Us Congress 2023-2024 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB1 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	II
2	2	118THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. 1
5	5	To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and reduce the influence
6	6	of big money in politics, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	JULY25, 2023
9	9	Ms. K
10	10	LOBUCHAR(for herself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Mr.
11	11	M
12	12	ANCHIN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. TESTER, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. SCHUMER,
13	13	Ms. B
14	14	ALDWIN, Mr. BENNET, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr.
15	15	B
16	16	ROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CARPER, Mr. CASEY, Mr.
17	17	C
18	18	OONS, Ms. CORTEZMASTO, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEIN-
19	19	STEIN, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. HEIN-
20	20	RICH, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KELLY, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr.
21	21	M
22	22	ARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. OSSOFF,
23	23	Mr. P
24	24	ETERS, Mr. REED, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHATZ, Mrs.
25	25	S
26	26	HAHEEN, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VANHOLLEN,
27	27	Mr. W
28	28	ARNER, Ms. WARREN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr.
29	29	W
30	30	YDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
31	31	to the Committee on Rules and Administration
32	32	A BILL
33	33	To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and reduce
34	34	the influence of big money in politics, and for other purposes.
35	35	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
36	36	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
37	37	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
38	38	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to Vote Act’’. 4
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41	41	•S 1 IS
42	42	SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION OF ACT INTO DIVISIONS; TABLE OF 1
43	43	CONTENTS. 2
44	44	(a) D
45	45	IVISIONS.—This Act is organized into divisions 3
46	46	as follows: 4
47	47	(1) Division A—Voter Access. 5
48	48	(2) Division B—Election Integrity. 6
49	49	(3) Division C—Civic Participation and Em-7
50	50	powerment. 8
51	51	(b) T
52	52	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents of 9
53	53	this Act is as follows: 10
54	54	Sec. 1. Short title.
55	55	Sec. 2. Organization of Act into divisions; table of contents.
56	56	Sec. 3. Findings of general constitutional authority.
57	57	Sec. 4. Standards for judicial review.
58	58	Sec. 5. Severability.
59	59	DIVISION A—VOTER ACCESS
60	60	TITLE I—ELECTION MODERNIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
61	61	Sec. 1000. Short title; statement of policy.
62	62	Subtitle A—Voter Registration Modernization
63	63	Sec. 1000A. Short title.
64	64	P
65	65	ART1—AUTOMATICVOTERREGISTRATION
66	66	Sec. 1001. Short title; findings and purpose.
67	67	Sec. 1002. Automatic registration of eligible individuals.
68	68	Sec. 1003. Voter protection and security in automatic registration.
69	69	Sec. 1004. Payments and grants.
70	70	Sec. 1005. Miscellaneous provisions.
71	71	Sec. 1006. Definitions.
72	72	Sec. 1007. Effective date.
73	73	P
74	74	ART2—ELECTIONDAY ASLEGALPUBLICHOLIDAY
75	75	Sec. 1011. Election day as legal public holiday.
76	76	P
77	77	ART3—PROMOTINGINTERNETREGISTRATION
78	78	Sec. 1021. Requiring availability of internet for voter registration.
79	79	Sec. 1022. Use of internet to update registration information.
80	80	Sec. 1023. Provision of election information by electronic mail to individuals
81	81	registered to vote.
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85	85	Sec. 1024. Clarification of requirement regarding necessary information to
86	86	show eligibility to vote.
87	87	Sec. 1025. Prohibiting State from requiring applicants to provide more than
88	88	last 4 digits of social security number.
89	89	Sec. 1026. Application of rules to certain exempt States.
90	90	Sec. 1027. Report on data collection relating to online voter registration sys-
91	91	tems.
92	92	Sec. 1028. Permitting voter registration application form to serve as application
93	93	for absentee ballot.
94	94	Sec. 1029. Effective date.
95	95	P
96	96	ART4—SAME-DAYVOTERREGISTRATION
97	97	Sec. 1031. Same-day registration.
98	98	Sec. 1032. Ensuring pre-election registration deadlines are consistent with tim-
99	99	ing of legal public holidays.
100	100	P
101	101	ART5—STREAMLINEVOTERREGISTRATIONINFORMATION, ACCESS, AND
102	102	P
103	103	RIVACY
104	104	Sec. 1041. Authorizing the dissemination of voter registration information dis-
105	105	plays following naturalization ceremonies.
106	106	Sec. 1042. Inclusion of voter registration information with certain leases and
107	107	vouchers for federally assisted rental housing and mortgage ap-
108	108	plications.
109	109	Sec. 1043. Acceptance of voter registration applications from individuals under
110	110	18 years of age.
111	111	Sec. 1044. Requiring States to establish and operate voter privacy programs.
112	112	P
113	113	ART6—FUNDINGSUPPORT TOSTATES FORCOMPLIANCE
114	114	Sec. 1051. Availability of requirements payments under HAVA to cover costs
115	115	of compliance with new requirements.
116	116	Subtitle B—Access to Voting for Individuals With Disabilities
117	117	Sec. 1101. Requirements for States to promote access to voter registration and
118	118	voting for individuals with disabilities.
119	119	Sec. 1102. Establishment and maintenance of State accessible election websites.
120	120	Sec. 1103. Protections for in-person voting for individuals with disabilities and
121	121	older individuals.
122	122	Sec. 1104. Protections for individuals subject to guardianship.
123	123	Sec. 1105. Expansion and reauthorization of grant program to assure voting
124	124	access for individuals with disabilities.
125	125	Sec. 1106. Pilot programs for enabling individuals with disabilities to register
126	126	to vote privately and independently at residences.
127	127	Sec. 1107. GAO analysis and report on voting access for individuals with dis-
128	128	abilities.
129	129	Subtitle C—Early Voting
130	130	Sec. 1201. Early voting.
131	131	Subtitle D—Voting by Mail
132	132	Sec. 1301. Voting by mail.
133	133	Sec. 1302. Balloting materials tracking program.
134	134	Sec. 1303. Election mail and delivery improvements.
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138	138	Sec. 1304. Carriage of election mail.
139	139	Sec. 1305. Requiring States to provide secured drop boxes for voted ballots in
140	140	elections for Federal office.
141	141	Subtitle E—Absent Uniformed Services Voters and Overseas Voters
142	142	Sec. 1401. Pre-election reports on availability and transmission of absentee bal-
143	143	lots.
144	144	Sec. 1402. Enforcement.
145	145	Sec. 1403. Transmission requirements; repeal of waiver provision.
146	146	Sec. 1404. Use of single absentee ballot application for subsequent elections.
147	147	Sec. 1405. Extending guarantee of residency for voting purposes to family
148	148	members of absent military personnel.
149	149	Sec. 1406. Technical clarifications to conform to Military and Overseas Voter
150	150	Empowerment Act amendments related to the Federal write-in
151	151	absentee ballot.
152	152	Sec. 1407. Treatment of postcard registration requests.
153	153	Sec. 1408. Presidential designee report on voter disenfranchisement.
154	154	Sec. 1409. Effective date.
155	155	Subtitle F—Enhancement of Enforcement
156	156	Sec. 1501. Enhancement of enforcement of Help America Vote Act of 2002.
157	157	Subtitle G—Promoting Voter Access Through Election Administration
158	158	Modernization Improvements
159	159	P
160	160	ART1—PROMOTINGVOTERACCESS
161	161	Sec. 1601. Minimum notification requirements for voters affected by polling
162	162	place changes.
163	163	Sec. 1602. Applicability to Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
164	164	Sec. 1603. Elimination of 14-day time period between general election and run-
165	165	off election for Federal elections in the Virgin Islands and
166	166	Guam.
167	167	Sec. 1604. Application of Federal election administration laws to territories of
168	168	the United States.
169	169	Sec. 1605. Application of Federal voter protection laws to territories of the
170	170	United States.
171	171	Sec. 1606. Ensuring equitable and efficient operation of polling places.
172	172	Sec. 1607. Prohibiting States from restricting curbside voting.
173	173	P
174	174	ART2—IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATION OFELECTIONASSISTANCE
175	175	C
176	176	OMMISSION
177	177	Sec. 1611. Reauthorization of Election Assistance Commission.
178	178	Sec. 1612. Recommendations to improve operations of Election Assistance
179	179	Commission.
180	180	Sec. 1613. Repeal of exemption of Election Assistance Commission from certain
181	181	government contracting requirements.
182	182	P
183	183	ART3—MISCELLANEOUSPROVISIONS
184	184	Sec. 1621. Definition of election for Federal office.
185	185	Sec. 1622. No effect on other laws.
186	186	Sec. 1623. Clarification of exemption for States without voter registration.
187	187	Sec. 1624. Clarification of exemption for States which do not collect telephone
188	188	information.
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192	192	Subtitle H—Democracy Restoration
193	193	Sec. 1701. Short title.
194	194	Sec. 1702. Findings.
195	195	Sec. 1703. Rights of citizens.
196	196	Sec. 1704. Enforcement.
197	197	Sec. 1705. Notification of restoration of voting rights.
198	198	Sec. 1706. Definitions.
199	199	Sec. 1707. Relation to other laws.
200	200	Sec. 1708. Federal prison funds.
201	201	Sec. 1709. Effective date.
202	202	Subtitle I—Voter Identification and Allowable Alternatives
203	203	Sec. 1801. Requirements for voter identification.
204	204	Subtitle J—Voter List Maintenance Procedures
205	205	P
206	206	ART1—VOTERCAGINGPROHIBITED
207	207	Sec. 1901. Voter caging prohibited.
208	208	P
209	209	ART2—SAVINGELIGIBLEVOTERSFROMVOTERPURGING
210	210	Sec. 1911. Conditions for removal of voters from list of registered voters.
211	211	Subtitle K—Severability
212	212	Sec. 1921. Severability.
213	213	DIVISION B—ELECTION INTEGRITY
214	214	TITLE II—PROHIBITING INTERFERENCE WITH VOTER
215	215	REGISTRATION
216	216	Sec. 2001. Prohibiting hindering, interfering with, or preventing voter registra-
217	217	tion.
218	218	Sec. 2002. Establishment of best practices.
219	219	TITLE III—PREVENTING ELECTION SUBVERSION
220	220	Subtitle A—Restrictions on Removal of Election Administrators
221	221	Sec. 3001. Restrictions on removal of local election administrators in adminis-
222	222	tration of elections for Federal office.
223	223	Subtitle B—Increased Protections for Election Workers
224	224	Sec. 3101. Harassment of election workers prohibited.
225	225	Sec. 3102. Protection of election workers.
226	226	Subtitle C—Prohibiting Deceptive Practices and Preventing Voter
227	227	Intimidation
228	228	Sec. 3201. Short title.
229	229	Sec. 3202. Prohibition on deceptive practices in Federal elections.
230	230	Sec. 3203. Corrective action.
231	231	Sec. 3204. Reports to Congress.
232	232	Sec. 3205. Private rights of action by election officials.
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236	236	Sec. 3206. Making intimidation of tabulation, canvass, and certification efforts
237	237	a crime.
238	238	Subtitle D—Protection of Election Records and Election Infrastructure
239	239	Sec. 3301. Strengthen protections for Federal election records.
240	240	Sec. 3302. Penalties; inspection; nondisclosure; jurisdiction.
241	241	Sec. 3303. Judicial review to ensure compliance.
242	242	Subtitle E—Judicial Protection of the Right To Vote and Non-Partisan Vote
243	243	Tabulation
244	244	P
245	245	ART1—RIGHTTOVOTEACT
246	246	Sec. 3401. Short title.
247	247	Sec. 3402. Undue burdens on the ability to vote in elections for Federal office
248	248	prohibited.
249	249	Sec. 3403. Judicial review.
250	250	Sec. 3404. Definitions.
251	251	Sec. 3405. Rules of construction.
252	252	Sec. 3406. Severability.
253	253	Sec. 3407. Effective date.
254	254	P
255	255	ART2—CLARIFYINGJURISDICTIONOVERELECTIONDISPUTES
256	256	Sec. 3411. Findings.
257	257	Sec. 3412. Clarifying authority of United States district courts to hear cases.
258	258	Sec. 3413. Effective date.
259	259	Subtitle F—Poll Worker Recruitment and Training
260	260	Sec. 3501. Grants to States for poll worker recruitment and training.
261	261	Sec. 3502. State defined.
262	262	Subtitle G—Preventing Poll Observer Interference
263	263	Sec. 3601. Protections for voters on Election Day.
264	264	Subtitle H—Preventing Restrictions on Food and Beverages
265	265	Sec. 3701. Short title; findings.
266	266	Sec. 3702. Prohibiting restrictions on donations of food and beverages at poll-
267	267	ing stations.
268	268	Subtitle I—Establishing Duty To Report Foreign Election Interference
269	269	Sec. 3801. Findings relating to illicit money undermining our democracy.
270	270	Sec. 3802. Federal campaign reporting of foreign contacts.
271	271	Sec. 3803. Federal campaign foreign contact reporting compliance system.
272	272	Sec. 3804. Criminal penalties.
273	273	Sec. 3805. Report to congressional intelligence committees.
274	274	Sec. 3806. Rule of construction.
275	275	Subtitle J—Promoting Accuracy, Integrity, and Security Through Voter-
276	276	Verifiable Permanent Paper Ballot
277	277	Sec. 3901. Short title.
278	278	Sec. 3902. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements.
279	279	Sec. 3903. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities.
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283	283	Sec. 3904. Durability and readability requirements for ballots.
284	284	Sec. 3905. Study and report on optimal ballot design.
285	285	Sec. 3906. Ballot marking device cybersecurity requirements.
286	286	Sec. 3907. Effective date for new requirements.
287	287	Sec. 3908. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and car-
288	288	rying out voting system security improvements.
289	289	Subtitle K—Provisional Ballots
290	290	Sec. 3911. Requirements for counting provisional ballots; establishment of uni-
291	291	form and nondiscriminatory standards.
292	292	TITLE IV—VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY
293	293	Sec. 4001. Post-election audit requirement.
294	294	Sec. 4002. Election infrastructure designation.
295	295	Sec. 4003. Guidelines and certification for electronic poll books and remote bal-
296	296	lot marking systems.
297	297	Sec. 4004. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.
298	298	Sec. 4005. Use of voting machines manufactured in the United States.
299	299	Sec. 4006. Use of political party headquarters building fund for technology or
300	300	cybersecurity-related purposes.
301	301	Sec. 4007. Severability.
302	302	DIVISION C—CIVIC PARTICIPATION AND EMPOWERMENT
303	303	TITLE V—NONPARTISAN REDISTRICTING REFORM
304	304	Sec. 5001. Finding of constitutional authority.
305	305	Sec. 5002. Ban on mid-decade redistricting.
306	306	Sec. 5003. Criteria for redistricting.
307	307	Sec. 5004. Development of plan.
308	308	Sec. 5005. Failure by State to enact plan.
309	309	Sec. 5006. Civil enforcement.
310	310	Sec. 5007. No effect on elections for State and local office.
311	311	Sec. 5008. Effective date.
312	312	TITLE VI—CAMPAIGN FINANCE TRANSPARENCY
313	313	Subtitle A—DISCLOSE Act
314	314	Sec. 6001. Short title.
315	315	Sec. 6002. Findings.
316	316	P
317	317	ART1—CLOSINGLOOPHOLESALLOWINGSPENDING BYFOREIGN
318	318	N
319	319	ATIONALS INELECTIONS
320	320	Sec. 6003. Clarification of application of foreign money ban to certain disburse-
321	321	ments and activities.
322	322	Sec. 6004. Study and report on illicit foreign money in Federal elections.
323	323	Sec. 6005. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in
324	324	connection with ballot initiatives and referenda.
325	325	Sec. 6006. Disbursements and activities subject to foreign money ban.
326	326	Sec. 6007. Prohibiting establishment of corporation to conceal election con-
327	327	tributions and donations by foreign nationals.
328	328	P
329	329	ART2—REPORTING OFCAMPAIGN-RELATEDDISBURSEMENTS
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333	333	Sec. 6011. Reporting of campaign-related disbursements.
334	334	Sec. 6012. Reporting of Federal judicial nomination disbursements.
335	335	Sec. 6013. Coordination with FinCEN.
336	336	Sec. 6014. Application of foreign money ban to disbursements for campaign-re-
337	337	lated disbursements consisting of covered transfers.
338	338	Sec. 6015. Sense of Congress regarding implementation.
339	339	Sec. 6016. Effective date.
340	340	P
341	341	ART3—OTHERADMINISTRATIVEREFORMS
342	342	Sec. 6021. Petition for certiorari.
343	343	Sec. 6022. Judicial review of actions related to campaign finance laws.
344	344	Sec. 6023. Effective date.
345	345	Subtitle B—Honest Ads
346	346	Sec. 6101. Short title.
347	347	Sec. 6102. Purpose.
348	348	Sec. 6103. Findings.
349	349	Sec. 6104. Sense of Congress.
350	350	Sec. 6105. Expansion of definition of public communication.
351	351	Sec. 6106. Expansion of definition of electioneering communication.
352	352	Sec. 6107. Application of disclaimer statements to online communications.
353	353	Sec. 6108. Political record requirements for online platforms.
354	354	Sec. 6109. Preventing contributions, expenditures, independent expenditures,
355	355	and disbursements for electioneering communications by for-
356	356	eign nationals in the form of online advertising.
357	357	Sec. 6110. Requiring online platforms to display notices identifying sponsors of
358	358	political advertisements and to ensure notices continue to be
359	359	present when advertisements are shared.
360	360	Subtitle C—Spotlight Act
361	361	Sec. 6201. Short title.
362	362	Sec. 6202. Inclusion of contributor information on annual returns of certain or-
363	363	ganizations.
364	364	TITLE VII—CAMPAIGN FINANCE OVERSIGHT
365	365	Subtitle A—Stopping Super PAC–Candidate Coordination
366	366	Sec. 7001. Short title.
367	367	Sec. 7002. Clarification of treatment of coordinated expenditures as contribu-
368	368	tions to candidates.
369	369	Subtitle B—Restoring Integrity to America’s Elections
370	370	Sec. 7101. Short title.
371	371	Sec. 7102. Revision to enforcement process.
372	372	Sec. 7103. Official exercising the responsibilities of the general counsel.
373	373	Sec. 7104. Permitting appearance at hearings on requests for advisory opinions
374	374	by persons opposing the requests.
375	375	Sec. 7105. Permanent extension of administrative penalty authority.
376	376	Sec. 7106. Restrictions on ex parte communications.
377	377	Sec. 7107. Clarifying authority of FEC attorneys to represent FEC in Supreme
378	378	Court.
379	379	Sec. 7108. Requiring forms to permit use of accent marks.
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383	383	Sec. 7109. Extension of the statutes of limitations for offenses under the Fed-
384	384	eral Election Campaign Act of 1971.
385	385	Sec. 7110. Effective date; transition.
386	386	TITLE VIII—CITIZEN EMPOWERMENT
387	387	Subtitle A—Funding To Promote Democracy
388	388	P
389	389	ART1—PAYMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS TOSTATES
390	390	Sec. 8001. Democracy Advancement and Innovation Program.
391	391	Sec. 8002. State plan.
392	392	Sec. 8003. Prohibiting reduction in access to participation in elections.
393	393	Sec. 8004. Amount of State allocation.
394	394	Sec. 8005. Procedures for disbursements of payments and allocations.
395	395	Sec. 8006. Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation.
396	396	P
397	397	ART2—STATEELECTIONASSISTANCE ANDINNOVATIONTRUSTFUND
398	398	Sec. 8011. State Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund.
399	399	Sec. 8012. Uses of Fund.
400	400	P
401	401	ART3—GENERALPROVISIONS
402	402	Sec. 8021. Definitions.
403	403	Sec. 8022. Rule of construction regarding calculation of deadlines.
404	404	Subtitle B—Elections for House of Representatives
405	405	Sec. 8101. Short title.
406	406	P
407	407	ART1—OPTIONALDEMOCRACYCREDITPROGRAM
408	408	Sec. 8102. Establishment of program.
409	409	Sec. 8103. Credit program described.
410	410	Sec. 8104. Reports.
411	411	Sec. 8105. Election cycle defined.
412	412	P
413	413	ART2—OPTIONALSMALLDOLLARFINANCING OFELECTIONS FORHOUSE
414	414	OFREPRESENTATIVES
415	415	Sec. 8111. Benefits and eligibility requirements for candidates.
416	416	Sec. 8112. Contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political
417	417	party committees on behalf of participating candidates.
418	418	Sec. 8113. Prohibiting use of contributions by participating candidates for pur-
419	419	poses other than campaign for election.
420	420	Sec. 8114. Deadline for regulations; effective date.
421	421	Subtitle C—Personal Use Services as Authorized Campaign Expenditures
422	422	Sec. 8201. Short title; findings; purpose.
423	423	Sec. 8202. Treatment of payments for childcare and other personal use services
424	424	as authorized campaign expenditure.
425	425	Subtitle D—Empowering Small Dollar Donations
426	426	Sec. 8301. Permitting political party committees to provide enhanced support
427	427	for House candidates through use of separate small dollar ac-
428	428	counts.
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432	432	Subtitle E—Severability
433	433	Sec. 8401. Severability.
434	434	SEC. 3. FINDINGS OF GENERAL CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHOR-
435	435	1
436	436	ITY. 2
437	437	Congress finds that the Constitution of the United 3
438	438	States grants explicit and broad authority to protect the 4
439	439	right to vote, to regulate elections for Federal office, to 5
440	440	prevent and remedy discrimination in voting, and to de-6
441	441	fend the Nation’s democratic process. Congress enacts the 7
442	442	Freedom to Vote Act pursuant to this broad authority, 8
443	443	including but not limited to the following: 9
444	444	(1) Congress finds that it has broad authority 10
445	445	to regulate the time, place, and manner of congres-11
446	446	sional elections under the Elections Clause of the 12
447	447	Constitution, article I, section 4, clause 1. The Su-13
448	448	preme Court has affirmed that the ‘‘substantive 14
449	449	scope’’ of the Elections Clause is ‘‘broad’’; that 15
450	450	‘‘Times, Places, and Manner’’ are ‘‘comprehensive 16
451	451	words which embrace authority to provide for a com-17
452	452	plete code for congressional elections’’; and ‘‘[t]he 18
453	453	power of Congress over the Times, Places and Man-19
454	454	ner of congressional elections is paramount, and may 20
455	455	be exercised at any time, and to any extent which 21
456	456	it deems expedient; and so far as it is exercised, and 22
457	457	no farther, the regulations effected supersede those 23
458	458	of the State which are inconsistent therewith’’. Ari-24
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461	461	•S 1 IS
462	462	zona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, 570 U.S. 1, 1
463	463	8–9 (2013) (internal quotation marks and citations 2
464	464	omitted). Indeed, ‘‘Congress has plenary and para-3
465	465	mount jurisdiction over the whole subject’’ of con-4
466	466	gressional elections, Ex parte Siebold, 100 U.S. (10 5
467	467	Otto) 371, 388 (1879), and this power ‘‘may be ex-6
468	468	ercised as and when Congress sees fit’’, and ‘‘so far 7
469	469	as it extends and conflicts with the regulations of 8
470	470	the State, necessarily supersedes them’’. Id. at 384. 9
471	471	Among other things, Congress finds that the Elec-10
472	472	tions Clause was intended to ‘‘vindicate the people’s 11
473	473	right to equality of representation in the House’’. 12
474	474	Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1, 16 (1964), and to 13
475	475	address partisan gerrymandering, Rucho v. Common 14
476	476	Cause, 139 S. Ct. 2484 (2019). 15
477	477	(2) Congress also finds that it has both the au-16
478	478	thority and responsibility, as the legislative body for 17
479	479	the United States, to fulfill the promise of article IV, 18
480	480	section 4, of the Constitution, which states: ‘‘The 19
481	481	United States shall guarantee to every State in this 20
482	482	Union a Republican Form of Government[.]’’. Con-21
483	483	gress finds that its authority and responsibility to 22
484	484	enforce the Guarantee Clause is clear given that 23
485	485	Federal courts have not enforced this clause because 24
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488	488	•S 1 IS
489	489	they understood that its enforcement is committed 1
490	490	to Congress by the Constitution. 2
491	491	(3)(A) Congress also finds that it has broad au-3
492	492	thority pursuant to section 5 of the Fourteenth 4
493	493	Amendment to legislate to enforce the provisions of 5
494	494	the Fourteenth Amendment, including its protec-6
495	495	tions of the right to vote and the democratic process. 7
496	496	(B) Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment 8
497	497	protects the fundamental right to vote, which is ‘‘of 9
498	498	the most fundamental significance under our con-10
499	499	stitutional structure’’. Ill. Bd. of Election v. Socialist 11
500	500	Workers Party, 440 U.S. 173, 184 (1979); see 12
501	501	United States v. Classic, 313 U.S. 299 (1941) (‘‘Ob-13
502	502	viously included within the right to choose, secured 14
503	503	by the Constitution, is the right of qualified voters 15
504	504	within a State to cast their ballots and have them 16
505	505	counted . . .’’). As the Supreme Court has repeatedly 17
506	506	affirmed, the right to vote is ‘‘preservative of all 18
507	507	rights’’, Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 370 19
508	508	(1886). Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment 20
509	509	also protects the right to vote, granting Congress 21
510	510	additional authority to reduce a State’s representa-22
511	511	tion in Congress when the right to vote is abridged 23
512	512	or denied. 24
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515	515	•S 1 IS
516	516	(C) As a result, Congress finds that it has the 1
517	517	authority pursuant to section 5 of the Fourteenth 2
518	518	Amendment to protect the right to vote. Congress 3
519	519	also finds that States and localities have eroded ac-4
520	520	cess to the right to vote through restrictions on the 5
521	521	right to vote including excessively onerous voter 6
522	522	identification requirements, burdensome voter reg-7
523	523	istration procedures, voter purges, limited and un-8
524	524	equal access to voting by mail, polling place closures, 9
525	525	unequal distribution of election resources, and other 10
526	526	impediments. 11
527	527	(D) Congress also finds that ‘‘the right of suf-12
528	528	frage can be denied by a debasement or dilution of 13
529	529	the weight of a citizen’s vote just as effectively as by 14
530	530	wholly prohibiting the free exercise of the franchise’’. 15
531	531	Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533, 555 (1964). Con-16
532	532	gress finds that the right of suffrage has been so di-17
533	533	luted and debased by means of gerrymandering of 18
534	534	districts. Congress finds that it has authority pursu-19
535	535	ant to section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment to 20
536	536	remedy this debasement. 21
537	537	(4)(A) Congress also finds that it has authority 22
538	538	to legislate to eliminate racial discrimination in vot-23
539	539	ing and the democratic process pursuant to both sec-24
540	540	tion 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants 25
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543	543	•S 1 IS
544	544	equal protection of the laws, and section 2 of the 1
545	545	Fifteenth Amendment, which explicitly bars denial 2
546	546	or abridgment of the right to vote on account of 3
547	547	race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 4
548	548	(B) Congress finds that racial discrimination in 5
549	549	access to voting and the political process persists. 6
550	550	Voting restrictions, redistricting, and other electoral 7
551	551	practices and processes continue to disproportion-8
552	552	ately impact communities of color in the United 9
553	553	States and do so as a result of both intentional ra-10
554	554	cial discrimination, structural racism, and the ongo-11
555	555	ing structural socioeconomic effects of historical ra-12
556	556	cial discrimination. 13
557	557	(C) Recent elections and studies have shown 14
558	558	that minority communities wait longer in lines to 15
559	559	vote, are more likely to have their mail ballots re-16
560	560	jected, continue to face intimidation at the polls, are 17
561	561	more likely to be disenfranchised by voter purges, 18
562	562	and are disproportionately burdened by excessively 19
563	563	onerous voter identification and other voter restric-20
564	564	tions. Research shows that communities of color are 21
565	565	more likely to face nearly every barrier to voting 22
566	566	than their white counterparts. 23
567	567	(D) Congress finds that racial disparities in dis-24
568	568	enfranchisement due to past felony convictions is 25
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571	571	•S 1 IS
572	572	particularly stark. In 2022, according to the Sen-1
573	573	tencing Project, an estimated 4,600,000 Americans 2
574	574	could not vote due to a felony conviction. One in 19 3
575	575	African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, 4
576	576	a rate 3.5 times greater than that of non-African 5
577	577	Americans. In eight States—Alabama, Arizona, 6
578	578	Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Ten-7
579	579	nessee, and Virginia—more than one in ten African 8
580	580	Americans is disenfranchised, nearly twice the na-9
581	581	tional average for African Americans. Congress finds 10
582	582	that felony disenfranchisement was one of the tools 11
583	583	of intentional racial discrimination during the Jim 12
584	584	Crow era. Congress further finds that current racial 13
585	585	disparities in felony disenfranchisement are linked to 14
586	586	this history of voter suppression, structural racism 15
587	587	in the criminal justice system, and ongoing effects of 16
588	588	historical discrimination. 17
589	589	(5)(A) Congress finds that it further has the 18
590	590	power to protect the right to vote from denial or 19
591	591	abridgment on account of sex, age, or ability to pay 20
592	592	a poll tax or other tax pursuant to the Nineteenth, 21
593	593	Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments. 22
594	594	(B) Congress finds that electoral practices in-23
595	595	cluding voting rights restoration conditions for peo-24
596	596	ple with convictions and other restrictions to the 25
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599	599	•S 1 IS
600	600	franchise burden voters on account of their ability to 1
601	601	pay. 2
602	602	(C) Congress further finds that electoral prac-3
603	603	tices including voting restrictions related to college 4
604	604	campuses, age restrictions on mail voting, and simi-5
605	605	lar practices burden the right to vote on account of 6
606	606	age. 7
607	607	SEC. 4. STANDARDS FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW. 8
608	608	(a) I
609	609	NGENERAL.—For any action brought for declar-9
610	610	atory or injunctive relief to challenge, whether facially or 10
611	611	as-applied, the constitutionality or lawfulness of any provi-11
612	612	sion of this Act or any amendment made by this Act or 12
613	613	any rule or regulation promulgated under this Act, the fol-13
614	614	lowing rules shall apply: 14
615	615	(1) The action shall be filed in the United 15
616	616	States District Court for the District of Columbia 16
617	617	and an appeal from the decision of the district court 17
618	618	may be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Dis-18
619	619	trict of Columbia Circuit. These courts, and the Su-19
620	620	preme Court of the United States on a writ of cer-20
621	621	tiorari (if such writ is issued), shall have exclusive 21
622	622	jurisdiction to hear such actions. 22
623	623	(2) The party filing the action shall concur-23
624	624	rently deliver a copy the complaint to the Clerk of 24
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627	627	•S 1 IS
628	628	the House of Representatives and the Secretary of 1
629	629	the Senate. 2
630	630	(3) It shall be the duty of the United States 3
631	631	District Court for the District of Columbia and the 4
632	632	Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir-5
633	633	cuit to advance on the docket and to expedite to the 6
634	634	greatest possible extent the disposition of the action 7
635	635	and appeal. 8
636	636	(b) C
637	637	LARIFYINGSCOPE OFJURISDICTION.—If an ac-9
638	638	tion at the time of its commencement is not subject to 10
639	639	subsection (a), but an amendment, counterclaim, cross- 11
640	640	claim, affirmative defense, or any other pleading or motion 12
641	641	is filed challenging, whether facially or as-applied, the con-13
642	642	stitutionality or lawfulness of this Act or any amendment 14
643	643	made by this Act or any rule or regulation promulgated 15
644	644	under this Act, the district court shall transfer the action 16
645	645	to the District Court for the District of Columbia, and 17
646	646	the action shall thereafter be conducted pursuant to sub-18
647	647	section (a). 19
648	648	(c) I
649	649	NTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OFCONGRESS.—In 20
650	650	any action described in subsection (a), any Member of the 21
651	651	House of Representatives (including a Delegate or Resi-22
652	652	dent Commissioner to the Congress) or Senate shall have 23
653	653	the right to intervene either in support of or opposition 24
654	654	to the position of a party to the case regarding the con-25
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657	657	•S 1 IS
658	658	stitutionality of the provision. To avoid duplication of ef-1
659	659	forts and reduce the burdens placed on the parties to the 2
660	660	action, the court in any such action may make such orders 3
661	661	as it considers necessary, including orders to require 4
662	662	interveners taking similar positions to file joint papers or 5
663	663	to be represented by a single attorney at oral argument. 6
664	664	SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 7
665	665	If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 8
666	666	by this Act, or the application of any such provision or 9
667	667	amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 10
668	668	unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, and the appli-11
669	669	cation of such provision or amendment to any other person 12
670	670	or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 13
671	671	DIVISION A—VOTER ACCESS 14
672	672	TITLE I—ELECTION MODERNIZA-15
673	673	TION AND ADMINISTRATION 16
674	674	SEC. 1000. SHORT TITLE; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 17
675	675	(a) S
676	676	HORTTITLE.—This title may be cited as the 18
677	677	‘‘Voter Empowerment Act of 2023’’. 19
678	678	(b) S
679	679	TATEMENT OFPOLICY.—It is the policy of the 20
680	680	United States that— 21
681	681	(1) the ability of all eligible citizens of the 22
682	682	United States to access and exercise their constitu-23
683	683	tional right to vote in a free, fair, and timely manner 24
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686	686	•S 1 IS
687	687	must be vigilantly enhanced, protected, and main-1
688	688	tained; and 2
689	689	(2) the integrity, security, and accountability of 3
690	690	the voting process must be vigilantly protected, 4
691	691	maintained, and enhanced in order to protect and 5
692	692	preserve electoral and participatory democracy in the 6
693	693	United States. 7
694	694	Subtitle A—Voter Registration 8
695	695	Modernization 9
696	696	SEC. 1000A. SHORT TITLE. 10
697	697	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Registration 11
698	698	Modernization Act of 2023’’. 12
699	699	PART 1—AUTOMATIC VOTER REGISTRATION 13
700	700	SEC. 1001. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 14
701	701	(a) S
702	702	HORTTITLE.—This part may be cited as the 15
703	703	‘‘Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2023’’. 16
704	704	(b) F
705	705	INDINGS ANDPURPOSE.— 17
706	706	(1) F
707	707	INDINGS.—Congress finds that— 18
708	708	(A) the right to vote is a fundamental 19
709	709	right of citizens of the United States; 20
710	710	(B) it is the responsibility of the State and 21
711	711	Federal governments to ensure that every eligi-22
712	712	ble citizen is registered to vote; 23
713	713	(C) existing voter registration systems can 24
714	714	be inaccurate, costly, inaccessible and con-25
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717	717	•S 1 IS
718	718	fusing, with damaging effects on voter partici-1
719	719	pation in elections for Federal office and dis-2
720	720	proportionate impacts on young people, persons 3
721	721	with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minori-4
722	722	ties; and 5
723	723	(D) voter registration systems must be up-6
724	724	dated with 21st century technologies and proce-7
725	725	dures to maintain their security. 8
726	726	(2) P
727	727	URPOSE.—It is the purpose of this part— 9
728	728	(A) to establish that it is the responsibility 10
729	729	of government to ensure that all eligible citizens 11
730	730	are registered to vote in elections for Federal 12
731	731	office; 13
732	732	(B) to enable the State governments to 14
733	733	register all eligible citizens to vote with accu-15
734	734	rate, cost-efficient, and up-to-date procedures; 16
735	735	(C) to modernize voter registration and list 17
736	736	maintenance procedures with electronic and 18
737	737	internet capabilities; and 19
738	738	(D) to protect and enhance the integrity, 20
739	739	accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility of the 21
740	740	electoral process for all eligible citizens. 22
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743	743	•S 1 IS
744	744	SEC. 1002. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDI-1
745	745	VIDUALS. 2
746	746	(a) I
747	747	NGENERAL.—The National Voter Registration 3
748	748	Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504) is amended by inserting 4
749	749	after section 5 the following new section: 5
750	750	‘‘SEC. 5A. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION BY STATE MOTOR VE-6
751	751	HICLE AUTHORITY. 7
752	752	‘‘(a) D
753	753	EFINITIONS.—In this section— 8
754	754	‘‘(1) A
755	755	PPLICABLE AGENCY.—The term ‘applica-9
756	756	ble agency’ means, with respect to a State, the State 10
757	757	motor vehicle authority responsible for motor vehicle 11
758	758	driver’s licenses under State law. 12
759	759	‘‘(2) A
760	760	PPLICABLE TRANSACTION .—The term 13
761	761	‘applicable transaction’ means— 14
762	762	‘‘(A) an application to an applicable agency 15
763	763	for a motor vehicle driver’s license; and 16
764	764	‘‘(B) any other service or assistance (in-17
765	765	cluding for a change of address) provided by an 18
766	766	applicable agency. 19
767	767	‘‘(3) A
768	768	UTOMATIC REGISTRATION .—The term 20
769	769	‘automatic registration’ means a system that reg-21
770	770	isters an individual to vote and updates existing reg-22
771	771	istrations, in elections for Federal office in a State, 23
772	772	if eligible, by electronically transferring the informa-24
773	773	tion necessary for registration from the applicable 25
774	774	agency to election officials of the State so that, un-26
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777	777	•S 1 IS
778	778	less the individual affirmatively declines to be reg-1
779	779	istered or to update any voter registration, the indi-2
780	780	vidual will be registered to vote in such elections. 3
781	781	‘‘(4) E
782	782	LIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 4
783	783	individual’ means, with respect to an election for 5
784	784	Federal office, an individual who is otherwise quali-6
785	785	fied to vote in that election. 7
786	786	‘‘(5) R
787	787	EGISTER TO VOTE.—The term ‘register 8
788	788	to vote’ includes updating an individual’s existing 9
789	789	voter registration. 10
790	790	‘‘(b) E
791	791	STABLISHMENT.— 11
792	792	‘‘(1) I
793	793	N GENERAL.—The chief State election of-12
794	794	ficial of each State shall establish and operate a sys-13
795	795	tem of automatic registration for the registration of 14
796	796	eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal 15
797	797	office in the State, in accordance with the provisions 16
798	798	of this section. 17
799	799	‘‘(2) R
800	800	EGISTRATION OF VOTERS BASED ON NEW 18
801	801	AGENCY RECORDS.— 19
802	802	‘‘(A) I
803	803	N GENERAL.—The chief State elec-20
804	804	tion official shall— 21
805	805	‘‘(i) subject to subparagraph (B), en-22
806	806	sure that each eligible individual who com-23
807	807	pletes an applicable transaction and does 24
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809	809	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 23
810	810	•S 1 IS
811	811	not decline to register to vote is registered 1
812	812	to vote— 2
813	813	‘‘(I) in the next upcoming elec-3
814	814	tion for Federal office (and subse-4
815	815	quent elections for Federal office), if 5
816	816	an applicable agency transmits infor-6
817	817	mation under subsection (c)(1)(E) 7
818	818	with respect to the individual not later 8
819	819	than the applicable date; and 9
820	820	‘‘(II) in subsequent elections for 10
821	821	Federal office, if an applicable agency 11
822	822	transmits such information with re-12
823	823	spect to such individual after the ap-13
824	824	plicable date; and 14
825	825	‘‘(ii) not later than 60 days after the 15
826	826	receipt of such information with respect to 16
827	827	an individual, send written notice to the in-17
828	828	dividual, in addition to other means of no-18
829	829	tice established by this section, of the indi-19
830	830	vidual’s voter registration status. 20
831	831	‘‘(B) A
832	832	PPLICABLE DATE.—For purposes of 21
833	833	this subsection, the term ‘applicable date’ 22
834	834	means, with respect to any election for Federal 23
835	835	office, the later of— 24
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838	838	•S 1 IS
839	839	‘‘(i) the date that is 28 days before 1
840	840	the date of the election; or 2
841	841	‘‘(ii) the last day of the period pro-3
842	842	vided by State law for registration with re-4
843	843	spect to such election. 5
844	844	‘‘(C) C
845	845	LARIFICATION.—Nothing in this 6
846	846	subsection shall prevent the chief State election 7
847	847	official from registering an eligible individual to 8
848	848	vote for the next upcoming election for Federal 9
849	849	office in the State even if an applicable agency 10
850	850	transmits information under subsection 11
851	851	(c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual after 12
852	852	the applicable date. 13
853	853	‘‘(3) T
854	854	REATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 14
855	855	YEARS OF AGE.—A State may not refuse to treat an 15
856	856	individual as an eligible individual for purposes of 16
857	857	this section on the grounds that the individual is less 17
858	858	than 18 years of age at the time an applicable agen-18
859	859	cy receives information with respect to the indi-19
860	860	vidual, so long as the individual is at least 16 years 20
861	861	of age at such time. Nothing in the previous sen-21
862	862	tence may be construed to require a State to permit 22
863	863	an individual who is under 18 years of age at the 23
864	864	time of an election for Federal office to vote in the 24
865	865	election. 25
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868	868	•S 1 IS
869	869	‘‘(c) APPLICABLEAGENCYRESPONSIBILITIES.— 1
870	870	‘‘(1) I
871	871	NSTRUCTIONS ON AUTOMATIC REGISTRA -2
872	872	TION FOR AGENCIES COLLECTING CITIZENSHIP IN -3
873	873	FORMATION.— 4
874	874	‘‘(A) I
875	875	N GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 5
876	876	provided in this section, in the case of any ap-6
877	877	plicable transaction for which an applicable 7
878	878	agency (in the normal course of its operations) 8
879	879	requests individuals to affirm United States 9
880	880	citizenship (either directly or as part of the 10
881	881	overall application for service or assistance or 11
882	882	enrollment), the applicable agency shall inform 12
883	883	each such individual who is a citizen of the 13
884	884	United States of the following: 14
885	885	‘‘(i) Unless that individual declines to 15
886	886	register to vote, or is found ineligible to 16
887	887	vote, the individual will be registered to 17
888	888	vote or, if applicable, the individual’s reg-18
889	889	istration will be updated. 19
890	890	‘‘(ii) The substantive qualifications of 20
891	891	an elector in the State as listed in the mail 21
892	892	voter registration application form for elec-22
893	893	tions for Federal office prescribed pursu-23
894	894	ant to section 9, the consequences of false 24
895	895	registration, and how the individual should 25
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898	898	•S 1 IS
899	899	decline to register if the individual does 1
900	900	not meet all those qualifications. 2
901	901	‘‘(iii) In the case of a State in which 3
902	902	affiliation or enrollment with a political 4
903	903	party is required in order to participate in 5
904	904	an election to select the party’s candidate 6
905	905	in an election for Federal office, the re-7
906	906	quirement that the individual must affiliate 8
907	907	or enroll with a political party in order to 9
908	908	participate in such an election. 10
909	909	‘‘(iv) Voter registration is voluntary, 11
910	910	and neither registering nor declining to 12
911	911	register to vote will in any way affect the 13
912	912	availability of services or benefits, nor be 14
913	913	used for other purposes. 15
914	914	‘‘(B) I
915	915	NDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED 16
916	916	ENGLISH PROFICIENCY .—In the case in which 17
917	917	the individual is a member of a group that con-18
918	918	stitutes 3 percent or more of the overall popu-19
919	919	lation within the State served by the applicable 20
920	920	agency as measured by the United States Cen-21
921	921	sus and are limited English proficient, the in-22
922	922	formation described in clauses (i) through (iv) 23
923	923	of subparagraph (A) shall be provided in a lan-24
924	924	guage understood by the individual. 25
925	925	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
926	926	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 27
927	927	•S 1 IS
928	928	‘‘(C) CLARIFICATION ON PROCEDURES FOR 1
929	929	INELIGIBLE VOTERS .—An applicable agency 2
930	930	shall not provide an individual who did not af-3
931	931	firm United States citizenship, or for whom the 4
932	932	agency has conclusive documentary evidence ob-5
933	933	tained through its normal course of operations 6
934	934	that the individual is not a United States cit-7
935	935	izen, the opportunity to register to vote under 8
936	936	subparagraph (A). 9
937	937	‘‘(D) O
938	938	PPORTUNITY TO DECLINE REG -10
939	939	ISTRATION REQUIRED .—Except as otherwise 11
940	940	provided in this section, each applicable agency 12
941	941	shall ensure that each applicable transaction de-13
942	942	scribed in subparagraph (A) with an eligible in-14
943	943	dividual cannot be completed until the indi-15
944	944	vidual is given the opportunity to decline to be 16
945	945	registered to vote. In the case where the indi-17
946	946	vidual is a member of a group that constitutes 18
947	947	3 percent or more of the overall population 19
948	948	within the State served by the applicable agency 20
949	949	as measured by the United States Census and 21
950	950	are limited English proficient, such opportunity 22
951	951	shall be given in a language understood by the 23
952	952	individual. 24
953	953	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
954	954	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 28
955	955	•S 1 IS
956	956	‘‘(E) INFORMATION TRANSMITTAL .—Not 1
957	957	later than 10 days after an applicable trans-2
958	958	action with an eligible individual, if the indi-3
959	959	vidual did not decline to be registered to vote, 4
960	960	the applicable agency shall electronically trans-5
961	961	mit to the appropriate State election official the 6
962	962	following information with respect to the indi-7
963	963	vidual: 8
964	964	‘‘(i) The individual’s given name(s) 9
965	965	and surname(s). 10
966	966	‘‘(ii) The individual’s date of birth. 11
967	967	‘‘(iii) The individual’s residential ad-12
968	968	dress. 13
969	969	‘‘(iv) Information showing that the in-14
970	970	dividual is a citizen of the United States. 15
971	971	‘‘(v) The date on which information 16
972	972	pertaining to that individual was collected 17
973	973	or last updated. 18
974	974	‘‘(vi) If available, the individual’s sig-19
975	975	nature in electronic form. 20
976	976	‘‘(vii) In the case of a State in which 21
977	977	affiliation or enrollment with a political 22
978	978	party is required in order to participate in 23
979	979	an election to select the party’s candidate 24
980	980	in an election for Federal office, informa-25
981	981	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
982	982	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 29
983	983	•S 1 IS
984	984	tion regarding the individual’s affiliation or 1
985	985	enrollment with a political party, but only 2
986	986	if the individual provides such information. 3
987	987	‘‘(viii) Any additional information list-4
988	988	ed in the mail voter registration applica-5
989	989	tion form for elections for Federal office 6
990	990	prescribed pursuant to section 9, including 7
991	991	any valid driver’s license number or the 8
992	992	last 4 digits of the individual’s social secu-9
993	993	rity number, if the individual provided 10
994	994	such information. 11
995	995	‘‘(F) P
996	996	ROVISION OF INFORMATION RE -12
997	997	GARDING PARTICIPATION IN PRIMARY ELEC -13
998	998	TIONS.—In the case of a State in which affili-14
999	999	ation or enrollment with a political party is re-15
1000	1000	quired in order to participate in an election to 16
1001	1001	select the party’s candidate in an election for 17
1002	1002	Federal office, if the information transmitted 18
1003	1003	under subparagraph (E) with respect to an in-19
1004	1004	dividual does not include information regarding 20
1005	1005	the individual’s affiliation or enrollment with a 21
1006	1006	political party, the chief State election official 22
1007	1007	shall— 23
1008	1008	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1009	1009	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 30
1010	1010	•S 1 IS
1011	1011	‘‘(i) notify the individual that such af-1
1012	1012	filiation or enrollment is required to par-2
1013	1013	ticipate in primary elections; and 3
1014	1014	‘‘(ii) provide an opportunity for the 4
1015	1015	individual to update their registration with 5
1016	1016	a party affiliation or enrollment. 6
1017	1017	‘‘(G) C
1018	1018	LARIFICATION.—Nothing in this 7
1019	1019	section shall be read to require an applicable 8
1020	1020	agency to transmit to an election official the in-9
1021	1021	formation described in subparagraph (E) for an 10
1022	1022	individual who is ineligible to vote in elections 11
1023	1023	for Federal office in the State, except to the ex-12
1024	1024	tent required to pre-register citizens between 16 13
1025	1025	and 18 years of age. 14
1026	1026	‘‘(2) A
1027	1027	LTERNATE PROCEDURE FOR CERTAIN 15
1028	1028	OTHER APPLICABLE AGENCIES .—With each applica-16
1029	1029	ble transaction for which an applicable agency in the 17
1030	1030	normal course of its operations does not request in-18
1031	1031	dividuals to affirm United States citizenship (either 19
1032	1032	directly or as part of the overall application for serv-20
1033	1033	ice or assistance), the applicable agency shall— 21
1034	1034	‘‘(A) complete the requirements of section 22
1035	1035	5; 23
1036	1036	‘‘(B) ensure that each applicant’s trans-24
1037	1037	action with the applicable agency cannot be 25
1038	1038	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1039	1039	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 31
1040	1040	•S 1 IS
1041	1041	completed until the applicant has indicated 1
1042	1042	whether the applicant wishes to register to vote 2
1043	1043	or declines to register to vote in elections for 3
1044	1044	Federal office held in the State; and 4
1045	1045	‘‘(C) for each individual who wishes to reg-5
1046	1046	ister to vote, transmit that individual’s informa-6
1047	1047	tion in accordance with subsection (c)(1)(E), 7
1048	1048	unless the applicable agency has conclusive doc-8
1049	1049	umentary evidence obtained through its normal 9
1050	1050	course of operations that the individual is not 10
1051	1051	a United States citizen. 11
1052	1052	‘‘(3) R
1053	1053	EQUIRED AVAILABILITY OF AUTOMATIC 12
1054	1054	REGISTRATION OPPORTUNITY WITH EACH APPLICA -13
1055	1055	TION FOR SERVICE OR ASSISTANCE .—Each applica-14
1056	1056	ble agency shall offer each eligible individual, with 15
1057	1057	each applicable transaction, the opportunity to reg-16
1058	1058	ister to vote as prescribed by this section without re-17
1059	1059	gard to whether the individual previously declined a 18
1060	1060	registration opportunity. 19
1061	1061	‘‘(d) V
1062	1062	OTERPROTECTION.— 20
1063	1063	‘‘(1) A
1064	1064	PPLICABLE AGENCIES ’ PROTECTION OF 21
1065	1065	INFORMATION.—Nothing in this section authorizes 22
1066	1066	an applicable agency to collect, retain, transmit, or 23
1067	1067	publicly disclose any of the following, except as nec-24
1068	1068	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1069	1069	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 32
1070	1070	•S 1 IS
1071	1071	essary to comply with title III of the Civil Rights 1
1072	1072	Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq.): 2
1073	1073	‘‘(A) An individual’s decision to decline to 3
1074	1074	register to vote or not to register to vote. 4
1075	1075	‘‘(B) An individual’s decision not to affirm 5
1076	1076	his or her citizenship. 6
1077	1077	‘‘(C) Any information that an applicable 7
1078	1078	agency transmits pursuant to subsection 8
1079	1079	(c)(1)(E), except in pursuing the agency’s ordi-9
1080	1080	nary course of business. 10
1081	1081	‘‘(2) E
1082	1082	LECTION OFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OF IN-11
1083	1083	FORMATION.— 12
1084	1084	‘‘(A) P
1085	1085	UBLIC DISCLOSURE PROHIBITED .— 13
1086	1086	‘‘(i) I
1087	1087	N GENERAL.—Subject to clause 14
1088	1088	(ii), with respect to any individual for 15
1089	1089	whom any State election official receives 16
1090	1090	information from an applicable agency, the 17
1091	1091	State election official shall not publicly dis-18
1092	1092	close any of the following: 19
1093	1093	‘‘(I) Any information not nec-20
1094	1094	essary to voter registration. 21
1095	1095	‘‘(II) Any voter information oth-22
1096	1096	erwise shielded from disclosure under 23
1097	1097	State law or section 8(a). 24
1098	1098	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1099	1099	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 33
1100	1100	•S 1 IS
1101	1101	‘‘(III) Any portion of the individ-1
1102	1102	ual’s social security number. 2
1103	1103	‘‘(IV) Any portion of the individ-3
1104	1104	ual’s motor vehicle driver’s license 4
1105	1105	number. 5
1106	1106	‘‘(V) The individual’s signature. 6
1107	1107	‘‘(VI) The individual’s telephone 7
1108	1108	number. 8
1109	1109	‘‘(VII) The individual’s email ad-9
1110	1110	dress. 10
1111	1111	‘‘(ii) S
1112	1112	PECIAL RULE FOR INDIVIDUALS 11
1113	1113	REGISTERED TO VOTE .—The prohibition 12
1114	1114	on public disclosure under clause (i) shall 13
1115	1115	not apply with respect to the telephone 14
1116	1116	number or email address of any individual 15
1117	1117	for whom any State election official re-16
1118	1118	ceives information from the applicable 17
1119	1119	agency and who, on the basis of such infor-18
1120	1120	mation, is registered to vote in the State 19
1121	1121	under this section. 20
1122	1122	‘‘(e) M
1123	1123	ISCELLANEOUSPROVISIONS.— 21
1124	1124	‘‘(1) A
1125	1125	CCESSIBILITY OF REGISTRATION SERV -22
1126	1126	ICES.—Each applicable agency shall ensure that the 23
1127	1127	services it provides under this section are made 24
1128	1128	available to individuals with disabilities to the same 25
1129	1129	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1130	1130	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 34
1131	1131	•S 1 IS
1132	1132	extent as services are made available to all other in-1
1133	1133	dividuals. 2
1134	1134	‘‘(2) T
1135	1135	RANSMISSION THROUGH SECURE THIRD 3
1136	1136	PARTY PERMITTED.—Nothing in this section or in 4
1137	1137	the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2023 shall 5
1138	1138	be construed to prevent an applicable agency from 6
1139	1139	contracting with a third party to assist the agency 7
1140	1140	in meeting the information transmittal requirements 8
1141	1141	of this section, so long as the data transmittal com-9
1142	1142	plies with the applicable requirements of this section 10
1143	1143	and such Act, including provisions relating privacy 11
1144	1144	and security. 12
1145	1145	‘‘(3) N
1146	1146	ONPARTISAN, NONDISCRIMINATORY PRO -13
1147	1147	VISION OF SERVICES.—The services made available 14
1148	1148	by applicable agencies under this section shall be 15
1149	1149	made in a manner consistent with paragraphs (4), 16
1150	1150	(5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a). 17
1151	1151	‘‘(4) N
1152	1152	OTICES.—Each State may send notices 18
1153	1153	under this section via electronic mail if the indi-19
1154	1154	vidual has provided an electronic mail address and 20
1155	1155	consented to electronic mail communications for 21
1156	1156	election-related materials. All notices sent pursuant 22
1157	1157	to this section that require a response must offer the 23
1158	1158	individual notified the opportunity to respond at no 24
1159	1159	cost to the individual. 25
1160	1160	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1161	1161	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 35
1162	1162	•S 1 IS
1163	1163	‘‘(5) REGISTRATION AT OTHER STATE OFFICES 1
1164	1164	PERMITTED.—Nothing in this section may be con-2
1165	1165	strued to prohibit a State from offering voter reg-3
1166	1166	istration services described in this section at offices 4
1167	1167	of the State other than the State motor vehicle au-5
1168	1168	thority. 6
1169	1169	‘‘(f) A
1170	1170	PPLICABILITY.— 7
1171	1171	‘‘(1) I
1172	1172	N GENERAL.—This section shall not apply 8
1173	1173	to an exempt State. 9
1174	1174	‘‘(2) E
1175	1175	XEMPT STATE DEFINED .—The term ‘ex-10
1176	1176	empt State’ means a State that, under law that is 11
1177	1177	in effect continuously on and after the date of enact-12
1178	1178	ment of this section, either— 13
1179	1179	‘‘(A) has no voter registration requirement 14
1180	1180	for any voter in the State with respect to a 15
1181	1181	Federal election; or 16
1182	1182	‘‘(B) operates a system of automatic reg-17
1183	1183	istration at the motor vehicle authority of the 18
1184	1184	State or a Permanent Dividend Fund of the 19
1185	1185	State under which an individual is provided the 20
1186	1186	opportunity to decline registration during the 21
1187	1187	transaction or by way of a notice sent by mail 22
1188	1188	or electronically after the transaction.’’. 23
1189	1189	(b) C
1190	1190	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 24
1191	1191	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1192	1192	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 36
1193	1193	•S 1 IS
1194	1194	(1) Section 4(a) of the National Voter Registra-1
1195	1195	tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(a)) is amended 2
1196	1196	by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as para-3
1197	1197	graphs (3) and (4), respectively, and by inserting 4
1198	1198	after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph: 5
1199	1199	‘‘(2) by application made simultaneously with 6
1200	1200	an application for a motor vehicle driver’s license 7
1201	1201	pursuant to section 5A;’’. 8
1202	1202	(2) Section 4(b) of the National Voter Registra-9
1203	1203	tion Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(b)) is amend-10
1204	1204	ed— 11
1205	1205	(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 12
1206	1206	(2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 13
1207	1207	and indenting appropriately; 14
1208	1208	(B) by striking ‘‘S
1209	1209	TATES.—This Act’’ and 15
1210	1210	inserting ‘‘S
1211	1211	TATES.— 16
1212	1212	‘‘(1) I
1213	1213	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-17
1214	1214	graph (2), this Act’’; and 18
1215	1215	(C) by adding at the end the following new 19
1216	1216	paragraph: 20
1217	1217	‘‘(2) A
1218	1218	PPLICATION OF AUTOMATIC REGISTRA -21
1219	1219	TION REQUIREMENTS .—Section 5A shall apply to a 22
1220	1220	State described in paragraph (1), unless the State is 23
1221	1221	an exempt State as defined in subsection (f)(2) of 24
1222	1222	such section.’’. 25
1223	1223	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1224	1224	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 37
1225	1225	•S 1 IS
1226	1226	(3) Section 8(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 1
1227	1227	20507(a)(1)) is amended by redesignating subpara-2
1228	1228	graphs (B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), 3
1229	1229	and (E), respectively, and by inserting after sub-4
1230	1230	paragraph (A) the following new subparagraph: 5
1231	1231	‘‘(B) in the case of registration under sec-6
1232	1232	tion 5A, within the period provided in section 7
1233	1233	5A(b)(2);’’. 8
1234	1234	SEC. 1003. VOTER PROTECTION AND SECURITY IN AUTO-9
1235	1235	MATIC REGISTRATION. 10
1236	1236	(a) P
1237	1237	ROTECTIONS FORERRORS INREGISTRATION.— 11
1238	1238	An individual shall not be prosecuted under any Federal 12
1239	1239	or State law, adversely affected in any civil adjudication 13
1240	1240	concerning immigration status or naturalization, or sub-14
1241	1241	ject to an allegation in any legal proceeding that the indi-15
1242	1242	vidual is not a citizen of the United States on any of the 16
1243	1243	following grounds: 17
1244	1244	(1) The individual notified an election office of 18
1245	1245	the individual’s automatic registration to vote. 19
1246	1246	(2) The individual is not eligible to vote in elec-20
1247	1247	tions for Federal office but was registered to vote 21
1248	1248	due to individual or agency error. 22
1249	1249	(3) The individual was automatically registered 23
1250	1250	to vote at an incorrect address. 24
1251	1251	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1252	1252	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 38
1253	1253	•S 1 IS
1254	1254	(4) The individual declined the opportunity to 1
1255	1255	register to vote or did not make an affirmation of 2
1256	1256	citizenship, including through automatic registration. 3
1257	1257	(b) L
1258	1258	IMITS ONUSE OFAUTOMATICREGISTRA-4
1259	1259	TION.—The automatic registration (within the meaning of 5
1260	1260	section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 6
1261	1261	1993) of any individual or the fact that an individual de-7
1262	1262	clined the opportunity to register to vote or did not make 8
1263	1263	an affirmation of citizenship (including through automatic 9
1264	1264	registration) may not be used as evidence against that in-10
1265	1265	dividual in any State or Federal law enforcement pro-11
1266	1266	ceeding or any civil adjudication concerning immigration 12
1267	1267	status or naturalization, and an individual’s lack of knowl-13
1268	1268	edge or willfulness of such registration may be dem-14
1269	1269	onstrated by the individual’s testimony alone. 15
1270	1270	(c) P
1271	1271	ROTECTION OFELECTIONINTEGRITY.—Noth-16
1272	1272	ing in subsection (a) or (b) may be construed to prohibit 17
1273	1273	or restrict any action under color of law against an indi-18
1274	1274	vidual who— 19
1275	1275	(1) knowingly and willfully makes a false state-20
1276	1276	ment to effectuate or perpetuate automatic voter 21
1277	1277	registration (within the meaning of section 5A of the 22
1278	1278	National Voter Registration Act of 1993) by any in-23
1279	1279	dividual; or 24
1280	1280	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1281	1281	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 39
1282	1282	•S 1 IS
1283	1283	(2) casts a ballot knowingly and willfully in vio-1
1284	1284	lation of State law or the laws of the United States. 2
1285	1285	(d) E
1286	1286	LECTIONOFFICIALS’ PROTECTION OFINFOR-3
1287	1287	MATION.— 4
1288	1288	(1) V
1289	1289	OTER RECORD CHANGES .—Each State 5
1290	1290	shall maintain for not less than 2 years and shall 6
1291	1291	make available for public inspection (and, where 7
1292	1292	available, photocopying at a reasonable cost), includ-8
1293	1293	ing in electronic form and through electronic meth-9
1294	1294	ods, all records of changes to voter records, includ-10
1295	1295	ing removals, the reasons for removals, and updates. 11
1296	1296	(2) D
1297	1297	ATABASE MANAGEMENT STANDARDS .— 12
1298	1298	Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 13
1299	1299	of this Act, the Director of the National Institute of 14
1300	1300	Standards and Technology, in consultation with 15
1301	1301	State and local election officials and the Commis-16
1302	1302	sion, shall, after providing the public with notice and 17
1303	1303	the opportunity to comment— 18
1304	1304	(A) establish standards governing the com-19
1305	1305	parison of data for voter registration list main-20
1306	1306	tenance purposes, identifying as part of such 21
1307	1307	standards the specific data elements, the 22
1308	1308	matching rules used, and how a State may use 23
1309	1309	the data to determine and deem that an indi-24
1310	1310	vidual is ineligible under State law to vote in an 25
1311	1311	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1312	1312	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 40
1313	1313	•S 1 IS
1314	1314	election, or to deem a record to be a duplicate 1
1315	1315	or outdated; 2
1316	1316	(B) ensure that the standards developed 3
1317	1317	pursuant to this paragraph are uniform and 4
1318	1318	nondiscriminatory and are applied in a uniform 5
1319	1319	and nondiscriminatory manner; 6
1320	1320	(C) not later than 45 days after the dead-7
1321	1321	line for public notice and comment, publish the 8
1322	1322	standards developed pursuant to this paragraph 9
1323	1323	on the Director’s website and make those 10
1324	1324	standards available in written form upon re-11
1325	1325	quest; and 12
1326	1326	(D) ensure that the standards developed 13
1327	1327	pursuant to this paragraph are maintained and 14
1328	1328	updated in a manner that reflects innovations 15
1329	1329	and best practices in the security of database 16
1330	1330	management. 17
1331	1331	(3) S
1332	1332	ECURITY POLICY.— 18
1333	1333	(A) I
1334	1334	N GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 19
1335	1335	after the date of enactment of this Act, the Di-20
1336	1336	rector of the National Institute of Standards 21
1337	1337	and Technology shall, after providing the public 22
1338	1338	with notice and the opportunity to comment, 23
1339	1339	publish privacy and security standards for voter 24
1340	1340	registration information not later than 45 days 25
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1343	1343	•S 1 IS
1344	1344	after the deadline for public notice and com-1
1345	1345	ment. The standards shall require the chief 2
1346	1346	State election official of each State to adopt a 3
1347	1347	policy that shall specify— 4
1348	1348	(i) each class of users who shall have 5
1349	1349	authorized access to the computerized 6
1350	1350	statewide voter registration list, specifying 7
1351	1351	for each class the permission and levels of 8
1352	1352	access to be granted, and setting forth 9
1353	1353	other safeguards to protect the privacy, se-10
1354	1354	curity, and accuracy of the information on 11
1355	1355	the list; and 12
1356	1356	(ii) security safeguards to protect per-13
1357	1357	sonal information transmitted through the 14
1358	1358	information transmittal processes of sec-15
1359	1359	tion 5A(b) of the National Voter Registra-16
1360	1360	tion Act of 1993, any telephone interface, 17
1361	1361	the maintenance of the voter registration 18
1362	1362	database, and any audit procedure to track 19
1363	1363	access to the system. 20
1364	1364	(B) M
1365	1365	AINTENANCE AND UPDATING .—The 21
1366	1366	Director of the National Institute of Standards 22
1367	1367	and Technology shall ensure that the standards 23
1368	1368	developed pursuant to this paragraph are main-24
1369	1369	tained and updated in a manner that reflects 25
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1372	1372	•S 1 IS
1373	1373	innovations and best practices in the privacy 1
1374	1374	and security of voter registration information. 2
1375	1375	(4) S
1376	1376	TATE COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL 3
1377	1377	STANDARDS.— 4
1378	1378	(A) C
1379	1379	ERTIFICATION.—The chief State elec-5
1380	1380	tion official of the State shall annually file with 6
1381	1381	the Commission a statement certifying to the 7
1382	1382	Director of the National Institute of Standards 8
1383	1383	and Technology that the State is in compliance 9
1384	1384	with the standards referred to in paragraphs 10
1385	1385	(2) and (3). A State may meet the requirement 11
1386	1386	of the previous sentence by filing with the Com-12
1387	1387	mission a statement that reads as follows: 13
1388	1388	‘‘lllll hereby certifies that it is in 14
1389	1389	compliance with the standards referred to in 15
1390	1390	paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1003(d) of 16
1391	1391	the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2023.’’ 17
1392	1392	(with the blank to be filled in with the name of 18
1393	1393	the State involved). 19
1394	1394	(B) P
1395	1395	UBLICATION OF POLICIES AND PRO -20
1396	1396	CEDURES.—The chief State election official of a 21
1397	1397	State shall publish on the official’s website the 22
1398	1398	policies and procedures established under this 23
1399	1399	section, and shall make those policies and pro-24
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1401	1401	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 43
1402	1402	•S 1 IS
1403	1403	cedures available in written form upon public 1
1404	1404	request. 2
1405	1405	(C) F
1406	1406	UNDING DEPENDENT ON CERTIFI -3
1407	1407	CATION.—If a State does not timely file the cer-4
1408	1408	tification required under this paragraph, it shall 5
1409	1409	not receive any payment under this part for the 6
1410	1410	upcoming fiscal year. 7
1411	1411	(D) C
1412	1412	OMPLIANCE OF STATES THAT RE -8
1413	1413	QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW .—In the case 9
1414	1414	of a State that requires State legislation to 10
1415	1415	carry out an activity covered by any certifi-11
1416	1416	cation submitted under this paragraph, for a 12
1417	1417	period of not more than 2 years, the State shall 13
1418	1418	be permitted to make the certification notwith-14
1419	1419	standing that the legislation has not been en-15
1420	1420	acted at the time the certification is submitted, 16
1421	1421	and such State shall submit an additional cer-17
1422	1422	tification once such legislation is enacted. 18
1423	1423	(e) R
1424	1424	ESTRICTIONS ONUSE OFINFORMATION.—No 19
1425	1425	person acting under color of law may discriminate against 20
1426	1426	any individual based on, or use for any purpose other than 21
1427	1427	voter registration, election administration, juror selection, 22
1428	1428	or enforcement relating to election crimes, any of the fol-23
1429	1429	lowing: 24
1430	1430	(1) Voter registration records. 25
1431	1431	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1432	1432	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 44
1433	1433	•S 1 IS
1434	1434	(2) An individual’s declination to register to 1
1435	1435	vote or complete an affirmation of citizenship under 2
1436	1436	section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 3
1437	1437	1993. 4
1438	1438	(3) An individual’s voter registration status. 5
1439	1439	(f) P
1440	1440	ROHIBITION ON THEUSE OFVOTERREGISTRA-6
1441	1441	TIONINFORMATION FOR COMMERCIALPURPOSES.—In-7
1442	1442	formation collected under this part or the amendments 8
1443	1443	made by this part shall not be used for commercial pur-9
1444	1444	poses. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to pro-10
1445	1445	hibit the transmission, exchange, or dissemination of in-11
1446	1446	formation for political purposes, including the support of 12
1447	1447	campaigns for election for Federal, State, or local public 13
1448	1448	office or the activities of political committees (including 14
1449	1449	committees of political parties) under the Federal Election 15
1450	1450	Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.). 16
1451	1451	SEC. 1004. PAYMENTS AND GRANTS. 17
1452	1452	(a) I
1453	1453	NGENERAL.—The Commission shall make 18
1454	1454	grants to each eligible State to assist the State in imple-19
1455	1455	menting the requirements of this part and the amend-20
1456	1456	ments made by this part (or, in the case of an exempt 21
1457	1457	State, in implementing its existing automatic voter reg-22
1458	1458	istration program or expanding its automatic voter reg-23
1459	1459	istration program in a manner consistent with the require-24
1460	1460	ments of this part) with respect to the offices of the State 25
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1463	1463	•S 1 IS
1464	1464	motor vehicle authority and any other offices of the State 1
1465	1465	at which the State offers voter registration services as de-2
1466	1466	scribed in this part and the amendments made by this 3
1467	1467	part. 4
1468	1468	(b) E
1469	1469	LIGIBILITY; APPLICATION.—A State is eligible 5
1470	1470	to receive a grant under this section if the State submits 6
1471	1471	to the Commission, at such time and in such form as the 7
1472	1472	Commission may require, an application containing— 8
1473	1473	(1) a description of the activities the State will 9
1474	1474	carry out with the grant; 10
1475	1475	(2) an assurance that the State shall carry out 11
1476	1476	such activities without partisan bias and without 12
1477	1477	promoting any particular point of view regarding 13
1478	1478	any issue; and 14
1479	1479	(3) such other information and assurances as 15
1480	1480	the Commission may require. 16
1481	1481	(c) A
1482	1482	MOUNT OFGRANT; PRIORITIES.—The Commis-17
1483	1483	sion shall determine the amount of a grant made to an 18
1484	1484	eligible State under this section. In determining the 19
1485	1485	amounts of the grants, the Commission shall give priority 20
1486	1486	to providing funds for those activities that are most likely 21
1487	1487	to accelerate compliance with the requirements of this part 22
1488	1488	(or, in the case of an exempt State, which are most likely 23
1489	1489	to enhance the ability of the State to automatically reg-24
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1491	1491	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 46
1492	1492	•S 1 IS
1493	1493	ister individuals to vote through its existing automatic 1
1494	1494	voter registration program), including— 2
1495	1495	(1) investments supporting electronic informa-3
1496	1496	tion transfer, including electronic collection and 4
1497	1497	transfer of signatures, between applicable agencies 5
1498	1498	(as defined in section 5A of the National Voter Reg-6
1499	1499	istration Act of 1993) and the appropriate State 7
1500	1500	election officials; 8
1501	1501	(2) updates to online or electronic voter reg-9
1502	1502	istration systems already operating as of the date of 10
1503	1503	enactment of this Act; 11
1504	1504	(3) introduction of online voter registration sys-12
1505	1505	tems in jurisdictions in which those systems did not 13
1506	1506	previously exist; and 14
1507	1507	(4) public education on the availability of new 15
1508	1508	methods of registering to vote, updating registration, 16
1509	1509	and correcting registration. 17
1510	1510	(d) E
1511	1511	XEMPTSTATE.—For purposes of this section, 18
1512	1512	the term ‘‘exempt State’’ has the meaning given that term 19
1513	1513	in section 5A of the National Voter Registration Act of 20
1514	1514	1993, and also includes a State in which, under law that 21
1515	1515	is in effect continuously on and after the date of enact-22
1516	1516	ment of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 23
1517	1517	there is no voter registration requirement for any voter 24
1518	1518	in the State with respect to an election for Federal office. 25
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1521	1521	•S 1 IS
1522	1522	(e) AUTHORIZATION OFAPPROPRIATIONS.— 1
1523	1523	(1) A
1524	1524	UTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 2
1525	1525	be appropriated to carry out this section— 3
1526	1526	(A) $3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 4
1527	1527	and 5
1528	1528	(B) such sums as may be necessary for 6
1529	1529	each succeeding fiscal year. 7
1530	1530	(2) C
1531	1531	ONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS .— 8
1532	1532	Any amounts appropriated pursuant to the authority 9
1533	1533	of this subsection shall remain available without fis-10
1534	1534	cal year limitation until expended. 11
1535	1535	SEC. 1005. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 12
1536	1536	(a) E
1537	1537	NFORCEMENT.—Section 11 of the National 13
1538	1538	Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20510), relat-14
1539	1539	ing to civil enforcement and the availability of private 15
1540	1540	rights of action, shall apply with respect to this part in 16
1541	1541	the same manner as such section applies to such Act. 17
1542	1542	(b) R
1543	1543	ELATION TOOTHERLAWS.—Except as pro-18
1544	1544	vided, nothing in this part or the amendments made by 19
1545	1545	this part may be construed to authorize or require conduct 20
1546	1546	prohibited under, or to supersede, restrict, or limit the ap-21
1547	1547	plication of any of the following: 22
1548	1548	(1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 23
1549	1549	10301 et seq.). 24
1550	1550	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1551	1551	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 48
1552	1552	•S 1 IS
1553	1553	(2) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab-1
1554	1554	sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 2
1555	1555	(3) The National Voter Registration Act of 3
1556	1556	1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) (other than section 4
1557	1557	5A thereof). 5
1558	1558	(4) The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 6
1559	1559	U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 7
1560	1560	(5) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 8
1561	1561	1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 9
1562	1562	SEC. 1006. DEFINITIONS. 10
1563	1563	In this part, the following definitions apply: 11
1564	1564	(1) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ 12
1565	1565	means, with respect to a State, the individual des-13
1566	1566	ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na-14
1567	1567	tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 15
1568	1568	20509) to be responsible for coordination of the 16
1569	1569	State’s responsibilities under such Act. 17
1570	1570	(2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Election 18
1571	1571	Assistance Commission. 19
1572	1572	(3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 20
1573	1573	States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 21
1574	1574	of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 22
1575	1575	Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 23
1576	1576	the Northern Mariana Islands. 24
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1579	1579	•S 1 IS
1580	1580	SEC. 1007. EFFECTIVE DATE. 1
1581	1581	(a) I
1582	1582	NGENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 2
1583	1583	(b), this part and the amendments made by this part shall 3
1584	1584	apply on and after January 1, 2025. 4
1585	1585	(b) W
1586	1586	AIVER.—If a State certifies to the Commission 5
1587	1587	not later than January 1, 2025, that the State will not 6
1588	1588	meet the deadline described in subsection (a) because it 7
1589	1589	would be impracticable to do so and includes in the certifi-8
1590	1590	cation the reasons for the failure to meet such deadline, 9
1591	1591	subsection (a) shall apply to the State as if the reference 10
1592	1592	in such subsection to ‘‘January 1, 2025’’ were a reference 11
1593	1593	to ‘‘January 1, 2027’’. 12
1594	1594	PART 2—ELECTION DAY AS LEGAL PUBLIC 13
1595	1595	HOLIDAY 14
1596	1596	SEC. 1011. ELECTION DAY AS LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY. 15
1597	1597	(a) I
1598	1598	NGENERAL.—Section 6103(a) of title 5, United 16
1599	1599	States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relat-17
1600	1600	ing to Columbus Day, the following: 18
1601	1601	‘‘Election Day, the Tuesday next after the first Mon-19
1602	1602	day in November in each even-numbered year.’’. 20
1603	1603	(b) C
1604	1604	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 241(b) of 21
1605	1605	the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20981(b)) 22
1606	1606	is amended— 23
1607	1607	(1) by striking paragraph (10); and 24
1608	1608	(2) by redesignating paragraphs (11) through 25
1609	1609	(19) as paragraphs (10) through (18), respectively. 26
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1611	1611	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 50
1612	1612	•S 1 IS
1613	1613	(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 1
1614	1614	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the regularly 2
1615	1615	scheduled general elections for Federal office held in No-3
1616	1616	vember 2024 or any succeeding year. 4
1617	1617	PART 3—PROMOTING INTERNET REGISTRATION 5
1618	1618	SEC. 1021. REQUIRING AVAILABILITY OF INTERNET FOR 6
1619	1619	VOTER REGISTRATION. 7
1620	1620	(a) R
1621	1621	EQUIRINGAVAILABILITY OFINTERNET FOR 8
1622	1622	R
1623	1623	EGISTRATION.—The National Voter Registration Act of 9
1624	1624	1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting 10
1625	1625	after section 6 the following new section: 11
1626	1626	‘‘SEC. 6A. INTERNET REGISTRATION. 12
1627	1627	‘‘(a) R
1628	1628	EQUIRINGAVAILABILITY OFINTERNET FOR 13
1629	1629	O
1630	1630	NLINEREGISTRATION.—Each State, acting through the 14
1631	1631	chief State election official, shall ensure that the following 15
1632	1632	services are available to the public at any time on the offi-16
1633	1633	cial public websites of the appropriate State and local elec-17
1634	1634	tion officials in the State, in the same manner and subject 18
1635	1635	to the same terms and conditions as the services provided 19
1636	1636	by voter registration agencies under section 7(a): 20
1637	1637	‘‘(1) Online application for voter registration. 21
1638	1638	‘‘(2) Online assistance to applicants in applying 22
1639	1639	to register to vote. 23
1640	1640	‘‘(3) Online completion and submission by ap-24
1641	1641	plicants of the mail voter registration application 25
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1643	1643	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 51
1644	1644	•S 1 IS
1645	1645	form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commis-1
1646	1646	sion pursuant to section 9(a)(2), including assist-2
1647	1647	ance with providing a signature as required under 3
1648	1648	subsection (c). 4
1649	1649	‘‘(4) Online receipt of completed voter registra-5
1650	1650	tion applications. 6
1651	1651	‘‘(b) A
1652	1652	CCEPTANCE OFCOMPLETEDAPPLICATIONS.— 7
1653	1653	A State shall accept an online voter registration applica-8
1654	1654	tion provided by an individual under this section, and en-9
1655	1655	sure that the individual is registered to vote in the State, 10
1656	1656	if— 11
1657	1657	‘‘(1) the individual meets the same voter reg-12
1658	1658	istration requirements applicable to individuals who 13
1659	1659	register to vote by mail in accordance with section 14
1660	1660	6(a)(1) using the mail voter registration application 15
1661	1661	form prescribed by the Election Assistance Commis-16
1662	1662	sion pursuant to section 9(a)(2); and 17
1663	1663	‘‘(2) the individual meets the requirements of 18
1664	1664	subsection (c) to provide a signature in electronic 19
1665	1665	form (but only in the case of applications submitted 20
1666	1666	during or after the second year in which this section 21
1667	1667	is in effect in the State). 22
1668	1668	‘‘(c) S
1669	1669	IGNATUREREQUIREMENTS.— 23
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1672	1672	•S 1 IS
1673	1673	‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-1
1674	1674	tion, an individual meets the requirements of this 2
1675	1675	subsection as follows: 3
1676	1676	‘‘(A) In the case of an individual who has 4
1677	1677	a signature on file with a State agency, includ-5
1678	1678	ing the State motor vehicle authority, that is 6
1679	1679	required to provide voter registration services 7
1680	1680	under this Act or any other law, the individual 8
1681	1681	consents to the transfer of that electronic signa-9
1682	1682	ture. 10
1683	1683	‘‘(B) If subparagraph (A) does not apply, 11
1684	1684	the individual submits with the application an 12
1685	1685	electronic copy of the individual’s handwritten 13
1686	1686	signature through electronic means. 14
1687	1687	‘‘(C) If subparagraph (A) and subpara-15
1688	1688	graph (B) do not apply, the individual executes 16
1689	1689	a computerized mark in the signature field on 17
1690	1690	an online voter registration application, in ac-18
1691	1691	cordance with reasonable security measures es-19
1692	1692	tablished by the State, but only if the State ac-20
1693	1693	cepts such mark from the individual. 21
1694	1694	‘‘(2) T
1695	1695	REATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS UNABLE TO 22
1696	1696	MEET REQUIREMENT .—If an individual is unable to 23
1697	1697	meet the requirements under paragraph (1), the 24
1698	1698	State shall— 25
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1700	1700	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 53
1701	1701	•S 1 IS
1702	1702	‘‘(A) permit the individual to complete all 1
1703	1703	other elements of the online voter registration 2
1704	1704	application; 3
1705	1705	‘‘(B) permit the individual to provide a sig-4
1706	1706	nature at the time the individual requests a bal-5
1707	1707	lot in an election (whether the individual re-6
1708	1708	quests the ballot at a polling place or requests 7
1709	1709	the ballot by mail); and 8
1710	1710	‘‘(C) if the individual carries out the steps 9
1711	1711	described in subparagraphs (A) and (B), ensure 10
1712	1712	that the individual is registered to vote in the 11
1713	1713	State. 12
1714	1714	‘‘(3) N
1715	1715	OTICE.—The State shall ensure that in-13
1716	1716	dividuals applying to register to vote online are noti-14
1717	1717	fied of the requirements under paragraph (1) and of 15
1718	1718	the treatment of individuals unable to meet such re-16
1719	1719	quirements, as described in paragraph (2). 17
1720	1720	‘‘(d) C
1721	1721	ONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION.— 18
1722	1722	‘‘(1) C
1723	1723	ONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT .— 19
1724	1724	‘‘(A) I
1725	1725	N GENERAL.—Upon the online sub-20
1726	1726	mission of a completed voter registration appli-21
1727	1727	cation by an individual under this section, the 22
1728	1728	appropriate State or local election official shall 23
1729	1729	provide the individual a notice confirming the 24
1730	1730	State’s receipt of the application and providing 25
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1732	1732	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 54
1733	1733	•S 1 IS
1734	1734	instructions on how the individual may check 1
1735	1735	the status of the application. 2
1736	1736	‘‘(B) M
1737	1737	ETHOD OF NOTIFICATION .—The 3
1738	1738	appropriate State or local election official shall 4
1739	1739	provide the notice required under subparagraph 5
1740	1740	(A) though the online submission process and— 6
1741	1741	‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 7
1742	1742	has provided the official with an electronic 8
1743	1743	mail address, by electronic mail; and 9
1744	1744	‘‘(ii) at the option of the individual, 10
1745	1745	by text message. 11
1746	1746	‘‘(2) N
1747	1747	OTICE OF DISPOSITION.— 12
1748	1748	‘‘(A) I
1749	1749	N GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days 13
1750	1750	after the date on which the appropriate State or 14
1751	1751	local election official approves or rejects an ap-15
1752	1752	plication submitted by an individual under this 16
1753	1753	section, the official shall provide the individual 17
1754	1754	a notice of the disposition of the application. 18
1755	1755	‘‘(B) M
1756	1756	ETHOD OF NOTIFICATION .—The 19
1757	1757	appropriate State or local election official shall 20
1758	1758	provide the notice required under subparagraph 21
1759	1759	(A) by regular mail and— 22
1760	1760	‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 23
1761	1761	has provided the official with an electronic 24
1762	1762	mail address, by electronic mail; and 25
1763	1763	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1764	1764	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 55
1765	1765	•S 1 IS
1766	1766	‘‘(ii) at the option of the individual, 1
1767	1767	by text message. 2
1768	1768	‘‘(e) P
1769	1769	ROVISION OF SERVICES INNONPARTISAN 3
1770	1770	M
1771	1771	ANNER.—The services made available under subsection 4
1772	1772	(a) shall be provided in a manner that ensures that— 5
1773	1773	‘‘(1) the online application does not seek to in-6
1774	1774	fluence an applicant’s political preference or party 7
1775	1775	registration; and 8
1776	1776	‘‘(2) there is no display on the website pro-9
1777	1777	moting any political preference or party allegiance, 10
1778	1778	except that nothing in this paragraph may be con-11
1779	1779	strued to prohibit an applicant from registering to 12
1780	1780	vote as a member of a political party. 13
1781	1781	‘‘(f) P
1782	1782	ROTECTION OFSECURITY OFINFORMATION.— 14
1783	1783	In meeting the requirements of this section, the State shall 15
1784	1784	establish appropriate technological security measures to 16
1785	1785	prevent to the greatest extent practicable any unauthor-17
1786	1786	ized access to information provided by individuals using 18
1787	1787	the services made available under subsection (a). 19
1788	1788	‘‘(g) A
1789	1789	CCESSIBILITY OFSERVICES.—A State shall en-20
1790	1790	sure that the services made available under this section 21
1791	1791	are made available to individuals with disabilities to the 22
1792	1792	same extent as services are made available to all other in-23
1793	1793	dividuals. 24
1794	1794	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00055 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1795	1795	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 56
1796	1796	•S 1 IS
1797	1797	‘‘(h) NONDISCRIMINATION AMONGREGISTERED 1
1798	1798	V
1799	1799	OTERSUSINGMAIL ANDONLINEREGISTRATION.—In 2
1800	1800	carrying out this Act, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 3
1801	1801	(52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.), or any other Federal, State, 4
1802	1802	or local law governing the treatment of registered voters 5
1803	1803	in the State or the administration of elections for public 6
1804	1804	office in the State, a State shall treat a registered voter 7
1805	1805	who registered to vote online in accordance with this sec-8
1806	1806	tion in the same manner as the State treats a registered 9
1807	1807	voter who registered to vote by mail.’’. 10
1808	1808	(b) S
1809	1809	PECIALREQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS 11
1810	1810	U
1811	1811	SINGONLINEREGISTRATION.— 12
1812	1812	(1) T
1813	1813	REATMENT AS INDIVIDUALS REGISTERING 13
1814	1814	TO VOTE BY MAIL FOR PURPOSES OF FIRST -TIME 14
1815	1815	VOTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS .—Section 15
1816	1816	303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 16
1817	1817	(52 U.S.C. 21083(b)(1)(A)) is amended by striking 17
1818	1818	‘‘by mail’’ and inserting ‘‘by mail or online under 18
1819	1819	section 6A of the National Voter Registration Act of 19
1820	1820	1993’’. 20
1821	1821	(2) R
1822	1822	EQUIRING SIGNATURE FOR FIRST -TIME 21
1823	1823	VOTERS IN JURISDICTION .—Section 303(b) of such 22
1824	1824	Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(b)) is amended— 23
1825	1825	(A) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 24
1826	1826	paragraph (6); and 25
1827	1827	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1828	1828	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 57
1829	1829	•S 1 IS
1830	1830	(B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 1
1831	1831	following new paragraph: 2
1832	1832	‘‘(5) S
1833	1833	IGNATURE REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST - 3
1834	1834	TIME VOTERS USING ONLINE REGISTRATION .— 4
1835	1835	‘‘(A) I
1836	1836	N GENERAL.—A State shall, in a 5
1837	1837	uniform and nondiscriminatory manner, require 6
1838	1838	an individual to meet the requirements of sub-7
1839	1839	paragraph (B) if— 8
1840	1840	‘‘(i) the individual registered to vote 9
1841	1841	in the State online under section 6A of the 10
1842	1842	National Voter Registration Act of 1993; 11
1843	1843	and 12
1844	1844	‘‘(ii) the individual has not previously 13
1845	1845	voted in an election for Federal office in 14
1846	1846	the State. 15
1847	1847	‘‘(B) R
1848	1848	EQUIREMENTS.—An individual 16
1849	1849	meets the requirements of this subparagraph 17
1850	1850	if— 18
1851	1851	‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 19
1852	1852	votes in person, the individual provides the 20
1853	1853	appropriate State or local election official 21
1854	1854	with a handwritten signature; or 22
1855	1855	‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 23
1856	1856	votes by mail, the individual submits with 24
1857	1857	the ballot a handwritten signature. 25
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1859	1859	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 58
1860	1860	•S 1 IS
1861	1861	‘‘(C) INAPPLICABILITY.—Subparagraph 1
1862	1862	(A) does not apply in the case of an individual 2
1863	1863	who is— 3
1864	1864	‘‘(i) entitled to vote by absentee ballot 4
1865	1865	under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-5
1866	1866	zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 6
1867	1867	20302 et seq.); 7
1868	1868	‘‘(ii) provided the right to vote other-8
1869	1869	wise than in person under section 9
1870	1870	3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Voting Accessibility 10
1871	1871	for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 11
1872	1872	U.S.C. 20102(b)(2)(B)(ii)); or 12
1873	1873	‘‘(iii) entitled to vote otherwise than 13
1874	1874	in person under any other Federal law.’’. 14
1875	1875	(3) C
1876	1876	ONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 15
1877	1877	EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 303(d)(2)(A) of such 16
1878	1878	Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(2)(A)) is amended by 17
1879	1879	striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro-18
1880	1880	vided in subsection (b)(5), each State’’. 19
1881	1881	(c) C
1882	1882	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 20
1883	1883	(1) T
1884	1884	IMING OF REGISTRATION.—Section 8(a)(1) 21
1885	1885	of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 22
1886	1886	U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)), as amended by section 23
1887	1887	1002(b)(3), is amended— 24
1888	1888	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00058 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1889	1889	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 59
1890	1890	•S 1 IS
1891	1891	(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-1
1892	1892	paragraph (D); 2
1893	1893	(B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 3
1894	1894	subparagraph (F); and 4
1895	1895	(C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 5
1896	1896	the following new subparagraph: 6
1897	1897	‘‘(E) in the case of online registration 7
1898	1898	through the official public website of an election 8
1899	1899	official under section 6A, if the valid voter reg-9
1900	1900	istration application is submitted online not 10
1901	1901	later than the lesser of 28 days, or the period 11
1902	1902	provided by State law, before the date of the 12
1903	1903	election (as determined by treating the date on 13
1904	1904	which the application is sent electronically as 14
1905	1905	the date on which it is submitted); and’’. 15
1906	1906	(2) I
1907	1907	NFORMING APPLICANTS OF ELIGIBILITY 16
1908	1908	REQUIREMENTS AND PENALTIES .—Section 8(a)(5) 17
1909	1909	of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(5)) is amended by 18
1910	1910	striking ‘‘and 7’’ and inserting ‘‘6A, and 7’’. 19
1911	1911	SEC. 1022. USE OF INTERNET TO UPDATE REGISTRATION 20
1912	1912	INFORMATION. 21
1913	1913	(a) I
1914	1914	NGENERAL.— 22
1915	1915	(1) U
1916	1916	PDATES TO INFORMATION CONTAINED ON 23
1917	1917	COMPUTERIZED STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION 24
1918	1918	LIST.—Section 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act 25
1919	1919	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1920	1920	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 60
1921	1921	•S 1 IS
1922	1922	of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)) is amended by adding 1
1923	1923	at the end the following new paragraph: 2
1924	1924	‘‘(6) U
1925	1925	SE OF INTERNET BY REGISTERED VOT -3
1926	1926	ERS TO UPDATE INFORMATION .— 4
1927	1927	‘‘(A) I
1928	1928	N GENERAL.—The appropriate State 5
1929	1929	or local election official shall ensure that any 6
1930	1930	registered voter on the computerized list may at 7
1931	1931	any time update the voter’s registration infor-8
1932	1932	mation, including the voter’s address and elec-9
1933	1933	tronic mail address, online through the official 10
1934	1934	public website of the election official responsible 11
1935	1935	for the maintenance of the list, so long as the 12
1936	1936	voter attests to the contents of the update by 13
1937	1937	providing a signature in electronic form in the 14
1938	1938	same manner required under section 6A(c) of 15
1939	1939	the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. 16
1940	1940	‘‘(B) P
1941	1941	ROCESSING OF UPDATED INFORMA -17
1942	1942	TION BY ELECTION OFFICIALS .—If a registered 18
1943	1943	voter updates registration information under 19
1944	1944	subparagraph (A), the appropriate State or 20
1945	1945	local election official shall— 21
1946	1946	‘‘(i) revise any information on the 22
1947	1947	computerized list to reflect the update 23
1948	1948	made by the voter; and 24
1949	1949	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1950	1950	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 61
1951	1951	•S 1 IS
1952	1952	‘‘(ii) if the updated registration infor-1
1953	1953	mation affects the voter’s eligibility to vote 2
1954	1954	in an election for Federal office, ensure 3
1955	1955	that the information is processed with re-4
1956	1956	spect to the election if the voter updates 5
1957	1957	the information not later than the lesser of 6
1958	1958	7 days, or the period provided by State 7
1959	1959	law, before the date of the election. 8
1960	1960	‘‘(C) C
1961	1961	ONFIRMATION AND DISPOSITION .— 9
1962	1962	‘‘(i) C
1963	1963	ONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT .— 10
1964	1964	Upon the online submission of updated 11
1965	1965	registration information by an individual 12
1966	1966	under this paragraph, the appropriate 13
1967	1967	State or local election official shall send 14
1968	1968	the individual a notice confirming the 15
1969	1969	State’s receipt of the updated information 16
1970	1970	and providing instructions on how the indi-17
1971	1971	vidual may check the status of the update. 18
1972	1972	‘‘(ii) N
1973	1973	OTICE OF DISPOSITION .—Not 19
1974	1974	later than 7 days after the appropriate 20
1975	1975	State or local election official has accepted 21
1976	1976	or rejected updated information submitted 22
1977	1977	by an individual under this paragraph, the 23
1978	1978	official shall send the individual a notice of 24
1979	1979	the disposition of the update. 25
1980	1980	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
1981	1981	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 62
1982	1982	•S 1 IS
1983	1983	‘‘(iii) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION .— 1
1984	1984	The appropriate State or local election offi-2
1985	1985	cial shall send the notices required under 3
1986	1986	this subparagraph by regular mail and— 4
1987	1987	‘‘(I) in the case of an individual 5
1988	1988	who has requested that the State pro-6
1989	1989	vide voter registration and voting in-7
1990	1990	formation through electronic mail, by 8
1991	1991	electronic mail; and 9
1992	1992	‘‘(II) at the option of the indi-10
1993	1993	vidual, by text message.’’. 11
1994	1994	(2) C
1995	1995	ONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 12
1996	1996	EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 303(d)(1)(A) of such 13
1997	1997	Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(1)(A)) is amended by 14
1998	1998	striking ‘‘subparagraph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-15
1999	1999	paragraph (B) and subsection (a)(6)’’. 16
2000	2000	(b) A
2001	2001	BILITY OFREGISTRANTTOUSEONLINEUP-17
2002	2002	DATETOPROVIDEINFORMATION ON RESIDENCE.—Sec-18
2003	2003	tion 8(d)(2)(A) of the National Voter Registration Act of 19
2004	2004	1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(d)(2)(A)) is amended— 20
2005	2005	(1) in the first sentence, by inserting after ‘‘re-21
2006	2006	turn the card’’ the following: ‘‘or update the reg-22
2007	2007	istrant’s information on the computerized statewide 23
2008	2008	voter registration list using the online method pro-24
2009	2009	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2010	2010	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 63
2011	2011	•S 1 IS
2012	2012	vided under section 303(a)(6) of the Help America 1
2013	2013	Vote Act of 2002’’; and 2
2014	2014	(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘re-3
2015	2015	turned,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘returned or if 4
2016	2016	the registrant does not update the registrant’s infor-5
2017	2017	mation on the computerized statewide voter registra-6
2018	2018	tion list using such online method,’’. 7
2019	2019	SEC. 1023. PROVISION OF ELECTION INFORMATION BY 8
2020	2020	ELECTRONIC MAIL TO INDIVIDUALS REG-9
2021	2021	ISTERED TO VOTE. 10
2022	2022	(a) I
2023	2023	NCLUDINGOPTION ONVOTERREGISTRATION 11
2024	2024	A
2025	2025	PPLICATIONTOPROVIDEEMAILADDRESS AND RE-12
2026	2026	CEIVEINFORMATION.— 13
2027	2027	(1) I
2028	2028	N GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the National 14
2029	2029	Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 15
2030	2030	20508(b)) is amended— 16
2031	2031	(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-17
2032	2032	graph (3); 18
2033	2033	(B) in paragraph (4)— 19
2034	2034	(i) by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), 20
2035	2035	and (iii) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and 21
2036	2036	(C), respectively; and 22
2037	2037	(ii) in subparagraph (C), as so redes-23
2038	2038	ignated, by striking the period at the end 24
2039	2039	and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 25
2040	2040	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2041	2041	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 64
2042	2042	•S 1 IS
2043	2043	(C) by adding at the end the following new 1
2044	2044	paragraph: 2
2045	2045	‘‘(5) shall include a space for the applicant to 3
2046	2046	provide (at the applicant’s option) an electronic mail 4
2047	2047	address, together with a statement that, if the appli-5
2048	2048	cant so requests, instead of using regular mail the 6
2049	2049	appropriate State and local election officials shall 7
2050	2050	provide to the applicant, through electronic mail sent 8
2051	2051	to that address, the same voting information (as de-9
2052	2052	fined in section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote 10
2053	2053	Act of 2002) that the officials would provide to the 11
2054	2054	applicant through regular mail.’’. 12
2055	2055	(2) P
2056	2056	ROHIBITING USE FOR PURPOSES UNRE -13
2057	2057	LATED TO OFFICIAL DUTIES OF ELECTION OFFI -14
2058	2058	CIALS.—Section 9 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508) is 15
2059	2059	amended by adding at the end the following new 16
2060	2060	subsection: 17
2061	2061	‘‘(c) P
2062	2062	ROHIBITINGUSE OFELECTRONICMAILAD-18
2063	2063	DRESSES FOROTHERTHANOFFICIALPURPOSES.—The 19
2064	2064	chief State election official shall ensure that any electronic 20
2065	2065	mail address provided by an applicant under subsection 21
2066	2066	(b)(5) is used only for purposes of carrying out official 22
2067	2067	duties of election officials and is not transmitted by any 23
2068	2068	State or local election official (or any agent of such an 24
2069	2069	official, including a contractor) to any person who does 25
2070	2070	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00064 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2071	2071	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 65
2072	2072	•S 1 IS
2073	2073	not require the address to carry out such official duties 1
2074	2074	and who is not under the direct supervision and control 2
2075	2075	of a State or local election official.’’. 3
2076	2076	(b) R
2077	2077	EQUIRINGPROVISION OFINFORMATION BY 4
2078	2078	E
2079	2079	LECTIONOFFICIALS.—Section 302(b) of the Help Amer-5
2080	2080	ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)) is amended 6
2081	2081	by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 7
2082	2082	‘‘(3) P
2083	2083	ROVISION OF OTHER INFORMATION BY 8
2084	2084	ELECTRONIC MAIL.—If an individual who is a reg-9
2085	2085	istered voter has provided the State or local election 10
2086	2086	official with an electronic mail address for the pur-11
2087	2087	pose of receiving voting information (as described in 12
2088	2088	section 9(b)(5) of the National Voter Registration 13
2089	2089	Act of 1993), the appropriate State or local election 14
2090	2090	official, through electronic mail transmitted not later 15
2091	2091	than 7 days before the date of the election for Fed-16
2092	2092	eral office involved, shall provide the individual with 17
2093	2093	information on how to obtain the following informa-18
2094	2094	tion by electronic means: 19
2095	2095	‘‘(A)(i) If the individual is assigned to vote 20
2096	2096	in the election at a specific polling place— 21
2097	2097	‘‘(I) the name and address of the poll-22
2098	2098	ing place; and 23
2099	2099	‘‘(II) the hours of operation for the 24
2100	2100	polling place. 25
2101	2101	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2102	2102	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 66
2103	2103	•S 1 IS
2104	2104	‘‘(ii) If the individual is not assigned to 1
2105	2105	vote in the election at a specific polling place— 2
2106	2106	‘‘(I) the name and address of loca-3
2107	2107	tions at which the individual is eligible to 4
2108	2108	vote; and 5
2109	2109	‘‘(II) the hours of operation for those 6
2110	2110	locations. 7
2111	2111	‘‘(B) A description of any identification or 8
2112	2112	other information the individual may be re-9
2113	2113	quired to present at the polling place or a loca-10
2114	2114	tion described in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I) to vote 11
2115	2115	in the election.’’. 12
2116	2116	SEC. 1024. CLARIFICATION OF REQUIREMENT REGARDING 13
2117	2117	NECESSARY INFORMATION TO SHOW ELIGI-14
2118	2118	BILITY TO VOTE. 15
2119	2119	Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 16
2120	2120	1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 17
2121	2121	(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub-18
2122	2122	section (k); and 19
2123	2123	(2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol-20
2124	2124	lowing new subsection: 21
2125	2125	‘‘(j) R
2126	2126	EQUIREMENT FOR STATETOREGISTERAPPLI-22
2127	2127	CANTSPROVIDINGNECESSARYINFORMATIONTOSHOW 23
2128	2128	E
2129	2129	LIGIBILITYTOVOTE.—For purposes meeting the re-24
2130	2130	quirement of subsection (a)(1) that an eligible applicant 25
2131	2131	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2132	2132	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 67
2133	2133	•S 1 IS
2134	2134	is registered to vote in an election for Federal office within 1
2135	2135	the deadlines required under such subsection, the State 2
2136	2136	shall consider an applicant to have provided a ‘valid voter 3
2137	2137	registration form’ if— 4
2138	2138	‘‘(1) the applicant has substantially completed 5
2139	2139	the application form and attested to the statement 6
2140	2140	required by section 9(b)(2); and 7
2141	2141	‘‘(2) in the case of an applicant who registers 8
2142	2142	to vote online in accordance with section 6A, the ap-9
2143	2143	plicant provides a signature in accordance with sub-10
2144	2144	section (c) of such section.’’. 11
2145	2145	SEC. 1025. PROHIBITING STATE FROM REQUIRING APPLI-12
2146	2146	CANTS TO PROVIDE MORE THAN LAST 4 DIG-13
2147	2147	ITS OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 14
2148	2148	(a) F
2149	2149	ORMINCLUDED WITHAPPLICATION FOR 15
2150	2150	M
2151	2151	OTOR VEHICLE DRIVER’SLICENSE.—Section 16
2152	2152	5(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration Act of 17
2153	2153	1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by strik-18
2154	2154	ing the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: 19
2155	2155	‘‘, and to the extent that the application requires the appli-20
2156	2156	cant to provide a social security number, may not require 21
2157	2157	the applicant to provide more than the last 4 digits of such 22
2158	2158	number;’’. 23
2159	2159	(b) N
2160	2160	ATIONALMAILVOTERREGISTRATIONFORM.— 24
2161	2161	Section 9(b)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20508(b)(1)) is 25
2162	2162	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2163	2163	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 68
2164	2164	•S 1 IS
2165	2165	amended by striking the semicolon at the end and insert-1
2166	2166	ing the following: ‘‘, and to the extent that the form re-2
2167	2167	quires the applicant to provide a social security number, 3
2168	2168	the form may not require the applicant to provide more 4
2169	2169	than the last 4 digits of such number;’’. 5
2170	2170	SEC. 1026. APPLICATION OF RULES TO CERTAIN EXEMPT 6
2171	2171	STATES. 7
2172	2172	Section 4 of the National Voter Registration Act of 8
2173	2173	1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503) is amended by adding at the end 9
2174	2174	the following new subsection: 10
2175	2175	‘‘(c) A
2176	2176	PPLICATION OFINTERNETVOTERREGISTRA-11
2177	2177	TIONRULES.—Notwithstanding subsection (b), the fol-12
2178	2178	lowing provisions shall apply to a State described in para-13
2179	2179	graph (2) thereof: 14
2180	2180	‘‘(1) Section 6A (as added by section 1021(a) 15
2181	2181	of the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 16
2182	2182	2023). 17
2183	2183	‘‘(2) Section 8(a)(1)(E) (as added by section 18
2184	2184	1021(c)(1) of the Voter Registration Modernization 19
2185	2185	Act of 2023). 20
2186	2186	‘‘(3) Section 8(a)(5) (as amended by section 21
2187	2187	1021(c)(2) of Voter Registration Modernization Act 22
2188	2188	of 2023), but only to the extent such provision re-23
2189	2189	lates to section 6A. 24
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2192	2192	•S 1 IS
2193	2193	‘‘(4) Section 8(j) (as added by section 1024 of 1
2194	2194	the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2023), 2
2195	2195	but only to the extent such provision relates to sec-3
2196	2196	tion 6A.’’. 4
2197	2197	SEC. 1027. REPORT ON DATA COLLECTION RELATING TO 5
2198	2198	ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION SYSTEMS. 6
2199	2199	Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 7
2200	2200	of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 8
2201	2201	a report on local, State, and Federal personally identifi-9
2202	2202	able information data collections efforts related to online 10
2203	2203	voter registration systems, the cybersecurity resources 11
2204	2204	necessary to defend such efforts from online attacks, and 12
2205	2205	the impact of a potential data breach of local, State, or 13
2206	2206	Federal online voter registration systems. 14
2207	2207	SEC. 1028. PERMITTING VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICA-15
2208	2208	TION FORM TO SERVE AS APPLICATION FOR 16
2209	2209	ABSENTEE BALLOT. 17
2210	2210	Section 5(c) of the National Voter Registration Act 18
2211	2211	of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(c)) is amended— 19
2212	2212	(1) in paragraph (2)— 20
2213	2213	(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-21
2214	2214	paragraph (D); 22
2215	2215	(B) by striking the period at the end of 23
2216	2216	subparagraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 24
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2219	2219	•S 1 IS
2220	2220	(C) by adding at the end the following new 1
2221	2221	subparagraph: 2
2222	2222	‘‘(F) at the option of the applicant, shall serve 3
2223	2223	as an application to vote by absentee ballot in the 4
2224	2224	next election for Federal office held in the State and 5
2225	2225	in each subsequent election for Federal office held in 6
2226	2226	the State.’’; and 7
2227	2227	(2) by adding at the end the following new 8
2228	2228	paragraph: 9
2229	2229	‘‘(3)(A) In the case of an individual who is treated 10
2230	2230	as having applied for an absentee ballot in the next elec-11
2231	2231	tion for Federal office held in the State and in each subse-12
2232	2232	quent election for Federal office held in the State under 13
2233	2233	paragraph (2)(F), such treatment shall remain effective 14
2234	2234	until the earlier of such time as— 15
2235	2235	‘‘(i) the individual is no longer registered to 16
2236	2236	vote in the State; or 17
2237	2237	‘‘(ii) the individual provides an affirmative writ-18
2238	2238	ten notice revoking such treatment. 19
2239	2239	‘‘(B) The treatment of an individual as having ap-20
2240	2240	plied for an absentee ballot in the next election for Federal 21
2241	2241	office held in the State and in each subsequent election 22
2242	2242	for Federal office held in the State under paragraph 23
2243	2243	(2)(F) shall not be revoked on the basis that the individual 24
2244	2244	has not voted in an election’’. 25
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2247	2247	•S 1 IS
2248	2248	SEC. 1029. EFFECTIVE DATE. 1
2249	2249	(a) I
2250	2250	NGENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 2
2251	2251	(b), the amendments made by this part (other than the 3
2252	2252	amendments made by section 1024) shall apply with re-4
2253	2253	spect to the regularly scheduled general election for Fed-5
2254	2254	eral office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 6
2255	2255	election for Federal office. 7
2256	2256	(b) W
2257	2257	AIVER.—If a State certifies to the Election As-8
2258	2258	sistance Commission not later than 180 days after the 9
2259	2259	date of enactment of this Act that the State will not meet 10
2260	2260	the deadline described in subsection (a) because it would 11
2261	2261	be impracticable to do so and includes in the certification 12
2262	2262	the reasons for the failure to meet such deadline, sub-13
2263	2263	section (a) shall apply to the State as if the reference in 14
2264	2264	such subsection to ‘‘the regularly scheduled general elec-15
2265	2265	tion for Federal office held in November 2024’’ were a 16
2266	2266	reference to ‘‘January 1, 2026’’. 17
2267	2267	PART 4—SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION 18
2268	2268	SEC. 1031. SAME-DAY REGISTRATION. 19
2269	2269	(a) I
2270	2270	NGENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 20
2271	2271	Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 21
2272	2272	(1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 22
2273	2273	sections 305 and 306, respectively; and 23
2274	2274	(2) by inserting after section 303 the following 24
2275	2275	new section: 25
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2277	2277	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 72
2278	2278	•S 1 IS
2279	2279	‘‘SEC. 304. SAME-DAY REGISTRATION. 1
2280	2280	‘‘(a) I
2281	2281	NGENERAL.— 2
2282	2282	‘‘(1) R
2283	2283	EGISTRATION.—Each State shall permit 3
2284	2284	any eligible individual on the day of a Federal elec-4
2285	2285	tion and on any day when voting, including early 5
2286	2286	voting, is permitted for a Federal election— 6
2287	2287	‘‘(A) to register to vote in such election at 7
2288	2288	the polling place using a form that meets the 8
2289	2289	requirements under section 9(b) of the National 9
2290	2290	Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the indi-10
2291	2291	vidual is already registered to vote, to revise 11
2292	2292	any of the individual’s voter registration infor-12
2293	2293	mation); and 13
2294	2294	‘‘(B) to cast a vote in such election. 14
2295	2295	‘‘(2) E
2296	2296	XCEPTION.—The requirements under 15
2297	2297	paragraph (1) shall not apply to a State in which, 16
2298	2298	under a State law in effect continuously on and after 17
2299	2299	the date of enactment of this section, there is no 18
2300	2300	voter registration requirement for individuals in the 19
2301	2301	State with respect to elections for Federal office. 20
2302	2302	‘‘(b) E
2303	2303	LIGIBLEINDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of this 21
2304	2304	section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means, with respect 22
2305	2305	to any election for Federal office, an individual who is oth-23
2306	2306	erwise qualified to vote in that election. 24
2307	2307	‘‘(c) E
2308	2308	NSURINGAVAILABILITY OF FORMS.—The 25
2309	2309	State shall ensure that each polling place has copies of 26
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2312	2312	•S 1 IS
2313	2313	any forms an individual may be required to complete in 1
2314	2314	order to register to vote or revise the individual’s voter 2
2315	2315	registration information under this section. 3
2316	2316	‘‘(d) E
2317	2317	FFECTIVEDATE.— 4
2318	2318	‘‘(1) I
2319	2319	N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 5
2320	2320	each State shall be required to comply with the re-6
2321	2321	quirements of this section for the regularly sched-7
2322	2322	uled general election for Federal office occurring in 8
2323	2323	November 2024 and for any subsequent election for 9
2324	2324	Federal office. 10
2325	2325	‘‘(2) S
2326	2326	PECIAL RULES FOR ELECTIONS BEFORE 11
2327	2327	NOVEMBER 2026.— 12
2328	2328	‘‘(A) E
2329	2329	LECTIONS PRIOR TO NOVEMBER 13
2330	2330	2026 GENERAL ELECTION .—A State shall be 14
2331	2331	deemed to be in compliance with the require-15
2332	2332	ments of this section for the regularly scheduled 16
2333	2333	general election for Federal office occurring in 17
2334	2334	November 2024 and subsequent elections for 18
2335	2335	Federal office occurring before the regularly 19
2336	2336	scheduled general election for Federal office in 20
2337	2337	November 2026 if at least 1 location for each 21
2338	2338	15,000 registered voters in each jurisdiction in 22
2339	2339	the State meets such requirements, and such lo-23
2340	2340	cation is reasonably located to serve voting pop-24
2341	2341	ulations equitably across the jurisdiction. 25
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2344	2344	•S 1 IS
2345	2345	‘‘(B) NOVEMBER 2026 GENERAL ELEC -1
2346	2346	TION.—If a State certifies to the Election As-2
2347	2347	sistance Commission not later than November 3
2348	2348	3, 2026, that the State will not be in compli-4
2349	2349	ance with the requirements of this section for 5
2350	2350	the regularly scheduled general election for 6
2351	2351	Federal office occurring in November 2026 be-7
2352	2352	cause it would be impracticable to do so and in-8
2353	2353	cludes in the certification the reasons for the 9
2354	2354	failure to meet such requirements, the State 10
2355	2355	shall be deemed to be in compliance with the re-11
2356	2356	quirements of this section for such election if at 12
2357	2357	least one location for each 15,000 registered 13
2358	2358	voters in each jurisdiction in the State meets 14
2359	2359	such requirements, and such location is reason-15
2360	2360	ably located to serve voting populations equi-16
2361	2361	tably across the jurisdiction.’’. 17
2362	2362	(b) C
2363	2363	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT RELATING TOEN-18
2364	2364	FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 19
2365	2365	is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 20
2366	2366	inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 21
2367	2367	(c) C
2368	2368	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 22
2369	2369	of such Act is amended— 23
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2372	2372	•S 1 IS
2373	2373	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-1
2374	2374	tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 2
2375	2375	306, respectively; and 3
2376	2376	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-4
2377	2377	tion 303 the following new item: 5
2378	2378	‘‘Sec. 304. Same-day registration.’’.
