for an office, the 180-day period (during the election cycle 

5 for such office) which begins on the date on which the 

6 candidate files a statement of intent under section 

7 511(a)(1), except that such period may not continue after 

8 the date that is 30 days before the date of the general 

9 election for the office. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 512. QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) RECEIPT OF QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CON12 TRIBUTIONS.—A candidate for the office of Representative 

13 in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress 

14 meets the requirement of this section if, during the Small 

15 Dollar Democracy qualifying period described in section 

16 511(c), each of the following occurs: 

17 ‘‘(1) Not fewer than 1,000 individuals make a 

18 qualified small dollar contribution to the candidate. 

19 ‘‘(2) The candidate obtains a total dollar 

20 amount of qualified small dollar contributions which 

21 is equal to or greater than $50,000. 

22 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RECEIPT OF

23 QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CONTRIBUTION.—Each 

24 qualified small dollar contribution— 


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1 ‘‘(1) may be made by means of a personal 

2 check, money order, debit card, credit card, elec3 tronic payment account, or any other method 

4 deemed appropriate by the Division Director; 

5 ‘‘(2) shall be accompanied by a signed state6 ment (or, in the case of a contribution made online 

7 or through other electronic means, an electronic 

8 equivalent) containing the contributor’s name and 

9 address; and 

10 ‘‘(3) shall be acknowledged by a receipt that is 

11 sent to the contributor with a copy (in paper or elec12 tronic form) kept by the candidate for the Commis13 sion. 

14 ‘‘(c) VERIFICATION OF CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) PROCEDURES.—The Division Director 

16 shall establish procedures for the auditing and 

17 verification of the contributions received and expend18 itures made by participating candidates under this 

19 title, including procedures for random audits, to en20 sure that such contributions and expenditures meet 

21 the requirements of this title. 

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO REVISE

23 PROCEDURES.—The Commission, by a vote of not 

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1 cedures established by the Division Director under 

2 this subsection. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 513. CERTIFICATION. 

4 ‘‘(a) DEADLINE AND NOTIFICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 business 

6 days after a candidate files an affidavit under sec7 tion 511(a)(4), the Division Director shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) determine whether or not the can9 didate meets the requirements for certification 

10 as a participating candidate; 

11 ‘‘(B) if the Division Director determines 

12 that the candidate meets such requirements, 

13 certify the candidate as a participating can14 didate; and 

15 ‘‘(C) notify the candidate of the Division 

16 Director’s determination. 

17 ‘‘(2) DEEMED CERTIFICATION FOR ALL ELEC18 TIONS IN ELECTION CYCLE.—If the Division Direc19 tor certifies a candidate as a participating candidate 

20 with respect to the first election of the election cycle 

21 involved, the Division Director shall be deemed to 

22 have certified the candidate as a participating can23 didate with respect to all subsequent elections of the 

24 election cycle. 


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1 ‘‘(3) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO REVERSE

2 DETERMINATION BY DIVISION DIRECTOR.—During 

3 the 10-day period which begins on the date the Divi4 sion Director makes a determination under this sub5 section, the Commission, by a vote of not fewer than 

6 four of its members, may review and reverse the de7 termination. If the Commission reverses the deter8 mination, the Commission shall promptly notify the 

9 candidate involved. 

10 ‘‘(b) REVOCATION OF CERTIFICATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Division Director shall 

12 revoke a certification under subsection (a) if— 

13 ‘‘(A) a candidate fails to qualify to appear 

14 on the ballot at any time after the date of cer15 tification (other than a candidate certified as a 

16 participating candidate with respect to a pri17 mary election who fails to qualify to appear on 

18 the ballot for a subsequent election in that elec19 tion cycle); 

20 ‘‘(B) a candidate ceases to be a candidate 

21 for the office involved, as determined on the 

22 basis of an official announcement by an author23 ized committee of the candidate or on the basis 

24 of a reasonable determination by the Commis25 sion; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) a candidate otherwise fails to comply 

2 with the requirements of this title, including 

3 any regulatory requirements prescribed by the 

4 Commission. 

5 ‘‘(2) EXISTENCE OF CRIMINAL SANCTION.—The 

6 Division Director shall revoke a certification under 

7 subsection (a) if a penalty is assessed against the 

8 candidate under section 309(d) with respect to the 

9 election. 

10 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—If a can11 didate’s certification is revoked under this sub12 section— 

13 ‘‘(A) the candidate may not receive pay14 ments under this title during the remainder of 

15 the election cycle involved; and 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a candidate whose cer17 tification is revoked pursuant to subparagraph 

18 (A) or subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1)— 

19 ‘‘(i) the candidate shall repay to the 

20 Commission an amount equal to the pay21 ments received under this title with respect 

22 to the election cycle involved plus interest 

23 (at a rate determined by the Commission 

24 on the basis of an appropriate annual per25 centage rate for the month involved) on 


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1 any such amount received, which shall be 

2 used by the Commission to supplement the 

3 allocation made to the Commission with re4 spect to the State in which the candidate 

5 seeks office, as described in section 541(a); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the candidate may not be cer8 tified as a participating candidate under 

9 this title with respect to the next election 

10 cycle. 

11 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITING PARTICIPATION IN FUTURE

12 ELECTIONS FOR CANDIDATES WITH MULTIPLE REV13 OCATIONS.—If the Division Director revokes the cer14 tification of an individual as a participating can15 didate under this title pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

16 or subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) a total of 3 

17 times, the individual may not be certified as a par18 ticipating candidate under this title with respect to 

19 any subsequent election. 

20 ‘‘(5) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO REVERSE

21 REVOCATION BY DIVISION DIRECTOR.—During the 

22 10-day period which begins on the date the Division 

23 Director makes a determination under this sub24 section, the Commission, by a vote of not fewer than 

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1 termination. If the Commission reverses the deter2 mination, the Commission shall promptly notify the 

3 candidate involved. 

4 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY WITHDRAWAL FROM PARTICI5 PATING DURING QUALIFYING PERIOD.—At any time dur6 ing the Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period de7 scribed in section 511(c), a candidate may withdraw from 

8 participation in the program under this title by submitting 

9 to the Commission a statement of withdrawal (without re10 gard to whether or not the Commission has certified the 

11 candidate as a participating candidate under this title as 

12 of the time the candidate submits such statement), so long 

13 as the candidate has not submitted a request for payment 

14 under section 502. 

15 ‘‘(d) PARTICIPATING CANDIDATE DEFINED.—In this 

16 title, a ‘participating candidate’ means a candidate for the 

17 office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com18 missioner to, the Congress who is certified under this sec19 tion as eligible to receive benefits under this title. 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle C—Requirements for Can2 didates Certified as Partici3 pating Candidates 

4 ‘‘SEC. 521. CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIRE5 MENTS. 

6 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED SOURCES OF CONTRIBUTIONS AND

7 EXPENDITURES.—Except as provided in subsection (c), a 

8 participating candidate with respect to an election shall, 

9 with respect to all elections occurring during the election 

10 cycle for the office involved, accept no contributions from 

11 any source and make no expenditures from any amounts, 

12 other than the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) Qualified small dollar contributions. 

14 ‘‘(2) Payments under this title. 

15 ‘‘(3) Contributions from political committees es16 tablished and maintained by a national or State po17 litical party, subject to the applicable limitations of 

18 section 315. 

19 ‘‘(4) Subject to subsection (b), personal funds 

20 of the candidate or of any immediate family member 

21 of the candidate (other than funds received through 

22 qualified small dollar contributions). 

23 ‘‘(5) Contributions from individuals who are 

24 otherwise permitted to make contributions under 

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1 tion 315, except that the aggregate amount of con2 tributions a participating candidate may accept from 

3 any individual with respect to any election during 

4 the election cycle may not exceed $1,000. 

5 ‘‘(6) Contributions from multicandidate political 

6 committees, subject to the applicable limitations of 

7 section 315. 

8 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULES FOR PERSONAL FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) LIMIT ON AMOUNT.—A candidate who is 

10 certified as a participating candidate may use per11 sonal funds (including personal funds of any imme12 diate family member of the candidate) so long as— 

13 ‘‘(A) the aggregate amount used with re14 spect to the election cycle (including any period 

15 of the cycle occurring prior to the candidate’s 

16 certification as a participating candidate) does 

17 not exceed $50,000; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the funds are used only for making 

19 direct payments for the receipt of goods and 

20 services which constitute authorized expendi21 tures in connection with the election cycle in22 volved. 

23 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.— 

24 In this subsection, the term ‘immediate family mem25 ber’ means, with respect to a candidate— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the candidate’s spouse; 

2 ‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand3 parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis4 ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in 

7 subparagraph (B). 

8 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) EXCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS RE10 CEIVED PRIOR TO FILING OF STATEMENT OF IN11 TENT.—A candidate who has accepted contributions 

12 that are not described in subsection (a) is not in vio13 lation of subsection (a), but only if all such contribu14 tions are— 

15 ‘‘(A) returned to the contributor; 

16 ‘‘(B) submitted to the Commission, to be 

17 used to supplement the allocation made to the 

18 Commission with respect to the State in which 

19 the candidate seeks office, as described in sec20 tion 541(a); or 

21 ‘‘(C) spent in accordance with paragraph 

22 (2). 

23 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR EXPENDITURES MADE

24 PRIOR TO FILING OF STATEMENT OF INTENT.—If a 

25 candidate has made expenditures prior to the date 


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1 the candidate files a statement of intent under sec2 tion 511(a)(1) that the candidate is prohibited from 

3 making under subsection (a) or subsection (b), the 

4 candidate is not in violation of such subsection if the 

5 aggregate amount of the prohibited expenditures is 

6 less than the amount referred to in section 

7 512(a)(2) (relating to the total dollar amount of 

8 qualified small dollar contributions which the can9 didate is required to obtain) which is applicable to 

10 the candidate. 

11 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CAMPAIGN SURPLUSES

12 FROM A PREVIOUS ELECTION.—Notwithstanding 

13 paragraph (1), unexpended contributions received by 

14 the candidate or an authorized committee of the 

15 candidate with respect to a previous election may be 

16 retained, but only if the candidate places the funds 

17 in escrow and refrains from raising additional funds 

18 for or spending funds from that account during the 

19 election cycle in which a candidate is a participating 

20 candidate. 

21 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS RE22 CEIVED BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS

23 TITLE.—Contributions received and expenditures 

24 made by the candidate or an authorized committee 

25 of the candidate prior to the effective date of this 


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1 title shall not constitute a violation of subsection (a) 

2 or (b). Unexpended contributions shall be treated 

3 the same as campaign surpluses under paragraph 

4 (3), and expenditures made shall count against the 

5 limit in paragraph (2). 

6 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR COORDINATED PARTY EX7 PENDITURES.—For purposes of this section, a payment 

8 made by a political party in coordination with a partici9 pating candidate shall not be treated as a contribution to 

10 or as an expenditure made by the participating candidate. 

11 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON JOINT FUNDRAISING COMMIT12 TEES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—An authorized committee 

14 of a candidate who is certified as a participating 

15 candidate under this title with respect to an election 

16 may not establish a joint fundraising committee with 

17 a political committee other than another authorized 

18 committee of the candidate. 

19 ‘‘(2) STATUS OF EXISTING COMMITTEES FOR

20 PRIOR ELECTIONS.—If a candidate established a 

21 joint fundraising committee described in paragraph 

22 (1) with respect to a prior election for which the 

23 candidate was not certified as a participating can24 didate under this title and the candidate does not 

25 terminate the committee, the candidate shall not be 


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1 considered to be in violation of paragraph (1) so 

2 long as that joint fundraising committee does not re3 ceive any contributions or make any disbursements 

4 during the election cycle for which the candidate is 

5 certified as a participating candidate under this title. 

6 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON LEADERSHIP PACS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A candidate who is cer8 tified as a participating candidate under this title 

9 with respect to an election may not associate with, 

10 establish, finance, maintain, or control a leadership 

11 PAC. 

12 ‘‘(2) STATUS OF EXISTING LEADERSHIP

13 PACS.—If a candidate established, financed, main14 tained, or controlled a leadership PAC prior to being 

15 certified as a participating candidate under this title 

16 and the candidate does not terminate the leadership 

17 PAC, the candidate shall not be considered to be in 

18 violation of paragraph (1) so long as the leadership 

19 PAC does not receive any contributions or make any 

20 disbursements during the election cycle for which the 

21 candidate is certified as a participating candidate 

22 under this title. 

23 ‘‘(3) LEADERSHIP PAC DEFINED.—In this sub24 section, the term ‘leadership PAC’ has the meaning 

25 given such term in section 304(i)(8)(B). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 522. ADMINISTRATION OF CAMPAIGN. 

2 ‘‘(a) SEPARATE ACCOUNTING FOR VARIOUS PER3 MITTED CONTRIBUTIONS.—Each authorized committee of 

4 a candidate certified as a participating candidate under 

5 this title— 

6 ‘‘(1) shall provide for separate accounting of 

7 each type of contribution described in section 521(a) 

8 which is received by the committee; and 

9 ‘‘(2) shall provide for separate accounting for 

10 the payments received under this title. 

11 ‘‘(b) ENHANCED DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION ON

12 DONORS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVID14 UALS MAKING QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CON15 TRIBUTIONS.—Each authorized committee of a par16 ticipating candidate under this title shall, in accord17 ance with section 304(b)(3)(A), include in the re18 ports the committee submits under section 304 the 

19 identification of each person who makes a qualified 

20 small dollar contribution to the committee. 

21 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY DISCLOSURE THROUGH

22 INTERNET.—Each authorized committee of a partici23 pating candidate under this title shall ensure that all 

24 information reported to the Commission under this 

25 Act with respect to contributions and expenditures 

26 of the committee is available to the public on the 


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1 internet (whether through a site established for pur2 poses of this subsection, a hyperlink on another pub3 lic site of the committee, or a hyperlink on a report 

4 filed electronically with the Commission) in a search5 able, sortable, and downloadable manner. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 523. PREVENTING UNNECESSARY SPENDING OF 

7 MATCHING FUNDS. 

8 ‘‘(a) MANDATORY SPENDING OF AVAILABLE PRI9 VATE FUNDS.—An authorized committee of a candidate 

10 certified as a participating candidate under this title may 

11 not make any expenditure of any payments received under 

12 this title in any amount unless the committee has made 

13 an expenditure in an equivalent amount of funds received 

14 by the committee which are described in paragraphs (1), 

15 (3), (4), (5), and (6) of section 521(a). 

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) applies to an au17 thorized committee only to the extent that the funds re18 ferred to in such subsection are available to the committee 

19 at the time the committee makes an expenditure of a pay20 ment received under this title. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 524. REMITTING UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 

22 ‘‘(a) REMITTANCE REQUIRED.—Not later than the 

23 date that is 180 days after the last election for which a 

24 candidate certified as a participating candidate qualifies 

25 to be on the ballot during the election cycle involved, such 


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1 participating candidate shall remit to the Commission an 

2 amount equal to the balance of the payments received 

3 under this title by the authorized committees of the can4 didate which remain unexpended as of such date, which 

5 shall be used to supplement the allocation made to the 

6 Commission with respect to the State in which the can7 didate seeks office, as described in section 541(a). 

8 ‘‘(b) PERMITTING CANDIDATES PARTICIPATING IN

9 NEXT ELECTION CYCLE TO RETAIN PORTION OF

10 UNSPENT FUNDS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 

11 participating candidate may withhold not more than 

12 $100,000 from the amount required to be remitted under 

13 subsection (a) if the candidate files a signed affidavit with 

14 the Commission that the candidate will seek certification 

15 as a participating candidate with respect to the next elec16 tion cycle, except that the candidate may not use any por17 tion of the amount withheld until the candidate is certified 

18 as a participating candidate with respect to that next elec19 tion cycle. If the candidate fails to seek certification as 

20 a participating candidate prior to the last day of the Small 

21 Dollar Democracy qualifying period for the next election 

22 cycle (as described in section 511), or if the Commission 

23 notifies the candidate of the Commission’s determination 

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1 didate shall immediately remit to the Commission the 

2 amount withheld. 

