I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2876 
To require States to automatically register eligible voters to vote in elections 
for Federal office, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 12, 2017 
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, and Mr. RASKIN) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Science, 
Space, and Technology, 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 require States to automatically register eligible voters 
to vote in elections for Federal office, 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; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2017’’. 
(b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
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(A) the right to vote is a fundamental 
right of citizens of the United States; 
(B) it is the responsibility of the State and 
Federal governments to ensure that every eligi-
ble citizen is registered to vote; 
(C) existing voter registration systems can 
be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible and con-
fusing, with damaging effects on voter partici-
pation in elections and disproportionate impacts 
on young people, persons with disabilities, and 
racial and ethnic minorities; and 
(D) voter registration systems must be up-
dated with 21st century technologies and proce-
dures to maintain their security. 
(2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act— 
(A) to establish that it is the responsibility 
of government at every level to ensure that all 
eligible citizens are registered to vote; 
(B) to enable the State and Federal gov-
ernments to register all eligible citizens to vote 
with accurate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date pro-
cedures; 
(C) to modernize voter registration and list 
maintenance procedures with electronic and 
Internet capabilities; and 
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(D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 
accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 
electoral process for all eligible citizens. 
SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVID-
UALS. 
(a) REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPER-
ATE AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The chief State election offi-
cial of each State shall establish and operate a sys-
tem of automatic registration for the registration of 
eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal 
office in the State, in accordance with the provisions 
of this Act. 
(2) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘automatic reg-
istration’’ means a system that registers an indi-
vidual to vote in elections for Federal office in a 
State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the 
information necessary for registration from govern-
ment agencies to election officials of the State so 
that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to 
be registered, the individual will be registered to vote 
in such elections. 
(b) REGISTRATION
OF VOTERS BASED
ON NEW 
AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief State election official 
shall— 
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(1) not later than 15 days after a contributing 
agency has transmitted information with respect to 
an individual pursuant to section 3, ensure that the 
individual is registered to vote in elections for Fed-
eral office in the State if the individual is eligible to 
be registered to vote in such elections; and 
(2) send written notice to the individual, in ad-
dition to other means of notice established by this 
Act, of the individual’s voter registration status. 
(c) ONE-TIME REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON 
EXISTING CONTRIBUTING AGENCY RECORDS.—The chief 
State election official shall— 
(1) identify all individuals whose information is 
transmitted by a contributing agency pursuant to 
section 4 and who are eligible to be, but are not cur-
rently, registered to vote in that State; 
(2) promptly send each such individual written 
notice, in addition to other means of notice estab-
lished by this Act, which shall not identify the con-
tributing agency that transmitted the information 
but shall include— 
(A) an explanation that voter registration 
is voluntary, but if the individual does not de-
cline registration, the individual will be reg-
istered to vote; 
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(B) a statement offering the opportunity to 
decline voter registration through means con-
sistent with the requirements of this Act; 
(C) in the case of a State in which affili-
ation or enrollment with a political party is re-
quired in order to participate in an election to 
select the party’s candidate in an election for 
Federal office, a statement offering the indi-
vidual the opportunity to affiliate or enroll with 
a political party or to decline to affiliate or en-
roll with a political party, through means con-
sistent with the requirements of this Act; 
(D) the substantive qualifications of an 
elector in the State as listed in the mail voter 
registration application form for elections for 
Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 
the consequences of false registration, and a 
statement that the individual should decline to 
register if the individual does not meet all those 
qualifications; 
(E) instructions for correcting any erro-
neous information; and 
(F) instructions for providing any addi-
tional information which is listed in the mail 
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voter registration application form for elections 
for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 
9 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993; 
(3) ensure that each such individual who is eli-
gible to register to vote in elections for Federal of-
fice in the State is promptly registered to vote not 
later than 45 days after the official sends the indi-
vidual the written notice under paragraph (2), un-
less, during the 30-day period which begins on the 
date the election official sends the individual such 
written notice, the individual declines registration in 
writing, through a communication made over the 
Internet, or by an officially logged telephone commu-
nication; and 
(4) send written notice to each such individual, 
in addition to other means of notice established by 
this Act, of the individual’s voter registration status. 
(d) CONTRIBUTING AGENCY DEFINED.—In this Act, 
the term ‘‘contributing agency’’ means, with respect to a 
State, an agency listed in section 3(e). 
SEC. 3. CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN REGISTRA-
TION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this Act, each 
contributing agency in a State shall assist the State’s chief 
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election official in registering to vote all eligible individuals 
served by that agency. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CONTRIBUTING
AGEN-
CIES.— 
(1) INSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA-
TION.—With each application for service or assist-
ance, and with each related recertification, renewal, 
or change of address, or, in the case of an institu-
tion of higher education, with each registration of a 
student for enrollment in a course of study, each 
contributing agency that (in the normal course of its 
operations) requests individuals to affirm United 
States citizenship (either directly or as part of the 
overall application for service or assistance) shall in-
form each such individual who is a citizen of the 
United States of the following: 
(A) Unless that individual declines to reg-
ister to vote, or is found ineligible to vote, the 
individual will be registered to vote or, if appli-
cable, the individual’s registration will be up-
dated. 
(B) The substantive qualifications of an 
elector in the State as listed in the mail voter 
registration application form for elections for 
Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9 
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of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 
the consequences of false registration, and the 
individual should decline to register if the indi-
vidual does not meet all those qualifications. 
(C) In the case of a State in which affili-
ation or enrollment with a political party is re-
quired in order to participate in an election to 
select the party’s candidate in an election for 
Federal office, the requirement that the indi-
vidual must affiliate or enroll with a political 
party in order to participate in such an election. 
(D) Voter registration is voluntary, and 
neither registering nor declining to register to 
vote will in any way affect the availability of 
services or benefits, nor be used for other pur-
poses. 
(2) OPPORTUNITY TO DECLINE REGISTRATION 
REQUIRED.—Each contributing agency shall ensure 
that each application for service or assistance, and 
each related recertification, renewal, or change of 
address, or, in the case of an institution of higher 
education, each registration of a student for enroll-
ment in a course of study, cannot be completed until 
the individual is given the opportunity to decline to 
be registered to vote. 
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(3) INFORMATION
TRANSMITTAL.—Upon the 
expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the 
date the contributing agency informs the individual 
of the information described in paragraph (1), each 
contributing agency shall electronically transmit to 
the appropriate State election official, in a format 
compatible with the statewide voter database main-
tained under section 303 of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083), the following infor-
mation, unless during such 30-day period the indi-
vidual declined to be registered to vote: 
(A) The individual’s given name(s) and 
surname(s). 
(B) The individual’s date of birth. 
(C) The individual’s residential address. 
(D) Information showing that the indi-
vidual is a citizen of the United States. 
(E) The date on which information per-
taining to that individual was collected or last 
updated. 
(F) If available, the individual’s signature 
in electronic form. 
(G) Information regarding the individual’s 
affiliation or enrollment with a political party, 
if the individual provides such information. 
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(H) Any additional information listed in 
the mail voter registration application form for 
elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant 
to section 9 of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993, including any valid driver’s license 
number or the last 4 digits of the individual’s 
social security number, if the individual pro-
vided such information. 
(c) ALTERNATE PROCEDURE
FOR CERTAIN CON-
TRIBUTING AGENCIES.—With each application for service 
or assistance, and with each related recertification, re-
newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu-
tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu-
dent for enrollment in a course of study, any contributing 
agency that in the normal course of its operations does 
not request individuals applying for service or assistance 
to affirm United States citizenship (either directly or as 
part of the overall application for service or assistance) 
shall— 
(1) complete the requirements of section 7(a)(6) 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20506(a)(6)); 
(2) ensure that each applicant’s transaction 
with the agency cannot be completed until the appli-
cant has indicated whether the applicant wishes to 
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register to vote or declines to register to vote in elec-
tions for Federal office held in the State; and 
(3) for each individual who wishes to register to 
vote, transmit that individual’s information in ac-
cordance with subsection (b)(3). 
(d) REQUIRED AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATIC REG-
ISTRATION OPPORTUNITY WITH EACH APPLICATION FOR 
SERVICE
OR ASSISTANCE.—Each contributing agency 
shall offer each individual, with each application for serv-
ice or assistance, and with each related recertification, re-
newal, or change of address, or in the case of an institu-
tion of higher education, with each registration of a stu-
dent for enrollment in a course of study, the opportunity 
to register to vote as prescribed by this section without 
regard to whether the individual previously declined a reg-
istration opportunity. 
(e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES.— 
(1) STATE AGENCIES.—In each State, each of 
the following agencies shall be treated as a contrib-
uting agency: 
(A) Each agency in a State that is re-
quired by Federal law to provide voter registra-
tion services, including the State motor vehicle 
authority and other voter registration agencies 
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under the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993. 
(B) Each agency in a State that admin-
isters a program pursuant to title III of the So-
cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 501 et seq.), title 
XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 
et seq.), or the Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act (Public Law 111–148). 
(C) Each State agency primarily respon-
sible for regulating the private possession of 
firearms. 
(D) Each State agency primarily respon-
sible for maintaining identifying information for 
students enrolled at public secondary schools, 
including, where applicable, the State agency 
responsible for maintaining the education data 
system described in section 6201(e)(2) of the 
America 
COMPETES 
Act 
(20 
U.S.C. 
9871(e)(2)). 
(E) In the case of a State in which an in-
dividual disenfranchised by a criminal convic-
tion may become eligible to vote upon comple-
tion of a criminal sentence or any part thereof, 
or upon formal restoration of rights, the State 
agency responsible for administering that sen-
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tence, or part thereof, or that restoration of 
rights. 
(F) Any other agency of the State which is 
designated by the State as a contributing agen-
cy. 
(2) FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In each State, each 
of the following agencies of the Federal Government 
shall be treated as a contributing agency with re-
spect to individuals who are residents of that State 
(except as provided in subparagraph (C)): 
(A) The Social Security Administration, 
the Department of Veterans Affairs, the De-
fense Manpower Data Center of the Depart-
ment of Defense, the Employee and Training 
Administration of the Department of Labor, 
and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Serv-
ices of the Department of Health and Human 
Services. 
(B) The Bureau of Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services, but only with respect to indi-
viduals who have completed the naturalization 
process. 
(C) In the case of an individual who is a 
resident of a State in which an individual 
disenfranchised by a criminal conviction under 
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Federal law may become eligible to vote upon 
completion of a criminal sentence or any part 
thereof, or upon formal restoration of rights, 
the Federal agency responsible for admin-
istering that sentence or part thereof (without 
regard to whether the agency is located in the 
same State in which the individual is a resi-
dent), but only with respect to individuals who 
have completed the criminal sentence or any 
part thereof. 
(D) Any other agency of the Federal Gov-
ernment which the State designates as a con-
tributing agency, but only if the State and the 
head of the agency determine that the agency 
collects information sufficient to carry out the 
responsibilities of a contributing agency under 
this section. 
(3) INSTITUTIONS
OF
HIGHER
EDUCATION.— 
Each institution of higher education that receives 
Federal funds shall be treated as a contributing 
agency in the State in which it is located, but only 
with respect to students of the institution (including 
students who attend classes online) who reside in the 
State. An institution of higher education described 
in the previous sentence shall be exempt from the 
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voter registration requirements of section 487(a)(23) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(23)) if the institution is in compliance with 
the applicable requirements of this Act. 
(4) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 180 days 
prior to the date of each election for Federal office 
held in the State, the chief State election official 
shall publish on the public website of the official an 
updated list of all contributing agencies in that 
State. 
(5) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The chief State elec-
tion official of each State, in collaboration with each 
contributing agency, shall take appropriate measures 
to educate the public about voter registration under 
this section. 
SEC. 4. ONE-TIME CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN 
REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN EX-
ISTING RECORDS. 
(a) INITIAL TRANSMITTAL OF INFORMATION.—For 
each individual already listed in a contributing agency’s 
records as of the date of enactment of this Act, and for 
whom the agency has the information listed in section 
3(b)(3), the agency shall promptly transmit that informa-
tion to the appropriate State election official in accordance 
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with section 3(b)(3) not later than the effective date de-
scribed in section 11(a). 
(b) TRANSITION.—For each individual listed in a con-
tributing agency’s records as of the effective date de-
scribed in section 11(a) (but who was not listed in a con-
tributing agency’s records as of the date of enactment of 
this Act), and for whom the agency has the information 
listed in section 3(b)(3), the Agency shall promptly trans-
mit that information to the appropriate State election offi-
cial in accordance with section 3(b)(3) not later than 6 
months after the effective date described in section 11(a). 
SEC. 5. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTOMATIC 
REGISTRATION. 
(a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 
An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 
law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication concerning 
immigration status or naturalization, or subject to an alle-
gation in any legal proceeding that the individual is not 
a citizen of the United States on any of the following 
grounds: 
(1) The individual notified an election office of 
the individual’s automatic registration to vote under 
this Act. 
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(2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec-
tions for Federal office but was automatically reg-
istered to vote under this Act. 
(3) The individual was automatically registered 
to vote under this Act at an incorrect address. 
(4) The individual declined the opportunity to 
register to vote or did not make an affirmation of 
citizenship, including through automatic registration, 
under this Act. 
(b) LIMITS
ON USE
OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA-
TION.—The automatic registration of any individual or the 
fact that an individual declined the opportunity to register 
to vote or did not make an affirmation of citizenship (in-
cluding through automatic registration) under this Act 
may not be used as evidence against that individual in any 
State or Federal law enforcement proceeding, and an indi-
vidual’s lack of knowledge or willfulness of such registra-
tion may be demonstrated by the individual’s testimony 
alone. 
(c) PROTECTION OF ELECTION INTEGRITY.—Noth-
ing in subsection (a) or (b) may be construed to prohibit 
or restrict any action under color of law against an indi-
vidual who— 
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(1) knowingly and willfully makes a false state-
ment to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter 
registration by any individual; or 
(2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in vio-
lation of State law or the laws of the United States. 
(d) CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES’ PROTECTION OF IN-
FORMATION.—Nothing in this Act authorizes a contrib-
uting agency to collect, retain, transmit, or publicly dis-
close any of the following: 
(1) An individual’s decision to decline to reg-
ister to vote or not to register to vote. 
(2) An individual’s decision not to affirm his or 
her citizenship. 
(3) Any information that a contributing agency 
transmits pursuant to section 3(b)(3), except in pur-
suing the agency’s ordinary course of business. 
(e) ELECTION OFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OF INFOR-
MATION.— 
(1) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graph (B), with respect to any individual for 
whom any State election official receives infor-
mation from a contributing agency, the State 
election officials shall not publicly disclose any 
of the following: 
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(i) The identity of the contributing 
agency. 
(ii) Any information not necessary to 
voter registration. 
(iii) Any voter information otherwise 
shielded from disclosure under State law or 
section 8(a) of the National Voter Reg-
istration 
Act 
of 
1993 
(52 
U.S.C. 
20507(a)). 
(iv) Any portion of the individual’s so-
cial security number. 
(v) Any portion of the individual’s 
motor vehicle driver’s license number. 
(vi) The individual’s signature. 
(vii) The individual’s telephone num-
ber. 
(viii) The individual’s email address. 
(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS REG-
ISTERED TO VOTE.—With respect to any indi-
vidual for whom any State election official re-
ceives information from a contributing agency 
and who, on the basis of such information, is 
registered to vote in the State under this Act, 
the State election officials shall not publicly dis-
close any of the following: 
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(i) The identity of the contributing 
agency. 
(ii) Any information not necessary to 
voter registration. 
(iii) Any voter information otherwise 
shielded from disclosure under State law or 
section 8(a) of the National Voter Reg-
istration 
Act 
of 
1993 
(52 
U.S.C. 
20507(a)). 
(iv) Any portion of the individual’s so-
cial security number. 
(v) Any portion of the individual’s 
motor vehicle driver’s license number. 
(vi) The individual’s signature. 
(2) VOTER
RECORD
CHANGES.—Each State 
shall maintain for at least 2 years and shall make 
available for public inspection and, where available, 
photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records of 
changes to voter records, including removals and up-
dates. 
(3) DATABASE
MANAGEMENT
STANDARDS.— 
The Director of the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology shall, after providing the public with 
notice and the opportunity to comment— 
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(A) establish standards governing the com-
parison of data for voter registration list main-
tenance purposes, identifying as part of such 
standards the specific data elements, the 
matching rules used, and how a State may use 
the data to determine and deem that an indi-
vidual is ineligible under State law to vote in an 
election, or to deem a record to be a duplicate 
or outdated; 
(B) ensure that the standards developed 
pursuant to this paragraph are uniform and 
nondiscriminatory and are applied in a uniform 
and nondiscriminatory manner; and 
(C) publish the standards developed pursu-
ant to this paragraph on the Director’s website 
and make those standards available in written 
form upon request. 
(4) SECURITY
POLICY.—The Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology 
shall, after providing the public with notice and the 
opportunity to comment, publish privacy and secu-
rity standards for voter registration information. 
The standards shall require the chief State election 
official of each State to adopt a policy that shall 
specify— 
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(A) each class of users who shall have au-
thorized access to the computerized statewide 
voter registration list, specifying for each class 
the permission and levels of access to be grant-
ed, and setting forth other safeguards to pro-
tect the privacy, security, and accuracy of the 
information on the list; and 
(B) security safeguards to protect personal 
information transmitted through the informa-
tion transmittal processes of section 3 or sec-
tion 4, the online system used pursuant to sec-
tion 7, any telephone interface, the maintenance 
of the voter registration database, and any 
audit procedure to track access to the system. 
(5) 
STATE
COMPLIANCE
WITH
NATIONAL 
STANDARDS.— 
(A) CERTIFICATION.—The chief executive 
officer of the State shall annually file with the 
Election Assistance Commission a statement 
certifying to the Director of the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology that the 
State is in compliance with the standards re-
ferred to in paragraphs (4) and (5). A State 
may meet the requirement of the previous sen-
tence by filing with the Commission a statement 
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which reads as follows: ‘‘lllll hereby 
certifies that it is in compliance with the stand-
ards referred to in paragraphs (4) and (5) of 
section 5(e) of the Automatic Voter Registra-
tion Act of 2017.’’ (with the blank to be filled 
in with the name of the State involved). 
(B) PUBLICATION OF POLICIES AND PRO-
CEDURES.—The chief State election official of a 
State shall publish on the official’s website the 
policies and procedures established under this 
section, and shall make those policies and pro-
cedures available in written form upon public 
request. 
(C) FUNDING
DEPENDENT
ON
CERTIFI-
CATION.—If a State does not timely file the cer-
tification required under this paragraph, it shall 
not receive any payment under this Act for the 
upcoming fiscal year. 
(D) COMPLIANCE
OF
STATES
THAT
RE-
QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case 
of a State that requires State legislation to 
carry out an activity covered by any certifi-
cation submitted under this paragraph, for a 
period of not more than 2 years the State shall 
be permitted to make the certification notwith-
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standing that the legislation has not been en-
acted at the time the certification is submitted, 
and such State shall submit an additional cer-
tification once such legislation is enacted. 
(f) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF INFORMATION.—No 
person acting under color of law may discriminate against 
any individual based on, or use for any purpose other than 
voter registration, election administration, or enforcement 
relating to election crimes, any of the following: 
(1) Voter registration records. 
