,i #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #diac ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,august #e1 #bjbe,ms4 ,williams of ,georgia 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,ansari1 ,ms4 ,brown1 ,mr4 ,carson1 ,mrs4 ,cherfilus-,mc,cormick1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,crockett1 ,mr4 ,evans of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,figures1 ,mr4 ,garca of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,green of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 ,ms4 ,kamlager-,dove1 ,mr4 ,krishnamoorthi1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,lynch1 ,ms4 ,mc,clellan1 ,mrs4 ,mc,iver1 ,mr4 ,mfume1 ,mr4 ,mullin1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,mrs4 ,ramirez1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1 ,ms4 ,sewell1 ,ms4 ,simon1 ,ms4 ,strickland1 ,mrs4 ,sykes1 ,mr4 ,thanedar1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,mississippi1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 and ,mr4 ,fields7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,house ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic to protect individuals who are lawfully registered to vote in elections for ,federal office from bad faith challenges to their registration status1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,countering ,harassment and ,applying ,legal ,liability to ,effectively ,nurture ,government ,election ,stability ,act or the ,,challenges ,act4 #b4 ,protections against bad faith challenges to voter registration status 7a7 ,protections ,the ,national ,voter ,registration ,act of #aiic 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjeja et seq47 is amended by inserting after section #h the following new section3 #h;,a4 ,protections against bad-faith challenges to registration status 7a7 ,protections against bad-,faith challenges ,no person1 other than a ,state or local election official1 may submit to a ,state or local election official a formal challenge to the voter registration status of an individual who is registered to vote in elections for ,federal office held in the ,state unless the person-- 7#a7 provides the official with clear and convincing evidence generated by an inquiry into the specific individual's voter registration status that offers proof that the individual is not eligible to be registered to vote in elections for ,federal office in the ,state and is not generated by a mass computerized data matching process2 7#b7 presents the official with an oath or attestation of such person under penalty of perjury that the person has personal knowledge that the individual is not eligible to be registered to vote in elections for ,federal office in the ,state2 and 7#c7 if the person is an individual1 is registered to vote in the same registrar's jurisdiction as the individual who is the subject of the challenge4 7b7 ,requirements for online portals accepting challenges ,a ,state or local election official who operates an online portal through which a person may submit a formal challenge to the voter registration status of an individual who is registered to vote in elections for ,federal office held in the ,state-- 7#a7 shall reject a challenge submitted on the portal by a person who does not include the person's name on the material the person submits for the challenge2 and 7#b7 shall include on the portal information on the prohibition under subsection 7a74 4 7b7 ,enforcement 7#a7 ,private right of action ,section #aa7;b7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjeaj7;b77 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#d7 ,in the case of a violation of section #h;,a-- 7,a7 the aggrieved person need not provide notice to the chief election official of the ,state under paragraph 7#a7 before bringing a civil action under paragraph 7#b72 and 7,b7 in addition to declaratory and injunctive relief1 the civil action may be for compensatory damages equal to the amount incurred by the aggrieved person due to the violation1 together with punitive damages in an amount not to exceed #a1jjj for each such violation4 4 7#b7 ,criminal penalties ,section #ab of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjeaa7 is amended-- 7,a7 by striking ,a person and inserting 7a7 ,in general4--,a person2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7b7 ,knowing and negligent false challenge to eligibility ,to register ,to vote ,in addition to any other penalty under this ,act1 if-- 7#a7 a person submits to a ,state or local election official a formal challenge to the voter registration status of an individual who is registered to vote in elections for ,federal office held in the ,state knowing and negligently disregarding that the individual is eligible to be registered to vote in elections for ,federal office in the ,state2 or 7#b7 a person provides another person with information alleging that an individual is not eligible to be registered to vote in elections for ,federal office held in a ,state knowing that the information is false and with the reasonable expectation that the person to whom the information is provided will use the information to submit to a ,state or local election official a formal challenge to the voter registration status of the individual1 the person shall be fined in accordance with title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 imprisoned not more than #f months1 or both1 except that if the person is not an individual1 the amount of the fine shall be equal to #aj1jjj for each violation under this subsection4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to a challenge to the voter registration status of an individual who is registered to vote in elections for ,federal office in a ,state which is made after the date of the enactment of this ,act4