I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 753 

To promote international exchanges on best election practices, cultivate more 

secure democratic institutions around the world, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 24, 2019 

Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself and Mr. MEADOWS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To promote international exchanges on best election practices, cultivate more secure democratic institutions 

around the world, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Global Electoral Ex5 change Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 

8 (1) recent elections globally have illustrated the 

9 urgent need for the promotion and exchange of 

10 international best election practices, particularly in 


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1 the areas of cybersecurity, results transmission, 

2 transparency of electoral data, election dispute reso3 lution, and the elimination of discriminatory reg4 istration practices and other electoral irregularities; 

5 (2) the advancement of democracy worldwide 

6 promotes American interests, as stable democracies 

7 provide new market opportunities, improve global 

8 health outcomes, and promote economic freedom and 

9 regional security; 

10 (3) credible elections are the cornerstone of a 

11 healthy democracy and enable all persons to exercise 

12 their basic human right to have a say in how they 

13 are governed; 

14 (4) inclusive elections strengthen the credibility 

15 and stability of democracies more broadly; 

16 (5) at the heart of a strong election cycle is the 

17 professionalism of the election management body 

18 and an empowered civil society; 

19 (6) the development of local expertise via peer20 to-peer learning and exchanges promotes the inde21 pendence of such bodies from internal and external 

22 influence; and 

23 (7) supporting the efforts of peoples in democ24 ratizing societies to build more representative govVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:03 Feb 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H753.IH H753

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1 ernments in their respective countries is in the na2 tional interest of the United States. 

3 SEC. 3. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE. 

4 (a) GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE.—The Sec5 retary of State is authorized to establish and administer 

6 a Global Electoral Exchange Program to promote the utili7 zation of sound election administration practices around 

8 the world. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Global Electoral 

10 Exchange Program described in subsection (a) shall in11 clude the promotion and exchange of international best 

12 election practices, including in the areas of— 

13 (1) cybersecurity; 

14 (2) results transmission; 

15 (3) transparency of electoral data; 

16 (4) election dispute resolution; 

17 (5) the elimination of discriminatory registra18 tion practices and electoral irregularities; 

19 (6) equitable access to polling places, voter edu20 cation information, and voting mechanisms (includ21 ing by persons with disabilities); and 

22 (7) other sound election administration prac23 tices. 

24 (c) EXCHANGE OF ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may, 

2 in consultation, as appropriate, with the United 

3 States Agency for International Development, make 

4 grants to any United States-based organization de5 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

6 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

7 501(a) of such Code with experience in and a pri8 mary focus on foreign comparative election systems 

9 or subject matter expertise in the administration or 

10 integrity of such systems that submits an application 

11 in such form, and satisfying such requirements, as 

12 the Secretary may require. 

13 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—An organization de14 scribed in paragraph (1) may receive a grant for one 

15 or more of the following purposes: 

16 (A) To design and implement programs 

17 bringing election administrators and officials, 

18 including government officials, poll workers, 

19 civil society representatives, members of the ju20 diciary, and others who participate in the orga21 nization and administration of public elections 

22 in a foreign country that faces challenges to its 

23 electoral process to the United States to study 

24 election procedures in the United States for 

25 educational purposes. 


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1 (B) To design and implement programs 

2 taking the United States or another country’s 

3 election administrators and officials, including 

4 government officials, poll workers, civil society 

5 representatives, members of the judiciary, and 

6 others who participate in the organization and 

7 administration of public elections to study and 

8 discuss election procedures for educational pur9 poses. 

10 (3) LIMITS ON ACTIVITIES.—Activities adminis11 tered under the Global Electoral Exchange Program 

12 may not— 

13 (A) include observation of an election for 

14 the purposes of assessing the validity or legit15 imacy of that election; 

16 (B) facilitate any advocacy for a certain 

17 electoral result by a grantee when participating 

18 in the Program; or 

19 (C) be carried out without proper consulta20 tion with State and local authorities in the 

21 United States that administer elections. 

22 (4) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

23 Congress that the Secretary of State should estab24 lish and maintain a network of Global Electoral Ex25 change Program alumni, to promote communication 


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1 and further exchange of information regarding 

2 sound election administration practices among cur3 rent and former program participants. 

4 (5) FURTHER LIMITS.—A recipient of a grant 

5 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program may 

6 use such grant for only the purpose for which such 

7 grant was awarded, unless otherwise authorized by 

8 the Secretary of State. 

9 (6) NOT DUPLICATIVE.—Grants made under 

10 this subsection may not be duplicative of any other 

11 grants made under any other provision of law for 

12 similar or related purposes. 

13 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. 

14 Not later than one year after the date of the enact15 ment of this Act and in each of the following two years 

16 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall provide to the 

17 Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representa18 tives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Sen19 ate a briefing on the status of any activities carried out 

20 pursuant to this Act during the preceding year, which 

21 shall include, among other information, the following: 

22 (1) A summary of all exchanges conducted 

23 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program, in24 cluding information regarding grantees, participants, 

25 and the locations where program activities were held. 


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1 (2) A description of the criteria used to select 

2 grantees under the Global Electoral Exchange Pro3 gram. 

4 (3) Any recommendations for the improvement 

5 of the Global Electoral Exchange Program, based on 

6 the purpose specified in section 3(b). 

7 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

8 No additional funds are authorized to be appro9 priated to carry out the requirements of this Act. Such 

10 requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 

11 authorized to be appropriated. 

Æ 


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