and, in the case of an individual who has provided 
the official with an electronic mail address, by both 
electronic mail and regular mail. 
‘‘(e) PROVISION OF SERVICES IN NONPARTISAN MAN-
NER.—The services made available under subsection (a) 
shall be provided in a manner that ensures that, consistent 
with section 7(a)(5)— 
‘‘(1) the online application does not seek to influ-
ence an applicant’s political preference or party reg-
istration; and 
‘‘(2) there is no display on the website promoting 
any political preference or party allegiance, except 
that nothing in this paragraph may be construed to 
prohibit an applicant from registering to vote as a 
member of a political party. 
‘‘(f) PROTECTION OF SECURITY OF INFORMATION.—In 
meeting the requirements of this section, the State shall es-
tablish appropriate technological security measures to pre-
vent to the greatest extent practicable any unauthorized ac-
cess to information provided by individuals using the serv-
ices made available under subsection (a). 
‘‘(g) ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES.—A state shall en-
sure that the services made available under this section are 
made available to individuals with disabilities to the same 
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extent as services are made available to all other individ-
uals. 
‘‘(h) USE OF ADDITIONAL TELEPHONE-BASED SYS-
TEM.—A State shall make the services made available on-
line under subsection (a) available through the use of an 
automated telephone-based system, subject to the same terms 
and conditions applicable under this section to the services 
made available online, in addition to making the services 
available online in accordance with the requirements of this 
section. 
‘‘(i) NONDISCRIMINATION AMONG REGISTERED VOT-
ERS USING MAIL AND ONLINE REGISTRATION.—In car-
rying out this Act, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, or 
any other Federal, State, or local law governing the treat-
ment of registered voters in the State or the administration 
of elections for public office in the State, a State shall treat 
a registered voter who registered to vote online in accord-
ance with this section in the same manner as the State 
treats a registered voter who registered to vote by mail.’’. 
(b) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS USING 
ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 
(1) TREATMENT AS INDIVIDUALS REGISTERING 
TO
VOTE
BY
MAIL
FOR
PURPOSES
OF
FIRST-TIME 
VOTER
IDENTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
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(52 U.S.C. 21083(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 
‘‘by mail’’ and inserting ‘‘by mail or online under 
section 6A of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993’’. 
(2) REQUIRING SIGNATURE FOR FIRST-TIME VOT-
ERS IN JURISDICTION.—Section 303(b) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 21083(b)) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 
paragraph (6); and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) SIGNATURE
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
FIRST- 
TIME VOTERS USING ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State shall, in a uni-
form and nondiscriminatory manner, require an 
individual to meet the requirements of subpara-
graph (B) if— 
‘‘(i) the individual registered to vote in 
the State online under section 6A of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993; and 
‘‘(ii) the individual has not previously 
voted in an election for Federal office in the 
State. 
‘‘(B) 
REQUIREMENTS.—An 
individual 
meets the requirements of this subparagraph if— 
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‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 
votes in person, the individual provides the 
appropriate State or local election official 
with a handwritten signature; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 
votes by mail, the individual submits with 
the ballot a handwritten signature. 
‘‘(C) INAPPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph (A) 
does not apply in the case of an individual who 
is— 
‘‘(i) entitled to vote by absentee ballot 
under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302 et 
seq.); 
‘‘(ii) provided the right to vote other-
wise 
than 
in 
person 
under 
section 
3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility for 
the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 
U.S.C. 20102(b)(2)(B)(ii)); or 
‘‘(iii) entitled to vote otherwise than in 
person under any other Federal law.’’. 
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EF-
FECTIVE DATE.—Section 303(d)(2)(A) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 21083(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Each 
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State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub-
section (b)(5), each State’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) TIMING OF REGISTRATION.—Section 8(a)(1) 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (C); 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
subparagraph (E); and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the 
following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) in the case of online registration 
through the official public website of an election 
official under section 6A, if the valid voter reg-
istration application is submitted online not 
later than the lesser of 30 days, or the period 
provided by State law, before the date of the elec-
tion (as determined by treating the date on 
which the application is sent electronically as the 
date on which it is submitted); and’’. 
(2) INFORMING APPLICANTS OF ELIGIBILITY RE-
QUIREMENTS
AND
PENALTIES.—Section 8(a)(5) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(5)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘and 7’’ and inserting ‘‘6A, and 7’’. 
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SEC. 1002. USE OF INTERNET TO UPDATE REGISTRATION 
INFORMATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) UPDATES TO INFORMATION CONTAINED ON 
COMPUTERIZED
STATEWIDE
VOTER
REGISTRATION 
LIST.—Section 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) USE OF INTERNET BY REGISTERED VOTERS 
TO UPDATE INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate State 
or local election official shall ensure that any 
registered voter on the computerized list may at 
any time update the voter’s registration informa-
tion, including the voter’s address and electronic 
mail address, online through the official public 
website of the election official responsible for the 
maintenance of the list, so long as the voter at-
tests to the contents of the update by providing 
a signature in electronic form in the same man-
ner required under section 6A(c) of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993. 
‘‘(B) PROCESSING OF UPDATED INFORMA-
TION BY ELECTION OFFICIALS.—If a registered 
voter updates registration information under 
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State or local election official has accepted 
or rejected updated information submitted 
by an individual under this paragraph, the 
official shall send the individual a notice of 
the disposition of the update. 
‘‘(iii) METHOD
OF
NOTIFICATION.— 
The appropriate State or local election offi-
cial shall send the notices required under 
this subparagraph by regular mail, and, in 
the case of an individual who has requested 
that the State provide voter registration and 
voting information through electronic mail, 
by both electronic mail and regular mail.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EF-
FECTIVE DATE.—Section 303(d)(1)(A) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 21083(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘sub-
paragraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (B) 
and subsection (a)(6)’’. 
(b) ABILITY OF REGISTRANT TO USE ONLINE UPDATE 
TO
PROVIDE
INFORMATION
ON
RESIDENCE.—Section 
8(d)(2)(A) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
(52 U.S.C. 20507(d)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘re-
turn the card’’ the following: ‘‘or update the reg-
istrant’s information on the computerized Statewide 
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voter registration list using the online method pro-
vided under section 303(a)(6) of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002’’; and 
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘re-
turned,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘returned or if 
the registrant does not update the registrant’s infor-
mation on the computerized Statewide voter registra-
tion list using such online method,’’. 
SEC. 1003. PROVISION OF ELECTION INFORMATION BY 
ELECTRONIC MAIL TO INDIVIDUALS REG-
ISTERED TO VOTE. 
(a) INCLUDING OPTION ON VOTER REGISTRATION AP-
PLICATION TO PROVIDE E–MAIL ADDRESS AND RECEIVE 
INFORMATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20508(b)) 
is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-
graph (3); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
paragraph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) shall include a space for the applicant to 
provide (at the applicant’s option) an electronic mail 
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address, together with a statement that, if the appli-
cant so requests, instead of using regular mail the ap-
propriate State and local election officials shall pro-
vide to the applicant, through electronic mail sent to 
that address, the same voting information (as defined 
in section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002) which the officials would provide to the appli-
cant through regular mail.’’. 
(2) PROHIBITING
USE
FOR
PURPOSES
UNRE-
LATED
TO
OFFICIAL
DUTIES
OF
ELECTION
OFFI-
CIALS.—Section 9 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITING USE OF ELECTRONIC MAIL AD-
DRESSES FOR OTHER THAN OFFICIAL PURPOSES.—The 
chief State election official shall ensure that any electronic 
mail address provided by an applicant under subsection 
(b)(5) is used only for purposes of carrying out official du-
ties of election officials and is not transmitted by any State 
or local election official (or any agent of such an official, 
including a contractor) to any person who does not require 
the address to carry out such official duties and who is not 
under the direct supervision and control of a State or local 
election official.’’. 
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(b) REQUIRING PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY ELEC-
TION OFFICIALS.—Section 302(b) of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) PROVISION
OF
OTHER
INFORMATION
BY 
ELECTRONIC MAIL.—If an individual who is a reg-
istered voter has provided the State or local election 
official with an electronic mail address for the pur-
pose of receiving voting information (as described in 
section 9(b)(5) of the National Voter Registration Act 
of 1993), the appropriate State or local election offi-
cial, through electronic mail transmitted not later 
than 7 days before the date of the election for Federal 
office involved, shall provide the individual with in-
formation on how to obtain the following information 
by electronic means: 
‘‘(A) The name and address of the polling 
place at which the individual is assigned to vote 
in the election. 
‘‘(B) The hours of operation for the polling 
place. 
‘‘(C) A description of any identification or 
other information the individual may be re-
quired to present at the polling place.’’. 
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SEC. 1004. CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT REGARDING 
NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW ELIGI-
BILITY TO VOTE. 
Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection 
(k); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following 
new subsection: 
‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE TO REGISTER APPLI-
CANTS PROVIDING NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW 
ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE.—For purposes meeting the require-
ment of subsection (a)(1) that an eligible applicant is reg-
istered to vote in an election for Federal office within the 
deadlines required under such subsection, the State shall 
consider an applicant to have provided a ‘valid voter reg-
istration form’ if— 
‘‘(1) the applicant has substantially completed 
the application form and attested to the statement re-
quired by section 9(b)(2); and 
‘‘(2) in the case of an applicant who registers to 
vote online in accordance with section 6A, the appli-
cant provides a signature in accordance with sub-
section (c) of such section.’’. 
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SEC. 1005. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the amendments made by this part (other than the 
amendments made by section 1004) shall take effect Janu-
ary 1, 2020. 
(b) WAIVER.—Subject to the approval of the Election 
Assistance Commission, if a State certifies to the Election 
Assistance Commission that the State will not meet the 
deadline referred to in subsection (a) because of extraor-
dinary circumstances and includes in the certification the 
reasons for the failure to meet the deadline, subsection (a) 
shall apply to the State as if the reference in such subsection 
to ‘‘January 1, 2020’’ were a reference to ‘‘January 1, 
2022’’. 
PART 2—AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1011. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This part may be cited as the 
‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2019’’. 
(b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(A) the right to vote is a fundamental right 
of citizens of the United States; 
(B) it is the responsibility of the State and 
Federal Governments to ensure that every eligible 
citizen is registered to vote; 
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(C) existing voter registration systems can 
be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible and confusing, 
with damaging effects on voter participation in 
elections and disproportionate impacts on young 
people, persons with disabilities, and racial and 
ethnic minorities; and 
(D) voter registration systems must be up-
dated with 21st Century technologies and proce-
dures to maintain their security. 
(2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this part— 
(A) to establish that it is the responsibility 
of government at every level to ensure that all el-
igible citizens are registered to vote; 
(B) to enable the State and Federal Govern-
ments to register all eligible citizens to vote with 
accurate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date proce-
dures; 
(C) to modernize voter registration and list 
maintenance procedures with electronic and 
Internet capabilities; and 
(D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 
accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the elec-
toral process for all eligible citizens. 
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SEC. 1012. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI-
VIDUALS. 
(a) REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPERATE 
AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election offi-
cial of each State shall establish and operate a system 
of automatic registration for the registration of eligi-
ble individuals to vote for elections for Federal office 
in the State, in accordance with the provisions of this 
part. 
(2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘automatic registra-
tion’’ means a system that registers an individual to 
vote in elections for Federal office in a State, if eligi-
ble, by electronically transferring the information nec-
essary for registration from government agencies to 
election officials of the State so that, unless the indi-
vidual affirmatively declines to be registered, the indi-
vidual will be registered to vote in such elections. 
(b) REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON NEW AGEN-
CY RECORDS.—The chief State election official shall— 
(1) not later than 15 days after a contributing 
agency has transmitted information with respect to 
an individual pursuant to section 1013, ensure that 
the individual is registered to vote in elections for 
Federal office in the State if the individual is eligible 
to be registered to vote in such elections; and 
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(2) not later than 120 days after a contributing 
agency has transmitted such information with respect 
to the individual, send written notice to the indi-
vidual, in addition to other means of notice estab-
lished by this part, of the individual’s voter registra-
tion 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 sec-
tion 1014 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 part, 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; 
(B) a statement offering the opportunity to 
decline voter registration through means con-
sistent with the requirements of this part; 
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(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 means con-
sistent with the requirements of this part; 
(D) the substantive qualifications of an elec-
tor in the State as listed in the mail voter reg-
istration application form for elections for Fed-
eral office prescribed pursuant to section 9 of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the con-
sequences of false registration, and a statement 
that the individual should decline to register if 
the individual does not meet all those qualifica-
tions; 
(E) instructions for correcting any erro-
neous information; and 
(F) instructions for providing any addi-
tional information which is listed in the mail 
voter registration application form for elections 
for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 
9 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; 
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(3) ensure that each such individual who is eligi-
ble to register to vote in elections for Federal office in 
the State is promptly registered to vote not later than 
45 days after the official sends the individual the 
written notice under paragraph (2), unless, during 
the 30-day period which begins on the date the elec-
tion official sends the individual such written notice, 
the individual declines registration in writing, 
through a communication made over the Internet, or 
by an officially-logged telephone communication; and 
(4) send written notice to each such individual, 
in addition to other means of notice established by 
this part, of the individual’s voter registration status. 
(d) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 YEARS OF 
AGE.—A State may not refuse to treat an individual as 
an eligible individual for purposes of this part on the 
grounds that the individual is less than 18 years of age 
at the time a contributing agency receives information with 
respect to the individual, so long as the individual is at 
least 16 years of age at such time. 
(e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCY DEFINED.—In this part, 
the term ‘‘contributing agency’’ means, with respect to a 
State, an agency listed in section 1013(e). 
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SEC. 1013. CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN REG-
ISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this part, each 
contributing agency in a State shall assist the State’s chief 
election official in registering to vote all eligible individuals 
served by that agency. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES.— 
(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 institution 
of higher education, with each registration of a stu-
dent for enrollment in a course of study, each contrib-
uting agency that (in the normal course of its oper-
ations) requests individuals to affirm United States 
citizenship (either directly or as part of the overall 
application for service or assistance) shall inform 
each such individual who is a citizen of the United 
States of the following: 
(A) Unless that individual declines to reg-
ister to vote, or is found ineligible to vote, the in-
dividual will be registered to vote or, if applica-
ble, the individual’s registration will be updated. 
(B) The substantive qualifications of an 
elector in the State as listed in the mail voter 
registration application form for elections for 
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Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9 of 
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the 
consequences of false registration, and the indi-
vidual should decline to 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 
neither registering nor declining to register to 
vote will in any way affect the availability of 
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 ad-
dress, or, in the case of an institution of higher edu-
cation, each registration of a student for enrollment 
in a course of study, cannot be completed until the in-
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dividual is given the opportunity to decline to be reg-
istered to vote. 
(3) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL.—Upon the ex-
piration of the 30-day period which begins on the 
date the contributing agency informs the individual 
of the information described in paragraph (1), 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), the following informa-
tion, unless during such 30-day period the individual 
declined to be registered to vote: 
(A) The individual’s given name(s) and 
surname(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. 
(E) The date on which information per-
taining to that individual was collected or last 
updated. 
(F) If available, the individual’s signature 
in electronic form. 
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(G) Information regarding the individual’s 
affiliation or enrollment with a political party, 
if the individual provides such information. 
(H) Any additional information listed in 
the mail voter registration application form for 
elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant to 
section 9 of the National Voter Registration Act 
of 1993, including any valid driver’s license 
number or the last 4 digits of the individual’s so-
cial security number, if the individual provided 
such information. 
(c) ALTERNATE PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN CONTRIB-
UTING AGENCIES.—With each application for service or as-
sistance, and with each related recertification, renewal, or 
change of address, any contributing agency that in the nor-
mal course of its operations does not request individuals 
applying for service or assistance to affirm United States 
citizenship (either directly or as part of the overall applica-
tion for service or assistance) 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 applicant 
has indicated whether the applicant wishes to register 
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to vote or declines 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 service or 
assistance, and with each related recertification, renewal, 
or change of address, or in the case of an institution of 
higher education, with each registration of a student for en-
rollment 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 registration 
opportunity. 
(e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES.— 
(1) STATE AGENCIES.—In each State, each of the 
following agencies shall be treated as a contributing 
agency: 
(A) Each agency in a State that is required 
by Federal law to provide voter registration serv-
ices, including the State motor vehicle authority 
and other voter registration agencies under the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993. 
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(B) Each agency in a State that admin-
isters a program pursuant to title III of the So-
cial 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 Protection and Affordable 
Care Act (Public Law 111–148). 
(C) Each State agency primarily respon-
sible for regulating the private possession of fire-
arms. 
(D) Each State agency primarily respon-
sible for maintaining identifying information for 
students enrolled at public secondary schools, in-
cluding, where applicable, the State agency re-
sponsible 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 indi-
vidual disenfranchised by a criminal conviction 
may become eligible to vote upon completion of 
a criminal sentence or any part thereof, or upon 
formal restoration of rights, the State agency re-
sponsible for administering that sentence, or part 
thereof, or that restoration of rights. 
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(F) Any other agency of the State which is 
designated by the State as a contributing agency. 
(2) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In each State, each of 
the following agencies of the Federal government shall 
be treated as a contributing agency with respect to in-
dividuals who are residents of that State (except as 
provided in subparagraph (C)): 
(A) The Social Security Administration, the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, the Defense 
Manpower Data Center of the Department of De-
fense, the Employee and Training Administra-
tion of the Department of Labor, and the Center 
for Medicare & Medicaid Services of the Depart-
ment of Health and Human Services. 
(B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services, but only with respect to indi-
viduals who have completed the naturalization 
process. 
(C) In the case of an individual who is a 
resident of a State in which an individual 
disenfranchised by a criminal conviction under 
Federal law may become eligible to vote upon 
completion of a criminal sentence or any part 
thereof, or upon formal restoration of rights, the 
Federal agency responsible for administering 
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that sentence or part thereof (without regard to 
whether the agency is located in the same State 
in which the individual is a resident), but only 
with respect to individuals who have completed 
the criminal sentence or any part thereof. 
(D) Any other agency of the Federal govern-
ment which the State designates as a contrib-
uting agency, but only if the State and the head 
of the agency determine that the agency collects 
information sufficient to carry out the respon-
sibilities of a contributing agency under this sec-
tion. 
(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH-
ER EDUCATION.— 
(A) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of this 
part, each institution of higher education de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) shall be treated as 
a contributing agency in the State in which it 
is located, except that— 
(i) the institution shall be treated as a 
contributing agency only if, in its normal 
course of operations, the institution requests 
each student registering for enrollment in a 
course of study, including enrollment in a 
program of distance education, as defined 
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in section 103(7) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003(7)), to affirm 
whether or not the student is a United 
States citizen; and 
(ii) if the institution is treated as a 
contributing agency in a State pursuant to 
clause (i), the institution shall serve as a 
contributing agency only with respect to 
students, including students enrolled in a 
program of distance education, as defined 
in section 103(7) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003(7)), who reside 
in the State. 
(B) INSTITUTIONS DESCRIBED.—An institu-
tion described in this subparagraph is an insti-
tution of higher education which has a program 
participation agreement in effect with the Sec-
retary of Education under section 487 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094) 
and which is located in a State to which section 
4(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(b)) does not apply. 
(4) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 180 days 
prior to the date of each election for Federal office 
held in the State, the chief State election official shall 
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publish on the public website of the official an up-
dated list of all contributing agencies in that State. 
(5) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The chief State elec-
tion official of each State, in collaboration with each 
contributing agency, shall take appropriate measures 
to educate the public about voter registration under 
this section. 
SEC. 1014. ONE-TIME CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE 
IN REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN 
EXISTING RECORDS. 
(a) INITIAL TRANSMITTAL
OF INFORMATION.—For 
each individual already listed in a contributing agency’s 
records as of the date of enactment of this Act, and for whom 
the agency has the information listed in section 1013(b)(3), 
the agency shall promptly transmit that information to the 
appropriate State election official in accordance with sec-
tion 1013(b)(3) not later than the effective date described 
in section 1011(a). 
(b) TRANSITION.—For each individual listed in a con-
tributing agency’s records as of the effective date described 
in section 1011(a) (but who was not listed in a contributing 
agency’s records as of the date of enactment of this Act), 
and for whom the agency has the information listed in sec-
tion 1013(b)(3), the Agency shall promptly transmit that 
information to the appropriate State election official in ac-
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cordance with section 1013(b)(3) not later than 6 months 
after the effective date described in section 1011(a). 
SEC. 1015. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTO-
MATIC REGISTRATION. 
(a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 
An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 
or State law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication 
concerning immigration status or naturalization, or subject 
to an allegation in any legal proceeding that the individual 
is not a citizen of the United States on any of the following 
grounds: 
(1) The individual notified an election office of 
the individual’s automatic registration to vote under 
this part. 
(2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec-
tions for Federal office but was automatically reg-
istered to vote under this part. 
(3) The individual was automatically registered 
to vote under this part at an incorrect address. 
(4) The individual declined the opportunity to 
register to vote or did not make an affirmation of 
citizenship, including through automatic registration, 
under this part. 
(b) LIMITS ON USE OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION.— 
The automatic registration of any individual or the fact 
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that an individual declined the opportunity to register to 
vote or did not make an affirmation of citizenship (includ-
ing through automatic registration) under this part may 
not be used as evidence against that individual in any State 
or Federal law enforcement proceeding, and an individual’s 
lack of knowledge or willfulness of such registration may 
be demonstrated by the individual’s testimony alone. 
(c) PROTECTION OF ELECTION INTEGRITY.—Nothing 
in subsections (a) or (b) may be construed to prohibit or 
restrict any action under color of law against an individual 
who— 
(1) knowingly and willfully makes a false state-
ment to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter reg-
istration by any individual; or 
(2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in vio-
lation of State law or the laws of the United States. 
(d) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES’ PROTECTION OF INFOR-
MATION.—Nothing in this part authorizes a contributing 
agency to collect, retain, transmit, or publicly disclose any 
of the following: 
(1) An individual’s decision to decline to register 
to vote or not to register to vote. 
(2) An individual’s decision not to affirm his or 
her citizenship. 
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(3) Any information that a contributing agency 
transmits pursuant to section 1013(b)(3), except in 
pursuing the agency’s ordinary course of business. 
(e) ELECTION OFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OF INFORMA-
TION.— 
(1) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph 
(B), with respect to any individual for whom 
any State election official receives information 
from a contributing agency, the State election of-
ficials shall not publicly disclose any of the fol-
lowing: 
(i) The identity of the contributing 
agency. 
(ii) Any information not necessary to 
voter registration. 
(iii) Any voter information otherwise 
shielded from disclosure under State law or 
section 8(a) of the National Voter Registra-
tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)). 
(iv) Any portion of the individual’s so-
cial security number. 
(v) Any portion of the individual’s 
motor vehicle driver’s license number. 
(vi) The individual’s signature. 
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(vii) The individual’s telephone num-
ber. 
(viii) The individual’s email address. 
(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS REG-
ISTERED TO VOTE.—With respect to any indi-
vidual for whom any State election official re-
ceives information from a contributing agency 
and who, on the basis of such information, is 
registered to vote in the State under this part, 
the State election officials shall not publicly dis-
close any of the following: 
(i) The identity of the contributing 
agency. 
(ii) Any information not necessary to 
voter registration. 
(iii) Any voter information otherwise 
shielded from disclosure under State law or 
section 8(a) of the National Voter Registra-
tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)). 
(iv) Any portion of the individual’s so-
cial security number. 
