Our Homes, Our Votes Act
Bill: H.R.2215 | Sponsor: Rep. Garcia, Jesus G. "Chuy" (D-IL)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Our Homes, Our Votes Act
This bill facilitates voter registration for residents of certain federally assisted housing for the purpose of federal elections.
Specifically, the bill requires each lease and annual income recertification for such housing that is administered by a public housing agency (PHA) to include a voter registration application. A PHA must send any completed application to state election officials.
The bill also treats owners of federally assisted housing as voter registration agencies.

To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to treat the lease 
 for a dwelling unit under certain federally assisted housing programs 
 as a simultaneous application for voter registration in elections for 
  Federal office, to designate owners of dwelling units under certain 
federally assisted housing programs as voter registration agencies for 
             purposes of such Act, 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 ``Our Homes, Our Votes Act''.

SEC. 2. PROMOTING VOTER REGISTRATION FOR RESIDENTS OF UNITS UNDER 
              CERTAIN FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING PROGRAMS.

    (a) Treatment of Lease as Simultaneous Application for Voter 
Registration.--
            (1) In general.--The National Voter Registration Act of 
        1993 is amended by inserting after section 5 (52 U.S.C. 20504) 
        the following new section:

``SEC. 5A. SIMULTANEOUS APPLICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRATION AND LEASE 
              FOR PHA-ASSISTED HOUSING.

