H.R. 4917 — Expanding the VOTE Act

This section revises the bilingual voting materials requirements under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act (i.e., mandates non-English materials in covered jurisdictions through August 6, 2032, based on limited-English proficient populations exceeding 5% of voting-age citizens or 10,000 individuals, or 5% on Indian reservations, with illiteracy rates above the national average) by (1) expanding the definition of voting materials to include digital and printed materials relating to the electoral process (e.g., ballots, notices, forms, instructions); (2) requiring any state providing such materials to a covered political subdivision to comply with the bilingual requirement; and (3) directing the Attorney General to notify jurisdictions within 1,000 voting-age citizens of the 10,000-citizen threshold or within 0.5% of the 5% thresholds.

This section amends Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503), which requires bilingual voting materials and assistance in jurisdictions where limited-English proficient voters exceed specified thresholds for certain minority groups (i.e., American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, or Hispanics), by (1) updating the census year in subsection (b)(3)(C) to the most recent (from 1990); and (2) replacing subsection (c) with new requirements for providing registration and voting materials in the applicable minority language. The new subsection (c) generally requires covered jurisdictions to provide such materials in both the minority language and English but exempts American Indian and Alaska Native languages from written translation requirements—and other unwritten languages from any written requirements—if the applicable Tribal government notifies the Attorney General that the language is unwritten or does not want written translations (requiring only oral instructions, assistance, and translations instead). It further requires written translations of all materials for election workers, with Tribal government consent, to ensure accuracy and uniformity. "Tribal government" is defined as the recognized governing body of any federally recognized Indian tribe, band, etc., as listed in the most recent Federal Register publication pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131) (i.e., published annually on or before January 30).

This section directs the Election Assistance Commission to make incentive grants to states and political subdivisions (including territories) to cover reasonable costs of providing voting materials in the language of a covered language minority group (i.e., members of a single language minority not meeting Section 203(b)(2)(A) coverage thresholds of 5% limited-English proficient voting-age citizens statewide or 10,000 in a political subdivision, including those specified in Section 203(g)) for one election cycle (i.e., from the day after a federal general election through the next). Grantees must certify continued provision of such materials in succeeding election cycles unless the group's population drops by 0.5% or more from the initial cycle and may receive only one grant per group. Authorizes $15 million for the program, to remain available until expended. (As background, Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires bilingual election materials in covered jurisdictions through August 6, 2032, to address voting barriers for limited-English proficient citizens.)

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States, in consultation with the Director of the Census, the Attorney General, and the Election Assistance Commission, to study the impact of potential changes to coverage thresholds under Section 203(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503(b)(2)(A)(i))—which requires covered states and political subdivisions to provide bilingual voting materials through August 6, 2032, for limited-English proficient citizens of language minorities meeting specified demographic criteria—and expansions to the definition of language minorities. The study must assess (1) reducing the political subdivision threshold in subclause (II) to 7,500 and 5,000 (from 10,000) limited-English proficient voting-age citizens who are members of a single language minority, and the state or Indian reservation thresholds in subclauses (I) and (III) to 4%, 3%, 2.5%, and 2% (from 5%), respectively; and (2) expanding language minorities to include native speakers of Arabic, French and Haitian Creole, and any other languages deemed appropriate. The Comptroller General must submit a report to Congress within one year of enactment.