I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5631

To establish a commission to study and make recommendations with respect

to the Federal electoral process.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 14, 2000

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself and Mr. LEACH) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on House Administration

A BILL

To establish a commission to study and make recommendations with respect to the Federal electoral process.

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 ‘‘Federal Elections Re5 view Commission Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION; MEMBERSHIP.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com8 mission to be known as the Federal Elections Review

9 Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to as the

10 ‘‘Commission’’).
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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission shall

2 be to study the nature and consequences of the Federal

3 electoral process and make recommendations to ensure the

4 integrity of, and public confidence in, Federal elections.

5 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be com6 posed of 12 members, who shall be appointed as follows:

7 (1) Three members shall be appointed by the

8 President pro tempore of the Senate based on rec9 ommendations by the majority leader of the Senate.

10 (2) Three members shall be appointed by the

11 President pro tempore of the Senate based on rec12 ommendations of the minority leader of the Senate.

13 (3) Three members shall be appointed by the

14 Speaker of the House of Representatives.

15 (4) Three members shall be appointed by the

16 minority leader of the House of Representatives.

17 (d) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—Members shall

18 be appointed to the Commission from among individuals

19 who—

20 (1) have expertise in Federal election laws, the

21 United States Constitution, and the history of the

22 United States, or other pertinent qualifications or

23 experience; and

24 (2) are not officers or employees of the United

25 States.
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1 (e) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In appointing mem2 bers of the Commission, every effort shall be made to en3 sure that the members—

4 (1) represent a broad cross section of regional

5 and political perspectives in the United States; and

6 (2) provide fresh insights to analyzing the Fed7 eral electoral process in order to maintain the integ8 rity of, and public confidence in, such process.

9 (f) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.—(1)

10 Members of the Commission shall be appointed not later

11 than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. Ap12 pointments shall be for the life of the Commission.

13 (2) Any vacancy in the Commission shall not affect

14 the powers of the Commission, and shall be filled in the

15 same manner as the original appointment.

16 (g) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days after

17 the date on which all members of the Commission have

18 been appointed, the Commission shall hold its first meet19 ing.

20 (h) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

21 members of the Commission shall elect a chairperson and

22 vice chairperson from among the members of the Commis23 sion.

24 (i) ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—The Commission shall

25 meet at the call of the chairperson.
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1 (j) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

2 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction

3 of business.

4 (k) VOTING.—A vote of a member of the Commission

5 with respect to the duties of the Commission shall have

6 the same weight as the vote of any other member of the

7 Commission.

8 SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall examine

10 the nature and consequences of the Federal electoral proc11 ess and make recommendations to ensure the integrity of,

12 and public confidence in, Federal elections.

13 (b) SPECIFIC ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED.—The

14 Commission shall examine and report to the President, the

15 Congress, and the Federal Election Commission on, at a

16 minimum, the following:

17 (1) The historic rationale for the electoral col18 lege, its impact on Presidential elections, and the ad19 visability of its abolition or other options for reform,

20 including the possibility of proportional allocation of

21 electors within States.

22 (2) Voter registration issues, including same23 day registration, universal registration, the impact of

24 motor voter registration, and the accuracy of voter

25 registration rolls.
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1 (3) Ballot access issues, including the role of

2 mail-in balloting in Federal elections, and the dis3 tinction between mail-in and absentee balloting, and

4 the uniformity or lack thereof of the deadlines for

5 the receipt of ballots.

6 (4) The feasibility and advisability of voting

7 through the Internet.

8 (5) The impact of polling place closing times,

9 the number and accessibility of polling places, and

10 training of poll workers.

11 (6) The impact of the physical ballot design, in12 cluding the technology used to cast and count votes

13 and the uniformity of such technology, consideration

14 of a uniform design standard, and the impact of the

15 language used on ballots, simplicity of language, and

16 the use of foreign language ballots.

17 (7) The adequacy of options available to voters

18 and candidates to seek redress for electoral irreg19 ularities.

20 (8) The precedent for holding elections on a

21 Tuesday in November and the feasibility and advis22 ability of changing to multiple day elections, week23 end elections, or expanding early voting options,

24 with a particular focus on the impact on voter turn25 out.
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1 (9) The history of Presidential debates, the role

2 of the Federal Election Commission on Presidential

3 debates, including the criteria established for partici4 pation in such debates, and options for reform.

5 (10) The impact of winner-take-all voting, and

6 the feasibility and advisability of election reforms

7 such as instant runoff voting, proportional represen8 tation, candidates appearing on multiple ballot lines,

9 and cumulative voting, with a particular focus on the

10 impact on voter turnout and expanding political dia11 log.

12 (11) The feasibility and advisability of limiting

13 campaigns, including advertising and fundraising, to

14 a set period of time.

15 (12) The feasibility and advisability of uniform

16 national poll closing times in Presidential elections.

17 (13) The Presidential primary process and op18 tions for reform.

19 SEC. 4. FINAL REPORT.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 12 months after

21 the date of the initial meeting of the Commission, the

22 Commission shall submit to the President and the Con23 gress a final report including—

24 (1) the findings and conclusions of the Commis25 sion; and
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1 (2) recommendations for addressing the prob2 lems identified as part of the Commission’s analysis.

3 (b) SEPARATE VIEWS.—Any member of the Commis4 sion may submit additional findings and recommendations

5 as part of the final report.

6 SEC. 5. POWERS.

7 (a) HEARINGS.—The Commission may hold such

8 hearings, sit and act at such times places, take such testi9 mony, and receive such evidence as the Commission may

10 find advisable to fulfill the requirements of this Act. The

11 Commission shall hold at least one hearing in the District

12 of Columbia, and at least four hearings in other regions

13 of the United States.

14 (b) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The

15 Commission may secure directly from any Federal depart16 ment or agency such information as the Commission con17 siders necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

18 Upon request of the chairperson of the Commission, the

19 head of such department or agency shall furnish such in20 formation to the Commission.

21 (c) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use

22 the United States mails in the same manner and under

23 the same conditions as other departments and agencies of

24 the Federal Government.
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1 SEC. 6. COMMISSION PERSONNEL MATTERS.

2 (a) COMPENSATION.—Each member of the Commis3 sion shall be compensated at a rate equal to the daily

4 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for

5 level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of

6 title 5, United States Code, for each day (including travel

7 time) during which such member is engaged in the per8 formance of the duties of the Commission.

9 (b) STAFF.—(1) The chairperson of the Commission

10 may appoint staff of the Commission, request the detail

11 of Federal employees, and accept temporary and intermit12 tent services in accordance with section 3161 of title 5,

13 United States Code.

14 (2) The employment of an executive director of the

15 Commission shall be subject to the approval of the Com16 mission.

17 (3) The rate of pay for the executive director and

18 other personnel of the Commission may not exceed the

19 rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under

20 section 5316 of such title.

21 SEC. 7. SUPPORT SERVICES.

22 The Administrator of General Services shall provide

23 to the Commission on a reimbursable basis such adminis24 trative support services as the Commission may request.
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1 SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

2 The Commission shall terminate not later than the

3 date that is 30 days after the date the Commission sub4 mits its final report under section 4.

5 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000

7 for the Commission to carry out this Act.

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