Global Electoral Exchange Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 324 To promote international exchanges on best election practices, cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 4, 2019 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, 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 2019’’. 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 22:58 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S324.IS S324 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 324 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 22:58 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S324.IS S324 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 324 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) GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE.—The Sec- 4 retary of State is authorized to establish and administer 5 a Global Electoral Exchange Program to promote the utili- 6 zation of sound election administration practices around 7 the world. 8 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Global Electoral 9 Exchange Program described in subsection (a) shall in- 10 clude the promotion and exchange of international best 11 election practices, including in the areas of— 12 (1) cybersecurity; 13 (2) the protection of election systems against 14 influence campaigns; 15 (3) results transmission; 16 (4) transparency of electoral data; 17 (5) election dispute resolution; 18 (6) the elimination of discriminatory registra- 19 tion practices and electoral irregularities; 20 (7) inclusive and equitable promotion of can- 21 didate participation; 22 (8) equitable access to polling places, voter edu- 23 cation information, and voting mechanisms (includ- 24 ing by persons with disabilities); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S324.IS S324 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 324 IS (9) other sound election administration prac- 1 tices. 2 (c) EXCHANGE OF ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may, 4 in consultation, as appropriate, with the United 5 States Agency for International Development, make 6 grants to any United States-based organization de- 7 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 8 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 9 501(a) of such Code with experience in and a pri- 10 mary focus on foreign comparative election systems 11 or subject matter expertise in the administration or 12 integrity of such systems that submits an application 13 in such form, and satisfying such requirements, as 14 the Secretary may require. 15 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—An organization de- 16 scribed in paragraph (1) may receive a grant for one 17 or more of the following purposes: 18 (A) To design and implement programs 19 bringing election administrators and officials, 20 including government officials, poll workers, 21 civil society representatives, members of the ju- 22 diciary, and others who participate in the orga- 23 nization and administration of public elections 24 in a foreign country that faces challenges to its 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S324.IS S324 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 324 IS electoral process to the United States to study 1 election procedures in the United States for 2 educational purposes. 3 (B) To design and implement programs 4 taking the United States or another country’s 5 election administrators and officials, including 6 government officials, poll workers, civil society 7 representatives, members of the judiciary, and 8 others who participate in the organization and 9 administration of public elections to study and 10 discuss election procedures for educational pur- 11 poses. 12 (3) LIMITS ON ACTIVITIES.—Activities adminis- 13 tered under the Global Electoral Exchange Program 14 may not— 15 (A) include observation of an election for 16 the purposes of assessing the validity or legit- 17 imacy of that election; 18 (B) facilitate any advocacy for a certain 19 electoral result by a grantee when participating 20 in the Program; or 21 (C) be carried out without proper consulta- 22 tion with State and local authorities in the 23 United States that administer elections. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S324.IS S324 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 324 IS (4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 1 Congress that the Secretary of State should estab- 2 lish and maintain a network of Global Electoral Ex- 3 change Program alumni, to promote communication 4 and further exchange of information regarding 5 sound election administration practices among cur- 6 rent and former program participants. 7 (5) FURTHER LIMITS.—A recipient of a grant 8 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program may 9 use such grant for only the purpose for which such 10 grant was awarded, unless otherwise authorized by 11 the Secretary of State. 12 (6) NOT DUPLICATIVE.—Grants made under 13 this subsection may not be duplicative of any other 14 grants made under any other provision of law for 15 similar or related purposes. 16 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. 17 Not later than one year after the date of the enact- 18 ment of this Act and in each of the following two years 19 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall provide to the 20 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the 21 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa- 22 tives a briefing on the status of any activities carried out 23 pursuant to this Act during the preceding year, which 24 shall include, among other information, the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S324.IS S324 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 324 IS (1) A summary of all exchanges conducted 1 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program, in- 2 cluding information regarding grantees, participants, 3 and the locations where program activities were held. 4 (2) A description of the criteria used to select 5 grantees under the Global Electoral Exchange Pro- 6 gram. 7 (3) Any recommendations for the improvement 8 of the Global Electoral Exchange Program, based on 9 the purpose specified in section 3(b). 10 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 11 No additional funds are authorized to be appro- 12 priated to carry out the requirements of this Act. The re- 13 quirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 14 authorized to be appropriated. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:58 Feb 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S324.IS S324 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS