[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 102 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 102

To encourage increased voter registration for Federal, State, and local 
                   elections, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

Mr. Michel (for himself and Mr. Roberts) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred jointly to the Committees on House Administration 
                           and the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To encourage increased voter registration for Federal, State, and local 
                   elections, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Voter Registration 
Enhancement Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the right to vote is a fundamental right;
            (2) all citizens of the United States are entitled to be 
        protected from vote fraud and from voter registration lists 
        that contain the names of ineligible or nonexistent voters, 
        which dilute the worth of qualified votes honestly cast; and
            (3) all citizens of the United States are entitled to be 
        governed by elected and appointed public officers who are 
        responsible to them and who govern in the public interest 
        without corruption, self-dealing, or favoritism.
    (b) Purposes.-- The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to increase registration of citizens as voters in 
        elections for Federal office;
            (2) to make it possible for Federal, State, and local 
        governments to enhance voter participation in elections for 
        Federal office;
            (3) to protect the integrity of the electoral process;
            (4) to ensure the maintenance of accurate and current 
        official voter registration lists; and
            (5) to guarantee to the States, and to their citizens, a 
        republican form of government, including elections conducted 
        free of fraud, and governmental processes conducted free of 
        corruption, self-dealing, or favoritism.

                TITLE I--VOTER REGISTRATION ENHANCEMENT

SEC. 101. FEDERAL COORDINATION AND BIENNIAL ASSESSMENT.

    The Attorney General--
            (1) shall be responsible for coordination of Federal 
        functions under this Act;
            (2) shall provide information to the States with respect to 
        State responsibilities under this Act; and
            (3) shall, not later than June 30 of each even-numbered 
        year, submit to the Congress a report assessing the impact of 
        this Act on the administration of elections for Federal office 
        during the preceding 2 calendar years and providing 
        recommendations for improvements in Federal and State 
        procedures, forms, and other matters affected by this Act.

SEC. 102. RESPONSIBILITY OF CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL.

    The chief State election official of each State shall be 
responsible for coordination of State functions under this title.

SEC. 103. VOTER REGISTRATION ENHANCEMENT BLOCK GRANTS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General--
            (1) for making grants under this section for fiscal years 
        1993, 1994, and 1995, a total of $25,000,000; and
            (2) such additional sums as may be necessary for 
        administrative expenses of the Attorney General in carrying out 
        this title.
    (b) Block Grants.--(1) From the amounts appropriated under 
subsection (a) for any fiscal year, the Attorney General shall make 
grants to States, through chief State election officials, for the 
purposes of supporting, facilitating, and enhancing voter registration.
    (2) To qualify for a grant under paragraph (1), a State shall match 
any amount of Federal funds dollar for dollar with State funds for 
voter registration enhancement activities, such as, but not limited 
to--
            (A) providing for voter registration for elections for 
        Federal office at State departments of motor vehicles; and
            (B) providing for uniform and nondiscriminatory programs to 
        ensure that official voter registration lists are accurate and 
        current in each State.
    (c) Allocation of Grants.--(1) The Attorney General shall by 
regulation establish criteria for allocation of grants among States 
based on--
            (A) the number of residents of each State;
            (B) the percentage of eligible voters in each State not 
        registered to vote; and
            (C) other appropriate factors.
    (2) In promulgating criteria pursuant to paragraph (1), the 
Attorney General shall give special consideration to State-sponsored 
programs designed to improve registration in counties with voter 
registration percentages significantly lower than that for the State as 
a whole.
    (d) Administrative Requirements.--(1) The Attorney General shall by 
regulation establish administrative requirements necessary to carry out 
this section.
    (2) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State 
shall certify that the State--
            (A) has in place legislative authority and a plan to 
        implement procedures to promote and facilitate, to an extent 
        and in such manner as the Attorney General may deem adequate to 
        carry out the purposes of this title, voter registration for 
        Federal elections in connection with applications for driver's 
        licenses;
            (B) agrees to use any amount received from a grant under 
        this section in accordance with the requirements of this 
        section;
            (C) agrees that any amount received through a grant under 
        this section for any period will be used to supplement and 
        increase any State, local, or other non-Federal funds that 
        would, in the absence of the grant, be made available for the 
        programs and activities for which grants are provided under 
        this section and will in no event supplant such State, local, 
        and other non-Federal funds; and
            (D) has established fiscal control and fund accounting 
        procedures to ensure the proper disbursement of, and accounting 
        for, grants made to the State under this section.
    (3) The Attorney General may not prescribe for a State the manner 
of compliance with the requirements of this subsection.
    (e) Reports.--(1) The chief State election official of a State that 
receives a grant under this section shall submit to the Attorney 
General annual reports on its activities under this section.
    (2) A report required by paragraph (1) shall be in such form and 
contain such information as the Attorney General, after consultation 
with chief State election officials, determines to be necessary to--
            (A) determine whether grant amounts were expended in 
        accordance with this section;
            (B) describe activities under this section; and
            (C) provide a record of the progress made toward achieving 
        the purposes for which the block grants were provided.

