SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘For the People Act 
of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION OF ACT INTO DIVISIONS; TABLE OF 
CONTENTS. 
(a) DIVISIONS.—This Act is organized into 3 divi-
sions as follows: 
(1) Division A—Voting. 
(2) Division B—Campaign Finance. 
(3) Division C—Ethics. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title. 
Sec. 2. Organization of Act into divisions; table of contents. 
DIVISION A—ELECTION ACCESS 
TITLE I—ELECTION ACCESS 
Sec. 1000. Short title; statement of policy. 
Subtitle A—Voter Registration Modernization 
Sec. 1000A. Short title. 
PART 1—PROMOTING INTERNET REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1001. Requiring availability of Internet for voter registration. 
Sec. 1002. Use of Internet to update registration information. 
Sec. 1003. Provision of election information by electronic mail to individuals 
registered to vote. 
Sec. 1004. Clarification of requirement regarding necessary information to 
show eligibility to vote. 
Sec. 1005. Effective date. 
PART 2—AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1011. Short title; findings and purpose. 
Sec. 1012. Automatic registration of eligible individuals. 
Sec. 1013. Contributing agency assistance in registration. 
Sec. 1014. One-time contributing agency assistance in registration of eligible 
voters in existing records. 
Sec. 1015. Voter protection and security in automatic registration.
Sec. 1016. Registration portability and correction. 
Sec. 1017. Payments and grants. 
Sec. 1018. Treatment of exempt States. 
Sec. 1019. Miscellaneous provisions. 
Sec. 1020. Definitions. 
Sec. 1021. Effective date. 
PART 3—SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1031. Same day registration. 
PART 4—CONDITIONS ON REMOVAL ON BASIS OF INTERSTATE CROSS- 
CHECKS 
Sec. 1041. Conditions on removal of registrants from official list of eligible vot-
ers on basis of interstate cross-checks. 
PART 5—OTHER INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1051. Annual reports on voter registration statistics. 
Sec. 1052. Ensuring pre-election registration deadlines are consistent with tim-
ing of legal public holidays. 
Sec. 1053. Use of Postal Service hard copy change of address form to remind 
individuals to update voter registration. 
Sec. 1054. Grants to States for activities to encourage involvement of minors 
in election activities. 
PART 6—AVAILABILITY OF HAVA REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 
Sec. 1061. Availability of requirements payments under HAVA to cover costs 
of compliance with new requirements. 
PART 7—PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1071. Prohibiting hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registra-
tion. 
Sec. 1072. Establishment of best practices. 
PART 8—VOTER REGISTRATION EFFICIENCY ACT 
Sec. 1081. Short title. 
Sec. 1082. Requiring applicants for motor vehicle driver’s licenses in new state 
to indicate whether state serves as residence for voter registra-
tion purposes. 
PART 9—PROVIDING VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION TO SECONDARY 
SCHOOL STUDENTS 
Sec. 1091. Pilot program for providing voter registration information to sec-
ondary school students prior to graduation. 
Sec. 1092. Reports. 
Sec. 1093. Authorization of appropriations. 
PART 10—VOTER REGISTRATION OF MINORS 
Sec. 1094. Acceptance of voter registration applications from individuals under 
18 years of age. 
Subtitle B—Access to Voting for Individuals With Disabilities
Sec. 1101. Requirements for States to promote access to voter registration and 
voting for individuals with disabilities. 
Sec. 1102. Expansion and reauthorization of grant program to assure voting 
access for individuals with disabilities. 
Sec. 1103. Pilot programs for enabling individuals with disabilities to register 
to vote privately and independently at residences. 
Sec. 1104. GAO analysis and report on voting access for individuals with dis-
abilities. 
Subtitle C—Prohibiting Voter Caging 
Sec. 1201. Voter caging and other questionable challenges prohibited. 
Sec. 1202. Development and adoption of best practices for preventing voter 
caging. 
Subtitle D—Prohibiting Deceptive Practices and Preventing Voter 
Intimidation 
Sec. 1301. Short title. 
Sec. 1302. Prohibition on deceptive practices in Federal elections. 
Sec. 1303. Corrective action. 
Sec. 1304. Reports to Congress. 
Subtitle E—Democracy Restoration 
Sec. 1401. Short title. 
Sec. 1402. Rights of citizens. 
Sec. 1403. Enforcement. 
Sec. 1404. Notification of restoration of voting rights. 
Sec. 1405. Definitions. 
Sec. 1406. Relation to other laws. 
Sec. 1407. Federal prison funds. 
Sec. 1408. Effective date. 
Subtitle F—Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security Through Voter- 
Verified Permanent Paper Ballot 
Sec. 1501. Short title. 
Sec. 1502. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements. 
Sec. 1503. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities. 
Sec. 1504. Durability and readability requirements for ballots. 
Sec. 1505. Paper ballot printing requirements. 
Sec. 1506. Study and report on optimal ballot design. 
Sec. 1507. Paper ballot printing requirements. 
Sec. 1508. Effective date for new requirements. 
Subtitle G—Provisional Ballots 
Sec. 1601. Requirements for counting provisional ballots; establishment of uni-
form and nondiscriminatory standards. 
Subtitle H—Early Voting 
Sec. 1611. Early voting. 
Subtitle I—Voting by Mail 
Sec. 1621. Voting by Mail.
Subtitle J—Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters 
Sec. 1701. Pre-election reports on availability and transmission of absentee bal-
lots. 
Sec. 1702. Enforcement. 
Sec. 1703. Revisions to 45-day absentee ballot transmission rule. 
Sec. 1704. Use of single absentee ballot application for subsequent elections. 
Sec. 1705. Extending guarantee of residency for voting purposes to family 
members of absent military personnel. 
Sec. 1706. Effective date. 
Subtitle K—Poll Worker Recruitment and Training 
Sec. 1801. Grants to States for poll worker recruitment and training. 
Sec. 1802. State defined. 
Subtitle L—Enhancement of Enforcement 
Sec. 1811. Enhancement of enforcement of Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
Subtitle M—Federal Election Integrity 
Sec. 1821. Prohibition on campaign activities by chief State election adminis-
tration officials. 
Subtitle N—Promoting Voter Access Through Election Administration 
Improvements 
PART 1—PROMOTING VOTER ACCESS 
Sec. 1901. Treatment of institutions of higher education. 
Sec. 1902. Minimum notification requirements for voters affected by polling 
place changes. 
Sec. 1903. Permitting use of sworn written statement to meet identification re-
quirements for voting. 
Sec. 1904. Postage-free ballots. 
Sec. 1905. Reimbursement for costs incurred by States in establishing program 
to track and confirm receipt of absentee ballots. 
Sec. 1906. Voter information response systems and hotline. 
Sec. 1907. Limiting variations on number of hours of operation for polling 
places within a State. 
PART 2—IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION 
Sec. 1911. Reauthorization of Election Assistance Commission. 
Sec. 1913. Requiring states to participate in post-general election surveys. 
Sec. 1914. Reports by National Institute of Standards and Technology on use 
of funds transferred from Election Assistance Commission. 
Sec. 1915. Recommendations to improve operations of Election Assistance 
Commission. 
Sec. 1916. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain 
government contracting requirements. 
PART 3—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 1921. Application of laws to Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. 
Sec. 1922. No effect on other laws.
Subtitle O—Severability 
Sec. 1931. Severability. 
TITLE II—ELECTION INTEGRITY 
Subtitle A—Findings Reaffirming Commitment of Congress to Restore the 
Voting Rights Act 
Sec. 2001. Findings reaffirming commitment of Congress to restore the Voting 
Rights Act. 
Subtitle B—Findings Relating to Native American Voting Rights 
Sec. 2101. Findings relating to Native American voting rights. 
Subtitle C—Findings Relating to District of Columbia Statehood 
Sec. 2201. Findings relating to District of Columbia statehood. 
Subtitle D—Territorial Voting Rights 
Sec. 2301. Findings relating to territorial voting rights. 
Sec. 2302. Congressional Task Force on Voting Rights of United States Citizen 
Residents of Territories of the United States. 
Subtitle E—Redistricting Reform 
Sec. 2400. Short title; finding of constitutional authority. 
PART 1—REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 
Sec. 2401. Requiring congressional redistricting to be conducted through plan 
of independent State commission. 
Sec. 2402. Ban on mid-decade redistricting. 
PART 2—INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS 
Sec. 2411. Independent redistricting commission. 
Sec. 2412. Establishment of selection pool of individuals eligible to serve as 
members of commission. 
Sec. 2413. Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public no-
tice and input. 
Sec. 2414. Establishment of related entities. 
Sec. 2415. Report on diversity of memberships of independent redistricting 
commissions. 
PART 3—ROLE OF COURTS IN DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLANS 
Sec. 2421. Enactment of plan developed by 3-judge court. 
Sec. 2422. Special rule for redistricting conducted under order of Federal 
court. 
PART 4—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 2431. Payments to States for carrying out redistricting. 
Sec. 2432. Civil enforcement. 
Sec. 2433. State apportionment notice defined. 
Sec. 2434. No effect on elections for State and local office. 
Sec. 2435. Effective date.
Subtitle F—Saving Eligible Voters From Voter Purging 
Sec. 2501. Short title. 
Sec. 2502. Conditions for removal of voters from list of registered voters. 
Subtitle G—No Effect on Authority of States to Provide Greater 
Opportunities for Voting 
Sec. 2601. No effect on authority of States to provide greater opportunities for 
voting. 
Subtitle H—Residence of Incarcerated Individuals 
Sec. 2701. Residence of Incarcerated Individuals. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
Sec. 2801. Severability. 
TITLE III—ELECTION SECURITY 
Sec. 3000. Short title; sense of Congress. 
Subtitle A—Financial Support for Election Infrastructure 
PART 1—VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS 
Sec. 3001. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and car-
rying out voting system security improvements. 
Sec. 3002. Coordination of voting system security activities with use of require-
ments payments and election administration requirements 
under Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
Sec. 3003. Incorporation of definitions. 
PART 2—GRANTS FOR RISK-LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS 
Sec. 3011. Grants to States for conducting risk-limiting audits of results of 
elections. 
Sec. 3012. GAO analysis of effects of audits. 
PART 3—ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM 
Sec. 3021. Election infrastructure innovation grant program. 
Subtitle B—Security Measures 
Sec. 3101. Election infrastructure designation. 
Sec. 3102. Timely threat information. 
Sec. 3103. Security clearance assistance for election officials. 
Sec. 3104. Security risk and vulnerability assessments. 
Sec. 3105. Annual reports. 
Sec. 3106. Pre-election threat assessments. 
Subtitle C—Enhancing Protections for United States Democratic Institutions 
Sec. 3201. National strategy to protect United States democratic institutions. 
Sec. 3202. National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institu-
tions.
Subtitle D—Promoting Cybersecurity Through Improvements in Election 
Administration 
Sec. 3301. Testing of existing voting systems to ensure compliance with election 
cybersecurity guidelines and other guidelines. 
Sec. 3302. Treatment of electronic poll books as part of voting systems. 
Sec. 3303. Pre-election reports on voting system usage. 
Sec. 3304. Streamlining collection of election information. 
Subtitle E—Preventing Election Hacking 
Sec. 3401. Short title. 
Sec. 3402. Election Security Bug Bounty Program. 
Sec. 3403. Definitions. 
Subtitle F—Election Security Grants Advisory Committee 
Sec. 3501. Establishment of advisory committee. 
Subtitle G—Miscellaneous Provisions 
Sec. 3601. Definitions. 
Sec. 3602. Initial report on adequacy of resources available for implementation. 
Subtitle H—Use of Voting Machines Manufactured in the United States 
Sec. 3701. Use of voting machines manufactured in the United States. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
Sec. 3801. Severability. 
DIVISION B—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 
TITLE IV—CAMPAIGN FINANCE TRANSPARENCY 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to Illicit Money Undermining Our Democracy 
Sec. 4001. Findings relating to illicit money undermining our democracy. 
Subtitle B—DISCLOSE Act 
Sec. 4100. Short title. 
PART 1—REGULATION OF CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 
Sec. 4101. Clarification of prohibition on participation by foreign nationals in 
election-related activities. 
Sec. 4102. Clarification of application of foreign money ban to certain disburse-
ments and activities. 
Sec. 4103. Audit and report on illicit foreign money in Federal elections. 
Sec. 4104. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in 
connections with ballot initiatives and referenda. 
Sec. 4105. Disbursements and activities subject to foreign money ban. 
PART 2—REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENTS 
Sec. 4111. Reporting of campaign-related disbursements. 
Sec. 4112. Application of foreign money ban to disbursements for campaign-re-
lated disbursements consisting of covered transfers.
Sec. 4113. Effective date. 
PART 3—OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 
Sec. 4121. Petition for certiorari. 
Sec. 4122. Judicial review of actions related to campaign finance laws. 
Subtitle C—Honest Ads 
Sec. 4201. Short title. 
Sec. 4202. Purpose. 
Sec. 4203. Findings. 
Sec. 4204. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 4205. Expansion of definition of public communication. 
Sec. 4206. Expansion of definition of electioneering communication. 
Sec. 4207. Application of disclaimer statements to online communications. 
Sec. 4208. Political record requirements for online platforms. 
Sec. 4209. Preventing contributions, expenditures, independent expenditures, 
and disbursements for electioneering communications by for-
eign nationals in the form of online advertising. 
Subtitle D—Stand By Every Ad 
Sec. 4301. Short title. 
Sec. 4302. Stand By Every Ad. 
Sec. 4303. Disclaimer 
requirements 
for 
communications 
made 
through 
prerecorded telephone calls. 
Sec. 4304. No expansion of persons subject to disclaimer requirements on 
Internet communications. 
Sec. 4305. Effective date. 
Subtitle E—Secret Money Transparency 
Sec. 4401. Repeal of restriction of use of funds by Internal Revenue Service to 
bring transparency to political activity of certain nonprofit or-
ganizations. 
Sec. 4402. Repeal of Revenue Procedure That Eliminated Requirement to Re-
port Information Regarding Contributors to Certain Tax-Ex-
empt Organizations. 
Subtitle F—Shareholder Right-to-Know 
Sec. 4501. Repeal of restriction on use of funds by Securities and Exchange 
Commission to ensure shareholders of corporations have knowl-
edge of corporation political activity. 
Sec. 4502. Assessment of shareholder preferences for disbursements for polit-
ical purposes. 
Subtitle G—Disclosure of Political Spending by Government Contractors 
Sec. 4601. Repeal of restriction on use of funds to require disclosure of political 
spending by government contractors. 
Subtitle H—Limitation and Disclosure Requirements for Presidential 
Inaugural Committees 
Sec. 4701. Short title.
Sec. 4702. Limitations and disclosure of certain donations to, and disburse-
ments by, Inaugural Committees. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
Sec. 4801. Severability. 
TITLE V—CAMPAIGN FINANCE EMPOWERMENT 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to Citizens United Decision 
Sec. 5001. Findings relating to Citizens United decision. 
Subtitle B—Congressional Elections 
Sec. 5100. Short title. 
PART 1—MY VOICE VOUCHER PILOT PROGRAM 
Sec. 5101. Establishment of pilot program. 
Sec. 5102. Voucher program described. 
Sec. 5103. Reports. 
Sec. 5104. Definitions. 
PART 2—SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING OF CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION 
CAMPAIGNS 
Sec. 5111. Benefits and eligibility requirements for candidates. 
Sec. 5112. Contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political 
party committees on behalf of participating candidates. 
Sec. 5113. Prohibiting use of contributions by participating candidates for pur-
poses other than campaign for election. 
Sec. 5114. Assessments against fines and penalties. 
Sec. 5115. Study and report on small dollar financing program. 
Sec. 5116. Effective date. 
Subtitle C—Presidential Elections 
Sec. 5200. Short title. 
PART 1—PRIMARY ELECTIONS 
Sec. 5201. Increase in and modifications to matching payments. 
Sec. 5202. Eligibility requirements for matching payments. 
Sec. 5203. Repeal of expenditure limitations. 
Sec. 5204. Period of availability of matching payments. 
Sec. 5205. Examination and audits of matchable contributions. 
Sec. 5206. Modification to limitation on contributions for Presidential primary 
candidates. 
Sec. 5207. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 
PART 2—GENERAL ELECTIONS 
Sec. 5211. Modification of eligibility requirements for public financing. 
Sec. 5212. Repeal of expenditure limitations and use of qualified campaign con-
tributions. 
Sec. 5213. Matching payments and other modifications to payment amounts. 
Sec. 5214. Increase in limit on coordinated party expenditures. 
Sec. 5215. Establishment of uniform date for release of payments.
Sec. 5216. Amounts in Presidential Election Campaign Fund. 
Sec. 5217. Use of general election payments for general election legal and ac-
counting compliance. 
Sec. 5218. Use of Freedom From Influence Fund as source of payments. 
PART 3—EFFECTIVE DATE 
Sec. 5221. Effective date. 
