,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #dei ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #be1 #bjba,mr4 ,scott of ,florida 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,hyde-,smith1 ,mr4 ,barrasso1 and ,ms4 ,lummis7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic and the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb to promote integrity in voter registration1 the casting of ballots1 and the tabulation of ballots in elections for ,federal office1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 findings 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,save ,democracy ,act4 7b7 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,congress recognizes that the legitimacy of the ,united ,states representative democracy rests on the integrity of our ,federal elections and confidence our citizens have in them4 7#b7 ,consistent with article ,i1 section #d1 clause #a of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states and the principles of federalism1 primary authority to regulate ,federal elections is reserved to the ,states1 while ,congress' role is secondary4 7#c7 ,while exercising its primary role in determining the manner in which ,federal elections shall be carried out1 ,states must seek to protect the fairness1 accessibility1 and integrity of the elections4 7#d7 ,congress should limit its secondary role in regulating ,federal elections to instances in which ,state regulation of ,federal elections has contributed to or proven unsuccessful in preventing impropriety4 #b4 ,integrity in voter registration 7a7 ,prohibiting automatic voter registration ,section #h of the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjejg7 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7j7 as subsection 7k72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7i7 the following new subsection3 7j7 ,prohibiting registration pursuant to automatic voter registration system 7#a7 ,prohibition ,a ,state may not register an individual to vote in elections for ,federal office pursuant to an automatic voter registration system4 7#b7 ,definition ,in this subsection1 an automatic voter registration system means1 with respect to a ,state1 a system that registers an individual to vote in elections for ,federal office in the ,state1 if eligible1 by electronically transferring the information necessary for registration from government agencies to election officials of the ,state so that1 unless the individual affirmatively declines to be registered1 the individual will be registered to vote in such elections4 4 7b7 ,prohibiting registration ,to vote of individuals who fail ,to provide proof of ,united ,states citizenship ,section #h of the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjejg71 as amended by subsection 7a71 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating subsection 7k7 as subsection 7l72 and 7#b7 by inserting after subsection 7j7 the following new subsection3 7k7 ,prohibiting registration of individuals not providing proof of ,united ,states citizenship 7#a7 ,prohibition ,notwithstanding any other provision of this ,act1 a ,state may not register an individual to vote in elections for ,federal office held in the ,state unless1 at the time the individual applies to register to vote1 the individual provides documentary proof that the individual is a citizen of the ,united ,states1 which shall consist of any of the following 7or a photocopy thereof73 7,a7 ,a certified birth certificate issued by a ,state or unit of local government in a ,state4 7,b7 ,a valid ,united ,states passport4 7,c7 ,a ,consular ,report of ,birth ,abroad issued by the ,secretary of ,state4 7,d7 ,a ,naturalization ,certificate or ,certificate of ,citizenship issued by the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security4 7#b7 ,applicability ,paragraph 7#a7 applies with respect to an individual who applies to register to vote under section #e1 #f1 or #g 7including an individual who submits the mail voter registration application form prescribed by the ,election ,assistance ,commission pursuant to section #i71 or who applies under any other method of voter registration available in the ,state4 4 7c7 ,requiring applicants for voter registration ,to provide full ,social ,security numbers 7#a7 ,requirement ,section #cjc7;a77#e77;,a7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajhc7;a77#e77;,a77 is amended to read as follows3 7,a7 ,requiring applicants to provide full ,social ,security number ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 an application for voter registration for an election for ,federal office may not be accepted or processed by a ,state unless the application includes the applicant's full ,social ,security number4 4 7#b7 ,conforming amendment relating to certain voters registering by mail ,section #cjc7;b77#c77;,b77i7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajhc7;b77#c77;,b77i77 is amended by striking either-- and all that follows through 2 and and inserting the individual's full ,social ,security number2 and4 7#c7 ,conforming amendment relating to waiver of ,privacy ,act ,section #cjc7;c7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajhc7;c77 is amended to read as follows3 7c7 ,permitted use of ,social ,security numbers ,section #g of the ,privacy ,act of #aigd 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 #eeb;a note7 does not apply to the use of a ,social ,security number under subsection 7a77#e77;,a7 or subsection 7b77#c77;,b77i74 4 7d7 ,ensuring provision of information to ,state election officials on individuals recused from jury service on grounds of noncitizenship 7#a7 ,requiring ,state election officials to coordinate information on recusal as part of maintenance of ,statewide voter registration list ,subparagraph 7,a7 of section #cjc7;a77#b7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajhc7;a77#b77 is amended-- 7,a7 by redesignating clause 7iii7 as clause 7iv72 and 7,b7 by inserting after clause 7ii7 the following new clause3 7iii7 ,for purposes of removing names of ineligible voters from the official list of eligible voters by reason of citizenship status1 the ,state shall coordinate the computerized list with records of courts which have recused individuals from serving on a jury on the grounds that the individuals are not citizens of the ,united ,states4 4 7#b7 ,requiring notification by courts 7,a7 ,requirement described ,if a ,united ,states district court or a court of any ,state or local jurisdiction recuses an individual from serving on a jury on the grounds that the individual is not a citizen of the ,united ,states1 the court shall transmit a notice of the individual's recusal-- 7i7 to the chief ,state election official of the ,state in which the individual resides2 and 7ii7 to the ,attorney ,general4 7,b7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this subsection-- 7i7 the chief ,state election official of a ,state is the individual designated by the ,state under section #aj of the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjeji7 to be responsible for coordination of the ,state's responsibilities under such ,act2 and 7ii7 the term ,state means each of the several ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,american ,samoa1 ,guam1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 7e7 ,effective date ,this section and the amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and shall apply with respect to applications for voter registration which are submitted on or after such date4 #c4 ,integrity in casting of ballots 7a7 ,promoting integrity in casting of ballots ,title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha et seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating sections #cjd and #cje as sections #cje and #cjf2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #cjc the following new section3 #cjd4 ,promoting integrity in casting of ballots 7a7 ,requiring provision of identification as condition of voting 7#a7 ,individuals voting in person ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the appropriate ,state or local election official may not provide a ballot for an election for ,federal office to an individual who desires to vote in person unless the individual presents to the official a current and valid identification4 7#b7 ,individuals voting other than in person ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the appropriate ,state or local election official may not accept any ballot for an election for ,federal office provided by an individual who votes other than in person unless the individual submits with the ballot a copy of a current and valid identification4 7#c7 ,current and valid identification defined ,in this subsection1 a current and valid identification means a current and valid version of any of the following3 7,a7 ,an identification issued by a ,state or a unit of local government in a ,state4 7,b7 ,a ,united ,states passport4 7,c7 ,a military identification card4 7,d7 ,an identification issued by a tribal government4 7b7 ,prohibiting delivery of ballots by mail unless requested ,a ,state may not deliver a ballot in an election for ,federal office to an individual by mail unless the individual requests that the ,state deliver the ballot to the individual by mail4 7c7 ,prohibiting use of drop boxes for collection of ballots ,a ,state may not use a drop box for the collection of voted absentee ballots in an election for ,federal office unless the drop box is located inside a building which serves as an office for a ,state or local election official4 7d7 ,restrictions on delivery of voted ballots by third parties ,a ,state may not accept a voted absentee ballot in an election for ,federal office which is delivered in person to an election official by any individual other than the voter to whom the ballot was transmitted1 other than an individual described as follows3 7#a7 ,an election official while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7#b7 ,an employee of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7#c7 ,any other individual who is allowed by law to collect and transmit ,united ,states mail1 while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7e7 ,prohibiting acceptance of absentee ballots received after date of election ,a ,state may not accept a voted absentee ballot in an election for ,federal office which is not received by the appropriate ,state or local election official prior to the time at which the polls in the election close on the date of the election4 7f7 ,use of ,social ,security numbers ,to cross-,check identifications of individuals casting ballots in an election with individuals registered ,to vote in the election 7#a7 ,requirement ,immediately upon the closing of the polls in an election for ,federal office1 each ,state shall verify the identification of each individual who cast a ballot in the election by carrying out a cross-check of the individual's identification with the individual's identification in the official list of individuals who are registered to vote in the election1 using the individual's full ,social ,security number as the method for determining the individual's identification4 7#b7 ,report to ,congress ,not later than #g days after the closing of the polls in an election for ,federal office1 the ,state shall submit to the ,committee on ,house ,administration of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration of the ,senate a report on the ,state's compliance with subsection 7a71 and shall include in the report-- 7,a7 the percentage of individuals who cast votes in the election whose identifications were verified by the ,state under such subsection2 and 7,b7 the number of individuals who cast votes in the election1 or who attempted to cast votes in the election1 whose identifications could not be verified by the ,state under such subsection4 7g7 ,exception for absent military and overseas voters ,this section does not apply with respect to any individual who is entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the ,uniformed and ,overseas ,citizens ,absentee ,voting ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjcja et seq474 7h7 ,effective date ,this section shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for ,federal office held in #bjbb and any succeeding election for ,federal office4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendment relating to existing identification requirements ,section #cjc of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajhc7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking subsection 7b72 and 7#b7 in subsection 7c71 as amended by section #b7;c77#c71 by striking or subsection 7b77#c77;,b77i74 7c7 ,conforming amendment relating to enforcement ,section #dja of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by striking and #cjc and inserting #cjc1 and #cjd4 7d7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of such ,act is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating the items relating to sections #cjd and #cje as relating to sections #cje and #cjf2 and 7#b7 by inserting after the item relating to section #cjc the following3 ,sec4 #cjd4 ,promoting integrity in casting of ballots4 4 #d4 ,integrity in tabulation of ballots 7a7 ,promoting integrity ,title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha et seq471 as amended by section #c7;a71 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating sections #cje and #cjf as sections #cjf and #cjg2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #cjd the following new section3 #cje4 ,promoting integrity in tabulation of ballots 7a7 ,minimum presence of election observers ,the appropriate ,state or local election official shall permit at least #b representatives of each candidate appearing on the ballot in a general election for ,federal office to observe the tabulation of the ballots in the election4 7b7 ,continuous tabulation of ballots until completion 7#a7 ,in general ,upon the closing of the polls on the date of an election for ,federal office1 the appropriate ,state or local election official shall continue the tabulation of the ballots cast in the election without interruption 7other than an interruption caused by an emergency affecting the health or safety of the election officials carrying out the tabulation7 until each lawfully cast ballot has been tabulated4 7#b7 ,exception for provisional ballots ,paragraph 7#a7 does not apply with respect to the tabulation of any provisional ballot cast in the election4 7c7 ,post-,election audit ,not later than #cj days after each election for ,federal office held in the ,state1 each ,state shall conduct and publish an audit of the effectiveness and accuracy of the voting systems used to carry out the election and the performance of the ,state and local election officials who carried out the election4 7d7 ,effective date ,this section shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for ,federal office held in #bjbb and any succeeding election for ,federal office4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendment relating to enforcement ,section #dja of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa71 as amended by section #c7;c71 is amended by striking and #cjd and inserting #cjd1 and #cje4 7c7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of such ,act1 as amended by section #c7;d71 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating the items relating to sections #cje and #cjf as relating to section #cjf and #cjg2 and 7#b7 by inserting after the item relating to section #cjd the following new item3 ,sec4 #cje4 ,promoting integrity in tabulation of ballots4 4