Sec. 201. Description of protections
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Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subtitle: If a jurisdiction responsible for the administration of an election for Federal office in a State permits individuals to drop off voted ballots in the election in drop boxes, the jurisdiction shall ensure that the drop boxes are available for in-person use and are accessible and clearly labeled. In establishing the location, number, and time of operation of the drop boxes described in subsection (a), the appropriate election official of a jurisdiction which is subject to such subsection shall take into account the need to provide access to such drop boxes by unhoused individuals, based on consultation with persons who provide services for unhoused individuals and other relevant stakeholders.
If a State imposes a requirement that an individual who desires to vote in an election for Federal office in the State provide the appropriate election official with documentation of the individual’s residence, the State shall consider the individual to meet that requirement if the individual provides the official with a written attestation of the individual’s residence, signed under penalty of perjury. A State may not prohibit an individual who is residing in a homeless shelter from using the shelter as the individual’s residence for purposes of voting in an election for Federal office which is held in the jurisdiction in which the shelter is located.
If a State imposes a requirement that an individual who desires to vote in an election for Federal office in the State provide the appropriate election official with documentation of the individual’s identification, the State shall consider the individual to meet the requirement if the individual provides the official with a document containing the individual’s name which is issued by an entity of the criminal justice system, including a correctional facility, court, probation officer, or parole officer.
The chief State election official shall ensure that the official public website of each election official of the State includes an accessible, clear, and separate hyperlink to simple information on how unhoused individuals may register to vote and vote in elections for Federal office held in the State. If a State or political subdivision is required under section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( 52 U.S.C. 10503 ) to provide voting materials in a language other than English, the appropriate election official shall ensure that the information provided under paragraph
(1)is provided in that language as well as English. Not later than 60 days prior to the deadline for registering to vote in an election for Federal office held in a State, the chief State election official shall send a notification of the deadline to each homeless shelter in a jurisdiction of the State in which the election will be held, local social services agencies which commonly serve unhoused individuals, and other entities which provide services to a significant population of unhoused individuals in the jurisdiction. Not later than 30 days prior to the date of an election for Federal office, the chief State election official shall send a notification of the election to each homeless shelter in a jurisdiction of the State in which the election will be held, along with the other agencies and entities to whom the chief State election official sent notice of the registration deadline under paragraph (1). In consultation with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Commission shall develop and regularly update recommendations for the best practices for State and local election officials to follow to protect and promote the access of unhoused individuals to voter registration and voting in elections for Federal office. The Commission shall include in the best practices developed and updated under this section— methods to ensure that unhoused individuals are aware of the procedures and locations for registering to vote and voting; methods to help election officials comply with requirements for providing access to voter registration and voting for people with disabilities, including requirements established and enforced by the Department of Justice; methods to train election officials, including poll workers, in recognizing and responding to the challenges faced by unhoused individuals in registering to vote and voting; methods to ensure that individuals who are not eligible to register to vote, including individuals who are not citizens of the United States, and individuals who are eligible but who do not wish to register to vote are not denied access to services provided by homeless shelters and local social services agencies which commonly serve unhoused individuals; and such other practices as the Commission considers appropriate. In developing and updating the best practices under this section, the Commission shall consult with individuals who have experience in being unhoused and with homeless shelters and local social services agencies which commonly serve unhoused individuals, including shelters and agencies with experience in serving unhoused individuals who are not citizens of the United States. The Commission shall develop the first set of best practices under this section not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Unhoused VOTE Act. In this subtitle— the term homeless shelter means an emergency shelter under section 321 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11351 ); and the term unhoused individual means a homeless individual, as defined in section 103 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11302 ). . Section 401 of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 21111 ) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting , and subtitle C of title III. . The table of contents of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title III the following: Subtitle C—Access to Voting for Unhoused Individuals Sec. 321. Promoting use of drop boxes by unhoused individuals. Sec. 322. Acceptance of certain documentation of residence and identification. Sec. 323. Outreach to unhoused individuals. Sec. 324. Development of best practices. Sec. 325. Definitions. .
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