Automatic Voter Registration Act
Bill: H.R.2301 | Sponsor: Rep. Cicilline, David N. (D-RI)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Automatic Voter Registration Act
This bill provides for automatic voter registration of individuals through state motor vehicle authorities.
Specifically, the bill requires each state motor vehicle authority, upon receiving specified identifying information regarding an individual who requests services from the authority, to transmit the identifying information to the appropriate state election official. The state election official must then notify the individual that the individual shall be automatically registered to vote in federal elections unless the individual declines to be registered to vote, does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements, or is already registered to vote. The bill provides an individual with a 21-calendar day period to opt out of automatic voter registration.
A state may only use identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.

To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require each 
     State to ensure that each individual who provides identifying 
   information to the State motor vehicle authority is automatically 
 registered to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State 
 unless the individual does not meet the eligibility requirements for 
 registering to vote in such elections or declines to be registered to 
            vote in such elections, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Automatic Voter Registration Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH STATE MOTOR VEHICLE 
              AUTHORITIES.

    (a) Automatic Voter Registration.--Section 5 of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504) is amended to read as 
follows:

``SEC. 5. AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION THROUGH MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITY.

    ``(a) Transmission of Information to Election Officials.--
            ``(1) Transmission.--Each State's motor vehicle authority, 
        upon receiving the identifying information described in 
        paragraph (2) with respect to any individual who requests 
        services from the authority, shall transmit the identifying 
        information to the appropriate State election official.
            ``(2) Identifying information described.--The identifying 
        information described in this paragraph with respect to any 
        individual is as follows:
                    ``(A) The individual's legal name.
                    ``(B) The individual's age.
                    ``(C) The individual's residence.
                    ``(D) The individual's citizenship status.
                    ``(E) The individual's electronic signature.
            ``(3) Restriction on use of information on citizenship 
        status.--A State may not use any identifying information 
        regarding an individual's citizenship status which is 
        transmitted under this subsection for any purpose other than 
        determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in 
        elections for Federal office.
    ``(b) Notification to Individuals.--Upon receiving the identifying 
information with respect to an individual under subsection (a), the 
appropriate State election official shall issue a notification to the 
individual containing--
            ``(1) a statement that, unless the individual notifies the 
        election official prior to the expiration of the 21-calendar 
        day period which begins on the date the official issued the 
        notification that the individual declines to be registered to 
        vote in elections for Federal office held in the State, the 
        individual shall be considered to have completed and submitted 
        a voter registration application for purposes of this Act; and
            ``(2) a description of the process by which the individual 
        may decline to be registered to vote in elections for Federal 
        office in the State.
    ``(c) Automatic Registration of Eligible Individuals.--Upon the 
expiration of the 21-calendar day period which begins on the date the 
appropriate State election official issues a notification to an 
individual under subsection (b)(1), the official shall ensure that the 
individual is registered to vote in elections for Federal office held 
in the State unless--
            ``(1) the official determines that the individual does not 
        meet the eligibility requirements for registering to vote in 
        such elections;
            ``(2) prior to the expiration of such 21-calendar day 
        period, the individual notifies the official that the 
        individual declines to be registered to vote in such elections; 
        or
            ``(3) the individual is already registered to vote in such 
        elections.
    ``(d) Application to Territories.--This section shall apply with 
respect to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 
United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands in the same manner as this section applies to a 
State.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Timing of Registration Prior 
to Elections.--Section 8(a)(1)(A) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
20507(a)(1)(A)) is amended to read as follows:
                    ``(A) in the case of registration through a motor 
                vehicle authority under section 5, if the identifying 
                information with respect to the individual is 
                transmitted by the authority to the appropriate State 
                election official under section 5(a)(1) not later than 
                the lesser of 30 days, or the period provided by State 
                law, before the date of the election;''.
    (c) Other Conforming Amendment.--Section 4(a)(1) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 20503(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(1) through the State motor vehicle authority pursuant to 
        section 5;''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take 
effect upon the expiration of the 180-day period which begins on the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
    (b) Timing of Automatic Registration of Individuals Providing 
Identifying Information to Motor Vehicle Authority Prior to Effective 
Date.--
            (1) Retroactive automatic registration requirements.--For 
        purposes of section 5 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
        1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504), as amended by section 2(a), if an 
        individual provided identifying information (as described in 
        section 5(a)(2) of such Act) to a State motor vehicle authority 
        at any time during the period described in paragraph (2), the 
        authority shall transmit such information to the appropriate 
        State election official pursuant to section 5(a)(1) of such Act 
        not later than such effective date, unless the motor vehicle 
        authority determines that the information is no longer valid 
        with respect to the individual.
            (2) Period described.--The period described in this 
        paragraph is the period which begins on the date which is 2 
        years prior to the date of the enactment of this Act and which 
        ends on the effective date described in subsection (a).
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