3 ‘‘Subtitle D—Enhanced Match 

4 Support 

5 ‘‘SEC. 531. ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR GENERAL ELECTION. 

6 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF ENHANCED SUPPORT.—In 

7 addition to the payments made under subtitle A, the Divi8 sion Director shall make an additional payment to an eligi9 ble candidate under this subtitle. 

10 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A candidate shall use the ad11 ditional payment under this subtitle only for authorized 

12 expenditures in connection with the election involved. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 532. ELIGIBILITY. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A candidate is eligible to receive 

15 an additional payment under this subtitle if the candidate 

16 meets each of the following requirements: 

17 ‘‘(1) The candidate is on the ballot for the gen18 eral election for the office the candidate seeks. 

19 ‘‘(2) The candidate is certified as a partici20 pating candidate under this title with respect to the 

21 election. 

22 ‘‘(3) During the enhanced support qualifying 

23 period, the candidate receives qualified small dollar 

24 contributions in a total amount of not less than 

25 $50,000. 


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1 ‘‘(4) During the enhanced support qualifying 

2 period, the candidate submits to the Division Direc3 tor a request for the payment which includes— 

4 ‘‘(A) a statement of the number and 

5 amount of qualified small dollar contributions 

6 received by the candidate during the enhanced 

7 support qualifying period; 

8 ‘‘(B) a statement of the amount of the 

9 payment the candidate anticipates receiving 

10 with respect to the request; and 

11 ‘‘(C) such other information and assur12 ances as the Division Director may require. 

13 ‘‘(5) After submitting a request for the addi14 tional payment under paragraph (4), the candidate 

15 does not submit any other application for an addi16 tional payment under this subtitle. 

17 ‘‘(b) ENHANCED SUPPORT QUALIFYING PERIOD DE18 SCRIBED.—In this subtitle, the term ‘enhanced support 

19 qualifying period’ means, with respect to a general elec20 tion, the period which begins 60 days before the date of 

21 the election and ends 14 days before the date of the elec22 tion. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 533. AMOUNT. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 

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1 didate under this subtitle shall be an amount equal to 50 

2 percent of— 

3 ‘‘(1) the amount of the payment made to the 

4 candidate under section 501(b) with respect to the 

5 qualified small dollar contributions which are re6 ceived by the candidate during the enhanced support 

7 qualifying period (as included in the request sub8 mitted by the candidate under section 532(a)(4)); or 

9 ‘‘(2) in the case of a candidate who is not eligi10 ble to receive a payment under section 501(b) with 

11 respect to such qualified small dollar contributions 

12 because the candidate has reached the limit on the 

13 aggregate amount of payments under subtitle A for 

14 the election cycle under section 501(c), the amount 

15 of the payment which would have been made to the 

16 candidate under section 501(b) with respect to such 

17 qualified small dollar contributions if the candidate 

18 had not reached such limit. 

19 ‘‘(b) LIMIT.—The amount of the additional payment 

20 determined under subsection (a) with respect to a can21 didate may not exceed $500,000. 

22 ‘‘(c) NO EFFECT ON AGGREGATE LIMIT.—The 

23 amount of the additional payment made to a candidate 

24 under this subtitle shall not be included in determining 

25 the aggregate amount of payments made to a participating 


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1 candidate with respect to an election cycle under section 

2 501(c). 

3 ‘‘SEC. 534. WAIVER OF AUTHORITY TO RETAIN PORTION OF 

4 UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 

5 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 524(a)(2), a candidate who 

6 receives an additional payment under this subtitle with re7 spect to an election is not permitted to withhold any por8 tion from the amount of unspent funds the candidate is 

9 required to remit to the Commission under section 

10 524(a)(1). 

11 ‘‘Subtitle E—Administrative 

12 Provisions 

13 ‘‘SEC. 541. SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) ALLOCATIONS FROM STATE ELECTION ASSIST15 ANCE AND INNOVATION TRUST FUND.—The amounts 

16 used to make payments to participating candidates under 

17 this title who seek office in a State shall be derived from 

18 the allocations made to the Commission with respect to 

19 the State from the State Election Assistance and Innova20 tion Trust Fund (hereafter referred to as the ‘Fund’) 

21 under section 8012 of the Freedom to Vote Act, as pro22 vided under section 8005(c) of such Act. 

23 ‘‘(b) USE OF ALLOCATIONS TO MAKE PAYMENTS TO

24 PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS TO PARTICIPATING CAN2 DIDATES.—The allocations made to the Commission 

3 as described in subsection (a) shall be available with4 out further appropriation or fiscal year limitation to 

5 make payments to participating candidates as pro6 vided in this title. 

7 ‘‘(2) ONGOING REVIEW TO DETERMINE SUFFI8 CIENCY OF STATE ALLOCATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) ONGOING REVIEW.—Not later than 

10 90 days before the first day of each election 

11 cycle (beginning with the first election cycle 

12 that begins after the date of the enactment of 

13 this title), and on an ongoing basis until the 

14 end of the election cycle, the Division Director, 

15 in consultation with the Director of the Office 

16 of Democracy Advancement and Innovation, 

17 shall determine whether the amount of the allo18 cation made to the Commission with respect to 

19 candidates who seek office in a State as de20 scribed in subsection (a) will be sufficient to 

21 make payments to participating candidates in 

22 the State in the amounts provided in this title 

23 during such election cycle. 

