I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6298 
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require States 
to designate public high schools as voter registration agencies, to direct 
such schools to conduct voter registration drives for students attending 
such schools, to direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to 
reimburse such schools for the costs of conducting such voter registration 
drives, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 28, 2018 
Ms. WILSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to 
require States to designate public high schools as voter 
registration agencies, to direct such schools to conduct 
voter registration drives for students attending such 
schools, to direct the Secretary of Education to make 
grants to reimburse such schools for the costs of con-
ducting such voter registration drives, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘High School Voter Em-
powerment Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AS VOTER 
REGISTRATION AGENCIES. 
(a) REQUIRING DESIGNATION BY STATES.—Section 
7(a)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
(52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(2)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (A); 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(C) all public high schools (as defined in sec-
tion 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)) in the State.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO OP-
TIONAL DESIGNATION OF OTHER PUBLIC SCHOOLS.— 
Section 
7(a)(3)(B)(i) 
of 
such 
Act 
(52 
U.S.C. 
20506(a)(3)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘public 
schools,’’ and inserting ‘‘public elementary schools (as de-
fined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)),’’. 
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SEC. 3. REQUIRING SCHOOLS TO CONDUCT VOTER REG-
ISTRATION DRIVES FOR STUDENTS. 
(a) VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES.—Section 7 of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20506) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULES FOR PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS.— 
‘‘(1) VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES.—A voter 
registration agency that is a public high school shall, 
at least once during each academic year, conduct a 
voter registration drive, and set as a goal for that 
year the registration of all students in the school 
who are— 
‘‘(A) enrolled in a class in American Gov-
ernment or Economics; 
‘‘(B) at least 17 years old as of April 10 
of that year; and 
‘‘(C) are eligible to register to vote in elec-
tions for Federal office held in the State. 
‘‘(2) USE OF VOTING MACHINES FOR STUDENT 
ELECTIONS.—At the request of a public high school 
which is operating a high school voter registration 
program under paragraph (1), the appropriate elec-
tion official of the State may enter into an agree-
ment under which the official provides the school 
with voting machines and related equipment and 
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supplies for use in a student council or similar elec-
tion held at the school, under such terms and condi-
tions as the school and official may determine.’’. 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS TO COVER COSTS OF 
VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES.— 
(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Sec-
retary of Education (hereafter referred to as the 
‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish and operate a program 
under which the Secretary shall make a payment 
during a year to an eligible public high school to re-
imburse the school for the reasonable costs incurred 
by the school in carrying out a voter registration 
drive under section 7(e) of the National Voter Reg-
istration Act of 1993 (as added by subsection (a)) 
during that year. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—A public high school is eligi-
ble to receive a payment under the program under 
this subsection with respect to a voter registration 
drive if the school submits to the Secretary, at such 
time and in such form as the Secretary may require, 
an application containing— 
(A) a statement of the reasonable costs in-
curred by the school in carrying out the voter 
registration drive, including the information 
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used by the school to determine the amount of 
such costs; 
(B) a description of the activities con-
ducted under the drive, including the number of 
students registered; and 
(C) such other information and assurances 
as the Secretary may require. 
(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated for pay-
ments under this subsection such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal year 2019 and each succeeding 
fiscal year. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
take effect upon the expiration of the 90-day period which 
begins on the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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