Federal

One Citizen One Vote Act

Source: Congress.gov · 813 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill would change the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to stop the Election Assistance Commission (a federal agency that helps states with voting) from sending money to states and local areas that don't meet certain voting rules. The bill sets five specific standards that states must follow to keep receiving federal election funding.

Who It Affects

- States and local voting jurisdictions (areas where elections happen) - The Election Assistance Commission (the federal agency that distributes payments) - Individual voters who want to cast ballots in federal elections

Key Provisions

- States must require people voting in person to show current and valid photo identification before casting a ballot (Sec. 907(1)(A)) - States must require people voting by mail to include a copy of current and valid photo identification with their ballot (Sec. 907(1)(B)) - States cannot accept mail-in ballots delivered by anyone except the voter, postal workers, or other people legally allowed to handle mail while doing their official job (Sec. 907(2)) - States cannot have ballot drop boxes except at the offices of state or local election officials (Sec. 907(3)) - States cannot send absentee or mail-in ballots to people who didn't request them (Sec. 907(4)) - States cannot let non-citizens register to vote or vote in any election (Sec. 907(5))

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, the Election Assistance Commission would stop paying states and local areas that fail to meet any of these five standards. Payments would stop starting on the date the bill becomes law.

Important Definitions

- Absentee ballot: a ballot mailed to a voter instead of voted in person - Mail-in ballot: a ballot sent through the mail to a voter - Photo identification: a document with a picture that proves who you are - Federal office: positions in the national government

Effective Date

The rule would apply to all payments made on or after the date this bill becomes law (Sec. 2(c)).

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 512 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit the Election Assistance Commission from making payments under such Act to States and jurisdictions which fail to meet certain standards to protect the integrity and certainty of elections for Federal office, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 25, 2023 Mr. GOOD of Virginia (for himself, Mrs. MILLER of Illinois, and Mr. PERRY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit the Election Assistance Commission from making pay- ments under such Act to States and jurisdictions which fail to meet certain standards to protect the integrity and certainty of elections for Federal office, 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 ‘‘One Citizen One Vote 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:42 Feb 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H512.IH H512 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 512 IH SEC. 2. PROHIBITING PAYMENTS TO STATES FAILING TO 1 MEET ELECTION INTEGRITY AND CERTAINTY 2 STANDARDS. 3 (a) PROHIBITION.—Title IX of the Help America 4 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141 et seq.) is amended 5 by adding at the end the following new section: 6 ‘‘SEC. 907. PROHIBITING PAYMENTS TO STATES AND JURIS- 7 DICTIONS FAILING TO MEET ELECTION IN- 8 TEGRITY AND CERTAINTY STANDARDS. 9 ‘‘The Commission may not make any payment under 10 this Act to any State or jurisdiction unless the State or 11 jurisdiction certifies to the Commission each of the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(1) The State or jurisdiction does not permit 14 an individual to cast a ballot in an election for Fed- 15 eral office unless— 16 ‘‘(A) in the case of an individual who de- 17 sires to cast a ballot in person, the individual 18 presents to the appropriate election official a 19 current and valid photo identification of the in- 20 dividual; or 21 ‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who de- 22 sires to cast a ballot by mail, the individual in- 23 cludes with the ballot a copy of a current and 24 valid photo identification of the individual. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:42 Feb 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H512.IH H512 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 512 IH ‘‘(2) The State or jurisdiction does not accept 1 a voted absentee ballot in an election for Federal of- 2 fice which is delivered in person to an election offi- 3 cial by any individual other than the voter to whom 4 the ballot was transmitted, other than an individual 5 described as follows: 6 ‘‘(A) An election official while engaged in 7 official duties as authorized by law. 8 ‘‘(B) An employee of the United States 9 Postal Service while engaged in official duties 10 as authorized by law. 11 ‘‘(C) Any other individual who is allowed 12 by law to collect and transmit United States 13 mail, while engaged in official duties as author- 14 ized by law. 15 ‘‘(3) The State or jurisdiction does not provide 16 any drop box into which an individual may deliver 17 a voted ballot, other than a drop box which is lo- 18 cated at the office of a State or local election offi- 19 cial. 20 ‘‘(4) The State or jurisdiction does not deliver 21 an absentee or other mail-in ballot to any individual 22 who does not request the delivery of such a ballot. 23 ‘‘(5) The State or jurisdiction does not permit 24 any individual who is not a citizen of the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:42 Feb 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H512.IH H512 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 512 IH States to register to vote or vote in any election for 1 public office, or any ballot initiative or referendum, 2 held in the State or jurisdiction.’’. 3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 4 of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 5 relating to title IX the following: 6 ‘‘Sec. 907. Prohibiting payments to States and jurisdictions failing to meet election integrity and certainty standards.’’. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 7 this section shall apply with respect to payments made on 8 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:42 Feb 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H512.IH H512 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.