IB 

Union Calendar No. 318 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4990 

[Report No. 116–396, Part I] 

To direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation to carry out research and other activities 

to promote the security and modernization of voting systems, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2019 

Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, 

and Mr. LUCAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 

Committee on House Administration, 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 

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 

Additional sponsors: Mr. BALDERSON, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, 

Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. CASE, Mr. HARDER of California, Ms. SLOTKIN, and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire 

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with an 

amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 

Committee on House Administration 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 November 8, 2019] 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 4990 RH

A BILL 

To direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

and the National Science Foundation to carry out research and other activities to promote the security and 

modernization of voting systems, and for other purposes. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 4990 RH

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Election Technology Re5 search Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH7 NOLOGY. 

8 (a) VOTING SYSTEMS RESEARCH.—The Director of the 

9 National Institute of Standards and Technology, in collabo10 ration with the National Science Foundation as appro11 priate, shall carry out a program of research on voting sys12 tems, including— 

13 (1) the cybersecurity of different components of 

14 such systems; 

15 (2) end-to-end verifiable systems; 

16 (3) Internet-enabled voting; 

17 (4) the accessibility and usability of different 

18 components of such systems; 

19 (5) voter privacy and data protection; 

20 (6) methods for auditing elections; 

21 (7) the interoperability of system technologies; 

22 (8) means for providing voters with the ability 

23 to easily check whether a ballot sent by mail has been 

24 dispatched to the voter and whether the voter’s 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 4990 RH

1 marked ballot has been received and accepted by the 

2 appropriate election official; 

3 (9) the reliability of various approaches to voter 

4 authentication; and 

5 (10) such other areas of research as the Director 

6 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

7 determines to be appropriate and related to the secu8 rity and integrity of elections for Federal office. 

9 (b) ELECTIONS SYSTEMS CENTER OF EXCELLENCE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

11 Institute of Standards and Technology shall make an 

12 award to an institution of higher education or an eli13 gible nonprofit organization (or a consortium thereof) 

14 to establish a Center of Excellence in Election Sys15 tems. 

16 (2) COLLABORATIONS.—The Director shall en17 sure that the Center of Excellence includes a collabo18 ration of institutions of higher education, nonprofit 

19 organizations, private sector entities, and State and 

20 local election officials. 

21 (3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Center of Ex22 cellence shall be to— 

23 (A) conduct measurement research and sta24 tistical analyses to inform the development of 

25 standards for technologies and processes that 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 4990 RH

1 contribute to more secure, fair, and accessible 

2 elections; 

3 (B) test and evaluate the security, usability, 

4 and accessibility of the technologies of voting sys5 tems, including the accessibility of poll book data 

6 by voters; 

7 (C) research testing methods that could be 

8 used for the certification of voting system tech9 nologies; 

10 (D) educate and train students studying in 

11 science, technology, engineering, and mathe12 matics fields to conduct measurement science 

13 and standards research relevant to such systems; 

14 and 

15 (E) foster collaboration among academic re16 searchers, private sector vendors of election tech17 nology, and State and local election officials. 

18 (4) REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher 

20 education or an eligible nonprofit organization 

21 (or a consortium thereof) seeking funding under 

22 this subsection shall submit an application to the 

23 Director at such time, in such manner, and con24 taining such information as the Director may 

25 require. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 4990 RH

1 (B) APPLICATIONS.—Each application 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall include a descrip3 tion of— 

4 (i) how the Center will work with other 

5 research institutions, industry partners, 

6 and State or local election officials to iden7 tify the measurement, testing, and stand8 ards needs of voting systems and to leverage 

9 the expertise of election practitioners; and 

10 (ii) how the Center will promote active 

11 collaboration among researchers in multiple 

12 disciplines involved in ensuring the security 

13 and integrity of such systems. 

14 (C) SELECTION AND DURATION.—Each Cen15 ter established under this section is authorized to 

16 carry out activities for a period of 5 years, re17 newable for an additional 5 years at the discre18 tion of the Director. 

19 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $12,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

22 SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. 

23 (a) RESEARCH GRANTS.—The Director of the National 

24 Science Foundation, in collaboration with the National In25 stitute of Standards and Technology and other relevant 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 4990 RH

1 agencies, as appropriate, shall award basic research grants 

2 to increase the understanding of cyber and other threats to 

3 voting systems and to inform the development of tech4 nologies, processes, and policies that contribute to more se5 cure, fair, and accessible elections, including research on— 

6 (1) the cybersecurity of different components of 

7 such systems; 

8 (2) end-to-end verifiable systems; 

9 (3) the risks and benefits of Internet-enabled vot10 ing; 

11 (4) the human-technology interface, including the 

12 usability, accessibility, and comprehensibility of bal13 lot design, ballot marking devices, and other compo14 nents of such systems; 

15 (5) voter privacy and data protection; 

16 (6) voter practices regarding the verification of 

17 ballots generated by ballot marking devices and the 

18 likelihood that voters, both with and without disabil19 ities, will recognize errors or omissions with respect 

20 to such ballots; and 

21 (7) such other topics as the Director determines 

22 to be appropriate and related to the integrity of elec23 tions. 

24 (b) ELECTIONS SYSTEMS RESEARCH CENTER.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 4990 RH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

2 Science Foundation, in consultation with the Director 

3 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

4 and the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appro5 priate, shall award grants to institutions of higher 

6 education or eligible nonprofit organizations (or con7 sortia thereof) to establish at least 1 multidisciplinary 

8 center for elections systems research and education. 

9 (2) CONSORTIA.—A consortia receiving an 

10 award under this subsection may include institutions 

11 of higher education, nonprofit organizations, private 

12 sector entities, and State and local election officials. 

13 (3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of a center estab14 lished with a grant awarded under this subsection 

15 shall be to— 

16 (A) conduct basic research to advance un17 derstanding of cyber and other threats to election 

18 systems and the conduct of secure, fair, and ac19 cessible elections; 

20 (B) conduct research that may inform the 

21 development of technologies, processes, and poli22 cies that contribute to more secure, fair, and ac23 cessible elections; 

24 (C) educate and train students studying in 

25 science, technology, engineering, and matheVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 4990 RH

1 matics fields to conduct research relevant to elec2 tion systems; 

3 (D) design curricula that address the grow4 ing organizational management and information 

5 technology needs of the election community; and 

6 (E) foster collaboration among academic re7 searchers, private sector vendors of election tech8 nology, and State and local election officials. 

9 (4) REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher 

11 education or an eligible nonprofit organization 

12 (or a consortium thereof) seeking funding under 

13 this subsection shall submit an application to the 

14 Director of the National Science Foundation at 

15 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

16 information as the Director may require. 

17 (B) APPLICATIONS.—Each application 

18 under subparagraph (A) shall include a descrip19 tion of— 

20 (i) how the center established with a 

21 grant awarded under this subsection will 

22 work with other research institutions, in23 dustry partners, and State and local elec24 tion officials to identify research needs and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 4990 RH

1 leverage the expertise of election practi2 tioners; and 

3 (ii) how the center will promote active 

4 collaboration among researchers in multiple 

5 disciplines involved in elections systems se6 curity, including computer science, data 

7 science, and social and behavioral sciences. 

8 (5) SELECTION AND DURATION.—Each center es9 tablished with a grant awarded under this section is 

10 authorized to carry out activities for a period of 5 

11 years, renewable for an additional 5 years at the dis12 cretion of the Director. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 

16 SEC. 4. OTHER ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF 

17 STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE 

18 SECURITY AND MODERNIZATION OF VOTING 

19 SYSTEMS. 

20 (a) COMMON DATA FORMAT.—The National Institute 

21 of Standards and Technology shall establish and make pub22 licly available common data format specifications for audit23 ing, voter registration, and other elements of voting systems, 

24 and provide the specifications to the Technical Guidelines 

25 Development Committee of the Election Assistance CommisVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 4990 RH

1 sion under section 221(e) of the Help America Vote Act of 

2 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20961(e)). 

3 (b) ELECTIONS SYSTEMS CERTIFICATIONS.—The Na4 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall work in 

5 collaboration with the Election Assistance Commission to 

6 update the process under which voting systems are certified 

7 pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002 so that 

8 State and local election officials will be better able to carry 

9 out updates and otherwise modernize such systems. 

10 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director of the Na11 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall— 

12 (1) provide technical assistance to State and 

13 local election officials on the implementation of cyber14 security standards, privacy standards, risk assess15 ments, risk-limiting audits, and technologies which 

16 are incorporated in the voluntary voting system 

17 guidelines issued under the Help America Vote Act of 

18 2002; and 

19 (2) in collaboration with the Department of 

20 Homeland Security and the Election Assistance Com21 mission, as appropriate, conduct outreach to State 

22 and local election officials in order to disseminate best 

23 practices for the implementation of such voluntary 

24 voting system guidelines. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 4990 RH

1 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 

2 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report 

4 to Congress that— 

5 (1) addresses the extent to which efforts by the 

6 National Institute of Standards and Technology 

7 (NIST) to assist the Technical Guidelines Develop8 ment Committee of the Election Assistance Commis9 sion in the development of voluntary voting systems 

10 guidelines have resulted in market-ready standardized 

11 voting equipment and software, and addresses the re12 sources made available to NIST to carry out these ac13 tivities; 

14 (2) addresses efforts by NIST to monitor and re15 view the performance of laboratories accredited by the 

16 Elections Assistance Commission and to make rec17 ommendations for continuing accreditation, increased 

18 voting technology reliability, and the number of ac19 credited private laboratories, and addresses resources 

20 made available to NIST to carry out these activities; 

21 and 

22 (3) addresses the extent to which the annual list 

23 of suggestions required to be submitted by NIST to the 

24 Election Assistance Commission for research issues for 

25 grants and pilot programs under section 271(d) of the 

26 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21041) 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 4990 RH

1 and the evaluation of grants and programs by NIST 

2 has improved voting technology and been successful in 

3 encouraging the implementation of new technologies 

4 in voting systems and equipment. 

5 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 

6 2002. 

7 Section 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

8 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)) is amended— 

9 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

10 striking ‘‘this section’’ and inserting ‘‘this Act’’; 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

12 (1); 

13 (3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para14 graph (6); and 

15 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol16 lowing new paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(2) any other paper or electronic technologies or 

18 processes for collecting, storing, or transmitting per19 sonal information of voters for use in the administra20 tion of elections for Federal office, including electronic 

21 poll books with respect to an election; 

22 ‘‘(3) voter registration databases and systems, 

23 including online interfaces; 

24 ‘‘(4) systems for carrying out post-election audit25 ing; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 4990 RH

1 ‘‘(5) chain-of-custody procedures; and’’. 

2 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

3 In this Act— 

4 (1) the term ‘‘voting system’’ has the meaning 

5 given such term in section 301(b) of the Help Amer6 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)), as amend7 ed by section 6; and 

8 (2) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

9 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

10 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 

11 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 

12 Northern Mariana Islands. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 318 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4990 

[Report No. 116–396, Part I] 

A BILL 

To direct the National Institute of Standards and 

systems, and for other purposes. mote the security and modernization of voting to carry out research and other activities to proTechnology and the National Science Foundation 

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and 

Technology with an amendment 

FEBRUARY 13, 2020 

Committee on House Administration discharged; comState of the Union and ordered to be printed mitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS