S. 9 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 9 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES January 22 (legislative day, January 3), 2013 Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Brown, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Levin, Mr. Rockefeller, and Mr. Heinrich) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration A BILL To strengthen our Nation’s electoral system by ensuring clean and fair elections. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Clean and Fair Elections Act. 2. Sense of the Senate It is the sense of the Senate that Congress should— (1) recognize that— (A) our elections belong to the voters of the United States; and (B) our systems of election administration and campaign finance should be structured in a way that prioritizes the interests of the American public first; (2) pass legislation to bring greater transparency to our elections and end anonymous political spending by shadow groups and special interests; (3) require greater disclosure of campaign contributions in a searchable, public online database; (4) take steps to safeguard the right to vote for every eligible voter, including prohibiting deceptive and misleading efforts to prevent voters from exercising the franchise; (5) improve access to the polls for every eligible voter by streamlining voting procedures; (6) pass election reform legislation that includes expanded absentee voting, mandatory early voting periods, and voter registration reforms; (7) support local election officials to ensure they have working voting systems that are accessible, secure, and easy to use; (8) require States to develop plans to reduce lines at polling places and develop contingency plans that provide additional flexibility in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency situation; and (9) ensure that the guarantees of the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are enforced so that all Americans are able to vote and have their votes count without discrimination.