I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9779 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to confirm the requirement 
that States allow access to designated congressional election observers 
to observe the election administration procedures in congressional elec-
tions. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 
Mr. CAREY (for himself, Mr. STEIL, and Mr. MORELLE) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to confirm 
the requirement that States allow access to designated 
congressional election observers to observe the election 
administration procedures in congressional elections. 
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 ‘‘Confirmation Of Con-
gressional Observer Access Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘COCOA 
Act of 2024’’. 
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SEC. 2. ACCESS FOR CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OBSERV-
ERS. 
(a) ACCESS REQUIRED.—Title III of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating section 304 and 305 as 
sections 305 and 306; and 
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 304. ACCESS FOR CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OB-
SERVERS. 
‘‘(a) FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.— 
Congress finds that, regardless of legislative action, it has 
the authority to send congressional election observers to 
observe polling locations, any location where processing, 
scanning, tabulating, canvassing, recounting, auditing, or 
certifying voting results is occurring, or any other part 
of the process associated with elections for Federal office 
under the authorities granted under article 1, section 5, 
clause 1 and article 1, section 4, clause 1 of the Constitu-
tion of the United States. Procedures described herein do 
not establish any new authorities or procedures with re-
spect to Congress’ constitutional authority to observe con-
gressional elections but are provided simply to permit a 
convenient statutory reference for existing congressional 
authority and activity. 
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‘‘(b) REQUIRING STATES TO PROVIDE ACCESS FOR 
OBSERVERS.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—A State shall provide 
each individual who is acting as a designated con-
gressional election observer for an election for Fed-
eral office with full access to clearly observe all ele-
ments of election administration procedures, includ-
ing, but not limited to, access to any area in which 
a ballot is cast, processed, scanned, tabulated, can-
vassed, recounted, audited, or certified, including 
during pre- and post-election procedures. 
‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS ON ACTIVITIES OF OBSERV-
ERS.—No designated congressional election observer 
may handle a ballot or election equipment (whether 
voting or nonvoting or whether tabulating or nontab-
ulating), advocate for any position or candidate, take 
any action to reduce ballot secrecy or voter privacy, 
take any action to interfere with the ability of a 
voter to cast a ballot or an election administrator to 
carry the administrator’s duties, or otherwise inter-
fere with the election administration process. 
‘‘(3) RULE
OF
CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 
this section shall prohibit a designated congressional 
election observer from asking questions of an elec-
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tion administrator, election official, or election work-
er, or any other State or local official. 
‘‘(c) CONDUCT OF OBSERVERS.— 
‘‘(1) REMOVAL.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION REMOVAL BY ELEC-
TION OFFICIAL.—If a State or local election of-
ficial has a reasonable basis to believe that a 
designated congressional election observer has 
engaged in or imminently will engage in intimi-
dation or deceptive practices prohibited by Fed-
eral law, or in the disruption of voting, proc-
essing, scanning, tabulating, canvassing, or re-
counting of ballots, or the certification of re-
sults, a State or local election official may re-
move that observer from the area involved. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE TO COMMITTEE.—If a des-
ignated congressional election observer is re-
moved from an area under subparagraph (A), 
the election official shall, within 24 hours of the 
observer’s removal— 
‘‘(i) inform the chair and ranking mi-
nority member of the Committee on House 
Administration of the House of Represent-
atives or the Committee on Rules and Ad-
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ministration of the Senate, as applicable; 
and 
‘‘(ii) provide written notice detailing 
the reason or reasons the designated con-
gressional election observer was removed. 
‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes 
of this subsection, the mere presence of a designated 
congressional election observer during an observation 
of election administration procedures, without any 
additional indicia supporting a reasonable basis for 
removal, is not a sufficient reason for removal under 
paragraph (1)(A). 
‘‘(3) RIGHT TO REPLACE OBSERVER.—If a des-
ignated congressional election observer is properly 
removed under paragraph (1)(A), the chair or rank-
ing minority member of the Committee on House 
Administration of the House of Representatives or 
the Committee on Rules and Administration of the 
Senate, as appropriate, may send another designated 
congressional election observer as a replacement for 
the remaining duration of the observation of election 
administration procedures. 
‘‘(d) DESIGNATED CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OB-
SERVER DESCRIBED.—In this section, a ‘designated con-
gressional election observer’ is a House or Senate em-
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ployee who is designated in writing by the chair or ranking 
minority member of the Committee on House Administra-
tion of the House of Representatives or the Committee on 
Rules and Administration of the Senate, or a successor 
committee, to gather information with respect to an elec-
tion, including in the event that the election is contested 
in the House of Representatives or the Senate and for 
other purposes permitted by article 1, section 5, clause 
1 and article 1, section 4, clause 1 of the Constitution 
of the United States. 
‘‘(e) STATE DEFINED.—In this section ‘State’ means 
each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Is-
lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN-
FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 
is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘303, and 
304’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 
306; and 
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(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 303 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Confirming access for congressional election observers.’’. 
Æ 
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