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1 sion Director determines under subparagraph 

2 (A) that the amount anticipated to be available 

3 in the Fund for payments to participating can4 didates in a State with respect to the election 

5 cycle involved is not, or may not be, sufficient 

6 to satisfy the full entitlements of participating 

7 candidates in the State to payments under this 

8 title for such election cycle— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Division Director shall notify 

10 the State and Congress; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the State may direct the Director 

12 of the Office of Democracy Advancement 

13 and Innovation to direct the Secretary of 

14 the Treasury to use the funds described in 

15 subparagraph (C), in such amounts as the 

16 State may direct, as an additional alloca17 tion to the Commission with respect to the 

18 State for purposes of subsection (a), in ac19 cordance with section 8012 of the Freedom 

20 to Vote Act. 

21 ‘‘(C) FUNDS DESCRIBED.—The funds de22 scribed in this subparagraph are funds which 

23 were allocated to the State under the Democ24 racy Advancement and Innovation Program 

25 under subtitle A of title VIII of the Freedom to 


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1 Vote Act which, under the State plan under 

2 section 8002 of such Act, were to be used for 

3 democracy promotion activities described in 

4 paragraph (1), (2)(B), (2)(C), or (3) of section 

5 8001(b) of such Act but which remain unobli6 gated. 

7 ‘‘(3) ELIMINATION OF LIMIT OF AMOUNT OF

8 QUALIFIED SMALL DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) ELIMINATION OF LIMIT.—If, after 

10 notifying the State under paragraph (2)(B)(i) 

11 and (if the State so elects) the State directs 

12 under paragraph (2)(B)(ii) an additional alloca13 tion to the Commission as provided under such 

14 subparagraph, the Division Director determines 

15 under paragraph (2)(A) that the amount antici16 pated to be available in the Fund (after such 

17 additional allocation) for payments to partici18 pating candidates in the State with respect to 

19 the election cycle involved is still not, or may 

20 still not be, sufficient to satisfy the full entitle21 ments of participating candidates in the State 

22 to payments under this title for such election 

23 cycle, the limit on the amount of a qualified 

24 small donor contribution under section 

25 504(a)(1)(B) shall not apply with respect to a 


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1 participating candidate in the State under this 

2 title. Nothing in this subparagraph may be con3 strued to waive the limit on the aggregate 

4 amount of contributions a participating can5 didate may accept from any individual under 

6 section 521(a)(5). 

7 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF

8 PAYMENT TO CANDIDATE.—In determining 

9 under section 501(b) the amount of the pay10 ment made to a participating candidate for 

11 whom the limit on the amount of a qualified 

12 small donor contribution does not apply pursu13 ant to subparagraph (A), there shall be ex14 cluded any qualified small donor contribution to 

15 the extent that the amount contributed by the 

16 individual involved exceeds the limit on the 

17 amount of such a contribution under section 

18 504(a)(1)(B). 

19 ‘‘(C) NO USE OF AMOUNTS FROM OTHER

20 SOURCES.—In any case in which the Division 

21 Director determines that the allocation made to 

22 the Commission with respect to candidates in a 

23 State as described in subsection (a) is insuffi24 cient to make payments to participating can25 didates in the State under this title (taking into 


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1 account any increase in the allocation under 

2 paragraph (2)), moneys shall not be made avail3 able from any other source for the purpose of 

4 making such payments. 

5 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef6 fect on the date of the enactment of this title, without 

7 regard to whether or not regulations have been promul8 gated to carry out this section. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 542. ADMINISTRATION THROUGH DEDICATED DIVI10 SION WITHIN COMMISSION. 

11 ‘‘(a) ADMINISTRATION THROUGH DEDICATED DIVI12 SION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commission shall 

14 establish a separate division within the Commission 

15 which is dedicated to issuing regulations to carry out 

16 this title and to otherwise carrying out the operation 

17 of this title. 

18 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR AND

19 STAFF.— 

20 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than June 

21 1, 2024, the Commission shall appoint a direc22 tor to head the division established under this 

23 section (to be known as the ‘Division Director’) 

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1 siders appropriate to enable the division to 

2 carry out its duties. 

3 ‘‘(B) ROLE OF GENERAL COUNSEL.—If, at 

4 any time after the date referred to in subpara5 graph (A), there is a vacancy in the position of 

6 the Division Director, the General Counsel of 

7 the Commission shall serve as the acting Divi8 sion Director until the Commission appoints a 

9 Division Director under this paragraph. 

10 ‘‘(3) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any person 

11 aggrieved by the failure of the Commission to meet 

12 the requirements of this subsection may file an ac13 tion in an appropriate district court of the United 

14 States for such relief, including declaratory and in15 junctive relief, as may be appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the deadline set 

17 forth in section 8114 of the Freedom to Vote Act, the 

18 Commission, acting through the dedicated division estab19 lished under this section, shall prescribe regulations to 

20 carry out the purposes of this title, including regula21 tions— 

22 ‘‘(1) to establish procedures for verifying the 

23 amount of qualified small dollar contributions with 

24 respect to a candidate; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to establish procedures for effectively and 

2 efficiently monitoring and enforcing the limits on the 

3 raising of qualified small dollar contributions; 

4 ‘‘(3) to establish procedures for effectively and 

5 efficiently monitoring and enforcing the limits on the 

6 use of personal funds by participating candidates; 

7 ‘‘(4) to establish procedures for monitoring the 

8 use of payments made from the allocation made to 

9 the Commission as described in section 541(a) and 

10 matching contributions under this title through audits of not fewer than 1 11 ⁄10 (or, in the case of the 

