H.R. 160 — Restoring Faith in Elections Act

This section establishes uniform federal standards for mail-in ballots in elections for federal office—when permitted by state law—by inserting new section 305 into Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), redesignating existing sections 305 and 306 as 306 and 307, updating the enforcement provision (52 U.S.C. 21111) to authorize the Attorney General to seek declaratory or injunctive relief for violations of the new section, and making conforming changes to the table of contents. The new section requires (1) standardized forms for ballot requests submitted electronically or by mail up to 21 days before the election, with ballots mailed within 3 days of a verified request confirming voter identity, registration, and residency; (2) officials to record mail-in ballots sent and notate voter rolls; (3) ballots to be marked in blue or black ink, signed with the voter’s registration signature, dated, received by poll closing, and accompanied by a signed attestation of eligibility and intent not to vote in person; and (4) allowances for in-person ballot return or switching to in-person voting by surrendering a blank or incomplete mail-in ballot (or using a provisional ballot otherwise). It further prohibits possession or return of another person’s completed mail-in ballot except by an immediate family member or caregiver (each limited to two ballots besides their own), postal workers, or election officials acting in their official capacity, with violators subject to fine or imprisonment for up to one year. The standards apply to elections for federal office after enactment.

This section establishes federal standards for the timely counting and reporting of ballots validly cast in elections for federal office by inserting new section 306 into Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which sets minimum standards for state administration of federal elections. The new section requires the chief state election official to ensure that (1) mail-in ballots received prior to election day are counted beginning at least one week prior to the date of the election; (2) one hour after polls close, each voting precinct reports to the chief state election official the total mail-in ballots received, total in-person ballots cast, and— for both categories— the number counted and remaining to be counted; and (3) all such ballots are counted and reported within 24 hours after polls close. (The section applies to elections for federal office held after the date of enactment.) The section also (1) redesignates HAVA sections 306 and 307 as sections 307 and 308, respectively; (2) amends HAVA section 401 to include the new section 306 within the Attorney General's civil enforcement authority for specified election administration standards; and (3) makes conforming changes to HAVA's table of contents.

This section designates this title as the "Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2025" and states congressional findings on voter registration systems, including their inaccuracies, costs, inaccessibility, and disproportionate impacts on certain groups, as well as the purpose of modernizing such systems with technology to register all eligible citizens, enhance electoral integrity, and increase participation.

This section requires the chief state election official in each state to establish and operate an automatic voter registration (AVR) system for federal elections (i.e., a process that transfers eligibility data from designated state agencies to election officials, registering eligible individuals unless they affirmatively decline). For new agency records, the official must register eligible individuals within 15 days of data transmission and send notice of their registration status; for existing agency records, the official must identify eligible but unregistered individuals, send them written notice (including declination options, party affiliation opportunities where applicable, voter qualifications, and correction instructions), register them within 45 days unless they decline within 30 days, and send status notice. States may not exclude individuals aged 16 or 17 from AVR eligibility based on age, and "contributing agency" means those designated under section 203(e).

This section requires contributing agencies—including institutions of higher education—to assist state chief election officials in automatically registering eligible U.S. citizens to vote through an opt-out process during applications for services or assistance, recertifications, renewals, address changes, or, for institutions of higher education, student registrations for enrollment in a course of study. Agencies that routinely affirm U.S. citizenship must inform individuals of automatic registration (unless declined or ineligible), state voter qualifications, political party affiliation requirements (if applicable), and that registration is voluntary and does not affect services; provide a declination opportunity before completing the transaction; and transmit specified information—including name, date of birth, residential address, citizenship affirmation, collection date, electronic signature (if available), party affiliation (if provided), and driver’s license or partial Social Security number (if available)—to the state election official in a format compatible with the statewide voter database after 30 days unless the individual declines during that period. Agencies not routinely affirming citizenship must follow National Voter Registration Act procedures, ensure a choice to register or decline, and transmit information for those who wish to register; all agencies must offer the opportunity with every transaction regardless of prior declinations. Contributing agencies include those required by federal law to provide voter registration (e.g., motor vehicle authorities), agencies administering specified Social Security Act programs, and others listed.

This section directs contributing agencies to transmit specified voter registration information (as listed in section 203(b)(3)) from their existing records to the appropriate state election official on a one-time basis. Specifically, (1) for individuals in agency records as of the date of enactment, promptly but not later than the effective date in section 211(a); and (2) for individuals added to records as of that effective date (but not present as of enactment), not later than 6 months thereafter.

This section establishes protections barring prosecution under federal law, adverse civil immigration or naturalization adjudications, or citizenship allegations against individuals for (1) notifying election offices of automatic registration under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA); (2) being automatically registered despite federal ineligibility; (3) automatic registration at an incorrect address; or (4) declining registration or citizenship affirmation. It further prohibits using automatic registration, declinations, or non-affirmations as evidence in state or federal law enforcement proceedings (with lack of knowledge provable by testimony alone) and exempts knowing false statements or illegal voting from these protections. The section restricts contributing agencies from collecting, retaining, transmitting, or disclosing declination or non-affirmation decisions and bars state election officials from publicly disclosing specified information received from such agencies (e.g., contributing agency identity, nonessential data, shielded voter information under NVRA section 8(a) (52 U.S.C. 20507(a)), partial Social Security or driver's license numbers, signatures, phone numbers, or email addresses). It requires states to maintain voter record change records (including removals and updates) for at least two years for public inspection and directs the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish and publish uniform, nondiscriminatory standards for voter list data matching, database management, and privacy/security policies (after public notice and comment).

This section revises provisional ballot requirements under HAVA section 302(a) (52 U.S.C. 21082(a)) to permit a registered voter at a polling place to (1) update the voter's address, (2) correct incorrect information (e.g., name or party affiliation) in election records, and (3) cast a regular ballot rather than a provisional ballot based on the updated or corrected information. Election officials must promptly enter such updates into the computerized statewide voter registration list.

This section directs the Election Assistance Commission to make grants to eligible states to assist in implementing automatic voter registration requirements under this title (or, for exempt states, enhancing existing programs). Eligibility requires a state application describing planned activities, assuring nonpartisan implementation without promoting any viewpoint, and providing other required information; grant amounts prioritize accelerating compliance through (1) electronic information transfers including signatures between agencies and election officials, (2) updates to existing online voter registration systems, (3) new online systems where absent, and (4) public education on registration methods. This section authorizes appropriations of $500 million for FY2025 and such sums as necessary for each succeeding fiscal year, with funds remaining available until expended.

This section waives the requirements of this title for exempt States, except for the following provisions that continue to apply: (1) section 206 (registration portability and correction); (2) section 207 (payments and grants); (3) section 209(e) (enforcement); and (4) section 209(f) (relation to other laws).

This section establishes miscellaneous provisions applicable to contributing agencies under this title, including (1) requiring accessibility of services for individuals with disabilities to the same extent as for other individuals; (2) permitting agencies to contract with compliant third parties for data transmittal; (3) requiring nonpartisan, nondiscriminatory provision of services consistent with specified National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requirements (i.e., distribution and assistance with applications, no political influence or discouragement, and no linkage to benefits); (4) authorizing states to send notices via electronic mail with consent and offering no-cost responses; (5) applying NVRA civil enforcement and private rights of action to this title; and (6) clarifying that the title does not supersede, restrict, or limit the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, NVRA, or Help America Vote Act of 2002.

This section establishes definitions for terms used in this title, including (1) chief State election official as the individual designated by a State under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to coordinate the State's responsibilities under that Act; (2) Commission as the Election Assistance Commission; (3) exempt State as a State operating, continuously on and after enactment, an automatic voter registration program through its motor vehicle authority; and (4) State as each of the several States and the District of Columbia.

This section sets the effective date for this title and its amendments as January 1, 2027, for each state. It authorizes the Commission to approve a one-time, two-year delay to January 1, 2029, for a state that certifies it cannot meet the original deadline due to extraordinary circumstances.

This section establishes a requirement that states and jurisdictions administer elections for federal office under standards applying equally to all voting methods used in the election—including standards relating to signature verification—and prohibits prepaying or otherwise subsidizing costs associated with one voting method unless done in an equivalent amount for other methods. An exception applies to costs prepaid or subsidized for accommodations for disabled voters or to meet Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act requirements. The requirement applies to the regularly scheduled general election for federal office in November 2026 and each succeeding federal election.

This section requires each state to ensure that procedures for administering elections for federal office—including those used to determine conditions for casting provisional ballots and criteria for their acceptance or rejection—are standardized and uniform across all jurisdictions in the state.

This section establishes within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency the National Deconfliction Voting Database and Clearinghouse to assist states in ensuring the integrity of elections for federal office. The database and clearinghouse maintains voter registration records and lists of eligible voters to enable states to register individual voters only in their state of domicile, purge deceased voters from rolls, and confirm only U.S. citizens vote.

This section amends voter list maintenance requirements under section 8(c)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) as follows: (1) replaces the requirement that states complete any program to remove ineligible voters from official lists not later than 90 days before a federal election with a requirement that each state and its chief election official certify such completion to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) by that deadline and transfer the certified list of eligible voters to CISA for inclusion in the National Deconfliction Voting Database and Clearinghouse; and (2) requires the U.S. Postal Service, not later than 180 days before each regularly scheduled general federal election, to transmit to state chief election officials and CISA change-of-address information on individuals who are no longer state residents since the previous such election, and requires the Social Security Administration to transmit death information on state residents since that prior election. The amendments apply to the regularly scheduled general election for federal office in November 2026 and succeeding federal elections.

This section amends the motor voter provision of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA)—which requires states to offer voter registration through driver's license applications—to add requirements for driver's license applicants (effective for elections occurring in 2025 or later). Specifically, state motor vehicle authorities must require each applicant to attest, under penalty of perjury, (1) whether the individual resides in or resided in another state prior to applying (and, if so, to identify that state), and (2) whether the individual intends the new state to serve as the residence for registering to vote in federal elections; if the applicant affirms the latter, the new state's authority notifies the prior state's motor vehicle authority, which notifies that state's chief election official that the individual no longer intends the prior state to serve as the voter registration residence. (Thus, the provision facilitates interstate cancellation of voter registrations upon moves.)