I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 102
To encourage increased voter registration for Federal, State, and local
elections, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 5, 1993
Mr. MICHEL (for himself and Mr. ROBERTS) introduced the following bill;
which was referred jointly to the Committees on House Administration
and the Judiciary
A BILL
To encourage increased voter registration for Federal, State,
and local 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 ‘‘National Voter Reg-
istration Enhancement Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) the right to vote is a fundamental right;
(2) all citizens of the United States are entitled
to be protected from vote fraud and from voter reg-
istration lists that contain the names of ineligible or
nonexistent voters, which dilute the worth of quali-
fied votes honestly cast; and
(3) all citizens of the United States are entitled
to be governed by elected and appointed public offi-
cers who are responsible to them and who govern in
the public interest without corruption, self-dealing,
or favoritism.
(b) PURPOSES.— The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to increase registration of citizens as voters
in elections for Federal office;
(2) to make it possible for Federal, State, and
local governments to enhance voter participation in
elections for Federal office;
(3) to protect the integrity of the electoral
process;
(4) to ensure the maintenance of accurate and
current official voter registration lists; and
(5) to guarantee to the States, and to their citi-
zens, a republican form of government, including
elections conducted free of fraud, and governmental
processes conducted free of corruption, self-dealing,
or favoritism.
TITLE I—VOTER REGISTRATION
ENHANCEMENT
SEC. 101. FEDERAL COORDINATION AND BIENNIAL ASSESS-
MENT.
The Attorney General—
(1) shall be responsible for coordination of Fed-
eral functions under this Act;
(2) shall provide information to the States with
respect to State responsibilities under this Act; and
(3) shall, not later than June 30 of each even-
numbered year, submit to the Congress a report as-
sessing the impact of this Act on the administration
of elections for Federal office during the preceding
2 calendar years and providing recommendations for
improvements in Federal and State procedures,
forms, and other matters affected by this Act.
SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITY OF CHIEF STATE ELECTION OF-
FICIAL.
The chief State election official of each State shall
be responsible for coordination of State functions under
this title.
SEC. 103. VOTER REGISTRATION ENHANCEMENT BLOCK
GRANTS.
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney Gen-
eral—
(1) for making grants under this section for fis-
cal years 1993, 1994, and 1995, a total of
$25,000,000; and
(2) such additional sums as may be necessary
for administrative expenses of the Attorney General
in carrying out this title.
(b) BLOCK GRANTS.—(1) From the amounts appro-
priated under subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the Attor-
ney General shall make grants to States, through chief
State election officials, for the purposes of supporting, fa-
cilitating, and enhancing voter registration.
(2) To qualify for a grant under paragraph (1), a
State shall match any amount of Federal funds dollar for
dollar with State funds for voter registration enhancement
activities, such as, but not limited to—
(A) providing for voter registration for elections
for Federal office at State departments of motor
vehicles; and
(B) providing for uniform and nondiscrim-
inatory programs to ensure that official voter reg-
istration lists are accurate and current in each
State.
(c) ALLOCATION
OF GRANTS.—(1) The Attorney
General shall by regulation establish criteria for allocation
of grants among States based on—
(A) the number of residents of each State;
(B) the percentage of eligible voters in each
State not registered to vote; and
(C) other appropriate factors.
(2) In promulgating criteria pursuant to paragraph
(1), the Attorney General shall give special consideration
to State-sponsored programs designed to improve registra-
tion in counties with voter registration percentages signifi-
cantly lower than that for the State as a whole.
(d) ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS.—(1) The At-
torney General shall by regulation establish administrative
requirements necessary to carry out this section.
(2) To be eligible to receive a grant under this sec-
tion, a State shall certify that the State—
(A) has in place legislative authority and a plan
to implement procedures to promote and facilitate,
to an extent and in such manner as the Attorney
General may deem adequate to carry out the pur-
poses of this title, voter registration for Federal elec-
tions in connection with applications for driver’s li-
censes;
(B) agrees to use any amount received from a
grant under this section in accordance with the re-
quirements of this section;
(C) agrees that any amount received through a
grant under this section for any period will be used
to supplement and increase any State, local, or other
non-Federal funds that would, in the absence of the
grant, be made available for the programs and ac-
tivities for which grants are provided under this sec-
tion and will in no event supplant such State, local,
and other non-Federal funds; and
(D) has established fiscal control and fund ac-
counting procedures to ensure the proper disburse-
ment of, and accounting for, grants made to the
State under this section.
(3) The Attorney General may not prescribe for a
State the manner of compliance with the requirements of
this subsection.
(e) REPORTS.—(1) The chief State election official
of a State that receives a grant under this section shall
submit to the Attorney General annual reports on its ac-
tivities under this section.
(2) A report required by paragraph (1) shall be in
such form and contain such information as the Attorney
General, after consultation with chief State election offi-
cials, determines to be necessary to—
(A) determine whether grant amounts were ex-
pended in accordance with this section;
(B) describe activities under this section; and
(C) provide a record of the progress made to-
ward achieving the purposes for which the block
grants were provided.
SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.
For the purpose of this title—
(1) the term ‘‘chief State election official’’
means, with respect to a State, the officer, employee,
or entity with authority, under State law, for elec-
tion administration in the State;
(2) the term ‘‘election’’ has the meaning stated
in section 301(1) of the Federal Election Campaign
Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(1));
(3) the term ‘‘Federal office’’ has the meaning
stated in section 301(3) of the Federal Election
Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(3)); and
(4) the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning stated in
section 301(12) of the Federal Election Campaign
Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(12)).
TITLE II—PUBLIC CORRUPTION
SEC. 201. ELECTION FRAUD AND OTHER PUBLIC CORRUP-
TION.
(a) AMENDMENT
OF
TITLE 18 OF
THE UNITED
STATES CODE.—Chapter 11 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof the follow-
ing new section:
‘‘§ 226. Public corruption
‘‘(a) Whoever, in a circumstance described in sub-
section (d), defrauds, or endeavors to defraud, by any
scheme or artifice, the inhabitants of the United States,
a State, a political subdivision of a State, or Indian coun-
try of the honest services of an official or employee of the
United States or the State, political subdivision, or Indian
tribal government shall be fined under this title, impris-
oned for not more than 20 years, or both.
‘‘(b) Whoever, in a circumstance described in sub-
section (d), defrauds, or endeavors to defraud, by any
scheme or artifice, the inhabitants of the United States,
a State, a political subdivision of a State, or Indian coun-
try of a fair and impartially conducted election process
in any primary, runoff, special, or general election—
‘‘(1) through the procurement, casting, or tab-
ulation of ballots that are materially false, fictitious,
or fraudulent or that are invalid, under the laws of
the jurisdiction in which the election is held;
‘‘(2) through paying or offering to pay any per-
son for voting;
‘‘(3) through the procurement or submission of
voter registrations that contain false material infor-
mation, or omit material information; or
‘‘(4) through the filing of any report required
to be filed under State law regarding an election
campaign that contains false material information or
omits material information,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more
than 20 years, or both.
‘‘(c) Whoever, being a public official or an official or
employee of the United States, a State, a political subdivi-
sion of a State, or an Indian tribal government, in a cir-
cumstance described in subsection (d), defrauds or endeav-
ors to defraud, by any scheme or artifice, the inhabitants
of the United States, a State, a political subdivision of
a State, or Indian country of the right to have the affairs
of the United States, the State, political subdivision, or
Indian tribal government conducted on the basis of com-
plete, true, and accurate material information, shall be
fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 20
years, or both.
‘‘(d) The circumstances referred to in subsections (a),
(b), and (c) are that—
‘‘(1) for the purpose of executing or concealing
such scheme or artifice or attempting to do so, the
person so doing—
‘‘(A) places in any post office or authorized
depository for mail matter, any matter or thing
whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal
Service, or takes or receives therefrom, any
such matter or thing, or knowingly causes to be
delivered by mail according to the direction
thereon, or at the place at which it is directed
to be delivered by the person to whom it is ad-
dressed, any such matter or thing;
‘‘(B) transmits or causes to be transmitted
by means of wire, radio, or television commu-
nication in interstate or foreign commerce any
writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds;
‘‘(C) transports or causes to be trans-
ported any person or thing, or induces any per-
son to travel in or to be transported in, inter-
state or foreign commerce; or
‘‘(D) in connection with intrastate, inter-
state, or foreign commerce, engages the use of
a facility of interstate or foreign commerce;
‘‘(2) the scheme or artifice affects or constitutes
an attempt to affect in any manner or degree, or
would if executed or concealed so affect, interstate
or foreign commerce; or
‘‘(3) as applied to an offense under subsection
(b), an objective of the scheme or artifice is to se-
cure the election of an official who, if elected, would
have some authority over the administration of
funds derived from an Act of Congress totaling
$10,000 or more during the 12-month period imme-
diately preceding or following the election or date of
the offense.
‘‘(e) Whoever defrauds or endeavors to defraud, by
any scheme or artifice, the inhabitants of the United
States of the honest services of a public official or person
who has been selected to be a public official shall be fined
under this title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years,
or both.
‘‘(f) Whoever, being an official, public official, or per-
son who has been selected to be a public official, directly
or indirectly discharges, demotes, suspends, threatens,
harasses, or in any manner discriminates against an em-
ployee or official of the United States, a State, a political
subdivision of a State, or an Indian tribal government, or
endeavors to do so, in order to carry out or to conceal
meanings stated in section 201(a) and shall also in-
clude any person acting or pretending to act under
color of official authority;
‘‘(3) the term ‘State’ means a State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, and any other commonwealth, territory, or
possession of the United States; and
‘‘(4) the term ‘under color of official authority’
includes any person who represents that such person
controls, is an agent of, or otherwise acts on behalf
of an official, a public official, or a person who has
been selected to be a public official.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) The table of sec-
tions for chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end thereof the following item:
‘‘226. Public corruption.’’.
(2) Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by inserting ‘‘section 226 (relating to public
corruption),’’ after ‘‘section 224 (relating to sports brib-
ery),’’.
(3) Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘section 226 (relating to
public corruption),’’ after ‘‘section 224 (bribery in sport-
ing contests),’’.
SEC. 202. FRAUD IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
(a) AMENDMENT
OF TITLE 18 OF
THE UNITED
STATES CODE.—Section 1343 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘transmits or causes to be
transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television
communication in interstate or foreign commerce,
any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds’’ and
inserting ‘‘in connection with intrastate, interstate,
or foreign commerce, engages the use of a facility of
interstate or foreign commerce’’; and
(2) by inserting ‘‘or attempting to do so’’ after
‘‘for the purpose of executing such scheme or arti-
fice’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—(1) The heading of
section 1343 of title 18, United States Code, is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘§ 1343. Fraud by use of facility of interstate com-
merce’’.
(2) The chapter analysis for chapter 63 of title 18,
United States Code, is amended by striking the analysis
for section 1343 and inserting the following:
‘‘1343. Fraud by use of facility of interstate commerce.’’.
SEC. 203. PRESERVATION OF THE EFFECT OF STATE LAW
THAT 
PROVIDES 
GREATER 
PROTECTION
AGAINST VOTE FRAUD.
In the case of any conflict between the provisions of
this Act and any provision of the civil or criminal law of
any State, the law of the State shall prevail to the extent
that such State law provides for more stringent suppres-
sion of vote fraud than this Act.
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