[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4211 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4211
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require States
to designate public high schools as voter registration agencies, to
direct such schools to conduct voter registration drives for students
attending such schools, to direct the Secretary of Education to make
grants to reimburse such schools for the costs of conducting such voter
registration drives, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 30, 2024
Ms. Butler (for herself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Booker, Ms. Hirono, Mr.
Cardin, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require States
to designate public high schools as voter registration agencies, to
direct such schools to conduct voter registration drives for students
attending such schools, to direct the Secretary of Education to make
grants to reimburse such schools for the costs of conducting such voter
registration drives, 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 ``High School Voter Empowerment Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS AS VOTER REGISTRATION
AGENCIES.
(a) Requiring Designation by States.--Section 7(a)(2) of the
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(2)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph (A);
(2) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B)
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(C) all public high schools (as defined in section 8101
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 7801)) in the State.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Optional Designation of Other
Public Schools.--Section 7(a)(3)(B)(i) of such Act (52 U.S.C.
20506(a)(3)(B)(i)) is amended by striking ``public schools,'' and
inserting ``public elementary schools (as defined in section 8101 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
7801)),''.
SEC. 3. REQUIRING SCHOOLS TO CONDUCT VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES FOR
STUDENTS.
(a) Voter Registration Drives.--Section 7 of the National Voter
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
``(e) Special Rules for Public High Schools.--
``(1) Voter registration drives.--A voter registration
agency that is a public high school shall, at least once during
each academic year, conduct a voter registration drive, and set
as a goal for that year the registration of all students in the
school who are--
``(A) enrolled in a class in American Government or
Economics;
``(B) at least 17 years old as of April 10 of that
year; and
``(C) are eligible to register to vote in elections
for Federal office held in the State.
``(2) Use of voting machines for student elections.--At the
request of a public high school which is operating a high
school voter registration drive under paragraph (1), the
appropriate election official of the State may enter into an
agreement under which the official provides the school with
voting machines and related equipment and supplies for use in a
student council or similar election held at the school, under
such terms and conditions as the school and official may
determine.''.
(b) Availability of Grants To Cover Costs of Voter Registration
Drives.--
(1) Establishment of program.--The Secretary of Education
(hereafter referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish
and operate a program under which the Secretary shall make a
payment during a year to an eligible public high school to
reimburse the school for the reasonable costs incurred by the
school in carrying out a voter registration drive under section
7(e) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (as added
by subsection (a)) during that year.
(2) Eligibility.--A public high school is eligible to
receive a payment under the program under this subsection with
respect to a voter registration drive if the school submits to
the Secretary, at such time and in such form as the Secretary
may require, an application containing--
(A) a statement of the reasonable costs incurred by
the school in carrying out the voter registration
drive, including the information used by the school to
determine the amount of such costs;
(B) a description of the activities conducted under
the drive, including the number of students registered;
and
(C) such other information and assurances as the
Secretary may require.
(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated for payments under this subsection such sums
as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025 and each succeeding
fiscal year.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect upon
the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
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