U.S. Code » Title 52 » Subtitle Subtitle II— Voting Assistance and Election Administration › Chapter CHAPTER 205— NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION

52 U.S.C. § 20508

Federal coordination and regulations

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(a) In generalThe Election Assistance Commission—(1) in consultation with the chief election officers of the States, shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to carry out paragraphs (2) and (3);(2) in consultation with the chief election officers of the States, shall develop a mail voter registration application form for elections for Federal office;(3) not later than June 30 of each odd-numbered year, shall submit to the Congress a report assessing the impact of this chapter on the administration of elections for Federal office during the preceding 2-year period and including recommendations for improvements in Federal and State procedures, forms, and other matters affected by this chapter; and(4) shall provide information to the States with respect to the responsibilities of the States under this chapter.(b) Contents of mail voter registration formThe mail voter registration form developed under subsection (a)(2)—(1) may require only such identifying information (including the signature of the applicant) and other information (including data relating to previous registration by the applicant), as is necessary to enable the appropriate State election official to assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter registration and other parts of the election process;(2) shall include a statement that—(A) specifies each eligibility requirement (including citizenship);(B) contains an attestation that the applicant meets each such requirement; and(C) requires the signature of the applicant, under penalty of perjury;(3) may not include any requirement for notarization or other formal authentication; and(4) shall include, in print that is identical to that used in the attestation portion of the application—(i) the information required in section 20507(a)(5)(A) and (B) of this title;(ii) a statement that, if an applicant declines to register to vote, the fact that the applicant has declined to register will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes; and(iii) a statement that if an applicant does register to vote, the office at which the applicant submits a voter registration application will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration purposes.(Pub. L. 103–31, § 9, May 20, 1993, 107 Stat. 87; Pub. L. 107–252, title VIII, § 802(b), Oct. 29, 2002, 116 Stat. 1726.)Editorial NotesCodification

Section was formerly classified to section 1973gg–7 of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

Amendments

2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–252 substituted “Election Assistance Commission” for “Federal Election Commission” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 2002 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 107–252 effective upon appointment of all members of the Election Assistance Commission under section 20923 of this title, see section 21134(a) of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 27 cases (16 in the last 5 years), 2014–2026 · leading case: League of Women Voters v. Brian Newby, 838 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016).
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League of Women Voters v. Brian Newby, 838 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2016). · cites it 7× “52 U.S.C. § 20508 (b)(1) (emphasis added).”
Fish v. Kobach, 840 F.3d 710 (10th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “See 52 U.S.C. § 20508 (a). Section 6 provides that “[e]ach State shall accept and use the mail voter registration application form prescribed by .”
League of Women Voters v. Brian Newby, 963 F.3d 130 (D.C. Cir. 2020). · cites it 2× “as is necessary to enable the appropriate State election official to assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter registration and other parts of the election process.”
Treva Thompson v. Sec'y of State for the State of Alabama, 65 F.4th 1288 (11th Cir. 2023). · cites it 2× “” 52 U.S.C. § 20508 (b)(2)(A) (em- phasis added).”
Fish v. Kobach, 189 F. Supp. 3d 1107 (D. Kan. 2016). “52 U.S.C. § 20508 (b). . Id. § 20504(c)(2)(B).”
Nearman/Miller v. Rosenblum, 371 P.3d 1186 (Or. 2016). · cites it 2× “See 52 USC § 20508 (b)(2)(B). The stated Congressional purposes of the NVRA are to protect the integrity of the electoral process and enhance and increase voter participation in federal elections, which includes discouraging unfair or discriminatory registration laws and…”
Kobach v. United States Election Assistance Comm'n, 772 F.3d 1183 (10th Cir. 2014). “But because the decision is consistent with and relies in substantial part upon the EAC’s established policies, it falls within the scope of the 2Q08 sub-delegation, which was approved by three commissioners.”
True the Vote v. Hosemann, 43 F. Supp. 3d 693 (S.D. Miss. 2014). “§ 1973gg-7_ 52 U.S.C. § 20508 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-8 52 U.”
Tenn.Conf. of the NAACP v. William Lee, 105 F.4th 888 (6th Cir. 2024). “52 U.S.C. § 20508 (b)(1); see id. § 20505(a)(2).”
Hopkins v. Hosemann, 76 F.4th 378 (5th Cir. 2023). “Designated by federal law as Mississippi’s chief election officer, the Secretary is tasked with devel- oping mail voter application forms, 52 U.S.C. § 20508 (a)(2), and, under Mis- sissippi law, is responsible for establishing the instructions and application form for voter…”
Tenn. State Conf. of the NAACP v. William Lee, 139 F.4th 557 (6th Cir. 2025). “Tennessee has opted to use both the Federal Form (as the NVRA requires) and a State Form (as the NVRA permits).”
Promise Arizona v. Petersen, No. 24-4029 (9th Cir. Feb. 25, 2025). · cites it 12× “52 U.S.C. § 20508 (b)(1). The federal form requires applicants to check a box under penalty of perjury indicating that they are citizens of the United States.”
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52 U.S.C. § 20508(a)(2): 1 case
League of Women Voters of the United States v. Newby, No. 2016-0236 (D.D.C. Sept. 16, 2021).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.