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 ‘‘Expanding the Vol-
untary Opportunities for Translations in Elections Act’’ 
or the ‘‘Expanding the VOTE Act’’. 
SEC. 2. LANGUAGE MINORITY NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10503) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (b)(3)(A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) the term ‘voting materials’— 
‘‘(i) means registration or voting no-
tices, forms, instructions, assistance, or 
other materials or information relating to 
the electoral process, including ballots; and 
‘‘(ii) includes digital and printed ma-
terial or information produced relating to 
the electoral process;’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (g); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(e) RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES PROVIDING VOT-
ING
MATERIALS
IN
COVERED
POLITICAL
SUBDIVI-
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SIONS.—The prohibition under subsection (b) shall apply 
to any State that provides voting materials to a political 
subdivision subject to such prohibition. 
‘‘(f) NOTICE.—The Attorney General shall submit a 
notice of the prohibition of subsection (b), and the thresh-
old at which such prohibition applies, to each State or po-
litical subdivision that is— 
‘‘(1) below the threshold requirement under 
subclause (II) of subsection (b)(2)(A)(i) by not more 
than 1,000; or 
‘‘(2) below the threshold requirement under 
subclause (I) or (III) of subsection (b)(2)(A)(i) by 
not more than 0.5 percent.’’. 
SEC. 3. PROVISIONS RELATED TO AMERICAN INDIAN AND 
ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGES. 
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10503), as amended by section 2, is further 
amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(3)(C), by striking ‘‘1990’’ 
and inserting ‘‘most recent’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) PROVISION OF VOTING MATERIALS IN THE LAN-
GUAGE OF A MINORITY GROUP.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
whenever any State or political subdivision subject to 
the prohibition of subsection (b) provides any reg-
istration or voting notices, forms, instructions, as-
sistance, or other materials or information relating 
to the electoral process, including ballots, it shall 
provide them in the language of the applicable mi-
nority group as well as in the English language. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) WHEN WRITTEN AMERICAN INDIAN 
AND ALASKA NATIVE TRANSLATIONS FOR VOT-
ERS ARE NOT REQUIRED.—In the case of a mi-
nority group that is American Indian or Alaska 
Native, if the Tribal government of that minor-
ity group has notified the Attorney General that 
the language is unwritten or the Tribal govern-
ment does not want a written translation, a 
State or political subdivision subject to the pro-
hibition of subsection (b) shall only be required 
to furnish that minority group, in the covered 
language, oral instructions, assistance, trans-
lation of voting materials, and other informa-
tion relating to registration and voting. 
‘‘(B) OTHER MINORITY GROUPS WITH UN-
WRITTEN LANGUAGE.—In the case of a minor-
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ity group that is not American Indian or Alaska 
Native, if the language of that minority group 
is unwritten, a State or political subdivision 
subject to the prohibition of subsection (b) shall 
only be required to furnish that minority group, 
in the covered language, oral instructions, as-
sistance, translation of voting materials, and 
other information relating to registration and 
voting. 
‘‘(3) WRITTEN TRANSLATIONS FOR ELECTION 
WORKERS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a State 
or political division subject to the prohibition of sub-
section (b) shall provide written translations of all 
voting materials, with the consent of any applicable 
Tribal government, to election workers to ensure 
that the translations from English to the language 
of a minority group are complete, accurate, and uni-
form. 
‘‘(4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT DEFINED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘Tribal government’ means the 
recognized governing body of any Indian or Alaska 
Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, commu-
nity, component band, or component reservation, in-
dividually identified (including parenthetically) in 
the list published most recently as of the date of en-
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actment of the Expanding the VOTE Act pursuant 
to section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian 
Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).’’. 
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO JURISDICTIONS TO INCENTIVIZE THE 
PROVISION OF VOTING MATERIALS IN LAN-
GUAGES NOT TRIGGERING SECTION 203 COV-
ERAGE IN APPLYING JURISDICTION. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 
Commission (in this section, referred to as the 
‘‘Commission’’) shall make incentive grants under 
subsection (b) to States and political subdivisions to 
assist the States and political subdivisions in pro-
viding voting materials during an election cycle in 
the language of a covered language minority group. 
(2) APPLICATION REQUIRED.—In order to re-
ceive a grant under this section, a State or political 
subdivision shall submit to the Commission, at such 
time and in such form as the Commission may re-
quire, an application containing such information 
and assurances as the Commission may require, 
such as a plan for the State or political subdivision 
to engage stakeholders with a demonstrated experi-
ence of serving the relevant covered language minor-
ity group. 
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