Sec. 2. Voting on Indian lands
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/bill/115/s/1419/is/section-2A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 42 U.S.C. 1973 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: A representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, may request one or more polling places to be located on the Indian lands of the Indian tribe. Such request shall be delivered in writing to the State or political subdivision with responsibility for assigning polling places at least 6 months prior to the next election for which the request is made, and shall specify the location of each requested polling place.
Each requested polling place shall be provided by the State or political subdivision in response to a request made under subparagraph (A), at no expense to the Indian tribe, if the voting-age population within the geographic area of the Indian lands relevant to the requested polling place is at least equal to the smallest voting-age population served by any other polling place in the State. Each polling place that is provided under this subparagraph shall continue to be provided after the election for which the request was made, until such time as the Indian tribe that requested that polling place delivers a written request to the State or political subdivision asking that such polling place be withdrawn.
Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent a State or political subdivision from providing additional polling places on Indian lands if no request was made under subparagraph (A), or if such request was made less than 6 months prior to the next election for which the request was made. A State or political subdivision shall provide the same ratio of poll workers and voting devices, the same rate of pay to poll workers, and the same days and hours of operation, for polling places that are located on Indian lands as are provided in other locations of polling places in the State or political subdivision.
A polling place located on Indian lands shall be open to voting by all persons who are otherwise eligible to vote residing within the precinct, voting unit, or electoral district. Polling places located on Indian lands may be designated at— a Federal facility, such as Indian Health Service or Bureau of Indian Affairs service buildings; any tribal government facility that meets the requirements of Federal and State law applied to other polling locations within the State; a tribally owned building; or another facility that meets the requirements for polling places in the State.
A representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the Indian tribe, may deliver a request to the appropriate State or political subdivision that a location on Indian lands be designated as an absentee ballot location or an early voting location, and such State or political subdivision shall grant the request, at no expense to the Indian tribe, if— the requested location on Indian lands is in a State that permits voting by an absentee or mail-in ballot or early voting (also called absentee in-person voting), as the case may be; and the voting-age population within the geographic area of Indian lands relevant to the requested absentee ballot location or early voting location is at least equal to the smallest voting-age population served by any other absentee ballot location or early voting location in the State.
If a location on Indian lands is designated as an absentee ballot location or an early voting location, absentee ballots, or early ballots, as the case may be, shall be provided, at no expense to the Indian tribe, to each registered voter living in such designated location without the requirement of an excuse for an absentee ballot or early voting. Bilingual election materials and oral language assistance shall be provided if required by section 203. A representative official of an Indian tribe, with authorization from the governing body of the tribe, may request that tribal government service offices be designated as voter registration agencies under section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20506 ).
Such a request shall be delivered in writing to the State or political subdivision with responsibility for assigning polling locations at least 6 months prior to the next election for which the request is made. Such a request shall be granted if the tribal government service office meets the requirements of Federal and State law applied to other designated voter registration agencies within the State. .
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