2379	2379	SEC. 1032. ENSURING PRE-ELECTION REGISTRATION DEAD-
2380	2380	6
2381	2381	LINES ARE CONSISTENT WITH TIMING OF 7
2382	2382	LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAYS. 8
2383	2383	(a) I
2384	2384	NGENERAL.—Section 8(a)(1) of the National 9
2385	2385	Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1)) 10
2386	2386	is amended by striking ‘‘30 days’’ each place it appears 11
2387	2387	and inserting ‘‘28 days’’. 12
2388	2388	(b) E
2389	2389	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 13
2390	2390	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections held 14
2391	2391	in 2024 or any succeeding year. 15
2392	2392	PART 5—STREAMLINE VOTER REGISTRATION 16
2393	2393	INFORMATION, ACCESS, AND PRIVACY 17
2394	2394	SEC. 1041. AUTHORIZING THE DISSEMINATION OF VOTER 18
2395	2395	REGISTRATION INFORMATION DISPLAYS 19
2396	2396	FOLLOWING NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES. 20
2397	2397	(a) A
2398	2398	UTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 21
2399	2399	Security shall establish a process for authorizing the chief 22
2400	2400	State election official of a State to disseminate voter reg-23
2401	2401	istration information at the conclusion of any naturaliza-24
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2403	2403	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 76
2404	2404	•S 1 IS
2405	2405	tion ceremony conducted by the Department of Homeland 1
2406	2406	Security, its constituent agencies, or the Federal judiciary. 2
2407	2407	(b) N
2408	2408	OEFFECT ONOTHERAUTHORITY.—Nothing in 3
2409	2409	this section shall be construed to imply that a Federal 4
2410	2410	agency cannot provide voter registration services beyond 5
2411	2411	those minimally required herein, or to imply that agencies 6
2412	2412	not named may not distribute voter registration informa-7
2413	2413	tion or provide voter registration services up to the limits 8
2414	2414	of their statutory and funding authority. 9
2415	2415	(c) D
2416	2416	ESIGNATED VOTERREGISTRATION AGEN-10
2417	2417	CIES.—In any State or other location in which a Federal 11
2418	2418	agency is designated as a voter registration agency under 12
2419	2419	section 7(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration 13
2420	2420	Act, the voter registration responsibilities incurred 14
2421	2421	through such designation shall supersede the requirements 15
2422	2422	described in this section. 16
2423	2423	SEC. 1042. INCLUSION OF VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMA-17
2424	2424	TION WITH CERTAIN LEASES AND VOUCHERS 18
2425	2425	FOR FEDERALLY ASSISTED RENTAL HOUSING 19
2426	2426	AND MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS. 20
2427	2427	(a) D
2428	2428	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 21
2429	2429	(1) B
2430	2430	UREAU.—The term ‘‘Bureau’’ means the 22
2431	2431	Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. 23
2432	2432	(2) D
2433	2433	IRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 24
2434	2434	the Director of the Bureau. 25
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2437	2437	•S 1 IS
2438	2438	(3) FEDERAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE .—The term 1
2439	2439	‘‘Federal rental assistance’’ means rental assistance 2
2440	2440	provided under— 3
2441	2441	(A) any covered housing program, as de-4
2442	2442	fined in section 41411(a) of the Violence 5
2443	2443	Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 6
2444	2444	12491(a)); 7
2445	2445	(B) title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 8
2446	2446	U.S.C. 1471 et seq.), including voucher assist-9
2447	2447	ance under section 542 of such title (42 U.S.C. 10
2448	2448	1490r); 11
2449	2449	(C) the Housing Trust Fund program 12
2450	2450	under section 1338 of the Federal Housing En-13
2451	2451	terprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act 14
2452	2452	of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4588); or 15
2453	2453	(D) subtitle C of title IV of the McKinney- 16
2454	2454	Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 17
2455	2455	11381 et seq.). 18
2456	2456	(4) F
2457	2457	EDERALLY BACKED MULTIFAMILY MORT -19
2458	2458	GAGE LOAN.—The term ‘‘federally backed multi-20
2459	2459	family mortgage loan’’ includes any loan (other than 21
2460	2460	temporary financing such as a construction loan) 22
2461	2461	that— 23
2462	2462	(A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien 24
2463	2463	on residential multifamily real property de-25
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2465	2465	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 78
2466	2466	•S 1 IS
2467	2467	signed principally for the occupancy of 5 or 1
2468	2468	more families, including any such secured loan, 2
2469	2469	the proceeds of which are used to prepay or pay 3
2470	2470	off an existing loan secured by the same prop-4
2471	2471	erty; and 5
2472	2472	(B) is made in whole or in part, or in-6
2473	2473	sured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in 7
2474	2474	any way, by any officer or agency of the Fed-8
2475	2475	eral Government or under or in connection with 9
2476	2476	a housing or urban development program ad-10
2477	2477	ministered by the Secretary of Housing and 11
2478	2478	Urban Development or a housing or related 12
2479	2479	program administered by any other such officer 13
2480	2480	or agency, or is purchased or securitized by the 14
2481	2481	Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or 15
2482	2482	the Federal National Mortgage Association. 16
2483	2483	(5) O
2484	2484	WNER.—The term ‘‘owner’’ has the mean-17
2485	2485	ing given the term in section 8(f) of the United 18
2486	2486	States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(f)). 19
2487	2487	(6) P
2488	2488	UBLIC HOUSING; PUBLIC HOUSING AGEN -20
2489	2489	CY.—The terms ‘‘public housing’’ and ‘‘public hous-21
2490	2490	ing agency’’ have the meanings given those terms in 22
2491	2491	section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 23
2492	2492	1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 24
2493	2493	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00078 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2494	2494	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 79
2495	2495	•S 1 IS
2496	2496	(7) RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN .—The term 1
2497	2497	‘‘residential mortgage loan’’ includes any loan that is 2
2498	2498	secured by a first or subordinate lien on residential 3
2499	2499	real property, including individual units of con-4
2500	2500	dominiums and cooperatives, designed principally for 5
2501	2501	the occupancy of from 1 to 4 families. 6
2502	2502	(b) U
2503	2503	NIFORMSTATEMENT.— 7
2504	2504	(1) D
2505	2505	EVELOPMENT.—The Director, after con-8
2506	2506	sultation with the Election Assistance Commission, 9
2507	2507	shall develop a uniform statement designed to pro-10
2508	2508	vide recipients of the statement pursuant to this sec-11
2509	2509	tion with information on how the recipient can reg-12
2510	2510	ister to vote and the voting rights of the recipient 13
2511	2511	under law. 14
2512	2512	(2) R
2513	2513	ESPONSIBILITIES.—In developing the uni-15
2514	2514	form statement, the Director shall be responsible 16
2515	2515	for— 17
2516	2516	(A) establishing the format of the state-18
2517	2517	ment; 19
2518	2518	(B) consumer research and testing of the 20
2519	2519	statement; and 21
2520	2520	(C) consulting with and obtaining from the 22
2521	2521	Election Assistance Commission the content re-23
2522	2522	garding voter rights and registration issues 24
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2524	2524	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 80
2525	2525	•S 1 IS
2526	2526	needed to ensure the statement complies with 1
2527	2527	the requirements of paragraph (1). 2
2528	2528	(3) L
2529	2529	ANGUAGES.— 3
2530	2530	(A) I
2531	2531	N GENERAL.—The uniform statement 4
2532	2532	required under paragraph (1) shall be developed 5
2533	2533	and made available in English and in each of 6
2534	2534	the 10 languages most commonly spoken by in-7
2535	2535	dividuals with limited English proficiency, as 8
2536	2536	determined by the Director using information 9
2537	2537	published by the Director of the Bureau of the 10
2538	2538	Census. 11
2539	2539	(B) P
2540	2540	UBLICATION.—The Director shall 12
2541	2541	make all translated versions of the uniform 13
2542	2542	statement required under paragraph (1) pub-14
2543	2543	licly available in a centralized location on the 15
2544	2544	website of the Bureau. 16
2545	2545	(c) L
2546	2546	EASES ANDVOUCHERS FOR FEDERALLYAS-17
2547	2547	SISTEDRENTALHOUSING.—Each Federal agency admin-18
2548	2548	istering a Federal rental assistance program shall re-19
2549	2549	quire— 20
2550	2550	(1) each public housing agency to provide a 21
2551	2551	copy of the uniform statement developed pursuant to 22
2552	2552	subsection (b) to each lessee of a dwelling unit in 23
2553	2553	public housing administered by the agency— 24
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2555	2555	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 81
2556	2556	•S 1 IS
2557	2557	(A) together with the lease for the dwelling 1
2558	2558	unit, at the same time the lease is signed by the 2
2559	2559	lessee; and 3
2560	2560	(B) together with any income verification 4
2561	2561	form, at the same time the form is provided to 5
2562	2562	the lessee; 6
2563	2563	(2) each public housing agency that administers 7
2564	2564	rental assistance under the Housing Choice Voucher 8
2565	2565	program under section 8(o) of the United States 9
2566	2566	Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), includ-10
2567	2567	ing the program under paragraph (13) of such sec-11
2568	2568	tion 8(o), to provide a copy of the uniform statement 12
2569	2569	developed pursuant to subsection (b) to each assisted 13
2570	2570	family or individual— 14
2571	2571	(A) together with the voucher for the as-15
2572	2572	sistance, at the time the voucher is issued for 16
2573	2573	the family or individual; and 17
2574	2574	(B) together with any income verification 18
2575	2575	form, at the time the voucher is provided to the 19
2576	2576	applicant or assisted family or individual; and 20
2577	2577	(3) each owner of a dwelling unit assisted with 21
2578	2578	Federal rental assistance to provide a copy of the 22
2579	2579	uniform statement developed pursuant to subsection 23
2580	2580	(b) to the lessee of the dwelling unit— 24
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2582	2582	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 82
2583	2583	•S 1 IS
2584	2584	(A) together with the lease for such dwell-1
2585	2585	ing unit, at the same time the lease is signed 2
2586	2586	by the lessee; and 3
2587	2587	(B) together with any income verification 4
2588	2588	form, at the same time the form is provided to 5
2589	2589	the applicant or tenant. 6
2590	2590	(d) A
2591	2591	PPLICATIONS FOR RESIDENTIALMORTGAGE 7
2592	2592	L
2593	2593	OANS.—The Director shall require each creditor (within 8
2594	2594	the meaning of such term as used in section 1026.2(a)(17) 9
2595	2595	of title 12, Code of Federal Regulations) that receives an 10
2596	2596	application (within the meaning of such term as used in 11
2597	2597	section 1026.2(a)(3)(ii) of title 12, Code of Federal Regu-12
2598	2598	lations) to provide a copy of the uniform statement devel-13
2599	2599	oped pursuant to subsection (b) in written form to the 14
2600	2600	applicant for the residential mortgage loan not later than 15
2601	2601	5 business days after the date of the application. 16
2602	2602	(e) F
2603	2603	EDERALLYBACKEDMULTIFAMILYMORTGAGE 17
2604	2604	L
2605	2605	OANS.—The head of the Federal agency insuring, guar-18
2606	2606	anteeing, supplementing, or assisting a federally backed 19
2607	2607	multifamily mortgage loan, or the Director of the Federal 20
2608	2608	Housing Finance Agency in the case of a federally backed 21
2609	2609	multifamily mortgage loan that is purchased or securitized 22
2610	2610	by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the 23
2611	2611	Federal National Mortgage Association, shall require the 24
2612	2612	owner of the property secured by the federally backed mul-25
2613	2613	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00082 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2614	2614	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 83
2615	2615	•S 1 IS
2616	2616	tifamily mortgage loan to provide a copy of the uniform 1
2617	2617	statement developed pursuant to subsection (b) in written 2
2618	2618	form to each lessee of a dwelling unit assisted by that loan 3
2619	2619	at the time the lease is signed by the lessee. 4
2620	2620	(f) O
2621	2621	PTIONALCOMPLETION OF VOTERREGISTRA-5
2622	2622	TION.—Nothing in this section may be construed to re-6
2623	2623	quire any individual to complete a voter registration form. 7
2624	2624	(g) R
2625	2625	EGULATIONS.—The head of a Federal agency 8
2626	2626	administering a Federal rental assistance program, the 9
2627	2627	head of the Federal agency insuring, guaranteeing, 10
2628	2628	supplementing, or assisting a federally backed multifamily 11
2629	2629	mortgage loan, the Director of the Federal Housing Fi-12
2630	2630	nance Agency, and the Director may issue such regula-13
2631	2631	tions as may be necessary to carry out this section. 14
2632	2632	(h) N
2633	2633	OEFFECT ONOTHERAUTHORITY.—Nothing in 15
2634	2634	this section shall be construed to imply that a Federal 16
2635	2635	agency cannot provide voter registration services beyond 17
2636	2636	those minimally required herein, or to imply that agencies 18
2637	2637	not named may not distribute voter registration informa-19
2638	2638	tion or provide voter registration services up to the limits 20
2639	2639	of their statutory and funding authority. 21
2640	2640	(i) D
2641	2641	ESIGNATEDVOTERREGISTRATIONAGENCIES.— 22
2642	2642	In any State or other location in which a Federal agency 23
2643	2643	is designated as a voter registration agency under section 24
2644	2644	7(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration Act, the 25
2645	2645	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00083 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2646	2646	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 84
2647	2647	•S 1 IS
2648	2648	voter registration responsibilities incurred through such 1
2649	2649	designation shall supersede the requirements described in 2
2650	2650	this section. 3
2651	2651	SEC. 1043. ACCEPTANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION APPLI-4
2652	2652	CATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 5
2653	2653	YEARS OF AGE. 6
2654	2654	(a) A
2655	2655	CCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 8 of 7
2656	2656	the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 8
2657	2657	20507), as amended by section 1024, is amended— 9
2658	2658	(1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub-10
2659	2659	section (l); and 11
2660	2660	(2) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol-12
2661	2661	lowing new subsection: 13
2662	2662	‘‘(k) A
2663	2663	CCEPTANCE OFAPPLICATIONSFROMINDIVID-14
2664	2664	UALSUNDER18 YEARS OFAGE.— 15
2665	2665	‘‘(1) I
2666	2666	N GENERAL.—A State may not refuse to 16
2667	2667	accept or process an individual’s application to reg-17
2668	2668	ister to vote in elections for Federal office on the 18
2669	2669	grounds that the individual is under 18 years of age 19
2670	2670	at the time the individual submits the application, so 20
2671	2671	long as the individual is at least 16 years of age at 21
2672	2672	such time. 22
2673	2673	‘‘(2) N
2674	2674	O EFFECT ON STATE VOTING AGE RE -23
2675	2675	QUIREMENTS.—Nothing in paragraph (1) may be 24
2676	2676	construed to require a State to permit an individual 25
2677	2677	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00084 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2678	2678	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 85
2679	2679	•S 1 IS
2680	2680	who is under 18 years of age at the time of an elec-1
2681	2681	tion for Federal office to vote in the election.’’. 2
2682	2682	(b) E
2683	2683	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 3
2684	2684	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections occur-4
2685	2685	ring on or after January 1, 2024. 5
2686	2686	SEC. 1044. REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND OPER-6
2687	2687	ATE VOTER PRIVACY PROGRAMS. 7
2688	2688	(a) I
2689	2689	NGENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 8
2690	2690	Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended 9
2691	2691	by section 1031(a), is amended— 10
2692	2692	(1) by redesignating sections 305 and 306 as 11
2693	2693	sections 306 and 307, respectively; and 12
2694	2694	(2) by inserting after section 304 the following 13
2695	2695	new section: 14
2696	2696	‘‘SEC. 305. VOTER PRIVACY PROGRAMS. 15
2697	2697	‘‘(a) I
2698	2698	NGENERAL.—Each State shall establish and 16
2699	2699	operate a privacy program to enable victims of domestic 17
2700	2700	violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault, and traf-18
2701	2701	ficking to have personally identifiable information that 19
2702	2702	State or local election officials maintain with respect to 20
2703	2703	an individual voter registration status for purposes of elec-21
2704	2704	tions for Federal office in the State, including addresses, 22
2705	2705	be kept confidential. 23
2706	2706	‘‘(b) N
2707	2707	OTICE.—Each State shall notify residents of 24
2708	2708	that State of the information that State and local election 25
2709	2709	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00085 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2710	2710	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 86
2711	2711	•S 1 IS
2712	2712	officials maintain with respect to an individual voter reg-1
2713	2713	istration status for purposes of elections for Federal office 2
2714	2714	in the State, how that information is shared or sold and 3
2715	2715	with whom, what information is automatically kept con-4
2716	2716	fidential, what information is needed to access voter infor-5
2717	2717	mation online, and the privacy programs that are avail-6
2718	2718	able. 7
2719	2719	‘‘(c) P
2720	2720	UBLICAVAILABILITY.—Each State shall make 8
2721	2721	information about the program established under sub-9
2722	2722	section (a) available on a publicly accessible website. 10
2723	2723	‘‘(d) D
2724	2724	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 11
2725	2725	‘‘(1) The terms ‘dating violence’, ‘domestic vio-12
2726	2726	lence’, ‘sexual assault’, and ‘stalking’ have the mean-13
2727	2727	ings given those terms in section 40002 of the Vio-14
2728	2728	lence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 15
2729	2729	12291). 16
2730	2730	‘‘(2) The term ‘trafficking’ means an act or 17
2731	2731	practice described in paragraph (11) or (12) of sec-18
2732	2732	tion 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 19
2733	2733	of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102). 20
2734	2734	‘‘(e) E
2735	2735	FFECTIVEDATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 21
2736	2736	shall be required to comply with the requirements of this 22
2737	2737	section on and after January 1, 2025.’’. 23
2738	2738	(b) C
2739	2739	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 24
2740	2740	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), is amended— 25
2741	2741	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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2743	2743	•S 1 IS
2744	2744	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-1
2745	2745	tions 305 and 306 as relating to sections 306 and 2
2746	2746	307, respectively; and 3
2747	2747	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-4
2748	2748	tion 304 the following new item: 5
2749	2749	‘‘Sec. 305. Voter privacy programs.’’.
2750	2750	PART 6—FUNDING SUPPORT TO STATES FOR 6
2751	2751	COMPLIANCE 7
2752	2752	SEC. 1051. AVAILABILITY OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 8
2753	2753	UNDER HAVA TO COVER COSTS OF COMPLI-9
2754	2754	ANCE WITH NEW REQUIREMENTS. 10
2755	2755	(a) I
2756	2756	NGENERAL.—Section 251(b) of the Help Amer-11
2757	2757	ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended— 12
2758	2758	(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘as provided 13
2759	2759	in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘as other-14
2760	2760	wise provided in this subsection’’; and 15
2761	2761	(2) by adding at the end the following new 16
2762	2762	paragraph: 17
2763	2763	‘‘(4) C
2764	2764	ERTAIN VOTER REGISTRATION ACTIVI -18
2765	2765	TIES.—Notwithstanding paragraph (3), a State may 19
2766	2766	use a requirements payment to carry out any of the 20
2767	2767	requirements of the Voter Registration Moderniza-21
2768	2768	tion Act of 2023, including the requirements of the 22
2769	2769	National Voter Registration Act of 1993 that are 23
2770	2770	imposed pursuant to the amendments made to such 24
2771	2771	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2772	2772	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 88
2773	2773	•S 1 IS
2774	2774	Act by the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 1
2775	2775	2023.’’. 2
2776	2776	(b) C
2777	2777	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 254(a)(1) 3
2778	2778	of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21004(a)(1)) is amended by strik-4
2779	2779	ing ‘‘section 251(a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 5
2780	2780	251(b)(2)’’. 6
2781	2781	(c) E
2782	2782	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 7
2783	2783	this section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2024 8
2784	2784	and each succeeding fiscal year. 9
2785	2785	Subtitle B—Access to Voting for 10
2786	2786	Individuals With Disabilities 11
2787	2787	SEC. 1101. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES TO PROMOTE AC-12
2788	2788	CESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 13
2789	2789	FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 14
2790	2790	(a) R
2791	2791	EQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 15
2792	2792	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 16
2793	2793	as amended by section 1031(a) and section 1044(a), is 17
2794	2794	amended— 18
2795	2795	(1) by redesignating sections 306 and 307 as 19
2796	2796	sections 307 and 308, respectively; and 20
2797	2797	(2) by inserting after section 305 the following 21
2798	2798	new section: 22
2799	2799	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2800	2800	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 89
2801	2801	•S 1 IS
2802	2802	‘‘SEC. 306. ACCESS TO VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING 1
2803	2803	FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 2
2804	2804	‘‘(a) T
2805	2805	REATMENT OF APPLICATIONS AND BAL-3
2806	2806	LOTS.—Each State shall— 4
2807	2807	‘‘(1) ensure that absentee registration forms, 5
2808	2808	absentee ballot applications, and absentee ballots 6
2809	2809	that are available electronically are accessible (as de-7
2810	2810	fined in section 307); 8
2811	2811	‘‘(2) permit individuals with disabilities to use 9
2812	2812	absentee registration procedures and to vote by ab-10
2813	2813	sentee ballot in elections for Federal office; 11
2814	2814	‘‘(3) accept and process, with respect to any 12
2815	2815	election for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter 13
2816	2816	registration application and absentee ballot applica-14
2817	2817	tion from an individual with a disability if the appli-15
2818	2818	cation is received by the appropriate State election 16
2819	2819	official within the deadline for the election which is 17
2820	2820	applicable under Federal law; 18
2821	2821	‘‘(4) in addition to any other method of reg-19
2822	2822	istering to vote or applying for an absentee ballot in 20
2823	2823	the State, establish procedures— 21
2824	2824	‘‘(A) for individuals with disabilities to re-22
2825	2825	quest by mail and electronically voter registra-23
2826	2826	tion applications and absentee ballot applica-24
2827	2827	tions with respect to elections for Federal office 25
2828	2828	in accordance with subsection (c); 26
2829	2829	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2830	2830	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 90
2831	2831	•S 1 IS
2832	2832	‘‘(B) for States to send by mail and elec-1
2833	2833	tronically (in accordance with the preferred 2
2834	2834	method of transmission designated by the indi-3
2835	2835	vidual under subparagraph (C)) voter registra-4
2836	2836	tion applications and absentee ballot applica-5
2837	2837	tions requested under subparagraph (A) in ac-6
2838	2838	cordance with subsection (c)); and 7
2839	2839	‘‘(C) by which such an individual can des-8
2840	2840	ignate whether the individual prefers that such 9
2841	2841	voter registration application or absentee ballot 10
2842	2842	application be transmitted by mail or electroni-11
2843	2843	cally; 12
2844	2844	‘‘(5) in addition to any other method of trans-13
2845	2845	mitting blank absentee ballots in the State, establish 14
2846	2846	procedures for transmitting by mail and electroni-15
2847	2847	cally blank absentee ballots to individuals with dis-16
2848	2848	abilities with respect to elections for Federal office 17
2849	2849	in accordance with subsection (d); and 18
2850	2850	‘‘(6) if the State declares or otherwise holds a 19
2851	2851	runoff election for Federal office, establish a written 20
2852	2852	plan that provides absentee ballots are made avail-21
2853	2853	able to individuals with disabilities in a manner that 22
2854	2854	gives them sufficient time to vote in the runoff elec-23
2855	2855	tion. 24
2856	2856	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2857	2857	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 91
2858	2858	•S 1 IS
2859	2859	‘‘(b) DESIGNATION OFSINGLESTATEOFFICETO 1
2860	2860	P
2861	2861	ROVIDEINFORMATION ON REGISTRATION AND ABSEN-2
2862	2862	TEEBALLOTPROCEDURES FOR VOTERSWITHDISABIL-3
2863	2863	ITIES INSTATE.— 4
2864	2864	‘‘(1) I
2865	2865	N GENERAL.—Each State shall designate 5
2866	2866	a single office that shall be responsible for providing 6
2867	2867	information regarding voter registration procedures, 7
2868	2868	absentee ballot procedures, and in-person voting pro-8
2869	2869	cedures to be used by individuals with disabilities 9
2870	2870	with respect to elections for Federal office to all in-10
2871	2871	dividuals with disabilities who wish to register to 11
2872	2872	vote or vote in any jurisdiction in the State. 12
2873	2873	‘‘(2) R
2874	2874	ESPONSIBILITIES.—Each State shall, 13
2875	2875	through the office designated under paragraph (1)— 14
2876	2876	‘‘(A) provide information to election offi-15
2877	2877	cials— 16
2878	2878	‘‘(i) on how to set up and operate ac-17
2879	2879	cessible voting systems; and 18
2880	2880	‘‘(ii) regarding the accessibility of vot-19
2881	2881	ing procedures, including guidance on com-20
2882	2882	patibility with assistive technologies such 21
2883	2883	as screen readers and ballot marking de-22
2884	2884	vices; 23
2885	2885	‘‘(B) integrate information on accessibility, 24
2886	2886	accommodations, disability, and older individ-25
2887	2887	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2888	2888	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 92
2889	2889	•S 1 IS
2890	2890	uals into regular training materials for poll 1
2891	2891	workers and election administration officials; 2
2892	2892	‘‘(C) train poll workers on how to make 3
2893	2893	polling places accessible for individuals with dis-4
2894	2894	abilities and older individuals; 5
2895	2895	‘‘(D) promote the hiring of individuals with 6
2896	2896	disabilities and older individuals as poll workers 7
2897	2897	and election staff; and 8
2898	2898	‘‘(E) publicly post the results of any audits 9
2899	2899	to determine the accessibility of polling places 10
2900	2900	not later than 6 months after the completion of 11
2901	2901	the audit. 12
2902	2902	‘‘(c) D
2903	2903	ESIGNATION OFMEANS OFELECTRONICCOM-13
2904	2904	MUNICATION FOR INDIVIDUALSWITHDISABILITIESTO 14
2905	2905	R
2906	2906	EQUEST AND FOR STATESTOSENDVOTERREGISTRA-15
2907	2907	TIONAPPLICATIONS AND ABSENTEEBALLOTAPPLICA-16
2908	2908	TIONS, AND FOROTHERPURPOSESRELATED TOVOTING 17
2909	2909	I
2910	2910	NFORMATION.— 18
2911	2911	‘‘(1) I
2912	2912	N GENERAL.—Each State shall, in addi-19
2913	2913	tion to the designation of a single State office under 20
2914	2914	subsection (b), designate not less than 1 means of 21
2915	2915	accessible electronic communication— 22
2916	2916	‘‘(A) for use by individuals with disabilities 23
2917	2917	who wish to register to vote or vote in any ju-24
2918	2918	risdiction in the State to request voter registra-25
2919	2919	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2920	2920	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 93
2921	2921	•S 1 IS
2922	2922	tion applications and absentee ballot applica-1
2923	2923	tions under subsection (a)(4); 2
2924	2924	‘‘(B) for use by States to send voter reg-3
2925	2925	istration applications and absentee ballot appli-4
2926	2926	cations requested under such subsection; and 5
2927	2927	‘‘(C) for the purpose of providing related 6
2928	2928	voting, balloting, and election information to in-7
2929	2929	dividuals with disabilities. 8
2930	2930	‘‘(2) C
2931	2931	LARIFICATION REGARDING PROVISION OF 9
2932	2932	MULTIPLE MEANS OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICA -10
2933	2933	TION.—A State may, in addition to the means of 11
2934	2934	electronic communication so designated, provide 12
2935	2935	multiple means of electronic communication to indi-13
2936	2936	viduals with disabilities, including a means of elec-14
2937	2937	tronic communication for the appropriate jurisdic-15
2938	2938	tion of the State. 16
2939	2939	‘‘(3) I
2940	2940	NCLUSION OF DESIGNATED MEANS OF 17
2941	2941	ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION WITH INFORMA -18
2942	2942	TIONAL AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS THAT AC -19
2943	2943	COMPANY BALLOTING MATERIALS .—Each State shall 20
2944	2944	include a means of electronic communication so des-21
2945	2945	ignated with all informational and instructional ma-22
2946	2946	terials that accompany balloting materials sent by 23
2947	2947	the State to individuals with disabilities. 24
2948	2948	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2949	2949	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 94
2950	2950	•S 1 IS
2951	2951	‘‘(4) TRANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI -1
2952	2952	CATED.—In the case in which an individual with a 2
2953	2953	disability does not designate a preference under sub-3
2954	2954	section (a)(4)(C), the State shall transmit the voter 4
2955	2955	registration application or absentee ballot application 5
2956	2956	by any delivery method allowable in accordance with 6
2957	2957	applicable State law, or if there is no applicable 7
2958	2958	State law, by mail. 8
2959	2959	‘‘(d) T
2960	2960	RANSMISSION OFBLANKABSENTEEBALLOTS 9
2961	2961	BYMAIL ANDELECTRONICALLY.— 10
2962	2962	‘‘(1) I
2963	2963	N GENERAL.—Each State shall establish 11
2964	2964	procedures— 12
2965	2965	‘‘(A) to securely transmit blank absentee 13
2966	2966	ballots by mail and electronically (in accordance 14
2967	2967	with the preferred method of transmission des-15
2968	2968	ignated by the individual with a disability under 16
2969	2969	subparagraph (B)) to individuals with disabil-17
2970	2970	ities for an election for Federal office; and 18
2971	2971	‘‘(B) by which the individual with a dis-19
2972	2972	ability can designate whether the individual pre-20
2973	2973	fers that such blank absentee ballot be trans-21
2974	2974	mitted by mail or electronically. 22
2975	2975	‘‘(2) T
2976	2976	RANSMISSION IF NO PREFERENCE INDI -23
2977	2977	CATED.—In the case where an individual with a dis-24
2978	2978	ability does not designate a preference under para-25
2979	2979	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
2980	2980	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 95
2981	2981	•S 1 IS
2982	2982	graph (1)(B), the State shall transmit the ballot by 1
2983	2983	any delivery method allowable in accordance with ap-2
2984	2984	plicable State law, or if there is no applicable State 3
2985	2985	law, by mail. 4
2986	2986	‘‘(3) A
2987	2987	PPLICATION OF METHODS TO TRACK DE -5
2988	2988	LIVERY TO AND RETURN OF BALLOT BY INDIVIDUAL 6
2989	2989	REQUESTING BALLOT .—Under the procedures estab-7
2990	2990	lished under paragraph (1), the State shall apply 8
2991	2991	such methods as the State considers appropriate, 9
2992	2992	such as assigning a unique identifier to the ballot 10
2993	2993	envelope, to ensure that if an individual with a dis-11
2994	2994	ability requests the State to transmit a blank absen-12
2995	2995	tee ballot to the individual in accordance with this 13
2996	2996	subsection, the voted absentee ballot that is returned 14
2997	2997	by the individual is the same blank absentee ballot 15
2998	2998	that the State transmitted to the individual. 16
2999	2999	‘‘(e) I
3000	3000	NDIVIDUALWITH ADISABILITYDEFINED.—In 17
3001	3001	this section, an ‘individual with a disability’ means an in-18
3002	3002	dividual with an impairment that substantially limits any 19
3003	3003	major life activities and who is otherwise qualified to vote 20
3004	3004	in elections for Federal office. 21
3005	3005	‘‘(f) E
3006	3006	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 22
3007	3007	with respect to elections for Federal office held on or after 23
3008	3008	January 1, 2024.’’. 24
3009	3009	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3010	3010	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 96
3011	3011	•S 1 IS
3012	3012	(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 1
3013	3013	I
3014	3014	SSUANCE OFVOLUNTARYGUIDANCE BYELECTIONAS-2
3015	3015	SISTANCECOMMISSION.— 3
3016	3016	(1) T
3017	3017	IMING OF ISSUANCE.—Section 311(b) of 4
3018	3018	such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)) is amended— 5
3019	3019	(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-6
3020	3020	graph (2); 7
3021	3021	(B) by striking the period at the end of 8
3022	3022	paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9
3023	3023	(C) by adding at the end the following new 10
3024	3024	paragraph: 11
3025	3025	‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 12
3026	3026	respect to section 306, January 1, 2024.’’. 13
3027	3027	(2) R
3028	3028	EDESIGNATION.— 14
3029	3029	(A) I
3030	3030	N GENERAL.—Title III of such Act 15
3031	3031	(52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by redes-16
3032	3032	ignating sections 311 and 312 as sections 321 17
3033	3033	and 322, respectively. 18
3034	3034	(B) C
3035	3035	ONFORMING AMENDMENT .—Section 19
3036	3036	321(a) of such Act, as redesignated by subpara-20
3037	3037	graph (A), is amended by striking ‘‘section 21
3038	3038	312’’ and inserting ‘‘section 322’’. 22
3039	3039	(c) C
3040	3040	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 23
3041	3041	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c) and section 24
3042	3042	1044(b), is amended— 25
3043	3043	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3044	3044	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 97
3045	3045	•S 1 IS
3046	3046	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-1
3047	3047	tions 306 and 307 as relating to sections 307 and 2
3048	3048	308, respectively; and 3
3049	3049	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-4
3050	3050	tion 305 the following new item: 5
3051	3051	‘‘Sec. 306. Access to voter registration and voting for individuals with disabil-
3052	3052	ities.’’.
3053	3053	SEC. 1102. ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF STATE
3054	3054	6
3055	3055	ACCESSIBLE ELECTION WEBSITES. 7
3056	3056	(a) I
3057	3057	NGENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the Help 8
3058	3058	America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as 9
3059	3059	amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), and section 10
3060	3060	1101(a), is amended— 11
3061	3061	(1) by redesignating sections 307 and 308 as 12
3062	3062	sections 308 and 309, respectively; and 13
3063	3063	(2) by inserting after section 306 the following: 14
3064	3064	‘‘SEC. 307. ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF ACCES-15
3065	3065	SIBLE ELECTION WEBSITES. 16
3066	3066	‘‘(a) I
3067	3067	NGENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 2025, 17
3068	3068	each State shall establish a single election website that is 18
3069	3069	accessible and meets the following requirements: 19
3070	3070	‘‘(1) L
3071	3071	OCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS .—The 20
3072	3072	website shall provide local election officials, poll 21
3073	3073	workers, and volunteers with— 22
3074	3074	‘‘(A) guidance to ensure that polling places 23
3075	3075	are accessible for individuals with disabilities 24
3076	3076	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3077	3077	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 98
3078	3078	•S 1 IS
3079	3079	and older individuals in a manner that provides 1
3080	3080	the same opportunity for access and participa-2
3081	3081	tion (including privacy and independence) as for 3
3082	3082	other voters; and 4
3083	3083	‘‘(B) online training and resources on— 5
3084	3084	‘‘(i) how best to promote the access 6
3085	3085	and participation of individuals with dis-7
3086	3086	abilities and older individuals in elections 8
3087	3087	for public office; and 9
3088	3088	‘‘(ii) the voting rights and protections 10
3089	3089	for individuals with disabilities and older 11
3090	3090	individuals under State and Federal law. 12
3091	3091	‘‘(2) V
3092	3092	OTERS.—The website shall provide infor-13
3093	3093	mation about voting, including— 14
3094	3094	‘‘(A) the accessibility of all polling places 15
3095	3095	within the State, including outreach programs 16
3096	3096	to inform individuals about the availability of 17
3097	3097	accessible polling places; 18
3098	3098	‘‘(B) how to register to vote and confirm 19
3099	3099	voter registration in the State; 20
3100	3100	‘‘(C) the location and operating hours of 21
3101	3101	all polling places in the State; 22
3102	3102	‘‘(D) the availability of aid or assistance 23
3103	3103	for individuals with disabilities and older indi-24
3104	3104	viduals to cast their vote in a manner that pro-25
3105	3105	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3106	3106	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 99
3107	3107	•S 1 IS
3108	3108	vides the same opportunity for access and par-1
3109	3109	ticipation (including privacy and independence) 2
3110	3110	as for other voters at polling places; 3
3111	3111	‘‘(E) the availability of transportation aid 4
3112	3112	or assistance to the polling place for individuals 5
3113	3113	with disabilities or older individuals; 6
3114	3114	‘‘(F) the rights and protections under 7
3115	3115	State and Federal law for individuals with dis-8
3116	3116	abilities and older individuals to participate in 9
3117	3117	elections; and 10
3118	3118	‘‘(G) how to contact State, local, and Fed-11
3119	3119	eral officials with complaints or grievances if in-12
3120	3120	dividuals with disabilities, older individuals, Na-13
3121	3121	tive Americans, Alaska Natives, and individuals 14
3122	3122	with limited proficiency in the English language 15
3123	3123	feel their ability to register to vote or vote has 16
3124	3124	been blocked or delayed. 17
3125	3125	‘‘(b) P
3126	3126	ARTNERSHIPWITHOUTSIDETECHNICALOR-18
3127	3127	GANIZATION.—The chief State election official of each 19
3128	3128	State, through the committee of appropriate individuals 20
3129	3129	under subsection (c)(2), shall partner with an outside 21
3130	3130	technical organization with demonstrated experience in es-22
3131	3131	tablishing accessible and easy to use accessible election 23
3132	3132	websites to— 24
3133	3133	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3134	3134	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 100
3135	3135	•S 1 IS
3136	3136	‘‘(1) update an existing election website of the 1
3137	3137	State to make the website fully accessible in accord-2
3138	3138	ance with this section; or 3
3139	3139	‘‘(2) develop an election website of the State 4
3140	3140	that is fully accessible in accordance with this sec-5
3141	3141	tion. 6
3142	3142	‘‘(c) S
3143	3143	TATEPLAN.— 7
3144	3144	‘‘(1) D
3145	3145	EVELOPMENT.—The chief State election 8
3146	3146	official of each State shall, through a committee of 9
3147	3147	appropriate individuals as described in paragraph 10
3148	3148	(2), develop a State plan that describes how the 11
3149	3149	State and local governments will meet the require-12
3150	3150	ments under this section. 13
3151	3151	‘‘(2) C
3152	3152	OMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP .—The com-14
3153	3153	mittee shall comprise at least the following individ-15
3154	3154	uals: 16
3155	3155	‘‘(A) The chief election officials of the 4 17
3156	3156	most populous jurisdictions within the State. 18
3157	3157	‘‘(B) The chief election officials of the 4 19
3158	3158	least populous jurisdictions within the State. 20
3159	3159	‘‘(C) Representatives from 2 disability ad-21
3160	3160	vocacy groups, including not fewer than 1 such 22
3161	3161	representative who is an individual with a dis-23
3162	3162	ability. 24
3163	3163	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3164	3164	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 101
3165	3165	•S 1 IS
3166	3166	‘‘(D) Representatives from 2 older indi-1
3167	3167	vidual advocacy groups, including not fewer 2
3168	3168	than 1 such representative who is an older indi-3
3169	3169	vidual. 4
3170	3170	‘‘(E) Representatives from 2 independent 5
3171	3171	non-governmental organizations with expertise 6
3172	3172	in establishing and maintaining accessible 7
3173	3173	websites. 8
3174	3174	‘‘(F) Representatives from 2 independent 9
3175	3175	non-governmental voting rights organizations. 10
3176	3176	‘‘(G) Representatives from State protection 11
3177	3177	and advocacy systems, as defined in section 102 12
3178	3178	of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance 13
3179	3179	and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14
3180	3180	15002). 15
3181	3181	‘‘(d) P
3182	3182	ARTNERSHIPTOMONITOR ANDVERIFYAC-16
3183	3183	CESSIBILITY.—The chief State election official of each eli-17
3184	3184	gible State, through the committee of appropriate individ-18
3185	3185	uals established under subsection (c)(2), shall partner with 19
3186	3186	not fewer than 2 of the following organizations to monitor 20
3187	3187	and verify the accessibility of the election website of the 21
3188	3188	State and the completeness of the election information and 22
3189	3189	the accuracy of the disability information provided on such 23
3190	3190	website: 24
3191	3191	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3192	3192	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 102
3193	3193	•S 1 IS
3194	3194	‘‘(1) University Centers for Excellence in Devel-1
3195	3195	opmental Disabilities Education, Research, and 2
3196	3196	Services established under subtitle D of title I of the 3
3197	3197	Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of 4
3198	3198	Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15061 et seq.). 5
3199	3199	‘‘(2) Centers for independent living, as de-6
3200	3200	scribed in part C of title VII of the Rehabilitation 7
3201	3201	Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796f et seq.). 8
3202	3202	‘‘(3) The State Council on Developmental Dis-9
3203	3203	abilities established under section 125 of the Devel-10
3204	3204	opmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights 11
3205	3205	Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15025). 12
3206	3206	‘‘(4) State protection and advocacy systems, as 13
3207	3207	defined in section 102 of the Developmental Disabil-14
3208	3208	ities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 15
3209	3209	U.S.C. 15002). 16
3210	3210	‘‘(5) Statewide Independent Living Councils es-17
3211	3211	tablished under section 705 of the Rehabilitation Act 18
3212	3212	of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796d). 19
3213	3213	‘‘(6) State programs established under the As-20
3214	3214	sistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et 21
3215	3215	seq.). 22
3216	3216	‘‘(7) A visual access advocacy organization. 23
3217	3217	‘‘(8) An organization for the deaf. 24
3218	3218	‘‘(9) A mental health organization. 25
3219	3219	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3220	3220	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 103
3221	3221	•S 1 IS
3222	3222	‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, 1
3223	3223	section 305, and section 307: 2
3224	3224	‘‘(1) A
3225	3225	CCESSIBLE.—The term ‘accessible’ 3
3226	3226	means— 4
3227	3227	‘‘(A) in the case of the election website 5
3228	3228	under subsection (a) or an electronic commu-6
3229	3229	nication under section 305— 7
3230	3230	‘‘(i) that the functions and content of 8
3231	3231	the website or electronic communication, 9
3232	3232	including all text, visual, and aural con-10
3233	3233	tent, are as accessible to people with dis-11
3234	3234	abilities as to those without disabilities; 12
3235	3235	‘‘(ii) that the functions and content of 13
3236	3236	the website or electronic communication 14
3237	3237	are accessible to individuals with limited 15
3238	3238	proficiency in the English language; and 16
3239	3239	‘‘(iii) that the website or electronic 17
3240	3240	communication meets, at a minimum, con-18
3241	3241	formance to Level AA of the Web Content 19
3242	3242	Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 of the Web Ac-20
3243	3243	cessibility Initiative (or any successor 21
3244	3244	guidelines); and 22
3245	3245	‘‘(B) in the case of a facility (including a 23
3246	3246	polling place), that the facility is readily acces-24
3247	3247	sible to and usable by individuals with disabil-25
3248	3248	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00103 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3249	3249	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 104
3250	3250	•S 1 IS
3251	3251	ities and older individuals, as determined under 1
3252	3252	the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design 2
3253	3253	of the Department of Justice, published on Sep-3
3254	3254	tember 15, 2010 (or any successor standards). 4
3255	3255	‘‘(2) I
3256	3256	NDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY .—The 5
3257	3257	term ‘individual with a disability’ means an indi-6
3258	3258	vidual with a disability, as defined in section 3 of the 7
3259	3259	Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 8
3260	3260	12102), and who is otherwise qualified to vote in 9
3261	3261	elections for Federal office. 10
3262	3262	‘‘(3) O
3263	3263	LDER INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘older in-11
3264	3264	dividual’ means an individual who is 60 years of age 12
3265	3265	or older and who is otherwise qualified to vote in 13
3266	3266	elections for Federal office.’’. 14
3267	3267	(b) V
3268	3268	OLUNTARYGUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of 15
3269	3269	such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated 16
3270	3270	by section 1101(b), is amended by striking ‘‘section 306’’ 17
3271	3271	and inserting ‘‘sections 306 and 307’’. 18
3272	3272	(c) C
3273	3273	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 19
3274	3274	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 20
3275	3275	1044(b), and section 1101(c), is amended— 21
3276	3276	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-22
3277	3277	tions 307 and 308 as relating to sections 308 and 23
3278	3278	309, respectively; and 24
3279	3279	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3280	3280	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 105
3281	3281	•S 1 IS
3282	3282	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-1
3283	3283	tion 306 the following new item: 2
3284	3284	‘‘Sec. 307. Establishment and maintenance of accessible election websites.’’.
3285	3285	SEC. 1103. PROTECTIONS FOR IN-PERSON VOTING FOR IN-
3286	3286	3
3287	3287	DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES AND OLDER 4
3288	3288	INDIVIDUALS. 5
3289	3289	(a) R
3290	3290	EQUIREMENT.— 6
3291	3291	(1) I
3292	3292	N GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 7
3293	3293	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 8
3294	3294	et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), section 9
3295	3295	1044(a), section 1101(a), and section 1102(a), is 10
3296	3296	amended— 11
3297	3297	(A) by redesignating sections 308 and 309 12
3298	3298	as sections 309 and 310, respectively; and 13
3299	3299	(B) by inserting after section 307 the fol-14
3300	3300	lowing: 15
3301	3301	‘‘SEC. 308. ACCESS TO VOTING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS-16
3302	3302	ABILITIES AND OLDER INDIVIDUALS. 17
3303	3303	‘‘(a) I
3304	3304	NGENERAL.—Each State shall— 18
3305	3305	‘‘(1) ensure all polling places within the State 19
3306	3306	are accessible, as defined in section 306; 20
3307	3307	‘‘(2) consider procedures to address long wait 21
3308	3308	times at polling places that allow individuals with 22
3309	3309	disabilities and older individuals alternate options to 23
3310	3310	cast a ballot in person in an election for Federal of-24
3311	3311	fice, such as the option to cast a ballot outside of 25
3312	3312	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3313	3313	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 106
3314	3314	•S 1 IS
3315	3315	the polling place or from a vehicle, or providing an 1
3316	3316	expedited voting line; and 2
3317	3317	‘‘(3) consider options to establish mobile polling 3
3318	3318	sites to allow election officials or volunteers to travel 4
3319	3319	to long-term care facilities and assist residents who 5
3320	3320	request assistance in casting a ballot in order to 6
3321	3321	maintain the privacy and independence of voters in 7
3322	3322	those facilities. 8
3323	3323	‘‘(b) C
3324	3324	LARIFICATION.—Nothing in this section shall 9
3325	3325	be construed to alter the requirements under Federal law 10
3326	3326	that all polling places for Federal elections are accessible 11
3327	3327	to individuals with disabilities and older individuals. 12
3328	3328	‘‘(c) E
3329	3329	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 13
3330	3330	with respect to elections for Federal office held on or after 14
3331	3331	January 1, 2026.’’. 15
3332	3332	(2) V
3333	3333	OLUNTARY GUIDANCE .—Section 321(b)(4) 16
3334	3334	of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and re-17
3335	3335	designated by section 1101(b) and as amended by 18
3336	3336	section 1102(b), is amended by striking ‘‘and 307’’ 19
3337	3337	and inserting ‘‘, 307, and 308’’. 20
3338	3338	(3) C
3339	3339	LERICAL AMENDMENTS .—The table of 21
3340	3340	contents of such Act, as amended by section 22
3341	3341	1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), and sec-23
3342	3342	tion 1102(c), is amended— 24
3343	3343	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3344	3344	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 107
3345	3345	•S 1 IS
3346	3346	(A) by redesignating the items relating to 1
3347	3347	sections 308 and 309 as relating to sections 2
3348	3348	309 and 310, respectively; and 3
3349	3349	(B) by inserting after the item relating to 4
3350	3350	section 307 the following new item: 5
3351	3351	‘‘Sec. 308. Access to voting for individuals with disabilities and older individ-
3352	3352	uals.’’.
3353	3353	(b) REVISIONS TOVOTINGACCESSIBILITY FOR THE 6
3354	3354	E
3355	3355	LDERLY ANDHANDICAPPEDACT.— 7
3356	3356	(1) R
3357	3357	EPORTS TO ELECTION ASSISTANCE COM -8
3358	3358	MISSION.—Section 3(c) of the Voting Accessibility 9
3359	3359	for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 10
3360	3360	20102(c)) is amended— 11
3361	3361	(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 12
3362	3362	‘‘F
3363	3363	EDERALELECTIONCOMMISSION’’ and in-13
3364	3364	serting ‘‘E
3365	3365	LECTIONASSISTANCECOMMISSION’’; 14
3366	3366	(B) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by 15
3367	3367	striking ‘‘Federal Election Commission’’ and in-16
3368	3368	serting ‘‘Election Assistance Commission’’; and 17
3369	3369	(C) by striking paragraph (3). 18
3370	3370	(2) C
3371	3371	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 19
3372	3372	REFERENCES.—The Voting Accessibility for the El-20
3373	3373	derly and Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20101 et 21
3374	3374	seq.), as amended by paragraph (1), is amended— 22
3375	3375	(A) by striking ‘‘handicapped and elderly 23
3376	3376	individuals’’ each place it appears and inserting 24
3377	3377	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3378	3378	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 108
3379	3379	•S 1 IS
3380	3380	‘‘individuals with disabilities and older individ-1
3381	3381	uals’’; 2
3382	3382	(B) by striking ‘‘handicapped and elderly 3
3383	3383	voters’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘in-4
3384	3384	dividuals with disabilities and older individ-5
3385	3385	uals’’; 6
3386	3386	(C) in section 3(b)(2)(B), by striking 7
3387	3387	‘‘handicapped or elderly voter’’ and inserting 8
3388	3388	‘‘individual with a disability or older indi-9
3389	3389	vidual’’; 10
3390	3390	(D) in section 5(b), by striking ‘‘handi-11
3391	3391	capped voter’’ and inserting ‘‘individual with a 12
3392	3392	disability’’; and 13
3393	3393	(E) in section 8— 14
3394	3394	(i) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) 15
3395	3395	and inserting the following: 16
3396	3396	‘‘(1) ‘accessible’ has the meaning given that 17
3397	3397	term in section 307 of the Help America Vote Act 18
3398	3398	of 2002, as added by section 1102(a) of the Free-19
3399	3399	dom to Vote Act; 20
3400	3400	‘‘(2) ‘older individual’ has the meaning given 21
3401	3401	that term in such section 307;’’; and 22
3402	3402	(ii) by striking paragraph (4), and in-23
3403	3403	serting the following: 24
3404	3404	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3405	3405	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 109
3406	3406	•S 1 IS
3407	3407	‘‘(4) ‘individual with a disability’ has the mean-1
3408	3408	ing given that term in such section 306; and’’. 2
3409	3409	(3) S
3410	3410	HORT TITLE AMENDMENT .— 3
3411	3411	(A) I
3412	3412	N GENERAL.—Section 1 of the Voting 4
3413	3413	Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped 5
3414	3414	Act (Public Law 98–435; 42 U.S.C. 1973ee 6
3415	3415	note) is amended by striking ‘‘for the Elderly 7
3416	3416	and Handicapped’’ and inserting ‘‘for Individ-8
3417	3417	uals with Disabilities and Older Individuals’’. 9
3418	3418	(B) R
3419	3419	EFERENCES.—Any reference in any 10
3420	3420	other provision of law, regulation, document, 11
3421	3421	paper, or other record of the United States to 12
3422	3422	the ‘‘Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 13
3423	3423	Handicapped Act’’ shall be deemed to be a ref-14
3424	3424	erence to the ‘‘Voting Accessibility for Individ-15
3425	3425	uals with Disabilities and Older Individuals 16
3426	3426	Act’’. 17
3427	3427	(4) E
3428	3428	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 18
3429	3429	by this subsection shall take effect on January 1, 19
3430	3430	2026, and shall apply with respect to elections for 20
3431	3431	Federal office held on or after that date. 21
3432	3432	SEC. 1104. PROTECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO 22
3433	3433	GUARDIANSHIP. 23
3434	3434	(a) I
3435	3435	NGENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the Help 24
3436	3436	America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as 25
3437	3437	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00109 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3438	3438	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 110
3439	3439	•S 1 IS
3440	3440	amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 1
3441	3441	1101(a), section 1102(a), and section 1103(a)(1), is 2
3442	3442	amended— 3
3443	3443	(1) by redesignating sections 309 and 310 as 4
3444	3444	sections 310 and 311, respectively; and 5
3445	3445	(2) by inserting after section 308 the following: 6
3446	3446	‘‘SEC. 309. PROTECTIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS SUBJECT TO 7
3447	3447	GUARDIANSHIP. 8
3448	3448	‘‘(a) I
3449	3449	NGENERAL.—A State shall not determine that 9
3450	3450	an individual lacks the capacity to vote in an election for 10
3451	3451	Federal office on the ground that the individual is subject 11
3452	3452	to guardianship, unless a court of competent jurisdiction 12
3453	3453	issues a court order finding by clear and convincing evi-13
3454	3454	dence that the individual cannot communicate, with or 14
3455	3455	without accommodations, a desire to participate in the vot-15
3456	3456	ing process. 16
3457	3457	‘‘(b) E
3458	3458	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 17
3459	3459	with respect to elections for Federal office held on or after 18
3460	3460	January 1, 2024.’’. 19
3461	3461	(b) V
3462	3462	OLUNTARYGUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of 20
3463	3463	such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated 21
3464	3464	by section 1101(b) and as amended by sections 1102 and 22
3465	3465	1103, is amended by striking ‘‘and 308’’ and inserting 23
3466	3466	‘‘308, and 309’’. 24
3467	3467	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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3469	3469	•S 1 IS
3470	3470	(c) CLERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 1
3471	3471	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 2
3472	3472	1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), and section 3
3473	3473	1103(a)(3), is amended— 4
3474	3474	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-5
3475	3475	tions 309 and 310 as relating to sections 310 and 6
3476	3476	311, respectively; and 7
3477	3477	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-8
3478	3478	tion 308 the following new item: 9
3479	3479	‘‘Sec. 309. Protections for individuals subject to guardianship.’’.
3480	3480	SEC. 1105. EXPANSION AND REAUTHORIZATION OF GRANT
3481	3481	10
3482	3482	PROGRAM TO ASSURE VOTING ACCESS FOR 11
3483	3483	INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 12
3484	3484	(a) P
3485	3485	URPOSES OFPAYMENTS.—Section 261(b) of the 13
3486	3486	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21021(b)) is 14
3487	3487	amended by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting 15
3488	3488	the following: 16
3489	3489	‘‘(1) making absentee voting and voting at 17
3490	3490	home accessible to individuals with the full range of 18
3491	3491	disabilities (including impairments involving vision, 19
3492	3492	hearing, mobility, or dexterity) through the imple-20
3493	3493	mentation of accessible absentee voting systems that 21
3494	3494	work in conjunction with assistive technologies for 22
3495	3495	which individuals have access at their homes, inde-23
3496	3496	pendent living centers, or other facilities; 24
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3499	3499	•S 1 IS
3500	3500	‘‘(2) making polling places, including the path 1
3501	3501	of travel, entrances, exits, and voting areas of each 2
3502	3502	polling facility, accessible to individuals with disabil-3
3503	3503	ities, including the blind and visually impaired, in a 4
3504	3504	manner that provides the same opportunity for ac-5
3505	3505	cess and participation (including privacy and inde-6
3506	3506	pendence) as for other voters; and 7
3507	3507	‘‘(3) providing solutions to problems of access 8
3508	3508	to voting and elections for individuals with disabil-9
3509	3509	ities that are universally designed and provide the 10
3510	3510	same opportunities for individuals with and without 11
3511	3511	disabilities.’’. 12
3512	3512	(b) R
3513	3513	EAUTHORIZATION.—Section 264(a) of such Act 13
3514	3514	(52 U.S.C. 21024(a)) is amended by adding at the end 14
3515	3515	the following new paragraph: 15
3516	3516	‘‘(4) For fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding 16
3517	3517	fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary to carry 17
3518	3518	out this part.’’. 18
3519	3519	(c) P
3520	3520	ERIOD OFAVAILABILITY OFFUNDS.—Section 19
3521	3521	264 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21024) is amended— 20
3522	3522	(1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Any 21
3523	3523	amounts’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in sub-22
3524	3524	section (c), any amounts’’; and 23
3525	3525	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-24
3526	3526	section: 25
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3528	3528	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 113
3529	3529	•S 1 IS
3530	3530	‘‘(c) RETURN ANDTRANSFER OFCERTAINFUNDS.— 1
3531	3531	‘‘(1) D
3532	3532	EADLINE FOR OBLIGATION AND EXPEND -2
3533	3533	ITURE.—In the case of any amounts appropriated 3
3534	3534	pursuant to the authority of subsection (a) for a 4
3535	3535	payment to a State or unit of local government for 5
3536	3536	fiscal year 2024 or any succeeding fiscal year, any 6
3537	3537	portion of such amounts which have not been obli-7
3538	3538	gated or expended by the State or unit of local gov-8
3539	3539	ernment prior to the expiration of the 4-year period 9
3540	3540	that begins on the date the State or unit of local 10
3541	3541	government first received the amounts shall be 11
3542	3542	transferred to the Commission. 12
3543	3543	‘‘(2) R
3544	3544	EALLOCATION OF TRANSFERRED 13
3545	3545	AMOUNTS.— 14
3546	3546	‘‘(A) I
3547	3547	N GENERAL.—The Commission shall 15
3548	3548	use the amounts transferred under paragraph 16
3549	3549	(1) to make payments on a pro rata basis to 17
3550	3550	each covered payment recipient described in 18
3551	3551	subparagraph (B), which may obligate and ex-19
3552	3552	pend such payment for the purposes described 20
3553	3553	in section 261(b) during the 1-year period 21
3554	3554	which begins on the date of receipt. 22
3555	3555	‘‘(B) C
3556	3556	OVERED PAYMENT RECIPIENTS DE -23
3557	3557	SCRIBED.—In subparagraph (A), a ‘covered 24
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3559	3559	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 114
3560	3560	•S 1 IS
3561	3561	payment recipient’ is a State or unit of local 1
3562	3562	government with respect to which— 2
3563	3563	‘‘(i) amounts were appropriated pur-3
3564	3564	suant to the authority of subsection (a); 4
3565	3565	and 5
3566	3566	‘‘(ii) no amounts were transferred to 6
3567	3567	the Commission under paragraph (1).’’. 7
3568	3568	SEC. 1106. PILOT PROGRAMS FOR ENABLING INDIVIDUALS 8
3569	3569	WITH DISABILITIES TO REGISTER TO VOTE 9
3570	3570	PRIVATELY AND INDEPENDENTLY AT RESI-10
3571	3571	DENCES. 11
3572	3572	(a) E
3573	3573	STABLISHMENT OF PILOTPROGRAMS.—The 12
3574	3574	Election Assistance Commission (hereafter referred to as 13
3575	3575	the ‘‘Commission’’) shall, subject to the availability of ap-14
3576	3576	propriations to carry out this section, make grants to eligi-15
3577	3577	ble States to conduct pilot programs under which individ-16
3578	3578	uals with disabilities may use electronic means (including 17
3579	3579	the internet and telephones utilizing assistive devices) to 18
3580	3580	register to vote and to request and receive absentee ballots 19
3581	3581	in a manner which permits such individuals to do so pri-20
3582	3582	vately and independently at their own residences. 21
3583	3583	(b) R
3584	3584	EPORTS.— 22
3585	3585	(1) I
3586	3586	N GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant for 23
3587	3587	a year under this section shall submit a report to the 24
3588	3588	Commission on the pilot programs the State carried 25
3589	3589	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3590	3590	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 115
3591	3591	•S 1 IS
3592	3592	out with the grant with respect to elections for pub-1
3593	3593	lic office held in the State during the year. 2
3594	3594	(2) D
3595	3595	EADLINE.—A State shall submit a report 3
3596	3596	under paragraph (1) not later than 90 days after 4
3597	3597	the last election for public office held in the State 5
3598	3598	during the year. 6
3599	3599	(c) E
3600	3600	LIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible to receive a 7
3601	3601	grant under this section if the State submits to the Com-8
3602	3602	mission, at such time and in such form as the Commission 9
3603	3603	may require, an application containing such information 10
3604	3604	and assurances as the Commission may require. 11
3605	3605	(d) T
3606	3606	IMING.—The Commission shall make the first 12
3607	3607	grants under this section for pilot programs which will be 13
3608	3608	in effect with respect to elections for Federal office held 14
3609	3609	in 2024, or, at the option of a State, with respect to other 15
3610	3610	elections for public office held in the State in 2024. 16
3611	3611	(e) S
3612	3612	TATEDEFINED.—In this section, the term 17
3613	3613	‘‘State’’ includes the District of Columbia, the Common-18
3614	3614	wealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 19
3615	3615	United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of 20
3616	3616	the Northern Mariana Islands. 21
3617	3617	SEC. 1107. GAO ANALYSIS AND REPORT ON VOTING ACCESS 22
3618	3618	FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 23
3619	3619	(a) A
3620	3620	NALYSIS.—The Comptroller General of the 24
3621	3621	United States shall conduct an analysis after each regu-25
3622	3622	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3623	3623	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 116
3624	3624	•S 1 IS
3625	3625	larly scheduled general election for Federal office with re-1
3626	3626	spect to the following: 2
3627	3627	(1) In relation to polling places located in 3
3628	3628	houses of worship or other facilities that may be ex-4
3629	3629	empt from accessibility requirements under the 5
3630	3630	Americans with Disabilities Act— 6
3631	3631	(A) efforts to overcome accessibility chal-7
3632	3632	lenges posed by such facilities; and 8
3633	3633	(B) the extent to which such facilities are 9
3634	3634	used as polling places in elections for Federal 10
3635	3635	office. 11
3636	3636	(2) Assistance provided by the Election Assist-12
3637	3637	ance Commission, Department of Justice, or other 13
3638	3638	Federal agencies to help State and local officials im-14
3639	3639	prove voting access for individuals with disabilities 15
3640	3640	during elections for Federal office. 16
3641	3641	(3) When accessible voting machines are avail-17
3642	3642	able at a polling place, the extent to which such ma-18
3643	3643	chines— 19
3644	3644	(A) are located in places that are difficult 20
3645	3645	to access; 21
3646	3646	(B) malfunction; or 22
3647	3647	(C) fail to provide sufficient privacy to en-23
3648	3648	sure that the ballot of the individual cannot be 24
3649	3649	seen by another individual. 25
3650	3650	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3651	3651	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 117
3652	3652	•S 1 IS
3653	3653	(4) The process by which Federal, State, and 1
3654	3654	local governments track compliance with accessibility 2
3655	3655	requirements related to voting access, including 3
3656	3656	methods to receive and address complaints. 4
3657	3657	(5) The extent to which poll workers receive 5
3658	3658	training on how to assist individuals with disabil-6
3659	3659	ities, including the receipt by such poll workers of 7
3660	3660	information on legal requirements related to voting 8
3661	3661	rights for individuals with disabilities. 9
3662	3662	(6) The extent and effectiveness of training pro-10
3663	3663	vided to poll workers on the operation of accessible 11
3664	3664	voting machines. 12
3665	3665	(7) The extent to which individuals with a de-13
3666	3666	velopmental or psychiatric disability experience 14
3667	3667	greater barriers to voting, and whether poll worker 15
3668	3668	training adequately addresses the needs of such indi-16
3669	3669	viduals. 17
3670	3670	(8) The extent to which State or local govern-18
3671	3671	ments employ, or attempt to employ, individuals 19
3672	3672	with disabilities to work at polling sites. 20
3673	3673	(b) R
3674	3674	EPORT.— 21
3675	3675	(1) I
3676	3676	N GENERAL.—Not later than 9 months 22
3677	3677	after the date of a regularly scheduled general elec-23
3678	3678	tion for Federal office, the Comptroller General shall 24
3679	3679	submit to the appropriate congressional committees 25
3680	3680	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3681	3681	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 118
3682	3682	•S 1 IS
3683	3683	a report with respect to the most recent regularly 1
3684	3684	scheduled general election for Federal office that 2
3685	3685	contains the following: 3
3686	3686	(A) The analysis required by subsection 4
3687	3687	(a). 5
3688	3688	(B) Recommendations, as appropriate, to 6
3689	3689	promote the use of best practices used by State 7
3690	3690	and local officials to address barriers to accessi-8
3691	3691	bility and privacy concerns for individuals with 9
3692	3692	disabilities in elections for Federal office. 10
3693	3693	(2) A
3694	3694	PPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -11
3695	3695	TEES.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 12
3696	3696	‘‘appropriate congressional committees’’ means— 13
3697	3697	(A) the Committee on House Administra-14
3698	3698	tion of the House of Representatives; 15
3699	3699	(B) the Committee on Rules and Adminis-16
3700	3700	tration of the Senate; 17
3701	3701	(C) the Committee on Appropriations of 18
3702	3702	the House of Representatives; and 19
3703	3703	(D) the Committee on Appropriations of 20
3704	3704	the Senate. 21
3705	3705	Subtitle C—Early Voting 22
3706	3706	SEC. 1201. EARLY VOTING. 23
3707	3707	(a) R
3708	3708	EQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 24
3709	3709	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 25
3710	3710	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3711	3711	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 119
3712	3712	•S 1 IS
3713	3713	as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 1
3714	3714	1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), and section 2
3715	3715	1104(a), is amended— 3
3716	3716	(1) by redesignating sections 310 and 311 as 4
3717	3717	sections 311 and 312, respectively; and 5
3718	3718	(2) by inserting after section 309 the following 6
3719	3719	new section: 7
3720	3720	‘‘SEC. 310. EARLY VOTING. 8
3721	3721	‘‘(a) R
3722	3722	EQUIRINGVOTINGPRIOR TODATE OFELEC-9
3723	3723	TION.—Each election jurisdiction shall allow individuals to 10
3724	3724	vote in an election for Federal office during an early voting 11
3725	3725	period which occurs prior to the date of the election, in 12
3726	3726	a manner that allows the individual to receive, complete, 13
3727	3727	and cast their ballot in person. 14
3728	3728	‘‘(b) M
3729	3729	INIMUMEARLYVOTINGREQUIREMENTS.— 15
3730	3730	‘‘(1) I
3731	3731	N GENERAL.— 16
3732	3732	‘‘(A) L
3733	3733	ENGTH OF PERIOD.—The early vot-17
3734	3734	ing period required under this subsection with 18
3735	3735	respect to an election shall consist of a period 19
3736	3736	of consecutive days (including weekends) which 20
3737	3737	begins on the 15th day before the date of the 21
3738	3738	election (or, at the option of the State, on a day 22
3739	3739	prior to the 15th day before the date of the 23
3740	3740	election) and ends no earlier than the second 24
3741	3741	day before the date of the election. 25
3742	3742	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3743	3743	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 120
3744	3744	•S 1 IS
3745	3745	‘‘(B) HOURS FOR EARLY VOTING .—Each 1
3746	3746	polling place which allows voting during an 2
3747	3747	early voting period under subparagraph (A) 3
3748	3748	shall— 4
3749	3749	‘‘(i) allow such voting for no less than 5
3750	3750	10 hours on each day during the period; 6
3751	3751	‘‘(ii) have uniform hours each day for 7
3752	3752	which such voting occurs; and 8
3753	3753	‘‘(iii) allow such voting to be held for 9
3754	3754	some period of time prior to 9:00 a.m. 10
3755	3755	(local time) and some period of time after 11
3756	3756	5:00 p.m. (local time). 12
3757	3757	‘‘(2) R
3758	3758	EQUIREMENTS FOR VOTE -BY-MAIL JURIS-13
3759	3759	DICTIONS.—In the case of a jurisdiction that sends 14
3760	3760	every registered voter a ballot by mail— 15
3761	3761	‘‘(A) paragraph (1) shall not apply; 16
3762	3762	‘‘(B) such jurisdiction shall allow eligible 17
3763	3763	individuals to vote during an early voting period 18
3764	3764	that ensures voters are provided the greatest 19
3765	3765	opportunity to cast ballots ahead of Election 20
3766	3766	Day and which includes at least one consecutive 21
3767	3767	Saturday and Sunday; and 22
3768	3768	‘‘(C) each polling place which allows voting 23
3769	3769	during an early voting period under subpara-24
3770	3770	graph (B) shall allow such voting— 25
3771	3771	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3772	3772	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 121
3773	3773	•S 1 IS
3774	3774	‘‘(i) during the election office’s reg-1
3775	3775	ular business hours; and 2
3776	3776	‘‘(ii) for a period of not less than 8 3
3777	3777	hours on Saturdays and Sundays included 4
3778	3778	in the early voting period. 5
3779	3779	‘‘(3) R
3780	3780	EQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL JURISDIC -6
3781	3781	TIONS.— 7
3782	3782	‘‘(A) I
3783	3783	N GENERAL.—In the case of a juris-8
3784	3784	diction described in subparagraph (B), para-9
3785	3785	graph (1)(B) shall not apply so long as all eligi-10
3786	3786	ble individuals in the jurisdiction have the op-11
3787	3787	portunity to vote— 12
3788	3788	‘‘(i) at each polling place which allows 13
3789	3789	voting during the early voting period de-14
3790	3790	scribed in paragraph (1)(A)— 15
3791	3791	‘‘(I) during the election office’s 16
3792	3792	regular business hours; and 17
3793	3793	‘‘(II) for a period of not less than 18
3794	3794	8 hours on at least one Saturday and 19
3795	3795	at least one Sunday included in the 20
3796	3796	early voting period; or 21
3797	3797	‘‘(ii) at 1 or more polling places in the 22
3798	3798	county in which such jurisdiction is located 23
3799	3799	that allows voting during the early voting 24
3800	3800	period described in paragraph (1)(A) in ac-25
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3802	3802	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 122
3803	3803	•S 1 IS
3804	3804	cordance with the requirements under 1
3805	3805	paragraph (1)(B). 2
3806	3806	‘‘(B) J
3807	3807	URISDICTION DESCRIBED .—A juris-3
3808	3808	diction is described in this subparagraph if such 4
3809	3809	jurisdiction— 5
3810	3810	‘‘(i) had less than 3,000 registered 6
3811	3811	voters at the time of the most recent prior 7
3812	3812	election for Federal office; and 8
3813	3813	‘‘(ii) consists of a geographic area 9
3814	3814	that is smaller than the jurisdiction of the 10
3815	3815	county in which such jurisdiction is lo-11
3816	3816	cated. 12
3817	3817	‘‘(4) R
3818	3818	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 13
3819	3819	this subsection shall be construed— 14
3820	3820	‘‘(A) to limit the availability of additional 15
3821	3821	temporary voting sites which provide voters 16
3822	3822	more opportunities to cast their ballots but 17
3823	3823	which do not meet the requirements of this sub-18
3824	3824	section; 19
3825	3825	‘‘(B) to limit a polling place from being 20
3826	3826	open for additional hours outside of the uniform 21
3827	3827	hours set for the polling location on any day of 22
3828	3828	the early voting period; or 23
3829	3829	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00122 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3830	3830	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 123
3831	3831	•S 1 IS
3832	3832	‘‘(C) to limit a State or jurisdiction from 1
3833	3833	offering early voting on the Monday before 2
3834	3834	Election Day. 3
3835	3835	‘‘(c) A
3836	3836	VAILABILITY OFPOLLINGPLACES.—To the 4
3837	3837	greatest extent practicable, each State and jurisdiction 5
3838	3838	shall— 6
3839	3839	‘‘(1) ensure that there are an appropriate num-7
3840	3840	ber of polling places which allow voting during an 8
3841	3841	early voting period; and 9
3842	3842	‘‘(2) ensure that such polling places provide the 10
3843	3843	greatest opportunity for residents of the jurisdiction 11
3844	3844	to vote. 12
3845	3845	‘‘(d) L
3846	3846	OCATION OFPOLLINGPLACES.— 13
3847	3847	‘‘(1) P
3848	3848	ROXIMITY TO PUBLIC TRANSPOR -14
3849	3849	TATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, each 15
3850	3850	State and jurisdiction shall ensure that each polling 16
3851	3851	place which allows voting during an early voting pe-17
3852	3852	riod under subsection (b) is located within walking 18
3853	3853	distance of a stop on a public transportation route. 19
3854	3854	‘‘(2) A
3855	3855	VAILABILITY IN RURAL AREAS .—In the 20
3856	3856	case of a jurisdiction that includes a rural area, the 21
3857	3857	State or jurisdiction shall— 22
3858	3858	‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 23
3859	3859	polling places, but not less than 1, that allow 24
3860	3860	voting during an early voting period under sub-25
3861	3861	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00123 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3862	3862	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 124
3863	3863	•S 1 IS
3864	3864	section (b) will be located in such rural areas; 1
3865	3865	and 2
3866	3866	‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places are lo-3
3867	3867	cated in communities which will provide the 4
3868	3868	greatest opportunity for residents of rural areas 5
3869	3869	to vote during the early voting period. 6
3870	3870	‘‘(3) C
3871	3871	AMPUSES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 7
3872	3872	EDUCATION.—In the case of a jurisdiction that is 8
3873	3873	not considered a vote by mail jurisdiction described 9
3874	3874	in subsection (b)(2) or a small jurisdiction described 10
3875	3875	in subsection (b)(3) and that includes an institution 11
3876	3876	of higher education (as defined under section 102 of 12
3877	3877	the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 13
3878	3878	1002)), including a branch campus of such an insti-14
3879	3879	tution, the State or jurisdiction shall— 15
3880	3880	‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 16
3881	3881	polling places, but not less than 1, that allow 17
3882	3882	voting during the early voting period under sub-18
3883	3883	section (b) will be located on the physical cam-19
3884	3884	pus of each such institution, including each 20
3885	3885	such branch campus; and 21
3886	3886	‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places pro-22
3887	3887	vide the greatest opportunity for residents of 23
3888	3888	the jurisdiction to vote. 24
3889	3889	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00124 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3890	3890	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 125
3891	3891	•S 1 IS
3892	3892	‘‘(e) STANDARDS.—Not later than June 30, 2024, 1
3893	3893	the Commission shall issue voluntary standards for the ad-2
3894	3894	ministration of voting during voting periods which occur 3
3895	3895	prior to the date of a Federal election. Subject to sub-4
3896	3896	section (d), such voluntary standards shall include the 5
3897	3897	nondiscriminatory geographic placement of polling places 6
3898	3898	at which such voting occurs. 7
3899	3899	‘‘(f) B
3900	3900	ALLOTPROCESSING ANDSCANNINGREQUIRE-8
3901	3901	MENTS.— 9
3902	3902	‘‘(1) I
3903	3903	N GENERAL.—Each State or jurisdiction 10
3904	3904	shall begin processing and scanning ballots cast dur-11
3905	3905	ing in-person early voting for tabulation not later 12
3906	3906	than the date that is 14 days prior to the date of 13
3907	3907	the election involved, except that a State or jurisdic-14
3908	3908	tion may begin processing and scanning ballots cast 15
3909	3909	during in-person early voting for tabulation after 16
3910	3910	such date if the date on which the State or jurisdic-17
3911	3911	tion begins such processing and scanning ensures, to 18
3912	3912	the greatest extent practical, that ballots cast before 19
3913	3913	the date of the election are processed and scanned 20
3914	3914	before the date of the election. 21
3915	3915	‘‘(2) L
3916	3916	IMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 22
3917	3917	shall be construed— 23
3918	3918	‘‘(A) to permit a State or jurisdiction to 24
3919	3919	tabulate ballots in an election before the closing 25
3920	3920	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00125 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3921	3921	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 126
3922	3922	•S 1 IS
3923	3923	of the polls on the date of the election unless 1
3924	3924	such tabulation is a necessary component of 2
3925	3925	preprocessing in the State or jurisdiction and is 3
3926	3926	performed in accordance with existing State 4
3927	3927	law; or 5
3928	3928	‘‘(B) to permit an official to make public 6
3929	3929	any results of tabulation and processing before 7
3930	3930	the closing of the polls on the date of the elec-8
3931	3931	tion. 9
3932	3932	‘‘(g) E
3933	3933	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 10
3934	3934	with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 11
3935	3935	Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 12
3936	3936	election for Federal office.’’. 13
3937	3937	(b) C
3938	3938	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 14
3939	3939	I
3940	3940	SSUANCE OFVOLUNTARYGUIDANCE BYELECTIONAS-15
3941	3941	SISTANCECOMMISSION.—Section 321(b) of such Act (52 16
3942	3942	U.S.C. 21101(b)), as redesignated and amended by sec-17
3943	3943	tion 1101(b), is amended— 18
3944	3944	(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 19
3945	3945	(3); 20
3946	3946	(2) by striking the period at the end of para-21
3947	3947	graph (4) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 22
3948	3948	(3) by adding at the end the following new 23
3949	3949	paragraph: 24
3950	3950	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00126 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3951	3951	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 127
3952	3952	•S 1 IS
3953	3953	‘‘(5) except as provided in paragraph (4), in the 1
3954	3954	case of the recommendations with respect to any sec-2
3955	3955	tion added by the Freedom to Vote Act, June 30, 3
3956	3956	2024.’’. 4
3957	3957	(c) C
3958	3958	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 5
3959	3959	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 6
3960	3960	1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 7
3961	3961	1103(a), and section 1104(c), is amended— 8
3962	3962	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-9
3963	3963	tions 310 and 311 as relating to sections 311 and 10
3964	3964	312, respectively; and 11
3965	3965	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-12
3966	3966	tion 309 the following new item: 13
3967	3967	‘‘Sec. 310. Early voting.’’.
3968	3968	Subtitle D—Voting by Mail 14
3969	3969	SEC. 1301. VOTING BY MAIL. 15
3970	3970	(a) I
3971	3971	NGENERAL.— 16
3972	3972	(1) R
3973	3973	EQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of 17
3974	3974	the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 18
3975	3975	21081 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), sec-19
3976	3976	tion 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), sec-20
3977	3977	tion 1103(a), section 1104(a), and section 1201(a), 21
3978	3978	is amended— 22
3979	3979	(A) by redesignating sections 311 and 312 23
3980	3980	as sections 312 and 313, respectively; and 24
3981	3981	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00127 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
3982	3982	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 128
3983	3983	•S 1 IS
3984	3984	(B) by inserting after section 310 the fol-1
3985	3985	lowing new section: 2
3986	3986	‘‘SEC. 311. PROMOTING ABILITY OF VOTERS TO VOTE BY 3
3987	3987	MAIL. 4
3988	3988	‘‘(a) U
3989	3989	NIFORMAVAILABILITY OFABSENTEEVOTING 5
3990	3990	TOALLVOTERS.— 6
3991	3991	‘‘(1) I
3992	3992	N GENERAL.—If an individual in a State 7
3993	3993	is eligible to cast a vote in an election for Federal 8
3994	3994	office, the State may not impose any additional con-9
3995	3995	ditions or requirements on the eligibility of the indi-10
3996	3996	vidual to cast the vote in such election by absentee 11
3997	3997	ballot by mail. 12
3998	3998	‘‘(2) A
3999	3999	DMINISTRATION OF VOTING BY MAIL .— 13
4000	4000	‘‘(A) P
4001	4001	ROHIBITING IDENTIFICATION RE -14
4002	4002	QUIREMENT AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING OR 15
4003	4003	CASTING BALLOT.—A State may not require an 16
4004	4004	individual to submit any form of identifying 17
4005	4005	document as a condition of obtaining or casting 18
4006	4006	an absentee ballot, except that nothing in this 19
4007	4007	subparagraph may be construed to prevent a 20
4008	4008	State from requiring— 21
4009	4009	‘‘(i) the information required to com-22
4010	4010	plete an application for voter registration 23
4011	4011	for an election for Federal office under sec-24
4012	4012	tion 303(a)(5)(A), provided that a State 25
4013	4013	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00128 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4014	4014	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 129
4015	4015	•S 1 IS
4016	4016	may not deny a voter a ballot or the oppor-1
4017	4017	tunity to cast it on the grounds that the 2
4018	4018	voter does not possess a current and valid 3
4019	4019	driver’s license number or a social security 4
4020	4020	number; or 5
4021	4021	‘‘(ii) a signature of the individual or 6
4022	4022	similar affirmation as a condition of ob-7
4023	4023	taining or casting an absentee ballot. 8
4024	4024	‘‘(B) P
4025	4025	ROHIBITING FAULTY MATCHING RE -9
4026	4026	QUIREMENTS FOR IDENTIFYING INFORMA -10
4027	4027	TION.—A State may not deny a voter an absen-11
4028	4028	tee ballot or reject an absentee ballot cast by a 12
4029	4029	voter— 13
4030	4030	‘‘(i) on the grounds that the voter 14
4031	4031	provided a different form of identifying in-15
4032	4032	formation under subparagraph (A) than 16
4033	4033	the voter originally provided when reg-17
4034	4034	istering to vote or when requesting an ab-18
4035	4035	sentee ballot; or 19
4036	4036	‘‘(ii) due to an error in, or omission 20
4037	4037	of, identifying information required by a 21
4038	4038	State under subparagraph (A), if such 22
4039	4039	error or omission is not material to an in-23
4040	4040	dividual’s eligibility to vote under section 24
4041	4041	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4042	4042	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 130
4043	4043	•S 1 IS
4044	4044	2004(a)(2)(B) of the Revised Statutes (52 1
4045	4045	U.S.C. 10101(a)(2)(B)). 2
4046	4046	‘‘(C) P
4047	4047	ROHIBITING REQUIREMENT TO PRO -3
4048	4048	VIDE NOTARIZATION OR WITNESS SIGNATURE 4
4049	4049	AS CONDITION OF OBTAINING OR CASTING BAL -5
4050	4050	LOT.—A State may not require notarization or 6
4051	4051	witness signature or other formal authentica-7
4052	4052	tion (other than voter attestation) as a condi-8
4053	4053	tion of obtaining or casting an absentee ballot, 9
4054	4054	except that nothing in this subparagraph may 10
4055	4055	be construed to prohibit a State from enforcing 11
4056	4056	a law which has a witness signature require-12
4057	4057	ment for a ballot where a voter oath is attested 13
4058	4058	to with a mark rather than a voter’s signature. 14
4059	4059	‘‘(3) N
4060	4060	O EFFECT ON IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE -15
4061	4061	MENTS FOR FIRST -TIME VOTERS REGISTERING BY 16
4062	4062	MAIL.—Nothing in this subsection may be construed 17
4063	4063	to exempt any individual described in paragraph (1) 18
4064	4064	of section 303(b) from meeting the requirements of 19
4065	4065	paragraph (2) of such section or to exempt an indi-20
4066	4066	vidual described in paragraph (5)(A) of section 21
4067	4067	303(b) from meeting the requirements of paragraph 22
4068	4068	(5)(B). 23
4069	4069	‘‘(b) D
4070	4070	UEPROCESSREQUIREMENTS FOR STATES 24
4071	4071	R
4072	4072	EQUIRINGSIGNATUREVERIFICATION.— 25
4073	4073	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4074	4074	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 131
4075	4075	•S 1 IS
4076	4076	‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.— 1
4077	4077	‘‘(A) I
4078	4078	N GENERAL.—A State may not im-2
4079	4079	pose a signature verification requirement as a 3
4080	4080	condition of accepting and counting a mail-in 4
4081	4081	ballot or absentee ballot submitted by any indi-5
4082	4082	vidual with respect to an election for Federal 6
4083	4083	office unless the State meets the due process re-7
4084	4084	quirements described in paragraph (2). 8
4085	4085	‘‘(B) S
4086	4086	IGNATURE VERIFICATION REQUIRE -9
4087	4087	MENT DESCRIBED.—In this subsection, a ‘sig-10
4088	4088	nature verification requirement’ is a require-11
4089	4089	ment that an election official verify the identi-12
4090	4090	fication of an individual by comparing the sig-13
4091	4091	nature of the individual on the mail-in ballot or 14
4092	4092	absentee ballot with the individual’s signature 15
4093	4093	on the official list of registered voters in the 16
4094	4094	State or another official record or other docu-17
4095	4095	ment used by the State to verify the signatures 18
4096	4096	of voters. 19
4097	4097	‘‘(2) D
4098	4098	UE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS .— 20
4099	4099	‘‘(A) N
4100	4100	OTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE 21
4101	4101	DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES .—If an indi-22
4102	4102	vidual submits a mail-in ballot or an absentee 23
4103	4103	ballot and the appropriate State or local elec-24
4104	4104	tion official determines that a discrepancy ex-25
4105	4105	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00131 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4106	4106	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 132
4107	4107	•S 1 IS
4108	4108	ists between the signature on such ballot and 1
4109	4109	the signature of such individual on the official 2
4110	4110	list of registered voters in the State or other of-3
4111	4111	ficial record or document used by the State to 4
4112	4112	verify the signatures of voters, such election of-5
4113	4113	ficial, prior to making a final determination as 6
4114	4114	to the validity of such ballot, shall— 7
4115	4115	‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but not later 8
4116	4116	than the next business day after such de-9
4117	4117	termination is made, make a good faith ef-10
4118	4118	fort to notify the individual by mail, tele-11
4119	4119	phone, and (if available) text message and 12
4120	4120	electronic mail that— 13
4121	4121	‘‘(I) a discrepancy exists between 14
4122	4122	the signature on such ballot and the 15
4123	4123	signature of the individual on the offi-16
4124	4124	cial list of registered voters in the 17
4125	4125	State or other official record or docu-18
4126	4126	ment used by the State to verify the 19
4127	4127	signatures of voters; and 20
4128	4128	‘‘(II) if such discrepancy is not 21
4129	4129	cured prior to the expiration of the 22
4130	4130	third day following the State’s dead-23
4131	4131	line for receiving mail-in ballots or ab-24
4132	4132	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00132 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4133	4133	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 133
4134	4134	•S 1 IS
4135	4135	sentee ballots, such ballot will not be 1
4136	4136	counted; and 2
4137	4137	‘‘(ii) cure such discrepancy and count 3
4138	4138	the ballot if, prior to the expiration of the 4
4139	4139	third day following the State’s deadline for 5
4140	4140	receiving mail-in ballots or absentee bal-6
4141	4141	lots, the individual provides the official 7
4142	4142	with information to cure such discrepancy, 8
4143	4143	either in person, by telephone, or by elec-9
4144	4144	tronic methods. 10
4145	4145	‘‘(B) N
4146	4146	OTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE 11
4147	4147	MISSING SIGNATURE OR OTHER DEFECT .—If an 12
4148	4148	individual submits a mail-in ballot or an absen-13
4149	4149	tee ballot without a signature or submits a 14
4150	4150	mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot with another 15
4151	4151	defect which, if left uncured, would cause the 16
4152	4152	ballot to not be counted, the appropriate State 17
4153	4153	or local election official, prior to making a final 18
4154	4154	determination as to the validity of the ballot, 19
4155	4155	shall— 20
4156	4156	‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but not later 21
4157	4157	than the next business day after such de-22
4158	4158	termination is made, make a good faith ef-23
4159	4159	fort to notify the individual by mail, tele-24
4160	4160	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4161	4161	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 134
4162	4162	•S 1 IS
4163	4163	phone, and (if available) text message and 1
4164	4164	electronic mail that— 2
4165	4165	‘‘(I) the ballot did not include a 3
4166	4166	signature or has some other defect; 4
4167	4167	and 5
4168	4168	‘‘(II) if the individual does not 6
4169	4169	provide the missing signature or cure 7
4170	4170	the other defect prior to the expira-8
4171	4171	tion of the third day following the 9
4172	4172	State’s deadline for receiving mail-in 10
4173	4173	ballots or absentee ballots, such ballot 11
4174	4174	will not be counted; and 12
4175	4175	‘‘(ii) count the ballot if, prior to the 13
4176	4176	expiration of the third day following the 14
4177	4177	State’s deadline for receiving mail-in bal-15
4178	4178	lots or absentee ballots, the individual pro-16
4179	4179	vides the official with the missing signa-17
4180	4180	ture on a form proscribed by the State or 18
4181	4181	cures the other defect. 19
4182	4182	This subparagraph does not apply with respect 20
4183	4183	to a defect consisting of the failure of a ballot 21
4184	4184	to meet the applicable deadline for the accept-22
4185	4185	ance of the ballot, as described in subsection 23
4186	4186	(e). 24
4187	4187	‘‘(C) O
4188	4188	THER REQUIREMENTS .— 25
4189	4189	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4190	4190	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 135
4191	4191	•S 1 IS
4192	4192	‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An election official 1
4193	4193	may not make a determination that a dis-2
4194	4194	crepancy exists between the signature on a 3
4195	4195	mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot and the 4
4196	4196	signature of the individual on the official 5
4197	4197	list of registered voters in the State or 6
4198	4198	other official record or other document 7
4199	4199	used by the State to verify the signatures 8
4200	4200	of voters unless— 9
4201	4201	‘‘(I) not fewer than 2 election of-10
4202	4202	ficials make the determination; 11
4203	4203	‘‘(II) each official who makes the 12
4204	4204	determination has received training in 13
4205	4205	procedures used to verify signatures; 14
4206	4206	and 15
4207	4207	‘‘(III) of the officials who make 16
4208	4208	the determination, not fewer than 1 is 17
4209	4209	affiliated with the political party 18
4210	4210	whose candidate received the most 19
4211	4211	votes in the most recent statewide 20
4212	4212	election for Federal office held in the 21
4213	4213	State and not fewer than 1 is affili-22
4214	4214	ated with the political party whose 23
4215	4215	candidate received the second most 24
4216	4216	votes in the most recent statewide 25
4217	4217	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00135 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4218	4218	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 136
4219	4219	•S 1 IS
4220	4220	election for Federal office held in the 1
4221	4221	State. 2
4222	4222	‘‘(ii) E
4223	4223	XCEPTION.—Clause (i)(III) 3
4224	4224	shall not apply to any State in which, 4
4225	4225	under a law that is in effect continuously 5
4226	4226	on and after the date of enactment of this 6
4227	4227	section, determinations regarding signature 7
4228	4228	discrepancies are made by election officials 8
4229	4229	who are not affiliated with a political 9
4230	4230	party. 10
4231	4231	‘‘(3) R
4232	4232	EPORT.— 11
4233	4233	‘‘(A) I
4234	4234	N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 12
4235	4235	days after the end of a Federal election cycle, 13
4236	4236	each chief State election official shall submit to 14
4237	4237	the Commission a report containing the fol-15
4238	4238	lowing information for the applicable Federal 16
4239	4239	election cycle in the State: 17
4240	4240	‘‘(i) The number of ballots invalidated 18
4241	4241	due to a discrepancy under this subsection. 19
4242	4242	‘‘(ii) Description of attempts to con-20
4243	4243	tact voters to provide notice as required by 21
4244	4244	this subsection. 22
4245	4245	‘‘(iii) Description of the cure process 23
4246	4246	developed by such State pursuant to this 24
4247	4247	subsection, including the number of ballots 25
4248	4248	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00136 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4249	4249	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 137
4250	4250	•S 1 IS
4251	4251	determined valid as a result of such proc-1
4252	4252	ess. 2
4253	4253	‘‘(B) S
4254	4254	UBMISSION TO CONGRESS .—Not 3
4255	4255	later than 10 days after receiving a report 4
4256	4256	under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall 5
4257	4257	transmit such report to Congress. 6
4258	4258	‘‘(C) F
4259	4259	EDERAL ELECTION CYCLE DE -7
4260	4260	FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the 8
4261	4261	term ‘Federal election cycle’ means, with re-9
4262	4262	spect to any regularly scheduled election for 10
4263	4263	Federal office, the period beginning on the day 11
4264	4264	after the date of the preceding regularly sched-12
4265	4265	uled general election for Federal office and end-13
4266	4266	ing on the date of such regularly scheduled gen-14
4267	4267	eral election. 15
4268	4268	‘‘(4) R
4269	4269	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 16
4270	4270	this subsection shall be construed— 17
4271	4271	‘‘(A) to prohibit a State from rejecting a 18
4272	4272	ballot attempted to be cast in an election for 19
4273	4273	Federal office by an individual who is not eligi-20
4274	4274	ble to vote in the election; or 21
4275	4275	‘‘(B) to prohibit a State from providing an 22
4276	4276	individual with more time and more methods 23
4277	4277	for curing a discrepancy in the individual’s sig-24
4278	4278	nature, providing a missing signature, or curing 25
4279	4279	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00137 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4280	4280	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 138
4281	4281	•S 1 IS
4282	4282	any other defect than the State is required to 1
4283	4283	provide under this subsection. 2
4284	4284	‘‘(c) A
4285	4285	PPLICATIONS FORABSENTEEBALLOTS.— 3
4286	4286	‘‘(1) I
4287	4287	N GENERAL.—In addition to such other 4
4288	4288	methods as the State may establish for an individual 5
4289	4289	to apply for an absentee ballot, each State shall per-6
4290	4290	mit an individual to submit an application for an ab-7
4291	4291	sentee ballot online. 8
4292	4292	‘‘(2) T
4293	4293	REATMENT OF WEBSITES .—A State shall 9
4294	4294	be considered to meet the requirements of paragraph 10
4295	4295	(1) if the website of the appropriate State or local 11
4296	4296	election official allows an application for an absentee 12
4297	4297	ballot to be completed and submitted online and if 13
4298	4298	the website permits the individual— 14
4299	4299	‘‘(A) to print the application so that the 15
4300	4300	individual may complete the application and re-16
4301	4301	turn it to the official; or 17
4302	4302	‘‘(B) to request that a paper copy of the 18
4303	4303	application be transmitted to the individual by 19
4304	4304	mail or electronic mail so that the individual 20
4305	4305	may complete the application and return it to 21
4306	4306	the official. 22
4307	4307	‘‘(3) E
4308	4308	NSURING DELIVERY PRIOR TO ELEC -23
4309	4309	TION.— 24
4310	4310	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00138 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4311	4311	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 139
4312	4312	•S 1 IS
4313	4313	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an individual who is 1
4314	4314	eligible to vote in an election for Federal office 2
4315	4315	submits an application for an absentee ballot in 3
4316	4316	the election and such application is received by 4
4317	4317	the appropriate State or local election official 5
4318	4318	not later than 13 days (excluding Saturdays, 6
4319	4319	Sundays, and legal public holidays) before the 7
4320	4320	date of the election, the election official shall 8
4321	4321	ensure that the ballot and related voting mate-9
4322	4322	rials are promptly mailed to the individual. 10
4323	4323	‘‘(B) A
4324	4324	PPLICATIONS RECEIVED CLOSE TO 11
4325	4325	ELECTION DAY.—If an individual who is eligible 12
4326	4326	to vote in an election for Federal office submits 13
4327	4327	an application for an absentee ballot in the elec-14
4328	4328	tion and such application is received by the ap-15
4329	4329	propriate State or local election official after 16
4330	4330	the date described in subparagraph (A) but not 17
4331	4331	later than 7 days (excluding Saturdays, Sun-18
4332	4332	days, and legal public holidays) before the date 19
4333	4333	of the election, the election official shall, to the 20
4334	4334	greatest extent practical, ensure that the ballot 21
4335	4335	and related voting materials are mailed to the 22
4336	4336	individual within 1 business day of the receipt 23
4337	4337	of the application. 24
4338	4338	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00139 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4339	4339	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 140
4340	4340	•S 1 IS
4341	4341	‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing 1
4342	4342	in this paragraph shall preclude a State or local 2
4343	4343	jurisdiction from allowing for the acceptance 3
4344	4344	and processing of absentee ballot applications 4
4345	4345	submitted or received after the date described 5
4346	4346	in subparagraph (B). 6
4347	4347	‘‘(4) A
4348	4348	PPLICATION FOR ALL FUTURE ELEC -7
4349	4349	TIONS.— 8
4350	4350	‘‘(A) I
4351	4351	N GENERAL.—At the option of an 9
4352	4352	individual, the individual’s application to vote 10
4353	4353	by absentee ballot by mail in an election for 11
4354	4354	Federal office shall be treated as an application 12
4355	4355	for an absentee ballot by mail in all subsequent 13
4356	4356	elections for Federal office held in the State. 14
4357	4357	‘‘(B) D
4358	4358	URATION OF TREATMENT .— 15
4359	4359	‘‘(i) I
4360	4360	N GENERAL.—In the case of an 16
4361	4361	individual who is treated as having applied 17
4362	4362	for an absentee ballot for all subsequent 18
4363	4363	elections for Federal office held in the 19
4364	4364	State under subparagraph (A), such treat-20
4365	4365	ment shall remain effective until the earlier 21
4366	4366	of such time as— 22
4367	4367	‘‘(I) the individual is no longer 23
4368	4368	registered to vote in the State; or 24
4369	4369	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00140 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4370	4370	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 141
4371	4371	•S 1 IS
4372	4372	‘‘(II) the individual provides an 1
4373	4373	affirmative written notice revoking 2
4374	4374	such treatment. 3
4375	4375	‘‘(ii) P
4376	4376	ROHIBITION ON REVOCATION 4
4377	4377	BASED ON FAILURE TO VOTE .—The treat-5
4378	4378	ment of an individual as having applied for 6
4379	4379	an absentee ballot for all subsequent elec-7
4380	4380	tions held in the State under subparagraph 8
4381	4381	(A) shall not be revoked on the basis that 9
4382	4382	the individual has not voted in an election. 10
4383	4383	‘‘(d) A
4384	4384	CCESSIBILITY FORINDIVIDUALSWITHDIS-11
4385	4385	ABILITIES.—Each State shall ensure that all absentee bal-12
4386	4386	lot applications, absentee ballots, and related voting mate-13
4387	4387	rials in elections for Federal office are accessible to indi-14
4388	4388	viduals with disabilities in a manner that provides the 15
4389	4389	same opportunity for access and participation (including 16
4390	4390	with privacy and independence) as for other voters. 17
4391	4391	‘‘(e) U
4392	4392	NIFORMDEADLINE FOR ACCEPTANCE OF 18
4393	4393	M
4394	4394	AILEDBALLOTS.— 19
4395	4395	‘‘(1) I
4396	4396	N GENERAL.—A State or local election of-20
4397	4397	ficial may not refuse to accept or process a ballot 21
4398	4398	submitted by an individual by mail with respect to 22
4399	4399	an election for Federal office in the State on the 23
4400	4400	grounds that the individual did not meet a deadline 24
4401	4401	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00141 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4402	4402	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 142
4403	4403	•S 1 IS
4404	4404	for returning the ballot to the appropriate State or 1
4405	4405	local election official if— 2
4406	4406	‘‘(A) the ballot is postmarked or otherwise 3
4407	4407	indicated by the United States Postal Service to 4
4408	4408	have been mailed on or before the date of the 5
4409	4409	election; and 6
4410	4410	‘‘(B) the ballot is received by the appro-7
4411	4411	priate election official prior to the expiration of 8
4412	4412	the 7-day period which begins on the date of 9
4413	4413	the election. 10
4414	4414	‘‘(2) R
4415	4415	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 11
4416	4416	this subsection shall be construed to prohibit a State 12
4417	4417	from having a law that allows for counting of ballots 13
4418	4418	in an election for Federal office that are received 14
4419	4419	through the mail after the date that is 7 days after 15
4420	4420	the date of the election. 16
4421	4421	‘‘(f) A
4422	4422	LTERNATIVEMETHODS OFRETURNINGBAL-17
4423	4423	LOTS.—In addition to permitting an individual to whom 18
4424	4424	a ballot in an election was provided under this section to 19
4425	4425	return the ballot to an election official by mail, each State 20
4426	4426	shall permit the individual to cast the ballot by delivering 21
4427	4427	the ballot at such times and to such locations as the State 22
4428	4428	may establish, including— 23
4429	4429	‘‘(1) permitting the individual to deliver the bal-24
4430	4430	lot to a polling place within the jurisdiction in which 25
4431	4431	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4432	4432	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 143
4433	4433	•S 1 IS
4434	4434	the individual is registered or otherwise eligible to 1
4435	4435	vote on any date on which voting in the election is 2
4436	4436	held at the polling place; and 3
4437	4437	‘‘(2) permitting the individual to deliver the bal-4
4438	4438	lot to a designated ballot drop-off location, a tribally 5
4439	4439	designated building, or the office of a State or local 6
4440	4440	election official. 7
4441	4441	‘‘(g) B
4442	4442	ALLOTPROCESSING ANDSCANNINGREQUIRE-8
4443	4443	MENTS.— 9
4444	4444	‘‘(1) I
4445	4445	N GENERAL.—Each State or jurisdiction 10
4446	4446	shall begin processing and scanning ballots cast by 11
4447	4447	mail for tabulation not later than the date that is 14 12
4448	4448	days prior to the date of the election involved, except 13
4449	4449	that a State may begin processing and scanning bal-14
4450	4450	lots cast by mail for tabulation after such date if the 15
4451	4451	date on which the State begins such processing and 16
4452	4452	scanning ensures, to the greatest extent practical, 17
4453	4453	that ballots cast before the date of the election are 18
4454	4454	processed and scanned before the date of the elec-19
4455	4455	tion. 20
4456	4456	‘‘(2) L
4457	4457	IMITATION.—Nothing in this subsection 21
4458	4458	shall be construed— 22
4459	4459	‘‘(A) to permit a State to tabulate ballots 23
4460	4460	in an election before the closing of the polls on 24
4461	4461	the date of the election unless such tabulation 25
4462	4462	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00143 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4463	4463	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 144
4464	4464	•S 1 IS
4465	4465	is a necessary component of preprocessing in 1
4466	4466	the State and is performed in accordance with 2
4467	4467	existing State law; or 3
4468	4468	‘‘(B) to permit an official to make public 4
4469	4469	any results of tabulation and processing before 5
4470	4470	the closing of the polls on the date of the elec-6
4471	4471	tion. 7
4472	4472	‘‘(h) P
4473	4473	ROHIBITINGRESTRICTIONS ONDISTRIBUTION 8
4474	4474	OFABSENTEEBALLOTAPPLICATIONS BYTHIRDPAR-9
4475	4475	TIES.—A State may not prohibit any person from pro-10
4476	4476	viding an application for an absentee ballot in the election 11
4477	4477	to any individual who is eligible to vote in the election. 12
4478	4478	‘‘(i) R
4479	4479	ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-13
4480	4480	tion shall be construed to affect the authority of States 14
4481	4481	to conduct elections for Federal office through the use of 15
4482	4482	polling places at which individuals cast ballots. 16
4483	4483	‘‘(j) N
4484	4484	OEFFECT ONBALLOTSSUBMITTED BYAB-17
4485	4485	SENTMILITARY ANDOVERSEASVOTERS.—Nothing in 18
4486	4486	this section may be construed to affect the treatment of 19
4487	4487	any ballot submitted by an individual who is entitled to 20
4488	4488	vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas 21
4489	4489	Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 22
4490	4490	‘‘(k) E
4491	4491	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 23
4492	4492	with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 24
4493	4493	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00144 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4494	4494	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 145
4495	4495	•S 1 IS
4496	4496	Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 1
4497	4497	election for Federal office.’’. 2
4498	4498	(2) C
4499	4499	LERICAL AMENDMENTS .—The table of 3
4500	4500	contents of such Act, as amended by section 4
4501	4501	1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 5
4502	4502	1102(c), section 1103(a), section 1104(c), and sec-6
4503	4503	tion 1201(c), is amended— 7
4504	4504	(A) by redesignating the items relating to 8
4505	4505	sections 311 and 312 as relating to sections 9
4506	4506	312 and 313, respectively; and 10
4507	4507	(B) by inserting after the item relating to 11
4508	4508	section 310 the following new item: 12
4509	4509	‘‘Sec. 311. Promoting ability of voters to vote by mail.’’.
4510	4510	(b) SAME-DAYPROCESSING OF ABSENTEEBAL-13
4511	4511	LOTS.— 14
4512	4512	(1) I
4513	4513	N GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 15
4514	4514	United States Code, is amended by adding at the 16
4515	4515	end the following: 17
4516	4516	‘‘§ 3407. Same-day processing of ballots 18
4517	4517	‘‘(a) I
4518	4518	NGENERAL.—The Postal Service shall ensure, 19
4519	4519	to the maximum extent practicable, that any ballot carried 20
4520	4520	by the Postal Service is processed by and cleared from 21
4521	4521	any postal facility or post office on the same day that the 22
4522	4522	ballot is received by that facility or post office. 23
4523	4523	‘‘(b) D
4524	4524	EFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 24
4525	4525	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00145 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4526	4526	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 146
4527	4527	•S 1 IS
4528	4528	‘‘(1) the term ‘ballot’ means any ballot trans-1
4529	4529	mitted by a voter by mail in an election for Federal 2
4530	4530	office, but does not include any ballot covered by 3
4531	4531	section 3406; and 4
4532	4532	‘‘(2) the term ‘election for Federal office’ means 5
4533	4533	a general, special, primary, or runoff election for the 6
4534	4534	office of President or Vice President, or of Senator 7
4535	4535	or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-8
4536	4536	missioner to, the Congress.’’. 9
4537	4537	(2) T
4538	4538	ECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -10
4539	4539	MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 11
4540	4540	39, United States Code, is amended by adding at 12
4541	4541	the end the following: 13
4542	4542	‘‘3407. Same-day processing of ballots.’’.
4543	4543	(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 14
4544	4544	by this subsection shall apply to absentee ballots re-15
4545	4545	lating to an election for Federal office occurring on 16
4546	4546	or after January 1, 2024. 17
4547	4547	(c) D
4548	4548	EVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVEVERIFICATION 18
4549	4549	M
4550	4550	ETHODS.— 19
4551	4551	(1) D
4552	4552	EVELOPMENT OF STANDARDS .—The Di-20
4553	4553	rector of the National Institute of Standards, in con-21
4554	4554	sultation with the Election Assistance Commission, 22
4555	4555	shall develop standards for the use of alternative 23
4556	4556	methods which could be used in place of signature 24
4557	4557	verification requirements for purposes of verifying 25
4558	4558	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00146 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4559	4559	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 147
4560	4560	•S 1 IS
4561	4561	the identification of an individual voting by mail-in 1
4562	4562	or absentee ballot in elections for Federal office. 2
4563	4563	(2) P
4564	4564	UBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT .—The Di-3
4565	4565	rector of the National Institute of Standards shall 4
4566	4566	solicit comments from the public in the development 5
4567	4567	of standards under paragraph (1). 6
4568	4568	(3) D
4569	4569	EADLINE.—Not later than 2 years after 7
4570	4570	the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 8
4571	4571	the National Institute of Standards shall publish the 9
4572	4572	standards developed under paragraph (1). 10
4573	4573	SEC. 1302. BALLOTING MATERIALS TRACKING PROGRAM. 11
4574	4574	(a) I
4575	4575	NGENERAL.— 12
4576	4576	(1) R
4577	4577	EQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of 13
4578	4578	the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 14
4579	4579	21081 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), sec-15
4580	4580	tion 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), sec-16
4581	4581	tion 1103(a), section 1104(a), section 1201(a), and 17
4582	4582	section 1301(a), is amended— 18
4583	4583	(A) by redesignating sections 312 and 313 19
4584	4584	as sections 313 and 314, respectively; and 20
4585	4585	(B) by inserting after section 311 the fol-21
4586	4586	lowing new section: 22
4587	4587	‘‘SEC. 312. BALLOT MATERIALS TRACKING PROGRAM. 23
4588	4588	‘‘(a) R
4589	4589	EQUIREMENT.—Each State shall carry out a 24
4590	4590	program to track and confirm the receipt of mail-in ballots 25
4591	4591	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00147 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4592	4592	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 148
4593	4593	•S 1 IS
4594	4594	and absentee ballots in an election for Federal office under 1
4595	4595	which the State or local election official responsible for the 2
4596	4596	receipt of such voted ballots in the election carries out pro-3
4597	4597	cedures to track and confirm the receipt of such ballots, 4
4598	4598	and makes information on the receipt of such ballots avail-5
4599	4599	able to the individual who cast the ballot. 6
4600	4600	‘‘(b) M
4601	4601	EANS OFCARRYINGOUTPROGRAM.—A State 7
4602	4602	may meet the requirements of subsection (a)— 8
4603	4603	‘‘(1) through a program— 9
4604	4604	‘‘(A) which is established by the State; 10
4605	4605	‘‘(B) under which the State or local elec-11
4606	4606	tion official responsible for the receipt of voted 12
4607	4607	mail-in ballots and voted absentee ballots in the 13
4608	4608	election— 14
4609	4609	‘‘(i) carries out procedures to track 15
4610	4610	and confirm the receipt of such ballots; 16
4611	4611	and 17
4612	4612	‘‘(ii) makes information on the receipt 18
4613	4613	of such ballots available to the individual 19
4614	4614	who cast the ballot; and 20
4615	4615	‘‘(C) which meets the requirements of sub-21
4616	4616	section (c); or 22
4617	4617	‘‘(2) through the ballot materials tracking serv-23
4618	4618	ice established under section 1302(b) of the Free-24
4619	4619	dom to Vote Act. 25
4620	4620	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4621	4621	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 149
4622	4622	•S 1 IS
4623	4623	‘‘(c) STATEPROGRAMREQUIREMENTS.—The re-1
4624	4624	quirements of this subsection are as follows: 2
4625	4625	‘‘(1) I
4626	4626	NFORMATION ON WHETHER VOTE WAS 3
4627	4627	ACCEPTED.—The information referred to under sub-4
4628	4628	section (b)(1)(B)(ii) with respect to the receipt of 5
4629	4629	mail-in ballot or an absentee ballot shall include in-6
4630	4630	formation regarding whether the vote cast on the 7
4631	4631	ballot was accepted, and, in the case of a vote which 8
4632	4632	was rejected, the reasons therefor. 9
4633	4633	‘‘(2) A
4634	4634	VAILABILITY OF INFORMATION .—Infor-10
4635	4635	mation on whether a ballot was accepted or rejected 11
4636	4636	shall be available within 1 business day of the State 12
4637	4637	accepting or rejecting the ballot. 13
4638	4638	‘‘(3) A
4639	4639	CCESSIBILITY OF INFORMATION .— 14
4640	4640	‘‘(A) I
4641	4641	N GENERAL.—Except as provided 15
4642	4642	under subparagraph (B), the information pro-16
4643	4643	vided under the program shall be available by 17
4644	4644	means of online access using the internet site of 18
4645	4645	the State or local election office. 19
4646	4646	‘‘(B) U
4647	4647	SE OF TOLL -FREE TELEPHONE 20
4648	4648	NUMBER BY OFFICIALS WITHOUT INTERNET 21
4649	4649	SITE.—In the case of a State or local election 22
4650	4650	official whose office does not have an internet 23
4651	4651	site, the program shall require the official to es-24
4652	4652	tablish a toll-free telephone number that may be 25
4653	4653	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00149 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4654	4654	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 150
4655	4655	•S 1 IS
4656	4656	used by an individual who cast an absentee bal-1
4657	4657	lot to obtain the information required under 2
4658	4658	subsection (b)(1)(B). 3
4659	4659	‘‘(d) E
4660	4660	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 4
4661	4661	with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 5
4662	4662	Federal office held in November 2026 and each succeeding 6
4663	4663	election for Federal office.’’. 7
4664	4664	(2) C
4665	4665	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Section 102 8
4666	4666	of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 9
4667	4667	Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302) is amended by strik-10
4668	4668	ing subsection (h) and redesignating subsection (i) 11
4669	4669	as subsection (h). 12
4670	4670	(b) B
4671	4671	ALLOTINGMATERIALSTRACKINGSERVICE.— 13
4672	4672	(1) I
4673	4673	N GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 14
4674	4674	2026, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in con-15
4675	4675	sultation with the Chair of the Election Assistance 16
4676	4676	Commission, the Postmaster General, the Director 17
4677	4677	of the General Services Administration, the Presi-18
4678	4678	dential designee, and State election officials, shall 19
4679	4679	establish a balloting materials tracking service to be 20
4680	4680	used by State and local jurisdictions to inform voters 21
4681	4681	on the status of voter registration applications, ab-22
4682	4682	sentee ballot applications, absentee ballots, and mail- 23
4683	4683	in ballots. 24
4684	4684	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00150 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4685	4685	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 151
4686	4686	•S 1 IS
4687	4687	(2) INFORMATION TRACKED .—The balloting 1
4688	4688	materials tracking service established under para-2
4689	4689	graph (1) shall provide to a voter the following infor-3
4690	4690	mation with respect to that voter: 4
4691	4691	(A) In the case of balloting materials sent 5
4692	4692	by mail, tracking information from the United 6
4693	4693	States Postal Service and the Presidential des-7
4694	4694	ignee on balloting materials sent to the voter 8
4695	4695	and, to the extent feasible, returned by the 9
4696	4696	voter. 10
4697	4697	(B) The date on which any request by the 11
4698	4698	voter for an application for voter registration or 12
4699	4699	an absentee ballot was received. 13
4700	4700	(C) The date on which any such requested 14
4701	4701	application was sent to the voter. 15
4702	4702	(D) The date on which any such completed 16
4703	4703	application was received from the voter and the 17
4704	4704	status of such application. 18
4705	4705	(E) The date on which any mail-in ballot 19
4706	4706	or absentee ballot was sent to the voter. 20
4707	4707	(F) The date on which any mail-in ballot 21
4708	4708	or absentee ballot was out for delivery to the 22
4709	4709	voter. 23
4710	4710	(G) The date on which the post office proc-24
4711	4711	esses the ballot. 25
4712	4712	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00151 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4713	4713	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 152
4714	4714	•S 1 IS
4715	4715	(H) The date on which the returned ballot 1
4716	4716	was out for delivery to the election office. 2
4717	4717	(I) Whether such ballot was accepted and 3
4718	4718	counted, and in the case of any ballot not 4
4719	4719	counted, the reason why the ballot was not 5
4720	4720	counted. 6
4721	4721	The information described in subparagraph (I) shall 7
4722	4722	be available not later than 1 day after a determina-8
4723	4723	tion is made on whether or not to accept and count 9
4724	4724	the ballot. 10
4725	4725	(3) M
4726	4726	ETHOD OF PROVIDING INFORMATION .— 11
4727	4727	The balloting materials tracking service established 12
4728	4728	under paragraph (1) shall allow voters the option to 13
4729	4729	receive the information described in paragraph (2) 14
4730	4730	through email (or other electronic means) or through 15
4731	4731	the mail. 16
4732	4732	(4) P
4733	4733	UBLIC AVAILABILITY OF LIMITED INFOR -17
4734	4734	MATION.—Information described in subparagraphs 18
4735	4735	(E), (G), and (I) of paragraph (2) shall be made 19
4736	4736	available to political parties and voter registration 20
4737	4737	organizations, at cost to cover the expense of pro-21
4738	4738	viding such information, for use, in accordance with 22
4739	4739	State guidelines and procedures, in helping to return 23
4740	4740	or cure mail-in ballots during any period in which 24
4741	4741	mail-in ballots may be returned. 25
4742	4742	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00152 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4743	4743	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 153
4744	4744	•S 1 IS
4745	4745	(5) PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Director may 1
4746	4746	not charge any fee to a State or jurisdiction for use 2
4747	4747	of the balloting materials tracking service in connec-3
4748	4748	tion with any Federal, State, or local election. 4
4749	4749	(6) P
4750	4750	RESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE .—For purposes 5
4751	4751	of this subsection, the term ‘‘Presidential designee’’ 6
4752	4752	means the Presidential designee under section 7
4753	4753	101(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab-8
4754	4754	sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301(a)). 9
4755	4755	(7) A
4756	4756	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS .— 10
4757	4757	There are authorized to be appropriated to the Di-11
4758	4758	rector such sums as are necessary for purposes of 12
4759	4759	carrying out this subsection. 13
4760	4760	(c) R
4761	4761	EIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTSINCURRED BY 14
4762	4762	S
4763	4763	TATES INESTABLISHINGPROGRAM.—Subtitle D of title 15
4764	4764	II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 16
4765	4765	21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-17
4766	4766	lowing new part: 18
4767	4767	‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES 19
4768	4768	FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING 20
4769	4769	PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RE-21
4770	4770	CEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS 22
4771	4771	‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 23
4772	4772	‘‘(a) P
4773	4773	AYMENTS FOR COSTS OFPROGRAM.—In ac-24
4774	4774	cordance with this section, the Commission shall make a 25
4775	4775	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00153 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4776	4776	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 154
4777	4777	•S 1 IS
4778	4778	payment to a State to reimburse the State for the costs 1
4779	4779	incurred in establishing the absentee ballot tracking pro-2
4780	4780	gram under section 322(b)(1) (including costs incurred 3
4781	4781	prior to the date of enactment of this part). 4
4782	4782	‘‘(b) C
4783	4783	ERTIFICATION OFCOMPLIANCE ANDCOSTS.— 5
4784	4784	‘‘(1) C
4785	4785	ERTIFICATION REQUIRED .—In order to 6
4786	4786	receive a payment under this section, a State shall 7
4787	4787	submit to the Commission a statement containing— 8
4788	4788	‘‘(A) a certification that the State has es-9
4789	4789	tablished an absentee ballot tracking program 10
4790	4790	with respect to elections for Federal office held 11
4791	4791	in the State; and 12
4792	4792	‘‘(B) a statement of the costs incurred by 13
4793	4793	the State in establishing the program. 14
4794	4794	‘‘(2) A
4795	4795	MOUNT OF PAYMENT .—The amount of a 15
4796	4796	payment made to a State under this section shall be 16
4797	4797	equal to the costs incurred by the State in estab-17
4798	4798	lishing the absentee ballot tracking program, as set 18
4799	4799	forth in the statement submitted under paragraph 19
4800	4800	(1), except that such amount may not exceed the 20
4801	4801	product of— 21
4802	4802	‘‘(A) the number of jurisdictions in the 22
4803	4803	State which are responsible for operating the 23
4804	4804	program; and 24
4805	4805	‘‘(B) $3,000. 25
4806	4806	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00154 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4807	4807	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 155
4808	4808	•S 1 IS
4809	4809	‘‘(3) LIMIT ON NUMBER OF PAYMENTS RE -1
4810	4810	CEIVED.—A State may not receive more than one 2
4811	4811	payment under this part. 3
4812	4812	‘‘SEC. 297A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 4
4813	4813	‘‘(a) A
4814	4814	UTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 5
4815	4815	appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2024 and 6
4816	4816	each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary 7
4817	4817	for payments under this part. 8
4818	4818	‘‘(b) C
4819	4819	ONTINUINGAVAILABILITY OFFUNDS.—Any 9
4820	4820	amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under 10
4821	4821	this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 11
4822	4822	(d) C
4823	4823	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 12
4824	4824	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), 1044(b), sec-13
4825	4825	tion 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 1103(a), section 14
4826	4826	1104(c), section 1201(c), and section 1301(a), is amend-15
4827	4827	ed— 16
4828	4828	(1) by adding at the end of the items relating 17
4829	4829	to subtitle D of title II the following: 18
4830	4830	‘‘PART7—PAYMENTSTOREIMBURSESTATES FORCOSTSINCURRED INES-
4831	4831	TABLISHINGPROGRAMTOTRACK ANDCONFIRMRECEIPT OFABSENTEE
4832	4832	B
4833	4833	ALLOTS
4834	4834	‘‘Sec. 297. Payments to States.
4835	4835	‘‘Sec. 297A. Authorization of appropriations.’’;
4836	4836	(2) by redesignating the items relating to sec-19
4837	4837	tions 312 and 313 as relating to sections 313 and 20
4838	4838	314, respectively; and 21
4839	4839	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00155 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4840	4840	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 156
4841	4841	•S 1 IS
4842	4842	(3) by inserting after the item relating to sec-1
4843	4843	tion 311 the following new item: 2
4844	4844	‘‘Sec. 312. Absentee ballot tracking program.’’.
4845	4845	SEC. 1303. ELECTION MAIL AND DELIVERY IMPROVE-
4846	4846	3
4847	4847	MENTS. 4
4848	4848	(a) P
4849	4849	OSTMARKREQUIRED FORBALLOTS.— 5
4850	4850	(1) I
4851	4851	N GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, 6
4852	4852	United States Code, as amended by section 1301(b), 7
4853	4853	is amended by adding at the end the following: 8
4854	4854	‘‘§ 3408. Postmark required for ballots 9
4855	4855	‘‘(a) I
4856	4856	NGENERAL.—In the case of any absentee bal-10
4857	4857	lot carried by the Postal Service, the Postal Service shall 11
4858	4858	indicate on the ballot envelope, using a postmark or other-12
4859	4859	wise— 13
4860	4860	‘‘(1) the fact that the ballot was carried by the 14
4861	4861	Postal Service; and 15
4862	4862	‘‘(2) the date on which the ballot was mailed. 16
4863	4863	‘‘(b) D
4864	4864	EFINITIONS.—As used in this section— 17
4865	4865	‘‘(1) the term ‘absentee ballot’ means any ballot 18
4866	4866	transmitted by a voter by mail in an election for 19
4867	4867	Federal office, but does not include any ballot cov-20
4868	4868	ered by section 3406; and 21
4869	4869	‘‘(2) the term ‘election for Federal office’ means 22
4870	4870	a general, special, primary, or runoff election for the 23
4871	4871	office of President or Vice President, or of Senator 24
4872	4872	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00156 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4873	4873	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 157
4874	4874	•S 1 IS
4875	4875	or Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-1
4876	4876	missioner to, the Congress.’’. 2
4877	4877	(2) T
4878	4878	ECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND -3
4879	4879	MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 4
4880	4880	39, United States Code, as amended by section 5
4881	4881	1301(b), is amended by adding at the end the fol-6
4882	4882	lowing: 7
4883	4883	‘‘3408. Postmark required for ballots.’’.
4884	4884	(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 8
4885	4885	by this subsection shall apply to absentee ballots re-9
4886	4886	lating to an election for Federal office occurring on 10
4887	4887	or after January 1, 2024. 11
4888	4888	(b) G
4889	4889	REATERVISIBILITY FORBALLOTS.— 12
4890	4890	(1) I
4891	4891	N GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title III of the 13
4892	4892	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 14
4893	4893	et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), section 15
4894	4894	1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), section 16
4895	4895	1103(a), section 1104(a), section 1201(a), section 17
4896	4896	1301(a), and section 1302(a), is amended— 18
4897	4897	(A) by redesignating sections 313 and 314 19
4898	4898	as sections 314 and 315, respectively; and 20
4899	4899	(B) by inserting after section 312 the fol-21
4900	4900	lowing new section: 22
4901	4901	‘‘SEC. 313. BALLOT VISIBILITY. 23
4902	4902	‘‘(a) I
4903	4903	NGENERAL.—Each State or local election offi-24
4904	4904	cial shall— 25
4905	4905	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00157 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4906	4906	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 158
4907	4907	•S 1 IS
4908	4908	‘‘(1) affix Tag 191, Domestic and International 1
4909	4909	Mail-In Ballots (or any successor tag designated by 2
4910	4910	the United States Postal Service), to any tray or 3
4911	4911	sack of official ballots relating to an election for 4
4912	4912	Federal office that is destined for a domestic or 5
4913	4913	international address; 6
4914	4914	‘‘(2) use the Official Election Mail logo to des-7
4915	4915	ignate official ballots relating to an election for Fed-8
4916	4916	eral office that is destined for a domestic or inter-9
4917	4917	national address; and 10
4918	4918	‘‘(3) if an intelligent mail barcode is utilized for 11
4919	4919	any official ballot relating to an election for Federal 12
4920	4920	office that is destined for a domestic or international 13
4921	4921	address, ensure the specific ballot service type identi-14
4922	4922	fier for such mail is visible. 15
4923	4923	‘‘(b) E
4924	4924	FFECTIVEDATE.—The requirements of this 16
4925	4925	section shall apply to elections for Federal office occurring 17
4926	4926	on and after January 1, 2024.’’. 18
4927	4927	(2) V
4928	4928	OLUNTARY GUIDANCE .—Section 321(b)(4) 19
4929	4929	of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and re-20
4930	4930	designated by section 1101(b) and as amended by 21
4931	4931	sections 1102, 1103 and 1104, is amended by strik-22
4932	4932	ing ‘‘and 309’’ and inserting ‘‘309, and 313’’. 23
4933	4933	(3) C
4934	4934	LERICAL AMENDMENTS .—The table of 24
4935	4935	contents of such Act, as amended by section 25
4936	4936	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00158 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4937	4937	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 159
4938	4938	•S 1 IS
4939	4939	1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1
4940	4940	1102(c), section 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 2
4941	4941	1201(c), section 1301(a), and section 1302(a), is 3
4942	4942	amended— 4
4943	4943	(A) by redesignating the items relating to 5
4944	4944	sections 313 and 314 as relating to sections 6
4945	4945	314 and 315; and 7
4946	4946	(B) by inserting after the item relating to 8
4947	4947	section 312 the following new item: 9
4948	4948	‘‘Sec. 313. Ballot visibility.’’.
4949	4949	SEC. 1304. CARRIAGE OF ELECTION MAIL.
4950	4950	10
4951	4951	(a) T
4952	4952	REATMENT OFELECTIONMAIL.— 11
4953	4953	(1) T
4954	4954	REATMENT AS FIRST -CLASS MAIL; FREE 12
4955	4955	POSTAGE.—Chapter 34 of title 39, United States 13
4956	4956	Code, as amended by section 1301(b) and section 14
4957	4957	1303(a), is amended by adding at the end the fol-15
4958	4958	lowing: 16
4959	4959	‘‘§ 3409. Domestic election mail; restriction of oper-17
4960	4960	ational changes prior to elections 18
4961	4961	‘‘(a) D
4962	4962	EFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘election 19
4963	4963	mail’ means— 20
4964	4964	‘‘(1) a blank or completed voter registration ap-21
4965	4965	plication form, voter registration card, or similar 22
4966	4966	materials, relating to an election for Federal office; 23
4967	4967	‘‘(2) a blank or completed absentee and other 24
4968	4968	mail-in ballot application form, and a blank or com-25
4969	4969	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00159 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
4970	4970	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 160
4971	4971	•S 1 IS
4972	4972	pleted absentee or other mail-in ballot, relating to an 1
4973	4973	election for Federal office, and 2
4974	4974	‘‘(3) other materials relating to an election for 3
4975	4975	Federal office that are mailed by a State or local 4
4976	4976	election official to an individual who is registered to 5
4977	4977	vote. 6
4978	4978	‘‘(b) C
4979	4979	ARRIAGE OFELECTIONMAIL.—Election mail 7
4980	4980	(other than balloting materials covered under section 3406 8
4981	4981	(relating to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting 9
4982	4982	Act)), individually or in bulk, shall be carried in accord-10
4983	4983	ance with the service standards established for first-class 11
4984	4984	mail under section 3691. 12
4985	4985	‘‘(c) N
4986	4986	OPOSTAGEREQUIRED FORCOMPLETEDBAL-13
4987	4987	LOTS.—Completed absentee or other mail-in ballots (other 14
4988	4988	than balloting materials covered under section 3406 (relat-15
4989	4989	ing to the Uniformed and Overseas Absentee Voting Act)) 16
4990	4990	shall be carried free of postage. 17
4991	4991	‘‘(d) R
4992	4992	ESTRICTION OF OPERATIONALCHANGES.— 18
4993	4993	During the 120-day period that ends on the date of an 19
4994	4994	election for Federal office, the Postal Service may not 20
4995	4995	carry out any new operational change that would restrict 21
4996	4996	the prompt and reliable delivery of election mail. This sub-22
4997	4997	section applies to operational changes which include— 23
4998	4998	‘‘(1) removing or eliminating any mail collection 24
4999	4999	box without immediately replacing it; and 25
5000	5000	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00160 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5001	5001	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 161
5002	5002	•S 1 IS
5003	5003	‘‘(2) removing, decommissioning, or any other 1
5004	5004	form of stopping the operation of mail sorting ma-2
5005	5005	chines, other than for routine maintenance. 3
5006	5006	‘‘(e) E
5007	5007	LECTIONMAILCOORDINATOR.—The Postal 4
5008	5008	Service shall appoint an Election Mail Coordinator at each 5
5009	5009	area office and district office to facilitate relevant informa-6
5010	5010	tion sharing with State, territorial, local, and Tribal elec-7
5011	5011	tion officials in regards to the mailing of election mail.’’. 8
5012	5012	(2) R
5013	5013	EIMBURSEMENT OF POSTAL SERVICE FOR 9
5014	5014	REVENUE FORGONE .—Section 2401(c) of title 39, 10
5015	5015	United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sec-11
5016	5016	tions 3217 and 3403 through 3406’’ and inserting 12
5017	5017	‘‘sections 3217, 3403 through 3406, and 3409’’. 13
5018	5018	(b) T
5019	5019	ECHNICAL AND CONFORMINGAMENDMENT.— 14
5020	5020	The table of sections for chapter 34 of title 39, United 15
5021	5021	States Code, as amended by section 1301(b) and section 16
5022	5022	1303(a), is amended by adding at the end the following: 17
5023	5023	‘‘3409. Domestic election mail; restriction of operational changes prior to elec-
5024	5024	tions.’’.
5025	5025	(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 18
5026	5026	this section shall take effect upon the expiration of the 19
5027	5027	180-day period that begins on the date of enactment of 20
5028	5028	this section. 21
5029	5029	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00161 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5030	5030	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 162
5031	5031	•S 1 IS
5032	5032	SEC. 1305. REQUIRING STATES TO PROVIDE SECURED 1
5033	5033	DROP BOXES FOR VOTED BALLOTS IN ELEC-2
5034	5034	TIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 3
5035	5035	(a) R
5036	5036	EQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of the 4
5037	5037	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 5
5038	5038	as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 6
5039	5039	1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), section 7
5040	5040	1104(a), section 1201(a), section 1301(a), section 8
5041	5041	1302(a), and section 1303(b) is amended— 9
5042	5042	(1) by redesignating sections 314 and 315 as 10
5043	5043	sections 315 and 316, respectively; and 11
5044	5044	(2) by inserting after section 313 the following 12
5045	5045	new section: 13
5046	5046	‘‘SEC. 314. USE OF SECURED DROP BOXES FOR VOTED BAL-14
5047	5047	LOTS. 15
5048	5048	‘‘(a) R
5049	5049	EQUIRINGUSE OFDROPBOXES.—Each juris-16
5050	5050	diction shall provide in-person, secured, and clearly labeled 17
5051	5051	drop boxes at which individuals may, at any time during 18
5052	5052	the period described in subsection (b), drop off voted bal-19
5053	5053	lots in an election for Federal office. 20
5054	5054	‘‘(b) M
5055	5055	INIMUMPERIOD FORAVAILABILITY OFDROP 21
5056	5056	B
5057	5057	OXES.—The period described in this subsection is, with 22
5058	5058	respect to an election, the period that begins on the first 23
5059	5059	day on which the jurisdiction sends mail-in ballots or ab-24
5060	5060	sentee ballots (other than ballots for absent uniformed 25
5061	5061	overseas voters (as defined in section 107(1) of the Uni-26
5062	5062	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00162 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5063	5063	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 163
5064	5064	•S 1 IS
5065	5065	formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 1
5066	5066	U.S.C. 20310(1))) or overseas voters (as defined in section 2
5067	5067	107(5) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20310(5)))) to voters for 3
5068	5068	such election and which ends at the time the polls close 4
5069	5069	for the election in the jurisdiction involved. 5
5070	5070	‘‘(c) A
5071	5071	CCESSIBILITY.— 6
5072	5072	‘‘(1) H
5073	5073	OURS OF ACCESS.— 7
5074	5074	‘‘(A) I
5075	5075	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 8
5076	5076	subparagraph (B), each drop box provided 9
5077	5077	under this section shall be accessible to voters 10
5078	5078	for a reasonable number of hours each day. 11
5079	5079	‘‘(B) 24-
5080	5080	HOUR DROP BOXES.— 12
5081	5081	‘‘(i) I
5082	5082	N GENERAL.—Of the number of 13
5083	5083	drop boxes provided in any jurisdiction, 14
5084	5084	not less than the required number shall be 15
5085	5085	accessible for 24 hours per day during the 16
5086	5086	period described in subsection (b). 17
5087	5087	‘‘(ii) R
5088	5088	EQUIRED NUMBER .—The re-18
5089	5089	quired number is the greater of— 19
5090	5090	‘‘(I) 25 percent of the drop boxes 20
5091	5091	required under subsection (d); or 21
5092	5092	‘‘(II) 1 drop box. 22
5093	5093	‘‘(2) P
5094	5094	OPULATION.— 23
5095	5095	‘‘(A) I
5096	5096	N GENERAL.—Drop boxes provided 24
5097	5097	under this section shall be accessible for use— 25
5098	5098	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00163 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5099	5099	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 164
5100	5100	•S 1 IS
5101	5101	‘‘(i) by individuals with disabilities, as 1
5102	5102	determined in consultation with the protec-2
5103	5103	tion and advocacy systems (as defined in 3
5104	5104	section 102 of the Developmental Disabil-4
5105	5105	ities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 5
5106	5106	2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002)) of the State; 6
5107	5107	‘‘(ii) by individuals with limited pro-7
5108	5108	ficiency in the English language; and 8
5109	5109	‘‘(iii) by homeless individuals (as de-9
5110	5110	fined in section 103 of the McKinney– 10
5111	5111	Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11
5112	5112	11302)) within the State. 12
5113	5113	‘‘(B) D
5114	5114	ETERMINATION OF ACCESSIBILITY 13
5115	5115	FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES .—For 14
5116	5116	purposes of this paragraph, drop boxes shall be 15
5117	5117	considered to be accessible for use by individ-16
5118	5118	uals with disabilities if the drop boxes meet 17
5119	5119	such criteria as the Attorney General may es-18
5120	5120	tablish for such purposes. 19
5121	5121	‘‘(C) R
5122	5122	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—If a drop 20
5123	5123	box provided under this section is on the 21
5124	5124	grounds of or inside a building or facility which 22
5125	5125	serves as a polling place for an election during 23
5126	5126	the period described in subsection (b), nothing 24
5127	5127	in this subsection may be construed to waive 25
5128	5128	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00164 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5129	5129	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 165
5130	5130	•S 1 IS
5131	5131	any requirements regarding the accessibility of 1
5132	5132	such polling place for the use of individuals 2
5133	5133	with disabilities, individuals with limited pro-3
5134	5134	ficiency in the English language, or homeless 4
5135	5135	individuals. 5
5136	5136	‘‘(d) N
5137	5137	UMBER OFDROPBOXES.—Each jurisdiction 6
5138	5138	shall have— 7
5139	5139	‘‘(1) in the case of any election for Federal of-8
5140	5140	fice prior to the regularly scheduled general election 9
5141	5141	for Federal office held in November 2026, not less 10
5142	5142	than 1 drop box for every 45,000 registered voters 11
5143	5143	located in the jurisdiction; and 12
5144	5144	‘‘(2) in the case of the regularly scheduled gen-13
5145	5145	eral election for Federal office held in November 14
5146	5146	2026 and each election for Federal office occurring 15
5147	5147	thereafter, not less than the greater of— 16
5148	5148	‘‘(A) 1 drop box for every 45,000 reg-17
5149	5149	istered voters located in the jurisdiction; or 18
5150	5150	‘‘(B) 1 drop box for every 15,000 votes 19
5151	5151	that were cast by mail in the jurisdiction in the 20
5152	5152	most recent general election that includes an 21
5153	5153	election for the office of President. 22
5154	5154	In no case shall a jurisdiction have fewer than 1 23
5155	5155	drop box for any election for Federal office. 24
5156	5156	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00165 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5157	5157	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 166
5158	5158	•S 1 IS
5159	5159	‘‘(e) LOCATION OFDROPBOXES.—The State shall 1
5160	5160	determine the location of drop boxes provided under this 2
5161	5161	section in a jurisdiction on the basis of criteria which en-3
5162	5162	sure that the drop boxes are— 4
5163	5163	‘‘(1) available to all voters on a non-discrimina-5
5164	5164	tory basis; 6
5165	5165	‘‘(2) accessible to voters with disabilities (in ac-7
5166	5166	cordance with subsection (c)); 8
5167	5167	‘‘(3) accessible by public transportation to the 9
5168	5168	greatest extent possible; 10
5169	5169	‘‘(4) available during all hours of the day; 11
5170	5170	‘‘(5) sufficiently available in all communities in 12
5171	5171	the jurisdiction, including rural communities and on 13
5172	5172	Tribal lands within the jurisdiction (subject to sub-14
5173	5173	section (f)); and 15
5174	5174	‘‘(6) geographically distributed to provide a rea-16
5175	5175	sonable opportunity for voters to submit their voted 17
5176	5176	ballot in a timely manner. 18
5177	5177	‘‘(f) T
5178	5178	IMING OFSCANNING AND PROCESSING OF 19
5179	5179	B
5180	5180	ALLOTS.—For purposes of section 311(g) (relating to 20
5181	5181	the timing of the processing and scanning of ballots for 21
5182	5182	tabulation), a vote cast using a drop box provided under 22
5183	5183	this section shall be treated in the same manner as a ballot 23
5184	5184	cast by mail. 24
5185	5185	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00166 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5186	5186	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 167
5187	5187	•S 1 IS
5188	5188	‘‘(g) POSTING OFINFORMATION.—On or adjacent to 1
5189	5189	each drop box provided under this section, the State shall 2
5190	5190	post information on the requirements that voted absentee 3
5191	5191	ballots must meet in order to be counted and tabulated 4
5192	5192	in the election. 5
5193	5193	‘‘(h) R
5194	5194	EMOTESURVEILLANCE.—Nothing in this sec-6
5195	5195	tion shall prohibit a State from providing for the security 7
5196	5196	of drop boxes through remote or electronic surveillance. 8
5197	5197	‘‘(i) E
5198	5198	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 9
5199	5199	with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 10
5200	5200	Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 11
5201	5201	election for Federal office.’’. 12
5202	5202	(b) C
5203	5203	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 13
5204	5204	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 14
5205	5205	1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 15
5206	5206	1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 16
5207	5207	1301(c), section 1302(a), and section 1303(b), is amend-17
5208	5208	ed— 18
5209	5209	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-19
5210	5210	tions 314 and 315 as relating to sections 315 and 20
5211	5211	316, respectively; and 21
5212	5212	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-22
5213	5213	tion 313 the following new item: 23
5214	5214	‘‘Sec. 314. Use of secured drop boxes for voted absentee ballots.’’.
5215	5215	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00167 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5216	5216	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 168
5217	5217	•S 1 IS
5218	5218	Subtitle E—Absent Uniformed 1
5219	5219	Services Voters and Overseas 2
5220	5220	Voters 3
5221	5221	SEC. 1401. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON AVAILABILITY AND 4
5222	5222	TRANSMISSION OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 5
5223	5223	Section 102(c) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-6
5224	5224	zens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(c)) is amend-7
5225	5225	ed to read as follows: 8
5226	5226	‘‘(c) R
5227	5227	EPORTS ON AVAILABILITY, TRANSMISSION, 9
5228	5228	ANDRECEIPT OFABSENTEEBALLOTS.— 10
5229	5229	‘‘(1) P
5230	5230	RE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE 11
5231	5231	BALLOT AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 55 days be-12
5232	5232	fore any regularly scheduled general election for 13
5233	5233	Federal office, each State shall submit a report to 14
5234	5234	the Attorney General certifying that absentee ballots 15
5235	5235	for the election are or will be available for trans-16
5236	5236	mission to absent uniformed services voters and 17
5237	5237	overseas voters by not later than 46 days before the 18
5238	5238	election. The report shall be in a form prescribed by 19
5239	5239	the Attorney General and shall require the State to 20
5240	5240	certify specific information about ballot availability 21
5241	5241	from each unit of local government which will ad-22
5242	5242	minister the election. 23
5243	5243	‘‘(2) P
5244	5244	RE-ELECTION REPORT ON ABSENTEE 24
5245	5245	BALLOTS TRANSMITTED .— 25
5246	5246	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00168 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5247	5247	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 169
5248	5248	•S 1 IS
5249	5249	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 43 1
5250	5250	days before any election for Federal office held 2
5251	5251	in a State, the chief State election official of 3
5252	5252	such State shall submit a report containing the 4
5253	5253	information in subparagraph (B) to the Attor-5
5254	5254	ney General. 6
5255	5255	‘‘(B) I
5256	5256	NFORMATION REPORTED .—The re-7
5257	5257	port under subparagraph (A) shall consist of 8
5258	5258	the following: 9
5259	5259	‘‘(i) The total number of absentee bal-10
5260	5260	lots validly requested by absent uniformed 11
5261	5261	services voters and overseas voters whose 12
5262	5262	requests were received by the 47th day be-13
5263	5263	fore the election by each unit of local gov-14
5264	5264	ernment within the State that will transmit 15
5265	5265	absentee ballots. 16
5266	5266	‘‘(ii) The total number of ballots 17
5267	5267	transmitted to such voters by the 46th day 18
5268	5268	before the election by each unit of local 19
5269	5269	government within the State that will ad-20
5270	5270	minister the election. 21
5271	5271	‘‘(iii) Specific information about any 22
5272	5272	late transmitted ballots. 23
5273	5273	‘‘(C) R
5274	5274	EQUIREMENT TO SUPPLEMENT IN -24
5275	5275	COMPLETE INFORMATION .—If the report under 25
5276	5276	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00169 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5277	5277	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 170
5278	5278	•S 1 IS
5279	5279	subparagraph (A) has incomplete information 1
5280	5280	on any items required to be included in the re-2
5281	5281	port, the chief State election official shall make 3
5282	5282	all reasonable efforts to expeditiously supple-4
5283	5283	ment the report with complete information. 5
5284	5284	‘‘(D) F
5285	5285	ORMAT.—The report under sub-6
5286	5286	paragraph (A) shall be in a format prescribed 7
5287	5287	by the Attorney General in consultation with 8
5288	5288	the chief State election officials of each State. 9
5289	5289	‘‘(3) P
5290	5290	OST-ELECTION REPORT ON NUMBER OF 10
5291	5291	ABSENTEE BALLOTS TRANSMITTED AND RE -11
5292	5292	CEIVED.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 12
5293	5293	each regularly scheduled general election for Federal 13
5294	5294	office, each State and unit of local government 14
5295	5295	which administered the election shall (through the 15
5296	5296	State, in the case of a unit of local government) sub-16
5297	5297	mit a report to the Election Assistance Commission 17
5298	5298	on the combined number of absentee ballots trans-18
5299	5299	mitted to absent uniformed services voters and over-19
5300	5300	seas voters for the election and the combined num-20
5301	5301	ber of such ballots which were returned by such vot-21
5302	5302	ers and cast in the election, and shall make such re-22
5303	5303	port available to the general public that same day.’’. 23
5304	5304	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00170 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5305	5305	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 171
5306	5306	•S 1 IS
5307	5307	SEC. 1402. ENFORCEMENT. 1
5308	5308	(a) A
5309	5309	VAILABILITY OFCIVILPENALTIES AND PRI-2
5310	5310	VATERIGHTS OFACTION.—Section 105 of the Uniformed 3
5311	5311	and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 4
5312	5312	20307) is amended to read as follows: 5
5313	5313	‘‘SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT. 6
5314	5314	‘‘(a) A
5315	5315	CTION BYATTORNEYGENERAL.—The Attor-7
5316	5316	ney General may bring civil action in an appropriate dis-8
5317	5317	trict court for such declaratory or injunctive relief as may 9
5318	5318	be necessary to carry out this title. 10
5319	5319	‘‘(b) P
5320	5320	RIVATERIGHT OFACTION.—A person who is 11
5321	5321	aggrieved by a violation of this title may bring a civil ac-12
5322	5322	tion in an appropriate district court for such declaratory 13
5323	5323	or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out this 14
5324	5324	title. 15
5325	5325	‘‘(c) S
5326	5326	TATE ASONLYNECESSARYDEFENDANT.—In 16
5327	5327	any action brought under this section, the only necessary 17
5328	5328	party defendant is the State, and it shall not be a defense 18
5329	5329	to any such action that a local election official or a unit 19
5330	5330	of local government is not named as a defendant, notwith-20
5331	5331	standing that a State has exercised the authority described 21
5332	5332	in section 576 of the Military and Overseas Voter Em-22
5333	5333	powerment Act to delegate to another jurisdiction in the 23
5334	5334	State any duty or responsibility which is the subject of 24
5335	5335	an action brought under this section.’’. 25
5336	5336	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00171 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5337	5337	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 172
5338	5338	•S 1 IS
5339	5339	(b) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 1
5340	5340	this section shall apply with respect to violations alleged 2
5341	5341	to have occurred on or after the date of enactment of this 3
5342	5342	Act. 4
5343	5343	SEC. 1403. TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS; REPEAL OF 5
5344	5344	WAIVER PROVISION. 6
5345	5345	(a) I
5346	5346	NGENERAL.—Paragraph (8) of section 102(a) 7
5347	5347	of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting 8
5348	5348	Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(a)) is amended to read as follows: 9
5349	5349	‘‘(8) transmit a validly requested absentee bal-10
5350	5350	lot to an absent uniformed services voter or overseas 11
5351	5351	voter by the date and in the manner determined 12
5352	5352	under subsection (g);’’. 13
5353	5353	(b) B
5354	5354	ALLOTTRANSMISSIONREQUIREMENTS AND 14
5355	5355	R
5356	5356	EPEAL OFWAIVERPROVISION.—Subsection (g) of sec-15
5357	5357	tion 102 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20302(g)) is amended 16
5358	5358	to read as follows: 17
5359	5359	‘‘(g) B
5360	5360	ALLOTTRANSMISSIONREQUIREMENTS.— 18
5361	5361	‘‘(1) I
5362	5362	N GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 19
5363	5363	(a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 20
5364	5364	absentee ballot is received at least 47 days before an 21
5365	5365	election for Federal office, the following rules shall 22
5366	5366	apply: 23
5367	5367	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00172 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5368	5368	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 173
5369	5369	•S 1 IS
5370	5370	‘‘(A) TRANSMISSION DEADLINE .—The 1
5371	5371	State shall transmit the absentee ballot not 2
5372	5372	later than 46 days before the election. 3
5373	5373	‘‘(B) S
5374	5374	PECIAL RULES IN CASE OF FAILURE 4
5375	5375	TO TRANSMIT ON TIME.— 5
5376	5376	‘‘(i) I
5377	5377	N GENERAL.—If the State fails 6
5378	5378	to transmit any absentee ballot by the 46th 7
5379	5379	day before the election as required by sub-8
5380	5380	paragraph (A) and the absent uniformed 9
5381	5381	services voter or overseas voter did not re-10
5382	5382	quest electronic ballot transmission pursu-11
5383	5383	ant to subsection (f), the State shall trans-12
5384	5384	mit such ballot by express delivery. 13
5385	5385	‘‘(ii) E
5386	5386	XTENDED FAILURE .—If the 14
5387	5387	State fails to transmit any absentee ballot 15
5388	5388	by the 41st day before the election, in ad-16
5389	5389	dition to transmitting the ballot as pro-17
5390	5390	vided in clause (i), the State shall— 18
5391	5391	‘‘(I) in the case of absentee bal-19
5392	5392	lots requested by absent uniformed 20
5393	5393	services voters with respect to regu-21
5394	5394	larly scheduled general elections, no-22
5395	5395	tify such voters of the procedures es-23
5396	5396	tablished under section 103A for the 24
5397	5397	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00173 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5398	5398	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 174
5399	5399	•S 1 IS
5400	5400	collection and delivery of marked ab-1
5401	5401	sentee ballots; and 2
5402	5402	‘‘(II) in any other case, provide 3
5403	5403	for the return of such ballot by ex-4
5404	5404	press delivery. 5
5405	5405	‘‘(iii) C
5406	5406	OST OF EXPRESS DELIVERY .— 6
5407	5407	In any case in which express delivery is re-7
5408	5408	quired under this subparagraph, the cost 8
5409	5409	of such express delivery— 9
5410	5410	‘‘(I) shall not be paid by the 10
5411	5411	voter; and 11
5412	5412	‘‘(II) if determined appropriate 12
5413	5413	by the chief State election official, 13
5414	5414	may be required by the State to be 14
5415	5415	paid by a local jurisdiction. 15
5416	5416	‘‘(iv) E
5417	5417	XCEPTION.—Clause (ii)(II) 16
5418	5418	shall not apply when an absent uniformed 17
5419	5419	services voter or overseas voter indicates 18
5420	5420	the preference to return the late sent ab-19
5421	5421	sentee ballot by electronic transmission in 20
5422	5422	a State that permits return of an absentee 21
5423	5423	ballot by electronic transmission. 22
5424	5424	‘‘(v) E
5425	5425	NFORCEMENT.—A State’s com-23
5426	5426	pliance with this subparagraph does not 24
5427	5427	bar the Attorney General from seeking ad-25
5428	5428	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00174 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5429	5429	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 175
5430	5430	•S 1 IS
5431	5431	ditional remedies necessary to fully resolve 1
5432	5432	or prevent ongoing, future, or systematic 2
5433	5433	violations of this provision or to effectuate 3
5434	5434	the purposes of this Act. 4
5435	5435	‘‘(C) S
5436	5436	PECIAL PROCEDURE IN EVENT OF 5
5437	5437	DISASTER.—If a disaster (hurricane, tornado, 6
5438	5438	earthquake, storm, volcanic eruption, landslide, 7
5439	5439	fire, flood, or explosion), or an act of terrorism 8
5440	5440	prevents the State from transmitting any ab-9
5441	5441	sentee ballot by the 46th day before the election 10
5442	5442	as required by subparagraph (A), the chief 11
5443	5443	State election official shall notify the Attorney 12
5444	5444	General as soon as practicable and take all ac-13
5445	5445	tions necessary, including seeking any necessary 14
5446	5446	judicial relief, to ensure that affected absent 15
5447	5447	uniformed services voters and overseas voters 16
5448	5448	are provided a reasonable opportunity to receive 17
5449	5449	and return their absentee ballots in time to be 18
5450	5450	counted. 19
5451	5451	‘‘(2) R
5452	5452	EQUESTS RECEIVED AFTER 47TH DAY 20
5453	5453	BEFORE ELECTION .—For purposes of subsection 21
5454	5454	(a)(8), in the case in which a valid request for an 22
5455	5455	absentee ballot is received less than 47 days but not 23
5456	5456	less than 30 days before an election for Federal of-24
5457	5457	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00175 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5458	5458	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 176
5459	5459	•S 1 IS
5460	5460	fice, the State shall transmit the absentee ballot 1
5461	5461	within one business day of receipt of the request.’’. 2
5462	5462	SEC. 1404. USE OF SINGLE ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA-3
5463	5463	TION FOR SUBSEQUENT ELECTIONS. 4
5464	5464	(a) I
5465	5465	NGENERAL.—Section 104 of the Uniformed and 5
5466	5466	Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20306) 6
5467	5467	is amended to read as follows: 7
5468	5468	‘‘SEC. 104. TREATMENT OF BALLOT REQUESTS. 8
5469	5469	‘‘(a) I
5470	5470	NGENERAL.—If a State accepts and processes 9
5471	5471	an official postcard form (prescribed under section 101) 10
5472	5472	submitted by an absent uniformed services voter or over-11
5473	5473	seas voter for simultaneous voter registration and absen-12
5474	5474	tee ballot application (in accordance with section 13
5475	5475	102(a)(4)) and the voter requests that the application be 14
5476	5476	considered an application for an absentee ballot for each 15
5477	5477	subsequent election for Federal office held in the State 16
5478	5478	through the end of the calendar year following the next 17
5479	5479	regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the 18
5480	5480	State shall provide an absentee ballot to the voter for each 19
5481	5481	such subsequent election. 20
5482	5482	‘‘(b) E
5483	5483	XCEPTION FORVOTERSCHANGINGREGISTRA-21
5484	5484	TION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to a 22
5485	5485	voter registered to vote in a State for any election held 23
5486	5486	after the voter notifies the State that the voter no longer 24
5487	5487	wishes to be registered to vote in the State or after the 25
5488	5488	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00176 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5489	5489	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 177
5490	5490	•S 1 IS
5491	5491	State determines that the voter has registered to vote in 1
5492	5492	another State or is otherwise no longer eligible to vote in 2
5493	5493	the State. 3
5494	5494	‘‘(c) P
5495	5495	ROHIBITION OFREFUSAL OFAPPLICATION ON 4
5496	5496	G
5497	5497	ROUNDS OF EARLYSUBMISSION.—A State may not 5
5498	5498	refuse to accept or to process, with respect to any election 6
5499	5499	for Federal office, any otherwise valid voter registration 7
5500	5500	application or absentee ballot application (including the 8
5501	5501	postcard form prescribed under section 101) submitted by 9
5502	5502	an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter on 10
5503	5503	the grounds that the voter submitted the application be-11
5504	5504	fore the first date on which the State otherwise accepts 12
5505	5505	or processes such applications for that election which are 13
5506	5506	submitted by absentee voters who are not members of the 14
5507	5507	uniformed services or overseas citizens.’’. 15
5508	5508	(b) R
5509	5509	EQUIREMENT FOR REVISION TOPOSTCARD 16
5510	5510	F
5511	5511	ORM.— 17
5512	5512	(1) I
5513	5513	N GENERAL.—The Presidential designee 18
5514	5514	shall ensure that the official postcard form pre-19
5515	5515	scribed under section 101(b)(2) of the Uniformed 20
5516	5516	and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 21
5517	5517	U.S.C. 20301(b)(2)) enables a voter using the form 22
5518	5518	to— 23
5519	5519	(A) request an absentee ballot for each 24
5520	5520	election for Federal office held in a State 25
5521	5521	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00177 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5522	5522	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 178
5523	5523	•S 1 IS
5524	5524	through the end of the calendar year following 1
5525	5525	the next regularly scheduled general election for 2
5526	5526	Federal office; or 3
5527	5527	(B) request an absentee ballot for a spe-4
5528	5528	cific election or elections for Federal office held 5
5529	5529	in a State during the period described in sub-6
5530	5530	paragraph (A). 7
5531	5531	(2) P
5532	5532	RESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE .—For purposes 8
5533	5533	of this paragraph, the term ‘‘Presidential designee’’ 9
5534	5534	means the individual designated under section 10
5535	5535	101(a) of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab-11
5536	5536	sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301(a)). 12
5537	5537	(c) E
5538	5538	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 13
5539	5539	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to voter registration 14
5540	5540	and absentee ballot applications which are submitted to 15
5541	5541	a State or local election official on or after the date of 16
5542	5542	enactment of this Act. 17
5543	5543	SEC. 1405. EXTENDING GUARANTEE OF RESIDENCY FOR 18
5544	5544	VOTING PURPOSES TO FAMILY MEMBERS OF 19
5545	5545	ABSENT MILITARY PERSONNEL. 20
5546	5546	Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 21
5547	5547	Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302), as amended by 22
5548	5548	section 1302, is amended by adding at the end the fol-23
5549	5549	lowing new subsection: 24
5550	5550	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00178 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5551	5551	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 179
5552	5552	•S 1 IS
5553	5553	‘‘(i) GUARANTEE OFRESIDENCY FORSPOUSES AND 1
5554	5554	D
5555	5555	EPENDENTS OF ABSENTMEMBERS OF UNIFORMED 2
5556	5556	S
5557	5557	ERVICE.—For the purposes of voting in any election for 3
5558	5558	any Federal office or any State or local office, a spouse 4
5559	5559	or dependent of an individual who is an absent uniformed 5
5560	5560	services voter described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sec-6
5561	5561	tion 107(1) shall not, solely by reason of that individual’s 7
5562	5562	absence and without regard to whether or not such spouse 8
5563	5563	or dependent is accompanying that individual— 9
5564	5564	‘‘(1) be deemed to have lost a residence or 10
5565	5565	domicile in that State, without regard to whether or 11
5566	5566	not that individual intends to return to that State; 12
5567	5567	‘‘(2) be deemed to have acquired a residence or 13
5568	5568	domicile in any other State; or 14
5569	5569	‘‘(3) be deemed to have become a resident in or 15
5570	5570	a resident of any other State.’’. 16
5571	5571	SEC. 1406. TECHNICAL CLARIFICATIONS TO CONFORM TO 17
5572	5572	MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTER EMPOWER-18
5573	5573	MENT ACT AMENDMENTS RELATED TO THE 19
5574	5574	FEDERAL WRITE-IN ABSENTEE BALLOT. 20
5575	5575	(a) I
5576	5576	NGENERAL.—Section 102(a)(3) of the Uni-21
5577	5577	formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 22
5578	5578	U.S.C. 20302(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘general elec-23
5579	5579	tions’’ and inserting ‘‘general, special, primary, and runoff 24
5580	5580	elections’’. 25
5581	5581	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00179 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5582	5582	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 180
5583	5583	•S 1 IS
5584	5584	(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 103 of 1
5585	5585	such Act (52 U.S.C. 20303) is amended— 2
5586	5586	(1) in subsection (b)(2)(B), by striking ‘‘gen-3
5587	5587	eral’’; and 4
5588	5588	(2) in the heading thereof, by striking ‘‘
5589	5589	GEN-5
5590	5590	ERAL’’. 6
5591	5591	SEC. 1407. TREATMENT OF POSTCARD REGISTRATION RE-7
5592	5592	QUESTS. 8
5593	5593	Section 102 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens 9
5594	5594	Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20302), as amended by 10
5595	5595	sections 1302 and 1405, is amended by adding at the end 11
5596	5596	the following new subsection: 12
5597	5597	‘‘(j) T
5598	5598	REATMENT OF POSTCARDREGISTRATIONS.— 13
5599	5599	A State shall not remove any absent uniformed services 14
5600	5600	voter or overseas voter who has registered to vote using 15
5601	5601	the official postcard form (prescribed under section 101) 16
5602	5602	from the official list of registered voters except in accord-17
5603	5603	ance with subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of section 8(a)(3) 18
5604	5604	of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 19
5605	5605	20507).’’. 20
5606	5606	SEC. 1408. PRESIDENTIAL DESIGNEE REPORT ON VOTER 21
5607	5607	DISENFRANCHISEMENT. 22
5608	5608	(a) I
5609	5609	NGENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 23
5610	5610	date of enactment of this Act, the Presidential designee 24
5611	5611	shall submit to Congress a report on the impact of wide-25
5612	5612	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00180 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5613	5613	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 181
5614	5614	•S 1 IS
5615	5615	spread mail-in voting on the ability of active duty military 1
5616	5616	service members to vote, how quickly the votes of those 2
5617	5617	individuals are counted, and whether higher volumes of 3
5618	5618	mail-in votes makes it harder for such individuals to vote 4
5619	5619	in elections for Federal elections. 5
5620	5620	(b) P
5621	5621	RESIDENTIALDESIGNEE.—For purposes of this 6
5622	5622	section, the term ‘‘Presidential designee’’ means the indi-7
5623	5623	vidual designated under section 101(a) of the Uniformed 8
5624	5624	and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 9
5625	5625	20301(a)). 10
5626	5626	SEC. 1409. EFFECTIVE DATE. 11
5627	5627	Except as provided in section 1402(b) and section 12
5628	5628	1404(c), the amendments made by this subtitle shall apply 13
5629	5629	with respect to elections occurring on or after January 1, 14
5630	5630	2024. 15
5631	5631	Subtitle F—Enhancement of 16
5632	5632	Enforcement 17
5633	5633	SEC. 1501. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP 18
5634	5634	AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 19
5635	5635	(a) C
5636	5636	OMPLAINTS; AVAILABILITY OFPRIVATERIGHT 20
5637	5637	OFACTION.—Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act 21
5638	5638	of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended— 22
5639	5639	(1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and in-23
5640	5640	serting ‘‘(a) I
5641	5641	NGENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; 24
5642	5642	and 25
5643	5643	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00181 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5644	5644	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 182
5645	5645	•S 1 IS
5646	5646	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-1
5647	5647	sections: 2
5648	5648	‘‘(b) F
5649	5649	ILING OFCOMPLAINTS BYAGGRIEVEDPER-3
5650	5650	SONS.—A person who is aggrieved by a violation of title 4
5651	5651	III that impairs their ability to cast a ballot or a provi-5
5652	5652	sional ballot, to register or maintain one’s registration to 6
5653	5653	vote, or to vote on a voting system meeting the require-7
5654	5654	ments of such title, which has occurred, is occurring, or 8
5655	5655	is about to occur may file a written, signed, and notarized 9
5656	5656	complaint with the Attorney General describing the viola-10
5657	5657	tion and requesting the Attorney General to take appro-11
5658	5658	priate action under this section. The Attorney General 12
5659	5659	shall immediately provide a copy of a complaint filed under 13
5660	5660	the previous sentence to the entity responsible for admin-14
5661	5661	istering the State-based administrative complaint proce-15
5662	5662	dures described in section 402(a) for the State involved. 16
5663	5663	‘‘(c) A
5664	5664	VAILABILITY OF PRIVATERIGHT OFAC-17
5665	5665	TION.—Any person who is authorized to file a complaint 18
5666	5666	under subsection (b) (including any individual who seeks 19
5667	5667	to enforce the individual’s right to a voter-verifiable paper 20
5668	5668	ballot, the right to have the voter-verifiable paper ballot 21
5669	5669	counted in accordance with this Act, or any other right 22
5670	5670	under title III) may file an action under section 1979 of 23
5671	5671	the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 24
5672	5672	1983) to enforce the uniform and nondiscriminatory elec-25
5673	5673	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00182 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5674	5674	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 183
5675	5675	•S 1 IS
5676	5676	tion technology and administration requirements under 1
5677	5677	subtitle A of title III. 2
5678	5678	‘‘(d) N
5679	5679	OEFFECT ONSTATEPROCEDURES.—Nothing 3
5680	5680	in this section may be construed to affect the availability 4
5681	5681	of the State-based administrative complaint procedures re-5
5682	5682	quired under section 402 to any person filing a complaint 6
5683	5683	under this subsection.’’. 7
5684	5684	(b) E
5685	5685	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 8
5686	5686	this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 9
5687	5687	with respect to elections for Federal office held in 2024 10
5688	5688	or any succeeding year. 11
5689	5689	Subtitle G—Promoting Voter Ac-12
5690	5690	cess Through Election Adminis-13
5691	5691	tration Modernization Improve-14
5692	5692	ments 15
5693	5693	PART 1—PROMOTING VOTER ACCESS 16
5694	5694	SEC. 1601. MINIMUM NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 17
5695	5695	VOTERS AFFECTED BY POLLING PLACE 18
5696	5696	CHANGES. 19
5697	5697	(a) R
5698	5698	EQUIREMENTS.—Section 302 of the Help Amer-20
5699	5699	ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082) is amended— 21
5700	5700	(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-22
5701	5701	section (e); and 23
5702	5702	(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-24
5703	5703	lowing new subsection: 25
5704	5704	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00183 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5705	5705	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 184
5706	5706	•S 1 IS
5707	5707	‘‘(d) MINIMUMNOTIFICATIONREQUIREMENTS FOR 1
5708	5708	V
5709	5709	OTERSAFFECTED BYPOLLINGPLACECHANGES.— 2
5710	5710	‘‘(1) R
5711	5711	EQUIREMENT FOR PRECINCT -BASED 3
5712	5712	POLLING.— 4
5713	5713	‘‘(A) I
5714	5714	N GENERAL.—If an applicable indi-5
5715	5715	vidual has been assigned to a polling place that 6
5716	5716	is different than the polling place that such in-7
5717	5717	dividual was assigned with respect to the most 8
5718	5718	recent past election for Federal office in which 9
5719	5719	the individual was eligible to vote— 10
5720	5720	‘‘(i) the appropriate election official 11
5721	5721	shall, not later than 2 days before the be-12
5722	5722	ginning of an early voting period— 13
5723	5723	‘‘(I) notify the individual of the 14
5724	5724	location of the polling place; and 15
5725	5725	‘‘(II) post a general notice on the 16
5726	5726	website of the State or jurisdiction, on 17
5727	5727	social media platforms (if available), 18
5728	5728	and on signs at the prior polling 19
5729	5729	place; and 20
5730	5730	‘‘(ii) if such assignment is made after 21
5731	5731	the date that is 2 days before the begin-22
5732	5732	ning of an early voting period and the indi-23
5733	5733	vidual appears on the date of the election 24
5734	5734	at the polling place to which the individual 25
5735	5735	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00184 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5736	5736	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 185
5737	5737	•S 1 IS
5738	5738	was previously assigned, the jurisdiction 1
5739	5739	shall make every reasonable effort to en-2
5740	5740	able the individual to vote a ballot on the 3
5741	5741	date of the election without the use of a 4
5742	5742	provisional ballot. 5
5743	5743	‘‘(B) A
5744	5744	PPLICABLE INDIVIDUAL.—For pur-6
5745	5745	poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘applicable 7
5746	5746	individual’ means, with respect to any election 8
5747	5747	for Federal office, any individual— 9
5748	5748	‘‘(i) who is registered to vote in a ju-10
5749	5749	risdiction for such election and was reg-11
5750	5750	istered to vote in such jurisdiction for the 12
5751	5751	most recent past election for Federal of-13
5752	5752	fice; and 14
5753	5753	‘‘(ii) whose voter registration address 15
5754	5754	has not changed since such most recent 16
5755	5755	past election for Federal office. 17
5756	5756	‘‘(C) M
5757	5757	ETHODS OF NOTIFICATION .—The 18
5758	5758	appropriate election official shall notify an indi-19
5759	5759	vidual under clause (i)(I) of subparagraph (A) 20
5760	5760	by mail, telephone, and (if available) text mes-21
5761	5761	sage and electronic mail. 22
5762	5762	‘‘(2) R
5763	5763	EQUIREMENTS FOR VOTE CENTERS .—In 23
5764	5764	the case of a jurisdiction in which individuals are 24
5765	5765	not assigned to specific polling places, not later than 25
5766	5766	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00185 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5767	5767	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 186
5768	5768	•S 1 IS
5769	5769	2 days before the beginning of an early voting pe-1
5770	5770	riod, the appropriate election official shall notify 2
5771	5771	each individual eligible to vote in such jurisdiction of 3
5772	5772	the location of all polling places at which the indi-4
5773	5773	vidual may vote. 5
5774	5774	‘‘(3) N
5775	5775	OTICE WITH RESPECT TO CLOSED POLL -6
5776	5776	ING PLACES.— 7
5777	5777	‘‘(A) I
5778	5778	N GENERAL.—If a location which 8
5779	5779	served as a polling place for an election for 9
5780	5780	Federal office in a State does not serve as a 10
5781	5781	polling place in the next election for Federal of-11
5782	5782	fice held in the State, the State shall ensure 12
5783	5783	that signs are posted at such location on the 13
5784	5784	date of the election and during any early voting 14
5785	5785	period for the election containing the following 15
5786	5786	information: 16
5787	5787	‘‘(i) A statement that the location is 17
5788	5788	not serving as a polling place in the elec-18
5789	5789	tion. 19
5790	5790	‘‘(ii) The locations serving as polling 20
5791	5791	places in the election in the jurisdiction in-21
5792	5792	volved. 22
5793	5793	‘‘(iii) The name and address of any 23
5794	5794	substitute polling place serving the same 24
5795	5795	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00186 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5796	5796	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 187
5797	5797	•S 1 IS
5798	5798	precinct and directions from the former 1
5799	5799	polling place to the new polling place. 2
5800	5800	‘‘(iv) Contact information, including a 3
5801	5801	telephone number and website, for the ap-4
5802	5802	propriate State or local election official 5
5803	5803	through which an individual may find the 6
5804	5804	polling place to which the individual is as-7
5805	5805	signed for the election. 8
5806	5806	‘‘(B) I
5807	5807	NTERNET POSTING .—Each State 9
5808	5808	which is required to post signs under subpara-10
5809	5809	graph (A) shall also provide such information 11
5810	5810	through a website and through social media (if 12
5811	5811	available). 13
5812	5812	‘‘(4) L
5813	5813	INGUISTIC PREFERENCE .—The notices 14
5814	5814	required under this subsection shall comply with the 15
5815	5815	requirements of section 203 of the Voting Rights 16
5816	5816	Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503). 17
5817	5817	‘‘(5) E
5818	5818	FFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 18
5819	5819	apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-19
5820	5820	ary 1, 2024.’’. 20
5821	5821	(b) C
5822	5822	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 302(e) of 21
5823	5823	such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(e)), as redesignated by sub-22
5824	5824	section (a), is amended by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and in-23
5825	5825	serting ‘‘Except as provided in subsection (d)(4), each 24
5826	5826	State’’. 25
5827	5827	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00187 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5828	5828	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 188
5829	5829	•S 1 IS
5830	5830	SEC. 1602. APPLICABILITY TO COMMONWEALTH OF THE 1
5831	5831	NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 2
5832	5832	Paragraphs (6) and (8) of section 107 of the Uni-3
5833	5833	formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 4
5834	5834	U.S.C. 20310) are each amended by striking ‘‘and Amer-5
5835	5835	ican Samoa’’ and inserting ‘‘American Samoa, and the 6
5836	5836	Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 7
5837	5837	SEC. 1603. ELIMINATION OF 14-DAY TIME PERIOD BETWEEN 8
5838	5838	GENERAL ELECTION AND RUNOFF ELECTION 9
5839	5839	FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS IN THE VIRGIN IS-10
5840	5840	LANDS AND GUAM. 11
5841	5841	Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide that 12
5842	5842	the unincorporated territories of Guam and the Virgin Is-13
5843	5843	lands shall each be represented in Congress by a Delegate 14
5844	5844	to the House of Representatives’’, approved April 10, 15
5845	5845	1972 (48 U.S.C. 1712), is amended— 16
5846	5846	(1) by striking ‘‘(a) The Delegate’’ and insert-17
5847	5847	ing ‘‘The Delegate’’; 18
5848	5848	(2) by striking ‘‘on the fourteenth day following 19
5849	5849	such an election’’ in the fourth sentence of sub-20
5850	5850	section (a); and 21
5851	5851	(3) by striking subsection (b). 22
5852	5852	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00188 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5853	5853	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 189
5854	5854	•S 1 IS
5855	5855	SEC. 1604. APPLICATION OF FEDERAL ELECTION ADMINIS-1
5856	5856	TRATION LAWS TO TERRITORIES OF THE 2
5857	5857	UNITED STATES. 3
5858	5858	(a) N
5859	5859	ATIONALVOTERREGISTRATION ACT OF 4
5860	5860	1993.—Section 3(4) of the National Voter Registration 5
5861	5861	Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20502(4)) is amended by striking 6
5862	5862	‘‘States and the District of Columbia’’ and inserting 7
5863	5863	‘‘States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 8
5864	5864	Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 9
5865	5865	Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 10
5866	5866	Mariana Islands’’. 11
5867	5867	(b) H
5868	5868	ELPAMERICAVOTEACT OF2002.— 12
5869	5869	(1) C
5870	5870	OVERAGE OF COMMONWEALTH OF THE 13
5871	5871	NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS .—Section 901 of the 14
5872	5872	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141) 15
5873	5873	is amended by striking ‘‘and the United States Vir-16
5874	5874	gin Islands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin 17
5875	5875	Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 18
5876	5876	Mariana Islands’’. 19
5877	5877	(2) C
5878	5878	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO HELP 20
5879	5879	AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002 .—Such Act is further 21
5880	5880	amended as follows: 22
5881	5881	(A) The second sentence of section 23
5882	5882	213(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 20943(a)(2)) is amended 24
5883	5883	by striking ‘‘and American Samoa’’ and insert-25
5884	5884	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00189 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5885	5885	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 190
5886	5886	•S 1 IS
5887	5887	ing ‘‘American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 1
5888	5888	of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 2
5889	5889	(B) Section 252(c)(2) (52 U.S.C. 3
5890	5890	21002(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘or the 4
5891	5891	United States Virgin Islands’’ and inserting 5
5892	5892	‘‘the United States Virgin Islands, or the Com-6
5893	5893	monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 7
5894	5894	(3) C
5895	5895	ONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 8
5896	5896	CONSULTATION OF HELP AMERICA VOTE FOUNDA -9
5897	5897	TION WITH LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS .—Section 10
5898	5898	90102(c) of title 36, United States Code, is amend-11
5899	5899	ed by striking ‘‘and the United States Virgin Is-12
5900	5900	lands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin Is-13
5901	5901	lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-14
5902	5902	iana Islands’’. 15
5903	5903	SEC. 1605. APPLICATION OF FEDERAL VOTER PROTECTION 16
5904	5904	LAWS TO TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED 17
5905	5905	STATES. 18
5906	5906	(a) I
5907	5907	NTIMIDATION OFVOTERS.—Section 594 of title 19
5908	5908	18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Delegate 20
5909	5909	from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commis-21
5910	5910	sioner,’’ and inserting ‘‘or Delegate or Resident Commis-22
5911	5911	sioner to the Congress’’. 23
5912	5912	(b) I
5913	5913	NTERFERENCE BY GOVERNMENT EMPLOY-24
5914	5914	EES.—Section 595 of title 18, United States Code, is 25
5915	5915	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00190 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5916	5916	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 191
5917	5917	•S 1 IS
5918	5918	amended by striking ‘‘Delegate from the District of Co-1
5919	5919	lumbia, or Resident Commissioner,’’ and inserting ‘‘or 2
5920	5920	Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress’’. 3
5921	5921	(c) V
5922	5922	OTING BYNONCITIZENS.—Section 611(a) of 4
5923	5923	title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Del-5
5924	5924	egate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commis-6
5925	5925	sioner,’’ and inserting ‘‘or Delegate or Resident Commis-7
5926	5926	sioner to the Congress’’. 8
5927	5927	SEC. 1606. ENSURING EQUITABLE AND EFFICIENT OPER-9
5928	5928	ATION OF POLLING PLACES. 10
5929	5929	(a) I
5930	5930	NGENERAL.— 11
5931	5931	(1) R
5932	5932	EQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of 12
5933	5933	the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 13
5934	5934	21081 et seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), sec-14
5935	5935	tion 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 1102(a), sec-15
5936	5936	tion 1103(a), section 1104(a), section 1201(a), sec-16
5937	5937	tion 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), and 17
5938	5938	section 1305(a), is amended— 18
5939	5939	(A) by redesignating sections 315 and 316 19
5940	5940	as sections 316 and 317, respectively; and 20
5941	5941	(B) by inserting after section 314 the fol-21
5942	5942	lowing new section: 22
5943	5943	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00191 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5944	5944	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 192
5945	5945	•S 1 IS
5946	5946	‘‘SEC. 315. ENSURING EQUITABLE AND EFFICIENT OPER-1
5947	5947	ATION OF POLLING PLACES. 2
5948	5948	‘‘(a) P
5949	5949	REVENTINGUNREASONABLE WAITINGTIMES 3
5950	5950	FORVOTERS.— 4
5951	5951	‘‘(1) I
5952	5952	N GENERAL.—Each State or jurisdiction 5
5953	5953	shall take reasonable efforts to provide a sufficient 6
5954	5954	number of voting systems, poll workers, and other 7
5955	5955	election resources (including physical resources) at a 8
5956	5956	polling place used in any election for Federal office, 9
5957	5957	including a polling place at which individuals may 10
5958	5958	cast ballots prior to the date of the election, to en-11
5959	5959	sure— 12
5960	5960	‘‘(A) a fair and equitable waiting time for 13
5961	5961	all voters in the State or jurisdiction; and 14
5962	5962	‘‘(B) that no individual will be required to 15
5963	5963	wait longer than 30 minutes to cast a ballot at 16
5964	5964	the polling place. 17
5965	5965	‘‘(2) C
5966	5966	RITERIA.—In determining the number of 18
5967	5967	voting systems, poll workers, and other election re-19
5968	5968	sources provided at a polling place for purposes of 20
5969	5969	paragraph (1), the State or jurisdiction shall take 21
5970	5970	into account the following factors: 22
5971	5971	‘‘(A) The voting age population. 23
5972	5972	‘‘(B) Voter turnout in past elections. 24
5973	5973	‘‘(C) The number of voters registered. 25
5974	5974	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00192 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
5975	5975	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 193
5976	5976	•S 1 IS
5977	5977	‘‘(D) The number of voters who have reg-1
5978	5978	istered since the most recent Federal election. 2
5979	5979	‘‘(E) Census data for the population served 3
5980	5980	by the polling place, such as the proportion of 4
5981	5981	the voting-age population who are under 25 5
5982	5982	years of age or who are naturalized citizens. 6
5983	5983	‘‘(F) The needs and numbers of voters 7
5984	5984	with disabilities and voters with limited English 8
5985	5985	proficiency. 9
5986	5986	‘‘(G) The type of voting systems used. 10
5987	5987	‘‘(H) The length and complexity of initia-11
5988	5988	tives, referenda, and other questions on the bal-12
5989	5989	lot. 13
5990	5990	‘‘(I) Such other factors, including relevant 14
5991	5991	demographic factors relating to the population 15
5992	5992	served by the polling place, as the State con-16
5993	5993	siders appropriate. 17
5994	5994	‘‘(3) R
5995	5995	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 18
5996	5996	this subsection may be construed— 19
5997	5997	‘‘(A) to authorize a State or jurisdiction to 20
5998	5998	meet the requirements of this subsection by 21
5999	5999	closing any polling place, prohibiting an indi-22
6000	6000	vidual from entering a line at a polling place, 23
6001	6001	or refusing to permit an individual who has ar-24
6002	6002	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00193 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6003	6003	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 194
6004	6004	•S 1 IS
6005	6005	rived at a polling place prior to closing time 1
6006	6006	from voting at the polling place; or 2
6007	6007	‘‘(B) to limit the use of mobile voting cen-3
6008	6008	ters. 4
6009	6009	‘‘(b) L
6010	6010	IMITINGVARIATIONS ONNUMBER OFHOURS 5
6011	6011	OFOPERATION OFPOLLINGPLACESWITHIN ASTATE.— 6
6012	6012	‘‘(1) L
6013	6013	IMITATION.— 7
6014	6014	‘‘(A) I
6015	6015	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 8
6016	6016	subparagraph (B) and paragraph (2), each 9
6017	6017	State shall establish hours of operation for all 10
6018	6018	polling places in the State on the date of any 11
6019	6019	election for Federal office held in the State 12
6020	6020	such that the polling place with the greatest 13
6021	6021	number of hours of operation on such date is 14
6022	6022	not in operation for more than 2 hours longer 15
6023	6023	than the polling place with the fewest number 16
6024	6024	of hours of operation on such date. 17
6025	6025	‘‘(B) P
6026	6026	ERMITTING VARIANCE ON BASIS OF 18
6027	6027	POPULATION.—Subparagraph (A) does not 19
6028	6028	apply to the extent that the State establishes 20
6029	6029	variations in the hours of operation of polling 21
6030	6030	places on the basis of the overall population or 22
6031	6031	the voting age population (as the State may se-23
6032	6032	lect) of the unit of local government in which 24
6033	6033	such polling places are located. 25
6034	6034	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00194 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6035	6035	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 195
6036	6036	•S 1 IS
6037	6037	‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS FOR POLLING PLACES WITH 1
6038	6038	HOURS ESTABLISHED BY UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERN -2
6039	6039	MENT.—Paragraph (1) does not apply in the case of 3
6040	6040	a polling place— 4
6041	6041	‘‘(A) whose hours of operation are estab-5
6042	6042	lished, in accordance with State law, by the unit 6
6043	6043	of local government in which the polling place 7
6044	6044	is located; or 8
6045	6045	‘‘(B) which is required pursuant to an 9
6046	6046	order by a court to extend its hours of oper-10
6047	6047	ation beyond the hours otherwise established. 11
6048	6048	‘‘(c) E
6049	6049	NSURINGACCESS TOPOLLINGPLACES FOR 12
6050	6050	V
6051	6051	OTERS.— 13
6052	6052	‘‘(1) P
6053	6053	ROXIMITY TO PUBLIC TRANSPOR -14
6054	6054	TATION.—To the greatest extent practicable, each 15
6055	6055	State and jurisdiction shall ensure that each polling 16
6056	6056	place used on the date of the election is located with-17
6057	6057	in walking distance of a stop on a public transpor-18
6058	6058	tation route. 19
6059	6059	‘‘(2) A
6060	6060	VAILABILITY IN RURAL AREAS .—In the 20
6061	6061	case of a jurisdiction that includes a rural area, the 21
6062	6062	State or jurisdiction shall— 22
6063	6063	‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 23
6064	6064	polling places (not less than one) used on the 24
6065	6065	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00195 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6066	6066	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 196
6067	6067	•S 1 IS
6068	6068	date of the election will be located in such rural 1
6069	6069	areas; and 2
6070	6070	‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places are lo-3
6071	6071	cated in communities which will provide the 4
6072	6072	greatest opportunity for residents of rural areas 5
6073	6073	to vote on the date of the election. 6
6074	6074	‘‘(3) C
6075	6075	AMPUSES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER 7
6076	6076	EDUCATION.—In the case of a jurisdiction that is 8
6077	6077	not considered a vote by mail jurisdiction described 9
6078	6078	in section 310(b)(2) or a small jurisdiction described 10
6079	6079	in section 310(b)(3) and that includes an institution 11
6080	6080	of higher education (as defined under section 102 of 12
6081	6081	the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 13
6082	6082	1002)), including a branch campus of such an insti-14
6083	6083	tution, the State or jurisdiction shall— 15
6084	6084	‘‘(A) ensure that an appropriate number of 16
6085	6085	polling places (not less than one) used on the 17
6086	6086	date of the election will be located on the phys-18
6087	6087	ical campus of each such institution, including 19
6088	6088	each such branch campus; and 20
6089	6089	‘‘(B) ensure that such polling places pro-21
6090	6090	vide the greatest opportunity for residents of 22
6091	6091	the jurisdiction to vote. 23
6092	6092	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00196 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6093	6093	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 197
6094	6094	•S 1 IS
6095	6095	‘‘(d) EFFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall take ef-1
6096	6096	fect upon the expiration of the 180-day period which be-2
6097	6097	gins on the date of enactment of this subsection.’’. 3
6098	6098	(2) C
6099	6099	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO 4
6100	6100	ISSUANCE OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION 5
6101	6101	ASSISTANCE COMMISSION .—Section 321(b) of such 6
6102	6102	Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as redesignated and 7
6103	6103	amended by section 1101(b) and as amended by sec-8
6104	6104	tions, 1102, 1103, 1104, and 1201, is amended— 9
6105	6105	(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-10
6106	6106	graph (4); 11
6107	6107	(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 12
6108	6108	paragraph (6); 13
6109	6109	(C) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, 14
6110	6110	by striking ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ and inserting 15
6111	6111	‘‘paragraph (4) or (5)’’; and 16
6112	6112	(D) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 17
6113	6113	following new paragraph: 18
6114	6114	‘‘(5) in the case of the recommendations with 19
6115	6115	respect to section 315, 180 days after the date of 20
6116	6116	enactment of such section; and’’. 21
6117	6117	(3) C
6118	6118	LERICAL AMENDMENTS .—The table of 22
6119	6119	contents of such Act, as amended by section 23
6120	6120	1031(c), section 1044(b), section 1101(c), section 24
6121	6121	1102(c), section 1103(a), section 1104(c), section 25
6122	6122	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00197 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6123	6123	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 198
6124	6124	•S 1 IS
6125	6125	1201(c), section 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1
6126	6126	1303(b), and section 1305(b), is amended— 2
6127	6127	(A) by redesignating the items relating to 3
6128	6128	sections 315 and 316 as relating to sections 4
6129	6129	316 and 317, respectively; and 5
6130	6130	(B) by inserting after the item relating to 6
6131	6131	section 314 the following new item: 7
6132	6132	‘‘Sec. 315. Ensuring equitable and efficient operation of polling places.’’.
6133	6133	(b) STUDY OFMETHODSTOENFORCEFAIR AND 8
6134	6134	E
6135	6135	QUITABLEWAITINGTIMES.— 9
6136	6136	(1) S
6137	6137	TUDY.—The Election Assistance Commis-10
6138	6138	sion and the Comptroller General of the United 11
6139	6139	States shall conduct a joint study of the effective-12
6140	6140	ness of various methods of enforcing the require-13
6141	6141	ments of section 315(a) of the Help America Vote 14
6142	6142	Act of 2002, as added by subsection (a), including 15
6143	6143	methods of best allocating resources to jurisdictions 16
6144	6144	which have had the most difficulty in providing a 17
6145	6145	fair and equitable waiting time at polling places to 18
6146	6146	all voters, and to communities of color in particular. 19
6147	6147	(2) R
6148	6148	EPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 20
6149	6149	the date of enactment of this Act, the Election As-21
6150	6150	sistance Commission and the Comptroller General of 22
6151	6151	the United States shall publish and submit to Con-23
6152	6152	gress a report on the study conducted under para-24
6153	6153	graph (1). 25
6154	6154	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00198 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6155	6155	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 199
6156	6156	•S 1 IS
6157	6157	SEC. 1607. PROHIBITING STATES FROM RESTRICTING 1
6158	6158	CURBSIDE VOTING. 2
6159	6159	(a) R
6160	6160	EQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of the 3
6161	6161	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 4
6162	6162	as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 5
6163	6163	1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), section 6
6164	6164	1104(a), section 1201(a), section 1301(a), section 7
6165	6165	1302(a), section 1303(b), section 1305(a), and section 8
6166	6166	1606(a)(1), is amended— 9
6167	6167	(1) by redesignating sections 316 and 317 as 10
6168	6168	sections 317 and 318, respectively; and 11
6169	6169	(2) by inserting after section 315 the following 12
6170	6170	new section: 13
6171	6171	‘‘SEC. 316. PROHIBITING STATES FROM RESTRICTING 14
6172	6172	CURBSIDE VOTING. 15
6173	6173	‘‘(a) P
6174	6174	ROHIBITION.—A State may not— 16
6175	6175	‘‘(1) prohibit any jurisdiction administering an 17
6176	6176	election for Federal office in the State from utilizing 18
6177	6177	curbside voting as a method by which individuals 19
6178	6178	may cast ballots in the election; or 20
6179	6179	‘‘(2) impose any restrictions which would ex-21
6180	6180	clude any individual who is eligible to vote in such 22
6181	6181	an election in a jurisdiction which utilizes curbside 23
6182	6182	voting from casting a ballot in the election by such 24
6183	6183	method. 25
6184	6184	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00199 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6185	6185	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 200
6186	6186	•S 1 IS
6187	6187	‘‘(b) EFFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 1
6188	6188	with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 2
6189	6189	Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 3
6190	6190	election for Federal office.’’. 4
6191	6191	(b) C
6192	6192	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 5
6193	6193	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 6
6194	6194	1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 7
6195	6195	1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 8
6196	6196	1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 9
6197	6197	1305(a), and section 1606(a)(3), is amended— 10
6198	6198	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-11
6199	6199	tions 316 and 317 as relating to sections 317 and 12
6200	6200	318, respectively; and 13
6201	6201	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-14
6202	6202	tion 315 the following new item: 15
6203	6203	‘‘Sec. 316. Prohibiting States from restricting curbside voting.’’.
6204	6204	PART 2—IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATION OF 16
6205	6205	ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 17
6206	6206	SEC. 1611. REAUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 18
6207	6207	COMMISSION. 19
6208	6208	Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 20
6209	6209	(52 U.S.C. 20930) is amended— 21
6210	6210	(1) by striking ‘‘for each of the fiscal years 22
6211	6211	2003 through 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 23
6212	6212	2024 and each succeeding fiscal year’’; and 24
6213	6213	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00200 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6214	6214	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 201
6215	6215	•S 1 IS
6216	6216	(2) by striking ‘‘(but not to exceed $10,000,000 1
6217	6217	for each such year)’’. 2
6218	6218	SEC. 1612. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS 3
6219	6219	OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION. 4
6220	6220	(a) A
6221	6221	SSESSMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 5
6222	6222	ANDCYBERSECURITY.—Not later than June 30, 2024, 6
6223	6223	the Election Assistance Commission shall carry out an as-7
6224	6224	sessment of the security and effectiveness of the Commis-8
6225	6225	sion’s information technology systems, including the cy-9
6226	6226	bersecurity of such systems. 10
6227	6227	(b) I
6228	6228	MPROVEMENTS TO ADMINISTRATIVECOMPLAINT 11
6229	6229	P
6230	6230	ROCEDURES.— 12
6231	6231	(1) R
6232	6232	EVIEW OF PROCEDURES .—The Election 13
6233	6233	Assistance Commission shall carry out a review of 14
6234	6234	the effectiveness and efficiency of the State-based 15
6235	6235	administrative complaint procedures established and 16
6236	6236	maintained under section 402 of the Help America 17
6237	6237	Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21112) for the inves-18
6238	6238	tigation and resolution of allegations of violations of 19
6239	6239	title III of such Act. 20
6240	6240	(2) R
6241	6241	ECOMMENDATIONS TO STREAMLINE PRO -21
6242	6242	CEDURES.—Not later than June 30, 2024, the Com-22
6243	6243	mission shall submit to Congress a report on the re-23
6244	6244	view carried out under paragraph (1), and shall in-24
6245	6245	clude in the report such recommendations as the 25
6246	6246	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00201 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6247	6247	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 202
6248	6248	•S 1 IS
6249	6249	Commission considers appropriate to streamline and 1
6250	6250	improve the procedures which are the subject of the 2
6251	6251	review. 3
6252	6252	SEC. 1613. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSIST-4
6253	6253	ANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERN-5
6254	6254	MENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. 6
6255	6255	(a) I
6256	6256	NGENERAL.—Section 205 of the Help America 7
6257	6257	Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20925) is amended by strik-8
6258	6258	ing subsection (e). 9
6259	6259	(b) E
6260	6260	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 10
6261	6261	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contracts entered 11
6262	6262	into by the Election Assistance Commission on or after 12
6263	6263	the date of enactment of this Act. 13
6264	6264	PART 3—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 14
6265	6265	SEC. 1621. DEFINITION OF ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OF-15
6266	6266	FICE. 16
6267	6267	(a) D
6268	6268	EFINITION.—Title IX of the Help America Vote 17
6269	6269	Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141 et seq.) is amended by add-18
6270	6270	ing at the end the following new section: 19
6271	6271	‘‘SEC. 907. ELECTION FOR FEDERAL OFFICE DEFINED. 20
6272	6272	‘‘For purposes of titles I through III, the term ‘elec-21
6273	6273	tion for Federal office’ means a general, special, primary, 22
6274	6274	or runoff election for the office of President or Vice Presi-23
6275	6275	dent, or of Senator or Representative in, or Delegate or 24
6276	6276	Resident Commissioner to, the Congress.’’. 25
6277	6277	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00202 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6278	6278	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 203
6279	6279	•S 1 IS
6280	6280	(b) CLERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of contents 1
6281	6281	of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 2
6282	6282	relating to title IX the following new item: 3
6283	6283	‘‘Sec. 907. Election for Federal office defined.’’.
6284	6284	SEC. 1622. NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.
6285	6285	4
6286	6286	(a) I
6287	6287	NGENERAL.—Except as specifically provided, 5
6288	6288	nothing in this title may be construed to authorize or re-6
6289	6289	quire conduct prohibited under any of the following laws, 7
6290	6290	or to supersede, restrict, or limit the application of such 8
6291	6291	laws: 9
6292	6292	(1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10
6293	6293	10301 et seq.). 11
6294	6294	(2) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 12
6295	6295	Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20101 et seq.). 13
6296	6296	(3) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab-14
6297	6297	sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 15
6298	6298	(4) The National Voter Registration Act of 16
6299	6299	1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 17
6300	6300	(5) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 18
6301	6301	1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.). 19
6302	6302	(6) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 20
6303	6303	701 et seq.). 21
6304	6304	(b) N
6305	6305	OEFFECT ONPRECLEARANCE OR OTHERRE-22
6306	6306	QUIREMENTS UNDERVOTINGRIGHTSACT.—The ap-23
6307	6307	proval by any person of a payment or grant application 24
6308	6308	under this title, or any other action taken by any person 25
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6311	6311	•S 1 IS
6312	6312	under this title, shall not be considered to have any effect 1
6313	6313	on requirements for preclearance under section 5 of the 2
6314	6314	Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10304) or any other 3
6315	6315	requirements of such Act. 4
6316	6316	(c) N
6317	6317	OEFFECT ONAUTHORITY OFSTATESTOPRO-5
6318	6318	VIDEGREATEROPPORTUNITIES FOR VOTING.—Nothing 6
6319	6319	in this title or the amendments made by this title may 7
6320	6320	be construed to prohibit any State from enacting any law 8
6321	6321	which provides greater opportunities for individuals to reg-9
6322	6322	ister to vote and to vote in elections for Federal office than 10
6323	6323	are provided by this title and the amendments made by 11
6324	6324	this title. 12
6325	6325	SEC. 1623. CLARIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FOR STATES 13
6326	6326	WITHOUT VOTER REGISTRATION. 14
6327	6327	To the extent that any provision of this title or any 15
6328	6328	amendment made by this title imposes a requirement on 16
6329	6329	a State relating to registering individuals to vote in elec-17
6330	6330	tions for Federal office, such provision shall not apply in 18
6331	6331	the case of any State in which, under law that is in effect 19
6332	6332	continuously on and after the date of enactment of this 20
6333	6333	Act, there is no voter registration requirement for any 21
6334	6334	voter in the State with respect to an election for Federal 22
6335	6335	office. 23
6336	6336	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00204 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6338	6338	•S 1 IS
6339	6339	SEC. 1624. CLARIFICATION OF EXEMPTION FOR STATES 1
6340	6340	WHICH DO NOT COLLECT TELEPHONE INFOR-2
6341	6341	MATION. 3
6342	6342	(a) A
6343	6343	MENDMENT TO HELPAMERICAVOTEACT OF 4
6344	6344	2002.—Subtitle A of title III of the Help America Vote 5
6345	6345	Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended by 6
6346	6346	section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 1101(a), section 7
6347	6347	1102(a), section 1103(a), section 1104(a), section 8
6348	6348	1201(a), section 1301(a), section 1302(a), section 9
6349	6349	1303(b), section 1305(a), section 1606(a)(1), and section 10
6350	6350	1607(a), is amended— 11
6351	6351	(1) by redesignating sections 317 and 318 as 12
6352	6352	sections 318 and 319, respectively; and 13
6353	6353	(2) by inserting after section 316 the following 14
6354	6354	new section: 15
6355	6355	‘‘SEC. 317. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS TO 16
6356	6356	STATES WHICH DO NOT COLLECT TELE-17
6357	6357	PHONE INFORMATION. 18
6358	6358	‘‘(a) I
6359	6359	NGENERAL.—To the extent that any provision 19
6360	6360	of this title imposes a requirement on a State or jurisdic-20
6361	6361	tion relating to contacting voters by telephone, such provi-21
6362	6362	sion shall not apply in the case of any State which continu-22
6363	6363	ously on and after the date of enactment of this Act, does 23
6364	6364	not collect telephone numbers for voters as part of voter 24
6365	6365	registration in the State with respect to an election for 25
6366	6366	Federal office. 26
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6369	6369	•S 1 IS
6370	6370	‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply in 1
6371	6371	any case in which the voter has voluntarily provided tele-2
6372	6372	phone information.’’. 3
6373	6373	(b) C
6374	6374	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 4
6375	6375	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 5
6376	6376	1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 6
6377	6377	1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 7
6378	6378	1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 8
6379	6379	1305(a), section 1606(a)(3), and section 1607(b), is 9
6380	6380	amended— 10
6381	6381	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-11
6382	6382	tions 317 and 318 as relating to sections 318 and 12
6383	6383	319, respectively; and 13
6384	6384	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-14
6385	6385	tion 316 the following new item: 15
6386	6386	‘‘Sec. 317. Application of certain provisions to States which do not collect tele-
6387	6387	phone information.’’.
6388	6388	Subtitle H—Democracy Restoration 16
6389	6389	SEC. 1701. SHORT TITLE. 17
6390	6390	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Res-18
6391	6391	toration Act of 2023’’. 19
6392	6392	SEC. 1702. FINDINGS. 20
6393	6393	Congress makes the following findings: 21
6394	6394	(1) The right to vote is the most basic constitu-22
6395	6395	tive act of citizenship. Regaining the right to vote 23
6396	6396	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00206 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6398	6398	•S 1 IS
6399	6399	reintegrates individuals with criminal convictions 1
6400	6400	into free society, helping to enhance public safety. 2
6401	6401	(2) Article I, section 4, of the Constitution 3
6402	6402	grants Congress ultimate supervisory power over 4
6403	6403	Federal elections, an authority which has repeatedly 5
6404	6404	been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. 6
6405	6405	(3) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 7
6406	6406	and equal protection require an equal opportunity 8
6407	6407	for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal 9
6408	6408	elections. The right to vote may not be abridged or 10
6409	6409	denied by the United States or by any State on ac-11
6410	6410	count of race, color, gender, or previous condition of 12
6411	6411	servitude. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 13
6412	6412	26th Amendments to the Constitution empower Con-14
6413	6413	gress to enact measures to protect the right to vote 15
6414	6414	in Federal elections. The 8th Amendment to the 16
6415	6415	Constitution provides for no excessive bail to be re-17
6416	6416	quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 18
6417	6417	unusual punishments inflicted. 19
6418	6418	(4) There are 3 areas in which discrepancies in 20
6419	6419	State laws regarding criminal convictions lead to un-21
6420	6420	fairness in Federal elections— 22
6421	6421	(A) the lack of a uniform standard for vot-23
6422	6422	ing in Federal elections leads to an unfair dis-24
6423	6423	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00207 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6425	6425	•S 1 IS
6426	6426	parity and unequal participation in Federal 1
6427	6427	elections based solely on where a person lives; 2
6428	6428	(B) laws governing the restoration of vot-3
6429	6429	ing rights after a criminal conviction vary 4
6430	6430	throughout the country and persons in some 5
6431	6431	States can easily regain their voting rights 6
6432	6432	while in other States persons effectively lose 7
6433	6433	their right to vote permanently; and 8
6434	6434	(C) State disenfranchisement laws dis-9
6435	6435	proportionately impact racial and ethnic minori-10
6436	6436	ties. 11
6437	6437	(5) State disenfranchisement laws vary widely. 12
6438	6438	Two States (Maine and Vermont) and the Common-13
6439	6439	wealth of Puerto Rico do not disenfranchise individ-14
6440	6440	uals with criminal convictions at all. In 2020, the 15
6441	6441	District of Columbia re-enfranchised its citizens who 16
6442	6442	are under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of 17
6443	6443	Prisons. Twenty-five States disenfranchise certain 18
6444	6444	individuals on felony probation or parole. During 19
6445	6445	2023, lawmakers in Minnesota and New Mexico ex-20
6446	6446	panded voting rights to citizens on felony probation 21
6447	6447	and parole. In 11 States, a conviction for certain of-22
6448	6448	fenses can result in lifetime disenfranchisement. 23
6449	6449	(6) Several States deny the right to vote to in-24
6450	6450	dividuals convicted of certain misdemeanors. 25
6451	6451	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00208 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6453	6453	•S 1 IS
6454	6454	(7) In 2022, over 4,600,000 citizens of the 1
6455	6455	United States, or about 1 in 50 adults in the United 2
6456	6456	States, could not vote as a result of a felony convic-3
6457	6457	tion. Of the 4,600,000 citizens barred from voting 4
6458	6458	then, only 23 percent were in prison or jail. By con-5
6459	6459	trast, 75 percent of persons disenfranchised then re-6
6460	6460	sided in their communities while on probation or pa-7
6461	6461	role or after having completed their sentences. Ap-8
6462	6462	proximately 2,200,000 citizens who had completed 9
6463	6463	their sentences were disenfranchised due to restric-10
6464	6464	tive State laws. Over 930,000 Floridians who com-11
6465	6465	pleted their sentence remain disenfranchised because 12
6466	6466	of a pay-to-vote requirement that was enacted by 13
6467	6467	Florida lawmakers in 2019 to undermine the impact 14
6468	6468	of a 2018 ballot initiative that eliminated the life-15
6469	6469	time ban for persons with certain felony convictions. 16
6470	6470	In 3 States—Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee— 17
6471	6471	more than 8 percent of the total population is 18
6472	6472	disenfranchised. 19
6473	6473	(8) In those States that disenfranchise individ-20
6474	6474	uals post-sentence, the right to vote can be regained 21
6475	6475	in theory, but in practice this possibility is often 22
6476	6476	granted in a non-uniform and potentially discrimina-23
6477	6477	tory manner. Disenfranchised individuals sometimes 24
6478	6478	must either obtain a pardon or an order from the 25
6479	6479	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00209 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6481	6481	•S 1 IS
6482	6482	Governor or an action by the parole or pardon 1
6483	6483	board, depending on the offense and State. Financial 2
6484	6484	restrictions may also inhibit individuals who have 3
6485	6485	completed their sentences from re-enfranchisement. 4
6486	6486	Individuals convicted of a Federal offense often have 5
6487	6487	additional barriers to regaining voting rights. 6
6488	6488	(9) Many felony disenfranchisement laws today 7
6489	6489	derive directly from post-Civil War efforts to stifle 8
6490	6490	the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Between 9
6491	6491	1865 and 1880, at least 14 States—Alabama, Ar-10
6492	6492	kansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Mis-11
6493	6493	sissippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Caro-12
6494	6494	lina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas—en-13
6495	6495	acted or expanded their felony disenfranchisement 14
6496	6496	laws. One of the primary goals of these laws was to 15
6497	6497	prevent African Americans from voting. Of the 16
6498	6498	States that enacted or expanded their felony dis-17
6499	6499	enfranchisement laws during this post-Civil War pe-18
6500	6500	riod, at least 11 continue to preclude persons on fel-19
6501	6501	ony probation or parole from voting. 20
6502	6502	(10) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor-21
6503	6503	tionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. In re-22
6504	6504	cent years, African Americans have been imprisoned 23
6505	6505	at over 5 times the rate of Whites. More than 6 per-24
6506	6506	cent of the voting-age African-American population, 25
6507	6507	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00210 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6509	6509	•S 1 IS
6510	6510	or 1,800,000 African Americans, are disenfranchised 1
6511	6511	due to a felony conviction. In 9 States—Alabama 2
6512	6512	(16 percent), Arizona (13 percent), Florida (15 per-3
6513	6513	cent), Kentucky (15 percent), Mississippi (16 per-4
6514	6514	cent), South Dakota (14 percent), Tennessee (21 5
6515	6515	percent), Virginia (16 percent), and Wyoming (36 6
6516	6516	percent)—more than 1 in 8 African Americans are 7
6517	6517	unable to vote because of a felony conviction, twice 8
6518	6518	the national average for African Americans. 9
6519	6519	(11) Latino citizens are also disproportionately 10
6520	6520	disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate 11
6521	6521	representation in the criminal justice system. Al-12
6522	6522	though data on ethnicity in correctional populations 13
6523	6523	are unevenly reported and undercounted in some 14
6524	6524	States, a conservative estimate is that at least 15
6525	6525	506,000 Latino Americans or 1.7 percent of the vot-16
6526	6526	ing-age population are disenfranchised. In 31 States 17
6527	6527	Latinos are disenfranchised at a higher rate than 18
6528	6528	the general population. In Arizona and Tennessee 19
6529	6529	over 6 percent of Latino voters are disenfranchised 20
6530	6530	due to a felony conviction. 21
6531	6531	(12) Women have been significantly impacted 22
6532	6532	by mass incarceration since the early 1980s. Ap-23
6533	6533	proximately 1,000,000 women were disenfranchised 24
6534	6534	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00211 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6536	6536	•S 1 IS
6537	6537	in 2022, comprising over 20 percent of the total 1
6538	6538	disenfranchised population. 2
6539	6539	(13) Disenfranchising citizens who have been 3
6540	6540	convicted of a criminal offense and who are living 4
6541	6541	and working in the community serves no compelling 5
6542	6542	State interest and hinders their rehabilitation and 6
6543	6543	reintegration into society. Models of successful re- 7
6544	6544	entry for persons convicted of a crime emphasize the 8
6545	6545	importance of community ties, feeling vested and in-9
6546	6546	tegrated, and prosocial attitudes. Individuals with 10
6547	6547	criminal convictions who succeed in avoiding recidi-11
6548	6548	vism are typically more likely to see themselves as 12
6549	6549	law-abiding members of the community. Restoration 13
6550	6550	of voting rights builds those qualities and facilitates 14
6551	6551	reintegration into the community. That is why allow-15
6552	6552	ing citizens with criminal convictions who are living 16
6553	6553	in a community to vote is correlated with a lower 17
6554	6554	likelihood of recidivism. Restoration of voting rights 18
6555	6555	thus reduces violence and protects public safety. 19
6556	6556	(14) State disenfranchisement laws can sup-20
6557	6557	press electoral participation among eligible voters by 21
6558	6558	discouraging voting among family and community 22
6559	6559	members of disenfranchised persons. Future elec-23
6560	6560	toral participation by the children of disenfranchised 24
6561	6561	parents may be impacted as well. 25
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6564	6564	•S 1 IS
6565	6565	(15) The United States is one of the only West-1
6566	6566	ern democracies that permits the permanent denial 2
6567	6567	of voting rights for individuals with felony convic-3
6568	6568	tions. 4
6569	6569	(16) The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on 5
6570	6570	cruel and unusual punishments ‘‘guarantees individ-6
6571	6571	uals the right not to be subjected to excessive sanc-7
6572	6572	tions’’. (Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 560 8
6573	6573	(2005)). That right stems from the basic precept of 9
6574	6574	justice ‘‘that punishment for crime should be grad-10
6575	6575	uated and proportioned to [the] offense’’. Id. 11
6576	6576	(quoting Weems v. United States, 217 U.S. 349, 12
6577	6577	367 (1910)). As the Supreme Court has long recog-13
6578	6578	nized, ‘‘[t]he concept of proportionality is central to 14
6579	6579	the Eighth Amendment’’. (Graham v. Florida, 560 15
6580	6580	U.S. 48, 59 (2010)). Many State disenfranchisement 16
6581	6581	laws are grossly disproportional to the offenses that 17
6582	6582	lead to disenfranchisement and thus violate the bar 18
6583	6583	on cruel and unusual punishments. For example, a 19
6584	6584	number of States mandate lifetime disenfranchise-20
6585	6585	ment for a single felony conviction or just two felony 21
6586	6586	convictions, even where the convictions were for non- 22
6587	6587	violent offenses. In numerous other States, dis-23
6588	6588	enfranchisement can last years or even decades while 24
6589	6589	individuals remain on probation or parole, often only 25
6590	6590	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00213 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6592	6592	•S 1 IS
6593	6593	because a person cannot pay their legal financial ob-1
6594	6594	ligations. These kinds of extreme voting bans run 2
6595	6595	afoul of the Eighth Amendment. 3
6596	6596	(17) The Twenty-Fourth Amendment provides 4
6597	6597	that the right to vote ‘‘shall not be denied or 5
6598	6598	abridged by the United States or any State by rea-6
6599	6599	son of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax’’. Sec-7
6600	6600	tion 2 of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment gives Con-8
6601	6601	gress the power to enforce this article by appropriate 9
6602	6602	legislation. Court fines and fees that individuals 10
6603	6603	must pay to have their voting rights restored con-11
6604	6604	stitute an ‘‘other tax’’ for purposes of the Twenty- 12
6605	6605	Fourth Amendment. At least five States explicitly 13
6606	6606	require the payment of fines and fees before individ-14
6607	6607	uals with felony convictions can have their voting 15
6608	6608	rights restored. More than 20 other States effec-16
6609	6609	tively tie the right to vote to the payment of fines 17
6610	6610	and fees, by requiring that individuals complete their 18
6611	6611	probation or parole before their rights are restored. 19
6612	6612	In these States, the non-payment of fines and fees 20
6613	6613	is a basis on which probation or parole can be ex-21
6614	6614	tended. Moreover, these States sometimes do not 22
6615	6615	record the basis on which an individual’s probation 23
6616	6616	or parole was extended, making it impossible to de-24
6617	6617	termine from the State’s records whether non-pay-25
6618	6618	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00214 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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6620	6620	•S 1 IS
6621	6621	ment of fines and fees is the reason that an indi-1
6622	6622	vidual remains on probation or parole. For these 2
6623	6623	reasons, the only way to ensure that States do not 3
6624	6624	deny the right to vote based solely on non-payment 4
6625	6625	of fines and fees is to prevent States from condi-5
6626	6626	tioning voting rights on the completion of probation 6
6627	6627	or parole. 7
6628	6628	SEC. 1703. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 8
6629	6629	The right of an individual who is a citizen of the 9
6630	6630	United States to vote in any election for Federal office 10
6631	6631	shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has 11
6632	6632	been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual 12
6633	6633	is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 13
6634	6634	or facility at the time of the election. 14
6635	6635	SEC. 1704. ENFORCEMENT. 15
6636	6636	(a) A
6637	6637	TTORNEYGENERAL.—The Attorney General 16
6638	6638	may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive 17
6639	6639	relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this subtitle. 18
6640	6640	(b) P
6641	6641	RIVATERIGHT OFACTION.— 19
6642	6642	(1) I
6643	6643	N GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 20
6644	6644	by a violation of this subtitle may provide written 21
6645	6645	notice of the violation to the chief election official of 22
6646	6646	the State involved. 23
6647	6647	(2) R
6648	6648	ELIEF.—Except as provided in paragraph 24
6649	6649	(3), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days 25
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6652	6652	•S 1 IS
6653	6653	after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or 1
6654	6654	within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola-2
6655	6655	tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 3
6656	6656	election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 4
6657	6657	may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunc-5
6658	6658	tive relief with respect to the violation. 6
6659	6659	(3) E
6660	6660	XCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 7
6661	6661	within 30 days before the date of an election for 8
6662	6662	Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide 9
6663	6663	notice to the chief election official of the State under 10
6664	6664	paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain 11
6665	6665	declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 12
6666	6666	violation. 13
6667	6667	SEC. 1705. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 14
6668	6668	RIGHTS. 15
6669	6669	(a) S
6670	6670	TATENOTIFICATION.— 16
6671	6671	(1) N
6672	6672	OTIFICATION.—On the date determined 17
6673	6673	under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writ-18
6674	6674	ing any individual who has been convicted of a 19
6675	6675	criminal offense under the law of that State that 20
6676	6676	such individual has the right to vote in an election 21
6677	6677	for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Res-22
6678	6678	toration Act of 2023 and may register to vote in any 23
6679	6679	such election and provide such individuals with any 24
6680	6680	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00216 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6681	6681	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 217
6682	6682	•S 1 IS
6683	6683	materials that are necessary to register to vote in 1
6684	6684	any such election. 2
6685	6685	(2) D
6686	6686	ATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 3
6687	6687	(A) F
6688	6688	ELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 4
6689	6689	such an individual who has been convicted of a 5
6690	6690	felony, the notification required under para-6
6691	6691	graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 7
6692	6692	the individual— 8
6693	6693	(i) is sentenced to serve only a term 9
6694	6694	of probation; or 10
6695	6695	(ii) is released from the custody of 11
6696	6696	that State (other than to the custody of 12
6697	6697	another State or the Federal Government 13
6698	6698	to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel-14
6699	6699	ony conviction). 15
6700	6700	(B) M
6701	6701	ISDEMEANOR CONVICTION .—In the 16
6702	6702	case of such an individual who has been con-17
6703	6703	victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re-18
6704	6704	quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 19
6705	6705	the date on which such individual is sentenced 20
6706	6706	by a State court. 21
6707	6707	(b) F
6708	6708	EDERALNOTIFICATION.— 22
6709	6709	(1) N
6710	6710	OTIFICATION.—Any individual who has 23
6711	6711	been convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 24
6712	6712	law shall be notified in accordance with paragraph 25
6713	6713	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00217 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6714	6714	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 218
6715	6715	•S 1 IS
6716	6716	(2) that such individual has the right to vote in an 1
6717	6717	election for Federal office pursuant to the Democ-2
6718	6718	racy Restoration Act of 2023 and may register to 3
6719	6719	vote in any such election. 4
6720	6720	(2) D
6721	6721	ATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 5
6722	6722	(A) F
6723	6723	ELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 6
6724	6724	such an individual who has been convicted of a 7
6725	6725	felony, the notification required under para-8
6726	6726	graph (1) shall be given— 9
6727	6727	(i) in the case of an individual who is 10
6728	6728	sentenced to serve only a term of proba-11
6729	6729	tion, by the Assistant Director for the Of-12
6730	6730	fice of Probation and Pretrial Services of 13
6731	6731	the Administrative Office of the United 14
6732	6732	States Courts on the date on which the in-15
6733	6733	dividual is sentenced; or 16
6734	6734	(ii) in the case of any individual com-17
6735	6735	mitted to the custody of the Bureau of 18
6736	6736	Prisons, by the Director of the Bureau of 19
6737	6737	Prisons, during the period beginning on 20
6738	6738	the date that is 6 months before such indi-21
6739	6739	vidual is released and ending on the date 22
6740	6740	such individual is released from the cus-23
6741	6741	tody of the Bureau of Prisons. 24
6742	6742	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00218 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6743	6743	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 219
6744	6744	•S 1 IS
6745	6745	(B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION .—In the 1
6746	6746	case of such an individual who has been con-2
6747	6747	victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re-3
6748	6748	quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 4
6749	6749	the date on which such individual is sentenced 5
6750	6750	by a court established by an Act of Congress. 6
6751	6751	SEC. 1706. DEFINITIONS. 7
6752	6752	For purposes of this subtitle: 8
6753	6753	(1) C
6754	6754	ORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OR FACIL -9
6755	6755	ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 10
6756	6756	means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu-11
6757	6757	tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 12
6758	6758	convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 13
6759	6759	privately operated, except that such term does not 14
6760	6760	include any residential community treatment center 15
6761	6761	(or similar public or private facility). 16
6762	6762	(2) E
6763	6763	LECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 17
6764	6764	(A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 18
6765	6765	election; 19
6766	6766	(B) a convention or caucus of a political 20
6767	6767	party held to nominate a candidate; 21
6768	6768	(C) a primary election held for the selec-22
6769	6769	tion of delegates to a national nominating con-23
6770	6770	vention of a political party; or 24
6771	6771	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00219 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6772	6772	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 220
6773	6773	•S 1 IS
6774	6774	(D) a primary election held for the expres-1
6775	6775	sion of a preference for the nomination of per-2
6776	6776	sons for election to the office of President. 3
6777	6777	(3) F
6778	6778	EDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of-4
6779	6779	fice’’ means the office of President or Vice President 5
6780	6780	of the United States, or of Senator or Representa-6
6781	6781	tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 7
6782	6782	the Congress of the United States. 8
6783	6783	(4) P
6784	6784	ROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 9
6785	6785	probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 10
6786	6786	court, with or without a condition on the individual 11
6787	6787	involved concerning— 12
6788	6788	(A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 13
6789	6789	(B) the payment of damages by the indi-14
6790	6790	vidual; 15
6791	6791	(C) periodic reporting by the individual to 16
6792	6792	an officer of the court; or 17
6793	6793	(D) supervision of the individual by an of-18
6794	6794	ficer of the court. 19
6795	6795	SEC. 1707. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 20
6796	6796	(a) S
6797	6797	TATELAWSRELATING TOVOTINGRIGHTS.— 21
6798	6798	Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any 22
6799	6799	State from enacting any State law which affords the right 23
6800	6800	to vote in any election for Federal office on terms less 24
6801	6801	restrictive than those established by this Act. 25
6802	6802	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00220 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6803	6803	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 221
6804	6804	•S 1 IS
6805	6805	(b) CERTAINFEDERALACTS.—The rights and rem-1
6806	6806	edies established by this subtitle are in addition to all 2
6807	6807	other rights and remedies provided by law, and neither 3
6808	6808	rights and remedies established by this subtitle shall su-4
6809	6809	persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting 5
6810	6810	Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the Na-6
6811	6811	tional Voter Registration Act (52 U.S.C. 20501), or the 7
6812	6812	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.). 8
6813	6813	SEC. 1708. FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS. 9
6814	6814	No State, unit of local government, or other person 10
6815	6815	may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a 11
6816	6816	prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal 12
6817	6817	funds unless that State, unit of local government, or per-13
6818	6818	son— 14
6819	6819	(1) is in compliance with section 1703; and 15
6820	6820	(2) has in effect a program under which each 16
6821	6821	individual incarcerated in that person’s jurisdiction 17
6822	6822	who is a citizen of the United States is notified, 18
6823	6823	upon release from such incarceration, of that indi-19
6824	6824	vidual’s rights under section 1703. 20
6825	6825	SEC. 1709. EFFECTIVE DATE. 21
6826	6826	This subtitle shall apply to citizens of the United 22
6827	6827	States voting in any election for Federal office held on 23
6828	6828	or after the date of enactment of this Act. 24
6829	6829	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00221 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6830	6830	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 222
6831	6831	•S 1 IS
6832	6832	Subtitle I—Voter Identification and 1
6833	6833	Allowable Alternatives 2
6834	6834	SEC. 1801. REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTER IDENTIFICATION. 3
6835	6835	(a) R
6836	6836	EQUIREMENTTOPROVIDEIDENTIFICATION AS 4
6837	6837	C
6838	6838	ONDITION OFRECEIVINGBALLOT.—Section 303 of the 5
6839	6839	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083) is 6
6840	6840	amended by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as sub-7
6841	6841	sections (d) and (e), respectively, and by inserting after 8
6842	6842	subsection (b) the following new subsection: 9
6843	6843	‘‘(c) V
6844	6844	OTERIDENTIFICATIONREQUIREMENTS.— 10
6845	6845	‘‘(1) V
6846	6846	OTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT 11
6847	6847	DEFINED.—For purposes of this subsection: 12
6848	6848	‘‘(A) I
6849	6849	N GENERAL.—The term ‘voter iden-13
6850	6850	tification requirement’ means any requirement 14
6851	6851	that an individual desiring to vote in person in 15
6852	6852	an election for Federal office present identifica-16
6853	6853	tion as a requirement to receive or cast a ballot 17
6854	6854	in person in such election. 18
6855	6855	‘‘(B) E
6856	6856	XCEPTION.—Such term does not in-19
6857	6857	clude any requirement described in subsection 20
6858	6858	(b)(2)(A) as applied with respect to an indi-21
6859	6859	vidual described in subsection (b)(1). 22
6860	6860	‘‘(2) I
6861	6861	N GENERAL.—If a State or local jurisdic-23
6862	6862	tion has a voter identification requirement, the State 24
6863	6863	or local jurisdiction— 25
6864	6864	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00222 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6865	6865	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 223
6866	6866	•S 1 IS
6867	6867	‘‘(A) shall treat any applicable identifying 1
6868	6868	document as meeting such voter identification 2
6869	6869	requirement; 3
6870	6870	‘‘(B) notwithstanding the failure to present 4
6871	6871	an applicable identifying document, shall treat 5
6872	6872	an individual desiring to vote in person in an 6
6873	6873	election for Federal office as meeting such voter 7
6874	6874	identification requirement if— 8
6875	6875	‘‘(i) the individual presents the appro-9
6876	6876	priate State or local election official with a 10
6877	6877	sworn written statement, signed in the 11
6878	6878	presence of the official by an adult who 12
6879	6879	has known the individual for not less than 13
6880	6880	6 months under penalty of perjury, attest-14
6881	6881	ing to the individual’s identity; 15
6882	6882	‘‘(ii) the official has known the indi-16
6883	6883	vidual for at least six months; or 17
6884	6884	‘‘(iii) in the case of a resident of a 18
6885	6885	State-licensed care facility, an employee of 19
6886	6886	the facility confirms the individual’s iden-20
6887	6887	tity; and 21
6888	6888	‘‘(C) shall permit any individual desiring to 22
6889	6889	vote in an election for Federal office who does 23
6890	6890	not present an applicable identifying document 24
6891	6891	required under subparagraph (A) or qualify for 25
6892	6892	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00223 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6893	6893	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 224
6894	6894	•S 1 IS
6895	6895	an exception under subparagraph (B) to cast a 1
6896	6896	provisional ballot with respect to the election 2
6897	6897	under section 302(a) in accordance with para-3
6898	6898	graph (3). 4
6899	6899	‘‘(3) R
6900	6900	ULES FOR PROVISIONAL BALLOT .— 5
6901	6901	‘‘(A) I
6902	6902	N GENERAL.—An individual may 6
6903	6903	cast a provisional ballot pursuant to paragraph 7
6904	6904	(2)(C) so long as the individual presents the ap-8
6905	6905	propriate State or local election official with a 9
6906	6906	sworn written statement, signed by the indi-10
6907	6907	vidual under penalty of perjury, attesting to the 11
6908	6908	individual’s identity. 12
6909	6909	‘‘(B) P
6910	6910	ROHIBITION ON OTHER REQUIRE -13
6911	6911	MENTS.—Except as otherwise provided this 14
6912	6912	paragraph, a State or local jurisdiction may not 15
6913	6913	impose any other additional requirement or con-16
6914	6914	dition with respect to the casting of a provi-17
6915	6915	sional ballot by an individual described in para-18
6916	6916	graph (2)(C). 19
6917	6917	‘‘(C) C
6918	6918	OUNTING OF PROVISIONAL BAL -20
6919	6919	LOT.—In the case of a provisional ballot cast 21
6920	6920	pursuant to paragraph (2)(C), the appropriate 22
6921	6921	State or local election official shall not make a 23
6922	6922	determination under section 302(a)(4) that the 24
6923	6923	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00224 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6924	6924	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 225
6925	6925	•S 1 IS
6926	6926	individual is eligible under State law to vote in 1
6927	6927	the election unless— 2
6928	6928	‘‘(i) the official determines that the 3
6929	6929	signature on such statement matches the 4
6930	6930	signature of such individual on the official 5
6931	6931	list of registered voters in the State or 6
6932	6932	other official record or document used by 7
6933	6933	the State to verify the signatures of voters; 8
6934	6934	or 9
6935	6935	‘‘(ii) not later than 10 days after cast-10
6936	6936	ing the provisional ballot, the individual 11
6937	6937	presents an applicable identifying docu-12
6938	6938	ment, either in person or by electronic 13
6939	6939	methods, to the official and the official 14
6940	6940	confirms the individual is the person iden-15
6941	6941	tified on the applicable identifying docu-16
6942	6942	ment. 17
6943	6943	‘‘(D) N
6944	6944	OTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE 18
6945	6945	DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES OR OTHER DE -19
6946	6946	FECTS ON PROVISIONAL BALLOTS .— 20
6947	6947	‘‘(i) N
6948	6948	OTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO 21
6949	6949	CURE DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES .—If 22
6950	6950	an individual casts a provisional ballot 23
6951	6951	under this paragraph and the appropriate 24
6952	6952	State or local election official determines 25
6953	6953	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00225 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6954	6954	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 226
6955	6955	•S 1 IS
6956	6956	that a discrepancy exists between the sig-1
6957	6957	nature on such ballot and the signature of 2
6958	6958	such individual on the official list of reg-3
6959	6959	istered voters in the State or other official 4
6960	6960	record or document used by the State to 5
6961	6961	verify the signatures of voters, such elec-6
6962	6962	tion official, prior to making a final deter-7
6963	6963	mination as to the validity of such ballot, 8
6964	6964	shall— 9
6965	6965	‘‘(I) as soon as practical, but not 10
6966	6966	later than the next business day after 11
6967	6967	such determination is made, make a 12
6968	6968	good faith effort to notify the indi-13
6969	6969	vidual by mail, telephone, and (if 14
6970	6970	available) text message and electronic 15
6971	6971	mail that— 16
6972	6972	‘‘(aa) a discrepancy exists 17
6973	6973	between the signature on such 18
6974	6974	ballot and the signature of the 19
6975	6975	individual on the official list of 20
6976	6976	registered voters in the State or 21
6977	6977	other official record or document 22
6978	6978	used by the State to verify the 23
6979	6979	signatures of voters; and 24
6980	6980	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00226 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
6981	6981	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 227
6982	6982	•S 1 IS
6983	6983	‘‘(bb) if such discrepancy is 1
6984	6984	not cured prior to the expiration 2
6985	6985	of the third day following the 3
6986	6986	State’s deadline for receiving 4
6987	6987	mail-in ballots or absentee bal-5
6988	6988	lots, such ballot will not be 6
6989	6989	counted; and 7
6990	6990	‘‘(II) cure such discrepancy and 8
6991	6991	count the ballot if, prior to the expira-9
6992	6992	tion of the third day following the 10
6993	6993	State’s deadline for receiving mail-in 11
6994	6994	ballots or absentee ballots, the indi-12
6995	6995	vidual provides the official with infor-13
6996	6996	mation to cure such discrepancy, ei-14
6997	6997	ther in person, by telephone, or by 15
6998	6998	electronic methods. 16
6999	6999	‘‘(ii) N
7000	7000	OTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO 17
7001	7001	CURE OTHER DEFECTS .—If an individual 18
7002	7002	casts a provisional ballot under this para-19
7003	7003	graph with a defect which, if left uncured, 20
7004	7004	would cause the ballot to not be counted, 21
7005	7005	the appropriate State or local election offi-22
7006	7006	cial, prior to making a final determination 23
7007	7007	as to the validity of the ballot, shall— 24
7008	7008	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00227 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7009	7009	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 228
7010	7010	•S 1 IS
7011	7011	‘‘(I) as soon as practical, but not 1
7012	7012	later than the next business day after 2
7013	7013	such determination is made, make a 3
7014	7014	good faith effort to notify the indi-4
7015	7015	vidual by mail, telephone, and (if 5
7016	7016	available) text message and electronic 6
7017	7017	mail that— 7
7018	7018	‘‘(aa) the ballot has some 8
7019	7019	defect; and 9
7020	7020	‘‘(bb) if the individual does 10
7021	7021	not cure the other defect prior to 11
7022	7022	the expiration of the third day 12
7023	7023	following the State’s deadline for 13
7024	7024	receiving mail-in ballots or absen-14
7025	7025	tee ballots, such ballot will not be 15
7026	7026	counted; and 16
7027	7027	‘‘(II) count the ballot if, prior to 17
7028	7028	the expiration of the third day fol-18
7029	7029	lowing the State’s deadline for receiv-19
7030	7030	ing mail-in ballots or absentee ballots, 20
7031	7031	the individual cures the defect. 21
7032	7032	‘‘(E) N
7033	7033	O EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding 22
7034	7034	section 302(a), States described in section 4(b) 23
7035	7035	of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 24
7036	7036	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00228 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7037	7037	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 229
7038	7038	•S 1 IS
7039	7039	shall be required to meet the requirements of 1
7040	7040	paragraph (2)(C). 2
7041	7041	‘‘(F) R
7042	7042	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .— 3
7043	7043	‘‘(i) I
7044	7044	N GENERAL.—Nothing in para-4
7045	7045	graph (2)(C) or this paragraph shall be 5
7046	7046	construed to prevent a State from permit-6
7047	7047	ting an individual who provides a sworn 7
7048	7048	statement described in subparagraph (A) 8
7049	7049	to cast a regular ballot in lieu of a provi-9
7050	7050	sional ballot. 10
7051	7051	‘‘(ii) R
7052	7052	EGULAR BALLOT.—For purpose 11
7053	7053	of this subparagraph, the term ‘regular 12
7054	7054	ballot’ means a ballot which is cast and 13
7055	7055	counted in the same manner as ballots cast 14
7056	7056	by individuals meeting the voter identifica-15
7057	7057	tion requirement (and all other applicable 16
7058	7058	requirements with respect to voting in the 17
7059	7059	election). 18
7060	7060	‘‘(4) D
7061	7061	EVELOPMENT AND USE OF PRE -PRINTED 19
7062	7062	VERSION OF STATEMENT BY COMMISSION .— 20
7063	7063	‘‘(A) I
7064	7064	N GENERAL.—The Commission shall 21
7065	7065	develop pre-printed versions of the statements 22
7066	7066	described in paragraphs (2)(B)(i) and (3)(A) 23
7067	7067	which include appropriate blank spaces for the 24
7068	7068	provision of names and signatures. 25
7069	7069	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00229 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7070	7070	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 230
7071	7071	•S 1 IS
7072	7072	‘‘(B) PROVIDING PRE-PRINTED COPY OF 1
7073	7073	STATEMENT.—Each State and jurisdiction that 2
7074	7074	has a voter identification requirement shall 3
7075	7075	make copies of the pre-printed version of the 4
7076	7076	statement developed under subparagraph (A) 5
7077	7077	available at polling places for use by individuals 6
7078	7078	voting in person. 7
7079	7079	‘‘(5) R
7080	7080	EQUIRED PROVISION OF IDENTIFYING 8
7081	7081	DOCUMENTS.— 9
7082	7082	‘‘(A) I
7083	7083	N GENERAL.—Each State and juris-10
7084	7084	diction that has a voter identification require-11
7085	7085	ment shall— 12
7086	7086	‘‘(i) for each individual who, on or 13
7087	7087	after the applicable date, is registered to 14
7088	7088	vote in such State or jurisdiction in elec-15
7089	7089	tions for Federal office, provide the indi-16
7090	7090	vidual with a government-issued identifica-17
7091	7091	tion that meets the requirements of this 18
7092	7092	subsection without charge; 19
7093	7093	‘‘(ii) for each individual who, before 20
7094	7094	the applicable date, was registered to vote 21
7095	7095	in such State or jurisdiction in elections 22
7096	7096	for Federal office but does not otherwise 23
7097	7097	possess an identifying document, provide 24
7098	7098	the individual with a government-issued 25
7099	7099	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00230 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7100	7100	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 231
7101	7101	•S 1 IS
7102	7102	identification that meets the requirements 1
7103	7103	of this subsection without charge, so long 2
7104	7104	as the State provides the individual with 3
7105	7105	reasonable opportunities to obtain such 4
7106	7106	identification prior to the date of the elec-5
7107	7107	tion; and 6
7108	7108	‘‘(iii) for each individual who is pro-7
7109	7109	vided with an identification under clause 8
7110	7110	(i) or clause (ii), provide the individual 9
7111	7111	with such assistance without charge upon 10
7112	7112	request as may be necessary to enable the 11
7113	7113	individual to obtain and process any docu-12
7114	7114	mentation necessary to obtain the identi-13
7115	7115	fication. 14
7116	7116	‘‘(B) A
7117	7117	PPLICABLE DATE.—For purposes of 15
7118	7118	this paragraph, the term ‘applicable date’ 16
7119	7119	means the later of— 17
7120	7120	‘‘(i) January 1, 2024, or 18
7121	7121	‘‘(ii) the first date after the date of 19
7122	7122	enactment of this subsection for which the 20
7123	7123	State or local jurisdiction has in effect a 21
7124	7124	voter identification requirement. 22
7125	7125	‘‘(6) A
7126	7126	PPLICABLE IDENTIFYING DOCUMENT .— 23
7127	7127	For purposes of this subsection— 24
7128	7128	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00231 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7129	7129	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 232
7130	7130	•S 1 IS
7131	7131	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘applicable 1
7132	7132	identifying document’ means, with respect to 2
7133	7133	any individual, any document issued to such in-3
7134	7134	dividual containing the individual’s name. 4
7135	7135	‘‘(B) I
7136	7136	NCLUDED DOCUMENTS .—The term 5
7137	7137	‘applicable identifying document’ shall include 6
7138	7138	any of the following (so long as such document 7
7139	7139	is not expired, as indicated by an expiration 8
7140	7140	date included on the document): 9
7141	7141	‘‘(i) A valid driver’s license or an 10
7142	7142	identification card issued by a State, the 11
7143	7143	Federal Government, or a State or feder-12
7144	7144	ally recognized Tribal government. 13
7145	7145	‘‘(ii) A State-issued identification de-14
7146	7146	scribed in paragraph (4). 15
7147	7147	‘‘(iii) A valid United States passport 16
7148	7148	or passport card. 17
7149	7149	‘‘(iv) A valid employee identification 18
7150	7150	card issued by— 19
7151	7151	‘‘(I) any branch, department, 20
7152	7152	agency, or entity of the United States 21
7153	7153	Government or of any State, 22
7154	7154	‘‘(II) any State or federally rec-23
7155	7155	ognized Tribal government, or 24
7156	7156	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00232 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7157	7157	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 233
7158	7158	•S 1 IS
7159	7159	‘‘(III) any county, municipality, 1
7160	7160	board, authority, or other political 2
7161	7161	subdivision of a State. 3
7162	7162	‘‘(v) A valid student identification 4
7163	7163	card issued by an institution of higher edu-5
7164	7164	cation, or a valid high school identification 6
7165	7165	card issued by a State-accredited high 7
7166	7166	school. 8
7167	7167	‘‘(vi) A valid military identification 9
7168	7168	card issued by the United States. 10
7169	7169	‘‘(vii) A valid gun license or concealed 11
7170	7170	carry permit. 12
7171	7171	‘‘(viii) A valid Medicare card or Social 13
7172	7172	Security card. 14
7173	7173	‘‘(ix) A valid birth certificate. 15
7174	7174	‘‘(x) A valid voter registration card. 16
7175	7175	‘‘(xi) A valid hunting or fishing li-17
7176	7176	cense issued by a State. 18
7177	7177	‘‘(xii) A valid identification card 19
7178	7178	issued to the individual by the Supple-20
7179	7179	mental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) pro-21
7180	7180	gram. 22
7181	7181	‘‘(xiii) A valid identification card 23
7182	7182	issued to the individual by the Temporary 24
7183	7183	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00233 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7184	7184	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 234
7185	7185	•S 1 IS
7186	7186	Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 1
7187	7187	program. 2
7188	7188	‘‘(xiv) A valid identification card 3
7189	7189	issued to the individual by Medicaid. 4
7190	7190	‘‘(xv) A valid bank card or valid debit 5
7191	7191	card. 6
7192	7192	‘‘(xvi) A valid utility bill issued within 7
7193	7193	six months of the date of the election. 8
7194	7194	‘‘(xvii) A valid lease or mortgage doc-9
7195	7195	ument issued within six months of the date 10
7196	7196	of the election. 11
7197	7197	‘‘(xviii) A valid bank statement issued 12
7198	7198	within six months of the date of the elec-13
7199	7199	tion. 14
7200	7200	‘‘(xix) A valid health insurance card 15
7201	7201	issued to the voter. 16
7202	7202	‘‘(xx) Any other document containing 17
7203	7203	the individual’s name issued by— 18
7204	7204	‘‘(I) any branch, department, 19
7205	7205	agency, or entity of the United States 20
7206	7206	Government or of any State; 21
7207	7207	‘‘(II) any State or federally rec-22
7208	7208	ognized tribal government; or 23
7209	7209	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00234 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7210	7210	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 235
7211	7211	•S 1 IS
7212	7212	‘‘(III) any county, municipality, 1
7213	7213	board, authority, or other political 2
7214	7214	subdivision of a State. 3
7215	7215	‘‘(C) C
7216	7216	OPIES AND ELECTRONIC DOCU -4
7217	7217	MENTS ACCEPTED.—The term ‘applicable iden-5
7218	7218	tifying document’ includes— 6
7219	7219	‘‘(i) any copy of a document described 7
7220	7220	in subparagraph (A) or (B); and 8
7221	7221	‘‘(ii) any document described in sub-9
7222	7222	paragraph (A) or (B) which is presented in 10
7223	7223	electronic format.’’. 11
7224	7224	(b) P
7225	7225	AYMENTS TOSTATESTOCOVERCOSTS OFRE-12
7226	7226	QUIREDIDENTIFICATIONDOCUMENTS.— 13
7227	7227	(1) I
7228	7228	N GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 14
7229	7229	Commission shall make payments to States to cover 15
7230	7230	the costs incurred in providing identifications under 16
7231	7231	section 303(c)(5) of the Help America Vote Act of 17
7232	7232	2002, as amended by this section. 18
7233	7233	(2) A
7234	7234	MOUNT OF PAYMENT .—The amount of the 19
7235	7235	payment made to a State under this subsection for 20
7236	7236	any year shall be equal to the amount of fees which 21
7237	7237	would have been collected by the State during the 22
7238	7238	year in providing the identifications required under 23
7239	7239	section 303(c)(5) of such Act if the State had 24
7240	7240	charged the usual and customary rates for such 25
7241	7241	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00235 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7242	7242	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 236
7243	7243	•S 1 IS
7244	7244	identifications, as determined on the basis of infor-1
7245	7245	mation furnished to the Commission by the State at 2
7246	7246	such time and in such form as the Commission may 3
7247	7247	require. 4
7248	7248	(3) A
7249	7249	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS .— 5
7250	7250	There are authorized to be appropriated for pay-6
7251	7251	ments under this subsection an aggregate amount of 7
7252	7252	$5,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each of the 4 8
7253	7253	succeeding fiscal years. 9
7254	7254	(c) C
7255	7255	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 10
7256	7256	303(b)(2)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 11
7257	7257	U.S.C. 21083(b)(2)(A)) is amended— 12
7258	7258	(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘in person’’ and all 13
7259	7259	that follows and inserting ‘‘in person, presents to the 14
7260	7260	appropriate State or local election official an applica-15
7261	7261	ble identifying document (as defined in subsection 16
7262	7262	(c)(6)); or’’; and 17
7263	7263	(2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘by mail’’ and all 18
7264	7264	that follows and inserting ‘‘by mail, submits with the 19
7265	7265	ballot an applicable identifying document (as so de-20
7266	7266	fined).’’. 21
7267	7267	(d) D
7268	7268	EFINITION.—For the purposes of this section, 22
7269	7269	the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the 23
7270	7270	District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 24
7271	7271	Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Is-25
7272	7272	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00236 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7273	7273	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 237
7274	7274	•S 1 IS
7275	7275	lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 1
7276	7276	Islands. 2
7277	7277	(e) E
7278	7278	FFECTIVEDATE.—Section 303(e) of such Act 3
7279	7279	(52 U.S.C. 21083(d)(2)), as redesignated by subsection 4
7280	7280	(a), is amended by adding at the end the following new 5
7281	7281	paragraph: 6
7282	7282	‘‘(3) V
7283	7283	OTER IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE -7
7284	7284	MENTS.—Each State and jurisdiction shall be re-8
7285	7285	quired to comply with the requirements of subsection 9
7286	7286	(c) with respect to elections for Federal office held 10
7287	7287	on or after January 1, 2024.’’. 11
7288	7288	Subtitle J—Voter List Maintenance 12
7289	7289	Procedures 13
7290	7290	PART 1—VOTER CAGING PROHIBITED 14
7291	7291	SEC. 1901. VOTER CAGING PROHIBITED. 15
7292	7292	(a) D
7293	7293	EFINITIONS.—In this section— 16
7294	7294	(1) the term ‘‘voter caging document’’ means— 17
7295	7295	(A) a non-forwardable document sent by 18
7296	7296	any person other than a State or local election 19
7297	7297	official that is returned to the sender or a third 20
7298	7298	party as undelivered or undeliverable despite an 21
7299	7299	attempt to deliver such document to the address 22
7300	7300	of a registered voter or applicant; or 23
7301	7301	(B) any document sent by any person 24
7302	7302	other than a State or local election official with 25
7303	7303	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00237 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7304	7304	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 238
7305	7305	•S 1 IS
7306	7306	instructions to an addressee that the document 1
7307	7307	be returned to the sender or a third party but 2
7308	7308	is not so returned, despite an attempt to deliver 3
7309	7309	such document to the address of a registered 4
7310	7310	voter or applicant; 5
7311	7311	(2) the term ‘‘voter caging list’’ means a list of 6
7312	7312	individuals compiled from voter caging documents; 7
7313	7313	and 8
7314	7314	(3) the term ‘‘unverified match list’’ means any 9
7315	7315	list produced by matching the information of reg-10
7316	7316	istered voters or applicants for voter registration to 11
7317	7317	a list of individuals who are ineligible to vote in the 12
7318	7318	registrar’s jurisdiction, by virtue of death, convic-13
7319	7319	tion, change of address, or otherwise, unless one of 14
7320	7320	the pieces of information matched includes a signa-15
7321	7321	ture, photograph, or unique identifying number en-16
7322	7322	suring that the information from each source refers 17
7323	7323	to the same individual. 18
7324	7324	(b) P
7325	7325	ROHIBITIONAGAINSTVOTERCAGING.—No 19
7326	7326	State or local election official shall prevent an individual 20
7327	7327	from registering or voting in any election for Federal of-21
7328	7328	fice, or permit in connection with any election for Federal 22
7329	7329	office a formal challenge under State law to an individual’s 23
7330	7330	registration status or eligibility to vote, if the basis for 24
7331	7331	such decision is evidence consisting of— 25
7332	7332	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00238 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7333	7333	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 239
7334	7334	•S 1 IS
7335	7335	(1) a voter caging document or voter caging 1
7336	7336	list; 2
7337	7337	(2) an unverified match list; 3
7338	7338	(3) an error or omission on any record or paper 4
7339	7339	relating to any application, registration, or other act 5
7340	7340	requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not 6
7341	7341	material to an individual’s eligibility to vote under 7
7342	7342	section 2004(a)(2)(B) of the Revised Statutes (52 8
7343	7343	U.S.C. 10101(a)(2)(B)); or 9
7344	7344	(4) any other evidence so designated for pur-10
7345	7345	poses of this section by the Election Assistance Com-11
7346	7346	mission, 12
7347	7347	except that the election official may use such evidence if 13
7348	7348	it is corroborated by independent evidence of the individ-14
7349	7349	ual’s ineligibility to register or vote. 15
7350	7350	(c) E
7351	7351	NFORCEMENT.— 16
7352	7352	(1) C
7353	7353	IVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 17
7354	7354	(A) I
7355	7355	N GENERAL.—The Attorney General 18
7356	7356	may bring a civil action in an appropriate dis-19
7357	7357	trict court for such declaratory or injunctive re-20
7358	7358	lief as is necessary to carry out this section. 21
7359	7359	(B) P
7360	7360	RIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 22
7361	7361	(i) I
7362	7362	N GENERAL.—A person who is ag-23
7363	7363	grieved by a violation of this section may 24
7364	7364	provide written notice of the violation to 25
7365	7365	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00239 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7366	7366	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 240
7367	7367	•S 1 IS
7368	7368	the chief election official of the State in-1
7369	7369	volved. 2
7370	7370	(ii) R
7371	7371	ELIEF.—Except as provided in 3
7372	7372	clause (iii), if the violation is not corrected 4
7373	7373	within 90 days after receipt of a notice 5
7374	7374	under clause (i), or within 20 days after 6
7375	7375	receipt of the notice if the violation oc-7
7376	7376	curred within 120 days before the date of 8
7377	7377	an election for Federal office, the ag-9
7378	7378	grieved person may, in a civil action, ob-10
7379	7379	tain declaratory or injunctive relief with re-11
7380	7380	spect to the violation. 12
7381	7381	(iii) E
7382	7382	XCEPTION.—If the violation oc-13
7383	7383	curred within 30 days before the date of 14
7384	7384	an election for Federal office, on the date 15
7385	7385	of the election, or after the date of the 16
7386	7386	election but prior to the completion of the 17
7387	7387	canvass, the aggrieved person need not 18
7388	7388	provide notice under clause (i) before 19
7389	7389	bringing a civil action to obtain declaratory 20
7390	7390	or injunctive relief with respect to the vio-21
7391	7391	lation. 22
7392	7392	(2) C
7393	7393	RIMINAL PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly 23
7394	7394	challenges the eligibility of one or more individuals 24
7395	7395	to register or vote or knowingly causes the eligibility 25
7396	7396	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00240 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7397	7397	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 241
7398	7398	•S 1 IS
7399	7399	of such individuals to be challenged in violation of 1
7400	7400	this section with the intent that one or more eligible 2
7401	7401	voters be disqualified, shall be fined under title 18, 3
7402	7402	United States Code, or imprisoned not more than 1 4
7403	7403	year, or both, for each such violation. Each violation 5
7404	7404	shall be a separate offense. 6
7405	7405	(d) N
7406	7406	OEFFECT ONRELATEDLAWS.—Nothing in 7
7407	7407	this section is intended to override the protections of the 8
7408	7408	National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 9
7409	7409	20501 et seq.) or to affect the Voting Rights Act of 1965 10
7410	7410	(52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 11
7411	7411	PART 2—SAVING ELIGIBLE VOTERS FROM VOTER 12
7412	7412	PURGING 13
7413	7413	SEC. 1911. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF VOTERS FROM 14
7414	7414	LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 15
7415	7415	(a) C
7416	7416	ONDITIONSDESCRIBED.—The National Voter 16
7417	7417	Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is 17
7418	7418	amended by inserting after section 8 the following new 18
7419	7419	section: 19
7420	7420	‘‘SEC. 8A. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF VOTERS FROM 20
7421	7421	OFFICIAL LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 21
7422	7422	‘‘(a) V
7423	7423	ERIFICATION ONBASIS OFOBJECTIVE AND 22
7424	7424	R
7425	7425	ELIABLEEVIDENCE OFINELIGIBILITY.— 23
7426	7426	‘‘(1) R
7427	7427	EQUIRING VERIFICATION .—Notwith-24
7428	7428	standing any other provision of this Act, a State 25
7429	7429	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00241 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7430	7430	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 242
7431	7431	•S 1 IS
7432	7432	may not remove the name of any registrant from the 1
7433	7433	official list of voters eligible to vote in elections for 2
7434	7434	Federal office in the State unless the State verifies, 3
7435	7435	on the basis of objective and reliable evidence, that 4
7436	7436	the registrant is ineligible to vote in such elections. 5
7437	7437	‘‘(2) F
7438	7438	ACTORS NOT CONSIDERED AS OBJECTIVE 6
7439	7439	AND RELIABLE EVIDENCE OF INELIGIBILITY .—For 7
7440	7440	purposes of paragraph (1), except as permitted 8
7441	7441	under section 8(d) after a notice described in para-9
7442	7442	graph (2) of such section has been sent, the fol-10
7443	7443	lowing factors, or any combination thereof, shall not 11
7444	7444	be treated as objective and reliable evidence of a reg-12
7445	7445	istrant’s ineligibility to vote: 13
7446	7446	‘‘(A) The failure of the registrant to vote 14
7447	7447	in any election. 15
7448	7448	‘‘(B) The failure of the registrant to re-16
7449	7449	spond to any election mail, unless the election 17
7450	7450	mail has been returned as undeliverable. 18
7451	7451	‘‘(C) The failure of the registrant to take 19
7452	7452	any other action with respect to voting in any 20
7453	7453	election or with respect to the registrant’s sta-21
7454	7454	tus as a registrant. 22
7455	7455	‘‘(3) R
7456	7456	EMOVAL BASED ON OFFICIAL 23
7457	7457	RECORDS.— 24
7458	7458	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00242 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7459	7459	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 243
7460	7460	•S 1 IS
7461	7461	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this sec-1
7462	7462	tion shall prohibit a State from removing a reg-2
7463	7463	istrant from the official list of eligible voters in 3
7464	7464	elections for Federal office if, on the basis of of-4
7465	7465	ficial records maintained by the State, a State 5
7466	7466	or local election official knows, on the basis of 6
7467	7467	objective and reliable evidence, that the reg-7
7468	7468	istrant has— 8
7469	7469	‘‘(i) died; or 9
7470	7470	‘‘(ii) permanently moved out of the 10
7471	7471	State and is no longer eligible to vote in 11
7472	7472	the State. 12
7473	7473	‘‘(B) O
7474	7474	PPORTUNITY TO DEMONSTRATE 13
7475	7475	ELIGIBILITY.—The State shall provide a voter 14
7476	7476	removed from the official list of eligible voters 15
7477	7477	in elections for Federal office under this para-16
7478	7478	graph an opportunity to demonstrate that the 17
7479	7479	registrant is eligible to vote and be reinstated 18
7480	7480	on the official list of eligible voters in elections 19
7481	7481	for Federal office in the State. 20
7482	7482	‘‘(b) N
7483	7483	OTICEAFTERREMOVAL.— 21
7484	7484	‘‘(1) N
7485	7485	OTICE TO INDIVIDUAL REMOVED .— 22
7486	7486	‘‘(A) I
7487	7487	N GENERAL.—Not later than 48 23
7488	7488	hours after a State removes the name of a reg-24
7489	7489	istrant from the official list of eligible voters, 25
7490	7490	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00243 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7491	7491	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 244
7492	7492	•S 1 IS
7493	7493	the State shall send notice of the removal to the 1
7494	7494	former registrant, and shall include in the no-2
7495	7495	tice the grounds for the removal and informa-3
7496	7496	tion on how the former registrant may contest 4
7497	7497	the removal or be reinstated, including a tele-5
7498	7498	phone number for the appropriate election offi-6
7499	7499	cial. 7
7500	7500	‘‘(B) E
7501	7501	XCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph (A) 8
7502	7502	does not apply in the case of a registrant— 9
7503	7503	‘‘(i) who sends written confirmation to 10
7504	7504	the State that the registrant is no longer 11
7505	7505	eligible to vote in the registrar’s jurisdic-12
7506	7506	tion in which the registrant was registered; 13
7507	7507	or 14
7508	7508	‘‘(ii) who is removed from the official 15
7509	7509	list of eligible voters by reason of the death 16
7510	7510	of the registrant. 17
7511	7511	‘‘(2) P
7512	7512	UBLIC NOTICE.—Not later than 48 hours 18
7513	7513	after conducting any general program to remove the 19
7514	7514	names of ineligible voters from the official list of eli-20
7515	7515	gible voters (as described in section 8(a)(4)), the 21
7516	7516	State shall disseminate a public notice through such 22
7517	7517	methods as may be reasonable to reach the general 23
7518	7518	public (including by publishing the notice in a news-24
7519	7519	paper of wide circulation and posting the notice on 25
7520	7520	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00244 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7521	7521	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 245
7522	7522	•S 1 IS
7523	7523	the websites of the appropriate election officials) 1
7524	7524	that list maintenance is taking place and that reg-2
7525	7525	istrants should check their registration status to en-3
7526	7526	sure no errors or mistakes have been made. The 4
7527	7527	State shall ensure that the public notice dissemi-5
7528	7528	nated under this paragraph is in a format that is 6
7529	7529	reasonably convenient and accessible to voters with 7
7530	7530	disabilities, including voters who have low vision or 8
7531	7531	are blind.’’. 9
7532	7532	(b) C
7533	7533	ONDITIONS FORTRANSMISSION OFNOTICES OF 10
7534	7534	R
7535	7535	EMOVAL.—Section 8(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 11
7536	7536	20507(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following 12
7537	7537	new paragraph: 13
7538	7538	‘‘(4) A State may not transmit a notice to a 14
7539	7539	registrant under this subsection unless the State ob-15
7540	7540	tains objective and reliable evidence (in accordance 16
7541	7541	with the standards for such evidence which are de-17
7542	7542	scribed in section 8A(a)(2)) that the registrant has 18
7543	7543	changed residence to a place outside the registrar’s 19
7544	7544	jurisdiction in which the registrant is registered.’’. 20
7545	7545	(c) C
7546	7546	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 21
7547	7547	(1) N
7548	7548	ATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 22
7549	7549	1993.—Section 8(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 23
7550	7550	20507(a)) is amended— 24
7551	7551	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00245 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7552	7552	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 246
7553	7553	•S 1 IS
7554	7554	(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘pro-1
7555	7555	vide’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, pro-2
7556	7556	vide’’; and 3
7557	7557	(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘con-4
7558	7558	duct’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, con-5
7559	7559	duct’’. 6
7560	7560	(2) H
7561	7561	ELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002 .—Section 7
7562	7562	303(a)(4)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 8
7563	7563	(52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(4)(A)) is amended by striking 9
7564	7564	‘‘registrants’’ the second place it appears and insert-10
7565	7565	ing ‘‘and subject to section 8A of such Act, reg-11
7566	7566	istrants’’. 12
7567	7567	(d) E
7568	7568	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 13
7569	7569	this section shall take effect on the date of enactment of 14
7570	7570	this Act. 15
7571	7571	Subtitle K—Severability 16
7572	7572	SEC. 1921. SEVERABILITY. 17
7573	7573	If any provision of this title or any amendment made 18
7574	7574	by this title, or the application of any such provision or 19
7575	7575	amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 20
7576	7576	unconstitutional, the remainder of this title, and the appli-21
7577	7577	cation of such provision or amendment to any other person 22
7578	7578	or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 23
7579	7579	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00246 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7580	7580	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 247
7581	7581	•S 1 IS
7582	7582	DIVISION B—ELECTION 1
7583	7583	INTEGRITY 2
7584	7584	TITLE II—PROHIBITING INTER-3
7585	7585	FERENCE WITH VOTER REG-4
7586	7586	ISTRATION 5
7587	7587	SEC. 2001. PROHIBITING HINDERING, INTERFERING WITH, 6
7588	7588	OR PREVENTING VOTER REGISTRATION. 7
7589	7589	(a) I
7590	7590	NGENERAL.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 8
7591	7591	States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-9
7592	7592	lowing new section: 10
7593	7593	‘‘§ 612. Hindering, interfering with, or preventing 11
7594	7594	registering to vote 12
7595	7595	‘‘(a) P
7596	7596	ROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for any per-13
7597	7597	son, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, to 14
7598	7598	corruptly hinder, interfere with, or prevent another person 15
7599	7599	from registering to vote or to corruptly hinder, interfere 16
7600	7600	with, or prevent another person from aiding another per-17
7601	7601	son in registering to vote. 18
7602	7602	‘‘(b) A
7603	7603	TTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 19
7604	7604	any offense described in subsection (a) shall be subject to 20
7605	7605	the same penalties as those prescribed for the offense that 21
7606	7606	the person attempted to commit. 22
7607	7607	‘‘(c) P
7608	7608	ENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 23
7609	7609	(a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 24
7610	7610	than 5 years, or both.’’. 25
7611	7611	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00247 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7612	7612	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 248
7613	7613	•S 1 IS
7614	7614	(b) CLERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 1
7615	7615	for chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 2
7616	7616	by adding at the end the following new item: 3
7617	7617	‘‘612. Hindering, interfering with, or preventing registering to vote.’’.
7618	7618	(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 4
7619	7619	this section shall apply with respect to elections held on 5
7620	7620	or after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that 6
7621	7621	no person may be found to have violated section 612 of 7
7622	7622	title 18, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)), 8
7623	7623	on the basis of any act occurring prior to the date of the 9
7624	7624	enactment of this Act. 10
7625	7625	SEC. 2002. ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES. 11
7626	7626	(a) B
7627	7627	ESTPRACTICES.—Not later than 180 days after 12
7628	7628	the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-13
7629	7629	eral shall develop and publish recommendations for best 14
7630	7630	practices for States to use to deter and prevent violations 15
7631	7631	of section 612 of title 18, United States Code (as added 16
7632	7632	by section 2001), and section 12 of the National Voter 17
7633	7633	Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) (relating to 18
7634	7634	the unlawful interference with registering to vote, or vot-19
7635	7635	ing, or attempting to register to vote or vote), including 20
7636	7636	practices to provide for the posting of relevant information 21
7637	7637	at polling places and voter registration agencies under 22
7638	7638	such Act, the training of poll workers and election offi-23
7639	7639	cials, and relevant educational materials. For purposes of 24
7640	7640	this subsection, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of 25
7641	7641	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00248 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7642	7642	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 249
7643	7643	•S 1 IS
7644	7644	Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 1
7645	7645	American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, and 2
7646	7646	the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 3
7647	7647	(b) I
7648	7648	NCLUSION INVOTERINFORMATIONREQUIRE-4
7649	7649	MENTS.—Section 302(b)(2) of the Help America Vote Act 5
7650	7650	of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)) is amended— 6
7651	7651	(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-7
7652	7652	graph (E); 8
7653	7653	(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-9
7654	7654	paragraph (F) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 10
7655	7655	(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-11
7656	7656	paragraph: 12
7657	7657	‘‘(G) information relating to the prohibi-13
7658	7658	tions of section 612 of title 18, United States 14
7659	7659	Code, and section 12 of the National Voter 15
7660	7660	Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) 16
7661	7661	(relating to the unlawful interference with reg-17
7662	7662	istering to vote, or voting, or attempting to reg-18
7663	7663	ister to vote or vote), including information on 19
7664	7664	how individuals may report allegations of viola-20
7665	7665	tions of such prohibitions.’’. 21
7666	7666	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00249 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7667	7667	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 250
7668	7668	•S 1 IS
7669	7669	TITLE III—PREVENTING 1
7670	7670	ELECTION SUBVERSION 2
7671	7671	Subtitle A—Restrictions on Re-3
7672	7672	moval of Election Administra-4
7673	7673	tors 5
7674	7674	SEC. 3001. RESTRICTIONS ON REMOVAL OF LOCAL ELEC-6
7675	7675	TION ADMINISTRATORS IN ADMINISTRATION 7
7676	7676	OF ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 8
7677	7677	(a) F
7678	7678	INDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-9
7679	7679	ings: 10
7680	7680	(1) Congress has explicit and broad authority to 11
7681	7681	regulate the time, place, and manner of Federal elec-12
7682	7682	tions under the Elections Clause under article I, sec-13
7683	7683	tion 4, clause 1 of the Constitution, including by es-14
7684	7684	tablishing standards for the fair, impartial, and uni-15
7685	7685	form administration of Federal elections by State 16
7686	7686	and local officials. 17
7687	7687	(2) The Elections Clause was understood from 18
7688	7688	the framing of the Constitution to contain ‘‘words of 19
7689	7689	great latitude’’, granting Congress broad power over 20
7690	7690	Federal elections and a plenary right to preempt 21
7691	7691	State regulation in this area. As made clear at the 22
7692	7692	Constitutional Convention and the State ratification 23
7693	7693	debates that followed, this grant of congressional au-24
7694	7694	thority was meant to ‘‘insure free and fair elec-25
7695	7695	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00250 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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7697	7697	•S 1 IS
7698	7698	tions’’, promote the uniform administration of Fed-1
7699	7699	eral elections, and ‘‘preserve and restore to the peo-2
7700	7700	ple their equal and sacred rights of election’’. 3
7701	7701	(3) In the founding debates on the Elections 4
7702	7702	Clause, many delegates also argued that a broad 5
7703	7703	grant of authority to Congress over Federal elections 6
7704	7704	was necessary to check any ‘‘abuses that might be 7
7705	7705	made of the discretionary power’’ to regulate the 8
7706	7706	time, place, and manner of elections granted the 9
7707	7707	States, including attempts at partisan entrenchment, 10
7708	7708	malapportionment, and the exclusion of political mi-11
7709	7709	norities. As the Supreme Court has recognized, the 12
7710	7710	Elections Clause empowers Congress to ‘‘protect the 13
7711	7711	elections on which its existence depends’’, Ex parte 14
7712	7712	Yarbrough, 110 U.S. 651, 658 (1884), and ‘‘protect 15
7713	7713	the citizen in the exercise of rights conferred by the 16
7714	7714	Constitution of the United States essential to the 17
7715	7715	healthy organization of the government itself’’, id. at 18
7716	7716	666. 19
7717	7717	(4) The Elections Clause grants Congress ‘‘ple-20
7718	7718	nary and paramount jurisdiction over the whole sub-21
7719	7719	ject’’ of Federal elections, Ex parte Siebold, 100 22
7720	7720	U.S. 371, 388 (1879), allowing Congress to imple-23
7721	7721	ment ‘‘a complete code for congressional elections’’. 24
7722	7722	Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 366 (1932). The 25
7723	7723	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00251 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7724	7724	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 252
7725	7725	•S 1 IS
7726	7726	Elections Clause, unlike, for example, the Commerce 1
7727	7727	Clause, has been found to grant Congress the au-2
7728	7728	thority to compel States to alter their regulations as 3
7729	7729	to Federal elections, id. at 366–67, even if these al-4
7730	7730	terations would impose additional costs on the 5
7731	7731	States to execute or enforce. Association of Commu-6
7732	7732	nity Organizations for Reform Now v. Miller, 129 7
7733	7733	F.3d 833 (6th Cir. 1997). 8
7734	7734	(5) The phrase ‘‘manner of holding elections’’ 9
7735	7735	in the Elections Clause has been interpreted by the 10
7736	7736	Supreme Court to authorize Congress to regulate all 11
7737	7737	aspects of the Federal election process, including 12
7738	7738	‘‘notices, registration, supervision of voting, protec-13
7739	7739	tion of voters, prevention of fraud and corrupt prac-14
7740	7740	tices, counting of votes, duties of inspectors and can-15
7741	7741	vassers, and the making and publication of election 16
7742	7742	returns’’. Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 366 17
7743	7743	(1932). 18
7744	7744	(6) The Supreme Court has recognized the 19
7745	7745	broad ‘‘substantive scope’’ of the Elections Clause 20
7746	7746	and upheld Federal laws promulgated thereunder 21
7747	7747	regulating redistricting, voter registration, campaign 22
7748	7748	finance, primary elections, recounts, party affiliation 23
7749	7749	rules, and balloting. 24
7750	7750	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00252 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7751	7751	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 253
7752	7752	•S 1 IS
7753	7753	(7) The authority of Congress under the Elec-1
7754	7754	tions Clause also entails the power to ensure en-2
7755	7755	forcement of its laws regulating Federal elections. 3
7756	7756	‘‘[I]f Congress has the power to make regulations, it 4
7757	7757	must have the power to enforce them.’’. Ex parte 5
7758	7758	Siebold, 100 U.S. 371, 387 (1879). The Supreme 6
7759	7759	Court has noted that there can be no question that 7
7760	7760	Congress may impose additional penalties for of-8
7761	7761	fenses committed by State officers in connection 9
7762	7762	with Federal elections even if they differ from the 10
7763	7763	penalties prescribed by State law for the same acts. 11
7764	7764	Id. at 387–88. 12
7765	7765	(8) The fair and impartial administration of 13
7766	7766	Federal elections by State and local officials is cen-14
7767	7767	tral to ‘‘the successful working of this government’’, 15
7768	7768	Ex parte Yarbrough, 110 U.S. 651, 666 (1884), and 16
7769	7769	to ‘‘protect the act of voting . . . and the election 17
7770	7770	itself from corruption or fraud’’, id. at 661–62. 18
7771	7771	(9) The Elections Clause thus grants Congress 19
7772	7772	the authority to ensure that the administration of 20
7773	7773	Federal elections is free of political bias or discrimi-21
7774	7774	nation and that election officials are insulated from 22
7775	7775	political influence or other forms of coercion in dis-23
7776	7776	charging their duties in connection with Federal 24
7777	7777	elections. 25
7778	7778	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00253 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7779	7779	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 254
7780	7780	•S 1 IS
7781	7781	(10) In some States, oversight of local election 1
7782	7782	administrators has been allocated to State Election 2
7783	7783	Boards, or special commissions formed by those 3
7784	7784	boards, that are appointed by the prevailing political 4
7785	7785	party in a State, as opposed to nonpartisan or elect-5
7786	7786	ed office holders. 6
7787	7787	(11) In certain newly enacted State policies, 7
7788	7788	these appointed statewide election administrators 8
7789	7789	have been granted wide latitude to suspend or re-9
7790	7790	move local election administrators in cases where the 10
7791	7791	statewide election administrators identify whatever 11
7792	7792	the State deems to be a violation. There is no re-12
7793	7793	quirement that there be a finding of intent by the 13
7794	7794	local election administrator to commit the violation. 14
7795	7795	(12) Local election administrators across the 15
7796	7796	country can be suspended or removed according to 16
7797	7797	different standards, potentially exposing them to dif-17
7798	7798	ferent political pressures or biases that could result 18
7799	7799	in uneven administration of Federal elections. 19
7800	7800	(13) The Elections Clause grants Congress the 20
7801	7801	ultimate authority to ensure that oversight of State 21
7802	7802	and local election administrators is fair and impar-22
7803	7803	tial in order to ensure equitable and uniform admin-23
7804	7804	istration of Federal elections. 24
7805	7805	(b) R
7806	7806	ESTRICTION.— 25
7807	7807	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00254 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7808	7808	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 255
7809	7809	•S 1 IS
7810	7810	(1) STANDARD FOR REMOVAL OF A LOCAL 1
7811	7811	ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR .—A statewide election 2
7812	7812	administrator may only suspend, remove, or relieve 3
7813	7813	the duties of a local election administrator in the 4
7814	7814	State with respect to the administration of an elec-5
7815	7815	tion for Federal office for inefficiency, neglect of 6
7816	7816	duty, or malfeasance in office. 7
7817	7817	(2) P
7818	7818	RIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 8
7819	7819	(A) I
7820	7820	N GENERAL.—Any local election ad-9
7821	7821	ministrator suspended, removed, or otherwise 10
7822	7822	relieved of duties in violation of paragraph (1) 11
7823	7823	with respect to the administration of an election 12
7824	7824	for Federal office or against whom any pro-13
7825	7825	ceeding for suspension, removal, or relief from 14
7826	7826	duty in violation of paragraph (1) with respect 15
7827	7827	to the administration of an election for Federal 16
7828	7828	office may be pending, may bring an action in 17
7829	7829	an appropriate district court of the United 18
7830	7830	States for declaratory or injunctive relief with 19
7831	7831	respect to the violation. Any such action shall 20
7832	7832	name as the defendant the statewide election 21
7833	7833	administrator responsible for the adverse ac-22
7834	7834	tion. The district court shall, to the extent prac-23
7835	7835	ticable, expedite any such proceeding. 24
7836	7836	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00255 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7837	7837	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 256
7838	7838	•S 1 IS
7839	7839	(B) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS .—Any ac-1
7840	7840	tion brought under this subsection must be 2
7841	7841	commenced not later than one year after the 3
7842	7842	date of the suspension, removal, relief from du-4
7843	7843	ties, or commencement of the proceeding to re-5
7844	7844	move, suspend, or relieve the duties of a local 6
7845	7845	election administrator with respect to the ad-7
7846	7846	ministration of an election for Federal office. 8
7847	7847	(3) A
7848	7848	TTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action or pro-9
7849	7849	ceeding under this subsection, the court may allow 10
7850	7850	a prevailing plaintiff, other than the United States, 11
7851	7851	reasonable attorney’s fees as part of the costs, and 12
7852	7852	may include expert fees as part of the attorney’s fee. 13
7853	7853	The term ‘‘prevailing plaintiff’’ means a plaintiff 14
7854	7854	that substantially prevails pursuant to a judicial or 15
7855	7855	administrative judgment or order, or an enforceable 16
7856	7856	written agreement. 17
7857	7857	(4) R
7858	7858	EMOVAL OF STATE PROCEEDINGS TO FED -18
7859	7859	ERAL COURT.—A local election administrator who is 19
7860	7860	subject to an administrative or judicial proceeding 20
7861	7861	for suspension, removal, or relief from duty by a 21
7862	7862	statewide election administrator with respect to the 22
7863	7863	administration of an election for Federal office may 23
7864	7864	remove the proceeding to an appropriate district 24
7865	7865	court of the United States. Any order remanding a 25
7866	7866	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00256 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7867	7867	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 257
7868	7868	•S 1 IS
7869	7869	case to the State court or agency from which it was 1
7870	7870	removed under this subsection shall be reviewable by 2
7871	7871	appeal or otherwise. 3
7872	7872	(5) R
7873	7873	IGHT OF UNITED STATES TO INTER -4
7874	7874	VENE.— 5
7875	7875	(A) N
7876	7876	OTICE TO ATTORNEY GENERAL .— 6
7877	7877	Whenever any administrative or judicial pro-7
7878	7878	ceeding is brought to suspend, remove, or re-8
7879	7879	lieve the duties of any local election adminis-9
7880	7880	trator by a statewide election administrator 10
7881	7881	with respect to the administration of an election 11
7882	7882	for Federal office, the statewide election admin-12
7883	7883	istrator who initiated such proceeding shall de-13
7884	7884	liver a copy of the pleadings instituting the pro-14
7885	7885	ceeding to the Assistant Attorney General for 15
7886	7886	the Civil Rights Division of the Department of 16
7887	7887	Justice. The local election administrator against 17
7888	7888	whom such proceeding is brought may also de-18
7889	7889	liver such pleadings to the Assistant Attorney 19
7890	7890	General. 20
7891	7891	(B) R
7892	7892	IGHT TO INTERVENE .—The United 21
7893	7893	States may intervene in any administrative or 22
7894	7894	judicial proceeding brought to suspend, remove, 23
7895	7895	or relieve the duties of any local election admin-24
7896	7896	istrator by a statewide election administrator 25
7897	7897	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00257 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7898	7898	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 258
7899	7899	•S 1 IS
7900	7900	with respect to the administration of an election 1
7901	7901	for Federal office and in any action initiated 2
7902	7902	pursuant to paragraph (2) or in any removal 3
7903	7903	pursuant to paragraph (4). 4
7904	7904	(6) R
7905	7905	EVIEW.—In reviewing any action brought 5
7906	7906	under this section, a court of the United States shall 6
7907	7907	not afford any deference to any State official, ad-7
7908	7908	ministrator, or tribunal that initiated, approved, ad-8
7909	7909	judicated, or reviewed any administrative or judicial 9
7910	7910	proceeding to suspend, remove, or otherwise relieve 10
7911	7911	the duties of a local election administrator. 11
7912	7912	(c) R
7913	7913	EPORTS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.— 12
7914	7914	(1) I
7915	7915	N GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 13
7916	7916	the suspension, removal, or relief of the duties of a 14
7917	7917	local election administrator by a statewide election 15
7918	7918	administrator, the statewide election administrator 16
7919	7919	shall submit to the Assistant Attorney General for 17
7920	7920	the Civil Rights Divisions of the Department of Jus-18
7921	7921	tice a report that includes the following information: 19
7922	7922	(A) A statement that a local election ad-20
7923	7923	ministrator was suspended, removed, or relieved 21
7924	7924	of their duties. 22
7925	7925	(B) Information on whether the local elec-23
7926	7926	tion administrator was determined to be ineffi-24
7927	7927	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00258 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7928	7928	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 259
7929	7929	•S 1 IS
7930	7930	cient or to have engaged in neglect of duty or 1
7931	7931	malfeasance in office. 2
7932	7932	(C) A description of the effect that the 3
7933	7933	suspension, removal, or relief of the duties of 4
7934	7934	the local election administrator will have on— 5
7935	7935	(i) the administration of elections and 6
7936	7936	voters in the election jurisdictions for 7
7937	7937	which the local election official provided 8
7938	7938	such duties; and 9
7939	7939	(ii) the administration of elections and 10
7940	7940	voters in the State at large. 11
7941	7941	(D) Demographic information about the 12
7942	7942	local election official suspended, removed, or re-13
7943	7943	lieved and the jurisdictions for which such elec-14
7944	7944	tion official was providing the duties suspended, 15
7945	7945	removed, or relieved. 16
7946	7946	(E) Such other information as requested 17
7947	7947	by the Assistant Attorney General for the pur-18
7948	7948	poses of determining— 19
7949	7949	(i) whether such suspension, removal, 20
7950	7950	or relief of duties was based on unlawful 21
7951	7951	discrimination; and 22
7952	7952	(ii) whether such suspension, removal, 23
7953	7953	or relief of duties was due to inefficiency, 24
7954	7954	neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. 25
7955	7955	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00259 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7956	7956	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 260
7957	7957	•S 1 IS
7958	7958	(2) EXPEDITED REPORTING FOR ACTIONS 1
7959	7959	WITHIN 30 DAYS OF AN ELECTION .— 2
7960	7960	(A) I
7961	7961	N GENERAL.—If a suspension, re-3
7962	7962	moval, or relief of duties of a local adminis-4
7963	7963	trator described in paragraph (1) occurs during 5
7964	7964	the period described in subparagraph (B), the 6
7965	7965	report required under paragraph (1) shall be 7
7966	7966	submitted not later than 48 hours after such 8
7967	7967	suspension, removal, or relief of duties. 9
7968	7968	(B) P
7969	7969	ERIOD DESCRIBED.—The period de-10
7970	7970	scribed in this subparagraph is any period 11
7971	7971	which begins 60 days before the date of an elec-12
7972	7972	tion for Federal office and which ends 60 days 13
7973	7973	after such election. 14
7974	7974	(d) D
7975	7975	EFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-15
7976	7976	nitions apply: 16
7977	7977	(1) E
7978	7978	LECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ has the 17
7979	7979	meaning given the term in section 301(1) of the 18
7980	7980	Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 19
7981	7981	30101(1)). 20
7982	7982	(2) F
7983	7983	EDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of-21
7984	7984	fice’’ has the meaning given the term in section 22
7985	7985	301(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 23
7986	7986	1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(3)). 24
7987	7987	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00260 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
7988	7988	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 261
7989	7989	•S 1 IS
7990	7990	(3) LOCAL ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR .—The 1
7991	7991	term ‘‘local election administrator’’ means, with re-2
7992	7992	spect to a local jurisdiction in a State, the individual 3
7993	7993	or entity responsible for the administration of elec-4
7994	7994	tions for Federal office in the local jurisdiction. 5
7995	7995	(4) S
7996	7996	TATEWIDE ELECTION ADMINISTRATOR .— 6
7997	7997	The term ‘‘statewide election administrator’’ means, 7
7998	7998	with respect to a State— 8
7999	7999	(A) the individual or entity, including a 9
8000	8000	State elections board, responsible for the ad-10
8001	8001	ministration of elections for Federal office in 11
8002	8002	the State on a statewide basis; or 12
8003	8003	(B) a statewide legislative or executive en-13
8004	8004	tity with the authority to suspend, remove, or 14
8005	8005	relieve a local election administrator. 15
8006	8006	(e) R
8007	8007	ULE OFCONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec-16
8008	8008	tion shall be construed to grant any additional authority 17
8009	8009	to remove a local elections administrator beyond any au-18
8010	8010	thority provided under the law of the State. 19
8011	8011	Subtitle B—Increased Protections 20
8012	8012	for Election Workers 21
8013	8013	SEC. 3101. HARASSMENT OF ELECTION WORKERS PROHIB-22
8014	8014	ITED. 23
8015	8015	(a) I
8016	8016	NGENERAL.—Section 594 of title 18, United 6 24
8017	8017	States Code, is amended— 25
8018	8018	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00261 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8019	8019	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 262
8020	8020	•S 1 IS
8021	8021	(1) by striking ‘‘Whoever intimidates’’ and in-1
8022	8022	serting the following: 2
8023	8023	‘‘(a) I
8024	8024	NGENERAL.—Whoever intimidates’’; and 3
8025	8025	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-4
8026	8026	section: 5
8027	8027	‘‘(b) I
8028	8028	NTIMIDATION OFELECTIONWORKERS.— 6
8029	8029	‘‘(1) I
8030	8030	N GENERAL .—Whoever intimidates, 7
8031	8031	threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threat-8
8032	8032	en, coerce, any election worker with intent to im-9
8033	8033	pede, intimidate, or interfere with such election 10
8034	8034	worker while engaged in the performance of official 11
8035	8035	duties, or with intent to retaliate against such elec-12
8036	8036	tion worker on account of the performance of official 13
8037	8037	duties shall be fined under this title or imprisoned 14
8038	8038	not more than one year, or both 15
8039	8039	‘‘(2) E
8040	8040	LECTION WORKER .—For purposes of 16
8041	8041	paragraph (1), the term ‘election worker’ means any 17
8042	8042	individual who is an election official, poll worker, or 18
8043	8043	an election volunteer in connection with an election 19
8044	8044	for a Federal office.’’. 20
8045	8045	(b) C
8046	8046	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 21
8047	8047	(1) The heading of section 594 of title 18, 22
8048	8048	United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and 23
8049	8049	election workers’’ after ‘‘voters’’. 24
8050	8050	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00262 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8051	8051	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 263
8052	8052	•S 1 IS
8053	8053	(2) The item relating to section 594 in the table 1
8054	8054	of sections for chapter 29 of title 18, United States 2
8055	8055	Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘and election work-3
8056	8056	ers’’ after ‘‘voters’’. 4
8057	8057	SEC. 3102. PROTECTION OF ELECTION WORKERS. 5
8058	8058	(a) I
8059	8059	NGENERAL.—Section 594(b) of title 18, United 6
8060	8060	States Code, as amended by section 3101, is amended— 7
8061	8061	(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-8
8062	8062	graph (3); and 9
8063	8063	(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-10
8064	8064	lowing new paragraph: 11
8065	8065	‘‘(2) P
8066	8066	ROHIBITION ON PUBLICATION OF PER -12
8067	8067	SONAL INFORMATION .—Whoever knowingly makes 13
8068	8068	restricted personal information about an election 14
8069	8069	worker, or a member of the immediate family of that 15
8070	8070	election worker, publicly available in connection with 16
8071	8071	such election worker’s official duties— 17
8072	8072	‘‘(A) with the intent to threaten, intimi-18
8073	8073	date, or incite the commission of a crime of vio-19
8074	8074	lence against that election worker, or a member 20
8075	8075	of the immediate family of that election worker; 21
8076	8076	or 22
8077	8077	‘‘(B) with the intent and knowledge that 23
8078	8078	the restricted personal information will be used 24
8079	8079	to threaten, intimidate, or facilitate the com-25
8080	8080	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00263 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8081	8081	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 264
8082	8082	•S 1 IS
8083	8083	mission of a crime of violence against that elec-1
8084	8084	tion worker, or a member of the immediate 2
8085	8085	family of that election worker, 3
8086	8086	shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 4
8087	8087	than 1 year, or both.’’. 5
8088	8088	(b) D
8089	8089	EFINITIONS.—Paragraph (3) of section 594(b) 6
8090	8090	of title 18, United States Code, as amended by section 7
8091	8091	3101 and redesignated by subsection (a), is amended— 8
8092	8092	(1) by striking all that precedes ‘‘term’’ and in-9
8093	8093	serting the following: 10
8094	8094	‘‘(3) D
8095	8095	EFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub-11
8096	8096	section— 12
8097	8097	‘‘(A) E
8098	8098	LECTION WORKER.—The’’; and 13
8099	8099	(2) by adding at the end the following: 14
8100	8100	‘‘(B) O
8101	8101	THER TERMS.—The terms ‘re-15
8102	8102	stricted personal information’, ‘crime of vio-16
8103	8103	lence’, and ‘immediate family’ have the respec-17
8104	8104	tive meanings given such terms under section 18
8105	8105	119.’’. 19
8106	8106	Subtitle C—Prohibiting Deceptive 20
8107	8107	Practices and Preventing Voter 21
8108	8108	Intimidation 22
8109	8109	SEC. 3201. SHORT TITLE. 23
8110	8110	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Deceptive Prac-24
8111	8111	tices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2023’’. 25
8112	8112	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00264 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8113	8113	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 265
8114	8114	•S 1 IS
8115	8115	SEC. 3202. PROHIBITION ON DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN 1
8116	8116	FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 2
8117	8117	(a) P
8118	8118	ROHIBITION.—Subsection (b) of section 2004 of 3
8119	8119	the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)) is amended— 4
8120	8120	(1) by striking ‘‘No person’’ and inserting the 5
8121	8121	following: 6
8122	8122	‘‘(1) I
8123	8123	N GENERAL.—No person’’; and 7
8124	8124	(2) by inserting at the end the following new 8
8125	8125	paragraphs: 9
8126	8126	‘‘(2) F
8127	8127	ALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL 10
8128	8128	ELECTIONS.— 11
8129	8129	‘‘(A) P
8130	8130	ROHIBITION.—No person, whether 12
8131	8131	acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 13
8132	8132	within 60 days before an election described in 14
8133	8133	paragraph (5), by any means, including by 15
8134	8134	means of written, electronic, or telephonic com-16
8135	8135	munications, communicate or cause to be com-17
8136	8136	municated information described in subpara-18
8137	8137	graph (B), or produce information described in 19
8138	8138	subparagraph (B) with the intent that such in-20
8139	8139	formation be communicated, if such person— 21
8140	8140	‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma-22
8141	8141	terially false; and 23
8142	8142	‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre-24
8143	8143	vent another person from exercising the 25
8144	8144	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00265 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8145	8145	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 266
8146	8146	•S 1 IS
8147	8147	right to vote in an election described in 1
8148	8148	paragraph (5). 2
8149	8149	‘‘(B) I
8150	8150	NFORMATION DESCRIBED .—Infor-3
8151	8151	mation is described in this subparagraph if such 4
8152	8152	information is regarding— 5
8153	8153	‘‘(i) the time, place, or manner of 6
8154	8154	holding any election described in para-7
8155	8155	graph (5); or 8
8156	8156	‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric-9
8157	8157	tions on voter eligibility for any such elec-10
8158	8158	tion, including— 11
8159	8159	‘‘(I) any criminal, civil, or other 12
8160	8160	legal penalties associated with voting 13
8161	8161	in any such election; or 14
8162	8162	‘‘(II) information regarding a 15
8163	8163	voter’s registration status or eligi-16
8164	8164	bility. 17
8165	8165	‘‘(3) F
8166	8166	ALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING PUBLIC 18
8167	8167	ENDORSEMENTS.— 19
8168	8168	‘‘(A) P
8169	8169	ROHIBITION.—No person, whether 20
8170	8170	acting under color of law or otherwise, shall, 21
8171	8171	within 60 days before an election described in 22
8172	8172	paragraph (5), by any means, including by 23
8173	8173	means of written, electronic, or telephonic com-24
8174	8174	munications, communicate, or cause to be com-25
8175	8175	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00266 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8176	8176	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 267
8177	8177	•S 1 IS
8178	8178	municated, a materially false statement about 1
8179	8179	an endorsement, if such person— 2
8180	8180	‘‘(i) knows such statement to be false; 3
8181	8181	and 4
8182	8182	‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre-5
8183	8183	vent another person from exercising the 6
8184	8184	right to vote in an election described in 7
8185	8185	paragraph (5). 8
8186	8186	‘‘(B) D
8187	8187	EFINITION OF ‘MATERIALLY 9
8188	8188	FALSE’.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 10
8189	8189	statement about an endorsement is ‘materially 11
8190	8190	false’ if, with respect to an upcoming election 12
8191	8191	described in paragraph (5)— 13
8192	8192	‘‘(i) the statement states that a spe-14
8193	8193	cifically named person, political party, or 15
8194	8194	organization has endorsed the election of a 16
8195	8195	specific candidate for a Federal office de-17
8196	8196	scribed in such paragraph; and 18
8197	8197	‘‘(ii) such person, political party, or 19
8198	8198	organization has not endorsed the election 20
8199	8199	of such candidate. 21
8200	8200	‘‘(4) H
8201	8201	INDERING, INTERFERING WITH, OR PRE-22
8202	8202	VENTING VOTING OR REGISTERING TO VOTE .—No 23
8203	8203	person, whether acting under color of law or other-24
8204	8204	wise, shall intentionally hinder, interfere with, or 25
8205	8205	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00267 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8206	8206	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 268
8207	8207	•S 1 IS
8208	8208	prevent another person from voting, registering to 1
8209	8209	vote, or aiding another person to vote or register to 2
8210	8210	vote in an election described in paragraph (5), in-3
8211	8211	cluding by operating a polling place or ballot box 4
8212	8212	that falsely purports to be an official location estab-5
8213	8213	lished for such an election by a unit of government. 6
8214	8214	‘‘(5) E
8215	8215	LECTION DESCRIBED .—An election de-7
8216	8216	scribed in this paragraph is any general, primary, 8
8217	8217	runoff, or special election held solely or in part for 9
8218	8218	the purpose of nominating or electing a candidate 10
8219	8219	for the office of President, Vice President, Presi-11
8220	8220	dential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of 12
8221	8221	the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Com-13
8222	8222	missioner from a Territory or possession.’’. 14
8223	8223	(b) P
8224	8224	RIVATERIGHT OFACTION.— 15
8225	8225	(1) I
8226	8226	N GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 16
8227	8227	2004 of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(c)) 17
8228	8228	is amended— 18
8229	8229	(A) by striking ‘‘Whenever any person’’ 19
8230	8230	and inserting the following: 20
8231	8231	‘‘(1) I
8232	8232	N GENERAL.—Whenever any person’’; and 21
8233	8233	(B) by adding at the end the following new 22
8234	8234	paragraph: 23
8235	8235	‘‘(2) C
8236	8236	IVIL ACTION.—Any person aggrieved by a 24
8237	8237	violation of this section may institute a civil action 25
8238	8238	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00268 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8239	8239	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 269
8240	8240	•S 1 IS
8241	8241	for preventive relief, including an application in a 1
8242	8242	United States district court for a permanent or tem-2
8243	8243	porary injunction, restraining order, or other order. 3
8244	8244	In any such action, the court, in its discretion, may 4
8245	8245	allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney’s fee 5
8246	8246	as part of the costs.’’. 6
8247	8247	(2) C
8248	8248	ONFORMING AMENDMENTS .—Section 2004 7
8249	8249	of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101) is 8
8250	8250	amended— 9
8251	8251	(A) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘sub-10
8252	8252	section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’; 11
8253	8253	and 12
8254	8254	(B) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘sub-13
8255	8255	section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(1)’’. 14
8256	8256	(c) C
8257	8257	RIMINALPENALTIES.— 15
8258	8258	(1) D
8259	8259	ECEPTIVE ACTS.—Section 594 of title 18, 16
8260	8260	United States Code, as amended by sections 3101 17
8261	8261	and 3102, is amended— 18
8262	8262	(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘at any 19
8263	8263	election’’ and inserting ‘‘at any general, pri-20
8264	8264	mary, runoff, or special election’’; and 21
8265	8265	(B) by adding at the end the following new 22
8266	8266	subsections: 23
8267	8267	‘‘(c) D
8268	8268	ECEPTIVEACTS.— 24
8269	8269	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00269 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8270	8270	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 270
8271	8271	•S 1 IS
8272	8272	‘‘(1) FALSE STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERAL 1
8273	8273	ELECTIONS.— 2
8274	8274	‘‘(A) P
8275	8275	ROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 3
8276	8276	for any person, whether acting under color of 4
8277	8277	law or otherwise, within 60 days before an elec-5
8278	8278	tion described in subsection (f), by any means, 6
8279	8279	including by means of written, electronic, or tel-7
8280	8280	ephonic communications, to communicate or 8
8281	8281	cause to be communicated information de-9
8282	8282	scribed in subparagraph (B), or produce infor-10
8283	8283	mation described in subparagraph (B) with the 11
8284	8284	intent that such information be communicated, 12
8285	8285	if such person— 13
8286	8286	‘‘(i) knows such information to be ma-14
8287	8287	terially false; and 15
8288	8288	‘‘(ii) has the intent to impede or pre-16
8289	8289	vent another person from exercising the 17
8290	8290	right to vote in an election described in 18
8291	8291	subsection (f). 19
8292	8292	‘‘(B) I
8293	8293	NFORMATION DESCRIBED .—Infor-20
8294	8294	mation is described in this subparagraph if such 21
8295	8295	information is regarding— 22
8296	8296	‘‘(i) the time or place of holding any 23
8297	8297	election described in subsection (e); or 24
8298	8298	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00270 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8299	8299	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 271
8300	8300	•S 1 IS
8301	8301	‘‘(ii) the qualifications for or restric-1
8302	8302	tions on voter eligibility for any such elec-2
8303	8303	tion, including— 3
8304	8304	‘‘(I) any criminal, civil, or other 4
8305	8305	legal penalties associated with voting 5
8306	8306	in any such election; or 6
8307	8307	‘‘(II) information regarding a 7
8308	8308	voter’s registration status or eligi-8
8309	8309	bility. 9
8310	8310	‘‘(2) P
8311	8311	ENALTY.—Any person who violates para-10
8312	8312	graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 11
8313	8313	imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 12
8314	8314	‘‘(d) H
8315	8315	INDERING, INTERFERING WITH, ORPRE-13
8316	8316	VENTINGVOTING ORREGISTERINGTOVOTE.— 14
8317	8317	‘‘(1) P
8318	8318	ROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful for 15
8319	8319	any person, whether acting under color of law or 16
8320	8320	otherwise, to corruptly hinder, interfere with, or pre-17
8321	8321	vent another person from voting, registering to vote, 18
8322	8322	or aiding another person to vote or register to vote 19
8323	8323	in an election described in subsection (f). 20
8324	8324	‘‘(2) P
8325	8325	ENALTY.—Any person who violates para-21
8326	8326	graph (1) shall be fined not more than $100,000, 22
8327	8327	imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both. 23
8328	8328	‘‘(e) A
8329	8329	TTEMPT.—Any person who attempts to commit 24
8330	8330	any offense described in subsection (c)(1) or (d)(1) shall 25
8331	8331	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00271 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8332	8332	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 272
8333	8333	•S 1 IS
8334	8334	be subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for 1
8335	8335	the offense that the person attempted to commit. 2
8336	8336	‘‘(f) E
8337	8337	LECTIONDESCRIBED.—An election described 3
8338	8338	in this subsection is any general, primary, runoff, or spe-4
8339	8339	cial election held solely or in part for the purpose of nomi-5
8340	8340	nating or electing a candidate for the office of President, 6
8341	8341	Vice President, Presidential elector, Senator, Member of 7
8342	8342	the House of Representatives, or Delegate or Resident 8
8343	8343	Commissioner to the Congress.’’. 9
8344	8344	(2) M
8345	8345	ODIFICATIONS TO PENALTY FOR VOTER 10
8346	8346	AND ELECTION WORKER INTIMIDATION .—Section 11
8347	8347	594(a) of title 18, United States Code, as amended 12
8348	8348	by this Act, is amended by striking ‘‘fined under this 13
8349	8349	title or imprisoned not more than one year’’ and in-14
8350	8350	serting ‘‘fined not more than $100,000, imprisoned 15
8351	8351	for not more than 5 years’’. 16
8352	8352	(3) S
8353	8353	ENTENCING GUIDELINES .— 17
8354	8354	(A) R
8355	8355	EVIEW AND AMENDMENT .—Not later 18
8356	8356	than 180 days after the date of enactment of 19
8357	8357	this Act, the United States Sentencing Commis-20
8358	8358	sion, pursuant to its authority under section 21
8359	8359	994 of title 28, United States Code, and in ac-22
8360	8360	cordance with this section, shall review and, if 23
8361	8361	appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing 24
8362	8362	guidelines and policy statements applicable to 25
8363	8363	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00272 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8364	8364	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 273
8365	8365	•S 1 IS
8366	8366	persons convicted of any offense under section 1
8367	8367	594 of title 18, United States Code, as amend-2
8368	8368	ed by this section. 3
8369	8369	(B) A
8370	8370	UTHORIZATION.—The United States 4
8371	8371	Sentencing Commission may amend the Federal 5
8372	8372	Sentencing Guidelines in accordance with the 6
8373	8373	procedures set forth in section 21(a) of the Sen-7
8374	8374	tencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 note) as 8
8375	8375	though the authority under that section had not 9
8376	8376	expired. 10
8377	8377	(4) P
8378	8378	AYMENTS FOR REFRAINING FROM VOT -11
8379	8379	ING.—Subsection (c) of section 11 of the Voting 12
8380	8380	Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10307) is amended 13
8381	8381	by striking ‘‘either for registration to vote or for vot-14
8382	8382	ing’’ and inserting ‘‘for registration to vote, for vot-15
8383	8383	ing, or for not voting’’. 16
8384	8384	SEC. 3203. CORRECTIVE ACTION. 17
8385	8385	(a) C
8386	8386	ORRECTIVEACTION.— 18
8387	8387	(1) I
8388	8388	N GENERAL.—If the Attorney General re-19
8389	8389	ceives a credible report that materially false informa-20
8390	8390	tion has been or is being communicated in violation 21
8391	8391	of paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 2004(b) of the 22
8392	8392	Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by 23
8393	8393	section 3202(a), and if the Attorney General deter-24
8394	8394	mines that State and local election officials have not 25
8395	8395	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00273 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8397	8397	•S 1 IS
8398	8398	taken adequate steps to promptly communicate accu-1
8399	8399	rate information to correct the materially false infor-2
8400	8400	mation, the Attorney General shall, pursuant to the 3
8401	8401	written procedures and standards under subsection 4
8402	8402	(b), communicate to the public, by any means, in-5
8403	8403	cluding by means of written, electronic, or telephonic 6
8404	8404	communications, accurate information designed to 7
8405	8405	correct the materially false information. 8
8406	8406	(2) C
8407	8407	OMMUNICATION OF CORRECTIVE INFORMA -9
8408	8408	TION.—Any information communicated by the Attor-10
8409	8409	ney General under paragraph (1)— 11
8410	8410	(A) shall— 12
8411	8411	(i) be accurate and objective; 13
8412	8412	(ii) consist of only the information 14
8413	8413	necessary to correct the materially false in-15
8414	8414	formation that has been or is being com-16
8415	8415	municated; and 17
8416	8416	(iii) to the extent practicable, be by a 18
8417	8417	means that the Attorney General deter-19
8418	8418	mines will reach the persons to whom the 20
8419	8419	materially false information has been or is 21
8420	8420	being communicated; and 22
8421	8421	(B) shall not be designed to favor or dis-23
8422	8422	favor any particular candidate, organization, or 24
8423	8423	political party. 25
8424	8424	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00274 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8426	8426	•S 1 IS
8427	8427	(b) WRITTENPROCEDURES AND STANDARDS FOR 1
8428	8428	T
8429	8429	AKINGCORRECTIVEACTION.— 2
8430	8430	(1) I
8431	8431	N GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 3
8432	8432	after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 4
8433	8433	General shall publish written procedures and stand-5
8434	8434	ards for determining when and how corrective action 6
8435	8435	will be taken under this section. 7
8436	8436	(2) I
8437	8437	NCLUSION OF APPROPRIATE DEADLINES .— 8
8438	8438	The procedures and standards under paragraph (1) 9
8439	8439	shall include appropriate deadlines, based in part on 10
8440	8440	the number of days remaining before the upcoming 11
8441	8441	election. 12
8442	8442	(3) C
8443	8443	ONSULTATION.—In developing the proce-13
8444	8444	dures and standards under paragraph (1), the Attor-14
8445	8445	ney General shall consult with the Election Assist-15
8446	8446	ance Commission, State and local election officials, 16
8447	8447	civil rights organizations, voting rights groups, voter 17
8448	8448	protection groups, and other interested community 18
8449	8449	organizations. 19
8450	8450	(c) A
8451	8451	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 20
8452	8452	are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 21
8453	8453	such sums as may be necessary to carry out this subtitle. 22
8454	8454	SEC. 3204. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 23
8455	8455	(a) I
8456	8456	NGENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 24
8457	8457	each general election for Federal office, the Attorney Gen-25
8458	8458	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00275 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8460	8460	•S 1 IS
8461	8461	eral shall submit to Congress a report compiling all allega-1
8462	8462	tions received by the Attorney General of deceptive prac-2
8463	8463	tices described in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 3
8464	8464	2004(b) of the Revised Statutes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as 4
8465	8465	added by section 3202(a), relating to the general election 5
8466	8466	for Federal office and any primary, runoff, or a special 6
8467	8467	election for Federal office held in the 2 years preceding 7
8468	8468	the general election. 8
8469	8469	(b) C
8470	8470	ONTENTS.— 9
8471	8471	(1) I
8472	8472	N GENERAL.—Each report submitted 10
8473	8473	under subsection (a) shall include— 11
8474	8474	(A) a description of each allegation of a 12
8475	8475	deceptive practice described in subsection (a), 13
8476	8476	including the geographic location, racial and 14
8477	8477	ethnic composition, and language minority- 15
8478	8478	group membership of the persons toward whom 16
8479	8479	the alleged deceptive practice was directed; 17
8480	8480	(B) the status of the investigation of each 18
8481	8481	allegation described in subparagraph (A); 19
8482	8482	(C) a description of each corrective action 20
8483	8483	taken by the Attorney General under section 21
8484	8484	3203(a) in response to an allegation described 22
8485	8485	in subparagraph (A); 23
8486	8486	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00276 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8488	8488	•S 1 IS
8489	8489	(D) a description of each referral of an al-1
8490	8490	legation described in subparagraph (A) to other 2
8491	8491	Federal, State, or local agencies; 3
8492	8492	(E) to the extent information is available, 4
8493	8493	a description of any civil action instituted under 5
8494	8494	section 2004(c)(2) of the Revised Statutes (52 6
8495	8495	U.S.C. 10101(c)(2)), as added by section 7
8496	8496	3202(b), in connection with an allegation de-8
8497	8497	scribed in subparagraph (A); and 9
8498	8498	(F) a description of any criminal prosecu-10
8499	8499	tion instituted under subsection (c) or (d) of 11
8500	8500	section 594 of title 18, United States Code, as 12
8501	8501	amended by section 3202(c), in connection with 13
8502	8502	the receipt of an allegation described in sub-14
8503	8503	paragraph (A) by the Attorney General. 15
8504	8504	(2) E
8505	8505	XCLUSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION .— 16
8506	8506	(A) I
8507	8507	N GENERAL.—The Attorney General 17
8508	8508	shall not include in a report submitted under 18
8509	8509	subsection (a) any information protected from 19
8510	8510	disclosure by rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of 20
8511	8511	Criminal Procedure or any Federal criminal 21
8512	8512	statute. 22
8513	8513	(B) E
8514	8514	XCLUSION OF CERTAIN OTHER IN -23
8515	8515	FORMATION.—The Attorney General may deter-24
8516	8516	mine that the following information shall not be 25
8517	8517	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00277 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8519	8519	•S 1 IS
8520	8520	included in a report submitted under subsection 1
8521	8521	(a): 2
8522	8522	(i) Any information that is privileged. 3
8523	8523	(ii) Any information concerning an 4
8524	8524	ongoing investigation. 5
8525	8525	(iii) Any information concerning a 6
8526	8526	criminal or civil proceeding conducted 7
8527	8527	under seal. 8
8528	8528	(iv) Any other nonpublic information 9
8529	8529	that the Attorney General determines the 10
8530	8530	disclosure of which could reasonably be ex-11
8531	8531	pected to infringe on the rights of any in-12
8532	8532	dividual or adversely affect the integrity of 13
8533	8533	a pending or future criminal investigation. 14
8534	8534	(c) R
8535	8535	EPORTMADEPUBLIC.—On the date that the 15
8536	8536	Attorney General submits the report under subsection (a), 16
8537	8537	the Attorney General shall also make the report publicly 17
8538	8538	available through the internet and other appropriate 18
8539	8539	means. 19
8540	8540	SEC. 3205. PRIVATE RIGHTS OF ACTION BY ELECTION OFFI-20
8541	8541	CIALS. 21
8542	8542	Subsection (c)(2) of section 2004 of the Revised Stat-22
8543	8543	utes (52 U.S.C. 10101(b)), as added by section 3202(b), 23
8544	8544	is amended— 24
8545	8545	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00278 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8546	8546	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 279
8547	8547	•S 1 IS
8548	8548	(1) by striking ‘‘Any person’’ and inserting the 1
8549	8549	following: 2
8550	8550	‘‘(A) I
8551	8551	N GENERAL.—Any person’’; and 3
8552	8552	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-4
8553	8553	paragraph: 5
8554	8554	‘‘(B) I
8555	8555	NTIMIDATION, ETC.— 6
8556	8556	‘‘(i) I
8557	8557	N GENERAL.—A person ag-7
8558	8558	grieved by a violation of subsection (b)(1) 8
8559	8559	shall include, without limitation, an officer 9
8560	8560	responsible for maintaining order and pre-10
8561	8561	venting intimidation, threats, or coercion 11
8562	8562	in or around a location at which voters 12
8563	8563	may cast their votes. 13
8564	8564	‘‘(ii) C
8565	8565	ORRECTIVE ACTION.—If the At-14
8566	8566	torney General receives a credible report 15
8567	8567	that conduct that violates or would be rea-16
8568	8568	sonably likely to violate subsection (b)(1) 17
8569	8569	has occurred or is likely to occur, and if 18
8570	8570	the Attorney General determines that 19
8571	8571	State and local officials have not taken 20
8572	8572	adequate steps to promptly communicate 21
8573	8573	that such conduct would violate subsection 22
8574	8574	(b)(1) or applicable State or local laws, the 23
8575	8575	Attorney General shall communicate to the 24
8576	8576	public, by any means, including by means 25
8577	8577	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00279 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8578	8578	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 280
8579	8579	•S 1 IS
8580	8580	of written, electronic, or telephonic commu-1
8581	8581	nications, accurate information designed to 2
8582	8582	convey the unlawfulness of proscribed con-3
8583	8583	duct under subsection (b)(1) and the re-4
8584	8584	sponsibilities of and resources available to 5
8585	8585	State and local officials to prevent or cor-6
8586	8586	rect such violations.’’. 7
8587	8587	SEC. 3206. MAKING INTIMIDATION OF TABULATION, CAN-8
8588	8588	VASS, AND CERTIFICATION EFFORTS A 9
8589	8589	CRIME. 10
8590	8590	Section 12(1) of the National Voter Registration Act 11
8591	8591	(52 U.S.C. 20511) is amended— 12
8592	8592	(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 13
8593	8593	the end; and 14
8594	8594	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-15
8595	8595	paragraph: 16
8596	8596	‘‘(D) processing or scanning ballots, or 17
8597	8597	tabulating, canvassing, or certifying voting re-18
8598	8598	sults; or’’. 19
8599	8599	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00280 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8601	8601	•S 1 IS
8602	8602	Subtitle D—Protection of Election 1
8603	8603	Records and Election Infra-2
8604	8604	structure 3
8605	8605	SEC. 3301. STRENGTHEN PROTECTIONS FOR FEDERAL 4
8606	8606	ELECTION RECORDS. 5
8607	8607	(a) F
8608	8608	INDING OFCONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.— 6
8609	8609	Congress finds as follows: 7
8610	8610	(1) Congress has explicit and broad authority to 8
8611	8611	regulate the time, place, and manner of Federal elec-9
8612	8612	tions under the Elections Clause under article I, sec-10
8613	8613	tion 4, clause 1 of the Constitution, including by es-11
8614	8614	tablishing standards for the fair, impartial, and uni-12
8615	8615	form administration of Federal elections by State 13
8616	8616	and local officials. 14
8617	8617	(2) The Elections Clause grants Congress ‘‘ple-15
8618	8618	nary and paramount jurisdiction over the whole sub-16
8619	8619	ject’’ of Federal elections, Ex parte Siebold, 100 17
8620	8620	U.S. 371, 388 (1879), allowing Congress to imple-18
8621	8621	ment ‘‘a complete code for congressional elections’’. 19
8622	8622	Smiley v. Holm, 285 U.S. 355, 366 (1932). 20
8623	8623	(3) The fair and impartial administration of 21
8624	8624	Federal elections by State and local officials is cen-22
8625	8625	tral to ‘‘the successful working of this government’’, 23
8626	8626	Ex parte Yarbrough, 110 U.S. 651, 666 (1884), and 24
8627	8627	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00281 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8629	8629	•S 1 IS
8630	8630	to ‘‘protect the act of voting . . . and the election 1
8631	8631	itself from corruption or fraud’’, id. at 661–62. 2
8632	8632	(4) The Elections Clause thus grants Congress 3
8633	8633	the authority to strengthen the protections for Fed-4
8634	8634	eral election records. 5
8635	8635	(5) Congress has intervened in the electoral 6
8636	8636	process to protect the health and legitimacy of fed-7
8637	8637	eral elections, including for example, Congress’ en-8
8638	8638	actment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 as 9
8639	8639	a response to several issues that occurred during the 10
8640	8640	2000 Presidential election. See ‘‘The Elections 11
8641	8641	Clause: Constitutional Interpretation and Congres-12
8642	8642	sional Exercise’’, Hearing Before Comm. on House 13
8643	8643	Administration, 117th Cong. (2021), written testi-14
8644	8644	mony of Vice Dean Franita Tolson at 3. 15
8645	8645	(b) S
8646	8646	TRENGTHENING OF PROTECTIONS.—Section 16
8647	8647	301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701) 17
8648	8648	is amended— 18
8649	8649	(1) by striking ‘‘Every officer’’ and inserting 19
8650	8650	the following: 20
8651	8651	‘‘(a) I
8652	8652	NGENERAL.—Every officer’’; 21
8653	8653	(2) by striking ‘‘records and papers’’ and in-22
8654	8654	serting ‘‘records (including electronic records), pa-23
8655	8655	pers, and election equipment’’ each place the term 24
8656	8656	appears; 25
8657	8657	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00282 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8659	8659	•S 1 IS
8660	8660	(3) by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ and inserting 1
8661	8661	‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or elec-2
8662	8662	tion equipment’’; 3
8663	8663	(4) by inserting ‘‘(but only under the direct ad-4
8664	8664	ministrative supervision of an election officer). Not-5
8665	8665	withstanding any other provision of this section, the 6
8666	8666	paper record of a voter’s cast ballot shall remain the 7
8667	8667	official record of the cast ballot for purposes of this 8
8668	8668	title’’ after ‘‘upon such custodian’’; 9
8669	8669	(5) by inserting ‘‘, or acts in reckless disregard 10
8670	8670	of,’’ after ‘‘fails to comply with’’; and 11
8671	8671	(6) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol-12
8672	8672	lowing: 13
8673	8673	‘‘(b) E
8674	8674	LECTIONEQUIPMENT.—The requirement in 14
8675	8675	subsection (a) to preserve election equipment shall not be 15
8676	8676	construed to prevent the reuse of such equipment in any 16
8677	8677	election that takes place within twenty-two months of a 17
8678	8678	Federal election described in subsection (a), provided that 18
8679	8679	all electronic records, files, and data from such equipment 19
8680	8680	related to such Federal election are retained and pre-20
8681	8681	served. 21
8682	8682	‘‘(c) G
8683	8683	UIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year after the 22
8684	8684	date of enactment of this subsection, the Director of the 23
8685	8685	Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the 24
8686	8686	Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with 25
8687	8687	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00283 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8689	8689	•S 1 IS
8690	8690	the Election Assistance Commission and the Attorney 1
8691	8691	General, shall issue guidance regarding compliance with 2
8692	8692	subsections (a) and (b), including minimum standards and 3
8693	8693	best practices for retaining and preserving records and pa-4
8694	8694	pers in compliance with subsection (a). Such guidance 5
8695	8695	shall also include protocols for enabling the observation 6
8696	8696	of the preservation, security, and transfer of records and 7
8697	8697	papers described in subsection (a) by the Attorney General 8
8698	8698	and by a representative of each party, as defined by the 9
8699	8699	Attorney General.’’. 10
8700	8700	(c) P
8701	8701	ROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OFPAPERBAL-11
8702	8702	LOTS INFEDERALELECTIONS.— 12
8703	8703	(1) P
8704	8704	ROTOCOLS AND CONDITIONS FOR INSPEC -13
8705	8705	TION OF BALLOTS.—Not later than 60 days after 14
8706	8706	the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 15
8707	8707	General, in consultation with the Director of the Cy-16
8708	8708	bersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of 17
8709	8709	the Department of Homeland Security and the Elec-18
8710	8710	tion Assistance Commission, shall promulgate regu-19
8711	8711	lations establishing the election security protocols 20
8712	8712	and conditions, including appropriate chain of cus-21
8713	8713	tody and proper preservation practices, which will 22
8714	8714	apply to the inspection of the paper ballots which 23
8715	8715	are required to be retained and preserved under sec-24
8716	8716	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00284 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8717	8717	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 285
8718	8718	•S 1 IS
8719	8719	tion 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 1
8720	8720	20701). 2
8721	8721	(2) C
8722	8722	AUSE OF ACTION FOR INJUNCTIVE AND 3
8723	8723	DECLARATORY RELIEF .—The Attorney General may 4
8724	8724	bring an action in an appropriate district court of 5
8725	8725	the United States for such declaratory or injunctive 6
8726	8726	relief as may be necessary to ensure compliance with 7
8727	8727	the regulations promulgated under subsection (a). 8
8728	8728	SEC. 3302. PENALTIES; INSPECTION; NONDISCLOSURE; JU-9
8729	8729	RISDICTION. 10
8730	8730	(a) E
8731	8731	XPANSION OFSCOPE OFPENALTIES FORIN-11
8732	8732	TERFERENCE.—Section 302 of the Civil Rights Act of 12
8733	8733	1960 (52 U.S.C. 20702) is amended— 13
8734	8734	(1) by inserting ‘‘, or whose reckless disregard 14
8735	8735	of section 301 results in the theft, destruction, con-15
8736	8736	cealment, mutilation, or alteration of,’’ after ‘‘or al-16
8737	8737	ters’’; and 17
8738	8738	(2) by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ and inserting 18
8739	8739	‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or elec-19
8740	8740	tion equipment’’. 20
8741	8741	(b) I
8742	8742	NSPECTION, REPRODUCTION, ANDCOPYING.— 21
8743	8743	Section 303 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20703) is amended 22
8744	8744	by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ each place it appears and 23
8745	8745	inserting ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or 24
8746	8746	election equipment’’. 25
8747	8747	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00285 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8749	8749	•S 1 IS
8750	8750	(c) NONDISCLOSURE.—Section 304 of such Act (52 1
8751	8751	U.S.C. 20704) is amended by striking ‘‘record or paper’’ 2
8752	8752	and inserting ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, 3
8753	8753	or election equipment’’. 4
8754	8754	(d) J
8755	8755	URISDICTIONTOCOMPELPRODUCTION.—Sec-5
8756	8756	tion 305 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20705) is amended by 6
8757	8757	striking ‘‘record or paper’’ each place it appears and in-7
8758	8758	serting ‘‘record (including electronic record), paper, or 8
8759	8759	election equipment’’. 9
8760	8760	SEC. 3303. JUDICIAL REVIEW TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE. 10
8761	8761	Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 11
8762	8762	20701 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-12
8763	8763	lowing: 13
8764	8764	‘‘SEC. 307. JUDICIAL REVIEW TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE. 14
8765	8765	‘‘(a) C
8766	8766	AUSE OFACTION.—The Attorney General, a 15
8767	8767	representative of the Attorney General, or a candidate in 16
8768	8768	a Federal election described in section 301 may bring an 17
8769	8769	action in the district court of the United States for the 18
8770	8770	judicial district in which a record or paper is located, or 19
8771	8771	in the United States District Court for the District of Co-20
8772	8772	lumbia, to compel compliance with the requirements of 21
8773	8773	section 301. 22
8774	8774	‘‘(b) D
8775	8775	UTYTOEXPEDITE.—It shall be the duty of 23
8776	8776	the court to advance on the docket, and to expedite to 24
8777	8777	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00286 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8778	8778	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 287
8779	8779	•S 1 IS
8780	8780	the greatest possible extent the disposition of, the action 1
8781	8781	and any appeal under this section.’’. 2
8782	8782	Subtitle E—Judicial Protection of 3
8783	8783	the Right To Vote and Non-Par-4
8784	8784	tisan Vote Tabulation 5
8785	8785	PART 1—RIGHT TO VOTE ACT 6
8786	8786	SEC. 3401. SHORT TITLE. 7
8787	8787	This part may be cited as the ‘‘Right to Vote Act’’. 8
8788	8788	SEC. 3402. UNDUE BURDENS ON THE ABILITY TO VOTE IN 9
8789	8789	ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE PROHIB-10
8790	8790	ITED. 11
8791	8791	(a) I
8792	8792	NGENERAL.—Every citizen of legal voting age 12
8793	8793	shall have the right to vote and have one’s vote counted 13
8794	8794	in elections for Federal office free from any burden on 14
8795	8795	the time, place, or manner of voting, as set forth in sub-15
8796	8796	sections (b) and (c). 16
8797	8797	(b) R
8798	8798	ETROGRESSION.—A government may not dimin-17
8799	8799	ish the ability to vote or to have one’s vote counted in 18
8800	8800	an election for Federal office unless the law, rule, stand-19
8801	8801	ard, practice, procedure, or other governmental action 20
8802	8802	causing the diminishment is the least restrictive means of 21
8803	8803	significantly furthering an important, particularized gov-22
8804	8804	ernment interest. 23
8805	8805	(c) S
8806	8806	UBSTANTIALIMPAIRMENT.— 24
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8809	8809	•S 1 IS
8810	8810	(1) IN GENERAL.—A government may not sub-1
8811	8811	stantially impair the ability of an individual to vote 2
8812	8812	or to have one’s vote counted in an election for Fed-3
8813	8813	eral office unless the law, rule, standard, practice, 4
8814	8814	procedure, or other governmental action causing the 5
8815	8815	impairment significantly furthers an important, par-6
8816	8816	ticularized governmental interest. 7
8817	8817	(2) S
8818	8818	UBSTANTIAL IMPAIRMENT .—For purposes 8
8819	8819	of this section, a substantial impairment is a non- 9
8820	8820	trivial impairment that makes it more difficult to 10
8821	8821	vote or to have one’s vote counted than if the law, 11
8822	8822	rule, standard, practice, procedure, or other govern-12
8823	8823	mental action had not been adopted or implemented. 13
8824	8824	An impairment may be substantial even if the voter 14
8825	8825	or other similarly situated voters are able to vote or 15
8826	8826	to have one’s vote counted notwithstanding the im-16
8827	8827	pairment. 17
8828	8828	SEC. 3403. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 18
8829	8829	(a) C
8830	8830	IVILACTION.—An action challenging a violation 19
8831	8831	of this part may be brought by any aggrieved person or 20
8832	8832	the Attorney General in the district court for the District 21
8833	8833	of Columbia, or the district court for the district in which 22
8834	8834	the violation took place or where any defendant resides 23
8835	8835	or does business, at the selection of the plaintiff, to obtain 24
8836	8836	all appropriate relief, whether declaratory or injunctive, or 25
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8839	8839	•S 1 IS
8840	8840	facial or as-applied. Process may be served in any district 1
8841	8841	where a defendant resides, does business, or may be found. 2
8842	8842	(b) S
8843	8843	TANDARDSTOBEAPPLIED.—A courts adjudi-3
8844	8844	cating an action brought under this part shall apply the 4
8845	8845	following standards: 5
8846	8846	(1) R
8847	8847	ETROGRESSION.— 6
8848	8848	(A) A plaintiff establishes a prima facie 7
8849	8849	case of retrogression by demonstrating by a 8
8850	8850	preponderance of the evidence that a rule, 9
8851	8851	standard, practice, procedure, or other govern-10
8852	8852	mental action diminishes the ability, or other-11
8853	8853	wise makes it more difficult, to vote, or have 12
8854	8854	one’s vote counted. 13
8855	8855	(B) If a plaintiff establishes a prima facie 14
8856	8856	case as described in subparagraph (A), the gov-15
8857	8857	ernment shall be provided an opportunity to 16
8858	8858	demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence 17
8859	8859	that the diminishment is necessary to signifi-18
8860	8860	cantly further an important, particularized gov-19
8861	8861	ernmental interest. 20
8862	8862	(C) If the government meets its burden 21
8863	8863	under subparagraph (B), the challenged rule, 22
8864	8864	standard, practice, procedure, or other govern-23
8865	8865	mental action shall nonetheless be deemed in-24
8866	8866	valid if the plaintiff demonstrates by a prepon-25
8867	8867	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00289 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8868	8868	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 290
8869	8869	•S 1 IS
8870	8870	derance of the evidence that the government 1
8871	8871	could adopt or implement a less-restrictive 2
8872	8872	means of furthering the particularized impor-3
8873	8873	tant governmental interest. 4
8874	8874	(2) S
8875	8875	UBSTANTIAL IMPAIRMENT .— 5
8876	8876	(A) A plaintiff establishes a prima facie 6
8877	8877	case of substantial impairment by dem-7
8878	8878	onstrating by a preponderance of the evidence 8
8879	8879	that a rule, standard, practice, procedure, or 9
8880	8880	other governmental action is a non-trivial im-10
8881	8881	pairment of the ability to vote or to have one’s 11
8882	8882	vote counted. 12
8883	8883	(B) If a plaintiff establishes a prima facie 13
8884	8884	case as described in subparagraph (A), the gov-14
8885	8885	ernment shall be provided an opportunity to 15
8886	8886	demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence 16
8887	8887	that the impairment significantly furthers an 17
8888	8888	important, particularized governmental interest. 18
8889	8889	(c) D
8890	8890	UTYTOEXPEDITE.—It shall be the duty of the 19
8891	8891	court to advance on the docket and to expedite to the 20
8892	8892	greatest reasonable extent the disposition of the action 21
8893	8893	and appeal under this section. 22
8894	8894	(d) A
8895	8895	TTORNEY’SFEES.—Section 722(b) of the Re-23
8896	8896	vised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended— 24
8897	8897	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00290 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8898	8898	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 291
8899	8899	•S 1 IS
8900	8900	(1) by striking ‘‘or section 40302’’ and insert-1
8901	8901	ing ‘‘section 40302’’; and 2
8902	8902	(2) by striking ‘‘, the court’’ and inserting ‘‘, or 3
8903	8903	section 3402(a) of the Freedom to Vote Act, the 4
8904	8904	court’’. 5
8905	8905	SEC. 3404. DEFINITIONS. 6
8906	8906	In this part— 7
8907	8907	(1) the term ‘‘covered entity’’ means the Dis-8
8908	8908	trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 9
8909	8909	Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States 10
8910	8910	Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the North-11
8911	8911	ern Mariana Islands; 12
8912	8912	(2) the terms ‘‘election’’ and ‘‘Federal office’’ 13
8913	8913	have the meanings given such terms in section 301 14
8914	8914	of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 15
8915	8915	U.S.C. 30101); 16
8916	8916	(3) the term ‘‘have one’s vote counted’’ means 17
8917	8917	all actions necessary to have a vote included in the 18
8918	8918	appropriate totals of votes cast with respect to can-19
8919	8919	didates for public office for which votes are received 20
8920	8920	in an election and reflected in the certified vote to-21
8921	8921	tals by any government responsible for tallying or 22
8922	8922	certifying the results of elections for Federal office; 23
8923	8923	(4) the term ‘‘government’’ includes a branch, 24
8924	8924	department, agency, instrumentality, and official (or 25
8925	8925	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00291 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8926	8926	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 292
8927	8927	•S 1 IS
8928	8928	other person acting under color of law) of the 1
8929	8929	United States, of any State, of any covered entity, 2
8930	8930	or of any political subdivision of any State or cov-3
8931	8931	ered entity; and 4
8932	8932	(5) the term ‘‘vote’’ means all actions necessary 5
8933	8933	to make a vote effective, including registration or 6
8934	8934	other action required by law as a prerequisite to vot-7
8935	8935	ing, casting a ballot. 8
8936	8936	SEC. 3405. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 9
8937	8937	(a) B
8938	8938	URDENSNOTAUTHORIZED.—Nothing in this 10
8939	8939	part may be construed to authorize a government to bur-11
8940	8940	den the right to vote in elections for Federal office. 12
8941	8941	(b) O
8942	8942	THERRIGHTS ANDREMEDIES.—Nothing in 13
8943	8943	this part shall be construed to alter any rights existing 14
8944	8944	under a State constitution or the Constitution of the 15
8945	8945	United States, or to limit any remedies for any other viola-16
8946	8946	tions of Federal, State, or local law. 17
8947	8947	(c) O
8948	8948	THERPROVISIONS OFTHISACT.—Nothing in 18
8949	8949	this subtitle shall be construed as affecting section 1703 19
8950	8950	of this Act (relating to rights of citizens). 20
8951	8951	(d) O
8952	8952	THERDEFINITIONS.—The definitions set forth 21
8953	8953	in section 3404 shall apply only to this part and shall not 22
8954	8954	be construed to amend or interpret any other provision 23
8955	8955	of law. 24
8956	8956	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00292 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
8957	8957	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 293
8958	8958	•S 1 IS
8959	8959	SEC. 3406. SEVERABILITY. 1
8960	8960	If any provision of this part or the application of such 2
8961	8961	provision to any citizen or circumstance is held to be un-3
8962	8962	constitutional, the remainder of this part and the applica-4
8963	8963	tion of the provisions of such to any citizen or cir-5
8964	8964	cumstance shall not be affected thereby. 6
8965	8965	SEC. 3407. EFFECTIVE DATE. 7
8966	8966	(a) A
8967	8967	CTIONSBROUGHT FORRETROGRESSION.—Sub-8
8968	8968	section (b) of section 3402 shall apply to any law, rule, 9
8969	8969	standard, practice, procedure, or other governmental ac-10
8970	8970	tion that was not in effect during the November 2022 gen-11
8971	8971	eral election for Federal office but that will be in effect 12
8972	8972	with respect to elections for Federal office occurring on 13
8973	8973	or after January 1, 2024, even if such law, rule, standard, 14
8974	8974	practice, procedure, or other governmental action is al-15
8975	8975	ready in effect as of the date of the enactment of this 16
8976	8976	Act. 17
8977	8977	(b) A
8978	8978	CTIONSBROUGHT FOR SUBSTANTIALIMPAIR-18
8979	8979	MENT.—Subsection (c) of section 3402 shall apply to any 19
8980	8980	law, rule, standard, practice, procedure, or other govern-20
8981	8981	mental action in effect with respect to elections for Fed-21
8982	8982	eral office occurring on or after January 1, 2024. 22
8983	8983	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00293 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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8985	8985	•S 1 IS
8986	8986	PART 2—CLARIFYING JURISDICTION OVER 1
8987	8987	ELECTION DISPUTES 2
8988	8988	SEC. 3411. FINDINGS. 3
8989	8989	In addition to providing for the statutory rights de-4
8990	8990	scribed in part 1, including judicial review under section 5
8991	8991	3403, Congress makes the following findings regarding en-6
8992	8992	forcement of constitutional provisions protecting the right 7
8993	8993	to vote: 8
8994	8994	(1) It is a priority of Congress to ensure that 9
8995	8995	pending and future disputes arising under the Fif-10
8996	8996	teenth Amendment or any other constitutional provi-11
8997	8997	sions protecting the right to vote may be heard in 12
8998	8998	Federal court. 13
8999	8999	(2) The Fifth Circuit has misconstrued section 14
9000	9000	1344 of title 28, United States Code, to deprive 15
9001	9001	Federal courts of subject matter jurisdiction in cer-16
9002	9002	tain classes of cases that implicate voters’ constitu-17
9003	9003	tional rights, see, e.g., Keyes v. Gunn, 890 F.3d 232 18
9004	9004	(5th Cir. 2018), cert. denied, 139 S. Ct. 434 (2018); 19
9005	9005	Johnson v. Stevenson, 170 F.2d 108 (5th Cir. 20
9006	9006	1948). 21
9007	9007	(3) Section 1344 of such title is also super-22
9008	9008	fluous in light of other broad grants of Federal ju-23
9009	9009	risdiction. See, e.g., section 1331, section 24
9010	9010	1343(a)(3), and section 1343(a)(4) of title 28, 25
9011	9011	United States Code. 26
9012	9012	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00294 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9013	9013	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 295
9014	9014	•S 1 IS
9015	9015	(4) Congress therefore finds that a repeal of 1
9016	9016	section 1344 is appropriate and that such repeal will 2
9017	9017	ensure that Federal courts nationwide are empow-3
9018	9018	ered to enforce voters’ constitutional rights in Fed-4
9019	9019	eral elections and State legislative elections. 5
9020	9020	SEC. 3412. CLARIFYING AUTHORITY OF UNITED STATES 6
9021	9021	DISTRICT COURTS TO HEAR CASES. 7
9022	9022	(a) I
9023	9023	NGENERAL.—Section 1344 of title 28, United 8
9024	9024	States Code, is repealed. 9
9025	9025	(b) C
9026	9026	ONTINUINGAUTHORITY OFCOURTSTOHEAR 10
9027	9027	C
9028	9028	ASESUNDEROTHEREXISTINGAUTHORITY.—Nothing 11
9029	9029	in this part may be construed to affect the authority of 12
9030	9030	district courts of the United States to exercise jurisdiction 13
9031	9031	pursuant to existing provisions of law, including sections 14
9032	9032	1331, 1343(a)(3), and 1343(a)(4) of title 28, United 15
9033	9033	States Code, in any cases arising under the Constitution, 16
9034	9034	laws, or treaties of the United States concerning the ad-17
9035	9035	ministration, conduct, or results of an election for Federal 18
9036	9036	office or state legislative office. 19
9037	9037	(c) C
9038	9038	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of sections 20
9039	9039	for chapter 85 of title 28, United States Code, is amended 21
9040	9040	by striking the item relating to section 1344. 22
9041	9041	SEC. 3413. EFFECTIVE DATE. 23
9042	9042	This part and the amendments made by this part 24
9043	9043	shall apply to actions brought on or after the date of the 25
9044	9044	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00295 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9045	9045	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 296
9046	9046	•S 1 IS
9047	9047	enactment of this Act and to actions brought before the 1
9048	9048	date of enactment of this Act which are pending as of such 2
9049	9049	date. 3
9050	9050	Subtitle F—Poll Worker 4
9051	9051	Recruitment and Training 5
9052	9052	SEC. 3501. GRANTS TO STATES FOR POLL WORKER RE-6
9053	9053	CRUITMENT AND TRAINING. 7
9054	9054	(a) G
9055	9055	RANTS BYELECTIONASSISTANCECOMMIS-8
9056	9056	SION.— 9
9057	9057	(1) I
9058	9058	N GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 10
9059	9059	Commission (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Commis-11
9060	9060	sion’’) shall, subject to the availability of appropria-12
9061	9061	tions provided to carry out this section, make a 13
9062	9062	grant to each eligible State for recruiting and train-14
9063	9063	ing individuals to serve as poll workers on dates of 15
9064	9064	elections for public office. 16
9065	9065	(2) U
9066	9066	SE OF COMMISSION MATERIALS .—In car-17
9067	9067	rying out activities with a grant provided under this 18
9068	9068	section, the recipient of the grant shall use the man-19
9069	9069	ual prepared by the Commission on successful prac-20
9070	9070	tices for poll worker recruiting, training, and reten-21
9071	9071	tion as an interactive training tool, and shall develop 22
9072	9072	training programs with the participation and input 23
9073	9073	of experts in adult learning. 24
9074	9074	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00296 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9075	9075	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 297
9076	9076	•S 1 IS
9077	9077	(3) ACCESS AND CULTURAL CONSIDER -1
9078	9078	ATIONS.—The Commission shall ensure that the 2
9079	9079	manual described in paragraph (2) provides training 3
9080	9080	in methods that will enable poll workers to provide 4
9081	9081	access and delivery of services in a culturally com-5
9082	9082	petent manner to all voters who use their services, 6
9083	9083	including those with limited English proficiency, di-7
9084	9084	verse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, 8
9085	9085	and regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gen-9
9086	9086	der identity. These methods must ensure that each 10
9087	9087	voter will have access to poll worker services that are 11
9088	9088	delivered in a manner that meets the unique needs 12
9089	9089	of the voter. 13
9090	9090	(b) R
9091	9091	EQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 14
9092	9092	(1) A
9093	9093	PPLICATION.—Each State that desires to 15
9094	9094	receive a payment under this section shall submit an 16
9095	9095	application for the payment to the Commission at 17
9096	9096	such time and in such manner and containing such 18
9097	9097	information as the Commission shall require. 19
9098	9098	(2) C
9099	9099	ONTENTS OF APPLICATION .—Each appli-20
9100	9100	cation submitted under paragraph (1) shall— 21
9101	9101	(A) describe the activities for which assist-22
9102	9102	ance under this section is sought; 23
9103	9103	(B) provide assurances that the funds pro-24
9104	9104	vided under this section will be used to supple-25
9105	9105	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00297 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9106	9106	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 298
9107	9107	•S 1 IS
9108	9108	ment and not supplant other funds used to 1
9109	9109	carry out the activities; 2
9110	9110	(C) provide assurances that the State will 3
9111	9111	furnish the Commission with information on the 4
9112	9112	number of individuals who served as poll work-5
9113	9113	ers after recruitment and training with the 6
9114	9114	funds provided under this section; 7
9115	9115	(D) provide assurances that the State will 8
9116	9116	dedicate poll worker recruitment efforts with re-9
9117	9117	spect to— 10
9118	9118	(i) youth and minors, including by re-11
9119	9119	cruiting at institutions of higher education 12
9120	9120	and secondary education; and 13
9121	9121	(ii) diversity, including with respect to 14
9122	9122	race, ethnicity, and disability; and 15
9123	9123	(E) provide such additional information 16
9124	9124	and certifications as the Commission deter-17
9125	9125	mines to be essential to ensure compliance with 18
9126	9126	the requirements of this section. 19
9127	9127	(c) A
9128	9128	MOUNT OFGRANT.— 20
9129	9129	(1) I
9130	9130	N GENERAL.—The amount of a grant 21
9131	9131	made to a State under this section shall be equal to 22
9132	9132	the product of— 23
9133	9133	(A) the aggregate amount made available 24
9134	9134	for grants to States under this section; and 25
9135	9135	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00298 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9136	9136	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 299
9137	9137	•S 1 IS
9138	9138	(B) the voting age population percentage 1
9139	9139	for the State. 2
9140	9140	(2) V
9141	9141	OTING AGE POPULATION PERCENTAGE DE -3
9142	9142	FINED.—In paragraph (1), the ‘‘voting age popu-4
9143	9143	lation percentage’’ for a State is the quotient of— 5
9144	9144	(A) the voting age population of the State 6
9145	9145	(as determined on the basis of the most recent 7
9146	9146	information available from the Bureau of the 8
9147	9147	Census); and 9
9148	9148	(B) the total voting age population of all 10
9149	9149	States (as determined on the basis of the most 11
9150	9150	recent information available from the Bureau of 12
9151	9151	the Census). 13
9152	9152	(d) R
9153	9153	EPORTS TOCONGRESS.— 14
9154	9154	(1) R
9155	9155	EPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF GRANTS .—Not 15
9156	9156	later than 6 months after the date on which the 16
9157	9157	final grant is made under this section, each recipient 17
9158	9158	of a grant shall submit a report to the Commission 18
9159	9159	on the activities conducted with the funds provided 19
9160	9160	by the grant. 20
9161	9161	(2) R
9162	9162	EPORTS BY COMMISSION .—Not later than 21
9163	9163	1 year after the date on which the final grant is 22
9164	9164	made under this section, the Commission shall sub-23
9165	9165	mit a report to Congress on the grants made under 24
9166	9166	this section and the activities carried out by recipi-25
9167	9167	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00299 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9168	9168	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 300
9169	9169	•S 1 IS
9170	9170	ents with the grants, and shall include in the report 1
9171	9171	such recommendations as the Commission considers 2
9172	9172	appropriate. 3
9173	9173	(e) F
9174	9174	UNDING.— 4
9175	9175	(1) C
9176	9176	ONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNT AP -5
9177	9177	PROPRIATED.—Any amount appropriated to carry 6
9178	9178	out this section shall remain available without fiscal 7
9179	9179	year limitation until expended. 8
9180	9180	(2) A
9181	9181	DMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES .—Of the 9
9182	9182	amount appropriated for any fiscal year to carry out 10
9183	9183	this section, not more than 3 percent shall be avail-11
9184	9184	able for administrative expenses of the Commission. 12
9185	9185	SEC. 3502. STATE DEFINED. 13
9186	9186	In this subtitle, the term ‘‘State’’ includes the Dis-14
9187	9187	trict of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 15
9188	9188	Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Is-16
9189	9189	lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 17
9190	9190	Islands. 18
9191	9191	Subtitle G—Preventing Poll 19
9192	9192	Observer Interference 20
9193	9193	SEC. 3601. PROTECTIONS FOR VOTERS ON ELECTION DAY. 21
9194	9194	(a) R
9195	9195	EQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 22
9196	9196	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) 23
9197	9197	is amended by inserting after section 303 the following 24
9198	9198	new section: 25
9199	9199	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00300 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9200	9200	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 301
9201	9201	•S 1 IS
9202	9202	‘‘SEC. 303A. VOTER PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS. 1
9203	9203	‘‘(a) R
9204	9204	EQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGES BYPERSONS 2
9205	9205	O
9206	9206	THERTHANELECTIONOFFICIALS.— 3
9207	9207	‘‘(1) R
9208	9208	EQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGES .—No 4
9209	9209	person, other than a State or local election official, 5
9210	9210	shall submit a formal challenge to an individual’s eli-6
9211	9211	gibility to register to vote in an election for Federal 7
9212	9212	office or to vote in an election for Federal office un-8
9213	9213	less that challenge is supported by personal knowl-9
9214	9214	edge with respect to each individual challenged re-10
9215	9215	garding the grounds for ineligibility which is— 11
9216	9216	‘‘(A) documented in writing; and 12
9217	9217	‘‘(B) subject to an oath or attestation 13
9218	9218	under penalty of perjury that the challenger has 14
9219	9219	a good faith factual basis to believe that the in-15
9220	9220	dividual who is the subject of the challenge is 16
9221	9221	ineligible to register to vote or vote in that elec-17
9222	9222	tion, except a challenge which is based on the 18
9223	9223	race, ethnicity, or national origin of the indi-19
9224	9224	vidual who is the subject of the challenge may 20
9225	9225	not be considered to have a good faith factual 21
9226	9226	basis for purposes of this paragraph. 22
9227	9227	‘‘(2) P
9228	9228	ROHIBITION ON CHALLENGES ON OR 23
9229	9229	NEAR DATE OF ELECTION .—No person, other than 24
9230	9230	a State or local election official, shall be permitted— 25
9231	9231	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00301 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9232	9232	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 302
9233	9233	•S 1 IS
9234	9234	‘‘(A) to challenge an individual’s eligibility 1
9235	9235	to vote in an election for Federal office on the 2
9236	9236	date of the election on grounds that could have 3
9237	9237	been made in advance of such date; or 4
9238	9238	‘‘(B) to challenge an individual’s eligibility 5
9239	9239	to register to vote in an election for Federal of-6
9240	9240	fice or to vote in an election for Federal office 7
9241	9241	less than 10 days before the election unless the 8
9242	9242	individual registered to vote less than 20 days 9
9243	9243	before the election. 10
9244	9244	‘‘(b) B
9245	9245	UFFERRULE.— 11
9246	9246	‘‘(1) I
9247	9247	N GENERAL.—A person who is serving as 12
9248	9248	a poll observer with respect to an election for Fed-13
9249	9249	eral office may not come within 8 feet of— 14
9250	9250	‘‘(A) a voter or ballot at a polling location 15
9251	9251	during any period of voting (including any pe-16
9252	9252	riod of early voting) in such election; or 17
9253	9253	‘‘(B) a ballot at any time during which the 18
9254	9254	processing, scanning, tabulating, canvassing, or 19
9255	9255	certifying voting results is occurring. 20
9256	9256	‘‘(2) R
9257	9257	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 21
9258	9258	paragraph (1) may be construed to limit the ability 22
9259	9259	of a State or local election official to require poll ob-23
9260	9260	servers to maintain a distance greater than 8 feet. 24
9261	9261	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00302 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9262	9262	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 303
9263	9263	•S 1 IS
9264	9264	‘‘(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 1
9265	9265	with respect to elections for Federal office occurring on 2
9266	9266	and after January 1, 2024.’’. 3
9267	9267	(b) C
9268	9268	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT RELATING TOVOL-4
9269	9269	UNTARYGUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of such Act (52 5
9270	9270	U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated by section 6
9271	9271	1101(b) and as amended by sections 1102, 1103, 1104, 7
9272	9272	and 1303, is amended by striking ‘‘and 313’’ and inserting 8
9273	9273	‘‘313, and 303A’’. 9
9274	9274	(c) C
9275	9275	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of contents 10
9276	9276	of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 11
9277	9277	to section 303 the following: 12
9278	9278	‘‘Sec. 303A. Voter protection requirements.’’.
9279	9279	Subtitle H—Preventing Restric-13
9280	9280	tions on Food and Beverages 14
9281	9281	SEC. 3701. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 15
9282	9282	(a) S
9283	9283	HORTTITLE.—This subtitle may be cited as the 16
9284	9284	‘‘Voters’ Access to Water Act’’. 17
9285	9285	(b) F
9286	9286	INDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 18
9287	9287	(1) States have a legitimate interest in prohib-19
9288	9288	iting electioneering at or near polling places, and 20
9289	9289	each State has some form of restriction on political 21
9290	9290	activities near polling places when voting is taking 22
9291	9291	place. 23
9292	9292	(2) In recent elections, voters have waited in 24
9293	9293	unacceptably long lines to cast their ballot. During 25
9294	9294	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00303 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9295	9295	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 304
9296	9296	•S 1 IS
9297	9297	the 2018 midterm election, more than 3,000,000 1
9298	9298	voters were made to wait longer than the acceptable 2
9299	9299	threshold for wait times set by the Presidential 3
9300	9300	Commission on Election Administration, including 4
9301	9301	many well-documented cases where voters were made 5
9302	9302	to wait for several hours. A disproportionate number 6
9303	9303	of those who had to wait long periods were Black or 7
9304	9304	Latino voters, who were more likely than White vot-8
9305	9305	ers to wait in the longest lines on Election Day. 9
9306	9306	(3) Allowing volunteers to donate food and 10
9307	9307	water to all people waiting in line at a polling place, 11
9308	9308	regardless of the voters’ political preference and 12
9309	9309	without engaging in electioneering activities or par-13
9310	9310	tisan advocacy, helps ensure Americans who face 14
9311	9311	long lines at their polling place can still exercise 15
9312	9312	their constitutional right to vote, without risk of de-16
9313	9313	hydration, inadequate food, discomfort, and risks to 17
9314	9314	health. 18
9315	9315	SEC. 3702. PROHIBITING RESTRICTIONS ON DONATIONS OF 19
9316	9316	FOOD AND BEVERAGES AT POLLING STA-20
9317	9317	TIONS. 21
9318	9318	(a) R
9319	9319	EQUIREMENT.—Subtitle A of title III of the 22
9320	9320	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), 23
9321	9321	as amended by section 1031(a), section 1044(a), section 24
9322	9322	1101(a), section 1102(a), section 1103(a), section 25
9323	9323	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00304 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9324	9324	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 305
9325	9325	•S 1 IS
9326	9326	1104(a), section 1201(a), section 1301(a), section 1
9327	9327	1302(a), section 1303(b), section 1305(a), section 2
9328	9328	1606(a)(1), section 1607(a), and section 1624(a) is 3
9329	9329	amended— 4
9330	9330	(1) by redesignating sections 318 and 319 as 5
9331	9331	sections 319 and 320, respectively; and 6
9332	9332	(2) by inserting after section 317 the following 7
9333	9333	new section: 8
9334	9334	‘‘SEC. 318. PROHIBITING STATES FROM RESTRICTING DO-9
9335	9335	NATIONS OF FOOD AND BEVERAGES AT 10
9336	9336	POLLING STATIONS. 11
9337	9337	‘‘(a) P
9338	9338	ROHIBITION.—Subject to the exception in sub-12
9339	9339	section (b), a State may not impose any restriction on the 13
9340	9340	donation of food and nonalcoholic beverages to persons 14
9341	9341	outside of the entrance to the building where a polling 15
9342	9342	place for a Federal election is located, provided that such 16
9343	9343	food and nonalcoholic beverages are distributed without 17
9344	9344	regard to the electoral participation or political pref-18
9345	9345	erences of the recipients. 19
9346	9346	‘‘(b) E
9347	9347	XCEPTION.—A State may require persons dis-20
9348	9348	tributing food and nonalcoholic beverages outside the en-21
9349	9349	trance to the building where a polling place for a Federal 22
9350	9350	election is located to refrain from political or election-23
9351	9351	eering activity. 24
9352	9352	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00305 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9353	9353	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 306
9354	9354	•S 1 IS
9355	9355	‘‘(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply 1
9356	9356	with respect to elections for Federal office occurring on 2
9357	9357	and after January 1, 2024.’’. 3
9358	9358	(b) V
9359	9359	OLUNTARYGUIDANCE.—Section 321(b)(4) of 4
9360	9360	such Act (52 U.S.C. 21101(b)), as added and redesignated 5
9361	9361	by section 1101(b) and as amended by sections 1102, 6
9362	9362	1103, 1104, 1303, and 3601(b), is amended by striking 7
9363	9363	‘‘and 303A’’ and inserting ‘‘303A, and 317’’. 8
9364	9364	(c) C
9365	9365	LERICALAMENDMENTS.—The table of contents 9
9366	9366	of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 10
9367	9367	1044(b), section 1101(c), section 1102(c), section 11
9368	9368	1103(a), section 1104(c), section 1201(c), section 12
9369	9369	1301(a), section 1302(a), section 1303(b), section 13
9370	9370	1305(a), section 1606(a)(3), section 1607(b), and section 14
9371	9371	1624(b) is amended— 15
9372	9372	(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-16
9373	9373	tions 318 and 319 as relating to sections 319 and 17
9374	9374	320, respectively; and 18
9375	9375	(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-19
9376	9376	tion 317 the following new item: 20
9377	9377	‘‘Sec. 318. Prohibiting States from restricting donations of food and beverages
9378	9378	at polling stations.’’.
9379	9379	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00306 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9380	9380	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 307
9381	9381	•S 1 IS
9382	9382	Subtitle I—Establishing Duty To 1
9383	9383	Report Foreign Election Inter-2
9384	9384	ference 3
9385	9385	SEC. 3801. FINDINGS RELATING TO ILLICIT MONEY UNDER-4
9386	9386	MINING OUR DEMOCRACY. 5
9387	9387	Congress finds the following: 6
9388	9388	(1) Criminals, terrorists, and corrupt govern-7
9389	9389	ment officials frequently abuse anonymously held 8
9390	9390	Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), also known as 9
9391	9391	‘‘shell companies’’, to hide, move, and launder the 10
9392	9392	dirty money derived from illicit activities such as 11
9393	9393	trafficking, bribery, exploitation, and embezzlement. 12
9394	9394	Ownership and control of the finances that run 13
9395	9395	through shell companies are obscured to regulators 14
9396	9396	and law enforcement because little information is re-15
9397	9397	quired and collected when establishing these entities. 16
9398	9398	(2) The public release of the ‘‘Panama Papers’’ 17
9399	9399	in 2016 and the ‘‘Paradise Papers’’ in 2017 revealed 18
9400	9400	that these shell companies often purchase and sell 19
9401	9401	United States real estate. United States anti-money 20
9402	9402	laundering laws do not apply to cash transactions in-21
9403	9403	volving real estate, effectively concealing the bene-22
9404	9404	ficiaries and transactions from regulators and law 23
9405	9405	enforcement. 24
9406	9406	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00307 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9407	9407	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 308
9408	9408	•S 1 IS
9409	9409	(3) Since the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citi-1
9410	9410	zens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 2
9411	9411	U.S. 310 (2010), billions of dollars have flowed into 3
9412	9412	super PACs through LLCs whose funders are anon-4
9413	9413	ymous or intentionally obscured. Criminal investiga-5
9414	9414	tions have uncovered LLCs that were used to hide 6
9415	9415	illegal campaign contributions from foreign criminal 7
9416	9416	fugitives, to advance international influence-buying 8
9417	9417	schemes, and to conceal contributions from donors 9
9418	9418	who were already under investigation for bribery and 10
9419	9419	racketeering. Voters have no way to know the true 11
9420	9420	sources of the money being routed through these 12
9421	9421	LLCs to influence elections, including whether any 13
9422	9422	of the funds come from foreign or other illicit 14
9423	9423	sources. 15
9424	9424	(4) Congress should curb the use of anonymous 16
9425	9425	shell companies for illicit purposes by requiring 17
9426	9426	United States companies to disclose their beneficial 18
9427	9427	owners, strengthening anti-money laundering and 19
9428	9428	counter-terrorism finance laws. 20
9429	9429	(5) Congress should examine the money laun-21
9430	9430	dering and terrorist financing risks in the real estate 22
9431	9431	market, including the role of anonymous parties, and 23
9432	9432	review legislation to address any vulnerabilities iden-24
9433	9433	tified in this sector. 25
9434	9434	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00308 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9435	9435	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 309
9436	9436	•S 1 IS
9437	9437	(6) Congress should examine the methods by 1
9438	9438	which corruption flourishes and the means to detect 2
9439	9439	and deter the financial misconduct that fuels this 3
9440	9440	driver of global instability. Congress should monitor 4
9441	9441	government efforts to enforce United States 5
9442	9442	anticorruption laws and regulations. 6
9443	9443	SEC. 3802. FEDERAL CAMPAIGN REPORTING OF FOREIGN 7
9444	9444	CONTACTS. 8
9445	9445	(a) I
9446	9446	NITIALNOTICE.— 9
9447	9447	(1) I
9448	9448	N GENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal 10
9449	9449	Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104) 11
9450	9450	is amended by adding at the end the following new 12
9451	9451	subsection: 13
9452	9452	‘‘(j) D
9453	9453	ISCLOSURE OFREPORTABLEFOREIGNCON-14
9454	9454	TACTS.— 15
9455	9455	‘‘(1) C
9456	9456	OMMITTEE OBLIGATION TO NOTIFY .— 16
9457	9457	Not later than 1 week after a reportable foreign con-17
9458	9458	tact, each political committee shall notify the Fed-18
9459	9459	eral Bureau of Investigation and the Commission of 19
9460	9460	the reportable foreign contact and provide a sum-20
9461	9461	mary of the circumstances with respect to such re-21
9462	9462	portable foreign contact. The Federal Bureau of In-22
9463	9463	vestigation, not later than 1 week after receiving a 23
9464	9464	notification from a political committee under this 24
9465	9465	paragraph, shall submit to the political committee, 25
9466	9466	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00309 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9467	9467	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 310
9468	9468	•S 1 IS
9469	9469	the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of 1
9470	9470	the House of Representatives, and the Select Com-2
9471	9471	mittee on Intelligence of the Senate written or elec-3
9472	9472	tronic confirmation of receipt of the notification. 4
9473	9473	‘‘(2) I
9474	9474	NDIVIDUAL OBLIGATION TO NOTIFY .— 5
9475	9475	Not later than 3 days after a reportable foreign con-6
9476	9476	tact— 7
9477	9477	‘‘(A) each candidate and each immediate 8
9478	9478	family member of a candidate shall notify the 9
9479	9479	treasurer or other designated official of the 10
9480	9480	principal campaign committee of such candidate 11
9481	9481	of the reportable foreign contact and provide a 12
9482	9482	summary of the circumstances with respect to 13
9483	9483	such reportable foreign contact; and 14
9484	9484	‘‘(B) each official, employee, or agent of a 15
9485	9485	political committee shall notify the treasurer or 16
9486	9486	other designated official of the committee of the 17
9487	9487	reportable foreign contact and provide a sum-18
9488	9488	mary of the circumstances with respect to such 19
9489	9489	reportable foreign contact. 20
9490	9490	‘‘(3) R
9491	9491	EPORTABLE FOREIGN CONTACT .—In this 21
9492	9492	subsection: 22
9493	9493	‘‘(A) I
9494	9494	N GENERAL.—The term ‘reportable 23
9495	9495	foreign contact’ means any direct or indirect 24
9496	9496	contact or communication that— 25
9497	9497	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00310 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9498	9498	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 311
9499	9499	•S 1 IS
9500	9500	‘‘(i) is between— 1
9501	9501	‘‘(I) a candidate, an immediate 2
9502	9502	family member of the candidate, a po-3
9503	9503	litical committee, or any official, em-4
9504	9504	ployee, or agent of such committee; 5
9505	9505	and 6
9506	9506	‘‘(II) an individual that the per-7
9507	9507	son described in subclause (I) knows, 8
9508	9508	has reason to know, or reasonably be-9
9509	9509	lieves is a covered foreign national; 10
9510	9510	and 11
9511	9511	‘‘(ii) the person described in clause 12
9512	9512	(i)(I) knows, has reason to know, or rea-13
9513	9513	sonably believes involves— 14
9514	9514	‘‘(I) an offer or other proposal 15
9515	9515	for a contribution, donation, expendi-16
9516	9516	ture, disbursement, or solicitation de-17
9517	9517	scribed in section 319; or 18
9518	9518	‘‘(II) direct or indirect coordina-19
9519	9519	tion or collaboration with, or a direct 20
9520	9520	or indirect offer or provision of infor-21
9521	9521	mation or services to or from, a cov-22
9522	9522	ered foreign national in connection 23
9523	9523	with an election. 24
9524	9524	‘‘(B) E
9525	9525	XCEPTIONS.— 25
9526	9526	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00311 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9527	9527	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 312
9528	9528	•S 1 IS
9529	9529	‘‘(i) CONTACTS IN OFFICIAL CAPACITY 1
9530	9530	AS ELECTED OFFICIAL.—The term ‘report-2
9531	9531	able foreign contact’ shall not include any 3
9532	9532	contact or communication with a covered 4
9533	9533	foreign national by an elected official or an 5
9534	9534	employee of an elected official solely in an 6
9535	9535	official capacity as such an official or em-7
9536	9536	ployee. 8
9537	9537	‘‘(ii) C
9538	9538	ONTACTS FOR PURPOSES OF 9
9539	9539	ENABLING OBSERVATION OF ELECTIONS 10
9540	9540	BY INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS .—The 11
9541	9541	term ‘reportable foreign contact’ shall not 12
9542	9542	include any contact or communication with 13
9543	9543	a covered foreign national by any person 14
9544	9544	which is made for purposes of enabling the 15
9545	9545	observation of elections in the United 16
9546	9546	States by a foreign national or the obser-17
9547	9547	vation of elections outside of the United 18
9548	9548	States by a candidate, political committee, 19
9549	9549	or any official, employee, or agent of such 20
9550	9550	committee. 21
9551	9551	‘‘(iii) E
9552	9552	XCEPTIONS NOT APPLICABLE 22
9553	9553	IF CONTACTS OR COMMUNICATIONS IN -23
9554	9554	VOLVE PROHIBITED DISBURSEMENTS .—A 24
9555	9555	contact or communication by an elected of-25
9556	9556	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00312 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9557	9557	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 313
9558	9558	•S 1 IS
9559	9559	ficial or an employee of an elected official 1
9560	9560	shall not be considered to be made solely 2
9561	9561	in an official capacity for purposes of 3
9562	9562	clause (i), and a contact or communication 4
9563	9563	shall not be considered to be made for pur-5
9564	9564	poses of enabling the observation of elec-6
9565	9565	tions for purposes of clause (ii), if the con-7
9566	9566	tact or communication involves a contribu-8
9567	9567	tion, donation, expenditure, disbursement, 9
9568	9568	or solicitation described in section 319. 10
9569	9569	‘‘(C) C
9570	9570	OVERED FOREIGN NATIONAL DE -11
9571	9571	FINED.— 12
9572	9572	‘‘(i) I
9573	9573	N GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 13
9574	9574	the term ‘covered foreign national’ 14
9575	9575	means— 15
9576	9576	‘‘(I) a foreign principal (as de-16
9577	9577	fined in section 1(b) of the Foreign 17
9578	9578	Agents Registration Act of 1938 (22 18
9579	9579	U.S.C. 611(b)) that is a government 19
9580	9580	of a foreign country or a foreign polit-20
9581	9581	ical party; 21
9582	9582	‘‘(II) any person who acts as an 22
9583	9583	agent, representative, employee, or 23
9584	9584	servant, or any person who acts in 24
9585	9585	any other capacity at the order, re-25
9586	9586	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00313 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9587	9587	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 314
9588	9588	•S 1 IS
9589	9589	quest, or under the direction or con-1
9590	9590	trol, of a foreign principal described in 2
9591	9591	subclause (I) or of a person any of 3
9592	9592	whose activities are directly or indi-4
9593	9593	rectly supervised, directed, controlled, 5
9594	9594	financed, or subsidized in whole or in 6
9595	9595	major part by a foreign principal de-7
9596	9596	scribed in subclause (I); or 8
9597	9597	‘‘(III) any person included in the 9
9598	9598	list of specially designated nationals 10
9599	9599	and blocked persons maintained by 11
9600	9600	the Office of Foreign Assets Control 12
9601	9601	of the Department of the Treasury 13
9602	9602	pursuant to authorities relating to the 14
9603	9603	imposition of sanctions relating to the 15
9604	9604	conduct of a foreign principal de-16
9605	9605	scribed in subclause (I). 17
9606	9606	‘‘(ii) C
9607	9607	LARIFICATION REGARDING AP -18
9608	9608	PLICATION TO CITIZENS OF THE UNITED 19
9609	9609	STATES.—In the case of a citizen of the 20
9610	9610	United States, subclause (II) of clause (i) 21
9611	9611	applies only to the extent that the person 22
9612	9612	involved acts within the scope of that per-23
9613	9613	son’s status as the agent of a foreign prin-24
9614	9614	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00314 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9615	9615	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 315
9616	9616	•S 1 IS
9617	9617	cipal described in subclause (I) of clause 1
9618	9618	(i). 2
9619	9619	‘‘(4) I
9620	9620	MMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER .—In this 3
9621	9621	subsection, the term ‘immediate family member’ 4
9622	9622	means, with respect to a candidate, a parent, parent- 5
9623	9623	in-law, spouse, adult child, or sibling.’’. 6
9624	9624	(2) E
9625	9625	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 7
9626	9626	by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to report-8
9627	9627	able foreign contacts which occur on or after the 9
9628	9628	date of the enactment of this Act. 10
9629	9629	(b) I
9630	9630	NFORMATIONINCLUDED ONREPORT.— 11
9631	9631	(1) I
9632	9632	N GENERAL.—Section 304(b) of such Act 12
9633	9633	(52 U.S.C. 30104(b)) is amended— 13
9634	9634	(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para-14
9635	9635	graph (7); 15
9636	9636	(B) by striking the period at the end of 16
9637	9637	paragraph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 17
9638	9638	(C) by adding at the end the following new 18
9639	9639	paragraph: 19
9640	9640	‘‘(9) for any reportable foreign contact (as de-20
9641	9641	fined in subsection (j)(3))— 21
9642	9642	‘‘(A) the date, time, and location of the 22
9643	9643	contact; 23
9644	9644	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00315 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9645	9645	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 316
9646	9646	•S 1 IS
9647	9647	‘‘(B) the date and time of when a des-1
9648	9648	ignated official of the committee was notified of 2
9649	9649	the contact; 3
9650	9650	‘‘(C) the identity of individuals involved; 4
9651	9651	and 5
9652	9652	‘‘(D) a description of the contact, including 6
9653	9653	the nature of any contribution, donation, ex-7
9654	9654	penditure, disbursement, or solicitation involved 8
9655	9655	and the nature of any activity described in sub-9
9656	9656	section (j)(3)(A)(ii)(II) involved.’’. 10
9657	9657	(2) E
9658	9658	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 11
9659	9659	by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to reports 12
9660	9660	filed on or after the expiration of the 60-day period 13
9661	9661	which begins on the date of the enactment of this 14
9662	9662	Act. 15
9663	9663	SEC. 3803. FEDERAL CAMPAIGN FOREIGN CONTACT RE-16
9664	9664	PORTING COMPLIANCE SYSTEM. 17
9665	9665	(a) I
9666	9666	NGENERAL.—Section 302 of the Federal Elec-18
9667	9667	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30102) is amended 19
9668	9668	by adding at the end the following new subsection: 20
9669	9669	‘‘(j) R
9670	9670	EPORTABLEFOREIGNCONTACTSCOMPLIANCE 21
9671	9671	P
9672	9672	OLICY.— 22
9673	9673	‘‘(1) R
9674	9674	EPORTING.—Each political committee 23
9675	9675	shall establish a policy that requires all officials, em-24
9676	9676	ployees, and agents of such committee (and, in the 25
9677	9677	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00316 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9678	9678	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 317
9679	9679	•S 1 IS
9680	9680	case of an authorized committee, the candidate and 1
9681	9681	each immediate family member of the candidate) to 2
9682	9682	notify the treasurer or other appropriate designated 3
9683	9683	official of the committee of any reportable foreign 4
9684	9684	contact (as defined in section 304(j)) not later than 5
9685	9685	3 days after such contact was made. 6
9686	9686	‘‘(2) R
9687	9687	ETENTION AND PRESERVATION OF 7
9688	9688	RECORDS.—Each political committee shall establish 8
9689	9689	a policy that provides for the retention and preserva-9
9690	9690	tion of records and information related to reportable 10
9691	9691	foreign contacts (as so defined) for a period of not 11
9692	9692	less than 3 years. 12
9693	9693	‘‘(3) C
9694	9694	ERTIFICATION.— 13
9695	9695	‘‘(A) I
9696	9696	N GENERAL.—Upon filing its state-14
9697	9697	ment of organization under section 303(a), and 15
9698	9698	with each report filed under section 304(a), the 16
9699	9699	treasurer of each political committee (other 17
9700	9700	than an authorized committee) shall certify 18
9701	9701	that— 19
9702	9702	‘‘(i) the committee has in place poli-20
9703	9703	cies that meet the requirements of para-21
9704	9704	graphs (1) and (2); 22
9705	9705	‘‘(ii) the committee has designated an 23
9706	9706	official to monitor compliance with such 24
9707	9707	policies; and 25
9708	9708	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00317 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9709	9709	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 318
9710	9710	•S 1 IS
9711	9711	‘‘(iii) not later than 1 week after the 1
9712	9712	beginning of any formal or informal affili-2
9713	9713	ation with the committee, all officials, em-3
9714	9714	ployees, and agents of such committee 4
9715	9715	will— 5
9716	9716	‘‘(I) receive notice of such poli-6
9717	9717	cies; 7
9718	9718	‘‘(II) be informed of the prohibi-8
9719	9719	tions under section 319; and 9
9720	9720	‘‘(III) sign a certification affirm-10
9721	9721	ing their understanding of such poli-11
9722	9722	cies and prohibitions. 12
9723	9723	‘‘(B) A
9724	9724	UTHORIZED COMMITTEES .—With 13
9725	9725	respect to an authorized committee, the can-14
9726	9726	didate shall make the certification required 15
9727	9727	under subparagraph (A).’’. 16
9728	9728	(b) E
9729	9729	FFECTIVEDATE.— 17
9730	9730	(1) I
9731	9731	N GENERAL.—The amendment made by 18
9732	9732	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to political 19
9733	9733	committees which file a statement of organization 20
9734	9734	under section 303(a) of the Federal Election Cam-21
9735	9735	paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30103(a)) on or after 22
9736	9736	the date of the enactment of this Act. 23
9737	9737	(2) T
9738	9738	RANSITION RULE FOR EXISTING COMMIT -24
9739	9739	TEES.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the 25
9740	9740	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00318 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9741	9741	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 319
9742	9742	•S 1 IS
9743	9743	enactment of this Act, each political committee 1
9744	9744	under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 2
9745	9745	shall file a certification with the Federal Election 3
9746	9746	Commission that the committee is in compliance 4
9747	9747	with the requirements of section 302(j) of such Act 5
9748	9748	(as added by subsection (a)). 6
9749	9749	SEC. 3804. CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 7
9750	9750	Section 309(d)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign 8
9751	9751	Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(d)(1)) is amended by add-9
9752	9752	ing at the end the following new subparagraphs: 10
9753	9753	‘‘(E) Any person who knowingly and willfully com-11
9754	9754	mits a violation of subsection (j) or (b)(9) of section 304 12
9755	9755	or section 302(j) shall be fined not more than $500,000, 13
9756	9756	imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both. 14
9757	9757	‘‘(F) Any person who knowingly and willfully conceals 15
9758	9758	or destroys any materials relating to a reportable foreign 16
9759	9759	contact (as defined in section 304(j)) shall be fined not 17
9760	9760	more than $1,000,000, imprisoned not more than 5 years, 18
9761	9761	or both.’’. 19
9762	9762	SEC. 3805. REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE 20
9763	9763	COMMITTEES. 21
9764	9764	(a) I
9765	9765	NGENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 22
9766	9766	date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 23
9767	9767	the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall 24
9768	9768	submit to the congressional intelligence committees a re-25
9769	9769	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00319 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9770	9770	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 320
9771	9771	•S 1 IS
9772	9772	port relating to notifications received by the Federal Bu-1
9773	9773	reau of Investigation under section 304(j)(1) of the Fed-2
9774	9774	eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by section 3
9775	9775	4902(a) of this Act). 4
9776	9776	(b) E
9777	9777	LEMENTS.—Each report under subsection (a) 5
9778	9778	shall include, at a minimum, the following with respect 6
9779	9779	to notifications described in subsection (a): 7
9780	9780	(1) The number of such notifications received 8
9781	9781	from political committees during the year covered by 9
9782	9782	the report. 10
9783	9783	(2) A description of protocols and procedures 11
9784	9784	developed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation re-12
9785	9785	lating to receipt and maintenance of records relating 13
9786	9786	to such notifications. 14
9787	9787	(3) With respect to such notifications received 15
9788	9788	during the year covered by the report, a description 16
9789	9789	of any subsequent actions taken by the Director re-17
9790	9790	sulting from the receipt of such notifications. 18
9791	9791	(c) C
9792	9792	ONGRESSIONAL INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEES 19
9793	9793	D
9794	9794	EFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘congressional intel-20
9795	9795	ligence committees’’ has the meaning given that term in 21
9796	9796	section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 22
9797	9797	3003). 23
9798	9798	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00320 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9799	9799	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 321
9800	9800	•S 1 IS
9801	9801	SEC. 3806. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 1
9802	9802	Nothing in this subtitle or the amendments made by 2
9803	9803	this subtitle shall be construed— 3
9804	9804	(1) to impede legitimate journalistic activities; 4
9805	9805	or 5
9806	9806	(2) to impose any additional limitation on the 6
9807	9807	right to express political views or to participate in 7
9808	9808	public discourse of any individual who— 8
9809	9809	(A) resides in the United States; 9
9810	9810	(B) is not a citizen of the United States or 10
9811	9811	a national of the United States, as defined in 11
9812	9812	section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Na-12
9813	9813	tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)); and 13
9814	9814	(C) is not lawfully admitted for permanent 14
9815	9815	residence, as defined by section 101(a)(20) of 15
9816	9816	the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 16
9817	9817	1101(a)(20)). 17
9818	9818	Subtitle J—Promoting Accuracy, 18
9819	9819	Integrity, and Security Through 19
9820	9820	Voter-Verifiable Permanent 20
9821	9821	Paper Ballot 21
9822	9822	SEC. 3901. SHORT TITLE. 22
9823	9823	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Confidence 23
9824	9824	and Increased Accessibility Act of 2023’’. 24
9825	9825	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00321 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9826	9826	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 322
9827	9827	•S 1 IS
9828	9828	SEC. 3902. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE-1
9829	9829	QUIREMENTS. 2
9830	9830	(a) I
9831	9831	NGENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 3
9832	9832	America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 4
9833	9833	amended to read as follows: 5
9834	9834	‘‘(2) P
9835	9835	APER BALLOT REQUIREMENT .— 6
9836	9836	‘‘(A) V
9837	9837	OTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER BAL -7
9838	9838	LOTS.— 8
9839	9839	‘‘(i) The voting system shall require 9
9840	9840	the use of an individual, durable, voter- 10
9841	9841	verifiable paper ballot of the voter’s vote 11
9842	9842	selections that shall be marked by the 12
9843	9843	voter and presented to the voter for 13
9844	9844	verification before the voter’s ballot is pre-14
9845	9845	served in accordance with subparagraph 15
9846	9846	(B), and which shall be counted by hand or 16
9847	9847	other counting device or read by a ballot 17
9848	9848	tabulation device. For purposes of this sub-18
9849	9849	clause, the term ‘individual, durable, voter- 19
9850	9850	verifiable paper ballot’ means a paper bal-20
9851	9851	lot marked by the voter by hand or a paper 21
9852	9852	ballot marked through the use of a nontab-22
9853	9853	ulating ballot marking device or system, so 23
9854	9854	long as the voter shall have the option at 24
9855	9855	every in-person voting location to mark by 25
9856	9856	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00322 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9857	9857	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 323
9858	9858	•S 1 IS
9859	9859	hand a printed ballot that includes all rel-1
9860	9860	evant contests and candidates. 2
9861	9861	‘‘(ii) The voting system shall provide 3
9862	9862	the voter with an opportunity to correct 4
9863	9863	any error on the paper ballot before the 5
9864	9864	permanent voter-verifiable paper ballot is 6
9865	9865	preserved in accordance with subparagraph 7
9866	9866	(B). 8
9867	9867	‘‘(iii) The voting system shall not pre-9
9868	9868	serve the voter-verifiable paper ballots in 10
9869	9869	any manner that makes it possible, at any 11
9870	9870	time after the ballot has been cast, to asso-12
9871	9871	ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 13
9872	9872	vote selections. 14
9873	9873	‘‘(iv) The voting system shall prevent, 15
9874	9874	through mechanical means or through 16
9875	9875	independently verified protections, the 17
9876	9876	modification or addition of vote selections 18
9877	9877	on a printed or marked ballot at any time 19
9878	9878	after the voter has been provided an oppor-20
9879	9879	tunity to correct errors on the ballot pur-21
9880	9880	suant to clause (ii). 22
9881	9881	‘‘(B) P
9882	9882	RESERVATION AS OFFICIAL 23
9883	9883	RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter- 24
9884	9884	verifiable paper ballot used in accordance with 25
9885	9885	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00323 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9886	9886	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 324
9887	9887	•S 1 IS
9888	9888	subparagraph (A) shall constitute the official 1
9889	9889	ballot and shall be preserved and used as the 2
9890	9890	official ballot for purposes of any recount or 3
9891	9891	audit conducted with respect to any election for 4
9892	9892	Federal office in which the voting system is 5
9893	9893	used. 6
9894	9894	‘‘(C) M
9895	9895	ANUAL COUNTING REQUIREMENTS 7
9896	9896	FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS .— 8
9897	9897	‘‘(i) Each paper ballot used pursuant 9
9898	9898	to subparagraph (A) shall be suitable for a 10
9899	9899	manual audit, and such ballots, or at least 11
9900	9900	those ballots the machine could not count, 12
9901	9901	shall be counted by hand in any recount or 13
9902	9902	audit conducted with respect to any elec-14
9903	9903	tion for Federal office. 15
9904	9904	‘‘(ii) In the event of any inconsist-16
9905	9905	encies or irregularities between any elec-17
9906	9906	tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies de-18
9907	9907	termined by counting by hand the indi-19
9908	9908	vidual, durable, voter-verifiable paper bal-20
9909	9909	lots used pursuant to subparagraph (A), 21
9910	9910	the individual, durable, voter-verifiable 22
9911	9911	paper ballots shall be the true and correct 23
9912	9912	record of the votes cast. 24
9913	9913	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00324 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9914	9914	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 325
9915	9915	•S 1 IS
9916	9916	‘‘(D) SENSE OF CONGRESS .—It is the 1
9917	9917	sense of Congress that as innovation occurs in 2
9918	9918	the election infrastructure sector, Congress 3
9919	9919	should ensure that this Act and other Federal 4
9920	9920	requirements for voting systems are updated to 5
9921	9921	keep pace with best practices and recommenda-6
9922	9922	tions for security and accessibility.’’. 7
9923	9923	(b) C
9924	9924	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT CLARIFYINGAPPLI-8
9925	9925	CABILITY OFALTERNATIVELANGUAGEACCESSIBILITY.— 9
9926	9926	Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) 10
9927	9927	is amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re-11
9928	9928	quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys-12
9929	9929	tem’’. 13
9930	9930	(c) O
9931	9931	THERCONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 14
9932	9932	301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend-15
9933	9933	ed— 16
9934	9934	(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count-17
9935	9935	ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 18
9936	9936	paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 19
9937	9937	(2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-20
9938	9938	ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 21
9939	9939	paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 22
9940	9940	(3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count-23
9941	9941	ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 24
9942	9942	accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 25
9943	9943	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00325 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9944	9944	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 326
9945	9945	•S 1 IS
9946	9946	(4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count-1
9947	9947	ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with 2
9948	9948	paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 3
9949	9949	SEC. 3903. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 4
9950	9950	INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 5
9951	9951	(a) I
9952	9952	NGENERAL.—Paragraph (3) of section 301(a) 6
9953	9953	of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 7
9954	9954	21081(a)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 8
9955	9955	‘‘(3) A
9956	9956	CCESSIBILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH 9
9957	9957	DISABILITIES.— 10
9958	9958	‘‘(A) I
9959	9959	N GENERAL.—The voting system 11
9960	9960	shall— 12
9961	9961	‘‘(i) be accessible for individuals with 13
9962	9962	disabilities, including nonvisual accessi-14
9963	9963	bility for the blind and visually impaired, 15
9964	9964	in a manner that provides the same oppor-16
9965	9965	tunity for access and participation (includ-17
9966	9966	ing privacy and independence) as for other 18
9967	9967	voters; 19
9968	9968	‘‘(ii)(I) ensure that individuals with 20
9969	9969	disabilities and others are given an equiva-21
9970	9970	lent opportunity to vote, including with pri-22
9971	9971	vacy and independence, in a manner that 23
9972	9972	produces a voter-verifiable paper ballot; 24
9973	9973	and 25
9974	9974	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00326 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
9975	9975	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 327
9976	9976	•S 1 IS
9977	9977	‘‘(II) satisfy the requirement of clause 1
9978	9978	(i) through the use at in-person polling lo-2
9979	9979	cations of a sufficient number (not less 3
9980	9980	than one) of voting systems equipped to 4
9981	9981	serve individuals with and without disabil-5
9982	9982	ities, including nonvisual and enhanced vis-6
9983	9983	ual accessibility for the blind and visually 7
9984	9984	impaired, and nonmanual and enhanced 8
9985	9985	manual accessibility for the mobility and 9
9986	9986	dexterity impaired; and 10
9987	9987	‘‘(iii) if purchased with funds made 11
9988	9988	available under title II on or after January 12
9989	9989	1, 2007, meet the voting system standards 13
9990	9990	for disability access (as outlined in this 14
9991	9991	paragraph). 15
9992	9992	‘‘(B) M
9993	9993	EANS OF MEETING REQUIRE -16
9994	9994	MENTS.—A voting system may meet the re-17
9995	9995	quirements of subparagraph (A)(i) and para-18
9996	9996	graph (2) by— 19
9997	9997	‘‘(i) allowing the voter to privately 20
9998	9998	and independently verify the permanent 21
9999	9999	paper ballot through the presentation, in 22
10000	10000	accessible form, of the printed or marked 23
10001	10001	vote selections from the same printed or 24
10002	10002	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00327 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10003	10003	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 328
10004	10004	•S 1 IS
10005	10005	marked information that would be used for 1
10006	10006	any vote tabulation or auditing; 2
10007	10007	‘‘(ii) allowing the voter to privately 3
10008	10008	and independently verify and cast the per-4
10009	10009	manent paper ballot without requiring the 5
10010	10010	voter to manually handle the paper ballot; 6
10011	10011	‘‘(iii) marking ballots that are iden-7
10012	10012	tical in size, ink, and paper stock to those 8
10013	10013	ballots that would either be marked by 9
10014	10014	hand or be marked by a ballot marking de-10
10015	10015	vice made generally available to voters; or 11
10016	10016	‘‘(iv) combining ballots produced by 12
10017	10017	any ballot marking devices reserved for in-13
10018	10018	dividuals with disabilities with ballots that 14
10019	10019	have either been marked by voters by hand 15
10020	10020	or marked by ballot marking devices made 16
10021	10021	generally available to voters, in a way that 17
10022	10022	prevents identification of the ballots that 18
10023	10023	were cast using any ballot marking device 19
10024	10024	that was reserved for individuals with dis-20
10025	10025	abilities. 21
10026	10026	‘‘(C) S
10027	10027	UFFICIENT NUMBER .—For purposes 22
10028	10028	of subparagraph (A)(ii)(II), the sufficient num-23
10029	10029	ber of voting systems for any in-person polling 24
10030	10030	location shall be determined based on guidance 25
10031	10031	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00328 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10032	10032	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 329
10033	10033	•S 1 IS
10034	10034	from the Attorney General, in consultation with 1
10035	10035	the Architectural and Transportation Barriers 2
10036	10036	Compliance Board established under section 3
10037	10037	502(a)(1) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 4
10038	10038	U.S.C. 792(a)(1)) (commonly referred to as the 5
10039	10039	United States Access Board) and the Commis-6
10040	10040	sion.’’. 7
10041	10041	(b) S
10042	10042	PECIFICREQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, 8
10043	10043	ANDDEVELOPMENT OF ACCESSIBLEVOTINGOPTIONS.— 9
10044	10044	(1) S
10045	10045	TUDY AND REPORTING .—Subtitle C of 10
10046	10046	title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is 11
10047	10047	amended— 12
10048	10048	(A) by redesignating section 247 as section 13
10049	10049	248; and 14
10050	10050	(B) by inserting after section 246 the fol-15
10051	10051	lowing new section: 16
10052	10052	‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE VOTING 17
10053	10053	OPTIONS. 18
10054	10054	‘‘(a) G
10055	10055	RANTSTOSTUDY ANDREPORT.—The Com-19
10056	10056	mission, in coordination with the Access Board and the 20
10057	10057	Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, shall 21
10058	10058	make grants to not fewer than 2 eligible entities to study, 22
10059	10059	test, and develop— 23
10060	10060	‘‘(1) accessible and secure remote voting sys-24
10061	10061	tems; 25
10062	10062	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00329 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10063	10063	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 330
10064	10064	•S 1 IS
10065	10065	‘‘(2) voting, verification, and casting devices to 1
10066	10066	enhance the accessibility of voting and verification 2
10067	10067	for individuals with disabilities; or 3
10068	10068	‘‘(3) both of the matters described in paragraph 4
10069	10069	(1) and (2). 5
10070	10070	‘‘(b) E
10071	10071	LIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 6
10072	10072	grant under this part if it submits to the Commission (at 7
10073	10073	such time and in such form as the Commission may re-8
10074	10074	quire) an application containing— 9
10075	10075	‘‘(1) a certification that the entity shall com-10
10076	10076	plete the activities carried out with the grant not 11
10077	10077	later than January 1, 2026; and 12
10078	10078	‘‘(2) such other information and certifications 13
10079	10079	as the Commission may require. 14
10080	10080	‘‘(c) A
10081	10081	VAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any tech-15
10082	10082	nology developed with the grants made under this section 16
10083	10083	shall be treated as non-proprietary and shall be made 17
10084	10084	available to the public, including to manufacturers of vot-18
10085	10085	ing systems. 19
10086	10086	‘‘(d) C
10087	10087	OORDINATION WITHGRANTS FOR TECH-20
10088	10088	NOLOGYIMPROVEMENTS.—The Commission shall carry 21
10089	10089	out this section so that the activities carried out with the 22
10090	10090	grants made under subsection (a) are coordinated with the 23
10091	10091	research conducted under the grant program carried out 24
10092	10092	by the Commission under section 271, to the extent that 25
10093	10093	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00330 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10094	10094	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 331
10095	10095	•S 1 IS
10096	10096	the Commission determine necessary to provide for the ad-1
10097	10097	vancement of accessible voting technology. 2
10098	10098	‘‘(e) A
10099	10099	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 3
10100	10100	is authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection 4
10101	10101	(a) $10,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 5
10102	10102	(2) C
10103	10103	LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of con-6
10104	10104	tents of such Act is amended— 7
10105	10105	(A) by redesignating the item relating to 8
10106	10106	section 247 as relating to section 248; and 9
10107	10107	(B) by inserting after the item relating to 10
10108	10108	section 246 the following new item: 11
10109	10109	‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible voting options.’’.
10110	10110	(c) CLARIFICATION OFACCESSIBILITYSTANDARDS 12
10111	10111	U
10112	10112	NDERVOLUNTARYVOTINGSYSTEMGUIDANCE.—In 13
10113	10113	adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 14
10114	10114	III of the Help America Vote Act with respect to the ac-15
10115	10115	cessibility of the paper ballot verification requirements for 16
10116	10116	individuals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Com-17
10117	10117	mission shall include and apply the same accessibility 18
10118	10118	standards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopt-19
10119	10119	ed for accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 20
10120	10120	(d) P
10121	10121	ERMITTINGUSE OFFUNDS FORPROTECTION 21
10122	10122	ANDADVOCACYSYSTEMSTOSUPPORTACTIONSTOEN-22
10123	10123	FORCEELECTION-RELATEDDISABILITYACCESS.—Sec-23
10124	10124	tion 292(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 24
10125	10125	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00331 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10126	10126	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 332
10127	10127	•S 1 IS
10128	10128	U.S.C. 21062(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ 1
10129	10129	and all that follows and inserting a period. 2
10130	10130	SEC. 3904. DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS 3
10131	10131	FOR BALLOTS. 4
10132	10132	Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 5
10133	10133	(52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) is amended by adding at the end 6
10134	10134	the following new paragraph: 7
10135	10135	‘‘(7) D
10136	10136	URABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIRE -8
10137	10137	MENTS FOR BALLOTS .— 9
10138	10138	‘‘(A) D
10139	10139	URABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR 10
10140	10140	PAPER BALLOTS.— 11
10141	10141	‘‘(i) I
10142	10142	N GENERAL.—All voter-verifiable 12
10143	10143	paper ballots required to be used under 13
10144	10144	this Act shall be marked or printed on du-14
10145	10145	rable paper. 15
10146	10146	‘‘(ii) D
10147	10147	EFINITION.—For purposes of 16
10148	10148	this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable 17
10149	10149	of withstanding multiple counts and re-18
10150	10150	counts by hand without compromising the 19
10151	10151	fundamental integrity of the ballots, and 20
10152	10152	capable of retaining the information 21
10153	10153	marked or printed on them for the full du-22
10154	10154	ration of a retention and preservation pe-23
10155	10155	riod of 22 months. 24
10156	10156	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00332 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10157	10157	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 333
10158	10158	•S 1 IS
10159	10159	‘‘(B) READABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR 1
10160	10160	PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING 2
10161	10161	DEVICE.—All voter-verifiable paper ballots com-3
10162	10162	pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 4
10163	10163	marking device shall be clearly readable by the 5
10164	10164	voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses 6
10165	10165	or other personal vision-enhancing devices) and 7
10166	10166	by a ballot tabulation device or other device 8
10167	10167	equipped for individuals with disabilities.’’. 9
10168	10168	SEC. 3905. STUDY AND REPORT ON OPTIMAL BALLOT DE-10
10169	10169	SIGN. 11
10170	10170	(a) S
10171	10171	TUDY.—The Election Assistance Commission 12
10172	10172	shall conduct a study of the best ways to design ballots 13
10173	10173	used in elections for public office, including paper ballots 14
10174	10174	and electronic or digital ballots, to minimize confusion and 15
10175	10175	user errors. 16
10176	10176	(b) R
10177	10177	EPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 17
10178	10178	of the enactment of this Act, the Election Assistance Com-18
10179	10179	mission shall submit to Congress a report on the study 19
10180	10180	conducted under subsection (a). 20
10181	10181	SEC. 3906. BALLOT MARKING DEVICE CYBERSECURITY RE-21
10182	10182	QUIREMENTS. 22
10183	10183	Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 23
10184	10184	(52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 3904, is fur-24
10185	10185	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00333 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10186	10186	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 334
10187	10187	•S 1 IS
10188	10188	ther amended by adding at the end the following new para-1
10189	10189	graphs: 2
10190	10190	‘‘(8) P
10191	10191	ROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM -3
10192	10192	MUNICATIONS DEVICES IN SYSTEMS OR DEVICES .— 4
10193	10193	No system or device upon which ballot marking de-5
10194	10194	vices or ballot tabulation devices are configured, 6
10195	10195	upon which ballots are marked by voters at a polling 7
10196	10196	place (except as necessary for individuals with dis-8
10197	10197	abilities to use ballot marking devices that meet the 9
10198	10198	accessibility requirements of paragraph (3)), or upon 10
10199	10199	which votes are cast, tabulated, or aggregated shall 11
10200	10200	contain, use, or be accessible by any wireless, power- 12
10201	10201	line, or concealed communication device. 13
10202	10202	‘‘(9) P
10203	10203	ROHIBITING CONNECTION OF SYSTEM TO 14
10204	10204	THE INTERNET.—No system or device upon which 15
10205	10205	ballot marking devices or ballot tabulation devices 16
10206	10206	are configured, upon which ballots are marked by 17
10207	10207	voters at a voting place, or upon which votes are 18
10208	10208	cast, tabulated, or aggregated shall be connected to 19
10209	10209	the internet or any non-local computer system via 20
10210	10210	telephone or other communication network at any 21
10211	10211	time.’’. 22
10212	10212	SEC. 3907. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 23
10213	10213	Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 24
10214	10214	(52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows: 25
10215	10215	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00334 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10216	10216	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 335
10217	10217	•S 1 IS
10218	10218	‘‘(d) EFFECTIVEDATE.— 1
10219	10219	‘‘(1) I
10220	10220	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-2
10221	10221	graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re-3
10222	10222	quired to comply with the requirements of this sec-4
10223	10223	tion on and after January 1, 2006. 5
10224	10224	‘‘(2) S
10225	10225	PECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN REQUIRE -6
10226	10226	MENTS.— 7
10227	10227	‘‘(A) I
10228	10228	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 8
10229	10229	subparagraphs (B) and (C), the requirements of 9
10230	10230	this section which are first imposed on a State 10
10231	10231	or jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments 11
10232	10232	made by the Voter Confidence and Increased 12
10233	10233	Accessibility Act of 2023 shall apply with re-13
10234	10234	spect to voting systems used for any election for 14
10235	10235	Federal office held in 2024 or any succeeding 15
10236	10236	year. 16
10237	10237	‘‘(B) S
10238	10238	PECIAL RULE FOR JURISDICTIONS 17
10239	10239	USING CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR 18
10240	10240	CERTAIN SYSTEMS USING OR PRODUCING 19
10241	10241	VOTER-VERIFIABLE PAPER RECORDS IN 2022 .— 20
10242	10242	‘‘(i) I
10243	10243	N GENERAL.—In the case of a 21
10244	10244	jurisdiction described in clause (ii), the re-22
10245	10245	quirements of paragraphs (2)(A)(i) and (7) 23
10246	10246	of subsection (a) (as amended or added by 24
10247	10247	the Voter Confidence and Increased Acces-25
10248	10248	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00335 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10249	10249	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 336
10250	10250	•S 1 IS
10251	10251	sibility Act of 2023) shall not apply before 1
10252	10252	the date on which the jurisdiction replaces 2
10253	10253	the printers or systems described in clause 3
10254	10254	(ii)(I) for use in the administration of elec-4
10255	10255	tions for Federal office. 5
10256	10256	‘‘(ii) J
10257	10257	URISDICTIONS DESCRIBED .—A 6
10258	10258	jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju-7
10259	10259	risdiction— 8
10260	10260	‘‘(I) which used voter-verifiable 9
10261	10261	paper record printers attached to di-10
10262	10262	rect recording electronic voting ma-11
10263	10263	chines, or which used other voting 12
10264	10264	systems that used or produced paper 13
10265	10265	records of the vote verifiable by voters 14
10266	10266	but that are not in compliance with 15
10267	10267	paragraphs (2)(A)(i) and (7) of sub-16
10268	10268	section (a) (as amended or added by 17
10269	10269	the Voter Confidence and Increased 18
10270	10270	Accessibility Act of 2023), for the ad-19
10271	10271	ministration of the regularly sched-20
10272	10272	uled general election for Federal office 21
10273	10273	held in November 2022; and 22
10274	10274	‘‘(II) which will continue to use 23
10275	10275	such printers or systems for the ad-24
10276	10276	ministration of elections for Federal 25
10277	10277	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00336 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10278	10278	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 337
10279	10279	•S 1 IS
10280	10280	office held in years before the applica-1
10281	10281	ble year. 2
10282	10282	‘‘(iii) M
10283	10283	ANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF 3
10284	10284	PAPER BALLOTS AT POLLING PLACES 4
10285	10285	USING GRANDFATHERED PRINTERS AND 5
10286	10286	SYSTEMS.— 6
10287	10287	‘‘(I) R
10288	10288	EQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE 7
10289	10289	OFFERED AND PROVIDED .—The ap-8
10290	10290	propriate election official at each poll-9
10291	10291	ing place that uses a printer or sys-10
10292	10292	tem described in clause (ii)(I) for the 11
10293	10293	administration of elections for Federal 12
10294	10294	office shall offer each individual who 13
10295	10295	is eligible to cast a vote in the election 14
10296	10296	at the polling place the opportunity to 15
10297	10297	cast the vote using a blank printed 16
10298	10298	paper ballot which the individual may 17
10299	10299	mark by hand and which is not pro-18
10300	10300	duced by the direct recording elec-19
10301	10301	tronic voting machine or other such 20
10302	10302	system. The official shall provide the 21
10303	10303	individual with the ballot and the sup-22
10304	10304	plies necessary to mark the ballot, and 23
10305	10305	shall ensure (to the greatest extent 24
10306	10306	practicable) that the waiting period 25
10307	10307	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00337 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10308	10308	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 338
10309	10309	•S 1 IS
10310	10310	for the individual to cast a vote is the 1
10311	10311	lesser of 30 minutes or the average 2
10312	10312	waiting period for an individual who 3
10313	10313	does not agree to cast the vote using 4
10314	10314	such a paper ballot under this clause. 5
10315	10315	‘‘(II) T
10316	10316	REATMENT OF BALLOT .— 6
10317	10317	Any paper ballot which is cast by an 7
10318	10318	individual under this clause shall be 8
10319	10319	counted and otherwise treated as a 9
10320	10320	regular ballot for all purposes (includ-10
10321	10321	ing by incorporating it into the final 11
10322	10322	unofficial vote count (as defined by 12
10323	10323	the State) for the precinct) and not as 13
10324	10324	a provisional ballot, unless the indi-14
10325	10325	vidual casting the ballot would have 15
10326	10326	otherwise been required to cast a pro-16
10327	10327	visional ballot. 17
10328	10328	‘‘(III) P
10329	10329	OSTING OF NOTICE .— 18
10330	10330	The appropriate election official shall 19
10331	10331	ensure there is prominently displayed 20
10332	10332	at each polling place a notice that de-21
10333	10333	scribes the obligation of the official to 22
10334	10334	offer individuals the opportunity to 23
10335	10335	cast votes using a printed blank paper 24
10336	10336	ballot. The notice shall comply with 25
10337	10337	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00338 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10338	10338	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 339
10339	10339	•S 1 IS
10340	10340	the requirements of section 203 of the 1
10341	10341	Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 2
10342	10342	10503). 3
10343	10343	‘‘(IV) T
10344	10344	RAINING OF ELECTION 4
10345	10345	OFFICIALS.—The chief State election 5
10346	10346	official shall ensure that election offi-6
10347	10347	cials at polling places in the State are 7
10348	10348	aware of the requirements of this 8
10349	10349	clause, including the requirement to 9
10350	10350	display a notice under subclause (III), 10
10351	10351	and are aware that it is a violation of 11
10352	10352	the requirements of this title for an 12
10353	10353	election official to fail to offer an indi-13
10354	10354	vidual the opportunity to cast a vote 14
10355	10355	using a blank printed paper ballot. 15
10356	10356	‘‘(V) P
10357	10357	ERIOD OF APPLICA -16
10358	10358	BILITY.—The requirements of this 17
10359	10359	clause apply only during the period 18
10360	10360	beginning on January 1, 2024, and 19
10361	10361	ending on the date on which the which 20
10362	10362	the jurisdiction replaces the printers 21
10363	10363	or systems described in clause (ii)(I) 22
10364	10364	for use in the administration of elec-23
10365	10365	tions for Federal office. 24
10366	10366	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00339 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10367	10367	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 340
10368	10368	•S 1 IS
10369	10369	‘‘(C) DELAY FOR CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS 1
10370	10370	USING VOTING SYSTEMS WITH WIRELESS COM -2
10371	10371	MUNICATION DEVICES OR INTERNET CONNEC -3
10372	10372	TIONS.— 4
10373	10373	‘‘(i) D
10374	10374	ELAY.—In the case of a juris-5
10375	10375	diction described in clause (ii), subpara-6
10376	10376	graph (A) shall apply to a voting system in 7
10377	10377	the jurisdiction as if the reference in such 8
10378	10378	subparagraph to ‘2024’ were a reference to 9
10379	10379	‘the applicable year’, but only with respect 10
10380	10380	to the following requirements of this sec-11
10381	10381	tion: 12
10382	10382	‘‘(I) Paragraph (8) of subsection 13
10383	10383	(a) (relating to prohibition of wireless 14
10384	10384	communication devices). 15
10385	10385	‘‘(II) Paragraph (9) of subsection 16
10386	10386	(a) (relating to prohibition of con-17
10387	10387	necting systems to the internet). 18
10388	10388	‘‘(ii) J
10389	10389	URISDICTIONS DESCRIBED .—A 19
10390	10390	jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju-20
10391	10391	risdiction— 21
10392	10392	‘‘(I) which used a voting system 22
10393	10393	which is not in compliance with para-23
10394	10394	graphs (8) or (9) of subsection (a) (as 24
10395	10395	amended or added by the Voter Con-25
10396	10396	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00340 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10397	10397	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 341
10398	10398	•S 1 IS
10399	10399	fidence and Increased Accessibility 1
10400	10400	Act of 2023) for the administration of 2
10401	10401	the regularly scheduled general elec-3
10402	10402	tion for Federal office held in Novem-4
10403	10403	ber 2022; 5
10404	10404	‘‘(II) which was not able, to all 6
10405	10405	extent practicable, to comply with 7
10406	10406	paragraph (8) and (9) of subsection 8
10407	10407	(a) before January 1, 2024; and 9
10408	10408	‘‘(III) which will continue to use 10
10409	10409	such printers or systems for the ad-11
10410	10410	ministration of elections for Federal 12
10411	10411	office held in years before the applica-13
10412	10412	ble year. 14
10413	10413	‘‘(iii) A
10414	10414	PPLICABLE YEAR.— 15
10415	10415	‘‘(I) I
10416	10416	N GENERAL.—Except as 16
10417	10417	provided in subclause (II), the term 17
10418	10418	‘applicable year’ means 2028. 18
10419	10419	‘‘(II) E
10420	10420	XTENSION.—If a State or 19
10421	10421	jurisdiction certifies to the Commis-20
10422	10422	sion not later than January 1, 2028, 21
10423	10423	that the State or jurisdiction will not 22
10424	10424	meet the requirements described in 23
10425	10425	subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (i) by 24
10426	10426	such date because it would be imprac-25
10427	10427	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00341 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10428	10428	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 342
10429	10429	•S 1 IS
10430	10430	tical to do so and includes in the cer-1
10431	10431	tification the reasons for the failure to 2
10432	10432	meet the deadline, the term ‘applica-3
10433	10433	ble year’ means 2032.’’. 4
10434	10434	SEC. 3908. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER 5
10435	10435	BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING 6
10436	10436	OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVE-7
10437	10437	MENTS. 8
10438	10438	(a) A
10439	10439	VAILABILITY OFGRANTS.— 9
10440	10440	(1) I
10441	10441	N GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title II of the 10
10442	10442	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 11
10443	10443	et seq.), as amended by section 1302(c), is amended 12
10444	10444	by adding at the end the following new part: 13
10445	10445	‘‘PART 8—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT 14
10446	10446	PAPER BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CAR-15
10447	10447	RYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IM-16
10448	10448	PROVEMENTS 17
10449	10449	‘‘SEC. 298. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER 18
10450	10450	BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING 19
10451	10451	OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVE-20
10452	10452	MENTS. 21
10453	10453	‘‘(a) A
10454	10454	VAILABILITY ANDUSE OFGRANT.— 22
10455	10455	‘‘(1) I
10456	10456	N GENERAL.—The Commission shall 23
10457	10457	make a grant to each eligible State— 24
10458	10458	‘‘(A) to replace a voting system— 25
10459	10459	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00342 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10460	10460	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 343
10461	10461	•S 1 IS
10462	10462	‘‘(i) which does not meet the require-1
10463	10463	ments which are first imposed on the State 2
10464	10464	pursuant to the amendments made by the 3
10465	10465	Voter Confidence and Increased Accessi-4
10466	10466	bility Act of 2023 with a voting system 5
10467	10467	which— 6
10468	10468	‘‘(I) does meet such require-7
10469	10469	ments; and 8
10470	10470	‘‘(II) in the case of a grand-9
10471	10471	fathered voting system (as defined in 10
10472	10472	paragraph (2)), is in compliance with 11
10473	10473	the most recent voluntary voting sys-12
10474	10474	tem guidelines; or 13
10475	10475	‘‘(ii) which does meet such require-14
10476	10476	ments but which is not in compliance with 15
10477	10477	the most recent voluntary voting system 16
10478	10478	guidelines with another system which does 17
10479	10479	meet such requirements and is in compli-18
10480	10480	ance with such guidelines; 19
10481	10481	‘‘(B) to carry out voting system security 20
10482	10482	improvements described in section 298A with 21
10483	10483	respect to the regularly scheduled general elec-22
10484	10484	tion for Federal office held in November 2024 23
10485	10485	and each succeeding election for Federal office; 24
10486	10486	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00343 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10487	10487	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 344
10488	10488	•S 1 IS
10489	10489	‘‘(C) to implement and model best prac-1
10490	10490	tices for ballot design, ballot instructions, and 2
10491	10491	the testing of ballots; and 3
10492	10492	‘‘(D) to purchase or acquire accessible vot-4
10493	10493	ing systems that meet the requirements of 5
10494	10494	paragraph (2) and paragraph (3)(A)(i) of sec-6
10495	10495	tion 301(a) by the means described in para-7
10496	10496	graph (3)(B) of such section. 8
10497	10497	‘‘(2) D
10498	10498	EFINITION OF GRANDFATHERED VOTING 9
10499	10499	SYSTEM.—In this subsection, the term ‘grand-10
10500	10500	fathered voting system’ means a voting system that 11
10501	10501	is used by a jurisdiction described in subparagraph 12
10502	10502	(B)(ii) or (C)(ii) of section 301(d)(2). 13
10503	10503	‘‘(b) A
10504	10504	MOUNT OFPAYMENT.— 14
10505	10505	‘‘(1) I
10506	10506	N GENERAL.—The amount of payment 15
10507	10507	made to an eligible State under this section shall be 16
10508	10508	the minimum payment amount described in para-17
10509	10509	graph (2) plus the voting age population proportion 18
10510	10510	amount described in paragraph (3). 19
10511	10511	‘‘(2) M
10512	10512	INIMUM PAYMENT AMOUNT .—The min-20
10513	10513	imum payment amount described in this paragraph 21
10514	10514	is— 22
10515	10515	‘‘(A) in the case of any of the several 23
10516	10516	States or the District of Columbia, one-half of 24
10517	10517	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00344 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10518	10518	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 345
10519	10519	•S 1 IS
10520	10520	1 percent of the aggregate amount made avail-1
10521	10521	able for payments under this section; and 2
10522	10522	‘‘(B) in the case of the Commonwealth of 3
10523	10523	Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the 4
10524	10524	United States Virgin Islands, or the Common-5
10525	10525	wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, one- 6
10526	10526	tenth of 1 percent of such aggregate amount. 7
10527	10527	‘‘(3) V
10528	10528	OTING AGE POPULATION PROPORTION 8
10529	10529	AMOUNT.—The voting age population proportion 9
10530	10530	amount described in this paragraph is the product 10
10531	10531	of— 11
10532	10532	‘‘(A) the aggregate amount made available 12
10533	10533	for payments under this section minus the total 13
10534	10534	of all of the minimum payment amounts deter-14
10535	10535	mined under paragraph (2); and 15
10536	10536	‘‘(B) the voting age population proportion 16
10537	10537	for the State (as defined in paragraph (4)). 17
10538	10538	‘‘(4) V
10539	10539	OTING AGE POPULATION PROPORTION 18
10540	10540	DEFINED.—The term ‘voting age population propor-19
10541	10541	tion’ means, with respect to a State, the amount 20
10542	10542	equal to the quotient of— 21
10543	10543	‘‘(A) the voting age population of the State 22
10544	10544	(as reported in the most recent decennial cen-23
10545	10545	sus); and 24
10546	10546	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00345 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10547	10547	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 346
10548	10548	•S 1 IS
10549	10549	‘‘(B) the total voting age population of all 1
10550	10550	States (as reported in the most recent decennial 2
10551	10551	census). 3
10552	10552	‘‘(5) R
10553	10553	EQUIREMENT RELATING TO PURCHASE 4
10554	10554	OF ACCESSIBLE VOTING SYSTEMS .—An eligible State 5
10555	10555	shall use not less than 10 percent of funds received 6
10556	10556	by the State under this section to purchase acces-7
10557	10557	sible voting systems described in subsection 8
10558	10558	(a)(1)(D). 9
10559	10559	‘‘SEC. 298A. VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS 10
10560	10560	DESCRIBED. 11
10561	10561	‘‘(a) P
10562	10562	ERMITTEDUSES.—A voting system security 12
10563	10563	improvement described in this section is any of the fol-13
10564	10564	lowing: 14
10565	10565	‘‘(1) The acquisition of goods and services from 15
10566	10566	qualified election infrastructure vendors by purchase, 16
10567	10567	lease, or such other arrangements as may be appro-17
10568	10568	priate. 18
10569	10569	‘‘(2) Cyber and risk mitigation training. 19
10570	10570	‘‘(3) A security risk and vulnerability assess-20
10571	10571	ment of the State’s election infrastructure (as de-21
10572	10572	fined in section 3908(b) of the Voter Confidence and 22
10573	10573	Increased Accessibility Act of 2023) which is carried 23
10574	10574	out by a provider of cybersecurity services under a 24
10575	10575	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00346 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10576	10576	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 347
10577	10577	•S 1 IS
10578	10578	contract entered into between the chief State elec-1
10579	10579	tion official and the provider. 2
10580	10580	‘‘(4) The maintenance of infrastructure used 3
10581	10581	for elections, including addressing risks and 4
10582	10582	vulnerabilities which are identified under either of 5
10583	10583	the security risk and vulnerability assessments de-6
10584	10584	scribed in paragraph (3), except that none of the 7
10585	10585	funds provided under this part may be used to ren-8
10586	10586	ovate or replace a building or facility which is not 9
10587	10587	a primary provider of information technology serv-10
10588	10588	ices for the administration of elections, and which is 11
10589	10589	used primarily for purposes other than the adminis-12
10590	10590	tration of elections for public office. 13
10591	10591	‘‘(5) Providing increased technical support for 14
10592	10592	any information technology infrastructure that the 15
10593	10593	chief State election official deems to be part of the 16
10594	10594	State’s election infrastructure (as so defined) or des-17
10595	10595	ignates as critical to the operation of the State’s 18
10596	10596	election infrastructure (as so defined). 19
10597	10597	‘‘(6) Enhancing the cybersecurity and oper-20
10598	10598	ations of the information technology infrastructure 21
10599	10599	described in paragraph (4). 22
10600	10600	‘‘(7) Enhancing the cybersecurity of voter reg-23
10601	10601	istration systems. 24
10602	10602	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00347 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10603	10603	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 348
10604	10604	•S 1 IS
10605	10605	‘‘(b) QUALIFIEDELECTIONINFRASTRUCTURE VEN-1
10606	10606	DORSDESCRIBED.—For purposes of this part, a ‘qualified 2
10607	10607	election infrastructure vendor’ is any person who provides, 3
10608	10608	supports, or maintains, or who seeks to provide, support, 4
10609	10609	or maintain, election infrastructure (as defined in section 5
10610	10610	3908(b) of the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessi-6
10611	10611	bility Act of 2023) on behalf of a State, unit of local gov-7
10612	10612	ernment, or election agency (as defined in section 3908(b) 8
10613	10613	of such Act) who meets the criteria described in section 9
10614	10614	3908(b) of such Act. 10
10615	10615	‘‘SEC. 298B. ELIGIBILITY OF STATES. 11
10616	10616	‘‘A State is eligible to receive a grant under this part 12
10617	10617	if the State submits to the Commission, at such time and 13
10618	10618	in such form as the Commission may require, an applica-14
10619	10619	tion containing— 15
10620	10620	‘‘(1) a description of how the State will use the 16
10621	10621	grant to carry out the activities authorized under 17
10622	10622	this part; 18
10623	10623	‘‘(2) a certification and assurance that, not 19
10624	10624	later than 5 years after receiving the grant, the 20
10625	10625	State will carry out voting system security improve-21
10626	10626	ments, as described in section 298A; and 22
10627	10627	‘‘(3) such other information and assurances as 23
10628	10628	the Commission may require. 24
10629	10629	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00348 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10630	10630	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 349
10631	10631	•S 1 IS
10632	10632	‘‘SEC. 298C. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 1
10633	10633	‘‘Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal 2
10634	10634	year, the Commission shall submit a report to the Com-3
10635	10635	mittees on Homeland Security, House Administration, and 4
10636	10636	the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 5
10637	10637	Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Af-6
10638	10638	fairs, the Judiciary, and Rules and Administration of the 7
10639	10639	Senate, on the activities carried out with the funds pro-8
10640	10640	vided under this part. 9
10641	10641	‘‘SEC. 298D. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 10
10642	10642	‘‘(a) A
10643	10643	UTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 11
10644	10644	appropriated for grants under this part— 12
10645	10645	‘‘(1) $2,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and 13
10646	10646	‘‘(2) $175,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 14
10647	10647	2026, 2028, 2030, and 2032. 15
10648	10648	‘‘(b) C
10649	10649	ONTINUINGAVAILABILITY OFAMOUNTS.—Any 16
10650	10650	amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 17
10651	10651	this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 18
10652	10652	(2) C
10653	10653	LERICAL AMENDMENT .—The table of con-19
10654	10654	tents of such Act, as amended by section 1402(c), 20
10655	10655	is amended by adding at the end of the items relat-21
10656	10656	ing to subtitle D of title II the following: 22
10657	10657	‘‘PART8—GRANTS FOROBTAININGCOMPLIANTPAPERBALLOTVOTING
10658	10658	S
10659	10659	YSTEMS ANDCARRYINGOUTVOTINGSYSTEMSECURITYIMPROVEMENTS
10660	10660	‘‘Sec. 298. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and
10661	10661	carrying out voting system security improvements.
10662	10662	‘‘Sec. 298A. Voting system security improvements described.
10663	10663	‘‘Sec. 298B. Eligibility of States.
10664	10664	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00349 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10665	10665	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 350
10666	10666	•S 1 IS
10667	10667	‘‘Sec. 298C. Reports to Congress.
10668	10668	‘‘Sec. 298D. Authorization of appropriations.
10669	10669	(b) QUALIFIEDELECTIONINFRASTRUCTURE VEN-1
10670	10670	DORS.— 2
10671	10671	(1) I
10672	10672	N GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-3
10673	10673	tion with the Chair, shall establish and publish cri-4
10674	10674	teria for qualified election infrastructure vendors for 5
10675	10675	purposes of section 298A of the Help America Vote 6
10676	10676	Act of 2002 (as added by this Act). 7
10677	10677	(2) C
10678	10678	RITERIA.—The criteria established under 8
10679	10679	paragraph (1) shall include each of the following re-9
10680	10680	quirements: 10
10681	10681	(A) The vendor shall— 11
10682	10682	(i) be owned and controlled by a cit-12
10683	10683	izen or permanent resident of the United 13
10684	10684	States or a member of the Five Eyes intel-14
10685	10685	ligence-sharing alliance; and 15
10686	10686	(ii) in the case of any election infra-16
10687	10687	structure which is a voting machine, en-17
10688	10688	sure that such voting machine is assembled 18
10689	10689	in the United States. 19
10690	10690	(B) The vendor shall disclose to the Sec-20
10691	10691	retary and the Chair, and to the chief State 21
10692	10692	election official of any State to which the ven-22
10693	10693	dor provides any goods and services with funds 23
10694	10694	provided under part 8 of subtitle D of title II 24
10695	10695	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00350 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10696	10696	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 351
10697	10697	•S 1 IS
10698	10698	of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as 1
10699	10699	added by this Act), of any sourcing outside the 2
10700	10700	United States for parts of the election infra-3
10701	10701	structure. 4
10702	10702	(C) The vendor shall disclose to the Sec-5
10703	10703	retary and the Chair, and to the chief State 6
10704	10704	election official of any State to which the ven-7
10705	10705	dor provides any goods and services with funds 8
10706	10706	provided under such part 8, the identification of 9
10707	10707	any entity or individual with a more than 5 per-10
10708	10708	cent ownership interest in the vendor. 11
10709	10709	(D) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 12
10710	10710	election infrastructure will be developed and 13
10711	10711	maintained in a manner that is consistent with 14
10712	10712	the cybersecurity best practices issued by the 15
10713	10713	Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 16
10714	10714	Agency of the Department of Homeland Secu-17
10715	10715	rity. 18
10716	10716	(E) The vendor agrees to maintain its in-19
10717	10717	formation technology infrastructure in a man-20
10718	10718	ner that is consistent with the cybersecurity 21
10719	10719	best practices issued by the Cybersecurity and 22
10720	10720	Infrastructure Security Agency of the Depart-23
10721	10721	ment of Homeland Security. 24
10722	10722	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00351 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10723	10723	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 352
10724	10724	•S 1 IS
10725	10725	(F) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 1
10726	10726	election infrastructure will be developed and 2
10727	10727	maintained in a manner that is consistent with 3
10728	10728	the supply chain best practices issued by the 4
10729	10729	Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 5
10730	10730	Agency of the Department of Homeland Secu-6
10731	10731	rity. 7
10732	10732	(G) The vendor agrees to ensure that it 8
10733	10733	has personnel policies and practices in place 9
10734	10734	that are consistent with personnel best prac-10
10735	10735	tices, including cybersecurity training and back-11
10736	10736	ground checks, issued by the Cybersecurity and 12
10737	10737	Infrastructure Security Agency of the Depart-13
10738	10738	ment of Homeland Security. 14
10739	10739	(H) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 15
10740	10740	election infrastructure will be developed and 16
10741	10741	maintained in a manner that is consistent with 17
10742	10742	data integrity best practices, including require-18
10743	10743	ments for encrypted transfers and validation, 19
10744	10744	testing and checking printed materials for accu-20
10745	10745	racy, and disclosure of quality control incidents, 21
10746	10746	issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 22
10747	10747	Security Agency of the Department of Home-23
10748	10748	land Security. 24
10749	10749	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00352 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10750	10750	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 353
10751	10751	•S 1 IS
10752	10752	(I) The vendor agrees to meet the require-1
10753	10753	ments of paragraph (3) with respect to any 2
10754	10754	known or suspected cybersecurity incidents in-3
10755	10755	volving any of the goods and services provided 4
10756	10756	by the vendor pursuant to a grant under part 5
10757	10757	8 of subtitle D of title II of the Help America 6
10758	10758	Vote Act of 2002 (as added by this Act). 7
10759	10759	(J) The vendor agrees to permit inde-8
10760	10760	pendent security testing by the Election Assist-9
10761	10761	ance Commission (in accordance with section 10
10762	10762	231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 11
10763	10763	(52 U.S.C. 20971)) and by the Secretary of the 12
10764	10764	goods and services provided by the vendor pur-13
10765	10765	suant to a grant under part 8 of subtitle D of 14
10766	10766	title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 15
10767	10767	(as added by this Act). 16
10768	10768	(3) C
10769	10769	YBERSECURITY INCIDENT REPORTING RE -17
10770	10770	QUIREMENTS.— 18
10771	10771	(A) I
10772	10772	N GENERAL.—A vendor meets the re-19
10773	10773	quirements of this paragraph if, upon becoming 20
10774	10774	aware of the possibility that an election cyberse-21
10775	10775	curity incident has occurred involving any of 22
10776	10776	the goods and services provided by the vendor 23
10777	10777	pursuant to a grant under part 8 of subtitle D 24
10778	10778	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00353 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10779	10779	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 354
10780	10780	•S 1 IS
10781	10781	of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 1
10782	10782	2002 (as added by this Act)— 2
10783	10783	(i) the vendor promptly assesses 3
10784	10784	whether or not such an incident occurred, 4
10785	10785	and submits a notification meeting the re-5
10786	10786	quirements of subparagraph (B) to the 6
10787	10787	Secretary and the Chair of the assessment 7
10788	10788	as soon as practicable (but in no case later 8
10789	10789	than 3 days after the vendor first becomes 9
10790	10790	aware of the possibility that the incident 10
10791	10791	occurred); 11
10792	10792	(ii) if the incident involves goods or 12
10793	10793	services provided to an election agency, the 13
10794	10794	vendor submits a notification meeting the 14
10795	10795	requirements of subparagraph (B) to the 15
10796	10796	agency as soon as practicable (but in no 16
10797	10797	case later than 3 days after the vendor 17
10798	10798	first becomes aware of the possibility that 18
10799	10799	the incident occurred), and cooperates with 19
10800	10800	the agency in providing any other nec-20
10801	10801	essary notifications relating to the inci-21
10802	10802	dent; and 22
10803	10803	(iii) the vendor provides all necessary 23
10804	10804	updates to any notification submitted 24
10805	10805	under clause (i) or clause (ii). 25
10806	10806	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00354 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10807	10807	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 355
10808	10808	•S 1 IS
10809	10809	(B) CONTENTS OF NOTIFICATIONS .—Each 1
10810	10810	notification submitted under clause (i) or clause 2
10811	10811	(ii) of subparagraph (A) shall contain the fol-3
10812	10812	lowing information with respect to any election 4
10813	10813	cybersecurity incident covered by the notifica-5
10814	10814	tion: 6
10815	10815	(i) The date, time, and time zone 7
10816	10816	when the election cybersecurity incident 8
10817	10817	began, if known. 9
10818	10818	(ii) The date, time, and time zone 10
10819	10819	when the election cybersecurity incident 11
10820	10820	was detected. 12
10821	10821	(iii) The date, time, and duration of 13
10822	10822	the election cybersecurity incident. 14
10823	10823	(iv) The circumstances of the election 15
10824	10824	cybersecurity incident, including the spe-16
10825	10825	cific election infrastructure systems be-17
10826	10826	lieved to have been accessed and informa-18
10827	10827	tion acquired, if any. 19
10828	10828	(v) Any planned and implemented 20
10829	10829	technical measures to respond to and re-21
10830	10830	cover from the incident. 22
10831	10831	(vi) In the case of any notification 23
10832	10832	which is an update to a prior notification, 24
10833	10833	any additional material information relat-25
10834	10834	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00355 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10835	10835	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 356
10836	10836	•S 1 IS
10837	10837	ing to the incident, including technical 1
10838	10838	data, as it becomes available. 2
10839	10839	(C) D
10840	10840	EVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA FOR RE -3
10841	10841	PORTING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 4
10842	10842	of enactment of this Act, the Director of the 5
10843	10843	Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security 6
10844	10844	Agency shall, in consultation with the Election 7
10845	10845	Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Council, de-8
10846	10846	velop criteria for incidents which are required to 9
10847	10847	be reported in accordance with subparagraph 10
10848	10848	(A). 11
10849	10849	(4) D
10850	10850	EFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 12
10851	10851	(A) C
10852	10852	HAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the 13
10853	10853	Chair of the Election Assistance Commission. 14
10854	10854	(B) C
10855	10855	HIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL .— 15
10856	10856	The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ means, 16
10857	10857	with respect to a State, the individual des-17
10858	10858	ignated by the State under section 10 of the 18
10859	10859	National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 19
10860	10860	U.S.C. 20509) to be responsible for coordina-20
10861	10861	tion of the State’s responsibilities under such 21
10862	10862	Act. 22
10863	10863	(C) E
10864	10864	LECTION AGENCY.—The term ‘‘elec-23
10865	10865	tion agency’’ means any component of a State, 24
10866	10866	or any component of a unit of local government 25
10867	10867	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00356 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10868	10868	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 357
10869	10869	•S 1 IS
10870	10870	in a State, which is responsible for the adminis-1
10871	10871	tration of elections for Federal office in the 2
10872	10872	State. 3
10873	10873	(D) E
10874	10874	LECTION INFRASTRUCTURE .—The 4
10875	10875	term ‘‘election infrastructure’’ means storage 5
10876	10876	facilities, polling places, and centralized vote 6
10877	10877	tabulation locations used to support the admin-7
10878	10878	istration of elections for public office, as well as 8
10879	10879	related information and communications tech-9
10880	10880	nology, including voter registration databases, 10
10881	10881	voting machines, electronic mail and other com-11
10882	10882	munications systems (including electronic mail 12
10883	10883	and other systems of vendors who have entered 13
10884	10884	into contracts with election agencies to support 14
10885	10885	the administration of elections, manage the 15
10886	10886	election process, and report and display election 16
10887	10887	results), and other systems used to manage the 17
10888	10888	election process and to report and display elec-18
10889	10889	tion results on behalf of an election agency. 19
10890	10890	(E) S
10891	10891	ECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 20
10892	10892	means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 21
10893	10893	(F) S
10894	10894	TATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the 22
10895	10895	meaning given such term in section 901 of the 23
10896	10896	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 24
10897	10897	21141). 25
10898	10898	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00357 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10899	10899	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 358
10900	10900	•S 1 IS
10901	10901	Subtitle K—Provisional Ballots 1
10902	10902	SEC. 3911. REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTING PROVISIONAL 2
10903	10903	BALLOTS; ESTABLISHMENT OF UNIFORM AND 3
10904	10904	NONDISCRIMINATORY STANDARDS. 4
10905	10905	(a) I
10906	10906	NGENERAL.—Section 302 of the Help America 5
10907	10907	Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082), as amended by sec-6
10908	10908	tion 1601(a), is amended— 7
10909	10909	(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-8
10910	10910	section (h); and 9
10911	10911	(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-10
10912	10912	lowing new subsections: 11
10913	10913	‘‘(e) C
10914	10914	OUNTING OFPROVISIONALBALLOTS.— 12
10915	10915	‘‘(1) I
10916	10916	N GENERAL.— 13
10917	10917	‘‘(A) For purposes of subsection (a)(4), if 14
10918	10918	a provisional ballot is cast within the same 15
10919	10919	county in which the voter is registered or other-16
10920	10920	wise eligible to vote, then notwithstanding the 17
10921	10921	precinct or polling place at which a provisional 18
10922	10922	ballot is cast within the county, the appropriate 19
10923	10923	election official of the jurisdiction in which the 20
10924	10924	individual is registered or otherwise eligible to 21
10925	10925	vote shall count each vote on such ballot for 22
10926	10926	each election in which the individual who cast 23
10927	10927	such ballot is eligible to vote. 24
10928	10928	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00358 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10929	10929	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 359
10930	10930	•S 1 IS
10931	10931	‘‘(B) In addition to the requirements under 1
10932	10932	subsection (a), for each State or political sub-2
10933	10933	division that provides voters provisional ballots, 3
10934	10934	challenge ballots, or affidavit ballots under the 4
10935	10935	State’s applicable law governing the voting 5
10936	10936	processes for those voters whose eligibility to 6
10937	10937	vote is determined to be uncertain by election 7
10938	10938	officials, election officials shall— 8
10939	10939	‘‘(i) provide clear written instructions 9
10940	10940	indicating the reason the voter was given a 10
10941	10941	provisional ballot, the information or docu-11
10942	10942	ments the voter needs to prove eligibility, 12
10943	10943	the location at which the voter must ap-13
10944	10944	pear to submit these materials or alter-14
10945	10945	native methods, including email or fac-15
10946	10946	simile, that the voter may use to submit 16
10947	10947	these materials, and the deadline for sub-17
10948	10948	mitting these materials; 18
10949	10949	‘‘(ii) provide a verbal translation of 19
10950	10950	any written instructions to the voter if nec-20
10951	10951	essary; 21
10952	10952	‘‘(iii) permit any voter who votes pro-22
10953	10953	visionally at any polling place on Indian 23
10954	10954	lands to appear at any polling place or at 24
10955	10955	a central location for the election board to 25
10956	10956	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00359 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10957	10957	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 360
10958	10958	•S 1 IS
10959	10959	submit the documentation or information 1
10960	10960	to prove eligibility; and 2
10961	10961	‘‘(iv) notify the voter as to whether 3
10962	10962	the voter’s provisional ballot was counted 4
10963	10963	or rejected and provide the reason for re-5
10964	10964	jection if the voter’s provisional ballot was 6
10965	10965	rejected after the voter provided the re-7
10966	10966	quired information or documentation on 8
10967	10967	eligibility. 9
10968	10968	‘‘(2) R
10969	10969	ULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 10
10970	10970	this subsection shall prohibit a State or jurisdiction 11
10971	10971	from counting a provisional ballot which is cast in 12
10972	10972	a different county within the State than the county 13
10973	10973	in which the voter is registered or otherwise eligible 14
10974	10974	to vote. 15
10975	10975	‘‘(f) D
10976	10976	UEPROCESSREQUIREMENTS FOR STATESRE-16
10977	10977	QUIRINGSIGNATUREVERIFICATION.— 17
10978	10978	‘‘(1) R
10979	10979	EQUIREMENT.— 18
10980	10980	‘‘(A) I
10981	10981	N GENERAL.—A State may not im-19
10982	10982	pose a signature verification requirement as a 20
10983	10983	condition of accepting and counting a provi-21
10984	10984	sional ballot submitted by any individual with 22
10985	10985	respect to an election for Federal office unless 23
10986	10986	the State meets the due process requirements 24
10987	10987	described in paragraph (2). 25
10988	10988	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00360 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
10989	10989	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 361
10990	10990	•S 1 IS
10991	10991	‘‘(B) SIGNATURE VERIFICATION REQUIRE -1
10992	10992	MENT DESCRIBED.—In this subsection, a ‘sig-2
10993	10993	nature verification requirement’ is a require-3
10994	10994	ment that an election official verify the identi-4
10995	10995	fication of an individual by comparing the indi-5
10996	10996	vidual’s signature on the provisional ballot with 6
10997	10997	the individual’s signature on the official list of 7
10998	10998	registered voters in the State or another official 8
10999	10999	record or other document used by the State to 9
11000	11000	verify the signatures of voters. 10
11001	11001	‘‘(2) D
11002	11002	UE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS .— 11
11003	11003	‘‘(A) N
11004	11004	OTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE 12
11005	11005	DISCREPANCY IN SIGNATURES .—If an indi-13
11006	11006	vidual submits a provisional ballot and the ap-14
11007	11007	propriate State or local election official deter-15
11008	11008	mines that a discrepancy exists between the sig-16
11009	11009	nature on such ballot and the signature of such 17
11010	11010	individual on the official list of registered voters 18
11011	11011	in the State or other official record or document 19
11012	11012	used by the State to verify the signatures of 20
11013	11013	voters, such election official, prior to making a 21
11014	11014	final determination as to the validity of such 22
11015	11015	ballot, shall— 23
11016	11016	‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but no later 24
11017	11017	than the next business day after such de-25
11018	11018	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00361 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11019	11019	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 362
11020	11020	•S 1 IS
11021	11021	termination is made, make a good faith ef-1
11022	11022	fort to notify the individual by mail, tele-2
11023	11023	phone, and (if available) text message and 3
11024	11024	electronic mail that— 4
11025	11025	‘‘(I) a discrepancy exists between 5
11026	11026	the signature on such ballot and the 6
11027	11027	signature of the individual on the offi-7
11028	11028	cial list of registered voters in the 8
11029	11029	State or other official record or docu-9
11030	11030	ment used by the State to verify the 10
11031	11031	signatures of voters; and 11
11032	11032	‘‘(II) if such discrepancy is not 12
11033	11033	cured prior to the expiration of the 13
11034	11034	third day following the State’s dead-14
11035	11035	line for receiving mail-in ballots or ab-15
11036	11036	sentee ballots, such ballot will not be 16
11037	11037	counted; and 17
11038	11038	‘‘(ii) cure such discrepancy and count 18
11039	11039	the ballot if, prior to the expiration of the 19
11040	11040	third day following the State’s deadline for 20
11041	11041	receiving mail-in ballots or absentee bal-21
11042	11042	lots, the individual provides the official 22
11043	11043	with information to cure such discrepancy, 23
11044	11044	either in person, by telephone, or by elec-24
11045	11045	tronic methods. 25
11046	11046	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00362 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11047	11047	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 363
11048	11048	•S 1 IS
11049	11049	‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY TO CURE 1
11050	11050	MISSING SIGNATURE OR OTHER DEFECT .—If an 2
11051	11051	individual submits a provisional ballot without a 3
11052	11052	signature or submits a provisional ballot with 4
11053	11053	another defect which, if left uncured, would 5
11054	11054	cause the ballot to not be counted, the appro-6
11055	11055	priate State or local election official, prior to 7
11056	11056	making a final determination as to the validity 8
11057	11057	of the ballot, shall— 9
11058	11058	‘‘(i) as soon as practical, but no later 10
11059	11059	than the next business day after such de-11
11060	11060	termination is made, make a good faith ef-12
11061	11061	fort to notify the individual by mail, tele-13
11062	11062	phone, and (if available) text message and 14
11063	11063	electronic mail that— 15
11064	11064	‘‘(I) the ballot did not include a 16
11065	11065	signature or has some other defect; 17
11066	11066	and 18
11067	11067	‘‘(II) if the individual does not 19
11068	11068	provide the missing signature or cure 20
11069	11069	the other defect prior to the expira-21
11070	11070	tion of the third day following the 22
11071	11071	State’s deadline for receiving mail-in 23
11072	11072	ballots or absentee ballots, such ballot 24
11073	11073	will not be counted; and 25
11074	11074	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00363 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11075	11075	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 364
11076	11076	•S 1 IS
11077	11077	‘‘(ii) count the ballot if, prior to the 1
11078	11078	expiration of the third day following the 2
11079	11079	State’s deadline for receiving mail-in bal-3
11080	11080	lots or absentee ballots, the individual pro-4
11081	11081	vides the official with the missing signa-5
11082	11082	ture on a form proscribed by the State or 6
11083	11083	cures the other defect. 7
11084	11084	‘‘(C) O
11085	11085	THER REQUIREMENTS .— 8
11086	11086	‘‘(i) I
11087	11087	N GENERAL.—An election official 9
11088	11088	may not make a determination that a dis-10
11089	11089	crepancy exists between the signature on a 11
11090	11090	provisional ballot and the signature of the 12
11091	11091	individual on the official list of registered 13
11092	11092	voters in the State or other official record 14
11093	11093	or other document used by the State to 15
11094	11094	verify the signatures of voters unless— 16
11095	11095	‘‘(I) at least 2 election officials 17
11096	11096	make the determination; 18
11097	11097	‘‘(II) each official who makes the 19
11098	11098	determination has received training in 20
11099	11099	procedures used to verify signatures; 21
11100	11100	and 22
11101	11101	‘‘(III) of the officials who make 23
11102	11102	the determination, at least one is af-24
11103	11103	filiated with the political party whose 25
11104	11104	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00364 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11105	11105	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 365
11106	11106	•S 1 IS
11107	11107	candidate received the most votes in 1
11108	11108	the most recent statewide election for 2
11109	11109	Federal office held in the State and at 3
11110	11110	least one is affiliated with the political 4
11111	11111	party whose candidate received the 5
11112	11112	second most votes in the most recent 6
11113	11113	statewide election for Federal office 7
11114	11114	held in the State. 8
11115	11115	‘‘(ii) E
11116	11116	XCEPTION.—Clause (i)(III) 9
11117	11117	shall not apply to any State in which, 10
11118	11118	under a law that is in effect continuously 11
11119	11119	on and after the date of enactment of this 12
11120	11120	section, determinations regarding signature 13
11121	11121	discrepancies are made by election officials 14
11122	11122	who are not affiliated with a political 15
11123	11123	party. 16
11124	11124	‘‘(3) R
11125	11125	EPORT.— 17
11126	11126	‘‘(A) I
11127	11127	N GENERAL.—Not later than 120 18
11128	11128	days after the end of a Federal election cycle, 19
11129	11129	each chief State election official shall submit to 20
11130	11130	the Commission a report containing the fol-21
11131	11131	lowing information for the applicable Federal 22
11132	11132	election cycle in the State: 23
11133	11133	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00365 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11134	11134	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 366
11135	11135	•S 1 IS
11136	11136	‘‘(i) The number of provisional ballots 1
11137	11137	invalidated due to a discrepancy under this 2
11138	11138	subsection. 3
11139	11139	‘‘(ii) Description of attempts to con-4
11140	11140	tact voters to provide notice as required by 5
11141	11141	this subsection. 6
11142	11142	‘‘(iii) Description of the cure process 7
11143	11143	developed by such State pursuant to this 8
11144	11144	subsection, including the number of provi-9
11145	11145	sional ballots determined valid as a result 10
11146	11146	of such process. 11
11147	11147	‘‘(B) S
11148	11148	UBMISSION TO CONGRESS .—Not 12
11149	11149	later than 10 days after receiving a report 13
11150	11150	under subparagraph (A), the Commission shall 14
11151	11151	transmit such report to Congress. 15
11152	11152	‘‘(C) F
11153	11153	EDERAL ELECTION CYCLE DE -16
11154	11154	FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the 17
11155	11155	term ‘Federal election cycle’ means, with re-18
11156	11156	spect to any regularly scheduled election for 19
11157	11157	Federal office, the period beginning on the day 20
11158	11158	after the date of the preceding regularly sched-21
11159	11159	uled general election for Federal office and end-22
11160	11160	ing on the date of such regularly scheduled gen-23
11161	11161	eral election. 24
11162	11162	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00366 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11163	11163	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 367
11164	11164	•S 1 IS
11165	11165	‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION .—Nothing in 1
11166	11166	this subsection shall be construed— 2
11167	11167	‘‘(A) to prohibit a State from rejecting a 3
11168	11168	ballot attempted to be cast in an election for 4
11169	11169	Federal office by an individual who is not eligi-5
11170	11170	ble to vote in the election; or 6
11171	11171	‘‘(B) to prohibit a State from providing an 7
11172	11172	individual with more time and more methods 8
11173	11173	for curing a discrepancy in the individual’s sig-9
11174	11174	nature, providing a missing signature, or curing 10
11175	11175	any other defect than the State is required to 11
11176	11176	provide under this subsection. 12
11177	11177	‘‘(5) E
11178	11178	FFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 13
11179	11179	apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-14
11180	11180	ary 1, 2024. 15
11181	11181	‘‘(g) U
11182	11182	NIFORM AND NONDISCRIMINATORY STAND-16
11183	11183	ARDS.— 17
11184	11184	‘‘(1) I
11185	11185	N GENERAL.—Consistent with the re-18
11186	11186	quirements of this section, each State shall establish 19
11187	11187	uniform and nondiscriminatory standards for the 20
11188	11188	issuance, handling, and counting of provisional bal-21
11189	11189	lots. 22
11190	11190	‘‘(2) E
11191	11191	FFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 23
11192	11192	apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-24
11193	11193	ary 1, 2024. 25
11194	11194	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00367 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11195	11195	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 368
11196	11196	•S 1 IS
11197	11197	‘‘(h) ADDITIONALCONDITIONSPROHIBITED.—If an 1
11198	11198	individual in a State is eligible to cast a provisional ballot 2
11199	11199	as provided under this section, the State may not impose 3
11200	11200	any additional conditions or requirements (including con-4
11201	11201	ditions or requirements regarding the timeframe in which 5
11202	11202	a provisional ballot may be cast) on the eligibility of the 6
11203	11203	individual to cast such provisional ballot.’’. 7
11204	11204	(b) C
11205	11205	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 302(h) of 8
11206	11206	such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(g)), as amended by section 9
11207	11207	1601(a) and redesignated by subsection (a), is amended 10
11208	11208	by striking ‘‘subsection (d)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections 11
11209	11209	(d)(4), (e)(3), and (f)(2)’’. 12
11210	11210	TITLE IV—VOTING SYSTEM 13
11211	11211	SECURITY 14
11212	11212	SEC. 4001. POST-ELECTION AUDIT REQUIREMENT. 15
11213	11213	(a) I
11214	11214	NGENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 16
11215	11215	Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended 17
11216	11216	by section 3601, is amended by inserting after section 18
11217	11217	303A the following new section: 19
11218	11218	‘‘SEC. 303B. POST-ELECTION AUDITS. 20
11219	11219	‘‘(a) D
11220	11220	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 21
11221	11221	‘‘(1) P
11222	11222	OST-ELECTION AUDIT.—Except as pro-22
11223	11223	vided in subsection (c)(1)(B), the term ‘post-election 23
11224	11224	audit’ means, with respect to any election contest, a 24
11225	11225	post-election process that— 25
11226	11226	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00368 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11227	11227	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 369
11228	11228	•S 1 IS
11229	11229	‘‘(A) has a probability of at least 95 per-1
11230	11230	cent of correcting the reported outcome if the 2
11231	11231	reported outcome is not the correct outcome; 3
11232	11232	‘‘(B) will not change the outcome if the re-4
11233	11233	ported outcome is the correct outcome; and 5
11234	11234	‘‘(C) involves a manual adjudication of 6
11235	11235	voter intent from some or all of the ballots val-7
11236	11236	idly cast in the election contest. 8
11237	11237	‘‘(2) R
11238	11238	EPORTED OUTCOME ; CORRECT OUTCOME ; 9
11239	11239	OUTCOME.— 10
11240	11240	‘‘(A) R
11241	11241	EPORTED OUTCOME .—The term ‘re-11
11242	11242	ported outcome’ means the outcome of an elec-12
11243	11243	tion contest which is determined according to 13
11244	11244	the canvass and which will become the official, 14
11245	11245	certified outcome unless it is revised by an 15
11246	11246	audit, recount, or other legal process. 16
11247	11247	‘‘(B) C
11248	11248	ORRECT OUTCOME .—The term ‘cor-17
11249	11249	rect outcome’ means the outcome that would be 18
11250	11250	determined by a manual adjudication of voter 19
11251	11251	intent for all votes validly cast in the election 20
11252	11252	contest. 21
11253	11253	‘‘(C) O
11254	11254	UTCOME.—The term ‘outcome’ 22
11255	11255	means the winner or set of winners of an elec-23
11256	11256	tion contest. 24
11257	11257	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00369 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11258	11258	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 370
11259	11259	•S 1 IS
11260	11260	‘‘(3) MANUAL ADJUDICATION OF VOTER IN -1
11261	11261	TENT.—The term ‘manual adjudication of voter in-2
11262	11262	tent’ means direct inspection and determination by 3
11263	11263	humans, without assistance from electronic or me-4
11264	11264	chanical tabulation devices, of the ballot choices 5
11265	11265	marked by voters on each voter-verifiable paper 6
11266	11266	record. 7
11267	11267	‘‘(4) B
11268	11268	ALLOT MANIFEST .—The term ‘ballot 8
11269	11269	manifest’ means a record maintained by each juris-9
11270	11270	diction that— 10
11271	11271	‘‘(A) is created without reliance on any 11
11272	11272	part of the voting system used to tabulate 12
11273	11273	votes; 13
11274	11274	‘‘(B) functions as a sampling frame for 14
11275	11275	conducting a post-election audit; and 15
11276	11276	‘‘(C) accounts for all ballots validly cast re-16
11277	11277	gardless of how they were tabulated and in-17
11278	11278	cludes a precise description of the manner in 18
11279	11279	which the ballots are physically stored, includ-19
11280	11280	ing the total number of physical groups of bal-20
11281	11281	lots, the numbering system for each group, a 21
11282	11282	unique label for each group, and the number of 22
11283	11283	ballots in each such group. 23
11284	11284	‘‘(b) R
11285	11285	EQUIREMENTS.— 24
11286	11286	‘‘(1) I
11287	11287	N GENERAL.— 25
11288	11288	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00370 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11289	11289	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 371
11290	11290	•S 1 IS
11291	11291	‘‘(A) AUDITS.— 1
11292	11292	‘‘(i) I
11293	11293	N GENERAL.—Each State and 2
11294	11294	jurisdiction shall administer post-election 3
11295	11295	audits of the results of all election contests 4
11296	11296	for Federal office held in the State in ac-5
11297	11297	cordance with the requirements of para-6
11298	11298	graph (2). 7
11299	11299	‘‘(ii) E
11300	11300	XCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall 8
11301	11301	not apply to any election contest for which 9
11302	11302	the State or jurisdiction conducts a full re-10
11303	11303	count through a manual adjudication of 11
11304	11304	voter intent. 12
11305	11305	‘‘(B) F
11306	11306	ULL MANUAL TABULATION .—If a 13
11307	11307	post-election audit conducted under subpara-14
11308	11308	graph (A) corrects the reported outcome of an 15
11309	11309	election contest, the State or jurisdiction shall 16
11310	11310	use the results of the manual adjudication of 17
11311	11311	voter intent conducted as part of the post-elec-18
11312	11312	tion audit as the official results of the election 19
11313	11313	contest. 20
11314	11314	‘‘(2) A
11315	11315	UDIT REQUIREMENTS .— 21
11316	11316	‘‘(A) R
11317	11317	ULES AND PROCEDURES .— 22
11318	11318	‘‘(i) I
11319	11319	N GENERAL.—Not later than 6 23
11320	11320	years after the date of the enactment of 24
11321	11321	this section, the chief State election official 25
11322	11322	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00371 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11323	11323	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 372
11324	11324	•S 1 IS
11325	11325	of the State shall establish rules and proce-1
11326	11326	dures for conducting post-election audits. 2
11327	11327	‘‘(ii) M
11328	11328	ATTERS INCLUDED.—The rules 3
11329	11329	and procedures established under clause (i) 4
11330	11330	shall include the following: 5
11331	11331	‘‘(I) Rules and procedures for en-6
11332	11332	suring the security of ballots and doc-7
11333	11333	umenting that prescribed procedures 8
11334	11334	were followed. 9
11335	11335	‘‘(II) Rules and procedures for 10
11336	11336	ensuring the accuracy of ballot mani-11
11337	11337	fests produced by jurisdictions. 12
11338	11338	‘‘(III) Rules and procedures for 13
11339	11339	governing the format of ballot mani-14
11340	11340	fests and other data involved in post- 15
11341	11341	election audits. 16
11342	11342	‘‘(IV) Methods to ensure that 17
11343	11343	any cast vote records used in a post- 18
11344	11344	election audit are those used by the 19
11345	11345	voting system to tally the results of 20
11346	11346	the election contest sent to the chief 21
11347	11347	State election official of the State and 22
11348	11348	made public. 23
11349	11349	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00372 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11350	11350	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 373
11351	11351	•S 1 IS
11352	11352	‘‘(V) Rules and procedures for 1
11353	11353	the random selection of ballots to be 2
11354	11354	inspected manually during each audit. 3
11355	11355	‘‘(VI) Rules and procedures for 4
11356	11356	the calculations and other methods to 5
11357	11357	be used in the audit and to determine 6
11358	11358	whether and when the audit of each 7
11359	11359	election contest is complete. 8
11360	11360	‘‘(VII) Rules and procedures for 9
11361	11361	testing any software used to conduct 10
11362	11362	post-election audits. 11
11363	11363	‘‘(B) P
11364	11364	UBLIC REPORT.— 12
11365	11365	‘‘(i) I
11366	11366	N GENERAL.—After the comple-13
11367	11367	tion of the post-election audit and at least 14
11368	11368	5 days before the election contest is cer-15
11369	11369	tified by the State, the State shall make 16
11370	11370	public and submit to the Commission a re-17
11371	11371	port on the results of the audit, together 18
11372	11372	with such information as necessary to con-19
11373	11373	firm that the audit was conducted prop-20
11374	11374	erly. 21
11375	11375	‘‘(ii) F
11376	11376	ORMAT OF DATA .—All data 22
11377	11377	published with the report under clause (i) 23
11378	11378	shall be published in machine-readable, 24
11379	11379	open data formats. 25
11380	11380	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00373 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11381	11381	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 374
11382	11382	•S 1 IS
11383	11383	‘‘(iii) PROTECTION OF ANONYMITY OF 1
11384	11384	VOTES.—Information and data published 2
11385	11385	by the State under this subparagraph shall 3
11386	11386	not compromise the anonymity of votes. 4
11387	11387	‘‘(iv) R
11388	11388	EPORT MADE AVAILABLE BY 5
11389	11389	COMMISSION.—After receiving any report 6
11390	11390	submitted under clause (i), the Commis-7
11391	11391	sion shall make such report available on its 8
11392	11392	website. 9
11393	11393	‘‘(3) E
11394	11394	FFECTIVE DATE; WAIVER.— 10
11395	11395	‘‘(A) I
11396	11396	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in 11
11397	11397	subparagraphs (B) and (C), each State and ju-12
11398	11398	risdiction shall be required to comply with the 13
11399	11399	requirements of this subsection for the first reg-14
11400	11400	ularly scheduled election for Federal office oc-15
11401	11401	curring in 2034 and for each subsequent elec-16
11402	11402	tion for Federal office. 17
11403	11403	‘‘(B) W
11404	11404	AIVER.—Except as provided in sub-18
11405	11405	paragraph (C), if a State certifies to the Elec-19
11406	11406	tion Assistance Commission not later than the 20
11407	11407	first regularly scheduled election for Federal of-21
11408	11408	fice occurring in 2034, that the State will not 22
11409	11409	meet the deadline described in subparagraph 23
11410	11410	(A) because it would be impracticable to do so 24
11411	11411	and includes in the certification the reasons for 25
11412	11412	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00374 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11413	11413	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 375
11414	11414	•S 1 IS
11415	11415	the failure to meet such deadline, subparagraph 1
11416	11416	(A) and subsection (c)(2) shall be applied to the 2
11417	11417	State by substituting ‘2036’ for ‘2034’. 3
11418	11418	‘‘(C) A
11419	11419	DDITIONAL WAIVER PERIOD .—If a 4
11420	11420	State certifies to the Election Assistance Com-5
11421	11421	mission not later than the first regularly sched-6
11422	11422	uled election for Federal office occurring in 7
11423	11423	2036, that the State will not meet the deadline 8
11424	11424	described in subparagraph (A) (after applica-9
11425	11425	tion of subparagraph (B)) because it would be 10
11426	11426	impracticable to do so and includes in the cer-11
11427	11427	tification the reasons for the failure to meet 12
11428	11428	such deadline, subparagraph (A) and subsection 13
11429	11429	(c)(2) shall be applied to the State by sub-14
11430	11430	stituting ‘2038’ for ‘2034’. 15
11431	11431	‘‘(c) P
11432	11432	HASEDIMPLEMENTATION.— 16
11433	11433	‘‘(1) P
11434	11434	OST-ELECTION AUDITS.— 17
11435	11435	‘‘(A) I
11436	11436	N GENERAL.—For the regularly 18
11437	11437	scheduled elections for Federal office occurring 19
11438	11438	in 2026 and 2028, each State shall administer 20
11439	11439	a post-election audit of the result of at least one 21
11440	11440	statewide election contest for Federal office held 22
11441	11441	in the State, or if no such statewide contest is 23
11442	11442	on the ballot, one election contest for Federal 24
11443	11443	office chosen at random. 25
11444	11444	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00375 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11445	11445	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 376
11446	11446	•S 1 IS
11447	11447	‘‘(B) POST-ELECTION AUDIT DEFINED .— 1
11448	11448	In this subsection, the term ‘post-election audit’ 2
11449	11449	means a post-election process that involves a 3
11450	11450	manual adjudication of voter intent from a 4
11451	11451	sample of ballots validly cast in the election 5
11452	11452	contest. 6
11453	11453	‘‘(2) P
11454	11454	OST-ELECTION AUDITS FOR SELECT CON -7
11455	11455	TESTS.—Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C) of 8
11456	11456	subsection (b)(3), for the regularly scheduled elec-9
11457	11457	tions for Federal office occurring in 2030 and for 10
11458	11458	each subsequent election for Federal office that oc-11
11459	11459	curs prior to the first regularly scheduled election 12
11460	11460	for Federal office occurring in 2034, each State 13
11461	11461	shall administer a post-election audit of the result of 14
11462	11462	at least one statewide election contest for Federal of-15
11463	11463	fice held in the State, or if no such statewide contest 16
11464	11464	is on the ballot, one election contest for Federal of-17
11465	11465	fice chosen at random. 18
11466	11466	‘‘(3) S
11467	11467	TATES THAT ADMINISTER POST -ELEC-19
11468	11468	TION AUDITS FOR ALL CONTESTS .—A State shall be 20
11469	11469	exempt from the requirements of this subsection for 21
11470	11470	any regularly scheduled election for Federal office in 22
11471	11471	which the State meets the requirements of sub-23
11472	11472	section (b).’’. 24
11473	11473	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00376 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11474	11474	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 377
11475	11475	•S 1 IS
11476	11476	(b) CLERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of contents 1
11477	11477	for such Act, as amended by section 3601, is amended 2
11478	11478	by inserting after the item relating to section 303A the 3
11479	11479	following new item: 4
11480	11480	‘‘Sec. 303B. Post-election audits.’’.
11481	11481	(c) STUDY ONPOST-ELECTIONAUDITBESTPRAC-5
11482	11482	TICES.— 6
11483	11483	(1) I
11484	11484	N GENERAL.—The Director of the National 7
11485	11485	Institute of Standards and Technology shall estab-8
11486	11486	lish an advisory committee to study post-election au-9
11487	11487	dits and establish best practices for post-election 10
11488	11488	audit methodologies and procedures. 11
11489	11489	(2) A
11490	11490	DVISORY COMMITTEE .—The Director of 12
11491	11491	the National Institute of Standards and Technology 13
11492	11492	shall appoint individuals to the advisory committee 14
11493	11493	and secure the representation of— 15
11494	11494	(A) State and local election officials; 16
11495	11495	(B) individuals with experience and exper-17
11496	11496	tise in election security; 18
11497	11497	(C) individuals with experience and exper-19
11498	11498	tise in post-election audit procedures; and 20
11499	11499	(D) individuals with experience and exper-21
11500	11500	tise in statistical methods. 22
11501	11501	(3) A
11502	11502	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS .— 23
11503	11503	There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 24
11504	11504	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00377 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11505	11505	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 378
11506	11506	•S 1 IS
11507	11507	as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this 1
11508	11508	subsection. 2
11509	11509	SEC. 4002. ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGNATION. 3
11510	11510	Subparagraph (J) of section 2001(3) of the Home-4
11511	11511	land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601(3)) is amended 5
11512	11512	by inserting ‘‘, including election infrastructure’’ before 6
11513	11513	the period at the end. 7
11514	11514	SEC. 4003. GUIDELINES AND CERTIFICATION FOR ELEC-8
11515	11515	TRONIC POLL BOOKS AND REMOTE BALLOT 9
11516	11516	MARKING SYSTEMS. 10
11517	11517	(a) I
11518	11518	NCLUSIONUNDERVOLUNTARYVOTINGSYSTEM 11
11519	11519	G
11520	11520	UIDELINES.—Section 222 of the Help America Vote Act 12
11521	11521	of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20962) is amended— 13
11522	11522	(1) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 14
11523	11523	(d), and (e) as subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), and (f); 15
11524	11524	(2) by inserting after the section heading the 16
11525	11525	following: 17
11526	11526	‘‘(a) V
11527	11527	OLUNTARYVOTINGSYSTEMGUIDELINES.— 18
11528	11528	The Commission shall adopt voluntary voting system 19
11529	11529	guidelines that describe functionality, accessibility, and se-20
11530	11530	curity principles for the design, development, and oper-21
11531	11531	ation of voting systems, electronic poll books, and remote 22
11532	11532	ballot marking systems.’’; and 23
11533	11533	(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-24
11534	11534	sections: 25
11535	11535	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00378 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11536	11536	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 379
11537	11537	•S 1 IS
11538	11538	‘‘(g) INITIALGUIDELINES FOR ELECTRONICPOLL 1
11539	11539	B
11540	11540	OOKS ANDREMOTEBALLOTMARKINGSYSTEMS.— 2
11541	11541	‘‘(1) A
11542	11542	DOPTION DATE.—The Commission shall 3
11543	11543	adopt initial voluntary voting system guidelines for 4
11544	11544	electronic poll books and remote ballot marking sys-5
11545	11545	tems not later than 1 year after the date of the en-6
11546	11546	actment of the Freedom to Vote Act. 7
11547	11547	‘‘(2) S
11548	11548	PECIAL RULE FOR INITIAL GUIDE -8
11549	11549	LINES.—The Commission may adopt initial vol-9
11550	11550	untary voting system guidelines for electronic poll 10
11551	11551	books and remote ballot marking systems without 11
11552	11552	modifying the most recently adopted voluntary vot-12
11553	11553	ing system guidelines for voting systems. 13
11554	11554	‘‘(h) D
11555	11555	EFINITIONS.—In this section: 14
11556	11556	‘‘(1) E
11557	11557	LECTRONIC POLL BOOK .—The term ‘elec-15
11558	11558	tronic poll book’ means the total combination of me-16
11559	11559	chanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment 17
11560	11560	(including the software, firmware, and documenta-18
11561	11561	tion required to program, control, and support the 19
11562	11562	equipment) that is used— 20
11563	11563	‘‘(A) to retain the list of registered voters 21
11564	11564	at a polling location, or vote center, or other lo-22
11565	11565	cation at which voters cast votes in an election 23
11566	11566	for Federal office; and 24
11567	11567	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00379 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11568	11568	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 380
11569	11569	•S 1 IS
11570	11570	‘‘(B) to identify registered voters who are 1
11571	11571	eligible to vote in an election. 2
11572	11572	‘‘(2) R
11573	11573	EMOTE BALLOT MARKING SYSTEM .—The 3
11574	11574	term ‘remote ballot marking system’ means an elec-4
11575	11575	tion system that— 5
11576	11576	‘‘(A) is used by a voter to mark their bal-6
11577	11577	lots outside of a voting center or polling place; 7
11578	11578	and 8
11579	11579	‘‘(B) allows a voter to receive a blank bal-9
11580	11580	lot to mark electronically, print, and then cast 10
11581	11581	by returning the printed ballot to the elections 11
11582	11582	office or other designated location.’’. 12
11583	11583	(b) P
11584	11584	ROVIDING FORCERTIFICATION OFELECTRONIC 13
11585	11585	P
11586	11586	OLLBOOKS ANDREMOTEBALLOTMARKINGSYSTEM.— 14
11587	11587	Section 231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 15
11588	11588	U.S.C. 20971(a)) is amended, in each of paragraphs (1) 16
11589	11589	and (2), by inserting ‘‘, electronic poll books, and remote 17
11590	11590	ballot marking systems’’ after ‘‘software’’. 18
11591	11591	SEC. 4004. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 19
11592	11592	USAGE. 20
11593	11593	(a) R
11594	11594	EQUIRINGSTATESTOSUBMITREPORTS.—Title 21
11595	11595	III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 22
11596	11596	21081 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 301 23
11597	11597	the following new section: 24
11598	11598	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00380 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11599	11599	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 381
11600	11600	•S 1 IS
11601	11601	‘‘SEC. 301A. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 1
11602	11602	USAGE. 2
11603	11603	‘‘(a) R
11604	11604	EQUIRINGSTATESTOSUBMITREPORTS.— 3
11605	11605	Not later than 120 days before the date of each regularly 4
11606	11606	scheduled general election for Federal office, the chief 5
11607	11607	State election official of a State shall submit a report to 6
11608	11608	the Commission containing a detailed voting system usage 7
11609	11609	plan for each jurisdiction in the State which will admin-8
11610	11610	ister the election, including a detailed plan for the usage 9
11611	11611	of electronic poll books and other equipment and compo-10
11612	11612	nents of such system. If a jurisdiction acquires and imple-11
11613	11613	ments a new voting system within the 120 days before the 12
11614	11614	date of the election, it shall notify the chief State election 13
11615	11615	official of the State, who shall submit to the Commission 14
11616	11616	in a timely manner an updated report under the preceding 15
11617	11617	sentence. 16
11618	11618	‘‘(b) E
11619	11619	FFECTIVEDATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 17
11620	11620	with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 18
11621	11621	Federal office held in November 2024 and each succeeding 19
11622	11622	regularly scheduled general election for Federal office’’. 20
11623	11623	(b) C
11624	11624	LERICALAMENDMENT.—The table of contents 21
11625	11625	of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 22
11626	11626	to section 301 the following new item: 23
11627	11627	‘‘Sec. 301A. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.’’.
11628	11628	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00381 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11629	11629	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 382
11630	11630	•S 1 IS
11631	11631	SEC. 4005. USE OF VOTING MACHINES MANUFACTURED IN 1
11632	11632	THE UNITED STATES. 2
11633	11633	(a) R
11634	11634	EQUIREMENT.—Section 301(a) of the Help 3
11635	11635	America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as 4
11636	11636	amended by section 3904 and section 3906, is further 5
11637	11637	amended by adding at the end the following new para-6
11638	11638	graph: 7
11639	11639	‘‘(10) V
11640	11640	OTING MACHINE REQUIREMENTS .— 8
11641	11641	‘‘(A) M
11642	11642	ANUFACTURING REQUIREMENTS .— 9
11643	11643	By not later than the date of the regularly 10
11644	11644	scheduled general election for Federal office oc-11
11645	11645	curring in November 2026, each State shall 12
11646	11646	seek to ensure to the extent practicable that 13
11647	11647	any voting machine used in such election and in 14
11648	11648	any subsequent election for Federal office is 15
11649	11649	manufactured in the United States. 16
11650	11650	‘‘(B) A
11651	11651	SSEMBLY REQUIREMENTS .—By not 17
11652	11652	later than the date of the regularly scheduled 18
11653	11653	general election for Federal office occurring in 19
11654	11654	November 2026, each State shall seek to ensure 20
11655	11655	that any voting machine purchased or acquired 21
11656	11656	for such election and in any subsequent election 22
11657	11657	for Federal office is assembled in the United 23
11658	11658	States. 24
11659	11659	‘‘(C) S
11660	11660	OFTWARE AND CODE REQUIRE -25
11661	11661	MENTS.—By not later than the date of the reg-26
11662	11662	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00382 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11663	11663	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 383
11664	11664	•S 1 IS
11665	11665	ularly scheduled general election for Federal of-1
11666	11666	fice occurring in November 2026, each State 2
11667	11667	shall seek to ensure that any software or code 3
11668	11668	developed for any voting system purchased or 4
11669	11669	acquired for such election and in any subse-5
11670	11670	quent election for Federal office is developed 6
11671	11671	and stored in the United States.’’. 7
11672	11672	(b) C
11673	11673	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT RELATING TOEF-8
11674	11674	FECTIVEDATE.—Section 301(d)(1) of such Act (52 9
11675	11675	U.S.C. 21081(d)(1)), as amended by section 3907, is 10
11676	11676	amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-11
11677	11677	section (a)(10) and paragraph (2)’’. 12
11678	11678	SEC. 4006. USE OF POLITICAL PARTY HEADQUARTERS 13
11679	11679	BUILDING FUND FOR TECHNOLOGY OR CY-14
11680	11680	BERSECURITY-RELATED PURPOSES. 15
11681	11681	(a) P
11682	11682	ERMITTING USE OF FUND.—Section 16
11683	11683	315(a)(9)(B) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 17
11684	11684	1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(9)(B)) is amended by striking 18
11685	11685	the period at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and 19
11686	11686	to defray technology or cybersecurity-related expenses.’’. 20
11687	11687	(b) E
11688	11688	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 21
11689	11689	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to calendar year 22
11690	11690	2024 and each succeeding calendar year. 23
11691	11691	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00383 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
11692	11692	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 384
11693	11693	•S 1 IS
11694	11694	SEC. 4007. SEVERABILITY. 1
11695	11695	If any provision of this title or any amendment made 2
11696	11696	by this title, or the application of any such provision or 3
11697	11697	amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 4
11698	11698	unconstitutional, the remainder of this title, and the appli-5
11699	11699	cation of such provision or amendment to any other person 6
11700	11700	or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding. 7
11701	11701	DIVISION C—CIVIC PARTICIPA-8
11702	11702	TION AND EMPOWERMENT 9
11703	11703	TITLE V—NONPARTISAN 10
11704	11704	REDISTRICTING REFORM 11
11705	11705	SEC. 5001. FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. 12
11706	11706	Congress finds that it has the authority to establish 13
11707	11707	the terms and conditions States must follow in carrying 14
11708	11708	out congressional redistricting after an apportionment of 15
11709	11709	Members of the House of Representatives because— 16
11710	11710	(1) the authority granted to Congress under ar-17
11711	11711	ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 18
11712	11712	States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov-19
11713	11713	erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 20
11714	11714	Members of the House of Representatives; 21
11715	11715	(2) the authority granted to Congress under 22
11716	11716	section 5 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitu-23
11717	11717	tion gives Congress the power to enact laws to en-24
11718	11718	force section 2 of such amendment, which requires 25
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11720	11720	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 385
11721	11721	•S 1 IS
11722	11722	Representatives to be apportioned among the several 1
11723	11723	States according to their number; 2
11724	11724	(3) the authority granted to Congress under 3
11725	11725	section 5 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitu-4
11726	11726	tion gives Congress the power to enact laws to en-5
11727	11727	force section 1 of such amendment, including protec-6
11728	11728	tions against excessive partisan gerrymandering that 7
11729	11729	Federal courts have not enforced because they un-8
11730	11730	derstand such enforcement to be committed to Con-9
11731	11731	gress by the Constitution; 10
11732	11732	(4) of the authority granted to Congress to en-11
11733	11733	force article IV, section 4, of the Constitution, and 12
11734	11734	the guarantee of a Republican Form of Government 13
11735	11735	to every State, which Federal courts have not en-14
11736	11736	forced because they understand such enforcement to 15
11737	11737	be committed to Congress by the Constitution; 16
11738	11738	(5) requiring States to use uniform redistricting 17
11739	11739	criteria is an appropriate and important exercise of 18
11740	11740	such authority; and 19
11741	11741	(6) partisan gerrymandering dilutes citizens’ 20
11742	11742	votes because partisan gerrymandering injures vot-21
11743	11743	ers and political parties by infringing on their First 22
11744	11744	Amendment right to associate freely and their Four-23
11745	11745	teenth Amendment right to equal protection of the 24
11746	11746	laws. 25
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11749	11749	•S 1 IS
11750	11750	SEC. 5002. BAN ON MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING. 1
11751	11751	A State that has been redistricted in accordance with 2
11752	11752	this title may not be redistricted again until after the next 3
11753	11753	apportionment of Representatives under section 22(a) of 4
11754	11754	the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and 5
11755	11755	subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap-6
11756	11756	portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 7
11757	11757	June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), unless a court requires the 8
11758	11758	State to conduct such subsequent redistricting to comply 9
11759	11759	with the Constitution of the United States, the Voting 10
11760	11760	Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the terms 11
11761	11761	or conditions of this title, or applicable State law. 12
11762	11762	SEC. 5003. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING. 13
11763	11763	(a) R
11764	11764	EQUIRINGPLANSTOMEETCRITERIA.—A 14
11765	11765	State may not use a congressional redistricting plan en-15
11766	11766	acted following the notice of apportionment transmitted 16
11767	11767	to the President on April 26, 2021, or any subsequent no-17
11768	11768	tice of apportionment, if such plan is not in compliance 18
11769	11769	with this section, without regard to whether or not the 19
11770	11770	plan was enacted by the State before, on, or after the ef-20
11771	11771	fective date of this title. 21
11772	11772	(b) R
11773	11773	ANKEDCRITERIA.—Under the redistricting plan 22
11774	11774	of a State, there shall be established single-member con-23
11775	11775	gressional districts using the following criteria as set forth 24
11776	11776	in the following order of priority: 25
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11778	11778	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 387
11779	11779	•S 1 IS
11780	11780	(1) Districts shall comply with the United 1
11781	11781	States Constitution, including the requirement that 2
11782	11782	they substantially equalize total population, without 3
11783	11783	regard to age, citizenship status, or immigration sta-4
11784	11784	tus. 5
11785	11785	(2) Districts shall comply with the Voting 6
11786	11786	Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), in-7
11787	11787	cluding by creating any districts where, if based 8
11788	11788	upon the totality of the circumstances, 2 or more po-9
11789	11789	litically cohesive groups protected by such Act are 10
11790	11790	able to elect representatives of choice in coalition 11
11791	11791	with one another, and all applicable Federal laws. 12
11792	11792	(3)(A) Districts shall be drawn, to the extent 13
11793	11793	that the totality of the circumstances warrant, to en-14
11794	11794	sure the practical ability of a group protected under 15
11795	11795	the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 16
11796	11796	seq.) to participate in the political process and to 17
11797	11797	nominate candidates and to elect representatives of 18
11798	11798	choice is not diluted or diminished, regardless of 19
11799	11799	whether or not such protected group constitutes a 20
11800	11800	majority of a district’s population, voting age popu-21
11801	11801	lation, or citizen voting age population. 22
11802	11802	(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), the as-23
11803	11803	sessment of whether a protected group has the prac-24
11804	11804	tical ability to nominate candidates and to elect rep-25
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11806	11806	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 388
11807	11807	•S 1 IS
11808	11808	resentatives of choice shall require the consideration 1
11809	11809	of the following factors: 2
11810	11810	(i) Whether the group is politically cohe-3
11811	11811	sive. 4
11812	11812	(ii) Whether there is racially polarized vot-5
11813	11813	ing in the relevant geographic region. 6
11814	11814	(iii) If there is racially polarized voting in 7
11815	11815	the relevant geographic region, whether the pre-8
11816	11816	ferred candidates of the group nevertheless re-9
11817	11817	ceive a sufficient amount of consistent crossover 10
11818	11818	support from other voters such that the group 11
11819	11819	is a functional majority with the ability to both 12
11820	11820	nominate candidates and elect representatives 13
11821	11821	of choice. 14
11822	11822	(4)(A) Districts shall be drawn to represent 15
11823	11823	communities of interest and neighborhoods to the 16
11824	11824	extent practicable after compliance with the require-17
11825	11825	ments of paragraphs (1) through (3). A community 18
11826	11826	of interest is defined as an area for which the record 19
11827	11827	before the entity responsible for developing and 20
11828	11828	adopting the redistricting plan demonstrates the ex-21
11829	11829	istence of broadly shared interests and representa-22
11830	11830	tional needs, including shared interests and rep-23
11831	11831	resentational needs rooted in common ethnic, racial, 24
11832	11832	economic, Indian, social, cultural, geographic, or his-25
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11834	11834	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 389
11835	11835	•S 1 IS
11836	11836	toric identities, or arising from similar socioeconomic 1
11837	11837	conditions. The term communities of interest may, if 2
11838	11838	the record warrants, include political subdivisions 3
11839	11839	such as counties, municipalities, Indian lands, or 4
11840	11840	school districts, but shall not include common rela-5
11841	11841	tionships with political parties or political can-6
11842	11842	didates. 7
11843	11843	(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A), in con-8
11844	11844	sidering the needs of multiple, overlapping commu-9
11845	11845	nities of interest, the entity responsible for devel-10
11846	11846	oping and adopting the redistricting plan shall give 11
11847	11847	greater weight to those communities of interest 12
11848	11848	whose representational needs would most benefit 13
11849	11849	from the community’s inclusion in a single congres-14
11850	11850	sional district. 15
11851	11851	(c) N
11852	11852	OFAVORING ORDISFAVORING OFPOLITICAL 16
11853	11853	P
11854	11854	ARTIES.— 17
11855	11855	(1) P
11856	11856	ROHIBITION.—A State may not use a re-18
11857	11857	districting plan to conduct an election if the plan’s 19
11858	11858	congressional districts, when considered cumulatively 20
11859	11859	on a statewide basis, have been drawn with the in-21
11860	11860	tent or have the effect of materially favoring or 22
11861	11861	disfavoring any political party. 23
11862	11862	(2) D
11863	11863	ETERMINATION OF EFFECT .—The deter-24
11864	11864	mination of whether a redistricting plan has the ef-25
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11866	11866	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 390
11867	11867	•S 1 IS
11868	11868	fect of materially favoring or disfavoring a political 1
11869	11869	party shall be based on an evaluation of the totality 2
11870	11870	of circumstances which, at a minimum, shall involve 3
11871	11871	consideration of each of the following factors: 4
11872	11872	(A) Computer modeling based on relevant 5
11873	11873	statewide general elections for Federal office 6
11874	11874	held over the 8 years preceding the adoption of 7
11875	11875	the redistricting plan setting forth the probable 8
11876	11876	electoral outcomes for the plan under a range 9
11877	11877	of reasonably foreseeable conditions. 10
11878	11878	(B) An analysis of whether the redis-11
11879	11879	tricting plan is statistically likely to result in 12
11880	11880	partisan advantage or disadvantage on a state-13
11881	11881	wide basis, the degree of any such advantage or 14
11882	11882	disadvantage, and whether such advantage or 15
11883	11883	disadvantage is likely to be present under a 16
11884	11884	range of reasonably foreseeable electoral condi-17
11885	11885	tions. 18
11886	11886	(C) A comparison of the modeled electoral 19
11887	11887	outcomes for the redistricting plan to the mod-20
11888	11888	eled electoral outcomes for alternative plans 21
11889	11889	that demonstrably comply with the require-22
11890	11890	ments of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of sub-23
11891	11891	section (b) in order to determine whether rea-24
11892	11892	sonable alternatives exist that would result in 25
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11894	11894	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 391
11895	11895	•S 1 IS
11896	11896	materially lower levels of partisan advantage or 1
11897	11897	disadvantage on a statewide basis. For purposes 2
11898	11898	of this subparagraph, alternative plans consid-3
11899	11899	ered may include both actual plans proposed 4
11900	11900	during the redistricting process and other plans 5
11901	11901	prepared for purposes of comparison. 6
11902	11902	(D) Any other relevant information, includ-7
11903	11903	ing how broad support for the redistricting plan 8
11904	11904	was among members of the entity responsible 9
11905	11905	for developing and adopting the plan and 10
11906	11906	whether the processes leading to the develop-11
11907	11907	ment and adoption of the plan were transparent 12
11908	11908	and equally open to all members of the entity 13
11909	11909	and to the public. 14
11910	11910	(3) R
11911	11911	EBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION .— 15
11912	11912	(A) T
11913	11913	RIGGER.—In any civil action brought 16
11914	11914	under section 5006 in which a party asserts a 17
11915	11915	claim that a State has enacted a redistricting 18
11916	11916	plan which is in violation of this subsection, a 19
11917	11917	party may file a motion not later than 30 days 20
11918	11918	after the enactment of the plan (or, in the case 21
11919	11919	of a plan enacted before the effective date of 22
11920	11920	this Act, not later than 30 days after the effec-23
11921	11921	tive date of this Act) requesting that the court 24
11922	11922	determine whether a presumption of such a vio-25
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11924	11924	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 392
11925	11925	•S 1 IS
11926	11926	lation exists. If such a motion is timely filed, 1
11927	11927	the court shall hold a hearing not later than 15 2
11928	11928	days after the date the motion is filed to assess 3
11929	11929	whether a presumption of such a violation ex-4
11930	11930	ists. 5
11931	11931	(B) A
11932	11932	SSESSMENT.—To conduct the assess-6
11933	11933	ment required under subparagraph (A), the 7
11934	11934	court shall do the following: 8
11935	11935	(i) Determine the number of congres-9
11936	11936	sional districts under the plan that would 10
11937	11937	have been carried by each political party’s 11
11938	11938	candidates for the office of President and 12
11939	11939	the office of Senator in the 2 most recent 13
11940	11940	general elections for the office of President 14
11941	11941	and the 2 most recent general elections for 15
11942	11942	the office of Senator (other than special 16
11943	11943	general elections) immediately preceding 17
11944	11944	the enactment of the plan, except that if a 18
11945	11945	State conducts a primary election for the 19
11946	11946	office of Senator which is open to can-20
11947	11947	didates of all political parties, the primary 21
11948	11948	election shall be used instead of the gen-22
11949	11949	eral election and the number of districts 23
11950	11950	carried by a party’s candidates for the of-24
11951	11951	fice of Senator shall be determined on the 25
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11954	11954	•S 1 IS
11955	11955	basis of the combined vote share of all can-1
11956	11956	didates in the election who are affiliated 2
11957	11957	with such party. 3
11958	11958	(ii) Determine, for each of the 4 elec-4
11959	11959	tions assessed under clause (i), whether 5
11960	11960	the number of districts that would have 6
11961	11961	been carried by any party’s candidate as 7
11962	11962	determined under clause (i) results in par-8
11963	11963	tisan advantage or disadvantage in excess 9
11964	11964	of the applicable threshold described in 10
11965	11965	subparagraph (C). The degree of partisan 11
11966	11966	advantage or disadvantage shall be deter-12
11967	11967	mined by one or more standard quan-13
11968	11968	titative measures of partisan fairness 14
11969	11969	that— 15
11970	11970	(I) use a party’s share of the 16
11971	11971	statewide vote to calculate a cor-17
11972	11972	responding benchmark share of seats; 18
11973	11973	and 19
11974	11974	(II) measure the amount by 20
11975	11975	which the share of seats the party’s 21
11976	11976	candidate would have won in the elec-22
11977	11977	tion involved exceeds the benchmark 23
11978	11978	share of seats. 24
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11981	11981	•S 1 IS
11982	11982	(C) APPLICABLE THRESHOLD DE -1
11983	11983	SCRIBED.—The applicable threshold described 2
11984	11984	in this subparagraph is, with respect to a State 3
11985	11985	and a number of seats, the greater of— 4
11986	11986	(i) an amount equal to 7 percent of 5
11987	11987	the number of congressional districts in 6
11988	11988	the State; or 7
11989	11989	(ii) one congressional district. 8
11990	11990	(D) D
11991	11991	ESCRIPTION OF QUANTITATIVE 9
11992	11992	MEASURES; PROHIBITING ROUNDING .—In car-10
11993	11993	rying out this subsection— 11
11994	11994	(i) the standard quantitative measures 12
11995	11995	of partisan fairness used by the court may 13
11996	11996	include the simplified efficiency gap but 14
11997	11997	may not include strict proportionality; and 15
11998	11998	(ii) the court may not round any num-16
11999	11999	ber. 17
12000	12000	(E) P
12001	12001	RESUMPTION OF VIOLATION .—A plan 18
12002	12002	is presumed to violate paragraph (1) if, on the 19
12003	12003	basis of at least one standard quantitative 20
12004	12004	measure of partisan fairness, it exceeds the ap-21
12005	12005	plicable threshold described in subparagraph 22
12006	12006	(C) with respect to 2 or more of the 4 elections 23
12007	12007	assessed under subparagraph (B). 24
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12009	12009	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 395
12010	12010	•S 1 IS
12011	12011	(F) STAY OF USE OF PLAN .—Notwith-1
12012	12012	standing any other provision of this title, in any 2
12013	12013	action under this paragraph, the following rules 3
12014	12014	shall apply: 4
12015	12015	(i) Upon filing of a motion under sub-5
12016	12016	paragraph (A), a State’s use of the plan 6
12017	12017	which is the subject of the motion shall be 7
12018	12018	automatically stayed pending resolution of 8
12019	12019	such motion. 9
12020	12020	(ii) If after considering the motion, 10
12021	12021	the court rules that the plan is presumed 11
12022	12022	under subparagraph (E) to violate para-12
12023	12023	graph (1), a State may not use such plan 13
12024	12024	until and unless the court which is car-14
12025	12025	rying out the determination of the effect of 15
12026	12026	the plan under paragraph (2) determines 16
12027	12027	that, notwithstanding the presumptive vio-17
12028	12028	lation, the plan does not violate paragraph 18
12029	12029	(1). 19
12030	12030	(G) N
12031	12031	O EFFECT ON OTHER ASSESS -20
12032	12032	MENTS.—The absence of a presumption of a 21
12033	12033	violation with respect to a redistricting plan as 22
12034	12034	determined under this paragraph shall not af-23
12035	12035	fect the determination of the effect or intent of 24
12036	12036	the plan under this section. 25
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12038	12038	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 396
12039	12039	•S 1 IS
12040	12040	(4) DETERMINATION OF INTENT .—A court may 1
12041	12041	rely on all available evidence when determining 2
12042	12042	whether a redistricting plan was drawn with the in-3
12043	12043	tent to materially favor or disfavor a political party, 4
12044	12044	including evidence of the partisan effects of a plan, 5
12045	12045	the degree of support the plan received from mem-6
12046	12046	bers of the entity responsible for developing and 7
12047	12047	adopting the plan, and whether the processes leading 8
12048	12048	to development and adoption of the plan were trans-9
12049	12049	parent and equally open to all members of the entity 10
12050	12050	and to the public. 11
12051	12051	(5) N
12052	12052	O VIOLATION BASED ON CERTAIN CRI -12
12053	12053	TERIA.—No redistricting plan shall be found to be 13
12054	12054	in violation of paragraph (1) because of the proper 14
12055	12055	application of the criteria set forth in paragraphs 15
12056	12056	(1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b), unless one or more 16
12057	12057	alternative plans could have complied with such 17
12058	12058	paragraphs without having the effect of materially 18
12059	12059	favoring or disfavoring a political party. 19
12060	12060	(d) F
12061	12061	ACTORSPROHIBITEDFROMCONSIDERATION.— 20
12062	12062	In developing the redistricting plan for the State, the 21
12063	12063	State may not take into consideration any of the following 22
12064	12064	factors, except as necessary to comply with the criteria 23
12065	12065	described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (b), 24
12066	12066	to achieve partisan fairness and comply with subsection 25
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12068	12068	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 397
12069	12069	•S 1 IS
12070	12070	(b), and to enable the redistricting plan to be measured 1
12071	12071	against the external metrics described in section 5004(c): 2
12072	12072	(1) The residence of any Member of the House 3
12073	12073	of Representatives or candidate. 4
12074	12074	(2) The political party affiliation or voting his-5
12075	12075	tory of the population of a district. 6
12076	12076	(e) A
12077	12077	DDITIONALCRITERIA.—A State may not rely 7
12078	12078	upon criteria, districting principles, or other policies of the 8
12079	12079	State which are not set forth in this section to justify non- 9
12080	12080	compliance with the requirements of this section. 10
12081	12081	(f) A
12082	12082	PPLICABILITY.— 11
12083	12083	(1) I
12084	12084	N GENERAL.—This section applies to any 12
12085	12085	authority, whether appointed, elected, judicial, or 13
12086	12086	otherwise, responsible for enacting the congressional 14
12087	12087	redistricting plan of a State. 15
12088	12088	(2) D
12089	12089	ATE OF ENACTMENT .—This section ap-16
12090	12090	plies to any congressional redistricting plan enacted 17
12091	12091	following the notice of apportionment transmitted to 18
12092	12092	the President on April 26, 2021, regardless of the 19
12093	12093	date of enactment by the State of the congressional 20
12094	12094	redistricting plan. 21
12095	12095	(g) S
12096	12096	EVERABILITY OFCRITERIA.—If any provision of 22
12097	12097	this section, or the application of any such provision to 23
12098	12098	any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, 24
12099	12099	the remainder of this section, and the application of such 25
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12101	12101	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 398
12102	12102	•S 1 IS
12103	12103	provision to any other person or circumstance, shall not 1
12104	12104	be affected by the holding. 2
12105	12105	SEC. 5004. DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN. 3
12106	12106	(a) P
12107	12107	UBLICNOTICE ANDINPUT.— 4
12108	12108	(1) U
12109	12109	SE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROC -5
12110	12110	ESS.—The entity responsible for developing and 6
12111	12111	adopting the congressional redistricting plan of a 7
12112	12112	State shall solicit and take into consideration com-8
12113	12113	ments from the public throughout the process of de-9
12114	12114	veloping the plan, and shall carry out its duties in 10
12115	12115	an open and transparent manner which provides for 11
12116	12116	the widest public dissemination reasonably possible 12
12117	12117	of its proposed and final redistricting plans. 13
12118	12118	(2) W
12119	12119	EBSITE.— 14
12120	12120	(A) F
12121	12121	EATURES.—The entity shall maintain 15
12122	12122	a public internet site which is not affiliated with 16
12123	12123	or maintained by the office of any elected offi-17
12124	12124	cial and which includes the following features: 18
12125	12125	(i) All proposed redistricting plans 19
12126	12126	and the final redistricting plan, including 20
12127	12127	the accompanying written evaluation under 21
12128	12128	subsection (c). 22
12129	12129	(ii) All comments received from the 23
12130	12130	public submitted under paragraph (1). 24
12131	12131	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00398 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12132	12132	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 399
12133	12133	•S 1 IS
12134	12134	(iii) Access in an easily usable format 1
12135	12135	to the demographic and other data used by 2
12136	12136	the entity to develop and analyze the pro-3
12137	12137	posed redistricting plans, together with any 4
12138	12138	reports analyzing and evaluating such 5
12139	12139	plans and access to software that members 6
12140	12140	of the public may use to draw maps of pro-7
12141	12141	posed districts. 8
12142	12142	(iv) A method by which members of 9
12143	12143	the public may submit comments directly 10
12144	12144	to the entity. 11
12145	12145	(B) S
12146	12146	EARCHABLE FORMAT .—The entity 12
12147	12147	shall ensure that all information posted and 13
12148	12148	maintained on the site under this paragraph, 14
12149	12149	including information and proposed maps sub-15
12150	12150	mitted by the public, shall be maintained in an 16
12151	12151	easily searchable format. 17
12152	12152	(3) M
12153	12153	ULTIPLE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR 18
12154	12154	ALL NOTICES.—The entity responsible for developing 19
12155	12155	and adopting the plan shall make each notice which 20
12156	12156	is required to be posted and published under this 21
12157	12157	section available in any language in which the State 22
12158	12158	(or any jurisdiction in the State) is required to pro-23
12159	12159	vide election materials under section 203 of the Vot-24
12160	12160	ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503). 25
12161	12161	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00399 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12162	12162	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 400
12163	12163	•S 1 IS
12164	12164	(b) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 1
12165	12165	(1) H
12166	12166	EARINGS.—The entity responsible for de-2
12167	12167	veloping and adopting the congressional redistricting 3
12168	12168	plan shall hold hearings both before and after releas-4
12169	12169	ing proposed plans in order to solicit public input on 5
12170	12170	the content of such plans. These hearings shall— 6
12171	12171	(A) be held in different regions of the 7
12172	12172	State and streamed live on the public internet 8
12173	12173	site maintained under subsection (a)(2); 9
12174	12174	(B) be sufficient in number, scheduled at 10
12175	12175	times and places, and noticed and conducted in 11
12176	12176	a manner to ensure that all members of the 12
12177	12177	public, including members of racial, ethnic, and 13
12178	12178	language minorities protected under the Voting 14
12179	12179	Rights Act of 1965, have a meaningful oppor-15
12180	12180	tunity to attend and provide input both before 16
12181	12181	and after the entity releases proposed plans. 17
12182	12182	(2) P
12183	12183	OSTING OF MAPS.—The entity responsible 18
12184	12184	for developing and adopting the congressional redis-19
12185	12185	tricting plan shall make proposed plans, amend-20
12186	12186	ments to proposed plans, and the data needed to 21
12187	12187	analyze such plans for compliance with the criteria 22
12188	12188	of this title available for public review, including on 23
12189	12189	the public internet site required under subsection 24
12190	12190	(a)(2), for a period of not less than 5 days before 25
12191	12191	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00400 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12192	12192	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 401
12193	12193	•S 1 IS
12194	12194	any vote or hearing is held on any such plan or any 1
12195	12195	amendment to such a plan. 2
12196	12196	(c) R
12197	12197	ELEASE OFWRITTENEVALUATION OF PLAN 3
12198	12198	A
12199	12199	GAINSTEXTERNALMETRICSREQUIREDPRIOR TO 4
12200	12200	V
12201	12201	OTE.—The entity responsible for developing and adopt-5
12202	12202	ing the congressional redistricting plan for a State may 6
12203	12203	not hold a vote on a proposed redistricting plan, including 7
12204	12204	a vote in a committee, unless at least 48 hours prior to 8
12205	12205	holding the vote the State has released a written evalua-9
12206	12206	tion that measures each such plan against external metrics 10
12207	12207	which cover the criteria set forth in section 5003(b), in-11
12208	12208	cluding the impact of the plan on the ability of members 12
12209	12209	of a class of citizens protected by the Voting Rights Act 13
12210	12210	of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) to elect candidates of 14
12211	12211	choice, the degree to which the plan preserves or divides 15
12212	12212	communities of interest, and any analysis used by the 16
12213	12213	State to assess compliance with the requirements of sec-17
12214	12214	tion 5003(b) and (c). 18
12215	12215	(d) P
12216	12216	UBLICINPUT ANDCOMMENTS.—The entity re-19
12217	12217	sponsible for developing and adopting the congressional 20
12218	12218	redistricting plan for a State shall make all public com-21
12219	12219	ments received about potential plans, including alternative 22
12220	12220	plans, available to the public on the internet site required 23
12221	12221	under subsection (a)(2), at no cost, not later than 24 24
12222	12222	hours prior to holding a vote on final adoption of a plan. 25
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12224	12224	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 402
12225	12225	•S 1 IS
12226	12226	SEC. 5005. FAILURE BY STATE TO ENACT PLAN. 1
12227	12227	(a) D
12228	12228	EADLINE FORENACTMENT OFPLAN.— 2
12229	12229	(1) I
12230	12230	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-3
12231	12231	graph (2), each State shall enact a final congres-4
12232	12232	sional redistricting plan following transmission of a 5
12233	12233	notice of apportionment to the President by the ear-6
12234	12234	liest of— 7
12235	12235	(A) the deadline set forth in State law, in-8
12236	12236	cluding any extension to the deadline provided 9
12237	12237	in accordance with State law; 10
12238	12238	(B) February 15 of the year in which reg-11
12239	12239	ularly scheduled general elections for Federal 12
12240	12240	office are held in the State; or 13
12241	12241	(C) 90 days before the date of the next 14
12242	12242	regularly scheduled primary election for Federal 15
12243	12243	office held in the State. 16
12244	12244	(2) S
12245	12245	PECIAL RULE FOR PLANS ENACTED PRIOR 17
12246	12246	TO EFFECTIVE DATE OF TITLE .—If a State enacted 18
12247	12247	a final congressional redistricting plan prior to the 19
12248	12248	effective date of this title and the plan is not in com-20
12249	12249	pliance with the requirements of this title, the State 21
12250	12250	shall enact a final redistricting plan which is in com-22
12251	12251	pliance with the requirements of this title not later 23
12252	12252	than 45 days after the effective date of this title. 24
12253	12253	(b) D
12254	12254	EVELOPMENT OF PLAN BYCOURT INCASE OF 25
12255	12255	M
12256	12256	ISSEDDEADLINE.—If a State has not enacted a final 26
12257	12257	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00402 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12258	12258	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 403
12259	12259	•S 1 IS
12260	12260	congressional redistricting plan by the applicable deadline 1
12261	12261	under subsection (a), or it appears reasonably likely that 2
12262	12262	a State will fail to enact a final congressional redistricting 3
12263	12263	plan by such deadline— 4
12264	12264	(1) any citizen of the State may file an action 5
12265	12265	in the United States district court for the applicable 6
12266	12266	venue asking the district court to assume jurisdic-7
12267	12267	tion; 8
12268	12268	(2) the United States district court for the ap-9
12269	12269	plicable venue, acting through a 3-judge court con-10
12270	12270	vened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, United 11
12271	12271	States Code, shall have the exclusive authority to de-12
12272	12272	velop and publish the congressional redistricting 13
12273	12273	plan for the State; and 14
12274	12274	(3) the final congressional redistricting plan de-15
12275	12275	veloped and published by the court under this sec-16
12276	12276	tion shall be deemed to be enacted on the date on 17
12277	12277	which the court publishes the final congressional re-18
12278	12278	districting plan, as described in subsection (e). 19
12279	12279	(c) A
12280	12280	PPLICABLEVENUE.—For purposes of this sec-20
12281	12281	tion, the ‘‘applicable venue’’ with respect to a State is the 21
12282	12282	District of Columbia or the judicial district in which the 22
12283	12283	capital of the State is located, as selected by the first party 23
12284	12284	to file with the court sufficient evidence that a State has 24
12285	12285	failed to, or is reasonably likely to fail to, enact a final 25
12286	12286	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00403 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12287	12287	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 404
12288	12288	•S 1 IS
12289	12289	redistricting plan for the State prior to the expiration of 1
12290	12290	the applicable deadline set forth in subsection (a). 2
12291	12291	(d) P
12292	12292	ROCEDURES FORDEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 3
12293	12293	(1) C
12294	12294	RITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 4
12295	12295	plan for a State under this section, the court shall 5
12296	12296	adhere to the same terms and conditions that ap-6
12297	12297	plied (or that would have applied, as the case may 7
12298	12298	be) to the development of a plan by the State under 8
12299	12299	section 5003. 9
12300	12300	(2) A
12301	12301	CCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS .— 10
12302	12302	The court shall have access to any information, 11
12303	12303	data, software, or other records and material that 12
12304	12304	was used (or that would have been used, as the case 13
12305	12305	may be) by the State in carrying out its duties 14
12306	12306	under this title. 15
12307	12307	(3) H
12308	12308	EARING; PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In de-16
12309	12309	veloping a redistricting plan for a State, the court 17
12310	12310	shall— 18
12311	12311	(A) hold one or more evidentiary hearings 19
12312	12312	at which interested members of the public may 20
12313	12313	appear and be heard and present testimony, in-21
12314	12314	cluding expert testimony, in accordance with 22
12315	12315	the rules of the court; and 23
12316	12316	(B) consider other submissions and com-24
12317	12317	ments by the public, including proposals for re-25
12318	12318	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00404 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12319	12319	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 405
12320	12320	•S 1 IS
12321	12321	districting plans to cover the entire State or 1
12322	12322	any portion of the State. 2
12323	12323	(4) U
12324	12324	SE OF SPECIAL MASTER.—To assist in the 3
12325	12325	development and publication of a redistricting plan 4
12326	12326	for a State under this section, the court may appoint 5
12327	12327	a special master to make recommendations to the 6
12328	12328	court on possible plans for the State. 7
12329	12329	(e) P
12330	12330	UBLICATION OFPLAN.— 8
12331	12331	(1) P
12332	12332	UBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL PLAN .— 9
12333	12333	Upon completing the development of one or more 10
12334	12334	initial redistricting plans, the court shall make the 11
12335	12335	plans available to the public at no cost, and shall 12
12336	12336	also make available the underlying data used to de-13
12337	12337	velop the plans and a written evaluation of the plans 14
12338	12338	against external metrics (as described in section 15
12339	12339	5004(c)). 16
12340	12340	(2) P
12341	12341	UBLICATION OF FINAL PLAN .—At any 17
12342	12342	time after the expiration of the 14-day period which 18
12343	12343	begins on the date the court makes the plans avail-19
12344	12344	able to the public under paragraph (1), and taking 20
12345	12345	into consideration any submissions and comments by 21
12346	12346	the public which are received during such period, the 22
12347	12347	court shall develop and publish the final redistricting 23
12348	12348	plan for the State. 24
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12350	12350	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 406
12351	12351	•S 1 IS
12352	12352	(f) USE OFINTERIMPLAN.—In the event that the 1
12353	12353	court is not able to develop and publish a final redis-2
12354	12354	tricting plan for the State with sufficient time for an up-3
12355	12355	coming election to proceed, the court may develop and 4
12356	12356	publish an interim redistricting plan which shall serve as 5
12357	12357	the redistricting plan for the State until the court develops 6
12358	12358	and publishes a final plan in accordance with this section. 7
12359	12359	Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit or 8
12360	12360	otherwise affect the authority or discretion of the court 9
12361	12361	to develop and publish the final redistricting plan, includ-10
12362	12362	ing the discretion to make any changes the court deems 11
12363	12363	necessary to an interim redistricting plan. 12
12364	12364	(g) A
12365	12365	PPEALS.—Review on appeal of any final or in-13
12366	12366	terim plan adopted by the court in accordance with this 14
12367	12367	section shall be governed by the appellate process in sec-15
12368	12368	tion 5006. 16
12369	12369	(h) S
12370	12370	TAY OFSTATEPROCEEDINGS.—The filing of an 17
12371	12371	action under this section shall act as a stay of any pro-18
12372	12372	ceedings in State court with respect to the State’s congres-19
12373	12373	sional redistricting plan unless otherwise ordered by the 20
12374	12374	court. 21
12375	12375	SEC. 5006. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 22
12376	12376	(a) C
12377	12377	IVILENFORCEMENT.— 23
12378	12378	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00406 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12379	12379	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 407
12380	12380	•S 1 IS
12381	12381	(1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL .—The At-1
12382	12382	torney General may bring a civil action for such re-2
12383	12383	lief as may be appropriate to carry out this title. 3
12384	12384	(2) A
12385	12385	VAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC -4
12386	12386	TION.— 5
12387	12387	(A) I
12388	12388	N GENERAL.—Any person residing or 6
12389	12389	domiciled in a State who is aggrieved by the 7
12390	12390	failure of the State to meet the requirements of 8
12391	12391	the Constitution or Federal law, including this 9
12392	12392	title, with respect to the State’s congressional 10
12393	12393	redistricting, may bring a civil action in the 11
12394	12394	United States district court for the applicable 12
12395	12395	venue for such relief as may be appropriate to 13
12396	12396	remedy the failure. 14
12397	12397	(B) S
12398	12398	PECIAL RULE FOR CLAIMS RELATING 15
12399	12399	TO PARTISAN ADVANTAGE .—For purposes of 16
12400	12400	subparagraph (A), a person who is aggrieved by 17
12401	12401	the failure of a State to meet the requirements 18
12402	12402	of section 5003(c) may include— 19
12403	12403	(i) any political party or committee in 20
12404	12404	the State; and 21
12405	12405	(ii) any registered voter in the State 22
12406	12406	who resides in a congressional district that 23
12407	12407	the voter alleges was drawn in a manner 24
12408	12408	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00407 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12409	12409	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 408
12410	12410	•S 1 IS
12411	12411	that contributes to a violation of such sec-1
12412	12412	tion. 2
12413	12413	(C) N
12414	12414	O AWARDING OF DAMAGES TO PRE -3
12415	12415	VAILING PARTY.—Except for an award of attor-4
12416	12416	ney’s fees under subsection (d), a court in a 5
12417	12417	civil action under this section shall not award 6
12418	12418	the prevailing party any monetary damages, 7
12419	12419	compensatory, punitive, or otherwise. 8
12420	12420	(3) D
12421	12421	ELIVERY OF COMPLAINT TO HOUSE AND 9
12422	12422	SENATE.—In any action brought under this section, 10
12423	12423	a copy of the complaint shall be delivered promptly 11
12424	12424	to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 12
12425	12425	Secretary of the Senate. 13
12426	12426	(4) E
12427	12427	XCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND APPLICABLE 14
12428	12428	VENUE.—The district courts of the United States 15
12429	12429	shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and deter-16
12430	12430	mine claims asserting that a congressional redis-17
12431	12431	tricting plan violates the requirements of the Con-18
12432	12432	stitution or Federal law, including this title. The ap-19
12433	12433	plicable venue for such an action shall be the United 20
12434	12434	States District Court for the District of Columbia or 21
12435	12435	for the judicial district in which the capital of the 22
12436	12436	State is located, as selected by the person bringing 23
12437	12437	the action. In a civil action that includes a claim 24
12438	12438	that a redistricting plan is in violation of subsection 25
12439	12439	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00408 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12440	12440	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 409
12441	12441	•S 1 IS
12442	12442	(b) or (c) of section 5003, the United States District 1
12443	12443	Court for the District of Columbia shall have juris-2
12444	12444	diction over any defendant who has been served in 3
12445	12445	any United States judicial district in which the de-4
12446	12446	fendant resides, is found, or has an agent, or in the 5
12447	12447	United States judicial district in which the capital of 6
12448	12448	the State is located. Process may be served in any 7
12449	12449	United States judicial district where a defendant re-8
12450	12450	sides, is found, or has an agent, or in the United 9
12451	12451	States judicial district in which the capital of the 10
12452	12452	State is located. 11
12453	12453	(5) U
12454	12454	SE OF 3-JUDGE COURT.—If an action 12
12455	12455	under this section raises statewide claims under the 13
12456	12456	Constitution or this title, the action shall be heard 14
12457	12457	by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to section 15
12458	12458	2284 of title 28, United States Code. 16
12459	12459	(6) R
12460	12460	EVIEW OF FINAL DECISION .—A final deci-17
12461	12461	sion in an action brought under this section shall be 18
12462	12462	reviewable on appeal by the United States Court of 19
12463	12463	Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which 20
12464	12464	shall hear the matter sitting en banc. There shall be 21
12465	12465	no right of appeal in such proceedings to any other 22
12466	12466	court of appeals. Such appeal shall be taken by the 23
12467	12467	filing of a notice of appeal within 10 days of the 24
12468	12468	entry of the final decision. A final decision by the 25
12469	12469	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00409 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12470	12470	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 410
12471	12471	•S 1 IS
12472	12472	Court of Appeals may be reviewed by the Supreme 1
12473	12473	Court of the United States by writ of certiorari. 2
12474	12474	(b) E
12475	12475	XPEDITEDCONSIDERATION.—In any action 3
12476	12476	brought under this section, it shall be the duty of the dis-4
12477	12477	trict court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5
12478	12478	District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of 6
12479	12479	the United States (if it chooses to hear the action) to ad-7
12480	12480	vance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos-8
12481	12481	sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 9
12482	12482	(c) R
12483	12483	EMEDIES.— 10
12484	12484	(1) A
12485	12485	DOPTION OF REPLACEMENT PLAN .— 11
12486	12486	(A) I
12487	12487	N GENERAL.—If the district court in 12
12488	12488	an action under this section finds that the con-13
12489	12489	gressional redistricting plan of a State violates, 14
12490	12490	in whole or in part, the requirements of this 15
12491	12491	title— 16
12492	12492	(i) the court shall adopt a replacement 17
12493	12493	congressional redistricting plan for the 18
12494	12494	State in accordance with the process set 19
12495	12495	forth in section 5005; or 20
12496	12496	(ii) if circumstances warrant and no 21
12497	12497	delay to an upcoming regularly scheduled 22
12498	12498	election for the House of Representatives 23
12499	12499	in the State would result, the district 24
12500	12500	court, in its discretion, may allow a State 25
12501	12501	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00410 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12502	12502	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 411
12503	12503	•S 1 IS
12504	12504	to develop and propose a remedial congres-1
12505	12505	sional redistricting plan for review by the 2
12506	12506	court to determine whether the plan is in 3
12507	12507	compliance with this title, except that— 4
12508	12508	(I) the State may not develop 5
12509	12509	and propose a remedial plan under 6
12510	12510	this clause if the court determines 7
12511	12511	that the congressional redistricting 8
12512	12512	plan of the State was enacted with 9
12513	12513	discriminatory intent in violation of 10
12514	12514	the Constitution or section 5003(b); 11
12515	12515	and 12
12516	12516	(II) nothing in this clause may be 13
12517	12517	construed to permit a State to use 14
12518	12518	such a remedial plan which has not 15
12519	12519	been approved by the court. 16
12520	12520	(B) P
12521	12521	ROHIBITING USE OF PLANS IN VIOLA -17
12522	12522	TION OF REQUIREMENTS .—No court shall order 18
12523	12523	a State to use a congressional redistricting plan 19
12524	12524	which violates, in whole or in part, the require-20
12525	12525	ments of this title, or to conduct an election 21
12526	12526	under terms and conditions which violate, in 22
12527	12527	whole or in part, the requirements of this title. 23
12528	12528	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00411 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12529	12529	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 412
12530	12530	•S 1 IS
12531	12531	(C) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE FINAL ADJU -1
12532	12532	DICATION NOT EXPECTED WITHIN 3 MONTHS 2
12533	12533	OF ELECTION.— 3
12534	12534	(i) D
12535	12535	UTY OF COURT.—If final adju-4
12536	12536	dication of an action under this section is 5
12537	12537	not reasonably expected to be completed at 6
12538	12538	least 3 months prior to the next regularly 7
12539	12539	scheduled primary election for the House 8
12540	12540	of Representatives in the State, the district 9
12541	12541	court shall— 10
12542	12542	(I) develop, adopt, and order the 11
12543	12543	use of an interim congressional redis-12
12544	12544	tricting plan in accordance with sec-13
12545	12545	tion 5005(f) to address any claims 14
12546	12546	under this title for which a party 15
12547	12547	seeking relief has demonstrated a sub-16
12548	12548	stantial likelihood of success; or 17
12549	12549	(II) order adjustments to the 18
12550	12550	timing of primary elections for the 19
12551	12551	House of Representatives and other 20
12552	12552	related deadlines, as needed, to allow 21
12553	12553	sufficient opportunity for adjudication 22
12554	12554	of the matter and adoption of a reme-23
12555	12555	dial or replacement plan for use in the 24
12556	12556	next regularly scheduled general elec-25
12557	12557	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00412 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12558	12558	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 413
12559	12559	•S 1 IS
12560	12560	tions for the House of Representa-1
12561	12561	tives. 2
12562	12562	(ii) P
12563	12563	ROHIBITING FAILURE TO ACT ON 3
12564	12564	GROUNDS OF PENDENCY OF ELECTION .— 4
12565	12565	The court may not refuse to take any ac-5
12566	12566	tion described in clause (i) on the grounds 6
12567	12567	of the pendency of the next election held in 7
12568	12568	the State or the potential for disruption, 8
12569	12569	confusion, or additional burdens with re-9
12570	12570	spect to the administration of the election 10
12571	12571	in the State. 11
12572	12572	(2) N
12573	12573	O STAY PENDING APPEAL .—Notwith-12
12574	12574	standing the appeal of an order finding that a con-13
12575	12575	gressional redistricting plan of a State violates, in 14
12576	12576	whole or in part, the requirements of this title, no 15
12577	12577	stay shall issue which shall bar the development or 16
12578	12578	adoption of a replacement or remedial plan under 17
12579	12579	this subsection, as may be directed by the district 18
12580	12580	court, pending such appeal. If such a replacement or 19
12581	12581	remedial plan has been adopted, no appellate court 20
12582	12582	may stay or otherwise enjoin the use of such plan 21
12583	12583	during the pendency of an appeal, except upon an 22
12584	12584	order holding, based on the record, that adoption of 23
12585	12585	such plan was an abuse of discretion. 24
12586	12586	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00413 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12587	12587	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 414
12588	12588	•S 1 IS
12589	12589	(3) SPECIAL AUTHORITY OF COURT OF AP -1
12590	12590	PEALS.— 2
12591	12591	(A) O
12592	12592	RDERING OF NEW REMEDIAL 3
12593	12593	PLAN.—If, upon consideration of an appeal 4
12594	12594	under this title, the Court of Appeals deter-5
12595	12595	mines that a plan does not comply with the re-6
12596	12596	quirements of this title, it shall direct that the 7
12597	12597	District Court promptly develop a new remedial 8
12598	12598	plan with assistance of a special master for con-9
12599	12599	sideration by the Court of Appeals. 10
12600	12600	(B) F
12601	12601	AILURE OF DISTRICT COURT TO 11
12602	12602	TAKE TIMELY ACTION.—If, at any point during 12
12603	12603	the pendency of an action under this section, 13
12604	12604	the District Court fails to take action necessary 14
12605	12605	to permit resolution of the case prior to the 15
12606	12606	next regularly scheduled election for the House 16
12607	12607	of Representatives in the State or fails to grant 17
12608	12608	the relief described in paragraph (1)(C), any 18
12609	12609	party may seek a writ of mandamus from the 19
12610	12610	Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 20
12611	12611	Circuit. The Court of Appeals shall have juris-21
12612	12612	diction over the motion for a writ of mandamus 22
12613	12613	and shall establish an expedited briefing and 23
12614	12614	hearing schedule for resolution of the motion. If 24
12615	12615	the Court of Appeals determines that a writ 25
12616	12616	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00414 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12617	12617	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 415
12618	12618	•S 1 IS
12619	12619	should be granted, the Court of Appeals shall 1
12620	12620	take any action necessary, including developing 2
12621	12621	a congressional redistricting plan with assist-3
12622	12622	ance of a special master to ensure that a reme-4
12623	12623	dial plan is adopted in time for use in the next 5
12624	12624	regularly scheduled election for the House of 6
12625	12625	Representatives in the State. 7
12626	12626	(4) E
12627	12627	FFECT OF ENACTMENT OF REPLACEMENT 8
12628	12628	PLAN.—A State’s enactment of a redistricting plan 9
12629	12629	which replaces a plan which is the subject of an ac-10
12630	12630	tion under this section shall not be construed to 11
12631	12631	limit or otherwise affect the authority of the court 12
12632	12632	to adjudicate or grant relief with respect to any 13
12633	12633	claims or issues not addressed by the replacement 14
12634	12634	plan, including claims that the plan which is the 15
12635	12635	subject of the action was enacted, in whole or in 16
12636	12636	part, with discriminatory intent, or claims to con-17
12637	12637	sider whether relief should be granted under section 18
12638	12638	3(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 19
12639	12639	10302(c)) based on the plan which is the subject of 20
12640	12640	the action. 21
12641	12641	(d) A
12642	12642	TTORNEY’SFEES.—In a civil action under this 22
12643	12643	section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 23
12644	12644	than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ-24
12645	12645	ing litigation expenses, and costs. 25
12646	12646	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00415 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12647	12647	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 416
12648	12648	•S 1 IS
12649	12649	(e) RELATION TOOTHERLAWS.— 1
12650	12650	(1) R
12651	12651	IGHTS AND REMEDIES ADDITIONAL TO 2
12652	12652	OTHER RIGHTS AND REMEDIES .—The rights and 3
12653	12653	remedies established by this section are in addition 4
12654	12654	to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and 5
12655	12655	neither the rights and remedies established by this 6
12656	12656	section nor any other provision of this title shall su-7
12657	12657	persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Vot-8
12658	12658	ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 9
12659	12659	(2) V
12660	12660	OTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965 .—Nothing in 10
12661	12661	this title authorizes or requires conduct that is pro-11
12662	12662	hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 12
12663	12663	10301 et seq.). 13
12664	12664	(f) L
12665	12665	EGISLATIVEPRIVILEGE.—No person, legisla-14
12666	12666	ture, or State may claim legislative privilege under either 15
12667	12667	State or Federal law in a civil action brought under this 16
12668	12668	section or in any other legal challenge, under either State 17
12669	12669	or Federal law, to a redistricting plan enacted under this 18
12670	12670	title. 19
12671	12671	(g) R
12672	12672	EMOVAL.— 20
12673	12673	(1) I
12674	12674	N GENERAL.—At any time, a civil action 21
12675	12675	brought in a State court which asserts a claim for 22
12676	12676	which the district courts of the United States have 23
12677	12677	exclusive jurisdiction under this title may be re-24
12678	12678	moved by any party in the case, including an inter-25
12679	12679	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00416 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12680	12680	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 417
12681	12681	•S 1 IS
12682	12682	venor, by filing, in the district court for an applica-1
12683	12683	ble venue under this section, a notice of removal 2
12684	12684	signed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of 3
12685	12685	Civil Procedure containing a short and plain state-4
12686	12686	ment of the grounds for removal. Consent of parties 5
12687	12687	shall not be required for removal. 6
12688	12688	(2) C
12689	12689	LAIMS NOT WITHIN THE ORIGINAL OR 7
12690	12690	SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION .—If a civil action re-8
12691	12691	moved in accordance with paragraph (1) contains 9
12692	12692	claims not within the original or supplemental juris-10
12693	12693	diction of the district court, the district court shall 11
12694	12694	sever all such claims and remand them to the State 12
12695	12695	court from which the action was removed. 13
12696	12696	SEC. 5007. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND 14
12697	12697	LOCAL OFFICE. 15
12698	12698	Nothing in this title or in any amendment made by 16
12699	12699	this title may be construed to affect the manner in which 17
12700	12700	a State carries out elections for State or local office, in-18
12701	12701	cluding the process by which a State establishes the dis-19
12702	12702	tricts used in such elections. 20
12703	12703	SEC. 5008. EFFECTIVE DATE. 21
12704	12704	(a) I
12705	12705	NGENERAL.—This title and the amendments 22
12706	12706	made by this title shall apply on the date of enactment 23
12707	12707	of this title. 24
12708	12708	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00417 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12709	12709	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 418
12710	12710	•S 1 IS
12711	12711	(b) APPLICATION TO CONGRESSIONAL REDIS-1
12712	12712	TRICTINGPLANSRESULTINGFROM2020 DECENNIAL 2
12713	12713	C
12714	12714	ENSUS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), this title and 3
12715	12715	the amendments made by this title, other than section 4
12716	12716	5004, shall apply with respect to each congressional redis-5
12717	12717	tricting plan enacted pursuant to the notice of apportion-6
12718	12718	ment transmitted to the President on April 26, 2021, 7
12719	12719	without regard to whether or not a State enacted such 8
12720	12720	a plan prior to the date of the enactment of this Act. 9
12721	12721	TITLE VI—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 10
12722	12722	TRANSPARENCY 11
12723	12723	Subtitle A—DISCLOSE Act 12
12724	12724	SEC. 6001. SHORT TITLE. 13
12725	12725	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Is 14
12726	12726	Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections 15
12727	12727	Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘DISCLOSE Act of 2023’’. 16
12728	12728	SEC. 6002. FINDINGS. 17
12729	12729	Congress finds the following: 18
12730	12730	(1) Campaign finance disclosure is a narrowly 19
12731	12731	tailored and minimally restrictive means to advance 20
12732	12732	substantial government interests, including fostering 21
12733	12733	an informed electorate capable of engaging in self- 22
12734	12734	government and holding their elected officials ac-23
12735	12735	countable, detecting and deterring quid pro quo cor-24
12736	12736	ruption, and identifying information necessary to en-25
12737	12737	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00418 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12738	12738	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 419
12739	12739	•S 1 IS
12740	12740	force other campaign finance laws, including cam-1
12741	12741	paign contribution limits and the prohibition on for-2
12742	12742	eign money in U.S. campaigns. To further these 3
12743	12743	substantial interests, campaign finance disclosure 4
12744	12744	must be timely and complete, and must disclose the 5
12745	12745	true and original source of money given, transferred, 6
12746	12746	and spent to influence Federal elections. Current law 7
12747	12747	does not meet this objective because corporations 8
12748	12748	and other entities that the Supreme Court has per-9
12749	12749	mitted to spend money to influence Federal elections 10
12750	12750	are subject to few if any transparency requirements. 11
12751	12751	(2) As the Supreme Court recognized in its per 12
12752	12752	curiam opinion in Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, 13
12753	12753	(1976), ‘‘disclosure requirements certainly in most 14
12754	12754	applications appear to be the least restrictive means 15
12755	12755	of curbing the evils of campaign ignorance and cor-16
12756	12756	ruption that Congress found to exist’’. Buckley, 424 17
12757	12757	U.S. at 68. In Citizens United v. FEC, the Court re-18
12758	12758	iterated that ‘‘disclosure is a less restrictive alter-19
12759	12759	native to more comprehensive regulations of speech’’. 20
12760	12760	558 U.S. 310, 369 (2010). 21
12761	12761	(3) No subsequent decision has called these 22
12762	12762	holdings into question, including the Court’s decision 23
12763	12763	in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta, 24
12764	12764	141 S. Ct. 2373 (2021). That case did not involve 25
12765	12765	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00419 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12766	12766	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 420
12767	12767	•S 1 IS
12768	12768	campaign finance disclosure, and the Court did not 1
12769	12769	overturn its longstanding recognition of the substan-2
12770	12770	tial interests furthered by such disclosure. 3
12771	12771	(4) Campaign finance disclosure is also essen-4
12772	12772	tial to enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act’s 5
12773	12773	prohibition on contributions by and solicitations of 6
12774	12774	foreign nationals. See section 319 of the Federal 7
12775	12775	Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121). 8
12776	12776	(5) Congress should close loopholes allowing 9
12777	12777	spending by foreign nationals in domestic elections. 10
12778	12778	For example, in 2021, the Federal Election Commis-11
12779	12779	sion, the independent Federal agency charged with 12
12780	12780	protecting the integrity of the Federal campaign fi-13
12781	12781	nance process, found reason to believe and concil-14
12782	12782	iated a matter where an experienced political con-15
12783	12783	sultant knowingly and willfully violated Federal law 16
12784	12784	by soliciting a contribution from a foreign national 17
12785	12785	by offering to transmit a $2,000,000 contribution to 18
12786	12786	a super PAC through his company and two 19
12787	12787	501(c)(4) organizations, to conceal the origin of the 20
12788	12788	funds. This scheme was only unveiled after appear-21
12789	12789	ing in a The Telegraph UK article and video cap-22
12790	12790	turing the solicitation. See Conciliation Agreement, 23
12791	12791	MURs 7165 & 7196 (Great America PAC, et al.), 24
12792	12792	date June 28, 2021; Factual and Legal Analysis, 25
12793	12793	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00420 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12794	12794	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 421
12795	12795	•S 1 IS
12796	12796	MURs 7165 & 7196 (Jesse Benton), dated Mar. 2, 1
12797	12797	2021. 2
12798	12798	PART 1—CLOSING LOOPHOLES ALLOWING 3
12799	12799	SPENDING BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN ELEC-4
12800	12800	TIONS 5
12801	12801	SEC. 6003. CLARIFICATION OF APPLICATION OF FOREIGN 6
12802	12802	MONEY BAN TO CERTAIN DISBURSEMENTS 7
12803	12803	AND ACTIVITIES. 8
12804	12804	Section 319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 9
12805	12805	of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)) is amended— 10
12806	12806	(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 11
12807	12807	subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and by 12
12808	12808	moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the right; 13
12809	12809	(2) by striking ‘‘As used in this section, the 14
12810	12810	term’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘D
12811	12811	EFINITIONS.— 15
12812	12812	For purposes of this section— 16
12813	12813	‘‘(1) F
12814	12814	OREIGN NATIONAL.—The term’’; 17
12815	12815	(3) by moving paragraphs (1) and (2) two ems 18
12816	12816	to the right and redesignating them as subpara-19
12817	12817	graphs (A) and (B), respectively; and 20
12818	12818	(4) by adding at the end the following new 21
12819	12819	paragraph: 22
12820	12820	‘‘(2) C
12821	12821	ONTRIBUTION AND DONATION .—For pur-23
12822	12822	poses of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a), 24
12823	12823	the term ‘contribution or donation’ includes any dis-25
12824	12824	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00421 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12825	12825	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 422
12826	12826	•S 1 IS
12827	12827	bursement to a political committee which accepts do-1
12828	12828	nations or contributions that do not comply with any 2
12829	12829	of the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting re-3
12830	12830	quirements of this Act (or any disbursement to or on 4
12831	12831	behalf of any account of a political committee which 5
12832	12832	is established for the purpose of accepting such do-6
12833	12833	nations or contributions), or to any other person for 7
12834	12834	the purpose of funding an expenditure, independent 8
12835	12835	expenditure, or electioneering communication (as de-9
12836	12836	fined in section 304(f)(3)).’’. 10
12837	12837	SEC. 6004. STUDY AND REPORT ON ILLICIT FOREIGN 11
12838	12838	MONEY IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 12
12839	12839	(a) S
12840	12840	TUDY.—For each 4-year election cycle (begin-13
12841	12841	ning with the 4-year election cycle ending in 2020), the 14
12842	12842	Comptroller General shall conduct a study on the inci-15
12843	12843	dence of illicit foreign money in all elections for Federal 16
12844	12844	office held during the preceding 4-year election cycle, in-17
12845	12845	cluding what information is known about the presence of 18
12846	12846	such money in elections for Federal office. 19
12847	12847	(b) R
12848	12848	EPORT.— 20
12849	12849	(1) I
12850	12850	N GENERAL.—Not later than the applicable 21
12851	12851	date with respect to any 4-year election cycle, the 22
12852	12852	Comptroller General shall submit to the appropriate 23
12853	12853	congressional committees a report on the study con-24
12854	12854	ducted under subsection (a). 25
12855	12855	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00422 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12856	12856	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 423
12857	12857	•S 1 IS
12858	12858	(2) MATTERS INCLUDED .—The report sub-1
12859	12859	mitted under paragraph (1) shall include a descrip-2
12860	12860	tion of the extent to which illicit foreign money was 3
12861	12861	used to target particular groups, including rural 4
12862	12862	communities, African-American and other minority 5
12863	12863	communities, and military and veteran communities, 6
12864	12864	based on such targeting information as is available 7
12865	12865	and accessible to the Comptroller General. 8
12866	12866	(3) A
12867	12867	PPLICABLE DATE.—For purposes of para-9
12868	12868	graph (1), the term ‘‘applicable date’’ means— 10
12869	12869	(A) in the case of the 4-year election cycle 11
12870	12870	ending in 2020, the date that is 1 year after 12
12871	12871	the date of the enactment of this Act; and 13
12872	12872	(B) in the case of any other 4-year election 14
12873	12873	cycle, the date that is 1 year after the date on 15
12874	12874	which such 4-year election cycle ends. 16
12875	12875	(c) D
12876	12876	EFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 17
12877	12877	(1) 4-
12878	12878	YEAR ELECTION CYCLE .—The term ‘‘4- 18
12879	12879	year election cycle’’ means the 4-year period ending 19
12880	12880	on the date of the general election for the offices of 20
12881	12881	President and Vice President. 21
12882	12882	(2) I
12883	12883	LLICIT FOREIGN MONEY.—The term ‘‘illicit 22
12884	12884	foreign money’’ means any contribution, donation, 23
12885	12885	expenditure, or disbursement by a foreign national 24
12886	12886	(as defined in section 319(b) of the Federal Election 25
12887	12887	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00423 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12888	12888	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 424
12889	12889	•S 1 IS
12890	12890	Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b))) pro-1
12891	12891	hibited under such section. 2
12892	12892	(3) E
12893	12893	LECTION; FEDERAL OFFICE.—The terms 3
12894	12894	‘‘election’’ and ‘‘Federal office’’ have the meanings 4
12895	12895	given such terms under section 301 of the Federal 5
12896	12896	Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101). 6
12897	12897	(4) A
12898	12898	PPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -7
12899	12899	TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-8
12900	12900	mittees’’ means— 9
12901	12901	(A) the Committee on House Administra-10
12902	12902	tion of the House of Representatives; 11
12903	12903	(B) the Committee on Rules and Adminis-12
12904	12904	tration of the Senate; 13
12905	12905	(C) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 14
12906	12906	House of Representatives; and 15
12907	12907	(D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 16
12908	12908	Senate. 17
12909	12909	(d) S
12910	12910	UNSET.—This section shall not apply to any 4- 18
12911	12911	year election cycle beginning after the election for the of-19
12912	12912	fices of President and Vice President in 2032. 20
12913	12913	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00424 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12914	12914	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 425
12915	12915	•S 1 IS
12916	12916	SEC. 6005. PROHIBITION ON CONTRIBUTIONS AND DONA-1
12917	12917	TIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN CONNEC-2
12918	12918	TION WITH BALLOT INITIATIVES AND 3
12919	12919	REFERENDA. 4
12920	12920	(a) I
12921	12921	NGENERAL.—Section 319(b) of the Federal 5
12922	12922	Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(b)), as 6
12923	12923	amended by section 6003, is amended by adding at the 7
12924	12924	end the following new paragraph: 8
12925	12925	‘‘(3) F
12926	12926	EDERAL, STATE, OR LOCAL ELECTION.— 9
12927	12927	The term ‘Federal, State, or local election’ includes 10
12928	12928	a State or local ballot initiative or referendum, but 11
12929	12929	only in the case of— 12
12930	12930	‘‘(A) a covered foreign national described 13
12931	12931	in section 304(j)(3)(C); or 14
12932	12932	‘‘(B) a foreign principal described in sec-15
12933	12933	tion 1(b)(2) or 1(b)(3) of the Foreign Agent 16
12934	12934	Registration Act of 1938, as amended (22 17
12935	12935	U.S.C. 611(b)(2) or (b)(3)) or an agent of such 18
12936	12936	a foreign principal under such Act.’’. 19
12937	12937	(b) E
12938	12938	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 20
12939	12939	this section shall apply with respect to elections held in 21
12940	12940	2024 or any succeeding year. 22
12941	12941	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00425 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12942	12942	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 426
12943	12943	•S 1 IS
12944	12944	SEC. 6006. DISBURSEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES SUBJECT TO 1
12945	12945	FOREIGN MONEY BAN. 2
12946	12946	(a) D
12947	12947	ISBURSEMENTS DESCRIBED.—Section 3
12948	12948	319(a)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 4
12949	12949	(52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)) is amended— 5
12950	12950	(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 6
12951	12951	(B); and 7
12952	12952	(2) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting 8
12953	12953	the following: 9
12954	12954	‘‘(C) an expenditure; 10
12955	12955	‘‘(D) an independent expenditure; 11
12956	12956	‘‘(E) a disbursement for an electioneering 12
12957	12957	communication (within the meaning of section 13
12958	12958	304(f)(3)); 14
12959	12959	‘‘(F) a disbursement for a communication 15
12960	12960	which is placed or promoted for a fee on a 16
12961	12961	website, web application, or digital application 17
12962	12962	that refers to a clearly identified candidate for 18
12963	12963	election for Federal office and is disseminated 19
12964	12964	within 60 days before a general, special or run-20
12965	12965	off election for the office sought by the can-21
12966	12966	didate or 30 days before a primary or pref-22
12967	12967	erence election, or a convention or caucus of a 23
12968	12968	political party that has authority to nominate a 24
12969	12969	candidate for the office sought by the can-25
12970	12970	didate; 26
12971	12971	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00426 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
12972	12972	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 427
12973	12973	•S 1 IS
12974	12974	‘‘(G) a disbursement by a covered foreign 1
12975	12975	national described in section 304(j)(3)(C) for a 2
12976	12976	broadcast, cable or satellite communication, or 3
12977	12977	for a communication which is placed or pro-4
12978	12978	moted for a fee on a website, web application, 5
12979	12979	or digital application, that promotes, supports, 6
12980	12980	attacks or opposes the election of a clearly iden-7
12981	12981	tified candidate for Federal, State, or local of-8
12982	12982	fice (regardless of whether the communication 9
12983	12983	contains express advocacy or the functional 10
12984	12984	equivalent of express advocacy); 11
12985	12985	‘‘(H) a disbursement for a broadcast, 12
12986	12986	cable, or satellite communication, or for any 13
12987	12987	communication which is placed or promoted for 14
12988	12988	a fee on an online platform (as defined in sec-15
12989	12989	tion 304(k)(3)), that discusses a national legis-16
12990	12990	lative issue of public importance in a year in 17
12991	12991	which a regularly scheduled general election for 18
12992	12992	Federal office is held, but only if the disburse-19
12993	12993	ment is made by a covered foreign national de-20
12994	12994	scribed in section 304(j)(3)(C); 21
12995	12995	‘‘(I) a disbursement by a covered foreign 22
12996	12996	national described in section 304(j)(3)(C) to 23
12997	12997	compensate any person for internet activity that 24
12998	12998	promotes, supports, attacks or opposes the elec-25
12999	12999	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00427 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13000	13000	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 428
13001	13001	•S 1 IS
13002	13002	tion of a clearly identified candidate for Fed-1
13003	13003	eral, State, or local office (regardless of whether 2
13004	13004	the activity contains express advocacy or the 3
13005	13005	functional equivalent of express advocacy); or 4
13006	13006	‘‘(J) a disbursement by a covered foreign 5
13007	13007	national described in section 304(j)(3)(C) for a 6
13008	13008	Federal judicial nomination communication (as 7
13009	13009	defined in section 324(g)(2));’’. 8
13010	13010	(b) E
13011	13011	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 9
13012	13012	this section shall apply with respect to disbursements 10
13013	13013	made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 11
13014	13014	SEC. 6007. PROHIBITING ESTABLISHMENT OF CORPORA-12
13015	13015	TION TO CONCEAL ELECTION CONTRIBU-13
13016	13016	TIONS AND DONATIONS BY FOREIGN NATION-14
13017	13017	ALS. 15
13018	13018	(a) P
13019	13019	ROHIBITION.—Chapter 29 of title 18, United 16
13020	13020	States Code, as amended by section 2001(a), is amended 17
13021	13021	by adding at the end the following: 18
13022	13022	‘‘§ 613. Establishment of corporation to conceal elec-19
13023	13023	tion contributions and donations by for-20
13024	13024	eign nationals 21
13025	13025	‘‘(a) O
13026	13026	FFENSE.—It shall be unlawful for an owner, 22
13027	13027	officer, attorney, or incorporation agent of a corporation, 23
13028	13028	company, or other entity to establish or use the corpora-24
13029	13029	tion, company, or other entity with the intent to conceal 25
13030	13030	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00428 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13031	13031	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 429
13032	13032	•S 1 IS
13033	13033	an activity of a foreign national (as defined in section 319 1
13034	13034	of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 2
13035	13035	30121)) prohibited under such section 319. 3
13036	13036	‘‘(b) P
13037	13037	ENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 4
13038	13038	(a) shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, fined 5
13039	13039	under this title, or both.’’. 6
13040	13040	(b) T
13041	13041	ABLE OFSECTIONS.—The table of sections for 7
13042	13042	chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, as amended 8
13043	13043	by section 2001(b), is amended by inserting after the item 9
13044	13044	relating to section 612 the following: 10
13045	13045	‘‘613. Establishment of corporation to conceal election contributions and dona-
13046	13046	tions by foreign nationals.’’.
13047	13047	PART 2—REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED 11
13048	13048	DISBURSEMENTS 12
13049	13049	SEC. 6011. REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE-13
13050	13050	MENTS. 14
13051	13051	(a) I
13052	13052	NGENERAL.—Section 324 of the Federal Elec-15
13053	13053	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126) is amended 16
13054	13054	to read as follows: 17
13055	13055	‘‘SEC. 324. DISCLOSURE OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSE-18
13056	13056	MENTS BY COVERED ORGANIZATIONS. 19
13057	13057	‘‘(a) D
13058	13058	ISCLOSURESTATEMENT.— 20
13059	13059	‘‘(1) I
13060	13060	N GENERAL.—Any covered organization 21
13061	13061	that makes campaign-related disbursements aggre-22
13062	13062	gating more than $10,000 in an election reporting 23
13063	13063	cycle shall, not later than 24 hours after each disclo-24
13064	13064	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00429 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13065	13065	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 430
13066	13066	•S 1 IS
13067	13067	sure date, file a statement with the Commission 1
13068	13068	made under penalty of perjury that contains the in-2
13069	13069	formation described in paragraph (2)— 3
13070	13070	‘‘(A) in the case of the first statement filed 4
13071	13071	under this subsection, for the period beginning 5
13072	13072	on the first day of the election reporting cycle 6
13073	13073	(or, if earlier, the period beginning one year be-7
13074	13074	fore the first such disclosure date) and ending 8
13075	13075	on the first such disclosure date; and 9
13076	13076	‘‘(B) in the case of any subsequent state-10
13077	13077	ment filed under this subsection, for the period 11
13078	13078	beginning on the previous disclosure date and 12
13079	13079	ending on such disclosure date. 13
13080	13080	‘‘(2) I
13081	13081	NFORMATION DESCRIBED .—The informa-14
13082	13082	tion described in this paragraph is as follows: 15
13083	13083	‘‘(A) The name of the covered organization 16
13084	13084	and the principal place of business of such or-17
13085	13085	ganization and, in the case of a covered organi-18
13086	13086	zation that is a corporation (other than a busi-19
13087	13087	ness concern that is an issuer of a class of secu-20
13088	13088	rities registered under section 12 of the Securi-21
13089	13089	ties Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78l) or 22
13090	13090	that is required to file reports under section 23
13091	13091	15(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 78o(d))) or an en-24
13092	13092	tity described in subsection (e)(2), a list of the 25
13093	13093	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00430 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13094	13094	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 431
13095	13095	•S 1 IS
13096	13096	beneficial owners (as defined in paragraph 1
13097	13097	(4)(A)) of the entity that— 2
13098	13098	‘‘(i) identifies each beneficial owner by 3
13099	13099	name and current residential or business 4
13100	13100	street address; and 5
13101	13101	‘‘(ii) if any beneficial owner exercises 6
13102	13102	control over the entity through another 7
13103	13103	legal entity, such as a corporation, partner-8
13104	13104	ship, limited liability company, or trust, 9
13105	13105	identifies each such other legal entity and 10
13106	13106	each such beneficial owner who will use 11
13107	13107	that other entity to exercise control over 12
13108	13108	the entity. 13
13109	13109	‘‘(B) The amount of each campaign-related 14
13110	13110	disbursement made by such organization during 15
13111	13111	the period covered by the statement of more 16
13112	13112	than $1,000, and the name and address of the 17
13113	13113	person to whom the disbursement was made. 18
13114	13114	‘‘(C) In the case of a campaign-related dis-19
13115	13115	bursement that is not a covered transfer, the 20
13116	13116	election to which the campaign-related disburse-21
13117	13117	ment pertains and if the disbursement is made 22
13118	13118	for a public communication, the name of any 23
13119	13119	candidate identified in such communication and 24
13120	13120	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00431 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13121	13121	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 432
13122	13122	•S 1 IS
13123	13123	if such communication is in support of or in op-1
13124	13124	position to the identified candidate. 2
13125	13125	‘‘(D) A certification by the chief executive 3
13126	13126	officer or person who is the head of the covered 4
13127	13127	organization that the campaign-related dis-5
13128	13128	bursement is not made in cooperation, consulta-6
13129	13129	tion, or concert with or at the request or sug-7
13130	13130	gestion of a candidate, authorized committee, or 8
13131	13131	agent of a candidate, political party, or agent of 9
13132	13132	a political party. 10
13133	13133	‘‘(E)(i) If the covered organization makes 11
13134	13134	campaign-related disbursements using exclu-12
13135	13135	sively funds in a campaign-related disbursement 13
13136	13136	segregated fund, for each payment made to the 14
13137	13137	account by a person other than the covered or-15
13138	13138	ganization— 16
13139	13139	‘‘(I) the name and address of each 17
13140	13140	person who made such payment to the ac-18
13141	13141	count during the period covered by the 19
13142	13142	statement; 20
13143	13143	‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 21
13144	13144	payment; and 22
13145	13145	‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 23
13146	13146	such payments made by the person during 24
13147	13147	the period beginning on the first day of the 25
13148	13148	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00432 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13149	13149	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 433
13150	13150	•S 1 IS
13151	13151	election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 1
13152	13152	period beginning one year before the dis-2
13153	13153	closure date) and ending on the disclosure 3
13154	13154	date, 4
13155	13155	but only if such payment was made by a person 5
13156	13156	who made payments to the account in an aggre-6
13157	13157	gate amount of $10,000 or more during the pe-7
13158	13158	riod beginning on the first day of the election 8
13159	13159	reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the period begin-9
13160	13160	ning one year before the disclosure date) and 10
13161	13161	ending on the disclosure date. 11
13162	13162	‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2024, sec-12
13163	13163	tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de-13
13164	13164	scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 14
13165	13165	such section applies to the limitations estab-15
13166	13166	lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 16
13167	13167	(a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 17
13168	13168	purposes of applying such section to the 18
13169	13169	amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 19
13170	13170	period’ shall be calendar year 2024. 20
13171	13171	‘‘(F)(i) If the covered organization makes 21
13172	13172	campaign-related disbursements using funds 22
13173	13173	other than funds in a campaign-related dis-23
13174	13174	bursement segregated fund, for each payment 24
13175	13175	to the covered organization— 25
13176	13176	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00433 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13177	13177	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 434
13178	13178	•S 1 IS
13179	13179	‘‘(I) the name and address of each 1
13180	13180	person who made such payment during the 2
13181	13181	period covered by the statement; 3
13182	13182	‘‘(II) the date and amount of such 4
13183	13183	payment; and 5
13184	13184	‘‘(III) the aggregate amount of all 6
13185	13185	such payments made by the person during 7
13186	13186	the period beginning on the first day of the 8
13187	13187	election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 9
13188	13188	period beginning one year before the dis-10
13189	13189	closure date) and ending on the disclosure 11
13190	13190	date, 12
13191	13191	but only if such payment was made by a person 13
13192	13192	who made payments to the covered organization 14
13193	13193	in an aggregate amount of $10,000 or more 15
13194	13194	during the period beginning on the first day of 16
13195	13195	the election reporting cycle (or, if earlier, the 17
13196	13196	period beginning one year before the disclosure 18
13197	13197	date) and ending on the disclosure date. 19
13198	13198	‘‘(ii) In any calendar year after 2024, sec-20
13199	13199	tion 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to the amount de-21
13200	13200	scribed in clause (i) in the same manner as 22
13201	13201	such section applies to the limitations estab-23
13202	13202	lished under subsections (a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), 24
13203	13203	(a)(3), and (h) of such section, except that for 25
13204	13204	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00434 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13205	13205	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 435
13206	13206	•S 1 IS
13207	13207	purposes of applying such section to the 1
13208	13208	amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base 2
13209	13209	period’ shall be calendar year 2024. 3
13210	13210	‘‘(G) Such other information as required in 4
13211	13211	rules established by the Commission to promote 5
13212	13212	the purposes of this section. 6
13213	13213	‘‘(3) E
13214	13214	XCEPTIONS.— 7
13215	13215	‘‘(A) A
13216	13216	MOUNTS RECEIVED IN ORDINARY 8
13217	13217	COURSE OF BUSINESS.—The requirement to in-9
13218	13218	clude in a statement filed under paragraph (1) 10
13219	13219	the information described in paragraph (2) 11
13220	13220	shall not apply to amounts received by the cov-12
13221	13221	ered organization in commercial transactions in 13
13222	13222	the ordinary course of any trade or business 14
13223	13223	conducted by the covered organization or in the 15
13224	13224	form of investments (other than investments by 16
13225	13225	the principal shareholder in a limited liability 17
13226	13226	corporation) in the covered organization. For 18
13227	13227	purposes of this subparagraph, amounts re-19
13228	13228	ceived by a covered organization as remittances 20
13229	13229	from an employee to the employee’s collective 21
13230	13230	bargaining representative shall be treated as 22
13231	13231	amounts received in commercial transactions in 23
13232	13232	the ordinary course of the business conducted 24
13233	13233	by the covered organization. 25
13234	13234	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00435 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13235	13235	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 436
13236	13236	•S 1 IS
13237	13237	‘‘(B) DONOR RESTRICTION ON USE OF 1
13238	13238	FUNDS.—The requirement to include in a state-2
13239	13239	ment submitted under paragraph (1) the infor-3
13240	13240	mation described in subparagraph (F) of para-4
13241	13241	graph (2) shall not apply if— 5
13242	13242	‘‘(i) the person described in such sub-6
13243	13243	paragraph prohibited, in writing, the use of 7
13244	13244	the payment made by such person for cam-8
13245	13245	paign-related disbursements; and 9
13246	13246	‘‘(ii) the covered organization agreed 10
13247	13247	to follow the prohibition and deposited the 11
13248	13248	payment in an account which is segregated 12
13249	13249	from a campaign-related disbursement seg-13
13250	13250	regated fund and any other account used 14
13251	13251	to make campaign-related disbursements. 15
13252	13252	‘‘(C) T
13253	13253	HREAT OF HARASSMENT OR RE -16
13254	13254	PRISAL.—The requirement to include any infor-17
13255	13255	mation relating to the name or address of any 18
13256	13256	person (other than a candidate) in a statement 19
13257	13257	submitted under paragraph (1) shall not apply 20
13258	13258	if the inclusion of the information would subject 21
13259	13259	the person to serious threats, harassment, or 22
13260	13260	reprisals. 23
13261	13261	‘‘(4) O
13262	13262	THER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 24
13263	13263	this section: 25
13264	13264	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00436 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13265	13265	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 437
13266	13266	•S 1 IS
13267	13267	‘‘(A) BENEFICIAL OWNER DEFINED .— 1
13268	13268	‘‘(i) I
13269	13269	N GENERAL.—Except as pro-2
13270	13270	vided in clause (ii), the term ‘beneficial 3
13271	13271	owner’ means, with respect to any entity, 4
13272	13272	a natural person who, directly or indi-5
13273	13273	rectly— 6
13274	13274	‘‘(I) exercises substantial control 7
13275	13275	over an entity through ownership, vot-8
13276	13276	ing rights, agreement, or otherwise; or 9
13277	13277	‘‘(II) has a substantial interest in 10
13278	13278	or receives substantial economic bene-11
13279	13279	fits from the assets of an entity. 12
13280	13280	‘‘(ii) E
13281	13281	XCEPTIONS.—The term ‘bene-13
13282	13282	ficial owner’ shall not include— 14
13283	13283	‘‘(I) a minor child; 15
13284	13284	‘‘(II) a person acting as a nomi-16
13285	13285	nee, intermediary, custodian, or agent 17
13286	13286	on behalf of another person; 18
13287	13287	‘‘(III) a person acting solely as 19
13288	13288	an employee of an entity and whose 20
13289	13289	control over or economic benefits from 21
13290	13290	the entity derives solely from the em-22
13291	13291	ployment status of the person; 23
13292	13292	‘‘(IV) a person whose only inter-24
13293	13293	est in an entity is through a right of 25
13294	13294	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00437 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13295	13295	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 438
13296	13296	•S 1 IS
13297	13297	inheritance, unless the person also 1
13298	13298	meets the requirements of clause (i); 2
13299	13299	or 3
13300	13300	‘‘(V) a creditor of an entity, un-4
13301	13301	less the creditor also meets the re-5
13302	13302	quirements of clause (i). 6
13303	13303	‘‘(iii) A
13304	13304	NTI-ABUSE RULE.—The excep-7
13305	13305	tions under clause (ii) shall not apply if 8
13306	13306	used for the purpose of evading, circum-9
13307	13307	venting, or abusing the provisions of clause 10
13308	13308	(i) or paragraph (2)(A). 11
13309	13309	‘‘(B) C
13310	13310	AMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT 12
13311	13311	SEGREGATED FUND .—The term ‘campaign-re-13
13312	13312	lated disbursement segregated fund’ means a 14
13313	13313	segregated bank account consisting of funds 15
13314	13314	that were paid directly to such account by per-16
13315	13315	sons other than the covered organization that 17
13316	13316	controls the account. 18
13317	13317	‘‘(C) D
13318	13318	ISCLOSURE DATE.—The term ‘dis-19
13319	13319	closure date’ means— 20
13320	13320	‘‘(i) the first date during any election 21
13321	13321	reporting cycle by which a person has 22
13322	13322	made campaign-related disbursements ag-23
13323	13323	gregating more than $10,000; and 24
13324	13324	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00438 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13325	13325	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 439
13326	13326	•S 1 IS
13327	13327	‘‘(ii) any other date during such elec-1
13328	13328	tion reporting cycle by which a person has 2
13329	13329	made campaign-related disbursements ag-3
13330	13330	gregating more than $10,000 since the 4
13331	13331	most recent disclosure date for such elec-5
13332	13332	tion reporting cycle. 6
13333	13333	‘‘(D) E
13334	13334	LECTION REPORTING CYCLE .—The 7
13335	13335	term ‘election reporting cycle’ means the 2-year 8
13336	13336	period beginning on the date of the most recent 9
13337	13337	general election for Federal office. 10
13338	13338	‘‘(E) P
13339	13339	AYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ in-11
13340	13340	cludes any contribution, donation, transfer, pay-12
13341	13341	ment of dues, or other payment. 13
13342	13342	‘‘(b) C
13343	13343	OORDINATIONWITHOTHERPROVISIONS.—In-14
13344	13344	formation included in a statement filed under this section 15
13345	13345	may be excluded from statements and reports filed under 16
13346	13346	section 304. 17
13347	13347	‘‘(c) F
13348	13348	ILING.—Statements required to be filed under 18
13349	13349	subsection (a) shall be subject to the requirements of sec-19
13350	13350	tion 304(d) to the same extent and in the same manner 20
13351	13351	as if such reports had been required under subsection (c) 21
13352	13352	or (g) of section 304. 22
13353	13353	‘‘(d) C
13354	13354	AMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENT DE-23
13355	13355	FINED.— 24
13356	13356	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00439 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13357	13357	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 440
13358	13358	•S 1 IS
13359	13359	‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 1
13360	13360	‘campaign-related disbursement’ means a disburse-2
13361	13361	ment by a covered organization for any of the fol-3
13362	13362	lowing: 4
13363	13363	‘‘(A) An independent expenditure which ex-5
13364	13364	pressly advocates the election or defeat of a 6
13365	13365	clearly identified candidate for election for Fed-7
13366	13366	eral office, or is the functional equivalent of ex-8
13367	13367	press advocacy because, when taken as a whole, 9
13368	13368	it can be interpreted by a reasonable person 10
13369	13369	only as advocating the election or defeat of a 11
13370	13370	candidate for election for Federal office. 12
13371	13371	‘‘(B) An applicable public communication. 13
13372	13372	‘‘(C) An electioneering communication, as 14
13373	13373	defined in section 304(f)(3). 15
13374	13374	‘‘(D) A covered transfer. 16
13375	13375	‘‘(2) A
13376	13376	PPLICABLE PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS .— 17
13377	13377	‘‘(A) I
13378	13378	N GENERAL.—The term ‘applicable 18
13379	13379	public communication’ means any public com-19
13380	13380	munication that refers to a clearly identified 20
13381	13381	candidate for election for Federal office and 21
13382	13382	which promotes or supports the election of a 22
13383	13383	candidate for that office, or attacks or opposes 23
13384	13384	the election of a candidate for that office, with-24
13385	13385	out regard to whether the communication ex-25
13386	13386	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00440 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13387	13387	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 441
13388	13388	•S 1 IS
13389	13389	pressly advocates a vote for or against a can-1
13390	13390	didate for that office. 2
13391	13391	‘‘(B) E
13392	13392	XCEPTION.—Such term shall not in-3
13393	13393	clude any news story, commentary, or editorial 4
13394	13394	distributed through the facilities of any broad-5
13395	13395	casting station or any print, online, or digital 6
13396	13396	newspaper, magazine, publication, or periodical, 7
13397	13397	unless such facilities are owned or controlled by 8
13398	13398	any political party, political committee, or can-9
13399	13399	didate. 10
13400	13400	‘‘(e) C
13401	13401	OVEREDORGANIZATIONDEFINED.—In this 11
13402	13402	section, the term ‘covered organization’ means any of the 12
13403	13403	following: 13
13404	13404	‘‘(1) A corporation (other than an organization 14
13405	13405	described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev-15
13406	13406	enue Code of 1986). 16
13407	13407	‘‘(2) A limited liability corporation that is not 17
13408	13408	otherwise treated as a corporation for purposes of 18
13409	13409	this Act (other than an organization described in 19
13410	13410	section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 20
13411	13411	1986). 21
13412	13412	‘‘(3) An organization described in section 22
13413	13413	501(c) of such Code and exempt from taxation 23
13414	13414	under section 501(a) of such Code (other than an 24
13415	13415	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00441 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13416	13416	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 442
13417	13417	•S 1 IS
13418	13418	organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such 1
13419	13419	Code). 2
13420	13420	‘‘(4) A labor organization (as defined in section 3
13421	13421	316(b)). 4
13422	13422	‘‘(5) Any political organization under section 5
13423	13423	527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other 6
13424	13424	than a political committee under this Act (except as 7
13425	13425	provided in paragraph (6)). 8
13426	13426	‘‘(6) A political committee with an account that 9
13427	13427	accepts donations or contributions that do not com-10
13428	13428	ply with the contribution limits or source prohibi-11
13429	13429	tions under this Act, but only with respect to such 12
13430	13430	accounts. 13
13431	13431	‘‘(f) C
13432	13432	OVEREDTRANSFERDEFINED.— 14
13433	13433	‘‘(1) I
13434	13434	N GENERAL.—In this section, the term 15
13435	13435	‘covered transfer’ means any transfer or payment of 16
13436	13436	funds by a covered organization to another person if 17
13437	13437	the covered organization— 18
13438	13438	‘‘(A) designates, requests, or suggests that 19
13439	13439	the amounts be used for— 20
13440	13440	‘‘(i) campaign-related disbursements 21
13441	13441	(other than covered transfers); or 22
13442	13442	‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 23
13443	13443	person for the purpose of making or pay-24
13444	13444	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00442 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13445	13445	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 443
13446	13446	•S 1 IS
13447	13447	ing for such campaign-related disburse-1
13448	13448	ments; 2
13449	13449	‘‘(B) made such transfer or payment in re-3
13450	13450	sponse to a solicitation or other request for a 4
13451	13451	donation or payment for— 5
13452	13452	‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam-6
13453	13453	paign-related disbursements (other than 7
13454	13454	covered transfers); or 8
13455	13455	‘‘(ii) making a transfer to another 9
13456	13456	person for the purpose of making or pay-10
13457	13457	ing for such campaign-related disburse-11
13458	13458	ments; 12
13459	13459	‘‘(C) engaged in discussions with the re-13
13460	13460	cipient of the transfer or payment regarding— 14
13461	13461	‘‘(i) the making of or paying for cam-15
13462	13462	paign-related disbursements (other than 16
13463	13463	covered transfers); or 17
13464	13464	‘‘(ii) donating or transferring any 18
13465	13465	amount of such transfer or payment to an-19
13466	13466	other person for the purpose of making or 20
13467	13467	paying for such campaign-related disburse-21
13468	13468	ments; or 22
13469	13469	‘‘(D) knew or had reason to know that the 23
13470	13470	person receiving the transfer or payment would 24
13471	13471	make campaign-related disbursements in an ag-25
13472	13472	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00443 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13473	13473	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 444
13474	13474	•S 1 IS
13475	13475	gregate amount of $50,000 or more during the 1
13476	13476	2-year period beginning on the date of the 2
13477	13477	transfer or payment. 3
13478	13478	‘‘(2) E
13479	13479	XCLUSIONS.—The term ‘covered transfer’ 4
13480	13480	does not include any of the following: 5
13481	13481	‘‘(A) A disbursement made by a covered 6
13482	13482	organization in a commercial transaction in the 7
13483	13483	ordinary course of any trade or business con-8
13484	13484	ducted by the covered organization or in the 9
13485	13485	form of investments made by the covered orga-10
13486	13486	nization. 11
13487	13487	‘‘(B) A disbursement made by a covered 12
13488	13488	organization if— 13
13489	13489	‘‘(i) the covered organization prohib-14
13490	13490	ited, in writing, the use of such disburse-15
13491	13491	ment for campaign-related disbursements; 16
13492	13492	and 17
13493	13493	‘‘(ii) the recipient of the disbursement 18
13494	13494	agreed to follow the prohibition and depos-19
13495	13495	ited the disbursement in an account which 20
13496	13496	is segregated from a campaign-related dis-21
13497	13497	bursement segregated fund and any other 22
13498	13498	account used to make campaign-related 23
13499	13499	disbursements. 24
13500	13500	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00444 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13501	13501	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 445
13502	13502	•S 1 IS
13503	13503	‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE REGARDING TRANSFERS 1
13504	13504	AMONG AFFILIATES.— 2
13505	13505	‘‘(A) S
13506	13506	PECIAL RULE.—A transfer of an 3
13507	13507	amount by one covered organization to another 4
13508	13508	covered organization which is treated as a 5
13509	13509	transfer between affiliates under subparagraph 6
13510	13510	(C) shall be considered a covered transfer by 7
13511	13511	the covered organization which transfers the 8
13512	13512	amount only if the aggregate amount trans-9
13513	13513	ferred during the year by such covered organi-10
13514	13514	zation to that same covered organization is 11
13515	13515	equal to or greater than $50,000. 12
13516	13516	‘‘(B) D
13517	13517	ETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF 13
13518	13518	CERTAIN PAYMENTS AMONG AFFILIATES .—In 14
13519	13519	determining the amount of a transfer between 15
13520	13520	affiliates for purposes of subparagraph (A), to 16
13521	13521	the extent that the transfer consists of funds 17
13522	13522	attributable to dues, fees, or assessments which 18
13523	13523	are paid by individuals on a regular, periodic 19
13524	13524	basis in accordance with a per-individual cal-20
13525	13525	culation which is made on a regular basis, the 21
13526	13526	transfer shall be attributed to the individuals 22
13527	13527	paying the dues, fees, or assessments and shall 23
13528	13528	not be attributed to the covered organization. 24
13529	13529	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00445 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13530	13530	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 446
13531	13531	•S 1 IS
13532	13532	‘‘(C) DESCRIPTION OF TRANSFERS BE -1
13533	13533	TWEEN AFFILIATES .—A transfer of amounts 2
13534	13534	from one covered organization to another cov-3
13535	13535	ered organization shall be treated as a transfer 4
13536	13536	between affiliates if— 5
13537	13537	‘‘(i) one of the organizations is an af-6
13538	13538	filiate of the other organization; or 7
13539	13539	‘‘(ii) each of the organizations is an 8
13540	13540	affiliate of the same organization, 9
13541	13541	except that the transfer shall not be treated as 10
13542	13542	a transfer between affiliates if one of the orga-11
13543	13543	nizations is established for the purpose of mak-12
13544	13544	ing campaign-related disbursements. 13
13545	13545	‘‘(D) D
13546	13546	ETERMINATION OF AFFILIATE STA -14
13547	13547	TUS.—For purposes of subparagraph (C), a 15
13548	13548	covered organization is an affiliate of another 16
13549	13549	covered organization if— 17
13550	13550	‘‘(i) the governing instrument of the 18
13551	13551	organization requires it to be bound by de-19
13552	13552	cisions of the other organization; 20
13553	13553	‘‘(ii) the governing board of the orga-21
13554	13554	nization includes persons who are specifi-22
13555	13555	cally designated representatives of the 23
13556	13556	other organization or are members of the 24
13557	13557	governing board, officers, or paid executive 25
13558	13558	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00446 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13559	13559	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 447
13560	13560	•S 1 IS
13561	13561	staff members of the other organization, or 1
13562	13562	whose service on the governing board is 2
13563	13563	contingent upon the approval of the other 3
13564	13564	organization; or 4
13565	13565	‘‘(iii) the organization is chartered by 5
13566	13566	the other organization. 6
13567	13567	‘‘(E) C
13568	13568	OVERAGE OF TRANSFERS TO AF -7
13569	13569	FILIATED SECTION 501(c)(3) ORGANIZATIONS.— 8
13570	13570	This paragraph shall apply with respect to an 9
13571	13571	amount transferred by a covered organization 10
13572	13572	to an organization described in paragraph (3) 11
13573	13573	of section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code 12
13574	13574	of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 13
13575	13575	501(a) of such Code in the same manner as 14
13576	13576	this paragraph applies to an amount trans-15
13577	13577	ferred by a covered organization to another cov-16
13578	13578	ered organization. 17
13579	13579	‘‘(g) N
13580	13580	OEFFECT ONOTHERREPORTINGREQUIRE-18
13581	13581	MENTS.—Except as provided in subsection (b)(1), nothing 19
13582	13582	in this section shall be construed to waive or otherwise 20
13583	13583	affect any other requirement of this Act which relates to 21
13584	13584	the reporting of campaign-related disbursements.’’. 22
13585	13585	(b) C
13586	13586	ONFORMINGAMENDMENT.—Section 304(f)(6) 23
13587	13587	of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104) is amended by striking 24
13588	13588	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00447 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13589	13589	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 448
13590	13590	•S 1 IS
13591	13591	‘‘Any requirement’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 1
13592	13592	section 324(b), any requirement’’. 2
13593	13593	(c) R
13594	13594	EGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 months after 3
13595	13595	the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 4
13596	13596	Commission shall promulgate regulations relating the ap-5
13597	13597	plication of the exemption under section 324(a)(3)(C) of 6
13598	13598	the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by 7
13599	13599	subsection (a)). Such regulations— 8
13600	13600	(1) shall require that the legal burden of estab-9
13601	13601	lishing eligibility for such exemption is upon the or-10
13602	13602	ganization required to make the report required 11
13603	13603	under section 324(a)(1) of such Act (as added by 12
13604	13604	subsection (a)), and 13
13605	13605	(2) shall be consistent with the principles ap-14
13606	13606	plied in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commis-15
13607	13607	sion, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). 16
13608	13608	SEC. 6012. REPORTING OF FEDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINA-17
13609	13609	TION DISBURSEMENTS. 18
13610	13610	(a) F
13611	13611	INDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-19
13612	13612	ings: 20
13613	13613	(1) A fair and impartial judiciary is critical for 21
13614	13614	our democracy and crucial to maintain the faith of 22
13615	13615	the people of the United States in the justice sys-23
13616	13616	tem. As the Supreme Court held in Caperton v. 24
13617	13617	Massey, ‘‘there is a serious risk of actual bias— 25
13618	13618	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00448 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13619	13619	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 449
13620	13620	•S 1 IS
13621	13621	based on objective and reasonable perceptions— 1
13622	13622	when a person with a personal stake in a particular 2
13623	13623	case had a significant and disproportionate influence 3
13624	13624	in placing the judge on the case’’. (Caperton v. A. 4
13625	13625	T. Massey Coal Co., 556 U.S. 868, 884 (2009)). 5
13626	13626	(2) Public trust in government is at a historic 6
13627	13627	low. According to polling, most Americans believe 7
13628	13628	that corporations have too much power and influence 8
13629	13629	in politics and the courts. 9
13630	13630	(3) The prevalence and pervasiveness of dark 10
13631	13631	money drives public concern about corruption in pol-11
13632	13632	itics and the courts. Dark money is funding for or-12
13633	13633	ganizations and political activities that cannot be 13
13634	13634	traced to actual donors. It is made possible by loop-14
13635	13635	holes in our tax laws and regulations, weak oversight 15
13636	13636	by the Internal Revenue Service, and donor-friendly 16
13637	13637	court decisions. 17
13638	13638	(4) Under current law, ‘‘social welfare’’ organi-18
13639	13639	zations and business leagues can use funds to influ-19
13640	13640	ence elections so long as political activity is not their 20
13641	13641	‘‘primary’’ activity. Super PACs can accept and 21
13642	13642	spend unlimited contributions from any non-foreign 22
13643	13643	source. These groups can spend tens of millions of 23
13644	13644	dollars on political activities. Such dark money 24
13645	13645	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00449 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13646	13646	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 450
13647	13647	•S 1 IS
13648	13648	groups spent an estimated $1,050,000,000 in the 1
13649	13649	2020 election cycle. 2
13650	13650	(5) Dark money is used to shape judicial deci-3
13651	13651	sion making. This can take many forms, akin to 4
13652	13652	agency capture: influencing judicial selection by con-5
13653	13653	trolling who gets nominated and funding candidate 6
13654	13654	advertisements; creating public relations campaigns 7
13655	13655	aimed at mobilizing the judiciary around particular 8
13656	13656	issues; and drafting law review articles, amicus 9
13657	13657	briefs, and other products which tell judges how to 10
13658	13658	decide a given case and provide ready-made argu-11
13659	13659	ments for willing judges to adopt. 12
13660	13660	(6) Over the past decade, nonprofit organiza-13
13661	13661	tions that do not disclose their donors have spent 14
13662	13662	hundreds of millions of dollars to influence the nomi-15
13663	13663	nation and confirmation process for Federal judges. 16
13664	13664	One organization alone has spent nearly 17
13665	13665	$40,000,000 on advertisements supporting or oppos-18
13666	13666	ing Supreme Court nominees since 2016. 19
13667	13667	(7) Anonymous money spent on judicial nomi-20
13668	13668	nations is not subject to any disclosure require-21
13669	13669	ments. Federal election laws only regulate contribu-22
13670	13670	tions and expenditures relating to electoral politics; 23
13671	13671	thus, expenditures, contributions, and advocacy ef-24
13672	13672	forts for Federal judgeships are not covered under 25
13673	13673	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00450 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13674	13674	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 451
13675	13675	•S 1 IS
13676	13676	the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. With-1
13677	13677	out more disclosure, the public has no way of know-2
13678	13678	ing whether the people spending money supporting 3
13679	13679	or opposing judicial nominations have business be-4
13680	13680	fore the courts. 5
13681	13681	(8) Congress and the American people have a 6
13682	13682	compelling interest in knowing who is funding these 7
13683	13683	campaigns to select and confirm judges to lifetime 8
13684	13684	appointments on the Federal bench. 9
13685	13685	(b) R
13686	13686	EPORTING.—Section 324 of the Federal Elec-10
13687	13687	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30126), as amend-11
13688	13688	ed by section 6011, is amended by redesignating sub-12
13689	13689	section (g) as subsection (h) and by inserting after sub-13
13690	13690	section (f) the following new subsection: 14
13691	13691	‘‘(g) A
13692	13692	PPLICATION TOFEDERALJUDICIALNOMINA-15
13693	13693	TIONS.— 16
13694	13694	‘‘(1) I
13695	13695	N GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-17
13696	13696	tion— 18
13697	13697	‘‘(A) a disbursement by a covered organi-19
13698	13698	zation for a Federal judicial nomination com-20
13699	13699	munication shall be treated as a campaign-re-21
13700	13700	lated disbursement; and 22
13701	13701	‘‘(B) in the case of campaign-related dis-23
13702	13702	bursements which are for Federal judicial nomi-24
13703	13703	nation communications— 25
13704	13704	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00451 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13705	13705	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 452
13706	13706	•S 1 IS
13707	13707	‘‘(i) the dollar amounts in paragraphs 1
13708	13708	(1) and (2) of subsection (a) shall be ap-2
13709	13709	plied separately with respect to such dis-3
13710	13710	bursements and other campaign-related 4
13711	13711	disbursements; 5
13712	13712	‘‘(ii) the election reporting cycle shall 6
13713	13713	be the calendar year in which the disburse-7
13714	13714	ment for the Federal judicial nomination 8
13715	13715	communication is made; 9
13716	13716	‘‘(iii) references to a candidate in sub-10
13717	13717	sections (a)(2)(C), (a)(2)(D), and 11
13718	13718	(a)(3)(C) shall be treated as references to 12
13719	13719	a nominee for a Federal judge or justice; 13
13720	13720	and 14
13721	13721	‘‘(iv) the reference to an election in 15
13722	13722	subsection (a)(2)(C) shall be treated as a 16
13723	13723	reference to the nomination of such nomi-17
13724	13724	nee. 18
13725	13725	‘‘(2) F
13726	13726	EDERAL JUDICIAL NOMINATION COMMU -19
13727	13727	NICATION.— 20
13728	13728	‘‘(A) I
13729	13729	N GENERAL.—The term ‘Federal ju-21
13730	13730	dicial nomination communication’ means any 22
13731	13731	communication— 23
13732	13732	‘‘(i) that is by means of any broad-24
13733	13733	cast, cable, or satellite, paid internet, or 25
13734	13734	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00452 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13735	13735	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 453
13736	13736	•S 1 IS
13737	13737	paid digital communication, paid pro-1
13738	13738	motion, newspaper, magazine, outdoor ad-2
13739	13739	vertising facility, mass mailing, telephone 3
13740	13740	bank, telephone messaging effort of more 4
13741	13741	than 500 substantially similar calls or elec-5
13742	13742	tronic messages within a 30-day period, or 6
13743	13743	any other form of general public political 7
13744	13744	advertising; and 8
13745	13745	‘‘(ii) which promotes, supports, at-9
13746	13746	tacks, or opposes the nomination or Senate 10
13747	13747	confirmation of an individual as a Federal 11
13748	13748	judge or justice. 12
13749	13749	‘‘(B) E
13750	13750	XCEPTION.—Such term shall not in-13
13751	13751	clude any news story, commentary, or editorial 14
13752	13752	distributed through the facilities of any broad-15
13753	13753	casting station or any print, online, or digital 16
13754	13754	newspaper, magazine, publication, or periodical, 17
13755	13755	unless such facilities are owned or controlled by 18
13756	13756	any political party, political committee, or can-19
13757	13757	didate. 20
13758	13758	‘‘(C) I
13759	13759	NTENT NOT REQUIRED .—A disburse-21
13760	13760	ment for an item described in subparagraph (A) 22
13761	13761	shall be treated as a disbursement for a Federal 23
13762	13762	judicial nomination communication regardless 24
13763	13763	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00453 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
13764	13764	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 454
13765	13765	•S 1 IS
13766	13766	of the intent of the person making the disburse-1
13767	13767	ment.’’. 2
13768	13768	SEC. 6013. COORDINATION WITH FINCEN. 3
13769	13769	(a) I
13770	13770	NGENERAL.—The Director of the Financial 4
13771	13771	Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of the 5
13772	13772	Treasury shall provide the Federal Election Commission 6
13773	13773	with such information as necessary to assist in admin-7
13774	13774	istering and enforcing section 324 of the Federal Election 8
13775	13775	Campaign Act of 1971, as amended by this part. 9
13776	13776	(b) R
13777	13777	EPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 10
13778	13778	of the enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal 11
13779	13779	Election Commission, in consultation with the Director of 12
13780	13780	the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the De-13
13781	13781	partment of the Treasury, shall submit to Congress a re-14
13782	13782	port with recommendations for providing further legisla-15
13783	13783	tive authority to assist in the administration and enforce-16
13784	13784	ment of such section 324. 17
13785	13785	SEC. 6014. APPLICATION OF FOREIGN MONEY BAN TO DIS-18
13786	13786	BURSEMENTS FOR CAMPAIGN-RELATED DIS-19
13787	13787	BURSEMENTS CONSISTING OF COVERED 20
13788	13788	TRANSFERS. 21
13789	13789	Section 319(b)(2) of the Federal Election Campaign 22
13790	13790	Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121(a)(1)(A)), as amended by 23
13791	13791	section 6003, is amended— 24
13792	13792	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00454 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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13794	13794	•S 1 IS
13795	13795	(1) by striking ‘‘includes any disbursement’’ 1
13796	13796	and inserting ‘‘includes— 2
13797	13797	‘‘(A) any disbursement’’; 3
13798	13798	(2) by striking the period at the end and insert-4
13799	13799	ing ‘‘; and’’, and 5
13800	13800	(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-6
13801	13801	paragraph: 7
13802	13802	‘‘(B) any disbursement, other than a dis-8
13803	13803	bursement described in section 324(a)(3)(A), to 9
13804	13804	another person who made a campaign-related 10
13805	13805	disbursement consisting of a covered transfer 11
13806	13806	(as described in section 324) during the 2-year 12
13807	13807	period ending on the date of the disburse-13
13808	13808	ment.’’. 14
13809	13809	SEC. 6015. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING IMPLEMENTA-15
13810	13810	TION. 16
13811	13811	It is the sense of Congress that the Federal Election 17
13812	13812	Commission should simplify the process for filing any dis-18
13813	13813	closure required under the provisions of, and amendments 19
13814	13814	made by, this part in order to ensure that such process 20
13815	13815	is as easy and accessible as possible. 21
13816	13816	SEC. 6016. EFFECTIVE DATE. 22
13817	13817	The amendments made by this part shall apply with 23
13818	13818	respect to disbursements made on or after January 1, 24
13819	13819	2024, and shall take effect without regard to whether or 25
13820	13820	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00455 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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13822	13822	•S 1 IS
13823	13823	not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 1
13824	13824	regulations to carry out such amendments. 2
13825	13825	PART 3—OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 3
13826	13826	SEC. 6021. PETITION FOR CERTIORARI. 4
13827	13827	Section 307(a)(6) of the Federal Election Campaign 5
13828	13828	Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30107(a)(6)) is amended by in-6
13829	13829	serting ‘‘(including a proceeding before the Supreme 7
13830	13830	Court on certiorari)’’ after ‘‘appeal’’. 8
13831	13831	SEC. 6022. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ACTIONS RELATED TO 9
13832	13832	CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS. 10
13833	13833	(a) I
13834	13834	NGENERAL.—Title IV of the Federal Election 11
13835	13835	Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30141 et seq.) is 12
13836	13836	amended by inserting after section 406 the following new 13
13837	13837	section: 14
13838	13838	‘‘SEC. 407. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 15
13839	13839	‘‘(a) I
13840	13840	NGENERAL.—If any action is brought for de-16
13841	13841	claratory or injunctive relief to challenge, whether facially 17
13842	13842	or as-applied, the constitutionality or lawfulness of any 18
13843	13843	provision of this Act, including title V, or of chapter 95 19
13844	13844	or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or is brought 20
13845	13845	to with respect to any action of the Commission under 21
13846	13846	chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 22
13847	13847	the following rules shall apply: 23
13848	13848	‘‘(1) The action shall be filed in the United 24
13849	13849	States District Court for the District of Columbia 25
13850	13850	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00456 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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13852	13852	•S 1 IS
13853	13853	and an appeal from the decision of the district court 1
13854	13854	may be taken to the Court of Appeals for the Dis-2
13855	13855	trict of Columbia Circuit. 3
13856	13856	‘‘(2) In the case of an action relating to declar-4
13857	13857	atory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu-5
13858	13858	tionality of a provision, the party filing the action 6
13859	13859	shall concurrently deliver a copy of the complaint to 7
13860	13860	the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 8
13861	13861	Secretary of the Senate. 9
13862	13862	‘‘(3) It shall be the duty of the United States 10
13863	13863	District Court for the District of Columbia and the 11
13864	13864	Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir-12
13865	13865	cuit to advance on the docket and to expedite to the 13
13866	13866	greatest possible extent the disposition of the action 14
13867	13867	and appeal. 15
13868	13868	‘‘(b) C
13869	13869	LARIFYINGSCOPE OFJURISDICTION.—If an 16
13870	13870	action at the time of its commencement is not subject to 17
13871	13871	subsection (a), but an amendment, counterclaim, cross- 18
13872	13872	claim, affirmative defense, or any other pleading or motion 19
13873	13873	is filed challenging, whether facially or as-applied, the con-20
13874	13874	stitutionality or lawfulness of this Act or of chapter 95 21
13875	13875	or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or is brought 22
13876	13876	to with respect to any action of the Commission under 23
13877	13877	chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 24
13878	13878	the district court shall transfer the action to the District 25
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13881	13881	•S 1 IS
13882	13882	Court for the District of Columbia, and the action shall 1
13883	13883	thereafter be conducted pursuant to subsection (a). 2
13884	13884	‘‘(c) I
13885	13885	NTERVENTION BY MEMBERS OFCONGRESS.— 3
13886	13886	In any action described in subsection (a) relating to de-4
13887	13887	claratory or injunctive relief to challenge the constitu-5
13888	13888	tionality of a provision, any Member of the House of Rep-6
13889	13889	resentatives (including a Delegate or Resident Commis-7
13890	13890	sioner to the Congress) or Senate shall have the right to 8
13891	13891	intervene either in support of or opposition to the position 9
13892	13892	of a party to the case regarding the constitutionality of 10
13893	13893	the provision. To avoid duplication of efforts and reduce 11
13894	13894	the burdens placed on the parties to the action, the court 12
13895	13895	in any such action may make such orders as it considers 13
13896	13896	necessary, including orders to require interveners taking 14
13897	13897	similar positions to file joint papers or to be represented 15
13898	13898	by a single attorney at oral argument. 16
13899	13899	‘‘(d) C
13900	13900	HALLENGE BYMEMBERS OFCONGRESS.—Any 17
13901	13901	Member of Congress may bring an action, subject to the 18
13902	13902	special rules described in subsection (a), for declaratory 19
13903	13903	or injunctive relief to challenge, whether facially or as-ap-20
13904	13904	plied, the constitutionality of any provision of this Act or 21
13905	13905	chapter 95 or 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’. 22
13906	13906	(b) C
13907	13907	ONFORMINGAMENDMENTS.— 23
13908	13908	(1) Section 9011 of the Internal Revenue Code 24
13909	13909	of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 25
13910	13910	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00458 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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13912	13912	•S 1 IS
13913	13913	‘‘SEC. 9011. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 1
13914	13914	‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of certifi-2
13915	13915	cations, determinations, and actions by the Commission 3
13916	13916	under this chapter, see section 407 of the Federal Election 4
13917	13917	Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 5
13918	13918	(2) Section 9041 of the Internal Revenue Code 6
13919	13919	of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 7
13920	13920	‘‘SEC. 9041. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 8
13921	13921	‘‘For provisions relating to judicial review of actions 9
13922	13922	by the Commission under this chapter, see section 407 of 10
13923	13923	the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.’’. 11
13924	13924	(3) Section 310 of the Federal Election Cam-12
13925	13925	paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30110) is repealed. 13
13926	13926	(4) Section 403 of the Bipartisan Campaign 14
13927	13927	Reform Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 30110 note) is re-15
13928	13928	pealed. 16
13929	13929	SEC. 6023. EFFECTIVE DATE. 17
13930	13930	The amendments made by this subtitle shall take ef-18
13931	13931	fect and apply on the date of the enactment of this Act, 19
13932	13932	without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 20
13933	13933	Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out this 21
13934	13934	subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle. 22
13935	13935	Subtitle B—Honest Ads 23
13936	13936	SEC. 6101. SHORT TITLE. 24
13937	13937	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Honest Ads Act’’. 25
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13940	13940	•S 1 IS
13941	13941	SEC. 6102. PURPOSE. 1
13942	13942	The purpose of this subtitle is to enhance the integ-2
13943	13943	rity of American democracy and national security by im-3
13944	13944	proving disclosure requirements for online political adver-4
13945	13945	tisements in order to uphold the Supreme Court’s well- 5
13946	13946	established standard that the electorate bears the right to 6
13947	13947	be fully informed. 7
13948	13948	SEC. 6103. FINDINGS. 8
13949	13949	Congress makes the following findings: 9
13950	13950	(1) In 2002, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform 10
13951	13951	Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–155) became law, es-11
13952	13952	tablishing disclosure requirements for political adver-12
13953	13953	tisements distributed from a television or radio 13
13954	13954	broadcast station or provider of cable or satellite tel-14
13955	13955	evision. In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld regula-15
13956	13956	tions on electioneering communications established 16
13957	13957	under the Act, noting that such requirements ‘‘pro-17
13958	13958	vide the electorate with information and insure that 18
13959	13959	the voters are fully informed about the person or 19
13960	13960	group who is speaking’’. The Court reaffirmed this 20
13961	13961	conclusion in 2010 by an 8–1 vote. 21
13962	13962	(2) In its 2006 rulemaking, the Federal Elec-22
13963	13963	tion Commission, the independent Federal agency 23
13964	13964	charged with protecting the integrity of the Federal 24
13965	13965	campaign finance process, noted that 18 percent of 25
13966	13966	all Americans cited the internet as their leading 26
13967	13967	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00460 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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13969	13969	•S 1 IS
13970	13970	source of news about the 2004 Presidential election. 1
13971	13971	By contrast, Gallup and the Knight Foundation 2
13972	13972	found in 2020 that the majority of Americans, 58 3
13973	13973	percent, got most of their news about elections on-4
13974	13974	line. 5
13975	13975	(3) According to studies from AdImpact and 6
13976	13976	Borrell Associates, in 2020, an estimated 7
13977	13977	$1,700,000,000 was spent on online political adver-8
13978	13978	tising, more than 10 times the amount spent in 9
13979	13979	2012. 10
13980	13980	(4) In order to enhance transparency of all po-11
13981	13981	litical advertisement funding, it is prudent to extend 12
13982	13982	to online internet platforms the same types of polit-13
13983	13983	ical advertisement disclosure requirements applicable 14
13984	13984	to broadcast television and radio stations, and pro-15
13985	13985	viders of cable and satellite television. 16
13986	13986	(5) Effective and complete transparency for vot-17
13987	13987	ers must include information about the true and 18
13988	13988	original source of money given, transferred, and 19
13989	13989	spent on political advertisements made online. 20
13990	13990	(6) Requiring the disclosure of this information 21
13991	13991	is a necessary and narrowly tailored means to in-22
13992	13992	form the voting public of who is behind digital ad-23
13993	13993	vertising disseminated to influence their votes and to 24
13994	13994	enable the Federal Election Commission and the De-25
13995	13995	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00461 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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13997	13997	•S 1 IS
13998	13998	partment of Justice to detect and prosecute illegal 1
13999	13999	foreign spending on local, State, and Federal elec-2
14000	14000	tions and other campaign finance violations. 3
14001	14001	(7) Paid advertising on large online platforms is 4
14002	14002	different from advertising placed on other common 5
14003	14003	media in terms of the comparatively low cost of 6
14004	14004	reaching large numbers of people, the availability of 7
14005	14005	sophisticated microtargeting, and the ease with 8
14006	14006	which online advertisers, particularly those located 9
14007	14007	outside the United States, can evade disclosure re-10
14008	14008	quirements. Requiring large online platforms to 11
14009	14009	maintain public files of information about the online 12
14010	14010	political ads they disseminate is the best and least 13
14011	14011	restrictive means to ensure the voting public has 14
14012	14012	complete information about who is trying to influ-15
14013	14013	ence their votes and to aid enforcement of other 16
14014	14014	laws, including the prohibition on foreign money in 17
14015	14015	domestic campaigns. 18
14016	14016	(8) The reach of a few large internet plat-19
14017	14017	forms—larger than any broadcast, satellite, or cable 20
14018	14018	provider—has greatly facilitated the scope and effec-21
14019	14019	tiveness of disinformation campaigns. For instance, 22
14020	14020	the largest platform has over 247,000,000 American 23
14021	14021	users—over 153,000,000 of them on a daily basis. 24
14022	14022	By contrast, the largest cable television provider has 25
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14024	14024	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 463
14025	14025	•S 1 IS
14026	14026	16,142,000 subscribers, while the largest satellite 1
14027	14027	television provider has 13,300,000 subscribers. And 2
14028	14028	the most-watched television broadcast in United 3
14029	14029	States history had 118,000,000 viewers. 4
14030	14030	(9) The public nature of broadcast television, 5
14031	14031	radio, and satellite ensures a level of publicity for 6
14032	14032	any political advertisement. These communications 7
14033	14033	are accessible to the press, fact-checkers, and polit-8
14034	14034	ical opponents. This creates strong disincentives for 9
14035	14035	a candidate to disseminate materially false, inflam-10
14036	14036	matory, or contradictory messages to the public. So-11
14037	14037	cial media platforms, in contrast, can target portions 12
14038	14038	of the electorate with direct, ephemeral advertise-13
14039	14039	ments often on the basis of private information the 14
14040	14040	platform has on individuals, enabling political adver-15
14041	14041	tisements that are contradictory, racially or socially 16
14042	14042	inflammatory, or materially false. 17
14043	14043	(10) Large social media platforms are the only 18
14044	14044	entities in possession of certain key data related to 19
14045	14045	paid online ads, including the exact audience tar-20
14046	14046	geted by those ads and their number of impressions. 21
14047	14047	Such information, which cannot be reliably disclosed 22
14048	14048	by the purchasers of ads, is extremely useful for in-23
14049	14049	forming the electorate, guarding against corruption, 24
14050	14050	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00463 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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14052	14052	•S 1 IS
14053	14053	and aiding in the enforcement of existing campaign 1
14054	14054	finance regulations. 2
14055	14055	(11) Paid advertisements on social media plat-3
14056	14056	forms have served as critical tools for foreign online 4
14057	14057	influence campaigns—even those that rely on large 5
14058	14058	amounts of unpaid content—because such ads allow 6
14059	14059	foreign actors to test the effectiveness of different 7
14060	14060	messages, expose their messages to audiences who 8
14061	14061	have not sought out such content, and recruit audi-9
14062	14062	ences for future campaigns and posts. 10
14063	14063	(12) A 2019 Senate Select Committee on 11
14064	14064	Intelligence’s Report on Russian Active Measures 12
14065	14065	Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Elec-13
14066	14066	tion Volume 2: Russia’s Use of Social Media with 14
14067	14067	Additional Views, the Committee recommended 15
14068	14068	‘‘that Congress examine legislative approaches to en-16
14069	14069	suring Americans know the sources of online polit-17
14070	14070	ical advertisements. The Federal Election Campaign 18
14071	14071	Act of 1971 requires political advertisements on tele-19
14072	14072	vision, radio and satellite to disclose the sponsor of 20
14073	14073	the advertisement. The same requirements should 21
14074	14074	apply online. This will also help to ensure that the 22
14075	14075	IRA or any similarly situated actors cannot use paid 23
14076	14076	advertisements for purposes of foreign inter-24
14077	14077	ference.’’. 25
14078	14078	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00464 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
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14080	14080	•S 1 IS
14081	14081	(13) On March 16, 2021, the Office of the Di-1
14082	14082	rector of National Intelligence released the declas-2
14083	14083	sified Intelligence Community assessment of foreign 3
14084	14084	threats to the 2020 U.S. Federal elections. The de-4
14085	14085	classified report found: ‘‘Throughout the election 5
14086	14086	cycle, Russia’s online influence actors sought to af-6
14087	14087	fect US public perceptions of the candidates, as well 7
14088	14088	as advance Moscow’s longstanding goals of under-8
14089	14089	mining confidence in US election processes and in-9
14090	14090	creasing sociopolitical divisions among the American 10
14091	14091	people.’’. The report also determined that Iran 11
14092	14092	sought to influence the election by ‘‘creating and 12
14093	14093	amplifying social media content that criticized [can-13
14094	14094	didates]’’. 14
14095	14095	(14) According to a Wall Street Journal report 15
14096	14096	in April 2021, voluntary ad libraries operated by 16
14097	14097	major platforms rely on foreign governments to self- 17
14098	14098	report political ad purchases. These ad buys, includ-18
14099	14099	ing those diminishing major human rights violations 19
14100	14100	like the Uighur genocide, are under-reported by for-20
14101	14101	eign government purchasers, with no substantial 21
14102	14102	oversight or repercussions from the platforms. 22
14103	14103	(15) Multiple reports have indicated that online 23
14104	14104	ads have become a key vector for strategic influence 24
14105	14105	by the People’s Republic of China. An April 2021 25
14106	14106	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00465 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14107	14107	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 466
14108	14108	•S 1 IS
14109	14109	Wall Street Journal report noted that the Chinese 1
14110	14110	government and Chinese State-owned enterprises are 2
14111	14111	major purchasers of ads on the U.S.’s largest social 3
14112	14112	media platform, including to advance Chinese propa-4
14113	14113	ganda. 5
14114	14114	(16) Large online platforms have made changes 6
14115	14115	to their policies intended to make it harder for for-7
14116	14116	eign actors to purchase political ads. However, these 8
14117	14117	private actions have not been taken by all platforms, 9
14118	14118	have not been reliably enforced, and are subject to 10
14119	14119	immediate change at the discretion of the platforms. 11
14120	14120	(17) The Federal Election Commission’s cur-12
14121	14121	rent regulations on political advertisements do not 13
14122	14122	provide sufficient transparency to uphold the 14
14123	14123	public’s right to be fully informed about political ad-15
14124	14124	vertisements made online. 16
14125	14125	SEC. 6104. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 17
14126	14126	It is the sense of Congress that— 18
14127	14127	(1) the dramatic increase in digital political ad-19
14128	14128	vertisements, and the growing centrality of online 20
14129	14129	platforms in the lives of Americans, requires the 21
14130	14130	Congress and the Federal Election Commission to 22
14131	14131	take meaningful action to ensure that laws and reg-23
14132	14132	ulations provide the accountability and transparency 24
14133	14133	that is fundamental to our democracy; 25
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14136	14136	•S 1 IS
14137	14137	(2) free and fair elections require both trans-1
14138	14138	parency and accountability which give the public a 2
14139	14139	right to know the true sources of funding for polit-3
14140	14140	ical advertisements, be they foreign or domestic, in 4
14141	14141	order to make informed political choices and hold 5
14142	14142	elected officials accountable; and 6
14143	14143	(3) transparency of funding for political adver-7
14144	14144	tisements is essential to enforce other campaign fi-8
14145	14145	nance laws, including the prohibition on campaign 9
14146	14146	spending by foreign nationals. 10
14147	14147	SEC. 6105. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF PUBLIC COMMU-11
14148	14148	NICATION. 12
14149	14149	(a) I
14150	14150	NGENERAL.—Paragraph (22) of section 301 of 13
14151	14151	the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 14
14152	14152	30101(22)) is amended by striking ‘‘or satellite commu-15
14153	14153	nication’’ and inserting ‘‘satellite, paid internet, or paid 16
14154	14154	digital communication’’. 17
14155	14155	(b) T
14156	14156	REATMENT OFCONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDI-18
14157	14157	TURES.—Section 301 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30101) is 19
14158	14158	amended— 20
14159	14159	(1) in paragraph (8)(B)(v), by striking ‘‘on 21
14160	14160	broadcasting stations, or in newspapers, magazines, 22
14161	14161	or similar types of general public political adver-23
14162	14162	tising’’ and inserting ‘‘in any public communica-24
14163	14163	tion’’; and 25
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14166	14166	•S 1 IS
14167	14167	(2) in paragraph (9)(B)— 1
14168	14168	(A) by amending clause (i) to read as fol-2
14169	14169	lows: 3
14170	14170	‘‘(i) any news story, commentary, or 4
14171	14171	editorial distributed through the facilities 5
14172	14172	of any broadcasting station or any print, 6
14173	14173	online, or digital newspaper, magazine, 7
14174	14174	publication, periodical, blog, or platform, 8
14175	14175	unless such broadcasting, print, online, or 9
14176	14176	digital facilities are owned or controlled by 10
14177	14177	any political party, political committee, or 11
14178	14178	candidate;’’; and 12
14179	14179	(B) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘on broad-13
14180	14180	casting stations, or in newspapers, magazines, 14
14181	14181	or similar types of general public political ad-15
14182	14182	vertising’’ and inserting ‘‘in any public commu-16
14183	14183	nication’’. 17
14184	14184	(c) D
14185	14185	ISCLOSURE AND DISCLAIMERSTATEMENTS.— 18
14186	14186	Subsection (a) of section 318 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 19
14187	14187	30120) is amended— 20
14188	14188	(1) by striking ‘‘financing any communication 21
14189	14189	through any broadcasting station, newspaper, maga-22
14190	14190	zine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or any 23
14191	14191	other type of general public political advertising’’ 24
14192	14192	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00468 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14193	14193	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 469
14194	14194	•S 1 IS
14195	14195	and inserting ‘‘financing any public communication’’; 1
14196	14196	and 2
14197	14197	(2) by striking ‘‘solicits any contribution 3
14198	14198	through any broadcasting station, newspaper, maga-4
14199	14199	zine, outdoor advertising facility, mailing, or any 5
14200	14200	other type of general public political advertising’’ 6
14201	14201	and inserting ‘‘solicits any contribution through any 7
14202	14202	public communication’’. 8
14203	14203	(d) E
14204	14204	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 9
14205	14205	this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 10
14206	14206	of this Act and shall take effect without regard to whether 11
14207	14207	or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 12
14208	14208	the final regulations necessary to carry out this part and 13
14209	14209	the amendments made by this part by the deadline set 14
14210	14210	forth in subsection (e). 15
14211	14211	(e) R
14212	14212	EGULATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 16
14213	14213	date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 17
14214	14214	Commission shall promulgate regulations on what con-18
14215	14215	stitutes a paid internet or paid digital communication for 19
14216	14216	purposes of paragraph (22) of section 301 of the Federal 20
14217	14217	Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(22)), 21
14218	14218	as amended by subsection (a), except that such regulation 22
14219	14219	shall not define a paid internet or paid digital communica-23
14220	14220	tion to include communications for which the only pay-24
14221	14221	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00469 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14222	14222	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 470
14223	14223	•S 1 IS
14224	14224	ment consists of internal resources, such as employee com-1
14225	14225	pensation, of the entity paying for the communication. 2
14226	14226	SEC. 6106. EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF ELECTION-3
14227	14227	EERING COMMUNICATION. 4
14228	14228	(a) E
14229	14229	XPANSION TOONLINECOMMUNICATIONS.— 5
14230	14230	(1) A
14231	14231	PPLICATION TO QUALIFIED INTERNET AND 6
14232	14232	DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS .— 7
14233	14233	(A) I
14234	14234	N GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of 8
14235	14235	section 304(f)(3) of the Federal Election Cam-9
14236	14236	paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)(A)) 10
14237	14237	is amended by striking ‘‘or satellite communica-11
14238	14238	tion’’ each place it appears in clauses (i) and 12
14239	14239	(ii) and inserting ‘‘satellite, or qualified internet 13
14240	14240	or digital communication’’. 14
14241	14241	(B) Q
14242	14242	UALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL 15
14243	14243	COMMUNICATION.—Paragraph (3) of section 16
14244	14244	304(f) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30104(f)) is 17
14245	14245	amended by adding at the end the following 18
14246	14246	new subparagraph: 19
14247	14247	‘‘(D) Q
14248	14248	UALIFIED INTERNET OR DIGITAL 20
14249	14249	COMMUNICATION.—The term ‘qualified internet 21
14250	14250	or digital communication’ means any commu-22
14251	14251	nication which is placed or promoted for a fee 23
14252	14252	on an online platform (as defined in subsection 24
14253	14253	(k)(3)).’’. 25
14254	14254	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00470 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14255	14255	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 471
14256	14256	•S 1 IS
14257	14257	(2) NONAPPLICATION OF RELEVANT ELEC -1
14258	14258	TORATE TO ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS .—Section 2
14259	14259	304(f)(3)(A)(i)(III) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 3
14260	14260	30104(f)(3)(A)(i)(III)) is amended by inserting ‘‘any 4
14261	14261	broadcast, cable, or satellite’’ before ‘‘communica-5
14262	14262	tion’’. 6
14263	14263	(3) N
14264	14264	EWS EXEMPTION .—Section 7
14265	14265	304(f)(3)(B)(i) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 8
14266	14266	30104(f)(3)(B)(i)) is amended to read as follows: 9
14267	14267	‘‘(i) a communication appearing in a 10
14268	14268	news story, commentary, or editorial dis-11
14269	14269	tributed through the facilities of any 12
14270	14270	broadcasting station or any online or dig-13
14271	14271	ital newspaper, magazine, publication, peri-14
14272	14272	odical, blog, or platform, unless such 15
14273	14273	broadcasting, online, or digital facilities are 16
14274	14274	owned or controlled by any political party, 17
14275	14275	political committee, or candidate;’’. 18
14276	14276	(b) E
14277	14277	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 19
14278	14278	this section shall apply with respect to communications 20
14279	14279	made on or after January 1, 2024, and shall take effect 21
14280	14280	without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 22
14281	14281	Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out 23
14282	14282	such amendments. 24
14283	14283	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00471 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14284	14284	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 472
14285	14285	•S 1 IS
14286	14286	SEC. 6107. APPLICATION OF DISCLAIMER STATEMENTS TO 1
14287	14287	ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS. 2
14288	14288	(a) C
14289	14289	LEAR ANDCONSPICUOUSMANNERREQUIRE-3
14290	14290	MENT.—Subsection (a) of section 318 of the Federal Elec-4
14291	14291	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30120(a)) is 5
14292	14292	amended— 6
14293	14293	(1) by striking ‘‘shall clearly state’’ each place 7
14294	14294	it appears in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and in-8
14295	14295	serting ‘‘shall state in a clear and conspicuous man-9
14296	14296	ner’’; and 10
14297	14297	(2) by adding at the end the following flush 11
14298	14298	sentence: ‘‘For purposes of this section, a commu-12
14299	14299	nication does not make a statement in a clear and 13
14300	14300	conspicuous manner if it is difficult to read or hear 14
14301	14301	or if the placement is easily overlooked.’’. 15
14302	14302	(b) S
14303	14303	PECIALRULES FORQUALIFIEDINTERNET OR 16
14304	14304	D
14305	14305	IGITALCOMMUNICATIONS.— 17
14306	14306	(1) I
14307	14307	N GENERAL.—Section 318 of such Act (52 18
14308	14308	U.S.C. 30120) is amended by adding at the end the 19
14309	14309	following new subsection: 20
14310	14310	‘‘(e) S
14311	14311	PECIALRULES FORQUALIFIEDINTERNET OR 21
14312	14312	D
14313	14313	IGITALCOMMUNICATIONS.— 22
14314	14314	‘‘(1) S
14315	14315	PECIAL RULES WITH RESPECT TO STATE -23
14316	14316	MENTS.—In the case of any qualified internet or 24
14317	14317	digital communication (as defined in section 25
14318	14318	304(f)(3)(D)) which is disseminated through a me-26
14319	14319	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00472 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14320	14320	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 473
14321	14321	•S 1 IS
14322	14322	dium in which the provision of all of the information 1
14323	14323	specified in this section is not possible, the commu-2
14324	14324	nication shall, in a clear and conspicuous manner— 3
14325	14325	‘‘(A) state the name of the person who 4
14326	14326	paid for the communication; and 5
14327	14327	‘‘(B) provide a means for the recipient of 6
14328	14328	the communication to obtain the remainder of 7
14329	14329	the information required under this section with 8
14330	14330	minimal effort and without receiving or viewing 9
14331	14331	any additional material other than such re-10
14332	14332	quired information. 11
14333	14333	‘‘(2) S
14334	14334	AFE HARBOR FOR DETERMINING CLEAR 12
14335	14335	AND CONSPICUOUS MANNER .—A statement in quali-13
14336	14336	fied internet or digital communication (as defined in 14
14337	14337	section 304(f)(3)(D)) shall be considered to be made 15
14338	14338	in a clear and conspicuous manner as provided in 16
14339	14339	subsection (a) if the communication meets the fol-17
14340	14340	lowing requirements: 18
14341	14341	‘‘(A) T
14342	14342	EXT OR GRAPHIC COMMUNICA -19
14343	14343	TIONS.—In the case of a text or graphic com-20
14344	14344	munication, the statement— 21
14345	14345	‘‘(i) appears in letters at least as large 22
14346	14346	as the majority of the text in the commu-23
14347	14347	nication; and 24
14348	14348	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00473 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14349	14349	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 474
14350	14350	•S 1 IS
14351	14351	‘‘(ii) meets the requirements of para-1
14352	14352	graphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c). 2
14353	14353	‘‘(B) A
14354	14354	UDIO COMMUNICATIONS .—In the 3
14355	14355	case of an audio communication, the statement 4
14356	14356	is spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible 5
14357	14357	manner at the beginning or end of the commu-6
14358	14358	nication and lasts at least 3 seconds. 7
14359	14359	‘‘(C) V
14360	14360	IDEO COMMUNICATIONS .—In the 8
14361	14361	case of a video communication which also in-9
14362	14362	cludes audio, the statement— 10
14363	14363	‘‘(i) is included at either the beginning 11
14364	14364	or the end of the communication; and 12
14365	14365	‘‘(ii) is made both in— 13
14366	14366	‘‘(I) a written format that meets 14
14367	14367	the requirements of subparagraph (A) 15
14368	14368	and appears for at least 4 seconds; 16
14369	14369	and 17
14370	14370	‘‘(II) an audible format that 18
14371	14371	meets the requirements of subpara-19
14372	14372	graph (B). 20
14373	14373	‘‘(D) O
14374	14374	THER COMMUNICATIONS .—In the 21
14375	14375	case of any other type of communication, the 22
14376	14376	statement is at least as clear and conspicuous 23
14377	14377	as the statement specified in subparagraph (A), 24
14378	14378	(B), or (C).’’. 25
14379	14379	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00474 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14380	14380	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 475
14381	14381	•S 1 IS
14382	14382	(2) NONAPPLICATION OF CERTAIN EXCEP -1
14383	14383	TIONS.—The exceptions provided in section 2
14384	14384	110.11(f)(1)(i) and (ii) of title 11, Code of Federal 3
14385	14385	Regulations, or any successor to such rules, shall 4
14386	14386	have no application to qualified internet or digital 5
14387	14387	communications (as defined in section 304(f)(3)(D) 6
14388	14388	of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971). 7
14389	14389	(c) M
14390	14390	ODIFICATION OFADDITIONALREQUIREMENTS 8
14391	14391	FORCERTAINCOMMUNICATIONS.—Section 318(d) of such 9
14392	14392	Act (52 U.S.C. 30120(d)) is amended— 10
14393	14393	(1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 11
14394	14394	(A) by striking ‘‘which is transmitted 12
14395	14395	through radio’’ and inserting ‘‘which is in an 13
14396	14396	audio format’’; and 14
14397	14397	(B) by striking ‘‘B
14398	14398	Y RADIO’’ in the heading 15
14399	14399	and inserting ‘‘A
14400	14400	UDIO FORMAT’’; 16
14401	14401	(2) in paragraph (1)(B)— 17
14402	14402	(A) by striking ‘‘which is transmitted 18
14403	14403	through television’’ and inserting ‘‘which is in 19
14404	14404	video format’’; and 20
14405	14405	(B) by striking ‘‘B
14406	14406	Y TELEVISION’’ in the 21
14407	14407	heading and inserting ‘‘V
14408	14408	IDEO FORMAT’’; and 22
14409	14409	(3) in paragraph (2)— 23
14410	14410	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00475 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14411	14411	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 476
14412	14412	•S 1 IS
14413	14413	(A) by striking ‘‘transmitted through radio 1
14414	14414	or television’’ and inserting ‘‘made in audio or 2
14415	14415	video format’’; and 3
14416	14416	(B) by striking ‘‘through television’’ in the 4
14417	14417	second sentence and inserting ‘‘in video for-5
14418	14418	mat’’. 6
14419	14419	(d) E
14420	14420	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 7
14421	14421	subsection (a) shall take effect on the date of the enact-8
14422	14422	ment of this Act and shall take effect without regard to 9
14423	14423	whether or not the Federal Election Commission has pro-10
14424	14424	mulgated regulations to carry out such amendments. 11
14425	14425	SEC. 6108. POLITICAL RECORD REQUIREMENTS FOR ON-12
14426	14426	LINE PLATFORMS. 13
14427	14427	(a) I
14428	14428	NGENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal Elec-14
14429	14429	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as amend-15
14430	14430	ed by section 3802, is amended by adding at the end the 16
14431	14431	following new subsection: 17
14432	14432	‘‘(k) D
14433	14433	ISCLOSURE OFCERTAINONLINEADVERTISE-18
14434	14434	MENTS.— 19
14435	14435	‘‘(1) I
14436	14436	N GENERAL.— 20
14437	14437	‘‘(A) R
14438	14438	EQUIREMENTS FOR ONLINE PLAT -21
14439	14439	FORMS.— 22
14440	14440	‘‘(i) I
14441	14441	N GENERAL.—An online plat-23
14442	14442	form shall maintain, and make available 24
14443	14443	for online public inspection in machine- 25
14444	14444	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00476 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14445	14445	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 477
14446	14446	•S 1 IS
14447	14447	readable format, a complete record of any 1
14448	14448	qualified political advertisement which is 2
14449	14449	purchased by a person whose aggregate 3
14450	14450	purchases of qualified political advertise-4
14451	14451	ments on such online platform during the 5
14452	14452	calendar year exceeds $500. 6
14453	14453	‘‘(ii) R
14454	14454	EQUIREMENT RELATING TO PO -7
14455	14455	LITICAL ADS SOLD BY THIRD -PARTY AD-8
14456	14456	VERTISING VENDORS.—An online platform 9
14457	14457	that displays a qualified political advertise-10
14458	14458	ment sold by a third-party advertising ven-11
14459	14459	dor shall include on its own platform— 12
14460	14460	‘‘(I) an easily accessible and 13
14461	14461	identifiable link to the records main-14
14462	14462	tained by the third-party advertising 15
14463	14463	vendor under clause (i) regarding 16
14464	14464	such qualified political advertisement; 17
14465	14465	or 18
14466	14466	‘‘(II) in any case in which the 19
14467	14467	third-party advertising vendor does 20
14468	14468	not make such records available, a 21
14469	14469	statement that no records from the 22
14470	14470	third-party advertising vendor’s 23
14471	14471	records are available. 24
14472	14472	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00477 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14473	14473	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 478
14474	14474	•S 1 IS
14475	14475	‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR ADVER -1
14476	14476	TISERS.—Any person who requests to purchase 2
14477	14477	a qualified political advertisement on an online 3
14478	14478	platform shall provide the online platform with 4
14479	14479	such information as is necessary for the online 5
14480	14480	platform to comply with the requirements of 6
14481	14481	subparagraph (A). 7
14482	14482	‘‘(2) C
14483	14483	ONTENTS OF RECORD .—A record main-8
14484	14484	tained under paragraph (1)(A) shall contain— 9
14485	14485	‘‘(A) a digital copy of the qualified political 10
14486	14486	advertisement; 11
14487	14487	‘‘(B) a description of the audience that re-12
14488	14488	ceived the advertisement, the number of views 13
14489	14489	generated from the advertisement, and the date 14
14490	14490	and time that the advertisement is first dis-15
14491	14491	played and last displayed; and 16
14492	14492	‘‘(C) information regarding— 17
14493	14493	‘‘(i) the total cost of the advertise-18
14494	14494	ment (which may be rounded to the near-19
14495	14495	est $100); 20
14496	14496	‘‘(ii) the name of the candidate to 21
14497	14497	which the advertisement refers and the of-22
14498	14498	fice to which the candidate is seeking elec-23
14499	14499	tion, the election to which the advertise-24
14500	14500	ment refers, or the national legislative 25
14501	14501	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00478 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14502	14502	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 479
14503	14503	•S 1 IS
14504	14504	issue to which the advertisement refers (as 1
14505	14505	applicable); 2
14506	14506	‘‘(iii) in the case of a request made 3
14507	14507	by, or on behalf of, a candidate, the name 4
14508	14508	of the candidate, the authorized committee 5
14509	14509	of the candidate, and the treasurer of such 6
14510	14510	committee; and 7
14511	14511	‘‘(iv) in the case of any request not 8
14512	14512	described in clause (iii), the name of the 9
14513	14513	person purchasing the advertisement, the 10
14514	14514	name and address of a contact person for 11
14515	14515	such person, and a list of the chief execu-12
14516	14516	tive officers or members of the executive 13
14517	14517	committee or of the board of directors of 14
14518	14518	such person. 15
14519	14519	‘‘(3) O
14520	14520	NLINE PLATFORM.— 16
14521	14521	‘‘(A) I
14522	14522	N GENERAL.—For purposes of this 17
14523	14523	subsection, subject to subparagraph (B), the 18
14524	14524	term ‘online platform’ means any public-facing 19
14525	14525	website, web application, or digital application 20
14526	14526	(including a social network, ad network, or 21
14527	14527	search engine) which— 22
14528	14528	‘‘(i)(I) sells qualified political adver-23
14529	14529	tisements; and 24
14530	14530	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00479 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14531	14531	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 480
14532	14532	•S 1 IS
14533	14533	‘‘(II) has 50,000,000 or more unique 1
14534	14534	monthly United States visitors or users for 2
14535	14535	a majority of months during the preceding 3
14536	14536	12 months; or 4
14537	14537	‘‘(ii) is a third-party advertising ven-5
14538	14538	dor that has 50,000,000 or more unique 6
14539	14539	monthly United States visitors in the ag-7
14540	14540	gregate on any advertisement space that it 8
14541	14541	has sold or bought for a majority of 9
14542	14542	months during the preceding 12 months, 10
14543	14543	as measured by an independent digital rat-11
14544	14544	ings service accredited by the Media Rat-12
14545	14545	ings Council (or its successor). 13
14546	14546	‘‘(B) E
14547	14547	XEMPTION.—Such term shall not 14
14548	14548	include any online platform that is a distribu-15
14549	14549	tion facility of any broadcasting station or 16
14550	14550	newspaper, magazine, blog, publication, or peri-17
14551	14551	odical. 18
14552	14552	‘‘(C) T
14553	14553	HIRD-PARTY ADVERTISING VENDOR 19
14554	14554	DEFINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the 20
14555	14555	term ‘third-party advertising vendor’ includes 21
14556	14556	any third-party advertising vendor network, ad-22
14557	14557	vertising agency, advertiser, or third-party ad-23
14558	14558	vertisement serving company that buys and 24
14559	14559	sells advertisement space on behalf of unaffili-25
14560	14560	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00480 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14561	14561	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 481
14562	14562	•S 1 IS
14563	14563	ated third-party websites, search engines, dig-1
14564	14564	ital applications, or social media sites. 2
14565	14565	‘‘(4) Q
14566	14566	UALIFIED POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT .— 3
14567	14567	For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘qualified 4
14568	14568	political advertisement’ means any advertisement 5
14569	14569	(including search engine marketing, display adver-6
14570	14570	tisements, video advertisements, native advertise-7
14571	14571	ments, and sponsorships) that— 8
14572	14572	‘‘(A) is made by or on behalf of a can-9
14573	14573	didate; or 10
14574	14574	‘‘(B) communicates a message relating to 11
14575	14575	any political matter of national importance, in-12
14576	14576	cluding— 13
14577	14577	‘‘(i) a candidate; 14
14578	14578	‘‘(ii) any election to Federal office; or 15
14579	14579	‘‘(iii) a national legislative issue of 16
14580	14580	public importance. 17
14581	14581	‘‘(5) T
14582	14582	IME TO MAINTAIN FILE .—The informa-18
14583	14583	tion required under this subsection shall be made 19
14584	14584	available as soon as possible and shall be retained by 20
14585	14585	the online platform for a period of not less than 4 21
14586	14586	years. 22
14587	14587	‘‘(6) S
14588	14588	PECIAL RULE.—For purposes of this sub-23
14589	14589	section, multiple versions of an advertisement that 24
14590	14590	contain no material differences (such as versions 25
14591	14591	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00481 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14592	14592	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 482
14593	14593	•S 1 IS
14594	14594	that differ only because they contain a recipient’s 1
14595	14595	name, or differ only in size, color, font, or layout) 2
14596	14596	may be treated as a single qualified political adver-3
14597	14597	tisement. 4
14598	14598	‘‘(7) P
14599	14599	ENALTIES.—For penalties for failure by 5
14600	14600	online platforms, and persons requesting to purchase 6
14601	14601	a qualified political advertisement on online plat-7
14602	14602	forms, to comply with the requirements of this sub-8
14603	14603	section, see section 309.’’. 9
14604	14604	(b) E
14605	14605	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 10
14606	14606	this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 11
14607	14607	of this Act and shall take effect without regard to whether 12
14608	14608	or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 13
14609	14609	the final regulations necessary to carry out this part and 14
14610	14610	the amendments made by this part by the deadline set 15
14611	14611	forth in subsection (c). 16
14612	14612	(c) R
14613	14613	ULEMAKING.—Not later than 120 days after the 17
14614	14614	date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 18
14615	14615	Commission shall establish rules— 19
14616	14616	(1) for determining whether an advertisement 20
14617	14617	communicates a national legislative issue for pur-21
14618	14618	poses of section 304(k) of the Federal Election Cam-22
14619	14619	paign Act of 1971 (as added by subsection (a)); 23
14620	14620	(2) requiring common data formats for the 24
14621	14621	record required to be maintained under such section 25
14622	14622	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00482 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14623	14623	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 483
14624	14624	•S 1 IS
14625	14625	304(k) so that all online platforms submit and main-1
14626	14626	tain data online in a common, machine-readable and 2
14627	14627	publicly accessible format; and 3
14628	14628	(3) establishing search interface requirements 4
14629	14629	relating to such record, including searches by can-5
14630	14630	didate name, issue, purchaser, and date. 6
14631	14631	(d) R
14632	14632	EPORTING.—Not later than 2 years after the 7
14633	14633	date of the enactment of this Act, and biannually there-8
14634	14634	after, the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission 9
14635	14635	shall submit a report to Congress on— 10
14636	14636	(1) matters relating to compliance with and the 11
14637	14637	enforcement of the requirements of section 304(k) of 12
14638	14638	the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as 13
14639	14639	added by subsection (a); 14
14640	14640	(2) recommendations for any modifications to 15
14641	14641	such section to assist in carrying out its purposes; 16
14642	14642	and 17
14643	14643	(3) identifying ways to bring transparency and 18
14644	14644	accountability to political advertisements distributed 19
14645	14645	online for free. 20
14646	14646	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00483 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14647	14647	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 484
14648	14648	•S 1 IS
14649	14649	SEC. 6109. PREVENTING CONTRIBUTIONS, EXPENDITURES, 1
14650	14650	INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES, AND DIS-2
14651	14651	BURSEMENTS FOR ELECTIONEERING COM-3
14652	14652	MUNICATIONS BY FOREIGN NATIONALS IN 4
14653	14653	THE FORM OF ONLINE ADVERTISING. 5
14654	14654	Section 319 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 6
14655	14655	of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30121) is amended by adding at the 7
14656	14656	end the following new subsection: 8
14657	14657	‘‘(c) R
14658	14658	ESPONSIBILITIES OF BROADCASTSTATIONS, 9
14659	14659	P
14660	14660	ROVIDERS OFCABLE ANDSATELLITETELEVISION, AND 10
14661	14661	O
14662	14662	NLINEPLATFORMS.— 11
14663	14663	‘‘(1) I
14664	14664	N GENERAL.—Each television or radio 12
14665	14665	broadcast station, provider of cable or satellite tele-13
14666	14666	vision, or online platform (as defined in section 14
14667	14667	304(k)(3)) shall make reasonable efforts to ensure 15
14668	14668	that communications described in section 318(a) and 16
14669	14669	made available by such station, provider, or platform 17
14670	14670	are not purchased by a foreign national, directly or 18
14671	14671	indirectly. 19
14672	14672	‘‘(2) R
14673	14673	EGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year 20
14674	14674	after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 21
14675	14675	the Commission shall promulgate regulations on 22
14676	14676	what constitutes reasonable efforts under paragraph 23
14677	14677	(1).’’. 24
14678	14678	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00484 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14679	14679	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 485
14680	14680	•S 1 IS
14681	14681	SEC. 6110. REQUIRING ONLINE PLATFORMS TO DISPLAY 1
14682	14682	NOTICES IDENTIFYING SPONSORS OF POLIT-2
14683	14683	ICAL ADVERTISEMENTS AND TO ENSURE NO-3
14684	14684	TICES CONTINUE TO BE PRESENT WHEN AD-4
14685	14685	VERTISEMENTS ARE SHARED. 5
14686	14686	(a) I
14687	14687	NGENERAL.—Section 304 of the Federal Elec-6
14688	14688	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30104), as amend-7
14689	14689	ed by section 3802 and section 6108(a), is amended by 8
14690	14690	adding at the end the following new subsection: 9
14691	14691	‘‘(l) E
14692	14692	NSURINGDISPLAY ANDSHARING OFSPONSOR 10
14693	14693	I
14694	14694	DENTIFICATION IN ONLINEPOLITICALADVERTISE-11
14695	14695	MENTS.— 12
14696	14696	‘‘(1) R
14697	14697	EQUIREMENT.—Any online platform that 13
14698	14698	displays a qualified political advertisement (regard-14
14699	14699	less of whether such qualified political advertisement 15
14700	14700	was purchased directly from the online platform) 16
14701	14701	shall— 17
14702	14702	‘‘(A) display with the advertisement a visi-18
14703	14703	ble notice identifying the sponsor of the adver-19
14704	14704	tisement (or, if it is not practical for the plat-20
14705	14705	form to display such a notice, a notice that the 21
14706	14706	advertisement is sponsored by a person other 22
14707	14707	than the platform); and 23
14708	14708	‘‘(B) ensure that the notice will continue to 24
14709	14709	be displayed if a viewer of the advertisement 25
14710	14710	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00485 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14711	14711	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 486
14712	14712	•S 1 IS
14713	14713	shares the advertisement with others on that 1
14714	14714	platform. 2
14715	14715	‘‘(2) S
14716	14716	AFE HARBOR.—An online platform shall 3
14717	14717	not be treated as having failed to comply with the 4
14718	14718	requirements of paragraph (1)(A) for the 5
14719	14719	misidentification of a person as the sponsor of a the 6
14720	14720	advertisement if— 7
14721	14721	‘‘(A) the person placing the online adver-8
14722	14722	tisement designated the person displayed in the 9
14723	14723	advertisement as the sponsor; and 10
14724	14724	‘‘(B) the online platform relied on such 11
14725	14725	designation in good faith. 12
14726	14726	‘‘(3) D
14727	14727	EFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 13
14728	14728	‘‘(A) the term ‘online platform’ has the 14
14729	14729	meaning given such term in subsection (k)(3); 15
14730	14730	‘‘(B) the term ‘‘qualified political adver-16
14731	14731	tisement’ has the meaning given such term in 17
14732	14732	subsection (k)(4); and 18
14733	14733	‘‘(C) the term ‘sponsor’ means the person 19
14734	14734	purchasing the advertisement.’’. 20
14735	14735	(b) E
14736	14736	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 21
14737	14737	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to advertisements 22
14738	14738	displayed on or after the 120-day period which begins on 23
14739	14739	the date of the enactment of this Act and shall take effect 24
14740	14740	without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 25
14741	14741	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00486 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14742	14742	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 487
14743	14743	•S 1 IS
14744	14744	Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out 1
14745	14745	such amendments. 2
14746	14746	Subtitle C—Spotlight Act 3
14747	14747	SEC. 6201. SHORT TITLE. 4
14748	14748	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Spotlight Act’’. 5
14749	14749	SEC. 6202. INCLUSION OF CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION ON 6
14750	14750	ANNUAL RETURNS OF CERTAIN ORGANIZA-7
14751	14751	TIONS. 8
14752	14752	(a) R
14753	14753	EPEAL OFREGULATIONS.—The final regula-9
14754	14754	tions of the Department of the Treasury relating to guid-10
14755	14755	ance under section 6033 regarding the reporting require-11
14756	14756	ments of exempt organizations (published at 85 Fed. Reg. 12
14757	14757	31959 (May 28, 2020)) shall have no force and effect. 13
14758	14758	(b) I
14759	14759	NCLUSION OFCONTRIBUTORINFORMATION.— 14
14760	14760	(1) S
14761	14761	OCIAL WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS .—Sec-15
14762	14762	tion 6033(f)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 16
14763	14763	1986 is amended by inserting ‘‘(5),’’ after ‘‘para-17
14764	14764	graphs’’. 18
14765	14765	(2) L
14766	14766	ABOR ORGANIZATIONS AND BUSINESS 19
14767	14767	LEAGUES.—Section 6033 of such Code is amended 20
14768	14768	by redesignating subsection (o) as subsection (p) 21
14769	14769	and by inserting after subsection (n) the following 22
14770	14770	new subsection: 23
14771	14771	‘‘(o) A
14772	14772	DDITIONALREQUIREMENTS FOR ORGANIZA-24
14773	14773	TIONSDESCRIBED INSUBSECTIONS(c)(5) AND(c)(6) OF 25
14774	14774	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00487 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14775	14775	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 488
14776	14776	•S 1 IS
14777	14777	SECTION501.—Every organization which is described in 1
14778	14778	paragraph (5) or (6) of section 501(c) and which is subject 2
14779	14779	to the requirements of subsection (a) shall include on the 3
14780	14780	return required under subsection (a) the information re-4
14781	14781	ferred to in subsection (b)(5).’’. 5
14782	14782	(3) E
14783	14783	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 6
14784	14784	by this subsection shall apply to returns required to 7
14785	14785	be filed for taxable years ending after the date of the 8
14786	14786	enactment of this Act. 9
14787	14787	(c) M
14788	14788	ODIFICATION TO DISCRETIONARY EXCEP-10
14789	14789	TIONS.—Section 6033(a)(3)(B) of the Internal Revenue 11
14790	14790	Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows: 12
14791	14791	‘‘(B) D
14792	14792	ISCRETIONARY EXCEPTIONS .— 13
14793	14793	‘‘(i) I
14794	14794	N GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) 14
14795	14795	shall not apply to any organization if the 15
14796	14796	Secretary made a determination under this 16
14797	14797	subparagraph before July 16, 2018, that 17
14798	14798	such filing is not necessary to the efficient 18
14799	14799	administration of the internal revenue 19
14800	14800	laws. 20
14801	14801	‘‘(ii) R
14802	14802	ECOMMENDATIONS FOR OTHER 21
14803	14803	EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may rec-22
14804	14804	ommend to Congress that Congress relieve 23
14805	14805	any organization required under paragraph 24
14806	14806	(1) to file an information return from fil-25
14807	14807	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00488 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14808	14808	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 489
14809	14809	•S 1 IS
14810	14810	ing such a return if the Secretary deter-1
14811	14811	mines that such filing does not advance a 2
14812	14812	national security, law enforcement, or tax 3
14813	14813	administration purpose.’’. 4
14814	14814	TITLE VII—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 5
14815	14815	OVERSIGHT 6
14816	14816	Subtitle A—Stopping Super PAC– 7
14817	14817	Candidate Coordination 8
14818	14818	SEC. 7001. SHORT TITLE. 9
14819	14819	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Super PAC– 10
14820	14820	Candidate Coordination Act’’. 11
14821	14821	SEC. 7002. CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF COORDI-12
14822	14822	NATED EXPENDITURES AS CONTRIBUTIONS 13
14823	14823	TO CANDIDATES. 14
14824	14824	(a) T
14825	14825	REATMENT AS CONTRIBUTION TO CAN-15
14826	14826	DIDATE.—Section 301(8)(A) of the Federal Election Cam-16
14827	14827	paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(8)(A)) is amended— 17
14828	14828	(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of clause (i); 18
14829	14829	(2) by striking the period at the end of clause 19
14830	14830	(ii) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 20
14831	14831	(3) by adding at the end the following new 21
14832	14832	clause: 22
14833	14833	‘‘(iii) any payment made by any person 23
14834	14834	(other than a candidate, an authorized com-24
14835	14835	mittee of a candidate, or a political committee 25
14836	14836	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00489 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14837	14837	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 490
14838	14838	•S 1 IS
14839	14839	of a political party) for a coordinated expendi-1
14840	14840	ture (as such term is defined in section 325) 2
14841	14841	which is not otherwise treated as a contribution 3
14842	14842	under clause (i) or clause (ii).’’. 4
14843	14843	(b) D
14844	14844	EFINITIONS.—Title III of such Act (52 U.S.C. 5
14845	14845	30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol-6
14846	14846	lowing new section: 7
14847	14847	‘‘SEC. 325. PAYMENTS FOR COORDINATED EXPENDITURES. 8
14848	14848	‘‘(a) C
14849	14849	OORDINATEDEXPENDITURES.— 9
14850	14850	‘‘(1) I
14851	14851	N GENERAL.—For purposes of section 10
14852	14852	301(8)(A)(iii), the term ‘coordinated expenditure’ 11
14853	14853	means— 12
14854	14854	‘‘(A) any expenditure, or any payment for 13
14855	14855	a covered communication described in sub-14
14856	14856	section (e), which is made in cooperation, con-15
14857	14857	sultation, or concert with, or at the request or 16
14858	14858	suggestion of, a candidate, an authorized com-17
14859	14859	mittee of a candidate, a political committee of 18
14860	14860	a political party, or agents of the candidate or 19
14861	14861	committee, as defined in subsection (b); or 20
14862	14862	‘‘(B) any payment for any communication 21
14863	14863	which republishes, disseminates, or distributes, 22
14864	14864	in whole or in part, any video or broadcast or 23
14865	14865	any written, graphic, or other form of campaign 24
14866	14866	material prepared by the candidate or com-25
14867	14867	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00490 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14868	14868	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 491
14869	14869	•S 1 IS
14870	14870	mittee or by agents of the candidate or com-1
14871	14871	mittee (including any excerpt or use of any 2
14872	14872	video from any such broadcast or written, 3
14873	14873	graphic, or other form of campaign material). 4
14874	14874	‘‘(2) E
14875	14875	XCEPTION FOR PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN 5
14876	14876	COMMUNICATIONS.—A payment for a communication 6
14877	14877	(including a covered communication described in 7
14878	14878	subsection (e)) shall not be treated as a coordinated 8
14879	14879	expenditure under this subsection if— 9
14880	14880	‘‘(A) the communication appears in a news 10
14881	14881	story, commentary, or editorial distributed 11
14882	14882	through the facilities of any broadcasting sta-12
14883	14883	tion, newspaper, magazine, or other periodical 13
14884	14884	publication, unless such facilities are owned or 14
14885	14885	controlled by any political party, political com-15
14886	14886	mittee, or candidate; or 16
14887	14887	‘‘(B) the communication constitutes a can-17
14888	14888	didate debate or forum conducted pursuant to 18
14889	14889	regulations adopted by the Commission pursu-19
14890	14890	ant to section 304(f)(3)(B)(iii), or which solely 20
14891	14891	promotes such a debate or forum and is made 21
14892	14892	by or on behalf of the person sponsoring the de-22
14893	14893	bate or forum. 23
14894	14894	‘‘(b) C
14895	14895	OORDINATIONDESCRIBED.— 24
14896	14896	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00491 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14897	14897	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 492
14898	14898	•S 1 IS
14899	14899	‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-1
14900	14900	tion, a payment is made ‘in cooperation, consulta-2
14901	14901	tion, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion 3
14902	14902	of,’ a candidate, an authorized committee of a can-4
14903	14903	didate, a political committee of a political party, or 5
14904	14904	agents of the candidate or committee, if the pay-6
14905	14905	ment, or any communication for which the payment 7
14906	14906	is made, is not made entirely independently of the 8
14907	14907	candidate, committee, or agents. For purposes of the 9
14908	14908	previous sentence, a payment or communication not 10
14909	14909	made entirely independently of the candidate or 11
14910	14910	committee includes any payment or communication 12
14911	14911	made pursuant to any general or particular under-13
14912	14912	standing with, or pursuant to any communication 14
14913	14913	with, the candidate, committee, or agents about the 15
14914	14914	payment or communication. 16
14915	14915	‘‘(2) N
14916	14916	O FINDING OF COORDINATION BASED 17
14917	14917	SOLELY ON SHARING OF INFORMATION REGARDING 18
14918	14918	LEGISLATIVE OR POLICY POSITION .—For purposes 19
14919	14919	of this section, a payment shall not be considered to 20
14920	14920	be made by a person in cooperation, consultation, or 21
14921	14921	concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a 22
14922	14922	candidate or committee, solely on the grounds that 23
14923	14923	the person or the person’s agent engaged in discus-24
14924	14924	sions with the candidate or committee, or with any 25
14925	14925	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00492 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14926	14926	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 493
14927	14927	•S 1 IS
14928	14928	agent of the candidate or committee, regarding that 1
14929	14929	person’s position on a legislative or policy matter 2
14930	14930	(including urging the candidate or committee to 3
14931	14931	adopt that person’s position), so long as there is no 4
14932	14932	communication between the person and the can-5
14933	14933	didate or committee, or any agent of the candidate 6
14934	14934	or committee, regarding the candidate’s or commit-7
14935	14935	tee’s campaign advertising, message, strategy, pol-8
14936	14936	icy, polling, allocation of resources, fundraising, or 9
14937	14937	other campaign activities. 10
14938	14938	‘‘(3) N
14939	14939	O EFFECT ON PARTY COORDINATION 11
14940	14940	STANDARD.—Nothing in this section shall be con-12
14941	14941	strued to affect the determination of coordination 13
14942	14942	between a candidate and a political committee of a 14
14943	14943	political party for purposes of section 315(d). 15
14944	14944	‘‘(c) P
14945	14945	AYMENTS BY COORDINATEDSPENDERS FOR 16
14946	14946	C
14947	14947	OVEREDCOMMUNICATIONS.— 17
14948	14948	‘‘(1) P
14949	14949	AYMENTS MADE IN COOPERATION , CON-18
14950	14950	SULTATION, OR CONCERT WITH CANDIDATES .—For 19
14951	14951	purposes of subsection (a)(1)(A), if the person who 20
14952	14952	makes a payment for a covered communication, as 21
14953	14953	defined in subsection (e), is a coordinated spender 22
14954	14954	under paragraph (2) with respect to the candidate 23
14955	14955	as described in paragraph (2), the payment for the 24
14956	14956	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00493 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14957	14957	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 494
14958	14958	•S 1 IS
14959	14959	covered communication is made in cooperation, con-1
14960	14960	sultation, or concert with the candidate. 2
14961	14961	‘‘(2) C
14962	14962	OORDINATED SPENDER DEFINED .—For 3
14963	14963	purposes of this subsection, the term ‘coordinated 4
14964	14964	spender’ means, with respect to a candidate or an 5
14965	14965	authorized committee of a candidate, a person (other 6
14966	14966	than a political committee of a political party) for 7
14967	14967	which any of the following applies: 8
14968	14968	‘‘(A) During the 4-year period ending on 9
14969	14969	the date on which the person makes the pay-10
14970	14970	ment, the person was directly or indirectly 11
14971	14971	formed or established by or at the request or 12
14972	14972	suggestion of, or with the encouragement of, 13
14973	14973	the candidate (including an individual who later 14
14974	14974	becomes a candidate) or committee or agents of 15
14975	14975	the candidate or committee, including with the 16
14976	14976	approval of the candidate or committee or 17
14977	14977	agents of the candidate or committee. 18
14978	14978	‘‘(B) The candidate or committee or any 19
14979	14979	agent of the candidate or committee solicits 20
14980	14980	funds, appears at a fundraising event, or en-21
14981	14981	gages in other fundraising activity on the per-22
14982	14982	son’s behalf during the election cycle involved, 23
14983	14983	including by providing the person with names of 24
14984	14984	potential donors or other lists to be used by the 25
14985	14985	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00494 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
14986	14986	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 495
14987	14987	•S 1 IS
14988	14988	person in engaging in fundraising activity, re-1
14989	14989	gardless of whether the person pays fair market 2
14990	14990	value for the names or lists provided. For pur-3
14991	14991	poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘election 4
14992	14992	cycle’ means, with respect to an election for 5
14993	14993	Federal office, the period beginning on the day 6
14994	14994	after the date of the most recent general elec-7
14995	14995	tion for that office (or, if the general election 8
14996	14996	resulted in a runoff election, the date of the 9
14997	14997	runoff election) and ending on the date of the 10
14998	14998	next general election for that office (or, if the 11
14999	14999	general election resulted in a runoff election, 12
15000	15000	the date of the runoff election). 13
15001	15001	‘‘(C) The person is established, directed, or 14
15002	15002	managed by the candidate or committee or by 15
15003	15003	any person who, during the 4-year period end-16
15004	15004	ing on the date on which the person makes the 17
15005	15005	payment, has been employed or retained as a 18
15006	15006	political, campaign media, or fundraising ad-19
15007	15007	viser or consultant for the candidate or com-20
15008	15008	mittee or for any other entity directly or indi-21
15009	15009	rectly controlled by the candidate or committee, 22
15010	15010	or has held a formal position with the candidate 23
15011	15011	or committee (including a position as an em-24
15012	15012	ployee of the office of the candidate at any time 25
15013	15013	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00495 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15014	15014	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 496
15015	15015	•S 1 IS
15016	15016	the candidate held any Federal, State, or local 1
15017	15017	public office during the 4-year period). 2
15018	15018	‘‘(D) The person has retained the profes-3
15019	15019	sional services of any person who, during the 2- 4
15020	15020	year period ending on the date on which the 5
15021	15021	person makes the payment, has provided or is 6
15022	15022	providing professional services relating to the 7
15023	15023	campaign to the candidate or committee, unless 8
15024	15024	the person providing the professional services 9
15025	15025	used a firewall or similar procedure in accord-10
15026	15026	ance with subsection (d). For purposes of this 11
15027	15027	subparagraph, the term ‘professional services’ 12
15028	15028	includes any services in support of the can-13
15029	15029	didate’s or committee’s campaign activities, in-14
15030	15030	cluding advertising, message, strategy, policy, 15
15031	15031	polling, allocation of resources, fundraising, and 16
15032	15032	campaign operations, but does not include ac-17
15033	15033	counting or legal services. 18
15034	15034	‘‘(E) The person is established, directed, or 19
15035	15035	managed by a member of the immediate family 20
15036	15036	of the candidate, or the person or any officer or 21
15037	15037	agent of the person has had more than inci-22
15038	15038	dental discussions about the candidate’s cam-23
15039	15039	paign with a member of the immediate family 24
15040	15040	of the candidate. For purposes of this subpara-25
15041	15041	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00496 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15042	15042	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 497
15043	15043	•S 1 IS
15044	15044	graph, the term ‘immediate family’ has the 1
15045	15045	meaning given such term in section 9004(e) of 2
15046	15046	the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 3
15047	15047	‘‘(d) U
15048	15048	SE OFFIREWALL ASSAFEHARBOR.— 4
15049	15049	‘‘(1) N
15050	15050	O COORDINATION IF FIREWALL AP -5
15051	15051	PLIES.—A person shall not be determined to have 6
15052	15052	made a payment in cooperation, consultation, or 7
15053	15053	concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a 8
15054	15054	candidate or committee in accordance with this sec-9
15055	15055	tion if the person established and used a firewall or 10
15056	15056	similar procedure to restrict the sharing of informa-11
15057	15057	tion between individuals who are employed by or who 12
15058	15058	are serving as agents for the person making the pay-13
15059	15059	ment, but only if the firewall or similar procedures 14
15060	15060	meet the requirements of paragraph (2). 15
15061	15061	‘‘(2) R
15062	15062	EQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED .—The re-16
15063	15063	quirements described in this paragraph with respect 17
15064	15064	to a firewall or similar procedure are as follows: 18
15065	15065	‘‘(A) The firewall or procedure is designed 19
15066	15066	and implemented to prohibit the flow of infor-20
15067	15067	mation between employees and consultants pro-21
15068	15068	viding services for the person paying for the 22
15069	15069	communication and those employees or consult-23
15070	15070	ants providing, or who previously provided, 24
15071	15071	services to a candidate who is clearly identified 25
15072	15072	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00497 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15073	15073	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 498
15074	15074	•S 1 IS
15075	15075	in the communication or an authorized com-1
15076	15076	mittee of the candidate, the candidate’s oppo-2
15077	15077	nent or an authorized committee of the can-3
15078	15078	didate’s opponent, or a committee of a political 4
15079	15079	party. 5
15080	15080	‘‘(B) The firewall or procedure must be de-6
15081	15081	scribed in a written policy that is distributed, 7
15082	15082	signed, and dated by all relevant employees, 8
15083	15083	consultants, and clients subject to the policy. 9
15084	15084	‘‘(C) The policy must be preserved and re-10
15085	15085	tained by the person for at least 5 years fol-11
15086	15086	lowing any termination or cessation of represen-12
15087	15087	tation by employees, consultants, and clients 13
15088	15088	who are subject to the policy. 14
15089	15089	‘‘(D) The policy must prohibit any employ-15
15090	15090	ees, consultants, and clients who are subject to 16
15091	15091	the policy from attending meetings, trainings, 17
15092	15092	or other discussions where nonpublic plans, 18
15093	15093	projects, activities, or needs of candidates for 19
15094	15094	election for Federal office or political commit-20
15095	15095	tees are discussed. 21
15096	15096	‘‘(E) The policy must prohibit each owner 22
15097	15097	of an organization, and each executive, man-23
15098	15098	ager, and supervisor within an organization, 24
15099	15099	from simultaneously overseeing the work of em-25
15100	15100	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00498 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15101	15101	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 499
15102	15102	•S 1 IS
15103	15103	ployees and consultants who are subject to the 1
15104	15104	firewall or procedure. 2
15105	15105	‘‘(F) The policy must place restrictions on 3
15106	15106	internal and external communications, including 4
15107	15107	by establishing separate emailing lists, for em-5
15108	15108	ployees, consultants, and clients who are subject 6
15109	15109	to the firewall or procedure and those who are 7
15110	15110	not subject to the firewall or procedure. 8
15111	15111	‘‘(G) The policy must require the person to 9
15112	15112	establish separate files, including electronic file 10
15113	15113	folders— 11
15114	15114	‘‘(i) for employees, consultants, and 12
15115	15115	clients who are subject to the firewall or 13
15116	15116	procedure and to prohibit access to such 14
15117	15117	files by employees, consultants, and clients 15
15118	15118	who are not subject to the firewall or pro-16
15119	15119	cedure; and 17
15120	15120	‘‘(ii) for employees, consultants, and 18
15121	15121	clients who are not subject to the firewall 19
15122	15122	or procedure and to prohibit access to such 20
15123	15123	files by employees, consultants, and clients 21
15124	15124	who are subject to the firewall or proce-22
15125	15125	dure. 23
15126	15126	‘‘(H) The person must conduct a training 24
15127	15127	on the applicable requirements and obligations 25
15128	15128	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00499 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15129	15129	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 500
15130	15130	•S 1 IS
15131	15131	of this Act and the policy for all employees, 1
15132	15132	consultants, and clients. 2
15133	15133	‘‘(3) E
15134	15134	XCEPTION IF INFORMATION IS SHARED 3
15135	15135	REGARDLESS OF FIREWALL .—A person who estab-4
15136	15136	lished and used a firewall or similar procedure which 5
15137	15137	meets the requirements of paragraph (2) shall be de-6
15138	15138	termined to have made a payment in cooperation, 7
15139	15139	consultation, or concert with, or at the request or 8
15140	15140	suggestion of, a candidate or committee in accord-9
15141	15141	ance with this section if specific information indi-10
15142	15142	cates that, notwithstanding the establishment and 11
15143	15143	use of the firewall or similar procedure, information 12
15144	15144	about the candidate’s or committee’s campaign 13
15145	15145	plans, projects, activities, or needs that is material 14
15146	15146	to the creation, production, or distribution of the 15
15147	15147	covered communication was used or conveyed to the 16
15148	15148	person paying for the communication. 17
15149	15149	‘‘(4) U
15150	15150	SE AS DEFENSE TO ENFORCEMENT AC -18
15151	15151	TION.—If, in a procedure or action brought by the 19
15152	15152	Commission under section 309, a person who is al-20
15153	15153	leged to have committed a violation of this Act which 21
15154	15154	involves the making of a contribution which consists 22
15155	15155	of a payment for a coordinated expenditure raises 23
15156	15156	the use of a firewall or similar procedure as a de-24
15157	15157	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00500 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15158	15158	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 501
15159	15159	•S 1 IS
15160	15160	fense, the person shall provide the Commission 1
15161	15161	with— 2
15162	15162	‘‘(A) a copy of the signed and dated fire-3
15163	15163	wall or procedure policy which applied to the 4
15164	15164	person’s employees, consultants, or clients 5
15165	15165	whose conduct is at issue in the procedure or 6
15166	15166	action; and 7
15167	15167	‘‘(B) a sworn, written affidavit of the em-8
15168	15168	ployees, consultants, or clients who were subject 9
15169	15169	to the policy that the terms, conditions, and re-10
15170	15170	quirements of the policy were met. 11
15171	15171	‘‘(e) C
15172	15172	OVEREDCOMMUNICATIONDEFINED.— 12
15173	15173	‘‘(1) I
15174	15174	N GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-13
15175	15175	tion, the term ‘covered communication’ means, with 14
15176	15176	respect to a candidate or an authorized committee of 15
15177	15177	a candidate, a public communication (as defined in 16
15178	15178	section 301(22)) which— 17
15179	15179	‘‘(A) expressly advocates the election of the 18
15180	15180	candidate or the defeat of an opponent of the 19
15181	15181	candidate (or contains the functional equivalent 20
15182	15182	of express advocacy); 21
15183	15183	‘‘(B) promotes or supports the election of 22
15184	15184	the candidate, or attacks or opposes the election 23
15185	15185	of an opponent of the candidate (regardless of 24
15186	15186	whether the communication expressly advocates 25
15187	15187	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00501 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15188	15188	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 502
15189	15189	•S 1 IS
15190	15190	the election or defeat of a candidate or contains 1
15191	15191	the functional equivalent of express advocacy); 2
15192	15192	or 3
15193	15193	‘‘(C) refers to the candidate or an oppo-4
15194	15194	nent of the candidate but is not described in 5
15195	15195	subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B), but 6
15196	15196	only if the communication is disseminated dur-7
15197	15197	ing the applicable election period. 8
15198	15198	‘‘(2) A
15199	15199	PPLICABLE ELECTION PERIOD .—In para-9
15200	15200	graph (1)(C), the ‘applicable election period’ with re-10
15201	15201	spect to a communication means— 11
15202	15202	‘‘(A) in the case of a communication which 12
15203	15203	refers to a candidate in a general, special, or 13
15204	15204	runoff election, the 120-day period which ends 14
15205	15205	on the date of the election; or 15
15206	15206	‘‘(B) in the case of a communication which 16
15207	15207	refers to a candidate in a primary or preference 17
15208	15208	election, or convention or caucus of a political 18
15209	15209	party that has authority to nominate a can-19
15210	15210	didate, the 60-day period which ends on the 20
15211	15211	date of the election or convention or caucus. 21
15212	15212	‘‘(3) S
15213	15213	PECIAL RULES FOR COMMUNICATIONS IN -22
15214	15214	VOLVING CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES .—For pur-23
15215	15215	poses of this subsection, a public communication 24
15216	15216	shall not be considered to be a covered communica-25
15217	15217	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00502 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15218	15218	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 503
15219	15219	•S 1 IS
15220	15220	tion with respect to a candidate for election for an 1
15221	15221	office other than the office of President or Vice 2
15222	15222	President unless it is publicly disseminated or dis-3
15223	15223	tributed in the jurisdiction of the office the can-4
15224	15224	didate is seeking. 5
15225	15225	‘‘(f) P
15226	15226	ENALTY.— 6
15227	15227	‘‘(1) D
15228	15228	ETERMINATION OF AMOUNT .—Any per-7
15229	15229	son who knowingly and willfully commits a violation 8
15230	15230	of this Act which involves the making of a contribu-9
15231	15231	tion which consists of a payment for a coordinated 10
15232	15232	expenditure shall be fined an amount equal to the 11
15233	15233	greater of— 12
15234	15234	‘‘(A) in the case of a person who makes a 13
15235	15235	contribution which consists of a payment for a 14
15236	15236	coordinated expenditure in an amount exceeding 15
15237	15237	the applicable contribution limit under this Act, 16
15238	15238	300 percent of the amount by which the 17
15239	15239	amount of the payment made by the person ex-18
15240	15240	ceeds such applicable contribution limit; or 19
15241	15241	‘‘(B) in the case of a person who is prohib-20
15242	15242	ited under this Act from making a contribution 21
15243	15243	in any amount, 300 percent of the amount of 22
15244	15244	the payment made by the person for the coordi-23
15245	15245	nated expenditure. 24
15246	15246	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00503 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15247	15247	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 504
15248	15248	•S 1 IS
15249	15249	‘‘(2) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY .—Any di-1
15250	15250	rector, manager, or officer of a person who is subject 2
15251	15251	to a penalty under paragraph (1) shall be jointly and 3
15252	15252	severally liable for any amount of such penalty that 4
15253	15253	is not paid by the person prior to the expiration of 5
15254	15254	the 1-year period which begins on the date the Com-6
15255	15255	mission imposes the penalty or the 1-year period 7
15256	15256	which begins on the date of the final judgment fol-8
15257	15257	lowing any judicial review of the Commission’s ac-9
15258	15258	tion, whichever is later.’’. 10
15259	15259	(c) E
15260	15260	FFECTIVEDATE.— 11
15261	15261	(1) R
15262	15262	EPEAL OF EXISTING REGULATIONS ON CO -12
15263	15263	ORDINATION.—Effective upon the expiration of the 13
15264	15264	90-day period which begins on the date of the enact-14
15265	15265	ment of this Act— 15
15266	15266	(A) the regulations on coordinated commu-16
15267	15267	nications adopted by the Federal Election Com-17
15268	15268	mission which are in effect on the date of the 18
15269	15269	enactment of this Act (as set forth under the 19
15270	15270	heading ‘‘Coordination’’ in subpart C of part 20
15271	15271	109 of title 11, Code of Federal Regulations) 21
15272	15272	are repealed; and 22
15273	15273	(B) the Federal Election Commission shall 23
15274	15274	promulgate new regulations on coordinated 24
15275	15275	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00504 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15276	15276	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 505
15277	15277	•S 1 IS
15278	15278	communications which reflect the amendments 1
15279	15279	made by this Act. 2
15280	15280	(2) E
15281	15281	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 3
15282	15282	by this section shall apply with respect to payments 4
15283	15283	made on or after the expiration of the 120-day pe-5
15284	15284	riod which begins on the date of the enactment of 6
15285	15285	this Act, without regard to whether or not the Fed-7
15286	15286	eral Election Commission has promulgated regula-8
15287	15287	tions in accordance with paragraph (1)(B) as of the 9
15288	15288	expiration of such period. 10
15289	15289	Subtitle B—Restoring Integrity to 11
15290	15290	America’s Elections 12
15291	15291	SEC. 7101. SHORT TITLE. 13
15292	15292	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Restoring Integrity 14
15293	15293	to America’s Elections Act’’. 15
15294	15294	SEC. 7102. REVISION TO ENFORCEMENT PROCESS. 16
15295	15295	(a) S
15296	15296	TANDARD FORINITIATINGINVESTIGATIONS AND 17
15297	15297	D
15298	15298	ETERMINING WHETHER VIOLATIONSHAVEOC-18
15299	15299	CURRED.— 19
15300	15300	(1) R
15301	15301	EVISION OF STANDARDS .—Section 309(a) 20
15302	15302	of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 21
15303	15303	U.S.C. 30109(a)) is amended by striking paragraphs 22
15304	15304	(2) and (3) and inserting the following: 23
15305	15305	‘‘(2)(A) The general counsel, upon receiving a com-24
15306	15306	plaint filed with the Commission under paragraph (1) or 25
15307	15307	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00505 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15308	15308	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 506
15309	15309	•S 1 IS
15310	15310	upon the basis of information ascertained by the Commis-1
15311	15311	sion in the normal course of carrying out its supervisory 2
15312	15312	responsibilities, shall make a determination as to whether 3
15313	15313	or not there is reason to believe that a person has com-4
15314	15314	mitted, or is about to commit, a violation of this Act or 5
15315	15315	chapter 95 or chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code 6
15316	15316	of 1986, and as to whether or not the Commission should 7
15317	15317	either initiate an investigation of the matter or that the 8
15318	15318	complaint should be dismissed. The general counsel shall 9
15319	15319	promptly provide notification to the Commission of such 10
15320	15320	determination and the reasons therefore, together with 11
15321	15321	any written response submitted under paragraph (1) by 12
15322	15322	the person alleged to have committed the violation. Upon 13
15323	15323	the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on the 14
15324	15324	date the general counsel provides such notification, the 15
15325	15325	general counsel’s determination shall take effect, unless 16
15326	15326	during such 30-day period the Commission, by vote of a 17
15327	15327	majority of the members of the Commission who are serv-18
15328	15328	ing at the time, overrules the general counsel’s determina-19
15329	15329	tion. If the determination by the general counsel that the 20
15330	15330	Commission should investigate the matter takes effect, or 21
15331	15331	if the determination by the general counsel that the com-22
15332	15332	plaint should be dismissed is overruled as provided under 23
15333	15333	the previous sentence, the general counsel shall initiate an 24
15334	15334	investigation of the matter on behalf of the Commission. 25
15335	15335	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00506 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15336	15336	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 507
15337	15337	•S 1 IS
15338	15338	‘‘(B) If the Commission initiates an investigation 1
15339	15339	pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Commission, through 2
15340	15340	the Chair, shall notify the subject of the investigation of 3
15341	15341	the alleged violation. Such notification shall set forth the 4
15342	15342	factual basis for such alleged violation. The Commission 5
15343	15343	shall make an investigation of such alleged violation, which 6
15344	15344	may include a field investigation or audit, in accordance 7
15345	15345	with the provisions of this section. The general counsel 8
15346	15346	shall provide notification to the Commission of any intent 9
15347	15347	to issue a subpoena or conduct any other form of discovery 10
15348	15348	pursuant to the investigation. Upon the expiration of the 11
15349	15349	15-day period which begins on the date the general counsel 12
15350	15350	provides such notification, the general counsel may issue 13
15351	15351	the subpoena or conduct the discovery, unless during such 14
15352	15352	15-day period the Commission, by vote of a majority of 15
15353	15353	the members of the Commission who are serving at the 16
15354	15354	time, prohibits the general counsel from issuing the sub-17
15355	15355	poena or conducting the discovery. 18
15356	15356	‘‘(3)(A) Upon completion of an investigation under 19
15357	15357	paragraph (2), the general counsel shall make a deter-20
15358	15358	mination as to whether or not there is probable cause to 21
15359	15359	believe that a person has committed, or is about to com-22
15360	15360	mit, a violation of this Act or chapter 95 or chapter 96 23
15361	15361	of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall promptly 24
15362	15362	submit such determination to the Commission, and shall 25
15363	15363	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00507 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15364	15364	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 508
15365	15365	•S 1 IS
15366	15366	include with the determination a brief stating the position 1
15367	15367	of the general counsel on the legal and factual issues of 2
15368	15368	the case. 3
15369	15369	‘‘(B) At the time the general counsel submits to the 4
15370	15370	Commission the determination under subparagraph (A), 5
15371	15371	the general counsel shall simultaneously notify the re-6
15372	15372	spondent of such determination and the reasons therefore, 7
15373	15373	shall provide the respondent with an opportunity to submit 8
15374	15374	a brief within 30 days stating the position of the respond-9
15375	15375	ent on the legal and factual issues of the case and replying 10
15376	15376	to the brief of the general counsel. The general counsel 11
15377	15377	shall promptly submit such brief to the Commission upon 12
15378	15378	receipt. 13
15379	15379	‘‘(C) Upon the expiration of the 30-day period which 14
15380	15380	begins on the date the general counsel submits the deter-15
15381	15381	mination to the Commission under subparagraph (A) (or, 16
15382	15382	if the respondent submits a brief under subparagraph (B), 17
15383	15383	upon the expiration of the 30-day period which begins on 18
15384	15384	the date the general counsel submits the respondent’s brief 19
15385	15385	to the Commission under such subparagraph), the general 20
15386	15386	counsel’s determination shall take effect, unless during 21
15387	15387	such 30-day period the Commission, by vote of a majority 22
15388	15388	of the members of the Commission who are serving at the 23
15389	15389	time, overrules the general counsel’s determination. If the 24
15390	15390	determination by the general counsel that there is prob-25
15391	15391	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00508 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15392	15392	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 509
15393	15393	•S 1 IS
15394	15394	able cause to believe that a person has committed, or is 1
15395	15395	about to commit, a violation of this Act or chapter 95 or 2
15396	15396	chapter 96 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or if 3
15397	15397	the determination by the general counsel that there is not 4
15398	15398	probable cause that a person has committed or is about 5
15399	15399	to commit such a violation is overruled as provided under 6
15400	15400	the previous sentence, for purposes of this subsection, the 7
15401	15401	Commission shall be deemed to have determined that there 8
15402	15402	is probable cause that the person has committed or is 9
15403	15403	about to commit such a violation.’’. 10
15404	15404	(2) C
15405	15405	ONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO 11
15406	15406	INITIAL RESPONSE TO FILING OF COMPLAINT .—Sec-12
15407	15407	tion 309(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(1)) 13
15408	15408	is amended— 14
15409	15409	(A) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the 15
15410	15410	Commission’’ and inserting ‘‘the general coun-16
15411	15411	sel’’; and 17
15412	15412	(B) by amending the fourth sentence to 18
15413	15413	read as follows: ‘‘Not later than 15 days after 19
15414	15414	receiving notice from the general counsel under 20
15415	15415	the previous sentence, the person may provide 21
15416	15416	the general counsel with a written response that 22
15417	15417	no action should be taken against such person 23
15418	15418	on the basis of the complaint.’’. 24
15419	15419	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00509 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15420	15420	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 510
15421	15421	•S 1 IS
15422	15422	(b) REVISION OFSTANDARD FOR REVIEW OFDIS-1
15423	15423	MISSAL OFCOMPLAINTS.— 2
15424	15424	(1) I
15425	15425	N GENERAL.—Section 309(a)(8) of such 3
15426	15426	Act (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(8)) is amended to read as 4
15427	15427	follows: 5
15428	15428	‘‘(8)(A)(i) Any party aggrieved by an order of the 6
15429	15429	Commission dismissing a complaint filed by such party 7
15430	15430	may file a petition with the United States District Court 8
15431	15431	for the District of Columbia. Any petition under this sub-9
15432	15432	paragraph shall be filed within 60 days after the date on 10
15433	15433	which the party received notice of the dismissal of the 11
15434	15434	complaint. 12
15435	15435	‘‘(ii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, the 13
15436	15436	court shall determine by de novo review whether the agen-14
15437	15437	cy’s dismissal of the complaint is contrary to law. In any 15
15438	15438	matter in which the penalty for the alleged violation is 16
15439	15439	greater than $50,000, the court should disregard any 17
15440	15440	claim or defense by the Commission of prosecutorial dis-18
15441	15441	cretion as a basis for dismissing the complaint. 19
15442	15442	‘‘(B)(i) Any party who has filed a complaint with the 20
15443	15443	Commission and who is aggrieved by a failure of the Com-21
15444	15444	mission, within one year after the filing of the complaint, 22
15445	15445	to act on such complaint, may file a petition with the 23
15446	15446	United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 24
15447	15447	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00510 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15448	15448	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 511
15449	15449	•S 1 IS
15450	15450	‘‘(ii) In any proceeding under this subparagraph, the 1
15451	15451	court shall determine by de novo review whether the agen-2
15452	15452	cy’s failure to act on the complaint is contrary to law. 3
15453	15453	‘‘(C) In any proceeding under this paragraph the 4
15454	15454	court may declare that the dismissal of the complaint or 5
15455	15455	the failure to act is contrary to law, and may direct the 6
15456	15456	Commission to conform with such declaration within 30 7
15457	15457	days, failing which the complainant may bring, in the 8
15458	15458	name of such complainant, a civil action to remedy the 9
15459	15459	violation involved in the original complaint.’’. 10
15460	15460	(2) E
15461	15461	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 11
15462	15462	by paragraph (1) shall apply— 12
15463	15463	(A) in the case of complaints which are 13
15464	15464	dismissed by the Federal Election Commission, 14
15465	15465	with respect to complaints which are dismissed 15
15466	15466	on or after the date of the enactment of this 16
15467	15467	Act; and 17
15468	15468	(B) in the case of complaints upon which 18
15469	15469	the Federal Election Commission failed to act, 19
15470	15470	with respect to complaints which were filed on 20
15471	15471	or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 21
15472	15472	(c) R
15473	15473	EGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 22
15474	15474	the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Election 23
15475	15475	Commission shall promulgate new regulations on the en-24
15476	15476	forcement process under section 309 of the Federal Elec-25
15477	15477	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00511 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15478	15478	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 512
15479	15479	•S 1 IS
15480	15480	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109) to take 1
15481	15481	into account the amendments made by this section. 2
15482	15482	SEC. 7103. OFFICIAL EXERCISING THE RESPONSIBILITIES 3
15483	15483	OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL. 4
15484	15484	Section 306(f)(1) of the Federal Election Campaign 5
15485	15485	Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30106(f)(1)) is amended by add-6
15486	15486	ing at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘In the event 7
15487	15487	of a vacancy in the position of the General Counsel, the 8
15488	15488	most senior attorney employed within the Office of the 9
15489	15489	General Counsel at the time the vacancy arises shall exer-10
15490	15490	cise all the responsibilities of the General Counsel until 11
15491	15491	the vacancy is filled.’’. 12
15492	15492	SEC. 7104. PERMITTING APPEARANCE AT HEARINGS ON RE-13
15493	15493	QUESTS FOR ADVISORY OPINIONS BY PER-14
15494	15494	SONS OPPOSING THE REQUESTS. 15
15495	15495	(a) I
15496	15496	NGENERAL.—Section 308 of such Act (52 16
15497	15497	U.S.C. 30108) is amended by adding at the end the fol-17
15498	15498	lowing new subsection: 18
15499	15499	‘‘(e) To the extent that the Commission provides an 19
15500	15500	opportunity for a person requesting an advisory opinion 20
15501	15501	under this section (or counsel for such person) to appear 21
15502	15502	before the Commission to present testimony in support of 22
15503	15503	the request, and the person (or counsel) accepts such op-23
15504	15504	portunity, the Commission shall provide a reasonable op-24
15505	15505	portunity for an interested party who submitted written 25
15506	15506	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00512 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15507	15507	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 513
15508	15508	•S 1 IS
15509	15509	comments under subsection (d) in response to the request 1
15510	15510	(or counsel for such interested party) to appear before the 2
15511	15511	Commission to present testimony in response to the re-3
15512	15512	quest.’’. 4
15513	15513	(b) E
15514	15514	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 5
15515	15515	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to requests for advi-6
15516	15516	sory opinions under section 308 of the Federal Election 7
15517	15517	Campaign Act of 1971 which are made on or after the 8
15518	15518	date of the enactment of this Act. 9
15519	15519	SEC. 7105. PERMANENT EXTENSION OF ADMINISTRATIVE 10
15520	15520	PENALTY AUTHORITY. 11
15521	15521	Section 309(a)(4)(C)(v) of the Federal Election Cam-12
15522	15522	paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)(4)(C)(v)) is 13
15523	15523	amended by striking ‘‘, and that end on or before Decem-14
15524	15524	ber 31, 2023’’. 15
15525	15525	SEC. 7106. RESTRICTIONS ON EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS. 16
15526	15526	Section 306(e) of the Federal Election Campaign Act 17
15527	15527	of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30106(e)) is amended— 18
15528	15528	(1) by striking ‘‘(e) The Commission’’ and in-19
15529	15529	serting ‘‘(e)(1) The Commission’’; and 20
15530	15530	(2) by adding at the end the following new 21
15531	15531	paragraph: 22
15532	15532	‘‘(2) Members and employees of the Commission shall 23
15533	15533	be subject to limitations on ex parte communications, as 24
15534	15534	provided in the regulations promulgated by the Commis-25
15535	15535	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00513 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15536	15536	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 514
15537	15537	•S 1 IS
15538	15538	sion regarding such communications which are in effect 1
15539	15539	on the date of the enactment of this paragraph.’’. 2
15540	15540	SEC. 7107. CLARIFYING AUTHORITY OF FEC ATTORNEYS TO 3
15541	15541	REPRESENT FEC IN SUPREME COURT. 4
15542	15542	(a) C
15543	15543	LARIFYINGAUTHORITY.—Section 306(f)(4) of 5
15544	15544	the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 6
15545	15545	30106(f)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘any action instituted 7
15546	15546	under this Act, either (A) by attorneys’’ and inserting 8
15547	15547	‘‘any action instituted under this Act, including an action 9
15548	15548	before the Supreme Court of the United States, either (A) 10
15549	15549	by the General Counsel of the Commission and other at-11
15550	15550	torneys’’. 12
15551	15551	(b) E
15552	15552	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 13
15553	15553	subsection (a) shall apply with respect to actions instituted 14
15554	15554	before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 15
15555	15555	SEC. 7108. REQUIRING FORMS TO PERMIT USE OF ACCENT 16
15556	15556	MARKS. 17
15557	15557	(a) R
15558	15558	EQUIREMENT.—Section 311(a)(1) of the Fed-18
15559	15559	eral Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 19
15560	15560	30111(a)(1)) is amended by striking the semicolon at the 20
15561	15561	end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and shall ensure that 21
15562	15562	all such forms (including forms in an electronic format) 22
15563	15563	permit the person using the form to include an accent 23
15564	15564	mark as part of the person’s identification;’’. 24
15565	15565	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00514 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15566	15566	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 515
15567	15567	•S 1 IS
15568	15568	(b) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The amendment made by 1
15569	15569	subsection (a) shall take effect upon the expiration of the 2
15570	15570	90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment 3
15571	15571	of this Act. 4
15572	15572	SEC. 7109. EXTENSION OF THE STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS 5
15573	15573	FOR OFFENSES UNDER THE FEDERAL ELEC-6
15574	15574	TION CAMPAIGN ACT OF 1971. 7
15575	15575	(a) C
15576	15576	IVILOFFENSES.—Section 309(a) of the Federal 8
15577	15577	Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109(a)) is 9
15578	15578	amended by inserting after paragraph (9) the following 10
15579	15579	new paragraph: 11
15580	15580	‘‘(10) No person shall be subject to a civil penalty 12
15581	15581	under this subsection with respect to a violation of this 13
15582	15582	Act unless a complaint is filed with the Commission with 14
15583	15583	respect to the violation under paragraph (1), or the Com-15
15584	15584	mission responds to information with respect to the viola-16
15585	15585	tion which is ascertained in the normal course of carrying 17
15586	15586	out its supervisory responsibilities under paragraph (2), 18
15587	15587	not later than 10 years after the date on which the viola-19
15588	15588	tion occurred.’’. 20
15589	15589	(b) C
15590	15590	RIMINALOFFENSES.—Section 406(a) of such 21
15591	15591	Act (52 U.S.C. 30145(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘5 22
15592	15592	years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’. 23
15593	15593	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00515 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15594	15594	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 516
15595	15595	•S 1 IS
15596	15596	(c) EFFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 1
15597	15597	this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 2
15598	15598	on or after the date of enactment of this Act. 3
15599	15599	SEC. 7110. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION. 4
15600	15600	(a) I
15601	15601	NGENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided, this 5
15602	15602	subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall 6
15603	15603	take effect and apply on the date of the enactment of this 7
15604	15604	Act, without regard to whether or not the Federal Election 8
15605	15605	Commission has promulgated regulations to carry out this 9
15606	15606	subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle. 10
15607	15607	(b) T
15608	15608	RANSITION.— 11
15609	15609	(1) N
15610	15610	O EFFECT ON EXISTING CASES OR PRO -12
15611	15611	CEEDINGS.—Nothing in this subtitle or in any 13
15612	15612	amendment made by this subtitle shall affect any of 14
15613	15613	the powers exercised by the Federal Election Com-15
15614	15614	mission prior to the date of the enactment of this 16
15615	15615	Act, including any investigation initiated by the 17
15616	15616	Commission prior to such date or any proceeding 18
15617	15617	(including any enforcement action) pending as of 19
15618	15618	such date. 20
15619	15619	(2) T
15620	15620	REATMENT OF CERTAIN COMPLAINTS .—If, 21
15621	15621	as of the date of the enactment of this Act, the Gen-22
15622	15622	eral Counsel of the Federal Election Commission has 23
15623	15623	not made any recommendation to the Commission 24
15624	15624	under section 309(a) of the Federal Election Cam-25
15625	15625	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00516 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15626	15626	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 517
15627	15627	•S 1 IS
15628	15628	paign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30109) with respect 1
15629	15629	to a complaint filed prior to the date of the enact-2
15630	15630	ment of this Act, this subtitle and the amendments 3
15631	15631	made by this subtitle shall apply with respect to the 4
15632	15632	complaint in the same manner as this subtitle and 5
15633	15633	the amendments made by this subtitle apply with re-6
15634	15634	spect to a complaint filed on or after the date of the 7
15635	15635	enactment of this Act. 8
15636	15636	TITLE VIII—CITIZEN 9
15637	15637	EMPOWERMENT 10
15638	15638	Subtitle A—Funding To Promote 11
15639	15639	Democracy 12
15640	15640	PART 1—PAYMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS TO 13
15641	15641	STATES 14
15642	15642	SEC. 8001. DEMOCRACY ADVANCEMENT AND INNOVATION 15
15643	15643	PROGRAM. 16
15644	15644	(a) E
15645	15645	STABLISHMENT.—There is established a pro-17
15646	15646	gram to be known as the ‘‘Democracy Advancement and 18
15647	15647	Innovation Program’’ under which the Director of the Of-19
15648	15648	fice of Democracy Advancement and Innovation shall 20
15649	15649	make allocations to each State for each fiscal year to carry 21
15650	15650	out democracy promotion activities described in subsection 22
15651	15651	(b). 23
15652	15652	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00517 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15653	15653	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 518
15654	15654	•S 1 IS
15655	15655	(b) DEMOCRACY PROMOTION ACTIVITIESDE-1
15656	15656	SCRIBED.—The democracy promotion activities described 2
15657	15657	in this subsection are as follows: 3
15658	15658	(1) Activities to promote innovation to improve 4
15659	15659	efficiency and smooth functioning in the administra-5
15660	15660	tion of elections for Federal office and to secure the 6
15661	15661	infrastructure used in the administration of such 7
15662	15662	elections, including making upgrades to voting 8
15663	15663	equipment and voter registration systems, securing 9
15664	15664	voting locations, expanding polling places and the 10
15665	15665	availability of early and mail voting, recruiting and 11
15666	15666	training nonpartisan election officials, and pro-12
15667	15667	moting cybersecurity. 13
15668	15668	(2) Activities to ensure equitable access to de-14
15669	15669	mocracy, including the following: 15
15670	15670	(A) Enabling candidates who seek office in 16
15671	15671	the State to receive payments as participating 17
15672	15672	candidates under title V of the Federal Election 18
15673	15673	Campaign Act of 1971 (as added by subtitle 19
15674	15674	B), but only if the State will enable candidates 20
15675	15675	to receive such payments during an entire elec-21
15676	15676	tion cycle. 22
15677	15677	(B) Operating a Democracy Credit Pro-23
15678	15678	gram under part 1 of subtitle B, but only if the 24
15679	15679	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00518 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15680	15680	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 519
15681	15681	•S 1 IS
15682	15682	State will operate the program during an entire 1
15683	15683	election cycle. 2
15684	15684	(C) Other activities to ensure equitable ac-3
15685	15685	cess to democracy, including administering a 4
15686	15686	ranked-choice voting system and carrying out 5
15687	15687	Congressional redistricting through independent 6
15688	15688	commissions. 7
15689	15689	(3) Activities to increase access to voting in 8
15690	15690	elections for Federal office by underserved commu-9
15691	15691	nities, individuals with disabilities, racial and lan-10
15692	15692	guage minority groups, individuals entitled to vote 11
15693	15693	by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Over-12
15694	15694	seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and voters resid-13
15695	15695	ing in Indian lands. 14
15696	15696	(c) P
15697	15697	ERMITTINGSTATESTORETAIN ANDRESERVE 15
15698	15698	A
15699	15699	LLOCATIONS FOR FUTUREUSE.—A State may retain 16
15700	15700	and reserve an allocation received for a fiscal year to carry 17
15701	15701	out democracy promotion activities in any subsequent fis-18
15702	15702	cal year. 19
15703	15703	(d) R
15704	15704	EQUIRINGSUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF 20
15705	15705	S
15706	15706	TATEPLAN.— 21
15707	15707	(1) I
15708	15708	N GENERAL.—A State shall receive an allo-22
15709	15709	cation under the Program for a fiscal year if— 23
15710	15710	(A) not later than 90 days before the first 24
15711	15711	day of the fiscal year, the chief State election 25
15712	15712	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00519 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15713	15713	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 520
15714	15714	•S 1 IS
15715	15715	official of the State submits to the Director the 1
15716	15716	State plan described in section 8002; and 2
15717	15717	(B) not later than 45 days before the first 3
15718	15718	day of the fiscal year, the Director, in consulta-4
15719	15719	tion with the Election Assistance Commission 5
15720	15720	and the Federal Election Commission as de-6
15721	15721	scribed in paragraph (3), determines that the 7
15722	15722	State plan will enable the State to carry out de-8
15723	15723	mocracy promotion activities and approves the 9
15724	15724	plan. 10
15725	15725	(2) S
15726	15726	UBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF REVISED 11
15727	15727	PLAN.—If the Director does not approve the State 12
15728	15728	plan as submitted by the State under paragraph (1) 13
15729	15729	with respect to a fiscal year, the State shall receive 14
15730	15730	a payment under the Program for the fiscal year if, 15
15731	15731	at any time prior to the end of the fiscal year— 16
15732	15732	(A) the chief State election official of the 17
15733	15733	State submits a revised version of the State 18
15734	15734	plan; and 19
15735	15735	(B) the Director, in consultation with the 20
15736	15736	Election Assistance Commission and the Fed-21
15737	15737	eral Election Commission as described in para-22
15738	15738	graph (3), determines that the revised version 23
15739	15739	of the State plan will enable the State to carry 24
15740	15740	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00520 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15741	15741	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 521
15742	15742	•S 1 IS
15743	15743	out democracy promotion activities and ap-1
15744	15744	proves the plan. 2
15745	15745	(3) E
15746	15746	LECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION AND 3
15747	15747	FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION CONSULTATION .— 4
15748	15748	With respect to a State plan submitted under para-5
15749	15749	graph (1) or a revised plan submitted under para-6
15750	15750	graph (2)— 7
15751	15751	(A) the Director shall, prior to making a 8
15752	15752	determination on approval of the plan, consult 9
15753	15753	with the Election Assistance Commission with 10
15754	15754	respect to the proposed State activities de-11
15755	15755	scribed in subsection (b)(1) and with the Fed-12
15756	15756	eral Election Commission with respect to the 13
15757	15757	proposed State activities described in subsection 14
15758	15758	(b)(2)(A) and (b)(2)(B); and 15
15759	15759	(B) the Election Assistance Commission 16
15760	15760	and the Federal Election Commission shall sub-17
15761	15761	mit to the Director a written assessment with 18
15762	15762	respect to whether the proposed activities of the 19
15763	15763	plan satisfy the requirements of this Act. 20
15764	15764	(4) C
15765	15765	ONSULTATION WITH LEGISLATURE .—The 21
15766	15766	chief State election official of the State shall develop 22
15767	15767	the State plan submitted under paragraph (1) and 23
15768	15768	the revised plan submitted under paragraph (2) in 24
15769	15769	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00521 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15770	15770	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 522
15771	15771	•S 1 IS
15772	15772	consultation with the majority party and minority 1
15773	15773	party leaders of each house of the State legislature. 2
15774	15774	(e) S
15775	15775	TATEREPORT ONUSE OFALLOCATIONS.—Not 3
15776	15776	later than 90 days after the last day of a fiscal year for 4
15777	15777	which an allocation was made to the State under the Pro-5
15778	15778	gram, the chief State election official of the State shall 6
15779	15779	submit a report to the Director describing how the State 7
15780	15780	used the allocation, including a description of the democ-8
15781	15781	racy promotion activities the State carried out with the 9
15782	15782	allocation. 10
15783	15783	(f) P
15784	15784	UBLICAVAILABILITY OFINFORMATION.— 11
15785	15785	(1) P
15786	15786	UBLICLY AVAILABLE WEBSITE .—The Di-12
15787	15787	rector shall make available on a publicly accessible 13
15788	15788	website the following: 14
15789	15789	(A) State plans submitted under para-15
15790	15790	graph (1) of subsection (d) and revised plans 16
15791	15791	submitted under paragraph (2) of subsection 17
15792	15792	(d). 18
15793	15793	(B) The Director’s notifications of deter-19
15794	15794	minations with respect to such plans under sub-20
15795	15795	section (d). 21
15796	15796	(C) Reports submitted by States under 22
15797	15797	subsection (e). 23
15798	15798	(2) R
15799	15799	EDACTION.—The Director may redact in-24
15800	15800	formation required to be made available under para-25
15801	15801	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00522 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15802	15802	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 523
15803	15803	•S 1 IS
15804	15804	graph (1) if the information would be properly with-1
15805	15805	held from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, 2
15806	15806	United States Code, or if the public disclosure of the 3
15807	15807	information is otherwise prohibited by law. 4
15808	15808	(g) E
15809	15809	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall apply with 5
15810	15810	respect to fiscal year 2025 and each succeeding fiscal year. 6
15811	15811	SEC. 8002. STATE PLAN. 7
15812	15812	(a) C
15813	15813	ONTENTS.—A State plan under this section with 8
15814	15814	respect to a State is a plan containing each of the fol-9
15815	15815	lowing: 10
15816	15816	(1) A description of the democracy promotion 11
15817	15817	activities the State will carry out with the payment 12
15818	15818	made under the Program. 13
15819	15819	(2) A statement of whether or not the State in-14
15820	15820	tends to retain and reserve the payment for future 15
15821	15821	democracy promotion activities. 16
15822	15822	(3) A description of how the State intends to 17
15823	15823	allocate funds to carry out the proposed activities, 18
15824	15824	which shall include the amount the State intends to 19
15825	15825	allocate to each such activity, including (if applica-20
15826	15826	ble) a specific allocation for— 21
15827	15827	(A) activities described in subsection 22
15828	15828	8001(b)(1) (relating to election administration); 23
15829	15829	(B) activities described in section 24
15830	15830	8001(b)(2)(A) (relating to payments to partici-25
15831	15831	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00523 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15832	15832	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 524
15833	15833	•S 1 IS
15834	15834	pating candidates in the State under title V of 1
15835	15835	the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971), 2
15836	15836	together with the information required under 3
15837	15837	subsection (c); 4
15838	15838	(C) activities described in section 5
15839	15839	8001(b)(2)(B) (relating to the operation of a 6
15840	15840	Democracy Credit Program under part 1 of 7
15841	15841	subtitle B); 8
15842	15842	(D) activities described in section 9
15843	15843	8001(b)(2)(C) (relating to other activities to en-10
15844	15844	sure equitable access to democracy); and 11
15845	15845	(E) activities described in section 12
15846	15846	8001(b)(3) (relating to activities to increase ac-13
15847	15847	cess to voting in elections for Federal office by 14
15848	15848	certain communities). 15
15849	15849	(4) A description of how the State will establish 16
15850	15850	the fund described in subsection (b) for purposes of 17
15851	15851	administering the democracy promotion activities 18
15852	15852	which the State will carry out with the payment, in-19
15853	15853	cluding information on fund management. 20
15854	15854	(5) A description of the State-based administra-21
15855	15855	tive complaint procedures established for purposes of 22
15856	15856	section 8003(b). 23
15857	15857	(6) A statement regarding whether the pro-24
15858	15858	posed activities to be funded are permitted under 25
15859	15859	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00524 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15860	15860	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 525
15861	15861	•S 1 IS
15862	15862	State law, or whether the official intends to seek 1
15863	15863	legal authorization for such activities. 2
15864	15864	(b) R
15865	15865	EQUIREMENTS FOR FUND.— 3
15866	15866	(1) F
15867	15867	UND DESCRIBED.—For purposes of sub-4
15868	15868	section (a)(4), a fund described in this subsection 5
15869	15869	with respect to a State is a fund which is established 6
15870	15870	in the treasury of the State government, which is 7
15871	15871	used in accordance with paragraph (2), and which 8
15872	15872	consists of the following amounts: 9
15873	15873	(A) Amounts appropriated or otherwise 10
15874	15874	made available by the State for carrying out the 11
15875	15875	democracy promotion activities for which the 12
15876	15876	payment is made to the State under the Pro-13
15877	15877	gram. 14
15878	15878	(B) The payment made to the State under 15
15879	15879	the Program. 16
15880	15880	(C) Such other amounts as may be appro-17
15881	15881	priated under law. 18
15882	15882	(D) Interest earned on deposits of the 19
15883	15883	fund. 20
15884	15884	(2) U
15885	15885	SE OF FUND.—Amounts in the fund shall 21
15886	15886	be used by the State exclusively to carry out democ-22
15887	15887	racy promotion activities for which the payment is 23
15888	15888	made to the State under the Program. 24
15889	15889	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00525 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15890	15890	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 526
15891	15891	•S 1 IS
15892	15892	(3) TREATMENT OF STATES THAT REQUIRE 1
15893	15893	CHANGES TO STATE LAW .—In the case of a State 2
15894	15894	that requires State legislation to establish the fund 3
15895	15895	described in this subsection, the Director shall defer 4
15896	15896	disbursement of the payment to such State under 5
15897	15897	the Program until such time as legislation estab-6
15898	15898	lishing the fund is enacted. 7
15899	15899	(c) S
15900	15900	PECIFICINFORMATION ON USE OFFUNDSTO 8
15901	15901	E
15902	15902	NABLECANDIDATESTOPARTICIPATE INMATCHING 9
15903	15903	F
15904	15904	UNDSPROGRAM.—If the State plan under this section 10
15905	15905	includes an allocation for activities described in section 11
15906	15906	8001(b)(2)(A) (relating to payments to participating can-12
15907	15907	didates in the State under title V of the Federal Election 13
15908	15908	Campaign Act of 1971), the State shall include in the plan 14
15909	15909	specific information on how the amount of the allocation 15
15910	15910	will enable the State to provide for the viable participation 16
15911	15911	of candidates in the State under such title, including the 17
15912	15912	assumptions made by the State in determining the amount 18
15913	15913	of the allocation. 19
15914	15914	SEC. 8003. PROHIBITING REDUCTION IN ACCESS TO PAR-20
15915	15915	TICIPATION IN ELECTIONS. 21
15916	15916	(a) P
15917	15917	ROHIBITINGUSE OFPAYMENTS.—A State may 22
15918	15918	not use a payment made under the Program to carry out 23
15919	15919	any activity which has the purpose or effect of diminishing 24
15920	15920	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00526 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15921	15921	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 527
15922	15922	•S 1 IS
15923	15923	the ability of any citizen of the United States to partici-1
15924	15924	pate in the electoral process. 2
15925	15925	(b) S
15926	15926	TATE-BASEDADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT 3
15927	15927	P
15928	15928	ROCEDURES.— 4
15929	15929	(1) E
15930	15930	STABLISHMENT.—A State receiving a pay-5
15931	15931	ment under the Program shall establish uniform and 6
15932	15932	nondiscriminatory State-based administrative com-7
15933	15933	plaint procedures under which any person who be-8
15934	15934	lieves that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred, 9
15935	15935	is occurring, or is about to occur may file a com-10
15936	15936	plaint. 11
15937	15937	(2) N
15938	15938	OTIFICATION TO DIRECTOR .—The State 12
15939	15939	shall transmit to the Director a description of each 13
15940	15940	complaint filed under the procedures, together 14
15941	15941	with— 15
15942	15942	(A) if the State provides a remedy with re-16
15943	15943	spect to the complaint, a description of the rem-17
15944	15944	edy; or 18
15945	15945	(B) if the State dismisses the complaint, a 19
15946	15946	statement of the reasons for the dismissal. 20
15947	15947	(3) R
15948	15948	EVIEW BY DIRECTOR.— 21
15949	15949	(A) R
15950	15950	EQUEST FOR REVIEW .—Any person 22
15951	15951	who is dissatisfied with the final decision under 23
15952	15952	a State-based administrative complaint proce-24
15953	15953	dure under this subsection may, not later than 25
15954	15954	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00527 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15955	15955	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 528
15956	15956	•S 1 IS
15957	15957	60 days after the decision is made, file a re-1
15958	15958	quest with the Director to review the decision. 2
15959	15959	(B) A
15960	15960	CTION BY DIRECTOR.—Upon receiv-3
15961	15961	ing a request under subparagraph (A), the Di-4
15962	15962	rector shall review the decision and, in accord-5
15963	15963	ance with such procedures as the Director may 6
15964	15964	establish, including procedures to provide notice 7
15965	15965	and an opportunity for a hearing, may uphold 8
15966	15966	the decision or reverse the decision and provide 9
15967	15967	an appropriate remedy. 10
15968	15968	(C) P
15969	15969	UBLIC AVAILABILITY OF MATE -11
15970	15970	RIAL.—The Director shall make available on a 12
15971	15971	publicly accessible website all material relating 13
15972	15972	to a request for review and determination by 14
15973	15973	the Director under this paragraph, shall be 15
15974	15974	made available on a publicly accessible website, 16
15975	15975	except that the Director may redact material 17
15976	15976	required to be made available under this sub-18
15977	15977	paragraph if the material would be properly 19
15978	15978	withheld from disclosure under section 552 of 20
15979	15979	title 5, United States Code, or if the public dis-21
15980	15980	closure of the material is otherwise prohibited 22
15981	15981	by law. 23
15982	15982	(4) R
15983	15983	IGHT TO PETITION FOR REVIEW .— 24
15984	15984	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00528 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
15985	15985	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 529
15986	15986	•S 1 IS
15987	15987	(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved 1
15988	15988	by an action of the Director under subpara-2
15989	15989	graph (B) of paragraph (3) may file a petition 3
15990	15990	with the United States District Court for the 4
15991	15991	District of Columbia. 5
15992	15992	(B) D
15993	15993	EADLINE TO FILE PETITION .—Any 6
15994	15994	petition under this subparagraph shall be filed 7
15995	15995	not later than 60 days after the date of the ac-8
15996	15996	tion taken by the Director under subparagraph 9
15997	15997	(B) of paragraph (3). 10
15998	15998	(C) S
15999	15999	TANDARD OF REVIEW .—In any pro-11
16000	16000	ceeding under this paragraph, the court shall 12
16001	16001	determine whether the action of the Director 13
16002	16002	was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discre-14
16003	16003	tion, or otherwise not in accordance with law 15
16004	16004	under section 706 of title 5, United States 16
16005	16005	Code, and may direct the Office to conform 17
16006	16006	with any such determination within 30 days. 18
16007	16007	(c) A
16008	16008	CTION BYATTORNEYGENERAL FORDECLARA-19
16009	16009	TORY ANDINJUNCTIVERELIEF.—The Attorney General 20
16010	16010	may bring a civil action against any State in an appro-21
16011	16011	priate United States District Court for such declaratory 22
16012	16012	and injunctive relief (including a temporary restraining 23
16013	16013	order, a permanent or temporary injunction, or other 24
16014	16014	order) as may be necessary to enforce subsection (a). 25
16015	16015	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00529 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16016	16016	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 530
16017	16017	•S 1 IS
16018	16018	SEC. 8004. AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOCATION. 1
16019	16019	(a) S
16020	16020	TATE-SPECIFICAMOUNT.—The amount of the 2
16021	16021	allocation made to a State under the Program for a fiscal 3
16022	16022	year shall be equal to the product of— 4
16023	16023	(1) the Congressional district allocation amount 5
16024	16024	(determined under subsection (b)); and 6
16025	16025	(2) the number of Congressional districts in the 7
16026	16026	State for the next regularly scheduled general elec-8
16027	16027	tion for Federal office held in the State. 9
16028	16028	(b) C
16029	16029	ONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTALLOCATION 10
16030	16030	A
16031	16031	MOUNT.—For purposes of subsection (a), the ‘‘Congres-11
16032	16032	sional district allocation amount’’ with respect to a fiscal 12
16033	16033	year is equal to the quotient of— 13
16034	16034	(1) the aggregate amount available for alloca-14
16035	16035	tions to States under the Program for the fiscal 15
16036	16036	year, as determined by the Director under sub-16
16037	16037	section (c); divided by 17
16038	16038	(2) the total number of Congressional districts 18
16039	16039	in all States. 19
16040	16040	(c) D
16041	16041	ETERMINATION OF AGGREGATE AMOUNT 20
16042	16042	A
16043	16043	VAILABLE FOR ALLOCATIONS; NOTIFICATION TO 21
16044	16044	S
16045	16045	TATES.—Not later than 120 days before the first day 22
16046	16046	of each fiscal year, the Director— 23
16047	16047	(1) shall, in accordance with section 8012, de-24
16048	16048	termine and establish the aggregate amount avail-25
16049	16049	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00530 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16050	16050	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 531
16051	16051	•S 1 IS
16052	16052	able for allocations to States under the Program for 1
16053	16053	the fiscal year; and 2
16054	16054	(2) shall notify each State of the amount of the 3
16055	16055	State’s allocation under the Program for the fiscal 4
16056	16056	year. 5
16057	16057	(d) S
16058	16058	OURCE OFPAYMENTS.—The amounts used to 6
16059	16059	make allocations and payments under the Program shall 7
16060	16060	be derived solely from the Trust Fund. 8
16061	16061	SEC. 8005. PROCEDURES FOR DISBURSEMENTS OF PAY-9
16062	16062	MENTS AND ALLOCATIONS. 10
16063	16063	(a) D
16064	16064	IRECTPAYMENTS TOSTATES FORCERTAINAC-11
16065	16065	TIVITIESUNDERSTATEPLAN.— 12
16066	16066	(1) D
16067	16067	IRECT PAYMENT.—If the approved State 13
16068	16068	plan of a State includes activities for which alloca-14
16069	16069	tions are not made under subsections (b), (c), or (d), 15
16070	16070	upon approving the State plan under section 8002, 16
16071	16071	the Director shall direct the Secretary of the Treas-17
16072	16072	ury to disburse amounts from the Trust Fund for 18
16073	16073	payment to the State in the aggregate amount pro-19
16074	16074	vided under the plan for such activities. 20
16075	16075	(2) T
16076	16076	IMING.—As soon as practicable after the 21
16077	16077	Director directs the Secretary of the Treasury to 22
16078	16078	disburse amounts for payment to a State under 23
16079	16079	paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury shall 24
16080	16080	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00531 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16081	16081	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 532
16082	16082	•S 1 IS
16083	16083	make the payment to the State under such para-1
16084	16084	graph. 2
16085	16085	(3) C
16086	16086	ONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS 3
16087	16087	AFTER APPROPRIATION .—A payment made to a 4
16088	16088	State under this subsection shall be available with-5
16089	16089	out fiscal year limitation. 6
16090	16090	(b) A
16091	16091	LLOCATION TOELECTIONASSISTANCECOMMIS-7
16092	16092	SION FORPAYMENTS TOSTATES FORCERTAINELECTION 8
16093	16093	A
16094	16094	DMINISTRATIONACTIVITIES.— 9
16095	16095	(1) A
16096	16096	LLOCATION.—If the approved State plan 10
16097	16097	of a State includes activities described in section 11
16098	16098	8001(b)(1), upon approving the State plan under 12
16099	16099	section 8002, the Director shall direct the Secretary 13
16100	16100	of the Treasury to allocate to the Election Assist-14
16101	16101	ance Commission the amount provided for such ac-15
16102	16102	tivities under the plan. 16
16103	16103	(2) P
16104	16104	AYMENT TO STATE .—As soon as prac-17
16105	16105	ticable after receiving an allocation under paragraph 18
16106	16106	(1) with respect to a State, the Election Assistance 19
16107	16107	Commission shall make a payment to the State in 20
16108	16108	the amount of the State’s allocation. 21
16109	16109	(3) C
16110	16110	ONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS 22
16111	16111	AFTER APPROPRIATION .—A payment made to a 23
16112	16112	State by the Election Assistance Commission under 24
16113	16113	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00532 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16114	16114	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 533
16115	16115	•S 1 IS
16116	16116	this subsection shall be available without fiscal year 1
16117	16117	limitation. 2
16118	16118	(c) A
16119	16119	LLOCATION TOFEDERALELECTIONCOMMIS-3
16120	16120	SION FORPAYMENTS TO PARTICIPATINGCANDIDATES 4
16121	16121	F
16122	16122	ROMSTATE.—If the approved State plan of a State in-5
16123	16123	cludes activities described in section 8001(b)(2)(A), relat-6
16124	16124	ing to payments to participating candidates in the State 7
16125	16125	under title V of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 8
16126	16126	1971, upon approving the State plan under section 8002, 9
16127	16127	the Director shall direct the Secretary of the Treasury to 10
16128	16128	allocate to the Federal Election Commission the amount 11
16129	16129	provided for such activities under the plan. 12
16130	16130	(d) A
16131	16131	LLOCATION TOFEDERALELECTIONCOMMIS-13
