H. R. 6513 
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress 
of the 
United States of America 
AT THE SECOND SESSION 
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-four 
An Act 
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 Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Confirmation Of Congressional 
Observer Access Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘COCOA Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. ACCESS FOR CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OBSERVERS. 
(a) ACCESS REQUIRED.—Title III of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 
(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 OBSERVERS. 
‘‘(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 Constitution 
of the United States. Procedures described herein do not establish 
any new authorities or procedures with respect to Congress’ con-
stitutional authority to observe congressional elections but are pro-
vided 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 congressional election observer 
for an election for Federal office with full access to clearly 
observe all elements of election administration procedures, 
including, but not limited to, access to any area in which 
a ballot is cast, processed, scanned, tabulated, canvassed, 
recounted, audited, or certified, including during pre- and post- 
election procedures. 
‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS ON ACTIVITIES OF OBSERVERS.—No des-
ignated congressional election observer may handle a ballot 
or election equipment (whether voting or nonvoting or whether
H. R. 6513—2 
tabulating or nontabulating), advocate for any position or can-
didate, 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 adminis-
trator’s duties, or otherwise interfere with the election adminis-
tration process. 
‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall 
prohibit a designated congressional election observer from 
asking questions of an election administrator, election official, 
or election worker, or any other State or local official. 
‘‘(c) CONDUCT OF OBSERVERS.— 
‘‘(1) REMOVAL.— 
‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION REMOVAL BY ELECTION OFFICIAL.— 
If a State or local election official has a reasonable basis 
to believe that a designated congressional election observer 
has engaged in or imminently will engage in intimidation 
or deceptive practices prohibited by Federal law, or in 
the disruption of voting, processing, scanning, tabulating, 
canvassing, or recounting of ballots, or the certification 
of results, a State or local election official may remove 
that observer from the area involved. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE TO COMMITTEE.—If a designated congres-
sional election observer is removed from an area under 
subparagraph (A), the election official shall, within 24 
hours of the observer’s removal— 
‘‘(i) inform the chair and ranking minority member 
of the Committee on House Administration of the 
House of Representatives or the Committee on Rules 
and Administration of the Senate, as applicable; and 
‘‘(ii) provide written notice detailing the reason 
or reasons the designated congressional election 
observer was removed. 
‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of this sub-
section, the mere presence of a designated congressional election 
observer during an observation of election administration proce-
dures, 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 designated congres-
sional election observer is properly removed under paragraph 
(1)(A), the chair or ranking 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 elec-
tion observer as a replacement for the remaining duration 
of the observation of election administration procedures. 
‘‘(d) 
DESIGNATED
CONGRESSIONAL
ELECTION
OBSERVER 
DESCRIBED.—In this section, a ‘designated congressional election 
observer’ is a House or Senate employee who is designated in 
writing by the chair or ranking minority member of the Committee 
on House Administration of the House of Representatives or the 
Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, or a suc-
cessor committee, to gather information with respect to an election, 
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.
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‘‘(e) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘State’ means 
each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO ENFORCEMENT.— 
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 sections 304 
and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 306; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the 
following: 
‘‘Sec. 304. Confirming access for congressional election observers.’’. 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.