Voter Notice Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6512 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require State and local election officials to conduct public education campaigns to notify individ- uals of changes in the administration of elections for Federal office in response to emergencies affecting public health and safety, to require the websites of such officials to be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities and to meet best practices established by the National Insti- tute for Science and Technology for ensuring the continuing operation of such websites in the event of emergencies affecting public health and safety, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 14, 2020 Mr. PHILLIPS (for himself, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. MALINOWSKI, Mr. MOULTON, and Mr. ALLRED) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administra- tion, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- nology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require State and local election officials to conduct public edu- cation campaigns to notify individuals of changes in the administration of elections for Federal office in response to emergencies affecting public health and safety, to re- quire the websites of such officials to be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities and to meet best practices established by the National Institute for Science and VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6512 IH Technology for ensuring the continuing operation of such websites in the event of emergencies affecting public health and safety, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Notification of 4 Timely Information about Changes in Elections Act’’ or 5 the ‘‘Voter Notice Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS IN EVENT OF 7 CHANGES IN ELECTIONS IN RESPONSE TO 8 EMERGENCIES. 9 (a) REQUIREMENT FOR ELECTION OFFICIALS TO 10 CONDUCT CAMPAIGNS.—Section 302 of the Help America 11 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082) is amended— 12 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub- 13 section (e); and 14 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 15 lowing new subsection: 16 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS IN EVENT OF 17 CHANGES IN ELECTIONS IN RESPONSE TO EMER- 18 GENCIES.— 19 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—If the administration of 20 an election for Federal office, including the methods 21 of voting or registering to vote in the election, is 22 changed in response to an emergency affecting pub- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:43 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6512 IH lic health and safety, the appropriate State or local 1 election official shall conduct a public education 2 campaign through at least one direct mailing to each 3 individual who is registered to vote in the election, 4 and through additional direct mailings, newspaper 5 advertisements, broadcasting (including through tel- 6 evision, radio, satellite, and the Internet), and social 7 media, to notify individuals who are eligible to vote 8 or to register to vote in the election of the changes. 9 ‘‘(2) FREQUENCY AND METHODS OF PROVIDING 10 INFORMATION.—The election official shall carry out 11 the public education campaign under this subsection 12 at such frequency, and using such methods, as will 13 have the greatest likelihood of providing timely 14 knowledge of the change in the administration of the 15 election to those individuals who will be most ad- 16 versely affected by the change. 17 ‘‘(3) LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.—In the case 18 of a State or political subdivision that is a covered 19 State or political subdivision under section 203 of 20 the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503), 21 the appropriate election official shall ensure that the 22 information disseminated under a public education 23 campaign conducted under this subsection is pro- 24 vided in the language of the applicable minority 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6512 IH group as well as in the English language, as re- 1 quired by section 203 of such Act. 2 ‘‘(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 3 apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general 4 election for Federal office held in November 2020 5 and each succeeding election for Federal office.’’. 6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EF- 7 FECTIVE DATE.—Section 302(e) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 8 21082(e)), as redesignated by subsection (a), is amended 9 by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as pro- 10 vided in subsection (d), each State’’. 11 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR WEBSITES OF ELECTION OFFI- 12 CIALS. 13 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—Subtitle A of title III of the 14 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) 15 is amended— 16 (1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as 17 sections 305 and 306; and 18 (2) by inserting after section 303 the following 19 new section: 20 ‘‘SEC. 304. REQUIREMENTS FOR WEBSITES OF ELECTION 21 OFFICIALS. 22 ‘‘(a) ACCESSIBILITY.—Each State and local election 23 official shall ensure that the official public website of the 24 official is fully accessible for individuals with disabilities, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6512 IH including the blind and visually impaired, in a manner 1 that provides the same opportunity for access and partici- 2 pation as the website provides for other individuals. 3 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING OPERATION IN CASE OF EMER- 4 GENCIES.— 5 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the 7 National Institute of Standards and Technology 8 shall establish and regularly update best prac- 9 tices for ensuring the continuing operation of 10 the official public websites of State and local 11 election officials during emergencies affecting 12 public health and safety. 13 ‘‘(B) DEADLINE.—The Director shall first 14 establish the best practices required under this 15 paragraph as soon as practicable after the date 16 of the enactment of this section, but in no case 17 later than August 15, 2020. 18 ‘‘(2) REQUIRING WEBSITES TO MEET BEST 19 PRACTICES.—Each State and local election official 20 shall ensure that the official public website of the of- 21 ficial is in compliance with the best practices estab- 22 lished by the Director of the National Institute of 23 Standards and Technology under paragraph (2). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6512 IH ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 1 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 2 Federal office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 3 election for Federal office.’’. 4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO ADOP- 5 TION OF VOLUNTARY GUIDANCE BY ELECTION ASSIST- 6 ANCE COMMISSION.—Section 311(b) of such Act (52 7 U.S.C. 21101(b)) is amended— 8 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 9 (2); 10 (2) by striking the period at the end of para- 11 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 12 (3) by adding at the end the following new 13 paragraph: 14 ‘‘(4) in the case of the recommendations with 15 respect to section 304, as soon as practicable after 16 the date of the enactment of this paragraph, but in 17 no case later than August 15, 2020.’’. 18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN- 19 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 20 is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 21 inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 22 (d) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 23 of such Act is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6512 IH (1) by redesignating the items relating to sec- 1 tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 2 306; and 3 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec- 4 tion 303 the following new item: 5 ‘‘Sec. 304. Requirements for websites of election officials.’’. SEC. 4. PAYMENTS BY ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 6 TO STATES FOR COSTS OF COMPLIANCE. 7 (a) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—Subtitle D of title 8 II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 9 21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 10 lowing new part: 11 ‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF COMPLI- 12 ANCE WITH CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS RE- 13 LATING TO PUBLIC NOTIFICATION 14 ‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS. 15 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY AND USE OF PAYMENTS.—The 16 Commission shall make a payment to each eligible State 17 to cover the costs the State incurs or expects to incur in 18 meeting the requirements of section 302(d) (relating to 19 public education campaigns in event of changes in elec- 20 tions in response to emergencies) and section 304 (relating 21 to requirements for the websites of election officials). 22 ‘‘(b) SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS.—As soon as prac- 23 ticable after the date of the enactment of this part, and 24 not less frequently than once each calendar year there- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6512 IH after, the Commission shall make payments under this 1 part. 2 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION OF PAYMENTS.—The chief 3 State election official of the State shall receive the pay- 4 ment made to a State under this part, and may use the 5 payment for the purposes set forth in this part without 6 intervening action by the legislature of the State. 7 ‘‘SEC. 297A. AMOUNT OF PAYMENT. 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a payment made 9 to an eligible State for a year under this part shall be 10 determined by the Commission on the basis of the infor- 11 mation provided by the State in its application under sec- 12 tion 297B. 13 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AFTER 14 APPROPRIATION.—A payment made to an eligible State 15 under this part shall be available without fiscal year limi- 16 tation. 17 ‘‘SEC. 297B. REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY. 18 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—Each State that desires to re- 19 ceive a payment under this part for a fiscal year shall sub- 20 mit an application for the payment to the Commission at 21 such time and in such manner and containing such infor- 22 mation as the Commission shall require. 23 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF APPLICATION.—Each application 24 submitted under subsection (a) shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6512 IH ‘‘(1) describe the activities for which assistance 1 under this part is sought; and 2 ‘‘(2) provide an estimate of the costs the State 3 has incurred or expects to incur in carrying out the 4 provisions described in section 297, together with 5 such additional information and certifications as the 6 Commission determines to be essential to ensure 7 compliance with the requirements of this part. 8 ‘‘SEC. 297C. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 9 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for pay- 10 ments under this part such sums as may be necessary for 11 each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2023. 12 ‘‘SEC. 297D. REPORTS. 13 ‘‘(a) REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS.—Not later than the 14 6 months after the end of each fiscal year for which an 15 eligible State received a payment under this part, the 16 State shall submit a report to the Commission on the ac- 17 tivities conducted with the funds provided during the year. 18 ‘‘(b) REPORTS BY COMMISSION TO COMMITTEES.— 19 With respect to each fiscal year for which the Commission 20 makes payments under this part, the Commission shall 21 submit a report on the activities carried out under this 22 part to the Committee on House Administration of the 23 House of Representatives and the Committee on Rules 24 and Administration of the Senate.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6512 IH (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 1 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 2 relating to subtitle D of title II the following: 3 ‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO PUBLIC NOTIFICATION ‘‘Sec. 297. Payments. ‘‘Sec. 297A. Amount of payment. ‘‘Sec. 297B. Requirements for eligibility. ‘‘Sec. 297C. Authorization of appropriations. ‘‘Sec. 297D. Reports.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:51 Apr 21, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6512.IH H6512 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS