[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5038 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5038

To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent the election practice 
                known as caging, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 17, 2008

Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Becerra, Mr. 
  Nadler, Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Cohen, Mr. 
Holt, Mr. Honda, Ms. Kilpatrick, and Ms. Moore of Wisconsin) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to prevent the election practice 
                known as caging, 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 ``Caging Prohibition Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. VOTER CAGING AND OTHER QUESTIONABLE CHALLENGES PROHIBITED.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 618. Voter caging and other questionable challenges
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `voter caging document' means--
                    ``(A) a nonforwardable document that is returned to 
                the sender or a third party as undelivered or 
                undeliverable despite an attempt to deliver such 
                document to the address of a registered voter or 
                applicant; or
                    ``(B) any document with instructions to an 
                addressee that the document be returned to the sender 
                or a third party but is not so returned, despite an 
                attempt to deliver such document to the address of a 
                registered voter or applicant, unless at least two 
                Federal election cycles have passed since the date of 
                the attempted delivery;
            ``(2) the term `voter caging list' means a list of 
        individuals compiled from voter caging documents; and
            ``(3) the term `unverified match list' means a list 
        produced by matching the information of registered voters or 
        applicants for voter registration to a list of individuals who 
        are ineligible to vote in the registrar's jurisdiction, by 
        virtue of death, conviction, change of address, or otherwise; 
        unless one of the pieces of information matched includes a 
        signature, photograph, or unique identifying number ensuring 
        that the information from each source refers to the same 
        individual.
    ``(b) Prohibition Against Voter Caging.--No State or local election 
official shall prevent an individual from registering or voting in any 
election for Federal office, or permit in connection with any election 
for Federal office a formal challenge under State law to an 
individual's registration status or eligibility to vote, if the basis 
for such decision is evidence consisting of--
            ``(1) a voter caging document or voter caging list;
            ``(2) an unverified match list;
            ``(3) an error or omission on any record or paper relating 
        to any application, registration, or other act requisite to 
        voting, if such error or omission is not material to an 
        individual's eligibility to vote under section 2004 of the 
        Revised Statutes, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1971(a)(2)(B)); or
            ``(4) any other evidence so designated for purposes of this 
        section by the Election Assistance Commission,
except that the election official may use such evidence if it is 
corroborated by independent evidence of the individual's ineligibility 
to register or vote.
    ``(c) Requirements for Challenges by Persons Other Than Election 
Officials.--
            ``(1) Attestation of first-hand knowledge of 
        ineligibility.--No person, other than a State or local election 
        official, shall submit a formal challenge to an individual's 
        eligibility to register to vote in an election for Federal 
        office or to vote in an election for Federal office unless that 
        challenge is supported by personal, first-hand knowledge 
        regarding the grounds for ineligibility which is--
                    ``(A) documented in writing; and
                    ``(B) subject to an oath or attestation under 
                penalty of perjury that the individual who is the 
                subject of the challenge is ineligible to register to 
                vote or vote in that election.
            ``(2) Prohibiting challenges based on certain evidence.--No 
        person, other than a State or local election official, shall 
        submit a formal challenge to an individual's eligibility to 
        register to vote in an election for Federal office or to vote 
        in an election for Federal office if the basis for such 
        challenge is evidence consisting of--
                    ``(A) a voter caging document or voter caging list;
                    ``(B) an unverified match list;
                    ``(C) an error or omission on any record or paper 
                relating to any application, registration, or other act 
                requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not 
                material to an individual's eligibility to vote under 
                section 2004 of the Revised Statutes, as amended (42 
                U.S.C. 1971(a)(2)(B)); or
                    ``(D) any other evidence so designated for purposes 
                of this section by the Election Assistance Commission.
    ``(d) Penalties for Knowing Misconduct.--Whoever knowingly 
challenges the eligibility of one or more individuals to register or 
vote or knowingly causes the eligibility of such individuals to be 
challenged in violation of this section with the intent that one or 
more eligible voters be disqualified, shall be fined under this title 
or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both, for each such violation. 
Each violation shall be a separate offense.
    ``(e) No Effect on Related Laws.--Nothing in this section is 
intended to override the protections of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.) or to affect the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 1973 et seq.).''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 29 of 
title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``618. Voter caging and other questionable challenges.''.

SEC. 3. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or any amendment made by this Act, or 
the application of a provision to any person or circumstance, is held 
to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act, and the application of the provisions to any person 
or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding.
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