II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2960 

To modify certain notice requirements, to study certain election requirements, 

to clarify certain election requirements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Ms. SMITH, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

PADILLA, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. 

BALDWIN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. WARREN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mrs. 

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

A BILL 

To modify certain notice requirements, to study certain election requirements, to clarify certain election requirements, 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 ‘‘Expanding the Vol5 untary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘Expanding the VOTE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LANGUAGE MINORITY NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. 

2 Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

3 U.S.C. 10503) is amended— 

4 (1) by amending subsection (b)(3)(A) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(A) the term ‘voting materials’— 

7 ‘‘(i) means registration or voting no8 tices, forms, instructions, assistance, or 

9 other materials or information relating to 

10 the electoral process, including ballots; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) includes digital and printed ma12 terial or information produced relating to 

13 the electoral process;’’; 

14 (2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub15 section (g); and 

16 (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol17 lowing new subsections: 

18 ‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES PROVIDING VOT19 ING MATERIALS IN COVERED POLITICAL SUBDIVI20 SIONS.—The prohibition under subsection (b) shall apply 

21 to any State that provides voting materials to a political 

22 subdivision subject to such prohibition. 

23 ‘‘(f) NOTICE.—The Attorney General shall submit a 

24 notice of the prohibition of subsection (b), and the thresh25 old at which such prohibition applies, to each State or po26 litical subdivision that is— 


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1 ‘‘(1) below the threshold requirement under 

2 subclause (II) of subsection (b)(2)(A)(i) by not more 

3 than 1,000; or 

4 ‘‘(2) below the threshold requirement under 

5 subclause (I) or (III) of subsection (b)(2)(A)(i) by 

6 not more than 0.5 percent.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. PROVISIONS RELATED TO AMERICAN INDIAN AND 

8 ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGES. 

9 Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 

10 U.S.C. 10503), as amended by section 2, is further 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)(3)(C), by striking ‘‘1990’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘most recent’’; and 

14 (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(c) PROVISION OF VOTING MATERIALS IN THE LAN17 GUAGE OF A MINORITY GROUP.— 

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

19 whenever any State or political subdivision subject to 

20 the prohibition of subsection (b) provides any reg21 istration or voting notices, forms, instructions, as22 sistance, or other materials or information relating 

23 to the electoral process, including ballots, it shall 

24 provide them in the language of the applicable mi25 nority group as well as in the English language. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) WHEN WRITTEN AMERICAN INDIAN

3 AND ALASKA NATIVE TRANSLATIONS FOR VOT4 ERS ARE NOT REQUIRED.—In the case of a mi5 nority group that is American Indian or Alaska 

6 Native, if the Tribal government of that minor7 ity group has notified the Attorney General that 

8 the language is unwritten or the Tribal govern9 ment does not want a written translation, a 

10 State or political subdivision subject to the pro11 hibition of subsection (b) shall only be required 

12 to furnish that minority group, in the covered 

13 language, oral instructions, assistance, trans14 lation of voting materials, and other informa15 tion relating to registration and voting. 

16 ‘‘(B) OTHER MINORITY GROUPS WITH UN17 WRITTEN LANGUAGE.—In the case of a minor18 ity group that is not American Indian or Alaska 

19 Native, if the language of that minority group 

20 is unwritten, a State or political subdivision 

21 subject to the prohibition of subsection (b) shall 

22 only be required to furnish that minority group, 

23 in the covered language, oral instructions, as24 sistance, translation of voting materials, and 


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1 other information relating to registration and 

2 voting. 

3 ‘‘(3) WRITTEN TRANSLATIONS FOR ELECTION

4 WORKERS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a State 

5 or political division subject to the prohibition of sub6 section (b) shall provide written translations of all 

7 voting materials, with the consent of any applicable 

8 Tribal government, to election workers to ensure 

9 that the translations from English to the language 

10 of a minority group are complete, accurate, and uni11 form. 

