[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1970 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1970

 To establish national procedures for automatic voter registration for 
                     elections for Federal office.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 5, 2015

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish national procedures for automatic voter registration for 
                     elections for Federal office.

    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 ``Raising Enrollment with a Government 
Initiated System for Timely Electoral Registration (REGISTER) Act of 
2015''.

SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION TO STATE OR LOCAL ELECTION 
              OFFICIALS.

    (a) Designation of Source Agencies.--
            (1) In general.--Each State shall designate agencies for 
        purposes of providing source information for voter registration 
        for elections for Federal office under this Act (in this Act 
        referred to as a ``source agency'').
            (2) Source agency.--
                    (A) In general.--Source agencies designated under 
                paragraph (1) shall include the following:
                            (i) The State motor vehicle authority.
                            (ii) Any office in the State designated as 
                        a voter registration agency pursuant to section 
                        7(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 
                        1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)).
                    (B) Designation of additional agencies.--In 
                addition to the agencies described in subparagraph (A), 
                a State may designate as a source agency an agency that 
                collects (as of the date of enactment of this Act) 
                information necessary to determine eligibility to vote 
                in an election for Federal office.
    (b) Required Transfer of Information to Election Officials.--
            (1) In general.--Not less frequently than every 14 days, 
        subject to paragraph (2), a source agency shall transfer 
        electronically to State or local election officials certain 
        basic information collected since the preceding transfer of 
        information under this subsection with respect to individuals. 
        Such information shall be transferred in a format that can be 
        reviewed by those officials and translated and uploaded onto 
        the computerized statewide voter registration database.
            (2) Daily transfer during 14 days preceding voter 
        registration deadline for general election.--During the 14-day 
        period preceding the voter registration deadline for a general 
        election, a source agency shall transfer such information under 
        paragraph (1) not less frequently than on a daily basis.
    (c) Notification of Individuals.--A source agency shall, with 
respect to any individual disclosing information to the agency that may 
be relied upon to determine eligibility to register to vote in 
elections for Federal office--
            (1) notify the individual that such information will be 
        transferred in accordance with subsection (b); and
            (2) provide the individual the opportunity to opt out of 
        automatic voter registration.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION OF VOTER REGISTRATION.

    (a) Registration of Eligible Voters Not Previously Registered.--
            (1) In general.--If the information transferred under 
        section 2(b) reflects an individual not included on the voter 
        registration list, and if the appropriate election official 
        determines that the individual meets the qualifications to vote 
        in an election for Federal office and is not otherwise 
        ineligible to vote in such an election (or has not elected to 
        opt out of automatic voter registration pursuant to section 
        2(c)(2)), the State shall ensure that the eligible voter is 
        registered to vote in accordance with this subsection and is 
        added to the voter registration list.
            (2) Notification.--If State or local election officials 
        determine, in accordance with paragraph (1), that an individual 
        is an eligible voter, State election officials shall--
                    (A) notify the individual in writing that they have 
                been registered to vote; and
                    (B) inform the individual of the process to adopt a 
                political party affiliation.
    (b) Updating of Information of Registered Voters.--If the 
information transferred under section 2(b) reflects an individual 
already included on the voter registration list, and if the information 
reliably indicates a more recent change to the name or address of the 
individual, the State shall ensure that the records of the individual 
on the voter registration list are updated accordingly.
    (c) Nothing Precluding Registration.--Nothing in this section shall 
preclude a person who has previously declined voter registration from 
subsequently registering.
    (d) No Impact on Application of NVRA.--Each State shall maintain 
all obligations applicable as of the date of enactment of this Act to 
register voters upon receipt of a valid voter registration application 
through means provided by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 
(52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.).

SEC. 4. VOTER REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend the substantive 
qualifications of a voter in a State.
    (b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to interfere with the 
authority or obligation of any election official, under State or 
Federal law, to--
            (1) determine whether an individual is eligible to vote; or
            (2) conduct regular, nondiscriminatory list maintenance 
        designed to ensure that individuals who are not eligible to 
        vote are not reflected as voters on the statewide voter 
        registration list in accordance with the National Voter 
        Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.).

SEC. 5. PROTECTIONS AGAINST LIABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any individual who is 
not eligible to vote and who becomes registered to vote under this Act 
shall not be found on that basis to have made a false claim to 
citizenship or to have committed an act involving moral turpitude under 
Federal law, unless such individual affirmatively asserts that he or 
she is a United States citizen by signing a document that so states 
after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. PRIVACY AND SECURITY STANDARDS.

    (a) Privacy and Security Policy.--The State shall publish and 
enforce a privacy and security policy specifying each class of users 
who shall have authorized access to the computerized statewide voter 
registration list, specifying for each such class the permission and 
levels of access to be granted, and setting forth other safeguards to 
protect the privacy and security of the information on the list. Such 
policy shall include security safeguards to protect personal 
information in the data transfer process. This policy shall--
            (1) prohibit public disclosure of certain voter 
        information, including the source of a voter's registration and 
        any information not necessary to voter registration;
            (2) protect against public disclosure of Social Security 
        numbers and digits, driver's license numbers, and signatures;
            (3) prohibit public disclosure of an individual's decision 
        not to register to vote;
            (4) prohibit agencies from transmitting to election 
        officials information other than that required for voter 
        registration or specified information relevant to the 
        administration of elections, including language preference and 
        demographic information; and
            (5) prohibit the disclosure of information relating to 
        persons in categories designated confidential by Federal or 
        State law.
    (b) No Unauthorized Access.--The State shall establish polices and 
enforcement procedures to prevent unauthorized access to the statewide 
voter registration database and to any list provided by a source agency 
or list maintenance source.
    (c) Inter-Agency Transfers.--The State shall establish policies and 
enforcement procedures to maintain security during inter-agency 
transfers of information required or permitted under this Act. Each 
source agency participating in such inter-agency transfers of 
information shall facilitate and comply with such policies. Nothing in 
this subsection shall prevent a source agency from establishing and 
enforcing additional security measures to protect the confidentiality 
and integrity of inter-agency data transfers.
    (d) Records Retention.--The State shall, as provided in this 
subsection, establish standards and procedures to maintain all election 
records required for purposes of this Act, including for the purpose of 
determining the eligibility of individuals casting provisional ballots. 
Records for voters who have been retained on the statewide voter 
registration database but identified as ineligible to vote within the 
State, or removed from the statewide voter registration list due to 
ineligibility, shall be maintained and kept available until at least 
the date of the second general election for Federal office that occurs 
after the date that the voter was identified as ineligible.

SEC. 7. PROTECTIONS AGAINST MISUSE OF INFORMATION.

    (a) Restriction on Use of Registration Records.--No person acting 
under color of law may use the statewide voter registration list to 
attempt to determine the citizenship status of any individual for any 
purpose other than voter registration, election administration, or the 
enforcement of laws against election crimes.
    (b) Restriction on Use of Information.--No information relating to 
an individual's absence from the statewide voter registration list or 
an individual's declination to supply information for voter 
registration purposes at a source may be disclosed to the public, or 
used for any purpose other than voter registration, election 
administration, or the enforcement of laws against election crimes.
    (c) Nondiscrimination.--No person acting under color of law may 
discriminate against any individual on the basis of the individual's 
absence from the statewide voter registration list, the information 
supplied by the individual for voter registration purposes at a source, 
or the individual's declination to supply such information, except as 
required to administer elections or enforce election laws.

SEC. 8. SPECIAL PROCEDURES RELATING TO TRANSITION.

    (a) Initial Notification.--Not later than 180 days following the 
date of enactment of this Act, each State shall mail information 
regarding automatic voter registration, including the process to opt 
out of automatic voter registration, to any individual in the State who 
has provided information necessary to determine eligibility to vote in 
an election for Federal office to a designated source agency within the 
2 years preceding such date of enactment and who is not already 
registered to vote in the State.
    (b) Opportunity To Opt Out.--Any individual receiving such 
information shall have 21 calendar days to opt out of automatic voter 
registration under this Act.
    (c) Automatic Registration.--If the State does not receive an opt-
out notification from an individual by the end of such 21-day period, 
the individual shall be registered to vote in the State.
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