1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the “High School Voter Empowerment Act of 2021”.
High School Voter Empowerment Act of 2021
A BILL
To amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require States to designate public high schools as voter registration agencies, to direct such schools to conduct voter registration drives for students attending such schools, to direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to reimburse such schools for the costs of conducting such voter registration drives, and for other purposes.
2. Designation of public high schools as voter registration agencies
Requiring designation by States— Section 7(a)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(2)) is amended—
by striking “and” at the end of subparagraph (A);
by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
“(C) all public high schools (as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)) in the State.”
Conforming amendment relating to optional designation of other public schools— Section 7(a)(3)(B)(i) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)(3)(B)(i)) is amended by striking “public schools,” and inserting “public elementary schools (as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)),”.
3. Requiring schools to conduct voter registration drives for students
Voter registration drives— Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(e) Special rules for public high schools
“(1) Voter registration drives—A voter registration agency that is a public high school shall, at least once during each academic year, conduct a voter registration drive, and set as a goal for that year the registration of all students in the school who are—
“(A) enrolled in a class in American Government or Economics;
“(B) at least 17 years old as of April 10 of that year; and
“(C) are eligible to register to vote in elections for Federal office held in the State.
“(2) Use of voting machines for student elections—At the request of a public high school which is operating a high school voter registration program under paragraph (1), the appropriate election official of the State may enter into an agreement under which the official provides the school with voting machines and related equipment and supplies for use in a student council or similar election held at the school, under such terms and conditions as the school and official may determine.”
Availability of grants To cover costs of voter registration drives—
Establishment of program— The Secretary of Education (hereafter referred to as the “Secretary”) shall establish and operate a program under which the Secretary shall make a payment during a year to an eligible public high school to reimburse the school for the reasonable costs incurred by the school in carrying out a voter registration drive under section 7(e) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (as added by subsection (a)) during that year.
Eligibility— A public high school is eligible to receive a payment under the program under this subsection with respect to a voter registration drive if the school submits to the Secretary, at such time and in such form as the Secretary may require, an application containing—
a statement of the reasonable costs incurred by the school in carrying out the voter registration drive, including the information used by the school to determine the amount of such costs;
a description of the activities conducted under the drive, including the number of students registered; and
such other information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated for payments under this subsection such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022 and each succeeding fiscal year.
4. Effective date
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect upon the expiration of the 90-day period which begins on the date of the enactment of this Act.