PROVE Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 621 To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require each State to implement a process under which individuals who are 16 years of age may apply to register to vote in elections for Federal office in the State, to direct the Election Assistance Commission to make grants to States to increase the involvement of minors in public election activities, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 28, 2019 Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BROWN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. JONES, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BENNET, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. SMITH, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require each State to implement a process under which individuals who are 16 years of age may apply to register to vote in elections for Federal office in the State, to direct the Election Assistance Commission to make grants to States to increase the involvement of minors in public election activities, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S621.IS S621 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 621 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pre-Registration Of 2 Voters Everywhere Act’’ or the ‘‘PROVE Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. PRE-REGISTRATION OF MINORS FOR VOTING IN 4 FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 5 (a) REQUIRING IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCESS.— 6 The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 7 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 8 the 8 following new section: 9 ‘‘SEC. 8A. PRE-REGISTRATION PROCESS FOR MINORS. 10 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING IMPLEMENTATION OF PRE-REG- 11 ISTRATION PROCESS.—Each State shall implement a 12 process under which— 13 ‘‘(1) an individual who is a resident of the State 14 may apply to register to vote in elections for Federal 15 office in the State at any time after the individual 16 turns 16 years of age; and 17 ‘‘(2) if the individual is not 18 years of age or 18 older at the time the individual applies under para- 19 graph (1) but would be eligible to vote in such elec- 20 tions if the individual were 18 years of age, the 21 State shall ensure that the individual is registered to 22 vote in elections for Federal office in the State that 23 are held on or after the date on which the individual 24 turns 18 years of age. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S621.IS S621 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 621 IS ‘‘(b) PERMITTING AVAILABILITY OF PROCESS FOR 1 YOUNGER INDIVIDUALS.—A State may, at its option, 2 make the process implemented under subsection (a) avail- 3 able to individuals who are younger than 16 years of 4 age.’’. 5 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 6 subsection (a) shall take effect upon the expiration of the 7 90-day period that begins on the date of the enactment 8 of this Act. 9 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO STATES FOR ACTIVITIES TO ENCOUR- 10 AGE INVOLVEMENT OF MINORS IN ELECTION 11 ACTIVITIES. 12 (a) GRANTS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance 14 Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as 15 the ‘‘Commission’’) shall make grants to eligible 16 States to enable such States to carry out a plan to 17 increase the involvement of individuals under 18 18 years of age in public election activities in the State. 19 (2) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A State’s plan 20 under this subsection shall include— 21 (A) methods to promote the use of the pre- 22 registration process implemented under section 23 8A of the National Voter Registration Act of 24 1993 (as added by section 2(a)); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S621.IS S621 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 621 IS (B) modifications to the curriculum of sec- 1 ondary schools in the State to promote civic en- 2 gagement; and 3 (C) such other activities to encourage the 4 involvement of young people in the electoral 5 process as the State considers appropriate. 6 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligible to receive a 7 grant under this section if the State submits to the Com- 8 mission, at such time and in such form as the Commission 9 may require, an application containing— 10 (1) a description of the State’s plan under sub- 11 section (a); 12 (2) a description of the performance measures 13 and targets the State will use to determine its suc- 14 cess in carrying out the plan; and 15 (3) such other information and assurances as 16 the Commission may require. 17 (c) PERIOD OF GRANT; REPORT.— 18 (1) PERIOD OF GRANT.—A State receiving a 19 grant under this section shall use the funds provided 20 by the grant over a 2-year period agreed to between 21 the State and the Commission. 22 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after 23 the end of the 2-year period agreed to under para- 24 graph (1), the State shall submit to the Commission 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S621.IS S621 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 621 IS a report on the activities the State carried out with 1 the funds provided by the grant, and shall include 2 in the report an analysis of the extent to which the 3 State met the performance measures and targets in- 4 cluded in its application under subsection (b)(2). 5 (d) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 6 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States and the District 7 of Columbia. 8 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 9 are authorized to be appropriated for grants under this 10 section $25,000,000, to remain available until expended. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S621.IS S621 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS