DemocracyCorps Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3822 To establish DemocracyCorps to assist State and local governments administer elections and to promote democracy, to establish special procedures and authorize funding for Federal election in 2020 in response to COVID– 19, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish additional permanent requirements for Federal elections, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 21, 2020 Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To establish DemocracyCorps to assist State and local gov- ernments administer elections and to promote democracy, to establish special procedures and authorize funding for Federal election in 2020 in response to COVID– 19, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to establish additional permanent requirements for Federal elections, 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, ETC. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘DemocracyCorps Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3822 IS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title, etc. TITLE I—DEMOCRACYCORPS Sec. 101. Establishment. Sec. 102. Board of directors. Sec. 103. Authorities and duties of the board of directors. Sec. 104. Chief executive officer. Sec. 105. Authorities and duties of the chief executive officer. Sec. 106. Officers. Sec. 107. Employees, consultants, and other personnel. Sec. 108. Members. Sec. 109. Reporting requirements. Sec. 110. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE II—SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO CERTAIN ELECTIONS IN 2020 Sec. 201. Special requirements for Federal elections in 2020 relating to COVID–19. Sec. 202. Polling place modifications. Sec. 203. Grants to promote safe, accessible, and efficient in-person voting. TITLE III—ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL ELECTIONS Sec. 301. Voting by mail in Federal elections. Sec. 302. Requirement to allow for early voting. Sec. 303. Requirement for acceptance of voter registration applications. TITLE IV—FUNDING Sec. 401. Suspension of state matching requirement for election security grants provided under the CARES Act. TITLE I—DEMOCRACYCORPS 3 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Govern- 5 ment corporation (as defined in section 103, of title 5, 6 United States Code) to be know as ‘‘DemocracyCorps’’. 7 (b) PURPOSE.—DemocracyCorps shall— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3822 IS (1) assist States and local governments in the 1 administration of Federal, State, and local elections; 2 and 3 (2) engage in activities that promote participa- 4 tion in American democracy. 5 SEC. 102. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 6 (a) COMPOSITION.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—DemocracyCorps shall have 8 a Board of Directors (referred to in this title as the 9 ‘‘Board’’) that shall be composed of— 10 (A) 15 members appointed by the Presi- 11 dent, by and with the advice and consent of the 12 Senate, of whom— 13 (i) one shall be an individual between 14 the ages of 16 and 25; 15 (ii) one shall be a representative of 16 the Native American community; and 17 (iii) one shall be a representative of 18 the disability community; and 19 (B) the ex officio nonvoting members de- 20 scribed in paragraph (3). 21 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—In make appointments 22 under paragraph (1)(A), to the maximum extent 23 practicable, the President— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3822 IS (A) shall appoint individuals who have ex- 1 perience in expanding voting rights and pro- 2 tecting the right to vote; and 3 (B) shall not appoint individuals who have 4 conducted activities related to expanding, devel- 5 oping, or implementing any of the following: 6 (i) A law which requires photograph- 7 bearing identification as a requirement to 8 register to vote or to vote, except as may 9 be required when serving as a nonpartisan 10 poll worker and applying uniform proce- 11 dures to confirm individual’s eligibility to 12 cast a ballot under applicable laws. 13 (ii) A program that removes the 14 names of ineligible voters from the official 15 lists of eligible voters, except where a voter 16 requests removal, is confirmed to have died 17 or become ineligible by reason of incapacity 18 or conviction, or is removed pursuant to 19 the procedures set forth in section 8(d) of 20 the National Voter Registration Act of 21 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507(d)). 22 (iii) A law which prohibits voter reg- 23 istration unless the voter submits docu- 24 mentary proof of citizenship. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3822 IS (iv) A law which prohibits voter reg- 1 istration unless the information on a voter 2 registration application is an exact match 3 with information previously provided to the 4 State or jurisdiction. 5 (v) Any law that has the effect of dis- 6 couraging or preventing any eligible voters 7 from voting. 8 (vi) Any law, policy, or activity that— 9 (I) provides additional procedural 10 or substantive prerequisites for reg- 11 istering to vote or voting; or 12 (II) has the effect of discour- 13 aging or preventing any eligible voters 14 from registering to vote or voting. 15 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The following indi- 16 viduals (or a delegate of such individual) shall be ex 17 officio nonvoting members described in this para- 18 graph: 19 (A) The Attorney General. 20 (B) Each member of the Election Assist- 21 ance Commission. 22 (C) The Secretary of Housing and Urban 23 Development. 24 (D) The Secretary of Homeland Security. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3822 IS (E) The Chief Executive Officer. 1 (F) The Secretary of Defense. 2 (b) OFFICERS.— 3 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The President shall ap- 4 point a member of the Board to serve as the initial 5 Chairperson of the Board. Each subsequent Chair- 6 person shall be elected by the Board from among its 7 members. 8 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Board shall elect 9 a Vice Chairperson from among its membership. 10 (3) OTHER OFFICERS.—The Board may elect 11 from among its membership such additional officers 12 of the Board as the Board determines to be appro- 13 priate. 14 (c) TERMS.—Subject to subsection (e), each ap- 15 pointed member shall serve for a term of 5 years. 16 (d) VACANCIES.—If a vacancy occurs on the Board, 17 a new member shall be appointed by the President, by and 18 with the advice and consent of the Senate, and serve for 19 the remainder of the term for which the predecessor of 20 such member was appointed. The vacancy shall not affect 21 the power of the remaining members to execute the duties 22 of the Board. 23 (e) SERVICE UNTIL APPOINTMENT OF SUCCESSOR.— 24 A voting member of the Board whose term has expired 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3822 IS may continue to serve on the Board until the date on 1 which the member’s successor takes office, which period 2 shall not exceed 1 year. 3 SEC. 103. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD OF DI- 4 RECTORS. 5 (a) MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet not less often 6 than 4 times each year. The Board shall hold additional 7 meetings at the call of the Chairperson of the Board, or 8 if 6 members of the Board request such meetings in writ- 9 ing. 10 (b) QUORUM.—A majority of the appointed members 11 of the Board shall constitute a quorum. 12 (c) AUTHORITIES OF OFFICERS.— 13 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the 14 Board may call and conduct meetings of the Board. 15 (2) VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The Vice Chairperson 16 of the Board may conduct meetings of the Board in 17 the absence of the Chairperson. 18 (d) EXPENSES.—While away from their homes or 19 regular places of business on the business of the Board, 20 members of such Board shall be allowed travel expenses, 21 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author- 22 ized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chap- 23 ter 57 of title 5, United States Code, for persons employed 24 intermittently in the Government service. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3822 IS (e) SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—For pur- 1 poses of the provisions of chapter 11 of part I of title 18, 2 United States Code, and any other provision of Federal 3 law, a member of the Board (to whom such provisions 4 would not otherwise apply except for this subsection) shall 5 be a special Government employee. 6 (f) DUTIES.—The Board shall have responsibility for 7 setting overall policy for DemocracyCorps and shall work 8 to expand the number of people who participate in Amer- 9 ican democracy. 10 (g) LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION.—All employees 11 and officers of DemocracyCorps shall recuse themselves 12 from decisions that would constitute conflicts of interest. 13 SEC. 104. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. 14 (a) APPOINTMENT.—DemocracyCorps shall be head- 15 ed by an individual who shall serve as Chief Executive Of- 16 ficer of DemocracyCorps, and who shall be appointed by 17 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 18 Senate. 19 (b) COMPENSATION.—The Chief Executive Officer 20 shall be compensated at the rate provided for level III of 21 the Executive Schedule under section 5314 of title 5, 22 United States Code, plus 3 percent. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3822 IS (c) REGULATIONS.—The Chief Executive Officer 1 shall prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary 2 or appropriate to carry out this title. 3 SEC. 105. AUTHORITIES AND DUTIES OF THE CHIEF EXECU- 4 TIVE OFFICER. 5 (a) GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES.—The Chief Ex- 6 ecutive Officer shall be responsible for the exercise of the 7 powers and the discharge of the duties of DemocracyCorps 8 that are not reserved to the Board, and shall have author- 9 ity and control over all personnel of DemocracyCorps, ex- 10 cept as provided in section 8E of the Inspector General 11 Act of 1978. 12 (b) DUTIES.—The Chief Executive Officer, in col- 13 laboration with the State Commissions, shall— 14 (1) prepare and submit to the Board a strategic 15 plan every 2 years on the major functions and oper- 16 ations of DemocracyCorps; and 17 (2) prepare and submit to the Board a proposal 18 with respect to the allocation of members to States. 19 (c) POWERS.—In addition to the authority conferred 20 on the Chief Executive Officer under any other provision 21 of law, the Chief Executive Officer may— 22 (1) engage in hiring campaigns to recruit mem- 23 bers; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3822 IS (2) file a civil action in any court of record of 1 a State having general jurisdiction or in any district 2 court of the Unite States, with respect to a claim 3 arising under this title; and 4 (3) generally perform such functions and take 5 such steps consistent with the objectives and provi- 6 sions of this title and the laws described in section 7 108(c)(4), as the Chief Executive Officer determines 8 to be necessary or appropriate to carry out such pro- 9 visions. 10 (d) DELEGATION.— 11 (1) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection, 12 the term ‘‘function’’ means any duty, obligation, 13 power, authority, responsibility, right, privilege, ac- 14 tivity, or program. 15 (2) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise prohib- 16 ited by law or provided in this title, the Chief Execu- 17 tive Officer may delegate any function under this 18 title, and authorize such successive redelegations of 19 such function as may be necessary or appropriate. 20 No delegation of a function by the Chief Executive 21 Officer under this subsection or under any other 22 provision of this title shall relieve such Chief Execu- 23 tive Officer of responsibility for the administration 24 of such function. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3822 IS (3) FUNCTION OF BOARD.—The Chief Execu- 1 tive Officer may not delegate a function of the 2 Board without the permission of the Board. 3 SEC. 106. OFFICERS. 4 (a) MANAGING DIRECTORS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in 6 DemocracyCorps 2 Managing Directors, who shall 7 be appointed by the President, and who shall report 8 to the Chief Executive Officer. 9 (2) COMPENSATION.—The Managing Directors 10 shall be compensated at the rate provided for level 11 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of 12 title 5, United States Code. 13 (3) DUTIES.—DemocracyCorps shall determine 14 the programs for which the Managing Directors 15 shall have primary responsibility and shall establish 16 the divisions of DemocracyCorps to be headed by the 17 Managing Directors. 18 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 19 (1) OFFICE.—There shall be in Democracy- 20 Corps an Office of the Inspector General. 21 (2) APPOINTMENT.—The Office shall be headed 22 by an Inspector General, appointed in accordance 23 with the Inspector General Act of 1978. 24 (c) CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:54 Jun 16, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3822.IS S3822 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3822 IS (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be in Democra- 1 cyCorps a Chief Financial Officer, who shall be ap- 2 pointed by the Chief Executive Officer. 3 (2) DUTIES.—The Chief Financial Officer 4 shall— 5 (A) report directly to the Chief Executive 6 Officer regarding financial management mat- 7 ters; 8 (B) oversee all financial management ac- 9 tivities relating to the programs and operations 10 of DemocracyCorps; 11 (C) develop and maintain an integrated ac- 12 counting and financial management system for 13 DemocracyCorps, including financial reporting 14 and internal co [Text truncated for display. 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