HR 3600 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To enforce the guarantees of the first, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States by prohibiting certain devices used to deny the right to participate in certain elections.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

September 19, 2007

Mr. PAUL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House AdministrationCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To enforce the guarantees of the first, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States by prohibiting certain devices used to deny the right to participate in certain elections.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Voter Freedom Act of 2007'.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. BALLOT ACCESS RIGHTS.

(a) In General- An individual shall have the right to be placed as a candidate on, and to have such individual's political party, body, or group affiliation in connection with such candidacy placed on, a ballot or similar voting materials to be used in a Congressional election, if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) such individual presents a petition stating in substance that its signers desire such individual's name and political party, body or group affiliation, if any, to be placed on the ballot or other similar voting materials to be used in the election with respect to which such rights are to be exercised;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) such petition has at least 1,000 signatures of persons who are registered to vote in the district, or, if the State in which the district is located does not provide for voter registration, such petition must bear the signatures of at least 1,000 persons who are eligible to vote in that State and that district;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) with respect to an election the date of which was fixed 345 or more days in advance, such petition was circulated during a period beginning on the 345th day and ending on the 75th day before the date of the election; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) with respect to an election the date of which was fixed less than 345 days in advance, such petition was circulated during a period established by the State holding the election, or, if no such period was established, during a period beginning on the day after the date the election was scheduled and ending on the thirtieth day before the date of the election.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Savings Provision- Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to any State that provides by law for greater ballot access rights than the ballot access rights provided for under such subsection.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. RULEMAKING.

The Attorney General shall make rules to carry out this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. GENERAL DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Act--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the term `Congressional election' means a general or special election for the office of Representative in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, the Congress;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the term `State' means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of the United States;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the term `individual' means an individual who has the qualifications required by law of a person who holds the office for which such individual seeks to be a candidate;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) the term `petition' includes a petition which conforms to section 2(a)(1) and upon which signers' addresses and/or printed names are required to be placed;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) the term `signer' means a person whose signature appears on a petition and who can be identified as a person qualified to vote for an individual for whom the petition is circulated, and includes a person who requests another to sign a petition on his or her behalf at the time when, and at the place where, the request is made;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) the term `signature' includes the incomplete name of a signer, the name of a signer containing abbreviations such as first or middle initial, and the name of a signer preceded or followed by titles such as `Mr.', `Ms.', `Dr.', `Jr.', or `III'; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) the term `address' means the address which a signer uses for purposes of registration and voting.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink