[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 528 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 528

  To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to modify the 
    requirements for voter mail registration and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 14, 2001

   Mr. Bond introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
         referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to modify the 
    requirements for voter mail registration 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 ``Safeguard the Vote Act''.

SEC. 2. MAIL REGISTRATION.

    (a) Requirement for First-Time Voters To Present Identification.--
Section 6(c)(1) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 
U.S.C. 1973gg-4(c)(1)) is amended by striking ``a State may by law 
require a person to vote in person if'' and inserting ``a State shall 
by law require a person to vote in person and present a picture 
identification if''.
    (b) Removal of Voters in Response to Undelivered Notices.--
            (1) In general.--Section 6(d) of the National Voter 
        Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-4(d)) is amended by 
        striking ``may proceed'' and all that follows through the end 
        and inserting the following: ``shall--
            ``(1) proceed in accordance with section 8(d); or
            ``(2) if provided for under State law, remove the name of 
        the registrant from the official list of eligible voters in 
        elections for Federal office provided that reasonable 
        safeguards are available to prevent the removal of an eligible 
        voter.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Section 8(a)(3)(C) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1973gg-6(a)(3)(C)) is amended by inserting ``or section 
                6(d)(2)'' after ``paragraph (4)''.
                    (B) Section 8(c)(2)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
                1973gg-6(c)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting ``or section 
                6(d)(2)'' after ``subsection (a)''.
    (c) Contents of Mail Voter Registration Form.--Section 9(b)(3) of 
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-7(b)(3)) 
is amended to read as follows:
            ``(3) may include a requirement for notarization or other 
        formal authentication as each State may by law require; and''.

SEC. 3. MAINTENANCE OF ACCURATE LIST OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS.

    (a) Required Voter Removal Program.--Section 8(a) of the National 
Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-(6)(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) conduct a program to determine whether the number of 
        eligible voters in any jurisdiction is less than the number of 
        eligible voters on the official list for such jurisdiction and, 
        if such determination is made, remove the names of ineligible 
        voters from such list in accordance with paragraph (4).''.
    (b) Identification Required.--Section 8(e) of the National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6(e)) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(4) Any requirement under this section to make an oral or written 
affirmation regarding the address of a registrant shall include a 
requirement that such registrant present picture identification as part 
of such affirmation.''.
    (c) Notification of Felony Convictions.--Section 8(g) of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-6(g)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(6) The Attorney General shall provide, upon request of any chief 
State election official, expedited access to applicable records 
regarding felony convictions of individuals in order to determine if an 
individual is eligible to vote under any applicable State law.''.
    (d) Additional Penalty for Conspiracy.--Section 12(2) of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-(10)(2)) is 
amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``process, by'' and inserting ``process'';
            (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or knowingly and 
        willfully conspires with another person to deprive, defraud, or 
        attempt to deprive or defraud the residents of a State of a 
        fair and impartially conducted election process, by'' before 
        ``the procurement''; and
            (3) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``by'' before ``the 
        procurement''.

SEC. 4. PENALTIES UNDER VOTING RIGHTS ACT.

    (a) Increased Penalties.--Subsections (c) and (e)(1) of section 11 
of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973i) are each amended by 
striking ``$10,000'' and inserting ``$30,000''.
    (b) Misrepresentation of Eligibility.--Section 11(c) of the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973i(c)) is amended by inserting ``or 
gives false information as to the individual's status as a convicted 
felon'' after ``voting district''.

SEC. 5. VOTER ROLL COORDINATION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

    (a) Demonstration Project Established.--The Federal Election 
Commission shall establish a demonstration project for the purpose of 
determining the feasibility and advisability of requiring coordination 
of the official list of registered voters and certain State records to 
ensure--
            (1) such list is accurate; and
            (2) that eligible voters are not improperly removed from 
        the official list.
    (b) Project.--
            (1) In general.--The project conducted under this section 
        shall require a State to maintain accurate records regarding 
        individuals eligible to vote in the project area by 
        coordinating--
                    (A) State records of--
                            (i) individuals registered to vote with 
                        respect to elections for Federal office through 
                        the appropriate State motor vehicle authority 
                        under section 5 of the National Voter 
                        Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-3);
                            (ii) deaths; and
                            (iii) individuals convicted of a felony; 
                        with
                    (B) the official list of the appropriate 
                jurisdiction of individuals registered, and otherwise 
                eligible, to vote in such elections.
            (2) Study.--In conjunction with the demonstration project 
        under this subsection, the Federal Election Commission shall 
        conduct a study of--
                    (A) the current practices and methods of voting 
                jurisdictions used to maintain official lists of 
                registered voters; and
                    (B) reasons for any failure of such practices and 
                methods to prevent voting fraud or inaccurate lists.
    (c) Project Area and Duration.--
            (1) Project area.--The Federal Election Commission shall 
        implement the project in the voting jurisdictions of St. Louis 
        County, Missouri, and St. Louis City, Missouri.
            (2) Duration.--The project conducted under this section 
        shall be implemented for a period ending on the date of the 
        next general election for the office of President and Vice 
        President.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the completion of the 
demonstration project, the Federal Election Commission shall submit a 
report to Congress on the demonstration project and study conducted 
under subsection (b) together with such recommendations as the Federal 
Election Commission determines appropriate--
            (1) regarding resources, technology, and personnel 
        necessary for maintenance of accurate records; and
            (2) legislative and administrative action, including the 
        feasibility of national standards.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
                                 <all>