Sponsors (6)
The bill makes voter registration more accessible at paid and volunteer tax-preparation sites—likely increasing registration among underserved taxpayers—while imposing modest compliance costs and raising practical and liability questions that will require regulatory guidance.
Taxpayers who use paid preparers and clients at VITA/TCE sites — especially low-income individuals and seniors — will be offered on-site or online voter registration and volunteer preparers will be prompted to provide/display forms, increasing registration access and outreach to underserved communities.
State governments and tax-preparation providers gain a standardized implementation pathway because the EAC, with Treasury, must issue regulations and guidance to ensure consistent access and clarify compliance responsibilities.
Small paid tax-preparation businesses and volunteer-run VITA/TCE sites will incur new administrative burdens and modest compliance/training costs to display forms, add hyperlinks, and follow revised intake/review procedures.
Taxpayers and paid preparers may experience customer discomfort or increased liability concerns from treating many paid preparers as voter-registration agencies, potentially undermining trust or deterring some clients.
Implementation will depend on Treasury and EAC rulemaking to resolve operational questions, which could delay uniform rollout and create short-term confusion for preparers, sites, and state officials.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Treats most tax return preparers as state‑designated voter registration agencies and requires in‑office display or prominent online links to official voter registration forms, with specific exclusions and guidance.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Bonnie Watson Coleman · Last progress March 26, 2026
Designates most tax return preparers in a State as places where people can get voter registration applications and requires in‑person preparers to display mail voter registration forms and online preparers to provide prominent links to the official mail form or state election website. It excludes small‑volume preparers, exempts preparers from certain NVRA duties (like accepting/transmitting completed forms and transmittal deadlines), includes certified volunteer VITA/TCE preparers, and directs the Election Assistance Commission and Treasury to issue implementing rules and guidance. The change applies for taxable years after December 2021 and directs the Treasury to give guidance to funded volunteer sites, add a voter‑registration preference checkbox to intake/review sheets, and require funded VITA/TCE sites to prominently display voter registration forms.