I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 6513 
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 
NOVEMBER 30, 2023 
Mr. CAREY (for himself, Mr. MORELLE, and Mr. STEIL) 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; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Confirmation Of Congressional Observer Access Act of 
2023’’ or the ‘‘COCOA Act of 2023’’. 
(b) FINDINGS RELATING TO CONGRESSIONAL ELEC-
TION OBSERVERS.—Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Dec 06, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6513.IH
H6513
dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS
(1) Article 1, section 5, clause 1 of the Con-
stitution grants Congress the authority to ‘‘be the 
Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications 
of its own Members’’. 
(2) The House of Representatives serves as the 
final arbiter over any contest to the seating of any 
putative Member-elect. 
(3) Congress has exercised this authority—and 
responsibility—since our Nation’s very beginning, 
from the First Congress through the One Hundred 
Eighteenth Congress. Over our history, election con-
tests have remained a normal and regular part of 
the biennial process for electing, recognizing, and 
seating new Members. Although Congress has opted 
to revise the statutory framework by which it con-
siders election contests, consideration of such con-
tests has been a regular and recurring part of Con-
gress’ constitutional prerogatives and work. For ex-
ample, across our Nation’s history, more than ap-
proximately 610 elections have been contested in the 
House—an average of more than 5 per Congress. 
Indeed, even discounting the Reconstruction period 
and its surge in election contests, there have been 
110 contested election cases considered in the House 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Dec 06, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6513.IH
H6513
dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS
‘‘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. 
‘‘(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-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Dec 06, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6513.IH
H6513
dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS
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-
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-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Dec 06, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6513.IH
H6513
dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS
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— 
‘‘(i) inform the chair and ranking mi-
nority member of the Committee on House 
Administration of the House of Represent-
atives; 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 
subparagraph (A). 
‘‘(3) RIGHT TO REPLACE OBSERVER.—If a des-
ignated congressional election observer is properly 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Dec 06, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6513.IH
H6513
dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS
removed under subparagraph (A), the chair or rank-
ing minority member of the Committee on House 
Administration of the House of Representatives, as 
appropriate, may send another designated congres-
sional election observer as a replacement for the re-
maining duration of the observation of election ad-
ministration procedures. 
‘‘(4) 
CLARIFICATION
REGARDING
APPLICA-
BILITY OF CODE OF OFFICIAL CONDUCT.—It is the 
sense of Congress that, because the Code of Official 
Conduct for the House of Representatives (rule 
XXIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives) 
requires all employees of the House to behave at all 
times in a manner that reflects creditably on the 
House, an employee of the House who serves as a 
designated congressional election observer is subject 
to the Code of Official Conduct in the employee’s 
role as such an observer. 
‘‘(d) DESIGNATED CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OB-
SERVER DESCRIBED.—In this section, a ‘designated con-
gressional election observer’ is a House employee (as con-
templated by the Rules of the House of Representatives) 
who is designated in writing by the chair or ranking mi-
nority member of the Committee on House Administration 
of the House of Representatives, or the successor com-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Dec 06, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H6513.IH
H6513
dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS
mittee, to gather information with respect to an election, 
including in the event that the election is contested in the 
House of Representatives and for other purposes per-
mitted by article 1, section 5, clause 1 and article 1, sec-
tion 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 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 303 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Confirming access for congressional election observers.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
02:43 Dec 06, 2023
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H6513.IH
H6513
dmwilson on DSKJM0X7X2PROD with BILLS