Union Calendar No. 94
116th CONGRESS 1st Session |
[Report No. 116–129, Part I]
To protect elections for public office by providing financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure used to carry out such elections, and for other purposes.
May 14, 2019
Ms. Lofgren introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
June 26, 2019
Additional sponsors: Mr. Raskin, Mrs. Davis of California, Mr. Butterfield, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Aguilar, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mr. Sablan, and Mr. Cooper
June 26, 2019
Reported from the Committee on House Administration with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
June 26, 2019
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 14, 2019]
To protect elections for public office by providing financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure used to carry out such elections, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
(a) Short title.—This Act may be cited as the “Securing America’s Federal Elections Act” or the “SAFE Act”.
(b) Table of contents.—The table of contents of this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Paper ballot and manual counting requirements.
Sec. 103. Accessibility and ballot verification for individuals with disabilities.
Sec. 104. Durability and readability requirements for ballots.
Sec. 105. Paper ballot printing requirements.
Sec. 106. Study and report on optimal ballot design.
Sec. 107. Effective date for new requirements.
Sec. 111. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and carrying out voting system security improvements.
Sec. 112. Coordination of voting system security activities with use of requirements payments and election administration requirements under Help America Vote Act of 2002.
Sec. 113. Incorporation of definitions.
Sec. 121. Risk-limiting audits.
Sec. 122. Funding for conducting post-election risk-limiting audits.
Sec. 123. GAO analysis of effects of audits.
Sec. 201. Voting system cybersecurity requirements.
Sec. 202. Testing of existing voting systems to ensure compliance with election cybersecurity guidelines and other guidelines.
Sec. 203. Requiring use of software and hardware for which information is disclosed by manufacturer.
Sec. 204. Treatment of electronic poll books as part of voting systems.
Sec. 205. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.
Sec. 206. Streamlining collection of election information.
Sec. 301. Use of voting machines manufactured in the United States.
Sec. 401. Severability.
This subtitle may be cited as the “Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019”.
(a) In general.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows:
“(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.—
“(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.—
“(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— (I) The voting system shall require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection and verification by the voter before the voter’s vote is cast and counted, and which shall be counted by hand or read by an optical character recognition device or other counting device. For purposes of this subclause, the term ‘individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot’ means a paper ballot marked by the voter by hand or a paper ballot marked through the use of a nontabulating ballot marking device or system, so long as the voter shall have the option to mark his or her ballot by hand.
“(ii) PRESERVATION AS OFFICIAL RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot used in accordance with clause (i) shall constitute the official ballot and shall be preserved and used as the official ballot for purposes of any recount or audit conducted with respect to any election for Federal office in which the voting system is used.
“(iii) MANUAL COUNTING REQUIREMENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.— (I) Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause (i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, and shall be counted by hand in any recount or audit conducted with respect to any election for Federal office.
“(II) In the event of any inconsistencies or irregularities between any electronic vote tallies and the vote tallies determined by counting by hand the individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots used pursuant to clause (i), and subject to subparagraph (B), the individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots shall be the true and correct record of the votes cast.
“(iv) APPLICATION TO ALL BALLOTS.—The requirements of this subparagraph shall apply to all ballots cast in elections for Federal office, including ballots cast by absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and other absentee voters.
“(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TREATMENT OF DISPUTES WHEN PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—In the event that—
“(I) there is any inconsistency between any electronic vote tallies and the vote tallies determined by counting by hand the individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots used pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i) with respect to any election for Federal office; and
“(II) it is demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence (as determined in accordance with the applicable standards in the jurisdiction involved) in any recount, audit, or contest of the result of the election that the paper ballots have been compromised (by damage or mischief or otherwise) and that a sufficient number of the ballots have been so compromised that the result of the election could be changed,
the determination of the appropriate remedy with respect to the election shall be made in accordance with applicable State law, except that the electronic tally shall not be used as the exclusive basis for determining the official certified result.
(b) Conforming amendment clarifying applicability of alternative language accessibility.—Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) is amended by inserting “(including the paper ballots required to be used under paragraph (2))” after “voting system”.
(c) Other conforming amendments.—Section 301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking “counted” and inserting “counted, in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)”;
(2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking “counted” and inserting “counted, in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)”;
(a) Ballot cybersecurity, confidentiality, and access for individuals with disabilities.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows:
“(B) (i) satisfy the requirement of subparagraph (A) through the use of at least 1 voting system at each polling place that—
“(I) is equipped for individuals with disabilities, including nonvisual and enhanced visual accessibility for the blind and visually impaired, and contains features to support enhanced manual accessibility for the mobility and dexterity impaired;
“(II) in the case of any election for Federal office occurring after the date that is 6 years after the date of the enactment of the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act—
“(aa) marks ballots that are identical in size, ink, and paper stock to those ballots that would be marked by hand or a ballot marking device used by voters who do not have accessibility needs;
“(ii) in the case of any election for Federal office occurring after the date that is 6 years after the date of the enactment of the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, meet the requirements of subparagraph (A) and paragraph (2)(A) by using a system that allows the voter to privately and independently verify the accuracy of the permanent paper ballot through the presentation, in accessible form, of the printed or marked vote selections from the same printed or marked information that would be used for any vote tabulation or auditing; and”.
(2) CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENT TO BALLOTS MARKED AT HOME.—Section 301(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following new flush sentence:
“Nothing in subparagraph (B) shall be construed to prohibit the use of an accessible ballot that may be printed or marked by the voter at home.”.
(b) Specific requirement of study, testing, and development of accessible paper ballot verification mechanisms.—
(1) STUDY AND REPORTING.—Subtitle C of title II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended—
(B) by inserting after section 246 the following new section:
“SEC. 247. Study and report on accessible paper ballot verification mechanisms.
“(a) Study and report.—The Director of the National Science Foundation shall make grants to not fewer than 3 eligible entities to study, test, and develop accessible paper ballot voting, verification, and casting mechanisms and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy, including best practices for the mechanisms themselves and the processes through which the mechanisms are used.
“(b) Eligibility.—An entity is eligible to receive a grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such time and in such form as the Director may require) an application containing—
“(1) certifications that the entity shall specifically investigate enhanced methods or devices, including non-electronic devices, that will assist such individuals and voters in marking voter-verified paper ballots and presenting or transmitting the information printed or marked on such ballots back to such individuals and voters, and casting such ballots;
“(c) Availability of technology.—Any technology developed with the grants made under this section shall be treated as non-proprietary and shall be made available to the public, including to manufacturers of voting systems.
“(d) Coordination with grants for technology improvements.—The Director shall carry out this section so that the activities carried out with the grants made under subsection (a) are coordinated with the research conducted under the grant program carried out by the Commission under section 271, to the extent that the Director and Commission determine necessary to provide for the advancement of accessible voting technology.
(c) Clarification of accessibility standards under voluntary voting system guidance.—In adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title III of the Help America Vote Act with respect to the accessibility of the paper ballot verification requirements for individuals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Commission shall include and apply the same accessibility standards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopted for accessible voting systems under such subtitle.
(d) Permitting use of funds for protection and advocacy systems to support actions to enforce election-related disability access.—Section 292(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21062(a)) is amended by striking “; except that” and all that follows and inserting a period.
Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(7) DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR BALLOTS.—
“(A) DURABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PAPER BALLOTS.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—All voter-verified paper ballots required to be used under this Act shall be marked or printed on durable paper.
“(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable of withstanding multiple counts and recounts by hand without compromising the fundamental integrity of the ballots, and capable of retaining the information marked or printed on them for the full duration of a retention and preservation period of 22 months.
“(B) READABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING DEVICE.—All voter-verified paper ballots completed by the voter through the use of a ballot marking device shall be clearly readable by the voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses or other personal vision enhancing devices) and by an optical character recognition device or other device equipped for individuals with disabilities.”.
(a) Requiring paper ballots to be printed on recycled paper manufactured in United States.—Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows:
“(d) Effective Date.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be required to comply with the requirements of this section on and after January 1, 2006.
“(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in section 105(b) of the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act and subparagraphs (B) and (C), the requirements of this section which are first imposed on a State and jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments made by the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019 shall apply with respect to voting systems used for any election for Federal office held in 2020 or any succeeding year.
“(B) DELAY FOR JURISDICTIONS USING CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR CERTAIN SYSTEMS USING OR PRODUCING VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER RECORDS IN 2018.—
“(i) DELAY.—In the case of a jurisdiction described in clause (ii), subparagraph (A) shall apply to a voting system in the jurisdiction as if the reference in such subparagraph to ‘2020’ were a reference to ‘2022’, but only with respect to the following requirements of this section:
“(I) Paragraph (2)(A)(i)(I) of subsection (a) (relating to the use of voter-verified paper ballots).
“(ii) JURISDICTIONS DESCRIBED.—A jurisdiction described in this clause is a jurisdiction—
“(I) which used voter-verified paper record printers attached to direct recording electronic voting machines, or which used other voting systems that used or produced paper records of the vote verifiable by voters but that are not in compliance with paragraphs (2)(A)(i)(I), (3)(B)(iii)(I) and (II), and (7) of subsection (a) (as amended or added by the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019), for the administration of the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2018; and
“(iii) MANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF PAPER BALLOTS AT POLLING PLACES USING GRANDFATHERED PRINTERS AND SYSTEMS.—
“(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE OFFERED AND PROVIDED.—The appropriate election official at each polling place that uses a printer or system described in clause (ii)(I) for the administration of elections for Federal office shall offer each individual who is eligible to cast a vote in the election at the polling place the opportunity to cast the vote using a blank pre-printed paper ballot which the individual may mark by hand and which is not produced by the direct recording electronic voting machine or other such system. The official shall provide the individual with the ballot and the supplies necessary to mark the ballot, and shall ensure (to the greatest extent practicable) that the waiting period for the individual to cast a vote is the lesser of 30 minutes or the average waiting period for an individual who does not agree to cast the vote using such a paper ballot under this clause.
“(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.—Any paper ballot which is cast by an individual under this clause shall be counted and otherwise treated as a regular ballot for all purposes (including by incorporating it into the final unofficial vote count (as defined by the State) for the precinct) and not as a provisional ballot, unless the individual casting the ballot would have otherwise been required to cast a provisional ballot.
“(III) POSTING OF NOTICE.—The appropriate election official shall ensure there is prominently displayed at each polling place a notice that describes the obligation of the official to offer individuals the opportunity to cast votes using a pre-printed blank paper ballot.
“(IV) TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS.—The chief State election official shall ensure that election officials at polling places in the State are aware of the requirements of this clause, including the requirement to display a notice under subclause (III), and are aware that it is a violation of the requirements of this title for an election official to fail to offer an individual the opportunity to cast a vote using a blank pre-printed paper ballot.
“(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR JURISDICTIONS USING CERTAIN NONTABULATING BALLOT MARKING DEVICES.—In the case of a jurisdiction which uses a nontabulating ballot marking device which automatically deposits the ballot into a privacy sleeve, subparagraph (A) shall apply to a voting system in the jurisdiction as if the reference in such subparagraph to ‘any election for Federal office held in 2020 or any succeeding year’ were a reference to ‘elections for Federal office occurring held in 2022 or each succeeding year’, but only with respect to paragraph (3)(B)(iii)(II) of subsection (a) (relating to nonmanual casting of the durable paper ballot).”.
(a) Availability of grants.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new part:
“SEC. 297. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and carrying out voting system security improvements.
“(a) Availability and use of grant.—The Commission shall make a grant to each eligible State—
“(1) to replace a voting system—
“(A) which does not meet the requirements which are first imposed on the State pursuant to the amendments made by the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019 with a voting system which does meet such requirements, for use in the regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office held in November 2020, or
“(B) which does meet such requirements but which is not in compliance with the most recent voluntary voting system guidelines issued by the Commission prior to the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office held in November 2020 with another system which does meet such requirements and is in compliance with such guidelines;
“(b) Amount of grant.—The amount of a grant made to a State under this section shall be such amount as the Commission determines to be appropriate, except that such amount may not be less than the product of $1 and the average of the number of individuals who cast votes in any of the two most recent regularly scheduled general elections for Federal office held in the State.
“(c) Pro rata reductions.—If the amount of funds appropriated for grants under this part is insufficient to ensure that each State receives the amount of the grant calculated under subsection (b), the Commission shall make such pro rata reductions in such amounts as may be necessary to ensure that the entire amount appropriated under this part is distributed to the States.
“(d) Surplus appropriations.—If the amount of funds appropriated for grants authorized under section 297D(a)(2) exceed the amount necessary to meet the requirements of subsection (b), the Commission shall consider the following in making a determination to award remaining funds to a State:
“(1) The record of the State in carrying out the following with respect to the administration of elections for Federal office:
“(B) Implementing strong chain of custody procedures for the physical security of voting equipment and paper records at all stages of the process.
“(C) Conducting pre-election testing on every voting machine and ensuring that paper ballots are available wherever electronic machines are used.
“(2) Evidence of established conditions of innovation and reform in providing voting system security and the proposed plan of the State for implementing additional conditions.
“(e) Ability of replacement systems to administer ranked choice elections.—To the greatest extent practicable, an eligible State which receives a grant to replace a voting system under this section shall ensure that the replacement system is capable of administering a system of ranked choice voting under which each voter shall rank the candidates for the office in the order of the voter’s preference.
“(a) Permitted uses.—A voting system security improvement described in this section is any of the following:
“(1) The acquisition of goods and services from qualified election infrastructure vendors by purchase, lease, or such other arrangements as may be appropriate.
“(3) A security risk and vulnerability assessment of the State’s election infrastructure which is carried out by a provider of cybersecurity services under a contract entered into between the chief State election official and the provider.
“(4) The maintenance of election infrastructure, including addressing risks and vulnerabilities which are identified under either of the security risk and vulnerability assessments described in paragraph (3), except that none of the funds provided under this part may be used to renovate or replace a building or facility which is used primarily for purposes other than the administration of elections for public office.
“(5) Providing increased technical support for any information technology infrastructure that the chief State election official deems to be part of the State’s election infrastructure or designates as critical to the operation of the State’s election infrastructure.
“(b) Qualified election infrastructure vendors described.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this part, a ‘qualified election infrastructure vendor’ is any person who provides, supports, or maintains, or who seeks to provide, support, or maintain, election infrastructure on behalf of a State, unit of local government, or election agency, who meets the criteria described in paragraph (2).
“(2) CRITERIA.—The criteria described in this paragraph are such criteria as the Chairman, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish and publish, and shall include each of the following requirements:
“(A) The vendor must be owned and controlled by a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
“(B) The vendor must disclose to the Chairman and the Secretary, and to the chief State election official of any State to which the vendor provides any goods and services with funds provided under this part, of any sourcing outside the United States for parts of the election infrastructure.
“(C) The vendor agrees to ensure that the election infrastructure will be developed and maintained in a manner that is consistent with the cybersecurity best practices issued by the Technical Guidelines Development Committee.
“(D) The vendor agrees to maintain its information technology infrastructure in a manner that is consistent with the cybersecurity best practices issued by the Technical Guidelines Development Committee.
“(3) CYBERSECURITY INCIDENT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—A vendor meets the requirements of this paragraph if, upon becoming aware of the possibility that an election cybersecurity incident has occurred involving any of the goods and services provided by the vendor pursuant to a grant under this part—
“(i) the vendor promptly assesses whether or not such an incident occurred, and submits a notification meeting the requirements of subparagraph (B) to the Secretary and the Chairman of the assessment as soon as practicable (but in no case later than 3 days after the vendor first becomes aware of the possibility that the incident occurred);
“(ii) if the incident involves goods or services provided to an election agency, the vendor submits a notification meeting the requirements of subparagraph (B) to the agency as soon as practicable (but in no case later than 3 days after the vendor first becomes aware of the possibility that the incident occurred), and cooperates with the agency in providing any other necessary notifications relating to the incident; and
“(B) CONTENTS OF NOTIFICATIONS.—Each notification submitted under clause (i) or clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall contain the following information with respect to any election cybersecurity incident covered by the notification:
“A State is eligible to receive a grant under this part if the State submits to the Commission, at such time and in such form as the Commission may require, an application containing—
“(1) a description of how the State will use the grant to carry out the activities authorized under this part;
“Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year, the Commission shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees, including the Committees on Homeland Security, House Administration, and the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Judiciary, and Rules and Administration of the Senate, on the activities carried out with the funds provided under this part.
(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of contents of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle D of title II the following:
“PART 7—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS
“Sec. 297. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and carrying out voting system security improvements.
“Sec. 297A. Voting system security improvements described.
“Sec. 297B. Eligibility of States.
“Sec. 297C. Reports to Congress.
“Sec. 297D. Authorization of appropriations.”.
(a) Duties of Election Assistance Commission.—Section 202 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20922) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking “by” and inserting “and the security of election infrastructure by”.
(b) Membership of Secretary of Homeland Security on Board of Advisors of Election Assistance Commission.—Section 214(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20944(a)) is amended—
(c) Representative of Department of Homeland Security on Technical Guidelines Development Committee.—Section 221(c)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20961(c)(1)) is amended—
(d) Goals of periodic studies of election administration issues; consultation with Secretary of Homeland Security.—Section 241(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 20981(a)) is amended—
(e) Requirements payments.—
(1) USE OF PAYMENTS FOR VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS.—Section 251(b) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(4) PERMITTING USE OF PAYMENTS FOR VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS.—A State may use a requirements payment to carry out any of the following activities:
“(B) Providing increased technical support for any information technology infrastructure that the chief State election official deems to be part of the State’s election infrastructure or designates as critical to the operation of the State’s election infrastructure.
(2) INCORPORATION OF ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION IN STATE PLANS FOR USE OF PAYMENTS.—Section 254(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21004(a)(1)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting “, including the protection of election infrastructure.”.
(3) COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING STATE PLAN FOR USE OF PAYMENTS.—Section 255 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21005) is amended—
(f) Ensuring protection of computerized Statewide voter registration list.—Section 303(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(3)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting “, as well as other measures to prevent and deter cybersecurity incidents, as identified by the Commission, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Technical Guidelines Development Committee.”.
(a) In general.—Section 901 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141) is amended to read as follows:
“In this Act, the following definitions apply:
“(1) The term ‘cybersecurity incident’ has the meaning given the term ‘incident’ in section 227 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148).
“(2) The term ‘election agency’ means any component of a State, or any component of a unit of local government in a State, which is responsible for the administration of elections for Federal office in the State.
“(3) The term ‘election infrastructure’ means storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote tabulation locations used to support the administration of elections for public office, as well as related information and communications technology, including voter registration databases, voting machines, electronic mail and other communications systems (including electronic mail and other systems of vendors who have entered into contracts with election agencies to support the administration of elections, manage the election process, and report and display election results), and other systems used to manage the election process and to report and display election results on behalf of an election agency.
(a) In general.—Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 303 the following new section:
“(a) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) RISK-LIMITING AUDIT.—The term ‘risk-limiting audit’ means, with respect to any election contest, a post-election process that—
“(2) REPORTED OUTCOME; CORRECT OUTCOME; OUTCOME.—
“(A) REPORTED OUTCOME.—The term ‘reported outcome’ means the outcome of an election contest which is determined according to the canvass and which will become the official, certified outcome unless it is revised by an audit, recount, or other legal process.
“(3) MANUAL ADJUDICATION OF VOTER INTENT.—The term ‘manual adjudication of voter intent’ means direct inspection and determination by humans, without assistance from electronic or mechanical tabulation devices, of the ballot choices marked by voters on each voter-verified paper record.
“(4) BALLOT MANIFEST.—The term ‘ballot manifest’ means a record maintained by each jurisdiction that—
“(C) accounts for all ballots validly cast regardless of how or whether they were tabulated and includes a precise description of the manner in which the ballots are physically stored, including the total number of physical groups of ballots, the numbering system for each group, a unique label for each group, and the number of ballots in each such group.
“(b) Requirements.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—
“(A) AUDITS.—
“(B) FULL MANUAL TABULATION.—If a risk-limiting audit conducted under subparagraph (A) corrects the reported outcome of an election contest, the State or jurisdiction shall use the results of the manual adjudication of voter intent conducted as part of the risk-limiting audit as the official results of the election contest.
“(2) AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.—
“(A) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, the chief State election official of the State shall establish rules and procedures for conducting risk-limiting audits.
“(ii) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The rules and procedures established under clause (i) shall include the following:
“(I) Rules and procedures for ensuring the security of ballots and documenting that prescribed procedures were followed.
“(III) Rules and procedures for governing the format of ballot manifests and other data involved in risk-limiting audits.
“(IV) Methods to ensure that any cast vote records used in a risk-limiting audit are those used by the voting system to tally the results of the election contest sent to the chief State election official of the State and made public.
“(V) Rules and procedures for the random selection of ballots to be inspected manually during each audit.
“(B) PUBLIC REPORT.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—After the completion of the risk-limiting audit and at least 5 days before the election contest is certified, the State shall publish a report on the results of the audit, together with such information as necessary to confirm that the audit was conducted properly.
“(c) Effective date.—Each State and jurisdiction shall be required to comply with the requirements of this section for the first regularly scheduled election for Federal office held more than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act and for each subsequent election for Federal office.”.
(b) Conforming amendments related to enforcement.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking “and 303” and inserting “303, and 303A”.
(a) Payments to States.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.), as amended by section 111(a), is amended by adding at the end the following new part:
“SEC. 298. Payments for post-election risk-limiting audits.
“(a) In general.—The Commission shall pay to States the amount of eligible post-election audit costs.
“(b) Eligible post-election audit costs.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible post-election audit costs’ means, with respect to any State, costs paid or incurred by the State or local government within the State for—
“(c) Special rules.—
“(1) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—The Commission shall establish rules and procedures for submission of eligible post-election audit costs for payments under this section.
“(2) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—In any case in which the amounts appropriated under subsection (d) are insufficient to pay all eligible post-election audit costs submitted by States with respect to any Federal election, the amount of such costs paid under subsection (a) to any State shall be equal to the amount that bears the same ratio to the amount which would be paid to such State (determined without regard to this paragraph) as—
(b) Clerical amendment.—The table of contents of such Act, as amended by section 111(b), is further amended by adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle D of title II the following:
“PART 8—FUNDING FOR POST-ELECTION RISK-LIMITING AUDITS
“Sec. 298. Payments for post-election risk-limiting audits.”.
(a) Analysis.—Not later than 6 months after the first elections for Federal office is held for which States must conduct risk-limiting audits under section 303A of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 121), the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an analysis of the extent to which such audits have improved the administration of such elections and the security of election infrastructure in the States receiving such grants.
(a) Ballot tabulating devices.—Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104 and section 105, is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(9) BALLOT TABULATING METHODS.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The voting system tabulates ballots by hand or through the use of an optical scanning device that meets the requirements of subparagraph (B).
“(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR OPTICAL SCANNING DEVICES.—Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the requirements of this subparagraph are as follows:
“(i) The device is designed and built in a manner in which it is mechanically impossible for the device to add or change the vote selections on a printed or marked ballot.
“(ii) The device is capable of exporting its data (including vote tally data sets and cast vote records) in a machine-readable, open data standard format required by the Commission, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“(iii) The device consists of hardware that—
“(II) demonstrably conforms to a hardware component manifest describing point-of-origin information (including upstream hardware supply chain information for each component) that—
“(iv) The device utilizes technology that prevents the operation of the device if any hardware components do not meet the requirements of clause (iii).
“(v) The device operates using software—
“(I) for which the source code, system build tools, and compilation parameters—
“(vi) The device utilizes technology that prevents the running of software on the device that does not meet the requirements of clause (v).
“(C) WAIVER.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, may waive one or more of the requirements of subparagraph (B) (other than the requirement of clause (i) thereof) with respect to any device for a period of not to exceed 2 years.
(b) Other cybersecurity requirements.—Section 301(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104, section 105, and subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
“(10) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES IN SYSTEMS OR DEVICES.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—No system or device upon which ballot marking devices or optical scanners are configured, upon which ballots are marked by voters (except as necessary for individuals with disabilities to use ballot marking devices that meet the accessibility requirements of paragraph (3)), or upon which votes are cast, tabulated, or aggregated shall contain, use, or be accessible by any wireless, power-line, or concealed communication device.
“(11) PROHIBITING CONNECTION OF SYSTEM TO THE INTERNET.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—No system or device upon which ballot marking devices or optical scanners are configured, upon which ballots are marked by voters, or upon which votes are cast, tabulated, or aggregated shall be connected to the Internet or any non-local computer system via telephone or other communication network at any time.
(c) Special cybersecurity rules for certain ballot marking devices.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104, section 105, and subsections (a) and (b), is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(13) BALLOT MARKING DEVICES.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a voting system that uses a ballot marking device, the ballot marking device shall be a device that—
“(B) REQUIREMENTS.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—A ballot marking device meets the requirements of this subparagraph if, during a double-masked test conducted by a qualified independent user experience research laboratory (as defined in section 232(b)(4)) of a simulated election scenario which meets the requirements of clause (ii), there is less than a 5 percent chance that an ordinary voter using the device would not detect and report any difference between the vote selection printed on the ballot by the ballot marking device and the vote selection indicated by the voter.
(2) PROCEDURE FOR TESTING.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20971 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
“(a) In general.—Any State or jurisdiction which intends to use a ballot marking device (other than a ballot marking device used exclusively to comply with the requirements of section 301(a)(3)) in an election for Federal office may submit an application to the Commission for testing and certification under this section.
“(b) Application, assignment, and testing.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—An application under subsection (a) shall be submitted not later than 18 months before the date of the election for Federal office in which the ballot marking device is intended to be used and shall contain such information as the Commission requires.
“(2) ASSIGNMENT.—Upon receipt of an application for testing under this section, the Commission shall contract with a qualified independent user experience research laboratory for the testing of whether the ballot marking device intended to be used by the State or jurisdiction meets the requirements of section 301(a)(10)(B).
“(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTING.—Any contract described in paragraph (2) shall require the qualified independent user experience research laboratory to—
“(4) QUALIFIED INDEPENDENT USER EXPERIENCE RESEARCH LABORATORY.—For purposes of this section:
“(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified independent user experience research laboratory’ means a laboratory accredited under this subsection by the Election Assistance Commission in accordance with standards determined by the Commission, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Secretary of Homeland Security.
“(B) CRITERIA.—A laboratory shall not be accredited under this subsection unless such laboratory demonstrates that—
“(c) Review by independent board.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall submit for approval to an independent review board established under paragraph (3) the following:
“(2) FINAL APPROVAL.—Not later than the date that is 12 months before the date of the election for Federal office in which a State or jurisdiction intends to use the ballot marking device, the independent review board shall report to the Commission on whether it has approved a report submitted under paragraph (1)(B).
“(3) INDEPENDENT REVIEW BOARD.—
“(A) IN GENERAL.—An independent review board established under this paragraph shall be composed of 5 independent scientists appointed by the Commission, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“(d) Certification.—If—
“(1) a ballot marking device is determined by the qualified independent user experience research laboratory to meet the requirements of section 301(a)(7); and
“(2) the report submitted under subsection (b)(3)(C) is approved by a majority of the members of the independent review board under subsection (d)(2),
then the Commission shall certify the ballot marking device.
(B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(i) Section 202(2) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20922(2)) is amended by inserting “and ballot marking devices” after “hardware and software”).
(ii) The heading for subtitle B of title II of such Act is amended by inserting at the end“; ballot marking devices”.
(iii) The table of contents of such Act is amended—
(I) by inserting “; Ballot Marking Devices” at the end of the item relating to subtitle B of title II; and
(II) by inserting after the item related to section 231 the following:
“Sec. 232. Testing and certification of ballot marking devices.”.
(a) Requiring testing of existing voting systems.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20971(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3) TESTING TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH GUIDELINES.—
“(A) TESTING.—Not later than 9 months before the date of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the Commission shall provide for the testing by accredited laboratories under this section of the voting system hardware and software which was certified for use in the most recent such election, on the basis of the most recent voting system guidelines applicable to such hardware or software (including election cybersecurity guidelines) issued under this Act.
“(B) DECERTIFICATION OF HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE FAILING TO MEET GUIDELINES.—If, on the basis of the testing described in subparagraph (A), the Commission determines that any voting system hardware or software does not meet the most recent guidelines applicable to such hardware or software issued under this Act, the Commission shall decertify such hardware or software.”.
(b) Issuance of cybersecurity guidelines by Technical Guidelines Development Committee.—Section 221(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20961(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(3) ELECTION CYBERSECURITY GUIDELINES.—Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, the Development Committee shall issue election cybersecurity guidelines, including standards and best practices for procuring, maintaining, testing, operating, and updating election systems to prevent and deter cybersecurity incidents.”.
(a) Requirement.—Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by sections 104 and 105, is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(9) REQUIRING USE OF SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FOR WHICH INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED BY MANUFACTURER.—
“(A) REQUIRING USE OF SOFTWARE FOR WHICH SOURCE CODE IS DISCLOSED BY MANUFACTURER.—
“(i) IN GENERAL.—In the operation of voting systems in an election for Federal office, a State may only use software for which the manufacturer makes the source code (in the form in which will be used at the time of the election) publicly available online under a license that grants a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, sub-licensable license to all intellectual property rights in such source code, except that the manufacturer may prohibit a person who obtains the software from using the software in a manner that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation that is unrelated to carrying out legitimate research or cybersecurity activity.
“(B) REQUIRING USE OF HARDWARE FOR WHICH INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED BY MANUFACTURER.—
“(i) REQUIRING DISCLOSURE OF HARDWARE.—A State may not use a voting system in an election for Federal office unless the manufacturer of the system publicly discloses online the identification of the hardware used to operate the system.
“(ii) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR CUSTOM OR ALTERED HARDWARE.—To the extent that the hardware used to operate a voting system or any component thereof is not widely-used, or is widely-used but is altered, the State may not use the system in an election for Federal office unless—
“(I) the manufacturer of the system publicly discloses online the components of the hardware, the design of such components, and how such components are connected in the operation of the system; and
“(II) the manufacturer makes the design (in the form which will be used at the time of the election) publicly available online under a license that grants a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, sub-licensable license to all intellectual property rights in the design of the hardware or the component, except that the manufacturer may prohibit a person who obtains the design from using the design in a manner that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or private monetary compensation that is unrelated to carrying out legitimate research or cybersecurity activity.”.
(a) Inclusion in definition of voting system.—Section 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)) is amended—
(b) Definition.—Section 301 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081) is amended—
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following new subsection:
“(c) Electronic poll book defined.—In this Act, the term ‘electronic poll book’ means the total combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment (including the software, firmware, and documentation required to program, control, and support the equipment) that is used—
(c) Effective date.—Section 301(e) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(e)), as redesignated by subsection (b), is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: “, or, with respect to any requirements relating to electronic poll books, on and after January 1, 2020.”.
(a) Requiring States to submit reports.—Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 301 the following new section:
“SEC. 301A. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.
“(a) Requiring States to submit reports.—Not later than 120 days before the date of each regularly scheduled general election for Federal office, the chief State election official of a State shall submit a report to the Commission containing a detailed voting system usage plan for each jurisdiction in the State which will administer the election, including a detailed plan for the usage of electronic poll books and other equipment and components of such system.
(b) Conforming amendment relating to enforcement.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking “sections 301, 302, and 303” and inserting “subtitle A of title III”.
Section 202 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20922) is amended—
(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
“(b) Waiver of certain requirements.—Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the collection of information for purposes of maintaining the clearinghouse described in paragraph (1) of subsection (a).”.
Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104, section 105, and section 203, is further amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
“(10) VOTING MACHINE REQUIREMENTS.—By not later than the date of the regularly scheduled general election for Federal office occurring in November 2022, each State shall seek to ensure that any voting machine used in such election and in any subsequent election for Federal office is manufactured in the United States.”.
If any provision of this Act or amendment made by this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions and amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the holding.
Union Calendar No. 94 | |||||
| |||||
[Report No. 116–129, Part I] | |||||
A BILL | |||||
To protect elections for public office by providing financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure used to carry out such elections, and for other purposes. | |||||
June 26, 2019 | |||||
Reported from the Committee on House Administration with an amendment | |||||
June 26, 2019 | |||||
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed |