Protect the Youth Vote Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8053 To enforce the Twenty-sixth Amendment, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 14, 2020 Mr. PAPPAS (for himself, Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. MENG, and Mrs. MURPHY of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To enforce the Twenty-sixth Amendment, 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 ‘‘Protect the Youth Vote 4 Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The right to vote is a fundamental right of 8 citizens of the United States. 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8053 IH (2) The Twenty-sixth Amendment of the United 1 States Constitution guarantees that ‘‘The right of 2 citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years 3 of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or 4 abridged by the United States or by any State on 5 account of age.’’. 6 (3) The Twenty-sixth Amendment of the United 7 States Constitution grants Congress the power to 8 enforce the Amendment by appropriate legislation. 9 (4) The language of the Twenty-sixth Amend- 10 ment closely mirrors that of the Fifteenth Amend- 11 ment and the Nineteenth Amendment. Like those 12 Amendments, the Twenty-sixth Amendment not only 13 prohibits denial of the right to vote but also pro- 14 hibits any actions that abridge the right to vote. 15 (5) Youth voter suppression undercuts partici- 16 pation in our democracy by introducing arduous ob- 17 stacles to new voters and discouraging a culture of 18 democratic engagement. 19 (6) Voting is habit forming, and allowing youth 20 voters unobstructed access to voting ensures that 21 more Americans will start a life-long habit of voting 22 as soon as possible. 23 (7) Youth voter suppression is a clear, per- 24 sistent, and growing problem. The actions of States 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8053 IH and political subdivisions resulting in at least four 1 findings of Twenty-sixth Amendment violations as 2 well as pending litigation demonstrate the need for 3 Congress to take action to enforce the Twenty-sixth 4 Amendment. 5 (8) In League of Women Voters of Florida, Inc. 6 v. Detzner (2018), the United States District Court 7 in the Northern District of Florida found that the 8 Secretary of State’s actions that prevented in-person 9 early voting sites from being located on university 10 property revealed a stark pattern of discrimination 11 that was unexplainable on grounds other than age 12 and thus violated university students’ Twenty-sixth 13 Amendment rights. 14 (9) In 2019, Michigan agreed to a settlement to 15 enhance college-age voters’ access after a Twenty- 16 sixth Amendment challenge was filed in federal 17 court. The challenge prompted the removal of a 18 Michigan voting law which required first time voters 19 who registered by mail or through a third-party 20 voter registration drive to vote in person for the first 21 time, as well as the removal of another law which re- 22 quired the address listed on a voter’s driver license 23 to match the address listed on their voter registra- 24 tion card. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8053 IH (10) Youth voter suppression tactics are often 1 linked to other tactics aimed at minority voters. For 2 example, students at Prairie View A&M University 3 (PVAMU), a historically black university in Texas, 4 have been the targets of voter suppression tactics for 5 decades. Before the 2018 election, PVAMU students 6 sued Waller County on the basis of both racial and 7 age discrimination over the County’s failure to en- 8 sure equal early voting opportunities for students, 9 spurring the County to reverse course and expand 10 early voting access for students. 11 (11) The more than 25 million United States 12 citizens ages 18-24 deserve equal opportunity to par- 13 ticipate in the electoral process as guaranteed by the 14 Twenty-sixth Amendment. 15 SEC. 3. PREVENTING AGE DISCRIMINATION IN VOTING. 16 (a) RIGHT TO VOTE.—No voting qualification or pre- 17 requisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall 18 be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision 19 in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of 20 the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on 21 account of age, as provided in subsection (b). 22 (b) VIOLATION OF RIGHT TO VOTE.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—A violation of subsection (a) 24 is established if, based on the totality of cir- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8053 IH cumstances, it is shown that the political processes 1 leading to nomination or election in the State or po- 2 litical subdivision are not equally open to participa- 3 tion by members of a class of citizens protected by 4 subsection (a) in that its members have less oppor- 5 tunity than other members of the electorate to par- 6 ticipate in the political process and to elect rep- 7 resentatives of their choice: Provided, That nothing 8 in this section establishes a right to have members 9 of a protected class under subsection (a) elected in 10 numbers equal to their proportion in the population. 11 (2) VIOLATIONS.—A violation under subsection 12 (a) shall include: 13 (A) Laws or requirements implemented in 14 a State or political subdivision that reduce or 15 abridge the ability for students who attend an 16 institution of higher education and reside in the 17 jurisdiction of the institution while attending 18 the institution to register to vote in elections in 19 that jurisdiction. 20 (B) Addition of seats elected at-large in a 21 State or political subdivision or conversion of 22 one or more seats elected from a single member 23 district to one or more at-large seats or seats 24 from a multi-member district in a State or po- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8053 IH litical subdivision with a significant proportion 1 of youth age voters. 2 (C) Boundaries of a political subdivision 3 designed to reduce the proportion of the polit- 4 ical subdivision’s voting-age population that is 5 comprised of youth age voters in a State or po- 6 litical subdivision with a significant proportion 7 of youth age voters. 8 (D) Requirements for documentation or 9 proof of identity to vote that exceed or are more 10 stringent than the requirements for voting that 11 are described in section 303(b) of the Help 12 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 13 21083(b)) or any other requirements for docu- 14 mentation or proof of identity to vote that have 15 the purpose or effect of denying or abridging 16 the right to vote on account of age. 17 (E) Reduction of voting materials or alter- 18 nation of the manner in which such materials 19 are provided or distributed at institutions of 20 higher education, where no similar reduction or 21 alteration occurs in materials provided at other 22 sites for such election. 23 (F) Any reduction, consolidation, or reloca- 24 tion of voting locations, including early, absen- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8053 IH tee, and election day voting locations in a single 1 political subdivision with a significant propor- 2 tion of youth age voters. 3 SEC. 4. FEDERAL OBSERVERS TO PREVENT AGE DISCRIMI- 4 NATION. 5 (a) FEDERAL OBSERVERS.—Whenever the Attorney 6 General or an aggrieved person institutes a proceeding 7 under any statute to enforce the voting guarantees of the 8 Twenty-sixth Amendment in any State or political subdivi- 9 sion the court shall authorize the appointment of Federal 10 observers by the United States Office of Personnel Man- 11 agement to serve for such period of time and for such po- 12 litical subdivisions as the court shall determine is appro- 13 priate to enforce the voting guarantees of the Twenty- 14 sixth Amendment (1) as part of any interlocutory order 15 if the court determines that the appointment of such ob- 16 servers is necessary to enforce such voting guarantees or 17 (2) as part of any final judgment if the court finds that 18 violations of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, violations of 19 this Act, or violations of any Federal law that prohibits 20 discrimination in voting on the basis of age, justifying eq- 21 uitable relief have occurred in such State or subdivision: 22 Provided, That the court need not authorize the appoint- 23 ment of observers if any incidents of denial or abridgement 24 of the right to vote on account of age, (1) have been few 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8053 IH in number and have been promptly and effectively cor- 1 rected by State or local action, (2) the continuing effect 2 of such incidents has been eliminated, and (3) there is no 3 reasonable probability of their recurrence in the future. 4 (b) JURISDICTION.—If any action under any statute 5 in which a party (including the Attorney General) seeks 6 to enforce the voting guarantees of the Twenty-sixth 7 Amendment in any State or political subdivision the court 8 finds that violations of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, vio- 9 lations of this Act, or violations of any Federal law that 10 prohibits discrimination in voting on the basis of age, jus- 11 tifying equitable relief have occurred within the territory 12 of such State or political subdivision, the court, in addition 13 to such relief as it may grant, shall retain jurisdiction for 14 such period as it may deem appropriate and during such 15 period no voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or 16 standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting dif- 17 ferent from that in force or effect at the time the action 18 was commenced shall be enforced unless and until the 19 court finds that such qualification, prerequisite, standard, 20 practice, or procedure does not have the purpose and will 21 not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to 22 vote on account of age: Provided, That such qualification, 23 prerequisite, standard, practice, or procedure may be en- 24 forced if the qualification, prerequisite, standard, practice, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8053 IH or procedure has been submitted by the chief legal officer 1 or other appropriate official of such State or subdivision 2 to the Attorney General and the Attorney General has not 3 interposed an objection within sixty days after such sub- 4 mission, except that neither the court’s finding nor the 5 Attorney General’s failure to object shall bar a subsequent 6 action to enjoin enforcement of such qualification, pre- 7 requisite, standard, practice, or procedure. 8 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 9 Attorney General is authorized to monitor and enforce the 10 voting guarantees of the Twenty-sixth Amendment, viola- 11 tions of this Act, or violations of any Federal law that 12 prohibits discrimination in voting on the basis of age, 13 whenever Federal observers are appointed under any pro- 14 vision of Federal law. 15 SEC. 5. DETERMINATION OF VOTING RIGHTS VIOLATION. 16 For purposes of this Act, a voting rights violation oc- 17 curred in a State or political subdivision if any of the fol- 18 lowing applies: 19 (1) FINAL JUDGEMENT; VIOLATION OF TWEN- 20 TY-SIXTH AMENDMENT.—In a final judgment (which 21 has not been reversed on appeal), any court of the 22 United States has determined that a denial or 23 abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United 24 States to vote on account of age, in violation of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8053 IH Twenty-sixth Amendment, occurred anywhere within 1 the State or subdivision. 2 (2) FINAL JUDGEMENT; VIOLATIONS OF THIS 3 ACT.—In a final judgment (which has not been re- 4 versed on appeal), any court of the United States 5 has determined that a voting qualification or pre- 6 requisite to voting or standard, practice, or proce- 7 dure with respect to voting was imposed or applied 8 or would have been imposed or applied anywhere 9 within the State or subdivision in a manner that re- 10 sulted or would have resulted in a denial or 11 abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United 12 States to vote on account of age, in violation of sec- 13 tion 3. 14 (3) FINAL JUDGEMENT; DENIAL OF DECLARA- 15 TORY JUDGEMENT.—In a final judgment (which has 16 not been reversed on appeal), any court of the 17 United States has denied the request of the State or 18 subdivision for a declaratory judgment under section 19 3(b), and thereby prevented a voting qualification or 20 prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or pro- 21 cedure with respect to voting from being enforced 22 anywhere within the State or subdivision. 23 (4) OBJECTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 24 Attorney General has interposed an objection under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:58 Sep 08, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8053.IH H8053 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8053 IH section 3(b) (and the objection has not been over- 1 turned by a final judgment of a court or withdrawn 2 by the Attorney General), and thereby prevented a 3 voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or 4 standard, practice, or procedure with respect to vot- 5 ing from being enforced anywhere within the State 6 or subdivision. 7 (5) TIMING OF DETERMINATIONS.— 8 (A) DETERMINATIONS OF VOTING RIGHTS 9 VIOLATIONS.— 10 (i) IN GENERAL.—As early as prac- 11 ticable during each calendar year, the At- 12 torney General shall make the determina- 13 tions required by this subsection, including 14 updating the list of voting rights violations 15 occurring in each State and political sub- 16 division for the previous calendar year. 17 (ii) PUBLICATION.—The Attorney 18 Gen [Text truncated for display. 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