HR4798-119

What This Bill Does

The Making American Elections Great Again Act combines census-apportionment changes with federal voter-documentation rules. It amends title 13 so the Commerce Secretary must take a decennial census on enactment and every ten years afterward, with a mid-decade census five years after each decennial census date. Census questionnaires used to determine state population must include a checkbox or similar option for each household member's United States citizenship status. The bill amends the 1929 apportionment statute so noncitizens are excluded from the state population count used to apportion House seats, including for the 120th Congress after the first census required by the bill. It also adds a Help America Vote Act section 303A barring state or local election officials from providing an in-person federal-election ballot unless the voter presents proof of citizenship and government photo ID, and barring acceptance of mail ballots unless copies of those documents are submitted. Voters lacking documentation may cast provisional ballots, but those ballots count only if the official verifies citizenship under state law.

Who Benefits and How

Citizen-only apportionment advocates benefit because House seats would be apportioned using citizen population rather than total resident population. Voters favoring strict federal ID rules benefit because every federal-election voter would need citizenship proof and government photo identification. State election officials benefit from a national documentation rule, although they must administer verification and provisional-ballot procedures. Congressional redistricting officials benefit from a new census and apportionment dataset tied to citizenship status.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Census Bureau must conduct an additional census cycle, add citizenship response options, and support mid-decade census timing. Noncitizen residents lose representation weight in House apportionment because they are excluded from the count. Voters lacking citizenship documents or photo identification face provisional-ballot treatment and possible rejection. Local election offices must verify citizenship, handle name-change evidence, process documentation copies for mail ballots, and apply state provisional-ballot rules.

Key Provisions

• Requires a decennial census on enactment and every ten years afterward, with mid-decade censuses five years later.
• Adds a citizenship checkbox or similar option to census questionnaires for each household member.
• Excludes noncitizens from the population used to apportion Representatives among the states.
• Requires proof of United States citizenship and government photo identification for federal-election ballots.
• Requires undocumented ballots to be treated as provisional unless citizenship is verified under state law.