(v) Any portion of the individual’s 
motor vehicle driver’s license number. 
(vi) The individual’s signature. 
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(2) VOTER RECORD CHANGES.—Each State shall 
maintain for at least 2 years and shall make avail-
able for public inspection (and, where available, 
photocopying at a reasonable cost), including in elec-
tronic form and through electronic methods, all 
records of changes to voter records, including remov-
als, the reasons for removals, and updates. 
(3) DATABASE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS.—The 
Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
Technology shall, after providing the public with no-
tice and the opportunity to comment— 
(A) establish standards governing the com-
parison of data for voter registration list mainte-
nance purposes, identifying as part of such 
standards the specific data elements, the match-
ing rules used, and how a State may use the 
data to determine and deem that an individual 
is ineligible under State law to vote in an elec-
tion, or to deem a record to be a duplicate or 
outdated; 
(B) ensure that the standards developed 
pursuant to this paragraph are uniform and 
nondiscriminatory and are applied in a uniform 
and nondiscriminatory manner; and 
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(C) not later than 45 days after the dead-
line for public notice and comment, publish the 
standards developed pursuant to this paragraph 
on the Director’s website and make those stand-
ards available in written form upon request. 
(4) SECURITY POLICY.—The Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall, 
after providing the public with notice and the oppor-
tunity to comment, publish privacy and security 
standards for voter registration information not later 
than 45 days after the deadline for public notice and 
comment. The standards shall require the chief State 
election official of each State to adopt a policy that 
shall specify— 
(A) each class of users who shall have au-
thorized access to the computerized statewide 
voter registration list, specifying for each class 
the permission and levels of access to be granted, 
and setting forth other safeguards to protect the 
privacy, security, and accuracy of the informa-
tion on the list; and 
(B) security safeguards to protect personal 
information transmitted through the information 
transmittal processes of section 1013 or section 
1014, the online system used pursuant to section 
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1017, any telephone interface, the maintenance 
of the voter registration database, and any audit 
procedure to track access to the system. 
(5) STATE COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL STAND-
ARDS.— 
(A) CERTIFICATION.—The chief executive of-
ficer of the State shall annually file with the 
Election Assistance Commission a statement cer-
tifying to the Director of the National Institute 
of Standards and Technology that the State is in 
compliance with the standards referred to in 
paragraphs (3) and (4). A State may meet the 
requirement of the previous sentence by filing 
with the Commission a statement which reads as 
follows: ‘‘lllll hereby certifies that it is 
in compliance with the standards referred to in 
paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 1015(e) of the 
Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2019.’’ 
(with the blank to be filled in with the name of 
the State involved). 
(B) PUBLICATION OF POLICIES AND PROCE-
DURES.—The chief State election official of a 
State shall publish on the official’s website the 
policies and procedures established under this 
section, and shall make those policies and proce-
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dures available in written form upon public re-
quest. 
(C) FUNDING
DEPENDENT
ON
CERTIFI-
CATION.—If a State does not timely file the cer-
tification required under this paragraph, it shall 
not receive any payment under this part for the 
upcoming fiscal year. 
(D) COMPLIANCE OF STATES THAT REQUIRE 
CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case of a State 
that requires State legislation to carry out an 
activity covered by any certification submitted 
under this paragraph, for a period of not more 
than 2 years the State shall be permitted to 
make the certification notwithstanding that the 
legislation has not been enacted at the time the 
certification is submitted, and such State shall 
submit an additional certification once such leg-
islation is enacted. 
(f) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF INFORMATION.—No per-
son acting under color of law may discriminate against any 
individual based on, or use for any purpose other than voter 
registration, election administration, or enforcement relat-
ing to election crimes, any of the following: 
(1) Voter registration records. 
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(2) An individual’s declination to register to vote 
or complete an affirmation of citizenship under sec-
tion 1013(b). 
(3) An individual’s voter registration status. 
(g) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRA-
TION INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.—Infor-
mation collected under this part shall not be used for com-
mercial purposes. Nothing in this subsection may be con-
strued to prohibit the transmission, exchange, or dissemina-
tion of information for political purposes, including the 
support of campaigns for election for Federal, State, or local 
public office or the activities of political committees (includ-
ing committees of political parties) under the Federal Elec-
tion Campaign Act of 1971. 
SEC. 1016. REGISTRATION PORTABILITY AND CORRECTION. 
(a) CORRECTING REGISTRATION INFORMATION
AT 
POLLING PLACE.—Notwithstanding section 302(a) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(a)), if 
an individual is registered to vote in elections for Federal 
office held in a State, the appropriate election official at 
the polling pace for any such election (including a location 
used as a polling place on a date other than the date of 
the election) shall permit the individual to— 
(1) update the individual’s address for purposes 
of the records of the election official; 
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(2) correct any incorrect information relating to 
the individual, including the individual’s name and 
political party affiliation, in the records of the elec-
tion official; and 
(3) cast a ballot in the election on the basis of 
the updated address or corrected information, and to 
have the ballot treated as a regular ballot and not as 
a provisional ballot under section 302(a) of such Act. 
(b) UPDATES TO COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER 
REGISTRATION LISTS.—If an election official at the polling 
place receives an updated address or corrected information 
from an individual under subsection (a), the official shall 
ensure that the address or information is promptly entered 
into the computerized Statewide voter registration list in 
accordance with section 303(a)(1)(A)(vi) of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(1)(A)(vi)). 
SEC. 1017. PAYMENTS AND GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Commis-
sion shall make grants to each eligible State to assist the 
State in implementing the requirements of this part (or, 
in the case of an exempt State, in implementing its existing 
automatic voter registration program). 
(b) ELIGIBILITY; APPLICATION.—A State is eligible to 
receive a grant under this section if the State submits to 
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the Commission, at such time and in such form as the Com-
mission may require, an application containing— 
(1) a description of the activities the State will 
carry out with the grant; 
(2) an assurance that the State shall carry out 
such activities without partisan bias and without 
promoting any particular point of view regarding 
any issue; and 
(3) such other information and assurances as the 
Commission may require. 
(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT; PRIORITIES.—The Commis-
sion shall determine the amount of a grant made to an eli-
gible State under this section. In determining the amounts 
of the grants, the Commission shall give priority to pro-
viding funds for those activities which are most likely to 
accelerate compliance with the requirements of this part (or, 
in the case of an exempt State, which are most likely to 
enhance the ability of the State to automatically register 
individuals to vote through its existing automatic voter reg-
istration program), including— 
(1) investments supporting electronic informa-
tion transfer, including electronic collection and 
transfer of signatures, between contributing agencies 
and the appropriate State election officials; 
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(2) updates to online or electronic voter registra-
tion systems already operating as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act; 
(3) introduction of online voter registration sys-
tems in jurisdictions in which those systems did not 
previously exist; and 
(4) public education on the availability of new 
methods of registering to vote, updating registration, 
and correcting registration. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section— 
(A) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 
(B) such sums as may be necessary for each 
succeeding fiscal year. 
(2) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any 
amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority of 
this subsection shall remain available without fiscal 
year limitation until expended. 
SEC. 1018. TREATMENT OF EXEMPT STATES. 
(a) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—Except as provided 
in subsection (b), this part does not apply with respect to 
an exempt State. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The following provisions of this 
part apply with respect to an exempt State: 
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(1) section 1016 (relating to registration port-
ability and correction). 
(2) section 1017 (relating to payments and 
grants). 
(3) Section 1019(e) (relating to enforcement). 
(4) Section 1019(f) (relating to relation to other 
laws). 
SEC. 1019. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
(a) ACCESSIBILITY
OF REGISTRATION SERVICES.— 
Each contributing agency shall ensure that the services it 
provides under this part are made available to individuals 
with disabilities to the same extent as services are made 
available to all other individuals. 
(b) TRANSMISSION THROUGH SECURE THIRD PARTY 
PERMITTED.—Nothing in this part shall be construed to 
prevent a contributing agency from contracting with a 
third party to assist the agency in meeting the information 
transmittal requirements of this part, so long as the data 
transmittal complies with the applicable requirements of 
this part, including the privacy and security provisions of 
section 1015. 
(c) NONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PROVISION OF 
SERVICES.—The services made available by contributing 
agencies under this part and by the State under sections 
1006 and 1007 shall be made in a manner consistent with 
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paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a) of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)). 
(d) NOTICES.—Each State may send notices under 
this part via electronic mail if the individual has provided 
an electronic mail address and consented to electronic mail 
communications for election-related materials. All notices 
sent pursuant to this part that require a response must offer 
the individual notified the opportunity to respond at no 
cost to the individual. 
(e) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 11 of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510), relating to civil 
enforcement and the availability of private rights of action, 
shall apply with respect to this part in the same manner 
as such section applies to such Act. 
(f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as provided, 
nothing in this part may be construed to authorize or re-
quire conduct prohibited under, or to supersede, restrict, or 
limit the application of any of the following: 
(1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.). 
(2) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absen-
tee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 
(3) The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
(52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 
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(4) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 
SEC. 1020. DEFINITIONS. 
In this part, the following definitions apply: 
(1) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ 
means, with respect to a State, the individual des-
ignated by the State under section 10 of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to 
be responsible for coordination of the State’s respon-
sibilities under such Act. 
(2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Election 
Assistance Commission. 
(3) The term ‘‘exempt State’’ means a State 
which, under law which is in effect continuously on 
and after the date of the enactment of this Act, oper-
ates an automatic voter registration program under 
which an individual is automatically registered to 
vote in elections for Federal office in the State if the 
individual provides the motor vehicle authority of the 
State (or, in the case of a State in which an indi-
vidual is automatically registered to vote at the time 
the individual applies for benefits or services with a 
Permanent Dividend Fund of the State, provides the 
appropriate official of such Fund) with such identi-
fying information as the State may require. 
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(4) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States and the District of Columbia. 
SEC. 1021. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), this part and the amendments made by this part shall 
apply with respect to a State beginning January 1, 2021. 
(b) WAIVER.—Subject to the approval of the Commis-
sion, if a State certifies to the Commission that the State 
will not meet the deadline referred to in subsection (a) be-
cause of extraordinary circumstances and includes in the 
certification the reasons for the failure to meet the deadline, 
subsection (a) shall apply to the State as if the reference 
in such subsection to ‘‘January 1, 2021’’ were a reference 
to ‘‘January 1, 2023’’. 
PART 3—SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1031. SAME DAY REGISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as sec-
tions 305 and 306; and 
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 304. SAME DAY REGISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
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‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Notwithstanding section 
8(a)(1)(D) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)(D)), each State shall 
permit any eligible individual on the day of a Fed-
eral election and on any day when voting, including 
early voting, is permitted for a Federal election— 
‘‘(A) to register to vote in such election at 
the polling place using a form that meets the re-
quirements under section 9(b) of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the indi-
vidual is already registered to vote, to revise any 
of the individual’s voter registration informa-
tion); and 
‘‘(B) to cast a vote in such election. 
‘‘(2) 
EXCEPTION.—The 
requirements 
under 
paragraph (1) shall not apply to a State in which, 
under a State law in effect continuously on and after 
the date of the enactment of this section, there is no 
voter registration requirement for individuals in the 
State with respect to elections for Federal office. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘eligible individual’ means, with respect to 
any election for Federal office, an individual who is other-
wise qualified to vote in that election. 
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‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be required 
to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) for the 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office occur-
ring in November 2020 and for any subsequent election for 
Federal office.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING
TO EN-
FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 
is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 
inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 
such Act is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 
306; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 
303 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Same day registration.’’. 
PART 4—CONDITIONS ON REMOVAL ON BASIS OF 
INTERSTATE CROSS-CHECKS 
SEC. 1041. CONDITIONS ON REMOVAL OF REGISTRANTS 
FROM OFFICIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS 
ON BASIS OF INTERSTATE CROSS-CHECKS. 
(a) MINIMUM INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR REMOVAL 
UNDER CROSS-CHECK.—Section 8(c)(2) of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)) is 
amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub-
paragraph (D); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(B) To the extent that the program carried out by 
a State under subparagraph (A) to systematically remove 
the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligi-
ble voters uses information obtained in an interstate cross- 
check, in addition to any other conditions imposed under 
this Act on the authority of the State to remove the name 
of the voter from such a list, the State may not remove the 
name of the voter from such a list unless— 
‘‘(i) the State obtained the voter’s full name (in-
cluding the voter’s middle name, if any) and date of 
birth, and the last 4 digits of the voter’s social secu-
rity number, in the interstate cross-check; or 
‘‘(ii) the State obtained documentation from the 
ERIC system that the voter is no longer a resident of 
the State. 
‘‘(C) In this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘interstate cross-check’ means the 
transmission of information from an election official 
in one State to an election official of another State; 
and 
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‘‘(ii) the term ‘ERIC system’ means the system 
operated by the Electronic Registration Information 
Center to share voter registration information and 
voter identification information among participating 
States.’’. 
(b) REQUIRING COMPLETION OF CROSS-CHECKS NOT 
LATER THAN 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO ELECTION.—Subpara-
graph (A) of section 8(c)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
20507(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘not later than 90 
days’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘not later than 90 days 
(or, in the case of a program in which the State uses inter-
state cross-checks, not later than 6 months)’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph (D) of 
section 8(c)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)), as redes-
ignated by subsection (a)(1), is amended by striking ‘‘Sub-
paragraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘This paragraph’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 
Act shall apply with respect to elections held on or after 
the expiration of the 6-month period which begins on the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
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PART 5—OTHER INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE 
VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1051. ANNUAL REPORTS ON VOTER REGISTRATION 
STATISTICS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 
the end of each year, each State shall submit to the Election 
Assistance Commission and Congress a report containing 
the following categories of information for the year: 
(1) The number of individuals who were reg-
istered under part 2. 
(2) The number of voter registration application 
forms completed by individuals that were transmitted 
by motor vehicle authorities in the State (pursuant to 
section 5(d) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993) and voter registration agencies in the State (as 
designated under section 7 of such Act) to the chief 
State election official of the State, broken down by 
each such authority and agency. 
(3) The number of such individuals whose voter 
registration application forms were accepted and who 
were registered to vote in the State and the number 
of such individuals whose forms were rejected and 
who were not registered to vote in the State, broken 
down by each such authority and agency. 
(4) The number of change of address forms and 
other forms of information indicating that an indi-
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vidual’s identifying information has been changed 
that were transmitted by such motor vehicle authori-
ties and voter registration agencies to the chief State 
election official of the State, broken down by each 
such authority and agency and the type of form 
transmitted. 
(5) The number of individuals on the Statewide 
computerized voter registration list (as established 
and maintained under section 303 of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002) whose voter registration infor-
mation was revised by the chief State election official 
as a result of the forms transmitted to the official by 
such motor vehicle authorities and voter registration 
agencies (as described in paragraph (3)), broken down 
by each such authority and agency and the type of 
form transmitted. 
(6) The number of individuals who requested the 
chief State election official to revise voter registration 
information on such list, and the number of individ-
uals whose information was revised as a result of such 
a request. 
(b) BREAKDOWN OF INFORMATION BY RACE AND ETH-
NICITY OF INDIVIDUALS.—In preparing the report under 
this section, the State shall, for each category of information 
described in subsection (a), include a breakdown by race 
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and ethnicity of the individuals whose information is in-
cluded in the category, to the extent that information on 
the race and ethnicity of such individuals is available to 
the State. 
(c) CONFIDENTIALITY
OF
INFORMATION.—In pre-
paring and submitting a report under this section, the chief 
State election official shall ensure that no information re-
garding the identification of any individual is revealed. 
(d) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, a ‘‘State’’ in-
cludes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puer-
to Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, but does not include any State in which, under 
a State law in effect continuously on and after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, there is no voter registration 
requirement for individuals in the State with respect to 
elections for Federal office. 
PART 6—AVAILABILITY OF HAVA REQUIREMENTS 
PAYMENTS 
SEC. 1061. AVAILABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 
UNDER HAVA TO COVER COSTS OF COMPLI-
ANCE WITH NEW REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(b) of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(2) and (3)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘(2), (3), and (4)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(4) CERTAIN
VOTER
REGISTRATION
ACTIVI-
TIES.—A State may use a requirements payment to 
carry out any of the requirements of the Voter Reg-
istration Modernization Act of 2019, including the re-
quirements of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 which are imposed pursuant to the amendments 
made to such Act by the Voter Registration Mod-
ernization Act of 2019.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 254(a)(1) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 21004(a)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘section 251(a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 251(b)(2)’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2018 and each 
succeeding fiscal year. 
PART 7—PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH 
VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1071. [RESERVED]. 
SEC. 1072. ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES. 
(a) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance 
Commission shall develop and publish recommendations for 
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best practices for States to use to deter and prevent viola-
tions of section 612 of title 18, United States Code (as added 
by section 1071), and section 12 of the National Voter Reg-
istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) (relating to the un-
lawful interference with registering to vote, or voting, or 
attempting to register to vote or vote), including practices 
to provide for the posting of relevant information at polling 
places and voter registration agencies under such Act, the 
training of poll workers and election officials, and relevant 
educational materials. For purposes of this subsection, the 
term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 
United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands. 
(b) INCLUSION
IN VOTER INFORMATION REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (E); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of subpara-
graph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(G) information relating to the prohibi-
tions of section 612 of title 18, United States 
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Code, and section 12 of the National Voter Reg-
istration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) (relating 
to the unlawful interference with registering to 
vote, or voting, or attempting to register to vote 
or vote), including information on how individ-
uals may report allegations of violations of such 
prohibitions.’’. 
Subtitle B—Access to Voting for 
Individuals With Disabilities 
SEC. 1101. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES TO PROMOTE AC-
CESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 
FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 
as amended by section 1031(a), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as sec-
tions 306 and 307; and 
(2) by inserting after section 304 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 305. ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 
FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
‘‘(a) TREATMENT OF APPLICATIONS AND BALLOTS.— 
Each State shall— 
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‘‘(1) permit individuals with disabilities to use 
absentee registration procedures and to vote by absen-
tee ballot in elections for Federal office; 
‘‘(2) accept and process, with respect to any elec-
tion for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter reg-
istration application and absentee ballot application 
from an individual with a disability if the applica-
tion is received by the appropriate State election offi-
cial within the deadline for the election which is ap-
plicable under Federal law; 
‘‘(3) in addition to any other method of reg-
istering to vote or applying for an absentee ballot in 
the State, establish procedures— 
‘‘(A) for individuals with disabilities to re-
quest by mail and electronically voter registra-
tion applications and absentee ballot applica-
tions with respect to elections for Federal office 
in accordance with subsection (c); 
‘‘(B) for States to send by mail and elec-
tronically (in accordance with the preferred 
method of transmission designated by the indi-
vidual under subparagraph (C)) voter registra-
tion applications and absentee ballot applica-
tions requested under subparagraph (A) in ac-
cordance with subsection (c); and 
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‘‘(C) by which such an individual can des-
ignate whether the individual prefers that such 
voter registration application or absentee ballot 
application be transmitted by mail or electroni-
cally; 
‘‘(4) in addition to any other method of trans-
mitting blank absentee ballots in the State, establish 
procedures for transmitting by mail and electroni-
cally blank absentee ballots to individuals with dis-
abilities with respect to elections for Federal office in 
accordance with subsection (d); 
‘‘(5) transmit a validly requested absentee ballot 
to an individual with a disability— 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subsection (e), in 
the case in which the request is received at least 
45 days before an election for Federal office, not 
later than 45 days before the election; and 
‘‘(B) in the case in which the request is re-
ceived less than 45 days before an election for 
Federal office— 
‘‘(i) in accordance with State law; and 
‘‘(ii) if practicable and as determined 
appropriate by the State, in a manner that 
expedites the transmission of such absentee 
ballot; and 
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‘‘(6) if the State declares or otherwise holds a 
runoff election for Federal office, establish a written 
plan that provides absentee ballots are made available 
to individuals with disabilities in a manner that 
gives them sufficient time to vote in the runoff elec-
tion. 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF SINGLE STATE OFFICE TO PRO-
VIDE INFORMATION ON REGISTRATION AND ABSENTEE BAL-
LOT
PROCEDURES
FOR
ALL
DISABLED
VOTERS
IN 
STATE.—Each State shall designate a single office which 
shall be responsible for providing information regarding 
voter registration procedures and absentee ballot procedures 
to be used by individuals with disabilities with respect to 
elections for Federal office to all individuals with disabil-
ities who wish to register to vote or vote in any jurisdiction 
in the State. 
‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF MEANS OF ELECTRONIC COM-
MUNICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES TO RE-
QUEST AND FOR STATES TO SEND VOTER REGISTRATION 
APPLICATIONS AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATIONS, AND 
FOR OTHER PURPOSES RELATED TO VOTING INFORMA-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall, in addi-
tion to the designation of a single State office under 
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all informational and instructional materials that ac-
company balloting materials sent by the State to in-
dividuals with disabilities. 
‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION
IF
NO
PREFERENCE
INDI-
CATED.—In the case where an individual with a dis-
ability does not designate a preference under sub-
section (a)(3)(C), the State shall transmit the voter 
registration application or absentee ballot application 
by any delivery method allowable in accordance with 
applicable State law, or if there is no applicable State 
law, by mail. 
‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION OF BLANK ABSENTEE BALLOTS 
BY MAIL AND ELECTRONICALLY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish 
procedures— 
‘‘(A) to securely transmit blank absentee 
ballots by mail and electronically (in accordance 
with the preferred method of transmission des-
ignated by the individual with a disability 
under subparagraph (B)) to individuals with 
disabilities for an election for Federal office; and 
‘‘(B) by which the individual with a dis-
ability can designate whether the individual pre-
fers that such blank absentee ballot be trans-
mitted by mail or electronically. 
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‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION
IF
NO
PREFERENCE
INDI-
CATED.—In the case where an individual with a dis-
ability does not designate a preference under para-
graph (1)(B), the State shall transmit the ballot by 
any delivery method allowable in accordance with ap-
plicable State law, or if there is no applicable State 
law, by mail. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF METHODS TO TRACK DE-
LIVERY TO AND RETURN OF BALLOT BY INDIVIDUAL 
REQUESTING BALLOT.—Under the procedures estab-
lished under paragraph (1), the State shall apply 
such methods as the State considers appropriate, such 
as assigning a unique identifier to the ballot, to en-
sure that if an individual with a disability requests 
the State to transmit a blank absentee ballot to the 
individual in accordance with this subsection, the 
voted absentee ballot which is returned by the indi-
vidual is the same blank absentee ballot which the 
State transmitted to the individual. 
‘‘(e) HARDSHIP EXEMPTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the chief State election of-
ficial determines that the State is unable to meet the 
requirement under subsection (a)(5)(A) with respect 
to an election for Federal office due to an undue 
hardship described in paragraph (2)(B), the chief 
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State election official shall request that the Attorney 
General grant a waiver to the State of the application 
of such subsection. Such request shall include— 
‘‘(A) a recognition that the purpose of such 
subsection is to individuals with disabilities 
enough time to vote in an election for Federal of-
fice; 
‘‘(B) an explanation of the hardship that 
indicates why the State is unable to transmit 
such individuals an absentee ballot in accord-
ance with such subsection; 
‘‘(C) the number of days prior to the elec-
tion for Federal office that the State requires ab-
sentee ballots be transmitted to such individuals; 
and 
‘‘(D) a comprehensive plan to ensure that 
such individuals are able to receive absentee bal-
lots which they have requested and submit 
marked absentee ballots to the appropriate State 
election official in time to have that ballot count-
ed in the election for Federal office, which in-
cludes— 
‘‘(i) the steps the State will undertake 
to ensure that such individuals have time to 
receive, mark, and submit their ballots in 
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time to have those ballots counted in the 
election; 
‘‘(ii) why the plan provides such indi-
viduals sufficient time to vote as a sub-
stitute for the requirements under such sub-
section; and 
‘‘(iii) the underlying factual informa-
tion which explains how the plan provides 
such sufficient time to vote as a substitute 
for such requirements. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL OF WAIVER REQUEST.—The At-
torney General shall approve a waiver request under 
paragraph (1) if the Attorney General determines 
each of the following requirements are met: 
‘‘(A) The comprehensive plan under sub-
paragraph (D) of such paragraph provides indi-
viduals with disabilities sufficient time to receive 
absentee ballots they have requested and submit 
marked absentee ballots to the appropriate State 
election official in time to have that ballot count-
ed in the election for Federal office. 
‘‘(B) One or more of the following issues 
creates an undue hardship for the State: 
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‘‘(i) The State’s primary election date 
prohibits the State from complying with 
subsection (a)(5)(A). 
‘‘(ii) The State has suffered a delay in 
generating ballots due to a legal contest. 
‘‘(iii) The State Constitution prohibits 
the State from complying with such sub-
section. 
‘‘(3) TIMING OF WAIVER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided 
under subparagraph (B), a State that requests a 
waiver under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 
Attorney General the written waiver request not 
later than 90 days before the election for Federal 
office with respect to which the request is sub-
mitted. The Attorney General shall approve or 
deny the waiver request not later than 65 days 
before such election. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a State requests a 
waiver under paragraph (1) as the result of an 
undue 
hardship 
described 
in 
paragraph 
(2)(B)(ii), the State shall submit to the Attorney 
General the written waiver request as soon as 
practicable. The Attorney General shall approve 
or deny the waiver request not later than 5 busi-
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ness days after the date on which the request is 
received. 
‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF WAIVER.—A waiver ap-
proved under paragraph (2) shall only apply with re-
spect to the election for Federal office for which the 
request was submitted. For each subsequent election 
for Federal office, the Attorney General shall only ap-
prove a waiver if the State has submitted a request 
under paragraph (1) with respect to such election. 
‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to allow the marking or casting of 
ballots over the internet. 
‘‘(g) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY DEFINED.—In 
this section, an ‘individual with a disability’ means an in-
dividual with an impairment that substantially limits any 
major life activities and who is otherwise qualified to vote 
in elections for Federal office. 
‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 
respect to elections for Federal office held on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2020.’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION ASSIST-
ANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
21101(b)) is amended— 
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(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(2); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with re-
spect to section 305, January 1, 2020.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 
such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 305 and 306 as relating to sections 306 and 
307; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 
304 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 305. Access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabil-
ities.’’. 
SEC. 1102. EXPANSION AND REAUTHORIZATION OF GRANT 
PROGRAM TO ASSURE VOTING ACCESS FOR 
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) PURPOSES OF PAYMENTS.—Section 261(b) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21021(b)) is 
amended by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(1) making absentee voting and voting at home 
accessible to individuals with the full range of disabil-
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ities (including impairments involving vision, hear-
ing, mobility, or dexterity) through the implementa-
tion of accessible absentee voting systems that work in 
conjunction with assistive technologies for which indi-
viduals have access at their homes, independent living 
centers, or other facilities; 
‘‘(2) making polling places, including the path of 
travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas of each poll-
ing facility, accessible to individuals with disabilities, 
including the blind and visually impaired, in a man-
ner that provides the same opportunity for access and 
participation (including privacy and independence) 
as for other voters; and 
‘‘(3) providing solutions to problems of access to 
voting and elections for individuals with disabilities 
that are universally designed and provide the same 
opportunities for individuals with and without dis-
abilities.’’. 
(b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 264(a) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 21024(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2020 and each succeeding 
fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out this part.’’. 
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(c) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Section 264 
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21024) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Any amounts’’ 
and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (b), 
any amounts’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(c) RETURN AND TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR OBLIGATION AND EXPENDI-
TURE.—In the case of any amounts appropriated 
pursuant to the authority of subsection (a) for a pay-
ment to a State or unit of local government for fiscal 
year 2020 or any succeeding fiscal year, any portion 
of such amounts which have not been obligated or ex-
pended by the State or unit of local government prior 
to the expiration of the 4-year period which begins on 
the date the State or unit of local government first re-
ceived the amounts shall be transferred to the Com-
mission. 
‘‘(2) 
REALLOCATION
OF
TRANSFERRED 
AMOUNTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
use the amounts transferred under paragraph (1) 
to make payments on a pro rata basis to each 
covered payment recipient described in subpara-
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graph (B), which may obligate and expend such 
payment for the purposes described in section 
261(b) during the 1-year period which begins on 
the date of receipt. 
‘‘(B) COVERED PAYMENT RECIPIENTS DE-
SCRIBED.—In subparagraph (A), a ‘covered pay-
ment recipient’ is a State or unit of local govern-
ment with respect to which— 
‘‘(i) amounts were appropriated pursu-
ant to the authority of subsection (a); and 
‘‘(ii) no amounts were transferred to 
the Commission under paragraph (1).’’. 
Subtitle C—Prohibiting Voter 
Caging 
SEC. 1201. [RESERVED]. 
SEC. 1202. DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF BEST PRAC-
TICES FOR PREVENTING VOTER CAGING. 
(a) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance 
Commission shall develop and publish for the use of States 
recommendations for best practices to deter and prevent vio-
lations of section 613 of title 18, United States Code, as 
added by section 1201(a), including practices to provide for 
the posting of relevant information at polling places and 
voter registration agencies, the training of poll workers and 
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election officials, and relevant educational measures. For 
purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
(b) INCLUSION IN VOTING INFORMATION REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)), as amended by section 
1072(b), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (F); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of subpara-
graph (G) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(H) information relating to the prohibi-
tion against voter caging and other questionable 
challenges (as set forth in section 613 of title 18, 
United States Code), including information on 
how individuals may report allegations of viola-
tions of such prohibition.’’. 
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Subtitle D—[Reserved] 
Subtitle E—[Reserved] 
Subtitle 
F—Promoting 
Accuracy, 
Integrity, and Security Through 
Voter-Verified Permanent Paper 
Ballot 
SEC. 1501. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Confidence 
and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 1502. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 
(I) The voting system shall require the use 
of an individual, durable, voter-verified 
paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall be 
marked and made available for inspection 
and verification by the voter before the vot-
er’s vote is cast and counted, and which 
shall be counted by hand or read by an op-
tical character recognition device or other 
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counting device. For purposes of this sub-
clause, the term ‘individual, durable, voter- 
verified paper ballot’ means a paper ballot 
marked by the voter by hand or a paper 
ballot marked through the use of a nontab-
ulating ballot marking device or system, so 
long as the voter shall have the option to 
mark his or her ballot by hand. 
‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 
the voter with an opportunity to correct 
any error on the paper ballot before the per-
manent voter-verified paper ballot is pre-
served in accordance with clause (ii). 
‘‘(III) The voting system shall not pre-
serve the voter-verified paper ballots in any 
manner that makes it possible, at any time 
after the ballot has been cast, to associate a 
voter with the record of the voter’s vote 
without the voter’s consent. 
‘‘(ii) 
PRESERVATION
AS
OFFICIAL 
RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter- 
verified paper ballot used in accordance 
with clause (i) shall constitute the official 
ballot and shall be preserved and used as 
the official ballot for purposes of any re-
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count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office in which the 
voting system is used. 
‘‘(iii) MANUAL
COUNTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS
FOR
RECOUNTS
AND
AUDITS.—(I) 
Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 
(i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, 
and shall be counted by hand in any re-
count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office. 
‘‘(II) In the event of any inconsist-
encies or irregularities between any elec-
tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies deter-
mined by counting by hand the individual, 
durable, voter-verified paper ballots used 
pursuant to clause (i), and subject to sub-
paragraph (B), the individual, durable, 
voter-verified paper ballots shall be the true 
and correct record of the votes cast. 
‘‘(iv) APPLICATION TO ALL BALLOTS.— 
The requirements of this subparagraph shall 
apply to all ballots cast in elections for Fed-
eral office, including ballots cast by absent 
uniformed services voters and overseas vot-
ers under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-
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zens Absentee Voting Act and other absentee 
voters. 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
TREATMENT
OF 
DISPUTES
WHEN
PAPER
BALLOTS
HAVE
BEEN 
SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the event that— 
‘‘(I) there is any inconsistency be-
tween any electronic vote tallies and 
the vote tallies determined by counting 
by hand the individual, durable, voter- 
verified paper ballots used pursuant to 
subparagraph (A)(i) with respect to 
any election for Federal office; and 
‘‘(II) it is demonstrated by clear 
and convincing evidence (as deter-
mined in accordance with the applica-
ble standards in the jurisdiction in-
volved) in any recount, audit, or con-
test of the result of the election that the 
paper ballots have been compromised 
(by damage or mischief or otherwise) 
and that a sufficient number of the 
ballots have been so compromised that 
the result of the election could be 
changed, 
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the determination of the appropriate rem-
edy with respect to the election shall be 
made in accordance with applicable State 
law, except that the electronic tally shall not 
be used as the exclusive basis for deter-
mining the official certified result. 
‘‘(ii) RULE
FOR
CONSIDERATION
OF 
BALLOTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH VOTING 
MACHINE.—For purposes of clause (i), only 
the paper ballots deemed compromised, if 
any, shall be considered in the calculation 
of whether or not the result of the election 
could be changed due to the compromised 
paper ballots.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING APPLICA-
BILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.—Sec-
tion 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) is 
amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re-
quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys-
tem’’. 
(c) OTHER
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Section 
301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend-
ed— 
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(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with para-
graphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with para-
graphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 
accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 
(4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with para-
graphs (2) and (3)’’. 
SEC. 1503. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(3)(B)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(B)(i) ensure that individuals with dis-
abilities and others are given an equivalent op-
portunity to vote, including with privacy and 
independence, in a manner that produces a 
voter-verified paper ballot as for other voters; 
‘‘(ii) satisfy the requirement of subpara-
graph (A) through the use of at least one voting 
system equipped for individuals with disabilities, 
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including nonvisual and enhanced visual accessi-
bility for the blind and visually impaired, and 
nonmanual and enhanced manual accessibility 
for the mobility and dexterity impaired, at each 
polling place; and 
‘‘(iii) meet the requirements of subpara-
graph (A) and paragraph (2)(A) by using a sys-
tem that— 
‘‘(I) allows the voter to privately and 
independently verify the permanent paper 
ballot through the presentation, in accessible 
form, of the printed or marked vote selec-
tions from the same printed or marked in-
formation that would be used for any vote 
counting or auditing; and 
‘‘(II) allows the voter to privately and 
independently verify and cast the perma-
nent paper ballot without requiring the 
voter to manually handle the paper ballot.’’. 
(b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, AND 
DEVELOPMENT
OF
ACCESSIBLE
PAPER
BALLOT 
VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.— 
(1) STUDY AND REPORTING.—Subtitle C of title 
II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 
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(A) by redesignating section 247 as section 
248; and 
(B) by inserting after section 246 the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE PAPER BAL-
LOT VERIFICATION MECHANISMS. 
‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation shall make grants to not fewer 
than 3 eligible entities to study, test, and develop accessible 
paper ballot voting, verification, and casting mechanisms 
and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility 
of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms for indi-
viduals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language 
is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy, 
including best practices for the mechanisms themselves and 
the processes through which the mechanisms are used. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 
grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 
time and in such form as the Director may require) an 
application containing— 
‘‘(1) certifications that the entity shall specifi-
cally investigate enhanced methods or devices, includ-
ing non-electronic devices, that will assist such indi-
viduals and voters in marking voter-verified paper 
ballots and presenting or transmitting the informa-
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tion printed or marked on such ballots back to such 
individuals and voters, and casting such ballots; 
‘‘(2) a certification that the entity shall complete 
the activities carried out with the grant not later 
than December 31, 2020; and 
‘‘(3) such other information and certifications as 
the Director may require. 
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any technology 
developed with the grants made under this section shall be 
treated as non-proprietary and shall be made available to 
the public, including to manufacturers of voting systems. 
‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH GRANTS FOR TECHNOLOGY 
IMPROVEMENTS.—The Director shall carry out this section 
so that the activities carried out with the grants made 
under subsection (a) are coordinated with the research con-
ducted under the grant program carried out by the Commis-
sion under section 271, to the extent that the Director and 
Commission determine necessary to provide for the advance-
ment of accessible voting technology. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) 
$5,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended— 
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100 
(A) by redesignating the item relating to 
section 247 as relating to section 248; and 
(B) by inserting after the item relating to 
section 246 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible paper ballot verification mechanisms.’’. 
(c) CLARIFICATION
OF ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS 
UNDER
VOLUNTARY
VOTING
SYSTEM
GUIDANCE.—In 
adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 
III of the Help America Vote Act with respect to the accessi-
bility of the paper ballot verification requirements for indi-
viduals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Commis-
sion shall include and apply the same accessibility stand-
ards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopted for 
accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 
(d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR PROTECTION AND 
ADVOCACY SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT ACTIONS TO ENFORCE 
ELECTION-RELATED DISABILITY ACCESS.—Section 292(a) 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21062(a)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ and all that follows 
and inserting a period. 
SEC. 1504. DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS 
FOR BALLOTS. 
Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
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101 
‘‘(7) DURABILITY
AND
READABILITY
REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(A) 
DURABILITY
REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—All voter-verified 
paper ballots required to be used under this 
Act shall be marked or printed on durable 
paper. 
‘‘(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 
this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable 
of withstanding multiple counts and re-
counts by hand without compromising the 
fundamental integrity of the ballots, and ca-
pable of retaining the information marked 
or printed on them for the full duration of 
a retention and preservation period of 22 
months. 
‘‘(B) READABILITY
REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING 
DEVICE.—All voter-verified paper ballots com-
pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 
marking device shall be clearly readable by the 
voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses or 
other personal vision enhancing devices) and by 
an optical character recognition device or other 
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102 
device equipped for individuals with disabil-
ities.’’. 
SEC. 1505. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of this section 
on and after January 1, 2006. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
CERTAIN
REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraphs (B) and (C), the requirements of 
this section which are first imposed on a State 
and jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments 
made by the Voter Confidence and Increased Ac-
cessibility Act of 2019 shall apply with respect 
to voting systems used for any election for Fed-
eral office held in 2020 or any succeeding year. 
‘‘(B) DELAY
FOR
JURISDICTIONS
USING 
CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR CERTAIN 
SYSTEMS
USING
OR
PRODUCING
VOTER- 
VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS IN 2018.— 
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103 
‘‘(i) DELAY.—In the case of a jurisdic-
tion described in clause (ii), subparagraph 
(A) shall apply to a voting system in the ju-
risdiction as if the reference in such sub-
paragraph to ‘2020’ were a reference to 
‘2022’, but only with respect to the fol-
lowing requirements of this section: 
‘‘(I) Paragraph (2)(A)(i)(I) of 
subsection (a) (relating to the use of 
voter-verified paper ballots). 
‘‘(II) Paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(I) and 
(II) of subsection (a) (relating to access 
to verification from and casting of the 
durable paper ballot). 
‘‘(III) Paragraph (7) of subsection 
(a) (relating to durability and read-
ability requirements for ballots). 
‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS
DESCRIBED.—A 
jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju-
risdiction— 
‘‘(I) which used voter verifiable 
paper record printers attached to di-
rect recording electronic voting ma-
chines, or which used other voting sys-
tems that used or produced paper 
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