I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3835 

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

Vote Act of 2002 to strengthen protections against the wrongful removal 

of individuals from the official list of eligible voters and the wrongful 

denial of applications for voter registration, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 15, 2009 

Mr. HOLT 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 strengthen protections against the wrongful removal of individuals from 

the official list of eligible voters and the wrongful denial 

of applications for 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 ‘‘Protection Against 

5 Wrongful Voter Purges Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NOTICE AND REVIEW REQUIREMENTS FOR RE2 MOVAL OF INDIVIDUALS FROM OFFICIAL 

3 LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS BY REASON 

4 OTHER THAN CHANGE OF RESIDENCE. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 of the National Voter 

6 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub9 section (k); and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol11 lowing new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(j) NOTICE AND REVIEW REQUIREMENTS FOR RE13 MOVAL OF INDIVIDUALS FROM LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOT14 ERS BY REASON OTHER THAN CHANGE OF RESI15 DENCE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM NOTICE PRIOR TO REMOVAL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 

18 other requirements applicable under this sec19 tion, a State may not remove a registrant from 

20 the official list of eligible voters for an election 

21 for Federal office by reason other than death or 

22 a change of residence unless the State provides 

23 the registrant with a notice of removal meeting 

24 the requirements of subparagraph (B) not later 

25 than 30 days before the date of the election. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR NOTICE.—The 

2 notice required under this subparagraph shall 

3 be sent by forwardable mail, and shall include 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(i) A statement that the State in6 tends to remove the registrant from the of7 ficial list of eligible voters for elections for 

8 Federal office. 

9 ‘‘(ii) A description of the reasons for 

10 removal, including (in the case of an indi11 vidual proposed to be removed by reason of 

12 criminal conviction) sufficient identifying 

13 information on the criminal conviction al14 leged to be the basis for removal to enable 

15 the registrant to determine whether the 

16 registrant was convicted of the offense 

17 cited in the notice, or (in the case of an in18 dividual proposed to be removed by reason 

19 of mental incapacity) sufficient identifying 

20 information on the judicial determination 

21 of mental incapacity alleged to be the basis 

22 for removal to enable to registrant to de23 termine whether the registrant was ad24 judged to be mentally incapacitated. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) A statement that the registrant 

2 may obtain a review of the removal from 

3 an appropriate State election official in ac4 cordance with paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(iv) A postage pre-paid and pre-ad6 dressed envelope and a clear list of contact 

7 information for the appropriate State elec8 tion official that includes a mailing ad9 dress, telephone number, and fax number. 

10 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF DECISION TO REMOVE.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A registrant who re12 ceives a notice of removal under paragraph (1) 

13 may submit a written request to a designated 

14 State election official to withdraw the notice 

15 and retain the registrant on the official list of 

16 eligible voters, and may include in the request 

17 such information and evidence as the registrant 

18 considers appropriate to show that the reg19 istrant is not subject to removal from the list 

20 under State law, including information and evi21 dence showing that the registrant was not con22 victed of the criminal offense cited in the notice 

23 or that the period of ineligibility imposed as the 

24 result of a conviction of a criminal offense has 

25 expired (in the case of an individual proposed to 


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1 be removed by reason of criminal conviction) or 

2 that the registrant was not adjudged to be men3 tally incapacitated as cited in the notice or that 

4 the incapacity has since been invalidated, with5 drawn, or rescinded (in the case of an indi6 vidual proposed to be removed by reason of 

7 mental incapacity). 

8 ‘‘(B) RESPONSE BY STATE.—Not later 

9 than 10 days after receiving a request from a 

10 registrant under subparagraph (A), the State 

11 shall review the information and evidence in12 cluded and accept or reject the request, and 

13 shall notify the registrant in writing of its deci14 sion. 

15 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR REMOVAL BY REASON

16 OF DEATH OF REGISTRANT.—In the case of an indi17 vidual proposed to be removed by reason of death— 

18 ‘‘(A) the notice of removal under para19 graph (1) shall be addressed to the occupant of 

20 the most recent address of the registrant in the 

21 records of the appropriate State election offi22 cial; 

23 ‘‘(B) the notice shall include a statement 

24 that the occupant should notify the appropriate 


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1 State election official immediately if the notice 

2 of the registrant’s death is in error; 

3 ‘‘(C) if the notice of removal was issued in 

4 error, the registrant may submit a written re5 quest under paragraph (2) to withdraw the no6 tice and retain the registrant on the official list 

7 of eligible voters; and 

8 ‘‘(D) if the registrant submits such a writ9 ten request, the State shall notify the registrant 

10 of the decision made under paragraph (2)(B) 

11 with respect to the request. 

12 ‘‘(4) OPPORTUNITY TO CAST PROVISIONAL BAL13 LOT.—Any registrant who receives a notice of re14 moval under paragraph (1) and believes that the re15 moval decision was made in error shall be permitted 

16 to cast a provisional ballot in an election for Federal 

17 office in accordance with section 302(a) of the Help 

18 America Vote Act of 2002, and the vote cast by such 

19 a ballot shall be counted in the election (in accord20 ance with the standards and procedures of such sec21 tion) if it is determined that the removal decision 

22 was made in error. 

23 ‘‘(5) NO EXPANSION OF GROUNDS FOR RE24 MOVAL.—Nothing in this subsection may be con25 strued to require or authorize the establishment of 


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1 any grounds for the removal of a registrant from the 

2 official list of eligible voters for an election for Fed3 eral office which were not in effect prior to the en4 actment of this subsection.’’. 

5 (b) ADOPTION OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE REGARD6 ING AUDITS OF COMPUTERIZED LIST.—Section 311 of 

7 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15501) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub9 section: 

10 ‘‘(d) VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE REGARDING AUDITS OF

11 COMPUTERIZED LIST.—Not later than October 1, 2010, 

12 the Commission shall adopt voluntary guidance with re13 spect to audits of the Statewide computerized voter reg14 istration list required to be maintained under section 303 

15 so that each State will be able to ensure that the list re16 flects an accurate and complete count of all individuals 

17 who are validly registered to vote in elections for Federal 

18 office in the State and is secure against unauthorized 

19 uses.’’. 

20 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF

22 1993.—Section 8 of the National Voter Registration 

23 Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6) is amended— 

24 (A) in subsection (a)(3)(B), by striking 

25 ‘‘State law,’’ and inserting ‘‘State law and conVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:15 Oct 17, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3835.IH H3835

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1 sistent with the requirements of subsection 

2 (j),’’; 

3 (B) in subsection (a)(4)(A), by striking the 

4 semicolon at the end and inserting and ‘‘, con5 sistent with the requirements of subsection 

6 (j);’’; 

7 (C) in the heading for subsection (d), by 

8 inserting after ‘‘ROLLS’’ the following: ‘‘BY

9 REASON OF CHANGE OF RESIDENCE’’; and 

10 (D) in subsection (i)(2), by inserting after 

11 ‘‘subsection (d)(2)’’ the following: ‘‘and all per12 sons to whom notices described in subsection 

13 (j)’’. 

14 (2) HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Section 

15 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 

16 U.S.C. 15483(a)) is amended— 

17 (A) in paragraph (2)(A)(i), by striking 

18 ‘‘and (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e), and (j)’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking 

20 ‘‘Safeguards’’ and inserting ‘‘In addition to 

21 meeting the applicable notice and review re22 quirements of section 8 of the National Voter 

23 Registration Act of 1993, safeguards’’. 


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1 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion or any amendment made by this section may be con3 strued— 

4 (1) to affect the right of any individual to cast 

5 a provisional ballot under section 302(a) of the Help 

6 America Vote Act of 2002; or 

7 (2) to prohibit any State from providing indi8 viduals threatened with removal from the official list 

9 of eligible voters in the State with greater protec10 tions than those required under section 8(j) of the 

11 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (as added 

12 by subsection (a)). 

