S. 2985

Youth Voting Rights Act

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

• 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.