    ``(a) In General.--
            ``(1) Application for voter registration.--Each lease and 
        annual income recertification for a PHA-assisted dwelling unit 
        (as such term is defined in subsection (e)) submitted to the 
        applicable public housing agency for such unit shall serve as 
        an application for voter registration with respect to elections 
        for Federal office for each lessee who signs the lease unless 
        the lessee fails to sign the voter registration application.
            ``(2) Update.--An application for voter registration 
        submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be considered as 
        updating any previous voter registration by the applicant.
    ``(b) Limitation on Use of Information.--No information relating to 
the failure of a lessee of PHA-assisted dwelling unit to sign a voter 
registration application may be used for any purpose other than voter 
registration.
    ``(c) Forms and Procedures.--
            ``(1) Inclusion.--Each owner of a PHA-assisted dwelling 
        unit shall include a voter registration application form for 
        elections for Federal office as part of a lease for such 
        dwelling unit.
            ``(2) Included information.--The voter registration 
        application portion of a lease for a PHA-assisted dwelling 
        unit--
                    ``(A) may not require any information that 
                duplicates information required in the lease portion of 
                the form (other than a second signature or other 
                information necessary under subparagraph (C));
                    ``(B) may require only the minimum amount of 
                information necessary to--
                            ``(i) prevent duplicate voter 
                        registrations; and
                            ``(ii) enable State election officials to 
                        assess the eligibility of the applicant and to 
                        administer voter registration and other parts 
                        of the election process;
                    ``(C) shall include a statement that--
                            ``(i) states each eligibility requirement 
                        (including citizenship);
                            ``(ii) contains an attestation that the 
                        applicant meets each such requirement; and
                            ``(iii) requires the signature of the 
                        applicant, under penalty of perjury;
                    ``(D) shall include, in print that is identical to 
                that used in the attestation portion of the 
                application--
                            ``(i) the information required in 
                        subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 8(a)(5) of 
                        this Act;
                            ``(ii) a statement that, if an applicant 
                        declines to register to vote, the fact that the 
                        applicant has declined to register will remain 
                        confidential and will be used only for voter 
                        registration purposes; and
                            ``(iii) a statement that if an applicant 
                        does register to vote, the office at which the 
                        applicant submits a voter registration 
                        application will remain confidential and will 
                        be used only for voter registration purposes; 
                        and
                    ``(E) shall be made available (as submitted by the 
                applicant, or in machine readable or other format) to 
                the appropriate State election official as provided by 
                State law.
    ``(d) Transmittal.--
            ``(1) By owner.--In the case of lease or annual income 
        recertification for a PHA-assistance dwelling unit described in 
        subsection (e)(1)(B), the owner of the dwelling unit shall 
        transmit a completed voter registration portion of a lease or 
        annual income recertification to the public housing agency 
        providing assistance with respect to such unit not later than 
        10 days after the date of acceptance.
            ``(2) By pha.--Subject to paragraph (3), a completed voter 
        registration portion of a lease or annual income 
        recertification for a PHA-assisted dwelling unit accepted by 
        the public housing agency as owner of such a dwelling unit, or 
        pursuant to paragraph (1), shall be transmitted to the 
        appropriate State election official not later than 10 days 
        after the date of acceptance.
            ``(3) Applications accepted within 5 days of registration 
        deadline.--If a registration application is accepted by a 
        public housing agency pursuant to paragraph (2) within 5 days 
        before the last day for registration to vote in an election, 
        the application shall be transmitted to the appropriate State 
        election official not later than 5 days after the date of 
        acceptance.
    ``(e) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) PHA-assisted dwelling unit.--The term `PHA-assisted 
        dwelling unit' means a dwelling unit--
                    ``(A) in public housing, as such term is defined in 
                section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 
                (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)); or
                    ``(B) that is assisted under the program for 
                tenant-based rental assistance under section 8(o) of 
                the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
                1437f(o)), including the program under paragraph (13) 
                of such section 8(o).
            ``(2) Public housing agency.--The term `public housing 
        agency' has the meaning given such term in section 3(b) of the 
        United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
            ``(3) Owner.--The term `owner' means, with respect to a 
        PHA-assisted dwelling unit--
                    ``(A) in the case of a unit described in paragraph 
                (1)(A) of this subsection, the public housing agency 
                that owns or operates such unit; or
                    ``(B) in the case of a unit described in paragraph 
                (1)(B) of this subsection, the private person or entity 
                having the legal right to lease such unit.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to leases entered into on or after the 
        expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
    (b) Treatment of Owners of Units as Voter Registration Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--Section 7 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20506) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following 
                        new subparagraph:
            ``(C) each owner (as such term is defined in subsection 
        (e)) of a dwelling unit assisted under a covered federally 
        assisted housing program (as such term is defined in such 
        subsection) located within such State, subject to section 5A in 
        the case of an owner described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of 
        subsection (e)(1), except that such an owner shall be a voter 
        registration agency for purposes of this section only with 
        respect to lessees of such dwelling units of such owner located 
        within such State.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(e) Definitions.--As used in this section:
            ``(1) Covered federally assisted housing program.--The term 
        `covered federally assisted housing program' means--
                    ``(A) the public housing program under title I of 
                the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 
                et seq.);
                    ``(B) the programs for rental housing assistance 
                under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 
                1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), including--
                            ``(i) the program for tenant-based rental 
                        assistance under subsection (o) of such section 
                        8; and
                            ``(ii) the program for project-based rental 
                        assistance under such section 8;
                    ``(C) the program for supportive housing for the 
                elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 
                (12 U.S.C. 1701q);
                    ``(D) the program for supportive housing for 
                persons with disabilities under section 811 of the 
                Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 
                U.S.C. 8013);
                    ``(E) the program for housing opportunities for 
                persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title VIII of the 
                Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 
                U.S.C. 12901 et seq.);
                    ``(F) the program under subtitle A of title IV of 
                the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                11360 et seq.);
                    ``(G) the HOME Investment Partnerships Program 
                under subtitle A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez 
                National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et 
                seq.);
                    ``(H) the program under paragraph (3) of section 
                221(d) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
                1715l(d)(3)) that bears interest at a rate determined 
                under the proviso under paragraph (5) of such section 
                221(d);
                    ``(I) the rental assistance program under section 
                236 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1);
                    ``(J) the programs for rural housing assistance 
                provided under sections 514, 515, 516, 522, and 538 of 
                the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, 1486, 
                1490m, and 1490p-2);
                    ``(K) the low income housing tax credit program 
                under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
                (26 U.S.C. 42);
                    ``(L) the program for rural housing vouchers under 
                section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 
                1490r); and
                    ``(M) the program for assistance from the Housing 
                Trust Fund established under section 1338 of the 
                Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and 
                Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568).
            ``(2) Owner.--The term `owner' means, with respect to a 
        dwelling unit assisted under a covered federally assisted 
        housing program--
                    ``(A) in the case of a dwelling unit assisted under 
                a program specified in subparagraph (A) or (B)(1) of 
                paragraph (1) of this subsection, the public housing 
                agency that owns or operates such unit or provides 
                rental assistance with respect to such unit, as 
                applicable; or
                    ``(B) in the case of a dwelling unit assisted under 
                any other covered federally assisted housing program, 
                the private person or entity having the legal right to 
                lease such unit.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply with respect to assistance provided on or after the 
        expiration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the 
        enactment of this Act.
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