Title: Help Students Vote Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Help Students Vote Act
This bill addresses voter registration of students who attend institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs, including by (1) requiring IHEs to make a good faith effort to distribute voter registration forms to each of their students at least twice a year, (2) authorizing grants to IHEs that greatly exceed the requirements governing the distribution of voter registration forms, and (3) allowing civil actions against IHEs that violate the requirements.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2699 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2699

   To amend title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
  institutions of higher education that participate in programs under 
such title to distribute voter registration forms to students enrolled 
              at the institution, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 18, 2018

Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
  institutions of higher education that participate in programs under 
such title to distribute voter registration forms to students enrolled 
              at the institution, 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 ``Help Students Vote Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that political participation and civic 
engagement are fundamental to the health of American democracy, and 
that all citizens should be encouraged to vote, regardless of party 
affiliation.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the National Center for Education 
        Statistics, undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase 
        from 17,000,000 to 19,300,000 students between 2015 and 2026, 
        and nearly 3,000,000 undergraduate and graduate students today 
        enroll in exclusively online education.
            (2) According to the Pew Research Center, people between 
        the ages of 18 and 35 comprise roughly 31 percent of the 
        overall electorate.
            (3) In 2014, young adults (ages 18 to 29) made up about 21 
        percent of the voting eligible population but only 17 percent 
        of this population cast a ballot in the 2014 election.
            (4) Just 42 percent of 18-24 year olds said they were 
        registered to vote in 2014, which was the lowest rate in 40 
        years.
            (5) In 2008, 21 percent of young adults (ages 18 to 29) 
        said they weren't registered to vote because they missed the 
        registration deadline. Six percent said they didn't know where 
        or how to register.

SEC. 4. DISTRIBUTING VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS.

    Section 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(23)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(23)(A) The institution will make a good faith effort to 
        distribute voter registration forms to each student, and to 
        make such forms widely available to students at the 
        institution. In this paragraph, the term `student' means an 
        individual who is enrolled at the institution as an 
        undergraduate or graduate student on a full-time or part-time 
        basis, including an individual who is solely enrolled in an 
        online course.
            ``(B) The institution shall be considered in compliance 
        with the good faith requirements of subparagraph (A)--
                    ``(i) if, with respect to each student enrolled and 
                physically in attendance at the institution, the 
                institution--
                            ``(I)(aa) distributes voter registration 
                        forms not less than twice in a calendar year, 
                        and distributes such voter registration forms 
                        not less than 30 days in advance of the 
                        deadline for registering to vote within the 
                        State for the next scheduled Federal or State 
                        primary election and not less than 30 days in 
                        advance of the deadline for registering to vote 
                        within the State for the next scheduled Federal 
                        or State general election; or
                            ``(bb) electronically transmits a message 
                        containing a voter registration form (or the 
                        message contains an Internet address where such 
                        a form can be downloaded) acceptable for use in 
                        the State in which the institution is located 
                        to each such student, and such electronic 
                        message is devoted exclusively to voter 
                        registration, not less than twice in a calendar 
                        year, and transmits such a message not less 
                        than 30 days in advance of the deadline for 
                        registering to vote within the State for the 
                        next scheduled Federal or State primary 
                        election and not less than 30 days in advance 
                        of the deadline for registering to vote within 
                        the State for the next scheduled Federal or 
                        State general election;
                            ``(II) makes available information 
                        regarding State registration deadlines, 
                        residency requirements, voter identification, 
                        and absentee voting, as applicable; and
                            ``(III) ensures that an appropriate staff 
                        person or office has been designated as a 
                        `Campus Vote Coordinator' to ensure compliance 
                        in accordance with this clause at the 
                        institution and who shall--
                                    ``(aa) be publicly designated as 
                                the `Campus Vote Coordinator', along 
                                with the Coordinator's contact 
                                information, on the institution's 
                                website; and
                                    ``(bb) upon request, provide to 
                                students residency requirements for 
                                voting, including the ability of out of 
                                State students to vote in the State in 
                                which they are enrolled and physically 
                                in attendance, in accordance with 
                                applicable State law; and
                    ``(ii) if, with respect to each student enrolled 
                exclusively in distance education or correspondence 
                programs and who is not physically in attendance at the 
                institution, the institution--
                            ``(I) transmits a message of referral to a 
                        centralized voter registration website or 
                        platform that provides applicable voter 
                        registration forms and information to potential 
                        voters in all States, provided that such 
                        platform is hosted by a government affiliated 
                        website; and
                            ``(II) transmits such message not less than 
                        twice in a calendar year.
            ``(C) The institution may also include voter registration 
        forms within materials or information distributed to newly 
        enrolled, or returning, students at the beginning of a term, 
        consistent with the requirements of subparagraph (B).''.

SEC. 5. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    The Secretary of Education shall award grants to institutions of 
higher education that greatly exceed the minimum requirements under 
section 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1094(a)(23)), including as demonstrated by--
            (1) sponsoring large on campus voter mobilization efforts;
            (2) engaging the surrounding community in nonpartisan voter 
        registration and get out the vote efforts;
            (3) creating a website with centralized information about 
        voter registration and election dates;
            (4) inviting candidates to speak on campus; and
            (5) offering rides to the polls to increase voter 
        education, registration, and mobilization.

SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.

    (a) Corrective Action.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Education shall submit a 
        written warning to an institution of higher education that 
        violates a requirement of section 487(a)(23) of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)) that includes a 
        direction to correct the violation not later than 60 days after 
        the date the warning was received.
            (2) Actions authorized.--If an institution of higher 
        education does not correct a violation in accordance with a 
        direction from the Secretary of Education as described in 
        paragraph (1), the Attorney General of the United States may 
        authorize the appropriate State law enforcement officer or the 
        chief elections official of a State to commence a civil action 
        in accordance with subsection (b).
    (b) Civil Actions.--
            (1) In general.--A State law enforcement officer or chief 
        elections official of a State may commence a civil action in 
        accordance with subsection (a) in the appropriate district 
        court of the United States against the institution that engages 
        in a pattern or practice of violating section 487(a)(23) of the 
        Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)).
            (2) Relief.--In a civil action commenced under paragraph 
        (1), the court may--
                    (A) grant any appropriate equitable or declaratory 
                relief with respect to the violation of section 
                487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 1094(a)(23));
                    (B) award all other appropriate relief to any 
                person or group aggrieved by the violation;
                    (C) to vindicate the public interest, assess a 
                civil penalty in an amount not exceeding the amount 
                listed in section 487(c)(3)(B) of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(c)(3)(B)) for any 
                violation; and
                    (D) take into account the number of days in which 
                the infraction occurred.
            (3) Intervention.--Upon timely application, a person 
        aggrieved by a violation of section 487(a)(23) of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)) with respect to 
        which a civil action is commenced under this subsection may 
        intervene in such action, and may obtain such appropriate 
        relief as the person could obtain in a civil action under 
        subsection (c) with respect to such violation, along with costs 
        and reasonable attorneys fees.
    (c) Private Right of Action.--
            (1) In general.--Any person or group aggrieved by a 
        violation of section 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)) may commence a civil action in any 
        appropriate district court of the United States against the 
        institution that engages in such violation.
            (2) Relief.--In a civil action commenced under paragraph 
        (1), the court may--
                    (A) grant any appropriate equitable or declaratory 
                relief with respect to the violation of section 
                487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
                U.S.C. 1094(a)(23));
                    (B) award any other appropriate relief to the 
                person or group aggrieved by the violation, including 
                the costs of the action, such as reasonable attorneys' 
                fees;
                    (C) to vindicate the public interest, assess a 
                civil penalty in an amount not exceeding the amount 
                listed in section 487(c)(3)(B) of the Higher Education 
                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(c)(3)(B)) for any 
                violation; and
                    (D) take into account the number of days in which 
                the infraction occurred.
            (3) Reporting.--Not later than 60 days before the date a 
        person or group aggrieved by a violation of section 487(a)(23) 
        of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)) 
        commences a civil action under paragraph (1), the person or 
        group shall report the violation to the Department of 
        Education, a Federal or State law enforcement agency, and the 
        institution purported to have committed the violation via an 
        affidavit detailing the alleged violation.
    (d) Preservation of Remedies.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to preclude or limit any remedy otherwise available under 
other law, including consequential and punitive damages.
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