I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1719 

To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America 

Vote Act of 2002 to promote the use of the Internet by State and 

local election officials in carrying out voter registration activities, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2009 

Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on House Administration 

A BILL 

To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and 

the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to promote the 

use of the Internet by State and local election officials 

in carrying out voter registration activities, 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 ‘‘Voter Registration 

5 Modernization Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR 

2 VOTER REGISTRATION. 

3 (a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR

4 REGISTRATION.—The National Voter Registration Act of 

5 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.) is amended by inserting 

6 after section 7 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 7A. INTERNET REGISTRATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR

9 ONLINE REGISTRATION.—Each State shall ensure that 

10 the following services are available to the public on the 

11 official public website of the appropriate election officials 

12 in the State: 

13 ‘‘(1) Online access to, and distribution in elec14 tronic form of, mail voter registration application 

15 forms in accordance with paragraph (6). 

16 ‘‘(2) Online assistance to applicants in com17 pleting voter registration application forms. 

18 ‘‘(3) Online completion and submission by ap19 plicants of online versions of voter registration appli20 cation forms. 

21 ‘‘(4) Online acceptance of completed voter reg22 istration application forms. 

23 ‘‘(b) PROVISION OF SERVICES IN NONPARTISAN

24 MANNER.—The services made available under subsection 

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


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1 ‘‘(1) no person shall seek to influence an appli2 cant’s political preference or party registration; 

3 ‘‘(2) there is no display on the website of any 

4 political preference or party allegiance; and 

5 ‘‘(3) there is no statement or any other feature 

6 on the website the purpose or effect of which is to 

7 discourage the applicant from registering to vote. 

8 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF SECURITY OF INFORMATION.— 

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

10 establish appropriate technological security measures to 

11 prevent unauthorized access to information provided by in12 dividuals using the services made available under sub13 section (a). 

14 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The requirements of this 

15 section shall apply with respect to elections for Federal 

16 office occurring in 2016 and each succeeding year.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

19 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(a)(1)) is amend20 ed— 

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

23 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

24 subparagraph (E); and 


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1 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

2 the following new subparagraph: 

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

4 through the official public website of an election 

5 official under section 7A, if the valid voter reg6 istration form is submitted online not later than 

7 the lesser of 15 days, or the period provided by 

8 State law, before the date of the election; and’’. 

9 (2) INFORMING APPLICANTS OF ELIGIBILITY

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

11 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(a)(5)) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘and 7’’ and inserting ‘‘7, and 7A’’. 

13 SEC. 3. USE OF INTERNET TO UPDATE REGISTRATION IN14 FORMATION. 

15 (a) UPDATES TO INFORMATION CONTAINED ON COM16 PUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION LIST.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(a) of the Help 

18 America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(a)) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(6) USE OF INTERNET BY REGISTERED VOT22 ERS TO UPDATE INFORMATION.— 

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

24 or local election official shall ensure that any le25 gally registered voter to whom a unique identiVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:50 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1719.IH H1719

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1 fier has been assigned under the computerized 

2 list may update the voter’s registration informa3 tion, including the voter’s address and elec4 tronic mail address, online through the official 

5 public website of the election official responsible 

6 for the maintenance of the list, at any time as 

7 well as at any location at which under State law 

8 the voter may update the information in person. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROCESSING OF UPDATED INFORMA10 TION BY ELECTION OFFICIALS.—If a registered 

11 voter updates registration information under 

12 subparagraph (A), the appropriate State or 

13 local election official shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) revise any information on the 

15 computerized list to reflect the update 

16 made by the voter; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) if requested by the voter, confirm 

18 the receipt of the update by electronic mail 

19 sent to the voter. 

20 ‘‘(C) PREVENTION OF UNAUTHORIZED RE21 VISIONS AND FRAUD.—In meeting the require22 ments of this paragraph, the appropriate State 

23 or local election official shall establish appro24 priate technological security measures to pre25 vent unauthorized persons from updating a regVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:50 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1719.IH H1719

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1 istered voter’s registration information and to 

2 prevent the entry of fraudulent data. 

3 ‘‘(D) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This paragraph 

4 shall take effect on January 1, 2012.’’. 

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

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

7 Act (42 U.S.C. 15483(d)(1)(A)) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub9 paragraph (B) and subsection (a)(6)’’. 

10 (b) EFFECT ON VOTER REMOVAL PROGRAM UNDER

11 NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 1993.— 

12 (1) USE OF ONLINE UPDATE TO CONFIRM

13 CHANGE OF RESIDENCE.—Section 8(d)(1)(A) of the 

14 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 

15 1973gg–6(d)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting after 

16 ‘‘in writing’’ the following: ‘‘or by updating informa17 tion on the computerized Statewide voter registra18 tion list using the online method provided under sec19 tion 303(a)(6) of the Help America Vote Act of 

20 2002’’. 

21 (2) PROHIBITING REMOVAL OF REGISTERED

22 VOTERS INCLUDED ON COMPUTERIZED LIST FOR

23 FAILURE TO VOTE OR APPEAR TO VOTE.—Section 8 

24 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6) is amended— 


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1 (A) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting after 

2 ‘‘eligible voters’’ the following: ‘‘(other than an 

3 individual to whom a unique identifier has been 

4 assigned under the computerized Statewide 

5 voter registration list under section 303(a) of 

6 the Help America Vote Act of 2002)’’; and 

7 (B) in subsection (d)(1)(B)(i), by striking 

8 ‘‘has failed’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘in the 

9 case of a registrant to whom a unique identifier 

10 has not been assigned under the computerized 

11 Statewide voter registration list under section 

12 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 

13 has failed’’. 

14 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

15 PROCEDURES TO ENSURE ABILITY TO VOTE FOL16 LOWING FAILURE TO NOTIFY REGISTRAR OF

17 CHANGE OF ADDRESS.—Section 8(e) of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(e)) is amended in the heading by 

19 striking ‘‘FAILURE TO RETURN CARD’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘FAILURE TO NOTIFY REGISTRAR OF CHANGE OF

21 ADDRESS’’. 

22 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

23 by this subsection shall take effect on January 1, 

24 2012. 


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1 SEC. 4. PROVISION OF ELECTION INFORMATION BY ELEC2 TRONIC MAIL TO INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED 

3 TO VOTER. 

4 (a) INCLUDING OPTION ON VOTER REGISTRATION

5 FORM TO PROVIDE E–MAIL ADDRESS AND RECEIVE IN6 FORMATION.— 

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

8 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg– 

9 7(b)) is amended— 

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

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

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

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

15 paragraph: 

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

17 provide an electronic mail address, together with a 

18 statement that, unless the applicant requests other19 wise, the applicant shall (if eligible to register to 

20 vote) receive voter registration and voting informa21 tion from the appropriate State or local election offi22 cial through electronic mail sent to that address.’’. 

23 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

24 by paragraph (1) shall take effect January 1, 2012. 

25 (b) REQUIRING PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY

26 ELECTION OFFICIALS.—Section 302(b) of the Help AmerVerDate Nov 24 2008 04:50 Mar 26, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1719.IH H1719

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1 ica Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15482(b)) is amended 

2 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(3) PROVISION OF OTHER INFORMATION BY

4 ELECTRONIC MAIL.—If an individual who is a reg5 istered voter has provided the State or local election 

6 official with an electronic mail address for the pur7 pose of receiving voter registration and voting infor8 mation (as described in section 9(b)(5) of the Na9 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993), the appro10 priate State or local election official shall provide the 

11 individual with the following information through 

12 electronic mail not later than 7 days before the date 

13 of the election involved: 

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

15 place at which the individual is assigned to vote 

16 in the election. 

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

18 place. 

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

20 other information the individual may be re21 quired to bring to the polling place.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT TO REGISTER 

2 APPLICANTS PROVIDING NECESSARY INFOR3 MATION TO SHOW ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE. 

4 Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 

5 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(k) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE TO REGISTER AP8 PLICANTS PROVIDING NECESSARY INFORMATION TO

9 SHOW ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE.—For purposes meeting the 

10 requirement of subsection (a)(1) that an eligible applicant 

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

12 the deadlines required under such subsection, the State 

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

14 registration form’ if the applicant has provided the appro15 priate State or local election official with all of the infor16 mation necessary to demonstrate that the applicant is eli17 gible to vote in elections for Federal office in the State 

18 or local jurisdiction involved.’’. 

19 SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 

20 UNDER HAVA TO COVER COSTS OF COMPLI21 ANCE WITH NEW NVRA REQUIREMENTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(b) of the Help Amer23 ica Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15401(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

25 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para2 graph (3); and 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN VOTER REGISTRATION ACTIVI6 TIES.—A State may use a requirements payment to 

7 carry out the requirements of the National Voter 

8 Registration Act of 1993 which are imposed pursu9 ant to the amendments made to such Act by the 

10 Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2009.’’. 

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

12 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 15404(a)(1)) is amended by strik13 ing ‘‘section 251(a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

14 251(b)(3)’’. 

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

16 this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2010 

17 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

Æ 


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