118th Congress Government Operations and Politics
S. 2985: Youth Voting Rights Act
Introduced
- Introduced (completed)
- Passed Senate (not reached)
- Passed House (not reached)
- To the President (not reached)
- Became law (not reached)
Summary
This bill expands voting access for youth.
Specifically, the bill establishes a private right of action to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on age. Further, the bill authorizes the Department of Justice to enforce the Twenty-Sixth Amendment against age-based restrictions for voting by mail.
Additionally, the bill directs each state to
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- designate as voter registration agencies all offices within public institutions of higher education (IHEs) that provide assistance to students,
- implement a preregistration process to allow minors who are 16 years or older to register to vote in federal elections that take place when or after the preregistered individual turns age 18, and
- ensure the availability of polling places on campuses of IHEs (with the availability of waivers).
The bill prohibits durational residency requirements for voting in all federal elections. Currently, this prohibition applies only to voting for the offices of President and Vice President.
States and local jurisdictions with voter identification requirements must treat IHE-issued student identification cards as voter identification.
The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must make grants to states to increase the involvement of individuals under age 18 in public election activities.
The Government Accountability Office must report to Congress on trends related to voter registration, absentee voting, and provisional voting. The EAC must also collect and make publicly available certain data from states.
Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
Roll calls
No roll call votes have been held on this bill.
Amendments
No amendments were offered to this bill.
Cosponsors
- Tammy Baldwin D-WIOriginal
- Cory Booker D-NJOriginal
- Dianne Feinstein D-CAOriginal
- Kirsten Gillibrand D-NYOriginal
- Mazie Hirono D-HIOriginal
- Edward Markey D-MAOriginal
- Bernard Sanders I-VTOriginal
- Ron Wyden D-OROriginal
- Sheldon Whitehouse D-RIOriginal
- Laphonza Butler D-CA
Who scored on this bill
- 1Elizabeth Warren SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced2 events+6
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Other bills by Elizabeth Warren
History
- Introduced in the Senate by Elizabeth Warren.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
- Introduced in Senate
- Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.