S-2822 — Register America to Vote Act of 2025

YourVoice.Now Summary

Civil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due ProcessTransparency & AccountabilityCorporate Benefits

A trip to the DMV would sign you up to vote unless you decline, with $3 billion for states to build it.

Civil Liberties

Any DMV visit registers you to vote — unless you decline

Every state with voter registration would have to sign up eligible citizens through its motor vehicle agency. That covers a license application, a renewal, or a change of address, and the office cannot finish the transaction without offering you the chance to opt out.

Automatic registration on your 18th birthday — nearly every state

Section 4 makes each state register eligible people the day they turn 18, whether or not they ever visit a motor vehicle office. States that have no voter registration at all are left out.

Sign-up allowed at 16 — voting still starts at 18

A state could not refuse to take your information because you are only 16 or 17. You would be added to the rolls in time to vote once you turn 18; the bill does not let anyone under 18 vote.

Registration information in your language — groups above 3 percent

If you speak limited English and your language group is at least 3 percent of the state population the agency serves, it must explain the registration choice in a language you understand. The chance to opt out must come in that language too.

You could sue a state over these rules

The bill applies the National Voter Registration Act's enforcement section, which lets private individuals file suit. You would not have to wait for the Justice Department to act.

DMV sends your details to election officials — within 10 days

Within 10 days of your transaction, the agency must send election officials your name, birth date, address, and proof of citizenship. Your signature, license number, and the last four digits of your Social Security number go along if the agency has them.

Privacy shield skips registered voters' phone and email

Election officials could not publicly release your Social Security digits, license number, or signature. That protection does not reach the phone number and email of people who end up registered.

Data ban does not cover political campaigns and parties

The bill bars selling registration data for commercial use. It then says nothing stops that data moving for political purposes, including campaigns and party committees.

States can put automatic registration off until 2028

The rules were written to start January 1, 2026, a date that has now passed. A state that tells the federal election agency the deadline is not workable, and gives its reasons, gets until January 1, 2028.

Criminal Justice & Due Process

No charges if a state registers you by mistake

You could not be prosecuted, or accused of not being a citizen, because an agency error put you on the voter rolls or listed a wrong address. Reporting the error yourself is protected too. Knowingly lying to get registered is still a crime.

Registration barred as evidence in immigration cases

The fact that you were automatically registered, or that you declined, could not be used against you in a law enforcement case or an immigration or citizenship proceeding. Your own testimony alone can show you did not act knowingly.

Transparency & Accountability

Public rules set for dropping voters from the rolls

A federal standards agency would have one year to write public rules for how states compare data to decide a voter is ineligible, a duplicate, or out of date. The rules must be uniform, and the public gets to comment before they are set.

All voter list changes open to the public — 2 years

States would have to keep every change to a voter record for at least two years, including removals and the reason for each one. The records must be open for public inspection, including online.

States that skip the yearly filing lose their funding

Each state's chief election official must file a yearly statement with the federal election agency saying the state meets the new privacy and security rules. Miss the filing and the state gets no grant money that year.

Corporate Benefits

Voter data cannot be sold for commercial use

Information collected under this bill could not be used for commercial purposes. That closes off selling or renting voter records to marketers and data brokers.

More about this bill

Your next trip to a state motor vehicle office would sign you up to vote. Getting a license, renewing one, or changing your address would all count. The office would have to give you a clear chance to say no first. Every state would also have to register eligible citizens on their 18th birthday. Teens could sign up at 16, though they still could not vote until 18. A written notice of your status would reach you within 60 days. The motor vehicle office would send your name, birth date, address, and proof of citizenship to election officials. That would happen within 10 days. Your license number and the last four digits of your Social Security number could go too. Election officials could not release those details or your signature. Your phone and email would lose that shield once you are on the rolls. Voter data could not be sold, but campaigns and parties could still pass it around. If a state signed you up by mistake, you could not be charged for it. That mistake also could not be used against you in an immigration case. Lying to register on purpose, or voting illegally on purpose, would still be a crime. The bill would put $3 billion behind this for 2026, sent to states as grants. States could spend it on new systems, online sign-up, and telling the public how it works. A federal standards agency would write privacy, security, and list cleanup rules within a year, after taking public comment. States would have to post their policies and file a yearly report or lose the money. Every change to a voter list, including each removal and the reason for it, would be open to the public for two years. You could sue a state that broke these rules. The start date written into the bill, January 1, 2026, has already passed. A state that says the job is not doable could take until January 1, 2028.

Congressional Summary

This bill provides for the automatic registration of eligible voters.Specifically, the bill directs each state that has a voter registration requirement for federal elections to automatically register eligible individuals when they turn 18 years of age.The bill also provides for the automatic registration of individuals through state motor vehicle authorities. Individuals must be provided with an opportunity to opt out of automatic voter registration.The Election Assistance Commission must make grants to states to implement these automatic voter registration programs.

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber
Status: summarized
Action
Action Date
Date Added: 2026-04-02
Source: Congress.gov →

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