II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4574 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to increase penalties for crimes 

against federally protected activities relating to voting and the conduct 

of elections, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 20, 2022 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. MANCHIN, Mr. PORTMAN, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. 

ROMNEY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. WARNER, Mr. TILLIS, 

Mr. MURPHY, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to increase penalties 

for crimes against federally protected activities relating 

to voting and the conduct of elections, and for other 

purposes. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Enhanced Election Security and Protection Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ENHANCED PENALTIES TO PROTECT OUR ELECTIONS 

ACT 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Enhanced penalties for crimes against federally protected activities 

relating to voting and the conduct of elections. 

TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE ELECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Definitions. 

Sec. 203. Best practices guidance for Federal election mail. 

Sec. 204. Election mail services from the Postal Service. 

Sec. 205. Creation of standardized Federal ballot mail parameters and features. 

Sec. 206. Ballot search and certification. 

Sec. 207. Federal election mail processing. 

Sec. 208. Postmark required on all Federal ballots. 

Sec. 209. No cause of action. 

TITLE III—REAUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

COMMISSION 

Sec. 301. Reauthorization of Election Assistance Commission. 

Sec. 302. Requiring penetration testing as part of the testing and certification 

of voting systems. 

TITLE IV—PROTECTIONS FOR ELECTION RECORDS, PAPERS, AND 

VOTING SYSTEMS 

Sec. 401. Short title. 

Sec. 402. Protection for election records, papers, and voting systems. 

1 TITLE I—ENHANCED PENALTIES 

2 TO PROTECT OUR ELECTIONS 

3 ACT 

4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Enhanced Penalties 

6 to Protect Our Elections Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. ENHANCED PENALTIES FOR CRIMES AGAINST 

2 FEDERALLY PROTECTED ACTIVITIES RELAT3 ING TO VOTING AND THE CONDUCT OF ELEC4 TIONS. 

5 Section 245(b) of title 18, United States Code, is 

6 amended in the matter following paragraph (5) by insert7 ing ‘‘(or, in the case of a violation of paragraph (1)(A), 

8 two years)’’ after ‘‘one year’’. 

9 TITLE II—POSTAL SERVICE 

10 ELECTION IMPROVEMENT ACT 

11 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

12 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Postal Service Elec13 tion Improvement Act’’. 

14 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS. 

15 In this title: 

16 (1) COVERED ELECTION.—The term ‘‘covered 

17 election’’ means an election for Federal office. 

18 (2) ELECTION MAIL ADVISOR.—The term 

19 ‘‘Election Mail Advisor’’ means an individual des20 ignated under section 204(b). 

21 (3) ELECTION OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘election 

22 official’’ means an individual responsible for over23 seeing voting in a covered election in a State, local24 ity, or Tribal territory. 

25 (4) FEDERAL ELECTION MAIL.—The term 

26 ‘‘Federal election mail’’— 


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1 (A) means any item mailed to or from an 

2 authorized election official that enables citizens 

3 to participate in the voting process with respect 

4 to a covered election; and 

5 (B) includes a ballot, voter registration 

6 card, absentee voting application, and polling 

7 place notification. 

8 (5) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of9 fice’’ has the meaning given that term in section 301 

10 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 

11 U.S.C. 30101). 

12 (6) POSTAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘Postal Serv13 ice’’ means the United States Postal Service. 

14 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean15 ing given that term in section 901 of the Help 

16 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141). 

17 SEC. 203. BEST PRACTICES GUIDANCE FOR FEDERAL ELEC18 TION MAIL. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30 of 

20 each odd-numbered year, the Postal Service shall issue 

21 best practices for State, local, and Tribal governments, in 

22 light of the capabilities of the Postal Service, regarding— 

23 (1) optimal timing for voters to request and re24 turn absentee or mail-in ballots through the mail for 


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1 covered elections, based on the established service 

2 standards of the Postal Service; 

3 (2) the design, physical standards, and format 

4 of the envelopes containing physical voting materials 

5 for covered elections that may be processed through 

6 the mail, such as ballot envelopes; 

7 (3) the use of identifying information to des8 ignate Federal election mail for more efficient proc9 essing; and 

10 (4) other topics the Postal Service may identify 

11 to improve the efficiency of Federal election mail. 

12 (b) POSTAL SERVICE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in sub13 section (a) shall prevent the Postal Service from updating 

14 the best practices issued under that subsection as appro15 priate following the date of issuance. 

16 (c) RECIPIENTS.—The Postal Service shall make 

17 publicly available the best practices issued under sub18 section (a), and shall provide specific notice of the best 

19 practices to— 

20 (1) State, local, and Tribal election officials; 

21 (2) the chief executive officer of each State; and 

22 (3) majority and minority leadership of each 

23 State legislature. 


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1 SEC. 204. ELECTION MAIL SERVICES FROM THE POSTAL 

2 SERVICE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall coordi4 nate Federal election mail services to include the following: 

5 (1) Designation of employees to coordinate with 

6 relevant processing plants, post offices, retail units, 

7 delivery units, managers, supervisors, and other 

8 postal employees to— 

9 (A) ensure all Federal election mail is han10 dled in an appropriate manner; 

11 (B) develop metrics and internal reporting 

12 requirements, as necessary, to ensure Federal 

13 election mail processing and handling comply 

14 with applicable regulations and guidelines of the 

15 Postal Service; and 

16 (C) ensure any extraordinary measures to 

17 process Federal election mail are appropriately 

18 carried out according to the regulations and 

19 guidelines of the Postal Service. 

20 (2) Assistance of election officials by Election 

21 Mail Advisors from the appropriate geographic of22 fices of the Postal Service with facilitating Federal 

23 election mail. 

24 (3) Advice for election officials by mailpiece de25 sign analysts, in coordination with the relevant Elec26 tion Mail Advisor, on— 


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1 (A) how to improve the tracking and visi2 bility of mail-in ballots for covered elections; 

3 and 

4 (B) verification that ballot mail envelope 

5 designs are consistent with the standardized pa6 rameters and features created under section 

7 205. 

8 (b) ELECTION MAIL ADVISORS.— 

9 (1) NUMBER OF ELECTION MAIL ADVISORS.— 

10 (A) MINIMUM NUMBER OF ELECTION MAIL

11 ADVISORS PER STATE.—The Postal Service 

12 shall designate not less than 1 dedicated Elec13 tion Mail Advisor for each State. 

14 (B) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF

15 ELECTION MAIL ADVISORS PER STATE.—In de16 termining the number of Election Mail Advisors 

17 to designate for a State, the Postal Service 

18 shall take into account the population and the 

19 organization of the election administration of 

20 the State to ensure that a sufficient number of 

21 Election Mail Advisors are designated. 

22 (2) DUTIES OF ELECTION MAIL ADVISOR.—An 

23 Election Mail Advisor shall provide information, 

24 guidance, and coordination to assist election officials 


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1 in managing the use of Federal election mail in the 

2 applicable jurisdiction, including— 

3 (A) providing the election officials with de4 tailed information on— 

5 (i) service standards and other rel6 evant service-related information for the 

7 region relating to the processing of Federal 

8 election mail that would assist election offi9 cials in managing covered elections; 

10 (ii) best practices issued under section 

11 203; and 

12 (iii) Postal Service regulations, guide13 lines, and processes for handling Federal 

14 election mail; and 

15 (B) performing any other duties assigned 

16 by the Postal Service to improve the ability of 

17 election officials to manage covered elections in 

18 their respective jurisdictions. 

19 SEC. 205. CREATION OF STANDARDIZED FEDERAL BALLOT 

20 MAIL PARAMETERS AND FEATURES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Postal Service shall create 

22 standardized ballot envelope design parameters and fea23 tures for blank outbound ballots and for returning in24 bound ballots that a State may choose to use in covered 

25 elections. 


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1 (b) TRACKING FOR STANDARDIZED BALLOT ENVE2 LOPE.—The standardized ballot envelope design param3 eters under subsection (a) shall include the ability to in4 corporate tracking technology. 

5 SEC. 206. BALLOT SEARCH AND CERTIFICATION. 

6 (a) BALLOT IDENTIFICATION.—During the period 

7 beginning not later than 14 days before the date of a cov8 ered election and ending not earlier than 7 days after the 

9 last date on which the State accepts ballots cast in that 

10 covered election, the Postal Service shall conduct daily in11 spections for ballots in each Postal Service facility that 

12 processes Federal election mail in any Postal Service dis13 trict in which the covered election is being held to ensure 

14 that each ballot scheduled to depart the facility that day 

15 has departed the facility. 

16 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Each day during a period de17 scribed in subsection (a), the manager or supervisor in 

18 charge of a Postal Service facility described in that sub19 section shall certify in a record maintained by the Postal 

20 Service that each ballot scheduled to depart the facility 

21 that day has departed the facility. 

