116th CONGRESS 1st Session |
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to save eligible voters from voter purging, and for other purposes.
March 28, 2019
Mr. Merkley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to save eligible voters from voter purging, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Stop Automatically Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States Act” or the “SAVE VOTERS Act”.
SEC. 2. Individual and public notice of removals from voting rolls; conditions for removal of voters from list of registered voters.
(a) In general.—Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(k) Individual and public notice of removals from the voting rolls.—
“(A) INDIVIDUALIZED NOTICE.—After a State or political subdivision removes the name of a registrant from the official list of eligible voters for any reason, the State or registrar shall send the former registrant notice of the removal, the grounds for the removal, and information on how to contest the removal or be reinstated, including a contact phone number. Such individualized notice is not required in instances where the State or political subdivision has received written confirmation from the registrant that the registrant is no longer eligible to vote in the jurisdiction in which the registrant is registered.
“(B) PUBLIC NOTICE.—After a State or political subdivision completes any systematic program to remove the names of registrants from the official list of eligible voters for any reason, the State or registrar shall provide reasonable public notice, for example, in a newspaper of wide circulation or on the Internet website of the registrar and the chief State election official, that list maintenance is taking place and that voters should check their registration status to ensure no errors or mistakes have been made. The public notice under this subparagraph, in such publication or on the Internet, shall be in a format that is reasonably convenient and accessible to voters with disabilities, including voters who have low vision or are blind.
“(2) DEADLINE FOR NOTICE.—A State or political subdivision shall provide the notice required under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) not later than 48 hours after the removal described in such subparagraph (A) or (B) took place.”.
(b) Conditions described.—The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 8 the following new section:
“SEC. 8A. Conditions for removal of voters from official list of registered voters.
“(a) Verification on basis of objective and reliable evidence of ineligibility.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a State may not remove any registrant from the official list of voters eligible to vote in elections for Federal office in the State unless the State verifies, on the basis of objective and reliable evidence, that the registrant is ineligible to vote in such elections.
“(b) Sending of notices.—A State may not send a notice described in paragraph (2) of section 8(d) unless the State first obtains objective and reliable evidence that a voter has changed residence to a place outside the registrar’s jurisdiction in which the registrant is registered.
“(c) Factors not considered as objective and reliable evidence of ineligibility.—For purposes of subsection (a), the following factors, or any combination thereof, shall not be treated as objective and reliable evidence of a registrant’s ineligibility to vote:
“(1) The failure of the registrant to vote in any election.
“(2) The failure of the registrant to respond to any notice sent under section 8(d), unless such notice has been returned as undeliverable.
“(3) The failure of the registrant to take any other action.”.
(1) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 1993.—Section 8 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20507) is amended—
(i) in paragraph (3), by striking “provide” and inserting “subject to section 8A, provide”; and
(ii) in paragraph (4), by striking “conduct” and inserting “subject to section 8A, conduct”; and
(B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking “A notice” and inserting “Subject to section 8A(b), a notice”.
(2) HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Section 303(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)) is amended—
(A) in paragraph (2)(A)(i), by striking “of such Act” and inserting “of such Act, and section 8A of such Act”; and
(B) in paragraph (4)(A), by striking “, registrants” and inserting “, and subject to section 8A of such Act, registrants”.
(d) Effective date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.