II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2841 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 19, 2023 Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mrs. Gillibrand , Mr. Padilla , Mr. Blumenthal , Ms. Warren , Mr. Wyden , Mr. Kaine , Mr. Merkley , Ms. Smith , Mr. Booker , Ms. Hirono , Mr. Markey , Mr. Casey , and Mr. Menendez ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To improve voter access to the ballot box through automatic voter registration, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Register America to Vote Act of 2023 . 2. Findings and purpose (a) Findings and purpose (1) Findings Congress finds that— (A) the right to vote is a fundamental right of citizens of the United States; (B) it is the responsibility of Federal and State governments to ensure that every eligible citizen is registered to vote; (C) existing voter registration systems can be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible, and confusing, with damaging effects on voter participation in elections for Federal office and disproportionate impacts on young people, individuals with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities; and (D) voter registration systems must be updated with 21st century technologies and procedures to maintain their security. (2) Purpose It is the purpose of this Act— (A) to establish that it is the responsibility of government to ensure that all eligible citizens are registered to vote in elections for Federal office; (B) to enable the State governments to register all eligible citizens to vote with accurate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date procedures; (C) to modernize voter registration and list maintenance procedures with electronic and internet capabilities; and (D) to protect and enhance the integrity, accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the electoral process for all eligible citizens. 3. Definitions In this Act, the following definitions apply: (1) The term chief State election official means, with respect to a State, the individual designated by the State under section 10 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20509 ) to be responsible for coordination of the responsibilities under that Act. (2) The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 4. Automatic registration of individuals turning 18 years of age (a) Requirement Except as provided in subsection (b), the chief State election official of each State shall establish and operate a system of automatic registration for the registration of any eligible individual on the date on which the individual turns 18 in order that the individual may vote in elections for Federal office in the State. (b) Exception The requirement under paragraph (1) shall not apply to a State in which, under a State law in effect continuously on and after the date of the enactment of this section, there is no voter registration requirement for individuals in the State with respect to elections for Federal office. 5. Automatic registration of eligible individuals (a) In general The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20504 ) is amended by inserting after section 5 the following new section: 5A. Automatic registration by State motor vehicle authority (a) Definitions In this section— (1) Applicable agency The term applicable agency means, with respect to a State, the State motor vehicle authority responsible for motor vehicle driver's licenses under State law. (2) Applicable transaction The term applicable transaction means— (A) an application to an applicable agency for a motor vehicle driver's license; and (B) any other service or assistance (including for a change of address) provided by an applicable agency. (3) Automatic registration The term automatic registration means a system that registers an individual to vote and updates existing voter registration in elections for Federal office in a State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the information necessary for registration from the applicable agency to election officials of the State in order that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to be registered or to update any voter registration, the individual will be registered to vote in those elections. (4) Eligible individual The term eligible individual means, with respect to an election for Federal office, an individual who is otherwise qualified to vote in that election. (5) Register to vote The term register to vote includes updating the existing voter registration of an individual. (b) Establishment (1) In general The chief State election official of each State shall establish and operate a system of automatic registration for the registration of eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal office in the State, in accordance with the provisions of this section. (2) Registration of voters based on new agency records (A) In general The chief State election official shall— (i) subject to subparagraph (B), ensure that each eligible individual who completes an applicable transaction and does not decline to register to vote is registered to vote— (I) in the next election for Federal office (and subsequent elections for Federal office), if an applicable agency transmits information under subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual not later than the applicable date; and (II) in subsequent elections for Federal office, if an applicable agency transmits information under subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual after the applicable date; and (ii) not later than 60 days after the receipt of information described in subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to an individual, send written notice to the individual, in addition to other means of notice established under this section, of the voter registration status of the individual. (B) Applicable date For purposes of this subsection, the term “applicable date” means, with respect to any election for Federal office, the later of— (i) the date that is 28 days before the date of the election; or (ii) the last day of the period provided by State law for voter registration with respect to such election. (C) Clarification Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a chief State election official from registering an eligible individual to vote in the next election for Federal office in the State, including if an applicable agency transmits information under subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual after the applicable date. (3) Treatment of individuals under 18 years of age (A) In general Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a State may not refuse to treat an individual as an eligible individual for purposes of this section on the grounds that the individual is less than 18 years of age on the date on which an applicable agency receives information with respect to the individual, provided that the individual is not less than 16 years of age at that time. (B) Exception Nothing in subparagraph (A) may be construed to require a State to permit an individual who is less than 18 years of age on the date of an election for Federal office to vote in the election. (c) Applicable agency responsibilities (1) Instructions on automatic registration for agencies collecting citizenship information (A) In general Except as otherwise provided in this section, in the case of any applicable transaction for which an applicable agency (in the normal course of the operations) requests (either directly or as part of the overall application submitted for the applicable transaction) that an individual affirm that the individual is a United States citizen, the applicable agency shall inform each such individual who is a citizen of the United States of the following: (i) Unless the individual declines to register to vote, or is found ineligible to vote— (I) the individual will be registered to vote; or (II) if applicable, the voter registration of the individual will be updated. (ii) With respect to the qualification to register to vote— (I) the substantive qualifications of an elector in the State as listed in the mail voter registration application form for elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9; (II) the consequences of false registration; and (III) how the individual should decline to register to vote if the individual does not meet requirements for eligibility to vote in a Federal election. (iii) In the case of a State in which affiliation or enrollment with a political party is required in order to participate in an election for Federal office to select the candidate of the political party, the requirement that the individual must, in registering to vote, affiliate or enroll with a political party in order to participate in such an election. (iv) With respect to voter registration by an individual— (I) voter registration is voluntary; (II) whether the individual registers or declines to register to vote shall not affect the availability of any service or benefit; and (III) information relating to whether the individual registers or declines to register to vote may not be used for other purposes. (B) Individuals with limited English proficiency (i) Covered individual For purposes of this subparagraph, the term covered individual means an individual conducting an applicable transaction— (I) who is a member of a group that constitutes not less than 3 percent of the overall population of the State, as determined by the United States Census Bureau, served by the applicable agency; and (II) who is limited English proficient. (ii) Requirement In providing information pursuant to subparagraph (A), an applicable agency shall provide the information to any covered individual served by the applicable agency in a language understood by the covered individual. (C) Clarification of procedures for ineligible voters An applicable agency may not provide an individual who did not affirm United States citizenship, or for whom the applicable agency has conclusive documentary evidence obtained through the normal course of operations of the applicable agency that the individual is not a United States citizen, the opportunity to register to vote under subparagraph (A). (D) Opportunity to decline registration required (i) In general Except as otherwise provided in this section, each applicable agency shall ensure that each applicable transaction described in subparagraph (A) may not be completed unless the individual is given the opportunity to decline to be registered to vote. (ii) Language requirement If an individual is a covered individual, as defined in subparagraph (B)(i), the covered individual shall be given the opportunity to decline to be registered to vote in a language understood by the covered individual. (E) Information transmittal Not later than 10 days after an applicable transaction with an eligible individual, if the eligible individual did not decline to be registered to vote, the applicable agency shall electronically transmit to the appropriate State election official the following information with respect to the eligible individual: (i) The given name and surname of the eligible individual. (ii) The date of birth of the eligible individual. (iii) The residential address of the individual. (iv) Information showing that the individual is a citizen of the United States. (v) The date on which information pertaining to the eligible individual was collected or most recently updated. (vi) If available, the signature of the eligible individual in electronic form. (vii) In the case of a State in which affiliation or enrollment with a political party is required in order to participate in an election to select the candidate of the political party in an election for Federal office, information relating to the affiliation or enrollment of the eligible individual with a political party, if the eligible individual provides that information. (viii) Any additional information listed in the mail voter registration application form for elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9, including, if the eligible individual provides such information— (I) the valid driver’s license number of the eligible individual; and (II) the last 4 digits of the social security number of the eligible individual. (F) Provision of information relating to participation in primary elections In the case of a State in which affiliation or enrollment with a political party is required in order to participate in an election to select the candidate of a political party in an election for Federal office, if the information transmitted under subparagraph (E) with respect to an eligible individual does not include information regarding the affiliation or enrollment with a political party of the eligible individual, the chief State election official shall— (i) notify the eligible individual that such affiliation or enrollment is required to participate in any primary election for Federal office; and (ii) provide an opportunity for the eligible individual to update the registration of the eligible individual to denote the party affiliation or enrollment of the eligible individual. (G) Clarification Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an applicable agency to transmit to an election official the information described in subparagraph (E) with respect to an individual who is ineligible to vote in an election for Federal office in the State, except to the extent required to pre-register a citizen between 16 and 18 years of age. (2) Alternate procedure for certain other applicable agencies With each applicable transaction for which an applicable agency (in the normal course of the operations of the applicable agency) does not request an individual to affirm United States citizenship (either directly or as part of the overall application for service or assistance), the applicable agency shall— (A) complete the requirements under section 5; (B) ensure that each transaction by an individual with the applicable agency may not be completed unless the individual indicates whether the individual wishes to register to vote or declines to register to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State; and (C) for each individual who wishes to register to vote, transmit the information relating to the individual described in paragraph (1)(E), unless the applicable agency has conclusive documentary evidence obtained through the normal course of operations of the applicable agency that the individual is not a United States citizen. (3) Required availability of automatic registration opportunity with each application for service or assistance Each applicable agency shall offer each eligible individual, in conducting each applicable transaction, the opportunity to register to vote as prescribed by this section without regard to whether the individual previously declined an opportunity to register to vote. (d) Voter protection (1) Protection of information by applicable agencies Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize an applicable agency to collect, retain, transmit, or publicly disclose any of the following, except as necessary to comply with title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 ( 52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq. ): (A) The decision of an individual to decline to register to vote. (B) The decision of an individual not to affirm the citizenship of the individual. (C) Any information that an applicable agency transmits pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(E), except in carrying out the ordinary course of business of the applicable agency. (2) Protection of information by elections officials (A) Public disclosure prohibited (i) In general Except as provided in clause (ii), with respect to any individual with respect to whom any appropriate State election official receives information from an applicable agency, the State election official shall not publicly disclose— (I) any information not necessary to voter registration; (II) any information of the individual otherwise protected from disclosure pursuant to section 8(a) or State law; (III) any portion of the social security number of the individual; (IV) any portion of the motor vehicle driver’s license number of the individual; (V) the signature of the individual; (VI) the telephone number of the individual; or (VII) the email address of the individual. (ii) Special rule for individuals registered to vote The prohibition on public disclosure under clause (i) shall not apply with respect to the telephone number or email address of any individual— (I) for whom any State election official receives information from the applicable agency; and (II) who, on the basis of such information, is registered to vote in the State under this section. (e) Miscellaneous provisions (1) Accessibility of registration services Each applicable agency shall ensure that the voter registration services the applicable agency provides under this section are made available to individuals with disabilities to the same extent as services are made available to all other individuals. (2) Transmission through secure third party permitted Nothing in the Register America to Vote Act of 2023 or this section shall be construed to prevent an applicable agency from contracting with a third party to assist the applicable agency in meeting the information transmittal requirements under this section, provided that the information transmittal complies with the applicable requirements of this section, including provisions relating privacy and security. (3) Nonpartisan, nondiscriminatory provision of services The services made available by applicable agencies under this section shall be made in a manner consistent with paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a). (4) Notices (A) Electronic notices Each State may send notices under this section via electronic mail if the individual has provided an electronic mail address and consented to electronic mail communications for election-related materials. (B) Response Any notice sent pursuant to this section that requires a response shall offer the individual to whom the notice is sent the opportunity to respond to the notice at no cost to the individual. (5) Registration at other State offices permitted Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a State from offering voter registration services described in this section at offices of the State other than the State motor vehicle authority. (f) Applicability (1) In general This section shall not apply to an exempt State. (2) Exempt State The term exempt State means a State that, under law that is in effect on or after the date of enactment of this Act, either— (A) has no voter registration requirement for any voter in the State with respect to a Federal election; or (B) operates a system of automatic registration (as defined in subsection (a))— (i) at the motor vehicle authority of the State; or (ii) a Permanent Dividend Fund of the State under which an individual is provided the opportunity to decline to register to vote— (I) during the transaction; or (II) by notice sent by mail or electronically after the transaction. . (b) Conforming amendments (1) Section 4(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20503(a) ) is amended by— (A) redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively; and (B) inserting after paragraph (1) the following: (2) by application made simultaneously with an application for a motor vehicle driver's license pursuant to section 5A; . (2) Section 4(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20503(b) ) is amended— (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting appropriately; (B) by striking States .—This Act and inserting “ States .— (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), this Act ; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (2) Application of automatic registration requirements Section 5A shall apply to a State described in paragraph (1), unless the State is an exempt State as defined in subsection (f)(2) of that section. . (3) Section 8(a)(1) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1) ) is amended by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following: (B) in the case of registration under section 5A, within the period provided in section 5A(b)(2); . 6. Voter protection and security in automatic registration (a) Protections for errors in registration An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal or State law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication concerning immigration status or naturalization, or subject to an allegation in any legal proceeding that the individual is not a citizen of the United States for any of the following reasons: (1) The individual notifies an election office of the individual’s automatic registration to vote. (2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elections for Federal office but was automatically registered to vote due to individual or applicable agency error. (3) The individual was automatically registered to vote at an address that is not the correct residential address of the individual. (4) The individual declined the opportunity to register to vote or did not make an affirmation of citizenship when registering to vote, including through automatic registration. (b) Limits on use of automatic registration The automatic registration (as defined in section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993) of any individual, or the fact that an individual declined the opportunity to register to vote or did not make an affirmation of citizenship (including through automatic registration), may not be used as evidence against that individual in any State or Federal law enforcement proceeding or any civil adjudication concerning immigration status or naturalization, and the lack of knowledge or willfulness of the individual in such registration may be demonstrated by the testimony of the individual alone. (c) Protection of election integrity Nothing in subsection (a) or (b) shall be construed to prohibit or restrict any action under color of law against an individual who— (1) knowingly and willfully makes a false statement to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter registration by any individual; or (2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in violation of State law or the laws of the United States. (d) Protection of information by elections officials (1) Voter record changes Each State shall maintain for at least 2 years, and shall make available for public inspection (and, where available, photocopying at a reasonable cost), including in electronic form and through electronic methods, all records of changes to voter records, including removals, the reasons for removals, and updates. (2) Database management standards Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, in consultation with State and local election officials representing geographic and socio-economic diversity, and the Election Assistance Commission, shall, after providing the public with notice and the opportunity to comment— (A) establish standards governing the comparison of data for voter registration list maintenance purposes, identifying as part of those standards the specific data elements, the matching rules used, and how a State may use the data to determine and deem that an individual is ineligible under State law to vote in an election, or to deem a record to be a duplicate or outdated; (B) ensure that the standards developed under this paragraph are uniform and nondiscriminatory and are applied in a uniform and nondiscriminatory manner; (C) not later than 45 days after the deadline for public notice and comment; (i) publish the standards developed under this paragraph on the website of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; and (ii) make the standards developed under this paragraph available in written form upon request; and (D) ensure that the standards developed under this paragraph are maintained and updated in a manner that reflects innovations and best practices in the security of database management. (3) Security policy (A) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall, after providing the public with notice and the opportunity to comment, publish privacy and security standards for voter registration information not later than 45 days after the deadline for public notice and comment. (B) Requirement The standards developed under this paragraph shall require the chief State election official of each State to adopt a policy that shall specify— (i) each class of users who have authorized access to the computerized statewide voter registration list— (I) specifying for each class the permission and levels of access to be granted; and (II) setting forth other safeguards to protect the privacy, security, and accuracy of the information on voter registration lists; and (ii) security safeguards to protect personal information transmitted through— (I) the information transmittal processes of section 5A(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; (II) any telephone interface; (III) the maintenance of the voter registration database; and (IV) any audit procedure to track access to the system. (C) Maintenance and updating The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall ensure that the standards developed under this paragraph are maintained and updated in a manner that reflects innovations and best practices in the privacy and security of voter registration information. (4) State compliance with national standards (A) Certification Each chief State election official of the State shall annually file with the Election Assistance Commission a statement certifying to the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology that the State is in compliance with the standards developed under paragraphs (2) and (3), which requirement may be met if the chief State election official submits to the Election Assistance Commission a statement that states, _____ hereby certifies that _____ is in compliance with the standards referred to in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 6(d) of the Register America to Vote Act of 2023 . , with the blank spaces to be completed with the name of the relevant State. (B) Publication of policies and procedures The chief State election official of a State shall— (i) publish on the website of the chief State election official the policies and procedures established under this section; and (ii) make those policies and procedures available in written form upon public request. (C) Funding dependent on certification If a State does not timely file the certification required under subparagraph (A), it shall not receive any payment under this Act for the upcoming fiscal year in which the State fails to make such certification. (D) Compliance of States that require changes to State law In the case of a State that requires State legislation to carry out an activity covered by any certification submitted under this paragraph— (i) for a period of not more than 2 years, the State shall be permitted to make the certification notwithstanding that the legislation has not been enacted on the date on which the State submits the certification; and (ii) the State shall submit an additional certification once such legislation is enacted. (e) Restrictions on use of information No person acting under color of law may discriminate against any individual based on, or use for any purpose other than voter registration, election administration, juror selection, or enforcement relating to an election crime, any of the following: (1) Voter registration records. (2) The declination of an individual to register to vote or complete an affirmation of citizenship under section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. (3) The voter registration status of an individual. (f) Prohibition on the use of voter registration information for commercial purposes (1) In general Information collected under this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall not be used for commercial purposes. (2) Dissemination for political purposes Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit the transmission, exchange, or dissemination of information for political purposes, including the support of campaigns for election for Federal, State, or local public office or the activities of political committees (including committees of political parties) under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq. ). 7. Payments and grants (a) In general The Election Assistance Commission shall make grants to each eligible State under subsection (b) to assist the State in implementing the requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act (or, in the case of an exempt State, in implementing the existing automatic voter registration program of the exempt State or expanding the automatic voter registration program of the State in a manner consistent with the requirements of this Act) with respect to the offices of the State motor vehicle authority and any other offices of the State at which the State offers voter registration services as described in this Act and the amendments made by this Act. (b) Eligibility; application A State is eligible to receive a grant under this section if the State submits to the Election Assistance Commission, at such time and in such form as the Election Assistance Commission may require, an application containing— (1) a description of the activities the State will carry out with the grant; (2) an assurance that the State shall carry out such activities without partisan bias and without promoting any particular point of view regarding any issue; and (3) any other information and assurances as the Election Assistance Commission may require. (c) Amount of grant; priorities (1) Amount The Commission shall determine the amount of a grant made to an eligible State under this section. (2) Priorities In determining the amount of a grant, the Election Assistance Commission shall give priority to providing funds for those activities that are most likely to accelerate compliance with the requirements of this Act (or, in the case of an exempt State, that are most likely to enhance the ability of the exempt State to automatically register individuals to vote through the existing automatic voter registration program of the exempt State), including— (A) investments supporting electronic information transfer, including electronic collection and transfer of signatures, between applicable agencies (as defined in section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993) and the appropriate State election officials; (B) updates to online or electronic voter registration systems already operating as of the date of the enactment of this Act; (C) introduction of online voter registration systems in jurisdictions in which those systems did not previously exist; and (D) public education on the availability of new methods of registering to vote, updating registration, and correcting registration. (d) Exempt State For purposes of this section, the term exempt State — (1) has the meaning given that term under section 5A(f)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993; and (2) includes a State in which, under law in effect on or after the date of the enactment of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, there is no voter registration requirement for any voter in the State with respect to an election for Federal office. (e) Authorization of appropriations (1) Authorization There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— (A) $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and (B) such sums as may be necessary for each succeeding fiscal year. (2) Continuing availability of funds Any amounts appropriated pursuant to this subsection shall remain available without fiscal year limitation until expended. 8. Miscellaneous provisions (a) Enforcement Section 11 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20510 et seq. ), relating to civil enforcement and the availability of private rights of action, shall apply with respect to this Act in the same manner as such section applies to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20510 et seq. ). (b) Relation to other laws Except as provided, nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act may be construed to authorize or require conduct prohibited under, or to supersede, restrict, or limit the application of any of the following: (1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq. ). (2) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ( 52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq. ). (3) Except as provided by the amendment made under section 5 of this Act, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq. ). (4) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq. ). (5) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ( 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq. ). 9. Effective date (a) In general Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall apply on and after January 1, 2024. (b) Waiver If a State certifies to the Elections Assistance Commission not later than January 1, 2024, that the State will not meet the deadline described in subsection (a) because it would be impracticable to do so and includes in the certification the reasons for the failure to meet that deadline, subsection (a) shall apply to the State as if the reference in such subsection to January 1, 2024 were a reference to January 1, 2026 .