IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5274 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Electoral Ex3 change Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that— 

6 (1) recent elections globally have illustrated the 

7 urgent need for the promotion and exchange of 

8 international best election practices, particularly in 

9 the areas of cybersecurity, results transmission, 

10 transparency of electoral data, election dispute reso11 lution, and the elimination of discriminatory reg12 istration practices and other electoral irregularities; 

13 (2) the advancement of democracy worldwide 

14 promotes American interests, as stable democracies 

15 provide new market opportunities, improve global 

16 health outcomes, and promote economic freedom and 

17 regional security; 

18 (3) credible elections are the cornerstone of a 

19 healthy democracy and enable all persons to exercise 

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

21 are governed; 

22 (4) inclusive elections strengthen the credibility 

23 and stability of democracies more broadly, as demo24 cratic institutions flourish when representative of all 

25 groups of society; 


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

2 professionalism of the election management body 

3 and an empowered civil society; and 

4 (6) the development of local expertise via peer5 to-peer learning and exchanges promotes the inde6 pendence of such bodies from internal and external 

7 influence. 

8 SEC. 3. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE. 

9 (a) GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE.—The Sec10 retary of State is authorized to establish and administer 

11 a Global Electoral Exchange Program to promote the utili12 zation of sound election administration practices around 

13 the world. 

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

15 Exchange Program described in subsection (a) shall in16 clude the promotion and exchange of international best 

17 election practices, including in the areas of— 

18 (1) cybersecurity; 

19 (2) results transmission; 

20 (3) transparency of electoral data; 

21 (4) election dispute resolution; 

22 (5) the elimination of discriminatory registra23 tion practices and electoral irregularities; 


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1 (6) equitable access to polling places, voter edu2 cation information, and voting mechanisms (includ3 ing by persons with disabilities); and 

4 (7) other sound election administration prac5 tices. 

6 (c) EXCHANGE OF ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES.— 

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

8 in consultation, as appropriate, with the United 

9 States Agency for International Development, make 

10 grants to any United States-based organization de11 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

12 Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 

13 501(a) of such Code with experience in comparative 

14 election systems or subject matter expertise in the 

15 areas of election administration or electoral integrity 

16 that submits an application in such form, and satis17 fying such requirements, as the Secretary may re18 quire. 

19 (2) TYPES OF GRANTS.—An organization de20 scribed in paragraph (1) may receive a grant for one 

21 or more of the following purposes: 

22 (A) To design and implement programs 

23 bringing election administrators and officials, 

24 including government officials, poll workers, 

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1 diciary, and others who participate in the orga2 nization and administration of public elections 

3 in a foreign country to the United States to 

4 study election procedures in the United States 

5 for educational purposes. 

6 (B) To design and implement programs 

7 taking United States or another country’s elec8 tion administrators and officials, including gov9 ernment officials, poll workers, civil society rep10 resentatives, members of the judiciary, and oth11 ers who participate in the organization and ad12 ministration of public elections to study election 

13 procedures for educational purposes. 

14 (3) LIMITS ON ACTIVITIES.—Activities adminis15 tered under the Global Electoral Exchange Program 

16 may not— 

17 (A) include observation of an election for 

18 the purposes of assessing the validity or legit19 imacy of that election; or 

20 (B) facilitate any advocacy for a certain 

21 electoral result by a grantee when participating 

22 in the Program. 

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

24 Congress that the Secretary of State should estab25 lish and maintain a network of Global Electoral ExVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Sep 07, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5274.RFS H5274

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1 change Program alumni, to promote communication 

2 and further exchange of information regarding 

3 sound election administration practices among cur4 rent and former program participants. 

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

6 under the Global Electoral Exchange Program may 

7 use such grant for only the purpose for which such 

8 grant was awarded, unless otherwise authorized by 

9 the Secretary of State. 

10 (6) NOT DUPLICATIVE.—Grants made under 

11 this subsection may not be duplicative of any other 

12 grants made under any other provision of law for 

13 similar or related purposes. 

14 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT. 

15 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act and in each of the following 2 years thereafter, 

17 the Secretary of State shall provide to the Committee on 

18 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the 

19 Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a briefing 

20 on the status of any activities carried out pursuant to this 

21 Act during the preceding year, which shall include, among 

22 other information, the following: 

23 (1) A summary of all exchanges conducted 

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1 cluding information regarding grantees, participants, 

2 and the locations where program activities were held. 

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

4 grantees under the Global Electoral Exchange Pro5 gram. 

6 (3) Any recommendations for the improvement 

7 of the Global Electoral Exchange Program, based on 

8 the purpose specified in section 3(b). 

9 SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

10 No additional funds are authorized to be appro11 priated to carry out the requirements of this Act. Such 

12 requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 

13 authorized to be appropriated. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 5, 

2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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