I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 607 

To establish the Election Integrity Commission to study the integrity and 

administration of the general election for Federal office held in November 

2020 and make recommendations to Congress to improve the security, 

integrity, and administration of Federal elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 28, 2021 

Mr. SMUCKER (for himself and Mrs. MCCLAIN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 

A BILL 

To establish the Election Integrity Commission to study the 

integrity and administration of the general election for 

Federal office held in November 2020 and make recommendations to Congress to improve the security, integrity, and administration of Federal elections, 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. ESTABLISHMENT. 

4 There is established in the legislative branch the 

5 Election Integrity Commission (referred to in this Act as 

6 the ‘‘Commission’’). 


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1 SEC. 2. MEMBERSHIP. 

2 (a) COMPOSITION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

4 composed of 18 members as follows: 

5 (A) 3 shall be Members of the House of 

6 Representatives from the majority party of the 

7 House who represent a congressional district in 

8 a State described in paragraph (2), who shall 

9 be appointed by the Speaker of the House. 

10 (B) 3 shall be Members of the House of 

11 Representatives from the minority party of the 

12 House who represent a congressional district in 

13 a State described in paragraph (2), who shall 

14 be appointed by the minority leader of the 

15 House. 

16 (C) 3 shall be Senators from the majority 

17 party of the Senate who represent a State de18 scribed in paragraph (2), who shall be ap19 pointed by the majority leader of the Senate. 

20 (D) 3 shall be Senators from the minority 

21 party of the Senate who represent a State de22 scribed in paragraph (2), who shall be ap23 pointed by the minority leader of the Senate. 

24 (E) 6 individuals who are State or local 

25 election officials, of whom— 


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1 (i) 3 shall be appointed jointly by the 

2 majority leader of the House and the ma3 jority leader of the Senate; and 

4 (ii) 3 shall be appointed jointly by the 

5 minority leader of the House and the mi6 nority leader of the Senate. 

7 (2) STATES DESCRIBED.—A State described in 

8 this paragraph is a State in which the winning can9 didate for the office of President in the November 

10 2020 general election won by a margin of 1.5 per11 centage points or less. 

12 (b) CO-CHAIRS.—Two of the members of the Com13 mission shall serve as Co-Chairs, of whom— 

14 (1) one shall be designated jointly by the leader 

15 of the Senate (majority or minority leader, as the 

16 case may be) of the Republican Party and the leader 

17 of the House of Representatives (majority or minor18 ity leader, as case may be) of the Republican Party; 

19 and 

20 (2) one shall be designated jointly by the leader 

21 of the Senate (majority or minority leader, as the 

22 case may be) of the Democratic Party and the leader 

23 of the House of Representatives (majority or minor24 ity leader, as case may be) of the Democratic Party. 


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1 (c) DATE.—The appointments of the members of the 

2 Commission shall be made not later than 90 days after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (d) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para6 graph (2), a member of the Commission shall be ap7 pointed for the duration of the Commission. 

8 (2) REMOVAL.—A member may be removed 

9 from the Commission at any time at the upon con10 currence of both of the Co-Chairs of the Commis11 sion. 

12 (3) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commis13 sion— 

14 (A) shall not affect the powers of the Com15 mission; and 

16 (B) shall be filled in the same manner as 

17 the original appointment. 

18 (e) NO COMPENSATION.—The members of the Com19 mission may not receive pay or benefits from the United 

20 States Government by reason of their service on the Com21 mission, but may receive travel expenses, including per 

22 diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable 

23 provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, 

24 United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 3. DUTIES. 

2 (a) STUDY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall, con4 sistent with applicable law, study the integrity and 

5 administration of the general election for Federal of6 fice held in November 2020 and make recommenda7 tions to Congress to improve the security, integrity, 

8 and administration of Federal elections. 

9 (2) MATTERS STUDIED.—The matters studied 

10 by the Commission shall include— 

11 (A) the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic 

12 on the administration of the general election for 

13 Federal office held in November 2020; 

14 (B) the election practices adopted by Fed15 eral, State, and local governments in response 

16 to the COVID–19 pandemic, including— 

17 (i) practices that undermined the se18 curity and integrity of the election; and 

19 (ii) practices that strengthened the se20 curity and integrity of the election; 

21 (C) the laws, rules, policies, activities, 

22 strategies, and practices regarding mail-in bal23 lots, absentee ballots, and vote-by-mail proce24 dures, including— 

25 (i) measures that undermined the se26 curity and integrity of the election; and 


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1 (ii) measures that strengthened the 

2 security and integrity of the election; 

3 (D) any laws, rules, policies, activities, 

4 strategies, and practices that were inconsistent 

5 with or in violation of established State law and 

6 resulted in irregularities in the casting of bal7 lots in the election; and 

8 (E) any laws, rules, policies, activities, 

9 strategies, and practices that were inconsistent 

10 with or in violation of established State law and 

11 resulted in irregularities in voter registration 

12 for the election. 

13 (b) REPORTS.— 

14 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

16 Commission shall submit to the Election Assistance 

17 Commission and the appropriate Congressional com18 mittees a report on the matters studied under sub19 section (a). Such report shall include— 

20 (A) precinct-by-precinct data highlighting 

21 the number and incidence of any irregularities 

22 in the casting of ballots in the election; and 

23 (B) precinct-by-precinct data highlighting 

24 the number and incidence of any irregularities 

25 in voter registration for the election. 


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1 (2) FINAL REPORT; RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

4 Commission shall submit to the Election Assist5 ance Commission and the appropriate Congres6 sional committees a final report on the matters 

7 studied under subsection (a), and shall include 

8 in such report recommendations on the fol9 lowing: 

10 (i) The best practices that should be 

11 adopted by at each level of local, State, 

12 and Federal Government for administering 

13 elections for Federal office— 

14 (I) during the COVID–19 pan15 demic; and 

16 (II) during other national emer17 gencies. 

18 (ii) The best practices that should be 

19 adopted at each level of local, State, and 

20 Federal Government to increase the integ21 rity and security of mail-in ballots, absen22 tee ballots, and vote-by-mail procedures. 

23 (iii) The best practices that should be 

24 adopted at each level of local, State, and 


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1 Federal Government to prevent irregular2 ities in the casting of ballots. 

3 (iv) The best practices that should be 

4 adopted at each level of local, State, and 

5 Federal Government to prevent irregular6 ities in voter registration. 

7 (B) MINORITY VIEWS.—In the case of any 

8 recommendation with respect to which one-third 

9 or more of the Committee does not concur, the 

10 report shall include a justification for why such 

11 members do not concur. 

12 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT13 TEES.—For purposes of this subsection, the term 

14 ‘‘appropriate Congressional Committees’’ means— 

15 (A) the Committee on Rules and Adminis16 tration of the Senate; 

17 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

18 Senate; 

19 (C) the Committee on House Administra20 tion of the House of Representatives; and 

21 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

22 House of Representatives. 

23 SEC. 4. POWERS. 

24 (a) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Commission 

25 may, for the purpose of carrying out this Act, hold hearVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H607.IH H607

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1 ings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and 

2 receive evidence as the Commission considers appropriate. 

3 The Commission may administer oaths or affirmations to 

4 witnesses appearing before it. 

5 (b) POWERS OF MEMBERS AND AGENTS.—Any mem6 ber or agent of the Commission may, if authorized by the 

7 Commission, take any action which the Commission is au8 thorized to take by this section. 

9 (c) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

10 may secure directly from any department or agency of the 

11 United States information necessary to enable it to carry 

12 out this Act. Upon request of the chair or the staff direc13 tor of the Commission, the chair of any subcommittee cre14 ated by a majority of the Commission, or any member des15 ignated by a majority of the Commission, the head of that 

16 department or agency shall furnish that information to the 

17 Commission. 

18 (d) GIFTS, BEQUESTS, AND DEVISES.—The Commis19 sion may accept, use, and dispose of gifts, bequests, or 

20 devises of services or property, both real and personal, for 

21 the purpose of aiding or facilitating the work of the Com22 mission. 

23 (e) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

24 States mails in the same manner and under the same conVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H607.IH H607

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1 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

2 States. 

3 (f) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SERVICES.—Upon the 

4 request of the Commission, the Architect of the Capitol 

5 shall provide to the Commission, on a reimbursable basis, 

6 the administrative support services necessary for the Com7 mission to carry out its responsibilities under this Act. 

8 (g) SUBPOENA POWER.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may issue 

10 subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of 

11 witnesses and the production of any evidence relat12 ing to any matter which the Commission is empow13 ered to investigate under this Act. The attendance of 

14 witnesses and the production of evidence may be re15 quired from any place within the United States at 

16 any designated place of hearing within the United 

17 States. 

18 (2) FAILURE TO OBEY A SUBPOENA.—If a per19 son refuses to obey a subpoena issued under para20 graph (1), the Commission may apply to a United 

21 States district court for an order requiring that per22 son to appear before the Commission to give testi23 mony, produce evidence, or both, relating to the 

24 matter under investigation. The application may be 

25 made within the judicial district where the hearing 


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1 is conducted or where that person is found, resides, 

2 or transacts business. Any failure to obey the order 

3 of the court may be punished by the court as civil 

4 contempt. 

5 (3) SERVICE OF SUBPOENAS.—The subpoenas 

6 of the Commission shall be served in the manner 

7 provided for subpoenas issued by a United States 

8 district court under the Federal Rules of Civil Pro9 cedure for the United States district courts. 

10 (4) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—All process of any 

11 court to which application is made under paragraph 

12 (2) may be served in the judicial district in which 

13 the person required to be served resides or may be 

14 found. 

15 (h) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Commission may 

16 contract with and compensate government and private 

17 agencies or persons to enable the Commission to discharge 

18 its duties under this Act. 

19 SEC. 5. PERSONNEL MATTERS. 

20 (a) STAFF.—The Co-Chairs of the Commission may 

21 appoint and fix the compensation of such staff as may be 

22 appropriate to enable the Commission to carry out its du23 ties, without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter III of 

24 chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to clas25 sification of positions and General Schedule pay rates, exVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:49 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H607.IH H607

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1 cept that the rate of pay for the staff may not exceed the 

2 rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under 

3 section 5316 of that title. 

4 (b) STAFF OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Upon request 

5 of the Commission, the head of any Federal department 

6 or agency may detail, on a nonreimbursable basis, any of 

7 the personnel of that department or agency to the Com8 mission to assist it in carrying out its duties under this 

9 Act. 

10 (c) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Commission 

11 is authorized to procure temporary and intermittent serv12 ices under section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, 

13 but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equiva14 lent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay under level 

15 IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 

16 5, United States Code. 

17 (d) USE OF EXISTING STAFF.—Notwithstanding the 

18 previous provisions of this section, to the greatest extent 

19 practicable and consistent with applicable laws, rules, and 

20 regulations, the Commission is encouraged to carry out 

21 its functions utilizing the services of existing staff of of22 fices of the legislative branch. 

23 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap25 propriated $1,000,000 to carry out this Act, of which— 


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1 (1) 50 percent shall be derived from the appli2 cable accounts of the House of Representatives; and 

3 (2) 50 percent shall be derived from the contin4 gent fund of the Senate. 

5 (b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds 

6 appropriated pursuant to the authorization under this sec7 tion shall remain available until expended. 

8 SEC. 7. TERMINATION; NONAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL 

9 ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT. 

10 (a) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

11 30 days after the date on which it submits the final report 

12 required under section 3(b)(2). 

13 (b) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA.—The Federal Ad14 visory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to 

15 the Commission. 

Æ 


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