I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5171 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure the same require-
ments that apply to voters who register by mail also apply to voters 
who do not register in person with an officer or employee of a State 
or local government entity, and to provide for increased penalties for 
fraudulent registration in cases involving 10 or more violations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 
Mr. PEARCE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure 
the same requirements that apply to voters who register 
by mail also apply to voters who do not register in 
person with an officer or employee of a State or local 
government entity, and to provide for increased penalties 
for fraudulent registration in cases involving 10 or more 
violations. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The right to vote is a fundamental and in-
controvertible right under the Constitution. 
(2) There is a need for Congress to encourage 
and enable every eligible American to vote by re-
affirming that the right to vote is a fundamental 
right under the Constitution. 
(3) There is a need for Congress to encourage 
and enable every eligible American to vote by re-
affirming that the United States is a democratic 
government ‘‘of the people, by the people, and for 
the people’’ in which every vote counts. 
(4) There is a need for Congress to encourage 
and enable every eligible American to vote by elimi-
nating procedural obstacles to voting. 
(5) There is a need to counter discrimination in 
voting by removing barriers to the exercise of the 
constitutionally protected right to vote. 
(6) There is a need to ensure that voter reg-
istration processes fairly incorporate every eligible 
American seeking to exercise the right to vote. 
(7) Participation in the electoral process is a 
fundamental civic responsibility in which all eligible 
Americans should be encouraged to actively partici-
pate.
(8) There is a need to ensure that every eligible 
American seeking to exercise the right to vote has 
access to the electoral process through a uniform 
system of voter registration that includes each vot-
er’s personal registration with an appropriate State 
or local government election entity. 
(9) Congress has authority under section 4 of 
Article I of the Constitution of the United States, 
section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Con-
stitution of the United States, and section 2 of the 
Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
United States to enact legislation to address the 
equal protection violations that may be caused by 
unfair voting systems. 
(10) Congress has an obligation to ensure that 
the States and localities improve election administra-
tion and to ensure the integrity of full participation 
of all Americans in the democratic election process. 
(11) Congress has an obligation to ensure that 
the States and localities improve election administra-
tion and to ensure the integrity of full participation 
of all Americans in the democratic election process.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTERS WHO DO NOT REG-
ISTER IN PERSON WITH AN OFFICER OR EM-
PLOYEE OF A STATE OR LOCAL GOVERN-
MENT ENTITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS TO VOT-
ERS
NOT
REGISTERING
IN
PERSON.—Section 
303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(1)(A)) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) the individual— 
‘‘(i) registered to vote in a jurisdiction 
by mail; or 
‘‘(ii) did not register to vote in a ju-
risdiction in person with an officer or em-
ployee of a State or local government enti-
ty; and’’. 
(2) 
MEANING
OF
IN
PERSON.—Section 
303(b)(1) of such Act is amended by inserting at the 
end the following: ‘‘For purposes of subparagraph 
(A)(ii), an individual shall not be considered to have 
registered in person if the registration is made by a 
person other than the person whose name appears 
on the voter registration form.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading for 
section 303(b) of such Act is amended by inserting ‘‘AND 
WHO DO NOT REGISTER IN PERSON’’ after ‘‘MAIL’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect as if included in the enact-
ment of section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002. 
SEC. 3. INCREASED PENALTIES RELATING TO FRAUDU-
LENT VOTER REGISTRATION IN CASES IN-
VOLVING 10 OR MORE VIOLATIONS. 
(a) FALSE INFORMATION IN REGISTERING OR VOT-
ING.—Section 11(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 
U.S.C. 1973i(c)) is amended by inserting at the end the 
following: ‘‘In the case of any person who is found to have 
been in violation of this section with respect to 10 or more 
voter registrations, this section shall be applied by sub-
stituting ‘$20,000’ for ‘$10,000’ and by substituting ‘ten 
years’ for ‘five years’ with respect to each such violation.’’. 
(b) PENALTY UNDER NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRA-
TION ACT OF 1993.—Section 12 of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg–10) is 
amended by inserting at the end the following: ‘‘In the 
case of any person who is found to have been in violation 
of paragraph (2)(A) with respect to 10 or more registra-
tion applications, such person shall be fined not less than
$500,000 ($1,000,000 in the case of an organization) or 
shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both, and 
any such fine shall be paid into the general fund of the 
Treasury as provided in the preceding sentence.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to violations occurring after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
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