12 first 3 election cycles during which the program 

under this title is in effect, not fewer than 1 13 ⁄3) of all 

14 participating candidates or other mechanisms; 

15 ‘‘(5) to establish procedures for carrying out 

16 audits under section 541(b) and permitting States to 

17 make additional allocations as provided under sec18 tion 541(b)(2)(B); and 

19 ‘‘(6) to establish rules for preventing fraud in 

20 the operation of this title which supplement similar 

21 rules which apply under this Act. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 543. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF CONTRIBU24 TION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.—If a can25 didate who has been certified as a participating candidate 


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1 accepts a contribution or makes an expenditure that is 

2 prohibited under section 521, the Commission may assess 

3 a civil penalty against the candidate in an amount that 

4 is not more than 3 times the amount of the contribution 

5 or expenditure. Any amounts collected under this sub6 section shall be used to supplement the allocation made 

7 to the Commission with respect to the State in which the 

8 candidate seeks office, as described in section 541(a). 

9 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENT FOR IMPROPER USE OF PAY10 MENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission deter12 mines that any payment made to a participating 

13 candidate was not used as provided for in this title 

14 or that a participating candidate has violated any of 

15 the dates for remission of funds contained in this 

16 title, the Commission shall so notify the candidate 

17 and the candidate shall pay to the Commission an 

18 amount which shall be used to supplement the allo19 cation made to the Commission with respect to the 

20 State in which the candidate seeks office, as de21 scribed in section 541(a) and which shall be equal 

22 to— 

23 ‘‘(A) the amount of payments so used or 

24 not remitted, as appropriate; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) interest on any such amounts (at a 

2 rate determined by the Commission). 

3 ‘‘(2) OTHER ACTION NOT PRECLUDED.—Any 

4 action by the Commission in accordance with this 

5 subsection shall not preclude enforcement pro6 ceedings by the Commission in accordance with sec7 tion 309(a), including a referral by the Commission 

8 to the Attorney General in the case of an apparent 

9 knowing and willful violation of this title. 

10 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITING CERTAIN CANDIDATES FROM

11 QUALIFYING AS PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) CANDIDATES WITH MULTIPLE CIVIL PEN13 ALTIES.—If the Commission assesses 3 or more civil 

14 penalties under subsection (a) against a candidate 

15 (with respect to either a single election or multiple 

16 elections), the Commission may refuse to certify the 

17 candidate as a participating candidate under this 

18 title with respect to any subsequent election, except 

19 that if each of the penalties were assessed as the re20 sult of a knowing and willful violation of any provi21 sion of this Act, the candidate is not eligible to be 

22 certified as a participating candidate under this title 

23 with respect to any subsequent election. 

24 ‘‘(2) CANDIDATES SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PEN25 ALTY.—A candidate is not eligible to be certified as 


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1 a participating candidate under this title with re2 spect to an election if a penalty has been assessed 

3 against the candidate under section 309(d) with re4 spect to any previous election. 

5 ‘‘(d) IMPOSITION OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—For 

6 criminal penalties for the failure of a participating can7 didate to comply with the requirements of this title, see 

8 section 309(d). 

9 ‘‘SEC. 544. INDEXING OF AMOUNTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) INDEXING.—In any calendar year after 2028, 

11 section 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to each amount described 

12 in subsection (b) in the same manner as such section ap13 plies to the limitations established under subsections 

14 (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such section, ex15 cept that for purposes of applying such section to the 

16 amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base period’ 

17 shall be 2028. 

18 ‘‘(b) AMOUNTS DESCRIBED.—The amounts described 

19 in this subsection are as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) The amount referred to in section 

21 502(b)(1) (relating to the minimum amount of quali22 fied small dollar contributions included in a request 

23 for payment). 


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1 ‘‘(2) The amounts referred to in section 

2 504(a)(1) (relating to the amount of a qualified 

3 small dollar contribution). 

4 ‘‘(3) The amount referred to in section 

5 512(a)(2) (relating to the total dollar amount of 

6 qualified small dollar contributions). 

7 ‘‘(4) The amount referred to in section 

8 521(a)(5) (relating to the aggregate amount of con9 tributions a participating candidate may accept from 

10 any individual with respect to an election). 

11 ‘‘(5) The amount referred to in section 

12 521(b)(1)(A) (relating to the amount of personal 

13 funds that may be used by a candidate who is cer14 tified as a participating candidate). 

15 ‘‘(6) The amounts referred to in section 

16 524(a)(2) (relating to the amount of unspent funds 

17 a candidate may retain for use in the next election 

18 cycle). 

19 ‘‘(7) The amount referred to in section 

20 532(a)(3) (relating to the total dollar amount of 

21 qualified small dollar contributions for a candidate 

22 seeking an additional payment under subtitle D). 

23 ‘‘(8) The amount referred to in section 533(b) 

24 (relating to the limit on the amount of an additional 

25 payment made to a candidate under subtitle D). 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 545. ELECTION CYCLE DEFINED. 

2 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘election cycle’ means, with 

3 respect to an election for an office, the period beginning 

4 on the day after the date of the most recent general elec5 tion for that office (or, if the general election resulted in 

6 a runoff election, the date of the runoff election) and end7 ing on the date of the next general election for that office 

8 (or, if the general election resulted in a runoff election, 

9 the date of the runoff election). 

10 ‘‘SEC. 546. DIVISION DIRECTOR DEFINED. 

11 ‘‘In this title, the term ‘Division Director’ means the 

12 individual serving as the director of the division estab13 lished under section 542.’’. 

14 SEC. 8112. CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY MULTI15 CANDIDATE AND POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT16 TEES ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPATING CAN17 DIDATES. 

18 (a) AUTHORIZING CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY FROM SEP19 ARATE ACCOUNTS CONSISTING OF QUALIFIED SMALL

20 DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 315(a) of the Federal 

21 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)) is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following new para23 graph: 

24 ‘‘(10) In the case of a multicandidate political com25 mittee or any political committee of a political party, the 

26 committee may make a contribution to a candidate who 


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1 is a participating candidate under title V with respect to 

2 an election only if the contribution is paid from a separate, 

3 segregated account of the committee which consists solely 

4 of contributions which meet the following requirements: 

5 ‘‘(A) Each such contribution is in an amount 

6 which meets the requirements for the amount of a 

7 qualified small dollar contribution under section 

8 504(a)(1) with respect to the election involved. 

9 ‘‘(B) Each such contribution is made by an in10 dividual who is not otherwise prohibited from mak11 ing a contribution under this Act. 

12 ‘‘(C) The individual who makes the contribution 

13 does not make contributions to the committee during 

14 the year in an aggregate amount that exceeds the 

15 limit described in section 504(a)(1).’’. 

16 (b) PERMITTING UNLIMITED COORDINATED EX17 PENDITURES FROM SMALL DOLLAR SOURCES BY POLIT18 ICAL PARTIES.—Section 315(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

19 30116(d)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘The national 

21 committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

22 paragraph (6), the national committee’’; and 

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

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) The limits described in paragraph (3) do not 

2 apply in the case of expenditures in connection with the 

3 general election campaign of a candidate for the office of 

4 Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 

5 to, the Congress who is a participating candidate under 

6 title V with respect to the election, but only if— 

7 ‘‘(A) the expenditures are paid from a separate, 

8 segregated account of the committee which is de9 scribed in subsection (a)(10); and 

10 ‘‘(B) the expenditures are the sole source of 

11 funding provided by the committee to the can12 didate.’’. 

13 SEC. 8113. PROHIBITING USE OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY PAR14 TICIPATING CANDIDATES FOR PURPOSES 

15 OTHER THAN CAMPAIGN FOR ELECTION. 

16 Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 

17 of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTIONS ON PERMITTED USES OF FUNDS

20 BY CANDIDATES RECEIVING SMALL DOLLAR FINANC21 ING.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of sub22 section (a), if a candidate for election for the office of Rep23 resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 

24 the Congress is certified as a participating candidate 

25 under title V with respect to the election, any contribution 


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1 which the candidate is permitted to accept under such title 

2 may be used only for authorized expenditures in connec3 tion with the candidate’s campaign for such office, subject 

4 to section 503(b).’’. 

5 SEC. 8114. DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE 

6 DATE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 2024, 

8 the Federal Election Commission shall promulgate such 

9 regulations as may be necessary to carry out this part and 

10 the amendments made by this part. 

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This part and the amend12 ments made by this part shall take effect on October 1, 

13 2024, without regard to whether the Commission has pro14 mulgated the regulations required under subsection (a) by 

15 such date. 

16 Subtitle C—Personal Use Services 

17 as Authorized Campaign Ex18 penditures 

19 SEC. 8201. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

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

21 ‘‘Help America Run Act’’. 

22 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

23 (1) Everyday Americans experience barriers to 

24 entry before they can consider running for office to 

25 serve their communities. 


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1 (2) Current law states that campaign funds 

2 cannot be spent on everyday expenses that would 

3 exist whether or not a candidate were running for 

4 office, like childcare and food. While the law seems 

5 neutral, its actual effect is to privilege the independ6 ently wealthy who want to run, because given the de7 mands of running for office, candidates who must 

8 work to pay for childcare or to afford health insur9 ance are effectively being left out of the process, 

10 even if they have sufficient support to mount a via11 ble campaign. 

12 (3) Thus current practice favors those prospec13 tive candidates who do not need to rely on a regular 

14 paycheck to make ends meet. The consequence is 

15 that everyday Americans who have firsthand knowl16 edge of the importance of stable childcare, a safety 

17 net, or great public schools are less likely to get a 

18 seat at the table. This governance by the few is anti19 thetical to the democratic experiment, but most im20 portantly, when lawmakers do not share the con21 cerns of everyday Americans, their policies reflect 

22 that. 

23 (4) These circumstances have contributed to a 

24 Congress that does not always reflect everyday 

25 Americans. The New York Times reported in 2019 


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1 that fewer than 5 percent of representatives cite 

2 blue-collar or service jobs in their biographies. A 

3 2020 analysis by OpenSecrets of lawmakers’ per4 sonal financial disclosure statements showed that the 

5 median net worth of lawmakers was just over 

6 $1,000,000, or nearly 9 times the median net worth 

7 of American families. 

8 (5) These circumstances have also contributed 

9 to a governing body that does not reflect the nation 

10 it serves. For instance, women are 51 percent of the 

11 American population. Yet even with a record number 

12 of women serving in the One Hundred Eighteenth 

13 Congress, the Pew Research Center notes that near14 ly three out of four Members of this Congress are 

15 male. The Center for American Women and Politics 

16 found that one third of women legislators surveyed 

17 had been actively discouraged from running for of18 fice, often by political professionals. This type of dis19 couragement, combined with the prohibitions on 

20 using campaign funds for domestic needs like 

21 childcare, burdens that still fall disproportionately 

22 on American women, particularly disadvantages 

23 working mothers. These barriers may explain why 

24 only 10 women in history have given birth while 

25 serving in Congress, in spite of the prevalence of 


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1 working parents in other professions. Yet working 

2 mothers and fathers are best positioned to create 

3 policy that reflects the lived experience of most 

4 Americans. 

5 (6) Working mothers, those caring for their el6 derly parents, and young professionals who rely on 

7 their jobs for health insurance should have the free8 dom to run to serve the people of the United States. 

9 Their networks and net worth are simply not the 

10 best indicators of their strength as prospective pub11 lic servants. In fact, helping ordinary Americans to 

12 run may create better policy for all Americans. 

13 (c) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this subtitle to 

14 ensure that all Americans who are otherwise qualified to 

15 serve this Nation are able to run for office, regardless of 

16 their economic status. By expanding permissible uses of 

17 campaign funds and providing modest assurance that test18 ing a run for office will not cost one’s livelihood, the Help 

19 America Run Act will facilitate the candidacy of represent20 atives who more accurately reflect the experiences, chal21 lenges, and ideals of everyday Americans. 


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1 SEC. 8202. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILDCARE 

2 AND OTHER PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AU3 THORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE. 

4 (a) PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED CAM5 PAIGN EXPENDITURE.—Section 313 of the Federal Elec6 tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114), as amend7 ed by section 8113, is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILDCARE

10 AND OTHER PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AUTHORIZED

11 CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED EXPENDITURES.—For pur13 poses of subsection (a), the payment by an author14 ized committee of a candidate for any of the per15 sonal use services described in paragraph (3) shall 

16 be treated as an authorized expenditure if the serv17 ices are necessary to enable the participation of the 

18 candidate in campaign-connected activities. 

19 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) LIMIT ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF PAY21 MENTS.—The total amount of payments made 

22 by an authorized committee of a candidate for 

23 personal use services described in paragraph (3) 

24 may not exceed the limit which is applicable 

25 under any law, rule, or regulation on the 

26 amount of payments which may be made by the 


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1 committee for the salary of the candidate (with2 out regard to whether or not the committee 

3 makes payments to the candidate for that pur4 pose). 

5 ‘‘(B) CORRESPONDING REDUCTION IN

6 AMOUNT OF SALARY PAID TO CANDIDATE.—To 

7 the extent that an authorized committee of a 

8 candidate makes payments for the salary of the 

9 candidate, any limit on the amount of such pay10 ments which is applicable under any law, rule, 

11 or regulation shall be reduced by the amount of 

12 any payments made to or on behalf of the can13 didate for personal use services described in 

14 paragraph (3), other than personal use services 

15 described in subparagraph (D) of such para16 graph. 

17 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION OF CANDIDATES WHO

18 ARE OFFICEHOLDERS.—Paragraph (1) does not 

19 apply with respect to an authorized committee 

20 of a candidate who is a holder of Federal office. 

21 ‘‘(3) PERSONAL USE SERVICES DESCRIBED.— 

22 The personal use services described in this para23 graph are as follows: 

24 ‘‘(A) Childcare services. 

25 ‘‘(B) Elder care services. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Services similar to the services de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) or subparagraph 

3 (B) which are provided on behalf of any de4 pendent who is a qualifying relative under sec5 tion 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 ‘‘(D) Health insurance premiums.’’. 

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

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

9 of this Act and shall take effect without regard to whether 

10 or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

11 regulations to carry out such amendments. 

12 Subtitle D—Empowering Small 

13 Dollar Donations 

14 SEC. 8301. PERMITTING POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES TO 

15 PROVIDE ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR HOUSE 

16 CANDIDATES THROUGH USE OF SEPARATE 

17 SMALL DOLLAR ACCOUNTS. 

18 (a) INCREASE IN LIMIT ON CONTRIBUTIONS TO CAN19 DIDATES.—Section 315(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Election 

20 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(2)(A)) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘exceed $5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘ex22 ceed $5,000 or, in the case of a contribution made by a 

23 national committee of a political party from an account 

24 described in paragraph (11), exceed $10,000’’. 


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1 (b) ELIMINATION OF LIMIT ON COORDINATED EX2 PENDITURES.—Section 315(d)(5) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

3 30116(d)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(9)’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(9) or subsection (a)(11)’’. 

5 (c) ACCOUNTS DESCRIBED.—Section 315(a) of such 

6 Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)), as amended by section 8112(a), 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new para8 graph: 

9 ‘‘(11) An account described in this paragraph is a 

10 separate, segregated account of a national congressional 

11 campaign committee of a political party which— 

12 ‘‘(A) supports only candidates for election for 

13 the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resi14 dent Commissioner to, the Congress; and 

15 ‘‘(B) consists exclusively of contributions made 

16 during a calendar year by individuals whose aggre17 gate contributions to the committee during the year 

18 do not exceed $200.’’. 

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

20 this section shall apply with respect to elections held on 

21 or after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall 

22 take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal 

23 Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry 

24 out such amendments. 


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1 Subtitle E—Severability 

2 SEC. 8401. SEVERABILITY. 

3 If any provision of this title or amendment made by 

4 this title, or the application of a provision or amendment 

5 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu6 tional, the remainder of this title and amendments made 

7 by this title, and the application of the provisions and 

8 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

9 affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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