II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2593 

To protect the administration of Federal elections against cybersecurity 

threats. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2018 

Mr. LANKFORD (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. GRAHAM, Ms. HARRIS, 

Ms. COLLINS, Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. BURR, and Mr. WARNER) introduced 

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 

on Rules and Administration 

A BILL 

To protect the administration of Federal elections against 

cybersecurity threats. 

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 ‘‘Secure Elections Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

6 It is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) the States conduct elections and should 

8 maintain control of and responsibility for them; 


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1 (2) it is important to maintain State leadership 

2 in election administration; 

3 (3) free and fair elections are central to our de4 mocracy; 

5 (4) protecting our elections is a national secu6 rity priority; and 

7 (5) an attack on our election systems by a for8 eign power is a hostile act and should be met with 

9 appropriate retaliatory actions, including immediate 

10 and severe sanctions. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) ADVISORY PANEL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 

14 Panel’’ means the advisory panel of independent ex15 perts on election cybersecurity established under sec16 tion 5(a)(1). 

17 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com19 mittees’’ means— 

20 (A) the Committee on Rules and Adminis21 tration, the Committee on Armed Services, the 

22 Committee on Homeland Security and Govern23 mental Affairs, the Committee on Appropria24 tions, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the 


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1 majority leader, and the minority leader of the 

2 Senate; and 

3 (B) the Committee on House Administra4 tion, the Committee on Armed Services, the 

5 Committee on Homeland Security, the Com6 mittee on Appropriations, the Permanent Select 

7 Committee on Intelligence, the Speaker, and the 

8 minority leader of the House of Representa9 tives. 

10 (3) APPROPRIATE FEDERAL ENTITIES.—The 

11 term ‘‘appropriate Federal entities’’ means— 

12 (A) the Department of Commerce, includ13 ing the National Institute of Standards and 

14 Technology; 

15 (B) the Department of Defense; 

16 (C) the Department, including the compo17 nent of the Department that reports to the 

18 Under Secretary responsible for overseeing crit19 ical infrastructure protection, cybersecurity, and 

20 other related programs of the Department; 

21 (D) the Department of Justice, including 

22 the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 

23 (E) the Commission; and 

24 (F) the Office of the Director of National 

25 Intelligence, the National Security Agency, and 


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1 such other elements of the intelligence commu2 nity (as defined in section 3 of the National Se3 curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)) as the 

4 Director of National Intelligence determines are 

5 appropriate. 

6 (4) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means 

7 the Chairman of the Election Assistance Commis8 sion. 

9 (5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

10 means the Election Assistance Commission. 

11 (6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

12 means the Department of Homeland Security. 

13 (7) ELECTION AGENCY.—The term ‘‘election 

14 agency’’ means any component of a State or any 

15 component of a county, municipality, or other sub16 division of a State that is responsible for admin17 istering Federal elections. 

18 (8) ELECTION CYBERSECURITY INCIDENT.— 

19 The term ‘‘election cybersecurity incident’’ means 

20 any incident involving an election system. 

21 (9) ELECTION CYBERSECURITY THREAT.—The 

22 term ‘‘election cybersecurity threat’’ means any cy23 bersecurity threat (as defined in section 102 of the 

24 Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (6 

25 U.S.C. 1501)) to an election system. 


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1 (10) ELECTION CYBERSECURITY VULNER2 ABILITY.—The term ‘‘election cybersecurity vulner3 ability’’ means any security vulnerability (as defined 

4 in section 102 of the Cybersecurity Information 

5 Sharing Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. 1501)) that affects 

6 an election system. 

7 (11) ELECTION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

8 ‘‘election service provider’’ means any person pro9 viding, supporting, or maintaining an election sys10 tem on behalf of an election agency, such as a con11 tractor or vendor. 

12 (12) ELECTION SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘election 

13 system’’ means a voting system, an election manage14 ment system, a voter registration website or data15 base, an electronic pollbook, a system for tabulating 

16 or reporting election results, an election agency com17 munications system, or any other information sys18 tem (as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United 

19 States Code) that the Secretary identifies as central 

20 to the management, support, or administration of a 

21 Federal election. 

22 (13) FEDERAL ELECTION.—The term ‘‘Federal 

23 election’’ means any election (as defined in section 

24 301(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 

25 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(1))) for Federal office (as 


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1 defined in section 301(3) of the Federal Election 

2 Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(3))). 

3 (14) FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal 

4 entity’’ means any agency (as defined in section 551 

5 of title 5, United States Code). 

6 (15) INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘incident’’ has the 

7 meaning given the term in section 227(a) of the 

8 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148(a)). 

9 (16) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

10 means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

11 (17) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

12 the several States of the United States, the District 

13 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

14 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 

15 Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States 

16 Virgin Islands. 

17 (18) STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL.—The term 

18 ‘‘State election official’’ means— 

19 (A) the chief State election official of a 

20 State designated under section 10 of the Na21 tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 

22 U.S.C. 20509); or 

23 (B) in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 

24 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 

25 Northern Mariana Islands, and the United 


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1 States Virgin Islands, a chief State election of2 ficial designated by the State for purposes of 

3 this Act. 

4 (19) STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.— 

5 The term ‘‘State law enforcement officer’’ means the 

6 head of a State law enforcement agency, such as an 

7 attorney general. 

8 (20) VOTING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘voting sys9 tem’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

10 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

11 U.S.C. 21081(b)). 

12 SEC. 4. INFORMATION SHARING. 

13 (a) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL ENTI14 TY.—The Secretary shall have primary responsibility with15 in the Federal Government for sharing information about 

16 election cybersecurity incidents, threats, and vulnerabili17 ties with Federal entities and with election agencies. 

18 (b) PRESUMPTION OF FEDERAL INFORMATION

19 SHARING TO THE DEPARTMENT.—If a Federal entity re20 ceives information about an election cybersecurity inci21 dent, threat, or vulnerability, the Federal entity shall 

22 promptly share that information with the Department, un23 less the head of the entity (or a Senate-confirmed official 

24 designated by the head) makes a specific determination 


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1 in writing that there is good cause to withhold the par2 ticular information. 

3 (c) PRESUMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE INFOR4 MATION SHARING FROM THE DEPARTMENT.—If the De5 partment receives information about an election cyberse6 curity incident, threat, or vulnerability, the Department 

7 shall promptly share that information with— 

8 (1) the appropriate Federal entities; 

9 (2) all State election agencies; 

10 (3) to the maximum extent practicable, all elec11 tion agencies that have requested ongoing updates 

12 on election cybersecurity incidents, threats, or 

13 vulnerabilities; and 

14 (4) to the maximum extent practicable, all elec15 tion agencies that may be affected by the risks asso16 ciated with the particular election cybersecurity inci17 dent, threat, or vulnerability. 

18 (d) TECHNICAL RESOURCES FOR ELECTION AGEN19 CIES.—In sharing information about election cybersecu20 rity incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities with election 

21 agencies under this section, the Department shall, to the 

22 maximum extent practicable— 

23 (1) provide cyber threat indicators and defen24 sive measures (as such terms are defined in section 

25 102 of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 


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1 2015 (6 U.S.C. 1501)), such as recommended tech2 nical instructions, that assist with preventing, miti3 gating, and detecting threats or vulnerabilities; 

4 (2) identify resources available for protecting 

5 against, detecting, responding to, and recovering 

6 from associated risks, including technical capabilities 

7 of the Department; and 

8 (3) provide guidance about further sharing of 

9 the information. 

10 (e) DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW.—If the Department 

11 receives classified information about an election cybersecu12 rity incident, threat, or vulnerability— 

13 (1) the Secretary shall promptly submit a re14 quest for expedited declassification review to the 

15 head of a Federal entity with authority to conduct 

16 the review, consistent with Executive Order 13526 

17 or any successor order, unless the Secretary deter18 mines that such a request would be inappropriate; 

19 and 

20 (2) the head of the Federal entity described in 

21 paragraph (1) shall promptly conduct the review. 

22 (f) ROLE OF NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES.—The De23 partment may share information about election cybersecu24 rity incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities through a non25 Federal entity. 


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1 (g) PROTECTION OF PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

2 INFORMATION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a Federal entity shares 

4 information relating to an election cybersecurity inci5 dent, threat, or vulnerability, the Federal entity 

6 shall, within Federal information systems (as de7 fined in section 3502 of title 44, United States 

8 Code) of the entity— 

9 (A) minimize the acquisition, use, and dis10 closure of personal information of voters, except 

11 as necessary to identify, protect against, detect, 

12 respond to, or recover from election cybersecu13 rity incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities; 

14 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of 

15 law, prohibit the retention of personal informa16 tion of voters, such as— 

17 (i) voter registration information, in18 cluding physical address, email address, 

19 and telephone number; 

20 (ii) political party affiliation or reg21 istration information; and 

22 (iii) voter history, including registra23 tion status or election participation; and 

24 (C) protect confidential Federal and State 

25 information from unauthorized disclosure. 


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1 (2) EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE.—Informa2 tion relating to an election cybersecurity incident, 

3 threat, or vulnerability, such as personally identifi4 able information of reporting persons or individuals 

5 affected by such incident, threat, or vulnerability, 

6 shared by or with the Federal Government shall 

7 be— 

8 (A) deemed voluntarily shared information 

9 and exempt from disclosure under section 552 

10 of title 5, United States Code, and any State, 

11 tribal, or local provision of law requiring disclo12 sure of information or records; and 

13 (B) withheld, without discretion, from the 

14 public under section 552(b)(3)(B) of title 5, 

15 United States Code, and any State, tribal, or 

16 local provision of law requiring disclosure of in17 formation or records. 

18 (h) DUTY TO ASSESS POSSIBLE CYBERSECURITY IN19 CIDENTS.— 

20 (1) ELECTION AGENCIES.—If an election agen21 cy becomes aware of the possibility of an election cy22 bersecurity incident, the election agency shall 

23 promptly assess whether an election cybersecurity in24 cident occurred and notify the State election official. 


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1 (2) ELECTION SERVICE PROVIDERS.—If an 

2 election service provider becomes aware of the possi3 bility of an election cybersecurity incident, the elec4 tion service provider shall promptly assess whether 

5 an election cybersecurity incident occurred and no6 tify the relevant election agencies consistent with 

7 subsection (j). 

8 (i) INFORMATION SHARING ABOUT CYBERSECURITY

9 INCIDENTS BY ELECTION AGENCIES.—If an election 

10 agency has reason to believe that an election cybersecurity 

11 incident has occurred with respect to an election system 

12 owned, operated, or maintained by or on behalf of the elec13 tion agency, the election agency shall, in the most expe14 dient time possible and without unreasonable delay, pro15 vide notification of the election cybersecurity incident to 

16 the Department. 

17 (j) INFORMATION SHARING ABOUT CYBERSECURITY

18 INCIDENTS BY ELECTION SERVICE PROVIDERS.—If an 

19 election service provider has reason to believe that an elec20 tion cybersecurity incident may have occurred, or that an 

21 incident related to the role of the provider as an election 

22 service provider may have occurred, the election service 

23 provider shall— 


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1 (1) notify the relevant election agencies in the 

2 most expedient time possible and without unreason3 able delay; and 

4 (2) cooperate with the election agencies in pro5 viding the notifications required under subsections 

6 (h)(1) and (i). 

7 (k) CONTENT OF NOTIFICATION BY ELECTION

8 AGENCIES.—The notifications required under subsections 

9 (h)(1) and (i)— 

10 (1) shall include an initial assessment of— 

11 (A) the date, time, and duration of the 

12 election cybersecurity incident; 

13 (B) the circumstances of the election cy14 bersecurity incident, including the specific elec15 tion systems believed to have been accessed and 

16 information acquired; and 

17 (C) planned and implemented technical 

18 measures to respond to and recover from the 

19 incident; and 

20 (2) shall be updated with additional material in21 formation, including technical data, as it becomes 

22 available. 

23 (l) SECURITY CLEARANCE.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary— 


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1 (1) shall establish an expedited process for pro2 viding appropriate security clearance to State elec3 tion officials and designated technical personnel em4 ployed by State election agencies; 

5 (2) shall establish an expedited process for pro6 viding appropriate security clearance to members of 

7 the Commission and designated technical personnel 

8 employed by the Commission; and 

9 (3) shall establish a process for providing ap10 propriate security clearance to personnel at other 

11 election agencies. 

12 (m) PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY.—Nothing in this 

13 Act may be construed to provide a cause of action against 

14 a State, unit of local government, or an election service 

15 provider. 

16 (n) ASSESSMENT OF INTER-STATE INFORMATION

17 SHARING ABOUT ELECTION CYBERSECURITY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the 

19 Chairman, in coordination with the heads of the ap20 propriate Federal entities and appropriate officials 

21 of State and local governments, shall conduct an as22 sessment of— 

23 (A) the structure and functioning of the 

24 Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis 


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1 Center for purposes of election cybersecurity; 

2 and 

3 (B) other mechanisms for inter-state infor4 mation sharing about election cybersecurity. 

5 (2) COMMENT FROM ELECTION AGENCIES.—In 

6 carrying out the assessment required under para7 graph (1), the Secretary and the Chairman shall so8 licit and consider comments from all State election 

9 agencies. 

10 (3) DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary and the 

11 Chairman shall jointly issue the assessment required 

12 under paragraph (1) to— 

13 (A) all election agencies known to the De14 partment and the Commission; and 

15 (B) the appropriate congressional commit16 tees. 

17 (o) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—If an appropriate Federal 

19 entity has reason to believe that a significant elec20 tion cybersecurity incident has occurred, the entity 

21 shall— 

22 (A) not later than 7 calendar days after 

23 the date on which there is a reasonable basis to 

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1 curred, provide notification of the incident to 

2 the appropriate congressional committees; and 

3 (B) update the initial notification under 

4 paragraph (1) within a reasonable period of 

5 time after additional information relating to the 

6 incident is discovered. 

7 (2) REPORTING THRESHOLD.—The Secretary 

8 shall— 

9 (A) promulgate a uniform definition of a 

10 ‘‘significant election cybersecurity incident’’; 

11 and 

12 (B) shall submit the definition promul13 gated under subparagraph (A) to the appro14 priate congressional committees. 

15 SEC. 5. ADVISORY PANEL AND GUIDELINES. 

16 (a) ADVISORY PANEL.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall estab18 lish an advisory panel of independent experts on 

19 election cybersecurity. 

20 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Panel shall 

21 consist of not less than 9 members, of whom— 

22 (A) one shall be appointed by the Chair23 man, in consultation with the Secretary and the 

24 Director of the National Institute of Standards 


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1 and Technology, and shall be designated as the 

2 Chairman of the advisory panel; 

3 (B) four shall be appointed by the Chair4 man, in consultation with the Secretary; and 

5 (C) four shall be appointed by the Sec6 retary, in consultation with the Chairman and 

7 the Director of the National Institute of Stand8 ards and Technology. 

9 (3) ELIGIBILITY.—Individuals appointed to the 

10 Advisory Panel established under paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) may not be officers or employees of the 

12 United States; 

13 (B) if appointed under paragraph (2)(A), 

14 shall possess expertise in election law, election 

15 administration, or cybersecurity; and 

16 (C) if appointed under subparagraph (B) 

17 or (C) of paragraph (2), shall possess expertise 

18 in cybersecurity. 

19 (4) TERMS; VACANCIES.—Members of the Advi20 sory Panel shall serve for a term set by the Commis21 sion. Any vacancy in the Advisory Panel shall be 

22 filled in the same manner as the original appoint23 ment. 

24 (5) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Advisory 

25 Panel shall serve on the Advisory Panel without 


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1 compensation, except that members of the Advisory 

2 Panel may be allowed travel expenses, including per 

3 diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for 

4 employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 

5 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from 

6 their homes or regular places of business in the per7 formance of services for the Advisory Panel. 

8 (6) ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF.—Upon request of 

9 the Advisory Panel, the Commission shall provide to 

10 the Advisory Panel, on a reimbursable basis, the ad11 ministrative support services necessary for the Advi12 sory Panel to carry out its responsibilities under this 

13 Act. 

14 (b) GUIDELINES.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Panel shall de16 velop a set of guidelines for election cybersecurity, 

17 including standards for procuring, maintaining, test18 ing, auditing, operating, and updating election sys19 tems. 

20 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In developing the guide21 lines, the Advisory Panel shall— 

22 (A) identify the top risks to election sys23 tems; 


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1 (B) describe how specific technology 

2 choices can increase or decrease those risks; 

3 and 

4 (C) provide recommended policies, best 

5 practices, and overall security strategies for 

6 identifying, protecting against, detecting, re7 sponding to, and recovering from the risks iden8 tified under subparagraph (A). 

9 (c) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Advisory Panel shall as10 sist the Commission and the Department in carrying out 

11 the grant program required under section 7 by— 

12 (1) submitting recommendations to the Com13 mission about the grant program application proc14 ess; 

15 (2) submitting recommendations, including rec16 ommended criteria, to the Commission for the grant 

17 program review process; 

18 (3) submitting recommendations, including rec19 ommended criteria, to the Commission for use of re20 maining grant funds; 

21 (4) submitting recommendations, including rec22 ommended criteria, to the Commission for the in23 terim grant program for non-paper equipment re24 placement; and 


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1 (5) providing any other assistance that the 

2 Commission or the Department requests. 

3 (d) VOTING SYSTEMS AND STATISTICAL AUDITS.— 

4 The guidelines developed under subsection (b) shall in5 clude provisions regarding voting systems and statistical 

6 audits for Federal elections, including that— 

7 (1) each vote is cast using a voting system 

8 that— 

9 (A) would be eligible to be purchased 

10 under section 7(f); and 

11 (B) allows the voter an opportunity to in12 spect and confirm the marked ballot before 

13 casting it (consistent with accessibility require14 ments); and 

15 (2) each election result is determined by tab16 ulating marked ballots (by hand or device), and 

17 prior to certification by a State of the election re18 sult, election agencies within the State inspect (by 

19 hand and not by device) a random sample of the 

20 marked ballots and thereby establish high statistical 

21 confidence in the election result. 

22 (e) ISSUES CONSIDERED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing the guidelines 

24 required under subsection (b), the Advisory Panel 

25 shall consider— 


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1 (A) applying established cybersecurity best 

2 practices to Federal election administration by 

3 States and local governments, including appro4 priate technologies, procedures, and personnel 

5 for identifying, protecting against, detecting, re6 sponding to, and recovering from cybersecurity 

7 events; 

8 (B) mechanisms to verify that election sys9 tems accurately tabulate ballots, report results, 

10 and identify a winner for each election for Fed11 eral office, even if there is an error or fault in 

12 the voting system; 

13 (C) specific types of election audits, includ14 ing procedures and shortcomings for such au15 dits; 

16 (D) durational requirements needed to fa17 cilitate election audits prior to election certifi18 cation, including variations in the acceptance of 

19 postal ballots, time allowed to cure provisional 

20 ballots, and election certification deadlines; 

21 (E) providing actionable guidance to elec22 tion agencies that have not applied for or re23 ceived grant funds under section 7, and to 

24 agencies that seek to implement additional cy25 bersecurity protections; 


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1 (F) how the guidelines could assist other 

2 components of State and local governments; 

3 and 

4 (G) any other factors that the Advisory 

5 Panel determines to be relevant. 

6 (2) RELATIONSHIP TO VOLUNTARY VOTING SYS7 TEM GUIDELINES AND NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

8 STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY CYBERSECURITY

9 GUIDANCE.—In developing the guidelines required 

10 under subsection (b), the Advisory Panel shall con11 sider— 

12 (A) the voluntary voting system guidelines 

13 developed by the Commission; and 

14 (B) cybersecurity standards and best prac15 tices developed by the National Institute of 

16 Standards and Technology, including frame17 works, consistent with section 2(c) of the Na18 tional Institute of Standards and Technology 

19 Act (15 U.S.C. 272(c)). 

20 (f) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Advisory Panel shall— 

21 (1) provide a reasonable opportunity for public 

22 comment, including through Commission publication 

23 in the Federal Register, on the guidelines required 

24 under subsection (b), including a 45-day opportunity 

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1 fore they are submitted under subsection (i), which 

2 shall, to the extent practicable, occur concurrently 

3 with the other activities of the Advisory Panel under 

4 this section; and 

5 (2) consider the public comments in developing 

6 the guidelines. 

7 (g) CONSULTATION.—In developing the guidelines re8 quired under subsection (b), the Advisory Panel shall con9 sult with— 

10 (1) the appropriate Federal entities; 

11 (2) the Standards Board, Board of Advisors, 

12 and Technical Guidelines Development Committee of 

13 the Commission; 

14 (3) the Federal Communications Commission; 

15 (4) the Federal Trade Commission; 

16 (5) the National Governors Association; 

17 (6) the National Association of Secretaries of 

18 State; 

19 (7) the National Association of State Election 

20 Directors; 

21 (8) the National Association of Election Offi22 cials; 

23 (9) the National Association of Counties; 

24 (10) the National League of Cities; 


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1 (11) the International Association of Govern2 ment Officials; 

3 (12) the Multi-State Information Sharing and 

4 Analysis Center; 

5 (13) the National Science Foundation; and 

6 (14) any other interested entities that the Advi7 sory Panel determines are necessary to the develop8 ment of the guidelines. 

