ASSURE Act

agency, if requested by a State to be designated as a voter registration agency pursuant to section 7(a)(3)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(3)(B)(ii)), shall, to the greatest extent practicable, agree to such designation. (2) Designation declined.--If an agency declines to consent to such designation, the head of the agency shall submit to the President and Congress a written explanation for the decision to decline. (b) Agreement to Designation Where Services Are Provided.--The head of each agency shall evaluate where and how the agency provides services that directly engage with the public and, to the greatest extent practicable, notify each State in which the agency provides such services that it would agree to designation as a voter registration agency pursuant to such section 7(a)(3)(B)(ii) (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(3)(B)(ii)). SEC. 4. MODERNIZATION OF VOTE.GOV. (a) In General.--The Administrator of the General Services Administration shall modernize and improve the user experience of Vote.gov, in coordination with the Election Assistance Commission and appropriate Federal agencies and in consultation with affected stakeholders, including-- (1) election administrators; (2) civil rights and disability rights advocates; (3) Tribal Nations; and (4) nonprofit groups that study best practices for using technology to promote civic engagement. (b) Requirements.--In fulfilling the requirement in subsection (a), the Administrator shall-- (1) ensure that Vote.gov complies, at minimum, with sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794 and 794d); and (2) ensure that Vote.gov is translated into each language spoken by a language minority group (as such term is used in section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503)) in the United States. (c) Strategic Plan.--Not later than 200 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the President and Congress a strategic plan outlining the steps to modernize and improve the user experience of Vote.gov as required in subsection (a). SEC. 5. VOTING OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES. Not later than 200 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management shall coordinate with the heads of executive agencies (as such term is defined in section 105 of title 5, United States Code) to provide recommendations to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, on strategies to-- (1) expand the Federal Government's policy of granting employees time off to vote in Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial elections (including to participate in early voting); and (2) better support Federal employees who wish to volunteer to serve as nonpartisan poll workers or nonpartisan observers, particularly during early or extended voting periods. SEC. 6. EQUAL ACCESS FOR VOTERS WITH DISABILITIES. Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall publish-- (1) the steps needed to ensure that Vote.gov is accessible to people with disabilities; and (2) recommendations, developed in consultation with the Department of Justice, the Election Assistance Commission, and other agencies, as appropriate, regarding barriers to private and independent voting for people with disabilities, including access to voter registration, voting technology, voting by mail, polling locations, and poll worker training. SEC. 7. VOTING FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS. (a) Annual Requirement.--Not later than 200 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall-- (1) establish procedures to affirmatively offer, on an annual basis, each member of the Armed Forces on active duty the opportunity to register to vote in Federal elections, update voter registration information, or request an absentee ballot; and (2) evaluate the feasibility of implementing an online system to facilitate the services described in paragraph (1). (b) Ballot Tracking.-- (1) In general.--The Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Department of State, the Military Postal Service Agency, and the United States Postal Service, shall take all practical steps to establish procedures to enable a comprehensive end-to-end ballot tracking system for all absentee ballots cast by absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters (as such terms are defined in section 107 of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20310)). (2) Strategic plan.--Not later than 200 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the President and Congress a strategic plan for establishing the ballot tracking system required in paragraph (1). (c) Agency Coordination.-- (1) In general.--The head of each agency with employees stationed outside the United States shall designate an employee to be responsible for coordinating with the Federal Voting Assistance Program, including to promote voter registration and voting services available to such employees. (2) Office of management and budget assistance.--The Director of the Office of Management and Budget may issue guidance to assist agencies in making the designations required in paragraph (1). SEC. 8. VOTER REGISTRATION FOR ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS IN FEDERAL CUSTODY. (a) Federal Bureau of Prisons.-- (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall establish procedures to provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting and, to the extent practicable, to facilitate voter registration, for all eligible individuals in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2) Educational materials.--The educational materials required in paragraph (1) shall-- (A) be incorporated into the reentry planning procedures required under section 4042(a)(7) of title 18, United States Code; and (B) notify each individual leaving Federal custody of-- (i) any restriction on the ability of such individual to vote under the laws of the State where the individual resides; and (ii) if any such restrictions exist, the point at which such restriction will be lifted under applicable State law. (b) Contracts and Agreements.--The Attorney General shall establish procedures-- (1) to ensure the United States Marshals Service includes language in intergovernmental agreements and jail contracts to require the jails to provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting, and to facilitate voting by mail, to the extent practicable and appropriate; and (2) for coordinating with the Probation and Pretrial Services Office of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting to all eligible individuals under the supervision of the Probation and Pretrial Services Office, and to facilitate voter registration and voting by such individuals. (c) Identification.--The Attorney General shall take appropriate steps to support formerly incarcerated individuals in obtaining identification that satisfies State voter identification laws, including as required by section 4042(a)(6)(B) of title 18, United States Code. SEC. 9. NATIVE AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS STEERING GROUP. (a) Establishment.--There is established an Interagency Steering Group on Native American Voting Rights (in this section referred to as the ``Steering Group''), coordinated by the Domestic Policy Council, which shall engage in meaningful and robust consultation with Tribal Nations and Native leaders regarding concerns and potential areas of focus for the report required in subsection (d). (b) Membership.-- (1) In general.--The Steering Group shall be chaired by the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and shall include the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (2) Optional participation.--The Chair may invite heads or senior representatives of other agencies to participate in the Steering Group. (c) Consultation With Other Agencies.--The Steering Group shall consult with agencies not represented on the Steering Group to facilitate the sharing of information and best practices, as appropriate. (d) Public Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Steering Group shall make publically available a report describing best practices for protecting voting rights of Native Americans and outlining recommendations for providing such protection, including recommendations for-- (1) increasing voter outreach, education, registration, and turnout in Native American communities; (2) increasing voting access for Native American communities (including increasing accessibility for voters with disabilities); (3) mitigating internet accessibility issues that may hinder voter registration and ballot access in Native American communities; (4) increasing language access and assistance for Native American voters, including evaluating existing best practices; (5) mitigating barriers to voting for Native Americans by analyzing and providing guidance on how to facilitate the use of Tribal government identification cards as valid voter identification in Federal, State, local, Tribal, and territorial elections; (6) facilitating collaboration among local election officials, Native American communities, and Tribal election offices; and (7) addressing other areas identified through the consultation required in subsection (a). (e) Administrative Support.--The Department of the Interior shall provide administrative support for the Steering Group. (f) Sunset.--The Steering Group established in this section shall terminate on the day after the report is made publically available under subsection (d). SEC. 10. NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AT NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES. The Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shall permit any covered nonprofit organization to provide voter registration applications and general information regarding voting to new United States citizens at an administrative naturalization ceremony. SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS. In this Act: (1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' has the meaning given such term in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code, except that such term does not include any independent regulatory agency (as such term is defined in such section). (2) Covered nonprofit organization.--The term ``covered nonprofit organization'' means an organization that-- (A) is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code; and (B) commits to not participate in any political activity, partisan or otherwise, at an administrative naturalization ceremony or while providing voter registration services on an agency premises. <all>