I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1694 
To protect the voting rights of Native American and Alaska Native voters. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2019 
Mr. LUJA´N (for himself, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. 
GALLEGO, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. COLE, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. 
O’HALLERAN, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. MOORE, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. TORRES 
of California, Mr. SOTO, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 
KHANNA, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. BASS, Mr. POCAN, 
Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. KILMER, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. 
KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 
Ms. OMAR, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. SIRES, Mr. 
DEFAZIO, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CASE, Mr. PETERS, Ms. JACK-
SON LEE, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 
PALLONE, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. CART-
WRIGHT, Ms. TITUS, Ms. MENG, Mrs. BUSTOS, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, 
Mr. ALLRED, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. HECK, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. 
ROUDA, Ms. WILD, Mr. STANTON, Mr. TONKO, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. 
LARSEN of Washington, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. HAS-
TINGS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 
Ms. LEE of California, Mr. CRIST, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. 
SA´NCHEZ, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. HIMES, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 
JEFFRIES, Mr. SAN NICOLAS, Ms. HILL of California, and Mr. NEAL) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Judici-
ary, 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 protect the voting rights of Native American and Alaska 
Native voters. 
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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 ‘‘Native American Vot-
ing Rights Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(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 that the Federal Govern-
ment has agreed to 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 
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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 
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 at least in 
part to select Members of Congress. Taken together, 
the Indian Commerce Clause and the Election 
Clause give Congress broad authority to enact legis-
lation to safeguard the voting rights of Native Amer-
ican 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 (Public Law 68–233; 43 
Stat. 253) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Citizen-
ship Act of 1924’’), States continued to deploy dis-
tinct methods for disenfranchising Indians by enact-
ing statutes to exclude from voter rolls Indians liv-
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ing on reservations, requiring that Indians first ter-
minate their relationship with their Indian Tribe, re-
stricting the right to vote on account of a Tribal 
member’s ‘‘guardianship’’ status, and imposing lit-
eracy 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. 
(8) The Native American Voting Rights Coali-
tion’s recent 9 field hearings in Indian Country and 
4-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 and place that peo-
ple can register and vote, and the manner in 
which people can register and vote, including 
unequal opportunities for absentee, early, mail- 
in, and in-person voting; 
(B) nontraditional addresses for residents 
on Indian reservations, which make voter reg-
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istration, acquisition of mail-in ballots, and se-
curing required identification difficult, if not 
impossible; 
(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 have 
also recognized that some jurisdictions have been 
unresponsive to reasonable requests from federally 
recognized Indian Tribes for more accessible voter 
registration 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. 
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(11) Despite these obstacles, the Native Amer-
ican vote continues to play a significant role in na-
tional, State, and local elections. 
(12) In Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and 
South Dakota, Native Americans comprise approxi-
mately 10 percent 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 preclearance procedures for a 
specific subset of State actions that have been used 
to restrict access to the polls on Indian lands; 
(3) to expand voter registration under the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20506 et seq.) to cover all Federal facilities, at the 
request of the Indian Tribe; 
(4) to afford equal treatment to forms of identi-
fication unique to Indian Tribes and their members; 
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(5) 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); 
(6) 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; and 
(7) 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) 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). 
(2) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ 
includes— 
(A) any Indian country of an Indian Tribe, 
as defined under section 1151 of title 18, 
United States Code; 
(B) any land in Alaska owned, pursuant to 
the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 
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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. 
(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 
has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu-
cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 
(4) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘Tribal 
Government’’ means the recognized governing body 
of an Indian Tribe. 
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SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIVE AMERICAN VOTING 
TASK FORCE GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Office for Civil Rights at the 
Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice 
(referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’) shall establish 
and administer, in coordination with the Department of 
the Interior, a Native American voting task force grant 
program, through which the Office shall provide financial 
assistance to eligible applicants to enable those eligible ap-
plicants to establish and operate a Native American Vot-
ing Task Force in each State with a federally recognized 
Indian Tribe. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Native American 
voting task force grant program is to— 
(1) increase voter outreach, education, registra-
tion, and turnout in Native American communities; 
(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— 
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(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); and 
(B) voter identification laws under section 
8 of this Act; 
(6) identify model programs and best practices 
for providing language assistance to Native Amer-
ican communities; 
(7) provide non-partisan poll watchers on elec-
tion day in Native American communities; 
(8) participate in and evaluate future redis-
tricting efforts; 
(9) address issues of internet connectivity as it 
relates to voter registration and ballot access in Na-
tive American communities; and 
(10) 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; 
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(3) a nonprofit organization that works, in 
whole or in part, on voting issues; or 
(4) a consortium of one or more of the entities 
described in paragraphs (1) through (3). 
(d) APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office, in coordination 
with the Department of the Interior and following 
consultation with Indian Tribes about the implemen-
tation of the Native American voting task force 
grant program, shall establish guidelines for the 
process by which eligible applicants will submit ap-
plications. 
(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 Attorney 
General may require. Such application shall in-
clude— 
(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 
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that achieves the purposes described in sub-
section (b); 
(C) if the eligible applicant is a consortium 
as described in subsection (c)(4), a description 
of the proposed division of responsibilities be-
tween the participating entities; and 
(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. 
(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) 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. 
(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2035. 
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SEC. 5. TRIBAL DESIGNATED VOTER REGISTRATION SITES. 
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: 
‘‘(C) at the request of an Indian Tribe, 
any Federal facility or federally funded facility 
that is primarily engaged in providing services 
to Indian Tribes and that provides such services 
to the requesting Indian Tribe; and 
‘‘(D) at the request of an Indian Tribe, not 
less than one Federal facility or federally fund-
ed facility that is located on the Indian lands of 
the requesting Indian Tribe (which may be the 
Federal facility or federally funded facility de-
scribed 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 subject to the provisions of paragraph 
(2)(C) or (D), shall designate one or more special 
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days at a centralized location within the boundaries 
of the Indian lands of each applicable Indian Tribe 
for the purpose of informing members of the Indian 
Tribe of the timing, registration requirements, and 
voting procedures in elections for Federal 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 
part of an Indian Tribe’s Indian lands shall des-
ignate for each Indian Tribe an officer within that 
State who will be responsible for compliance with the 
provisions of this section. The State shall provide 
written notice to each such Indian Tribe of the offi-
cer 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 that is held 180 days or later after the date on 
which the Indian Tribe initially satisfies such obliga-
tions, any State or political subdivision whose terri-
tory contains all or part of an Indian Tribe’s Indian 
lands— 
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(A) shall provide a minimum of one polling 
place for each precinct in which there are eligi-
ble voters who reside on Indian lands, in a loca-
tion selected by the Indian Tribe and at no cost 
to the Indian Tribe; 
(B) shall provide, at no cost to the Indian 
Tribe, additional polling places in locations se-
lected by an Indian Tribe if, based on the total-
ity of circumstances described in subsection (b), 
it is shown that not providing those additional 
polling places would result in members of the 
Indian Tribe and individuals residing on the In-
dian Tribe’s Indian lands having less oppor-
tunity to vote than eligible voters in that State 
or political subdivision who are not members of 
an Indian Tribe and do not reside on Indian 
lands; 
(C) shall, at each polling place located on 
Indian lands and at no cost to the Indian Tribe, 
make voting machines, tabulation machines, 
ballots, provisional ballots, and other voting ma-
terials available to the same extent that such 
equipment and materials are made available at 
other polling places in the State or political 
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subdivision that are not located on Indian 
lands; 
(D) 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; 
(E) 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 to 
the same extent that such training, compensa-
tion, and benefits are provided to election offi-
cials and poll workers at other polling places in 
the State or political subdivision that are not lo-
cated on Indian lands; 
(F) shall cooperate in good faith with the 
efforts of the Indian Tribe to satisfy the re-
quirements of subsection (c); and 
(G) may fulfill the State’s obligations 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) by relocating 
existing polling places, by creating new polling 
places, or both. 
(b) EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES TO VOTE.—When 
assessing the opportunities to vote provided to members 
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of an Indian Tribe and to other eligible voters in the State 
residing on Indian lands in order to determine the number 
of additional polling places (if any) that a State or political 
subdivision must provide in accordance with subsection 
(a)(2)(B), the State, political subdivision, and any court 
applying this section, shall consider the totality of cir-
cumstances of— 
(1) the number of voting-age citizens assigned 
to each polling place; 
(2) the distances that voters must travel to 
reach the polling places; 
(3) the time that voters must spend traveling to 
reach the polling places, including under inclement 
weather conditions; 
(4) the modes of transportation, if any, that are 
available to voters to use to reach the polling places; 
(5) the existence of and access to public trans-
portation to the polling places; and 
(6) any other factor relevant to effectuating the 
purposes of this Act. 
(c) OBLIGATIONS OF THE INDIAN TRIBE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The State and political sub-
division obligations under subsection (a)(2) shall 
apply with respect to an Indian Tribe only if that 
Indian Tribe files a standing request with the officer 
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designated under subsection (a)(1) for a polling 
place or polling places for future elections, pursuant 
to subsection (a)(2)(A), or subsection (a)(2)(B) (if 
applicable), which— 
(A) specifies the number and locations of 
such polling places that the Indian Tribe is re-
questing; 
(B) certifies that the Indian Tribe has ar-
ranged access to the facilities in which such 
polling places will be located, and that such ac-
cess is in accordance with Federal and State 
law; 
(C) certifies that the Indian Tribe will en-
sure that each such polling place will be open 
and available to all eligible voters who reside in 
the precinct or other geographic area assigned 
to such polling place, regardless of whether 
such eligible voters are members of the Indian 
Tribe or of any other Indian Tribe; and 
(D) requests that the State shall designate 
election officials and poll workers to staff such 
polling places, or certifies that the Indian Tribe 
will designate election officials and poll workers 
to staff such polling places on every day that 
the polling places will be open. 
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(2) OPT OUT.—At any time that is 60 days or 
more before the date of an election, an Indian Tribe 
that previously has satisfied the obligations of para-
graph (1) may notify the State that the Indian Tribe 
intends to opt out of the standing request for one 
or more polling places that were requested in accord-
ance with subsection 
(a)(2)(A) 
or 
subsection 
(a)(2)(B) for a particular election or for all future 
elections. 
(d) FEDERAL POLLING SITES.—At an Indian Tribe’s 
request, each State shall designate as voter polling facili-
ties any of the facilities identified in accordance with sec-
tion 7(a)(2)(C) or (D) of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(2)), at no cost to the 
Indian Tribe, provided that the facility meets the require-
ments of Federal and State law as applied to other polling 
places within the State or political subdivision. The appli-
cable agency of the Federal Government shall ensure that 
such designated facilities are made available as polling 
places. 
(e) MAIL-IN BALLOTING.—In States or political sub-
divisions that permit absentee or mail-in balloting, the fol-
lowing shall apply with respect to an election for Federal 
office: 
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(1) All postage shall be prepaid by the Federal 
Government and each ballot postmarked the day the 
ballot is received at a postal facility located on In-
dian lands. 
(2) An Indian Tribe may designate a Tribal 
Government building as a ballot pickup and collec-
tion location at no cost to the Indian Tribe. The ap-
plicable State or political subdivision shall collect 
ballots from that location. 
(3) The State or political subdivision shall pro-
vide mail-in and absentee ballots to each registered 
voter residing on Indian lands in the State or polit-
ical subdivision without requiring a residential ad-
dress, a mail-in or absentee ballot request, or an ex-
cuse for a mail-in or absentee ballot. 
(4) The address of a designated Tribal Govern-
ment building that is a ballot pickup and collection 
location under paragraph (2) may serve as the ad-
dress and mailing address for voters living on Indian 
lands if the designated Tribal Government building 
is in the same precinct as that voter. If such des-
ignated Tribal Government building is not in the 
same precinct as the voter, the voter may use the 
designated Tribal Government building as a mailing 
address and may separately designate the voter’s ap-
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propriate precinct through a description of the vot-
er’s address, as specified in section 9428.4(a)(2) of 
title 11, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(5) In the case of a State or political subdivi-
sion that is a covered State or political subdivision 
under section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 
(52 U.S.C. 10503), that State or political subdivi-
sion shall provide absentee or mail-in voting mate-
rials in the language of the applicable minority 
group as well as in the English language, bilingual 
election voting assistance, and written translations 
of all voting materials in the language of the appli-
cable minority group, as required by section 203 of 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503), 
as amended by this Act. 
(f) EARLY VOTING.—In a State or political subdivi-
sion that provides for early voting, that State or political 
subdivision shall provide not less than one early voting lo-
cation on Indian lands, upon the request of the applicable 
Indian Tribe and at a site selected by the applicable In-
dian Tribe. 
(g) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney Gen-
eral may bring a civil action in an appropriate dis-
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trict court for such declaratory or injunctive relief as 
is necessary to carry out this section. 
(2) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
(A) A person or Tribal Government who is 
aggrieved by a violation of this section may pro-
vide written notice of the violation to the chief 
election official of the State involved. 
(B) An aggrieved person or Tribal Govern-
ment may bring a civil action in an appropriate 
district court for declaratory or injunctive relief 
with respect to a violation of this section, if— 
(i) that person or Tribal Government 
provides the notice described in subpara-
graph (A); and 
(ii)(I) in the case of a violation that 
occurs more than 120 days before the date 
of an election for Federal office, the viola-
tion remains and 90 days or more have 
passed since the date on which the chief 
election official of the State receives the 
notice under subparagraph (A); or 
(II) in the case of a violation that oc-
curs 120 days or less before the date of an 
election for Federal office, the violation re-
mains and 20 days or more have passed 
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since the date on which the chief election 
official of the State receives the notice 
under subparagraph (A). 
(C) In the case of a violation of this sec-
tion that occurs 30 days or less before the date 
of an election for Federal office, an aggrieved 
person or Tribal Government may bring a civil 
action in an appropriate district court for de-
claratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 
violation without providing notice to the chief 
election official of the State under subpara-
graph (A). 
(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to prevent a State or po-
litical subdivision from providing additional polling 
places on Indian lands if no request was made by an 
Indian Tribe under this section. 
SEC. 7. TRIBAL PRECLEARANCE. 
(a) ACTIONS REQUIRING PRECLEARANCE.—No State 
or political subdivision may carry out any of the following 
activities unless the requirements of subsection (b) have 
been met: 
(1) Eliminating the only polling place or voter 
registration site on the Indian lands of an Indian 
Tribe. 
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(2) Moving or consolidating a polling place or 
voter registration site on the Indian lands of an In-
dian Tribe to a location 1 mile or further from the 
existing location of the polling place or voter reg-
istration site. 
(3) Moving or consolidating a polling place on 
the Indian lands of an Indian Tribe to a location 
across a river, lake, mountain, or other natural 
boundary such that it makes travel difficult for a 
voter, regardless of distance. 
(4) Eliminating in-person voting on the Indian 
lands of an Indian Tribe by designating an Indian 
reservation as a permanent absentee voting location, 
unless— 
(A) the entire State is or becomes a per-
manent absentee voting State; or 
(B) the Indian Tribe requests such a des-
ignation. 
(5) Removing an early voting location or other-
wise diminishing early voting opportunities on In-
dian lands. 
(6) Decreasing the number of days or hours 
that an in-person or early voting location is open on 
the Indian lands of an Indian Tribe or changing the 
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dates of in-person or early voting on the Indian 
lands of an Indian Tribe. 
(b) PRECLEARANCE.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The requirements of this 
subsection have been met if— 
(A) the impacted Tribal Government sub-
mits to the Attorney General the Tribal Govern-
ment’s written consent to the proposed activity 
described in subsection (a); 
(B) the State or political subdivision insti-
tutes an action in the United States District 
Court for the District of Columbia for a declar-
atory judgment, and a declaratory judgment is 
issued, establishing that the specified activity 
described in subsection (a) that the State or po-
litical subdivision desires to carry out neither 
has the purpose nor will have the effect of deny-
ing or abridging the right to vote on account of 
race or color, or membership in a language mi-
nority group; or 
(C) the chief legal officer or other appro-
priate official of such State or political subdivi-
sion submits a request to carry out the specified 
activity described in subsection (a) to the Attor-
ney General and the Attorney General has not 
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interposed an objection within 60 days after 
such submission, or upon good cause shown, to 
facilitate an expedited approval within 60 days 
after such submission, the Attorney General has 
affirmatively indicated that such objection will 
not be made. 
(2) NO
LIMITATION
ON
FUTURE
ACTIONS.— 
Neither an affirmative indication by the Attorney 
General that no objection will be made, nor the At-
torney General’s failure to object, nor a declaratory 
judgment entered under this section, nor a written 
consent issued under paragraph (1)(A) shall bar a 
subsequent action to enjoin enforcement of an activ-
ity described in subsection (a). In the event the At-
torney General affirmatively indicates that no objec-
tion will be made within the 60-day period following 
receipt of a submission, the Attorney General may 
reserve the right to reexamine the submission if ad-
ditional information comes to the Attorney General’s 
attention during the remainder of the 60-day period 
which would otherwise require objection in accord-
ance with this section. Any action under this section 
shall be heard and determined by a court of 3 judges 
in accordance with the provisions of section 2284 of 
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title 28 of the United States Code and any appeal 
shall lie to the Supreme Court. 
SEC. 8. TRIBAL VOTER IDENTIFICATION. 
(a) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT IDENTIFICATION.—If a 
State or political subdivision requires an individual to 
present identification for the purposes of voting or reg-
istering to vote in an election for Federal office, an identi-
fication card issued by a federally recognized Tribal Gov-
ernment, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health 
Service, or any other Tribal or Federal agency issuing 
identification cards to Indian voters shall be treated as 
a valid form of identification for such purposes. 
(b) VALIDITY OF TRIBAL IDENTIFICATION CARD.— 
An individual shall not be required to show that a Tribal 
identification card includes a residential address or an ex-
piration date in order for such Tribal identification card 
to be considered valid for purposes of voting or registering 
to vote. The voter may instead separately designate the 
voter’s appropriate voting precinct through a description 
of the voter’s address that conforms with the regulations 
for national mail voter registration forms, as established 
under section 9428.4(a)(2) of title 11, Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
(c) ONLINE REGISTRATION.—If a State or political 
subdivision requires an identification card for an indi-
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vidual to register to vote online or to vote online, that 
State or political subdivision shall consider an identifica-
tion card as described in subsection (a) to be a valid form 
of identification for the purpose of registering to vote on-
line or voting online. 
SEC. 9. BILINGUAL ELECTION REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10503) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(3)(C), by striking ‘‘1990’’ 
and inserting ‘‘2010’’; and 
(2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) PROVISION OF VOTING MATERIALS IN THE LAN-
GUAGE OF A MINORITY GROUP.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever any State or po-
litical subdivision subject to the prohibition of sub-
section (b) of this section provides any registration 
or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, or 
other materials or information relating to the elec-
toral process, including ballots, it shall provide them 
in the language of the applicable minority group as 
well as in the English language. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— 
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‘‘(i) In the case of a minority group 
that is not American Indian or Alaska Na-
tive and the language of that minority 
group is oral or unwritten, the State or po-
litical subdivision shall only be required to 
furnish, in the covered language, oral in-
structions, assistance, translation of voting 
materials, or other information relating to 
registration and voting. 
‘‘(ii) In the case of a minority group 
that is American Indian or Alaska Native, 
the State or political subdivision shall only 
be required to furnish in the covered lan-
guage oral instructions, assistance, or 
other information relating to registration 
and voting, including all voting materials, 
if the Tribal Government of that minority 
group has certified that the language of 
the applicable American Indian or Alaska 
Native language is presently unwritten or 
the Tribal Government does not want writ-
ten translations in the minority language. 
‘‘(3) WRITTEN TRANSLATIONS FOR ELECTION 
WORKERS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the 
State or political division may be required to provide 
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written translations of voting materials, with the 
consent of any applicable Indian Tribe, to election 
workers to ensure that the translations from English 
to the language of a minority group are complete, 
accurate, and uniform.’’. 
SEC. 10. FEDERAL OBSERVERS TO PROTECT TRIBAL VOT-
ING RIGHTS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 
1965.—Section 8(a) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10305(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 
semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (2)(B), by adding ‘‘or’’ after 
the semicolon; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) the Attorney General has received a writ-
ten complaint from an Indian Tribe that efforts to 
deny or abridge the right to vote under the color of 
law on account of race or color, or in contravention 
of the guarantees set forth in section 4(f)(2), are 
likely to occur;’’. 
(b) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE REPORTS.—The Attorney 
General shall make publicly available the reports of a Fed-
eral election observer appointed pursuant to section 
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(8)(a)(3) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10305(a)(3)), as added by subsection (a), not later than 
6 months after the date that such reports are submitted 
to the Attorney General, except that any personally identi-
fiable information relating to a voter or the substance of 
the voter’s ballot shall not be made public. 
SEC. 11. TRIBAL VOTING CONSULTATION. 
The Attorney General shall consult annually with In-
dian Tribes regarding issues related to voting in elections 
for Federal office. 
SEC. 12. ATTORNEYS’ FEES, EXPERT FEES, AND LITIGATION 
EXPENSES. 
In a civil action under this Act, the court shall award 
the prevailing party, other than the United States, reason-
able attorney fees, including litigation expenses, reason-
able expert fees, and costs. 
SEC. 13. SEVERABILITY; RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 
(a) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this Act, or 
the application of such a provision to any person, entity, 
or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remaining provi-
sions of this Act and the application of all provisions of 
this Act to any other person, entity, or circumstance shall 
not be affected by the invalidity. 
(b) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 
this Act shall invalidate, or limit the rights, remedies, or 
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procedures available under, or supersede, restrict, or limit 
the application of, 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. 
SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 
Æ 
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