SEC. 104. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purpose of this title--
            (1) the term ``chief State election official'' means, with 
        respect to a State, the officer, employee, or entity with 
        authority, under State law, for election administration in the 
        State;
            (2) the term ``election'' has the meaning stated in section 
        301(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
        431(1));
            (3) the term ``Federal office'' has the meaning stated in 
        section 301(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 
        U.S.C. 431(3)); and
            (4) the term ``State'' has the meaning stated in section 
        301(12) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 
        431(12)).

                      TITLE II--PUBLIC CORRUPTION

SEC. 201. ELECTION FRAUD AND OTHER PUBLIC CORRUPTION.

    (a) Amendment of title 18 of the United States Code.--Chapter 11 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end thereof 
the following new section:
``Sec. 226. Public corruption
    ``(a) Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (d), 
defrauds, or endeavors to defraud, by any scheme or artifice, the 
inhabitants of the United States, a State, a political subdivision of a 
State, or Indian country of the honest services of an official or 
employee of the United States or the State, political subdivision, or 
Indian tribal government shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 
for not more than 20 years, or both.
    ``(b) Whoever, in a circumstance described in subsection (d), 
defrauds, or endeavors to defraud, by any scheme or artifice, the 
inhabitants of the United States, a State, a political subdivision of a 
State, or Indian country of a fair and impartially conducted election 
process in any primary, runoff, special, or general election--
            ``(1) through the procurement, casting, or tabulation of 
        ballots that are materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent or 
        that are invalid, under the laws of the jurisdiction in which 
        the election is held;
            ``(2) through paying or offering to pay any person for 
        voting;
            ``(3) through the procurement or submission of voter 
        registrations that contain false material information, or omit 
        material information; or
            ``(4) through the filing of any report required to be filed 
        under State law regarding an election campaign that contains 
        false material information or omits material information,
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, 
or both.
    ``(c) Whoever, being a public official or an official or employee 
of the United States, a State, a political subdivision of a State, or 
an Indian tribal government, in a circumstance described in subsection 
(d), defrauds or endeavors to defraud, by any scheme or artifice, the 
inhabitants of the United States, a State, a political subdivision of a 
State, or Indian country of the right to have the affairs of the United 
States, the State, political subdivision, or Indian tribal government 
conducted on the basis of complete, true, and accurate material 
information, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more 
than 20 years, or both.
    ``(d) The circumstances referred to in subsections (a), (b), and 
(c) are that--
            ``(1) for the purpose of executing or concealing such 
        scheme or artifice or attempting to do so, the person so 
        doing--
                    ``(A) places in any post office or authorized 
                depository for mail matter, any matter or thing 
                whatever to be sent or delivered by the Postal Service, 
                or takes or receives therefrom, any such matter or 
                thing, or knowingly causes to be delivered by mail 
                according to the direction thereon, or at the place at 
                which it is directed to be delivered by the person to 
                whom it is addressed, any such matter or thing;
                    ``(B) transmits or causes to be transmitted by 
                means of wire, radio, or television communication in 
                interstate or foreign commerce any writings, signs, 
                signals, pictures, or sounds;
                    ``(C) transports or causes to be transported any 
                person or thing, or induces any person to travel in or 
                to be transported in, interstate or foreign commerce; 
                or
                    ``(D) in connection with intrastate, interstate, or 
                foreign commerce, engages the use of a facility of 
                interstate or foreign commerce;
            ``(2) the scheme or artifice affects or constitutes an 
        attempt to affect in any manner or degree, or would if executed 
        or concealed so affect, interstate or foreign commerce; or
            ``(3) as applied to an offense under subsection (b), an 
        objective of the scheme or artifice is to secure the election 
        of an official who, if elected, would have some authority over 
        the administration of funds derived from an Act of Congress 
        totaling $10,000 or more during the 12-month period immediately 
        preceding or following the election or date of the offense.
    ``(e) Whoever defrauds or endeavors to defraud, by any scheme or 
artifice, the inhabitants of the United States of the honest services 
of a public official or person who has been selected to be a public 
official shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 
20 years, or both.
    ``(f) Whoever, being an official, public official, or person who 
has been selected to be a public official, directly or indirectly 
discharges, demotes, suspends, threatens, harasses, or in any manner 
discriminates against an employee or official of the United States, a 
State, a political subdivision of a State, or an Indian tribal 
government, or endeavors to do so, in order to carry out or to conceal 
any scheme or artifice described in this section, shall be fined under 
this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both.
    ``(g) For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `official' includes--
                    ``(A) any person employed by, exercising any 
                authority derived from, or holding any position in an 
                Indian tribal government or the government of a State 
                or any subdivision of the executive, legislative, 
                judicial, or other branch of government thereof, 
                including a department, independent establishment, 
                commission, administration, authority, board, and 
                bureau, and a corporation or other legal entity 
                established and subject to control by a government or 
                governments for the execution of a governmental or 
                intergovernmental program;
                    ``(B) any person acting or pretending to act under 
                color of official authority; and
                    ``(C) any person who has been nominated, appointed, 
                or selected to be an official or who has been 
                officially informed that such person will be so 
                nominated, appointed, or selected;
            ``(2) the terms `public official' and `person who has been 
        selected to be a public official' have the meanings stated in 
        section 201(a) and shall also include any person acting or 
        pretending to act under color of official authority;
            ``(3) the term `State' means a State of the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other 
        commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States; 
        and
            ``(4) the term `under color of official authority' includes 
        any person who represents that such person controls, is an 
        agent of, or otherwise acts on behalf of an official, a public 
        official, or a person who has been selected to be a public 
        official.''.
    (b) Technical Amendments.--(1) The table of sections for chapter 11 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following item:

``226. Public corruption.''.
    (2) Section 1961(1) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
inserting ``section 226 (relating to public corruption),'' after 
``section 224 (relating to sports bribery),''.
    (3) Section 2516(1)(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting ``section 226 (relating to public corruption),'' after 
``section 224 (bribery in sporting contests),''.

SEC. 202. FRAUD IN INTERSTATE COMMERCE.

    (a) Amendment of Title 18 of the United States Code.--Section 1343 
of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``transmits or causes to be transmitted by 
        means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate 
        or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or 
        sounds'' and inserting ``in connection with intrastate, 
        interstate, or foreign commerce, engages the use of a facility 
        of interstate or foreign commerce''; and
            (2) by inserting ``or attempting to do so'' after ``for the 
        purpose of executing such scheme or artifice''.
    (b) Technical Amendments.--(1) The heading of section 1343 of title 
18, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 1343. Fraud by use of facility of interstate commerce''.
    (2) The chapter analysis for chapter 63 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by striking the analysis for section 1343 and 
inserting the following:

``1343. Fraud by use of facility of interstate commerce.''.

SEC. 203. PRESERVATION OF THE EFFECT OF STATE LAW THAT PROVIDES GREATER 
              PROTECTION AGAINST VOTE FRAUD.

    In the case of any conflict between the provisions of this Act and 
any provision of the civil or criminal law of any State, the law of the 
State shall prevail to the extent that such State law provides for more 
stringent suppression of vote fraud than this Act.

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