Voter Empowerment Act of 2017

Bill: 115-s-1437
Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]
Introduced: 2017-06-26 in the Senate
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Adult education and literacy
Advisory bodies
Census and government statistics
Civil actions and liability
Computer security and identity theft
Computers and information technology
Congressional elections
Congressional oversight
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Department of Justice
Diplomacy, foreign officials, Americans abroad
Disability and health-based discrimination
Disability and paralysis
Educational facilities and institutions
Election Assistance Commission
Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
Employee leave
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government ethics and transparency, public corruption
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Internet and video services
Internet, web applications, social media
Military personnel and dependents
Northern Mariana Islands
Postal service
Public contracts and procurement
Right of privacy
State and local government operations
Telephone and wireless communication
U.S. territories and protectorates
Voting rights

Summary:
action_date: 2017-06-26
text: 

Voter Empowerment Act of 2017

 

Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2017

 
This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require states to make available online voter registration.
 
The federal criminal code is amended to prohibit hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registration.
 
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 is amended to require states to promote access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabilities.
 
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must support pilot programs enabling individuals with disabilities to register and vote at their residences.
 
The bill reauthorizes support for state and local governments to ensure voting access for individuals with disabilities.
 
States must notify individuals convicted of a criminal offense under state law, upon release or upon sentence to probation, of their right to vote in federal elections.
 

Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2017

 
This bill revises auditing requirements for voting systems.
 
Voting systems must use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots. 
 
The National Science Foundation must support the study and development of accessible ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of voting for certain individuals.
 
With exceptions, states must audit federal election results.
 
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act is amended to extend the guarantee of voting residency to family members of absent military personnel.
 
The EAC must support poll-worker recruitment and training and develop materials for a model program.
 
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 is amended to prohibit a chief state election administration official, unless the official or a family member is a candidate, from taking part in political management or in a political campaign for federal office over which the official has supervisory authority.
 
The EAC is reauthorized and its exemption from certain contracting requirements is repealed. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-06-26
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
action_date: 2017-06-26
text: Introduced in Senate