Students Voicing Opinions in Today’s Elections (VOTE) Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 126 To direct the Election Assistance Commission to carry out a pilot program under which the Commission shall provide funds to local educational agencies for initiatives to provide voter registration information to sec- ondary school students in the 12th grade. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 9, 2023 Mr. GREEN of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration A BILL To direct the Election Assistance Commission to carry out a pilot program under which the Commission shall pro- vide funds to local educational agencies for initiatives to provide voter registration information to secondary school students in the 12th grade. 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 ‘‘Students Voicing Opin- 4 ions in Today’s Elections (VOTE) Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Jan 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H126.IH H126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 126 IH SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM FOR PROVIDING VOTER REG- 1 ISTRATION INFORMATION TO SECONDARY 2 SCHOOL STUDENTS PRIOR TO GRADUATION. 3 (a) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Election Assistance Com- 4 mission (hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Commis- 5 sion’’) shall carry out a pilot program under which the 6 Commission shall provide funds during fiscal year 2023 7 to eligible local educational agencies for initiatives to pro- 8 vide information on registering to vote in elections for pub- 9 lic office to secondary school students in the 12th grade. 10 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—A local educational agency is eligi- 11 ble to receive funds under the pilot program under this 12 Act if the agency submits to the Commission, at such time 13 and in such form as the Commission may require, an ap- 14 plication containing— 15 (1) a description of the initiatives the agency 16 intends to carry out with the funds; 17 (2) an estimate of the costs associated with 18 such initiatives; and 19 (3) such other information and assurances as 20 the Commission may require. 21 (c) CONSULTATION WITH ELECTION OFFICIALS.—A 22 local educational agency receiving funds under the pilot 23 program shall consult with the State and local election of- 24 ficials who are responsible for administering elections for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Jan 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H126.IH H126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 126 IH public office in the area served by the agency in developing 1 the initiatives the agency will carry out with the funds. 2 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘local edu- 3 cational agency’’ and ‘‘secondary school’’ have the mean- 4 ings given such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary 5 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 6 SEC. 3. REPORTS. 7 (a) REPORTS BY RECIPIENTS OF FUNDS.—Not later 8 than the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on 9 the date of the receipt of the funds, each local educational 10 agency receiving funds under the pilot program under this 11 Act shall submit a report to the Commission describing 12 the initiatives carried out with the funds and analyzing 13 their effectiveness. 14 (b) REPORT BY COMMISSION.—Not later than the ex- 15 piration of the 60-day period which begins on the date 16 the Commission receives the final report submitted by a 17 local educational agency under subsection (a), the Com- 18 mission shall submit a report to Congress on the pilot pro- 19 gram under this Act. 20 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 21 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 22 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 23 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:18 Jan 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H126.IH H126 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS