,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cfie  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,november #bi1 
#bjah,ms4 ,klobuchar 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,sullivan7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was read twice and referred
 to the ,committee on ,foreign          
,relations  ,a ,,bill  ,to promote      
international exchanges on best election
 practices1 cultivate more secure       
democratic institutions around the      
world1 and for other purposes4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,global ,electoral ,exchange ,act4  
#b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense
 of ,congress that--  7#a7 recent       
elections globally have illustrated the 
urgent need for the promotion and       
exchange of international best election 
practices1 particularly in the areas of 
cybersecurity1 results transmission1    
transparency of electoral data1 election
 dispute resolution1 and the elimination
 of discriminatory registration         
practices and other electoral           

irregularities2  7#b7 the advancement of
 democracy worldwide promotes ,american 
interests1 as stable democracies provide
 new market opportunities1 improve      
global health outcomes1 and promote     
economic freedom and regional security2 
7#c7 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 governed2  7#d7 inclusive      
elections strengthen the credibility and
 stability of democracies more broadly1 
as democratic institutions flourish when
 representative of all groups of        
society2  7#e7 at the heart of a strong 
election cycle is the professionalism of
 the election management body and an    
empowered civil society2 and  7#f7 the  
development of local expertise via      
peer-to-peer learning and exchanges     
promotes the independence of such bodies
 from internal and external influence4  
#c4 ,global ,electoral ,exchange  7a7   
,global ,electoral ,exchange ,the       

,secretary of ,state shall establish and
 administer a ,global ,electoral        
,exchange ,program to promote the       
utilization of sound election           
administration practices in the ,united 
,states and foreign countries4  7b7     
,purposes ,the purposes of the ,global  
,electoral ,exchange ,program described 
in subsection 7a7 shall include the     
promotion and exchange of international 
best election practices1 including in   
the areas of cybersecurity1 results     
transmission1 transparency of electoral 
data1 election dispute resolution1 the  
elimination of discriminatory           
registration practices and electoral    
irregularities1 and other sound election
 administration practices4  7c7         
,exchange of electoral authorities  7#a7
 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,state  
may1 in consultation1 as appropriate1   
with the ,united ,states ,agency for    
,international ,development and         
regionally focused independent agencies1
 make grants to any ,united             

,states-based organization described in 
section #eja7;c77#c7 of the ,internal   
,revenue ,code of #aihf and exempt from 
tax under section #eja7;a7 of such ,code
 with experience in comparative election
 systems or subject matter expertise in 
the areas of election administration or 
electoral integrity that submits an     
application in such form1 and satisfying
 such requirements1 as the ,secretary   
may require4  7#b7 ,types of grants ,an 
organization described in paragraph 7#a7
 may receive a grant for one or more of 
the following purposes3  7,a7 ,to design
 and implement programs bringing        
election administrators and officials1  
including government officials1 polling 
workers1 civil society representatives1 
members of the judiciary1 and others who
 participate in the organization and    
administration of an election in a      
foreign country to the ,united ,states  
to study election procedures in the     
,united ,states for educational         
purposes4  7,b7 ,to design and implement

 programs taking ,united ,states or     
another country's election              
administrators and officials1 including 
government officials1 polling workers1  
civil society representatives1 members  
of the judiciary1 and others who        
participate in the organization and     
administration of elections for public  
office in the ,united ,states or such   
other countries to foreign countries to 
study election procedures in such       
countries for educational purposes4     
7#c7 ,limits on activities ,activities  
administered under the ,global          
,electoral ,exchange ,program may not-- 
7,a7 include election observation for   
the purposes of discussing the validity 
or legitimacy of an election2 or  7,b7  
facilitate any advocacy for a certain   
electoral result by a grantee when      
participating in the ,program4  7#d7    
,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

 alumni1 to promote communication and   
further exchange of information         
regarding sound election administration 
practices among current and former      
program participants4  7#e7 ,further    
limits ,a recipient of a grant under the
 ,global ,electoral ,exchange ,program  
may use such grant for only the purpose 
for which such grant was awarded1 unless
 otherwise authorized by the ,secretary 
of ,state4  7#f7 ,not duplicative       
,grants made under this subsection may  
not be duplicative of any other grants  
made under any other provision of law   
for similar or related purposes4  #d4   
,congressional oversight ,not later than
 one year after the date of the         
enactment of this ,act and in each of   
the following two years thereafter1 the 
,secretary of ,state shall provide to   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs and 
the ,committee on ,rules of the ,house  
of ,representatives and the ,committee  
on ,foreign ,relations and the          
,committee on ,rules and ,administration

 of the ,senate a briefing on the status
 of any activities carried out pursuant 
to this ,act during the preceding year1 
which shall include1 among other        
information1 the following elements3    
7#a7 ,a summary of all exchanges        
conducted under the ,global ,electoral  
,exchange ,program1 including           
information regarding grantees1         
participants1 and the locations where   
program activities were held4  7#b7 ,a  
description of the criteria used to     
select grantees under the ,global       
,electoral ,exchange ,program4  7#c7    
,any recommendations for the improvement
 of the ,global ,electoral ,exchange    
,program1 based on the purposes         
specified in section #c7;b74