22 SEC. 207. FEDERAL ELECTION MAIL PROCESSING. 

23 (a) PROCESSING PRECEDING ELECTIONS FOR FED24 ERAL OFFICE.—During the 90-day period preceding a 


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1 general election for Federal office, the Postal Service may 

2 not— 

3 (1) implement any service standard changes 

4 that would slow the delivery of Federal election mail; 

5 (2) take any steps that would meaningfully 

6 interfere with the ability of the Postal Service to 

7 achieve its service standards; or 

8 (3) engage in activity that would meaningfully 

9 interfere with the ability of the Postal Service to 

10 prioritize monitoring and timely delivery of Federal 

11 election mail. 

12 (b) SUNDAY PROCESSING.—The Postal Service shall 

13 collect and process the mail in a Postal Service district 

14 on the Sunday before a general election is held in that 

15 district. 

16 (c) EXTENDED HOURS.—The Postal Service shall co17 ordinate with election officials and may operate on ex18 tended hours, as necessary, to process Federal election 

19 mail in advance of a covered election. 

20 SEC. 208. POSTMARK REQUIRED ON ALL FEDERAL BAL21 LOTS. 

22 The Postal Service shall implement procedures de23 signed to apply a physical postmark or other physical indi24 cia bearing a legible date to each identifiable envelope conVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:28 Jul 25, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4574.IS S4574

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1 taining a ballot when returned by mail for a covered elec2 tion to the maximum extent practicable. 

3 SEC. 209. NO CAUSE OF ACTION. 

4 No provision of this title shall— 

5 (1) be binding on any State, local, or Tribal 

6 government; or 

7 (2) be construed to create any right or benefit, 

8 substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in 

9 equity by any party against the United States, the 

10 Postal Service, or a State, local, or Tribal govern11 ment, a department, agency, entity, officer, em12 ployee, or agent thereof, or any other person. 

13 TITLE III—REAUTHORIZATION 

14 OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

15 COMMISSION 

16 SEC. 301. REAUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 

17 COMMISSION. 

18 Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

19 (52 U.S.C. 20930) is amended— 

20 (1) by inserting ‘‘, and for each of the fiscal 

21 years 2023 through 2027,’’ after ‘‘2005’’; and 

22 (2) by striking ‘‘(but not to exceed $10,000,000 

23 for each such year)’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. REQUIRING PENETRATION TESTING AS PART OF 

2 THE TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OF VOT3 ING SYSTEMS. 

4 Section 231(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

5 (52 U.S.C. 20971(a)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED PENETRATION TESTING.—The 

8 Commission shall provide for the conduct of penetra9 tion testing as part of the testing, certification, de10 certification, and recertification of voting system 

11 hardware and software by accredited laboratories 

12 under this section.’’. 

13 TITLE IV—PROTECTIONS FOR 

14 ELECTION RECORDS, PAPERS, 

15 AND VOTING SYSTEMS 

16 SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE. 

17 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Election Records Pro18 tection Act’’. 

19 SEC. 402. PROTECTION FOR ELECTION RECORDS, PAPERS, 

20 AND VOTING SYSTEMS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Civil Rights 

23 Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq.) is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 307. RECORDS. 

2 ‘‘As used in this title, the term ‘record’ includes any 

3 electronic record.’’. 

4 (2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 180 days after 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

6 General, in consultation with the Director of the Cy7 bersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of 

8 the Department of Homeland Security, shall issue 

9 informal guidance regarding compliance with section 

10 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 

11 20701), including recommendations for retaining 

12 and preserving records (including electronic records) 

13 and papers. 

14 (b) INCREASED PENALTY FOR WILLFUL FAILURE

15 TO RETAIN AND PRESERVE ELECTION RECORDS.—Sec16 tion 302 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 

17 20702) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘$1,000’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘$10,000’’; and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘one year’’ and inserting ‘‘two 

21 years’’. 

22 (c) PENALTY FOR THEFT, DESTRUCTION, CONCEAL23 MENT, MUTILATION, OR ALTERATION OF VOTING SYS24 TEMS.—Section 12(2) of the National Voter Registration 

25 Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph 

2 (A); 

3 (2) by striking the comma at the end of sub4 paragraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub6 paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(C) the theft, destruction, concealment, 

8 mutilation, or alteration of voting systems;’’. 

Æ 


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