[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5171 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5171

     To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure the same 
 requirements that apply to voters who register by mail also apply to 
 voters who do not register in person with an officer or employee of a 
    State or local government entity, and to provide for increased 
  penalties for fraudulent registration in cases involving 10 or more 
                              violations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2004

  Mr. Pearce introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure the same 
 requirements that apply to voters who register by mail also apply to 
 voters who do not register in person with an officer or employee of a 
    State or local government entity, and to provide for increased 
  penalties for fraudulent registration in cases involving 10 or more 
                              violations.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The right to vote is a fundamental and incontrovertible 
        right under the Constitution.
            (2) There is a need for Congress to encourage and enable 
        every eligible American to vote by reaffirming that the right 
        to vote is a fundamental right under the Constitution.
            (3) There is a need for Congress to encourage and enable 
        every eligible American to vote by reaffirming that the United 
        States is a democratic government ``of the people, by the 
        people, and for the people'' in which every vote counts.
            (4) There is a need for Congress to encourage and enable 
        every eligible American to vote by eliminating procedural 
        obstacles to voting.
            (5) There is a need to counter discrimination in voting by 
        removing barriers to the exercise of the constitutionally 
        protected right to vote.
            (6) There is a need to ensure that voter registration 
        processes fairly incorporate every eligible American seeking to 
        exercise the right to vote.
            (7) Participation in the electoral process is a fundamental 
        civic responsibility in which all eligible Americans should be 
        encouraged to actively participate.
            (8) There is a need to ensure that every eligible American 
        seeking to exercise the right to vote has access to the 
        electoral process through a uniform system of voter 
        registration that includes each voter's personal registration 
        with an appropriate State or local government election entity.
            (9) Congress has authority under section 4 of Article I of 
        the Constitution of the United States, section 5 of the 
        Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
        and section 2 of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of 
        the United States to enact legislation to address the equal 
        protection violations that may be caused by unfair voting 
        systems.
            (10) Congress has an obligation to ensure that the States 
        and localities improve election administration and to ensure 
        the integrity of full participation of all Americans in the 
        democratic election process.
            (11) Congress has an obligation to ensure that the States 
        and localities improve election administration and to ensure 
        the integrity of full participation of all Americans in the 
        democratic election process.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR VOTERS WHO DO NOT REGISTER IN PERSON WITH AN 
              OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF A STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT 
              ENTITY.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Application of requirements to voters not registering 
        in person.--Section 303(b)(1)(A) of the Help America Vote Act 
        of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15483(b)(1)(A)) is amended to read as 
        follows:
                    ``(A) the individual--
                            ``(i) registered to vote in a jurisdiction 
                        by mail; or
                            ``(ii) did not register to vote in a 
                        jurisdiction in person with an officer or 
                        employee of a State or local government entity; 
                        and''.
            (2) Meaning of in person.--Section 303(b)(1) of such Act is 
        amended by inserting at the end the following: ``For purposes 
        of subparagraph (A)(ii), an individual shall not be considered 
        to have registered in person if the registration is made by a 
        person other than the person whose name appears on the voter 
        registration form.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The heading for section 303(b) of such 
Act is amended by inserting ``and Who Do not Register in Person'' after 
``Mail''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take 
effect as if included in the enactment of section 303 of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002.

SEC. 3. INCREASED PENALTIES RELATING TO FRAUDULENT VOTER REGISTRATION 
              IN CASES INVOLVING 10 OR MORE VIOLATIONS.

    (a) False Information in Registering or Voting.--Section 11(c) of 
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973i(c)) is amended by 
inserting at the end the following: ``In the case of any person who is 
found to have been in violation of this section with respect to 10 or 
more voter registrations, this section shall be applied by substituting 
`$20,000' for `$10,000' and by substituting `ten years' for `five 
years' with respect to each such violation.''.
    (b) Penalty Under National Voter Registration Act of 1993.--Section 
12 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg-10) 
is amended by inserting at the end the following: ``In the case of any 
person who is found to have been in violation of paragraph (2)(A) with 
respect to 10 or more registration applications, such person shall be 
fined not less than $500,000 ($1,000,000 in the case of an 
organization) or shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both, 
and any such fine shall be paid into the general fund of the Treasury 
as provided in the preceding sentence.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to violations occurring after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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