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Code · BILL · 119th Congress · S. 2822 (Introduced in Senate) — To improve voter access to the ballot box through automatic voter registration, and for other purposes. · Sec. 5

Sec. 5. Automatic registration of eligible individuals

2,423 words·~11 min read·/bill/119/s/2822/is/section-5

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The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 5 the following new section: In this section— The term applicable agency means, with respect to a State, the State motor vehicle authority responsible for motor vehicle driver's licenses under State law. The term applicable transaction means— an application to an applicable agency for a motor vehicle driver's license; and any other service or assistance (including for a change of address) provided by an applicable agency.
The term automatic registration means a system that registers an individual to vote and updates existing voter registration in elections for Federal office in a State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the information necessary for registration from the applicable agency to election officials of the State in order that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to be registered or to update any voter registration, the individual will be registered to vote in those elections.
The term eligible individual means, with respect to an election for Federal office, an individual who is otherwise qualified to vote in that election. The term register to vote includes updating the existing voter registration of an individual. The chief State election official of each State shall establish and operate a system of automatic registration for the registration of eligible individuals to vote for elections for Federal office in the State, in accordance with the provisions of this section.
The chief State election official shall— subject to subparagraph (B), ensure that each eligible individual who completes an applicable transaction and does not decline to register to vote is registered to vote— in the next election for Federal office (and subsequent elections for Federal office), if an applicable agency transmits information under subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual not later than the applicable date; and in subsequent elections for Federal office, if an applicable agency transmits information under subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual after the applicable date; and not later than 60 days after the receipt of information described in subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to an individual, send written notice to the individual, in addition to other means of notice established under this section, of the voter registration status of the individual.
For purposes of this subsection, the term applicable date means, with respect to any election for Federal office, the later of— the date that is 28 days before the date of the election; or the last day of the period provided by State law for voter registration with respect to such election. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a chief State election official from registering an eligible individual to vote in the next election for Federal office in the State, including if an applicable agency transmits information under subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual after the applicable date.
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a State may not refuse to treat an individual as an eligible individual for purposes of this section on the grounds that the individual is less than 18 years of age on the date on which an applicable agency receives information with respect to the individual, provided that the individual is not less than 16 years of age at that time. Nothing in subparagraph
(A)may be construed to require a State to permit an individual who is less than 18 years of age on the date of an election for Federal office to vote in the election. Except as otherwise provided in this section, in the case of any applicable transaction for which an applicable agency (in the normal course of the operations) requests (either directly or as part of the overall application submitted for the applicable transaction) that an individual affirm that the individual is a United States citizen, the applicable agency shall inform each such individual who is a citizen of the United States of the following: Unless the individual declines to register to vote, or is found ineligible to vote— the individual will be registered to vote; or if applicable, the voter registration of the individual will be updated. With respect to the qualification to register to vote— the substantive qualifications of an elector in the State as listed in the mail voter registration application form for elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9; the consequences of false registration; and how the individual should decline to register to vote if the individual does not meet requirements for eligibility to vote in a Federal election. In the case of a State in which affiliation or enrollment with a political party is required in order to participate in an election for Federal office to select the candidate of the political party, the requirement that the individual must, in registering to vote, affiliate or enroll with a political party in order to participate in such an election. With respect to voter registration by an individual— voter registration is voluntary; whether the individual registers or declines to register to vote shall not affect the availability of any service or benefit; and information relating to whether the individual registers or declines to register to vote may not be used for other purposes. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term covered individual means an individual conducting an applicable transaction— who is a member of a group that constitutes not less than 3 percent of the overall population of the State, as determined by the United States Census Bureau, served by the applicable agency; and who is limited English proficient. In providing information pursuant to subparagraph (A), an applicable agency shall provide the information to any covered individual served by the applicable agency in a language understood by the covered individual. An applicable agency may not provide an individual who did not affirm United States citizenship, or for whom the applicable agency has conclusive documentary evidence obtained through the normal course of operations of the applicable agency that the individual is not a United States citizen, the opportunity to register to vote under subparagraph (A). Except as otherwise provided in this section, each applicable agency shall ensure that each applicable transaction described in subparagraph
(A)may not be completed unless the individual is given the opportunity to decline to be registered to vote. If an individual is a covered individual, as defined in subparagraph (B)(i), the covered individual shall be given the opportunity to decline to be registered to vote in a language understood by the covered individual. Not later than 10 days after an applicable transaction with an eligible individual, if the eligible individual did not decline to be registered to vote, the applicable agency shall electronically transmit to the appropriate State election official the following information with respect to the eligible individual: The given name and surname of the eligible individual. The date of birth of the eligible individual. The residential address of the individual. Information showing that the individual is a citizen of the United States. The date on which information pertaining to the eligible individual was collected or most recently updated. If available, the signature of the eligible individual in electronic form. In the case of a State in which affiliation or enrollment with a political party is required in order to participate in an election to select the candidate of the political party in an election for Federal office, information relating to the affiliation or enrollment of the eligible individual with a political party, if the eligible individual provides that information. Any additional information listed in the mail voter registration application form for elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9, including, if the eligible individual provides such information— the valid driver’s license number of the eligible individual; and the last 4 digits of the social security number of the eligible individual. In the case of a State in which affiliation or enrollment with a political party is required in order to participate in an election to select the candidate of a political party in an election for Federal office, if the information transmitted under subparagraph
(E)with respect to an eligible individual does not include information regarding the affiliation or enrollment with a political party of the eligible individual, the chief State election official shall— notify the eligible individual that such affiliation or enrollment is required to participate in any primary election for Federal office; and provide an opportunity for the eligible individual to update the registration of the eligible individual to denote the party affiliation or enrollment of the eligible individual. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an applicable agency to transmit to an election official the information described in subparagraph
(E)with respect to an individual who is ineligible to vote in an election for Federal office in the State, except to the extent required to pre-register a citizen between 16 and 18 years of age. With each applicable transaction for which an applicable agency (in the normal course of the operations of the applicable agency) does not request an individual to affirm United States citizenship (either directly or as part of the overall application for service or assistance), the applicable agency shall— complete the requirements under section 5; ensure that each transaction by an individual with the applicable agency may not be completed unless the individual indicates whether the individual wishes to register to vote or declines to register to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State; and for each individual who wishes to register to vote, transmit the information relating to the individual described in paragraph (1)(E), unless the applicable agency has conclusive documentary evidence obtained through the normal course of operations of the applicable agency that the individual is not a United States citizen. Each applicable agency shall offer each eligible individual, in conducting each applicable transaction, the opportunity to register to vote as prescribed by this section without regard to whether the individual previously declined an opportunity to register to vote. Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize an applicable agency to collect, retain, transmit, or publicly disclose any of the following, except as necessary to comply with title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 ( 52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq. ): The decision of an individual to decline to register to vote. The decision of an individual not to affirm the citizenship of the individual. Any information that an applicable agency transmits pursuant to subsection (c)(1)(E), except in carrying out the ordinary course of business of the applicable agency. Except as provided in clause (ii), with respect to any individual with respect to whom any appropriate State election official receives information from an applicable agency, the State election official shall not publicly disclose— any information not necessary to voter registration; any information of the individual otherwise protected from disclosure pursuant to section 8(a) or State law; any portion of the social security number of the individual; any portion of the motor vehicle driver’s license number of the individual; the signature of the individual; the telephone number of the individual; or the email address of the individual. The prohibition on public disclosure under clause
(i)shall not apply with respect to the telephone number or email address of any individual— for whom any State election official receives information from the applicable agency; and who, on the basis of such information, is registered to vote in the State under this section. Each applicable agency shall ensure that the voter registration services the applicable agency provides under this section are made available to individuals with disabilities to the same extent as services are made available to all other individuals. Nothing in the Register America to Vote Act of 2025 or this section shall be construed to prevent an applicable agency from contracting with a third party to assist the applicable agency in meeting the information transmittal requirements under this section, provided that the information transmittal complies with the applicable requirements of this section, including provisions relating privacy and security. The services made available by applicable agencies under this section shall be made in a manner consistent with paragraphs (4), (5), and (6)(C) of section 7(a). Each State may send notices under this section via electronic mail if the individual has provided an electronic mail address and consented to electronic mail communications for election-related materials. Any notice sent pursuant to this section that requires a response shall offer the individual to whom the notice is sent the opportunity to respond to the notice at no cost to the individual. Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a State from offering voter registration services described in this section at offices of the State other than the State motor vehicle authority. This section shall not apply to an exempt State. The term exempt State means a State that, under law that is in effect on or after the date of enactment of this Act, either— has no voter registration requirement for any voter in the State with respect to a Federal election; or operates a system of automatic registration (as defined in subsection (a))— at the motor vehicle authority of the State; or a Permanent Dividend Fund of the State under which an individual is provided the opportunity to decline to register to vote— during the transaction; or by notice sent by mail or electronically after the transaction. . Section 4(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20503(a) ) is amended by— redesignating paragraphs
(2)and
(3)as paragraphs
(3)and (4), respectively; and inserting after paragraph
(1)the following: by application made simultaneously with an application for a motor vehicle driver's license pursuant to section 5A; . Section 4(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20503(b) ) is amended— by redesignating paragraphs
(1)and
(2)as subparagraphs
(A)and (B), respectively, and indenting appropriately; by striking and inserting “ States .—This Act States .— Except as provided in paragraph (2), this Act ; and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: Section 5A shall apply to a State described in paragraph (1), unless the State is an exempt State as defined in subsection (f)(2) of that section. . Section 8(a)(1) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20507(a)(1) ) is amended by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and
(D)as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respectively, and by inserting after subparagraph
(A)the following: in the case of registration under section 5A, within the period provided in section 5A(b)(2); .
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