S. 2822 — Register America to Vote Act of 2025

This section declares congressional findings that the right to vote is fundamental, Federal and State governments must ensure eligible citizens are registered, existing voter registration systems are inaccurate and disproportionately affect young people, individuals with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities, and such systems require modernization for security; and states the Act's purposes of establishing government responsibility for registration, enabling efficient State procedures, modernizing with electronic and internet capabilities, and enhancing electoral integrity, accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility.

This section establishes definitions for purposes of the Act, including (1) “chief State election official” as the individual designated by a State under section 10 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to coordinate responsibilities under that Act; and (2) “State” as 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.

This section requires the chief state election official in each state to establish and operate a system of automatic voter registration for eligible individuals on the date they turn 18 years of age for federal elections, except in states with no voter registration requirement for such elections under continuously applicable state law.

This section amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA; 52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.)—which requires states to offer voter registration opportunities simultaneously with driver's license applications, by mail, and at designated locations for federal elections, subject to exemptions for states without voter registration requirements or with same-day registration—to mandate automatic voter registration (AVR) through state motor vehicle authorities. The amendment inserts new section 5A after section 5, requiring each state's chief election official to establish an AVR system under which eligible individuals (i.e., those qualified to vote in federal elections) completing a driver's license application or other motor vehicle service (e.g., address change) are automatically registered or have their registration updated unless they affirmatively decline. (Thus, motor vehicle authorities must inform U.S. citizens of the opt-out process, eligibility criteria, and consequences of false registration; states must transmit data electronically to election officials and send notice of registration status within 60 days; and states may register individuals age 16 or 17, who may vote upon turning 18.) The amendment further revises NVRA section 6(a) (52 U.S.C. 20503(a)) to add AVR pursuant to new section 5A as a required registration method and revises section 6(b) to require states without voter registration requirements to implement AVR unless exempt under section 5A(f)(2).

This section establishes protections barring prosecution under federal or state law, adverse civil immigration or naturalization adjudications, or legal allegations of non-citizenship against individuals for (1) notifying election offices of their automatic registration to vote under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA); (2) being automatically registered despite federal ineligibility due to individual or agency error; (3) automatic registration at an incorrect residential address; or (4) declining to register or affirm citizenship, including through automatic registration. The section further prohibits using automatic registration, declinations to register, or failures to affirm citizenship as evidence against an individual in state or federal law enforcement proceedings or civil immigration/naturalization adjudications (with the individual's testimony alone sufficient to demonstrate lack of knowledge or willfulness) while preserving actions against those who knowingly and willfully make false statements to effectuate registration or cast illegal ballots. The section also (1) requires states to maintain voter record changes (including removals, reasons, and updates) for at least two years and make them publicly available (including electronically); (2) directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Director, in consultation with state/local election officials and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), to establish uniform, nondiscriminatory standards within one year of enactment for voter registration list maintenance data comparisons (specifying data elements, matching rules, and eligibility determinations), publish them within 45 days of public comment, and maintain updates reflecting best practices; (3) requires the NIST Director to publish privacy and security standards for voter registration information within one year of enactment (likewise after public comment), mandating state policies on authorized user access levels, safeguards for voter lists, and protections for data transmittal, telephone interfaces, databases, and audits, with ongoing maintenance; and (4) requires annual state chief election official certifications of compliance to the EAC.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) makes payments to eligible states to implement automatic voter registration requirements of this Act and its amendments—primarily at state motor vehicle authority offices and other voter registration service points—or, for exempt states (i.e., those with existing automatic voter registration programs or no voter registration requirement for federal elections), to implement or expand such programs consistent with the Act. Eligible states must apply to the EAC describing planned activities and assuring nonpartisan implementation; the EAC determines grant amounts, prioritizing (1) electronic information transfers between agencies and election officials, including signatures; (2) updates to existing online voter registration systems; (3) new online systems where none existed; and (4) public education on registration options. Authorizes $3 billion for FY2026 and such sums as necessary for each succeeding fiscal year, with funds remaining available until expended.

This section applies the civil enforcement provisions of section 11 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA; 52 U.S.C. 20510)—authorizing the Attorney General to seek declaratory or injunctive relief, private rights of action (after 90-day notice to the state election official, or 20 days if near a federal election, or no notice if within 30 days of such an election), and attorney fees for prevailing parties other than the United States—to violations of this Act. This section further provides that, except as specified, nothing in this Act or its amendments authorizes or requires conduct prohibited by, or supersedes, restricts, or limits the application of, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.), NVRA (except as amended by section 5), Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.), or Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).

This section establishes January 1, 2026, as the effective date for this Act and its amendments, except as provided for state waivers. It allows a state to extend its effective date to January 1, 2028, by certifying to the Elections Assistance Commission no later than January 1, 2026, that compliance by January 1, 2026, is impracticable and providing the reasons therefor.