13 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched15 uled general election for Federal office in November 2010 

16 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

17 SEC. 3. PROCEDURES FOR REMOVAL OF INDIVIDUALS 

18 FROM OFFICIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS 

19 BY REASON OF CHANGE OF RESIDENCE. 

20 (a) PERMITTING REMOVAL AT REQUEST OF INDI21 VIDUAL ONLY IN CASE OF SPECIFIC WRITTEN REQUEST

22 OR VERIFIED REGISTRATION IN A NEW JURISDICTION.— 

23 Section 8(a)(3) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

24 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(a)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the re2 quest’’ and inserting ‘‘the specific written request’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub4 paragraph (D); and 

5 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol6 lowing new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(C) upon verification by the State that the 

8 registrant has registered in a new jurisdiction (in ac9 cordance with subsection (d)(3)).’’. 

10 (b) REQUIRING MATCH OF REGISTRATION INFORMA11 TION IN NEW JURISDICTION.—Section 8(d) of such Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6(d)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘unless’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘unless (subject to paragraph (4))’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para16 graph (4); and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol18 lowing new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(3) A State may not remove the name of a reg20 istrant on the ground that the registrant has registered 

21 in a new jurisdiction unless the State verifies the registra22 tion in the new jurisdiction by matching the registrant’s 

23 existing registration information with the registrant’s reg24 istration information from the new jurisdiction, including 

25 matching the registrant’s full name (taking into account 


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1 common variations in first names, middle initials and mid2 dle names, and documented differences in a maiden 

3 name), date of birth, and the unique number used to iden4 tify the registrant for purposes of section 303(a)(5) of the 

5 Help America Vote Act of 2002.’’. 

6 (c) PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING RETURNED REG7 ISTRATION MAILINGS.—Section 8 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1973gg–6), as amended by section 2(a), is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub10 section (l); and 

11 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol12 lowing new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(k) PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING RETURNED REG14 ISTRATION MAILINGS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) EVIDENCE OF CHANGE TO RESIDENCE IN

16 NEW JURISDICTION.—If a disposition notice de17 scribed in subsection (a)(2), a voter registration 

18 card, a notice of location of a polling place or notice 

19 of precinct assignment, or any other voter registra20 tion or voting information mailed by the registrar to 

21 the registrant is returned to the registrar as undeliv22 erable with no forwarding address or with a perma23 nent forwarding address outside of the registrar’s 

24 jurisdiction, the registrar shall deem such returned 

25 mailing as evidence that the registrant may have 


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1 changed residence to a place outside the registrar’s 

2 jurisdiction, and shall use the notice procedure de3 scribed in subsection (d)(2) to confirm the change of 

4 address. 

5 ‘‘(2) EVIDENCE OF CHANGE TO RESIDENCE IN

6 SAME JURISDICTION.—If any mailing described in 

7 paragraph (1) is returned to the registrar with a 

8 permanent forwarding address inside the registrar’s 

9 jurisdiction, the registrar shall deem such returned 

10 mailing as evidence that the registrant may have 

11 changed residence to a place within the registrar’s 

12 jurisdiction, and shall correct the registration 

13 records in accordance with subsections (c)(1)(B)(i) 

14 and (f).’’. 

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

16 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched17 uled general election for Federal office in November 2010 

18 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

19 SEC. 4. STANDARD FOR REVIEW OF REMOVAL ACTIONS. 

20 (a) STANDARD.—Section 8 of the National Voter 

21 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–6), as 

22 amended by sections 2(a) and 3(c), is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 

24 (m); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol2 lowing new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(l) STANDARD FOR REVIEW OF REMOVAL AC4 TIONS.—If any registrant who is subject to removal from 

5 the official list of eligible voters requests that the appro6 priate election official review the removal, the removal 

7 shall not take effect unless the official demonstrates by 

8 clear and convincing evidence that the registrant was 

9 properly removed under this Act.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched12 uled general election for Federal office in November 2010 

13 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 

14 SEC. 5. CONTENTS AND TREATMENT OF VOTER REGISTRA15 TION FORMS. 

16 (a) OPPORTUNITY TO CORRECT INCOMPLETE

17 FORMS.—Section 303(b)(4)(B) of the Help America Vote 

18 Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(4)(B)) is amended by 

19 striking ‘‘to answer the question included on the mail voter 

20 registration form pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i)’’ and 

21 all that follows and inserting the following: ‘‘to provide 

22 any information required on any voter registration form 

23 used by the State under section 6 of the National Voter 

24 Registration Act of 1993, the registrar shall notify the ap25 plicant of the failure and provide the applicant with an 


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1 opportunity to complete the form in a timely manner to 

2 allow for the completion of the registration form prior to 

3 the next election for Federal office.’’. 

4 (b) PROHIBITING REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE ADDI5 TIONAL INFORMATION RELATING TO AGE AND CITIZEN6 SHIP.—Section 303(b)(4) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 15483(b)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITING REQUIREMENT TO PRO10 VIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—A State 

11 must accept, in lieu of requiring an applicant to 

12 provide any documentation of citizenship or age 

13 as a condition of registering to vote, the appli14 cant’s checking of the applicable boxes required 

15 under clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) 

16 and attesting under penalty of perjury to all ap17 plicable eligibility requirements (including age 

18 and citizenship), as required by section 9(b)(2) 

19 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 

20 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–7(b)(2)).’’. 

21 (c) COMPLETED NATIONAL FORM DEEMED COM22 PLETE FOR ALL STATES.—Section 303(b) of such Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para25 graph (6); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(5) COMPLETED NATIONAL FORM DEEMED

4 COMPLETE FOR ALL STATES.—If an applicant for 

5 voter registration in a State submits a voter reg6 istration application form which contains all of the 

7 information required to be provided under the mail 

8 voter registration form developed by the Commission 

9 under section 9(a)(2) of the National Voter Reg10 istration Act of 1993 (whether the form submitted 

11 by the applicant is the form developed by the Com12 mission or another form developed and used by the 

13 State under section 6(a) of the National Voter Reg14 istration Act of 1993), the State may not refuse to 

15 register the applicant as a voter on the ground that 

16 the applicant failed to complete the form.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. PROHIBITING DELAY OR DENIAL OF REGISTRATION 

18 ON GROUNDS OF FAILURE TO MATCH INFOR19 MATION. 

20 (a) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE PROVIDED IN

21 APPLICATION.—Section 303(a)(5)(A) of the Help America 

22 Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(a)(5)(A)) is amend23 ed— 

24 (1) by amending clause (i) to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro2 vided in clause (ii), notwithstanding any 

3 other provision of law, an application for 

4 voter registration for an election for Fed5 eral office shall require the applicant to in6 clude— 

7 ‘‘(I) in the case of an applicant 

8 who has been issued and has available 

9 at the time of registration a current 

10 and valid driver’s license, the appli11 cant’s driver’s license number; or 

12 ‘‘(II) in the case of any other ap13 plicant (other than an applicant to 

14 whom clause (ii) applies), the last 4 

15 digits of the applicant’s social security 

16 number.’’; and 

17 (2) by striking clause (iii). 

18 (b) NO EFFECT ON REGISTRATION DUE TO FAILURE

19 TO MATCH.—Section 303(a)(5)(B) of such Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 15483(a)(5)(B)) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following new clause: 

22 ‘‘(iii) NO EFFECT ON REGISTRATION

23 DUE TO FAILURE TO MATCH.—A State 

24 may not refuse to accept an individual’s 

25 application for voter registration, delay the 


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1 processing of such an application, or refuse 

2 to register the individual solely on the 

3 grounds that the information provided by 

4 the individual for purposes of the database 

5 of the Statewide voter registration system 

6 under this paragraph does not match infor7 mation contained with respect to the indi8 vidual in the database of the State motor 

9 vehicle authority, the Commissioner of So10 cial Security, or any other governmental 

11 entity, except that the State may require 

12 (in a uniform and nondiscriminatory man13 ner) the individual to meet the require14 ments of subsection (b)(2) in the same 

15 manner as an individual described in sub16 section (b)(1).’’. 

17 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 Section 303(d)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 

19 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(d)(2)) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Each 

21 State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub22 paragraph (C), each State’’; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘The pro24 visions’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub25 paragraph (C), the provisions’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE FOR CER4 TAIN PROVISIONS.—To the extent that any pro5 vision of subsection (a) or subsection (b) was 

6 amended by the Protection Against Wrongful 

7 Voter Purges Act, such provision shall apply 

8 with respect to the regularly scheduled general 

9 election for Federal office held in November 

10 2010 and each succeeding election for Federal 

11 office.’’. 

Æ 


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