12 ‘‘(4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT DEFINED.—In this 

13 subsection, the term ‘Tribal government’ means the 

14 recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska 

15 Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, commu16 nity, component band, or component reservation, in17 dividually identified (including parenthetically) in 

18 the list published most recently as of the date of en19 actment of the Expanding the VOTE Act pursuant 

20 to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 

21 Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO JURISDICTIONS TO INCENTIVIZE THE 

2 PROVISION OF VOTING MATERIALS IN LAN3 GUAGES NOT TRIGGERING SECTION 203 COV4 ERAGE IN APPLYING JURISDICTION. 

5 (a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 

7 Commission (in this section, referred to as the 

8 ‘‘Commission’’) shall make incentive grants under 

9 subsection (b) to States and political subdivisions to 

10 assist the States and political subdivisions in pro11 viding voting materials during an election cycle in 

12 the language of a covered language minority group. 

13 (2) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—In order to re14 ceive a grant under this section, a State or political 

15 subdivision shall submit to the Commission, at such 

16 time and in such form as the Commission may re17 quire, an application containing such information 

18 and assurances as the Commission may require, 

19 such as a plan for the State or political subdivision 

20 to engage stakeholders with a demonstrated experi21 ence of serving the relevant covered language minor22 ity group. 

23 (b) INCENTIVE GRANTS.— 

24 (1) USE OF FUNDS.—The Commission shall 

25 make an incentive grant under this subsection to a 

26 State or political subdivision to cover the reasonable 


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1 costs incurred by the State or political subdivision in 

2 providing voting materials in the language of a cov3 ered language minority group for an election cycle. 

4 (2) CONTINUATION OF PROVISION OF MATE5 RIALS FOR GROUPS IN SUCCEEDING ELECTION CY6 CLES.—If a State or political subdivision receives an 

7 incentive grant with respect to a covered language 

8 minority group for an election cycle, the State or po9 litical subdivision will certify to the Commission that 

10 the State or political subdivision will continue to 

11 provide voting materials in the language of that cov12 ered language minority group for each succeeding 

13 election cycle unless the population of the group dur14 ing the succeeding cycle has dropped by 0.5 percent 

15 or more from the population of the group during the 

16 first election cycle for which the State or political 

17 subdivision received an incentive grant with respect 

18 to the group. 

19 (3) PROHIBITING MULTIPLE GRANTS FOR SAME

20 LANGUAGE MINORITY GROUP.—If a State or political 

21 subdivision receives an incentive grant with respect 

22 to a covered language minority group, the State or 

23 subdivision may not receive another incentive grant 

24 with respect to that same covered language minority 

25 group. 


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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

2 (1) the term ‘‘covered language minority 

3 group’’— 

4 (A) means, with respect to a State or polit5 ical subdivision, the members of a single lan6 guage minority who do not meet the require7 ments of clause (i) or (ii) of section 

8 203(b)(2)(A) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 

9 (52 U.S.C. 10503(b)(2)(A)); and 

10 (B) includes the language minorities de11 scribed in section 203(g) of such Act (52 

12 U.S.C. 10503(g)) and any other language mi13 nority; 

14 (2) the term ‘‘election cycle’’ means the period 

15 which begins on the day after the date of a regularly 

16 scheduled general election for Federal office and 

17 which ends on the date of the next regularly sched18 uled general election for Federal office; 

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

20 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

21 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

22 American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of 

23 the Northern Mariana Islands; and 


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1 (4) the term ‘‘voting materials’’ has the mean2 ing given under section 203(b)(3)(A) of the Voting 

3 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503(b)(3)(A)). 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

6 $15,000,000, to remain available until expended. 

7 SEC. 5. STUDY ON CERTAIN LANGUAGE MINORITY NOTICE 

8 REQUIREMENTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the 

10 United States, in consultation with the Director of the 

11 Census, the Attorney General, and the Election Assistance 

12 Commission, shall conduct a study on the impact of— 

13 (1) reducing the threshold requirement— 

14 (A) under subclause (II) of section 

15 203(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Voting Rights Act of 

16 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503(b)(2)(A)(i)) to 7,500 

17 and 5,000, respectively; and 

18 (B) under subclause (I) or (III) of section 

19 203(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Voting Rights Act of 

20 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503(b)(2)(A)(i)) to 4 per21 cent, 3 percent, 2.5 percent, and 2 percent, re22 spectively; and 

23 (2) expanding the definition of the term ‘‘lan24 guage minorities’’ to include native speakers of Ara25 bic, French and Haitian Creole, and any other lanVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2960.IS S2960

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1 guage that the Comptroller General determines to be 

2 appropriate. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 

5 United States shall submit to Congress a report on the 

6 findings of the study conducted under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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