(2) An individual’s declination to register to 
vote or complete an affirmation of citizenship under 
section 3(b). 
(3) An individual’s voter registration status. 
(g) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF VOTER REGISTRA-
TION INFORMATION FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.—In-
formation collected under this Act shall not be used for 
commercial purposes. Nothing in this subsection may be 
construed to prohibit the transmission, exchange, or dis-
semination of information for political purposes, including 
the support of campaigns for election for Federal, State, 
or local public office or the activities of political commit-
tees (including committees of political parties) under the 
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. 
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SEC. 6. REGISTRATION PORTABILITY AND CORRECTION. 
(a) CORRECTING REGISTRATION INFORMATION AT 
POLLING PLACE.—Notwithstanding section 302(a) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(a)), if 
an individual is registered to vote in elections for Federal 
office held in a State, the appropriate election official at 
the polling pace for any such election (including a location 
used as a polling place on a date other than the date of 
the election) shall permit the individual to— 
(1) update the individual’s address for purposes 
of the records of the election official; 
(2) correct any incorrect information relating to 
the individual, including the individual’s name and 
political party affiliation, in the records of the elec-
tion official; and 
(3) cast a ballot in the election on the basis of 
the updated address or corrected information, and to 
have the ballot treated as a regular ballot and not 
as a provisional ballot under section 302(a) of such 
Act. 
(b) UPDATES TO COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER 
REGISTRATION LISTS.—If an election official at the poll-
ing place receives an updated address or corrected infor-
mation from an individual under subsection (a), the offi-
cial shall ensure that the address or information is 
promptly entered into the computerized statewide voter 
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registration 
list 
in 
accordance 
with 
section 
303(a)(1)(A)(vi) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(1)(A)(vi)). 
SEC. 7. ONLINE REGISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall ensure that the 
following services are available on the official public Web 
sites of the appropriate State election officials: 
(1) Application for or update to voter registra-
tion using an electronic version of the mail voter 
registration application form the Election Assistance 
Commission prescribes, and any additional voter reg-
istration form the State develops pursuant to section 
6(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
(52 U.S.C. 20505(a)). 
(2) Completion of a printable version of the 
mail voter registration application form the Election 
Assistance Commission prescribes, and any addi-
tional voter registration form the State develops pur-
suant to section 6(a) of the National Voter Registra-
tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20505(a)). 
(3) Correction of voter registration. 
(4) Designation of political party affiliation, 
where applicable. 
(5) Cancellation of registration and removal 
from the voter rolls. 
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(6) Declination of any automatic registration. 
(b) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS.—The appropriate 
State election official shall accept an online voter registra-
tion application and register each eligible individual to 
vote if the application provides a signature by any of the 
following: 
(1) In the case of an individual who has a sig-
nature on file with a State agency, including the 
State motor vehicle authority, that is required to 
provide voter registration services by the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et 
seq.), the individual consents to the transfer of that 
electronic signature. 
(2) The individual submits with the application 
an electronic copy of the individual’s handwritten 
signature. 
(3) If the State chooses to accept it, the indi-
vidual’s execution of a computerized mark in the sig-
nature field on an online voter registration applica-
tion. 
(4) The individual otherwise completes registra-
tion under this section and provides a signature at 
the time of casting a ballot in an election or at the 
time of applying for a ballot (including an absentee 
ballot) in an upcoming election. The online system 
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and disposition notice sent to any individual pursu-
ant to this paragraph must inform the individual of 
the process for providing a signature. 
(c) INTERAGENCY TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRONIC 
SIGNATURES.—Each State agency that is required by the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20501 et seq.) to provide voter registration services, in-
cluding the State motor vehicle authority, shall electroni-
cally transmit to the appropriate State election official the 
signature of any individual who has a signature on file 
with the agency and who consents to the transfer of that 
electronic signature under subsection (b)(1). 
(d) PRE-ELECTION CORRECTION.—Any correction to 
the statewide voter registration database pursuant to this 
section that is made no later than the lesser of thirty days, 
or the period State law provides, before a Federal election 
shall be effective for purposes of that Federal election and 
succeeding elections. 
(e) ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES.—Each State shall 
ensure that all of the services provided under this section 
are provided in a manner accessible to individuals with 
disabilities. 
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SEC. 8. PAYMENTS AND GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Commis-
sion shall make grants to each eligible State to assist the 
State in implementing the requirements of this Act. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY; APPLICATION.—A State is eligible 
to receive a grant under this section if the State submits 
to the Commission, at such time and in such form as the 
Commission may require, an application containing— 
(1) a description of the activities the State will 
carry out with the grant; 
(2) an assurance that the State shall carry out 
such activities without partisan bias and without 
promoting any particular point of view regarding 
any issue; and 
(3) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT; PRIORITIES.—The Commis-
sion shall determine the amount of a grant made to an 
eligible State under this section. In determining the 
amounts of the grants, the Commission shall give priority 
to providing funds for those activities which are most like-
ly to accelerate compliance with the requirements of this 
Act, including— 
(1) investments supporting electronic informa-
tion transfer, including electronic collection and 
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transfer of signatures, between contributing agencies 
and the appropriate State election officials; 
(2) updates to online or electronic voter reg-
istration systems already operating as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act; 
(3) introduction of online voter registration sys-
tems in jurisdictions in which those systems did not 
previously exist; and 
(4) public education on the availability of new 
methods of registering to vote, updating registration, 
and correcting registration. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this section— 
(A) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; and 
(B) such sums as may be necessary for 
each succeeding fiscal year. 
(2) CONTINUING
AVAILABILITY
OF
FUNDS.— 
Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority 
of this subsection shall remain available without fis-
cal year limitation until expended. 
SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
(a) ACCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION SERVICES.— 
Each contributing agency shall ensure that the services 
it provides under this Act are made available to individuals 
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with disabilities to the same extent as services are made 
available to all other individuals. 
(b) TRANSMISSION THROUGH SECURE THIRD PARTY 
PERMITTED.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
prevent a contributing agency from contracting with a 
third party to assist the agency in meeting the information 
transmittal requirements of this Act, so long as the data 
transmittal complies with the applicable requirements of 
this Act, including the privacy and security provisions of 
section 5. 
(c) NONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PROVISION 
OF SERVICES.—The services made available by contrib-
uting agencies under this Act and by the State under sec-
tions 6 and 7 shall be made in a manner consistent with 
paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a) of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20506(a)). 
(d) NOTICES.—Each State may send notices under 
this Act via electronic mail if the individual has provided 
an electronic mail address and consented to electronic mail 
communications for election-related materials. All notices 
sent pursuant to this Act that require a response must 
offer the individual notified the opportunity to respond at 
no cost to the individual. 
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(e) ENFORCEMENT.—Section 11 of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510), relat-
ing to civil enforcement and the availability of private 
rights of action, shall apply with respect to this Act in 
the same manner as such section applies to such Act. 
(f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as pro-
vided, nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize 
or require conduct prohibited under, or to supersede, re-
strict, or limit the application of any of the following: 
(1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.). 
(2) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab-
sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 
(3) The National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 
(4) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ 
means, with respect to a State, the individual des-
ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20509) to be responsible for coordination of the 
State’s responsibilities under such Act. 
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(2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Election 
Assistance Commission. 
(3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States and the District of Columbia. 
SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
apply with respect to a State beginning January 1, 2019. 
(b) WAIVER.—Subject to the approval of the Com-
mission, if a State certifies to the Commission that the 
State will not meet the deadline referred to in subsection 
(a) because of extraordinary circumstances and includes 
in the certification the reasons for the failure to meet the 
deadline, subsection (a) shall apply to the State as if the 
reference in such subsection to ‘‘January 1, 2019’’ were 
a reference to ‘‘January 1, 2021’’. 
Æ 
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