I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5779 

To require States to automatically register eligible voters to vote in elections 

for Federal office, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 14, 2016 

Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 require States to automatically register eligible voters 

to vote in elections for Federal office, 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; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2016’’. 

6 (b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 

7 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (A) the right to vote is a fundamental 

9 right of citizens of the United States; 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5779 IH

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

2 Federal Governments to ensure that every eligi3 ble citizen is registered to vote; 

4 (C) existing voter registration systems can 

5 be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible and con6 fusing, with damaging effect on voter participa7 tion in elections and disproportionate impact on 

8 young people, persons with disabilities, and ra9 cial and ethnic minorities; and 

10 (D) voter registration systems must be up11 dated with 21st century technologies and proce12 dures. 

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

14 (A) to establish that it is the responsibility 

15 of government at every level to ensure that all 

16 eligible citizens are registered to vote; 

17 (B) to enable the State and Federal Gov18 ernments to register all eligible citizens to vote 

19 with accurate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date pro20 cedures; 

21 (C) to modernize voter registration and list 

22 maintenance procedures with electronic and 

23 Internet capabilities; and 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 

2 accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 

3 electoral process. 

4 SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVID5 UALS. 

6 (a) REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPER7 ATE AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION SYSTEM.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election offi9 cial of each State shall establish and operate a sys10 tem of automatic registration for the registration of 

11 eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal 

12 office in the State, in accordance with the provisions 

13 of this Act. 

14 (2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘automatic reg15 istration’’ means a system that registers an indi16 vidual to vote in elections for Federal office in a 

17 State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the 

18 information necessary for registration from govern19 ment agencies to election officials of the State so 

20 that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to 

21 be registered, the individual will be registered to vote 

22 in such elections. 

23 (b) REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON NEW

24 AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief State election official 

25 shall— 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (1) ensure that any individual who is eligible to 

2 register to vote in elections for Federal office in the 

3 State is promptly registered to vote after the indi4 vidual has not declined registration and the individ5 ual’s information has been transmitted by a contrib6 uting agency pursuant to section 3; and 

7 (2) send written notice to the individual, in ad8 dition to other means of notice established by this 

9 Act, of the individual’s voter registration status. 

10 (c) ONE-TIME REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON

11 EXISTING CONTRIBUTING AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief 

12 State election official shall— 

13 (1) identify all individuals whose information is 

14 transmitted by a contributing agency pursuant to 

15 section 4 and who are eligible to be, but are not cur16 rently, registered to vote in that State; 

17 (2) promptly send each such individual written 

18 notice, in addition to other means of notice estab19 lished by this Act, which shall not identify the con20 tributing agency that transmitted the information 

21 but shall include— 

22 (A) an explanation that voter registration 

23 is voluntary, but if the individual does not de24 cline registration, the individual will be reg25 istered to vote; 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (B) a statement offering the opportunity to 

2 decline voter registration through any means 

3 set forth by the State consistent with this Act’s 

4 requirements; 

5 (C) in the case of a State in which affili6 ation or enrollment with a political party is re7 quired in order to participate in an election to 

8 select the party’s candidate in an election for 

9 Federal office, a statement offering the indi10 vidual the opportunity to affiliate or enroll with 

11 a political party or to decline to affiliate or en12 roll with a political party, through such means 

13 as the State may establish consistent with the 

14 requirements of this Act; 

15 (D) the substantive qualifications of an 

16 elector in the State; 

17 (E) the instruction that the individual 

18 should decline registration if ineligible to vote; 

19 (F) instructions for correcting an erro20 neous registration; and 

21 (G) instructions for providing any addi22 tional information which is required under 

23 State law for voter registration purposes and 

24 reasonably related to the management of elec25 tions; 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (3) ensure that each such individual who is eli2 gible to register to vote in elections for Federal of3 fice in the State is promptly registered to vote, un4 less the individual declines registration by providing 

5 the appropriate State election official with notice 

6 within the specified time period; and 

7 (4) send written notice to each such individual, 

8 in addition to other means of notice established by 

9 this Act, of the individual’s voter registration status. 

