COCOA-VIP Act

Bill Number

H.R. 9577

Origin Chamber

House

Congress

119th Congress, Session 2

Status

Introduced

Latest Action

2026-07-02: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

Last Updated

2026-07-06T13:38:28Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose

The legislation aims to clarify and affirm access for congressional election observers to primary elections involving candidates for federal office, as part of amendments to the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

Key Provisions

• The bill adds a new subsection to Section 304 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21083a).
• It defines "election for Federal office" to explicitly include any general, special, primary, or runoff election conducted by ballot where candidates for the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives (including delegates or resident commissioners) appear on the official ballot.
• It includes a rule of construction stating that the amendment does not require states or political parties to grant observer access to party conventions, caucuses, or other candidate selection processes that do not use ballots listing federal candidates.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

This measure expands the interpretation of "election for Federal office" in Section 304 to cover primary elections, which were not explicitly addressed before. It maintains the original law's framework while adding this clarification and limiting language to exclude non-ballot party processes.

Potential Impacts

• On government agencies: States may need to adjust election administration procedures to accommodate observers in primaries, potentially increasing coordination requirements.
• On citizens: Voters in primary elections could see greater transparency through observer presence, though no direct changes to voting rights are made.
• On international relations: No direct effects are outlined in the legislation.

Main Stakeholders Affected

• Congressional election observers seeking access to primary elections.
• State election officials responsible for managing primary ballots and observer protocols.
• Political parties involved in primary candidate selection.
• Candidates for U.S. Senate or House of Representatives appearing on primary ballots.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

The amendment clarifies existing federal law on election observation without altering core constitutional authority over elections, which remains primarily with states under the Elections Clause. It emphasizes ballot-based processes to distinguish primaries from internal party activities, potentially reducing disputes over observer access while preserving state flexibility in non-ballot candidate selection.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Rep. Fuller, Clay [R-GA-14]

Recent Actions

• 2026-07-02: Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.
• 2026-07-02: Introduced in House
• 2026-07-02: Introduced in House

Bill Versions

• COCOA Voter Integrity and Primaries Act — issued 2026-07-02 — PDF (2 pages)