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ELEC-001 — Federal Executive Election Noninterference Act

A BILL

To amend the Hatch Act to prohibit the President, Vice President, and other federal executive officials from using official authority or influence to interfere with state or local election administration for a preferred electoral outcome; to provide expedited civil remedies, record-preservation requirements, administrative enforcement, and criminal penalties for knowing and coercive violations; 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 “Federal Executive Election Noninterference Act.”

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are—

  1. to preserve the lawful authority of States and their political subdivisions to administer elections under State law, subject to the Constitution and valid Acts of Congress;
  2. to prohibit the use of federal executive office, authority, resources, or influence to obtain, prevent, alter, or secure a preferred electoral outcome through a State or local election function;
  3. to preserve lawful federal enforcement of voting-rights, civil-rights, election-security, campaign-finance, foreign-interference, and election-crime laws;
  4. to provide rapid judicial protection before unlawful federal executive interference produces irreversible consequences; and
  5. to ensure documentation, independent investigation, and accountability when senior executive officials are implicated.

TITLE I — HATCH ACT AMENDMENTS

SEC. 101. FEDERAL EXECUTIVE ELECTION NONINTERFERENCE.

Chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 7323 the following:

§ 7323A. Federal executive interference with State and local election administration

(a) General prohibition.—A covered federal executive official may not knowingly use, direct, threaten, authorize, request, or cause the use of official authority or influence derived from federal office to interfere with a State or local election function for the purpose of effectuating, preventing, altering, or securing a preferred electoral outcome.

(b) Specifically prohibited conduct.—A violation of subsection (a) occurs when a covered federal executive official, acting with the purpose specified in subsection (a), knowingly seeks, directs, pressures, threatens, authorizes, requests, or materially assists another person to—

  1. add, manufacture, alter, destroy, suppress, exclude, count, or refuse to count a ballot or vote contrary to applicable law;
  2. state, record, transmit, canvass, recount, or certify a vote total or election result the official knows to be materially false;
  3. alter, withhold, falsify, delay, or refuse an election return, canvass, recount result, certification, or certificate of ascertainment contrary to applicable law;
  4. depart from an applicable election statute, final judicial order, or lawfully completed administrative determination;
  5. initiate, continue, expand, narrow, terminate, or publicly characterize a federal investigation, prosecution, audit, intelligence activity, regulatory action, funding action, or administrative process without a good-faith lawful basis;
  6. surrender, seize, transfer, alter, destroy, disclose, or provide federal access to ballots, voting equipment, voter records, election data, or election materials without lawful authority;
  7. make, procure, adopt, or transmit a materially false official representation concerning vote totals, election fraud, canvassing, recount, certification, or the lawful result of an election;
  8. take or refrain from an election-related action because of the actual or threatened use of federal investigation, prosecution, funding, contracting, regulatory, intelligence, employment, or other governmental authority;
  9. retaliate against a State or local officer or employee for refusing an unlawful or unauthorized election-related request; or
  10. use another officer, employee, agency, campaign representative, personal attorney, or private intermediary to perform conduct prohibited by this section.

(c) No completed alteration required.—A violation does not require that the requested action occur or that an election result be changed.

(d) Lawful federal functions.—This section does not prohibit—

  1. good-faith enforcement of the Constitution or a valid Act of Congress;
  2. an investigation or prosecution supported by an articulable factual and legal basis;
  3. enforcement of federal voting-rights, civil-rights, campaign-finance, cybersecurity, foreign-interference, or election-crime law;
  4. compliance with federal judicial process;
  5. performance of a duty expressly assigned to a federal official by law;
  6. voluntary cybersecurity, technical, logistical, or emergency assistance requested by a lawful State or local authority;
  7. protection of federal personnel or property;
  8. a communication reasonably necessary to obtain information for a lawful federal purpose; or
  9. political speech, advocacy, criticism, campaign activity, or lawful litigation unaccompanied by prohibited use or threatened use of federal governmental authority.

(e) Identifiable authority and factual basis.—A federal official relying on subsection (d) shall identify the constitutional or statutory authority and factual basis for the federal action when reasonably requested by the affected State or local election authority. Political preference, standing alone, neither establishes nor defeats a lawful federal function.

(f) Definitions.—In this section:

  1. Covered federal executive official.—The term means—
  2. the President and Vice President, solely for purposes of this section and the related reporting, civil-enforcement, and record-preservation provisions of this Act;
  3. an officer or employee of the Executive Office of the President;
  4. an officer or employee of an executive department, military department, agency, Government corporation, or independent establishment in the executive branch;
  5. an individual exercising authority delegated by such an official; and
  6. an individual acting under color of federal executive authority.
  7. Federal governmental authority.—The term includes actual or apparent authority arising from federal office and the use or threatened use of federal personnel, funds, investigations, prosecutions, subpoenas, audits, grants, contracts, appropriations, benefits, waivers, licenses, regulatory authority, intelligence, cybersecurity, national-security authority, classified or nonpublic information, law-enforcement or security personnel, official communications, governmental findings, reports, or any other federal power, process, resource, or influence.
  8. Preferred electoral outcome.—The term means the election, defeat, qualification, disqualification, advancement, exclusion, certification, or noncertification of an identified candidate, political party, slate of electors, ballot position, or stated election result.
  9. State or local election function.—The term includes voter registration; ballot preparation or distribution; voting-system administration; polling operations; receipt, custody, counting, tabulation, canvassing, auditing, or recounting of ballots; determination or reporting of vote totals; certification; preparation or transmission of certificates of ascertainment; selection or appointment of presidential electors; and preservation or disclosure of election records, equipment, or data.

(g) Rule concerning official influence.—A communication need not be expressed as a formal order. Official authority or influence is used when, under the circumstances, a reasonable recipient would understand that compliance or refusal could affect the exercise of federal governmental authority.

SEC. 102. LIMITED APPLICATION TO THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT.

Section 7322(1) of title 5, United States Code, is amended to provide that the exclusion of the President and Vice President from the term “employee” does not apply to section 7323A or to provisions expressly enforcing section 7323A.

Nothing in this Act subjects the President or Vice President to Hatch Act restrictions unrelated to federal executive interference with State or local election administration.

SEC. 103. RECORDS OF COVERED ELECTION CONTACTS.

Chapter 73 of title 5, United States Code, is further amended by adding:

§ 7323B. Records of covered election contacts

(a) Record required.—A covered federal executive official who communicates with a State or local election official concerning a specific pending election function shall create or cause the creation of a contemporaneous record identifying—

  1. the participants;
  2. the date, time, and means of communication;
  3. the election and function discussed;
  4. each material request, directive, warning, representation, or commitment;
  5. the federal legal authority relied upon; and
  6. any resulting or contemplated federal action.

(b) Preservation.—The record and all materially related federal records shall be preserved in accordance with applicable federal records law and may not be destroyed, altered, concealed, or removed.

(c) Recording by State participant.—A State or local officer or employee participating in an official communication covered by this section may record the communication. No federal officer may prohibit or retaliate against such recording. This authorization supersedes inconsistent law only with respect to a communication covered by this section.

(d) Emergency communication.—An oral communication made during an emergency may be documented promptly after the emergency, but not later than 24 hours after the communication unless extraordinary circumstances make compliance impossible.

(e) Separate violation.—Knowing concealment, destruction, alteration, falsification, or material omission of a record required by this section constitutes a separate violation.

SEC. 104. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL AND INSPECTOR GENERAL ENFORCEMENT.

The Office of Special Counsel may investigate an alleged violation of sections 7323A and 7323B by any covered official within its constitutional and statutory jurisdiction and may prosecute an administrative complaint before the Merit Systems Protection Board.

An Inspector General may investigate conduct within the Inspector General’s jurisdiction and shall report substantial interference with the investigation to Congress.

For a covered official other than the President or Vice President, available administrative consequences may include removal from the affected matter, suspension, reduction in grade, removal, reprimand, a civil penalty, debarment from federal employment, and disqualification from statutorily delegated election-related functions, consistent with constitutional requirements.

SEC. 105. ANTI-RETALIATION.

