I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2540 
To direct the Attorney General to establish and operate a toll-free nationwide 
telephone hotline through which individuals may obtain information on 
voting in elections for Federal office and report information on problems 
encountered in voting in such elections, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 14, 2011 
Ms. FUDGE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Judi-
ciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each 
case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To direct the Attorney General to establish and operate 
a toll-free nationwide telephone hotline through which 
individuals may obtain information on voting in elections 
for Federal office and report information on problems 
encountered in voting in such elections, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Protection Hot-
line Act of 2011’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) At the Federal, State, and local levels, gov-
ernment funding supports well-intentioned voter hot-
lines that are not fully utilized because of a lack of 
access to information on such programs by the pub-
lic at-large. All 50 states and the District of Colum-
bia have at least one voter hotline in addition to an 
unprecedented amount of privately funded voter hot-
lines, all with different telephone numbers. The mul-
tiplicity of resources makes it difficult for voters to 
identify the correct hotline for their needs, which 
may result in voters who have immediate or urgent 
needs abandoning their effort to vote. 
(2) The Department of Justice has declared 
that a national telephone number or hotline on vot-
ing information is an important tool to facilitate the 
voting process, and has established a hotline through 
which individuals may obtain this kind of informa-
tion. Notwithstanding the existence of the hotline, 
voting irregularities were still rampant, as evidenced 
by a number of problems that occurred during the 
2008 election cycle, including the following: 
(A) Virginia voters who registered through 
the Department of Motor Vehicles or via third 
party groups reported never receiving a reg-
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istration card. In other cases, they arrived at 
their polling places only to find their names 
missing from the voter rolls. Some voters did 
not fill out their registration paperwork cor-
rectly, but were not notified of this until well 
after the registration deadline of October 6. 
There were reports in one location all seven vot-
ing machines in the building had failed and 
that there were no paper ballots available. Vot-
ers at that polling place waited in line for an 
extraordinary 7 hours and 15 minutes to vote. 
(B) St. Louis voters who had submitted 
change of address forms several weeks prior to 
Election Day found that these forms had not 
been processed by Election Day. 
(C) On December 2, the New York Post 
reported that more than 3,500 voter registra-
tion forms were shipped to the New York City 
Board of Elections on September 10, only to sit 
in a box until November 6, 2 days after the 
election. Of these voters, those who cast provi-
sional ballots had their votes counted, but it is 
unclear how many other voters were turned 
away at the polls. 
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(D) Pennsylvania voters in cities reported 
not receiving absentee ballots by Election Day. 
This caused additional problems at polling 
places on Election Day, as some of those who 
feared their votes would go uncounted took time 
away from family obligations, work, or strug-
gled with a disability to get to their polling 
place. Upon arrival, they were told they would 
be unable to vote in person since they had al-
ready requested an absentee ballot. 
(E) Voters at poorly prepared poll loca-
tions in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in 
California began reporting ballot shortages in 
the early afternoon on Election Day. Many peo-
ple who went to the wrong polling place were 
incorrectly instructed to vote provisionally in-
stead of being sent to the correct location. At 
one polling place, provisional ballots were hand-
ed out because so many voters were unaware 
that their poll location had changed and had 
gone to the wrong location. In other places, vot-
ers were not offered provisional ballots even 
when they were warranted, for example, when 
paper ballots were requested or when regular 
ballots were running out. In all, nearly 
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1,000,000 people voted by provisional ballot in 
California. 
(F) Wait times of 6 hours were reported 
for early voting in Franklin County, Ohio, lead-
ing to people leaving the line without voting. 
Wait times of between 2 and 10 hours were re-
ported during early voting at multiple Georgia 
locations. 
(3) The fifteenth amendment to the Constitu-
tion protects the right of citizens to vote, yet every 
election cycle, the voting rights of thousands of citi-
zens are denied or abridged due to factors ranging 
from misinformation to wholesale intimidation. For 
example: 
(A) In the 2004 presidential election, vot-
ers reported receiving calls telling them to re-
port to the polls to vote the day after Election 
Day, that the polling location had changed, and 
that they would only be allowed to vote if they 
brought four separate forms of identification to 
the poll. In 2008, in southern Virginia and at 
George Mason University in the northern part 
of the state, official-looking fliers ‘‘informed’’ 
voters that, because of projected high turnout, 
Democrats should wait and vote on November 
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5, 2008, the day after the election. North Caro-
lina voters complained of misleading calls that 
provided inaccurate information regarding ab-
sentee ballot deadlines. 
(B) Michigan poll workers were often un-
aware that Michigan voters who did not have a 
government-issued photo ID could vote after 
signing an affidavit. 
(C) In 2008, fliers distributed and posted 
in a west Philadelphia neighborhood claimed 
that any violation as simple as an unpaid park-
ing ticket would render citizens ineligible to 
vote and subject to arrest at the polls. A flier 
disseminated on the campus of Drexel Univer-
sity in Philadelphia warned that undercover of-
ficers would be present at the polls, looking for 
voters with outstanding warrants or parking 
violations. 
(D) In Virginia, Michigan and Colorado, 
students were told that if they registered to 
vote where they went to school (instead of at 
their parents’ address) they could lose their 
healthcare, financial aid, and jeopardize their 
parent’s taxes, all false claims. 
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(E) In 2008, the non-profit group Min-
nesota Majority, pretending to be from the Sec-
retary of State’s office, made calls to voters 
questioning their registrations in a supposed at-
tempt to uncover voting irregularities. 
(F) Twelve Ohio counties released sample 
paper ballots that split the presidential contest 
over two columns for the November election. A 
study found that this particular layout often 
confuses voters and causes them to double-vote, 
which ultimately disqualifies the ballot. 
SEC. 3. VOTER INFORMATION HOTLINE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
AND OPERATION
OF TELE-
PHONE SERVICE.—The Attorney General, in consultation 
with State election officials, shall establish and operate a 
toll-free telephone service, using a telephone number that 
is accessible throughout the United States and that uses 
easily identifiable numerals, through which individuals 
throughout the United States— 
(1) may obtain information on voting in elec-
tions for Federal office, including information on 
how to register to vote in such elections, the hours 
of operation of polling places, and how to obtain ab-
sentee ballots; and 
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(2) may report information to the Attorney 
General on problems encountered in registering to 
vote or voting, including incidences of voter intimi-
dation or suppression. 
(b) VOTER HOTLINE TASK FORCE.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 
The Attorney General shall appoint individuals (in 
such number as the Attorney General considers ap-
propriate) to serve on a Voter Hotline Task Force 
to provide ongoing analysis and assessment of the 
operation of the telephone service established under 
this Act, and shall give special consideration in mak-
ing appointments to the Task Force to individuals 
who represent civil rights organizations. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual shall be eligi-
ble to serve on the Task Force under this subsection 
if the individual meets such criteria as the Attorney 
General may establish, except that an individual may 
not serve on the task force if the individual has been 
convicted of any criminal offense relating to voter in-
timidation or voter suppression. 
(3) TERM
OF
SERVICE.—An individual ap-
pointed to the Task Force shall serve a single term 
of 2 years. A vacancy in the membership of the Task 
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Force shall be filled in the same manner as the 
original appointment. 
(4) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.—Mem-
bers of the Task Force shall serve without pay, but 
shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in 
lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable 
provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 
5, United States Code. 
(c) BI-ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 
than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Attorney 
General shall submit a report to Congress on the operation 
of the telephone service established under this Act during 
the previous 2 years, and shall include in the report— 
(1) a compilation and description of the reports 
made to the hotline by individuals citing instances of 
voter intimidation or suppression; and 
(2) an assessment of the effectiveness of the 
service in making information available to all house-
holds in the United States with telephone service. 
SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to the Attorney General for fiscal year 2011 
and each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be nec-
essary to carry out this Act. 
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