among other references, make clear that the 
Constitution prohibits voting by non-citizens in 
Federal elections. 
(E) Congress has the constitutional au-
thority, including under the aforementioned 
amendments, to pass statutes preventing non- 
citizens from voting in Federal elections, and 
did so with the Illegal Immigration Reform and 
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. 
(F) Congress may further exercise its con-
stitutional authority to ensure the Constitu-
tion’s prohibition on non-citizen voting in Fed-
eral elections is upheld. 
(G) Since the Constitution prohibits non- 
citizens from voting in Federal elections, such 
ineligible persons must not be permitted to be 
placed on Federal voter registration lists. 
(H) Improper placement of an ineligible 
non-citizen on a Federal voter registration list 
leads to— 
(i) confusion on the part of the ineli-
gible person with respect to their ineligi-
bility to cast a ballot; and 
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(ii) 
an 
increased 
likelihood 
that 
human error will permit ineligible persons 
to cast ballots in Federal elections. 
(I) State officials have confirmed that 
poorly maintained voter registration lists lead to 
ineligible persons casting ballots in Federal 
elections. 
(J) A former Broward County, Florida, 
elections supervisor has confirmed that ineli-
gible non-voters were able to cast ballots in pre-
vious elections and that she was not able to lo-
cate as many as 2,040 ballots during the 2018 
midterm recount. 
(K) This clarification of State authority to 
maintain Federal voter registration lists to en-
sure non-citizens are not included on such lists 
will promote voter confidence in election proc-
esses and outcomes. 
(L) Congress has the authority to ensure 
that no Federal elections funding is used to 
support States that permit non-citizens to cast 
ballots in any election. 
(M) Federal courts and executive agencies 
have much of the information States may need 
to maintain their Federal voter registration 
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lists, and those entities should make that infor-
mation accessible to State election authorities. 
(N) It is important to clarify the penalty 
for any violation of law that allows a non-citizen 
to cast a ballot in a Federal election. 
(O) To protect the confidence of voters in 
Federal elections, it is important to implement 
the policy described herein. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that— 
(A) many States have not adequately met 
the requirements concerning the removal of in-
eligible persons from State voter registration 
rolls pursuant to section 8 of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20507) and should strive to audit and update 
their voter registration rolls on a routine basis; 
(B) allowing non-citizens to cast ballots in 
American elections weakens our electoral sys-
tem and the value of citizenship and sows dis-
trust in our elections system; 
(C) even if a State has the sovereign au-
thority, no State should permit non-citizens to 
cast ballots in State or local elections; 
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(D) States should use all information 
available to them to maintain Federal voter reg-
istration lists and should inform Congress if 
such data is insufficient; and 
(E) Congress may take further action in 
the future to address this problem. 
(c) CLARIFYING AUTHORITY OF STATES TO REMOVE 
NONCITIZENS FROM VOTING ROLLS.— 
(1) AUTHORITY
UNDER
REGULAR
REMOVAL 
PROGRAMS.—Section 8(a)(4) of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(4)) is 
amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A); 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 
subparagraph (C); and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(B) the registrant’s status as a noncitizen 
of the United States; or’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
ONGOING REMOVAL.—Section 8(c)(2)(B)(i) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)(B)(i)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘(4)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘(4)(A) or (B)’’. 
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(d) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN SEPARATE STATE 
VOTER REGISTRATION LIST FOR NONCITIZENS.—Section 
8(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20507(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(7) in the case of a State that allows individ-
uals who are not citizens of the United States to 
vote in elections for public office in the State or any 
local jurisdiction of the State, ensure that the name 
of any registrant who is not a citizen of the United 
States is maintained on a voter registration list that 
is separate from the official list of eligible voters 
with respect to registrants who are citizens of the 
United States.’’. 
(e) REQUIREMENTS FOR BALLOTS FOR STATE OR 
LOCAL JURISDICTIONS THAT ALLOW NONCITIZEN VOT-
ING.—Section 301(a)(1) of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subparagraph: 
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‘‘(D) In the case of a State or local juris-
diction that allows individuals who are not citi-
zens of the United States to vote in elections 
for public office in the State or local jurisdic-
tion, the ballot used for the casting of votes by 
a noncitizen in such State or local jurisdiction 
may only include the candidates for the elec-
tions for public office in the State or local juris-
diction for which the noncitizen is permitted to 
vote.’’. 
(f) REDUCTION IN PAYMENTS FOR ELECTION AD-
MINISTRATION
TO STATES
OR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS 
THAT ALLOW NONCITIZEN VOTING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Title IX of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion: 
‘‘SEC. 907. REDUCTION IN PAYMENTS TO STATES OR LOCAL 
JURISDICTIONS THAT ALLOW NONCITIZEN 
VOTING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro-
vision of this Act, the amount of a payment under this 
Act to any State or local jurisdiction that allows individ-
uals who are not citizens of the United States to vote in 
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elections for public office in the State or local jurisdiction 
shall be reduced by 30 percent. 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR CERTAIN 
ELECTION
ADMINISTRATION
ACTIVITIES.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of law, no Federal funds may 
be used to implement the requirements of section 8(a)(7) 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20507(a)(7)) (as added by section 121(d) of the American 
Confidence in Elections Act) or section 301(a)(1)(D) of 
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 
21081(a)(1)(D)) (as added by section 121(e) of the Amer-
ican Confidence in Elections Act) in a State or local juris-
diction that allows individuals who are not citizens of the 
United States to vote in elections for public office in the 
State or local jurisdiction.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended by adding at the end 
the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 907. Reduction in payments to States or local jurisdictions that allow 
noncitizen voting.’’. 
(g) PROMOTING PROVISION
OF INFORMATION
BY 
FEDERAL ENTITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each entity of the Federal 
Government which maintains information which is 
relevant to the status of an individual as a registered 
voter in elections for Federal office in a State shall, 
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upon the request of an election official of the State, 
provide that information to the election official. 
(2) POLICIES
AND
PROCEDURES.—Consistent 
with section 3506(g) of title 44, United States Code, 
an entity of the Federal Government shall carry out 
this subsection in accordance with policies and pro-
cedures which will ensure that the information is 
provided securely, accurately, and in a timely basis. 
(3) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
COVERAGE UNDER PRIVACY ACT.—Section 552a(b) 
of title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para-
graph (11); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (12) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(13) to an election official of a State in ac-
cordance with section 121(h) of the American Con-
fidence in Elections Act.’’. 
(h) ENSURING PROVISION
OF INFORMATION
TO 
STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS ON INDIVIDUALS RECUSED 
FROM JURY SERVICE
ON GROUNDS
OF NONCITIZEN-
SHIP.— 
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(1) REQUIREMENT
DESCRIBED.—If a United 
States district court recuses an individual from serv-
ing on a jury on the grounds that the individual is 
not a citizen of the United States, the court shall 
transmit a notice of the individual’s recusal— 
(A) to the chief State election official of 
the State in which the individual resides; and 
(B) to the Attorney General. 
(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-
section— 
(A) the ‘‘chief State election official’’ of a 
State is the individual designated by the State 
under section 10 of the National Voter Reg-
istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to be 
responsible for coordination of the State’s re-
sponsibilities under such Act; and 
(B) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 
several States, the District of Columbia, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American 
Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Is-
lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands. 
(i) PROHIBITION ON VOTING BY NONCITIZENS IN 
FEDERAL ELECTIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 12 of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) 
is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘A person’’ and inserting 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON VOTING BY ALIENS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for any 
alien to vote in any election in violation of section 
611 of title 18, United States Code. 
‘‘(2) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates this 
subsection shall be fined under title 18, United 
States Code, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or 
both.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection and the 
amendments made by this subsection shall apply 
with respect to elections held on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 122. STATE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS WITH RE-
SPECT TO VOTER LIST MAINTENANCE. 
Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (i), by adding at the end the 
following: 
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‘‘(3) The records maintained pursuant to paragraph 
(1) shall include lists of the names and addresses of all 
registrants in a State who were inactive according to the 
criteria described in subsection (d)(1)(B) and the length 
of time each such registrant has been inactive according 
to such criteria.’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub-
section (k); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(j) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 
June 30 of each odd-numbered year, each State shall sub-
mit to the Election Assistance Commission a report that 
includes, with respect to such State during the preceding 
2-year period, the total number of— 
‘‘(1) registrants who were inactive according to 
the criteria described in subsection (d)(1)(B) and 
the length of time each such registrant has been in-
active according to such criteria; 
‘‘(2) registrants who voted in at least one of the 
prior 2 consecutive general elections for Federal of-
fice; 
‘‘(3) registrants removed from the list of official 
voters in the State pursuant to subsection (d)(1)(B); 
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‘‘(4) notices sent to registrants pursuant to 
subsection (d)(2); and 
‘‘(5) registrants who received a notice described 
in paragraph (4) who responded to such notice.’’. 
SEC. 123. CONTENTS OF STATE MAIL VOTER REGISTRATION 
FORM. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 
‘‘State Instruction Inclusion Act’’. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(a) of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20505(a)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, except that 
a State may, in addition to the criteria stated in sec-
tion 9(b), require that an applicant provide proof 
that the applicant is a citizen of the United States’’ 
after ‘‘elections for Federal office’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and such 
form may include a requirement that the applicant 
provide proof that the applicant is a citizen of the 
United States’’ after ‘‘elections for Federal office’’. 
SEC. 124. PROVISION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC CITIZEN VOTER 
IDENTIFICATION TOOLS FOR STATE USE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 
‘‘Citizen Vote Protection Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.— 
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(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(A) Photo voter identification programs es-
tablished by the States should be administered 
without unlawful discrimination and with an 
eye toward balancing appropriate access to the 
ballot box with election integrity and voter con-
fidence goals. 
(B) As confirmed by the bipartisan Com-
mission on Federal Election Reform (commonly 
known as the Carter-Baker Commission), 
‘‘[v]oters in nearly 100 democracies use a photo 
identification card without fear of infringement 
of their rights’’. 
(C) As confirmed by the Carter-Baker 
Commission, ‘‘[t]he right to vote is a vital com-
ponent of U.S. citizenship and all States should 
use their best efforts to obtain proof of citizen-
ship before registering voters.’’. 
(D) The Carter-Baker Commission was 
correct in its 2005 report when it recommended 
that the REAL ID Act be ‘‘modestly adapted 
for voting purposes to indicate on the front or 
back whether the individual is a U.S. citizen.’’. 
(E) Congress acknowledges the important 
work completed by the Carter-Baker Commis-
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sion and, by amending the REAL ID Act, re-
solves the concerns in the Commission’s report 
that ‘‘[t]he REAL ID Act does not require that 
the card indicates citizenship, but that would 
need to be done if the card is to be used for 
voting purposes’’. 
(F) Photographic voter identification is im-
portant for ensuring voter confidence in election 
processes and outcomes. 
(G) Requiring photographic voter identi-
fication is well within States’ constitutional 
competence, including pursuant to the Quali-
fications Clause of the Constitution of the 
United States (article I, section 2, clause 2), 
the Presidential Electors Clause of the Con-
stitution (article II, section 1, clause 2), and 
the Seventeenth Amendment. 
(H) The Fifteenth Amendment, the Nine-
teenth Amendment, the Twenty-Fourth Amend-
ment, and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, 
among other references, make clear that the 
Constitution prohibits voting by non-citizens in 
Federal elections. 
(I) Congress has the constitutional author-
ity, including under the aforementioned amend-
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ments, to pass statutes preventing non-citizens 
from voting in Federal elections, and did so 
with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immi-
grant Responsibility Act of 1996. 
(J) Congress may further exercise its con-
stitutional authority to ensure the Constitu-
tion’s prohibition on non-citizen voting in Fed-
eral elections is upheld. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the States should implement the sub-
stance of the recommendation of the Carter-Baker 
Commission that, ‘‘[t]o ensure that persons pre-
senting themselves at the polling place are the ones 
on the registration list, the Commission recommends 
that states [encourage] voters to use the REAL ID 
card, which was mandated in a law signed by the 
President in May 2005’’. 
(c) REAL ID ACT AMENDMENT.— 
(1) AMENDMENT.—Section 202(b) of the Real 
ID Act of 2005 (49 U.S.C. 30301 note) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(10) If the person is a citizen of the United 
States, an indication of that citizenship, except that 
no other information may be included with respect 
to the immigration status of the person.’’. 
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(2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 
this subsection shall be effective January 1, 2026, 
and shall apply with respect to any driver’s license 
or identification card issued by a State on and after 
such date. 
(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion or in any amendment made by this section may be 
construed to establish or mandate the use of a national 
identification card or to authorize any office of the execu-
tive branch to establish or mandate the use of a national 
identification card. 
SEC. 125. CONFIRMING ACCESS FOR CONGRESSIONAL 
ELECTION OBSERVERS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 
‘‘Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act of 
2023’’ or the ‘‘COCOA Act of 2023’’. 
(b) FINDINGS RELATING TO CONGRESSIONAL ELEC-
TION OBSERVERS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The Constitution delegates to each of House 
of the Congress the authority to ‘‘be the Judge of 
the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own 
Members’’. 
(2) While, in general, Congress shall respect the 
determination of State authorities with respect to 
the election of members to each House, each House 
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of Congress serves as the final arbiter over any con-
test to the seating of any putative Member-elect or 
Senator-elect. 
(3) These election contest procedures are con-
tained in the precedents of each House of Congress. 
Further, for the House of Representatives the proce-
dures exist under the Federal Contested Elections 
Act. 
(4) In the post-Civil War modern era, more 
than 100 election contests have been filed with the 
House of Representatives. 
(5) For decades, Congress has appointed and 
sent out official congressional observers to watch the 
administration of congressional elections in the 
States and territories. 
(6) These observers serve to permit Congress to 
develop its own factual record in preparation for 
eventual contests and for other reasons. 
(7) This section and the amendments made by 
this section do not establish any new authorities or 
procedures but are provided simply to permit a con-
venient statutory reference for existing Congres-
sional authority and activity. 
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