II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 640 

To provide grants to support continuing education in election administration 

or cybersecurity for election officials and employees. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2021 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To provide grants to support continuing education in election 

administration or cybersecurity for election officials and 

employees. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Invest in Our Democ5 racy Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) free and fair elections are central to our de9 mocracy; 


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1 (2) protecting our elections from foreign adver2 saries is a national security priority; 

3 (3) the States conduct elections and it is impor4 tant to maintain State leadership in election admin5 istration; 

6 (4) the States deserve Federal support to se7 cure our elections from interference by foreign na8 tions; and 

9 (5) election security in the United States will 

10 benefit from continued education and investment in 

11 the individuals that administer our elections. 

12 SEC. 3. SUPPORTING CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR ELEC13 TION OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES. 

14 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY AND METHOD OF DIS15 TRIBUTION.—The Election Assistance Commission (in 

16 this section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall estab17 lish a program under which the Commission pays to each 

18 eligible institution such sums as may be necessary to pay 

19 to each eligible certificate program enrollee (as defined in 

20 subsection (b)) for each academic year during which that 

21 enrollee is enrolled in an accredited certificate program in 

22 election administration or cybersecurity in the amount for 

23 which that enrollee is eligible, as determined pursuant to 

24 subsection (c). Not less than 85 percent of such sums shall 

25 be advanced to eligible institutions prior to the start of 


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1 each payment period and shall be based upon an amount 

2 requested by the institution as needed to pay eligible cer3 tificate program enrollees until such time as the Commis4 sion determines an alternative payment system that pro5 vides payments to institutions in an accurate and timely 

6 manner, except that this sentence shall not be construed 

7 to limit the authority of the Commission to place an insti8 tution on a reimbursement system of payment. 

9 (b) ELIGIBLE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM ENROLLEE.— 

10 In this section, the term ‘‘eligible certificate program en11 rollee’’ means an individual who— 

12 (1) is a State or local election official, an em13 ployee of a State or local election official, or an em14 ployee of the Commission; 

15 (2) certifies to the Commission their enrollment 

16 in an accredited certificate program in election ad17 ministration or cybersecurity; and 

18 (3) submits to the Commission— 

19 (A) a receipt or other verification deter20 mined appropriate by the Commission of the 

21 tuition amount for such certificate program; 

22 and 

23 (B) an application at such time, in such 

24 manner, and containing such information as the 

25 Commission may require. 


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1 (c) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The amount of a grant 

2 for an eligible certificate program enrollee under this sec3 tion for a year shall be an amount equal to 75 percent 

4 of the tuition amount for the accredited certificate pro5 gram in election administration or cybersecurity for the 

6 year. 

7 (d) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) ACCREDITED CERTIFICATE PROGRAM IN

9 ELECTION ADMINISTRATION OR CYBERSECURITY.— 

10 The term ‘‘accredited certificate program in election 

11 administration or cybersecurity’’ means a program 

12 in election administration or cybersecurity that leads 

13 to a certificate, or other nondegree recognized cre14 dential, at an eligible institution. 

15 (2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi16 ble institution’’ means an institution of higher edu17 cation (as defined under section 101 of the Higher 

18 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that— 

19 (A) offers an accredited certificate pro20 gram in election administration or cybersecu21 rity; and 

22 (B) elects to participate in the program es23 tablished under this section. 

24 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— 


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1 (1) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

2 (2) such sums as may be necessary for each of 

3 fiscal years 2024 through 2030. 

Æ 


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