16132	16132	SION FORPAYMENTS FOR DEMOCRACYCREDITPRO-14
16133	16133	GRAM.—If the approved State plan of a State includes ac-15
16134	16134	tivities described in section 8001(b)(2)(B), relating to pay-16
16135	16135	ments to the State for the operation of a Democracy Cred-17
16136	16136	it Program under part 1 of subtitle B, upon approving 18
16137	16137	the State plan under section 8002, the Director shall di-19
16138	16138	rect the Secretary of the Treasury to allocate to the Fed-20
16139	16139	eral Election Commission the amount provided for such 21
16140	16140	activities under the plan. 22
16141	16141	(e) C
16142	16142	ERTAINPAYMENTSMADEDIRECTLY TOLOCAL 23
16143	16143	E
16144	16144	LECTIONADMINISTRATORS.—Under rules established by 24
16145	16145	the Director not later than 270 days after the date of the 25
16146	16146	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00533 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16147	16147	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 534
16148	16148	•S 1 IS
16149	16149	enactment of this Act, portions of amounts disbursed to 1
16150	16150	States by the Secretary of the Treasury under subsection 2
16151	16151	(a) and payments made to States by the Election Assist-3
16152	16152	ance Commission under subsection (b) may be provided 4
16153	16153	directly to local election administrators carrying out activi-5
16154	16154	ties in the State plan which may be carried out with such 6
16155	16155	amounts and payments. 7
16156	16156	SEC. 8006. OFFICE OF DEMOCRACY ADVANCEMENT AND IN-8
16157	16157	NOVATION. 9
16158	16158	(a) E
16159	16159	STABLISHMENT.—There is established as an 10
16160	16160	independent establishment in the executive branch the Of-11
16161	16161	fice of Democracy Advancement and Innovation. 12
16162	16162	(b) D
16163	16163	IRECTOR.— 13
16164	16164	(1) I
16165	16165	N GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 14
16166	16166	by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Presi-15
16167	16167	dent with the advice and consent of the Senate. 16
16168	16168	(2) T
16169	16169	ERM OF SERVICE .—The Director shall 17
16170	16170	serve for a term of 6 years and may be reappointed 18
16171	16171	to an additional term, and may continue serving as 19
16172	16172	Director until a replacement is appointed. A vacancy 20
16173	16173	in the position of Director shall be filled in the same 21
16174	16174	manner as the original appointment. 22
16175	16175	(3) C
16176	16176	OMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 23
16177	16177	paid at an annual rate of pay equal to the annual 24
16178	16178	rate in effect for level II of the Executive Schedule. 25
16179	16179	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00534 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16180	16180	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 535
16181	16181	•S 1 IS
16182	16182	(4) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 1
16183	16183	from office by the President. If the President re-2
16184	16184	moves the Director, the President shall communicate 3
16185	16185	in writing the reasons for the removal to both 4
16186	16186	Houses of Congress not later than 30 days before-5
16187	16187	hand. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 6
16188	16188	to prohibit a personnel action otherwise authorized 7
16189	16189	by law. 8
16190	16190	(c) G
16191	16191	ENERALCOUNSEL ANDOTHERSTAFF.— 9
16192	16192	(1) G
16193	16193	ENERAL COUNSEL .—The Director shall 10
16194	16194	appoint a general counsel who shall be paid at an 11
16195	16195	annual rate of pay equal to the annual rate in effect 12
16196	16196	for level III of the Executive Schedule. In the event 13
16197	16197	of a vacancy in the position of the Director, the 14
16198	16198	General Counsel shall exercise all the responsibilities 15
16199	16199	of the Director until such vacancy is filled. 16
16200	16200	(2) S
16201	16201	ENIOR STAFF.—The Director may appoint 17
16202	16202	and fix the pay of staff designated as Senior staff, 18
16203	16203	such as a Deputy Director, who may be paid at an 19
16204	16204	annual rate of pay equal to the annual rate in effect 20
16205	16205	for level IV of the Executive Schedule. 21
16206	16206	(3) O
16207	16207	THER STAFF.—In addition to the General 22
16208	16208	Counsel and Senior staff, the Director may appoint 23
16209	16209	and fix the pay of such other staff as the Director 24
16210	16210	considers necessary to carry out the duties of the 25
16211	16211	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00535 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16212	16212	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 536
16213	16213	•S 1 IS
16214	16214	Office, except that no such staff may be com-1
16215	16215	pensated at an annual rate exceeding the daily 2
16216	16216	equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect 3
16217	16217	for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule. 4
16218	16218	(d) D
16219	16219	UTIES.—The duties of the Office are as follows: 5
16220	16220	(1) A
16221	16221	DMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM .—The Di-6
16222	16222	rector shall administer the Program, in consultation 7
16223	16223	with the Election Assistance Commission and the 8
16224	16224	Federal Election Commission, including by holding 9
16225	16225	quarterly meetings of representatives from such 10
16226	16226	Commissions. 11
16227	16227	(2) O
16228	16228	VERSIGHT OF TRUST FUND .—The Direc-12
16229	16229	tor shall oversee the operation of the Trust Fund 13
16230	16230	and monitor its balances, in consultation with the 14
16231	16231	Secretary of the Treasury. The Director may hold 15
16232	16232	funds in reserve to cover the expenses of the Office 16
16233	16233	and to preserve the solvency of the Trust Fund. 17
16234	16234	(3) R
16235	16235	EPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after 18
16236	16236	the date of the regularly scheduled general election 19
16237	16237	for Federal office held in 2026 and each succeeding 20
16238	16238	regularly scheduled general election for Federal of-21
16239	16239	fice thereafter, the Director shall submit to the 22
16240	16240	Committee on House Administration of the House of 23
16241	16241	Representatives and the Committee on Rules and 24
16242	16242	Administration of the Senate a report on the activi-25
16243	16243	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00536 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16244	16244	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 537
16245	16245	•S 1 IS
16246	16246	ties carried out under the Program and the amounts 1
16247	16247	deposited into and paid from the Trust Fund during 2
16248	16248	the two most recent fiscal years. 3
16249	16249	(e) C
16250	16250	OVERAGEUNDERINSPECTORGENERALACT OF 4
16251	16251	1978
16252	16252	FORCONDUCTINGAUDITS ANDINVESTIGATIONS.— 5
16253	16253	(1) I
16254	16254	N GENERAL.—Section 415(a)(1)(A) of title 6
16255	16255	5, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘the 7
16256	16256	Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation,’’ 8
16257	16257	after ‘‘Election Assistance Commission,’’. 9
16258	16258	(2) E
16259	16259	FFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 10
16260	16260	by paragraph (1) shall take effect 180 days after the 11
16261	16261	appointment of the Director. 12
16262	16262	(f) C
16263	16263	OVERAGEUNDERHATCHACT.—Clause (i) of 13
16264	16264	section 7323(b)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is 14
16265	16265	amended— 15
16266	16266	(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause 16
16267	16267	(XIII); and 17
16268	16268	(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-18
16269	16269	clause: 19
16270	16270	‘‘(XV) the Office of Democracy Advance-20
16271	16271	ment and Innovation; or’’. 21
16272	16272	(g) R
16273	16273	EGULATIONS.— 22
16274	16274	(1) I
16275	16275	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-23
16276	16276	graph (2), not later than 270 days after the date of 24
16277	16277	enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate 25
16278	16278	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00537 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16279	16279	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 538
16280	16280	•S 1 IS
16281	16281	such rules and regulations as the Director considers 1
16282	16282	necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties of 2
16283	16283	the Office under this Act and the amendments made 3
16284	16284	by this Act. 4
16285	16285	(2) S
16286	16286	TATE PLAN SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL 5
16287	16287	AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS .—Not later than 90 6
16288	16288	days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 7
16289	16289	Director shall promulgate such rules and regulations 8
16290	16290	as the Director considers necessary and appropriate 9
16291	16291	to carry out the requirements of this part and the 10
16292	16292	amendments made by this part. 11
16293	16293	(3) C
16294	16294	OMMENTS BY THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE 12
16295	16295	COMMISSION AND THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMIS -13
16296	16296	SION.—The Election Assistance Commission and the 14
16297	16297	Federal Election Assistance shall timely submit com-15
16298	16298	ments with respect to any proposed regulations pro-16
16299	16299	mulgated by the Director under this subsection. 17
16300	16300	(h) I
16301	16301	NTERIMAUTHORITYPENDINGAPPOINTMENT 18
16302	16302	ANDCONFIRMATION OFDIRECTOR.— 19
16303	16303	(1) A
16304	16304	UTHORITY OF DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF 20
16305	16305	MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET .—Notwithstanding sub-21
16306	16306	section (b), during the transition period, the Direc-22
16307	16307	tor of the Office of Management and Budget is au-23
16308	16308	thorized to perform the functions of the Office under 24
16309	16309	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00538 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16310	16310	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 539
16311	16311	•S 1 IS
16312	16312	this title, and shall act for all purposes as, and with 1
16313	16313	the full powers of, the Director. 2
16314	16314	(2) I
16315	16315	NTERIM ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES .— 3
16316	16316	(A) A
16317	16317	UTHORITY OF OFFICE OF MANAGE -4
16318	16318	MENT AND BUDGET .—During the transition pe-5
16319	16319	riod, the Director of the Office of Management 6
16320	16320	and Budget may provide administrative services 7
16321	16321	necessary to support the Office. 8
16322	16322	(B) T
16323	16323	ERMINATION OF AUTHORITY ; PER-9
16324	16324	MITTING EXTENSION.—The Director of the Of-10
16325	16325	fice of Management and Budget shall cease pro-11
16326	16326	viding interim administrative services under this 12
16327	16327	paragraph upon the expiration of the transition 13
16328	16328	period, except that the Director of the Office of 14
16329	16329	Management and Budget may continue to pro-15
16330	16330	vide such services after the expiration of the 16
16331	16331	transition period if the Director and the Direc-17
16332	16332	tor of the Office of Management and Budget 18
16333	16333	jointly transmit to the Committee on House Ad-19
16334	16334	ministration of the House of Representatives 20
16335	16335	and the Committee on Rules and Administra-21
16336	16336	tion of the Senate— 22
16337	16337	(i) a written determination that an or-23
16338	16338	derly implementation of this title is not 24
16339	16339	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00539 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16340	16340	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 540
16341	16341	•S 1 IS
16342	16342	feasible by the expiration of the transition 1
16343	16343	period; 2
16344	16344	(ii) an explanation of why an exten-3
16345	16345	sion is necessary for the orderly implemen-4
16346	16346	tation of this title; 5
16347	16347	(iii) a description of the period during 6
16348	16348	which the Director of the Office of Man-7
16349	16349	agement and Budget shall continue pro-8
16350	16350	viding services under the authority of this 9
16351	16351	subparagraph; and 10
16352	16352	(iv) a description of the steps that will 11
16353	16353	be taken to ensure an orderly and timely 12
16354	16354	implementation of this title during the pe-13
16355	16355	riod described in clause (iii). 14
16356	16356	(3) T
16357	16357	RANSITION PERIOD DEFINED .—In this 15
16358	16358	subsection, the ‘‘transition period’’ is the period 16
16359	16359	which begins on the date of the enactment of this 17
16360	16360	Act and ends on the date on which the Director is 18
16361	16361	appointed and confirmed. 19
16362	16362	(4) L
16363	16363	IMIT ON LENGTH OF PERIOD OF INTERIM 20
16364	16364	AUTHORITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision 21
16365	16365	of this subsection, the Director of the Office of Man-22
16366	16366	agement and Budget may not exercise any authority 23
16367	16367	under this subsection after the expiration of the 24- 24
16368	16368	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00540 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16369	16369	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 541
16370	16370	•S 1 IS
16371	16371	month period which begins on the date of the enact-1
16372	16372	ment of this Act. 2
16373	16373	(i) A
16374	16374	UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 3
16375	16375	are authorized to be appropriated from the Trust Fund 4
16376	16376	such sums as may be necessary to carry out the activities 5
16377	16377	of the Office for fiscal year 2025 and each succeeding fis-6
16378	16378	cal year. 7
16379	16379	PART 2—STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND 8
16380	16380	INNOVATION TRUST FUND 9
16381	16381	SEC. 8011. STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND INNOVATION 10
16382	16382	TRUST FUND. 11
16383	16383	(a) E
16384	16384	STABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 12
16385	16385	Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘‘State Election As-13
16386	16386	sistance and Innovation Trust Fund’’. 14
16387	16387	(b) S
16388	16388	ENSE OF THESENATEREGARDINGFUNDING.— 15
16389	16389	It is the sense of the Senate that— 16
16390	16390	(1) no taxpayer funds should be used in fund-17
16391	16391	ing this title; and 18
16392	16392	(2) the Trust Fund should consist of— 19
16393	16393	(A) assessments against certain fines, pen-20
16394	16394	alties, and settlements as a result of corporate 21
16395	16395	malfeasance; and 22
16396	16396	(B) any gifts or bequests for deposit into 23
16397	16397	the Trust Fund. 24
16398	16398	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00541 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16399	16399	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 542
16400	16400	•S 1 IS
16401	16401	SEC. 8012. USES OF FUND. 1
16402	16402	(a) P
16403	16403	AYMENTS ANDALLOCATIONSDESCRIBED.—For 2
16404	16404	each fiscal year, amounts in the Fund shall be used as 3
16405	16405	follows: 4
16406	16406	(1) Payments to States under the Program, as 5
16407	16407	described in section 8005(a). 6
16408	16408	(2) Allocations to the Election Assistance Com-7
16409	16409	mission, to be used for payments for certain election 8
16410	16410	administration activities, as described in section 9
16411	16411	8005(b). 10
16412	16412	(3) Allocations to the Federal Election Commis-11
16413	16413	sion, to be used for payments to participating can-12
16414	16414	didates under title V of the Federal Election Cam-13
16415	16415	paign Act of 1971, as described in section 8005(c). 14
16416	16416	(4) Allocations to the Federal Election Commis-15
16417	16417	sion, to be used for payments to States operating a 16
16418	16418	Democracy Credit Program under part 1 of subtitle 17
16419	16419	B, as described in section 8005(d). 18
16420	16420	(b) D
16421	16421	ETERMINATION OF AGGREGATEAMOUNT OF 19
16422	16422	S
16423	16423	TATEALLOCATIONS.—The Director shall determine and 20
16424	16424	establish the aggregate amount of State allocations for 21
16425	16425	each fiscal year, taking into account the anticipated bal-22
16426	16426	ances of the Trust Fund. In carrying out this subsection, 23
16427	16427	the Director shall consult with the Federal Election Com-24
16428	16428	mission and the Election Assistance Commission, but shall 25
16429	16429	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00542 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16430	16430	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 543
16431	16431	•S 1 IS
16432	16432	be solely responsible for making the final determinations 1
16433	16433	under this subsection. 2
16434	16434	PART 3—GENERAL PROVISIONS 3
16435	16435	SEC. 8021. DEFINITIONS. 4
16436	16436	In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: 5
16437	16437	(1) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ has 6
16438	16438	the meaning given such term in section 253(e) of the 7
16439	16439	Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 8
16440	16440	21003(e)). 9
16441	16441	(2) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 10
16442	16442	the Office. 11
16443	16443	(3) The term ‘‘election cycle’’ means the period 12
16444	16444	beginning on the day after the date of the most re-13
16445	16445	cent regularly scheduled general election for Federal 14
16446	16446	office and ending on the date of the next regularly 15
16447	16447	scheduled general election for Federal office. 16
16448	16448	(4) The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ includes— 17
16449	16449	(A) Indian country, as defined under sec-18
16450	16450	tion 1151 of title 18, United States Code; 19
16451	16451	(B) any land in Alaska owned, pursuant to 20
16452	16452	the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 21
16453	16453	U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), by an Indian Tribe that 22
16454	16454	is a Native village (as defined in section 3 of 23
16455	16455	that Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) or by a Village Cor-24
16456	16456	poration that is associated with an Indian Tribe 25
16457	16457	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00543 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16458	16458	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 544
16459	16459	•S 1 IS
16460	16460	(as defined in section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 1
16461	16461	1602)); 2
16462	16462	(C) any land on which the seat of the Trib-3
16463	16463	al government is located; and 4
16464	16464	(D) any land that is part or all of a Tribal 5
16465	16465	designated statistical area associated with an 6
16466	16466	Indian Tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na-7
16467	16467	tive village statistical area associated with an 8
16468	16468	Indian Tribe, as defined by the Census Bureau 9
16469	16469	for the purposes of the most recent decennial 10
16470	16470	census. 11
16471	16471	(5) The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of De-12
16472	16472	mocracy Advancement and Innovation established 13
16473	16473	under section 8005. 14
16474	16474	(6) The term ‘‘Program’’ means the Democracy 15
16475	16475	Advancement and Innovation Program established 16
16476	16476	under section 8001. 17
16477	16477	(7) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 18
16478	16478	States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 19
16479	16479	of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 20
16480	16480	States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 21
16481	16481	Northern Mariana Islands. 22
16482	16482	(8) The term ‘‘Trust Fund’’ means the State 23
16483	16483	Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund es-24
16484	16484	tablished under section 8011. 25
16485	16485	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00544 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16486	16486	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 545
16487	16487	•S 1 IS
16488	16488	SEC. 8022. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING CALCULA-1
16489	16489	TION OF DEADLINES. 2
16490	16490	(a) I
16491	16491	NGENERAL.—With respect to the calculation of 3
16492	16492	any period of time for the purposes of a deadline in this 4
16493	16493	subtitle, the last day of the period shall be included in 5
16494	16494	such calculation, unless such day is a Saturday, a Sunday, 6
16495	16495	or a legal public holiday, in which case the period of such 7
16496	16496	deadline shall be extended until the end of the next day 8
16497	16497	which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, a legal public holiday. 9
16498	16498	(b) L
16499	16499	EGALPUBLICHOLIDAYDEFINED.—For the 10
16500	16500	purposes of this section, the term ‘‘legal public holiday’’ 11
16501	16501	means a day described in section 6103(a) of title 5, United 12
16502	16502	States Code. 13
16503	16503	Subtitle B—Elections for House of 14
16504	16504	Representatives 15
16505	16505	SEC. 8101. SHORT TITLE. 16
16506	16506	This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Government By 17
16507	16507	the People Act of 2023’’. 18
16508	16508	PART 1—OPTIONAL DEMOCRACY CREDIT 19
16509	16509	PROGRAM 20
16510	16510	SEC. 8102. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM. 21
16511	16511	(a) E
16512	16512	STABLISHMENT.—The Federal Election Com-22
16513	16513	mission (hereafter in this part referred to as the ‘‘Commis-23
16514	16514	sion’’) shall establish a program under which the Commis-24
16515	16515	sion shall make payments to States to operate a credit 25
16516	16516	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00545 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16517	16517	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 546
16518	16518	•S 1 IS
16519	16519	program which is described in section 8103 during an elec-1
16520	16520	tion cycle. 2
16521	16521	(b) R
16522	16522	EQUIREMENTS FOR PROGRAM.—A State is eligi-3
16523	16523	ble to operate a credit program under this part with re-4
16524	16524	spect to an election cycle if, not later than 120 days before 5
16525	16525	the cycle begins, the State submits to the Commission a 6
16526	16526	statement containing— 7
16527	16527	(1) information and assurances that the State 8
16528	16528	will operate a credit program which contains the ele-9
16529	16529	ments described in section 8103(a); 10
16530	16530	(2) information and assurances that the State 11
16531	16531	will establish fraud prevention mechanisms described 12
16532	16532	in section 8103(b); 13
16533	16533	(3) information and assurances that the State 14
16534	16534	will establish a commission to oversee and implement 15
16535	16535	the program as described in section 8103(c); 16
16536	16536	(4) information and assurances that the State 17
16537	16537	will carry out a public information campaign as de-18
16538	16538	scribed in section 8103(d); 19
16539	16539	(5) information and assurances that the State 20
16540	16540	will submit reports as required under section 8104; 21
16541	16541	(6) information and assurances that, not later 22
16542	16542	than 60 days before the beginning of the cycle, the 23
16543	16543	State will complete any actions necessary to operate 24
16544	16544	the program during the cycle; and 25
16545	16545	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00546 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16546	16546	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 547
16547	16547	•S 1 IS
16548	16548	(7) such other information and assurances as 1
16549	16549	the Commission may require. 2
16550	16550	(c) R
16551	16551	EIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.— 3
16552	16552	(1) R
16553	16553	EIMBURSEMENT.—Upon receiving the re-4
16554	16554	port submitted by a State under section 8104(a) 5
16555	16555	with respect to an election cycle, the Commission 6
16556	16556	shall transmit a payment to the State in an amount 7
16557	16557	equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the State 8
16558	16558	in operating the credit program under this part dur-9
16559	16559	ing the cycle. 10
16560	16560	(2) S
16561	16561	OURCE OF FUNDS.—Payments to a State 11
16562	16562	under the program shall be made using amounts al-12
16563	16563	located to the Commission for purposes of making 13
16564	16564	payments under this part with respect to the State 14
16565	16565	from the State Election Assistance and Innovation 15
16566	16566	Trust Fund (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Fund’’) 16
16567	16567	under section 8012, in the amount allocated with re-17
16568	16568	spect to the State under section 8005(d). 18
16569	16569	(3) C
16570	16570	AP ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT .—The aggre-19
16571	16571	gate amount of payments made to any State with re-20
16572	16572	spect to two consecutive election cycles period may 21
16573	16573	not exceed $10,000,000. If the State determines 22
16574	16574	that the maximum payment amount under this para-23
16575	16575	graph with respect to such cycles is not, or may not 24
16576	16576	be, sufficient to cover the reasonable costs incurred 25
16577	16577	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00547 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16578	16578	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 548
16579	16579	•S 1 IS
16580	16580	by the State in operating the program under this 1
16581	16581	part for such cycles, the State shall reduce the 2
16582	16582	amount of the credit provided to each qualified indi-3
16583	16583	vidual by such pro rata amount as may be necessary 4
16584	16584	to ensure that the reasonable costs incurred by the 5
16585	16585	State in operating the program will not exceed the 6
16586	16586	amount paid to the State with respect to such cycles. 7
16587	16587	(d) C
16588	16588	ONTINUINGAVAILABILITY OFFUNDSAFTER 8
16589	16589	A
16590	16590	PPROPRIATION.—A payment made to a State under this 9
16591	16591	part shall be available without fiscal year limitation. 10
16592	16592	SEC. 8103. CREDIT PROGRAM DESCRIBED. 11
16593	16593	(a) G
16594	16594	ENERALELEMENTS OFPROGRAM.— 12
16595	16595	(1) E
16596	16596	LEMENTS DESCRIBED .—The elements of a 13
16597	16597	credit program operated by a State under this part 14
16598	16598	are as follows: 15
16599	16599	(A) The State shall provide each qualified 16
16600	16600	individual upon the individual’s request with a 17
16601	16601	credit worth $25 to be known as a ‘‘Democracy 18
16602	16602	Credit’’ during the election cycle which will be 19
16603	16603	assigned a routing number and which at the op-20
16604	16604	tion of the individual will be provided in either 21
16605	16605	paper or electronic form. 22
16606	16606	(B) Using the routing number assigned to 23
16607	16607	the Democracy Credit, the individual may sub-24
16608	16608	mit the Democracy Credit in either electronic or 25
16609	16609	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00548 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16610	16610	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 549
16611	16611	•S 1 IS
16612	16612	paper form to qualified candidates for election 1
16613	16613	for the office of Representative in, or Delegate 2
16614	16614	or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress and 3
16615	16615	allocate such portion of the value of the Democ-4
16616	16616	racy Credit in increments of $5 as the indi-5
16617	16617	vidual may select to any such candidate. 6
16618	16618	(C) If the candidate transmits the Democ-7
16619	16619	racy Credit to the Commission, the Commission 8
16620	16620	shall pay the candidate the portion of the value 9
16621	16621	of the Democracy Credit that the individual al-10
16622	16622	located to the candidate, which shall be consid-11
16623	16623	ered a contribution by the individual to the can-12
16624	16624	didate for purposes of the Federal Election 13
16625	16625	Campaign Act of 1971. 14
16626	16626	(2) D
16627	16627	ESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED INDIVID -15
16628	16628	UALS.—For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), a ‘‘quali-16
16629	16629	fied individual’’ with respect to a State means an in-17
16630	16630	dividual— 18
16631	16631	(A) who is a resident of the State; 19
16632	16632	(B) who will be of voting age as of the 20
16633	16633	date of the election for the candidate to whom 21
16634	16634	the individual submits a Democracy Credit; and 22
16635	16635	(C) who is not prohibited under Federal 23
16636	16636	law from making contributions to candidates 24
16637	16637	for election for Federal office. 25
16638	16638	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00549 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16639	16639	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 550
16640	16640	•S 1 IS
16641	16641	(3) TREATMENT AS CONTRIBUTION TO CAN -1
16642	16642	DIDATE.—For purposes of the Federal Election 2
16643	16643	Campaign Act of 1971, the submission of a Democ-3
16644	16644	racy Credit to a candidate by an individual shall be 4
16645	16645	treated as a contribution to the candidate by the in-5
16646	16646	dividual in the amount of the portion of the value 6
16647	16647	of the Credit that the individual allocated to the can-7
16648	16648	didate. 8
16649	16649	(b) F
16650	16650	RAUDPREVENTIONMECHANISM.—In addition 9
16651	16651	to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper-10
16652	16652	ating a credit program under this part shall permit an 11
16653	16653	individual to revoke a Democracy Credit not later than 12
16654	16654	2 days after submitting the Democracy Credit to a can-13
16655	16655	didate. 14
16656	16656	(c) O
16657	16657	VERSIGHTCOMMISSION.—In addition to the ele-15
16658	16658	ments described in subsection (a), a State operating a 16
16659	16659	credit program under this part shall establish a commis-17
16660	16660	sion or designate an existing entity to oversee and imple-18
16661	16661	ment the program in the State, except that no such com-19
16662	16662	mission or entity may be comprised of elected officials. 20
16663	16663	(d) P
16664	16664	UBLICINFORMATIONCAMPAIGN.—In addition 21
16665	16665	to the elements described in subsection (a), a State oper-22
16666	16666	ating a credit program under this part shall carry out a 23
16667	16667	public information campaign to disseminate awareness of 24
16668	16668	the program among qualified individuals. 25
16669	16669	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00550 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16670	16670	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 551
16671	16671	•S 1 IS
16672	16672	(e) NOTAXPAYERFUNDSPERMITTEDTOCARRY 1
16673	16673	O
16674	16674	UTPROGRAM.—No taxpayer funds shall be used to carry 2
16675	16675	out the credit program under this part. For purposes of 3
16676	16676	this subsection, the term ‘‘taxpayer funds’’ means reve-4
16677	16677	nues received by the Internal Revenue Service from tax 5
16678	16678	liabilities. 6
16679	16679	SEC. 8104. REPORTS. 7
16680	16680	(a) S
16681	16681	TATEREPORTS.—Not later than 6 months after 8
16682	16682	each first election cycle during which the State operates 9
16683	16683	a program under this part, the State shall submit to the 10
16684	16684	Commission and the Office of Democracy Advancement 11
16685	16685	and Innovation a report analyzing the operation and effec-12
16686	16686	tiveness of the program during the cycle and including 13
16687	16687	such other information as the Commission may require. 14
16688	16688	(b) S
16689	16689	TUDY ANDREPORT ONIMPACT ANDEFFEC-15
16690	16690	TIVENESS OFCREDITPROGRAMS.— 16
16691	16691	(1) S
16692	16692	TUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a 17
16693	16693	study on the efficacy of political credit programs, in-18
16694	16694	cluding the program under this part and other simi-19
16695	16695	lar programs, in expanding and diversifying the pool 20
16696	16696	of individuals who participate in the electoral proc-21
16697	16697	ess, including those who participate as donors and 22
16698	16698	those who participate as candidates. 23
16699	16699	(2) R
16700	16700	EPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 24
16701	16701	first election cycle for which States operate the pro-25
16702	16702	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00551 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16703	16703	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 552
16704	16704	•S 1 IS
16705	16705	gram under this part, the Commission shall publish 1
16706	16706	and submit to Congress a report on the study con-2
16707	16707	ducted under paragraph (1). 3
16708	16708	SEC. 8105. ELECTION CYCLE DEFINED. 4
16709	16709	In this part, the term ‘‘election cycle’’ means the pe-5
16710	16710	riod beginning on the day after the date of the most recent 6
16711	16711	regularly scheduled general election for Federal office and 7
16712	16712	ending on the date of the next regularly scheduled general 8
16713	16713	election for Federal office. 9
16714	16714	PART 2—OPTIONAL SMALL DOLLAR FINANCING 10
16715	16715	OF ELECTIONS FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-11
16716	16716	TIVES 12
16717	16717	SEC. 8111. BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 13
16718	16718	FOR CANDIDATES. 14
16719	16719	The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 15
16720	16720	U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 16
16721	16721	the following: 17
16722	16722	‘‘TITLE V—SMALL DOLLAR FI-18
16723	16723	NANCING OF ELECTIONS FOR 19
16724	16724	HOUSE OF REPRESENTA-20
16725	16725	TIVES 21
16726	16726	‘‘Subtitle A—Benefits 22
16727	16727	‘‘SEC. 501. BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES. 23
16728	16728	‘‘(a) I
16729	16729	NGENERAL.—If a candidate for election to the 24
16730	16730	office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-25
16731	16731	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00552 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16732	16732	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 553
16733	16733	•S 1 IS
16734	16734	missioner to, the Congress is certified as a participating 1
16735	16735	candidate under this title with respect to an election for 2
16736	16736	such office, the candidate shall be entitled to payments 3
16737	16737	as provided under this title. 4
16738	16738	‘‘(b) A
16739	16739	MOUNT OFPAYMENT.—The amount of a pay-5
16740	16740	ment made under this title shall be equal to 600 percent 6
16741	16741	of the amount of qualified small dollar contributions re-7
16742	16742	ceived by the candidate since the most recent payment 8
16743	16743	made to the candidate under this title during the election 9
16744	16744	cycle, without regard to whether or not the candidate re-10
16745	16745	ceived any of the contributions before, during, or after the 11
16746	16746	Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period applicable to 12
16747	16747	the candidate under section 511(c). 13
16748	16748	‘‘(c) L
16749	16749	IMIT ONAGGREGATE AMOUNT OF PAY-14
16750	16750	MENTS.—The aggregate amount of payments made to a 15
16751	16751	participating candidate with respect to an election cycle 16
16752	16752	under this title may not exceed 50 percent of the average 17
16753	16753	of the 20 greatest amounts of disbursements made by the 18
16754	16754	authorized committees of any winning candidate for the 19
16755	16755	office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-20
16756	16756	missioner to, the Congress during the most recent election 21
16757	16757	cycle, rounded to the nearest $100,000. 22
16758	16758	‘‘(d) N
16759	16759	OTAXPAYERFUNDSPERMITTED.—No tax-23
16760	16760	payer funds shall be used to make payments under this 24
16761	16761	title. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘taxpayer 25
16762	16762	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00553 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16763	16763	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 554
16764	16764	•S 1 IS
16765	16765	funds’ means revenues received by the Internal Revenue 1
16766	16766	Service from tax liabilities. 2
16767	16767	‘‘SEC. 502. PROCEDURES FOR MAKING PAYMENTS. 3
16768	16768	‘‘(a) I
16769	16769	NGENERAL.—The Division Director shall 4
16770	16770	make a payment under section 501 to a candidate who 5
16771	16771	is certified as a participating candidate upon receipt from 6
16772	16772	the candidate of a request for a payment which includes— 7
16773	16773	‘‘(1) a statement of the number and amount of 8
16774	16774	qualified small dollar contributions received by the 9
16775	16775	candidate since the most recent payment made to 10
16776	16776	the candidate under this title during the election 11
16777	16777	cycle; 12
16778	16778	‘‘(2) a statement of the amount of the payment 13
16779	16779	the candidate anticipates receiving with respect to 14
16780	16780	the request; 15
16781	16781	‘‘(3) a statement of the total amount of pay-16
16782	16782	ments the candidate has received under this title as 17
16783	16783	of the date of the statement; and 18
16784	16784	‘‘(4) such other information and assurances as 19
16785	16785	the Division Director may require. 20
16786	16786	‘‘(b) R
16787	16787	ESTRICTIONS ON SUBMISSION OF RE-21
16788	16788	QUESTS.—A candidate may not submit a request under 22
16789	16789	subsection (a) unless each of the following applies: 23
16790	16790	‘‘(1) The amount of the qualified small dollar 24
16791	16791	contributions in the statement referred to in sub-25
16792	16792	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00554 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16793	16793	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 555
16794	16794	•S 1 IS
16795	16795	section (a)(1) is equal to or greater than $5,000, un-1
16796	16796	less the request is submitted during the 30-day pe-2
16797	16797	riod which ends on the date of a general election. 3
16798	16798	‘‘(2) The candidate did not receive a payment 4
16799	16799	under this title during the 7-day period which ends 5
16800	16800	on the date the candidate submits the request. 6
16801	16801	‘‘(c) T
16802	16802	IME OFPAYMENT.—The Division Director 7
16803	16803	shall, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, 8
16804	16804	take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that the 9
16805	16805	Secretary is able to make payments under this section 10
16806	16806	from the Treasury not later than 2 business days after 11
16807	16807	the receipt of a request submitted under subsection (a). 12
16808	16808	‘‘SEC. 503. USE OF FUNDS. 13
16809	16809	‘‘(a) U
16810	16810	SE OFFUNDS FORAUTHORIZEDCAMPAIGN 14
16811	16811	E
16812	16812	XPENDITURES.—A candidate shall use payments made 15
16813	16813	under this title, including payments provided with respect 16
16814	16814	to a previous election cycle which are withheld from remit-17
16815	16815	tance to the Commission in accordance with section 18
16816	16816	524(a)(2), only for making direct payments for the receipt 19
16817	16817	of goods and services which constitute authorized expendi-20
16818	16818	tures (as determined in accordance with title III) in con-21
16819	16819	nection with the election cycle involved. 22
16820	16820	‘‘(b) P
16821	16821	ROHIBITINGUSE OFFUNDS FORLEGALEX-23
16822	16822	PENSES, FINES, ORPENALTIES.—Notwithstanding title 24
16823	16823	III, a candidate may not use payments made under this 25
16824	16824	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00555 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16825	16825	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 556
16826	16826	•S 1 IS
16827	16827	title for the payment of expenses incurred in connection 1
16828	16828	with any action, claim, or other matter before the Commis-2
16829	16829	sion or before any court, hearing officer, arbitrator, or 3
16830	16830	other dispute resolution entity, or for the payment of any 4
16831	16831	fine or civil monetary penalty. 5
16832	16832	‘‘SEC. 504. QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CONTRIBUTIONS DE-6
16833	16833	SCRIBED. 7
16834	16834	‘‘(a) I
16835	16835	NGENERAL.—In this title, the term ‘qualified 8
16836	16836	small dollar contribution’ means, with respect to a can-9
16837	16837	didate and the authorized committees of a candidate, a 10
16838	16838	contribution that meets the following requirements: 11
16839	16839	‘‘(1) The contribution is in an amount that is— 12
16840	16840	‘‘(A) not less than $1; and 13
16841	16841	‘‘(B) not more than $200. 14
16842	16842	‘‘(2)(A) The contribution is made directly by an 15
16843	16843	individual to the candidate or an authorized com-16
16844	16844	mittee of the candidate and is not— 17
16845	16845	‘‘(i) forwarded from the individual making 18
16846	16846	the contribution to the candidate or committee 19
16847	16847	by another person; or 20
16848	16848	‘‘(ii) received by the candidate or com-21
16849	16849	mittee with the knowledge that the contribution 22
16850	16850	was made at the request, suggestion, or rec-23
16851	16851	ommendation of another person. 24
16852	16852	‘‘(B) In this paragraph— 25
16853	16853	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00556 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16854	16854	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 557
16855	16855	•S 1 IS
16856	16856	‘‘(i) the term ‘person’ does not include an 1
16857	16857	individual (other than an individual described in 2
16858	16858	section 304(i)(7) of the Federal Election Cam-3
16859	16859	paign Act of 1971), a political committee of a 4
16860	16860	political party, or any political committee which 5
16861	16861	is not a separate segregated fund described in 6
16862	16862	section 316(b) of the Federal Election Cam-7
16863	16863	paign Act of 1971 and which does not make 8
16864	16864	contributions or independent expenditures, does 9
16865	16865	not engage in lobbying activity under the Lob-10
16866	16866	bying Disclosure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et 11
16867	16867	seq.), and is not established by, controlled by, 12
16868	16868	or affiliated with a registered lobbyist under 13
16869	16869	such Act, an agent of a registered lobbyist 14
16870	16870	under such Act, or an organization which re-15
16871	16871	tains or employs a registered lobbyist under 16
16872	16872	such Act; and 17
16873	16873	‘‘(ii) a contribution is not ‘made at the re-18
16874	16874	quest, suggestion, or recommendation of an-19
16875	16875	other person’ solely on the grounds that the 20
16876	16876	contribution is made in response to information 21
16877	16877	provided to the individual making the contribu-22
16878	16878	tion by any person, so long as the candidate or 23
16879	16879	authorized committee does not know the iden-24
16880	16880	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00557 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16881	16881	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 558
16882	16882	•S 1 IS
16883	16883	tity of the person who provided the information 1
16884	16884	to such individual. 2
16885	16885	‘‘(3) The individual who makes the contribution 3
16886	16886	does not make contributions to the candidate or the 4
16887	16887	authorized committees of the candidate with respect 5
16888	16888	to the election involved in an aggregate amount that 6
16889	16889	exceeds the amount described in paragraph (1)(B), 7
16890	16890	or any contribution to the candidate or the author-8
16891	16891	ized committees of the candidate with respect to the 9
16892	16892	election involved that otherwise is not a qualified 10
16893	16893	small dollar contribution. 11
16894	16894	‘‘(b) T
16895	16895	REATMENT OF DEMOCRACYCREDITS.—Any 12
16896	16896	payment received by a candidate and the authorized com-13
16897	16897	mittees of a candidate which consists of a Democracy 14
16898	16898	Credit under the Freedom to Vote Act shall be considered 15
16899	16899	a qualified small dollar contribution for purposes of this 16
16900	16900	title, so long as the individual making the payment meets 17
16901	16901	the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection 18
16902	16902	(a). 19
16903	16903	‘‘(c) R
16904	16904	ESTRICTION ON SUBSEQUENT CONTRIBU-20
16905	16905	TIONS.— 21
16906	16906	‘‘(1) P
16907	16907	ROHIBITING DONOR FROM MAKING SUB -22
16908	16908	SEQUENT NONQUALIFIED CONTRIBUTIONS DURING 23
16909	16909	ELECTION CYCLE.— 24
16910	16910	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00558 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16911	16911	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 559
16912	16912	•S 1 IS
16913	16913	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual who 1
16914	16914	makes a qualified small dollar contribution to a 2
16915	16915	candidate or the authorized committees of a 3
16916	16916	candidate with respect to an election may not 4
16917	16917	make any subsequent contribution to such can-5
16918	16918	didate or the authorized committees of such 6
16919	16919	candidate with respect to the election cycle 7
16920	16920	which is not a qualified small dollar contribu-8
16921	16921	tion. 9
16922	16922	‘‘(B) E
16923	16923	XCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO 10
16924	16924	CANDIDATES WHO VOLUNTARILY WITHDRAW 11
16925	16925	FROM PARTICIPATION DURING QUALIFYING PE -12
16926	16926	RIOD.—Subparagraph (A) does not apply with 13
16927	16927	respect to a contribution made to a candidate 14
16928	16928	who, during the Small Dollar Democracy quali-15
16929	16929	fying period described in section 511(c), sub-16
16930	16930	mits a statement to the Commission under sec-17
16931	16931	tion 513(c) to voluntarily withdraw from par-18
16932	16932	ticipating in the program under this title. 19
16933	16933	‘‘(2) T
16934	16934	REATMENT OF SUBSEQUENT NON -20
16935	16935	QUALIFIED CONTRIBUTIONS .—If, notwithstanding 21
16936	16936	the prohibition described in paragraph (1), an indi-22
16937	16937	vidual who makes a qualified small dollar contribu-23
16938	16938	tion to a candidate or the authorized committees of 24
16939	16939	a candidate with respect to an election makes a sub-25
16940	16940	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00559 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16941	16941	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 560
16942	16942	•S 1 IS
16943	16943	sequent contribution to such candidate or the au-1
16944	16944	thorized committees of such candidate with respect 2
16945	16945	to the election which is prohibited under paragraph 3
16946	16946	(1) because it is not a qualified small dollar con-4
16947	16947	tribution, the candidate may take one of the fol-5
16948	16948	lowing actions: 6
16949	16949	‘‘(A) Not later than 2 weeks after receiving 7
16950	16950	the contribution, the candidate may return the 8
16951	16951	subsequent contribution to the individual. In 9
16952	16952	the case of a subsequent contribution which is 10
16953	16953	not a qualified small dollar contribution because 11
16954	16954	the contribution fails to meet the requirements 12
16955	16955	of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) (relating to 13
16956	16956	the aggregate amount of contributions made to 14
16957	16957	the candidate or the authorized committees of 15
16958	16958	the candidate by the individual making the con-16
16959	16959	tribution), the candidate may return an amount 17
16960	16960	equal to the difference between the amount of 18
16961	16961	the subsequent contribution and the amount de-19
16962	16962	scribed in paragraph (1)(B) of subsection (a). 20
16963	16963	‘‘(B) The candidate may retain the subse-21
16964	16964	quent contribution, so long as not later than 2 22
16965	16965	weeks after receiving the subsequent contribu-23
16966	16966	tion, the candidate remits to the Commission an 24
16967	16967	amount equal to any payments received by the 25
16968	16968	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00560 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16969	16969	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 561
16970	16970	•S 1 IS
16971	16971	candidate under this title which are attributable 1
16972	16972	to the qualified small dollar contribution made 2
16973	16973	by the individual involved. Such amount shall 3
16974	16974	be used to supplement the allocation made to 4
16975	16975	the Commission with respect to candidates from 5
16976	16976	the State in which the candidate seeks office, as 6
16977	16977	described in section 541(a). 7
16978	16978	‘‘(3) N
16979	16979	O EFFECT ON ABILITY TO MAKE MUL -8
16980	16980	TIPLE CONTRIBUTIONS .—Nothing in this section 9
16981	16981	may be construed to prohibit an individual from 10
16982	16982	making multiple qualified small dollar contributions 11
16983	16983	to any candidate or any number of candidates, so 12
16984	16984	long as each contribution meets each of the require-13
16985	16985	ments of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection 14
16986	16986	(a). 15
16987	16987	‘‘(d) N
16988	16988	OTIFICATIONREQUIREMENTS FOR CAN-16
16989	16989	DIDATES.— 17
16990	16990	‘‘(1) N
16991	16991	OTIFICATION.—Each authorized com-18
16992	16992	mittee of a candidate who seeks to be a participating 19
16993	16993	candidate under this title shall provide the following 20
16994	16994	information in any materials for the solicitation of 21
16995	16995	contributions, including any internet site through 22
16996	16996	which individuals may make contributions to the 23
16997	16997	committee: 24
16998	16998	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00561 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
16999	16999	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 562
17000	17000	•S 1 IS
17001	17001	‘‘(A) A statement that if the candidate is 1
17002	17002	certified as a participating candidate under this 2
17003	17003	title, the candidate will receive matching pay-3
17004	17004	ments in an amount which is based on the total 4
17005	17005	amount of qualified small dollar contributions 5
17006	17006	received. 6
17007	17007	‘‘(B) A statement that a contribution 7
17008	17008	which meets the requirements set forth in sub-8
17009	17009	section (a) shall be treated as a qualified small 9
17010	17010	dollar contribution under this title. 10
17011	17011	‘‘(C) A statement that if a contribution is 11
17012	17012	treated as qualified small dollar contribution 12
17013	17013	under this title, the individual who makes the 13
17014	17014	contribution may not make any contribution to 14
17015	17015	the candidate or the authorized committees of 15
17016	17016	the candidate during the election cycle which is 16
17017	17017	not a qualified small dollar contribution. 17
17018	17018	‘‘(2) A
17019	17019	LTERNATIVE METHODS OF MEETING RE -18
17020	17020	QUIREMENTS.—An authorized committee may meet 19
17021	17021	the requirements of paragraph (1)— 20
17022	17022	‘‘(A) by including the information de-21
17023	17023	scribed in paragraph (1) in the receipt provided 22
17024	17024	under section 512(b)(3) to a person making a 23
17025	17025	qualified small dollar contribution; or 24
17026	17026	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00562 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17027	17027	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 563
17028	17028	•S 1 IS
17029	17029	‘‘(B) by modifying the information it pro-1
17030	17030	vides to persons making contributions which is 2
17031	17031	otherwise required under title III (including in-3
17032	17032	formation it provides through the internet). 4
17033	17033	‘‘Subtitle B—Eligibility and 5
17034	17034	Certification 6
17035	17035	‘‘SEC. 511. ELIGIBILITY. 7
17036	17036	‘‘(a) I
17037	17037	NGENERAL.—A candidate for the office of 8
17038	17038	Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 9
17039	17039	to, the Congress is eligible to be certified as a participating 10
17040	17040	candidate under this title with respect to an election if 11
17041	17041	the candidate meets the following requirements: 12
17042	17042	‘‘(1) The candidate files with the Commission a 13
17043	17043	statement of intent to seek certification as a partici-14
17044	17044	pating candidate. 15
17045	17045	‘‘(2) The candidate meets the qualifying re-16
17046	17046	quirements of section 512. 17
17047	17047	‘‘(3) The candidate files with the Commission a 18
17048	17048	statement certifying that the authorized committees 19
17049	17049	of the candidate meet the requirements of section 20
17050	17050	504(d). 21
17051	17051	‘‘(4) Not later than the last day of the Small 22
17052	17052	Dollar Democracy qualifying period, the candidate 23
17053	17053	files with the Commission an affidavit signed by the 24
17054	17054	candidate and the treasurer of the candidate’s prin-25
17055	17055	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00563 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17056	17056	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 564
17057	17057	•S 1 IS
17058	17058	cipal campaign committee declaring that the can-1
17059	17059	didate— 2
17060	17060	‘‘(A) has complied and, if certified, will 3
17061	17061	comply with the contribution and expenditure 4
17062	17062	requirements of section 521; 5
17063	17063	‘‘(B) if certified, will run only as a partici-6
17064	17064	pating candidate for all elections for the office 7
17065	17065	that such candidate is seeking during that elec-8
17066	17066	tion cycle; and 9
17067	17067	‘‘(C) has either qualified or will take steps 10
17068	17068	to qualify under State law to be on the ballot. 11
17069	17069	‘‘(5) The candidate files with the Commission a 12
17070	17070	certification that the candidate will not use any allo-13
17071	17071	cation from the Fund to directly or indirectly pay 14
17072	17072	salaries, fees, consulting expenses, or any other com-15
17073	17073	pensation for services rendered to themselves, family 16
17074	17074	members (including spouses as well as children, par-17
17075	17075	ents, siblings, or any of their spouses), or any entity 18
17076	17076	or organization in which they have an ownership in-19
17077	17077	terest. 20
17078	17078	‘‘(b) G
17079	17079	ENERALELECTION.—Notwithstanding sub-21
17080	17080	section (a), a candidate shall not be eligible to be certified 22
17081	17081	as a participating candidate under this title for a general 23
17082	17082	election or a general runoff election unless the candidate’s 24
17083	17083	party nominated the candidate to be placed on the ballot 25
17084	17084	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00564 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17085	17085	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 565
17086	17086	•S 1 IS
17087	17087	for the general election or the candidate is otherwise quali-1
17088	17088	fied to be on the ballot under State law. 2
17089	17089	‘‘(c) S
17090	17090	MALLDOLLARDEMOCRACYQUALIFYINGPE-3
17091	17091	RIODDEFINED.—The term ‘Small Dollar Democracy 4
17092	17092	qualifying period’ means, with respect to any candidate 5
17093	17093	for an office, the 180-day period (during the election cycle 6
17094	17094	for such office) which begins on the date on which the 7
17095	17095	candidate files a statement of intent under section 8
17096	17096	511(a)(1), except that such period may not continue after 9
17097	17097	the date that is 30 days before the date of the general 10
17098	17098	election for the office. 11
17099	17099	‘‘SEC. 512. QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS. 12
17100	17100	‘‘(a) R
17101	17101	ECEIPT OFQUALIFIEDSMALLDOLLARCON-13
17102	17102	TRIBUTIONS.—A candidate for the office of Representative 14
17103	17103	in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress 15
17104	17104	meets the requirement of this section if, during the Small 16
17105	17105	Dollar Democracy qualifying period described in section 17
17106	17106	511(c), each of the following occurs: 18
17107	17107	‘‘(1) Not fewer than 1,000 individuals make a 19
17108	17108	qualified small dollar contribution to the candidate. 20
17109	17109	‘‘(2) The candidate obtains a total dollar 21
17110	17110	amount of qualified small dollar contributions which 22
17111	17111	is equal to or greater than $50,000. 23
17112	17112	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00565 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17113	17113	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 566
17114	17114	•S 1 IS
17115	17115	‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RECEIPT OF 1
17116	17116	Q
17117	17117	UALIFIEDSMALLDOLLARCONTRIBUTION.—Each 2
17118	17118	qualified small dollar contribution— 3
17119	17119	‘‘(1) may be made by means of a personal 4
17120	17120	check, money order, debit card, credit card, elec-5
17121	17121	tronic payment account, or any other method 6
17122	17122	deemed appropriate by the Division Director; 7
17123	17123	‘‘(2) shall be accompanied by a signed state-8
17124	17124	ment (or, in the case of a contribution made online 9
17125	17125	or through other electronic means, an electronic 10
17126	17126	equivalent) containing the contributor’s name and 11
17127	17127	address; and 12
17128	17128	‘‘(3) shall be acknowledged by a receipt that is 13
17129	17129	sent to the contributor with a copy (in paper or elec-14
17130	17130	tronic form) kept by the candidate for the Commis-15
17131	17131	sion. 16
17132	17132	‘‘(c) V
17133	17133	ERIFICATION OFCONTRIBUTIONS.— 17
17134	17134	‘‘(1) P
17135	17135	ROCEDURES.—The Division Director 18
17136	17136	shall establish procedures for the auditing and 19
17137	17137	verification of the contributions received and expend-20
17138	17138	itures made by participating candidates under this 21
17139	17139	title, including procedures for random audits, to en-22
17140	17140	sure that such contributions and expenditures meet 23
17141	17141	the requirements of this title. 24
17142	17142	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00566 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17143	17143	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 567
17144	17144	•S 1 IS
17145	17145	‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO REVISE 1
17146	17146	PROCEDURES.—The Commission, by a vote of not 2
17147	17147	fewer than four of its members, may revise the pro-3
17148	17148	cedures established by the Division Director under 4
17149	17149	this subsection. 5
17150	17150	‘‘SEC. 513. CERTIFICATION. 6
17151	17151	‘‘(a) D
17152	17152	EADLINE ANDNOTIFICATION.— 7
17153	17153	‘‘(1) I
17154	17154	N GENERAL.—Not later than 5 business 8
17155	17155	days after a candidate files an affidavit under sec-9
17156	17156	tion 511(a)(4), the Division Director shall— 10
17157	17157	‘‘(A) determine whether or not the can-11
17158	17158	didate meets the requirements for certification 12
17159	17159	as a participating candidate; 13
17160	17160	‘‘(B) if the Division Director determines 14
17161	17161	that the candidate meets such requirements, 15
17162	17162	certify the candidate as a participating can-16
17163	17163	didate; and 17
17164	17164	‘‘(C) notify the candidate of the Division 18
17165	17165	Director’s determination. 19
17166	17166	‘‘(2) D
17167	17167	EEMED CERTIFICATION FOR ALL ELEC -20
17168	17168	TIONS IN ELECTION CYCLE .—If the Division Direc-21
17169	17169	tor certifies a candidate as a participating candidate 22
17170	17170	with respect to the first election of the election cycle 23
17171	17171	involved, the Division Director shall be deemed to 24
17172	17172	have certified the candidate as a participating can-25
17173	17173	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00567 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17174	17174	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 568
17175	17175	•S 1 IS
17176	17176	didate with respect to all subsequent elections of the 1
17177	17177	election cycle. 2
17178	17178	‘‘(3) A
17179	17179	UTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO REVERSE 3
17180	17180	DETERMINATION BY DIVISION DIRECTOR .—During 4
17181	17181	the 10-day period which begins on the date the Divi-5
17182	17182	sion Director makes a determination under this sub-6
17183	17183	section, the Commission, by a vote of not fewer than 7
17184	17184	four of its members, may review and reverse the de-8
17185	17185	termination. If the Commission reverses the deter-9
17186	17186	mination, the Commission shall promptly notify the 10
17187	17187	candidate involved. 11
17188	17188	‘‘(b) R
17189	17189	EVOCATION OFCERTIFICATION.— 12
17190	17190	‘‘(1) I
17191	17191	N GENERAL.—The Division Director shall 13
17192	17192	revoke a certification under subsection (a) if— 14
17193	17193	‘‘(A) a candidate fails to qualify to appear 15
17194	17194	on the ballot at any time after the date of cer-16
17195	17195	tification (other than a candidate certified as a 17
17196	17196	participating candidate with respect to a pri-18
17197	17197	mary election who fails to qualify to appear on 19
17198	17198	the ballot for a subsequent election in that elec-20
17199	17199	tion cycle); 21
17200	17200	‘‘(B) a candidate ceases to be a candidate 22
17201	17201	for the office involved, as determined on the 23
17202	17202	basis of an official announcement by an author-24
17203	17203	ized committee of the candidate or on the basis 25
17204	17204	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00568 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17205	17205	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 569
17206	17206	•S 1 IS
17207	17207	of a reasonable determination by the Commis-1
17208	17208	sion; or 2
17209	17209	‘‘(C) a candidate otherwise fails to comply 3
17210	17210	with the requirements of this title, including 4
17211	17211	any regulatory requirements prescribed by the 5
17212	17212	Commission. 6
17213	17213	‘‘(2) E
17214	17214	XISTENCE OF CRIMINAL SANCTION .—The 7
17215	17215	Division Director shall revoke a certification under 8
17216	17216	subsection (a) if a penalty is assessed against the 9
17217	17217	candidate under section 309(d) with respect to the 10
17218	17218	election. 11
17219	17219	‘‘(3) E
17220	17220	FFECT OF REVOCATION .—If a can-12
17221	17221	didate’s certification is revoked under this sub-13
17222	17222	section— 14
17223	17223	‘‘(A) the candidate may not receive pay-15
17224	17224	ments under this title during the remainder of 16
17225	17225	the election cycle involved; and 17
17226	17226	‘‘(B) in the case of a candidate whose cer-18
17227	17227	tification is revoked pursuant to subparagraph 19
17228	17228	(A) or subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1)— 20
17229	17229	‘‘(i) the candidate shall repay to the 21
17230	17230	Commission an amount equal to the pay-22
17231	17231	ments received under this title with respect 23
17232	17232	to the election cycle involved plus interest 24
17233	17233	(at a rate determined by the Commission 25
17234	17234	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00569 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17235	17235	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 570
17236	17236	•S 1 IS
17237	17237	on the basis of an appropriate annual per-1
17238	17238	centage rate for the month involved) on 2
17239	17239	any such amount received, which shall be 3
17240	17240	used by the Commission to supplement the 4
17241	17241	allocation made to the Commission with re-5
17242	17242	spect to the State in which the candidate 6
17243	17243	seeks office, as described in section 541(a); 7
17244	17244	and 8
17245	17245	‘‘(ii) the candidate may not be cer-9
17246	17246	tified as a participating candidate under 10
17247	17247	this title with respect to the next election 11
17248	17248	cycle. 12
17249	17249	‘‘(4) P
17250	17250	ROHIBITING PARTICIPATION IN FUTURE 13
17251	17251	ELECTIONS FOR CANDIDATES WITH MULTIPLE REV -14
17252	17252	OCATIONS.—If the Division Director revokes the cer-15
17253	17253	tification of an individual as a participating can-16
17254	17254	didate under this title pursuant to subparagraph (A) 17
17255	17255	or subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) a total of 3 18
17256	17256	times, the individual may not be certified as a par-19
17257	17257	ticipating candidate under this title with respect to 20
17258	17258	any subsequent election. 21
17259	17259	‘‘(5) A
17260	17260	UTHORITY OF COMMISSION TO REVERSE 22
17261	17261	REVOCATION BY DIVISION DIRECTOR .—During the 23
17262	17262	10-day period which begins on the date the Division 24
17263	17263	Director makes a determination under this sub-25
17264	17264	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00570 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17265	17265	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 571
17266	17266	•S 1 IS
17267	17267	section, the Commission, by a vote of not fewer than 1
17268	17268	four of its members, may review and reverse the de-2
17269	17269	termination. If the Commission reverses the deter-3
17270	17270	mination, the Commission shall promptly notify the 4
17271	17271	candidate involved. 5
17272	17272	‘‘(c) V
17273	17273	OLUNTARY WITHDRAWAL FROMPARTICI-6
17274	17274	PATINGDURINGQUALIFYINGPERIOD.—At any time dur-7
17275	17275	ing the Small Dollar Democracy qualifying period de-8
17276	17276	scribed in section 511(c), a candidate may withdraw from 9
17277	17277	participation in the program under this title by submitting 10
17278	17278	to the Commission a statement of withdrawal (without re-11
17279	17279	gard to whether or not the Commission has certified the 12
17280	17280	candidate as a participating candidate under this title as 13
17281	17281	of the time the candidate submits such statement), so long 14
17282	17282	as the candidate has not submitted a request for payment 15
17283	17283	under section 502. 16
17284	17284	‘‘(d) P
17285	17285	ARTICIPATINGCANDIDATEDEFINED.—In this 17
17286	17286	title, a ‘participating candidate’ means a candidate for the 18
17287	17287	office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Com-19
17288	17288	missioner to, the Congress who is certified under this sec-20
17289	17289	tion as eligible to receive benefits under this title. 21
17290	17290	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00571 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17291	17291	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 572
17292	17292	•S 1 IS
17293	17293	‘‘Subtitle C—Requirements for Can-1
17294	17294	didates Certified as Partici-2
17295	17295	pating Candidates 3
17296	17296	‘‘SEC. 521. CONTRIBUTION AND EXPENDITURE REQUIRE-4
17297	17297	MENTS. 5
17298	17298	‘‘(a) P
17299	17299	ERMITTEDSOURCES OFCONTRIBUTIONS AND 6
17300	17300	E
17301	17301	XPENDITURES.—Except as provided in subsection (c), a 7
17302	17302	participating candidate with respect to an election shall, 8
17303	17303	with respect to all elections occurring during the election 9
17304	17304	cycle for the office involved, accept no contributions from 10
17305	17305	any source and make no expenditures from any amounts, 11
17306	17306	other than the following: 12
17307	17307	‘‘(1) Qualified small dollar contributions. 13
17308	17308	‘‘(2) Payments under this title. 14
17309	17309	‘‘(3) Contributions from political committees es-15
17310	17310	tablished and maintained by a national or State po-16
17311	17311	litical party, subject to the applicable limitations of 17
17312	17312	section 315. 18
17313	17313	‘‘(4) Subject to subsection (b), personal funds 19
17314	17314	of the candidate or of any immediate family member 20
17315	17315	of the candidate (other than funds received through 21
17316	17316	qualified small dollar contributions). 22
17317	17317	‘‘(5) Contributions from individuals who are 23
17318	17318	otherwise permitted to make contributions under 24
17319	17319	this Act, subject to the applicable limitations of sec-25
17320	17320	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00572 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17321	17321	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 573
17322	17322	•S 1 IS
17323	17323	tion 315, except that the aggregate amount of con-1
17324	17324	tributions a participating candidate may accept from 2
17325	17325	any individual with respect to any election during 3
17326	17326	the election cycle may not exceed $1,000. 4
17327	17327	‘‘(6) Contributions from multicandidate political 5
17328	17328	committees, subject to the applicable limitations of 6
17329	17329	section 315. 7
17330	17330	‘‘(b) S
17331	17331	PECIALRULES FORPERSONALFUNDS.— 8
17332	17332	‘‘(1) L
17333	17333	IMIT ON AMOUNT.—A candidate who is 9
17334	17334	certified as a participating candidate may use per-10
17335	17335	sonal funds (including personal funds of any imme-11
17336	17336	diate family member of the candidate) so long as— 12
17337	17337	‘‘(A) the aggregate amount used with re-13
17338	17338	spect to the election cycle (including any period 14
17339	17339	of the cycle occurring prior to the candidate’s 15
17340	17340	certification as a participating candidate) does 16
17341	17341	not exceed $50,000; and 17
17342	17342	‘‘(B) the funds are used only for making 18
17343	17343	direct payments for the receipt of goods and 19
17344	17344	services which constitute authorized expendi-20
17345	17345	tures in connection with the election cycle in-21
17346	17346	volved. 22
17347	17347	‘‘(2) I
17348	17348	MMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED .— 23
17349	17349	In this subsection, the term ‘immediate family mem-24
17350	17350	ber’ means, with respect to a candidate— 25
17351	17351	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00573 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17352	17352	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 574
17353	17353	•S 1 IS
17354	17354	‘‘(A) the candidate’s spouse; 1
17355	17355	‘‘(B) a child, stepchild, parent, grand-2
17356	17356	parent, brother, half-brother, sister, or half-sis-3
17357	17357	ter of the candidate or the candidate’s spouse; 4
17358	17358	and 5
17359	17359	‘‘(C) the spouse of any person described in 6
17360	17360	subparagraph (B). 7
17361	17361	‘‘(c) E
17362	17362	XCEPTIONS.— 8
17363	17363	‘‘(1) E
17364	17364	XCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS RE -9
17365	17365	CEIVED PRIOR TO FILING OF STATEMENT OF IN -10
17366	17366	TENT.—A candidate who has accepted contributions 11
17367	17367	that are not described in subsection (a) is not in vio-12
17368	17368	lation of subsection (a), but only if all such contribu-13
17369	17369	tions are— 14
17370	17370	‘‘(A) returned to the contributor; 15
17371	17371	‘‘(B) submitted to the Commission, to be 16
17372	17372	used to supplement the allocation made to the 17
17373	17373	Commission with respect to the State in which 18
17374	17374	the candidate seeks office, as described in sec-19
17375	17375	tion 541(a); or 20
17376	17376	‘‘(C) spent in accordance with paragraph 21
17377	17377	(2). 22
17378	17378	‘‘(2) E
17379	17379	XCEPTION FOR EXPENDITURES MADE 23
17380	17380	PRIOR TO FILING OF STATEMENT OF INTENT .—If a 24
17381	17381	candidate has made expenditures prior to the date 25
17382	17382	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00574 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17383	17383	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 575
17384	17384	•S 1 IS
17385	17385	the candidate files a statement of intent under sec-1
17386	17386	tion 511(a)(1) that the candidate is prohibited from 2
17387	17387	making under subsection (a) or subsection (b), the 3
17388	17388	candidate is not in violation of such subsection if the 4
17389	17389	aggregate amount of the prohibited expenditures is 5
17390	17390	less than the amount referred to in section 6
17391	17391	512(a)(2) (relating to the total dollar amount of 7
17392	17392	qualified small dollar contributions which the can-8
17393	17393	didate is required to obtain) which is applicable to 9
17394	17394	the candidate. 10
17395	17395	‘‘(3) E
17396	17396	XCEPTION FOR CAMPAIGN SURPLUSES 11
17397	17397	FROM A PREVIOUS ELECTION .—Notwithstanding 12
17398	17398	paragraph (1), unexpended contributions received by 13
17399	17399	the candidate or an authorized committee of the 14
17400	17400	candidate with respect to a previous election may be 15
17401	17401	retained, but only if the candidate places the funds 16
17402	17402	in escrow and refrains from raising additional funds 17
17403	17403	for or spending funds from that account during the 18
17404	17404	election cycle in which a candidate is a participating 19
17405	17405	candidate. 20
17406	17406	‘‘(4) E
17407	17407	XCEPTION FOR CONTRIBUTIONS RE -21
17408	17408	CEIVED BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS 22
17409	17409	TITLE.—Contributions received and expenditures 23
17410	17410	made by the candidate or an authorized committee 24
17411	17411	of the candidate prior to the effective date of this 25
17412	17412	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00575 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17413	17413	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 576
17414	17414	•S 1 IS
17415	17415	title shall not constitute a violation of subsection (a) 1
17416	17416	or (b). Unexpended contributions shall be treated 2
17417	17417	the same as campaign surpluses under paragraph 3
17418	17418	(3), and expenditures made shall count against the 4
17419	17419	limit in paragraph (2). 5
17420	17420	‘‘(d) S
17421	17421	PECIALRULE FORCOORDINATEDPARTYEX-6
17422	17422	PENDITURES.—For purposes of this section, a payment 7
17423	17423	made by a political party in coordination with a partici-8
17424	17424	pating candidate shall not be treated as a contribution to 9
17425	17425	or as an expenditure made by the participating candidate. 10
17426	17426	‘‘(e) P
17427	17427	ROHIBITION ONJOINTFUNDRAISINGCOMMIT-11
17428	17428	TEES.— 12
17429	17429	‘‘(1) P
17430	17430	ROHIBITION.—An authorized committee 13
17431	17431	of a candidate who is certified as a participating 14
17432	17432	candidate under this title with respect to an election 15
17433	17433	may not establish a joint fundraising committee with 16
17434	17434	a political committee other than another authorized 17
17435	17435	committee of the candidate. 18
17436	17436	‘‘(2) S
17437	17437	TATUS OF EXISTING COMMITTEES FOR 19
17438	17438	PRIOR ELECTIONS.—If a candidate established a 20
17439	17439	joint fundraising committee described in paragraph 21
17440	17440	(1) with respect to a prior election for which the 22
17441	17441	candidate was not certified as a participating can-23
17442	17442	didate under this title and the candidate does not 24
17443	17443	terminate the committee, the candidate shall not be 25
17444	17444	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00576 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17445	17445	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 577
17446	17446	•S 1 IS
17447	17447	considered to be in violation of paragraph (1) so 1
17448	17448	long as that joint fundraising committee does not re-2
17449	17449	ceive any contributions or make any disbursements 3
17450	17450	during the election cycle for which the candidate is 4
17451	17451	certified as a participating candidate under this title. 5
17452	17452	‘‘(f) P
17453	17453	ROHIBITION ONLEADERSHIPPACS.— 6
17454	17454	‘‘(1) P
17455	17455	ROHIBITION.—A candidate who is cer-7
17456	17456	tified as a participating candidate under this title 8
17457	17457	with respect to an election may not associate with, 9
17458	17458	establish, finance, maintain, or control a leadership 10
17459	17459	PAC. 11
17460	17460	‘‘(2) S
17461	17461	TATUS OF EXISTING LEADERSHIP 12
17462	17462	PACS.—If a candidate established, financed, main-13
17463	17463	tained, or controlled a leadership PAC prior to being 14
17464	17464	certified as a participating candidate under this title 15
17465	17465	and the candidate does not terminate the leadership 16
17466	17466	PAC, the candidate shall not be considered to be in 17
17467	17467	violation of paragraph (1) so long as the leadership 18
17468	17468	PAC does not receive any contributions or make any 19
17469	17469	disbursements during the election cycle for which the 20
17470	17470	candidate is certified as a participating candidate 21
17471	17471	under this title. 22
17472	17472	‘‘(3) L
17473	17473	EADERSHIP PAC DEFINED .—In this sub-23
17474	17474	section, the term ‘leadership PAC’ has the meaning 24
17475	17475	given such term in section 304(i)(8)(B). 25
17476	17476	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00577 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17477	17477	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 578
17478	17478	•S 1 IS
17479	17479	‘‘SEC. 522. ADMINISTRATION OF CAMPAIGN. 1
17480	17480	‘‘(a) S
17481	17481	EPARATEACCOUNTING FOR VARIOUSPER-2
17482	17482	MITTEDCONTRIBUTIONS.—Each authorized committee of 3
17483	17483	a candidate certified as a participating candidate under 4
17484	17484	this title— 5
17485	17485	‘‘(1) shall provide for separate accounting of 6
17486	17486	each type of contribution described in section 521(a) 7
17487	17487	which is received by the committee; and 8
17488	17488	‘‘(2) shall provide for separate accounting for 9
17489	17489	the payments received under this title. 10
17490	17490	‘‘(b) E
17491	17491	NHANCEDDISCLOSURE OFINFORMATION ON 11
17492	17492	D
17493	17493	ONORS.— 12
17494	17494	‘‘(1) M
17495	17495	ANDATORY IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVID -13
17496	17496	UALS MAKING QUALIFIED SMALL DOLLAR CON -14
17497	17497	TRIBUTIONS.—Each authorized committee of a par-15
17498	17498	ticipating candidate under this title shall, in accord-16
17499	17499	ance with section 304(b)(3)(A), include in the re-17
17500	17500	ports the committee submits under section 304 the 18
17501	17501	identification of each person who makes a qualified 19
17502	17502	small dollar contribution to the committee. 20
17503	17503	‘‘(2) M
17504	17504	ANDATORY DISCLOSURE THROUGH 21
17505	17505	INTERNET.—Each authorized committee of a partici-22
17506	17506	pating candidate under this title shall ensure that all 23
17507	17507	information reported to the Commission under this 24
17508	17508	Act with respect to contributions and expenditures 25
17509	17509	of the committee is available to the public on the 26
17510	17510	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00578 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17511	17511	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 579
17512	17512	•S 1 IS
17513	17513	internet (whether through a site established for pur-1
17514	17514	poses of this subsection, a hyperlink on another pub-2
17515	17515	lic site of the committee, or a hyperlink on a report 3
17516	17516	filed electronically with the Commission) in a search-4
17517	17517	able, sortable, and downloadable manner. 5
17518	17518	‘‘SEC. 523. PREVENTING UNNECESSARY SPENDING OF 6
17519	17519	MATCHING FUNDS. 7
17520	17520	‘‘(a) M
17521	17521	ANDATORYSPENDING OF AVAILABLEPRI-8
17522	17522	VATEFUNDS.—An authorized committee of a candidate 9
17523	17523	certified as a participating candidate under this title may 10
17524	17524	not make any expenditure of any payments received under 11
17525	17525	this title in any amount unless the committee has made 12
17526	17526	an expenditure in an equivalent amount of funds received 13
17527	17527	by the committee which are described in paragraphs (1), 14
17528	17528	(3), (4), (5), and (6) of section 521(a). 15
17529	17529	‘‘(b) L
17530	17530	IMITATION.—Subsection (a) applies to an au-16
17531	17531	thorized committee only to the extent that the funds re-17
17532	17532	ferred to in such subsection are available to the committee 18
17533	17533	at the time the committee makes an expenditure of a pay-19
17534	17534	ment received under this title. 20
17535	17535	‘‘SEC. 524. REMITTING UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 21
17536	17536	‘‘(a) R
17537	17537	EMITTANCEREQUIRED.—Not later than the 22
17538	17538	date that is 180 days after the last election for which a 23
17539	17539	candidate certified as a participating candidate qualifies 24
17540	17540	to be on the ballot during the election cycle involved, such 25
17541	17541	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00579 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17542	17542	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 580
17543	17543	•S 1 IS
17544	17544	participating candidate shall remit to the Commission an 1
17545	17545	amount equal to the balance of the payments received 2
17546	17546	under this title by the authorized committees of the can-3
17547	17547	didate which remain unexpended as of such date, which 4
17548	17548	shall be used to supplement the allocation made to the 5
17549	17549	Commission with respect to the State in which the can-6
17550	17550	didate seeks office, as described in section 541(a). 7
17551	17551	‘‘(b) P
17552	17552	ERMITTINGCANDIDATESPARTICIPATING IN 8
17553	17553	N
17554	17554	EXTELECTIONCYCLETORETAINPORTION OF 9
17555	17555	U
17556	17556	NSPENTFUNDS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a 10
17557	17557	participating candidate may withhold not more than 11
17558	17558	$100,000 from the amount required to be remitted under 12
17559	17559	subsection (a) if the candidate files a signed affidavit with 13
17560	17560	the Commission that the candidate will seek certification 14
17561	17561	as a participating candidate with respect to the next elec-15
17562	17562	tion cycle, except that the candidate may not use any por-16
17563	17563	tion of the amount withheld until the candidate is certified 17
17564	17564	as a participating candidate with respect to that next elec-18
17565	17565	tion cycle. If the candidate fails to seek certification as 19
17566	17566	a participating candidate prior to the last day of the Small 20
17567	17567	Dollar Democracy qualifying period for the next election 21
17568	17568	cycle (as described in section 511), or if the Commission 22
17569	17569	notifies the candidate of the Commission’s determination 23
17570	17570	does not meet the requirements for certification as a par-24
17571	17571	ticipating candidate with respect to such cycle, the can-25
17572	17572	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00580 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17573	17573	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 581
17574	17574	•S 1 IS
17575	17575	didate shall immediately remit to the Commission the 1
17576	17576	amount withheld. 2
17577	17577	‘‘Subtitle D—Enhanced Match 3
17578	17578	Support 4
17579	17579	‘‘SEC. 531. ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR GENERAL ELECTION. 5
17580	17580	‘‘(a) A
17581	17581	VAILABILITY OFENHANCEDSUPPORT.—In 6
17582	17582	addition to the payments made under subtitle A, the Divi-7
17583	17583	sion Director shall make an additional payment to an eligi-8
17584	17584	ble candidate under this subtitle. 9
17585	17585	‘‘(b) U
17586	17586	SE OFFUNDS.—A candidate shall use the ad-10
17587	17587	ditional payment under this subtitle only for authorized 11
17588	17588	expenditures in connection with the election involved. 12
17589	17589	‘‘SEC. 532. ELIGIBILITY. 13
17590	17590	‘‘(a) I
17591	17591	NGENERAL.—A candidate is eligible to receive 14
17592	17592	an additional payment under this subtitle if the candidate 15
17593	17593	meets each of the following requirements: 16
17594	17594	‘‘(1) The candidate is on the ballot for the gen-17
17595	17595	eral election for the office the candidate seeks. 18
17596	17596	‘‘(2) The candidate is certified as a partici-19
17597	17597	pating candidate under this title with respect to the 20
17598	17598	election. 21
17599	17599	‘‘(3) During the enhanced support qualifying 22
17600	17600	period, the candidate receives qualified small dollar 23
17601	17601	contributions in a total amount of not less than 24
17602	17602	$50,000. 25
17603	17603	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00581 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17604	17604	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 582
17605	17605	•S 1 IS
17606	17606	‘‘(4) During the enhanced support qualifying 1
17607	17607	period, the candidate submits to the Division Direc-2
17608	17608	tor a request for the payment which includes— 3
17609	17609	‘‘(A) a statement of the number and 4
17610	17610	amount of qualified small dollar contributions 5
17611	17611	received by the candidate during the enhanced 6
17612	17612	support qualifying period; 7
17613	17613	‘‘(B) a statement of the amount of the 8
17614	17614	payment the candidate anticipates receiving 9
17615	17615	with respect to the request; and 10
17616	17616	‘‘(C) such other information and assur-11
17617	17617	ances as the Division Director may require. 12
17618	17618	‘‘(5) After submitting a request for the addi-13
17619	17619	tional payment under paragraph (4), the candidate 14
17620	17620	does not submit any other application for an addi-15
17621	17621	tional payment under this subtitle. 16
17622	17622	‘‘(b) E
17623	17623	NHANCEDSUPPORTQUALIFYINGPERIODDE-17
17624	17624	SCRIBED.—In this subtitle, the term ‘enhanced support 18
17625	17625	qualifying period’ means, with respect to a general elec-19
17626	17626	tion, the period which begins 60 days before the date of 20
17627	17627	the election and ends 14 days before the date of the elec-21
17628	17628	tion. 22
17629	17629	‘‘SEC. 533. AMOUNT. 23
17630	17630	‘‘(a) I
17631	17631	NGENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the 24
17632	17632	amount of the additional payment made to an eligible can-25
17633	17633	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00582 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17634	17634	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 583
17635	17635	•S 1 IS
17636	17636	didate under this subtitle shall be an amount equal to 50 1
17637	17637	percent of— 2
17638	17638	‘‘(1) the amount of the payment made to the 3
17639	17639	candidate under section 501(b) with respect to the 4
17640	17640	qualified small dollar contributions which are re-5
17641	17641	ceived by the candidate during the enhanced support 6
17642	17642	qualifying period (as included in the request sub-7
17643	17643	mitted by the candidate under section 532(a)(4)); or 8
17644	17644	‘‘(2) in the case of a candidate who is not eligi-9
17645	17645	ble to receive a payment under section 501(b) with 10
17646	17646	respect to such qualified small dollar contributions 11
17647	17647	because the candidate has reached the limit on the 12
17648	17648	aggregate amount of payments under subtitle A for 13
17649	17649	the election cycle under section 501(c), the amount 14
17650	17650	of the payment which would have been made to the 15
17651	17651	candidate under section 501(b) with respect to such 16
17652	17652	qualified small dollar contributions if the candidate 17
17653	17653	had not reached such limit. 18
17654	17654	‘‘(b) L
17655	17655	IMIT.—The amount of the additional payment 19
17656	17656	determined under subsection (a) with respect to a can-20
17657	17657	didate may not exceed $500,000. 21
17658	17658	‘‘(c) N
17659	17659	OEFFECT ON AGGREGATE LIMIT.—The 22
17660	17660	amount of the additional payment made to a candidate 23
17661	17661	under this subtitle shall not be included in determining 24
17662	17662	the aggregate amount of payments made to a participating 25
17663	17663	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00583 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17664	17664	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 584
17665	17665	•S 1 IS
17666	17666	candidate with respect to an election cycle under section 1
17667	17667	501(c). 2
17668	17668	‘‘SEC. 534. WAIVER OF AUTHORITY TO RETAIN PORTION OF 3
17669	17669	UNSPENT FUNDS AFTER ELECTION. 4
17670	17670	‘‘Notwithstanding section 524(a)(2), a candidate who 5
17671	17671	receives an additional payment under this subtitle with re-6
17672	17672	spect to an election is not permitted to withhold any por-7
17673	17673	tion from the amount of unspent funds the candidate is 8
17674	17674	required to remit to the Commission under section 9
17675	17675	524(a)(1). 10
17676	17676	‘‘Subtitle E—Administrative 11
17677	17677	Provisions 12
17678	17678	‘‘SEC. 541. SOURCE OF PAYMENTS. 13
17679	17679	‘‘(a) A
17680	17680	LLOCATIONSFROMSTATEELECTIONASSIST-14
17681	17681	ANCE AND INNOVATIONTRUSTFUND.—The amounts 15
17682	17682	used to make payments to participating candidates under 16
17683	17683	this title who seek office in a State shall be derived from 17
17684	17684	the allocations made to the Commission with respect to 18
17685	17685	the State from the State Election Assistance and Innova-19
17686	17686	tion Trust Fund (hereafter referred to as the ‘Fund’) 20
17687	17687	under section 8012 of the Freedom to Vote Act, as pro-21
17688	17688	vided under section 8005(c) of such Act. 22
17689	17689	‘‘(b) U
17690	17690	SE OFALLOCATIONSTOMAKEPAYMENTS TO 23
17691	17691	P
17692	17692	ARTICIPATINGCANDIDATES.— 24
17693	17693	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00584 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17694	17694	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 585
17695	17695	•S 1 IS
17696	17696	‘‘(1) PAYMENTS TO PARTICIPATING CAN -1
17697	17697	DIDATES.—The allocations made to the Commission 2
17698	17698	as described in subsection (a) shall be available with-3
17699	17699	out further appropriation or fiscal year limitation to 4
17700	17700	make payments to participating candidates as pro-5
17701	17701	vided in this title. 6
17702	17702	‘‘(2) O
17703	17703	NGOING REVIEW TO DETERMINE SUFFI -7
17704	17704	CIENCY OF STATE ALLOCATIONS .— 8
17705	17705	‘‘(A) O
17706	17706	NGOING REVIEW.—Not later than 9
17707	17707	90 days before the first day of each election 10
17708	17708	cycle (beginning with the first election cycle 11
17709	17709	that begins after the date of the enactment of 12
17710	17710	this title), and on an ongoing basis until the 13
17711	17711	end of the election cycle, the Division Director, 14
17712	17712	in consultation with the Director of the Office 15
17713	17713	of Democracy Advancement and Innovation, 16
17714	17714	shall determine whether the amount of the allo-17
17715	17715	cation made to the Commission with respect to 18
17716	17716	candidates who seek office in a State as de-19
17717	17717	scribed in subsection (a) will be sufficient to 20
17718	17718	make payments to participating candidates in 21
17719	17719	the State in the amounts provided in this title 22
17720	17720	during such election cycle. 23
17721	17721	‘‘(B) O
17722	17722	PPORTUNITY FOR STATE TO IN -24
17723	17723	CREASE ALLOCATION.—If, at any time the Divi-25
17724	17724	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00585 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17725	17725	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 586
17726	17726	•S 1 IS
17727	17727	sion Director determines under subparagraph 1
17728	17728	(A) that the amount anticipated to be available 2
17729	17729	in the Fund for payments to participating can-3
17730	17730	didates in a State with respect to the election 4
17731	17731	cycle involved is not, or may not be, sufficient 5
17732	17732	to satisfy the full entitlements of participating 6
17733	17733	candidates in the State to payments under this 7
17734	17734	title for such election cycle— 8
17735	17735	‘‘(i) the Division Director shall notify 9
17736	17736	the State and Congress; and 10
17737	17737	‘‘(ii) the State may direct the Director 11
17738	17738	of the Office of Democracy Advancement 12
17739	17739	and Innovation to direct the Secretary of 13
17740	17740	the Treasury to use the funds described in 14
17741	17741	subparagraph (C), in such amounts as the 15
17742	17742	State may direct, as an additional alloca-16
17743	17743	tion to the Commission with respect to the 17
17744	17744	State for purposes of subsection (a), in ac-18
17745	17745	cordance with section 8012 of the Freedom 19
17746	17746	to Vote Act. 20
17747	17747	‘‘(C) F
17748	17748	UNDS DESCRIBED.—The funds de-21
17749	17749	scribed in this subparagraph are funds which 22
17750	17750	were allocated to the State under the Democ-23
17751	17751	racy Advancement and Innovation Program 24
17752	17752	under subtitle A of title VIII of the Freedom to 25
17753	17753	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00586 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17754	17754	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 587
17755	17755	•S 1 IS
17756	17756	Vote Act which, under the State plan under 1
17757	17757	section 8002 of such Act, were to be used for 2
17758	17758	democracy promotion activities described in 3
17759	17759	paragraph (1), (2)(B), (2)(C), or (3) of section 4
17760	17760	8001(b) of such Act but which remain unobli-5
17761	17761	gated. 6
17762	17762	‘‘(3) E
17763	17763	LIMINATION OF LIMIT OF AMOUNT OF 7
17764	17764	QUALIFIED SMALL DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS .— 8
17765	17765	‘‘(A) E
17766	17766	LIMINATION OF LIMIT .—If, after 9
17767	17767	notifying the State under paragraph (2)(B)(i) 10
17768	17768	and (if the State so elects) the State directs 11
17769	17769	under paragraph (2)(B)(ii) an additional alloca-12
17770	17770	tion to the Commission as provided under such 13
17771	17771	subparagraph, the Division Director determines 14
17772	17772	under paragraph (2)(A) that the amount antici-15
17773	17773	pated to be available in the Fund (after such 16
17774	17774	additional allocation) for payments to partici-17
17775	17775	pating candidates in the State with respect to 18
17776	17776	the election cycle involved is still not, or may 19
17777	17777	still not be, sufficient to satisfy the full entitle-20
17778	17778	ments of participating candidates in the State 21
17779	17779	to payments under this title for such election 22
17780	17780	cycle, the limit on the amount of a qualified 23
17781	17781	small donor contribution under section 24
17782	17782	504(a)(1)(B) shall not apply with respect to a 25
17783	17783	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00587 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17784	17784	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 588
17785	17785	•S 1 IS
17786	17786	participating candidate in the State under this 1
17787	17787	title. Nothing in this subparagraph may be con-2
17788	17788	strued to waive the limit on the aggregate 3
17789	17789	amount of contributions a participating can-4
17790	17790	didate may accept from any individual under 5
17791	17791	section 521(a)(5). 6
17792	17792	‘‘(B) D
17793	17793	ETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF 7
17794	17794	PAYMENT TO CANDIDATE .—In determining 8
17795	17795	under section 501(b) the amount of the pay-9
17796	17796	ment made to a participating candidate for 10
17797	17797	whom the limit on the amount of a qualified 11
17798	17798	small donor contribution does not apply pursu-12
17799	17799	ant to subparagraph (A), there shall be ex-13
17800	17800	cluded any qualified small donor contribution to 14
17801	17801	the extent that the amount contributed by the 15
17802	17802	individual involved exceeds the limit on the 16
17803	17803	amount of such a contribution under section 17
17804	17804	504(a)(1)(B). 18
17805	17805	‘‘(C) N
17806	17806	O USE OF AMOUNTS FROM OTHER 19
17807	17807	SOURCES.—In any case in which the Division 20
17808	17808	Director determines that the allocation made to 21
17809	17809	the Commission with respect to candidates in a 22
17810	17810	State as described in subsection (a) is insuffi-23
17811	17811	cient to make payments to participating can-24
17812	17812	didates in the State under this title (taking into 25
17813	17813	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00588 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17814	17814	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 589
17815	17815	•S 1 IS
17816	17816	account any increase in the allocation under 1
17817	17817	paragraph (2)), moneys shall not be made avail-2
17818	17818	able from any other source for the purpose of 3
17819	17819	making such payments. 4
17820	17820	‘‘(c) E
17821	17821	FFECTIVEDATE.—This section shall take ef-5
17822	17822	fect on the date of the enactment of this title, without 6
17823	17823	regard to whether or not regulations have been promul-7
17824	17824	gated to carry out this section. 8
17825	17825	‘‘SEC. 542. ADMINISTRATION THROUGH DEDICATED DIVI-9
17826	17826	SION WITHIN COMMISSION. 10
17827	17827	‘‘(a) A
17828	17828	DMINISTRATIONTHROUGHDEDICATEDDIVI-11
17829	17829	SION.— 12
17830	17830	‘‘(1) E
17831	17831	STABLISHMENT.—The Commission shall 13
17832	17832	establish a separate division within the Commission 14
17833	17833	which is dedicated to issuing regulations to carry out 15
17834	17834	this title and to otherwise carrying out the operation 16
17835	17835	of this title. 17
17836	17836	‘‘(2) A
17837	17837	PPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR AND 18
17838	17838	STAFF.— 19
17839	17839	‘‘(A) A
17840	17840	PPOINTMENT.—Not later than June 20
17841	17841	1, 2024, the Commission shall appoint a direc-21
17842	17842	tor to head the division established under this 22
17843	17843	section (to be known as the ‘Division Director’) 23
17844	17844	and such other staff as the Commission con-24
17845	17845	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00589 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17846	17846	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 590
17847	17847	•S 1 IS
17848	17848	siders appropriate to enable the division to 1
17849	17849	carry out its duties. 2
17850	17850	‘‘(B) R
17851	17851	OLE OF GENERAL COUNSEL .—If, at 3
17852	17852	any time after the date referred to in subpara-4
17853	17853	graph (A), there is a vacancy in the position of 5
17854	17854	the Division Director, the General Counsel of 6
17855	17855	the Commission shall serve as the acting Divi-7
17856	17856	sion Director until the Commission appoints a 8
17857	17857	Division Director under this paragraph. 9
17858	17858	‘‘(3) P
17859	17859	RIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION .—Any person 10
17860	17860	aggrieved by the failure of the Commission to meet 11
17861	17861	the requirements of this subsection may file an ac-12
17862	17862	tion in an appropriate district court of the United 13
17863	17863	States for such relief, including declaratory and in-14
17864	17864	junctive relief, as may be appropriate. 15
17865	17865	‘‘(b) R
17866	17866	EGULATIONS.—Not later than the deadline set 16
17867	17867	forth in section 8114 of the Freedom to Vote Act, the 17
17868	17868	Commission, acting through the dedicated division estab-18
17869	17869	lished under this section, shall prescribe regulations to 19
17870	17870	carry out the purposes of this title, including regula-20
17871	17871	tions— 21
17872	17872	‘‘(1) to establish procedures for verifying the 22
17873	17873	amount of qualified small dollar contributions with 23
17874	17874	respect to a candidate; 24
17875	17875	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00590 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17876	17876	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 591
17877	17877	•S 1 IS
17878	17878	‘‘(2) to establish procedures for effectively and 1
17879	17879	efficiently monitoring and enforcing the limits on the 2
17880	17880	raising of qualified small dollar contributions; 3
17881	17881	‘‘(3) to establish procedures for effectively and 4
17882	17882	efficiently monitoring and enforcing the limits on the 5
17883	17883	use of personal funds by participating candidates; 6
17884	17884	‘‘(4) to establish procedures for monitoring the 7
17885	17885	use of payments made from the allocation made to 8
17886	17886	the Commission as described in section 541(a) and 9
17887	17887	matching contributions under this title through au-10
17888	17888	dits of not fewer than
17889	17889	1
17890	17890	∕10(or, in the case of the 11
17891	17891	first 3 election cycles during which the program 12
17892	17892	under this title is in effect, not fewer than
17893	17893	1
17894	17894	∕3) of all 13
17895	17895	participating candidates or other mechanisms; 14
17896	17896	‘‘(5) to establish procedures for carrying out 15
17897	17897	audits under section 541(b) and permitting States to 16
17898	17898	make additional allocations as provided under sec-17
17899	17899	tion 541(b)(2)(B); and 18
17900	17900	‘‘(6) to establish rules for preventing fraud in 19
17901	17901	the operation of this title which supplement similar 20
17902	17902	rules which apply under this Act. 21
17903	17903	‘‘SEC. 543. VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES. 22
17904	17904	‘‘(a) C
17905	17905	IVILPENALTY FORVIOLATION OFCONTRIBU-23
17906	17906	TION ANDEXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS.—If a can-24
17907	17907	didate who has been certified as a participating candidate 25
17908	17908	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00591 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17909	17909	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 592
17910	17910	•S 1 IS
17911	17911	accepts a contribution or makes an expenditure that is 1
17912	17912	prohibited under section 521, the Commission may assess 2
17913	17913	a civil penalty against the candidate in an amount that 3
17914	17914	is not more than 3 times the amount of the contribution 4
17915	17915	or expenditure. Any amounts collected under this sub-5
17916	17916	section shall be used to supplement the allocation made 6
17917	17917	to the Commission with respect to the State in which the 7
17918	17918	candidate seeks office, as described in section 541(a). 8
17919	17919	‘‘(b) R
17920	17920	EPAYMENT FOR IMPROPERUSE OFPAY-9
17921	17921	MENTS.— 10
17922	17922	‘‘(1) I
17923	17923	N GENERAL.—If the Commission deter-11
17924	17924	mines that any payment made to a participating 12
17925	17925	candidate was not used as provided for in this title 13
17926	17926	or that a participating candidate has violated any of 14
17927	17927	the dates for remission of funds contained in this 15
17928	17928	title, the Commission shall so notify the candidate 16
17929	17929	and the candidate shall pay to the Commission an 17
17930	17930	amount which shall be used to supplement the allo-18
17931	17931	cation made to the Commission with respect to the 19
17932	17932	State in which the candidate seeks office, as de-20
17933	17933	scribed in section 541(a) and which shall be equal 21
17934	17934	to— 22
17935	17935	‘‘(A) the amount of payments so used or 23
17936	17936	not remitted, as appropriate; and 24
17937	17937	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00592 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17938	17938	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 593
17939	17939	•S 1 IS
17940	17940	‘‘(B) interest on any such amounts (at a 1
17941	17941	rate determined by the Commission). 2
17942	17942	‘‘(2) O
17943	17943	THER ACTION NOT PRECLUDED .—Any 3
17944	17944	action by the Commission in accordance with this 4
17945	17945	subsection shall not preclude enforcement pro-5
17946	17946	ceedings by the Commission in accordance with sec-6
17947	17947	tion 309(a), including a referral by the Commission 7
17948	17948	to the Attorney General in the case of an apparent 8
17949	17949	knowing and willful violation of this title. 9
17950	17950	‘‘(c) P
17951	17951	ROHIBITINGCERTAINCANDIDATESFROM 10
17952	17952	Q
17953	17953	UALIFYING ASPARTICIPATINGCANDIDATES.— 11
17954	17954	‘‘(1) C
17955	17955	ANDIDATES WITH MULTIPLE CIVIL PEN -12
17956	17956	ALTIES.—If the Commission assesses 3 or more civil 13
17957	17957	penalties under subsection (a) against a candidate 14
17958	17958	(with respect to either a single election or multiple 15
17959	17959	elections), the Commission may refuse to certify the 16
17960	17960	candidate as a participating candidate under this 17
17961	17961	title with respect to any subsequent election, except 18
17962	17962	that if each of the penalties were assessed as the re-19
17963	17963	sult of a knowing and willful violation of any provi-20
17964	17964	sion of this Act, the candidate is not eligible to be 21
17965	17965	certified as a participating candidate under this title 22
17966	17966	with respect to any subsequent election. 23
17967	17967	‘‘(2) C
17968	17968	ANDIDATES SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PEN -24
17969	17969	ALTY.—A candidate is not eligible to be certified as 25
17970	17970	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00593 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
17971	17971	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 594
17972	17972	•S 1 IS
17973	17973	a participating candidate under this title with re-1
17974	17974	spect to an election if a penalty has been assessed 2
17975	17975	against the candidate under section 309(d) with re-3
17976	17976	spect to any previous election. 4
17977	17977	‘‘(d) I
17978	17978	MPOSITION OF CRIMINALPENALTIES.—For 5
17979	17979	criminal penalties for the failure of a participating can-6
17980	17980	didate to comply with the requirements of this title, see 7
17981	17981	section 309(d). 8
17982	17982	‘‘SEC. 544. INDEXING OF AMOUNTS. 9
17983	17983	‘‘(a) I
17984	17984	NDEXING.—In any calendar year after 2028, 10
17985	17985	section 315(c)(1)(B) shall apply to each amount described 11
17986	17986	in subsection (b) in the same manner as such section ap-12
17987	17987	plies to the limitations established under subsections 13
17988	17988	(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(3), and (h) of such section, ex-14
17989	17989	cept that for purposes of applying such section to the 15
17990	17990	amounts described in subsection (b), the ‘base period’ 16
17991	17991	shall be 2028. 17
17992	17992	‘‘(b) A
17993	17993	MOUNTSDESCRIBED.—The amounts described 18
17994	17994	in this subsection are as follows: 19
17995	17995	‘‘(1) The amount referred to in section 20
17996	17996	502(b)(1) (relating to the minimum amount of quali-21
17997	17997	fied small dollar contributions included in a request 22
17998	17998	for payment). 23
17999	17999	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00594 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18000	18000	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 595
18001	18001	•S 1 IS
18002	18002	‘‘(2) The amounts referred to in section 1
18003	18003	504(a)(1) (relating to the amount of a qualified 2
18004	18004	small dollar contribution). 3
18005	18005	‘‘(3) The amount referred to in section 4
18006	18006	512(a)(2) (relating to the total dollar amount of 5
18007	18007	qualified small dollar contributions). 6
18008	18008	‘‘(4) The amount referred to in section 7
18009	18009	521(a)(5) (relating to the aggregate amount of con-8
18010	18010	tributions a participating candidate may accept from 9
18011	18011	any individual with respect to an election). 10
18012	18012	‘‘(5) The amount referred to in section 11
18013	18013	521(b)(1)(A) (relating to the amount of personal 12
18014	18014	funds that may be used by a candidate who is cer-13
18015	18015	tified as a participating candidate). 14
18016	18016	‘‘(6) The amounts referred to in section 15
18017	18017	524(a)(2) (relating to the amount of unspent funds 16
18018	18018	a candidate may retain for use in the next election 17
18019	18019	cycle). 18
18020	18020	‘‘(7) The amount referred to in section 19
18021	18021	532(a)(3) (relating to the total dollar amount of 20
18022	18022	qualified small dollar contributions for a candidate 21
18023	18023	seeking an additional payment under subtitle D). 22
18024	18024	‘‘(8) The amount referred to in section 533(b) 23
18025	18025	(relating to the limit on the amount of an additional 24
18026	18026	payment made to a candidate under subtitle D). 25
18027	18027	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00595 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18028	18028	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 596
18029	18029	•S 1 IS
18030	18030	‘‘SEC. 545. ELECTION CYCLE DEFINED. 1
18031	18031	‘‘In this title, the term ‘election cycle’ means, with 2
18032	18032	respect to an election for an office, the period beginning 3
18033	18033	on the day after the date of the most recent general elec-4
18034	18034	tion for that office (or, if the general election resulted in 5
18035	18035	a runoff election, the date of the runoff election) and end-6
18036	18036	ing on the date of the next general election for that office 7
18037	18037	(or, if the general election resulted in a runoff election, 8
18038	18038	the date of the runoff election). 9
18039	18039	‘‘SEC. 546. DIVISION DIRECTOR DEFINED. 10
18040	18040	‘‘In this title, the term ‘Division Director’ means the 11
18041	18041	individual serving as the director of the division estab-12
18042	18042	lished under section 542.’’. 13
18043	18043	SEC. 8112. CONTRIBUTIONS AND EXPENDITURES BY MULTI-14
18044	18044	CANDIDATE AND POLITICAL PARTY COMMIT-15
18045	18045	TEES ON BEHALF OF PARTICIPATING CAN-16
18046	18046	DIDATES. 17
18047	18047	(a) A
18048	18048	UTHORIZINGCONTRIBUTIONSONLYFROMSEP-18
18049	18049	ARATEACCOUNTSCONSISTING OF QUALIFIEDSMALL 19
18050	18050	D
18051	18051	OLLARCONTRIBUTIONS.—Section 315(a) of the Federal 20
18052	18052	Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)) is 21
18053	18053	amended by adding at the end the following new para-22
18054	18054	graph: 23
18055	18055	‘‘(10) In the case of a multicandidate political com-24
18056	18056	mittee or any political committee of a political party, the 25
18057	18057	committee may make a contribution to a candidate who 26
18058	18058	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00596 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18059	18059	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 597
18060	18060	•S 1 IS
18061	18061	is a participating candidate under title V with respect to 1
18062	18062	an election only if the contribution is paid from a separate, 2
18063	18063	segregated account of the committee which consists solely 3
18064	18064	of contributions which meet the following requirements: 4
18065	18065	‘‘(A) Each such contribution is in an amount 5
18066	18066	which meets the requirements for the amount of a 6
18067	18067	qualified small dollar contribution under section 7
18068	18068	504(a)(1) with respect to the election involved. 8
18069	18069	‘‘(B) Each such contribution is made by an in-9
18070	18070	dividual who is not otherwise prohibited from mak-10
18071	18071	ing a contribution under this Act. 11
18072	18072	‘‘(C) The individual who makes the contribution 12
18073	18073	does not make contributions to the committee during 13
18074	18074	the year in an aggregate amount that exceeds the 14
18075	18075	limit described in section 504(a)(1).’’. 15
18076	18076	(b) P
18077	18077	ERMITTINGUNLIMITEDCOORDINATED EX-16
18078	18078	PENDITURESFROMSMALLDOLLARSOURCES BYPOLIT-17
18079	18079	ICALPARTIES.—Section 315(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 18
18080	18080	30116(d)) is amended— 19
18081	18081	(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘The national 20
18082	18082	committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 21
18083	18083	paragraph (6), the national committee’’; and 22
18084	18084	(2) by adding at the end the following new 23
18085	18085	paragraph: 24
18086	18086	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00597 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18087	18087	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 598
18088	18088	•S 1 IS
18089	18089	‘‘(6) The limits described in paragraph (3) do not 1
18090	18090	apply in the case of expenditures in connection with the 2
18091	18091	general election campaign of a candidate for the office of 3
18092	18092	Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner 4
18093	18093	to, the Congress who is a participating candidate under 5
18094	18094	title V with respect to the election, but only if— 6
18095	18095	‘‘(A) the expenditures are paid from a separate, 7
18096	18096	segregated account of the committee which is de-8
18097	18097	scribed in subsection (a)(10); and 9
18098	18098	‘‘(B) the expenditures are the sole source of 10
18099	18099	funding provided by the committee to the can-11
18100	18100	didate.’’. 12
18101	18101	SEC. 8113. PROHIBITING USE OF CONTRIBUTIONS BY PAR-13
18102	18102	TICIPATING CANDIDATES FOR PURPOSES 14
18103	18103	OTHER THAN CAMPAIGN FOR ELECTION. 15
18104	18104	Section 313 of the Federal Election Campaign Act 16
18105	18105	of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114) is amended by adding at the 17
18106	18106	end the following new subsection: 18
18107	18107	‘‘(d) R
18108	18108	ESTRICTIONS ONPERMITTEDUSES OFFUNDS 19
18109	18109	BYCANDIDATESRECEIVINGSMALLDOLLARFINANC-20
18110	18110	ING.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), (3), or (4) of sub-21
18111	18111	section (a), if a candidate for election for the office of Rep-22
18112	18112	resentative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 23
18113	18113	the Congress is certified as a participating candidate 24
18114	18114	under title V with respect to the election, any contribution 25
18115	18115	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00598 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18116	18116	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 599
18117	18117	•S 1 IS
18118	18118	which the candidate is permitted to accept under such title 1
18119	18119	may be used only for authorized expenditures in connec-2
18120	18120	tion with the candidate’s campaign for such office, subject 3
18121	18121	to section 503(b).’’. 4
18122	18122	SEC. 8114. DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE 5
18123	18123	DATE. 6
18124	18124	(a) I
18125	18125	NGENERAL.—Not later than October 1, 2024, 7
18126	18126	the Federal Election Commission shall promulgate such 8
18127	18127	regulations as may be necessary to carry out this part and 9
18128	18128	the amendments made by this part. 10
18129	18129	(b) E
18130	18130	FFECTIVEDATE.—This part and the amend-11
18131	18131	ments made by this part shall take effect on October 1, 12
18132	18132	2024, without regard to whether the Commission has pro-13
18133	18133	mulgated the regulations required under subsection (a) by 14
18134	18134	such date. 15
18135	18135	Subtitle C—Personal Use Services 16
18136	18136	as Authorized Campaign Ex-17
18137	18137	penditures 18
18138	18138	SEC. 8201. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 19
18139	18139	(a) S
18140	18140	HORTTITLE.—This subtitle may be cited as the 20
18141	18141	‘‘Help America Run Act’’. 21
18142	18142	(b) F
18143	18143	INDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 22
18144	18144	(1) Everyday Americans experience barriers to 23
18145	18145	entry before they can consider running for office to 24
18146	18146	serve their communities. 25
18147	18147	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00599 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18148	18148	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 600
18149	18149	•S 1 IS
18150	18150	(2) Current law states that campaign funds 1
18151	18151	cannot be spent on everyday expenses that would 2
18152	18152	exist whether or not a candidate were running for 3
18153	18153	office, like childcare and food. While the law seems 4
18154	18154	neutral, its actual effect is to privilege the independ-5
18155	18155	ently wealthy who want to run, because given the de-6
18156	18156	mands of running for office, candidates who must 7
18157	18157	work to pay for childcare or to afford health insur-8
18158	18158	ance are effectively being left out of the process, 9
18159	18159	even if they have sufficient support to mount a via-10
18160	18160	ble campaign. 11
18161	18161	(3) Thus current practice favors those prospec-12
18162	18162	tive candidates who do not need to rely on a regular 13
18163	18163	paycheck to make ends meet. The consequence is 14
18164	18164	that everyday Americans who have firsthand knowl-15
18165	18165	edge of the importance of stable childcare, a safety 16
18166	18166	net, or great public schools are less likely to get a 17
18167	18167	seat at the table. This governance by the few is anti-18
18168	18168	thetical to the democratic experiment, but most im-19
18169	18169	portantly, when lawmakers do not share the con-20
18170	18170	cerns of everyday Americans, their policies reflect 21
18171	18171	that. 22
18172	18172	(4) These circumstances have contributed to a 23
18173	18173	Congress that does not always reflect everyday 24
18174	18174	Americans. The New York Times reported in 2019 25
18175	18175	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00600 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18176	18176	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 601
18177	18177	•S 1 IS
18178	18178	that fewer than 5 percent of representatives cite 1
18179	18179	blue-collar or service jobs in their biographies. A 2
18180	18180	2020 analysis by OpenSecrets of lawmakers’ per-3
18181	18181	sonal financial disclosure statements showed that the 4
18182	18182	median net worth of lawmakers was just over 5
18183	18183	$1,000,000, or nearly 9 times the median net worth 6
18184	18184	of American families. 7
18185	18185	(5) These circumstances have also contributed 8
18186	18186	to a governing body that does not reflect the nation 9
18187	18187	it serves. For instance, women are 51 percent of the 10
18188	18188	American population. Yet even with a record number 11
18189	18189	of women serving in the One Hundred Eighteenth 12
18190	18190	Congress, the Pew Research Center notes that near-13
18191	18191	ly three out of four Members of this Congress are 14
18192	18192	male. The Center for American Women and Politics 15
18193	18193	found that one third of women legislators surveyed 16
18194	18194	had been actively discouraged from running for of-17
18195	18195	fice, often by political professionals. This type of dis-18
18196	18196	couragement, combined with the prohibitions on 19
18197	18197	using campaign funds for domestic needs like 20
18198	18198	childcare, burdens that still fall disproportionately 21
18199	18199	on American women, particularly disadvantages 22
18200	18200	working mothers. These barriers may explain why 23
18201	18201	only 10 women in history have given birth while 24
18202	18202	serving in Congress, in spite of the prevalence of 25
18203	18203	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00601 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18204	18204	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 602
18205	18205	•S 1 IS
18206	18206	working parents in other professions. Yet working 1
18207	18207	mothers and fathers are best positioned to create 2
18208	18208	policy that reflects the lived experience of most 3
18209	18209	Americans. 4
18210	18210	(6) Working mothers, those caring for their el-5
18211	18211	derly parents, and young professionals who rely on 6
18212	18212	their jobs for health insurance should have the free-7
18213	18213	dom to run to serve the people of the United States. 8
18214	18214	Their networks and net worth are simply not the 9
18215	18215	best indicators of their strength as prospective pub-10
18216	18216	lic servants. In fact, helping ordinary Americans to 11
18217	18217	run may create better policy for all Americans. 12
18218	18218	(c) P
18219	18219	URPOSE.—It is the purpose of this subtitle to 13
18220	18220	ensure that all Americans who are otherwise qualified to 14
18221	18221	serve this Nation are able to run for office, regardless of 15
18222	18222	their economic status. By expanding permissible uses of 16
18223	18223	campaign funds and providing modest assurance that test-17
18224	18224	ing a run for office will not cost one’s livelihood, the Help 18
18225	18225	America Run Act will facilitate the candidacy of represent-19
18226	18226	atives who more accurately reflect the experiences, chal-20
18227	18227	lenges, and ideals of everyday Americans. 21
18228	18228	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00602 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18229	18229	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 603
18230	18230	•S 1 IS
18231	18231	SEC. 8202. TREATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILDCARE 1
18232	18232	AND OTHER PERSONAL USE SERVICES AS AU-2
18233	18233	THORIZED CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE. 3
18234	18234	(a) P
18235	18235	ERSONALUSESERVICES ASAUTHORIZEDCAM-4
18236	18236	PAIGNEXPENDITURE.—Section 313 of the Federal Elec-5
18237	18237	tion Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30114), as amend-6
18238	18238	ed by section 8113, is amended by adding at the end the 7
18239	18239	following new subsection: 8
18240	18240	‘‘(e) T
18241	18241	REATMENT OF PAYMENTS FOR CHILDCARE 9
18242	18242	ANDOTHERPERSONALUSESERVICES ASAUTHORIZED 10
18243	18243	C
18244	18244	AMPAIGNEXPENDITURE.— 11
18245	18245	‘‘(1) A
18246	18246	UTHORIZED EXPENDITURES .—For pur-12
18247	18247	poses of subsection (a), the payment by an author-13
18248	18248	ized committee of a candidate for any of the per-14
18249	18249	sonal use services described in paragraph (3) shall 15
18250	18250	be treated as an authorized expenditure if the serv-16
18251	18251	ices are necessary to enable the participation of the 17
18252	18252	candidate in campaign-connected activities. 18
18253	18253	‘‘(2) L
18254	18254	IMITATIONS.— 19
18255	18255	‘‘(A) L
18256	18256	IMIT ON TOTAL AMOUNT OF PAY -20
18257	18257	MENTS.—The total amount of payments made 21
18258	18258	by an authorized committee of a candidate for 22
18259	18259	personal use services described in paragraph (3) 23
18260	18260	may not exceed the limit which is applicable 24
18261	18261	under any law, rule, or regulation on the 25
18262	18262	amount of payments which may be made by the 26
18263	18263	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00603 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18264	18264	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 604
18265	18265	•S 1 IS
18266	18266	committee for the salary of the candidate (with-1
18267	18267	out regard to whether or not the committee 2
18268	18268	makes payments to the candidate for that pur-3
18269	18269	pose). 4
18270	18270	‘‘(B) C
18271	18271	ORRESPONDING REDUCTION IN 5
18272	18272	AMOUNT OF SALARY PAID TO CANDIDATE .—To 6
18273	18273	the extent that an authorized committee of a 7
18274	18274	candidate makes payments for the salary of the 8
18275	18275	candidate, any limit on the amount of such pay-9
18276	18276	ments which is applicable under any law, rule, 10
18277	18277	or regulation shall be reduced by the amount of 11
18278	18278	any payments made to or on behalf of the can-12
18279	18279	didate for personal use services described in 13
18280	18280	paragraph (3), other than personal use services 14
18281	18281	described in subparagraph (D) of such para-15
18282	18282	graph. 16
18283	18283	‘‘(C) E
18284	18284	XCLUSION OF CANDIDATES WHO 17
18285	18285	ARE OFFICEHOLDERS .—Paragraph (1) does not 18
18286	18286	apply with respect to an authorized committee 19
18287	18287	of a candidate who is a holder of Federal office. 20
18288	18288	‘‘(3) P
18289	18289	ERSONAL USE SERVICES DESCRIBED .— 21
18290	18290	The personal use services described in this para-22
18291	18291	graph are as follows: 23
18292	18292	‘‘(A) Childcare services. 24
18293	18293	‘‘(B) Elder care services. 25
18294	18294	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00604 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18295	18295	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 605
18296	18296	•S 1 IS
18297	18297	‘‘(C) Services similar to the services de-1
18298	18298	scribed in subparagraph (A) or subparagraph 2
18299	18299	(B) which are provided on behalf of any de-3
18300	18300	pendent who is a qualifying relative under sec-4
18301	18301	tion 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 5
18302	18302	‘‘(D) Health insurance premiums.’’. 6
18303	18303	(b) E
18304	18304	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 7
18305	18305	this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 8
18306	18306	of this Act and shall take effect without regard to whether 9
18307	18307	or not the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 10
18308	18308	regulations to carry out such amendments. 11
18309	18309	Subtitle D—Empowering Small 12
18310	18310	Dollar Donations 13
18311	18311	SEC. 8301. PERMITTING POLITICAL PARTY COMMITTEES TO 14
18312	18312	PROVIDE ENHANCED SUPPORT FOR HOUSE 15
18313	18313	CANDIDATES THROUGH USE OF SEPARATE 16
18314	18314	SMALL DOLLAR ACCOUNTS. 17
18315	18315	(a) I
18316	18316	NCREASE INLIMIT ONCONTRIBUTIONS TOCAN-18
18317	18317	DIDATES.—Section 315(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Election 19
18318	18318	Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)(2)(A)) is 20
18319	18319	amended by striking ‘‘exceed $5,000’’ and inserting ‘‘ex-21
18320	18320	ceed $5,000 or, in the case of a contribution made by a 22
18321	18321	national committee of a political party from an account 23
18322	18322	described in paragraph (11), exceed $10,000’’. 24
18323	18323	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00605 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18324	18324	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 606
18325	18325	•S 1 IS
18326	18326	(b) ELIMINATION OFLIMIT ONCOORDINATEDEX-1
18327	18327	PENDITURES.—Section 315(d)(5) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 2
18328	18328	30116(d)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (a)(9)’’ 3
18329	18329	and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(9) or subsection (a)(11)’’. 4
18330	18330	(c) A
18331	18331	CCOUNTSDESCRIBED.—Section 315(a) of such 5
18332	18332	Act (52 U.S.C. 30116(a)), as amended by section 8112(a), 6
18333	18333	is amended by adding at the end the following new para-7
18334	18334	graph: 8
18335	18335	‘‘(11) An account described in this paragraph is a 9
18336	18336	separate, segregated account of a national congressional 10
18337	18337	campaign committee of a political party which— 11
18338	18338	‘‘(A) supports only candidates for election for 12
18339	18339	the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resi-13
18340	18340	dent Commissioner to, the Congress; and 14
18341	18341	‘‘(B) consists exclusively of contributions made 15
18342	18342	during a calendar year by individuals whose aggre-16
18343	18343	gate contributions to the committee during the year 17
18344	18344	do not exceed $200.’’. 18
18345	18345	(d) E
18346	18346	FFECTIVEDATE.—The amendments made by 19
18347	18347	this section shall apply with respect to elections held on 20
18348	18348	or after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall 21
18349	18349	take effect without regard to whether or not the Federal 22
18350	18350	Election Commission has promulgated regulations to carry 23
18351	18351	out such amendments. 24
18352	18352	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00606 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18353	18353	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 607
18354	18354	•S 1 IS
18355	18355	Subtitle E—Severability 1
18356	18356	SEC. 8401. SEVERABILITY. 2
18357	18357	If any provision of this title or amendment made by 3
18358	18358	this title, or the application of a provision or amendment 4
18359	18359	to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu-5
18360	18360	tional, the remainder of this title and amendments made 6
18361	18361	by this title, and the application of the provisions and 7
18362	18362	amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 8
18363	18363	affected by the holding. 9
18364	18364	Æ
18365	18365	VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:31 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00607 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1.IS S1
18366	18366	pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB