Title: High School Voter Empowerment Act of 2019
Policy area: Education

Summary:
High School Voter Empowerment Act of 2019
This bill requires states to designate public high schools as voter-registration agencies and public high schools to conduct annual voter-registration drives to register eligible students.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1637 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1637

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

                             March 7, 2019

Ms. Wilson of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred 
   to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions 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 conducting such voter 
              registration drives, 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 ``High School Voter Empowerment Act of 
2019''.

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 subparagraph (A);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(C) all public high schools (as defined in section 8101 
        of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)) 
        in the State.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Optional 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 defined in section 8101 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)),''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRING SCHOOLS TO CONDUCT VOTER REGISTRATION 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 Government or 
                Economics;
                    ``(B) at least 17 years old as of April 10 of that 
                year; and
                    ``(C) are eligible to register to vote in elections 
                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 election official of the State may enter into an 
        agreement under which the official provides the school with 
        voting machines and related equipment and supplies for use in a 
        student council or similar election held at the school, under 
        such terms and conditions as the school and official may 
        determine.''.
    (b) Availability of Grants To Cover Costs of Voter Registration 
Drives.--
            (1) Establishment of program.--The Secretary 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 
        reimburse 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 Registration Act of 1993 (as added 
        by subsection (a)) during that year.
            (2) Eligibility.--A public high school is eligible 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 incurred by 
                the school in carrying out the voter registration 
                drive, including the information used by the school to 
                determine the amount of such costs;
                    (B) a description of the activities conducted 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 payments under this subsection such sums 
        as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020 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.
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