Treatment of institutions of higher education

(a) Treatment of certain institutions as voter registration agencies under national voter registration act of 1993 Section 7(a) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506(a)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (2)— (A) by striking and at the end of subparagraph (A); (B) by striking the period at the end of subparagraph (B) and inserting; and; and (C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (C) each institution of higher education which has a program participation agreement in effect with the Secretary of Education under section 487 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094), other than an institution which is treated as a contributing agency under section 113 of the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2026.; and (2) in paragraph (6)(A), by inserting or, in the case of an institution of higher education, upon initial enrollment of a student, after assistance,. (b) Responsibilities of institutions under higher education act of 1965 Section 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)) is amended to read as follows: (23) (A) The institution will make every reasonable effort to— (i) distribute voter registration applications for elections for Federal office using a form that meets the requirements of section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20508), which may include sharing a direct, guided link to such application, to each student enrolled at the institution who has not been automatically registered to vote by the institution in accordance with section 113 of the Voter Empowerment Act of 2026, including students who do not qualify as an in-State student as defined in section 113(f)(2) of the Voter Empowerment Act of 2026; (ii) provide clear guidance that each student enrolled at the institution should— (I) register in the State in which the student is eligible to vote in the next election if registration is required, which may include informing students from another State of the ability to vote in the State of the institution in which the students are enrolled and physically in attendance, in accordance with applicable State law; and (II) in the case of a student who has already registered to vote in a State described in subclause (I), update the student’s existing voter registration if the student’s address has changed recently or since the last election in which the student was eligible to vote; (iii) periodically share credible, nonpartisan resources (to be identified in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission) to help students determine where and how they are eligible to vote, which may include resources from State and local election officials on voter registration and voting requirements, including voter registration deadlines, residency requirements, voter identification requirements, and absentee voting options, as applicable; and (iv) in distributing voting materials (as defined in section 203(b)(3) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10503(b)(3))) that are produced by a covered State or political subdivision described in section 203(b)(2) of such Act, ensure to the greatest extent practicable that— (I) such voting materials are provided in accordance with section 203 of that Act (52 U.S.C. 10503); and (II) all materials and information made available electronically under this paragraph— (aa) are accessible to individuals with disabilities; and (bb) are compliant with the most recent Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or successor guidelines. (B) An institution shall be considered to have satisfied the requirements of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A) if— (i) with respect to each student enrolled in the institution who is not exclusively enrolled in distance education at the institution and who has not already been registered to vote by the institution in accordance with section 113 of the Voter Empowerment Act of 2026, including students who do not qualify as an in-State student as defined in section 113(f)(2) of such Act— (I) the institution, not less than 30 days in advance of the deadline for registering to vote within the State for the next scheduled statewide Federal or State primary election and not less than 30 days in advance of the deadline for registering to vote within the State for the next scheduled statewide Federal or State general election— (aa) distributes voter registration applications to such students; or (bb) electronically transmits a message to each such student that is devoted exclusively to voter registration and contains a voter registration application acceptable for use in the State in which the institution is located, or an internet address where such voter registration application can be accessed or downloaded; (II) during a period that an institution requires or encourages such students to remain off-campus due to a national, State, or local public health or other emergency for an extended period of time, resulting in a significant disruption to such students’ ability to vote in person, as applicable, the institution additionally— (aa) requests that the State provide the institution with absentee ballot applications, as applicable, or that the State share the official State website or online portal through which eligible voters can directly request an absentee ballot; (bb) distributes to each such student an absentee ballot application requested from the State under item (aa) or the official State website or online portal through which eligible voters can directly request an absentee ballot, with instructions that the form, website, or online portal should be used only by students eligible to vote in the State; (cc) notifies such students of— (AA) applicable deadlines for requesting and submitting an absentee ballot; and (BB) additional options for early and in-person voting and voting on Election Day, as applicable; and (dd) shares credible, nonpartisan resources (to be identified in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission) to help students who are registered in another State to apply for absentee ballots in such State, which may include resources from State and local election officials; and (III) the institution ensures that an appropriate staff person or office has been designated as a Campus Vote Coordinator, who shall— (aa) ensure compliance in accordance with this paragraph at the institution; (bb) be publicly designated as the Campus Vote Coordinator, including the Campus Vote Coordinator’s contact information, on the website of the institution; and (cc) upon request, provide to students residency requirements for voting, including the ability of students from other States to vote in the State of the institution in which they are enrolled and physically in attendance, in accordance with applicable State law; and (ii) with respect to each student enrolled exclusively in distance education or correspondence programs, the institution— (I) (aa) transmits a message devoted exclusively to voter registration that refers such students to a centralized voter registration website or platform by providing the Internet address or other method to access such website or platform, that— (AA) provides applicable voter registration application and voting information for all States; and (BB) is hosted by a website operated by the Federal, State or local government; (bb) transmits such message not less than twice in each calendar year; and (cc) maintains information on the institution’s website containing credible, nonpartisan resources to help students determine where and how they are eligible to vote, or a link to such resources; or (II) provides information to such students in the same manner as the institution provides information to students not enrolled exclusively in distance education under clause (i)(I). (C) The institution will substantially comply with the requirements that apply to the institution under section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506) or section 113 of the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2026, as the case may be. (D) In this paragraph— (i) the term voter registration application means the mail voter registration application form for elections for Federal office prescribed pursuant to section 9 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20508); (ii) the term absentee ballot means any ballot cast by any means other than in person and for which the State requires an application; (iii) the term distance education has the meaning given that term in section 103, except such term shall not include distance education that is provided due to a decision of an institution to require or encourage students of the institution to remain off-campus due to a national, State, or local public health or other emergency; and (iv) the term Federal office has the meaning given that term in section 301(3) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(3)).. (c) Grants to institutions demonstrating excellence in student voter registration (1) Grants authorized The Secretary of Education may award competitive grants to public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education that are subject to the requirements of section 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)), as amended by subsection (b), and that the Secretary determines have demonstrated excellence in registering students to vote in elections for public office beyond meeting the minimum requirements of such section. (2) Eligibility An institution of higher education is eligible to receive a grant under this subsection if the institution submits to the Secretary of Education, at such time and in such form as the Secretary may require, an application containing such information and assurances as the Secretary may require to make the determination described in paragraph (1), including information and assurances that the institution carried out activities to promote voter registration by students, such as the following: (A) Sponsoring large on-campus voter mobilization efforts. (B) Engaging the surrounding community in nonpartisan voter registration and get out the vote efforts. (C) Creating a website for students with centralized information about voter registration and election dates. (D) Inviting candidates to speak on campus. (E) Offering rides to students to the polls to increase voter education, registration, and mobilization. (3) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2027 and each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary to award grants under this subsection. (d) Sense of Congress relating to option of students To register in jurisdiction of institution of higher education or jurisdiction of domicile It is the sense of Congress that, as provided under existing law, students who attend an institution of higher education and reside in the jurisdiction of the institution while attending the institution should have the option of registering to vote in elections for Federal office in that jurisdiction or in the jurisdiction of their own domicile.