II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2841 

To improve voter access to the ballot box through automatic voter registration, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MERKLEY, 

Ms. SMITH, Mr. BOOKER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. CASEY, and 

Mr. MENENDEZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To improve voter access to the ballot box through automatic 

voter registration, 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 ‘‘Register America to 

5 Vote Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

8 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 2841 IS

1 (A) the right to vote is a fundamental 

2 right of citizens of the United States; 

3 (B) it is the responsibility of Federal and 

4 State governments to ensure that every eligible 

5 citizen is registered to vote; 

6 (C) existing voter registration systems can 

7 be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible, and con8 fusing, with damaging effects on voter partici9 pation in elections for Federal office and dis10 proportionate impacts on young people, individ11 uals with disabilities, and racial and ethnic mi12 norities; and 

13 (D) voter registration systems must be up14 dated with 21st century technologies and proce15 dures to maintain their security. 

16 (2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act— 

17 (A) to establish that it is the responsibility 

18 of government to ensure that all eligible citizens 

19 are registered to vote in elections for Federal 

20 office; 

21 (B) to enable the State governments to 

22 register all eligible citizens to vote with accu23 rate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date procedures; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 2841 IS

1 (C) to modernize voter registration and list 

2 maintenance procedures with electronic and 

3 internet capabilities; and 

4 (D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 

5 accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 

6 electoral process for all eligible citizens. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

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

10 means, with respect to a State, the individual des11 ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na12 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

13 20509) to be responsible for coordination of the re14 sponsibilities under that Act. 

15 (2) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

16 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

17 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

18 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

19 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

20 SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF INDIVIDUALS TURN21 ING 18 YEARS OF AGE. 

22 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in sub23 section (b), the chief State election official of each State 

24 shall establish and operate a system of automatic registra25 tion for the registration of any eligible individual on the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 2841 IS

1 date on which the individual turns 18 in order that the 

2 individual may vote in elections for Federal office in the 

3 State. 

4 (b) EXCEPTION.—The requirement under paragraph 

5 (1) shall not apply to a State in which, under a State law 

6 in effect continuously on and after the date of the enact7 ment of this section, there is no voter registration require8 ment for individuals in the State with respect to elections 

9 for Federal office. 

10 SEC. 5. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVID11 UALS. 

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

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

14 after section 5 the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 5A. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION BY STATE MOTOR VE16 HICLE AUTHORITY. 

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

18 ‘‘(1) APPLICABLE AGENCY.—The term ‘applica19 ble agency’ means, with respect to a State, the State 

20 motor vehicle authority responsible for motor vehicle 

21 driver’s licenses under State law. 

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

23 ‘applicable transaction’ means— 

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

25 for a motor vehicle driver’s license; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(B) any other service or assistance (in2 cluding for a change of address) provided by an 

3 applicable agency. 

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

5 ‘automatic registration’ means a system that reg6 isters an individual to vote and updates existing 

7 voter registration in elections for Federal office in a 

8 State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the 

9 information necessary for registration from the ap10 plicable agency to election officials of the State in 

11 order that, unless the individual affirmatively de12 clines to be registered or to update any voter reg13 istration, the individual will be registered to vote in 

14 those elections. 

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

16 individual’ means, with respect to an election for 

17 Federal office, an individual who is otherwise quali18 fied to vote in that election. 

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

20 to vote’ includes updating the existing voter registra21 tion of an individual. 

22 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election of24 ficial of each State shall establish and operate a sys25 tem of automatic registration for the registration of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 2841 IS

1 eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal 

2 office in the State, in accordance with the provisions 

3 of this section. 

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

5 AGENCY RECORDS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The chief State elec7 tion official shall— 

8 ‘‘(i) subject to subparagraph (B), en9 sure that each eligible individual who com10 pletes an applicable transaction and does 

11 not decline to register to vote is registered 

12 to vote— 

13 ‘‘(I) in the next election for Fed14 eral office (and subsequent elections 

15 for Federal office), if an applicable 

16 agency transmits information under 

17 subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to 

18 the individual not later than the appli19 cable date; and 

20 ‘‘(II) in subsequent elections for 

21 Federal office, if an applicable agency 

22 transmits information under sub23 section (c)(1)(E) with respect to the 

24 individual after the applicable date; 

25 and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 2841 IS

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

2 receipt of information described in sub3 section (c)(1)(E) with respect to an indi4 vidual, send written notice to the indi5 vidual, in addition to other means of notice 

6 established under this section, of the voter 

7 registration status of the individual. 

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

9 this subsection, the term ‘‘applicable date’’ 

10 means, with respect to any election for Federal 

11 office, the later of— 

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

13 the date of the election; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) the last day of the period pro15 vided by State law for voter registration 

16 with respect to such election. 

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

18 subsection shall prevent a chief State election 

19 official from registering an eligible individual to 

20 vote in the next election for Federal office in 

21 the State, including if an applicable agency 

22 transmits information under subsection 

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

24 the applicable date. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(3) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18

2 YEARS OF AGE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

4 subparagraph (B), a State may not refuse to 

5 treat an individual as an eligible individual for 

6 purposes of this section on the grounds that the 

7 individual is less than 18 years of age on the 

8 date on which an applicable agency receives in9 formation with respect to the individual, pro10 vided that the individual is not less than 16 

11 years of age at that time. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Nothing in subpara13 graph (A) may be construed to require a State 

14 to permit an individual who is less than 18 

15 years of age on the date of an election for Fed16 eral office to vote in the election. 

17 ‘‘(c) APPLICABLE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) INSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA19 TION FOR AGENCIES COLLECTING CITIZENSHIP IN20 FORMATION.— 

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

22 provided in this section, in the case of any ap23 plicable transaction for which an applicable 

24 agency (in the normal course of the operations) 

25 requests (either directly or as part of the overall 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 2841 IS

1 application submitted for the applicable trans2 action) that an individual affirm that the indi3 vidual is a United States citizen, the applicable 

4 agency shall inform each such individual who is 

5 a citizen of the United States of the following: 

6 ‘‘(i) Unless the individual declines to 

7 register to vote, or is found ineligible to 

8 vote— 

9 ‘‘(I) the individual will be reg10 istered to vote; or 

11 ‘‘(II) if applicable, the voter reg12 istration of the individual will be up13 dated. 

14 ‘‘(ii) With respect to the qualification 

15 to register to vote— 

16 ‘‘(I) the substantive qualifications 

17 of an elector in the State as listed in 

18 the mail voter registration application 

19 form for elections for Federal office 

20 prescribed pursuant to section 9; 

21 ‘‘(II) the consequences of false 

22 registration; and 

23 ‘‘(III) how the individual should 

24 decline to register to vote if the indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Sep 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2841.IS S2841

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 2841 IS

1 vidual does not meet requirements for 

2 eligibility to vote in a Federal election. 

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 for Federal office to select the 

7 candidate of the political party, the re8 quirement that the individual must, in reg9 istering to vote, affiliate or enroll with a 

10 political party in order to participate in 

11 such an election. 

12 ‘‘(iv) With respect to voter registra13 tion by an individual— 

14 ‘‘(I) voter registration is vol15 untary; 

16 ‘‘(II) whether the individual reg17 isters or declines to register to vote 

18 shall not affect the availability of any 

19 service or benefit; and 

20 ‘‘(III) information relating to 

21 whether the individual registers or de22 clines to register to vote may not be 

23 used for other purposes. 

24 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED

25 ENGLISH PROFICIENCY.— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(i) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—For pur2 poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘cov3 ered individual’ means an individual con4 ducting an applicable transaction— 

5 ‘‘(I) who is a member of a group 

6 that constitutes not less than 3 per7 cent of the overall population of the 

8 State, as determined by the United 

9 States Census Bureau, served by the 

10 applicable agency; and 

11 ‘‘(II) who is limited English pro12 ficient. 

13 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—In providing 

14 information pursuant to subparagraph (A), 

15 an applicable agency shall provide the in16 formation to any covered individual served 

17 by the applicable agency in a language un18 derstood by the covered individual. 

19 ‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION OF PROCEDURES FOR

20 INELIGIBLE VOTERS.—An applicable agency 

21 may not provide an individual who did not af22 firm United States citizenship, or for whom the 

23 applicable agency has conclusive documentary 

24 evidence obtained through the normal course of 

25 operations of the applicable agency that the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Sep 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2841.IS S2841

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 2841 IS

1 dividual is not a United States citizen, the op2 portunity to register to vote under subpara3 graph (A). 

