Youth Voting Rights Act
Latest action · Jul 11, 2022 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJul 11, 2022
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
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.
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.
Cosponsors 8
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jul 11, 2022 to Sep 21, 2022; 6 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Jul 11, 2022 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Jul 11, 2022 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Jul 11, 2022 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Jul 11, 2022 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Jul 11, 2022 |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Original | Jul 11, 2022 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Jul 26, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Sep 21, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Rules and Administration Committee | Referred Jul 11, 2022 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 11, 2022Introduced in Senate
- Jul 11, 2022Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R45030 | Federal Role in Voter Registration: The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) and Subsequent Developments | Report | Oct 29, 2026 |
| R48735 | Federal Voter Eligibility and Voter Registration: Overview and Issues for Congress | Report | Nov 21, 2025 |
Related bills 6
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 635 | PROVE Act | Related bill | Feb 1, 2021 |
| S 2985 | Youth Voting Rights Act | Reintroduced Bill | Sep 28, 2023 |
| S 4085 | PROVE Act | Related bill | Apr 26, 2022 |
| HR 4916 | Youth Voting Rights Act | Cross-Congress related bill | Aug 5, 2025 |
| S 5481 | Youth Voting Rights Act | Cross-Congress related bill | Sep 23, 2026 |
| HR 8341 | Youth Voting Rights Act | Identical bill | Nov 1, 2022 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to expand youth access to voting, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Youth Voting Rights Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 11, 2022Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
