National Emergency Student Vote Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7706 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to encourage voting by students and to establish emergency procedures for institutions of higher education to assist students in exercising their right to vote. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 21, 2020 Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with- in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to encourage voting by students and to establish emergency procedures for institutions of higher education to assist students in exercising their right to vote. 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 ‘‘National Emergency 4 Student Vote Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7706 IH SEC. 2. ASSISTING POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS IN OBTAIN- 1 ING ABSENTEE BALLOTS. 2 (a) INSTITUTION REQUIREMENTS.—Section 3 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 4 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(23)(A) The institution will make every rea- 6 sonable effort to— 7 ‘‘(i) distribute the mail voter registration 8 application form for elections for Federal office 9 prescribed pursuant to section 9 of the National 10 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 11 20508), which may include sharing a direct, 12 guided link to the application form, to each stu- 13 dent enrolled in the institution; 14 ‘‘(ii) provide clear guidance that a student 15 should— 16 ‘‘(I) register in the State in which the 17 student is eligible to vote in the next elec- 18 tion described in subparagraph (F); and 19 ‘‘(II) update the student’s existing 20 voter registration if the student’s address 21 has changed; 22 ‘‘(iii) share credible, nonpartisan resources 23 to help students determine where they are eligi- 24 ble to vote, which may include resources from 25 State and local election officials; and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7706 IH ‘‘(iv) make voter registration forms widely 1 available, including through access to online 2 voter registration, to students at the institution. 3 ‘‘(B) If an institution is in a State that has a 4 deadline for absentee ballots and the institution has 5 decided to require or encourage students of the insti- 6 tution to remain off-campus due to a national, State, 7 or local public health or other emergency as of the 8 date that is 90 days prior to such State’s deadline, 9 the following requirements take effect: 10 ‘‘(i) By the date that is not less than 75 11 days prior to such deadline, the institution will 12 request that the State provide the institution 13 with printed absentee ballot application forms, 14 as applicable, or for the State to share the offi- 15 cial State website or online portal through 16 which eligible voters can directly request an ab- 17 sentee ballot. 18 ‘‘(ii) By the date that is not less than 60 19 days before the absentee ballot deadline for the 20 State, the institution will make every reasonable 21 effort to— 22 ‘‘(I) distribute to each student en- 23 rolled in the institution an absentee ballot 24 application form, requested from the State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7706 IH under clause (i) and received in accordance 1 with section 303(d) of the Help America 2 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(d)) or 3 the official State website or online portal 4 through which eligible voters can directly 5 request an absentee ballot, with clear in- 6 structions that the form, website, or online 7 portal should be used only by students eli- 8 gible to vote in the State; 9 ‘‘(II) share, with all students enrolled 10 in the institution, credible, nonpartisan re- 11 sources to help students who are registered 12 in another State to apply for absentee bal- 13 lots in such State, which may include re- 14 sources from State and local election offi- 15 cials; and 16 ‘‘(III) make such absentee ballot ap- 17 plication forms, in printed or electronic 18 format, widely available to students en- 19 rolled in the institution. 20 ‘‘(iii) In any case where an institution has 21 not received from the State the official website 22 or online portal through which eligible voters 23 can request an absentee ballot application, or a 24 sufficient quantity of printed absentee ballot 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7706 IH application forms, as needed to fulfill this sec- 1 tion by the date described in clause (ii), the in- 2 stitution shall not be held liable for not meeting 3 the requirements of this section during that 4 election year. 5 ‘‘(C) Not later than 30 days prior to the State’s 6 deadline to submit an absentee ballot or, in a State 7 that mails ballots to all voters without requiring an 8 application, submit the mailed ballot, the institution 9 shall make every reasonable effort to communicate 10 with each student enrolled in the institution regard- 11 ing— 12 ‘‘(i) information about the applicable ab- 13 sentee ballot or mailed ballot deadline of the 14 State; 15 ‘‘(ii) information about any requirements 16 in the State to cast a valid absentee ballot or 17 mailed ballot, including requirements for a wit- 18 ness signature or a copy of valid identification; 19 and 20 ‘‘(iii) current (as of the date of the com- 21 munication), credible information from appro- 22 priate State and local election officials about all 23 other voting options, such as early and in-per- 24 son voting and voting on Election Day. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7706 IH ‘‘(D) An institution of higher education that 1 only provides distance education shall, in lieu of the 2 requirements of subparagraphs (B) and (C)— 3 ‘‘(i) 60 days before the date of a general 4 election for Federal office, share credible, non- 5 partisan resources, which may include resources 6 from State and local officials, to help students 7 apply for absentee ballots and learn about re- 8 quirements for different options to vote, such as 9 absentee voting, voting by mail, early and in- 10 person voting, and voting on Election Day; and 11 ‘‘(ii) 30 days before the date of a general 12 election for Federal office, remind students 13 about the date of the general election for Fed- 14 eral office and provide credible, nonpartisan re- 15 sources, which may include resources from 16 State and local officials, for different options to 17 vote, such as absentee voting, voting by mail, 18 early and in-person voting, and voting on Elec- 19 tion Day. 20 ‘‘(E) An institution subject to the requirements 21 of this paragraph shall ensure that— 22 ‘‘(i) in distributing voting materials (as de- 23 fined in section 203(b)(3) of the Voting Rights 24 Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503(b)(3))) that are 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7706 IH produced by a covered State or political subdivi- 1 sion (as defined in such section), such voting 2 materials are provided in accordance with sec- 3 tion 203 of that Act (52 U.S.C. 10503); and 4 ‘‘(ii) all materials and information made 5 available electronically under this paragraph— 6 ‘‘(I) are accessible to individuals with 7 disabilities; and 8 ‘‘(II) conform to the accessibility 9 standards under section 508 of the Reha- 10 bilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). 11 ‘‘(F) This paragraph shall apply to general and 12 special elections for Federal office and to the elec- 13 tions for Governor or other chief executive within 14 such State, unless otherwise provided. 15 ‘‘(G)(i) An institution may satisfy the require- 16 ments of subparagraphs (A) through (D), and shall 17 be considered in compliance with such subpara- 18 graphs, with respect to each student to whom the in- 19 stitution electronically transmits a message con- 20 taining the information required under such sub- 21 paragraphs, if such information is in an electronic 22 message devoted exclusively to that information. 23 ‘‘(ii) Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con- 24 strued to prevent an institution from including infor- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7706 IH mation described in clause (i) through routine, wide- 1 ly disseminated communications with students en- 2 rolled in the institution, in addition to the electronic 3 message devoted exclusively to that information as 4 described in clause (i). 5 ‘‘(H) In this paragraph— 6 ‘‘(i) the term ‘absentee ballot’ means any 7 ballot cast by any means other than in person 8 and for which the State requires an application; 9 ‘‘(ii) the term ‘distance education’ has the 10 meaning given the term in section 103, except 11 such term shall not include distance education 12 that is provided due to a decision of an institu- 13 tion to require or encourage students of the in- 14 stitution to remain off-campus due to a na- 15 tional, State, or local public health or other 16 emergency; and 17 ‘‘(iii) the term ‘Federal office’ has the 18 meaning given in section 301(3) of the Federal 19 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 20 30101(3)).’’. 21 (b) STATE REQUIREMENT.—Section 303 of the Help 22 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083) is amend- 23 ed— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7706 IH (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘; PRO- 1 VISION OF FORMS TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGH- 2 ER EDUCATION’’ after ‘‘BY MAIL’’; 3 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub- 4 section (e); 5 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 6 lowing new subsection: 7 ‘‘(d) PROVISION OF ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICA- 8 TION FORMS TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU- 9 CATION.—Each State shall provide the voter registration 10 and absentee ballot application forms or access to elec- 11 tronic versions of such forms to each institution of higher 12 education for the purposes described in section 487(a)(23) 13 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 14 1094(a)(23)).’’; and 15 (4) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para- 16 graph (2), by adding at the end the following new 17 paragraph: 18 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE VOTER REG- 19 ISTRATION AND ABSENTEE BALLOT APPLICATION 20 FORMS TO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 21 Each State and jurisdiction shall be required to 22 comply with the requirements of subsection (d) on 23 and after the earlier of— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7706 IH ‘‘(A) the date that is 30 days after the 1 date of enactment of the National Emergency 2 Student Vote Act; or 3 ‘‘(B) August 1, 2020.’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:40 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7706.IH H7706 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS