[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7960 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7960

  To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to provide for 
   enhanced penalties for the transmission of fraudulent ballots in 
     elections for Federal office through the use of post offices, 
authorized depositories of mail matter, or ballot drop boxes, to direct 
  the Attorney General to establish a system for receiving reports of 
 incidents of the transmission of such fraudulent ballots through such 
                    methods, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 11, 2024

  Mr. Meuser 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 provide for 
   enhanced penalties for the transmission of fraudulent ballots in 
     elections for Federal office through the use of post offices, 
authorized depositories of mail matter, or ballot drop boxes, to direct 
  the Attorney General to establish a system for receiving reports of 
 incidents of the transmission of such fraudulent ballots through such 
                    methods, 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; FINDINGS.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Ballot Drop Box and Mail 
Fraud Act''.

SEC. 2. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR TRANSMISSION OF FRAUDULENT BALLOTS IN 
              FEDERAL ELECTIONS THROUGH USE OF BALLOT DROP BOXES OR 
              MAIL.

    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) Enhanced Penalties for Offenses Involving Use of Ballot Drop 
Boxes or Mail.--A person who, in any election for Federal office, uses 
a post office, authorized depository of mail matter, or drop box which 
is provided by an election official for the collection of voted ballots 
to knowingly and willfully transmit a voted ballot that is known by the 
person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws 
of the State in which the election is held, shall be fined in 
accordance with title 18, United States Code, imprisoned for not more 
than 20 years plus one additional year for each such ballot the person 
transmits, or both.''.

SEC. 3. REPORTING SYSTEM FOR INCIDENTS OF TRANSMISSION OF FRAUDULENT 
              BALLOTS IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS THROUGH USE OF BALLOT DROP 
              BOXES OR MAIL.

    (a) Reporting System.--The Attorney General shall establish a 
system through which persons may report incidents involving the 
transmission of fraudulent ballots in elections for Federal office 
through the use of a post office, authorized depository of mail matter, 
or drop box which is provided by an election official for the 
collection of voted ballots, including reports made through a toll-free 
hotline and a confidential online portal.
    (b) Deadline.--The Attorney General shall establish the system 
under subsection (a) not later than 30 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. ENSURING PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS 
              ON INDIVIDUALS RECUSED FROM JURY SERVICE ON GROUNDS OF 
              NONCITIZENSHIP.

    (a) 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--
            (1) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (iv); and
            (2) 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.''.
    (b) Requiring Notification by Courts.--
            (1) 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--
                    (A) to the chief State election official of the 
                State in which the individual resides; and
                    (B) to the Attorney General.
            (2) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
                    (A) 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
                    (B) 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.
                                 <all>