H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act

H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act

July 19, 2023
H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act
H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE)
Major Provisions
Act, proposes substantial changes to federal election
The following subsections summarize some of the major
administration and campaign finance law. The Committee
provisions of the ACE Act. Congressional clients may
on House Administration (CHA) ordered the bill to be
contact the authors of this In Focus for more information.
reported, as amended, on July 13, 2023.
Election Administration
CHA and its Subcommittee on Elections held a series of
There are two sections of the ACE Act that each address a
hearings in the 118th Congress leading up to introduction of
range of elections issues. First, one section of the bill would
the bill, including a joint hearing with the House Committee
direct the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC’s)
on Oversight and Accountability:
Standards Board and Local Leadership Council (LLC) to
issue voluntary considerations for states about various
• CHA Subcommittee on Elections, 2022 Midterms Look
aspects of election administration, from voter registration
Back Series: Successes in the 2022 Midterm Elections,
list maintenance to mail voting to post-election audits. The
March 10, 2023;
EAC was created by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
•
to help state and local officials improve election
CHA Subcommittee on Elections, 2022 Midterms Look
administration and voters participate in the electoral
Back Series: Election Observer Access, March 23, 2023;
process. Its Standards Board and LLC are advisory bodies
• CHA, 2022 Midterms Look Back Series: Government
made up of state and local election officials and of local
Voter Suppression in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania,
election officials, respectively.
March 28, 2023;
•
Second, another section would set various requirements for
CHA, American Confidence in Elections: State Tools to
the administration of elections in the District of Columbia
Promote Voter Confidence, April 27, 2023;
(DC). That section would codify or establish requirements
• CHA, American Confidence in Elections: Protecting
for voter identification in DC elections; voter registration
Political Speech, May 11, 2023;
deadlines and list maintenance; election results reporting;
•
provisional voting; post-election audits; election observer
CHA Subcommittee on Elections, American Confidence
access; early voting; and mail ballot deadlines, drop boxes,
in Elections: Ensuring Every Eligible American has the
transmission, collection, and signature verification. It would
Opportunity to Vote—and for their Vote to Count
also prohibit DC from permitting noncitizens to vote in its
According to Law, May 24, 2023;
elections or using ranked choice voting.
• CHA and House Committee on Oversight and
Accountability, American Confidence in Elections: The
Some aspects of election administration covered by those
Path to Election Integrity in the District of Columbia,
two sections of the bill are also a focus of other sections.
June 7, 2023;
Issues that appear in multiple other provisions include the
following:
• CHA, American Confidence in Elections: The Role of
the Election Assistance Commission in Free, Fair, and
• Election systems and security. The EAC, with support
Secure Elections, June 14, 2023; and
from the National Institute of Standards and Technology
• CHA, American Confidence in Elections: The Path to
(NIST), issues voluntary federal guidelines for voting
Election Integrity Across America, July 10, 2023.
systems and oversees testing and certification of systems
to the guidelines. The ACE Act would direct the EAC to
A version of this legislation introduced in the 117th
issue similar guidelines for nonvoting election systems,
Congress (H.R. 8528) did not advance beyond introduction.
such as electronic poll books, and NIST to report on its
In the 116th and 117th Congresses, under the previous
work supporting the EAC. The bill would also explicitly
majority, another broad-based elections bill—the For the
authorize use of certain HAVA funding for specified
People Act of 2019 (H.R. 1) and 2021 (H.R. 1)—was
post-election audits and provide for information-sharing
introduced and passed by the House.
about election security threats, voluntary testing of
election systems for cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and a
This In Focus provides an overview of the version of the
study of domestic production of voting equipment.
ACE Act in the 118th Congress. For a similar overview of
• Noncitizen voting. Noncitizens are prohibited by
the 117th Congress version of the For the People Act, see
federal law from voting in federal elections; that
CRS In Focus IF11097, H.R. 1 and S. 1: Overview and
prohibition does not extend to state and local elections,
Related CRS Products, coordinated by R. Sam Garrett.
and some localities allow noncitizens to vote in local
contests. The ACE Act would require those localities or
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H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act
their states to maintain separate voter registration lists
activities, including exclusive authority to develop
for noncitizens and separate ballots for elections in
voluntary guidelines for election systems, and assign it
which noncitizens are allowed to vote, prohibit them
primary federal jurisdiction over issues related to election
from using federal funding to implement those
administration. The bill would also address the agency’s
requirements, and reduce their share of any HAVA
operations, including by reauthorizing its operational
funding Congress provides by 30%. The bill would also
funding and limiting the size of its staff.
reiterate the prohibition on noncitizen voting in federal
elections and implement various measures to help
Campaign Finance
prevent it, such as directing U.S. district courts to notify
Title III of the ACE Act includes several provisions related
state and federal officials about individuals recused from
to campaign finance and to certain tax-exempt
jury duty for noncitizenship.
organizations. The bill generally proposes deregulation,
•
modernization, or clarification of current provisions in the
Election funding. The ACE Act would authorize use of
Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) or parts of the IRC.
certain federal funding for some of the activities
The bill proposes several miscellaneous amendments that
addressed by the bill, such as acquiring or upgrading
would index certain contribution limits for inflation, permit
nonvoting election technology that complied with the
EAC’s new voluntary guidelines. It would also prohibit
candidates to name successor treasurers, or make other
clerical changes.
certain uses or sources of funding. In addition to the
prohibitions listed in the previous bullet point, the ACE
• Political parties. The bill proposes to repeal current
Act would prohibit use of federal funding for get-out-
limits on coordinated party expenditures and to increase
the-vote activities and administering federal elections in
limits for some contributions to state parties in federal
states that do not ban ballot collection by certain third
elections. Coordinated party expenditures permit
parties. The bill would also prohibit organizations that
national party committees to make certain purchases in
are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
consultation with their congressional and presidential
Revenue Code (IRC) and federal entities other than the
nominees to support their campaigns. Current limits
EAC from providing funding for election administration
vary based on office sought and state. The bill also
to states and localities or to states, respectively.
would ease certain spending restrictions on federal
• Voter identification. The ACE Act would require state-
election activity by state and local parties.
issued driver’s licenses and identification cards to
• Foreign money. FECA generally prohibits foreign
include an indication of U.S. citizenship, if applicable,
money in federal, state, and local election campaigns.
in order to be REAL ID-compliant. Additionally, the bill
The ACE Act would extend this prohibition to state and
would require voters who request a mail ballot for a
local ballot initiatives, increase criminal provisions and
federal election other than in person to submit certain ID
penalties, and prohibit assisting someone with violating
with their request in order to receive the ballot;
the foreign-money ban.
individuals voting by mail in jurisdictions that do not
require them to submit a separate mail ballot request for
• Federal agencies and disclosure. Various provisions
each federal election would be required to submit
could affect agency enforcement or regulatory
certain ID with their voted mail ballot in order to have it
requirements. The bill proposes requiring the Federal
counted as a regular ballot.
Election Commission to defend itself in certain court
•
cases except by unanimous vote of the commissioners. It
Voter registration. As noted in the “Noncitizen voting”
would make permanent the agency’s temporary
bullet point, the ACE Act would require states that
administrative enforcement authority for late disclosure
permit noncitizen voting in state or local elections to
reports. The ACE Act also would prohibit the Internal
maintain separate voter registration lists for noncitizens.
Revenue Service from altering its current standard for
The bill would also revise the National Voter
determining tax-exempt status for IRC Section 501(c)(4)
Registration Act (NVRA) to require that states make a
social welfare organizations and restrict federal entities
reasonable effort to remove noncitizens who are
from releasing information about donors to tax-exempt
ineligible to vote from the voter rolls and to include
organizations, with some exceptions. The bill also
language permitting states to require proof of U.S.
would make permanent a prohibition typically included
citizenship with their mail-based voter registration
in appropriations language that bars the Securities and
forms for federal elections. Language in the ACE Act
Exchange Commission from rulemaking concerning
would also specify that Executive Order 14019
disclosure of certain corporate political activity.
regarding the role of federal agencies in promoting
access to voting shall have no force or effect. Voter
registration and mobilization activities would be
Karen L. Shanton, Coordinator, Analyst in American
prohibited in federal work-study programs, and federal
National Government
agency funds could not be used for partnerships with
Sarah J. Eckman, Analyst in American National
nongovernmental agencies for voter registration or
Government
mobilization activities.
R. Sam Garrett, Specialist in American National
Government
The ACE Act would give the assistance-oriented EAC a
central role in many of the above election administration
IF12451

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H.R. 4563, the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act

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