10 (d) CONTRIBUTING AGENCY DEFINED.—In this Act, 

11 the term ‘‘contributing agency’’ means, with respect to a 

12 State, an agency listed in section 3(e). 

13 SEC. 3. CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN REGISTRA14 TION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each contributing agency in a 

16 State shall assist the State’s chief election official in reg17 istering to vote all eligible individuals served by that agen18 cy, in accordance with this Act. 

19 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRIBUTING AGEN20 CIES.— 

21 (1) INSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA22 TION.—With each application for service or assist23 ance, and with each related recertification, renewal, 

24 or change of address, or, in the case of an institu25 tion of higher education, with each registration of a 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5779 IH

1 student for enrollment in a course of study, each 

2 contributing agency that (in the normal course of its 

3 operations) requests individuals applying for service 

4 or assistance to provide citizenship information shall 

5 inform the individual of the following: 

6 (A) Unless that individual declines to reg7 ister to vote, or is found ineligible to vote, the 

8 individual will be registered to vote or, if appli9 cable, the individual’s registration will be up10 dated. 

11 (B) The substantive qualifications of an 

12 elector in the State, the consequences of false 

13 registration, and that the individual should not 

14 register if the individual does not meet all those 

15 qualifications. 

16 (C) In the case of a State in which affili17 ation or enrollment with a political party is re18 quired in order to participate in an election to 

19 select the party’s candidate in an election for 

20 Federal office, the requirement that the indi21 vidual must affiliate or enroll with a political 

22 party in order to participate in such an election. 

23 (D) Voter registration is voluntary, and 

24 that neither registering nor declining to register 

25 to vote will in any way affect the availability of 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5779 IH

1 services or benefits, nor be used for other pur2 poses. 

3 (2) OPPORTUNITY TO DECLINE REGISTRATION

4 REQUIRED.—Each contributing agency shall ensure 

5 that each application for service or assistance, and 

6 each related recertification, renewal, or change of 

7 address, or, in the case of an institution of higher 

8 education, each registration of a student for enroll9 ment in a course of study, cannot be completed until 

10 the individual is given the opportunity to decline to 

11 be registered to vote. 

12 (3) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL.—For each in13 dividual who does not decline voter registration, each 

14 contributing agency shall electronically transmit to 

15 the appropriate State election official, in a format 

16 compatible with the statewide voter database main17 tained under section 303 of the Help America Vote 

18 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083), and in a manner 

19 that ensures timely voter registration— 

20 (A) the individual’s given name(s) and sur21 name(s); 

22 (B) the individual’s date of birth; 

23 (C) the individual’s residential address; 

24 (D) information showing that the indi25 vidual is a citizen of the United States, which 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5779 IH

1 may include an affirmation made by the indi2 vidual under penalty of perjury that the indi3 vidual is a citizen of the United States; 

4 (E) any valid driver’s license number or 

5 the last 4 digits of the individual’s social secu6 rity number; 

7 (F) the date on which information per8 taining to that individual was collected or last 

9 updated; 

10 (G) the individual’s signature, in electronic 

11 form; 

12 (H) information regarding the individual’s 

13 affiliation or enrollment with a political party, 

14 if the individual provides such information; 

15 (I) any affirmation the State may request 

16 of the veracity of the information supplied by 

17 the individual pursuant to subparagraphs (A) 

18 through (H); and 

19 (J) any additional information which is re20 quired under State law for voter registration 

21 purposes and reasonably related to the manage22 ment of elections, and which is not otherwise 

23 collected by the agency in its normal course of 

24 business. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (c) ALTERNATE PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN CON2 TRIBUTING AGENCIES.—With each application for service 

3 or assistance, and with each related recertification, re4 newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu5 tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu6 dent for enrollment in a course of study, any contributing 

7 agency that does not request or record information con8 cerning the citizenship status of applicants for its services 

9 shall— 

10 (1) complete the requirements of section 7(a)(6) 

11 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 

12 U.S.C. 20506(a)(6)); 

13 (2) ensure that each applicant’s transaction 

14 with the agency cannot be completed until the appli15 cant has indicated whether the applicant wishes to 

16 register to vote in elections for Federal office held 

17 in the State; and 

18 (3) for each individual who wishes to register to 

19 vote, transmit that individual’s information in ac20 cordance with subsection (b)(3). 

21 (d) REQUIRED AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATIC REG22 ISTRATION OPPORTUNITY WITH EACH APPLICATION FOR

23 SERVICE OR ASSISTANCE.—Each contributing agency 

24 shall offer each individual, with each application for serv25 ice or assistance, and with each related recertification, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 26, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5779.IH H5779

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5779 IH

1 newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu2 tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu3 dent for enrollment in a course of study, the opportunity 

4 to register to vote as prescribed by this section without 

5 regard to whether the individual previously declined a reg6 istration opportunity. 

7 (e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES.— 

8 (1) STATE AGENCIES.—In each State, each of 

9 the following agencies of the State shall be treated 

10 as a contributing agency: 

11 (A) Each State agency that is required by 

12 Federal law to provide voter registration serv13 ices, including the State motor vehicle author14 ity. 

15 (B) Each State agency that administers a 

16 program providing assistance pursuant to title 

17 III of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 501 

18 et seq.), title XIX of the Social Security Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), or the Patient Protec20 tion and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111– 

21 148). 

22 (C) Each State agency primarily respon23 sible for regulating the private possession of 

24 firearms. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (D) Each State agency primarily respon2 sible for maintaining identifying information for 

3 students enrolled at public secondary schools, 

4 including, where applicable, the State agency 

5 responsible for maintaining the education data 

6 system described in section 6201(e)(2) of the 

7 America COMPETES Act (20 U.S.C. 

8 9871(e)(2)). 

9 (E) In the case of a State in which an in10 dividual disenfranchised by a criminal convic11 tion may become eligible to vote upon comple12 tion of a criminal sentence or any part thereof, 

13 or upon formal restoration of rights, the State 

14 agency responsible for administering that sen15 tence, or part thereof, or that restoration of 

16 rights. 

17 (F) Any other agency of the State which is 

18 designated by the State as a contributing agen19 cy, but only if the State determines that the 

20 agency collects information sufficient to carry 

21 out the responsibilities of a contributing agency 

22 under this section. 

23 (2) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In each State, each 

24 of the following agencies of the Federal Government 

25 shall be treated as a contributing agency, but only 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5779 IH

1 with respect to individuals who are residents of the 

2 State in which the agency is located (except as pro3 vided in subparagraph (C)): 

4 (A) The Social Security Administration, 

5 the Department of Veterans Affairs, the De6 fense Manpower Data Center of the Depart7 ment of Defense, the Employee and Training 

8 Administration of the Department of Labor, 

9 and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Serv10 ices of the Department of Health and Human 

11 Services. 

12 (B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immi13 gration Services, but only with respect to indi14 viduals who have completed the naturalization 

15 process. 

16 (C) In the case of an individual who is a 

17 resident of a State in which an individual 

18 disenfranchised by a criminal conviction under 

19 Federal law may become eligible to vote upon 

20 completion of a criminal sentence or any part 

21 thereof, or upon formal restoration of rights, 

22 the Federal agency responsible for admin23 istering that sentence or part thereof (without 

24 regard to whether the agency is located in the 

25 same State in which the individual is a resiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:41 Jul 26, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5779.IH H5779

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 5779 IH

1 dent), but only with respect to individuals who 

2 have completed the criminal sentence or any 

3 part thereof. 

4 (D) Any other agency of the Federal Gov5 ernment which the State designates as a con6 tributing agency, but only if— 

7 (i) the State, in consultation with the 

8 head of the agency, determines that the 

9 agency collects information sufficient to 

10 carry out the responsibilities of a contrib11 uting agency under this section; and 

12 (ii) the head of the agency agrees to 

13 the designation. 

