[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7959 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7959
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to clarify the
authority of States to remove noncitizens from voting rolls and to
require States to maintain separate voter registration lists for
noncitizens, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 7, 2022
Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois 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 National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to clarify the
authority of States to remove noncitizens from voting rolls and to
require States to maintain separate voter registration lists for
noncitizens, 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 ``Noncitizens: Outlawed from Voting in
Our Trusted Elections Act of 2022'' or the ``NO VOTE for Noncitizens
Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Every eligible person who wishes to cast a ballot in a
Federal election must be permitted to do so according to law,
and their ballot must be examined according to law, and, if it
meets all lawful requirements, counted.
(2) Congress has long required States to maintain Federal
voter registration lists in a manner that promotes voter
confidence.
(3) The changes included herein are not intended to be an
expansion of Federal power but rather a clarification of State
authority.
(4) The Fifteenth Amendment, the Nineteenth Amendment, the
Twenty-Fourth Amendment, and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, among
other references, make clear that the Constitution prohibits
voting by noncitizens in Federal elections.
(5) Congress has the constitutional authority, including
under the aforementioned amendments, to pass statutes
preventing noncitizens from voting in Federal elections, and
did so with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996.
(6) Congress may further exercise its constitutional
authority to ensure the Constitution's prohibition on
noncitizen voting in Federal elections is upheld.
(7) Since the Constitution prohibits noncitizens from
voting in Federal elections, such ineligible persons must not
be permitted to be placed on Federal voter registration lists.
(8) Improper placement of an ineligible noncitizen on a
Federal voter registration list leads to--
(A) confusion on the part of the ineligible person
with respect to their ineligibility to cast a ballot;
and
(B) an increased likelihood that human error will
permit ineligible persons to cast ballots in Federal
elections.
(9) State officials have confirmed that poorly maintained
voter registration lists lead to ineligible persons casting
ballots in Federal elections.
(10) A former Broward County, Florida, elections supervisor
has confirmed that ineligible nonvoters were able to cast
ballots in previous elections and that she was not able to
locate as many as 2,040 ballots during the 2018 midterm
recount.
(11) This clarification of State authority to maintain
Federal voter registration lists to ensure noncitizens are not
included on such lists will promote voter confidence in
election processes and outcomes.
(12) Congress has the authority to ensure that no Federal
elections funding is used to support States that permit
noncitizens to cast ballots in any election.
(13) Federal courts and executive agencies have much of the
information States may need to maintain their Federal voter
registration lists, and those entities should make that
information accessible to State election authorities.
(14) It is important to clarify the penalty for any
violation of law that allows a noncitizen to cast a ballot in a
Federal election.
(15) To protect the confidence of voters in Federal
elections, it is important to implement the policy described
herein.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) allowing noncitizens to cast ballots in American
elections weakens our electoral system and the value of
citizenship and sows distrust in our elections system;
(2) even if a State has the sovereign authority, no State
should permit noncitizens to cast ballots in State or local
elections;
(3) States should use all information available to them to
maintain Federal voter registration lists and should inform
Congress if such data is insufficient; and
(4) Congress may take further action in the future to
address this problem.
SEC. 3. PROMOTING EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION LISTS.
(a) Clarifying Authority of States To Remove Noncitizens From
Voting Rolls.--
(1) Authority under regular removal programs.--Section
8(a)(4) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52
U.S.C. 20507(a)(4)) is amended--
(A) by striking ``or'' at the end of subparagraph
(A);
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as
subparagraph (C); and
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the
following new subparagraph:
``(B) the registrant's status as a noncitizen of
the United States; or''.
(2) Conforming amendment relating to ongoing removal.--
Section 8(c)(2)(B)(i) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)(B)(i))
is amended by striking ``(4)(A)'' and inserting ``(4)(A) or
(B)''.
(b) Requirement To Maintain Separate State Voter Registration List
for Noncitizens.--Section 8(a) of the National Voter Registration Act
of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (5)(B), 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 new paragraph:
``(7) in the case of a State that allows individuals who
are not citizens of the United States to vote in elections for
public office in the State or any local jurisdiction of the
State, ensure that the name of any registrant who is not a
citizen of the United States is maintained on a voter
registration list that is separate from the official list of
eligible voters with respect to registrants who are citizens of
the United States.''.
(c) Requirements for Ballots for State or Local Jurisdictions That
Allow Noncitizen Voting.--Section 301(a)(1) of the Help America Vote
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subparagraph:
``(D) In the case of a State or local jurisdiction
that allows individuals who are not citizens of the
United States to vote in elections for public office in
the State or local jurisdiction, the ballot used for
the casting of votes by a noncitizen in such State or
local jurisdiction may only include the candidates for
the elections for public office in the State or local
jurisdiction for which the noncitizen is permitted to
vote.''.
(d) Reduction in Payments for Election Administration to States or
Local Jurisdictions That Allow Noncitizen Voting.--
(1) In general.--Title IX of the Help America Vote Act of
2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``SEC. 907. REDUCTION IN PAYMENTS TO STATES OR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS THAT
ALLOW NONCITIZEN VOTING.
``Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the amount of a
payment under this Act to any State or local jurisdiction that allows
individuals who are not citizens of the United States to vote in
elections for public office in the State or local jurisdiction shall be
reduced by 30 percent.''.
(2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of such Act
is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``Sec. 907. Reduction in payments to States or local jurisdictions that
allow noncitizen voting.''.
(e) Ensuring Provision of Information to State Election Officials
on Individuals Recused From Jury Service on Grounds of
Noncitizenship.--
(1) Requiring state election officials to coordinate
information on recusal as part of maintenance of statewide
voter registration list.--Subparagraph (A) of section 303(a)(2)
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(2)) is
amended--
(A) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv);
and
(B) by inserting after clause (ii) the following
new clause:
``(iii) For purposes of removing names of
ineligible voters from the official list of
eligible voters by reason of citizenship
status, the State shall coordinate the
computerized list with records of courts which
have recused individuals from serving on a jury
on the grounds that the individuals are not
citizens of the United States.''.
(2) Requiring notification by courts.--
(A) Requirement described.--If a United States
district court or a court of any State or local
jurisdiction recuses an individual from serving on a
jury on the grounds that the individual is not a
citizen of the United States, the court shall transmit
a notice of the individual's recusal--
(i) to the chief State election official of
the State in which the individual resides; and
(ii) to the Attorney General.
(B) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
(i) the ``chief State election official''
of a State is the individual designated by the
State under section 10 of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to
be responsible for coordination of the State's
responsibilities under such Act; and
(ii) the term ``State'' means each of the
several States, the District of Columbia, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa,
Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON VOTING BY NONCITIZENS IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 12 of the National Voter Registration Act
of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) is amended--
(1) by striking ``A person'' and inserting ``(a) In
General.--A person''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(b) Prohibition on Voting by Aliens.--
``(1) In general.--It shall be unlawful for any alien to
vote in any election in violation of section 611 of title 18,
United States Code.
``(2) Penalties.--Any person who violates this subsection
shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned
not more than one year, or both.''.
(b) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this
section shall apply with respect to elections held on or after the date
of the enactment of this Act.
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