119-hr1467

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1467 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

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119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1467

 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit the use of 
 Federal funds for the administration of elections for Federal, State, 
 or local office in States which do not have in effect laws to permit 
 units of local government to hold elections for local office in odd-
 numbered years, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 21, 2025

Mr. Garbarino introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit the use of 
 Federal funds for the administration of elections for Federal, State, 
 or local office in States which do not have in effect laws to permit 
 units of local government to hold elections for local office in odd-
 numbered years, 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 ``Protecting Our Local Elections Act'' 
or the ``POLE Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-Congress finds the following:

    (1) Holding local elections for public office in odd-
 numbered years provides greater focus on local candidates and 
 issues.

    (2) Local elections held in odd-numbered years allow voters 
 to make more informed decisions about their local 
 representation.

    (3) Holding all elections in even-numbered years diminishes 
 the attention given to community matters.

    (4) Holding all elections in even-numbered years overcrowds 
 the ballot, hindering the decision-making process for voters.

    (5) Local elected officials directly serve their immediate 
 communities and needs.

    (6) Local leaders played a vital role in the founding of 
 the United States.

    (7) Local governments are at the core of our Nation's 
 republic.

    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) units of local governments should have the authority to 
 conduct elections for local office in odd-numbered years;

    (2) local elections held in odd-numbered years ensure that 
 local candidates and issues receive greater attention and allow 
 voters to make well-informed choices; and

    (3) the most effective form of representation is attained 
 through local governance.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITING PROVISION OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ELECTION 
 ADMINISTRATION FOR STATES NOT PERMITTING LOCAL 
 GOVERNMENTS TO HOLD ELECTIONS FOR LOCAL OFFICE IN ODD-
 NUMBERED YEARS.

    (a) Prohibition.--Title IX of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 21141 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``

SEC. 907. PROHIBITING PROVISION OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ELECTION 
 ADMINISTRATION FOR STATES NOT PERMITTING LOCAL 
 GOVERNMENTS TO HOLD ELECTIONS FOR LOCAL OFFICE IN ODD-
 NUMBERED YEARS.

 ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may 
be provided under this Act or any other Act to administer an election 
for Federal, State, or local office held in a State which does not have 
in effect a law which permits units of local government in the State to 
hold elections for local office in odd-numbered years.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is 
amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title IX the 
following:

``

Sec. 907. Prohibiting provision of Federal funds for election 
 administration for States not permitting 
 local governments to hold elections for 
 local office in odd-numbered years.''.
            (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply with respect to fiscal year 2027 and each succeeding fiscal year.
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