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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Citizen Legislature 
Anti-Corruption Reform of Elections Act’’ or the 
‘‘CLEAN Elections Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REQUIRING USE OF INDEPENDENT NONPARTISAN 
COMMISSIONS 
TO 
CARRY 
OUT 
REDIS-
TRICTING. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.— 
(1) 
CONGRESSIONAL
REDISTRICTING.—Each 
State shall conduct Congressional redistricting (be-
ginning with the redistricting carried out pursuant 
to the decennial census conducted during 2020) in 
accordance with a redistricting plan developed by a 
nonpartisan independent redistricting commission. 
(2) REDISTRICTING
FOR
STATE
LEGISLATIVE 
DISTRICTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, a State may not use any funds provided by the 
Federal Government directly for election administra-
tion purposes unless the State certifies to the Elec-
tion Assistance Commission that the State conducts 
redistricting for State legislative districts in the 
State (beginning with the first such redistricting 
carried out after the date of the enactment of this 
Act) in accordance with a redistricting plan devel-
oped by a nonpartisan independent redistricting 
commission. 
(b) NONPARTISAN
INDEPENDENT
STATUS.—For 
purposes of this section, a commission shall be considered 
to be a nonpartisan independent commission if— 
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(1) the number of its members who are affili-
ated with the political party with the largest percent-
age of the registered voters in the State who are af-
filiated with a political party (as determined with re-
spect to the most recent Statewide election for Fed-
eral office held in the State for which such informa-
tion is available) is equal to the number of its mem-
bers who are affiliated with the political party with 
the second largest percentage of the registered vot-
ers in the State who are affiliated with a political 
party (as so determined); and 
(2) none of its members is an elected public of-
ficial. 
(c) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘State’’ means each of the several States. 
SEC. 3. REQUIRING OPEN PRIMARIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE.—Each 
State shall hold open primaries for elections for Fed-
eral office held in the State. 
(2) ELECTIONS
FOR
STATE
AND
LOCAL
OF-
FICE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
a State may not use any funds provided by the Fed-
eral Government directly for election administration 
purposes unless the State certifies to the Election 
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Assistance Commission that the State holds open 
primaries for elections for State and local office. 
(b) OPEN PRIMARIES DESCRIBED.—For purposes of 
this section, a State holds open primaries for an election 
for an office if any individual who is registered to vote 
in a general election for such office in the State may cast 
a ballot in any primary election (including a primary elec-
tion held for the selection of delegates to a national nomi-
nating convention of a political party and a primary elec-
tion held for the expression of a preference for the nomina-
tion of individuals for election to the office of President) 
held by any political party to nominate candidates for elec-
tion for that office, including a convention or caucus of 
a political party which has authority to nominate a can-
didate. 
(c) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in section 901 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141). 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 
with respect to elections held after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
Æ 
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