No covered federal executive official may take or threaten a personnel, funding, contracting, regulatory, investigative, prosecutorial, security-clearance, access, or other adverse action against a State or local officer or employee because that person—

  1. refused a request reasonably believed to violate section 7323A;
  2. created, preserved, or disclosed a record required or protected by this Act;
  3. sought judicial or administrative relief under this Act; or
  4. provided information to Congress, an Inspector General, the Office of Special Counsel, a court, or a lawful investigator.

TITLE II — EXPEDITED CIVIL ENFORCEMENT

SEC. 201. CIVIL ACTION BY AFFECTED GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITIES.

A State, State attorney general, chief State election official, local election authority, or other governmental entity directly responsible for an affected election function may bring a civil action against a responsible federal officer, agency, or subordinate implementing official to prevent or remedy a violation of section 7323A or 7323B of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 202. RELIEF.

A court may—

  1. declare the rights and duties of the parties;
  2. temporarily or permanently enjoin implementation or continuation of prohibited conduct;
  3. prohibit further contact except through designated lawful channels;
  4. order preservation and production of records;
  5. restore the lawful administrative position existing before the interference;
  6. prohibit expenditure of federal funds for the prohibited purpose;
  7. order reimbursement of reasonable State or local expenses caused by the violation; and
  8. award costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

Relief against an agency or subordinate implementing official shall remain available notwithstanding uncertainty concerning direct coercive relief against the President.

SEC. 203. EXPEDITED THREE-JUDGE REVIEW.

An action under this title shall be heard by a three-judge district court convened under section 2284 of title 28, United States Code, and shall receive priority over nonemergency civil matters.

A single judge may issue an emergency temporary restraining order upon specific findings of imminent and irreparable harm. Any appeal shall be expedited in the manner provided by law.

SEC. 204. LIMITS ON JUDICIAL AUTHORITY.

No court acting under this title may determine the winner of an election, substitute its policy judgment for that of a lawful State election authority, or order the counting or exclusion of a particular ballot except as necessary to restore compliance with governing law.

SEC. 205. CIVIL PENALTIES.

A covered official who knowingly violates section 7323A may be assessed a civil penalty not exceeding $100,000 for each material course of conduct.

The United States may not reimburse a personal civil penalty imposed for a knowing violation.

This Act creates no general private damages action for individual voters.

TITLE III — CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT

SEC. 301. FEDERAL EXECUTIVE INTERFERENCE WITH ELECTION ADMINISTRATION.

Chapter 29 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 595 the following:

§ 595A. Federal executive interference with State or local election administration

(a) Base offense.—Whoever, being a covered federal executive official or acting under color of federal executive authority, knowingly and for the purpose of effectuating, preventing, altering, or securing a preferred electoral outcome uses, directs, threatens, authorizes, requests, or causes the use of federal governmental authority to obtain conduct described in section 7323A(b) of title 5 shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both.

(b) Aggravated offense.—The maximum term of imprisonment shall be 5 years if the violation involves the actual or threatened use of—

  1. criminal investigation or prosecution;
  2. intelligence, national-security, or classified-information authority;
  3. federal funding, contracting, licensing, waiver, or regulatory authority;
  4. armed, military, law-enforcement, or security personnel; or
  5. retaliation against a State or local officer or employee.

(c) Resulting alteration or falsification.—The maximum term of imprisonment shall be 10 years if the violation results in the material falsification, alteration, destruction, suppression, manufacture, or unlawful certification of a ballot, vote, return, certificate, election record, or election result.

(d) Attempt, conspiracy, direction, and assistance.—Attempting, conspiring, directing, authorizing, or knowingly providing material assistance to a violation is punishable to the same extent as the completed base offense, except that an enhanced penalty requiring a resulting harm applies only if the required harm occurs.

(e) Definitions.—The definitions in section 7323A of title 5 apply to this section.

(f) Lawful-function defense.—No offense is committed where the conduct falls within section 7323A(d) of title 5 and rests on an identifiable constitutional or statutory authority and a good-faith factual basis.

SEC. 302. RECORD OBSTRUCTION.

Knowing destruction, alteration, concealment, falsification, or removal of a material record required by section 7323B of title 5, undertaken with intent to impede investigation, civil enforcement, congressional oversight, or adjudication, shall be punishable under applicable federal obstruction and records laws and may be charged as a separate offense.

SEC. 303. RELATION TO PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY.

Section 595A of title 18 creates substantive criminal liability to the maximum extent permitted by the Constitution. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to narrow any constitutional amendment or later-enacted law governing presidential criminal immunity.

Investigation, evidence preservation, prosecution of nonimmune participants, and reporting to Congress may continue to the extent permitted by law notwithstanding a temporary or substantive bar to prosecution of a President.

TITLE IV — INDEPENDENT REFERRAL AND CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING

SEC. 401. INDEPENDENT REFERRAL.

Substantial and credible information indicating a violation shall be referred promptly to—

  1. the relevant Inspector General;
  2. the Office of Special Counsel, where administrative jurisdiction exists;
  3. the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section, absent a disabling conflict; and
  4. any independent investigative-counsel mechanism established by law where a conflict involving the President, Vice President, Attorney General, or another senior executive official materially impairs ordinary investigation.

SEC. 402. CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING.

A substantiated violation involving the President, Vice President, a Cabinet officer, White House personnel, or a Senate-confirmed federal law-enforcement official shall be reported to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary, the congressional committees with jurisdiction over elections, and any other appropriate oversight committee.

The report shall distinguish established facts, disputed facts, the federal authority invoked, the State or local action requested, the preferred electoral outcome, possible statutory violations, applicable immunity or privilege, action taken against subordinate participants, and recommended corrective measures.

SEC. 403. CONSTITUTIONAL SERIOUSNESS.

Congress finds that the knowing use of presidential or vice-presidential authority to procure an unlawful or materially false determination of an election result is a grave abuse of federal executive authority and conduct of the character historically understood as a high Crime or Misdemeanor.

Nothing in this section limits the sole constitutional authority of the House of Representatives to determine whether to impeach or of the Senate to determine whether to convict.

TITLE V — GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 501. RELATION TO EXISTING LAW.

This Act supplements and does not narrow—

  1. sections 7321 through 7326 of title 5, United States Code;
  2. sections 241, 242, 595, and other applicable provisions of title 18;
  3. federal voting-rights, civil-rights, campaign-finance, records, and obstruction laws;
  4. Inspector General and Office of Special Counsel authority;
  5. lawful State criminal or civil authority not preempted by federal law; or
  6. any more protective federal restriction.

Conduct may be addressed under this Act and another applicable law, subject to constitutional protections against duplicative punishment.

SEC. 502. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed—

  1. to authorize federal supervision of State or local election administration beyond authority otherwise provided by the Constitution or an Act of Congress;
  2. to authorize a federal official, court, or investigator to determine the winner of an election;
  3. to prohibit good-faith federal voting-rights or election-law enforcement;
  4. to prohibit political speech or advocacy unaccompanied by use or threatened use of federal governmental authority; or
  5. to create a general private right of action for individual voters.

SEC. 503. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the application thereof is held invalid, the remainder and its application to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected.

Budgetary Impact Statement

Administrative workload is possible; no new appropriation is specified.

Note: Preliminary ARRP assessment only; not a CBO, OMB, agency, or legislative-counsel score.

Drafting Notes

  • The bill amends the Hatch Act only for the narrow official-authority prohibition and does not subject the President or Vice President to every restriction applicable to federal employees.
  • The administrative standard is broader than the criminal offense; criminal liability requires knowing conduct, a specified electoral purpose, use of federal governmental authority, and an enumerated prohibited act.
  • The three-year base penalty distinguishes attempted result-directed pressure from aggravated coercion and completed alteration or falsification.
  • Civil enforcement is assigned principally to States and responsible election authorities rather than individual voters.
  • Relief against agencies and implementing subordinates remains available even where direct relief against the President raises remedial concerns.
  • Section 403 is a congressional declaration of constitutional seriousness, not a binding impeachment determination.
  • Full criminal enforceability against presidential official acts may depend upon the Presidential Criminal Accountability Amendment developed under IMM-001.
  • The independent-referral provision is designed to coordinate with DOJ-007 without making this bill dependent upon adoption of that proposal.

Source Notes