4 ‘‘(D) OPPORTUNITY TO DECLINE REG5 ISTRATION REQUIRED.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as other7 wise provided in this section, each applica8 ble agency shall ensure that each applica9 ble transaction described in subparagraph 

10 (A) may not be completed unless the indi11 vidual is given the opportunity to decline 

12 to be registered to vote. 

13 ‘‘(ii) LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT.—If 

14 an individual is a covered individual, as de15 fined in subparagraph (B)(i), the covered 

16 individual shall be given the opportunity to 

17 decline to be registered to vote in a lan18 guage understood by the covered indi19 vidual. 

20 ‘‘(E) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL.—Not 

21 later than 10 days after an applicable trans22 action with an eligible individual, if the eligible 

23 individual did not decline to be registered to 

24 vote, the applicable agency shall electronically 

25 transmit to the appropriate State election offiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:51 Sep 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2841.IS S2841

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 2841 IS

1 cial the following information with respect to 

2 the eligible individual: 

3 ‘‘(i) The given name and surname of 

4 the eligible individual. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The date of birth of the eligible 

6 individual. 

7 ‘‘(iii) The residential address of the 

8 individual. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Information showing that the in10 dividual is a citizen of the United States. 

11 ‘‘(v) The date on which information 

12 pertaining to the eligible individual was 

13 collected or most recently updated. 

14 ‘‘(vi) If available, the signature of the 

15 eligible individual in electronic form. 

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

17 affiliation or enrollment with a political 

18 party is required in order to participate in 

19 an election to select the candidate of the 

20 political party in an election for Federal 

21 office, information relating to the affili22 ation or enrollment of the eligible indi23 vidual with a political party, if the eligible 

24 individual provides that information. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(viii) Any additional information list2 ed in the mail voter registration applica3 tion form for elections for Federal office 

4 prescribed pursuant to section 9, including, 

5 if the eligible individual provides such in6 formation— 

7 ‘‘(I) the valid driver’s license 

8 number of the eligible individual; and 

9 ‘‘(II) the last 4 digits of the so10 cial security number of the eligible in11 dividual. 

12 ‘‘(F) PROVISION OF INFORMATION RELAT13 ING TO 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 candidate of a political party in an 

18 election for Federal office, if the information 

19 transmitted under subparagraph (E) with re20 spect to an eligible individual does not include 

21 information regarding the affiliation or enroll22 ment with a political party of the eligible indi23 vidual, the chief State election official shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) notify the eligible individual that 

25 such affiliation or enrollment is required to 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 2841 IS

1 participate in any primary election for 

2 Federal office; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for the el4 igible individual to update the registration 

5 of the eligible individual to denote the 

6 party affiliation or enrollment of the eligi7 ble individual. 

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

9 section shall be construed to require an applica10 ble agency to transmit to an election official the 

11 information described in subparagraph (E) with 

12 respect to an individual who is ineligible to vote 

13 in an election for Federal office in the State, 

14 except to the extent required to pre-register a 

15 citizen between 16 and 18 years of age. 

16 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATE PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN

17 OTHER APPLICABLE AGENCIES.—With each applica18 ble transaction for which an applicable agency (in 

19 the normal course of the operations of the applicable 

20 agency) does not request an individual to affirm 

21 United States citizenship (either directly or as part 

22 of the overall application for service or assistance), 

23 the applicable agency shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) complete the requirements under sec25 tion 5; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(B) ensure that each transaction by an 

2 individual with the applicable agency may not 

3 be completed unless the individual indicates 

4 whether the individual wishes to register to vote 

5 or declines to register to vote in elections for 

6 Federal office held in the State; and 

7 ‘‘(C) for each individual who wishes to reg8 ister to vote, transmit the information relating 

9 to the individual described in paragraph (1)(E), 

10 unless the applicable agency has conclusive doc11 umentary evidence obtained through the normal 

12 course of operations of the applicable agency 

13 that the individual is not a United States cit14 izen. 

15 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATIC

16 REGISTRATION OPPORTUNITY WITH EACH APPLICA17 TION FOR SERVICE OR ASSISTANCE.—Each applica18 ble agency shall offer each eligible individual, in con19 ducting each applicable transaction, the opportunity 

20 to register to vote as prescribed by this section with21 out regard to whether the individual previously de22 clined an opportunity to register to vote. 

23 ‘‘(d) VOTER PROTECTION.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION BY APPLI25 CABLE AGENCIES.—Nothing in this section may be 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•S 2841 IS

1 construed to authorize an applicable agency to col2 lect, retain, transmit, or publicly disclose any of the 

3 following, except as necessary to comply with title 

4 III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 

5 20701 et seq.): 

6 ‘‘(A) The decision of an individual to de7 cline to register to vote. 

8 ‘‘(B) The decision of an individual not to 

9 affirm the citizenship of the individual. 

10 ‘‘(C) Any information that an applicable 

11 agency transmits pursuant to subsection 

12 (c)(1)(E), except in carrying out the ordinary 

13 course of business of the applicable agency. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION BY ELEC15 TIONS OFFICIALS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro18 vided in clause (ii), with respect to any in19 dividual with respect to whom any appro20 priate State election official receives infor21 mation from an applicable agency, the 

22 State election official shall not publicly dis23 close— 

24 ‘‘(I) any information not nec25 essary to voter registration; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(II) any information of the indi2 vidual otherwise protected from disclo3 sure pursuant to section 8(a) or State 

4 law; 

5 ‘‘(III) any portion of the social 

6 security number of the individual; 

7 ‘‘(IV) any portion of the motor 

8 vehicle driver’s license number of the 

9 individual; 

10 ‘‘(V) the signature of the indi11 vidual; 

12 ‘‘(VI) the telephone number of 

13 the individual; or 

14 ‘‘(VII) the email address of the 

15 individual. 

16 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS

17 REGISTERED TO VOTE.—The prohibition 

18 on public disclosure under clause (i) shall 

19 not apply with respect to the telephone 

20 number or email address of any indi21 vidual— 

22 ‘‘(I) for whom any State election 

23 official receives information from the 

24 applicable agency; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(II) who, on the basis of such 

2 information, is registered to vote in 

3 the State under this section. 

4 ‘‘(e) MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) ACCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION SERV6 ICES.—Each applicable agency shall ensure that the 

7 voter registration services the applicable agency pro8 vides under this section are made available to indi9 viduals with disabilities to the same extent as serv10 ices are made available to all other individuals. 

11 ‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION THROUGH SECURE THIRD

12 PARTY PERMITTED.—Nothing in the Register Amer13 ica to Vote Act of 2023 or this section shall be con14 strued to prevent an applicable agency from con15 tracting with a third party to assist the applicable 

16 agency in meeting the information transmittal re17 quirements under this section, provided that the in18 formation transmittal complies with the applicable 

19 requirements of this section, including provisions re20 lating privacy and security. 

21 ‘‘(3) NONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PRO22 VISION OF SERVICES.—The services made available 

23 by applicable agencies under this section shall be 

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

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


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(4) NOTICES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) ELECTRONIC NOTICES.—Each State 

3 may send notices under this section via elec4 tronic mail if the individual has provided an 

5 electronic mail address and consented to elec6 tronic mail communications for election-related 

7 materials. 

8 ‘‘(B) RESPONSE.—Any notice sent pursu9 ant to this section that requires a response shall 

10 offer the individual to whom the notice is sent 

11 the opportunity to respond to the notice at no 

12 cost to the individual. 

13 ‘‘(5) REGISTRATION AT OTHER STATE OFFICES

14 PERMITTED.—Nothing in this section may be con15 strued to prohibit a State from offering voter reg16 istration services described in this section at offices 

17 of the State other than the State motor vehicle au18 thority. 

19 ‘‘(f) APPLICABILITY.— 

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

21 to an exempt State. 

22 ‘‘(2) EXEMPT STATE.—The term ‘exempt State’ 

23 means a State that, under law that is in effect on 

24 or after the date of enactment of this Act, either— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(A) has no voter registration requirement 

2 for any voter in the State with respect to a 

3 Federal election; or 

4 ‘‘(B) operates a system of automatic reg5 istration (as defined in subsection (a))— 

6 ‘‘(i) at the motor vehicle authority of 

7 the State; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) a Permanent Dividend Fund of 

9 the State under which an individual is pro10 vided the opportunity to decline to register 

11 to vote— 

12 ‘‘(I) during the transaction; or 

13 ‘‘(II) by notice sent by mail or 

14 electronically after the transaction.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

16 (1) Section 4(a) of the National Voter Registra17 tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(a)) is amended 

18 by— 

19 (A) redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) 

20 as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and 

21 (B) inserting after paragraph (1) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(2) by application made simultaneously with 

24 an application for a motor vehicle driver’s license 

25 pursuant to section 5A;’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•S 2841 IS

1 (2) Section 4(b) of the National Voter Registra2 tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(b)) is amend3 ed— 

4 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

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

6 and indenting appropriately; 

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

8 inserting ‘‘STATES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), this Act’’; and 

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

12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA14 TION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 5A shall apply to a 

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

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

17 that section.’’. 

18 (3) Section 8(a)(1) of the National Voter Reg19 istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)) is 

20 amended by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), 

21 and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respec22 tively, and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the 

23 following: 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•S 2841 IS

1 ‘‘(B) in the case of registration under sec2 tion 5A, within the period provided in section 

3 5A(b)(2);’’. 

4 SEC. 6. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTOMATIC 

5 REGISTRATION. 

6 (a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 

7 An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 

8 or State law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication 

9 concerning immigration status or naturalization, or sub10 ject to an allegation in any legal proceeding that the indi11 vidual is not a citizen of the United States for any of the 

12 following reasons: 

13 (1) The individual notifies an election office of 

14 the individual’s automatic registration to vote. 

15 (2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec16 tions for Federal office but was automatically reg17 istered to vote due to individual or applicable agency 

18 error. 

19 (3) The individual was automatically registered 

20 to vote at an address that is not the correct residen21 tial address of the individual. 

22 (4) The individual declined the opportunity to 

23 register to vote or did not make an affirmation of 

24 citizenship when registering to vote, including 

25 through automatic registration. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•S 2841 IS

1 (b) LIMITS ON USE OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA2 TION.—The automatic registration (as defined in section 

3 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993) of any 

4 individual, or the fact that an individual declined the op5 portunity to register to vote or did not make an affirma6 tion of citizenship (including through automatic registra7 tion), may not be used as evidence against that individual 

8 in any State or Federal law enforcement proceeding or any 

9 civil adjudication concerning immigration status or natu10 ralization, and the lack of knowledge or willfulness of the 

11 individual in such registration may be demonstrated by 

12 the testimony of the individual alone. 

13 (c) PROTECTION OF ELECTION INTEGRITY.—Noth14 ing in subsection (a) or (b) shall be construed to prohibit 

15 or restrict any action under color of law against an indi16 vidual who— 

17 (1) knowingly and willfully makes a false state18 ment to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter 

19 registration by any individual; or 

20 (2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in vio21 lation of State law or the laws of the United States. 

22 (d) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION BY ELECTIONS

23 OFFICIALS.— 

24 (1) VOTER RECORD CHANGES.—Each State 

25 shall maintain for at least 2 years, and shall make 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•S 2841 IS

1 available for public inspection (and, where available, 

2 photocopying at a reasonable cost), including in elec3 tronic form and through electronic methods, all 

4 records of changes to voter records, including remov5 als, the reasons for removals, and updates. 

6 (2) DATABASE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS.— 

7 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

9 Standards and Technology, in consultation with 

10 State and local election officials representing geo11 graphic and socio-economic diversity, and the Elec12 tion Assistance Commission, shall, after providing 

13 the public with notice and the opportunity to com14 ment— 

15 (A) establish standards governing the com16 parison of data for voter registration list main17 tenance purposes, identifying as part of those 

18 standards the specific data elements, the 

19 matching rules used, and how a State may use 

20 the data to determine and deem that an indi21 vidual is ineligible under State law to vote in an 

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

23 or outdated; 

24 (B) ensure that the standards developed 

25 under this paragraph are uniform and nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Sep 20, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2841.IS S2841

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•S 2841 IS

1 discriminatory and are applied in a uniform and 

2 nondiscriminatory manner; 

3 (C) not later than 45 days after the dead4 line for public notice and comment; 

5 (i) publish the standards developed 

6 under this paragraph on the website of the 

7 National Institute of Standards and Tech8 nology; and 

9 (ii) make the standards developed 

10 under this paragraph available in written 

11 form upon request; and 

12 (D) ensure that the standards developed 

13 under this paragraph are maintained and up14 dated in a manner that reflects innovations and 

15 best practices in the security of database man16 agement. 

17 (3) SECURITY POLICY.— 

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

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di20 rector of the National Institute of Standards 

21 and Technology shall, after providing the public 

22 with notice and the opportunity to comment, 

23 publish privacy and security standards for voter 

24 registration information not later than 45 days 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•S 2841 IS

1 after the deadline for public notice and com2 ment. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENT.—The standards devel4 oped under this paragraph shall require the 

5 chief State election official of each State to 

6 adopt a policy that shall specify— 

7 (i) each class of users who have au8 thorized access to the computerized state9 wide voter registration list— 

10 (I) specifying for each class the 

11 permission and levels of access to be 

12 granted; and 

13 (II) setting forth other safe14 guards to protect the privacy, secu15 rity, and accuracy of the information 

16 on voter registration lists; and 

17 (ii) security safeguards to protect per18 sonal information transmitted through— 

19 (I) the information transmittal 

20 processes of section 5A(b) of the Na21 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993; 

22 (II) any telephone interface; 

23 (III) the maintenance of the 

24 voter registration database; and 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•S 2841 IS

1 (IV) any audit procedure to track 

2 access to the system. 

3 (C) MAINTENANCE AND UPDATING.—The 

4 Director of the National Institute of Standards 

5 and Technology shall ensure that the standards 

6 developed under this paragraph are maintained 

7 and updated in a manner that reflects innova8 tions and best practices in the privacy and secu9 rity of voter registration information. 

10 (4) STATE COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL

11 STANDARDS.— 

12 (A) CERTIFICATION.—Each chief State 

13 election official of the State shall annually file 

14 with the Election Assistance Commission a 

15 statement certifying to the Director of the Na16 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

17 that the State is in compliance with the stand18 ards developed under paragraphs (2) and (3), 

19 which requirement may be met if the chief 

20 State election official submits to the Election 

21 Assistance Commission a statement that states, 

22 ‘‘lllll hereby certifies that lllll 

23 is in compliance with the standards referred to 

24 in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 6(d) of the 

25 Register America to Vote Act of 2023.’’, with 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
29 

•S 2841 IS

1 the blank spaces to be completed with the name 

2 of the relevant State. 

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

5 State shall— 

6 (i) publish on the website of the chief 

7 State election official the policies and pro8 cedures established under this section; and 

9 (ii) make those policies and proce10 dures available in written form upon public 

11 request. 

12 (C) FUNDING DEPENDENT ON CERTIFI13 CATION.—If a State does not timely file the cer14 tification required under subparagraph (A), it 

15 shall not receive any payment under this Act 

16 for the upcoming fiscal year in which the State 

17 fails to make such certification. 

18 (D) COMPLIANCE OF STATES THAT RE19 QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case 

20 of a State that requires State legislation to 

21 carry out an activity covered by any certifi22 cation submitted under this paragraph— 

23 (i) for a period of not more than 2 

24 years, the State shall be permitted to make 

25 the certification notwithstanding that the 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
30 

•S 2841 IS

1 legislation has not been enacted on the 

2 date on which the State submits the cer3 tification; and 

4 (ii) the State shall submit an addi5 tional certification once such legislation is 

6 enacted. 

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

8 person acting under color of law may discriminate against 

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

10 voter registration, election administration, juror selection, 

11 or enforcement relating to an election crime, any of the 

12 following: 

13 (1) Voter registration records. 

14 (2) The declination of an individual to register 

15 to vote or complete an affirmation of citizenship 

16 under section 5A of the National Voter Registration 

17 Act of 1993. 

18 (3) The voter registration status of an indi19 vidual. 

20 (f) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRA21 TION INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Information collected under 

23 this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall 

24 not be used for commercial purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
31 

•S 2841 IS

1 (2) DISSEMINATION FOR POLITICAL PUR2 POSES.—Nothing in this subsection shall be con3 strued to prohibit the transmission, exchange, or dis4 semination of information for political purposes, in5 cluding the support of campaigns for election for 

6 Federal, State, or local public office or the activities 

7 of political committees (including committees of po8 litical parties) under the Federal Election Campaign 

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

10 SEC. 7. PAYMENTS AND GRANTS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Commis12 sion shall make grants to each eligible State under sub13 section (b) to assist the State in implementing the require14 ments of this Act and the amendments made by this Act 

15 (or, in the case of an exempt State, in implementing the 

16 existing automatic voter registration program of the ex17 empt State or expanding the automatic voter registration 

18 program of the State in a manner consistent with the re19 quirements of this Act) with respect to the offices of the 

20 State motor vehicle authority and any other offices of the 

21 State at which the State offers voter registration services 

22 as described in this Act and the amendments made by this 

23 Act. 

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

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


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
32 

•S 2841 IS

1 to the Election Assistance Commission, at such time and 

2 in such form as the Election Assistance Commission may 

3 require, an application containing— 

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

5 carry out with the grant; 

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

7 such activities without partisan bias and without 

8 promoting any particular point of view regarding 

9 any issue; and 

10 (3) any other information and assurances as 

11 the Election Assistance Commission may require. 

12 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT; PRIORITIES.— 

13 (1) AMOUNT.—The Commission shall determine 

14 the amount of a grant made to an eligible State 

15 under this section. 

16 (2) PRIORITIES.—In determining the amount of 

17 a grant, the Election Assistance Commission shall 

18 give priority to providing funds for those activities 

19 that are most likely to accelerate compliance with 

20 the requirements of this Act (or, in the case of an 

21 exempt State, that are most likely to enhance the 

22 ability of the exempt State to automatically register 

23 individuals to vote through the existing automatic 

24 voter registration program of the exempt State), in25 cluding— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
33 

•S 2841 IS

1 (A) investments supporting electronic in2 formation transfer, including electronic collec3 tion and transfer of signatures, between appli4 cable agencies (as defined in section 5A of the 

5 National Voter Registration Act of 1993) and 

6 the appropriate State election officials; 

7 (B) updates to online or electronic voter 

8 registration systems already operating as of the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act; 

10 (C) introduction of online voter registra11 tion systems in jurisdictions in which those sys12 tems did not previously exist; and 

13 (D) public education on the availability of 

14 new methods of registering to vote, updating 

15 registration, and correcting registration. 

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

17 the term ‘‘exempt State’’— 

18 (1) has the meaning given that term under sec19 tion 5A(f)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act 

20 of 1993; and 

21 (2) includes a State in which, under law in ef22 fect on or after the date of the enactment of the Na23 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993, there is no 

24 voter registration requirement for any voter in the 

25 State with respect to an election for Federal office. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
34 

•S 2841 IS

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 this sub10 section shall remain available without fiscal year lim11 itation until expended. 

12 SEC. 8. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

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

14 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510 et seq.), 

15 relating to civil enforcement and the availability of private 

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

17 the same manner as such section applies to the National 

18 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510 et seq.). 

19 (b) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as pro20 vided, nothing in this Act or the amendments made by 

21 this Act may be construed to authorize or require conduct 

22 prohibited under, or to supersede, restrict, or limit the ap23 plication of any of the following: 

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

25 10301 et seq.). 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
35 

•S 2841 IS

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

3 (3) Except as provided by the amendment made 

4 under section 5 of this Act, the National Voter Reg5 istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

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. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

12 (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

13 apply on and after January 1, 2024. 

14 (b) WAIVER.—If a State certifies to the Elections As15 sistance Commission not later than January 1, 2024, that 

16 the State will not meet the deadline described in sub17 section (a) because it would be impracticable to do so and 

18 includes in the certification the reasons for the failure to 

19 meet that deadline, subsection (a) shall apply to the State 

20 as if the reference in such subsection to ‘‘January 1, 

21 2024’’ were a reference to ‘‘January 1, 2026’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB