I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5292 

To establish a democracy advancement and innovation program, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 25, 2023 

Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia (for herself, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. ALLRED, Mr. SCOTT

of Virginia, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. BEYER, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. 

SWALWELL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. PORTER, Mr. VARGAS, 

Mr. EVANS, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. JACOBS, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CARTER of Louisiana, Ms. 

CLARKE of New York, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Ms. KAMLAGERDOVE, Mr. MULLIN, Ms. BROWN, Mr. DOGGETT, Ms. CROCKETT, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 

SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. NICKEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. 

GREEN of Texas, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. BOWMAN, 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. TITUS, Ms. KELLY

of Illinois, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SALINAS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Mrs. 

CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 

A BILL 

To establish a democracy advancement and innovation 

program, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Sustaining Our Democracy Act’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—PAYMENTS AND ALLOCATIONS TO STATES 

Sec. 101. Democracy Advancement and Innovation Program. 

Sec. 102. State plan. 

Sec. 103. Prohibitions. 

Sec. 104. Amount of State allocation. 

Sec. 105. Procedures for disbursements of payments and allocations. 

Sec. 106. Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation. 

TITLE II—STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND INNOVATION 

TRUST FUND 

Sec. 201. State Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund. 

TITLE III—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Rule of construction regarding calculation of deadlines. 

Sec. 303. Severability. 

6 TITLE I—PAYMENTS AND 

7 ALLOCATIONS TO STATES 

8 SEC. 101. DEMOCRACY ADVANCEMENT AND INNOVATION 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a pro11 gram to be known as the ‘‘Democracy Advancement and 

12 Innovation Program’’ under which the Director of the Of13 fice of Democracy Advancement and Innovation shall 

14 make allocations to each State for each fiscal year to carry 

15 out democracy promotion activities described in subsection 

16 (b). 


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1 (b) DEMOCRACY PROMOTION ACTIVITIES DE2 SCRIBED.—The democracy promotion activities described 

3 in this subsection are as follows: 

4 (1) Activities to promote innovation to improve 

5 efficiency and smooth functioning in the administra6 tion of elections for Federal office and to secure the 

7 infrastructure used in the administration of such 

8 elections, including making upgrades to voting 

9 equipment and voter registration systems, voter reg10 istration and nonpartisan voter outreach activities, 

11 securing voting locations, expanding polling places 

12 and the availability of early and mail voting, and 

13 promoting cybersecurity. 

14 (2) Activities to recruit, train, and retain non15 partisan election officials and poll workers and to 

16 protect election officials (both nonpartisan and those 

17 elected or appointed to their position) from threats 

18 against them in the course of their work admin19 istering Federal elections. 

20 (3) Activities to increase access to voting in 

21 elections for Federal office by underserved commu22 nities, individuals with disabilities, racial and lan23 guage minority groups, individuals entitled to vote 

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1 seas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and voters resid2 ing in Indian lands. 

3 (c) PERMITTING STATES TO RETAIN AND RESERVE

4 ALLOCATIONS FOR FUTURE USE.—A State may retain 

5 and reserve an allocation received for a fiscal year to carry 

6 out democracy promotion activities in any subsequent fis7 cal year. 

8 (d) REQUIRING SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF

9 STATE PLAN.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State shall receive an allo11 cation under the Program for a fiscal year if— 

12 (A) not later than 90 days before the first 

13 day of the fiscal year, the chief State election 

14 official of the State submits to the Director the 

15 State plan described in section 102; and 

16 (B) not later than 45 days before the first 

17 day of the fiscal year, the Director, in consulta18 tion with the Election Assistance Commission 

19 as described in paragraph (3), determines that 

20 the State plan will enable the State to carry out 

21 democracy promotion activities and approves 

22 the plan. 

23 (2) SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF REVISED

24 PLAN.—If the Director does not approve the State 

25 plan as submitted by the State under paragraph (1) 


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1 with respect to a fiscal year, the State shall receive 

2 a payment under the Program for the fiscal year if, 

3 at any time prior to the end of the fiscal year— 

4 (A) the chief State election official of the 

5 State submits a revised version of the State 

6 plan; and 

7 (B) the Director, in consultation with the 

8 Election Assistance Commission as described in 

9 paragraph (3), determines that the revised 

10 version of the State plan will enable the State 

11 to carry out democracy promotion activities and 

12 approves the plan. 

13 (3) ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION CON14 SULTATION.—With respect to a State plan sub15 mitted under paragraph (1) or a revised plan sub16 mitted under paragraph (2)— 

17 (A) the Director shall, prior to making a 

18 determination on approval of the plan, consult 

19 with the Election Assistance Commission; and 

20 (B) the Election Assistance Commission 

21 shall submit to the Director a written assess22 ment with respect to whether the proposed ac23 tivities of the plan satisfy the requirements of 

24 this Act. 


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1 (4) CONSULTATION WITH LEGISLATURE.—The 

2 chief State election official of the State shall develop 

3 the State plan submitted under paragraph (1) and 

4 any revised plan submitted under paragraph (2) in 

5 consultation with the majority party and minority 

6 party leaders of each house of the State legislature. 

7 (5) RULES FOR STATES THAT DO NOT SUBMIT

8 A STATE PLAN.—If a State fails to submit a State 

9 plan described in section 102 before the date re10 quired under paragraph (1)(A), under rules estab11 lished by the Director— 

12 (A) for purposes of this title (other than 

13 section 104)— 

14 (i) each political subdivision within 

15 the State shall be treated as a State for 

16 purposes of this title (other than section 

17 104); and 

18 (ii) in applying this title to such polit19 ical subdivision, any duties required of the 

20 chief State election official shall be under21 taken by the executive official of such po22 litical subdivision charged with the admin23 istration of elections; 

24 (B) in applying this subsection to any po25 litical subdivision of the State— 


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1 (i) paragraph (1)(A) shall be applied 

2 by substituting ‘‘the first day of the fiscal 

3 year’’ for ‘‘90 days before the first day of 

4 the fiscal year’’; 

5 (ii) paragraph (1)(B) shall be applied 

6 by substituting ‘‘30 days after the first day 

7 of the fiscal year’’ for ‘‘45 days before the 

8 first day of the fiscal year’’; and 

9 (iii) paragraph (4) shall not apply; 

10 and 

11 (C) the amount of the allocation made to 

12 each such political subdivision under the Pro13 gram shall be the sum of— 

14 (i) an amount which bears the same 

15 proportion to the amount determined 

16 under section 104 with respect to the State 

17 in which the political subdivision is located 

18 as— 

19 (I) the population of the political 

20 subdivision; bears to 

21 (II) the population of such State; 

22 plus 

23 (ii) an amount (not to exceed 100 per24 cent of the amount determined with re25 spect to the political subdivision under 


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1 clause (i)) which bears the same proportion 

2 to the unsubscribed funds of the State 

3 as— 

4 (I) the population of the political 

5 subdivision; bears to 

6 (II) the population of the number 

7 of political subdivisions within the 

8 State that submitted a plan under 

9 section 102 before the date required 

10 under paragraph (1)(A) (after appli11 cation of subparagraph (B)). 

12 For purposes of subparagraph (C)(ii), the 

13 unsubscribed funds of any State is the sum of the 

14 amounts described in subparagraph (C)(i) with re15 spect to political subdivisions in the State which did 

16 not submit a plan under this subsection before the 

17 date required under paragraph (1)(A) (after applica18 tion of subparagraph (B)). 

19 (e) STATE REPORT ON USE OF ALLOCATIONS.—Not 

20 later than 90 days after the last day of a fiscal year for 

21 which an allocation was made to the State under the Pro22 gram, the chief State election official of the State shall 

23 submit a report to the Director describing how the State 

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1 racy promotion activities the State carried out with the 

2 allocation. 

3 (f) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 

4 (1) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WEBSITE.—The Di5 rector shall make available on a publicly accessible 

6 website the following: 

7 (A) State plans submitted under para8 graph (1) of subsection (d) and revised plans 

9 submitted under paragraph (2) of subsection 

10 (d). 

11 (B) The Director’s notifications of deter12 minations with respect to such plans under sub13 section (d). 

14 (C) Reports submitted by States under 

15 subsection (e). 

16 (2) REDACTION.—The Director may redact in17 formation required to be made available under para18 graph (1) if the information would be properly with19 held from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, 

20 United States Code, or if the public disclosure of the 

21 information is otherwise prohibited by law. 

22 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 

23 respect to fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding fiscal year. 


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1 SEC. 102. STATE PLAN. 

2 (a) CONTENTS.—A State plan under this section with 

3 respect to a State is a plan containing each of the fol4 lowing: 

5 (1) A description of the democracy promotion 

6 activities the State will carry out with the payment 

7 made under the Program. 

8 (2) A statement of whether or not the State in9 tends to retain and reserve the payment for future 

10 democracy promotion activities. 

11 (3) A statement of how the State intends to 

12 distribute resources under the plan, including how 

13 the distribution of resources will address geographic 

14 and racial disparities within the State. 

15 (4) A description of how the State intends to 

16 allocate funds to carry out the proposed activities, 

17 which shall include the amount the State intends to 

18 allocate to each such activity, including (if applica19 ble) a specific allocation for— 

20 (A) activities described in subsection 

21 101(b)(1) (relating to election administration); 

22 (B) activities described in section 

23 101(b)(2) (relating to activities to recruit, train, 

24 retain, and protect election workers); and 

25 (C) activities described in section 

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1 cess to voting in elections for Federal office by 

2 certain communities). 

3 (5) A description of how funds allocated under 

4 paragraph (4) will be allocated to political subdivi5 sions of the State. 

6 (6) A description of how the State will establish 

7 the fund described in subsection (b) for purposes of 

8 administering the democracy promotion activities 

9 which the State will carry out with the payment, in10 cluding information on fund management. 

11 (7) A description of the State-based administra12 tive complaint procedures established for purposes of 

13 section 103(a)(2). 

14 (8) A statement regarding whether the pro15 posed activities to be funded are permitted under 

16 State law, or whether the official intends to seek 

17 legal authorization for such activities. 

18 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FUND.— 

19 (1) FUND DESCRIBED.—For purposes of sub20 section (a)(6), a fund described in this subsection 

21 with respect to a State is a fund which is established 

22 in the treasury of the State government, which is 

23 used in accordance with paragraph (2), and which 

24 consists of the following amounts: 


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1 (A) Amounts appropriated or otherwise 

2 made available by the State for carrying out the 

3 democracy promotion activities for which the 

4 payment is made to the State under the Pro5 gram. 

6 (B) The payment made to the State under 

7 the Program. 

8 (C) Such other amounts as may be appro9 priated under law. 

10 (D) Interest earned on deposits of the 

11 fund. 

12 (2) USE OF FUND.—Amounts in the fund shall 

13 be used by the State exclusively to carry out democ14 racy promotion activities for which the payment is 

15 made to the State under the Program. 

16 (3) TREATMENT OF STATES THAT REQUIRE

17 CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case of a State 

18 that requires State legislation to establish the fund 

19 described in this subsection, the Director shall defer 

20 disbursement of the payment to such State under 

21 the Program until such time as legislation estab22 lishing the fund is enacted. 

23 SEC. 103. PROHIBITIONS. 

24 (a) PROHIBITED USES OF PAYMENTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State may not use a pay2 ment made under the Program to carry out— 

3 (A) any activity described in paragraph 

4 (2); or 

5 (B) any other activity which has the pur6 pose or effect of diminishing the ability of any 

7 eligible voter to participate in the electoral proc8 ess. 

9 (2) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—The following 

10 are activities described in this paragraph: 

11 (A) Activities that intimidate, threaten, or 

12 coerce voters, poll workers, or election adminis13 trators. 

14 (B) The restriction of the distribution of 

15 food or nonalcoholic beverages to voters while 

16 waiting at polling places (other than restrictions 

17 on distributions made on the basis of the elec18 toral participation or political preference of the 

19 recipient). 

20 (C) The removal of election administrators 

21 from their positions other than for negligence, 

22 neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. 

23 (D) Defending against lawsuits alleging 

24 voter-suppression practices or proposed prac25 tices. 


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1 (E) The investigation of claims of voter 

2 fraud based on the mere invocation of interests 

3 in voter confidence or prevention of fraud. 

4 (F) The performance of audits that— 

5 (i) fail to meet best practices estab6 lished by the Election Assistance Commis7 sion; 

8 (ii) fail to meet the requirements for 

9 record retention under title III of the Civil 

10 Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701 et 

11 seq.); or 

12 (iii) otherwise jeopardize election 

13 records, voting equipment, electronic poll 

14 books, or election management systems (as 

15 defined under the voluntary guidance 

16 issued by the Election Assistance Commis17 sion under section 311 of the Help Amer18 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21101)). 

19 (G) The removal of voters from voter rolls 

20 based on evidence that is not reliable. 

21 (H) Activities preventing individuals seek22 ing to have their right to vote or register to 

23 vote restored. 

24 (I) The purchase of voting machines that 

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1 verifiable paper ballots marked through the use 

2 of a nontabulating ballot marking device or sys3 tem. 

4 (b) STATE-BASED ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT

5 PROCEDURES.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—A State receiving a pay7 ment under the Program shall establish uniform and 

8 nondiscriminatory State-based administrative com9 plaint procedures under which any person who be10 lieves that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred, 

11 is occurring, or is about to occur may file a com12 plaint. 

13 (2) NOTIFICATION TO DIRECTOR.—The State 

14 shall transmit to the Director a description of each 

15 complaint filed under the procedures, together 

16 with— 

17 (A) if the State provides a remedy with re18 spect to the complaint, a description of the rem19 edy; or 

20 (B) if the State dismisses the complaint, a 

21 statement of the reasons for the dismissal. 

22 (3) REVIEW BY DIRECTOR.— 

23 (A) REQUEST FOR REVIEW.—Any person 

24 who is dissatisfied with the final decision under 

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1 dure under this subsection may, not later than 

2 60 days after the decision is made, file a re3 quest with the Director to review the decision. 

4 (B) ACTION BY DIRECTOR.—Upon receiv5 ing a request under subparagraph (A), the Di6 rector shall review the decision and, in accord7 ance with such procedures as the Director may 

8 establish, including procedures to provide notice 

9 and an opportunity for a hearing, may uphold 

10 the decision or reverse the decision and provide 

11 an appropriate remedy. 

12 (C) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF MATE13 RIAL.—The Director shall make available on a 

14 publicly accessible website all material relating 

15 to a request for review and determination by 

16 the Director under this paragraph, except that 

17 the Director may redact material required to be 

18 made available under this subparagraph if the 

19 material would be properly withheld from dis20 closure under section 552 of title 5, United 

21 States Code, or if the public disclosure of the 

22 material is otherwise prohibited by law. 

23 (4) RIGHT TO PETITION FOR REVIEW.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved 

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1 graph (B) of paragraph (3) may file a petition 

2 with the United States District Court for the 

3 District of Columbia. 

4 (B) DEADLINE TO FILE PETITION.—Any 

5 petition under this subparagraph shall be filed 

6 not later than 60 days after the date of the ac7 tion taken by the Director under subparagraph 

8 (B) of paragraph (3). 

9 (C) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—In any pro10 ceeding under this paragraph, the court shall 

11 determine whether the action of the Director 

12 was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discre13 tion, or otherwise not in accordance with law 

14 under section 706 of title 5, United States 

15 Code, and may direct the Office to conform 

16 with any such determination within 30 days. 

17 (c) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR DECLARA18 TORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—The Attorney General 

19 may bring a civil action against any State in an appro20 priate United States District Court for such declaratory 

21 and injunctive relief (including a temporary restraining 

22 order, a permanent or temporary injunction, or other 

23 order) as may be necessary to enforce subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 104. AMOUNT OF STATE ALLOCATION. 

2 (a) STATE-SPECIFIC AMOUNT.—The amount of the 

3 allocation made to a State under the Program for a fiscal 

4 year shall be equal to the product of— 

5 (1) the Congressional district allocation amount 

6 (determined under subsection (b)); and 

7 (2) the number of Congressional districts in the 

8 State for the next regularly scheduled general elec9 tion for Federal office held in the State. 

10 (b) CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ALLOCATION

11 AMOUNT.—For purposes of subsection (a), the ‘‘Congres12 sional district allocation amount’’ with respect to a fiscal 

13 year is equal to the quotient of— 

14 (1) the aggregate amount available for alloca15 tions to States under the Program for the fiscal 

16 year, as determined by the Director under sub17 section (c); divided by 

18 (2) the total number of Congressional districts 

19 in all States. 

20 (c) DETERMINATION OF AGGREGATE AMOUNT

21 AVAILABLE FOR ALLOCATIONS; NOTIFICATION TO

22 STATES.—Not later than 120 days before the first day 

23 of each fiscal year, the Director— 

24 (1) shall determine and establish the aggregate 

25 amount available for allocations to States under the 

26 Program for the fiscal year, taking into account the 


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1 anticipated balances of the Trust Fund (including 

2 any amounts appropriated pursuant to section 

3 106(i)); and 

4 (2) shall notify each State of the amount of the 

5 State’s allocation under the Program for the fiscal 

6 year. 

7 In making the determination under paragraph (1), the Di8 rector shall consult with the Election Assistance Commis9 sion, but shall be solely responsible for making the final 

10 determinations under such paragraph. 

11 (d) SOURCE OF PAYMENTS.—The amounts used to 

12 make allocations and payments under the Program shall 

13 be derived solely from the Trust Fund. 

14 SEC. 105. PROCEDURES FOR DISBURSEMENTS OF PAY15 MENTS AND ALLOCATIONS. 

16 (a) ALLOCATION.—Upon approving the State plan 

17 under section 102, the Director shall direct the Secretary 

18 of the Treasury to allocate to the Election Assistance 

19 Commission the amount provided for activities under the 

20 plan. 

21 (b) PAYMENT TO STATE.—As soon as practicable 

22 after receiving an allocation under subsection (a) with re23 spect to a State, the Election Assistance Commission shall 

24 make payments to— 


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1 (1) local election administrators in the State 

2 with respect to amounts related to activities in the 

3 State plan carried out directly by such local election 

4 administrators; and 

5 (2) the State with respect to any amount not 

6 described in paragraph (1). 

7 (c) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AFTER

8 APPROPRIATION.—A payment made to a State by the 

9 Election Assistance Commission under this section shall 

10 be available without fiscal year limitation. 

11 SEC. 106. OFFICE OF DEMOCRACY ADVANCEMENT AND IN12 NOVATION. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established as an 

14 independent establishment in the executive branch the Of15 fice of Democracy Advancement and Innovation. 

16 (b) DIRECTOR.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 

18 by a Director, who shall be appointed by the Presi19 dent with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

20 (2) TERM OF SERVICE.—The Director shall 

21 serve for a term of 6 years and may be reappointed 

22 to an additional term, and may continue serving as 

23 Director until a replacement is appointed. A vacancy 

24 in the position of Director shall be filled in the same 

25 manner as the original appointment. 


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1 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall be 

2 paid at an annual rate of pay equal to the annual 

3 rate in effect for level II of the Executive Schedule. 

4 (4) REMOVAL.—The Director may be removed 

5 from office by the President. If the President re6 moves the Director, the President shall communicate 

7 in writing the reasons for the removal to both 

8 Houses of Congress not later than 30 days before9 hand. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed 

10 to prohibit a personnel action otherwise authorized 

11 by law. 

12 (c) GENERAL COUNSEL AND OTHER STAFF.— 

13 (1) GENERAL COUNSEL.—The Director shall 

14 appoint a general counsel who shall be paid at an 

15 annual rate of pay equal to the annual rate in effect 

16 for level III of the Executive Schedule. In the event 

17 of a vacancy in the position of the Director, the 

18 General Counsel shall exercise all the responsibilities 

19 of the Director until such vacancy is filled. 

20 (2) SENIOR STAFF.—The Director may appoint 

21 and fix the pay of staff designated as Senior staff, 

22 such as a Deputy Director, who may be paid at an 

23 annual rate of pay equal to the annual rate in effect 

24 for level IV of the Executive Schedule. 


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1 (3) OTHER STAFF.—In addition to the General 

2 Counsel and Senior staff, the Director may appoint 

3 and fix the pay of such other staff as the Director 

4 considers necessary to carry out the duties of the 

5 Office, except that no such staff may be com6 pensated at an annual rate exceeding the daily 

7 equivalent of the annual rate of basic pay in effect 

8 for grade GS–15 of the General Schedule. 

9 (d) DUTIES.—The duties of the Office are as follows: 

10 (1) ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM.—The Di11 rector shall administer the Program, in consultation 

12 with the Election Assistance Commission, including 

13 by holding quarterly meetings of representatives 

14 from such Commission. 

15 (2) OVERSIGHT OF TRUST FUND.—The Direc16 tor shall oversee the operation of the Trust Fund 

17 and monitor its balances, in consultation with the 

18 Election Assistance Commission and the Secretary 

19 of the Treasury. The Director may hold funds in re20 serve to cover the expenses of the Office and to pre21 serve the solvency of the Trust Fund. 

22 (3) REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 the date of the regularly scheduled general election 

24 for Federal office held in 2024 and each succeeding 

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1 fice thereafter, the Director, in consultation with the 

2 Election Assistance Commission, shall submit to the 

3 Committee on House Administration of the House of 

4 Representatives and the Committee on Rules and 

5 Administration of the Senate a report on the activi6 ties carried out under the Program and the amounts 

7 deposited into and paid from the Trust Fund during 

8 the two most recent fiscal years. 

9 (e) COVERAGE UNDER INSPECTOR GENERAL ACT OF

10 1978 FOR CONDUCTING AUDITS AND INVESTIGATIONS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 415(a)(1)(A) of title 

12 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘the 

13 Office of Democracy Advancement and Innovation,’’ 

14 after ‘‘Election Assistance Commission,’’. 

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

16 by paragraph (1) shall take effect 180 days after the 

17 appointment of the Director. 

18 (f) COVERAGE UNDER HATCH ACT.—Clause (i) of 

19 section 7323(b)(2)(B) of title 5, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause 

22 (XIII); and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub24 clause: 


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1 ‘‘(XV) the Office of Democracy Advance2 ment and Innovation; or’’. 

3 (g) REGULATIONS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2), not later than 270 days after the date of 

6 enactment of this Act, the Director shall promulgate 

7 such rules and regulations as the Director considers 

8 necessary and appropriate to carry out the duties of 

9 the Office under this Act and the amendments made 

10 by this Act. 

11 (2) STATE PLAN SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL

12 AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Not later than 90 

13 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

14 Director shall promulgate such rules and regulations 

15 as the Director considers necessary and appropriate 

16 to carry out the requirements of this title and the 

17 amendments made by this title. 

18 (3) COMMENTS BY THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE

19 COMMISSION.—The Election Assistance Commission 

20 shall timely submit comments with respect to any 

21 proposed regulations promulgated by the Director 

22 under this subsection. 

23 (h) INTERIM AUTHORITY PENDING APPOINTMENT

24 AND CONFIRMATION OF DIRECTOR.— 


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1 (1) AUTHORITY OF DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF

2 MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.—Notwithstanding sub3 section (b), during the transition period, the Direc4 tor of the Office of Management and Budget is au5 thorized to perform the functions of the Office under 

6 this Act, and shall act for all purposes as, and with 

7 the full powers of, the Director. 

8 (2) INTERIM ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.— 

9 (A) AUTHORITY OF OFFICE OF MANAGE10 MENT AND BUDGET.—During the transition pe11 riod, the Director of the Office of Management 

12 and Budget may provide administrative services 

13 necessary to support the Office. 

14 (B) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY; PER15 MITTING EXTENSION.—The Director of the Of16 fice of Management and Budget shall cease pro17 viding interim administrative services under this 

18 paragraph upon the expiration of the transition 

19 period, except that the Director of the Office of 

20 Management and Budget may continue to pro21 vide such services after the expiration of the 

22 transition period if the Director and the Direc23 tor of the Office of Management and Budget 

24 jointly transmit to the Committee on House Ad25 ministration of the House of Representatives 


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1 and the Committee on Rules and Administra2 tion of the Senate— 

3 (i) a written determination that an or4 derly implementation of this Act is not fea5 sible by the expiration of the transition pe6 riod; 

7 (ii) an explanation of why an exten8 sion is necessary for the orderly implemen9 tation of this Act; 

10 (iii) a description of the period during 

11 which the Director of the Office of Man12 agement and Budget shall continue pro13 viding services under the authority of this 

14 subparagraph; and 

15 (iv) a description of the steps that will 

16 be taken to ensure an orderly and timely 

17 implementation of this Act during the pe18 riod described in clause (iii). 

19 (3) TRANSITION PERIOD DEFINED.—In this 

20 subsection, the ‘‘transition period’’ is the period 

21 which begins on the date of the enactment of this 

22 Act and ends on the date on which the first Director 

23 is appointed. 

24 (4) LIMIT ON LENGTH OF PERIOD OF INTERIM

25 AUTHORITIES.—Notwithstanding any other provision 


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1 of this subsection, the Director of the Office of Man2 agement and Budget may not exercise any authority 

3 under this subsection after the expiration of the 24- 

4 month period which begins on the date of the enact5 ment of this Act. 

6 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

7 are authorized to be appropriated from the Trust Fund 

8 such sums as may be necessary to carry out the activities 

9 of the Office for fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding fis10 cal year. 

11 TITLE II—STATE ELECTION AS12 SISTANCE AND INNOVATION 

13 TRUST FUND 

14 SEC. 201. STATE ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND INNOVATION 

15 TRUST FUND. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

17 Treasury a fund to be known as the ‘‘State Election As18 sistance and Innovation Trust Fund’’. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—There is hereby appropriated to the 

20 Trust Fund $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

21 through 2033. 

22 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts in the Trust Fund 

23 shall be used to make payments and allocations under the 

24 Program and to carry out the activities of the Office. 


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1 (d) ACCEPTANCE OF GIFTS.—The Office may accept 

2 gifts or bequests for deposit into the Trust Fund. 

3 TITLE III—GENERAL 

4 PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

7 (1) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ has 

8 the meaning given such term in section 253(e) of the 

9 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

10 21003(e)). 

11 (2) The term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 

12 the Office. 

13 (3) The term ‘‘Indian lands’’ includes— 

14 (A) Indian country, as defined under sec15 tion 1151 of title 18, United States Code; 

16 (B) any land in Alaska owned, pursuant to 

17 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 

18 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), by an Indian Tribe that 

19 is a Native village (as defined in section 3 of 

20 that Act (43 U.S.C. 1602)) or by a Village Cor21 poration that is associated with an Indian Tribe 

22 (as defined in section 3 of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

23 1602)); 

24 (C) any land on which the seat of the Trib25 al government is located; and 


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1 (D) any land that is part or all of a Tribal 

2 designated statistical area associated with an 

3 Indian Tribe, or is part or all of an Alaska Na4 tive village statistical area associated with an 

5 Indian Tribe, as defined by the Census Bureau 

6 for the purposes of the most recent decennial 

7 census. 

8 (4) The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of De9 mocracy Advancement and Innovation established 

10 under section 105. 

11 (5) The term ‘‘Program’’ means the Democracy 

12 Advancement and Innovation Program established 

13 under section 101. 

14 (6) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

15 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

16 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 

17 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 

18 Northern Mariana Islands. 

19 (7) The term ‘‘Trust Fund’’ means the State 

20 Election Assistance and Innovation Trust Fund es21 tablished under section 201. 

22 SEC. 302. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING CALCULA23 TION OF DEADLINES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the calculation of 

25 any period of time for the purposes of a deadline in this 


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1 Act, the last day of the period shall be included in such 

2 calculation, unless such day is a Saturday, a Sunday, or 

3 a legal public holiday, in which case the period of such 

4 deadline shall be extended until the end of the next day 

5 which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal public holi6 day. 

7 (b) LEGAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY DEFINED.—For the 

8 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘legal public holiday’’ 

9 means a day described in section 6103(a) of title 5, United 

10 States Code. 

11 SEC. 303. SEVERABILITY. 

12 If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 

13 by this Act, or the application of any such provision or 

14 amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be 

15 unconstitutional, the remainder of such Act and amend16 ments made by such Act and the application of such provi17 sion or amendment to any other person or circumstance, 

18 shall not be affected by the holding. 

Æ 


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