I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 163 

To require the use of independent nonpartisan commissions to carry out 

congressional redistricting and to require States to hold open primaries 

for elections for Federal office. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2019 

Mr. FITZPATRICK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee 

on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the use of independent nonpartisan commissions 

to carry out congressional redistricting and to require 

States to hold open primaries for elections for Federal 

office. 

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 ‘‘Citizen Legislature 

5 Anti-Corruption Reform of Elections Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘CLEAN Elections Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIRING USE OF INDEPENDENT NONPARTISAN 

2 COMMISSIONS TO CARRY OUT REDIS3 TRICTING. 

4 (a) REQUIREMENT.— 

5 (1) CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING.—Each 

6 State shall conduct Congressional redistricting (be7 ginning with the redistricting carried out pursuant 

8 to the decennial census conducted during 2020) in 

9 accordance with a redistricting plan developed by a 

10 nonpartisan independent redistricting commission. 

11 (2) REDISTRICTING FOR STATE LEGISLATIVE

12 DISTRICTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

13 law, a State may not use any funds provided by the 

14 Federal Government directly for election administra15 tion purposes unless the State certifies to the Elec16 tion Assistance Commission that the State conducts 

17 redistricting for State legislative districts in the 

18 State (beginning with the first such redistricting 

19 carried out after the date of the enactment of this 

20 Act) in accordance with a redistricting plan devel21 oped by a nonpartisan independent redistricting 

22 commission. 

23 (b) NONPARTISAN INDEPENDENT STATUS.—For 

24 purposes of this section, a commission shall be considered 

25 to be a nonpartisan independent commission if— 


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1 (1) the number of its members who are affili2 ated with the political party with the largest percent3 age of the registered voters in the State who are af4 filiated with a political party (as determined with re5 spect to the most recent Statewide election for Fed6 eral office held in the State for which such informa7 tion is available) is equal to the number of its mem8 bers who are affiliated with the political party with 

9 the second largest percentage of the registered vot10 ers in the State who are affiliated with a political 

11 party (as so determined); and 

12 (2) none of its members is an elected public of13 ficial. 

14 (c) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

15 ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States. 

16 SEC. 3. REQUIRING OPEN PRIMARIES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

18 (1) ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.—Each 

19 State shall hold open primaries for elections for Fed20 eral office held in the State. 

21 (2) ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL OF22 FICE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

23 a State may not use any funds provided by the Fed24 eral Government directly for election administration 

25 purposes unless the State certifies to the Election 


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1 Assistance Commission that the State holds open 

2 primaries for elections for State and local office. 

3 (b) OPEN PRIMARIES DESCRIBED.—For purposes of 

4 this section, a State holds open primaries for an election 

5 for an office if any individual who is registered to vote 

6 in a general election for such office in the State may cast 

7 a ballot in any primary election (including a primary elec8 tion held for the selection of delegates to a national nomi9 nating convention of a political party and a primary elec10 tion held for the expression of a preference for the nomina11 tion of individuals for election to the office of President) 

12 held by any political party to nominate candidates for elec13 tion for that office, including a convention or caucus of 

14 a political party which has authority to nominate a can15 didate. 

16 (c) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

17 ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in section 901 

18 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141). 

19 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 

20 with respect to elections held after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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