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 Com-
mittee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2016’’. 
(b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(A) the right to vote is a fundamental 
right of citizens of the United States; 
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(B) it is the responsibility of the State and 
Federal Governments to ensure that every eligi-
ble citizen is registered to vote; 
(C) existing voter registration systems can 
be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible and con-
fusing, with damaging effect on voter participa-
tion in elections and disproportionate impact on 
young people, persons with disabilities, and ra-
cial and ethnic minorities; and 
(D) voter registration systems must be up-
dated with 21st century technologies and proce-
dures. 
(2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act— 
(A) to establish that it is the responsibility 
of government at every level to ensure that all 
eligible citizens are registered to vote; 
(B) to enable the State and Federal Gov-
ernments to register all eligible citizens to vote 
with accurate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date pro-
cedures; 
(C) to modernize voter registration and list 
maintenance procedures with electronic and 
Internet capabilities; and 
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(D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 
accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 
electoral process. 
SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVID-
UALS. 
(a) REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPER-
ATE AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election offi-
cial of each State shall establish and operate a sys-
tem of automatic registration for the registration of 
eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal 
office in the State, in accordance with the provisions 
of this Act. 
(2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘automatic reg-
istration’’ means a system that registers an indi-
vidual to vote in elections for Federal office in a 
State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the 
information necessary for registration from govern-
ment agencies to election officials of the State so 
that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to 
be registered, the individual will be registered to vote 
in such elections. 
(b) REGISTRATION
OF VOTERS BASED
ON NEW 
AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief State election official 
shall— 
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(1) ensure that any individual who is eligible to 
register to vote in elections for Federal office in the 
State is promptly registered to vote after the indi-
vidual has not declined registration and the individ-
ual’s information has been transmitted by a contrib-
uting agency pursuant to section 3; and 
(2) send written notice to the individual, in ad-
dition to other means of notice established by this 
Act, of the individual’s voter registration status. 
(c) ONE-TIME REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON 
EXISTING CONTRIBUTING AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief 
State election official shall— 
(1) identify all individuals whose information is 
transmitted by a contributing agency pursuant to 
section 4 and who are eligible to be, but are not cur-
rently, registered to vote in that State; 
(2) promptly send each such individual written 
notice, in addition to other means of notice estab-
lished by this Act, which shall not identify the con-
tributing agency that transmitted the information 
but shall include— 
(A) an explanation that voter registration 
is voluntary, but if the individual does not de-
cline registration, the individual will be reg-
istered to vote; 
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(B) a statement offering the opportunity to 
decline voter registration through any means 
set forth by the State consistent with this Act’s 
requirements; 
(C) in the case of a State in which affili-
ation or enrollment with a political party is re-
quired in order to participate in an election to 
select the party’s candidate in an election for 
Federal office, a statement offering the indi-
vidual the opportunity to affiliate or enroll with 
a political party or to decline to affiliate or en-
roll with a political party, through such means 
as the State may establish consistent with the 
requirements of this Act; 
(D) the substantive qualifications of an 
elector in the State; 
(E) the instruction that the individual 
should decline registration if ineligible to vote; 
(F) instructions for correcting an erro-
neous registration; and 
(G) instructions for providing any addi-
tional information which is required under 
State law for voter registration purposes and 
reasonably related to the management of elec-
tions; 
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(3) ensure that each such individual who is eli-
gible to register to vote in elections for Federal of-
fice in the State is promptly registered to vote, un-
less the individual declines registration by providing 
the appropriate State election official with notice 
within the specified time period; and 
(4) send written notice to each such individual, 
in addition to other means of notice established by 
this Act, of the individual’s voter registration status. 
(d) CONTRIBUTING AGENCY DEFINED.—In this Act, 
the term ‘‘contributing agency’’ means, with respect to a 
State, an agency listed in section 3(e). 
SEC. 3. CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN REGISTRA-
TION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each contributing agency in a 
State shall assist the State’s chief election official in reg-
istering to vote all eligible individuals served by that agen-
cy, in accordance with this Act. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CONTRIBUTING
AGEN-
CIES.— 
(1) INSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA-
TION.—With each application for service or assist-
ance, and with each related recertification, renewal, 
or change of address, or, in the case of an institu-
tion of higher education, with each registration of a 
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student for enrollment in a course of study, each 
contributing agency that (in the normal course of its 
operations) requests individuals applying for service 
or assistance to provide citizenship information shall 
inform the individual of the following: 
(A) Unless that individual declines to reg-
ister to vote, or is found ineligible to vote, the 
individual will be registered to vote or, if appli-
cable, the individual’s registration will be up-
dated. 
(B) The substantive qualifications of an 
elector in the State, the consequences of false 
registration, and that the individual should not 
register if the individual does not meet all those 
qualifications. 
(C) In the case of a State in which affili-
ation or enrollment with a political party is re-
quired in order to participate in an election to 
select the party’s candidate in an election for 
Federal office, the requirement that the indi-
vidual must affiliate or enroll with a political 
party in order to participate in such an election. 
(D) Voter registration is voluntary, and 
that neither registering nor declining to register 
to vote will in any way affect the availability of 
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services or benefits, nor be used for other pur-
poses. 
(2) OPPORTUNITY TO DECLINE REGISTRATION 
REQUIRED.—Each contributing agency shall ensure 
that each application for service or assistance, and 
each related recertification, renewal, or change of 
address, or, in the case of an institution of higher 
education, each registration of a student for enroll-
ment in a course of study, cannot be completed until 
the individual is given the opportunity to decline to 
be registered to vote. 
(3) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL.—For each in-
dividual who does not decline voter registration, each 
contributing agency shall electronically transmit to 
the appropriate State election official, in a format 
compatible with the statewide voter database main-
tained under section 303 of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083), and in a manner 
that ensures timely voter registration— 
(A) the individual’s given name(s) and sur-
name(s); 
(B) the individual’s date of birth; 
(C) the individual’s residential address; 
(D) information showing that the indi-
vidual is a citizen of the United States, which 
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may include an affirmation made by the indi-
vidual under penalty of perjury that the indi-
vidual is a citizen of the United States; 
(E) any valid driver’s license number or 
the last 4 digits of the individual’s social secu-
rity number; 
(F) the date on which information per-
taining to that individual was collected or last 
updated; 
(G) the individual’s signature, in electronic 
form; 
(H) information regarding the individual’s 
affiliation or enrollment with a political party, 
if the individual provides such information; 
(I) any affirmation the State may request 
of the veracity of the information supplied by 
the individual pursuant to subparagraphs (A) 
through (H); and 
(J) any additional information which is re-
quired under State law for voter registration 
purposes and reasonably related to the manage-
ment of elections, and which is not otherwise 
collected by the agency in its normal course of 
business. 
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(c) ALTERNATE PROCEDURE
FOR CERTAIN CON-
TRIBUTING AGENCIES.—With each application for service 
or assistance, and with each related recertification, re-
newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu-
tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu-
dent for enrollment in a course of study, any contributing 
agency that does not request or record information con-
cerning the citizenship status of applicants for its services 
shall— 
(1) complete the requirements of section 7(a)(6) 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20506(a)(6)); 
(2) ensure that each applicant’s transaction 
with the agency cannot be completed until the appli-
cant has indicated whether the applicant wishes to 
register to vote in elections for Federal office held 
in the State; and 
(3) for each individual who wishes to register to 
vote, transmit that individual’s information in ac-
cordance with subsection (b)(3). 
(d) REQUIRED AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATIC REG-
ISTRATION OPPORTUNITY WITH EACH APPLICATION FOR 
SERVICE
OR ASSISTANCE.—Each contributing agency 
shall offer each individual, with each application for serv-
ice or assistance, and with each related recertification, re-
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newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu-
tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu-
dent for enrollment in a course of study, the opportunity 
to register to vote as prescribed by this section without 
regard to whether the individual previously declined a reg-
istration opportunity. 
(e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES.— 
(1) STATE AGENCIES.—In each State, each of 
the following agencies of the State shall be treated 
as a contributing agency: 
(A) Each State agency that is required by 
Federal law to provide voter registration serv-
ices, including the State motor vehicle author-
ity. 
(B) Each State agency that administers a 
program providing assistance pursuant to title 
III of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 501 
et seq.), title XIX of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), or the Patient Protec-
tion and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111– 
148). 
(C) Each State agency primarily respon-
sible for regulating the private possession of 
firearms. 
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(D) Each State agency primarily respon-
sible for maintaining identifying information for 
students enrolled at public secondary schools, 
including, where applicable, the State agency 
responsible for maintaining the education data 
system described in section 6201(e)(2) of the 
America 
COMPETES 
Act 
(20 
U.S.C. 
9871(e)(2)). 
(E) In the case of a State in which an in-
dividual disenfranchised by a criminal convic-
tion may become eligible to vote upon comple-
tion of a criminal sentence or any part thereof, 
or upon formal restoration of rights, the State 
agency responsible for administering that sen-
tence, or part thereof, or that restoration of 
rights. 
(F) Any other agency of the State which is 
designated by the State as a contributing agen-
cy, but only if the State determines that the 
agency collects information sufficient to carry 
out the responsibilities of a contributing agency 
under this section. 
(2) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In each State, each 
of the following agencies of the Federal Government 
shall be treated as a contributing agency, but only 
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