9 (h) SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION.—Not later than 

10 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Advi11 sory Panel shall submit the guidelines required under sub12 section (b) to the Commission. 

13 (i) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS; MODIFICATION.—Not 

14 later than 14 calendar days after the date on which the 

15 Commission receives guidelines under subsection (h) or (l), 

16 the Commission shall submit the guidelines to the appro17 priate congressional committees. The Commission may 

18 modify the guidelines in advance of submission to Con19 gress if— 

20 (1) the Commission determines that there is 

21 good cause to modify the guidelines, consistent with 

22 the considerations established in subsection (e) and 

23 notwithstanding the recommendation of the Advisory 

24 Panel; and 


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1 (2) the Commission submits a written justifica2 tion of the modification to the Advisory Panel and 

3 the appropriate congressional committees. 

4 (j) DISTRIBUTION TO ELECTION AGENCIES.—The 

5 Commission shall distribute the guidelines required under 

6 subsection (b) to all election agencies known to the Com7 mission and the Department. 

8 (k) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall make the 

9 guidelines required under subsection (b) available on the 

10 public website of the Department. 

11 (l) PERIODIC REVIEW.—Not later than January 31, 

12 2019, and once every 2 years thereafter, the Advisory 

13 Panel shall review and update the guidelines required 

14 under subsection (b). 

15 (m) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion shall be construed to subject the process for devel17 oping the guidelines required under subsection (b) to sub18 chapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 5, United 

19 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Administrative 

20 Procedure Act’’). 

21 (n) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 202 of the 

22 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20921) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (5), 

24 by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and 


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1 inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the following 

2 new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(7) establishing the advisory panel of inde4 pendent experts on election cybersecurity under sec5 tion 5(a)(1) of the Secure Elections Act.’’. 

6 SEC. 6. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

7 (a) REPORTS ON FOREIGN THREATS TO ELEC8 TIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, and 30 days after 

11 the end of each fiscal year thereafter, the Secretary 

12 and the Director of National Intelligence, in coordi13 nation with the heads of the appropriate Federal en14 tities, shall submit a joint report to the appropriate 

15 congressional committees on foreign threats to elec16 tions in the United States, including physical and 

17 cybersecurity threats. 

18 (2) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION BY STATES.— 

19 The Secretary shall solicit and consider comments 

20 from all State election agencies. Participation by an 

21 election agency in the report under this subsection 

22 shall be voluntary and at the discretion of the State. 

23 (b) REPORTS ON GRANT PROGRAM.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

25 the date of enactment of this Act, and, subject to 


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1 paragraph (2), every 4 years thereafter, the Comp2 troller General of the United States shall submit a 

3 report to the appropriate congressional committees 

4 on the grant program established under section 7, 

5 including how grant funds have been distributed and 

6 used to implement the guidelines required under sec7 tion 5(b). 

8 (2) SUNSET.—If the Comptroller General deter9 mines that over 90 percent of the funds appro10 priated under section 7(h)(1) have been expended by 

11 the States, the reporting requirement in paragraph 

12 (1) shall cease to be effective after the Comptroller 

13 General submits a final report. 

14 SEC. 7. STATE ELECTION SYSTEM CYBERSECURITY AND 

15 MODERNIZATION GRANTS. 

16 (a) AUTHORITY.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall award 

18 grants in accordance with this section. 

19 (2) COORDINATION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

21 coordinate with the Secretary in carrying out 

22 this section. 

23 (B) JOINT PROGRAM.—If the Chairman 

24 determines that jointly carrying out this section 

25 with the Secretary would increase State particiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:21 Apr 04, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2593.IS S2593

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1 pation and cybersecurity preparedness, the 

2 Chairman shall— 

3 (i) submit notice of the determination 

4 to the Committee on Homeland Security 

5 and Governmental Affairs and the Com6 mittee on Rules and Administration of the 

7 Senate and the Committee on Homeland 

8 Security and the Committee on House Ad9 ministration of the House of Representa10 tives; and 

11 (ii) enter into a Memorandum of Un12 derstanding with the Secretary to carry 

13 out the grant program. 

14 (b) CYBERSECURITY AND MODERNIZATION

15 GRANTS.— 

16 (1) APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

18 shall— 

19 (i) establish a process for States to 

20 apply for election system cybersecurity and 

21 modernization grants; 

22 (ii) in establishing the application 

23 process, consider the recommendations of 

24 the Advisory Panel under section 5(c); and 


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1 (iii) ensure that the application proc2 ess requires that a State seeking a grant 

3 provide a detailed explanation of how elec4 tion agencies within the State will imple5 ment the guidelines established under sec6 tion 5(b). 

7 (B) REVIEW.—The Commission— 

8 (i) shall fund a State application sub9 mitted under subparagraph (A) if the 

10 Commission determines that— 

11 (I) the election agencies within 

12 the State will likely implement the 

13 guidelines established under section 

14 5(b); 

15 (II) with respect to the guidelines 

16 related to statistical audits, consistent 

17 with section 5(d), the State will com18 plete a statewide pilot program during 

19 a biennial Federal general election not 

20 later than 2022; and 

21 (III) the State will match at least 

22 ten percent of the total grant alloca23 tion for election cybersecurity im24 provements; and 


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1 (ii) in reviewing a State application, 

2 shall consider the recommendations and 

3 criteria of the Advisory Panel under sec4 tion 5(c). 

5 (C) STATE IMPLEMENTATION.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a 

7 grant under this subsection may adopt any 

8 reasonable implementation of the guide9 lines established under section 5(b). 

10 (ii) INCONSISTENCY WITH STATE

11 LAW.—If implementation of the guidelines 

12 would be inconsistent with State law, the 

13 State shall— 

14 (I) identify in the application of 

15 the State the legal issue and the 

16 guidelines that the State cannot im17 plement; 

18 (II) specify in the application of 

19 the State the amount of grant funds 

20 that the State would spend imple21 menting those guidelines if the law 

22 were not inconsistent; and 

23 (III) not spend the amount of 

24 grant funds specified under subclause 

25 (II) until the legal issue is resolved. 


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1 (D) PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMA2 TION.—The application process established 

3 under this paragraph shall not require a State 

4 to disclose the personal information of any 

5 voter. 

6 (2) USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

8 subparagraph (B), a State receiving a grant 

9 under this subsection shall use the funds re10 ceived under the grant to implement the guide11 lines established under section 5(b). 

12 (B) REMAINING FUNDS.—A State may use 

13 funds from a grant under this subsection to im14 prove, upgrade, or acquire hardware, software, 

15 or services for the purposes of improving ad16 ministration of Federal elections, consistent 

17 with the guidelines established under section 

18 5(b), if— 

19 (i) the State election official submits a 

20 written certification to the Commission 

21 that the election agencies within the State 

22 have implemented the guidelines estab23 lished under section 5(b); and 

24 (ii) the Commission, after consider25 ation of the recommendations and criteria 


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1 of the Advisory Panel under section 5(c), 

2 approves the use of funds. 

3 (3) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GRANTS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (C), the amount of funds provided to a 

6 State under a grant under this subsection shall 

7 be equal to the product obtained by multi8 plying— 

9 (i) the total amount appropriated for 

10 grants pursuant to the authorization under 

11 subsection (h) reduced by the amounts de12 scribed in subsections (d)(6) and (e)(5); by 

13 (ii) the State allocation percentage for 

14 the State (as determined under paragraph 

15 (2)). 

16 (B) STATE ALLOCATION PERCENTAGE.— 

17 The State allocation percentage for a State is 

18 the amount (expressed as a percentage) equal 

19 to the quotient obtained by dividing— 

20 (i) the total voting age population of 

21 all States (as reported in the most recent 

22 decennial census); by 

23 (ii) the voting age population of the 

24 State (as reported in the most recent de25 cennial census). 


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1 (C) MINIMUM AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The 

2 amount determined under this subsection may 

3 not be less than— 

4 (i) in the case of any of the several 

5 States or the District of Columbia, 0.5 

6 percent of the total amount appropriated 

7 for grants under this section; or 

8 (ii) in the case of the Commonwealth 

9 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, 

10 the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana 

11 Islands, or the United States Virgin Is12 lands, 0.1 percent of such total amount. 

13 (D) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—The Com14 mission shall make such pro rata reductions to 

15 the allocations determined under subparagraph 

16 (A) as are necessary to comply with the require17 ments of subparagraph (C). 

18 (4) GRANTS FOR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.— 

19 (A) ELIGIBILITY.—If a State notifies the 

20 Commission that it will not apply for election 

21 system cybersecurity and modernization grants 

22 under this subsection, the Commission shall 

23 award grants to election agencies within the 

24 State. 


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1 (B) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Com2 mission shall establish a process for election 

3 agencies that are eligible under subparagraph 

4 (A) to apply for election system cybersecurity 

5 and modernization grants, consistent with the 

6 application process for States established under 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 (C) USE OF FUNDS.—An election agency 

9 that receives a grant under this subsection is 

10 subject to the use of funds restrictions in para11 graph (2). 

12 (D) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

13 The amount of funds provided to an election 

14 agency under a grant under this subsection 

15 shall be equal to the amount obtained by multi16 plying the amount available to the State under 

17 paragraph (3) by the quotient obtained by di18 viding— 

19 (i) the voting age population of the 

20 State (as reported in the most recent de21 cennial census) who would cast their bal22 lots in a Federal election using voting sys23 tems operated by the election agency 

24 (under current State law); by 


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1 (ii) the voting age population of the 

2 State (as reported in the most recent de3 cennial census). 

4 (c) INTERIM GRANT PROGRAM FOR ELECTION PRE5 PAREDNESS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in con7 sultation with the Secretary, shall award a grant to 

8 an election agency, regardless of State submission of 

9 an application under subsection (b)(1)(A), that— 

10 (A) receives a ‘‘cyber hygiene’’ scan, a risk 

11 and vulnerability assessment, or a similar cy12 bersecurity evaluation by the Department or a 

13 contractor approved by the Department; and 

14 (B) not later than November 6, 2018, sub15 mits to the Commission and the Department— 

16 (i) the results of the evaluation de17 scribed in subparagraph (A); 

18 (ii) a plan for rapidly remediating the 

19 vulnerabilities identified by the evaluation, 

20 including specific expenditures; and 

21 (iii) in the case of an application by 

22 any election agency of a political subdivi23 sion of a State, a certification of approval 

24 from the State election agency. 


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1 (2) PRIORITIZATION FOR LOCAL GOVERN2 MENTS.—A State election agency may authorize 

3 some or all other election agencies within the State 

4 to apply for interim grants under paragraph (1). If 

5 the amount available under paragraph (5) is not suf6 ficient to fund the applications received from election 

7 agencies within the State, the State election agency 

8 may establish a priority order for funding applica9 tions. 

10 (3) USE OF FUNDS.—An election agency that 

11 receives a grant under paragraph (1) shall only use 

12 the funds received under the grant to implement the 

13 remediation plan submitted under paragraph 

14 (1)(B)(ii). 

15 (4) UNAVAILABILITY OF DEPARTMENT SERV16 ICES.—If an election agency requests an evaluation 

17 by the Department consistent with paragraph 

18 (1)(A), and the Department is not able to provide 

19 the evaluation during the 30-calendar-day period fol20 lowing the request, the agency may— 

21 (A) procure a reasonably equivalent eval22 uation from a private-sector entity; and 

23 (B) use funds received from a grant under 

24 paragraph (1) as reimbursement for the cost of 

25 the evaluation. 


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1 (5) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GRANT; CO2 ORDINATION WITH CYBERSECURITY AND MOD3 ERNIZATION GRANTS.— 

4 (A) LIMITATION.—The aggregate amount 

5 of grants under this subsection to all election 

6 agencies in a State shall not exceed 10 percent 

7 of the limitation with respect to such State 

8 under subsection (b)(3). 

9 (B) COORDINATION WITH CYBERSECURITY

10 AND MODERNIZATION GRANTS.—The amount 

11 under subsection (b)(3) for purposes of grants 

12 under subsection (b) to a State shall be reduced 

13 by the amount of grants provided under this 

14 subsection to election agencies within the State, 

15 less any unused amount returned to the De16 partment. 

17 (d) INTERIM GRANT PROGRAM FOR NON-PAPER

18 EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall award 

20 grants to States designated under paragraph (2) for 

21 the purpose of replacing voting systems that would 

22 not be eligible for purchase under subsection (f). 

23 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Not later than 60 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission 

25 shall develop a list of States in which 10 percent or 


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1 more of votes in the first Federal election occurring 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act are expected 

3 to be cast using voting systems that would not be el4 igible for purchase under subsection (f), and shall 

5 submit the list to the appropriate congressional com6 mittees. 

7 (3) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Commission 

8 shall— 

9 (A) establish an application process for 

10 States designated under paragraph (2) to apply 

11 for grants under this subsection; and 

12 (B) consider the recommendations of the 

13 Advisory Panel under section 5(c) in estab14 lishing the application process; and ensure that 

15 a State applying for a grant submits— 

16 (i) an inventory of voting systems in 

17 the State that would not be eligible for 

18 purchase under subsection (f); 

19 (ii) a plan to expeditiously replace 

20 those voting systems; and 

21 (iii) a commitment to State funding 

22 for replacements that is at least equivalent 

23 to the grant amount. 

24 (4) REVIEW.—The Commission— 


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1 (A) shall fund a State application if the 

2 Commission determines that the State will like3 ly replace the voting systems that would not be 

4 eligible for purchase under subsection (f); and 

5 (B) in reviewing a State application, shall 

6 consider the recommendations and criteria of 

7 the Advisory Panel under section 5(c). 

8 (5) USE OF FUNDS.—A State election agency 

9 that receives funds under paragraph (1) shall only 

10 use the funds to replace voting systems that would 

11 not be eligible for purchase under subsection (f). 

12 (6) LIMITATIONS; COORDINATION WITH CYBER13 SECURITY AND MODERNIZATION GRANTS.— 

14 (A) LIMITATIONS.—Of the total amount 

15 authorized to be appropriated under subsection 

16 (h), $186,000,000 shall be used for grants 

17 awarded under this subsection. 

18 (B) FORMULA FOR GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

19 The grant amount made available to each State 

20 shall be set according to the proportional for21 mula described in subsection (b)(3), as applied 

22 to the list of States designated under paragraph 

23 (2) and the number of votes cast in those 

24 States using voting systems that would not be 

25 eligible for purchase under subsection (f). 


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1 (C) COORDINATION WITH CYBERSECURITY

2 AND MODERNIZATION GRANTS.—If the Sec3 retary determines that no additional State will 

4 receive a grant under this paragraph, the Sec5 retary shall reallocate any amounts remaining 

6 under subparagraph (A) to the cybersecurity 

7 and modernization grant program under sub8 section (b). 

9 (7) GRANTS FOR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.— 

10 (A) ELIGIBILITY.—If a State designated 

11 under paragraph (2) notifies the Commission 

12 that it will not apply for grants under this sub13 section, the Commission shall award grants to 

14 election agencies within such State. 

15 (B) APPLICATION PROCESS.—The Com16 mission shall establish a process for election 

17 agencies that are eligible under subparagraph 

18 (A) to apply for grants under this subsection, 

19 consistent with the application process for 

20 States established under paragraph (3). 

21 (C) REVIEW.—The Commission shall re22 view applications of election agencies under this 

23 paragraph in a similar manner to the manner 

24 required for applications by States under para25 graph (4). 


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1 (D) USE OF FUNDS.—An election agency 

2 that receives a grant under this subsection is 

3 subject to the use of funds restrictions in para4 graph (5). 

5 (E) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.— 

6 The amount of funds provided to an election 

7 agency under a grant under this subsection 

8 shall be equal to the amount obtained by multi9 plying the amount available to the State under 

10 paragraph (6)(B) by the quotient obtained by 

11 dividing— 

12 (i) the voting age population of the 

13 State (as reported in the most recent de14 cennial census) who would cast their bal15 lots in a Federal election using voting sys16 tems that are operated by the election 

17 agency (under current State law) and that 

18 would not be eligible for purchase under 

19 subsection (f); by 

20 (ii) the voting age population of the 

21 State (as reported in the most recent de22 cennial census) who would cast their bal23 lots in a Federal election using voting sys24 tems that would not be eligible for pur25 chase under subsection (f). 


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1 (e) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR AUDITING EX2 PENSES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall award 

4 grants to reimburse States that conduct statistical 

5 audits of a proportionally large number of ballots in 

6 close Federal elections if the statistical audit— 

7 (A) is consistent with the guidelines estab8 lished under section 5(b); and 

9 (B) includes the inspection (by hand and 

10 not by device) of an amount of paper ballots in 

11 excess of 5 percent of the voting age population 

12 within the State (in the case of national or 

13 statewide office) or district covered by the elec14 tion. 

15 (2) APPLICATIONS PROCESS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State seeking a 

17 grant under this subsection shall submit an ap18 plication in such form and manner and at such 

19 time as the Commission may require. 

20 (B) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—A State elec21 tion agency may authorize some or all other 

22 election agencies within the State to apply for 

23 grants under paragraph (1). The Commission 

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1 graphs (3) and (4)(B) to agencies requesting 

2 grants under this subparagraph. 

3 (3) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—The 

4 amount of funds provided under a grant under this 

5 subsection shall be equal to the cost of the statistical 

6 audit, less the cost of inspecting (by hand and not 

7 by device) a number of ballots equal to 5 percent 

8 of— 

9 (A) in the case of an election for a national 

10 or statewide office, the voting age population 

11 within the State; or 

12 (B) in the case of an election for any other 

13 office, the voting age population within the dis14 trict covered by the election. 

15 (4) TIMING; DISTRIBUTION.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

17 award grants under this subsection on January 

18 31, 2019, and every 2 years thereafter. 

19 (B) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the amount 

20 appropriated for carrying out this subsection is 

21 insufficient to fund the grants, the Commission 

22 shall fund such grants according to the propor23 tional formula described in subsection (b)(3), as 

24 applied to the States seeking grants under this 

25 subsection and the number of marked paper 


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1 ballots that were inspected by hand in excess of 

2 5 percent of the voting age population within 

3 the State (in the case of national or statewide 

4 office) or district covered by the election. 

5 (5) LIMITATION.—Of the total amount author6 ized to be appropriated under subsection (h), 

7 $5,000,000 shall be used for grants under this sub8 section. 

9 (f) PROHIBITION ON USE FOR CERTAIN VOTING SYS10 TEMS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds received under a 

12 grant under this section may not be used for any 

13 voting system that records each vote in electronic 

14 storage, unless the system is an optical scanner that 

15 reads paper ballots. 

16 (2) ELECTRONIC USER INTERFACES.—Funds 

17 received under a grant under this section may be 

18 used for a voting system with an electronic user 

19 interface provided that the voting system is con20 sistent with clause (i). 

21 (g) CONTRACTING ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 90 

22 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis23 trator of General Services, in consultation with the Direc24 tor of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 


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1 shall take such actions as may be necessary through com2 petitive processes— 

3 (1) to qualify a set of private sector entities 

4 that are capable of assisting States with identifying, 

5 protecting against, detecting, responding to, and re6 covering from election cybersecurity incidents, 

7 threats, and vulnerabilities; 

8 (2) to establish contract vehicles to enable 

9 States to access the services of 1 or more of the pri10 vate sector organizations after receiving amounts 

11 under a grant under this section; 

12 (3) to ensure that the contract vehicles permit 

13 individual States to augment Federal funds with 

14 funding otherwise available to the States; and 

15 (4) to provide a list of qualified entities to the 

16 Chairman and Secretary in order to ensure it is 

17 readily available to State election officials. 

18 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

20 appropriated to the Commission $386,000,000 to 

21 carry out this section for fiscal year 2018. 

22 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated 

23 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain available 

24 without fiscal year limitation until expended. 

25 (3) FUNDING SOURCE.— 


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1 (A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph— 

2 (i) the terms ‘‘agency’’, ‘‘closeout’’, 

3 and ‘‘Federal grant award’’ have the 

4 meanings given those terms in section 2 of 

5 the Grants Oversight and New Efficiency 

6 Act (Public Law 114–117; 130 Stat. 6); 

7 and 

8 (ii) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the 

9 Director of the Office of Management and 

10 Budget. 

11 (B) CLOSEOUT OF EXPIRED AND

12 UNDISBURSED FEDERAL GRANTS.—Not later 

13 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

14 Act, the Director shall promulgate procedures 

15 requiring the head of each agency to promptly 

16 conduct a closeout of each Federal grant award. 

17 (C) RELATED REPORTS.—In promulgating 

18 the procedures required under subparagraph 

19 (B), the Director shall consider the rec20 ommendations and data in the reports required 

21 to be submitted under section 2 of the Grants 

22 Oversight and New Efficiency Act (Public Law 

23 114–117; 130 Stat. 6) and section 530 of the 

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1 cies Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public Law 

2 114–113; 129 Stat. 2329), and similar reports. 

3 (D) EXPIRATION.—The procedures re4 quired under subparagraph (B) shall expire 4 

5 years after the date on which the procedures 

6 are promulgated. 

7 (i) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 202(7) of 

8 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20921), 

9 as amended by section 5, is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

10 carrying out the grant programs under section 7 of such 

11 Act’’ after ‘‘Secure Elections Act’’. 

Æ 


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