U.S. President Joe Biden on Oct. 4 signed into law a bipartisan bill offered by U.S. Reps. Mike Carey (R-OH) and Bryan Steil (R-WI) that confirms the requirement that states allow access to designated congressional election observers to view the election administration procedures during congressional elections.
Rep. Carey on Nov. 30, 2023, sponsored the Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access (COCOA) Act of 2024, H.R. 6513, with cosponsors Rep. Steil and U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY). The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 24 passed the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6513, with a 413-1 vote before sending it to the president to be signed into law.
“I’m proud the COCOA Act, which will codify the long-running Congressional Observer Program, is now signed into law,” Rep. Carey said on Oct. 7. “This will give Americans confidence that their vote is counted with fairness and integrity.”
The new law provides a statutory citation for the Congressional Election Observer Program, while the Senate Amendment to the COCOA Act amended bill text to provide a statutory citation for a Senate Election Observer Program, which will allow credentialed employees of the U.S. Senate to serve as election observers, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.
“Ensuring the fairness and accuracy of our elections is of the utmost importance to me,” said Rep. Steil. “With COCOA becoming law, Congressional Election Observers will now be protected by a federal statutory citation to monitor election administration practices. I’ll continue working to promote election integrity.”