Subtitle D—Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditures 
Sec. 5301. Short title; findings; purpose. 
Sec. 5302. Treatment of payments for child care and other personal use serv-
ices as authorized campaign expenditure. 
Subtitle E—Empowering Small Dollar Donations 
Sec. 5401. Permitting political party committees to provide enhanced support 
for candidates through use of separate small dollar accounts. 
Subtitle F—Severability 
Sec. 5501. Severability. 
TITLE VI—CAMPAIGN FINANCE OVERSIGHT 
Subtitle A—Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections 
Sec. 6001. Short title. 
Sec. 6002. Membership of Federal Election Commission. 
Sec. 6003. Assignment of powers to Chair of Federal Election Commission. 
Sec. 6004. Revision to enforcement process. 
Sec. 6005. Permitting appearance at hearings on requests for advisory opinions 
by persons opposing the requests. 
Sec. 6006. Permanent extension of administrative penalty authority. 
Sec. 6007. Requiring forms to permit use of accent marks. 
Sec. 6008. Restrictions on ex parte communications. 
Sec. 6009. Clarifying Authority of FEC Attorneys to Represent FEC in Su-
preme Court. 
Sec. 6010. Effective date; transition. 
Subtitle B—Stopping Super PAC-Candidate Coordination 
Sec. 6101. Short title. 
Sec. 6102. Clarification of treatment of coordinated expenditures as contribu-
tions to candidates. 
Sec. 6103. Clarification of ban on fundraising for super PACs by Federal can-
didates and officeholders. 
Subtitle C—Disposal of Contributions or Donations 
Sec. 6201. Timeframe for and prioritization of disposal of contributions or do-
nations. 
Sec. 6202. 1-year transition period for certain individuals. 
Subtitle D—Recommendations to Ensure Filing of Reports Before Date of 
Election
Sec. 6301. Recommendations to Ensure Filing of Reports Before Date of Elec-
tion. 
Subtitle E—Severability 
Sec. 6401. Severability. 
DIVISION C—ETHICS 
TITLE VII—ETHICAL STANDARDS 
Subtitle A—Supreme Court Ethics 
Sec. 7001. Code of conduct for Federal judges. 
Subtitle B—Foreign Agents Registration 
Sec. 7101. Establishment of FARA investigation and enforcement unit within 
Department of Justice. 
Sec. 7102. Authority to impose civil money penalties. 
Sec. 7103. Disclosure of transactions involving things of financial value con-
ferred on officeholders. 
Sec. 7104. Ensuring online access to registration statements. 
Subtitle C—Lobbying Disclosure Reform 
Sec. 7201. Expanding scope of individuals and activities subject to require-
ments of Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. 
Sec. 7202. Prohibiting receipt of compensation for lobbying activities on behalf 
of foreign countries violating human rights. 
Sec. 7203. Requiring lobbyists to disclose status as lobbyists upon making any 
lobbying contacts. 
Subtitle D—Recusal of Presidential Appointees 
Sec. 7301. Recusal of appointees. 
Subtitle E—Clearinghouse on Lobbying Information 
Sec. 7401. Establishment of clearinghouse. 
Subtitle F—Severability 
Sec. 7501. Severability. 
TITLE VIII—ETHICS REFORMS FOR THE PRESIDENT, VICE 
PRESIDENT, AND FEDERAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES 
Subtitle A—Executive Branch Conflict of Interest 
Sec. 8001. Short title. 
Sec. 8002. Restrictions on private sector payment for government service. 
Sec. 8003. Requirements relating to slowing the revolving door. 
Sec. 8004. Prohibition of procurement officers accepting employment from gov-
ernment contractors. 
Sec. 8005. Revolving door restrictions on employees moving into the private 
sector. 
Sec. 8006. Guidance on unpaid employees.
Sec. 8007. Limitation on use of Federal funds and contracting at businesses 
owned by certain Government officers and employees. 
Subtitle B—Presidential Conflicts of Interest 
Sec. 8011. Short title. 
Sec. 8012. Divestiture of personal financial interests of the President and Vice 
President that pose a potential conflict of interest. 
Sec. 8013. Initial financial disclosure. 
Sec. 8014. Contracts by the President or Vice President. 
Sec. 8015. Legal Defense Funds. 
Subtitle C—White House Ethics Transparency 
Sec. 8021. Short title. 
Sec. 8022. Procedure for waivers and authorizations relating to ethics require-
ments. 
Subtitle D—Executive Branch Ethics Enforcement 
Sec. 8031. Short title. 
Sec. 8032. Reauthorization of the Office of Government Ethics. 
Sec. 8033. Tenure of the Director of the Office of Government Ethics. 
Sec. 8034. Duties of Director of the Office of Government Ethics. 
Sec. 8035. Agency Ethics Officials Training and Duties. 
Sec. 8036. Prohibition on use of funds for certain Federal employee travel in 
contravention of certain regulations. 
Sec. 8037. Reports on cost of presidential travel. 
Sec. 8038. Reports on Cost of Senior Executive Travel. 
Subtitle E—Conflicts From Political Fundraising 
Sec. 8041. Short title. 
Sec. 8042. Disclosure of certain types of contributions. 
Subtitle F—Transition Team Ethics 
Sec. 8051. Short title. 
Sec. 8052. Presidential transition ethics programs. 
Subtitle G—Ethics Pledge For Senior Executive Branch Employees 
Sec. 8061. Short title. 
Sec. 8062. Ethics pledge requirement for senior executive branch employees. 
Subtitle H—Travel on Private Aircraft by Senior Political Appointees 
Sec. 8071. Short title. 
Sec. 8072. Prohibition on use of funds for travel on private aircraft. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
Sec. 8081. Severability.
Sec. 1000A. Short title. 
PART 1—PROMOTING INTERNET REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1001. Requiring availability of Internet for voter registration. 
Sec. 1002. Use of Internet to update registration information. 
Sec. 1003. Provision of election information by electronic mail to individuals 
registered to vote. 
Sec. 1004. Clarification of requirement regarding necessary information to 
show eligibility to vote. 
Sec. 1005. Effective date. 
PART 2—AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1011. Short title; findings and purpose. 
Sec. 1012. Automatic registration of eligible individuals. 
Sec. 1013. Contributing agency assistance in registration. 
Sec. 1014. One-time contributing agency assistance in registration of eligible 
voters in existing records. 
Sec. 1015. Voter protection and security in automatic registration. 
Sec. 1016. Registration portability and correction. 
Sec. 1017. Payments and grants. 
Sec. 1018. Treatment of exempt States. 
Sec. 1019. Miscellaneous provisions. 
Sec. 1020. Definitions. 
Sec. 1021. Effective date. 
PART 3—SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1031. Same day registration. 
PART 4—CONDITIONS ON REMOVAL ON BASIS OF INTERSTATE CROSS- 
CHECKS 
Sec. 1041. Conditions on removal of registrants from official list of eligible vot-
ers on basis of interstate cross-checks. 
PART 5—OTHER INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1051. Annual reports on voter registration statistics. 
Sec. 1052. Ensuring pre-election registration deadlines are consistent with tim-
ing of legal public holidays. 
Sec. 1053. Use of Postal Service hard copy change of address form to remind 
individuals to update voter registration. 
Sec. 1054. Grants to States for activities to encourage involvement of minors 
in election activities. 
PART 6—AVAILABILITY OF HAVA REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 
Sec. 1061. Availability of requirements payments under HAVA to cover costs 
of compliance with new requirements. 
PART 7—PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH VOTER REGISTRATION 
Sec. 1071. Prohibiting hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registra-
tion. 
Sec. 1072. Establishment of best practices. 
PART 8—VOTER REGISTRATION EFFICIENCY ACT
Sec. 1081. Short title. 
Sec. 1082. Requiring applicants for motor vehicle driver’s licenses in new state 
to indicate whether state serves as residence for voter registra-
tion purposes. 
PART 9—PROVIDING VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION TO SECONDARY 
SCHOOL STUDENTS 
Sec. 1091. Pilot program for providing voter registration information to sec-
ondary school students prior to graduation. 
Sec. 1092. Reports. 
Sec. 1093. Authorization of appropriations. 
PART 10—VOTER REGISTRATION OF MINORS 
Sec. 1094. Acceptance of voter registration applications from individuals under 
18 years of age. 
Subtitle B—Access to Voting for Individuals With Disabilities 
Sec. 1101. Requirements for States to promote access to voter registration and 
voting for individuals with disabilities. 
Sec. 1102. Expansion and reauthorization of grant program to assure voting 
access for individuals with disabilities. 
Sec. 1103. Pilot programs for enabling individuals with disabilities to register 
to vote privately and independently at residences. 
Sec. 1104. GAO analysis and report on voting access for individuals with dis-
abilities. 
Subtitle C—Prohibiting Voter Caging 
Sec. 1201. Voter caging and other questionable challenges prohibited. 
Sec. 1202. Development and adoption of best practices for preventing voter 
caging. 
Subtitle D—Prohibiting Deceptive Practices and Preventing Voter 
Intimidation 
Sec. 1301. Short title. 
Sec. 1302. Prohibition on deceptive practices in Federal elections. 
Sec. 1303. Corrective action. 
Sec. 1304. Reports to Congress. 
Subtitle E—Democracy Restoration 
Sec. 1401. Short title. 
Sec. 1402. Rights of citizens. 
Sec. 1403. Enforcement. 
Sec. 1404. Notification of restoration of voting rights. 
Sec. 1405. Definitions. 
Sec. 1406. Relation to other laws. 
Sec. 1407. Federal prison funds. 
Sec. 1408. Effective date. 
Subtitle F—Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security Through Voter- 
Verified Permanent Paper Ballot 
Sec. 1501. Short title.
Sec. 1502. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements. 
Sec. 1503. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities. 
Sec. 1504. Durability and readability requirements for ballots. 
Sec. 1505. Paper ballot printing requirements. 
Sec. 1506. Study and report on optimal ballot design. 
Sec. 1507. Paper ballot printing requirements. 
Sec. 1508. Effective date for new requirements. 
Subtitle G—Provisional Ballots 
Sec. 1601. Requirements for counting provisional ballots; establishment of uni-
form and nondiscriminatory standards. 
Subtitle H—Early Voting 
Sec. 1611. Early voting. 
Subtitle I—Voting by Mail 
Sec. 1621. Voting by Mail. 
Subtitle J—Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters 
Sec. 1701. Pre-election reports on availability and transmission of absentee bal-
lots. 
Sec. 1702. Enforcement. 
Sec. 1703. Revisions to 45-day absentee ballot transmission rule. 
Sec. 1704. Use of single absentee ballot application for subsequent elections. 
Sec. 1705. Extending guarantee of residency for voting purposes to family 
members of absent military personnel. 
Sec. 1706. Effective date. 
Subtitle K—Poll Worker Recruitment and Training 
Sec. 1801. Grants to States for poll worker recruitment and training. 
Sec. 1802. State defined. 
Subtitle L—Enhancement of Enforcement 
Sec. 1811. Enhancement of enforcement of Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
Subtitle M—Federal Election Integrity 
Sec. 1821. Prohibition on campaign activities by chief State election adminis-
tration officials. 
Subtitle N—Promoting Voter Access Through Election Administration 
Improvements 
PART 1—PROMOTING VOTER ACCESS 
Sec. 1901. Treatment of institutions of higher education. 
Sec. 1902. Minimum notification requirements for voters affected by polling 
place changes. 
Sec. 1903. Permitting use of sworn written statement to meet identification re-
quirements for voting. 
Sec. 1904. Postage-free ballots. 
Sec. 1905. Reimbursement for costs incurred by States in establishing program 
to track and confirm receipt of absentee ballots.
Sec. 1906. Voter information response systems and hotline. 
Sec. 1907. Limiting variations on number of hours of operation for polling 
places within a State. 
PART 2—IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION 
Sec. 1911. Reauthorization of Election Assistance Commission. 
Sec. 1913. Requiring states to participate in post-general election surveys. 
Sec. 1914. Reports by National Institute of Standards and Technology on use 
of funds transferred from Election Assistance Commission. 
Sec. 1915. Recommendations to improve operations of Election Assistance 
Commission. 
Sec. 1916. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain 
government contracting requirements. 
PART 3—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 1921. Application of laws to Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands. 
Sec. 1922. No effect on other laws. 
Subtitle O—Severability 
Sec. 1931. Severability. 
SEC. 1000. SHORT TITLE; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 
‘‘Voter Empowerment Act of 2019’’. 
(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States that— 
(1) all eligible citizens of the United States 
should access and exercise their constitutional right 
to vote in a free, fair, and timely manner; and 
(2) the integrity, security, and accountability of 
the voting process must be vigilantly protected, 
maintained, and enhanced in order to protect and 
preserve electoral and participatory democracy in the 
United States.
Subtitle A—Voter Registration 
Modernization 
SEC. 1000A. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Registration 
Modernization Act of 2019’’. 
PART 1—PROMOTING INTERNET REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1001. REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR 
VOTER REGISTRATION. 
(a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY
OF INTERNET
FOR 
REGISTRATION.—The National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 6 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 6A. INTERNET REGISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR 
ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 
‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF ONLINE REGISTRATION 
AND CORRECTION OF EXISTING REGISTRATION IN-
FORMATION.—Each State, acting through the chief 
State election official, shall ensure that the following 
services are available to the public at any time on 
the official public websites of the appropriate State 
and local election officials in the State, in the same 
manner and subject to the same terms and condi-
tions as the services provided by voter registration 
agencies under section 7(a):
‘‘(A) Online application for voter registra-
tion. 
‘‘(B) Online assistance to applicants in ap-
plying to register to vote. 
‘‘(C) Online completion and submission by 
applicants of the mail voter registration applica-
tion form prescribed by the Election Assistance 
Commission pursuant to section 9(a)(2), includ-
ing assistance with providing a signature as re-
quired under subsection (c). 
‘‘(D) Online receipt of completed voter reg-
istration applications. 
‘‘(b) ACCEPTANCE OF COMPLETED APPLICATIONS.— 
A State shall accept an online voter registration applica-
tion provided by an individual under this section, and en-
sure that the individual is registered to vote in the State, 
if— 
‘‘(1) the individual meets the same voter reg-
istration requirements applicable to individuals who 
register to vote by mail in accordance with section 
6(a)(1) using the mail voter registration application 
form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commis-
sion pursuant to section 9(a)(2); and 
‘‘(2) the individual meets the requirements of 
subsection (c) to provide a signature in electronic
form (but only in the case of applications submitted 
during or after the second year in which this section 
is in effect in the State). 
‘‘(c) SIGNATURE REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, an individual meets the requirements of this 
subsection as follows: 
‘‘(A) In the case of an individual who has 
a signature on file with a State agency, includ-
ing the State motor vehicle authority, that is 
required to provide voter registration services 
under this Act or any other law, the individual 
consents to the transfer of that electronic signa-
ture. 
‘‘(B) If subparagraph (A) does not apply, 
the individual submits with the application an 
electronic copy of the individual’s handwritten 
signature through electronic means. 
‘‘(C) If subparagraph (A) and subpara-
graph (B) do not apply, the individual executes 
a computerized mark in the signature field on 
an online voter registration application, in ac-
cordance with reasonable security measures es-
tablished by the State, but only if the State ac-
cepts such mark from the individual.
‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNABLE TO 
MEET REQUIREMENT.—If an individual is unable to 
meet the requirements of paragraph (1), the State 
shall— 
‘‘(A) permit the individual to complete all 
other elements of the online voter registration 
application; 
‘‘(B) permit the individual to provide a sig-
nature at the time the individual requests a bal-
lot in an election (whether the individual re-
quests the ballot at a polling place or requests 
the ballot by mail); and 
‘‘(C) if the individual carries out the steps 
described in subparagraph (A) and subpara-
graph (B), ensure that the individual is reg-
istered to vote in the State. 
‘‘(3) NOTICE.—The State shall ensure that in-
dividuals applying to register to vote online are noti-
fied of the requirements of paragraph (1) and of the 
treatment of individuals unable to meet such re-
quirements, as described in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(d) CONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION.— 
‘‘(1) CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT.—Upon the 
online submission of a completed voter registration 
application by an individual under this section, the
appropriate State or local election official shall send 
the individual a notice confirming the State’s receipt 
of the application and providing instructions on how 
the individual may check the status of the applica-
tion. 
‘‘(2) NOTICE OF DISPOSITION.—Not later than 
7 days after the appropriate State or local election 
official has approved or rejected an application sub-
mitted by an individual under this section, the offi-
cial shall send the individual a notice of the disposi-
tion of the application. 
‘‘(3) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.—The appro-
priate State or local election official shall send the 
notices required under this subsection by regular 
mail, and, in the case of an individual who has pro-
vided the official with an electronic mail address, by 
both electronic mail and regular mail. 
‘‘(e) PROVISION
OF SERVICES
IN NONPARTISAN 
MANNER.—The services made available under subsection 
(a) shall be provided in a manner that ensures that, con-
sistent with section 7(a)(5)— 
‘‘(1) the online application does not seek to in-
fluence an applicant’s political preference or party 
registration; and
‘‘(2) there is no display on the website pro-
moting any political preference or party allegiance, 
except that nothing in this paragraph may be con-
strued to prohibit an applicant from registering to 
vote as a member of a political party. 
‘‘(f) PROTECTION OF SECURITY OF INFORMATION.— 
In meeting the requirements of this section, the State shall 
establish appropriate technological security measures to 
prevent to the greatest extent practicable any unauthor-
ized access to information provided by individuals using 
the services made available under subsection (a). 
‘‘(g) ACCESSIBILITY OF SERVICES.—A state shall en-
sure that the services made available under this section 
are made available to individuals with disabilities to the 
same extent as services are made available to all other in-
dividuals. 
‘‘(h) USE OF ADDITIONAL TELEPHONE-BASED SYS-
TEM.—A State shall make the services made available on-
line under subsection (a) available through the use of an 
automated telephone-based system, subject to the same 
terms and conditions applicable under this section to the 
services made available online, in addition to making the 
services available online in accordance with the require-
ments of this section.
‘‘(i) NONDISCRIMINATION AMONG REGISTERED VOT-
ERS USING MAIL AND ONLINE REGISTRATION.—In car-
rying out this Act, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, 
or any other Federal, State, or local law governing the 
treatment of registered voters in the State or the adminis-
tration of elections for public office in the State, a State 
shall treat a registered voter who registered to vote online 
in accordance with this section in the same manner as the 
State treats a registered voter who registered to vote by 
mail.’’. 
(b) SPECIAL
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
INDIVIDUALS 
USING ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 
(1) TREATMENT AS INDIVIDUALS REGISTERING 
TO VOTE BY MAIL FOR PURPOSES OF FIRST-TIME 
VOTER
IDENTIFICATION
REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21083(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 
‘‘by mail’’ and inserting ‘‘by mail or online under 
section 6A of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993’’. 
(2) REQUIRING
SIGNATURE
FOR
FIRST-TIME 
VOTERS IN JURISDICTION.—Section 303(b) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(b)) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 
paragraph (6); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) SIGNATURE
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
FIRST- 
TIME VOTERS USING ONLINE REGISTRATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A State shall, in a 
uniform and nondiscriminatory manner, require 
an individual to meet the requirements of sub-
paragraph (B) if— 
‘‘(i) the individual registered to vote 
in the State online under section 6A of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the individual has not previously 
voted in an election for Federal office in 
the State. 
‘‘(B) 
REQUIREMENTS.—An 
individual 
meets the requirements of this subparagraph 
if— 
‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 
votes in person, the individual provides the 
appropriate State or local election official 
with a handwritten signature; or 
‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 
votes by mail, the individual submits with 
the ballot a handwritten signature.
‘‘(C) 
INAPPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph 
(A) does not apply in the case of an individual 
who is— 
‘‘(i) entitled to vote by absentee ballot 
under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-
zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 
20302 et seq.); 
‘‘(ii) provided the right to vote other-
wise 
than 
in 
person 
under 
section 
3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility 
for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 
U.S.C. 20102(b)(2)(B)(ii)); or 
‘‘(iii) entitled to vote otherwise than 
in person under any other Federal law.’’. 
(3) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
EFFECTIVE
DATE.—Section 303(d)(2)(A) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(2)(A)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro-
vided in subsection (b)(5), each State’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) TIMING OF REGISTRATION.—Section 8(a)(1) 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)) is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (C);
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
subparagraph (E); and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 
the following new subparagraph: 
‘‘(D) in the case of online registration 
through the official public website of an election 
official under section 6A, if the valid voter reg-
istration application is submitted online not 
later than the lesser of 28 days, or the period 
provided by State law, before the date of the 
election (as determined by treating the date on 
which the application is sent electronically as 
the date on which it is submitted); and’’. 
(2) INFORMING
APPLICANTS
OF
ELIGIBILITY 
REQUIREMENTS
AND
PENALTIES.—Section 8(a)(5) 
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(5)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘and 7’’ and inserting ‘‘6A, and 7’’. 
SEC. 1002. USE OF INTERNET TO UPDATE REGISTRATION 
INFORMATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) UPDATES TO INFORMATION CONTAINED ON 
COMPUTERIZED
STATEWIDE
VOTER
REGISTRATION 
LIST.—Section 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(6) USE OF INTERNET BY REGISTERED VOT-
ERS TO UPDATE INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The appropriate State 
or local election official shall ensure that any 
registered voter on the computerized list may at 
any time update the voter’s registration infor-
mation, including the voter’s address and elec-
tronic mail address, online through the official 
public website of the election official responsible 
for the maintenance of the list, so long as the 
voter attests to the contents of the update by 
providing a signature in electronic form in the 
same manner required under section 6A(c) of 
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. 
‘‘(B) PROCESSING OF UPDATED INFORMA-
TION BY ELECTION OFFICIALS.—If a registered 
voter updates registration information under 
subparagraph (A), the appropriate State or 
local election official shall— 
‘‘(i) revise any information on the 
computerized list to reflect the update 
made by the voter; and 
‘‘(ii) if the updated registration infor-
mation affects the voter’s eligibility to vote 
in an election for Federal office, ensure
that the information is processed with re-
spect to the election if the voter updates 
the information not later than the lesser of 
7 days, or the period provided by State 
law, before the date of the election. 
‘‘(C) CONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION.— 
‘‘(i) CONFIRMATION
OF
RECEIPT.— 
Upon the online submission of updated 
registration information by an individual 
under this paragraph, the appropriate 
State or local election official shall send 
the individual a notice confirming the 
State’s receipt of the updated information 
and providing instructions on how the indi-
vidual may check the status of the update. 
‘‘(ii) NOTICE
OF
DISPOSITION.—Not 
later than 7 days after the appropriate 
State or local election official has accepted 
or rejected updated information submitted 
by an individual under this paragraph, the 
official shall send the individual a notice of 
the disposition of the update. 
‘‘(iii) METHOD
OF
NOTIFICATION.— 
The appropriate State or local election offi-
cial shall send the notices required under
this subparagraph by regular mail, and, in 
the case of an individual who has re-
quested that the State provide voter reg-
istration and voting information through 
electronic mail, by both electronic mail and 
regular mail.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
EFFECTIVE
DATE.—Section 303(d)(1)(A) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(1)(A)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
paragraph (B) and subsection (a)(6)’’. 
(b) ABILITY OF REGISTRANT TO USE ONLINE UP-
DATE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON RESIDENCE.—Sec-
tion 8(d)(2)(A) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(d)(2)(A)) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘re-
turn the card’’ the following: ‘‘or update the reg-
istrant’s information on the computerized Statewide 
voter registration list using the online method pro-
vided under section 303(a)(6) of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002’’; and 
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘re-
turned,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘returned or if 
the registrant does not update the registrant’s infor-
official with an electronic mail address for the pur-
pose of receiving voting information (as described in 
section 9(b)(5) of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993), the appropriate State or local election 
official, through electronic mail transmitted not later 
than 7 days before the date of the election for Fed-
eral office involved, shall provide the individual with 
information on how to obtain the following informa-
tion by electronic means: 
‘‘(A) The name and address of the polling 
place at which the individual is assigned to vote 
in the election. 
‘‘(B) The hours of operation for the polling 
place. 
‘‘(C) A description of any identification or 
other information the individual may be re-
quired to present at the polling place.’’. 
SEC. 1004. CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT REGARDING 
NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW ELIGI-
BILITY TO VOTE. 
Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub-
section (k); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(j) REQUIREMENT FOR STATE TO REGISTER APPLI-
CANTS PROVIDING NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW 
ELIGIBILITY TO VOTE.—For purposes meeting the re-
quirement of subsection (a)(1) that an eligible applicant 
is registered to vote in an election for Federal office within 
the deadlines required under such subsection, the State 
shall consider an applicant to have provided a ‘valid voter 
registration form’ if— 
‘‘(1) the applicant has substantially completed 
the application form and attested to the statement 
required by section 9(b)(2); and 
‘‘(2) in the case of an applicant who registers 
to vote online in accordance with section 6A, the ap-
plicant provides a signature in accordance with sub-
section (c) of such section.’’. 
SEC. 1005. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the amendments made by this part (other than the 
amendments made by section 1004) shall take effect Jan-
uary 1, 2020. 
(b) WAIVER.—Subject to the approval of the Election 
Assistance Commission, if a State certifies to the Election 
Assistance Commission that the State will not meet the
deadline referred to in subsection (a) because of extraor-
dinary 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, 2020’’ were a reference to 
‘‘January 1, 2022’’. 
PART 2—AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1011. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This part may be cited as the 
‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2019’’. 
(b) FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.— 
(1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(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 pro-
cedures to maintain their security. 
(2) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this part— 
(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 
(D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 
accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 
electoral process for all eligible citizens. 
SEC. 1012. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI-
VIDUALS. 
(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 part. 
(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— 
(1) not later than 15 days after a contributing 
agency has transmitted information with respect to 
an individual pursuant to section 1013, ensure that 
the individual is registered to vote in elections for 
Federal office in the State if the individual is eligible 
to be registered to vote in such elections; and 
(2) not later than 120 days after a contributing 
agency has transmitted such information with re-
spect to the individual, send written notice to the in-
dividual, in addition to other means of notice estab-
lished by this part, of the individual’s voter registra-
tion 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 1014 and who are eligible to be, but are not 
currently, 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 part, 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; 
(B) a statement offering the opportunity to 
decline voter registration through means con-
sistent with the requirements of this part; 
(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 part; 
(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 
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 part, of the individual’s voter registration sta-
tus. 
(d) TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 YEARS 
OF AGE.—A State may not refuse to treat an individual 
as an eligible individual for purposes of this part on the 
grounds that the individual is less than 18 years of age 
at the time a contributing agency receives information 
with respect to the individual, so long as the individual 
is at least 16 years of age at such time. 
(e) CONTRIBUTING AGENCY DEFINED.—In this part, 
the term ‘‘contributing agency’’ means, with respect to a 
State, an agency listed in section 1013(e).
SEC. 1013. CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE IN REG-
ISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this part, each 
contributing agency in a State shall assist the State’s chief 
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 
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. 
(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. 
(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, 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 
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 
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-
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 Center 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 
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) SPECIAL RULE FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH-
ER EDUCATION.— 
(A) SPECIAL RULE.—For purposes of this 
part, each institution of higher education de-
scribed in subparagraph (B) shall be treated as
a contributing agency in the State in which it 
is located, except that— 
(i) the institution shall be treated as 
a contributing agency only if, in its normal 
course of operations, the institution re-
quests each student registering for enroll-
ment in a course of study, including enroll-
ment in a program of distance education, 
as defined in section 103(7) of the Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1003(7)), to affirm whether or not the stu-
dent is a United States citizen; and 
(ii) if the institution is treated as a 
contributing agency in a State pursuant to 
clause (i), the institution shall serve as a 
contributing agency only with respect to 
students, including students enrolled in a 
program of distance education, as defined 
in section 103(7) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003(7)), who re-
side in the State. 
(B) INSTITUTIONS DESCRIBED.—An insti-
tution described in this subparagraph is an in-
stitution of higher education which has a pro-
gram participation agreement in effect with the
Secretary of Education under section 487 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094) and which is located in a State to which 
section 4(b) of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(b)) does not 
apply. 
(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. 1014. ONE-TIME CONTRIBUTING AGENCY ASSISTANCE 
IN REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS IN 
EXISTING 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 
1013(b)(3), the agency shall promptly transmit that infor-
mation to the appropriate State election official in accord-
ance with section 1013(b)(3) not later than the effective 
date described in section 1011(a). 
(b) TRANSITION.—For each individual listed in a con-
tributing agency’s records as of the effective date de-
scribed in section 1011(a) (but who was not 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 1013(b)(3), the Agency shall promptly 
transmit that information to the appropriate State election 
official in accordance with section 1013(b)(3) not later 
than 6 months after the effective date described in section 
1011(a). 
SEC. 1015. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTO-
MATIC REGISTRATION. 
(a) PROTECTIONS FOR ERRORS IN REGISTRATION.— 
An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 
or State law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication 
concerning immigration status or naturalization, or sub-
ject to an allegation in any legal proceeding that the indi-
vidual 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 part.
(2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec-
tions for Federal office but was automatically reg-
istered to vote under this part. 
(3) The individual was automatically registered 
to vote under this part 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 part. 
(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 part 
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 subsections (a) or (b) may be construed to prohibit 
or restrict any action under color of law against an indi-
vidual who—
(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 part 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 1013(b)(3), except in 
pursuing 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:
(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 part, 
the State election officials shall not publicly dis-
close any of the following:
(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), including in elec-
tronic form and through electronic methods, all 
records of changes to voter records, including remov-
als, the reasons for removals, and updates. 
(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—
(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) not later than 45 days after the dead-
line for public notice and comment, publish the 
standards developed pursuant to this paragraph 
on the Director’s website and make those 
standards available in written form upon re-
quest. 
(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 not 
later than 45 days after the deadline for public no-
tice and comment. The standards shall require the 
chief State election official of each State to adopt a 
policy that shall specify— 
(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 1013 or 
section 1014, the online system used pursuant 
to section 1017, 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 (3) and (4). A State 
may meet the requirement of the previous sen-
tence by filing with the Commission a statement 
which reads as follows: ‘‘lllll hereby 
certifies that it is in compliance with the stand-
ards referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4) of 
section 1015(e) of the Automatic Voter Reg-
istration Act of 2019.’’ (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 part 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-
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 1013(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 part 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. 
SEC. 1016. 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 
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. 1017. 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 part (or, 
in the case of an exempt State, in implementing its exist-
ing automatic voter registration program). 
(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 
part (or, in the case of an exempt State, which are most 
likely to enhance the ability of the State to automatically 
register individuals to vote through its existing automatic 
voter registration program), including— 
(1) investments supporting electronic informa-
tion transfer, including electronic collection and 
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 2019; 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. 1018. TREATMENT OF EXEMPT STATES. 
(a) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENTS.—Except as pro-
vided in subsection (b), this part does not apply with re-
spect to an exempt State. 
(b) EXCEPTIONS.—The following provisions of this 
part apply with respect to an exempt State: 
(1) section 1016 (relating to registration port-
ability and correction). 
(2) section 1017 (relating to payments and 
grants). 
(3) Section 1019(e) (relating to enforcement). 
(4) Section 1019(f) (relating to relation to 
other laws). 
SEC. 1019. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
(a) ACCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION SERVICES.— 
Each contributing agency shall ensure that the services
it provides under this part are made available to individ-
uals 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 part 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 part, so long as the data 
transmittal complies with the applicable requirements of 
this part, including the privacy and security provisions of 
section 1015. 
(c) NONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PROVISION 
OF SERVICES.—The services made available by contrib-
uting agencies under this part and by the State under sec-
tions 1015 and 1016 shall be made in a manner consistent 
with paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a) of 
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20506(a)). 
(d) NOTICES.—Each State may send notices under 
this part 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 part that require a response must 
offer the individual notified the opportunity to respond at 
no cost to the individual.
(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 part in 
the same manner as such section applies to such Act. 
(f) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as pro-
vided, nothing in this part 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. 1020. DEFINITIONS. 
In this part, 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.
(2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Election 
Assistance Commission. 
(3) The term ‘‘exempt State’’ means a State 
which, under law which is in effect continuously on 
and after the date of the enactment of this Act, op-
erates an automatic voter registration program 
under which an individual is automatically registered 
to vote in elections for Federal office in the State if 
the individual provides the motor vehicle authority of 
the State (or, in the case of a State in which an in-
dividual is automatically registered to vote at the 
time the individual applies for benefits or services 
with a Permanent Dividend Fund of the State, pro-
vides the appropriate official of such Fund) with 
such identifying information as the State may re-
quire. 
(4) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States and the District of Columbia. 
SEC. 1021. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), this part and the amendments made by this part shall 
apply with respect to a State beginning January 1, 2021. 
(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, 2021’’ were 
a reference to ‘‘January 1, 2023’’. 
PART 3—SAME DAY VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1031. SAME DAY REGISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 
sections 305 and 306; and 
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 304. SAME DAY REGISTRATION. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) REGISTRATION.—Each State shall permit 
any eligible individual on the day of a Federal elec-
tion and on any day when voting, including early 
voting, is permitted for a Federal election— 
‘‘(A) to register to vote in such election at 
the polling place using a form that meets the 
requirements under section 9(b) of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the indi-
vidual is already registered to vote, to revise
any of the individual’s voter registration infor-
mation); and 
‘‘(B) to cast a vote in such election. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—The requirements under 
paragraph (1) shall not apply to a State in which, 
under a State law in effect continuously on and after 
the date of the enactment of this section, there is no 
voter registration requirement for individuals in the 
State with respect to elections for Federal office. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 
section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means, with respect 
to any election for Federal office, an individual who is oth-
erwise qualified to vote in that election. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of subsection (a) 
for the regularly scheduled general election for Federal of-
fice occurring in November 2020 and for any subsequent 
election for Federal office.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN-
FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 
is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 
inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended—
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 
306; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 303 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Same day registration.’’. 
PART 4—CONDITIONS ON REMOVAL ON BASIS OF 
INTERSTATE CROSS-CHECKS 
SEC. 1041. CONDITIONS ON REMOVAL OF REGISTRANTS 
FROM OFFICIAL LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS 
ON BASIS OF INTERSTATE CROSS-CHECKS. 
(a) MINIMUM INFORMATION REQUIRED
FOR RE-
MOVAL UNDER CROSS-CHECK.—Section 8(c)(2) of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20507(c)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub-
paragraph (D); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol-
lowing new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(B) To the extent that the program carried out by 
a State under subparagraph (A) to systematically remove 
the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligi-
ble voters uses information obtained in an interstate cross- 
check, in addition to any other conditions imposed under 
this Act on the authority of the State to remove the name
of the voter from such a list, the State may not remove 
the name of the voter from such a list unless— 
‘‘(i) the State obtained the voter’s full name 
(including the voter’s middle name, if any) and date 
of birth, and the last 4 digits of the voter’s social 
security number, in the interstate cross-check; or 
‘‘(ii) the State obtained documentation from the 
ERIC system that the voter is no longer a resident 
of the State. 
‘‘(C) In this paragraph— 
‘‘(i) the term ‘interstate cross-check’ means the 
transmission of information from an election official 
in one State to an election official of another State; 
and 
‘‘(ii) the term ‘ERIC system’ means the system 
operated by the Electronic Registration Information 
Center to share voter registration information and 
voter identification information among participating 
States.’’. 
(b) REQUIRING COMPLETION OF CROSS-CHECKS NOT 
LATER THAN 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO ELECTION.—Sub-
paragraph (A) of section 8(c)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
20507(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘not later than 90 
days’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘not later than 90 days
(or, in the case of a program in which the State uses inter-
state cross-checks, not later than 6 months)’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subparagraph (D) 
of section 8(c)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)), 
as redesignated by subsection (a)(1), is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘Subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘This paragraph’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this Act shall apply with respect to elections held on or 
after the expiration of the 6-month period which begins 
on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
PART 5—OTHER INITIATIVES TO PROMOTE 
VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1051. ANNUAL REPORTS ON VOTER REGISTRATION 
STATISTICS. 
(a) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after 
the end of each year, each State shall submit to the Elec-
tion Assistance Commission and Congress a report con-
taining the following categories of information for the 
year: 
(1) The number of individuals who were reg-
istered under part 2. 
(2) The number of voter registration applica-
tion forms completed by individuals that were trans-
mitted by motor vehicle authorities in the State 
(pursuant to section 5(d) of the National Voter Reg-
istration Act of 1993) and voter registration agen-
cies in the State (as designated under section 7 of 
such Act) to the chief State election official of the 
State, broken down by each such authority and 
agency. 
(3) The number of such individuals whose voter 
registration application forms were accepted and 
who were registered to vote in the State and the 
number of such individuals whose forms were re-
jected and who were not registered to vote in the 
State, broken down by each such authority and 
agency. 
(4) The number of change of address forms and 
other forms of information indicating that an indi-
vidual’s identifying information has been changed 
that were transmitted by such motor vehicle authori-
ties and voter registration agencies to the chief State 
election official of the State, broken down by each 
such authority and agency and the type of form 
transmitted. 
(5) The number of individuals on the Statewide 
computerized voter registration list (as established 
and maintained under section 303 of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002) whose voter registration 
information was revised by the chief State election
official as a result of the forms transmitted to the 
official by such motor vehicle authorities and voter 
registration agencies (as described in paragraph 
(3)), broken down by each such authority and agen-
cy and the type of form transmitted. 
(6) The number of individuals who requested 
the chief State election official to revise voter reg-
istration information on such list, and the number of 
individuals whose information was revised as a result 
of such a request. 
(b) BREAKDOWN OF INFORMATION.—In preparing 
the report under this section, the State shall, for each cat-
egory of information described in subsection (a), include 
a breakdown by race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the 
individuals whose information is included in the category, 
to the extent that information on the race, ethnicity, age, 
and gender of such individuals is available to the State. 
(c) CONFIDENTIALITY
OF INFORMATION.—In pre-
paring and submitting a report under this section, the 
chief State election official shall ensure that no informa-
tion regarding the identification of any individual is re-
vealed. 
(d) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, a ‘‘State’’ in-
cludes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam,
American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, but does not include any State in which, 
under a State law in effect continuously on and after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, there is no voter reg-
istration requirement for individuals in the State with re-
spect to elections for Federal office. 
SEC. 1052. ENSURING PRE-ELECTION REGISTRATION DEAD-
LINES ARE CONSISTENT WITH TIMING OF 
LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(a)(1) of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘30 days’’ each place it appears 
and inserting ‘‘28 days’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections held 
in 2020 or any succeeding year. 
SEC. 1053. USE OF POSTAL SERVICE HARD COPY CHANGE 
OF ADDRESS FORM TO REMIND INDIVIDUALS 
TO UPDATE VOTER REGISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Postmaster General 
shall modify any hard copy change of address form used 
by the United States Postal Service so that such form con-
tains a reminder that any individual using such form
should update the individual’s voter registration as a re-
sult of any change in address. 
(b) APPLICATION.—The requirement in subsection 
(a) shall not apply to any electronic version of a change 
of address form used by the United States Postal Service. 
SEC. 1054. GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACTIVITIES TO EN-
COURAGE 
INVOLVEMENT 
OF 
MINORS 
IN 
ELECTION ACTIVITIES. 
(a) GRANTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 
Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as 
the ‘‘Commission’’) shall make grants to eligible 
States to enable such States to carry out a plan to 
increase the involvement of individuals under 18 
years of age in public election activities in the State. 
(2) CONTENTS
OF
PLANS.—A State’s plan 
under this subsection shall include— 
(A) methods to promote the use of the pre- 
registration process implemented under section 
8A of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (as added by section 2(a)); 
(B) modifications to the curriculum of sec-
ondary schools in the State to promote civic en-
gagement; and
(C) such other activities to encourage the 
involvement of young people in the electoral 
process as the State considers appropriate. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible to receive a 
grant under this section if the State submits to the Com-
mission, at such time and in such form as the Commission 
may require, an application containing— 
(1) a description of the State’s plan under sub-
section (a); 
(2) a description of the performance measures 
and targets the State will use to determine its suc-
cess in carrying out the plan; and 
(3) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
(c) PERIOD OF GRANT; REPORT.— 
(1) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A State receiving a 
grant under this section shall use the funds provided 
by the grant over a 2-year period agreed to between 
the State and the Commission. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 
the end of the 2-year period agreed to under para-
graph (1), the State shall submit to the Commission 
a report on the activities the State carried out with 
the funds provided by the grant, and shall include 
in the report an analysis of the extent to which the
State met the performance measures and targets in-
cluded in its application under subsection (b)(2). 
(d) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘State’’ means each of the several States and the District 
of Columbia. 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this 
section $25,000,000, to remain available until expended. 
PART 6—AVAILABILITY OF HAVA REQUIREMENTS 
PAYMENTS 
SEC. 1061. AVAILABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 
UNDER HAVA TO COVER COSTS OF COMPLI-
ANCE WITH NEW REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(b) of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘as provided 
in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘as other-
wise provided in this subsection’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) CERTAIN
VOTER
REGISTRATION
ACTIVI-
TIES.—A State may use a requirements payment to 
carry out any of the requirements of the Voter Reg-
istration Modernization Act of 2019, including the 
requirements of the National Voter Registration Act
of 1993 which are imposed pursuant to the amend-
ments made to such Act by the Voter Registration 
Modernization Act of 2019.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 254(a)(1) 
of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21004(a)(1)) is amended by strik-
ing 
‘‘section 
251(a)(2)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘section 
251(b)(2)’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2018 
and each succeeding fiscal year. 
PART 7—PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH 
VOTER REGISTRATION 
SEC. 1071. PROHIBITING HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, 
OR PREVENTING VOTER REGISTRATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 
States Code is amended by adding at the end the following 
new section: 
‘‘§ 612. Hindering, interfering with, or preventing 
registering to vote 
‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per-
son, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, to 
corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person 
from registering to vote or to corruptly hinder, interfere 
with, or prevent another person from aiding another per-
son in registering to vote.
‘‘(b) ATTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 
any offense described in subsection (a) shall be subject to 
the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense that 
the person attempted to commit. 
‘‘(c) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 
(a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 
than 5 years, or both.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code is amended 
by adding at the end the following new item: 
‘‘612. Hindering, interfering with, or preventing registering to vote.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to elections held on 
or after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that 
no person may be found to have violated section 612 of 
title 18, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), 
on the basis of any act occurring prior to the date of the 
enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 1072. ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES. 
(a) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assist-
ance Commission shall develop and publish recommenda-
tions for best practices for States to use to deter and pre-
vent violations of section 612 of title 18, United States 
Code (as added by section 1071), and section 12 of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C.
20511) (relating to the unlawful interference with reg-
istering to vote, or voting, or attempting to register to vote 
or vote), including practices to provide for the posting of 
relevant information at polling places and voter registra-
tion agencies under such Act, the training of poll workers 
and election officials, and relevant educational materials. 
For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘State’’ includes 
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin 
Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands. 
(b) INCLUSION IN VOTER INFORMATION REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (E); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(G) information relating to the prohibi-
tions of section 612 of title 18, United States 
Code, and section 12 of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) 
(relating to the unlawful interference with reg-
istering to vote, or voting, or attempting to reg-
ister to vote or vote), including information on 
how individuals may report allegations of viola-
tions of such prohibitions.’’. 
PART 8—VOTER REGISTRATION EFFICIENCY ACT 
SEC. 1081. SHORT TITLE. 
This part may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Registration 
Efficiency Act’’. 
SEC. 1082. REQUIRING APPLICANTS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE 
DRIVER’S LICENSES IN NEW STATE TO INDI-
CATE WHETHER STATE SERVES AS RESI-
DENCE 
FOR 
VOTER 
REGISTRATION 
PUR-
POSES. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
APPLICANTS
FOR
LI-
CENSES.—Section 5(d) of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(d)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Any change’’ and inserting 
‘‘(1) Any change’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2)(A) A State motor vehicle authority shall 
require each individual applying for a motor vehicle 
driver’s license in the State— 
‘‘(i) to indicate whether the individual 
resides in another State or resided in an-
other State prior to applying for the li-
cense, and, if so, to identify the State in-
volved; and 
‘‘(ii) to indicate whether the individual 
intends for the State to serve as the indi-
vidual’s residence for purposes of reg-
istering to vote in elections for Federal of-
fice. 
‘‘(B) If pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) 
an individual indicates to the State motor vehi-
cle authority that the individual intends for the 
State to serve as the individual’s residence for 
purposes of registering to vote in elections for 
Federal office, the authority shall notify the 
motor vehicle authority of the State identified 
by the individual pursuant to subparagraph 
(A)(i), who shall notify the chief State election 
official of such State that the individual no 
longer intends for that State to serve as the in-
dividual’s residence for purposes of registering 
to vote in elections for Federal office.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall take effect with respect to elections 
occurring in 2019 or any succeeding year.
PART 9—PROVIDING VOTER REGISTRATION IN-
FORMATION TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STU-
DENTS 
SEC. 1091. PILOT PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING VOTER REG-
ISTRATION INFORMATION TO SECONDARY 
SCHOOL STUDENTS PRIOR TO GRADUATION. 
(a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Election Assistance Com-
mission (hereafter in this part referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’) shall carry out a pilot program under which the 
Commission shall provide funds during the one-year period 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this part to 
eligible local educational agencies for initiatives to provide 
information on registering to vote in elections for public 
office to secondary school students in the 12th grade. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A local educational agency is eligi-
ble to receive funds under the pilot program under this 
part if the agency submits to the Commission, at such 
time and in such form as the Commission may require, 
an application containing— 
(1) a description of the initiatives the agency 
intends to carry out with the funds; 
(2) an estimate of the costs associated with 
such initiatives; and 
(3) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require.
(c) CONSULTATION WITH ELECTION OFFICIALS.—A 
local educational agency receiving funds under the pilot 
program shall consult with the State and local election of-
ficials who are responsible for administering elections for 
public office in the area served by the agency in developing 
the initiatives the agency will carry out with the funds. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this part, the terms ‘‘local 
educational agency’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the 
meanings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7801). 
SEC. 1092. REPORTS. 
(a) REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF FUNDS.—Not later 
than the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on 
the date of the receipt of the funds, each local educational 
agency receiving funds under the pilot program under this 
part shall submit a report to the Commission describing 
the initiatives carried out with the funds and analyzing 
their effectiveness. 
(b) REPORT BY COMMISSION.—Not later than the ex-
piration of the 60-day period which begins on the date 
the Commission receives the final report submitted by a 
local educational agency under subsection (a), the Com-
mission shall submit a report to Congress on the pilot pro-
gram under this part.
SEC. 1093. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this part. 
PART 10—VOTER REGISTRATION OF MINORS 
SEC. 1094. ACCEPTANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION APPLI-
CATIONS 
FROM 
INDIVIDUALS 
UNDER 
YEARS OF AGE. 
(a) ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 8 of 
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20507) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (k), as redesig-
nated by section 1004, as subsection (l); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (j), as inserted 
by such section 1004, the following new subsection: 
‘‘(k) ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FROM INDIVID-
UALS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may not refuse to 
accept or process an individual’s application to reg-
ister to vote in elections for Federal office on the 
grounds that the individual is under 18 years of age 
at the time the individual submits the application, so 
long as the individual is at least 16 years of age at 
such time. 
‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON STATE VOTING AGE RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Nothing in paragraph (1) may be 
construed to require a State to permit an individual
who is under 18 years of age at the time of an elec-
tion for Federal office to vote in the election.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections occur-
ring on or after January 1, 2020. 
Subtitle B—Access to Voting for 
Individuals With Disabilities 
SEC. 1101. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES TO PROMOTE AC-
CESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 
FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 
as amended by section 1031(a), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as 
sections 306 and 307; and 
(2) by inserting after section 304 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 305. ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 
FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
‘‘(a) TREATMENT
OF
APPLICATIONS
AND
BAL-
LOTS.—Each State shall— 
‘‘(1) permit individuals with disabilities to use 
absentee registration procedures and to vote by ab-
sentee ballot in elections for Federal office;
‘‘(2) accept and process, with respect to any 
election for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter 
registration application and absentee ballot applica-
tion from an individual with a disability if the appli-
cation is received by the appropriate State election 
official within the deadline for the election which is 
applicable under Federal law; 
‘‘(3) in addition to any other method of reg-
istering to vote or applying for an absentee ballot in 
the State, establish procedures— 
‘‘(A) for individuals with disabilities to re-
quest by mail and electronically voter registra-
tion applications and absentee ballot applica-
tions with respect to elections for Federal office 
in accordance with subsection (c); 
‘‘(B) for States to send by mail and elec-
tronically (in accordance with the preferred 
method of transmission designated by the indi-
vidual under subparagraph (C)) voter registra-
tion applications and absentee ballot applica-
tions requested under subparagraph (A) in ac-
cordance with subsection (c); and 
‘‘(C) by which such an individual can des-
ignate whether the individual prefers that such 
voter registration application or absentee ballot
application be transmitted by mail or electroni-
cally; 
‘‘(4) in addition to any other method of trans-
mitting blank absentee ballots in the State, establish 
procedures for transmitting by mail and electroni-
cally blank absentee ballots to individuals with dis-
abilities with respect to elections for Federal office 
in accordance with subsection (d); 
‘‘(5) transmit a validly requested absentee bal-
lot to an individual with a disability— 
‘‘(A) except as provided in subsection (e), 
in the case in which the request is received at 
least 45 days before an election for Federal of-
fice, not later than 45 days before the election; 
and 
‘‘(B) in the case in which the request is re-
ceived less than 45 days before an election for 
Federal office— 
‘‘(i) in accordance with State law; and 
‘‘(ii) if practicable and as determined 
appropriate by the State, in a manner that 
expedites the transmission of such absen-
tee ballot; and 
‘‘(6) if the State declares or otherwise holds a 
runoff election for Federal office, establish a written
plan that provides absentee ballots are made avail-
able to individuals with disabilities in a manner that 
gives them sufficient time to vote in the runoff elec-
tion. 
‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OF SINGLE STATE OFFICE TO 
PROVIDE INFORMATION ON REGISTRATION AND ABSEN-
TEE BALLOT PROCEDURES FOR ALL DISABLED VOTERS 
IN STATE.—Each State shall designate a single office 
which shall be responsible for providing information re-
garding voter registration procedures and absentee ballot 
procedures to be used by individuals with disabilities with 
respect to elections for Federal office to all individuals 
with disabilities who wish to register to vote or vote in 
any jurisdiction in the State. 
‘‘(c) DESIGNATION OF MEANS OF ELECTRONIC COM-
MUNICATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES TO 
REQUEST AND FOR STATES TO SEND VOTER REGISTRA-
TION APPLICATIONS AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA-
TIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES RELATED TO VOTING 
INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall, in addi-
tion to the designation of a single State office under 
subsection (b), designate not less than 1 means of 
electronic communication—
‘‘(A) for use by individuals with disabilities 
who wish to register to vote or vote in any ju-
risdiction in the State to request voter registra-
tion applications and absentee ballot applica-
tions under subsection (a)(3); 
‘‘(B) for use by States to send voter reg-
istration applications and absentee ballot appli-
cations requested under such subsection; and 
‘‘(C) for the purpose of providing related 
voting, balloting, and election information to in-
dividuals with disabilities. 
‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION REGARDING PROVISION OF 
MULTIPLE
MEANS
OF
ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICA-
TION.—A State may, in addition to the means of 
electronic communication so designated, provide 
multiple means of electronic communication to indi-
viduals with disabilities, including a means of elec-
tronic communication for the appropriate jurisdic-
tion of the State. 
‘‘(3) INCLUSION
OF
DESIGNATED
MEANS
OF 
ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATION
WITH
INFORMA-
TIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS THAT AC-
COMPANY BALLOTING MATERIALS.—Each State shall 
include a means of electronic communication so des-
ignated with all informational and instructional ma-
terials that accompany balloting materials sent by 
the State to individuals with disabilities. 
‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI-
CATED.—In the case where an individual with a dis-
ability does not designate a preference under sub-
section (a)(3)(C), the State shall transmit the voter 
registration application or absentee ballot application 
by any delivery method allowable in accordance with 
applicable State law, or if there is no applicable 
State law, by mail. 
‘‘(d) TRANSMISSION OF BLANK ABSENTEE BALLOTS 
BY MAIL AND ELECTRONICALLY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish 
procedures— 
‘‘(A) to securely transmit blank absentee 
ballots by mail and electronically (in accordance 
with the preferred method of transmission des-
ignated by the individual with a disability under 
subparagraph (B)) to individuals with disabil-
ities for an election for Federal office; and 
‘‘(B) by which the individual with a dis-
ability can designate whether the individual pre-
fers that such blank absentee ballot be trans-
mitted by mail or electronically.
‘‘(2) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI-
CATED.—In the case where an individual with a dis-
ability does not designate a preference under para-
graph (1)(B), the State shall transmit the ballot by 
any delivery method allowable in accordance with ap-
plicable State law, or if there is no applicable State 
law, by mail. 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION OF METHODS TO TRACK DE-
LIVERY TO AND RETURN OF BALLOT BY INDIVIDUAL 
REQUESTING BALLOT.—Under the procedures estab-
lished under paragraph (1), the State shall apply 
such methods as the State considers appropriate, 
such as assigning a unique identifier to the ballot, 
to ensure that if an individual with a disability re-
quests the State to transmit a blank absentee ballot 
to the individual in accordance with this subsection, 
the voted absentee ballot which is returned by the 
individual is the same blank absentee ballot which 
the State transmitted to the individual. 
‘‘(e) HARDSHIP EXEMPTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the chief State election 
official determines that the State is unable to meet 
the requirement under subsection (a)(5)(A) with re-
spect to an election for Federal office due to an 
undue hardship described in paragraph (2)(B), the
chief State election official shall request that the At-
torney General grant a waiver to the State of the 
application of such subsection. Such request shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) a recognition that the purpose of 
such subsection is to individuals with disabil-
ities enough time to vote in an election for Fed-
eral office; 
‘‘(B) an explanation of the hardship that 
indicates why the State is unable to transmit 
such individuals an absentee ballot in accord-
ance with such subsection; 
‘‘(C) the number of days prior to the elec-
tion for Federal office that the State requires 
absentee ballots be transmitted to such individ-
uals; and 
‘‘(D) a comprehensive plan to ensure that 
such individuals are able to receive absentee 
ballots which they have requested and submit 
marked absentee ballots to the appropriate 
State election official in time to have that ballot 
counted in the election for Federal office, which 
includes— 
‘‘(i) the steps the State will undertake 
to ensure that such individuals have time
to receive, mark, and submit their ballots 
in time to have those ballots counted in the 
election; 
‘‘(ii) why the plan provides such indi-
viduals sufficient time to vote as a sub-
stitute for the requirements under such 
subsection; and 
‘‘(iii) the underlying factual informa-
tion which explains how the plan provides 
such sufficient time to vote as a substitute 
for such requirements. 
‘‘(2) APPROVAL
OF
WAIVER
REQUEST.—The 
Attorney General shall approve a waiver request 
under paragraph (1) if the Attorney General deter-
mines each of the following requirements are met: 
‘‘(A) The comprehensive plan under sub-
paragraph (D) of such paragraph provides indi-
viduals with disabilities sufficient time to re-
ceive absentee ballots they have requested and 
submit marked absentee ballots to the appro-
priate State election official in time to have that 
ballot counted in the election for Federal office. 
‘‘(B) One or more of the following issues 
creates an undue hardship for the State:
‘‘(i) The State’s primary election date 
prohibits the State from complying with 
subsection (a)(5)(A). 
‘‘(ii) The State has suffered a delay in 
generating ballots due to a legal contest. 
‘‘(iii) The State Constitution prohibits 
the State from complying with such sub-
section. 
‘‘(3) TIMING OF WAIVER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Except as provided 
under subparagraph (B), a State that requests 
a waiver under paragraph (1) shall submit to 
the Attorney General the written waiver request 
not later than 90 days before the election for 
Federal office with respect to which the request 
is submitted. The Attorney General shall ap-
prove or deny the waiver request not later than 
65 days before such election. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a State requests a 
waiver under paragraph (1) as the result of an 
undue 
hardship 
described 
in 
paragraph 
(2)(B)(ii), the State shall submit to the Attor-
ney General the written waiver request as soon 
as practicable. The Attorney General shall ap-
prove or deny the waiver request not later than
5 business days after the date on which the re-
quest is received. 
‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF WAIVER.—A waiver ap-
proved under paragraph (2) shall only apply with re-
spect to the election for Federal office for which the 
request was submitted. For each subsequent election 
for Federal office, the Attorney General shall only 
approve a waiver if the State has submitted a re-
quest under paragraph (1) with respect to such elec-
tion. 
‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-
tion may be construed to allow the marking or casting of 
ballots over the internet. 
‘‘(g) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY DEFINED.— 
In this section, an ‘individual with a disability’ means an 
individual with an impairment that substantially limits 
any major life activities and who is otherwise qualified to 
vote in elections for Federal office. 
‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to elections for Federal office held on or after 
January 1, 2020.’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS-
SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 21101(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(2); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 
respect to section 305, January 1, 2020.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 305 and 306 as relating to sections 306 and 
307; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 304 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 305. Access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabil-
ities.’’. 
SEC. 1102. EXPANSION AND REAUTHORIZATION OF GRANT 
PROGRAM TO ASSURE VOTING ACCESS FOR 
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) PURPOSES OF PAYMENTS.—Section 261(b) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21021(b)) is 
amended by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(1) making absentee voting and voting at 
home accessible to individuals with the full range of
disabilities (including impairments involving vision, 
hearing, mobility, or dexterity) through the imple-
mentation of accessible absentee voting systems that 
work in conjunction with assistive technologies for 
which individuals have access at their homes, inde-
pendent living centers, or other facilities; 
‘‘(2) making polling places, including the path 
of travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas of each 
polling facility, accessible to individuals with disabil-
ities, including the blind and visually impaired, in a 
manner that provides the same opportunity for ac-
cess and participation (including privacy and inde-
pendence) as for other voters; and 
‘‘(3) providing solutions to problems of access 
to voting and elections for individuals with disabil-
ities that are universally designed and provide the 
same opportunities for individuals with and without 
disabilities.’’. 
(b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Section 264(a) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 21024(a)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2020 and each succeeding 
fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary to carry 
out this part.’’.
100 
(c) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Section 
264 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21024) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Any 
amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub-
section (b), any amounts’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(c) RETURN AND TRANSFER OF CERTAIN FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR OBLIGATION AND EXPEND-
ITURE.—In the case of any amounts appropriated 
pursuant to the authority of subsection (a) for a 
payment to a State or unit of local government for 
fiscal year 2020 or any succeeding fiscal year, any 
portion of such amounts which have not been obli-
gated or expended by the State or unit of local gov-
ernment prior to the expiration of the 4-year period 
which begins on the date the State or unit of local 
government first received the amounts shall be 
transferred to the Commission. 
‘‘(2) 
REALLOCATION
OF
TRANSFERRED 
AMOUNTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 
use the amounts transferred under paragraph 
(1) to make payments on a pro rata basis to 
each covered payment recipient described in
101 
subparagraph (B), which may obligate and ex-
pend such payment for the purposes described 
in section 261(b) during the 1-year period 
which begins on the date of receipt. 
‘‘(B) COVERED PAYMENT RECIPIENTS DE-
SCRIBED.—In subparagraph (A), a ‘covered 
payment recipient’ is a State or unit of local 
government with respect to which— 
‘‘(i) amounts were appropriated pur-
suant to the authority of subsection (a); 
and 
‘‘(ii) no amounts were transferred to 
the Commission under paragraph (1).’’. 
SEC. 1103. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR ENABLING INDIVIDUALS 
WITH DISABILITIES TO REGISTER TO VOTE 
PRIVATELY AND INDEPENDENTLY AT RESI-
DENCES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF PILOT PROGRAMS.—The 
Election Assistance Commission (hereafter referred to as 
the ‘‘Commission’’) shall, subject to the availability of ap-
propriations to carry out this section, make grants to eligi-
ble States to conduct pilot programs under which individ-
uals with disabilities may use electronic means (including 
the Internet and telephones utilizing assistive devices) to 
register to vote and to request and receive absentee ballots
102 
in a manner which permits such individuals to do so pri-
vately and independently at their own residences. 
(b) REPORTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant for 
a year under this section shall submit a report to the 
Commission on the pilot programs the State carried 
out with the grant with respect to elections for pub-
lic office held in the State during the year. 
(2) DEADLINE.—A State shall submit a report 
under paragraph (1) not later than 90 days after 
the last election for public office held in the State 
during the year. 
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible to receive a 
grant under this section if the State submits to the Com-
mission, at such time and in such form as the Commission 
may require, an application containing such information 
and assurances as the Commission may require. 
(d) TIMING.—The Commission shall make the first 
grants under this section for pilot programs which will be 
in effect with respect to elections for Federal office held 
in 2020, or, at the option of a State, with respect to other 
elections for public office held in the State in 2020. 
(e) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the
103 
United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands. 
SEC. 1104. GAO ANALYSIS AND REPORT ON VOTING ACCESS 
FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) ANALYSIS.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct an analysis after each regu-
larly scheduled general election for Federal office with re-
spect to the following: 
(1) In relation to polling places located in 
houses of worship or other facilities that may be ex-
empt from accessibility requirements under the 
Americans with Disabilities Act— 
(A) efforts to overcome accessibility chal-
lenges posed by such facilities; and 
(B) the extent to which such facilities are 
used as polling places in elections for Federal 
office. 
(2) Assistance provided by the Election Assist-
ance Commission, Department of Justice, or other 
Federal agencies to help State and local officials im-
prove voting access for individuals with disabilities 
during elections for Federal office. 
(3) When accessible voting machines are avail-
able at a polling place, the extent to which such ma-
chines—
104 
(A) are located in places that are difficult 
to access; 
(B) malfunction; or 
(C) fail to provide sufficient privacy to en-
sure that the ballot of the individual cannot be 
seen by another individual. 
(4) The process by which Federal, State, and 
local governments track compliance with accessibility 
requirements related to voting access, including 
methods to receive and address complaints. 
(5) The extent to which poll workers receive 
training on how to assist individuals with disabil-
ities, including the receipt by such poll workers of 
information on legal requirements related to voting 
rights for individuals with disabilities. 
(6) The extent and effectiveness of training pro-
vided to poll workers on the operation of accessible 
voting machines. 
(7) The extent to which individuals with a de-
velopmental or psychiatric disability experience 
greater barriers to voting, and whether poll worker 
training adequately addresses the needs of such indi-
viduals.
105 
(8) The extent to which State or local govern-
ments employ, or attempt to employ, individuals 
with disabilities to work at polling sites. 
(b) REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months 
after the date of a regularly scheduled general elec-
tion for Federal office, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report with respect to the most recent regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office that 
contains the following: 
(A) The analysis required by subsection 
(a). 
(B) Recommendations, as appropriate, to 
promote the use of best practices used by State 
and local officials to address barriers to accessi-
bility and privacy concerns for individuals with 
disabilities in elections for Federal office. 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 
‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on House Administra-
tion of the House of Representatives; 
(B) the Committee on Rules and Adminis-
tration of the Senate;
106 
(C) the Committee on Appropriations of 
the House of Representatives; and 
(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 
the Senate. 
Subtitle C—Prohibiting Voter 
Caging 
SEC. 1201. VOTER CAGING AND OTHER QUESTIONABLE 
CHALLENGES PROHIBITED. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 
States Code, as amended by section 1071(a), is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘§ 613. Voter caging and other questionable chal-
lenges 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘voter caging document’ means— 
‘‘(A) a nonforwardable document that is 
returned to the sender or a third party as unde-
livered or undeliverable despite an attempt to 
deliver such document to the address of a reg-
istered voter or applicant; or 
‘‘(B) any document with instructions to an 
addressee that the document be returned to the 
sender or a third party but is not so returned, 
despite an attempt to deliver such document to 
the address of a registered voter or applicant,
107 
unless at least two Federal election cycles have 
passed since the date of the attempted delivery; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘voter caging list’ means a list of 
individuals compiled from voter caging documents; 
and 
‘‘(3) the term ‘unverified match list’ means a 
list produced by matching the information of reg-
istered voters or applicants for voter registration to 
a list of individuals who are ineligible to vote in the 
registrar’s jurisdiction, by virtue of death, convic-
tion, change of address, or otherwise; unless one of 
the pieces of information matched includes a signa-
ture, photograph, or unique identifying number en-
suring that the information from each source refers 
to the same individual. 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AGAINST VOTER CAGING.—No 
State or local election official shall prevent an individual 
from registering or voting in any election for Federal of-
fice, or permit in connection with any election for Federal 
office a formal challenge under State law to an individual’s 
registration status or eligibility to vote, if the basis for 
such decision is evidence consisting of— 
‘‘(1) a voter caging document or voter caging 
list; 
‘‘(2) an unverified match list;
108 
‘‘(3) an error or omission on any record or 
paper relating to any application, registration, or 
other act requisite to voting, if such error or omis-
sion is not material to an individual’s eligibility to 
vote under section 2004 of the Revised Statutes, as 
amended (52 U.S.C. 10101(a)(2)(B)); or 
‘‘(4) any other evidence so designated for pur-
poses of this section by the Election Assistance Com-
mission, 
except that the election official may use such evidence if 
it is corroborated by independent evidence of the individ-
ual’s ineligibility to register or vote. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGES BY PERSONS 
OTHER THAN ELECTION OFFICIALS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CHALLENGES.—No 
person, other than a State or local election official, 
shall submit a formal challenge to an individual’s eli-
gibility to register to vote in an election for Federal 
office or to vote in an election for Federal office un-
less that challenge is supported by personal knowl-
edge regarding the grounds for ineligibility which 
is— 
‘‘(A) documented in writing; and 
‘‘(B) subject to an oath or attestation 
under penalty of perjury that the challenger has
109 
a good faith factual basis to believe that the in-
dividual who is the subject of the challenge is 
ineligible to register to vote or vote in that elec-
tion, except a challenge which is based on the 
race, ethnicity, or national origin of the indi-
vidual who is the subject of the challenge may 
not be considered to have a good faith factual 
basis for purposes of this paragraph. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION
ON
CHALLENGES
ON
OR 
NEAR DATE OF ELECTION.—No person, other than 
a State or local election official, shall be permitted— 
‘‘(A) to challenge an individual’s eligibility 
to vote in an election for Federal office on Elec-
tion Day, or 
‘‘(B) to challenge an individual’s eligibility 
to register to vote in an election for Federal of-
fice or to vote in an election for Federal office 
less than 10 days before the election unless the 
individual registered to vote less than 20 days 
before the election. 
‘‘(d) PENALTIES
FOR KNOWING MISCONDUCT.— 
Whoever knowingly challenges the eligibility of one or 
more individuals to register or vote or knowingly causes 
the eligibility of such individuals to be challenged in viola-
tion of this section with the intent that one or more eligi-
110 
ble voters be disqualified, shall be fined under this title 
or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both, for each such 
violation. Each violation shall be a separate offense. 
‘‘(e) NO EFFECT ON RELATED LAWS.—Nothing in 
this section is intended to override the protections of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20501 et seq.) or to affect the Voting Rights Act of 1965 
(52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, as amended 
by section 1071(b), is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘613. Voter caging and other questionable challenges.’’. 
SEC. 1202. DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF BEST PRAC-
TICES FOR PREVENTING VOTER CAGING. 
(a) BEST PRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assist-
ance Commission shall develop and publish for the use of 
States recommendations for best practices to deter and 
prevent violations of section 613 of title 18, United States 
Code, as added by section 1201(a), including practices to 
provide for the posting of relevant information at polling 
places and voter registration agencies, the training of poll 
workers and election officials, and relevant educational 
measures. For purposes of this subsection, the term 
‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common-
111 
wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 
United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands. 
(b) INCLUSION IN VOTING INFORMATION REQUIRE-
MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)), as amended by section 
1072(b), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (F); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (G) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(H) information relating to the prohibi-
tion against voter caging and other questionable 
challenges (as set forth in section 613 of title 
18, United States Code), including information 
on how individuals may report allegations of 
violations of such prohibition.’’. 
Subtitle D—Prohibiting Deceptive 
Practices and Preventing Voter 
Intimidation 
SEC. 1301. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Deceptive Prac-
tices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2019’’.
112 
SEC. 1302. PROHIBITION ON DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN 
FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—Subsection (b) of section 2004 of 
the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No person’’; and 
(2) by inserting at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(2) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL 
ELECTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 
acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 
within 60 days before an election described in 
paragraph (5), by any means, including by 
means of written, electronic, or telephonic com-
munications, communicate or cause to be com-
municated information described in subpara-
graph (B), or produce information described in 
subparagraph (B) with the intent that such in-
formation be communicated, if such person— 
‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma-
terially false; and 
‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre-
vent another person from exercising the
113 
right to vote in an election described in 
paragraph (5). 
‘‘(B) INFORMATION
DESCRIBED.—Infor-
mation is described in this subparagraph if such 
information is regarding— 
‘‘(i) the time, place, or manner of 
holding any election described in para-
graph (5); or 
‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric-
tions on voter eligibility for any such elec-
tion, including— 
‘‘(I) any criminal penalties asso-
ciated with voting in any such elec-
tion; or 
‘‘(II) information regarding a 
voter’s registration status or eligi-
bility. 
‘‘(3) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING PUBLIC 
ENDORSEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—No person, whether 
acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 
within 60 days before an election described in 
paragraph (5), by any means, including by 
means of written, electronic, or telephonic com-
munications, communicate, or cause to be com-
114 
municated, a materially false statement about 
an endorsement, if such person— 
‘‘(i) knows such statement to be false; 
and 
‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre-
vent another person from exercising the 
right to vote in an election described in 
paragraph (5). 
‘‘(B) 
DEFINITION
OF
‘MATERIALLY 
FALSE’.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 
statement about an endorsement is ‘materially 
false’ if, with respect to an upcoming election 
described in paragraph (5)— 
‘‘(i) the statement states that a spe-
cifically named person, political party, or 
organization has endorsed the election of a 
specific candidate for a Federal office de-
scribed in such paragraph; and 
‘‘(ii) such person, political party, or 
organization has not endorsed the election 
of such candidate. 
‘‘(4) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE-
VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.—No 
person, whether acting under color of law or other-
wise, shall intentionally hinder, interfere with, or
115 
prevent another person from voting, registering to 
vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to 
vote in an election described in paragraph (5). 
‘‘(5) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election de-
scribed in this paragraph is any general, primary, 
run-off, or special election held solely or in part for 
the purpose of nominating or electing a candidate 
for the office of President, Vice President, presi-
dential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of 
the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Com-
missioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 
(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 
2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)) 
is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Whenever any person’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) Whenever any person’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) Any person aggrieved by a violation of 
subsection (b)(2), (b)(3), or (b)(4) may institute a 
civil action for preventive relief, including an appli-
cation in a United States district court for a perma-
nent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or
116 
other order. In any such action, the court, in its dis-
cretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable 
attorney’s fee as part of the costs.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Subsection (e) of section 2004 of the 
Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(e)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 
(B) Subsection (g) of section 2004 of the 
Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(g)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 
(c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 
(1) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—Section 594 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘Whoever’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(a) INTIMIDATION.—Whoever’’; 
(B) in subsection (a), as inserted by sub-
paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘at any election’’ 
and inserting ‘‘at any general, primary, run-off, 
or special election’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subsections: 
‘‘(b) DECEPTIVE ACTS.—
117 
‘‘(1) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL 
ELECTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 
for any person, whether acting under color of 
law or otherwise, within 60 days before an elec-
tion described in subsection (e), by any means, 
including by means of written, electronic, or tel-
ephonic communications, to communicate or 
cause to be communicated information de-
scribed in subparagraph (B), or produce infor-
mation described in subparagraph (B) with the 
intent that such information be communicated, 
if such person— 
‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma-
terially false; and 
‘‘(ii) has the intent to mislead voters, 
or the intent to impede or prevent another 
person from exercising the right to vote in 
an election described in subsection (e). 
‘‘(B) INFORMATION
DESCRIBED.—Infor-
mation is described in this subparagraph if such 
information is regarding— 
‘‘(i) the time or place of holding any 
election described in subsection (e); or
118 
‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric-
tions on voter eligibility for any such elec-
tion, including— 
‘‘(I) any criminal penalties asso-
ciated with voting in any such elec-
tion; or 
‘‘(II) information regarding a 
voter’s registration status or eligi-
bility. 
‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para-
graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 
imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(c) HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE-
VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for 
any person, whether acting under color of law or 
otherwise, to intentionally hinder, interfere with, or 
prevent another person from voting, registering to 
vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to 
vote in an election described in subsection (e). 
‘‘(2) PENALTY.—Any person who violates para-
graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 
imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 
‘‘(d) ATTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 
any offense described in subsection (a), (b)(1), or (c)(1)
119 
shall be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed 
for the offense that the person attempted to commit. 
‘‘(e) ELECTION DESCRIBED.—An election described 
in this subsection is any general, primary, run-off, or spe-
cial election held solely or in part for the purpose of nomi-
nating or electing a candidate for the office of President, 
Vice President, presidential elector, Member of the Senate, 
Member of the House of Representatives, or Delegate or 
Commissioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 
(2) MODIFICATION OF PENALTY FOR VOTER IN-
TIMIDATION.—Section 594(a) of title 18, United 
States Code, as amended by paragraph (1), is 
amended by striking ‘‘fined under this title or im-
prisoned not more than one year’’ and inserting 
‘‘fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned for not 
more than 5 years’’. 
(3) SENTENCING GUIDELINES.— 
(A) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.—Not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the United States Sentencing Commis-
sion, pursuant to its authority under section 
994 of title 28, United States Code, and in ac-
cordance with this section, shall review and, if 
appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing 
guidelines and policy statements applicable to
120 
persons convicted of any offense under section 
594 of title 18, United States Code, as amend-
ed by this section. 
(B) AUTHORIZATION.—The United States 
Sentencing Commission may amend the Federal 
Sentencing Guidelines in accordance with the 
procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sen-
tencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 note) as 
though the authority under that section had not 
expired. 
(4) PAYMENTS
FOR
REFRAINING
FROM
VOT-
ING.—Subsection (c) of section 11 of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10307) is amended 
by striking ‘‘either for registration to vote or for vot-
ing’’ and inserting ‘‘for registration to vote, for vot-
ing, or for not voting’’. 
SEC. 1303. CORRECTIVE ACTION. 
(a) CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney General re-
ceives a credible report that materially false informa-
tion has been or is being communicated in violation 
of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2004(b) of the 
Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by 
section 1302(a), and if the Attorney General deter-
mines that State and local election officials have not
121 
taken adequate steps to promptly communicate accu-
rate information to correct the materially false infor-
mation, the Attorney General shall, pursuant to the 
written procedures and standards under subsection 
(b), communicate to the public, by any means, in-
cluding by means of written, electronic, or telephonic 
communications, accurate information designed to 
correct the materially false information. 
(2) COMMUNICATION OF CORRECTIVE INFORMA-
TION.—Any information communicated by the Attor-
ney General under paragraph (1)— 
(A) shall— 
(i) be accurate and objective; 
(ii) consist of only the information 
necessary to correct the materially false in-
formation that has been or is being com-
municated; and 
(iii) to the extent practicable, be by a 
means that the Attorney General deter-
mines will reach the persons to whom the 
materially false information has been or is 
being communicated; and 
(B) shall not be designed to favor or dis-
favor any particular candidate, organization, or 
political party.
122 
(b) WRITTEN PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS FOR 
TAKING CORRECTIVE ACTION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 
General shall publish written procedures and stand-
ards for determining when and how corrective action 
will be taken under this section. 
(2) INCLUSION OF APPROPRIATE DEADLINES.— 
The procedures and standards under paragraph (1) 
shall include appropriate deadlines, based in part on 
the number of days remaining before the upcoming 
election. 
(3) CONSULTATION.—In developing the proce-
dures and standards under paragraph (1), the Attor-
ney General shall consult with the Election Assist-
ance Commission, State and local election officials, 
civil rights organizations, voting rights groups, voter 
protection groups, and other interested community 
organizations. 
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subtitle. 
SEC. 1304. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
each general election for Federal office, the Attorney Gen-
123 
eral shall submit to Congress a report compiling all allega-
tions received by the Attorney General of deceptive prac-
tices described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 
2004(b) of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as 
added by section 1302(a), relating to the general election 
for Federal office and any primary, run-off, or a special 
election for Federal office held in the 2 years preceding 
the general election. 
(b) CONTENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each report submitted 
under subsection (a) shall include— 
(A) a description of each allegation of a 
deceptive practice described in subsection (a), 
including the geographic location, racial and 
ethnic composition, and language minority- 
group membership of the persons toward whom 
the alleged deceptive practice was directed; 
(B) the status of the investigation of each 
allegation described in subparagraph (A); 
(C) a description of each corrective action 
taken by the Attorney General under section 
4(a) in response to an allegation described in 
subparagraph (A);
124 
(D) a description of each referral of an al-
legation described in subparagraph (A) to other 
Federal, State, or local agencies; 
(E) to the extent information is available, 
a description of any civil action instituted under 
section 2004(c)(2) of the Revised Statutes (52 
U.S.C. 10101(c)(2)), as added by section 
1302(b), in connection with an allegation de-
scribed in subparagraph (A); and 
(F) a description of any criminal prosecu-
tion instituted under section 594 of title 18, 
United States Code, as amended by section 
3(c), in connection with the receipt of an allega-
tion described in subparagraph (A) by the At-
torney General. 
(2) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General 
shall not include in a report submitted under 
subsection (a) any information protected from 
disclosure by rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of 
Criminal Procedure or any Federal criminal 
statute. 
(B) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN OTHER IN-
FORMATION.—The Attorney General may deter-
mine that the following information shall not be
125 
included in a report submitted under subsection 
(a): 
(i) Any information that is privileged. 
(ii) Any information concerning an 
ongoing investigation. 
(iii) Any information concerning a 
criminal or civil proceeding conducted 
under seal. 
(iv) Any other nonpublic information 
that the Attorney General determines the 
disclosure of which could reasonably be ex-
pected to infringe on the rights of any in-
dividual or adversely affect the integrity of 
a pending or future criminal investigation. 
(c) REPORT MADE PUBLIC.—On the date that the 
Attorney General submits the report under subsection (a), 
the Attorney General shall also make the report publicly 
available through the Internet and other appropriate 
means. 
Subtitle E—Democracy Restoration 
SEC. 1401. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Res-
toration Act of 2019’’.
126 
SEC. 1402. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 
The right of an individual who is a citizen of the 
United States to vote in any election for Federal office 
shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has 
been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual 
is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 
or facility at the time of the election. 
SEC. 1403. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 
may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive 
relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this subtitle. 
(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 
by a violation of this subtitle may provide written 
notice of the violation to the chief election official of 
the State involved. 
(2) RELIEF.—Except as provided in paragraph 
(3), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days 
after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or 
within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola-
tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 
election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 
may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunc-
tive relief with respect to the violation. 
(3) EXCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 
within 30 days before the date of an election for
127 
Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide 
notice to the chief election official of the State under 
paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain 
declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 
violation. 
SEC. 1404. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 
RIGHTS. 
(a) STATE NOTIFICATION.— 
(1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 
under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writ-
ing any individual who has been convicted of a 
criminal offense under the law of that State that 
such individual has the right to vote in an election 
for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Res-
toration Act of 2019 and may register to vote in any 
such election and provide such individual with any 
materials that are necessary to register to vote in 
any such election. 
(2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 
(A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 
such an individual who has been convicted of a 
felony, the notification required under para-
graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 
the individual—
128 
(i) is sentenced to serve only a term 
of probation; or 
(ii) is released from the custody of 
that State (other than to the custody of 
another State or the Federal Government 
to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel-
ony conviction). 
(B) MISDEMEANOR
CONVICTION.—In the 
case of such an individual who has been con-
victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 
the date on which such individual is sentenced 
by a State court. 
(b) FEDERAL NOTIFICATION.— 
(1) NOTIFICATION.—Any individual who has 
been convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 
law shall be notified in accordance with paragraph 
(2) that such individual has the right to vote in an 
election for Federal office pursuant to the Democ-
racy Restoration Act of 2019 and may register to 
vote in any such election and provide such individual 
with any materials that are necessary to register to 
vote in any such election. 
(2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.—
129 
(A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 
such an individual who has been convicted of a 
felony, the notification required under para-
graph (1) shall be given— 
(i) in the case of an individual who is 
sentenced to serve only a term of proba-
tion, by the Assistant Director for the Of-
fice of Probation and Pretrial Services of 
the Administrative Office of the United 
States Courts on the date on which the in-
dividual is sentenced; or 
(ii) in the case of any individual com-
mitted to the custody of the Bureau of 
Prisons, by the Director of the Bureau of 
Prisons, during the period beginning on 
the date that is 6 months before such indi-
vidual is released and ending on the date 
such individual is released from the cus-
tody of the Bureau of Prisons. 
(B) MISDEMEANOR
CONVICTION.—In the 
case of such an individual who has been con-
victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re-
quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 
the date on which such individual is sentenced 
by a court established by an Act of Congress.
130 
SEC. 1405. DEFINITIONS. 
For purposes of this subtitle: 
(1) CORRECTIONAL
INSTITUTION
OR
FACIL-
ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 
means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu-
tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 
convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 
privately operated, except that such term does not 
include any residential community treatment center 
(or similar public or private facility). 
(2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 
(A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 
election; 
(B) a convention or caucus of a political 
party held to nominate a candidate; 
(C) a primary election held for the selec-
tion of delegates to a national nominating con-
vention of a political party; or 
(D) a primary election held for the expres-
sion of a preference for the nomination of per-
sons for election to the office of President. 
(3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of-
fice’’ means the office of President or Vice President 
of the United States, or of Senator or Representa-
tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 
the Congress of the United States.
131 
(4) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 
probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 
court, with or without a condition on the individual 
involved concerning— 
(A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 
(B) the payment of damages by the indi-
vidual; 
(C) periodic reporting by the individual to 
an officer of the court; or 
(D) supervision of the individual by an of-
ficer of the court. 
SEC. 1406. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 
(a) STATE LAWS RELATING TO VOTING RIGHTS.— 
Nothing in this subtitle be construed to prohibit the States 
from enacting any State law which affords the right to 
vote in any election for Federal office on terms less restric-
tive than those established by this subtitle. 
(b) CERTAIN FEDERAL ACTS.—The rights and rem-
edies established by this subtitle are in addition to all 
other rights and remedies provided by law, and neither 
rights and remedies established by this Act shall super-
sede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) or the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.).
132 
SEC. 1407. FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS. 
No State, unit of local government, or other person 
may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a 
prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal 
funds unless that person has in effect a program under 
which each individual incarcerated in that person’s juris-
diction who is a citizen of the United States is notified, 
upon release from such incarceration, of that individual’s 
rights under section 1402. 
SEC. 1408. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This subtitle shall apply to citizens of the United 
States voting in any election for Federal office held after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Subtitle F—Promoting Accuracy, 
Integrity, and Security Through 
Voter-Verified Permanent Paper 
Ballot 
SEC. 1501. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Confidence 
and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 1502. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE-
QUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.—
133 
‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 
(I) The voting system shall require the use 
of an individual, durable, voter-verified 
paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall 
be marked and made available for inspec-
tion and verification by the voter before 
the voter’s vote is cast and counted, and 
which shall be counted by hand or read by 
an optical character recognition device or 
other counting device. For purposes of this 
subclause, the term ‘individual, durable, 
voter-verified paper ballot’ means a paper 
ballot marked by the voter by hand or a 
paper ballot marked through the use of a 
nontabulating ballot marking device or sys-
tem, so long as the voter shall have the op-
tion to mark his or her ballot by hand. 
‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 
the voter with an opportunity to correct 
any error on the paper ballot before the 
permanent voter-verified paper ballot is 
preserved in accordance with clause (ii). 
‘‘(III) The voting system shall not 
preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in
134 
any manner that makes it possible, at any 
time after the ballot has been cast, to asso-
ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 
vote without the voter’s consent. 
‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION
AS
OFFICIAL 
RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter- 
verified paper ballot used in accordance 
with clause (i) shall constitute the official 
ballot and shall be preserved and used as 
the official ballot for purposes of any re-
count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office in which the 
voting system is used. 
‘‘(iii) MANUAL
COUNTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.—(I) 
Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 
(i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, 
and shall be counted by hand in any re-
count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office. 
‘‘(II) In the event of any inconsist-
encies or irregularities between any elec-
tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies de-
termined by counting by hand the indi-
vidual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots
135 
used pursuant to clause (i), and subject to 
subparagraph (B), the individual, durable, 
voter-verified paper ballots shall be the 
true and correct record of the votes cast. 
‘‘(iv) APPLICATION
TO
ALL
BAL-
LOTS.—The requirements of this subpara-
graph shall apply to all ballots cast in elec-
tions for Federal office, including ballots 
cast by absent uniformed services voters 
and overseas voters under the Uniformed 
and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 
and other absentee voters. 
‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TREATMENT OF 
DISPUTES WHEN PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN 
SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—In the event 
that— 
‘‘(I) there is any inconsistency 
between any electronic vote tallies and 
the vote tallies determined by count-
ing by hand the individual, durable, 
voter-verified paper ballots used pur-
suant to subparagraph (A)(i) with re-
spect to any election for Federal of-
fice; and
136 
‘‘(II) it is demonstrated by clear 
and convincing evidence (as deter-
mined in accordance with the applica-
ble standards in the jurisdiction in-
volved) in any recount, audit, or con-
test of the result of the election that 
the paper ballots have been com-
promised (by damage or mischief or 
otherwise) and that a sufficient num-
ber of the ballots have been so com-
promised that the result of the elec-
tion could be changed, 
the determination of the appropriate rem-
edy with respect to the election shall be 
made in accordance with applicable State 
law, except that the electronic tally shall 
not be used as the exclusive basis for de-
termining the official certified result. 
‘‘(ii) RULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF 
BALLOTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH VOTING 
MACHINE.—For purposes of clause (i), 
only the paper ballots deemed com-
promised, if any, shall be considered in the 
calculation of whether or not the result of
137 
the election could be changed due to the 
compromised paper ballots.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING APPLI-
CABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.— 
Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re-
quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys-
tem’’. 
(c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 
301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 
paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 
paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 
accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 
(4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-
ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 
paragraphs (2) and (3)’’.
138 
SEC. 1503. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 
INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(3)(B)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(B)(i) ensure that individuals with dis-
abilities and others are given an equivalent op-
portunity to vote, including with privacy and 
independence, in a manner that produces a 
voter-verified paper ballot as for other voters; 
‘‘(ii) satisfy the requirement of subpara-
graph (A) through the use of at least one voting 
system equipped for individuals with disabil-
ities, including nonvisual and enhanced visual 
accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, 
and nonmanual and enhanced manual accessi-
bility for the mobility and dexterity impaired, at 
each polling place; and 
‘‘(iii) meet the requirements of subpara-
graph (A) and paragraph (2)(A) by using a sys-
tem that— 
‘‘(I) allows the voter to privately and 
independently verify the permanent paper 
ballot through the presentation, in acces-
sible form, of the printed or marked vote 
selections from the same printed or
139 
marked information that would be used for 
any vote counting or auditing; and 
‘‘(II) allows the voter to privately and 
independently verify and cast the perma-
nent paper ballot without requiring the 
voter to manually handle the paper bal-
lot;’’. 
(b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, 
AND DEVELOPMENT
OF ACCESSIBLE PAPER BALLOT 
VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.— 
(1) STUDY
AND
REPORTING.—Subtitle C of 
title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 
amended— 
(A) by redesignating section 247 as section 
248; and 
(B) by inserting after section 246 the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE PAPER 
BALLOT VERIFICATION MECHANISMS. 
‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Director of the Na-
tional Science Foundation shall make grants to not fewer 
than 3 eligible entities to study, test, and develop acces-
sible paper ballot voting, verification, and casting mecha-
nisms and devices and best practices to enhance the acces-
sibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms
140 
for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary 
language is not English, and for voters with difficulties 
in literacy, including best practices for the mechanisms 
themselves and the processes through which the mecha-
nisms are used. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 
grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 
time and in such form as the Director may require) an 
application containing— 
‘‘(1) certifications that the entity shall specifi-
cally investigate enhanced methods or devices, in-
cluding non-electronic devices, that will assist such 
individuals and voters in marking voter-verified 
paper ballots and presenting or transmitting the in-
formation printed or marked on such ballots back to 
such individuals and voters, and casting such ballots; 
‘‘(2) a certification that the entity shall com-
plete the activities carried out with the grant not 
later than December 31, 2020; and 
‘‘(3) such other information and certifications 
as the Director may require. 
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY
OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech-
nology developed with the grants made under this section 
shall be treated as non-proprietary and shall be made
141 
available to the public, including to manufacturers of vot-
ing systems. 
‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH GRANTS
FOR TECH-
NOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—The Director shall carry out 
this section so that the activities carried out with the 
grants made under subsection (a) are coordinated with the 
research conducted under the grant program carried out 
by the Commission under section 271, to the extent that 
the Director and Commission determine necessary to pro-
vide for the advancement of accessible voting technology. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 
(a) $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con-
tents of such Act is amended— 
(A) by redesignating the item relating to 
section 247 as relating to section 248; and 
(B) by inserting after the item relating to 
section 246 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible paper ballot verification mecha-
nisms.’’. 
(c) CLARIFICATION OF ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS 
UNDER VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDANCE.—In 
adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 
III of the Help America Vote Act with respect to the ac-
cessibility of the paper ballot verification requirements for
142 
individuals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Com-
mission shall include and apply the same accessibility 
standards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopt-
ed for accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 
(d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR PROTECTION 
AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT ACTIONS TO EN-
FORCE ELECTION-RELATED DISABILITY ACCESS.—Sec-
tion 292(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 21062(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ 
and all that follows and inserting a period. 
SEC. 1504. DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS 
FOR BALLOTS. 
Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(7) DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(A) DURABILITY
REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—All voter-verified 
paper ballots required to be used under 
this Act shall be marked or printed on du-
rable paper. 
‘‘(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 
this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable
143 
of withstanding multiple counts and re-
counts by hand without compromising the 
fundamental integrity of the ballots, and 
capable 
of 
retaining 
the 
information 
marked or printed on them for the full du-
ration of a retention and preservation pe-
riod of 22 months. 
‘‘(B) READABILITY
REQUIREMENTS
FOR 
PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING 
DEVICE.—All voter-verified paper ballots com-
pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 
marking device shall be clearly readable by the 
voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses 
or other personal vision enhancing devices) and 
by an optical character recognition device or 
other device equipped for individuals with dis-
abilities.’’. 
SEC. 1505. PAPER BALLOT PRINTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a) of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended 
by section 1504, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(8) PRINTING
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
BAL-
LOTS.—All paper ballots used in an election for Fed-
eral office shall be printed on recycled paper.’’.
144 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to elections occurring 
on or after January 1, 2021. 
SEC. 1506. STUDY AND REPORT ON OPTIMAL BALLOT DE-
SIGN. 
(a) STUDY.—The Election Assistance Commission 
shall conduct a study of the best ways to design ballots 
used in elections for public office, including paper ballots 
and electronic or digital ballots, to minimize confusion and 
user errors. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2020, the 
Election Assistance Commission shall submit to Congress 
a report on the study conducted under subsection (a). 
SEC. 1507. PAPER BALLOT PRINTING REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 1504, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(8) PRINTING
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
BAL-
LOTS.—All paper ballots used in an election for Fed-
eral office shall be printed in the United States on 
paper manufactured in the United States.’’. 
SEC. 1508. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 
Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows:
145 
‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of this sec-
tion on and after January 1, 2006. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
CERTAIN
REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
section 1505(b) of the For the People Act of 
2019 and subparagraphs (B) and (C), the re-
quirements of this section which are first im-
posed on a State and jurisdiction pursuant to 
the amendments made by the Voter Confidence 
and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019 shall 
apply with respect to voting systems used for 
any election for Federal office held in 2020 or 
any succeeding year. 
‘‘(B) DELAY
FOR
JURISDICTIONS
USING 
CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR CERTAIN 
SYSTEMS
USING
OR
PRODUCING
VOTER- 
VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS IN 2018.— 
‘‘(i) DELAY.—In the case of a juris-
diction described in clause (ii), subpara-
graph (A) shall apply to a voting system in 
the jurisdiction as if the reference in such
146 
subparagraph to ‘2020’ were a reference to 
‘2022’, but only with respect to the fol-
lowing requirements of this section: 
‘‘(I) Paragraph (2)(A)(i)(I) of 
subsection (a) (relating to the use of 
voter-verified paper ballots). 
‘‘(II) Paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(I) and 
(II) of subsection (a) (relating to ac-
cess to verification from and casting 
of the durable paper ballot). 
‘‘(III) Paragraph (7) of sub-
section (a) (relating to durability and 
readability requirements for ballots). 
‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS
DESCRIBED.—A 
jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju-
risdiction— 
‘‘(I) which used voter verifiable 
paper record printers attached to di-
rect recording electronic voting ma-
chines, or which used other voting 
systems that used or produced paper 
records of the vote verifiable by voters 
but that are not in compliance with 
paragraphs (2)(A)(i)(I), (3)(B)(iii)(I) 
and (II), and (7) of subsection (a) (as
147 
amended or added by the Voter Con-
fidence and Increased Accessibility 
Act of 2019), for the administration 
of the regularly scheduled general 
election for Federal office held in No-
vember 2018; and 
‘‘(II) which will continue to use 
such printers or systems for the ad-
ministration of elections for Federal 
office held in years before 2022. 
‘‘(iii) MANDATORY
AVAILABILITY
OF 
PAPER
BALLOTS
AT
POLLING
PLACES 
USING
GRANDFATHERED
PRINTERS
AND 
SYSTEMS.— 
‘‘(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE 
OFFERED
AND
PROVIDED.—The ap-
propriate election official at each poll-
ing place that uses a printer or sys-
tem described in clause (ii)(I) for the 
administration of elections for Federal 
office shall offer each individual who 
is eligible to cast a vote in the election 
at the polling place the opportunity to 
cast the vote using a blank pre-print-
ed paper ballot which the individual
148 
may mark by hand and which is not 
produced by the direct recording elec-
tronic voting machine or other such 
system. The official shall provide the 
individual with the ballot and the sup-
plies necessary to mark the ballot, and 
shall ensure (to the greatest extent 
practicable) that the waiting period 
for the individual to cast a vote is the 
lesser of 30 minutes or the average 
waiting period for an individual who 
does not agree to cast the vote using 
such a paper ballot under this clause. 
‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.— 
Any paper ballot which is cast by an 
individual under this clause shall be 
counted and otherwise treated as a 
regular ballot for all purposes (includ-
ing by incorporating it into the final 
unofficial vote count (as defined by 
the State) for the precinct) and not as 
a provisional ballot, unless the indi-
vidual casting the ballot would have 
otherwise been required to cast a pro-
visional ballot.
149 
‘‘(III) POSTING
OF
NOTICE.— 
The appropriate election official shall 
ensure there is prominently displayed 
at each polling place a notice that de-
scribes the obligation of the official to 
offer individuals the opportunity to 
cast votes using a pre-printed blank 
paper ballot. 
‘‘(IV) TRAINING
OF
ELECTION 
OFFICIALS.—The chief State election 
official shall ensure that election offi-
cials at polling places in the State are 
aware of the requirements of this 
clause, including the requirement to 
display a notice under subclause (III), 
and are aware that it is a violation of 
the requirements of this title for an 
election official to fail to offer an indi-
vidual the opportunity to cast a vote 
using a blank pre-printed paper ballot. 
‘‘(V) 
PERIOD
OF
APPLICA-
BILITY.—The requirements of this 
clause apply only during the period in 
which the delay is in effect under 
clause (i).
150 
‘‘(C) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
JURISDICTIONS 
USING
CERTAIN
NONTABULATING
BALLOT 
MARKING DEVICES.—In the case of a jurisdic-
tion which uses a nontabulating ballot marking 
device which automatically deposits the ballot 
into a privacy sleeve, subparagraph (A) shall 
apply to a voting system in the jurisdiction as 
if the reference in such subparagraph to ‘any 
election for Federal office held in 2020 or any 
succeeding year’ were a reference to ‘elections 
for Federal office occurring held in 2022 or 
each succeeding year’, but only with respect to 
paragraph (3)(B)(iii)(II) of subsection (a) (re-
lating to nonmanual casting of the durable 
paper ballot).’’. 
Subtitle G—Provisional Ballots 
SEC. 1601. REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTING PROVISIONAL 
BALLOTS; ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM AND 
NONDISCRIMINATORY STANDARDS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 302 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing new subsections:
151 
‘‘(d) STATEWIDE COUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BAL-
LOTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 
(a)(4), notwithstanding the precinct or polling place 
at which a provisional ballot is cast within the State, 
the appropriate election official shall count each vote 
on such ballot for each election in which the indi-
vidual who cast such ballot is eligible to vote. 
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 
apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2020. 
‘‘(e) UNIFORM
AND NONDISCRIMINATORY STAND-
ARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Consistent with the re-
quirements of this section, each State shall establish 
uniform and nondiscriminatory standards for the 
issuance, handling, and counting of provisional bal-
lots. 
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 
apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2020.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(f) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(f)), as redesignated by sub-
section (a), is amended by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and in-
152 
serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsections (d)(2) and 
(e)(2), each State’’. 
Subtitle H—Early Voting 
SEC. 1611. EARLY VOTING. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 
as amended by section 1031(a) and section 1101(a), is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 306 and 307 as 
sections 307 and 308; and 
(2) by inserting after section 305 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 306. EARLY VOTING. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING VOTING PRIOR TO DATE OF ELEC-
TION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall allow indi-
viduals to vote in an election for Federal office dur-
ing an early voting period which occurs prior to the 
date of the election, in the same manner as voting 
is allowed on such date. 
‘‘(2) LENGTH
OF
PERIOD.—The early voting 
period required under this subsection with respect to 
an election shall consist of a period of consecutive 
days (including weekends) which begins on the 15th 
day before the date of the election (or, at the option
153 
of the State, on a day prior to the 15th day before 
the date of the election) and ends on the date of the 
election. 
‘‘(b) MINIMUM EARLY VOTING REQUIREMENTS.— 
Each polling place which allows voting during an early vot-
ing period under subsection (a) shall— 
‘‘(1) allow such voting for no less than 10 hours 
on each day; 
‘‘(2) have uniform hours each day for which 
such voting occurs; and 
‘‘(3) allow such voting to be held for some pe-
riod of time prior to 9:00 a.m (local time) and some 
period of time after 5:00 p.m. (local time). 
‘‘(c) LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES.— 
‘‘(1) 
PROXIMITY
TO
PUBLIC
TRANSPOR-
TATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, a State 
shall ensure that each polling place which allows vot-
ing during an early voting period under subsection 
(a) is located within walking distance of a stop on 
a public transportation route. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY
IN
RURAL
AREAS.—The 
State shall ensure that polling places which allow 
voting during an early voting period under sub-
section (a) will be located in rural areas of the State, 
and shall ensure that such polling places are located
154 
in communities which will provide the greatest op-
portunity for residents of rural areas to vote during 
the early voting period. 
‘‘(d) STANDARDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall issue 
standards for the administration of voting prior to 
the day scheduled for a Federal election. Such 
standards shall include the nondiscriminatory geo-
graphic placement of polling places at which such 
voting occurs. 
‘‘(2) DEVIATION.—The standards described in 
paragraph (1) shall permit States, upon providing 
adequate public notice, to deviate from any require-
ment in the case of unforeseen circumstances such 
as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or a change 
in voter turnout. 
‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 
2020.’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS-
SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 21101(b)), as amended by section 1101(b), is 
amended—
155 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) in the case of the recommendations with 
respect to section 306, June 30, 2020.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c) and section 
1101(d), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 306 and 307 as relating to sections 307 and 
308; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 305 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 306. Early voting.’’. 
Subtitle I—Voting by Mail 
SEC. 1621. VOTING BY MAIL. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 
as amended by section 1031(a), section 1101(a), and sec-
tion 1611(a), is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 307 and 308 as 
sections 308 and 309; and
156 
(2) by inserting after section 306 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 307. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 
MAIL. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an individual in a State is eli-
gible to cast a vote in an election for Federal office, the 
State may not impose any additional conditions or require-
ments on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote 
in such election by absentee ballot by mail, except as re-
quired under subsection (b) and except to the extent that 
the State imposes a deadline for requesting the ballot and 
related voting materials from the appropriate State or 
local election official and for returning the ballot to the 
appropriate State or local election official. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRING SIGNATURE VERIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—A State may not accept 
and process an absentee ballot submitted by any in-
dividual with respect to an election for Federal office 
unless the State verifies the identification of the in-
dividual by comparing the individual’s signature on 
the absentee ballot with the individual’s signature on 
the official list of registered voters in the State, in 
accordance with such procedures as the State may 
adopt (subject to the requirements of paragraph 
(2)).
159 
subsection, including the number of ballots 
determined valid as a result of such proc-
ess. 
‘‘(B) FEDERAL
ELECTION
CYCLE
DE-
FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the 
term ‘Federal election cycle’ means the period 
beginning on January 1 of any odd numbered 
year and ending on December 31 of the fol-
lowing year. 
‘‘(c) DEADLINE FOR PROVIDING BALLOTING MATE-
RIALS.—If an individual requests to vote by absentee bal-
lot in an election for Federal office, the appropriate State 
or local election official shall ensure that the ballot and 
relating voting materials are received by the individual— 
‘‘(1) not later than 2 weeks before the date of 
the election; or 
‘‘(2) in the case of a State which imposes a 
deadline for requesting an absentee ballot and re-
lated voting materials which is less than 2 weeks be-
fore the date of the election, as expeditiously as pos-
sible before the date of the election. 
‘‘(d) ACCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS-
ABILITIES.—Consistent with section 305, the State shall 
ensure that all absentee ballots and related voting mate-
rials in elections for Federal office are accessible to indi-
160 
viduals with disabilities in a manner that provides the 
same opportunity for access and participation (including 
with privacy and independence) as for other voters. 
‘‘(e) PAYMENT
OF POSTAGE
ON BALLOTS.—Con-
sistent with regulations of the United States Postal Serv-
ice, the State or the unit of local government responsible 
for the administration of an election for Federal office 
shall prepay the postage on any ballot in the election which 
is cast by mail. 
‘‘(f) UNIFORM DEADLINE
FOR ACCEPTANCE
OF 
MAILED BALLOTS.—If a ballot submitted by an individual 
by mail with respect to an election for Federal office in 
a State is postmarked on or before the date of the election, 
the State may not refuse to accept or process the ballot 
on the grounds that the individual did not meet a deadline 
for returning the ballot to the appropriate State or local 
election official. 
‘‘(g) PERMITTING VOTERS TO RETURN BALLOT TO 
POLLING PLACE ON DATE OF ELECTION.—The State 
shall permit an individual to whom a ballot in an election 
was provided under this section to cast the ballot on the 
date of election by delivering the ballot on that date to 
a polling place. 
‘‘(h) NO EFFECT ON BALLOTS SUBMITTED BY AB-
SENT MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS.—Nothing in
161 
this section may be construed to affect the treatment of 
any ballot submitted by an individual who is entitled to 
vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas 
Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 
‘‘(i) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to elections held on or after January 1, 
2020.’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION AS-
SISTANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 21101(b)), as amended by section 1101(b) and sec-
tion 1611(b), is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(4); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(6) in the case of the recommendations with 
respect to section 307, June 30, 2020.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 
1101(d), and section 1611(c), is amended—
162 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 307 and 308 as relating to sections 308 and 
309; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 306 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 307. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’. 
(d) DEVELOPMENT OF BIOMETRIC VERIFICATION.— 
(1) DEVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS.—The Na-
tional Institute of Standards, in consultation with 
the Election Assistance Commission, shall develop 
standards for the use of biometric methods which 
could be used voluntarily in place of the signature 
verification requirements of section 307(b) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by sub-
section (a)) for purposes of verifying the identifica-
tion of an individual voting by absentee ballot in 
elections for Federal office. 
(2) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The Na-
tional Institute of Standards shall solicit comments 
from the public in the development of standards 
under paragraph (1). 
(3) DEADLINE.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the National 
Institute of Standards shall publish the standards 
developed under paragraph (1).
163 
Subtitle 
J—Absent 
Uniformed 
Services Voters and Overseas 
Voters 
SEC. 1701. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON AVAILABILITY AND 
TRANSMISSION OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 
Section 102(c) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-
zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(c)) is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) REPORTS
ON AVAILABILITY, TRANSMISSION, 
AND RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(1) PRE-ELECTION
REPORT
ON
ABSENTEE 
BALLOT AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 55 days be-
fore any regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office, each State shall submit a report to 
the Attorney General, the Election Assistance Com-
mission (hereafter in this subsection referred to as 
the ‘Commission’), and the Presidential Designee, 
and make that report publicly available that same 
day, certifying that absentee ballots for the election 
are or will be available for transmission to absent 
uniformed services voters and overseas voters by not 
later than 45 days before the election. The report 
shall be in a form prescribed jointly by the Attorney 
General and the Commission and shall require the 
State to certify specific information about ballot
164 
availability from each unit of local government which 
will administer the election. 
‘‘(2) PRE-ELECTION
REPORT
ON
ABSENTEE 
BALLOT TRANSMISSION.—Not later than 43 days be-
fore any regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office, each State shall submit a report to 
the Attorney General, the Commission, and the 
Presidential Designee, and make that report publicly 
available that same day, certifying whether all ab-
sentee ballots have been transmitted by not later 
than 45 days before the election to all qualified ab-
sent uniformed services and overseas voters whose 
requests were received at least 45 days before the 
election. The report shall be in a form prescribed 
jointly by the Attorney General and the Commission, 
and shall require the State to certify specific infor-
mation about ballot transmission, including the total 
numbers of ballot requests received and ballots 
transmitted, from each unit of local government 
which will administer the election. 
‘‘(3) POST-ELECTION REPORT ON NUMBER OF 
ABSENTEE
BALLOTS
TRANSMITTED
AND
RE-
CEIVED.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 
each regularly scheduled general election for Federal 
office, each State and unit of local government
165 
which administered the election shall (through the 
State, in the case of a unit of local government) sub-
mit a report to the Attorney General, the Commis-
sion, and the Presidential Designee on the combined 
number of absentee ballots transmitted to absent 
uniformed services voters and overseas voters for the 
election and the combined number of such ballots 
which were returned by such voters and cast in the 
election, and shall make such report available to the 
general public that same day.’’. 
SEC. 1702. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF CIVIL PENALTIES AND PRI-
VATE RIGHTS OF ACTION.—Section 105 of the Uniformed 
and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 
20307) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT. 
‘‘(a) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 
bring civil action in an appropriate district court for 
such declaratory or injunctive relief as may be nec-
essary to carry out this title. 
‘‘(2) PENALTY.—In a civil action brought under 
paragraph (1), if the court finds that the State vio-
lated any provision of this title, it may, to vindicate
166 
the public interest, assess a civil penalty against the 
State— 
‘‘(A) in an amount not to exceed $110,000 
for each such violation, in the case of a first 
violation; or 
‘‘(B) in an amount not to exceed $220,000 
for each such violation, for any subsequent vio-
lation. 
‘‘(3) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 
December 31 of each year, the Attorney General 
shall submit to Congress an annual report on any 
civil action brought under paragraph (1) during the 
preceding year. 
‘‘(b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—A person who is 
aggrieved by a State’s violation of this title may bring a 
civil action in an appropriate district court for such declar-
atory or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out 
this title. 
‘‘(c) STATE AS ONLY NECESSARY DEFENDANT.—In 
any action brought under this section, the only necessary 
party defendant is the State, and it shall not be a defense 
to any such action that a local election official or a unit 
of local government is not named as a defendant, notwith-
standing that a State has exercised the authority described 
in section 576 of the Military and Overseas Voter Em-
167 
powerment Act to delegate to another jurisdiction in the 
State any duty or responsibility which is the subject of 
an action brought under this section.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to violations alleged 
to have occurred on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
SEC. 1703. REVISIONS TO 45-DAY ABSENTEE BALLOT 
TRANSMISSION RULE. 
(a) REPEAL OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Uni-
formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 
(52 U.S.C. 20302) is amended by striking sub-
section (g). 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
102(a)(8)(A) 
of 
such 
Act 
(52 
U.S.C. 
20302(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘except as 
provided in subsection (g),’’. 
(b) REQUIRING USE OF EXPRESS DELIVERY IN CASE 
OF FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENT.—Section 102 of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 20302), as amended by subsection 
(a), is amended by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing new subsection:
168 
‘‘(g) REQUIRING USE OF EXPRESS DELIVERY IN 
CASE
OF FAILURE TO TRANSMIT BALLOTS WITHIN 
DEADLINES.— 
‘‘(1) TRANSMISSION OF BALLOT BY EXPRESS 
DELIVERY.—If a State fails to meet the requirement 
of subsection (a)(8)(A) to transmit a validly re-
quested absentee ballot to an absent uniformed serv-
ices voter or overseas voter not later than 45 days 
before the election (in the case in which the request 
is received at least 45 days before the election)— 
‘‘(A) the State shall transmit the ballot to 
the voter by express delivery; or 
‘‘(B) in the case of a voter who has des-
ignated that absentee ballots be transmitted 
electronically in accordance with subsection 
(f)(1), the State shall transmit the ballot to the 
voter electronically. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR TRANSMISSION FEWER 
THAN 40 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.—If, in car-
rying out paragraph (1), a State transmits an ab-
sentee ballot to an absent uniformed services voter 
or overseas voter fewer than 40 days before the elec-
tion, the State shall enable the ballot to be returned 
by the voter by express delivery, except that in the 
case of an absentee ballot of an absent uniformed
169 
services voter for a regularly scheduled general elec-
tion for Federal office, the State may satisfy the re-
quirement of this paragraph by notifying the voter 
of the procedures for the collection and delivery of 
such ballots under section 103A. 
‘‘(3) PAYMENT FOR USE OF EXPRESS DELIV-
ERY.—The State shall be responsible for the pay-
ment of the costs associated with the use of express 
delivery for the transmittal of ballots under this sub-
section.’’. 
(c) CLARIFICATION
OF
TREATMENT
OF
WEEK-
ENDS.—Section 102(a)(8)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
20302(a)(8)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘the election;’’ 
and inserting the following: ‘‘the election (or, if the 45th 
day preceding the election is a weekend or legal public hol-
iday, not later than the most recent weekday which pre-
cedes such 45th day and which is not a legal public holi-
day, but only if the request is received by at least such 
most recent weekday);’’. 
SEC. 1704. USE OF SINGLE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA-
TION FOR SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 104 of the Uniformed and 
Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20306) 
is amended to read as follows:
170 
‘‘SEC. 104. USE OF SINGLE APPLICATION FOR SUBSEQUENT 
ELECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If a State accepts and processes 
an official post card form (prescribed under section 101) 
submitted by an absent uniformed services voter or over-
seas voter for simultaneous voter registration and absen-
tee ballot application (in accordance with section 
102(a)(4)) and the voter requests that the application be 
considered an application for an absentee ballot for each 
subsequent election for Federal office held in the State 
through the next regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office (including any runoff elections which may 
occur as a result of the outcome of such general election), 
the State shall provide an absentee ballot to the voter for 
each such subsequent election. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR VOTERS CHANGING REGISTRA-
TION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to a 
voter registered to vote in a State for any election held 
after the voter notifies the State that the voter no longer 
wishes to be registered to vote in the State or after the 
State determines that the voter has registered to vote in 
another State or is otherwise no longer eligible to vote in 
the State. 
‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OF REFUSAL OF APPLICATION ON 
GROUNDS
OF EARLY SUBMISSION.—A State may not 
refuse to accept or to process, with respect to any election
171 
for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter registration 
application or absentee ballot application (including the 
postcard form prescribed under section 101) submitted by 
an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter on 
the grounds that the voter submitted the application be-
fore the first date on which the State otherwise accepts 
or processes such applications for that election which are 
submitted by absentee voters who are not members of the 
uniformed services or overseas citizens.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to voter registration 
and absentee ballot applications which are submitted to 
a State or local election official on or after the date of 
the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 1705. EXTENDING GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR 
VOTING PURPOSES TO FAMILY MEMBERS OF 
ABSENT MILITARY PERSONNEL. 
Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 
Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(j) GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR SPOUSES AND 
DEPENDENTS
OF ABSENT MEMBERS
OF UNIFORMED 
SERVICE.—For the purposes of voting for in any election 
for any Federal office or any State or local office, a spouse 
or dependent of an individual who is an absent uniformed
172 
services voter described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sec-
tion 107(1) shall not, solely by reason of that individual’s 
absence and without regard to whether or not such spouse 
or dependent is accompanying that individual— 
‘‘(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or 
domicile in that State, without regard to whether or 
not that individual intends to return to that State; 
‘‘(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or 
domicile in any other State; or 
‘‘(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or 
a resident of any other State.’’. 
SEC. 1706. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply 
with respect to elections occurring on or after January 1, 
2020. 
Subtitle K—Poll Worker 
Recruitment and Training 
SEC. 1801. GRANTS TO STATES FOR POLL WORKER RE-
CRUITMENT AND TRAINING. 
(a) GRANTS
BY ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS-
SION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 
Commission (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Commis-
sion’’) shall, subject to the availability of appropria-
tions provided to carry out this section, make a
173 
grant to each eligible State for recruiting and train-
ing individuals to serve as poll workers on dates of 
elections for public office. 
(2) USE OF COMMISSION MATERIALS.—In car-
rying out activities with a grant provided under this 
section, the recipient of the grant shall use the man-
ual prepared by the Commission on successful prac-
tices for poll worker recruiting, training and reten-
tion as an interactive training tool, and shall develop 
training programs with the participation and input 
of experts in adult learning. 
(3) 
ACCESS
AND
CULTURAL
CONSIDER-
ATIONS.—The Commission shall ensure that the 
manual described in paragraph (2) provides training 
in methods that will enable poll workers to provide 
access and delivery of services in a culturally com-
petent manner to all voters who use their services, 
including those with limited English proficiency, di-
verse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, 
and regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gen-
der identity. These methods must ensure that each 
voter will have access to poll worker services that are 
delivered in a manner that meets the unique needs 
of the voter. 
(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY.—
174 
(1) APPLICATION.—Each State that desires to 
receive a payment under this section shall submit an 
application for the payment to the Commission at 
such time and in such manner and containing such 
information as the Commission shall require. 
(2) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each appli-
cation submitted under paragraph (1) shall— 
(A) describe the activities for which assist-
ance under this section is sought; 
(B) provide assurances that the funds pro-
vided under this section will be used to supple-
ment and not supplant other funds used to 
carry out the activities; 
(C) provide assurances that the State will 
furnish the Commission with information on the 
number of individuals who served as poll work-
ers after recruitment and training with the 
funds provided under this section; and 
(D) provide such additional information 
and certifications as the Commission deter-
mines to be essential to ensure compliance with 
the requirements of this section. 
(c) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—
175 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 
made to a State under this section shall be equal to 
the product of— 
(A) the aggregate amount made available 
for grants to States under this section; and 
(B) the voting age population percentage 
for the State. 
(2) VOTING AGE POPULATION PERCENTAGE DE-
FINED.—In paragraph (1), the ‘‘voting age popu-
lation percentage’’ for a State is the quotient of— 
(A) the voting age population of the State 
(as determined on the basis of the most recent 
information available from the Bureau of the 
Census); and 
(B) the total voting age population of all 
States (as determined on the basis of the most 
recent information available from the Bureau of 
the Census). 
(d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 
(1) REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF GRANTS.—Not 
later than 6 months after the date on which the 
final grant is made under this section, each recipient 
of a grant shall submit a report to the Commission 
on the activities conducted with the funds provided 
by the grant.
176 
(2) REPORTS BY COMMISSION.—Not later than 
1 year after the date on which the final grant is 
made under this section, the Commission shall sub-
mit a report to Congress on the grants made under 
this section and the activities carried out by recipi-
ents with the grants, and shall include in the report 
such recommendations as the Commission considers 
appropriate. 
(e) FUNDING.— 
(1) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNT AP-
PROPRIATED.—Any amount appropriated to carry 
out this section shall remain available without fiscal 
year limitation until expended. 
(2) 
ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—Of 
the 
amount appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out 
this section, not more than 3 percent shall be avail-
able for administrative expenses of the Commission. 
SEC. 1802. STATE DEFINED. 
In this subtitle, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the Dis-
trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Is-
lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands.