H.R. 4798

119 HR 4798 IH: Making American Elections Great Again Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-07-29
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 4798  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   July 29, 2025   Ms. Greene of Georgia  (for herself,  Mr. Davidson , and  Mr. Collins ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on House Administration , and in addition to the Committees on  Oversight and Government Reform , and  the Judiciary , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned   A BILL
To modify the timing of each decennial census of population, to count only citizens under any such census, to apportion Representatives in Congress among the several States based on such census, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Making American Elections Great Again Act  .
2.
Census of population timing modifications and apportionment based only on number of citizens
(a)
Census
Section 141 of title 13, United States Code, is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a), by striking the first sentence and inserting the following:  The Secretary shall, on the date of the enactment of the Making American Elections Great Again Act and every 10 years thereafter, take a decennial census of population. The date on which such census is conducted shall be known as the  decennial census date . Any such census may be conducted in such form and content as the Secretary may determine, including the use of sampling procedures and special surveys. ;
(2)
in subsection (d)—
(A)
by striking  in the year 1985 and every 10 years thereafter  and inserting  in the year that is 5 years after the year a decennial census of population is conducted under subsection (a) and every 10 years thereafter ; and
(B)
by striking the last sentence and inserting the following:  The census under this subsection shall be taken on the date that is 5 years after the date a decennial census of population is conducted under subsection (a), as amended by the Making American Elections Great Again Act, and that date shall be known as the  mid-decade census date . ;
(3)
by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
(4)
by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
(g)
In conducting the census required by subsection (a), as amended by the Making American Elections Great Again Act, and each decennial census thereafter, the Secretary shall include in any questionnaire distributed or otherwise used for the purpose of determining the total population by States a checkbox or other similar option for the respondent to indicate, for the respondent and for each of the members of the household of the respondent, whether such individual is a citizen of the United States.
 .
(b)
Apportionment
(1)
Exclusion of noncitizens from number of persons used to determine apportionment of representatives and number of electoral votes
(A)
Exclusion
Section 22(a) of the Act entitled  An Act to provide for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for apportionment of Representatives in Congress , approved June 18, 1929 ( 2 U.S.C. 2a(a) ), is amended by inserting after  not taxed  the following:  and individuals who are not citizens of the United States .
(B)
Effective date
The amendment made by subparagraph (A) shall apply with respect to the apportionment of Representatives carried out pursuant to paragraph (2) and any decennial census thereafter.
(2)
Apportionment under new census
For purposes of establishing the number of districts for the election of Representatives in a State with respect to the One Hundred Twentieth Congress, each State shall, immediately after the date of the completion of the first census required under section 141(a) of title 13, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, begin to carry out redistricting pursuant to the apportionment of Members of the House of Representatives as a result of such census.
3.
Requirement to provide government photo identification and proof of United States citizenship to vote in Federal elections
(a)
Requirement To provide government photo identification and proof of United States citizenship as condition of casting ballot
Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq. ) is amended by inserting after section 303 the following new section:
303A.
Government photo identification and proof of United States citizenship required
  to vote in Federal elections
(a)
Provision of government photo identification and proof of United States
 citizenship required as condition of casting ballot
(1)
Individuals voting in person
(A)
In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the appropriate State or local election official may not provide a ballot for an election for Federal office to an individual who desires to vote in person unless the individual presents to the official—
(i)
a document that is both proof of United States citizenship and government photo identification; or
(ii)
a document that is proof of United States citizenship, together with a document that is government photo identification, if—
(I)
the name of the applicant is identical on both such documents; or
(II)
in the case that the name of the applicant is not identical on both such documents, the applicant provides evidence sufficient to demonstrate that the name of such applicant has changed, such as a court order, marriage certificate, divorce decree, or other vital document record.
(B)
Availability of provisional ballot
If an individual does not present the identification required under subparagraph (A), the individual shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot with respect to the election under section 302(a) but such provisional ballot may only be counted as a vote in that election in accordance with State law if the individual is verified as a citizen of the United States by the appropriate State or local election official under section 302(a)(4).
(2)
Individuals voting other than in person
(A)
In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the appropriate State or local election official may not accept any ballot for an election for Federal office provided by an individual who votes other than in person unless the individual submits with the ballot—
(i)
a copy of a document that is both proof of United States citizenship and government photo identification; or
(ii)
a copy of a document that is proof of United States citizenship, together with a copy of a document that is government photo identification, if—
(I)
the name of the applicant is identical on both such documents; or
(II)
in the case that the name of the applicant is not identical on both such documents, the applicant provides evidence sufficient to demonstrate that the name of such applicant has changed, such as a court order, marriage certificate, divorce decree, or other vital document record.
(B)
Availability of provisional ballot
An individual who desires to vote by mail but who does not meet the requirements of subparagraph (A) may cast such a ballot by mail and the ballot shall be counted as a provisional ballot in accordance with section 302(a) but such provisional ballot may only be counted as a vote in that election in accordance with State law if the individual is verified as a citizen of the United States by the appropriate State or local election official under section 302(a)(4).
(b)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Government photo identification
The term  government photo identification  means, with respect to an applicant for voter registration, a valid identification card issued by a Federal, State, or Tribal government that includes—
(A)
a photograph of the applicant;
(B)
the full name of the applicant; and
(C)
the date of birth of the applicant.
(2)
Proof of United States citizenship
The term  proof of United States citizenship  means, with respect to an applicant for voter registration, any of the following:
(A)
A valid United States passport.
(B)
A United States military record of service showing that the place of birth of the applicant was in the United States.
(C)
A valid photo identification card issued by a Federal, State, or Tribal government showing that the place of birth of the applicant was in the United States.
(D)
A certified birth certificate issued by a State, a unit of local government in a State, or a Tribal government which—
(i)
was issued by the State, unit of local government, or Tribal government in which the applicant was born;
(ii)
was filed with the office responsible for keeping vital records in the State;
(iii)
includes the full name, date of birth, and place of birth of the applicant;
(iv)
lists the full names of one or both of the parents of the applicant;
(v)
has the signature of an individual who is authorized to sign birth certificates on behalf of the State, unit of local government, or Tribal government in which the applicant was born;
(vi)
includes the date that the certificate was filed with the office responsible for keeping vital records in the State; and
(vii)
has the seal of the State, unit of local government, or Tribal government that issued the birth certificate.
(E)
An extract from a United States hospital Record of Birth created at the time of the birth of the applicant that indicates that the applicant’s place of birth was in the United States.
(F)
A final adoption decree showing the name of the applicant and that the applicant’s place of birth was in the United States.
(G)
A Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a citizen of the United States or a certification of the applicant’s Report of Birth of a United States citizen issued by the Secretary of State.
(H)
A Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security or any other document or method of proof of United States citizenship issued by the Federal government pursuant to title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1401 et seq. ).
(I)
An American Indian Card issued by the Department of Homeland Security with the classification  KIC .
 .
(b)
Criminal penalties
Section 12(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 ( 52 U.S.C. 20511(2) ) is amended—
(1)
by striking  or  at the end of subparagraph (A);
(2)
by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (D); and
(3)
by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraphs:
(B)
providing material assistance to a noncitizen in attempting to vote in an election for Federal office;
(C)
providing a ballot for an election for Federal office to an individual who fails to present government photo identification and proof of United States citizenship; or
 .
(c)
Conforming and clerical amendments
(1)
Conforming amendments relating to repeal of existing photo identification requirements for certain voters
Section 303 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 21083 ) is amended—
(A)
in the heading, by striking
and requirements for voters who register by mail  ;
(B)
in subsection (b)—
(i)
in the heading, by striking
for Voters Who Register by Mail   and inserting
for Mail-In Registration Forms  ; and
(ii)
by striking paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) and redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and
(C)
in subsection (c), by striking  subsections (a)(5)(A)(i)(II) and (b)(3)(B)(i)(II)  and inserting  subsection (a)(5)(A)(i)(II) .
(2)
Conforming amendment related to enforcement
Section 401 of such Act ( 52 U.S.C. 21111 ) is amended by striking  sections 301, 302, 303, and 304  and inserting  subtitle A of title III .
(3)
Clerical amendment
The table of contents of such Act is amended—
(A)
by amending the item relating to section 303 to read as follows:
Sec. 303. Computerized statewide voter registration list requirements.
  ;
 and
(B)
by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the following:
Sec. 303A. Proof of United States citizenship to vote in Federal elections.
  .
(d)
Effective date
This section and the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to any regularly scheduled general election for Federal office occurring in November 2026 and any Federal election thereafter.