14 (3) INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

15 Each institution of higher education that receives 

16 Federal funds shall be treated as a contributing 

17 agency in the State in which it is located, but only 

18 with respect to students of the institution (including 

19 students who attend classes online) who reside in the 

20 State. An institution of higher education described 

21 in the previous sentence shall be exempt from the 

22 voter registration requirements of section 487(a)(23) 

23 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1094(a)(23)) if the institution is in compliance with 

25 the applicable requirements of this Act. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (4) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 180 days 

2 prior to the date of each election for Federal office 

3 held in the State, the chief State election official 

4 shall publish on the public Web site of the official 

5 an updated list of all contributing agencies in that 

6 State. 

7 (5) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The chief State elec8 tion official of each State, in collaboration with each 

9 contributing agency, shall take appropriate measures 

10 to educate the public about voter registration under 

11 this section. 

12 SEC. 4. ONE-TIME CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN 

13 REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN EX14 ISTING RECORDS. 

15 (a) INITIAL TRANSMITTAL OF INFORMATION.—For 

16 each individual already listed in a contributing agency’s 

17 records as of the date of enactment of this Act, and for 

18 whom the agency retains all information listed in subpara19 graphs (A) through (J) of section 3(b)(3), the agency shall 

20 promptly transmit that information to the appropriate 

21 State election official in accordance with section 3(b)(3) 

22 not later than the effective date described in section 11(a). 

23 (b) TRANSITION.—For each individual already listed 

24 in a contributing agency’s records as of the effective date 

25 described in section 11(a) (but who was not already listed 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 5779 IH

1 in a contributing agency’s records as of the date of enact2 ment of this Act), and for whom the agency retains all 

3 information listed in subparagraphs (A) through (J) of 

4 section 3(b)(3), the Agency shall promptly transmit that 

5 information to the appropriate State election official in ac6 cordance with section 3(b)(3) not later than 6 months 

7 after the effective date described in section 11(a). 

8 SEC. 5. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTOMATIC 

9 REGISTRATION. 

10 (a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 

11 An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 

12 law, or adversely affected in any civil adjudication con13 cerning immigration status or naturalization, or by an al14 legation in any legal proceeding that an individual who 

15 is not a citizen of the United States is removable or inad16 missible— 

17 (1) for notifying an election official of such in18 dividual’s automatic registration; 

19 (2) on the grounds that the individual is not an 

20 eligible voter and has been automatically registered 

21 to vote under this Act; or 

22 (3) because the individual has been automati23 cally registered to vote at the incorrect address. 

24 (b) LIMITS ON USE OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA25 TION.—The automatic registration of any individual may 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 5779 IH

1 not be used as evidence against that individual in any 

2 State or Federal law enforcement proceeding, and an indi3 vidual’s lack of knowledge or willfulness of such registra4 tion may be demonstrated by the individual’s testimony 

5 alone. 

6 (c) PROTECTION OF ELECTION INTEGRITY.—Noth7 ing in subsection (a) or (b) may be construed to prohibit 

8 or restrict any action under color of law against an indi9 vidual who— 

10 (1) knowingly and willfully makes a false state11 ment to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter 

12 registration by any individual; or 

13 (2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in vio14 lation of State law or the laws of the United States. 

15 (d) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES’ PROTECTION OF IN16 FORMATION.—Nothing in this Act authorizes a contrib17 uting agency to collect, retain, transmit, or publicly dis18 close any of the following: 

19 (1) An individual’s decision to decline to reg20 ister to vote or not to register to vote. 

21 (2) An individual’s decision not to affirm his or 

22 her citizenship. 

23 (3) Any information that a contributing agency 

24 transmits pursuant to section 3(b)(3), except in pur25 suing the agency’s ordinary course of business. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (e) ELECTION OFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OF INFOR2 MATION.— 

3 (1) DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.—For any indi4 vidual for whom the appropriate State election offi5 cial receives information from a contributing agency, 

6 that State election official shall not publicly disclose 

7 any of the following: 

8 (A) The identity of the contributing agen9 cy. 

10 (B) Any information not necessary to voter 

11 registration. 

12 (C) Any voter information otherwise shield13 ed from disclosure under State law or section 

14 8(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

15 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)). 

16 (2) DISCLOSURE REQUIRING VOTER CON17 SENT.—For any individual for whom the appropriate 

18 State election official receives information from a 

19 contributing agency, that official shall not publicly 

20 disclose any of the following absent the individual’s 

21 express permission: 

22 (A) Any portion of the individual’s social 

23 security number. 

