I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5008 
To protect the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 13, 2021 
Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas (for herself and Mr. COLE) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and 
in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To protect the voting rights of Native American and Alaska 
Native voters. 
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 ‘‘Frank Harrison, Eliza-
beth Peratrovich, and Miguel Trujillo Native American 
Voting Rights Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) The Constitution explicitly and implicitly 
grants Congress broad general powers to legislate on 
issues relating to Indian Tribes, powers consistently 
described as plenary and exclusive. These powers 
arise from the grant of authority in the Indian Com-
merce Clause and through legislative matters arising 
under the Treaty Clause. 
(2) The Federal Government is responsible for 
upholding the obligations to which the Federal Gov-
ernment has agreed through treaties, legislation, and 
executive orders, referred to as the Federal trust re-
sponsibility toward Indian Tribes and their mem-
bers. 
(3) The Supreme Court has repeatedly relied on 
the nature of this ‘‘government to government’’ rela-
tionship between the United States and sovereign 
Indian Tribes for congressional authority to enact 
‘‘legislation that singles out Indians for particular 
and special treatment’’. Morton v. Mancari, 417 
U.S. 535, 554–555 (1974). 
(4) Legislation removing barriers to Native 
American voting is vital for the fulfillment of Con-
gress’ ‘‘unique obligation’’ toward Indians, particu-
larly ensuring that Native American voters are fully 
included as ‘‘qualified members of the modern body 
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politic’’. Board of County Comm’rs v. Seber, 318 
U.S. 705, 715 (1943). 
(5) Under the Elections Clause of article I, sec-
tion 4 of the Constitution, Congress has additional 
power to regulate any election conducted to select 
Members of Congress. Taken together, the Indian 
Commerce Clause and the Election Clause give Con-
gress broad authority to enact legislation to safe-
guard the voting rights of Native American voters. 
(6) Despite Congress’ decision to grant Native 
Americans Federal citizenship, and with it the pro-
tections of the Fifteenth Amendment, with passage 
of the Act of June 2, 1924 (Chapter 233; 43 Stat. 
253) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Citizenship 
Act of 1924’’), States continued to deploy distinct 
methods for disenfranchising Indians by enacting 
statutes to exclude from voter rolls Indians living on 
Indian lands, requiring that Indians first terminate 
their relationship with their Indian Tribe, restricting 
the right to vote on account of a Tribal member’s 
‘‘guardianship’’ status, and imposing literacy tests. 
(7) Barriers to voter access for Native Ameri-
cans persist today, and such barriers range from ob-
structing voter access to vote dilution and inten-
tional malapportionment of electoral districts. 
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(8) The Native American Voting Rights Coali-
tion’s nine field hearings in Indian Country and 
four-State survey of voter discrimination revealed a 
number of additional obstacles that Native Ameri-
cans must overcome in some States, including— 
(A) a lack of accessible registration and 
polling sites, either due to conditions such as 
geography, lack of paved roads, the absence of 
reliable and affordable broadband connectivity, 
and restrictions on the time, place, and manner 
that eligible people can register and vote, in-
cluding unequal opportunities for absentee, 
early, mail-in, and in-person voting; 
(B) nontraditional or nonexistent addresses 
for residents on Indian reservations, lack of res-
idential mail delivery and pick up, reliance on 
distant post offices with abbreviated operating 
hours for mail services, insufficient housing 
units, overcrowded homes, and high incidence of 
housing insecurity and homelessness, lack of ac-
cess to vehicles, and disproportionate poverty 
which make voter registration, acquisition and 
dropping off of mail-in ballots, receipt of voting 
information and materials, and securing re-
quired identification difficult, if not impossible; 
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(C) inadequate language assistance for 
Tribal members, including lack of outreach and 
publicity, the failure to provide complete, accu-
rate, and uniform translations of all voting ma-
terials in the relevant Native language, and an 
insufficient number of trained bilingual poll 
workers; and 
(D) voter identification laws that discrimi-
nate against Native Americans. 
(9) The Department of Justice and courts also 
recognized that some jurisdictions have been unre-
sponsive to reasonable requests from federally recog-
nized Indian Tribes for more accessible voter reg-
istration sites and in-person voting locations. 
(10) According to the National Congress of 
American Indians, there is a wide gap between the 
voter registration and turnout rates of eligible Amer-
ican Indians and Alaska Natives and the voter reg-
istration and turnout rates of non-Hispanic White 
and other racial and ethnic groups. 
(11) Despite these obstacles, the Native-Amer-
ican vote continues to play a significant role in Fed-
eral, State, and local elections. 
(12) In Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and 
South Dakota, Native Americans, American Indians, 
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and Alaska Natives comprise approximately 10 per-
cent or more of the voting population. 
(13) The Native-American vote also holds great 
potential, with over 1,000,000 voters who are eligible 
to vote, but are not registered to vote. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to fulfill the Federal Government’s trust re-
sponsibility to protect and promote Native-Ameri-
cans’ exercise of their constitutionally guaranteed 
right to vote, including the right to register to vote 
and the ability to access all mechanisms for voting; 
(2) to establish Tribal administrative review 
procedures for a specific subset of State actions that 
have been used to restrict access to the polls on In-
dian lands; 
(3) to expand voter registration under the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20501 et seq.) to cover Federal facilities; 
(4) to afford equal treatment to forms of identi-
fication unique to Indian Tribes and their members; 
(5) to ensure American Indians and Alaska Na-
tives experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, 
or lacking residential mail pickup and delivery can 
pool resources to pick up and return ballots; 
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(6) to clarify the obligations of States and polit-
ical subdivisions regarding the provision of trans-
lated voting materials for American Indians and 
Alaska Natives under section 203 of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503); 
(7) to provide Tribal leaders with a direct path-
way to request Federal election observers and to 
allow public access to the reports of those election 
observers; 
(8) to study the prevalence of nontraditional or 
nonexistent mailing addresses in Native communities 
and identify solutions to voter access that arise from 
the lack of an address; and 
(9) to direct the Department of Justice to con-
sult on an annual basis with Indian Tribes on issues 
related to voting. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Attorney 
General’’ means the United States Attorney General. 
(2) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ has the mean-
ing given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self- 
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 
U.S.C. 5304). 
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(3) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ 
includes— 
(A) Indian country as defined under sec-
tion 1151 of title 18, United States Code; 
(B) any land in Alaska owned, pursuant to 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), by an Indian Tribe that 
is a Native village (as defined in section 3 of 
that Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) or by a Village Cor-
poration that is associated with an Indian Tribe 
(as defined in section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 
1602)); 
(C) any land on which the seat of the Trib-
al government is located; and 
(D) any land that is part or all of a Tribal 
designated statistical area associated with an 
Indian Tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na-
tive village statistical area associated with an 
Indian Tribe, as defined by the Census Bureau 
for the purposes of the most recent decennial 
census. 
(4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
means the recognized governing body of any Indian 
or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, 
community, component band, or component reserva-
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tion, individually identified (including parentheti-
cally) in the list published most recently as of the 
date of enactment of this Act pursuant to section 
104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List 
Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131). 
(5) POLLING PLACE.—The term ‘‘polling place’’ 
means any location where a ballot is cast in elections 
for Federal office, and includes a voter center, poll, 
polling location, or polling place, depending on the 
State nomenclature. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIVE AMERICAN VOTING 
TASK FORCE GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States Election As-
sistance Commission (referred to in this section as the 
‘‘Commission’’) shall establish and administer, in coordi-
nation with the Department of the Interior, a Native 
American voting task force grant program, through which 
the Commission shall provide financial assistance to eligi-
ble applicants to enable those eligible applicants to estab-
lish and operate a Native American Voting Task Force 
in each State with a federally recognized Indian Tribe. 
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Native Amer-
ican voting task force grant program are to— 
(1) increase voter outreach, education, registra-
tion, and turnout in Native American communities; 
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(2) increase access to the ballot for Native 
American communities, including additional satellite, 
early voting, and absentee voting locations; 
(3) streamline and reduce inconsistencies in the 
voting process for Native Americans; 
(4) provide, in the community’s dominant lan-
guage, educational materials and classes on Indian 
lands about candidacy filing; 
(5) train and educate State and local employ-
ees, including poll workers, about— 
(A) the language assistance and voter as-
sistance requirements under sections 203 and 
208 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10503; 10508); 
(B) voter identification laws as affected by 
section 8 of this Act; and 
(C) the requirements of Tribes, States, and 
precincts established under this Act; 
(6) identify model programs and best practices 
for providing language assistance to Native Amer-
ican communities; 
(7) provide nonpartisan poll watchers on elec-
tion day in Native American communities; 
(8) participate in and evaluate future redis-
tricting efforts; 
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(9) address issues of internet connectivity as it 
relates to voter registration and ballot access in Na-
tive American communities; 
(10) work with Indian Tribes, States, and the 
Federal Government to establish mailing addresses 
that comply with applicable State and Federal re-
quirements for receipt of voting information and ma-
terials; and 
(11) facilitate collaboration between local elec-
tion officials, Native American communities, and 
Tribal elections offices. 
(c) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible appli-
cant’’ means— 
(1) an Indian Tribe; 
(2) a Secretary of State of a State, or another 
official of a State entity responsible for overseeing 
elections; or 
(3) a consortium of the entities described in 
paragraphs (1) and (2). 
(d) APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in coordi-
nation with the Department of the Interior and fol-
lowing consultation with Indian Tribes about the im-
plementation of the Native American voting task 
force grant program, shall establish guidelines for 
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the process by which eligible applicants will submit 
applications. 
(2) APPLICATIONS.—Each eligible applicant de-
siring a grant under this section shall submit an ap-
plication, according to the process established under 
paragraph (1), and at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Commission 
may require. Such application shall include— 
(A) a certification that the applicant is an 
eligible applicant; 
(B) a proposed work plan addressing how 
the eligible applicant will establish and admin-
ister a Native American Voting Task Force 
that achieves the purposes described in sub-
section (b); 
(C) if the eligible applicant is a consortium 
as described in subsection (c)(3), a description 
of the proposed division of responsibilities be-
tween the participating entities; 
(D) an explanation of the time period that 
the proposed Native American Voting Task 
Force will cover, which shall be a time period 
that is not more than 3 years; and 
(E) the goals that the eligible applicant de-
sires to achieve with the grant funds. 
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(e) USES
OF FUNDS.—A grantee receiving funds 
under this section shall use such funds to carry out one 
or more of the activities described in subsection (b), 
through the grantee’s Native American Voting Task 
Force. 
(f) REPORTS.— 
(1) REPORT TO THE COMMISSION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 
after the date on which an eligible applicant re-
ceives grant funds under this section, and annu-
ally thereafter for the duration of the grant, 
each eligible applicant shall prepare and submit 
a written report to the Commission describing 
the eligible applicant’s progress in achieving the 
goals outlined in the application under sub-
section (d)(2). 
(B) RESPONSE.—Not later than 30 days 
after the date on which the Commission receives 
the report described in paragraph (1), the Com-
mission will provide feedback, comments, and 
input to the eligible applicant in response to 
such report. 
(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this Act, and an-
nually thereafter, the Commission shall prepare and 
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submit a report to the Committee on Indian Affairs 
of the Senate and Committee on Natural Resources 
of the House of Representatives containing the re-
sults of the reports described under paragraph (1). 
(g) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 
this section reduces State or local obligations provided for 
by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 
seq.), the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20501 et seq.), the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.), or any other Federal law or 
regulation related to voting or the electoral process. 
(h) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2037. 
SEC. 5. VOTER REGISTRATION SITES AT INDIAN SERVICE 
PROVIDERS AND ON INDIAN LANDS. 
Section 7(a) of the National Voter Registration Act 
of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(C) any Federal facility or federally fund-
ed facility that is primarily engaged in pro-
viding services to an Indian Tribe; and 
‘‘(D) not less than one Federal facility or 
federally funded facility that is located within 
the Indian lands of an Indian Tribe, as applica-
ble, (which may be the Federal facility or feder-
ally funded facility described in subparagraph 
(C)).’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(8) Where practicable, each Federal agency 
that operates a Federal facility or a federally funded 
facility that is a designated voter registration agency 
in accordance with subparagraph (C) or (D) of para-
graph (2) shall designate one or more special days 
per year at a centralized location within the bound-
aries of the Indian lands of each applicable Indian 
Tribe for the purpose of informing members of the 
Indian Tribe of the timing, registration require-
ments, and voting procedures in elections for Fed-
eral office, at no cost to the Indian Tribe.’’. 
SEC. 6. ACCESSIBLE TRIBAL DESIGNATED POLLING SITES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) DESIGNATION OF STATE OFFICER.—Each 
of the several States whose territory contains all or 
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part of an Indian Tribe’s Indian lands shall des-
ignate an officer within that State who will be re-
sponsible for compliance with the provisions of this 
section and who shall periodically consult with the 
Indian Tribes located wholly or partially within that 
State regarding compliance with the provisions of 
this section and coordination between the State and 
Tribal government. The State shall provide written 
notice to each such Indian Tribe of the officer so 
designated. 
(2) PROVISION OF POLLING PLACES.—For each 
Indian Tribe that satisfies the obligations of sub-
section (c), and for each election for a Federal offi-
cial or State official that is held 180 days or later 
after the date on which the Indian Tribe initially 
satisfies such obligations, any State or political sub-
division whose territory contains all or part of an In-
dian Tribe’s Indian lands— 
(A) shall provide a minimum of one polling 
place in each precinct in which there are eligible 
voters who reside on Indian lands, in a location 
selected by the Indian Tribe and at no cost to 
the Indian Tribe, regardless of the population 
or number of registered voters residing on In-
dian lands; 
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(B) shall not reduce the number of polling 
locations on Indian lands based on population 
numbers; 
(C) shall provide, at no cost to the Indian 
Tribe, additional polling places in locations on 
Indian lands selected by an Indian Tribe and 
requested under subsection (c) if, based on the 
totality of circumstances described in subsection 
(b), it is shown that not providing those addi-
tional polling places would result in members of 
the Indian Tribe and living on Indian lands or 
other individuals residing on the Indian Tribe’s 
Indian lands having less opportunity to vote 
than eligible voters in that State or political 
subdivision who are not members of an Indian 
Tribe or do not reside on Indian lands; 
(D) shall, at each polling place located on 
Indian lands and at no cost to the Indian Tribe, 
make voting machines, tabulation machines, of-
ficial receptacles designated for the return of 
completed absentee ballots, ballots, provisional 
ballots, and other voting materials available to 
the same or greater extent that such equipment 
and materials are made available at other poll-
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ing places in the State or political subdivision 
that are not located on Indian lands; 
(E) shall, at each polling place located on 
Indian lands, conduct the election using the 
same voting procedures that are used at other 
polling places in the State or political subdivi-
sion that are not located on Indian lands, or 
other voting procedures that provide greater ac-
cess for voters; 
(F) shall, at each polling place located on 
Indian lands and at no cost to the Indian Tribe, 
make voter registration available during the pe-
riod the polling place is open to the maximum 
extent allowable under State law; 
(G) shall, at each polling place located on 
Indian lands, provide training, compensation, 
and other benefits to election officials and poll 
workers at no cost to the Indian Tribe and, at 
a minimum, to the same or greater extent that 
such training, compensation, and benefits are 
provided to election officials and poll workers at 
other polling places in the State or political 
subdivision that are not located on Indian 
lands; 
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