[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6379-S6380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 3297. Mr. SCHUMER (for Mr. McConnell) proposed an amendment to the 
bill 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 elections; as follows:

        Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
     following:

     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' 
     constitutional authority to observe congressional 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 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 
     designated congressional election observer may handle a 
     ballot or election equipment (whether voting or nonvoting or 
     whether tabulating or nontabulating), 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 interfere 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 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 congressional 
     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 
     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 designated 
     congressional 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 election 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

[[Page S6380]]

     `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 
     successor 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.
       ``(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.''.

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