Global Electoral Exchange Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 753 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 21, 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To promote international exchanges on best election prac- tices, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.RFS H753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 753 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Electoral Ex- 2 change Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 4 It is the sense of Congress that— 5 (1) recent elections globally have illustrated the 6 urgent need for the promotion and exchange of 7 international best election practices, particularly in 8 the areas of cybersecurity, results transmission, 9 transparency of electoral data, election dispute reso- 10 lution, and the elimination of discriminatory reg- 11 istration practices and other electoral irregularities; 12 (2) the advancement of democracy worldwide 13 promotes American interests, as stable democracies 14 provide new market opportunities, improve global 15 health outcomes, and promote economic freedom and 16 regional security; 17 (3) credible elections are the cornerstone of a 18 healthy democracy and enable all persons to exercise 19 their basic human right to have a say in how they 20 are governed; 21 (4) inclusive elections strengthen the credibility 22 and stability of democracies more broadly; 23 (5) at the heart of a strong election cycle is the 24 professionalism of the election management body 25 and an empowered civil society; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.RFS H753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 753 RFS (6) the development of local expertise via peer- 1 to-peer learning and exchanges promotes the inde- 2 pendence of such bodies from internal and external 3 influence; and 4 (7) supporting the efforts of peoples in democ- 5 ratizing societies to build more representative gov- 6 ernments in their respective countries is in the na- 7 tional interest of the United States. 8 SEC. 3. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE. 9 (a) GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE.—The Sec- 10 retary of State is authorized to establish and administer 11 a Global Electoral Exchange Program to promote the utili- 12 zation of sound election administration practices around 13 the world. 14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Global Electoral 15 Exchange Program described in subsection (a) shall in- 16 clude the promotion and exchange of international best 17 election practices, including in the areas of— 18 (1) cybersecurity; 19 (2) results transmission; 20 (3) transparency of electoral data; 21 (4) election dispute resolution; 22 (5) the elimination of discriminatory registra- 23 tion practices and electoral irregularities; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.RFS H753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 753 RFS (6) equitable access to polling places, voter edu- 1 cation information, and voting mechanisms (includ- 2 ing by persons with disabilities); and 3 (7) other sound election administration prac- 4 tices. 5 (c) EXCHANGE OF ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may, 7 in consultation, as appropriate, with the United 8 States Agency for International Development, make 9 grants to any United States-based organization de- 10 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 11 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 12 501(a) of such Code with experience in and a pri- 13 mary focus on foreign comparative election systems 14 or subject matter expertise in the administration or 15 integrity of such systems that submits an application 16 in such form, and satisfying such requirements, as 17 the Secretary may require. 18 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—An organization de- 19 scribed in paragraph (1) may receive a grant for one 20 or more of the following purposes: 21 (A) To design and implement programs 22 bringing election administrators and officials, 23 including government officials, poll workers, 24 civil society representatives, members of the ju- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.RFS H753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 753 RFS diciary, and others who participate in the orga- 1 nization and administration of public elections 2 in a foreign country that faces challenges to its 3 electoral process to the United States to study 4 election procedures in the United States for 5 educational purposes. 6 (B) To design and implement programs 7 taking the United States or another country’s 8 election administrators and officials, including 9 government officials, poll workers, civil society 10 representatives, members of the judiciary, and 11 others who participate in the organization and 12 administration of public elections to study and 13 discuss election procedures for educational pur- 14 poses. 15 (3) LIMITS ON ACTIVITIES.—Activities adminis- 16 tered under the Global Electoral Exchange Program 17 may not— 18 (A) include observation of an election for 19 the purposes of assessing the validity or legit- 20 imacy of that election; 21 (B) facilitate any advocacy for a certain 22 electoral result by a grantee when participating 23 in the Program; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.RFS H753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 753 RFS (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) FURTHER LIMITS.—A recipient of a grant 11 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program may 12 use such grant for only the purpose for which such 13 grant was awarded, unless otherwise authorized by 14 the Secretary of State. 15 (6) NOT DUPLICATIVE.—Grants made under 16 this subsection may not be duplicative of any other 17 grants made under any other provision of law for 18 similar or related purposes. 19 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. 20 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 21 of this Act and in each of the following 2 years thereafter, 22 the Secretary of State shall provide to the Committee on 23 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 24 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a briefing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.RFS H753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 753 RFS on the status of any activities carried out pursuant to this 1 Act during the preceding year, which shall include, among 2 other information, the following: 3 (1) A summary of all exchanges conducted 4 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program, in- 5 cluding information regarding grantees, participants, 6 and the locations where program activities were held. 7 (2) A description of the criteria used to select 8 grantees under the Global Electoral Exchange Pro- 9 gram. 10 (3) Any recommendations for the improvement 11 of the Global Electoral Exchange Program, based on 12 the purpose specified in section 3(b). 13 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 14 No additional funds are authorized to be appro- 15 priated to carry out the requirements of this Act. Such 16 requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 17 authorized to be appropriated. 18 Passed the House of Representatives May 20, 2019. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 May 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.RFS H753 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS