[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2822 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2822
To improve voter access to the ballot box through automatic voter
registration, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 16, 2025
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Hirono, Mr.
Kaine, Mr. Kim, Mr. Markey, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Wyden)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Rules and Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve voter access to the ballot box through automatic voter
registration, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Register America to Vote Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings and Purpose.--
(1) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(A) the right to vote is a fundamental right of
citizens of the United States;
(B) it is the responsibility of Federal and State
governments to ensure that every eligible citizen is
registered to vote;
(C) existing voter registration systems can be
inaccurate, costly, inaccessible, and confusing, with
damaging effects on voter participation in elections
for Federal office and disproportionate impacts on
young people, individuals with disabilities, and racial
and ethnic minorities; and
(D) voter registration systems must be updated with
21st century technologies and procedures to maintain
their security.
(2) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act--
(A) to establish that it is the responsibility of
government to ensure that all eligible citizens are
registered to vote in elections for Federal office;
(B) to enable the State governments to register all
eligible citizens to vote with accurate, cost-
efficient, and up-to-date procedures;
(C) to modernize voter registration and list
maintenance procedures with electronic and internet
capabilities; and
(D) to protect and enhance the integrity, accuracy,
efficiency, and accessibility of the electoral process
for all eligible citizens.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act, the following definitions apply:
(1) The term ``chief State election official'' means, with
respect to a State, the individual designated by the State
under section 10 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
(52 U.S.C. 20509) to be responsible for coordination of the
responsibilities under that Act.
(2) The term ``State'' means each of the several States,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
SEC. 4. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF INDIVIDUALS TURNING 18 YEARS OF AGE.
(a) Requirement.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the chief
State election official of each State shall establish and operate a
system of automatic registration for the registration of any eligible
individual on the date on which the individual turns 18 in order that
the individual may vote in elections for Federal office in the State.
(b) Exception.--The requirement under subsection (a) shall not
apply to a State in which, under a State law in effect continuously on
and after the date of the enactment of this section, there is no voter
registration requirement for individuals in the State with respect to
elections for Federal office.
SEC. 5. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.
(a) In General.--The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52
U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 5 the
following new section:
``SEC. 5A. AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION BY STATE MOTOR VEHICLE AUTHORITY.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
``(1) Applicable agency.--The term `applicable agency'
means, with respect to a State, the State motor vehicle
authority responsible for motor vehicle driver's licenses under
State law.
``(2) Applicable transaction.--The term `applicable
transaction' means--
``(A) an application to an applicable agency for a
motor vehicle driver's license; and
``(B) any other service or assistance (including
for a change of address) provided by an applicable
agency.
``(3) Automatic registration.--The term `automatic
registration' means a system that registers an individual to
vote and updates existing voter registration in elections for
Federal office in a State, if eligible, by electronically
transferring the information necessary for registration from
the applicable agency to election officials of the State in
order that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to be
registered or to update any voter registration, the individual
will be registered to vote in those elections.
``(4) Eligible individual.--The term `eligible individual'
means, with respect to an election for Federal office, an
individual who is otherwise qualified to vote in that election.
``(5) Register to vote.--The term `register to vote'
includes updating the existing voter registration of an
individual.
``(b) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--The chief State election official of
each State shall establish and operate a system of automatic
registration for the registration of eligible individuals to
vote for elections for Federal office in the State, in
accordance with the provisions of this section.
``(2) Registration of voters based on new agency records.--
``(A) In general.--The chief State election
official shall--
``(i) subject to subparagraph (B), ensure
that each eligible individual who completes an
applicable transaction and does not decline to
register to vote is registered to vote--
``(I) in the next election for
Federal office (and subsequent
elections for Federal office), if an
applicable agency transmits information
under subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect
to the individual not later than the
applicable date; and
``(II) in subsequent elections for
Federal office, if an applicable agency
transmits information under subsection
(c)(1)(E) with respect to the
individual after the applicable date;
and
``(ii) not later than 60 days after the
receipt of information described in subsection
(c)(1)(E) with respect to an individual, send
written notice to the individual, in addition
to other means of notice established under this
section, of the voter registration status of
the individual.
``(B) Applicable date.--For purposes of this
subsection, the term `applicable date' means, with
respect to any election for Federal office, the later
of--
``(i) the date that is 28 days before the
date of the election; or
``(ii) the last day of the period provided
by State law for voter registration with
respect to such election.
``(C) Clarification.--Nothing in this subsection
shall prevent a chief State election official from
registering an eligible individual to vote in the next
election for Federal office in the State, including if
an applicable agency transmits information under
subsection (c)(1)(E) with respect to the individual
after the applicable date.
``(3) Treatment of individuals under 18 years of age.--
``(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), a State may not refuse to treat an
individual as an eligible individual for purposes of
this section on the grounds that the individual is less
than 18 years of age on the date on which an applicable
agency receives information with respect to the
individual, provided that the individual is not less
than 16 years of age at that time.
``(B) Exception.--Nothing in subparagraph (A) may
be construed to require a State to permit an individual
who is less than 18 years of age on the date of an
election for Federal office to vote in the election.
``(c) Applicable Agency Responsibilities.--
``(1) Instructions on automatic registration for agencies
collecting citizenship information.--
``(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in
this section, in the case of any applicable transaction
for which an applicable agency (in the normal course of
the operations) requests (either directly or as part of
the overall application submitted for the applicable
transaction) that an individual affirm that the
individual is a United States citizen, the applicable
agency shall inform each such individual who is a
citizen of the United States of the following:
``(i) Unless the individual declines to
register to vote, or is found ineligible to
vote--
``(I) the individual will be
registered to vote; or
``(II) if applicable, the voter
registration of the individual will be
updated.
``(ii) With respect to the qualification to
register to vote--
``(I) the substantive
qualifications of an elector in the
State as listed in the mail voter
registration application form for
elections for Federal office prescribed
pursuant to section 9;
``(II) the consequences of false
registration; and
``(III) how the individual should
decline to register to vote if the
individual does not meet requirements
for eligibility to vote in a Federal
election.
``(iii) In the case of a State in which
affiliation or enrollment with a political
party is required in order to participate in an
election for Federal office to select the
candidate of the political party, the
requirement that the individual must, in
registering to vote, affiliate or enroll with a
political party in order to participate in such
an election.
``(iv) With respect to voter registration
by an individual--
``(I) voter registration is
voluntary;
``(II) whether the individual
registers or declines to register to
vote shall not affect the availability
of any service or benefit; and
``(III) information relating to
whether the individual registers or
declines to register to vote may not be
used for other purposes.
``(B) Individuals with limited english
proficiency.--
``(i) Covered individual.--For purposes of
this subparagraph, the term `covered
individual' means an individual conducting an
applicable transaction--
``(I) who is a member of a group
that constitutes not less than 3
percent of the overall population of
the State, as determined by the United
States Census Bureau, served by the
applicable agency; and
``(II) who is limited English
proficient.
``(ii) Requirement.--In providing
information pursuant to subparagraph (A), an
applicable agency shall provide the information
to any covered individual served by the
applicable agency in a language understood by
the covered individual.
``(C) Clarification of procedures for ineligible
voters.--An applicable agency may not provide an
individual who did not affirm United States
citizenship, or for whom the applicable agency has
conclusive documentary evidence obtained through the
normal course of operations of the applicable agency
that the individual is not a United States citizen, the
opportunity to register to vote under subparagraph (A).
``(D) Opportunity to decline registration
required.--
``(i) In general.--Except as otherwise
provided in this section, each applicable
agency shall ensure that each applicable
transaction described in subparagraph (A) may
not be completed unless the individual is given
the opportunity to decline to be registered to
vote.
``(ii) Language requirement.--If an
individual is a covered individual, as defined
in subparagraph (B)(i), the covered individual
shall be given the opportunity to decline to be
registered to vote in a language understood by
the covered individual.
``(E) Information transmittal.--Not later than 10
days after an applicable transaction with an eligible
individual, if the eligible individual did not decline
to be registered to vote, the applicable agency shall
electronically transmit to the appropriate State
election official the following information with
respect to the eligible individual:
``(i) The given name and surname of the
eligible individual.
``(ii) The date of birth of the eligible
individual.
``(iii) The residential address of the
individual.
``(iv) Information showing that the
individual is a citizen of the United States.
``(v) The date on which information
pertaining to the eligible individual was
collected or most recently updated.
``(vi) If available, the signature of the
eligible individual in electronic form.
``(vii) In the case of a State in which
affiliation or enrollment with a political
party is required in order to participate in an
election to select the candidate of the
political party in an election for Federal
office, information relating to the affiliation
or enrollment of the eligible individual with a
political party, if the eligible individual
provides that information.
``(viii) Any additional information listed
in the mail voter registration application form
for elections for Federal office prescribed
pursuant to section 9, including, if the
eligible individual provides such information--
``(I) the valid driver's license
number of the eligible individual; and
``(II) the last 4 digits of the
social security number of the eligible
individual.
``(F) Provision of information relating to
participation in primary elections.--In the case of a
State in which affiliation or enrollment with a
political party is required in order to participate in
an election to select the candidate of a political
party in an election for Federal office, if the
information transmitted under subparagraph (E) with
respect to an eligible individual does not include
information regarding the affiliation or enrollment
with a political party of the eligible individual, the
chief State election official shall-