I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4914 
To remove barriers to the ability of unhoused individuals to register to 
vote and vote in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 5, 2025 
Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, 
Mr. VEASEY, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. MULLIN, Mrs. 
RAMIREZ, Ms. ANSARI, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CASTEN, Mrs. 
CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. 
DELBENE, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. ELFRETH, Mr. EVANS of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. FIELDS, Mr. FIGURES, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. 
GREEN of Texas, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 
KAMLAGER-DOVE, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. 
LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. 
MCCLELLAN, Mrs. MCIVER, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. MFUME, Ms. MOORE of 
Wisconsin, Ms. NORTON, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SCHA-
KOWSKY, Ms. SIMON, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mrs. SYKES, Mr. THANEDAR, 
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TLAIB, and Mr. TONKO) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Admin-
istration, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and 
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To remove barriers to the ability of unhoused individuals 
to register to vote and 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, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Unhoused Voter Opportunity Through Elections Act’’ or 
the ‘‘Unhoused VOTE Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
TITLE I—VOTING RIGHTS OF UNHOUSED CITIZENS 
Sec. 101. Voting rights of unhoused citizens. 
Sec. 102. Enforcement. 
Sec. 103. Relationship to Voting Rights Act of 1965. 
Sec. 104. Definitions. 
TITLE II—PROTECTIONS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR PROTECTING 
ACCESS 
TO 
VOTING 
AND 
VOTER 
REGISTRATION 
FOR 
UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS 
Sec. 201. Description of protections. 
Sec. 202. Special requirements for voter registration. 
Sec. 203. Inclusion of information on voter registration and voting in surveys 
conducted by recipients of HUD homeless assistance. 
TITLE III—GRANTS TO SUPPORT ACCESS TO VOTING FOR 
UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS 
Sec. 301. Grant program described. 
Sec. 302. Eligibility. 
Sec. 303. Definition. 
Sec. 304. Authorization of appropriations. 
TITLE IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 
Sec. 401. State defined. 
Sec. 402. Effective date. 
TITLE I—VOTING RIGHTS OF 
UNHOUSED CITIZENS 
SEC. 101. VOTING RIGHTS OF UNHOUSED CITIZENS. 
No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or 
standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or ap-
plied by any State or political subdivision to deny or 
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abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to 
vote because that citizen resides at or in a nontraditional 
abode. 
SEC. 102. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney 
General may commence in the name of the United States 
a civil action (including an action against a State or polit-
ical subdivision) for declaratory or injunctive relief against 
a violation of this title. 
(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person who is 
aggrieved by an alleged violation of this title may bring 
a civil action in an appropriate district court for declara-
tory or injunctive relief with respect to the violation. 
SEC. 103. RELATIONSHIP TO VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965. 
Nothing in this title may be construed to impair any 
right guaranteed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10101 et seq.). 
SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS. 
As used in this title, the term ‘‘nontraditional abode’’ 
includes— 
(1) a supervised publicly or privately operated 
shelter designed to provide temporary living accom-
modations (including welfare hotels, congregate shel-
ters, transitional housing, substance abuse treatment 
facilities); 
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(2) a public or private place not designated for, 
or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommoda-
tion for human beings; 
(3) any location in which, because an individual 
resides in the location, the individual is considered 
to be a homeless individual for purposes of section 
103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 11302); and 
(4) in the case of a State in which an individual 
incarcerated in a prison is eligible to register to vote 
and vote in elections for public office, a prison. 
TITLE 
II—PROTECTIONS 
AND 
BEST PRACTICES FOR PRO-
TECTING ACCESS TO VOTING 
AND VOTER REGISTRATION 
FOR UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS 
SEC. 201. DESCRIPTION OF PROTECTIONS. 
(a) DESCRIPTION.—Title III of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 
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‘‘Subtitle C—Access to Voting for 
Unhoused Individuals 
‘‘SEC. 321. PROMOTING USE OF DROP BOXES BY UNHOUSED 
INDIVIDUALS. 
‘‘(a) DROP BOX ACCESSIBILITY.—If a jurisdiction re-
sponsible for the administration of an election for Federal 
office in a State permits individuals to drop off voted bal-
lots in the election in drop boxes, the jurisdiction shall en-
sure that the drop boxes are available for in-person use 
and are accessible and clearly labeled. 
‘‘(b) APPLYING CRITERIA BASED ON GREATEST AC-
CESS BY UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS.—In establishing the 
location, number, and time of operation of the drop boxes 
described in subsection (a), the appropriate election offi-
cial of a jurisdiction which is subject to such subsection 
shall take into account the need to provide access to such 
drop boxes by unhoused individuals, based on consultation 
with persons who provide services for unhoused individuals 
and other relevant stakeholders. 
‘‘SEC. 322. ACCEPTANCE OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION OF 
RESIDENCE AND IDENTIFICATION. 
‘‘(a) RESIDENCE.— 
‘‘(1) ATTESTATION.—If a State imposes a re-
quirement that an individual who desires to vote in 
an election for Federal office in the State provide 
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the appropriate election official with documentation 
of the individual’s residence, the State shall consider 
the individual to meet that requirement if the indi-
vidual provides the official with a written attestation 
of the individual’s residence, signed under penalty of 
perjury. 
‘‘(2) USE
OF
SHELTER
AS
RESIDENCE
FOR 
VOTING PURPOSES.—A State may not prohibit an 
individual who is residing in a homeless shelter from 
using the shelter as the individual’s residence for 
purposes of voting in an election for Federal office 
which is held in the jurisdiction in which the shelter 
is located. 
‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION
ISSUED
BY
ENTITIES
OF 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.—If a State imposes a re-
quirement that an individual who desires to vote in an 
election for Federal office in the State provide the appro-
priate election official with documentation of the individ-
ual’s identification, the State shall consider the individual 
to meet the requirement if the individual provides the offi-
cial with a document containing the individual’s name 
which is issued by an entity of the criminal justice system, 
including a correctional facility, court, probation officer, 
or parole officer. 
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‘‘SEC. 323. OUTREACH TO UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS. 
‘‘(a) INFORMATION ON WEBSITES OF ELECTION OF-
FICIALS.— 
‘‘(1) 
INFORMATION
REQUIRED.—The 
chief 
State election official shall ensure that the official 
public website of each election official of the State 
includes an accessible, clear, and separate hyperlink 
to simple information on how unhoused individuals 
may register to vote and vote in elections for Fed-
eral office held in the State. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY IN LANGUAGE OTHER THAN 
ENGLISH.—If a State or political subdivision is re-
quired under section 203 of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503) to provide voting mate-
rials in a language other than English, the appro-
priate election official shall ensure that the informa-
tion provided under paragraph (1) is provided in 
that language as well as English. 
‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES.—Not 
later than 60 days prior to the deadline for reg-
istering to vote in an election for Federal office held 
in a State, the chief State election official shall send 
a notification of the deadline to each homeless shel-
ter in a jurisdiction of the State in which the elec-
tion will be held, local social services agencies which 
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commonly serve unhoused individuals, and other en-
tities which provide services to a significant popu-
lation of unhoused individuals in the jurisdiction. 
‘‘(2) DATES OF ELECTIONS.—Not later than 30 
days prior to the date of an election for Federal of-
fice, the chief State election official shall send a no-
tification of the election to each homeless shelter in 
a jurisdiction of the State in which the election will 
be held, along with the other agencies and entities 
to whom the chief State election official sent notice 
of the registration deadline under paragraph (1). 
‘‘SEC. 324. DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES. 
‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT
AND PUBLICATION.—In con-
sultation with the United States Interagency Council on 
Homelessness, the Commission shall develop and regularly 
update recommendations for the best practices for State 
and local election officials to follow to protect and promote 
the access of unhoused individuals to voter registration 
and voting in elections for Federal office. 
‘‘(b) SPECIFIC ELEMENTS.—The Commission shall 
include in the best practices developed and updated under 
this section— 
‘‘(1) methods to ensure that unhoused individ-
uals are aware of the procedures and locations for 
registering to vote and voting; 
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‘‘(2) methods to help election officials comply 
with requirements for providing access to voter reg-
istration and voting for people with disabilities, in-
cluding requirements established and enforced by the 
Department of Justice; 
‘‘(3) methods to train election officials, includ-
ing poll workers, in recognizing and responding to 
the challenges faced by unhoused individuals in reg-
istering to vote and voting; 
‘‘(4) methods to ensure that individuals who are 
not eligible to register to vote, including individuals 
who are not citizens of the United States, and indi-
viduals who are eligible but who do not wish to reg-
ister to vote are not denied access to services pro-
vided by homeless shelters and local social services 
agencies which commonly serve unhoused individ-
uals; and 
‘‘(5) such other practices as the Commission 
considers appropriate. 
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing and updating 
the best practices under this section, the Commission shall 
consult with individuals who have experience in being 
unhoused and with homeless shelters and local social serv-
ices agencies which commonly serve unhoused individuals, 
including shelters and agencies with experience in serving 
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unhoused individuals who are not citizens of the United 
States. 
‘‘(d) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall develop the 
first set of best practices under this section not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of the Unhoused 
VOTE Act. 
‘‘SEC. 325. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘homeless shelter’ means an 
emergency shelter under section 321 of the McKin-
ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
11351); and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘unhoused individual’ means a 
homeless individual, as defined in section 103 of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 11302).’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN-
FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 
is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 
‘‘, and subtitle C of title III.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 
relating to title III the following: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Access to Voting for Unhoused Individuals 
‘‘Sec. 321. Promoting use of drop boxes by unhoused individuals. 
‘‘Sec. 322. Acceptance of certain documentation of residence and identification. 
‘‘Sec. 323. Outreach to unhoused individuals. 
‘‘Sec. 324. Development of best practices. 
‘‘Sec. 325. Definitions.’’. 
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SEC. 202. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTER REGISTRA-
TION. 
(a) TREATMENT OF SHELTERS AS VOTER REGISTRA-
TION AGENCIES.—Section 7(a)(2) of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(2)) is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(C) all emergency shelters in the State under 
section 321 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11351).’’. 
(b) PERMITTING APPLICANTS TO MARK LOCATION 
OF RESIDENCE ON FEDERAL VOTER REGISTRATION AP-
PLICATION FORMS AND ALTERNATIVE FORMS USED BY 
STATES.—Section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20508(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
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