S.Amdt. 217

SA 217. Ms. KLOBUCHAR submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by her to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title XII, insert the
following:

SEC. 12___. GLOBAL ELECTORAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM.

(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Global
Electoral Exchange Act''.

[[Page S2395]]

(b) 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.
(c) Establishment.--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.
(d) 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.
(e) Exchange of Electoral Authorities.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State, in consultation,
as appropriate, with the Administrator of 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.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2024 through 2028 to carry out this section.
(g) 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 this section during the preceding year,
including--
(1) a summary of all exchanges conducted under the 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 Program; and
(3) recommendations for the improvement of the Program in
furtherance of the purpose specified in subsection (d).
______