24 (B) Any portion of the individual’s motor 

25 vehicle driver’s license number. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (C) The individual’s signature. 

2 (D) The individual’s phone number. 

3 (E) The individual’s e-mail address. 

4 (3) VOTER RECORD CHANGES.—Each State 

5 shall maintain for at least 2 years and shall make 

6 available for public inspection and, where available, 

7 photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records of 

8 changes to voter records, including removals and up9 dates. 

10 (4) DATABASE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS.— 

11 The Director of the National Institute of Standards 

12 and Technology shall— 

13 (A) establish standards governing the com14 parison of data for voter registration list main15 tenance purposes, identifying as part of such 

16 standards the specific data elements, the 

17 matching rules used, and when a State may use 

18 the data to determine and deem that an indi19 vidual is ineligible under State law to vote in an 

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

21 or outdated; 

22 (B) ensure that the standards developed 

23 pursuant to this paragraph are drafted and ap24 plied in a uniform and nondiscriminatory way; 

25 and 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (C) publish the standards developed pursu2 ant to this paragraph on the Director’s Web 

3 site and make those standards available in writ4 ten form upon request. 

5 (5) SECURITY POLICY.—The Director of the 

6 National Institute of Standards and Technology 

7 shall publish privacy and security standards for 

8 voter registration information. The standards shall 

9 require the chief State election official of each State 

10 to adopt a policy that shall specify— 

11 (A) each class of users who shall have au12 thorized access to the computerized statewide 

13 voter registration list, specifying for each class 

14 the permission and levels of access to be grant15 ed, and setting forth other safeguards to pro16 tect the privacy and security of the information 

17 on the list; and 

18 (B) security safeguards to protect personal 

19 information transmitted through the informa20 tion transmittal processes of section 3 or sec21 tion 4, the online system used pursuant to sec22 tion 7, any telephone interface, the maintenance 

23 of the voter registration database, and the audit 

24 procedure to track access to the system. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (6) STATE COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL

2 STANDARDS.— 

3 (A) CERTIFICATION.—The chief executive 

4 officer of the State shall annually file with the 

5 Election Assistance Commission a statement 

6 certifying to the Director of the National Insti7 tute of Standards and Technology that the 

8 State is in compliance with the standards re9 ferred to in paragraphs (4) and (5). A State 

10 may meet the requirement of the previous sen11 tence by filing with the Commission a statement 

12 which reads as follows: ‘‘lllll hereby 

13 certifies that it is in compliance with the stand14 ards referred to in paragraphs (4) and (5) of 

15 section 5(e) of the Automatic Voter Registra16 tion Act of 2016.’’ (with the blank to be filled 

17 in with the name of the State involved). 

18 (B) PUBLICATION OF POLICIES AND PRO19 CEDURES.—The chief State election official of a 

20 State shall publish on the official’s Web site the 

21 policies and procedures established under this 

22 section, and shall make those policies and pro23 cedures available in written form upon public 

24 request. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (C) FUNDING DEPENDENT ON CERTIFI2 CATION.—If a State does not timely file the cer3 tification required under this paragraph, it shall 

4 not receive any payment under this Act for the 

5 upcoming fiscal year. 

6 (D) COMPLIANCE OF STATES THAT RE7 QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case 

8 of a State that requires State legislation to 

9 carry out an activity covered by any certifi10 cation submitted under this paragraph, the 

11 State shall be permitted to make the certifi12 cation notwithstanding that the legislation has 

13 not been enacted at the time the certification is 

14 submitted, and such State shall submit an addi15 tional certification once such legislation is en16 acted. 

17 (f) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF INFORMATION.—No 

18 person acting under color of law may discriminate against 

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

20 voter registration, election administration, or enforcement 

21 relating to election crimes, any of the following: 

22 (1) Voter registration records. 

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

24 vote or complete an affirmation of citizenship under 

25 section 3(b). 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 5779 IH

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

2 (g) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRA3 TION INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL OR NONGOVERN4 MENTAL PURPOSES.—Voter registration information col5 lected under this Act shall not be used for commercial pur6 poses, including for comparison with any existing commer7 cial list or database. 

8 SEC. 6. REGISTRATION PORTABILITY AND CORRECTION. 

9 (a) CORRECTING REGISTRATION INFORMATION AT

10 POLLING PLACE.—Notwithstanding section 302(a) of the 

11 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(a)), if 

12 an individual is registered to vote in elections for Federal 

13 office held in a State, the appropriate election official at 

14 the polling place for any such election (including a location 

15 used as a polling place on a date other than the date of 

16 the election) shall permit the individual to— 

17 (1) update the individual’s address for purposes 

18 of the records of the election official; 

19 (2) correct any incorrect information relating to 

20 the individual, including the individual’s name and 

21 political party affiliation, in the records of the elec22 tion official; and 

23 (3) cast a ballot in the election on the basis of 

24 the updated address or corrected information, and to 

25 have the ballot treated as a regular ballot and not 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 5779 IH

1 as a provisional ballot under section 302(a) of such 

2 Act. 

3 (b) UPDATES TO COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER

4 REGISTRATION LISTS.—If an election official at the poll5 ing place receives an updated address or corrected infor6 mation from an individual under subsection (a), the offi7 cial shall ensure that the address or information is entered 

8 into the computerized statewide voter registration list in 

9 accordance with section 303(a)(1)(A)(vi) of the Help 

10 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

11 21083(a)(1)(A)(vi)). 

12 SEC. 7. ONLINE REGISTRATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall ensure that the 

14 following services are available on the official public Web 

15 sites of the appropriate State election officials: 

16 (1) Application for or update to voter registra17 tion using an electronic version of the mail voter 

18 registration application form the Election Assistance 

19 Commission prescribes, and any additional voter reg20 istration form the State develops, pursuant to sec21 tion 6(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 

22 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20505(a)). 

23 (2) Completion of a printable version of the 

24 mail voter registration application form the Election 

25 Assistance Commission prescribes, and any addiVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:42 Jul 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5779.IH H5779

rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 5779 IH

1 tional voter registration form the State develops, 

2 pursuant to section 6(a) of the National Voter Reg3 istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20505(a)). 

4 (3) Correction of voter registration. 

5 (4) Designation of political party affiliation, 

6 where applicable. 

7 (5) Cancellation of registration and removal 

8 from the voter rolls. 

9 (6) Declination of any automatic registration. 

10 (b) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS.—The appropriate 

11 State election official shall accept an online voter registra12 tion application and register each eligible individual to 

13 vote if the application provides a signature by any of the 

14 following: 

15 (1) In the case of an individual who has a sig16 nature on file with a State agency, including the 

17 State motor vehicle authority, that is required to 

18 provide voter registration services by the National 

19 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et 

20 seq.), the individual consents to the transfer of that 

21 electronic signature. 

22 (2) The individual submits with the application 

23 an electronic copy of the individual’s handwritten 

24 signature. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (3) The individual executes a computerized 

2 mark in the signature field on an online voter reg3 istration application, if the State chooses to accept 

4 this method of signature provision (as well as any of 

5 the other methods described in this subsection). 

6 (4) The individual otherwise completes registra7 tion under this section and provides a signature at 

8 the time of casting a ballot in an election or at the 

9 time of applying for a ballot (including an absentee 

10 ballot) in an upcoming election. The online system 

11 and disposition notice sent to any individual pursu12 ant to this paragraph must inform the individual of 

13 the process for providing a signature. 

14 (c) INTERAGENCY TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRONIC

15 SIGNATURES.—Each State agency that is required by the 

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

17 20501 et seq.) to provide voter registration services, in18 cluding the State motor vehicle authority, shall electroni19 cally transmit to the appropriate State election official the 

20 signature of any individual who has a signature on file 

21 with the agency and who consents to the transfer of that 

22 electronic signature under subsection (b)(1). 

23 (d) PRE-ELECTION CORRECTION.—Any correction to 

24 the statewide voter registration database pursuant to this 

25 section that is made no later than the lesser of thirty days, 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 5779 IH

1 or the period State law provides, before a Federal election 

2 shall be effective for purposes of that Federal election and 

3 succeeding elections. 

4 (e) ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES.—Each State shall 

5 ensure that all of the services provided under this section 

6 are provided in a manner accessible to individuals with 

7 disabilities. 

8 SEC. 8. PAYMENTS AND GRANTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Commis10 sion shall make grants to each eligible State to assist the 

11 State in implementing the requirements of this Act. 

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

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

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

15 Commission may require, an application containing— 

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

17 carry out with the grant; 

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

19 such activities without partisan bias and without 

20 promoting any particular point of view regarding 

21 any issue; and 

22 (3) such other information and assurances as 

23 the Commission may require. 

24 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANT; PRIORITIES.—The Commis25 sion shall determine the amount of a grant made to an 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 5779 IH

1 eligible State under this section. In determining the 

2 amount of the grants, the Commission shall give priority 

3 to providing funds for those activities which are most like4 ly to accelerate compliance with the requirements of this 

5 Act, including— 

6 (1) investments supporting electronic informa7 tion transfer, including electronic collection and 

8 transfer of signatures, between contributing agencies 

9 and the appropriate State election officials; 

10 (2) updates to online or electronic voter reg11 istration systems already operating as of the date of 

12 the enactment of this Act; 

13 (3) introduction of online voter registration sys14 tems in jurisdictions in which those systems did not 

15 previously exist; and 

16 (4) public education on the availability of new 

17 methods of registering to vote, updating registration, 

18 and correcting registration. 

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 

21 be appropriated to carry out this section— 

22 (A) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; and 

23 (B) such sums as may be necessary for 

24 each succeeding fiscal year. 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (2) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

2 Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority 

3 of this subsection shall remain available without fis4 cal year limitation until expended. 

5 SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

6 (a) ACCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION SERVICES.— 

7 Each contributing agency shall ensure that the services 

8 it provides under this Act are made available to individuals 

9 with disabilities to the same extent as services are made 

10 available to all other individuals. 

11 (b) TRANSMISSION THROUGH SECURE THIRD PARTY

12 PERMITTED.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 

13 prevent a contributing agency from contracting with a 

14 third party to assist the agency in meeting the information 

15 transmittal requirements of this Act, so long as the data 

16 transmittal complies with the applicable requirements of 

17 this Act, including the privacy and security provisions of 

18 section 5. 

19 (c) NONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PROVISION

20 OF SERVICES.—The services made available by contrib21 uting agencies under this Act and by the State under sec22 tions 6 and 7 shall be made in a manner consistent with 

23 paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a) of the Na24 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

25 20506(a)). 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (d) NOTICES.—Each State may send notices under 

2 this Act via electronic mail if the individual has provided 

3 an electronic mail address and consented to electronic mail 

4 communications for election-related materials. All notices 

5 sent pursuant to this Act that require a response must 

6 offer the individual notified the opportunity to respond at 

7 no cost to the individual. 

8 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 11 of the National 

9 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510), relat10 ing to civil enforcement and the availability of private 

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

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

13 (f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as pro14 vided, nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize 

15 or require conduct prohibited under, or to supersede, re16 strict, or limit the application of, any preexisting State 

17 or Federal law, including any of the following: 

18 (1) Any State law governing the assessment of 

19 applications for voter registration by State election 

20 officials. 

21 (2) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 

22 10301 et seq.). 

23 (3) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab24 sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 5779 IH

1 (4) The National Voter Registration Act of 

2 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

3 (5) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

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

5 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

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

8 means, with respect to a State, the individual des9 ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na10 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

11 20509) to be responsible for coordination of the 

12 State’s responsibilities under such Act. 

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

14 Assistance Commission. 

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

16 States and the District of Columbia. 

17 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

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

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

20 apply with respect to a State beginning January 1, 2019. 

21 (b) WAIVER.—Subject to the approval of the Com22 mission, if a State certifies to the Commission that the 

23 State will not meet the deadline referred to in subsection 

24 (a) because of extraordinary circumstances and includes 

25 in the certification the reasons for the failure to meet the 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 5779 IH

1 deadline, subsection (a) shall apply to the State as if the 

2 reference in such subsection to ‘‘January 1, 2019’’ were 

3 a reference to ‘‘January 1, 2021’’. 

Æ 


rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with BILLS