[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 22, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S47-S48]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, 
        Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. 
        Coons, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. 
        Sanders, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Levin, Mr. 
        Rockefeller, and Mr. Heinrich):
  S. 9. A bill to strengthen our Nation's electoral system by ensuring 
clean and fair elections; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record as follows:

                                  S. 9

       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 ``Clean and Fair Elections 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

       It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should--
       (1) recognize that--
       (A) our elections belong to the voters of the United 
     States; and
       (B) our systems of election administration and campaign 
     finance should be structured in a way that prioritizes the 
     interests of the American public first;
       (2) pass legislation to bring greater transparency to our 
     elections and end anonymous political spending by shadow 
     groups and special interests;
       (3) require greater disclosure of campaign contributions in 
     a searchable, public online database;
       (4) take steps to safeguard the right to vote for every 
     eligible voter, including prohibiting deceptive and 
     misleading efforts to prevent voters from exercising the 
     franchise;
       (5) improve access to the polls for every eligible voter by 
     streamlining voting procedures;
       (6) pass election reform legislation that includes expanded 
     absentee voting, mandatory

[[Page S48]]

     early voting periods, and voter registration reforms;
       (7) support local election officials to ensure they have 
     working voting systems that are accessible, secure, and easy 
     to use;
       (8) require states to develop plans to reduce lines at 
     polling places and develop contingency plans that provide 
     additional flexibility in the event of a natural disaster or 
     other emergency situation; and
       (9) ensure that the guarantees of the 14th and 15th 
     amendments to the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 
     1965 are enforced so that all Americans are able to vote and 
     have their votes count without discrimination.
                                 ______