[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 542 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 542

   To promote international exchanges on best election practices, to 
cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                March 2 (legislative day, March 1), 2021

 Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To promote international exchanges on best election practices, to 
cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 ``Global Electoral Exchange Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) recent elections globally have illustrated the urgent 
        need for the promotion and exchange of international best 
        election practices, particularly in the areas of cybersecurity, 
        results transmission, transparency of electoral data, election 
        dispute resolution, and the elimination of discriminatory 
        registration practices and other electoral irregularities;
            (2) the advancement of democracy worldwide promotes United 
        States interests, as stable democracies provide new market 
        opportunities, improve global health outcomes, and promote 
        economic freedom and regional security;
            (3) credible elections are the cornerstone of a healthy 
        democracy and enable all persons to exercise their basic human 
        right to have a say in how they are governed;
            (4) inclusive elections strengthen the credibility and 
        stability of democracies more broadly;
            (5) at the heart of a strong election cycle is the 
        professionalism of the election management body and an 
        empowered civil society;
            (6) the development of local expertise via peer-to-peer 
        learning and exchanges promotes the independence of such bodies 
        from internal and external influence; and
            (7) supporting the efforts of peoples in democratizing 
        societies to build more representative governments in their 
        respective countries is in the national interest of the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State is authorized to establish 
and administer a Global Electoral Exchange Program (referred to in this 
section as the ``Program'') to promote the utilization of sound 
election administration practices around the world.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Program shall include the 
promotion and exchange of international best election practices, 
including in the areas of--
            (1) cybersecurity;
            (2) the protection of election systems against influence 
        campaigns;
            (3) results transmission;
            (4) transparency of electoral data;
            (5) election dispute resolution;
            (6) the elimination of discriminatory registration 
        practices and electoral irregularities;
            (7) inclusive and equitable promotion of candidate 
        participation;
            (8) equitable access to polling places, voter education 
        information, and voting mechanisms (including by persons with 
        disabilities); and
            (9) other sound election administration practices.
    (c) Exchange of Electoral Authorities.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in consultation, 
        as appropriate, with the United States Agency for International 
        Development, may award grants to any United States-based 
        organization that--
                    (A) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the 
                Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under 
                section 501(a) of such Code;
                    (B) has experience in, and a primary focus on, 
                foreign comparative election systems or subject matter 
                expertise in the administration or integrity of such 
                systems; and
                    (C) submits an application in such form, and 
                satisfying such requirements, as the Secretary may 
                require.
            (2) Types of grants.--An organization described in 
        paragraph (1) may receive a grant under this subsection to 
        design and implement programs that--
                    (A) bring to the United States election 
                administrators and officials, including government 
                officials, poll workers, civil society representatives, 
                members of the judiciary, and others who participate in 
                the organization and administration of public elections 
                in a foreign country that faces challenges to its 
                electoral process to study election procedures in the 
                United States for educational purposes; or
                    (B) take election administrators and officials of 
                the United States or of another country, including 
                government officials, poll workers, civil society 
                representatives, members of the judiciary, and others 
                who participate in the organization and administration 
                of public elections to another country to study and 
                discuss election procedures in such country for 
                educational purposes.
            (3) Limits on activities.--Activities administered under 
        the Program may not--
                    (A) include observation of an election for the 
                purposes of assessing the validity or legitimacy of 
                that election;
                    (B) facilitate any advocacy for a certain electoral 
                result by a grantee when participating in the Program; 
                or
                    (C) be carried out without proper consultation with 
                State and local authorities in the United States that 
                administer elections.
            (4) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Secretary of State should establish and maintain a network 
        of Global Electoral Exchange Program alumni, to promote 
        communication and further exchange of information regarding 
        sound election administration practices among current and 
        former Program participants.
            (5) Limitation.--A recipient of a grant under the Program 
        may only use such grant for the purpose for which such grant 
        was awarded, unless otherwise authorized by the Secretary of 
        State.
            (6) Nonduplicative.--Grants made under this subsection may 
        not be duplicative of any other grants made under any other 
        provision of law for similar or related purposes.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026 
to carry out this section.

SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act 
and annually thereafter for the following 2 years, the Secretary of 
State shall provide a briefing to the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives regarding the status of any activities carried out 
under section 3 during the preceding year, which shall include--
            (1) a summary of all exchanges conducted under the Global 
        Electoral Exchange Program, including information regarding 
        grantees, participants, and the locations where program 
        activities were held;
            (2) a description of the criteria used to select grantees 
        under the Global Electoral Exchange Program; and
            (3) recommendations for the improvement of the Global 
        Electoral Exchange Program in furtherance of the purpose 
        specified in section 3(b).
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