I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 322 

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

Vote Act of 2002 to promote integrity in voter registration, the casting 

of ballots, and the tabulation of ballots in elections for Federal office, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2021 

Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mrs. CAMMACK, Mr. STEUBE, Mr. HERN, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. 

WALBERG, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. PFLUGER, Ms. HERRELL, 

Mr. MEUSER, Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana, Ms. MALLIOTAKIS, Mr. BARR, 

Mr. WENSTRUP, Mr. JACKSON, Mr. ARMSTRONG, Mr. GOODEN of Texas, 

Mr. BABIN, Mrs. WALORSKI, Mr. WALTZ, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. GIBBS, Mr. 

POSEY, and Mr. RESCHENTHALER) 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 promote integrity 

in voter registration, the casting of ballots, and the tabulation of ballots 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 

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

3 ‘‘Save Democracy Act’’. 

4 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) Congress recognizes that the legitimacy of 

6 the United States representative democracy rests on 

7 the integrity of our Federal elections and confidence 

8 our citizens have in them. 

9 (2) Consistent with article I, section 4, clause 

10 1 of the Constitution of the United States and the 

11 principles of federalism, primary authority to regu12 late Federal elections is reserved to the States, while 

13 Congress’s role is secondary. 

14 (3) While exercising its primary role in deter15 mining the manner in which Federal elections shall 

16 be carried out, States must seek to protect the fair17 ness, accessibility, and integrity of the elections. 

18 (4) Congress should limit its secondary role in 

19 regulating Federal elections to instances in which 

20 State regulation of Federal elections has contributed 

21 to or proven unsuccessful in preventing impropriety. 

22 SEC. 2. INTEGRITY IN VOTER REGISTRATION. 

23 (a) PROHIBITING AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRA24 TION.—Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act 

25 of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub2 section (k); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol4 lowing new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITING REGISTRATION PURSUANT TO

6 AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A State may not register 

8 an individual to vote in elections for Federal office 

9 pursuant to an automatic voter registration system. 

10 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, an 

11 ‘automatic voter registration system’ means, with re12 spect to a State, a system that registers an indi13 vidual to vote in elections for Federal office in the 

14 State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the 

15 information necessary for registration from govern16 ment agencies to election officials of the State so 

17 that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to 

18 be registered, the individual will be registered to vote 

19 in such elections.’’. 

20 (b) PROHIBITING REGISTRATION TO VOTE OF INDI21 VIDUALS WHO FAIL TO PROVIDE PROOF OF UNITED

22 STATES CITIZENSHIP.—Section 8 of the National Voter 

23 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507), as amended 

24 by subsection (a), is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub2 section (l); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol4 lowing new subsection: 

5 ‘‘(k) PROHIBITING REGISTRATION OF INDIVIDUALS

6 NOT PROVIDING PROOF OF UNITED STATES CITIZEN7 SHIP.— 

8 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding any other 

9 provision of this Act, a State may not register an in10 dividual to vote in elections for Federal office held 

11 in the State unless, at the time the individual ap12 plies to register to vote, the individual provides docu13 mentary proof that the individual is a citizen of the 

14 United States, which shall consist of any of the fol15 lowing (or a photocopy thereof): 

16 ‘‘(A) A certified birth certificate issued by 

17 a State or unit of local government in a State. 

18 ‘‘(B) A valid United States passport. 

19 ‘‘(C) A Consular Report of Birth Abroad 

20 issued by the Secretary of State. 

21 ‘‘(D) A Naturalization Certificate or Cer22 tificate of Citizenship issued by the Secretary of 

23 Homeland Security. 

24 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) applies 

25 with respect to an individual who applies to register 


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1 to vote under section 5, 6, or 7 (including an indi2 vidual who submits the mail voter registration appli3 cation form prescribed by the Election Assistance 

4 Commission pursuant to section 9), or who applies 

5 under any other method of voter registration avail6 able in the State.’’. 

7 (c) REQUIRING APPLICANTS FOR VOTER REGISTRA8 TION TO PROVIDE FULL SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.— 

9 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Section 303(a)(5)(A) of 

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

11 21083(a)(5)(A)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) REQUIRING APPLICANTS TO PROVIDE

13 FULL SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.—Notwith14 standing any other provision of law, an applica15 tion for voter registration for an election for 

16 Federal office may not be accepted or processed 

17 by a State unless the application includes the 

18 applicant’s full Social Security number.’’. 

19 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

20 CERTAIN VOTERS REGISTERING BY MAIL.—Section 

21 303(b)(3)(B)(i) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

22 21083(b)(3)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘either— 

23 ’’ and all that follows through ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘the individual’s full Social Security number; and’’. 


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1 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO

2 WAIVER OF PRIVACY ACT.—Section 303(c) of such 

3 Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(c)) is amended to read as fol4 lows: 

5 ‘‘(c) PERMITTED USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUM6 BERS.—Section 7 of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 

7 552a note) does not apply to the use of a Social Security 

8 number under subsection (a)(5)(A) or subsection 

9 (b)(3)(B)(i).’’. 

10 (d) ENSURING PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO

11 STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS ON INDIVIDUALS RECUSED

12 FROM JURY SERVICE ON GROUNDS OF NONCITIZEN13 SHIP.— 

14 (1) REQUIRING STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS TO

15 COORDINATE INFORMATION ON RECUSAL AS PART

16 OF MAINTENANCE OF STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRA17 TION LIST.—Subparagraph (A) of section 303(a)(2) 

18 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

19 21083(a)(2)) is amended— 

20 (A) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause 

21 (iv); and 

22 (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol23 lowing new clause: 

24 ‘‘(iii) For purposes of removing names 

25 of ineligible voters from the official list of 


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1 eligible voters by reason of citizenship sta2 tus, the State shall coordinate the comput3 erized list with records of courts which 

4 have recused individuals from serving on a 

5 jury on the grounds that the individuals 

6 are not citizens of the United States.’’. 

7 (2) REQUIRING NOTIFICATION BY COURTS.— 

8 (A) REQUIREMENT DESCRIBED.—If a 

9 United States district court or a court of any 

10 State or local jurisdiction recuses an individual 

11 from serving on a jury on the grounds that the 

12 individual is not a citizen of the United States, 

13 the court shall transmit a notice of the individ14 ual’s recusal— 

15 (i) to the chief State election official 

16 of the State in which the individual re17 sides; and 

18 (ii) to the Attorney General. 

19 (B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

20 subsection— 

21 (i) the ‘‘chief State election official’’ 

22 of a State is the individual designated by 

23 the State under section 10 of the National 

24 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 

25 20509) to be responsible for coordination 


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1 of the State’s responsibilities under such 

2 Act; and 

3 (ii) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

4 the several States, the District of Colum5 bia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

6 American Samoa, Guam, the United States 

7 Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 

8 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

9 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section and the amend10 ments made by this section shall take effect on the date 

11 of the enactment of this Act, and shall apply with respect 

12 to applications for voter registration which are submitted 

13 on or after such date. 

14 SEC. 3. INTEGRITY IN CASTING OF BALLOTS. 

15 (a) PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN CASTING OF BAL16 LOTS.—Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

17 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 

19 sections 305 and 306; and 

20 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following 

21 new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 304. PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN CASTING OF BAL23 LOTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING PROVISION OF IDENTIFICATION AS

25 CONDITION OF VOTING.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUALS VOTING IN PERSON.—Not2 withstanding any other provision of law, the appro3 priate State or local election official may not provide 

4 a ballot for an election for Federal office to an indi5 vidual who desires to vote in person unless the indi6 vidual presents to the official a current and valid 

7 identification. 

8 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS VOTING OTHER THAN IN

9 PERSON.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

10 law, the appropriate State or local election official 

11 may not accept any ballot for an election for Federal 

12 office provided by an individual who votes other than 

13 in person unless the individual submits with the bal14 lot a copy of a current and valid identification. 

15 ‘‘(3) CURRENT AND VALID IDENTIFICATION DE16 FINED.—In this subsection, a ‘current and valid 

17 identification’ means a current and valid version of 

18 any of the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) An identification issued by a State or 

20 a unit of local government in a State. 

21 ‘‘(B) A United States passport. 

22 ‘‘(C) A military identification card. 

23 ‘‘(D) An identification issued by a tribal 

24 government. 


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1 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITING DELIVERY OF BALLOTS BY MAIL

2 UNLESS REQUESTED.—A State may not deliver a ballot 

3 in an election for Federal office to an individual by mail 

4 unless the individual requests that the State deliver the 

5 ballot to the individual by mail. 

6 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITING USE OF DROP BOXES FOR COL7 LECTION OF BALLOTS.—A State may not use a drop box 

8 for the collection of voted absentee ballots in an election 

9 for Federal office unless the drop box is located inside a 

10 building which serves as an office for a State or local elec11 tion official. 

12 ‘‘(d) RESTRICTIONS ON DELIVERY OF VOTED BAL13 LOTS BY THIRD PARTIES.—A State may not accept a 

14 voted absentee ballot in an election for Federal office 

15 which is delivered in person to an election official by any 

16 individual other than the voter to whom the ballot was 

17 transmitted, other than an individual described as follows: 

18 ‘‘(1) An election official while engaged in offi19 cial duties as authorized by law. 

20 ‘‘(2) An employee of the United States Postal 

21 Service while engaged in official duties as authorized 

22 by law. 

23 ‘‘(3) Any other individual who is allowed by law 

24 to collect and transmit United States mail, while en25 gaged in official duties as authorized by law. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITING ACCEPTANCE OF ABSENTEE BAL2 LOTS RECEIVED AFTER DATE OF ELECTION.—A State 

3 may not accept a voted absentee ballot in an election for 

4 Federal office which is not received by the appropriate 

5 State or local election official prior to the time at which 

6 the polls in the election close on the date of the election. 

7 ‘‘(f) USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS TO CROSS8 CHECK IDENTIFICATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS CASTING BAL9 LOTS IN AN ELECTION WITH INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED

10 TO VOTE IN THE ELECTION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Immediately upon the 

12 closing of the polls in an election for Federal office, 

13 each State shall verify the identification of each indi14 vidual who cast a ballot in the election by carrying 

15 out a cross-check of the individual’s identification 

16 with the individual’s identification in the official list 

17 of individuals who are registered to vote in the elec18 tion, using the individual’s full Social Security num19 ber as the method for determining the individual’s 

20 identification. 

21 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 7 

22 days after the closing of the polls in an election for 

23 Federal office, the State shall submit to the Com24 mittee on House Administration of the House of 

25 Representatives and the Committee on Rules and 


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1 Administration of the Senate a report on the State’s 

2 compliance with subsection (a), and shall include in 

3 the report— 

4 ‘‘(A) the percentage of individuals who cast 

5 votes in the election whose identifications were 

6 verified by the State under such subsection; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the number of individuals who cast 

8 votes in the election, or who attempted to cast 

9 votes in the election, whose identifications could 

10 not be verified by the State under such sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(g) EXCEPTION FOR ABSENT MILITARY AND OVER13 SEAS VOTERS.—This section does not apply with respect 

14 to any individual who is entitled to vote by absentee ballot 

15 under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Vot16 ing Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

18 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

19 Federal office held in 2022 and any succeeding election 

20 for Federal office.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EXIST22 ING IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 303 of 

23 such Act (52 U.S.C. 21083) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking subsection (b); and 


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1 (2) in subsection (c), as amended by section 

2 2(c)(3), by striking ‘‘or subsection (b)(3)(B)(i)’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN4 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 

5 is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘303, and 

6 304’’. 

7 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

8 of such Act is amended— 

9 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec10 tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 

11 306; and 

12 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec13 tion 303 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 304. Promoting integrity in casting of ballots.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. INTEGRITY IN TABULATION OF BALLOTS. 

15 (a) PROMOTING INTEGRITY.—Title III of the Help 

16 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as 

17 amended by section 3(a), is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as 

19 sections 306 and 307; and 

20 (2) by inserting after section 304 the following 

21 new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 305. PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN TABULATION OF BAL23 LOTS. 

24 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM PRESENCE OF ELECTION OBSERV25 ERS.—The appropriate State or local election official shall 


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1 permit at least 2 representatives of each candidate appear2 ing on the ballot in a general election for Federal office 

3 to observe the tabulation of the ballots in the election. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONTINUOUS TABULATION OF BALLOTS UNTIL

5 COMPLETION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the closing of the 

7 polls on the date of an election for Federal office, 

8 the appropriate State or local election official shall 

9 continue the tabulation of the ballots cast in the 

10 election without interruption (other than an inter11 ruption caused by an emergency affecting the health 

12 or safety of the election officials carrying out the 

13 tabulation) until each lawfully cast ballot has been 

14 tabulated. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.— 

16 Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to the 

17 tabulation of any provisional ballot cast in the elec18 tion. 

19 ‘‘(c) POST-ELECTION AUDIT.—Not later than 30 

20 days after each election for Federal office held in the 

21 State, each State shall conduct and publish an audit of 

22 the effectiveness and accuracy of the voting systems used 

23 to carry out the election and the performance of the State 

24 and local election officials who carried out the election. 


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1 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

2 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

3 Federal office held in 2022 and any succeeding election 

4 for Federal office.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN6 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

7 21111), as amended by section 3(c), is amended by strik8 ing ‘‘and 304’’ and inserting ‘‘304, and 305’’. 

9 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 of such Act, as amended by section 3(d), is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec12 tions 305 and 306 as relating to section 306 and 

13 307; and 

14 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec15 tion 304 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 305. Promoting integrity in tabulation of ballots.’’. 

Æ 


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