ACE Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 825.
American Confidence in Elections Act or the ACE Act
This bill addresses election administration and security, campaign finance, and other related provisions.
Specifically, the bill directs the Election Assistance Commission's (EAC's) Standards Board and Local Leadership Council to issue voluntary considerations for states about various aspects of election administration.
Additionally, the bill
reduces certain election assistance payments for states and local jurisdictions that allow noncitizens to vote;
requires states to provide designated congressional election observers with full access to observe the administration procedures of federal elections;
prohibits federal agencies from using funds made available for salaries and expenses to solicit or enter into agreements with nongovernmental organizations to conduct voter registration or voter mobilization activities on the agency's property or website;
prohibits federal funds for election administration for states that allow ballot harvesting, with exceptions;
establishes various requirements for elections in the District of Columbia;
makes various changes to the EAC; and
prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or donations in connection with state or local ballot initiatives or referenda.
The bill also establishes the Twentieth Amendment Section Four Panel, which must recommend to Congress model legislation to resolve any vacancy created by the death of a candidate in a contingent presidential or vice-presidential election.
The bill makes changes to campaign finance, including by (1) repealing limits on coordinated party expenditures, and (2) prohibiting federal funds from being used to make payments in support of a congressional election campaign. It also makes changes to the Federal Election Commission.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on July 11, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 3, 2025: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 825.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Bryan Steil (R-WI) introduced it on July 11, 2023, and 132 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 132 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 11, 2023, 1157 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 615 days ago, on January 3, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers