Voter Information Hotline Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.642 | Sponsor: Rep. Brown, Anthony G. (D-MD)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Voter Information Hotline Act of 2021
This bill directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to coordinate the establishment of a state-based response system for responding to questions and complaints from individuals related to registering to vote or voting in federal elections. Further, DOJ must establish and operate a toll-free telephone service through which individuals may (1) connect directly to the state-based response system; (2) obtain information on voting in federal elections; and (3) report information to DOJ on problems encountered in registering to vote or voting, including incidences of voter intimidation or suppression.
Additionally, the bill establishes the Voter Hotline Task Force to provide ongoing analysis and assessment of the telephone service.

To direct the Attorney General to establish a voter information 
response system and hotline to respond to the questions and complaints 
   of voters in elections for Federal office, 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 ``Voter Information Hotline Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. VOTER INFORMATION RESPONSE SYSTEMS AND HOTLINE.

    (a) Establishment and Operation of Systems and Services.--
            (1) State-based response systems.--The Attorney General 
        shall coordinate the establishment of a State-based response 
        system for responding to questions and complaints from 
        individuals voting or seeking to vote, or registering to vote 
        or seeking to register to vote, in elections for Federal 
        office. Such system shall provide--
                    (A) State-specific, same-day, and immediate 
                assistance to such individuals, including information 
                on how to register to vote, the location and hours of 
                operation of polling places, and how to obtain absentee 
                ballots; and
                    (B) State-specific, same-day, and immediate 
                assistance to individuals encountering problems with 
                registering to vote or voting, including individuals 
                encountering intimidation or deceptive practices.
            (2) Hotline.--The Attorney General, in consultation with 
        State election officials, shall establish and operate a toll-
        free telephone service, using a telephone number that is 
        accessible throughout the United States and that uses easily 
        identifiable numerals, through which individuals throughout the 
        United States--
                    (A) may connect directly to the State-based 
                response system described in paragraph (1) with respect 
                to the State involved;
                    (B) may obtain information on voting in elections 
                for Federal office, including information on how to 
                register to vote in such elections, the locations and 
                hours of operation of polling places, and how to obtain 
                absentee ballots; and
                    (C) may report information to the Attorney General 
                on problems encountered in registering to vote or 
                voting, including incidences of voter intimidation or 
                suppression.
            (3) Collaboration with state and local election 
        officials.--
                    (A) Collection of information from states.--The 
                Attorney General shall coordinate the collection of 
                information on State and local election laws and 
                policies, including information on the statewide 
                computerized voter registration lists maintained under 
                title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, so that 
                individuals who contact the free telephone service 
                established under paragraph (2) on the date of an 
                election for Federal office may receive an immediate 
                response on that day.
                    (B) Forwarding questions and complaints to 
                states.--If an individual contacts the free telephone 
                service established under paragraph (2) on the date of 
                an election for Federal office with a question or 
                complaint with respect to a particular State or 
                jurisdiction within a State, the Attorney General shall 
                forward the question or complaint immediately to the 
                appropriate election official of the State or 
                jurisdiction so that the official may answer the 
                question or remedy the complaint on that date.
            (4) Consultation requirements for development of systems 
        and services.--The Attorney General shall ensure that the 
        State-based response system under paragraph (1) and the free 
        telephone service under paragraph (2) are each developed in 
        consultation with civil rights organizations, voting rights 
        groups, State and local election officials, voter protection 
        groups, and other interested community organizations, 
        especially those that have experience in the operation of 
        similar systems and services.
    (b) Use of Service by Individuals With Disabilities and Individuals 
With Limited English Language Proficiency.--The Attorney General shall 
design and operate the telephone service established under this section 
in a manner that ensures that individuals with disabilities are fully 
able to use the service, and that assistance is provided in any 
language in which the State (or any jurisdiction in the State) is 
required to provide election materials under section 203 of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965.
    (c) Voter Hotline Task Force.--
            (1) Appointment by attorney general.--The Attorney General 
        shall appoint individuals (in such number as the Attorney 
        General considers appropriate but in no event fewer than 3) to 
        serve on a Voter Hotline Task Force to provide ongoing analysis 
        and assessment of the operation of the telephone service 
        established under this section, and shall give special 
        consideration in making appointments to the Task Force to 
        individuals who represent civil rights organizations. At least 
        one member of the Task Force shall be a representative of an 
        organization promoting voting rights or civil rights which has 
        experience in the operation of similar telephone services or in 
        protecting the rights of individuals to vote, especially 
        individuals who are members of racial, ethnic, or linguistic 
        minorities or of communities who have been adversely affected 
        by efforts to suppress voting rights.
            (2) Eligibility.--An individual shall be eligible to serve 
        on the Task Force under this subsection if the individual meets 
        such criteria as the Attorney General may establish, except 
        that an individual may not serve on the task force if the 
        individual has been convicted of any criminal offense relating 
        to voter intimidation or voter suppression.
            (3) Term of service.--An individual appointed to the Task 
        Force shall serve a single term of 2 years, except that the 
        initial terms of the members first appointed to the Task Force 
        shall be staggered so that there are at least 3 individuals 
        serving on the Task Force during each year. A vacancy in the 
        membership of the Task Force shall be filled in the same manner 
        as the original appointment.
            (4) No compensation for service.--Members of the Task Force 
        shall serve without pay, but shall receive travel expenses, 
        including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with 
        applicable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 
        5, United States Code.
    (d) Bi-Annual Report to Congress.--Not later than March 1 of each 
odd-numbered year, the Attorney General shall submit a report to 
Congress on the operation of the telephone service established under 
this section during the previous 2 years, and shall include in the 
report--
            (1) an enumeration of the number and type of calls that 
        were received by the service;
            (2) a compilation and description of the reports made to 
        the service by individuals citing instances of voter 
        intimidation or suppression, together with a description of any 
        actions taken in response to such instances of voter 
        intimidation or suppression;
            (3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the service in 
        making information available to all households in the United 
        States with telephone service;
            (4) any recommendations developed by the Task Force 
        established under subsection (c) with respect to how voting 
        systems may be maintained or upgraded to better accommodate 
        voters and better ensure the integrity of elections, including 
        but not limited to identifying how to eliminate coordinated 
        voter suppression efforts and how to establish effective 
        mechanisms for distributing updates on changes to voting 
        requirements; and
            (5) any recommendations on best practices for the State-
        based response systems established under subsection (a)(1).
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) Authorization.--There are authorized to be appropriated 
        to the Attorney General for fiscal year 2021 and each 
        succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to carry 
        out this section.
            (2) Set-aside for outreach.--Of the amounts appropriated to 
        carry out this section for a fiscal year pursuant to the 
        authorization under paragraph (1), not less than 15 percent 
        shall be used for outreach activities to make the public aware 
        of the availability of the telephone service established under 
        this section, with an emphasis on outreach to individuals with 
        disabilities and individuals with limited proficiency in the 
        English language.
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