Protecting American Voters Act

To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Social Security to provide information to States upon request which will enable States to verify the citizenship status of applicants for voter registration in elections for Federal office in the State and remove individuals who are not citizens of the United States from the list of individuals registered to vote in elections for Federal office in the State, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Protecting American Voters Act 2. Requiring provision of information upon request to enable States to verify citizenship status of applicants for voter registration and individuals on voter registration lists (a) Provision of information upon request Section 9 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20508 (c) Provision of information upon request to enable States to verify citizenship status of applicants and registrants (1) In general At the request of a State election official, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration shall provide the official with such information as may be necessary to enable the official to verify that an applicant for voter registration in elections for Federal office held in the State or a registrant on the official list of eligible voters in elections for Federal office held in the State is a citizen of the United States. (2) Use of SAVE system The Secretary of Homeland Security may respond to a request received under paragraph (1) by using the system for the verification of immigration status under the applicable provisions of section 1137 of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1320b–7 Public Law 99–603 (3) Sharing of information The Secretary and the Commissioner may share information with each other with respect to an individual who is the subject of a request received under paragraph (1) in order to enable the Secretary and the Commissioner to respond to the request. (4) Privacy The Secretary shall carry out this subsection in accordance with such safeguards as the Commissioner determines to be necessary or appropriate to protect the confidentiality of the social security account number of any individual. (5) Prohibiting fees The Secretary may not charge a fee for responding to a State’s request under paragraph (1). (6) Regulations The Secretary shall promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this subsection. . (b) Clarification of authority of State to remove noncitizens from official list of eligible voters (1) In general Section 8(a)(4) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(4) (A) by striking or (B) by adding or (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (C) a determination that the registrant is not a citizen of the United States; . (2) Conforming amendment Section 8(c)(2)(B)(i) of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)(B)(i) (4)(A) (4)(A) or (C) (c) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 2022.

Summary: Protecting American Voters Act This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide certain information to a state election official, upon the official's request, to verify citizenship status for the purpose of voting in federal elections. Specifically, the agencies must provide the state election official with such information necessary to verify that an applicant for voter registration or a registrant on the official list of eligible voters is a U.S. citizen. DHS may respond to a request by using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, which is used to verify immigration status. DHS may not charge a fee for this information. DHS must comply with any safeguards that the SSA determines are necessary to protect the confidentiality of an individual's Social Security number. Finally, the bill requires states to remove the names of noncitizens from their official lists of eligible voters.