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H.R. 4913: Countering Harassment and Applying Legal Liability to Effectively Nurture Government Election Stability Act

This bill, known as the Countering Harassment and Applying Legal Liability to Effectively Nurture Government Election Stability Act (or CHALLENGES Act), aims to amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to provide greater protections against challenges to voter registration status. Here’s what the bill intends to do:

Key Provisions

The bill restricts who can formally challenge the voter registration status of individuals registered to vote in federal elections. Specifically, only state or local election officials are permitted to submit such challenges.
If someone wishes to challenge a voter’s registration status, they must meet several criteria:
- They must provide clear and convincing evidence that the individual is ineligible to vote, which cannot be based on mass data matching processes.
- They are required to submit an oath or statement under penalty of perjury that demonstrates personal knowledge of the claimant’s ineligibility.
- If the challenger is an individual, they must be registered to vote in the same jurisdiction as the individual they are challenging.
State or local election officials with online portals for submitting challenges must enforce these new requirements by:
- Rejecting challenges that do not include the challenger’s name.
- Providing information about the new legal requirements for submitting challenges on the portals.

Enforcement and Legal Rights

The bill introduces provisions for individuals who believe they have been wronged by a false challenge to their voter registration status:
- They may file a civil lawsuit without needing to notify state election officials first.
- In such lawsuits, they can seek compensatory damages and punitive damages of up to $1,000 for each violation.
The bill establishes criminal penalties for those who submit fraudulent challenges. If a person knowingly challenges someone’s voter registration status while disregarding that person’s eligibility, they could face:
- A fine and/or imprisonment for up to six months.
- A fine of $10,000 for organizations that violate these provisions.