SAVE America Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8962 To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to prohibit States from registering individuals to vote in elections for Federal office who do not provide documentary proof of United States citizenship, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require individuals to provide identification as a condition of voting in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 14, 2020 Mr. NORMAN (for himself, Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. TIMMONS, Mr. RICE of South Carolina, Mr. BABIN, Mr. LONG, and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Science, Space, and Technology, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to prohibit States from registering individuals to vote in elections for Federal office who do not provide documen- tary proof of United States citizenship, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require individuals to provide identification as a condition of voting in elec- tions for Federal office, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 2 •HR 8962 IH 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 ‘‘Securing And 4 Verifying Elections in America Act’’ or the ‘‘SAVE Amer- 5 ica Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITING REGISTRATION TO VOTE OF INDIVID- 7 UALS WHO FAIL TO PROVIDE PROOF OF 8 UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP. 9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8 of the National Voter 10 Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended— 11 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub- 12 section (k); and 13 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the fol- 14 lowing new subsection: 15 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITING REGISTRATION OF INDIVIDUALS 16 NOT PROVIDING PROOF OF UNITED STATES CITIZEN- 17 SHIP.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 19 provision of this Act, a State may not register an in- 20 dividual to vote in elections for Federal office held 21 in the State unless, at the time the individual ap- 22 plies to register to vote, the individual provides docu- 23 mentary proof that the individual is a citizen of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 3 •HR 8962 IH United States, which shall consist of any of the fol- 1 lowing (or a photocopy thereof): 2 ‘‘(A) A certified birth certificate issued by 3 a State or unit of local government in a State. 4 ‘‘(B) A valid United States passport. 5 ‘‘(C) A Consular Report of Birth Abroad 6 issued by the Secretary of State. 7 ‘‘(D) A Naturalization Certificate or Cer- 8 tificate of Citizenship issued by the Secretary of 9 Homeland Security. 10 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) applies 11 with respect to an individual who applies to register 12 to vote under section 5, 6, or 7 (including an indi- 13 vidual who submits the mail voter registration appli- 14 cation form prescribed by the Election Assistance 15 Commission pursuant to section 9), or who applies 16 under any other method of voter registration avail- 17 able in the State.’’. 18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 19 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to applications for 20 voter registration which are submitted on or after the date 21 of the enactment of this Act. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 4 •HR 8962 IH SEC. 3. REQUIRING PROVISION OF IDENTIFICATION AS A 1 CONDITION OF VOTING IN FEDERAL ELEC- 2 TIONS. 3 (a) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE IDENTIFICATION AS 4 CONDITION OF RECEIVING BALLOT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(b) of the Help 6 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(b)) is 7 amended— 8 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FOR VOT- 9 ERS WHO REGISTER BY MAIL’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘FOR PROVIDING IDENTIFICATION’’; and 11 (B) by striking paragraphs (1) through (3) 12 and inserting the following: 13 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUALS VOTING IN PERSON.—Not- 14 withstanding any other provision of law, the appro- 15 priate State or local election official may not provide 16 a ballot for an election for Federal office to an indi- 17 vidual who desires to vote in person unless the indi- 18 vidual presents to the official a current and valid 19 identification issued by the State or by a unit of 20 local government in the State. 21 ‘‘(2) INDIVIDUALS VOTING OTHER THAN IN 22 PERSON.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 23 law, the appropriate State or local election official 24 may not accept any ballot for an election for Federal 25 office provided by an individual who votes other than 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 5 •HR 8962 IH in person unless the individual submits with the bal- 1 lot a copy of a current and valid identification issued 2 by the State or by a unit of local government in the 3 State. 4 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) do 5 not apply in the case of an individual who is unable 6 to obtain an identification for purposes of such para- 7 graphs because of a reasonable impediment, as de- 8 termined in accordance with the law of the State in- 9 volved.’’. 10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 303 11 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21083) is amended— 12 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FOR VOT- 13 ERS WHO REGISTER BY MAIL’’ and inserting 14 ‘‘FOR PROVIDING IDENTIFICATION’’; and 15 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘sub- 16 sections (a)(5)(A)(i)(II) and (b)(3)(B)(i)(II)’’ 17 and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)(5)(A)(i)(II)’’. 18 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 19 tents of such Act is amended by amending the item 20 relating to section 303 to read as follows: 21 ‘‘Sec. 303. Computerized statewide voter registration list requirements and re- quirements for providing identification.’’. (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section and the amend- 23 ments made by this section shall apply with respect 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 6 •HR 8962 IH to elections for Federal office held on or after the 1 date of the enactment of this Act. 2 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3 303(d)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 4 U.S.C. 21083(d)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE PHOTO IDEN- 6 TIFICATION.—Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of sub- 7 section (b) shall apply with respect to elections for 8 Federal office held on or after the date of the enact- 9 ment of the SAVE America Act.’’. 10 SEC. 4. REQUIRING APPLICANTS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE 11 DRIVER’S LICENSES IN NEW STATE TO INDI- 12 CATE WHETHER STATE SERVES AS RESI- 13 DENCE FOR VOTER REGISTRATION PUR- 14 POSES. 15 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS FOR LI- 16 CENSES.—Section 5(d) of the National Voter Registration 17 Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(d)) is amended— 18 (1) by striking ‘‘Any change’’ and inserting 19 ‘‘(1) Any change’’; and 20 (2) by adding at the end the following new 21 paragraph: 22 ‘‘(2)(A) A State motor vehicle authority shall require 23 each individual applying for a motor vehicle driver’s li- 24 cense in the State— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 7 •HR 8962 IH ‘‘(i) to attest, under penalty of perjury, whether 1 the individual resides in another State or resided in 2 another State prior to applying for the license, and, 3 if so, to identify the State involved; and 4 ‘‘(ii) to attest, under penalty of perjury, wheth- 5 er the individual intends for the State to serve as 6 the individual’s residence for purposes of registering 7 to vote in elections for Federal office. 8 ‘‘(B) If pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) an indi- 9 vidual indicates to the State motor vehicle authority that 10 the individual intends for the State to serve as the individ- 11 ual’s residence for purposes of registering to vote in elec- 12 tions for Federal office, the authority shall notify the 13 motor vehicle authority of the State identified by the indi- 14 vidual pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i), who shall notify 15 the chief State election official of such State that the indi- 16 vidual no longer intends for that State to serve as the indi- 17 vidual’s residence for purposes of registering to vote in 18 elections for Federal office.’’. 19 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 20 subsection (a) shall take effect with respect to elections 21 occurring in 2021 or any succeeding year. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 8 •HR 8962 IH SEC. 5. PRE-ELECTION MAINTENANCE OF OFFICIAL VOTER 1 REGISTRATION LIST. 2 (a) REQUIRING STATE TO CERTIFY COMPLETION OF 3 PROGRAM TO REMOVE INELIGIBLE VOTERS PRIOR TO 4 DATE OF ELECTION.—Section 8(c)(2)(A) of the National 5 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 6 20507(c)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘A State shall 7 complete’’ and all that follows through ‘‘eligible voters.’’ 8 and inserting the following: ‘‘Not later than 90 days prior 9 to the date of an election for Federal office, each State 10 shall certify to the Election Assistance Commission that 11 the State has completed a program to remove the names 12 of ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters 13 with respect to the election.’’. 14 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION TO STATE BY 15 UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE AND SOCIAL SECURITY 16 ADMINISTRATION.—Section 8(c)(2) of such Act (52 17 U.S.C. 20507(c)(2)) is amended— 18 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub- 19 paragraph (C); and 20 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol- 21 lowing new subparagraph: 22 ‘‘(B) Not later than 180 days before the date of each 23 regularly scheduled general election for Federal office— 24 ‘‘(i) the Postmaster General shall transmit to 25 the chief State election official of a State change-of- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 9 •HR 8962 IH address information on individuals who, since the 1 previous regularly scheduled general election for 2 Federal office, are no longer residents of the State; 3 and 4 ‘‘(ii) the Director of the Social Security Admin- 5 istration shall transmit to the chief State election of- 6 ficial information on individuals from the State who 7 have died since the previous regularly scheduled gen- 8 eral election for Federal office’’. 9 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 10 this section shall apply with respect to the regularly sched- 11 uled general election for Federal office held in November 12 2022 and each succeeding election for Federal office. 13 SEC. 6. VOTING SYSTEMS RESEARCH BY NATIONAL INSTI- 14 TUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY. 15 The Director of the National Institute of Standards 16 and Technology, in collaboration with the National Science 17 Foundation as appropriate, shall carry out a program of 18 research on voting systems, including— 19 (1) the cybersecurity of different components of 20 such systems; 21 (2) end-to-end verifiable systems; 22 (3) the timely counting, verification, and certifi- 23 cation of results; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 10 •HR 8962 IH (4) the accessibility and usability of different 1 components of such systems; 2 (5) voter privacy and data protection; 3 (6) methods for auditing elections; 4 (7) the interoperability of system technologies; 5 (8) means for providing voters with the ability 6 to easily check whether a ballot sent by mail has 7 been dispatched to the voter and whether the voter’s 8 marked ballot has been received and accepted by the 9 appropriate election official; 10 (9) the reliability of various approaches to voter 11 authentication; 12 (10) accessibility and transparency for poll 13 watchers; 14 (11) methods for authenticating and updating 15 voter registration lists; and 16 (12) such other areas of research as the Direc- 17 tor of the National Institute of Standards and Tech- 18 nology determines to be appropriate and related to 19 the security and integrity of elections for Federal of- 20 fice. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 11 •HR 8962 IH SEC. 7. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR FRAUDULENT TRANS- 1 MISSION OF BALLOTS BY MAIL IN FEDERAL 2 ELECTIONS. 3 (a) PENALTIES FOR MAIL FRAUD.—Section 1341 of 4 title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘20 5 years’’ and inserting ‘‘20 years (or, in the case of a matter 6 or thing consisting of a ballot in an election for Federal 7 office which is placed or deposited for purposes of exe- 8 cuting a scheme or artifice involving multiple ballots, 30 9 years)’’. 10 (b) PENALTIES FOR USE OF FICTITIOUS NAME OR 11 ADDRESS ON BALLOT.—Section 1343 of title 18, United 12 States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘five years’’ and in- 13 serting ‘‘five years (or, in the case of mail matter con- 14 sisting of a ballot in an election for Federal office which 15 is transmitted for purposes of executing a scheme or arti- 16 fice involving multiple ballots, 10 years)’’. 17 (c) PENALTIES FOR TRANSMISSION OF FRAUDULENT 18 BALLOTS.—Section 12 of the National Voter Registration 19 Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) is amended by striking 20 ‘‘five years’’ and inserting ‘‘five years (or, in the case of 21 activity described in paragraph (2)(B) which involves the 22 transmission of multiple ballots by mail, 10 years)’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8962.IH H8962 12 •HR 8962 IH SEC. 8. REPORTING SYSTEM FOR INCIDENTS OF FRAUD IN 1 FEDERAL ELECTIONS. 2 (a) REPORTING SYSTEM.—The Attorney General 3 shall establish a system through which persons may report 4 incidents of fraud in elections for Federal office, including 5 through a toll-free hotline and a confidential online portal. 6 (b) DEADLINE.—The Attorney General shall estab- 7 lish the system under subsection (a) not later than 30 days 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 9 SEC. 9. SEPARATE TREATMENT OF PROVISIONAL AND 10 MAIL-IN BALLOTS. 11 (a) PROVISIONAL BALLOTS.—Section 302(a)(4) of 1 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]