Sponsor
Al Green
Representative · D-TX
Representative · D-TX
The bill seeks to boost youth voter registration through a short, federally funded pilot and stronger reporting, but does so with open-ended spending and tight administrative deadlines that shift costs and burdens onto taxpayers and already-stretched school districts while risking uneven access for smaller LEAs.
12th-grade students will receive direct, structured instruction and materials on how to register to vote, likely increasing youth voter registration and participation.
Schools and local education agencies (LEAs) can form partnerships with election officials so voter-registration materials and processes are more accurate and relevant to students.
Local school districts can access targeted federal pilot funding (FY2025) that reduces local cost burdens for running civic-education and voter-registration programs, enabling more districts to participate.
All taxpayers may ultimately bear increased federal costs because the bill permits spending without a specified cap or fiscal-year limits.
Federal budgeting transparency and congressional control could be weakened because the bill allows obligations without itemized allocations or specified fiscal years, making oversight harder and creating planning uncertainty for agencies.
Schools and LEAs will need to spend significant staff time preparing grant applications and rapid reports, which can divert staff from instruction and strain districts with limited administrative capacity.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Establishes an EAC FY2025 pilot that awards grants to LEAs to provide 12th graders information on how to register to vote, with reporting requirements and open-ended funding authorization.
Creates a one-year pilot program for fiscal year 2025 in which the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) awards grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) so 12th-grade students receive information on how to register to vote for public office elections. LEAs must apply to the EAC, consult local/state election officials when developing initiatives, report on how funds were used and program effectiveness, and the EAC must report results to Congress. The act authorizes whatever sums are necessary to run the pilot but does not specify an amount.
Official title: To direct the Election Assistance Commission to carry out a pilot program under which the Commission shall provide funds to local educational agencies for initiatives to provide voter registration information to secondary school students in the 12th grade.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Al Green · Last progress January 3, 2025