Global Electoral Exchange Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 542 To promote international exchanges on best election practices, to cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 2 (legislative day, MARCH 1), 2021 Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. SULLIVAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To promote international exchanges on best election prac- tices, to cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Electoral Ex- 4 change Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 6 It is the sense of Congress that— 7 (1) recent elections globally have illustrated the 8 urgent need for the promotion and exchange of 9 international best election practices, particularly in 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S542.IS S542 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 542 IS the areas of cybersecurity, results transmission, 1 transparency of electoral data, election dispute reso- 2 lution, and the elimination of discriminatory reg- 3 istration practices and other electoral irregularities; 4 (2) the advancement of democracy worldwide 5 promotes United States interests, as stable democ- 6 racies provide new market opportunities, improve 7 global health outcomes, and promote economic free- 8 dom and regional security; 9 (3) credible elections are the cornerstone of a 10 healthy democracy and enable all persons to exercise 11 their basic human right to have a say in how they 12 are governed; 13 (4) inclusive elections strengthen the credibility 14 and stability of democracies more broadly; 15 (5) at the heart of a strong election cycle is the 16 professionalism of the election management body 17 and an empowered civil society; 18 (6) the development of local expertise via peer- 19 to-peer learning and exchanges promotes the inde- 20 pendence of such bodies from internal and external 21 influence; and 22 (7) supporting the efforts of peoples in democ- 23 ratizing societies to build more representative gov- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S542.IS S542 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 542 IS ernments in their respective countries is in the na- 1 tional interest of the United States. 2 SEC. 3. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is author- 4 ized to establish and administer a Global Electoral Ex- 5 change Program (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Pro- 6 gram’’) to promote the utilization of sound election admin- 7 istration practices around the world. 8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Program shall in- 9 clude the promotion and exchange of international best 10 election practices, including in the areas of— 11 (1) cybersecurity; 12 (2) the protection of election systems against 13 influence campaigns; 14 (3) results transmission; 15 (4) transparency of electoral data; 16 (5) election dispute resolution; 17 (6) the elimination of discriminatory registra- 18 tion practices and electoral irregularities; 19 (7) inclusive and equitable promotion of can- 20 didate participation; 21 (8) equitable access to polling places, voter edu- 22 cation information, and voting mechanisms (includ- 23 ing by persons with disabilities); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S542.IS S542 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 542 IS (9) other sound election administration prac- 1 tices. 2 (c) EXCHANGE OF ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in 4 consultation, as appropriate, with the United States 5 Agency for International Development, may award 6 grants to any United States-based organization 7 that— 8 (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the 9 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt 10 from tax under section 501(a) of such Code; 11 (B) has experience in, and a primary focus 12 on, foreign comparative election systems or sub- 13 ject matter expertise in the administration or 14 integrity of such systems; and 15 (C) submits an application in such form, 16 and satisfying such requirements, as the Sec- 17 retary may require. 18 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—An organization de- 19 scribed in paragraph (1) may receive a grant under 20 this subsection to design and implement programs 21 that— 22 (A) bring to the United States election ad- 23 ministrators and officials, including government 24 officials, poll workers, civil society representa- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S542.IS S542 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 542 IS tives, members of the judiciary, and others who 1 participate in the organization and administra- 2 tion of public elections in a foreign country that 3 faces challenges to its electoral process to study 4 election procedures in the United States for 5 educational purposes; or 6 (B) take election administrators and offi- 7 cials of the United States or of another country, 8 including government officials, poll workers, 9 civil society representatives, members of the ju- 10 diciary, and others who participate in the orga- 11 nization and administration of public elections 12 to another country to study and discuss election 13 procedures in such country for educational pur- 14 poses. 15 (3) LIMITS ON ACTIVITIES.—Activities adminis- 16 tered under the Program may not— 17 (A) include observation of an election for 18 the purposes of assessing the validity or legit- 19 imacy of that election; 20 (B) facilitate any advocacy for a certain 21 electoral result by a grantee when participating 22 in the Program; or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S542.IS S542 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 542 IS (C) be carried out without proper consulta- 1 tion with State and local authorities in the 2 United States that administer elections. 3 (4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 4 Congress that the Secretary of State should estab- 5 lish and maintain a network of Global Electoral Ex- 6 change Program alumni, to promote communication 7 and further exchange of information regarding 8 sound election administration practices among cur- 9 rent and former Program participants. 10 (5) LIMITATION.—A recipient of a grant under 11 the Program may only use such grant for the pur- 12 pose for which such grant was awarded, unless oth- 13 erwise authorized by the Secretary of State. 14 (6) NONDUPLICATIVE.—Grants made under 15 this subsection may not be duplicative of any other 16 grants made under any other provision of law for 17 similar or related purposes. 18 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 19 authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the 20 fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out this section. 21 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. 22 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 23 of this Act and annually thereafter for the following 2 24 years, the Secretary of State shall provide a briefing to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S542.IS S542 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 542 IS the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 1 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep- 2 resentatives regarding the status of any activities carried 3 out under section 3 during the preceding year, which shall 4 include— 5 (1) a summary of all exchanges conducted 6 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program, in- 7 cluding information regarding grantees, participants, 8 and the locations where program activities were held; 9 (2) a description of the criteria used to select 10 grantees under the Global Electoral Exchange Pro- 11 gram; and 12 (3) recommendations for the improvement of 13 the Global Electoral Exchange Program in further- 14 ance of the purpose specified in section 3(b). 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Mar 31, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S542.IS S542 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS