I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5171 

To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure the same requirements that apply to voters who register by mail also apply to voters 

who do not register in person with an officer or employee of a State 

or local government entity, and to provide for increased penalties for 

fraudulent registration in cases involving 10 or more violations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 

Mr. PEARCE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, 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 amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure 

the same requirements that apply to voters who register 

by mail also apply to voters who do not register in 

person with an officer or employee of a State or local 

government entity, and to provide for increased penalties 

for fraudulent registration in cases involving 10 or more 

violations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
2 

•HR 5171 IH 

1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The right to vote is a fundamental and in4 controvertible right under the Constitution. 

5 (2) There is a need for Congress to encourage 

6 and enable every eligible American to vote by re7 affirming that the right to vote is a fundamental 

8 right under the Constitution. 

9 (3) There is a need for Congress to encourage 

10 and enable every eligible American to vote by re11 affirming that the United States is a democratic 

12 government ‘‘of the people, by the people, and for 

13 the people’’ in which every vote counts. 

14 (4) There is a need for Congress to encourage 

15 and enable every eligible American to vote by elimi16 nating procedural obstacles to voting. 

17 (5) There is a need to counter discrimination in 

18 voting by removing barriers to the exercise of the 

19 constitutionally protected right to vote. 

20 (6) There is a need to ensure that voter reg21 istration processes fairly incorporate every eligible 

22 American seeking to exercise the right to vote. 

23 (7) Participation in the electoral process is a 

24 fundamental civic responsibility in which all eligible 

25 Americans should be encouraged to actively partici26 pate. 
3 

•HR 5171 IH 

1 (8) There is a need to ensure that every eligible 

2 American seeking to exercise the right to vote has 

3 access to the electoral process through a uniform 

4 system of voter registration that includes each vot5 er’s personal registration with an appropriate State 

6 or local government election entity. 

7 (9) Congress has authority under section 4 of 

8 Article I of the Constitution of the United States, 

9 section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Con10 stitution of the United States, and section 2 of the 

11 Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 

12 United States to enact legislation to address the 

13 equal protection violations that may be caused by 

14 unfair voting systems. 

15 (10) Congress has an obligation to ensure that 

16 the States and localities improve election administra17 tion and to ensure the integrity of full participation 

18 of all Americans in the democratic election process. 

19 (11) Congress has an obligation to ensure that 

20 the States and localities improve election administra21 tion and to ensure the integrity of full participation 

22 of all Americans in the democratic election process. 
4 

•HR 5171 IH 

1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTERS WHO DO NOT REG2 ISTER IN PERSON WITH AN OFFICER OR EM3 PLOYEE OF A STATE OR LOCAL GOVERN4 MENT ENTITY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 (1) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO VOT7 ERS NOT REGISTERING IN PERSON.—Section 

8 303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

9 (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(1)(A)) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(A) the individual— 

12 ‘‘(i) registered to vote in a jurisdiction 

13 by mail; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) did not register to vote in a ju15 risdiction in person with an officer or em16 ployee of a State or local government enti17 ty; and’’. 

18 (2) MEANING OF IN PERSON.—Section 

19 303(b)(1) of such Act is amended by inserting at the 

20 end the following: ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph 

21 (A)(ii), an individual shall not be considered to have 

22 registered in person if the registration is made by a 

23 person other than the person whose name appears 

24 on the voter registration form.’’. 
5 

•HR 5171 IH 

1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for 

2 section 303(b) of such Act is amended by inserting ‘‘AND

3 WHO DO NOT REGISTER IN PERSON’’ after ‘‘MAIL’’. 

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

5 this section shall take effect as if included in the enact6 ment of section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 

7 2002. 

8 SEC. 3. INCREASED PENALTIES RELATING TO FRAUDU9 LENT VOTER REGISTRATION IN CASES IN10 VOLVING 10 OR MORE VIOLATIONS. 

11 (a) FALSE INFORMATION IN REGISTERING OR VOT12 ING.—Section 11(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 

13 U.S.C. 1973i(c)) is amended by inserting at the end the 

14 following: ‘‘In the case of any person who is found to have 

15 been in violation of this section with respect to 10 or more 

16 voter registrations, this section shall be applied by sub17 stituting ‘$20,000’ for ‘$10,000’ and by substituting ‘ten 

18 years’ for ‘five years’ with respect to each such violation.’’. 

19 (b) PENALTY UNDER NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRA20 TION ACT OF 1993.—Section 12 of the National Voter 

21 Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–10) is 

22 amended by inserting at the end the following: ‘‘In the 

23 case of any person who is found to have been in violation 

24 of paragraph (2)(A) with respect to 10 or more registra25 tion applications, such person shall be fined not less than 
6 

•HR 5171 IH 

1 $500,000 ($1,000,000 in the case of an organization) or 

2 shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both, and 

3 any such fine shall be paid into the general fund of the 

4 Treasury as provided in the preceding sentence.’’. 

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

6 this section shall apply to violations occurring after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