Promoting Free and Fair Elections Act

Bill: 118-s-1398
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Budd, Ted [R-NC]
Introduced: 2023-05-02
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2023-05-02
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-05-02
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Promoting Free and Fair Elections Act</strong></p> <p>This bill prohibits federal agencies from using funds made available for salaries and expenses to solicit or enter into agreements with nongovernmental organizations to conduct voter registration or voter mobilization activities on the agency's property or website. </p> <p>The bill also requires federal agencies to delay carrying out certain activities pursuant to Executive Order 14019 (which established requirements for expanding access to voter registration and election information) until various conditions are met,&nbsp;such as the agency submitting reports to Congress.</p> <p>The bill also prohibits institutions of higher education that operate federal work-study programs from registering or mobilizing voters on or off campus.</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1398 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 2, 2023 Mr. Budd (for himself, Mr. Lee , Mr. Braun , Mr. Hagerty , Mrs. Fischer , Mr. Marshall , and Mrs. Blackburn ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To prohibit agencies of the government from soliciting or entering into agreements with nongovernmental organizations to conduct voter registration or voter mobilization activities on the property or website of the agency or from using Federal funds to carry out activities directed under Executive Order 14019, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Promoting Free and Fair Elections Act . 2. Prohibiting promotion of voter registration by agencies (a) Agreements with nongovernmental organizations None of the funds made available for the salaries and expenses of an agency may be used to solicit or enter into an agreement with a nongovernmental organization to conduct voter registration or voter mobilization activities, including registering voters or providing any person with voter registration materials, absentee or vote-by-mail ballot applications, voting instructions, or candidate-related information, on the property or website of the agency. (b) Activities under Executive Order 14019 (1) Delay in implementation (A) Delay Except as provided in subparagraph (B), none of the funds made available for the salaries and expenses of an agency may be used to implement activities directed under Executive Order 14019 (86 Fed. Reg. 13623) until— (i) in the case of an agency that is required to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees under paragraph (2)(A), 180 days after the agency submits the report; or (ii) in the case of an agency that is required to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees under paragraph (2)(B), the date on which the agency submits the report. (B) Exception Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any activity described in section 7(c) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20506(c) ). (2) Report Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees— (A) a copy of the strategic plan of the agency for promoting voter registration and voter participation under section 3(b) of Executive Order 14019 (86 Fed. Reg. 13623) that the agency developed or submitted to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; or (B) if the agency did not develop or submit a plan described in subparagraph (A) to the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, a certification signed by the head of the agency that the agency did not develop or submit such a plan. (c) Effective date Except as provided in subsection (b)(2), this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2023 and each succeeding fiscal year. 3. Additional report on voter registration and mobilization Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the head of each agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report describing the activities carried out by the agency pursuant to sections 3 and 4 of Executive Order 14019 (86 Fed. Reg. 13623). 4. Prohibiting voter registration and mobilization in Federal work-study programs Section 443(b)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1087–53(b)(1) ) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking and ; (2) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); and (3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following: (D) does not involve registering or mobilizing voters on or off the campus of the institution; and . 5. Definitions In this Act: (1) Agency The term agency has the meaning given the term in section 3502(1) of title 44, United States Code, except that for purposes of section 2(b) of this Act such term does not include an independent regulatory agency as defined in section 3502(5) of title 44, United States Code. (2) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate; (B) the Committee on Judiciary of the Senate; (C) the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives; and (D) the Committee on Judiciary of the House of Representatives.