IB 

Union Calendar No. 94 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2722 

[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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

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] 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2722 RH

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. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2722 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Se5 curing America’s Federal Elections Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE 

6 Act’’. 

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

8 Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE 

Subtitle A—Voting System Security Improvement Grants 

PART 1—PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECURITY THROUGH VOTERVERIFIED PERMANENT PAPER BALLOT

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. 

PART 2—GRANTS TO CARRY OUT IMPROVEMENTS

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. 

Subtitle B—Risk-Limiting Audits 

Sec. 121. Risk-limiting audits. 

Sec. 122. Funding for conducting post-election risk-limiting audits. 

Sec. 123. GAO analysis of effects of audits. 

TITLE II—PROMOTING CYBERSECURITY THROUGH IMPROVEMENTS 

IN ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 

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. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2722 RH

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. 

TITLE III—USE OF VOTING MACHINES MANUFACTURED IN THE 

UNITED STATES 

Sec. 301. Use of voting machines manufactured in the United States. 

TITLE IV—SEVERABILITY 

Sec. 401. Severability. 

1 TITLE I—FINANCIAL SUPPORT 

2 FOR ELECTION INFRASTRUC3 TURE 

4 Subtitle A—Voting System Security 

5 Improvement Grants 

6 PART 1—PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, 

7 AND SECURITY THROUGH VOTER-VERIFIED 

8 PERMANENT PAPER BALLOT 

9 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Voter Confidence 

11 and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019’’. 

12 SEC. 102. PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE13 QUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the Help 

15 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 

20 (I) The voting system shall require the use 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2722 RH

1 of an individual, durable, voter-verified 

2 paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall be 

3 marked and made available for inspection 

4 and verification by the voter before the vot5 er’s vote is cast and counted, and which 

6 shall be counted by hand or read by an op7 tical character recognition device or other 

8 counting device. For purposes of this sub9 clause, the term ‘individual, durable, voter10 verified paper ballot’ means a paper ballot 

11 marked by the voter by hand or a paper 

12 ballot marked through the use of a nontab13 ulating ballot marking device or system, so 

14 long as the voter shall have the option to 

15 mark his or her ballot by hand. 

16 ‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 

17 the voter with an opportunity to correct 

18 any error on the paper ballot before the per19 manent voter-verified paper ballot is pre20 served in accordance with clause (ii). 

21 ‘‘(III) The voting system shall not pre22 serve the voter-verified paper ballots in any 

23 manner that makes it possible, at any time 

24 after the ballot has been cast, to associate a 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2722 RH

1 voter with the record of the voter’s vote 

2 without the voter’s consent. 

3 ‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION AS OFFICIAL

4 RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter5 verified paper ballot used in accordance 

6 with clause (i) shall constitute the official 

7 ballot and shall be preserved and used as 

8 the official ballot for purposes of any re9 count or audit conducted with respect to 

10 any election for Federal office in which the 

11 voting system is used. 

12 ‘‘(iii) MANUAL COUNTING REQUIRE13 MENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.—(I) 

14 Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 

15 (i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, 

16 and shall be counted by hand in any re17 count or audit conducted with respect to 

18 any election for Federal office. 

19 ‘‘(II) In the event of any inconsist20 encies or irregularities between any elec21 tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies deter22 mined by counting by hand the individual, 

23 durable, voter-verified paper ballots used 

24 pursuant to clause (i), and subject to sub25 paragraph (B), the individual, durable, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2722 RH

1 voter-verified paper ballots shall be the true 

2 and correct record of the votes cast. 

3 ‘‘(iv) APPLICATION TO ALL BALLOTS.— 

4 The requirements of this subparagraph shall 

5 apply to all ballots cast in elections for Fed6 eral office, including ballots cast by absent 

7 uniformed services voters and overseas vot8 ers under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi9 zens Absentee Voting Act and other absentee 

10 voters. 

11 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TREATMENT OF

12 DISPUTES WHEN PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN

13 SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the event that— 

15 ‘‘(I) there is any inconsistency be16 tween any electronic vote tallies and 

17 the vote tallies determined by counting 

18 by hand the individual, durable, voter19 verified paper ballots used pursuant to 

20 subparagraph (A)(i) with respect to 

21 any election for Federal office; and 

22 ‘‘(II) it is demonstrated by clear 

23 and convincing evidence (as deter24 mined in accordance with the applica25 ble standards in the jurisdiction inVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2722.RH H2722

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 2722 RH

1 volved) in any recount, audit, or con2 test of the result of the election that the 

3 paper ballots have been compromised 

4 (by damage or mischief or otherwise) 

5 and that a sufficient number of the 

6 ballots have been so compromised that 

7 the result of the election could be 

8 changed, 

9 the determination of the appropriate rem10 edy with respect to the election shall be 

11 made in accordance with applicable State 

12 law, except that the electronic tally shall not 

13 be used as the exclusive basis for deter14 mining the official certified result. 

15 ‘‘(ii) RULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF

16 BALLOTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH VOTING

17 MACHINE.—For purposes of clause (i), only 

18 the paper ballots deemed compromised, if 

19 any, shall be considered in the calculation 

20 of whether or not the result of the election 

21 could be changed due to the compromised 

22 paper ballots.’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING APPLICA24 BILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSIBILITY.—Sec25 tion 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(4)) is 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 2722 RH

1 amended by inserting ‘‘(including the paper ballots re2 quired to be used under paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting sys3 tem’’. 

4 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

5 301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) is amend6 ed— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘count8 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with para9 graphs (2) and (3)’’; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking ‘‘count11 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with para12 graphs (2) and (3)’’; 

13 (3) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking ‘‘count14 ed’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘counted, in 

15 accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 

16 (4) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ‘‘count17 ed’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accordance with para18 graphs (2) and (3)’’. 

19 SEC. 103. ACCESSIBILITY AND BALLOT VERIFICATION FOR 

20 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES. 

21 (a) BALLOT CYBERSECURITY, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND

22 ACCESS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(3)(B) of the 

24 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

25 21081(a)(3)(B)) is amended to read as follows: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(B)(i) satisfy the requirement of subpara2 graph (A) through the use of at least 1 voting 

3 system at each polling place that— 

4 ‘‘(I) is equipped for individuals with 

5 disabilities, including nonvisual and en6 hanced visual accessibility for the blind and 

7 visually impaired, and contains features to 

8 support enhanced manual accessibility for 

9 the mobility and dexterity impaired; 

10 ‘‘(II) in the case of any election for 

11 Federal office occurring after the date that 

12 is 6 years after the date of the enactment of 

13 the Securing America’s Federal Elections 

14 Act— 

15 ‘‘(aa) marks ballots that are iden16 tical in size, ink, and paper stock to 

17 those ballots that would be marked by 

18 hand or a ballot marking device used 

19 by voters who do not have accessibility 

20 needs; 

21 ‘‘(bb) marks the ballot in such a 

22 way that someone examining the ballot 

23 will not be able to readily determine 

24 whether the ballot was marked by hand 

25 or machine; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(cc) combines ballots produced by 

2 the voting system with ballots marked 

3 by voters using other types of voting 

4 systems used by the State or jurisdic5 tion in a way that prevents identifica6 tion of which ballots were cast using 

7 each voting system; and 

8 ‘‘(III) is made available for use by any 

9 voter who requests to use it; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any election for Federal 

11 office occurring after the date that is 6 years 

12 after the date of the enactment of the Securing 

13 America’s Federal Elections Act, meet the re14 quirements of subparagraph (A) and paragraph 

15 (2)(A) by using a system that allows the voter to 

16 privately and independently verify the accuracy 

17 of the permanent paper ballot through the pres18 entation, in accessible form, of the printed or 

19 marked vote selections from the same printed or 

20 marked information that would be used for any 

21 vote tabulation or auditing; and’’. 

22 (2) CLARIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO APPLICA23 TION OF REQUIREMENT TO BALLOTS MARKED AT

24 HOME.—Section 301(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 2722 RH

1 21081(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new flush sentence: 

3 ‘‘Nothing in subparagraph (B) shall be construed to 

4 prohibit the use of an accessible ballot that may be 

5 printed or marked by the voter at home.’’. 

6 (b) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF STUDY, TESTING, AND

7 DEVELOPMENT OF ACCESSIBLE PAPER BALLOT

8 VERIFICATION MECHANISMS.— 

9 (1) STUDY AND REPORTING.—Subtitle C of title 

10 II of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended— 

11 (A) by redesignating section 247 as section 

12 248; and 

13 (B) by inserting after section 246 the fol14 lowing new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 247. STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCESSIBLE PAPER BAL16 LOT VERIFICATION MECHANISMS. 

17 ‘‘(a) STUDY AND REPORT.—The Director of the Na18 tional Science Foundation shall make grants to not fewer 

19 than 3 eligible entities to study, test, and develop accessible 

20 paper ballot voting, verification, and casting mechanisms 

21 and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility 

22 of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms for indi23 viduals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language 

24 is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy, 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 2722 RH

1 including best practices for the mechanisms themselves and 

2 the processes through which the mechanisms are used. 

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity is eligible to receive a 

4 grant under this part if it submits to the Director (at such 

5 time and in such form as the Director may require) an 

6 application containing— 

7 ‘‘(1) certifications that the entity shall specifi8 cally investigate enhanced methods or devices, includ9 ing non-electronic devices, that will assist such indi10 viduals and voters in marking voter-verified paper 

11 ballots and presenting or transmitting the informa12 tion printed or marked on such ballots back to such 

13 individuals and voters, and casting such ballots; 

14 ‘‘(2) a certification that the entity shall complete 

15 the activities carried out with the grant not later 

16 than December 31, 2020; and 

17 ‘‘(3) such other information and certifications as 

18 the Director may require. 

19 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY.—Any technology 

20 developed with the grants made under this section shall be 

21 treated as non-proprietary and shall be made available to 

22 the public, including to manufacturers of voting systems. 

23 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION WITH GRANTS FOR TECHNOLOGY

24 IMPROVEMENTS.—The Director shall carry out this section 

25 so that the activities carried out with the grants made 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 2722 RH

1 under subsection (a) are coordinated with the research con2 ducted under the grant program carried out by the Commis3 sion under section 271, to the extent that the Director and 

4 Commission determine necessary to provide for the advance5 ment of accessible voting technology. 

6 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) 

8 $5,000,000, to remain available until expended.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con10 tents of such Act is amended— 

11 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 

12 section 247 as relating to section 248; and 

13 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

14 section 246 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 247. Study and report on accessible paper ballot verification mechanisms.’’. 

15 (c) CLARIFICATION OF ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS

16 UNDER VOLUNTARY VOTING SYSTEM GUIDANCE.—In 

17 adopting any voluntary guidance under subtitle B of title 

18 III of the Help America Vote Act with respect to the accessi19 bility of the paper ballot verification requirements for indi20 viduals with disabilities, the Election Assistance Commis21 sion shall include and apply the same accessibility stand22 ards applicable under the voluntary guidance adopted for 

23 accessible voting systems under such subtitle. 

24 (d) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR PROTECTION AND

25 ADVOCACY SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT ACTIONS TO ENFORCE


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ELECTION-RELATED DISABILITY ACCESS.—Section 292(a) 

2 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21062(a)) 

3 is amended by striking ‘‘; except that’’ and all that follows 

4 and inserting a period. 

5 SEC. 104. DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIREMENTS 

6 FOR BALLOTS. 

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

8 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(7) DURABILITY AND READABILITY REQUIRE11 MENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) DURABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

13 PAPER BALLOTS.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—All voter-verified 

15 paper ballots required to be used under this 

16 Act shall be marked or printed on durable 

17 paper. 

18 ‘‘(ii) DEFINITION.—For purposes of 

19 this Act, paper is ‘durable’ if it is capable 

20 of withstanding multiple counts and re21 counts by hand without compromising the 

22 fundamental integrity of the ballots, and ca23 pable of retaining the information marked 

24 or printed on them for the full duration of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 2722 RH

1 a retention and preservation period of 22 

2 months. 

3 ‘‘(B) READABILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR

4 PAPER BALLOTS MARKED BY BALLOT MARKING

5 DEVICE.—All voter-verified paper ballots com6 pleted by the voter through the use of a ballot 

7 marking device shall be clearly readable by the 

8 voter without assistance (other than eyeglasses or 

9 other personal vision enhancing devices) and by 

10 an optical character recognition device or other 

11 device equipped for individuals with disabil12 ities.’’. 

13 SEC. 105. PAPER BALLOT PRINTING REQUIREMENTS. 

14 (a) REQUIRING PAPER BALLOTS TO BE PRINTED ON

15 RECYCLED PAPER MANUFACTURED IN UNITED STATES.— 

16 Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

17 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104, is amended 

18 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(8) PRINTING REQUIREMENTS FOR BALLOTS.— 

20 All paper ballots used in an election for Federal office 

21 shall be printed in the United States on recycled 

22 paper manufactured in the United States.’’. 

23 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub24 section (a) shall apply with respect to elections occurring 

25 on or after January 1, 2021. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 2722 RH

1 SEC. 106. STUDY AND REPORT ON OPTIMAL BALLOT DE2 SIGN. 

3 (a) STUDY.—The Election Assistance Commission 

4 shall conduct a study of the best ways to design ballots used 

5 in elections for public office, including paper ballots and 

6 electronic or digital ballots, to minimize confusion and user 

7 errors. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2020, the 

9 Election Assistance Commission shall submit to Congress 

10 a report on the study conducted under subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 107. EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS. 

12 Section 301(d) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

13 (52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re17 quired to comply with the requirements of this section 

18 on and after January 1, 2006. 

19 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN REQUIRE20 MENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

22 section 105(b) of the Securing America’s Federal 

23 Elections Act and subparagraphs (B) and (C), 

24 the requirements of this section which are first 

25 imposed on a State and jurisdiction pursuant to 

26 the amendments made by the Voter Confidence 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 2722 RH

1 and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019 shall 

2 apply with respect to voting systems used for 

3 any election for Federal office held in 2020 or 

4 any succeeding year. 

5 ‘‘(B) DELAY FOR JURISDICTIONS USING

6 CERTAIN PAPER RECORD PRINTERS OR CERTAIN

7 SYSTEMS USING OR PRODUCING VOTER-VERIFIED

8 PAPER RECORDS IN 2018.— 

9 ‘‘(i) DELAY.—In the case of a jurisdic10 tion described in clause (ii), subparagraph 

11 (A) shall apply to a voting system in the ju12 risdiction as if the reference in such sub13 paragraph to ‘2020’ were a reference to 

14 ‘2022’, but only with respect to the fol15 lowing requirements of this section: 

16 ‘‘(I) Paragraph (2)(A)(i)(I) of 

17 subsection (a) (relating to the use of 

18 voter-verified paper ballots). 

19 ‘‘(II) Paragraph (3)(B)(ii)(I) and 

20 (II) of subsection (a) (relating to access 

21 to verification from and casting of the 

22 durable paper ballot). 

23 ‘‘(III) Paragraph (7) of subsection 

24 (a) (relating to durability and read25 ability requirements for ballots). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(ii) JURISDICTIONS DESCRIBED.—A 

2 jurisdiction described in this clause is a ju3 risdiction— 

4 ‘‘(I) which used voter-verified 

5 paper record printers attached to di6 rect recording electronic voting ma7 chines, or which used other voting sys8 tems that used or produced paper 

9 records of the vote verifiable by voters 

10 but that are not in compliance with 

11 paragraphs (2)(A)(i)(I), (3)(B)(iii)(I) 

12 and (II), and (7) of subsection (a) (as 

13 amended or added by the Voter Con14 fidence and Increased Accessibility Act 

15 of 2019), for the administration of the 

16 regularly scheduled general election for 

17 Federal office held in November 2018; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(II) which will continue to use 

20 such printers or systems for the admin21 istration of elections for Federal office 

22 held in years before 2022. 

23 ‘‘(iii) MANDATORY AVAILABILITY OF

24 PAPER BALLOTS AT POLLING PLACES USING


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
20 

•HR 2722 RH

1 GRANDFATHERED PRINTERS AND SYS2 TEMS.— 

3 ‘‘(I) REQUIRING BALLOTS TO BE

4 OFFERED AND PROVIDED.—The appro5 priate election official at each polling 

6 place that uses a printer or system de7 scribed in clause (ii)(I) for the admin8 istration of elections for Federal office 

9 shall offer each individual who is eligi10 ble to cast a vote in the election at the 

11 polling place the opportunity to cast 

12 the vote using a blank pre-printed 

13 paper ballot which the individual may 

14 mark by hand and which is not pro15 duced by the direct recording electronic 

16 voting machine or other such system. 

17 The official shall provide the indi18 vidual with the ballot and the supplies 

19 necessary to mark the ballot, and shall 

20 ensure (to the greatest extent prac21 ticable) that the waiting period for the 

22 individual to cast a vote is the lesser of 

23 30 minutes or the average waiting pe24 riod for an individual who does not 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
21 

•HR 2722 RH

1 agree to cast the vote using such a 

2 paper ballot under this clause. 

3 ‘‘(II) TREATMENT OF BALLOT.— 

4 Any paper ballot which is cast by an 

5 individual under this clause shall be 

6 counted and otherwise treated as a reg7 ular ballot for all purposes (including 

8 by incorporating it into the final unof9 ficial vote count (as defined by the 

10 State) for the precinct) and not as a 

11 provisional ballot, unless the indi12 vidual casting the ballot would have 

13 otherwise been required to cast a provi14 sional ballot. 

15 ‘‘(III) POSTING OF NOTICE.—The 

16 appropriate election official shall en17 sure there is prominently displayed at 

18 each polling place a notice that de19 scribes the obligation of the official to 

20 offer individuals the opportunity to 

21 cast votes using a pre-printed blank 

22 paper ballot. 

23 ‘‘(IV) TRAINING OF ELECTION OF24 FICIALS.—The chief State election offi25 cial shall ensure that election officials 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
22 

•HR 2722 RH

1 at polling places in the State are 

2 aware of the requirements of this 

3 clause, including the requirement to 

4 display a notice under subclause (III), 

5 and are aware that it is a violation of 

6 the requirements of this title for an 

7 election official to fail to offer an indi8 vidual the opportunity to cast a vote 

9 using a blank pre-printed paper ballot. 

10 ‘‘(V) PERIOD OF APPLICA11 BILITY.—The requirements of this 

12 clause apply only during the period in 

13 which the delay is in effect under 

14 clause (i). 

15 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR JURISDICTIONS

16 USING CERTAIN NONTABULATING BALLOT MARK17 ING DEVICES.—In the case of a jurisdiction 

18 which uses a nontabulating ballot marking de19 vice which automatically deposits the ballot into 

20 a privacy sleeve, subparagraph (A) shall apply 

21 to a voting system in the jurisdiction as if the 

22 reference in such subparagraph to ‘any election 

23 for Federal office held in 2020 or any succeeding 

24 year’ were a reference to ‘elections for Federal of25 fice occurring held in 2022 or each succeeding 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
23 

•HR 2722 RH

1 year’, but only with respect to paragraph 

2 (3)(B)(iii)(II) of subsection (a) (relating to non3 manual casting of the durable paper ballot).’’. 

4 PART 2—GRANTS TO CARRY OUT IMPROVEMENTS 

5 SEC. 111. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER BAL6 LOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING OUT 

7 VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS. 

8 (a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.—Subtitle D of title II 

9 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 

10 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

11 part: 

12 ‘‘PART 7—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT 

13 PAPER BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CAR14 RYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IM15 PROVEMENTS 

16 ‘‘SEC. 297. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER 

17 BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING 

18 OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVE19 MENTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY AND USE OF GRANT.—The Com21 mission shall make a grant to each eligible State— 

22 ‘‘(1) to replace a voting system— 

23 ‘‘(A) which does not meet the requirements 

24 which are first imposed on the State pursuant to 

25 the amendments made by the Voter Confidence 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
24 

•HR 2722 RH

1 and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019 with a 

2 voting system which does meet such require3 ments, for use in the regularly scheduled general 

4 elections for Federal office held in November 

5 2020, or 

6 ‘‘(B) which does meet such requirements but 

7 which is not in compliance with the most recent 

8 voluntary voting system guidelines issued by the 

9 Commission prior to the regularly scheduled gen10 eral election for Federal office held in November 

11 2020 with another system which does meet such 

12 requirements and is in compliance with such 

13 guidelines; 

14 ‘‘(2) to carry out voting system security im15 provements described in section 297A with respect to 

16 the regularly scheduled general elections for Federal 

17 office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 

18 election for Federal office; and 

19 ‘‘(3) to implement and model best practices for 

20 ballot design, ballot instructions, and the testing of 

21 ballots. 

22 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a grant 

23 made to a State under this section shall be such amount 

24 as the Commission determines to be appropriate, except that 

25 such amount may not be less than the product of $1 and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
25 

•HR 2722 RH

1 the average of the number of individuals who cast votes in 

2 any of the two most recent regularly scheduled general elec3 tions for Federal office held in the State. 

4 ‘‘(c) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—If the amount of funds 

5 appropriated for grants under this part is insufficient to 

6 ensure that each State receives the amount of the grant cal7 culated under subsection (b), the Commission shall make 

8 such pro rata reductions in such amounts as may be nec9 essary to ensure that the entire amount appropriated under 

10 this part is distributed to the States. 

11 ‘‘(d) SURPLUS APPROPRIATIONS.—If the amount of 

12 funds appropriated for grants authorized under section 

13 297D(a)(2) exceed the amount necessary to meet the require14 ments of subsection (b), the Commission shall consider the 

15 following in making a determination to award remaining 

16 funds to a State: 

17 ‘‘(1) The record of the State in carrying out the 

18 following with respect to the administration of elec19 tions for Federal office: 

20 ‘‘(A) Providing voting machines that are 

21 less than 10 years old. 

22 ‘‘(B) Implementing strong chain of custody 

23 procedures for the physical security of voting 

24 equipment and paper records at all stages of the 

25 process. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
26 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(C) Conducting pre-election testing on 

2 every voting machine and ensuring that paper 

3 ballots are available wherever electronic ma4 chines are used. 

5 ‘‘(D) Maintaining offline backups of voter 

6 registration lists. 

7 ‘‘(E) Providing a secure voter registration 

8 database that logs requests submitted to the data9 base. 

10 ‘‘(F) Publishing and enforcing a policy de11 tailing use limitations and security safeguards 

12 to protect the personal information of voters in 

13 the voter registration process. 

14 ‘‘(G) Providing secure processes and proce15 dures for reporting vote tallies. 

16 ‘‘(H) Providing a secure platform for dis17 seminating vote totals. 

18 ‘‘(2) Evidence of established conditions of inno19 vation and reform in providing voting system secu20 rity and the proposed plan of the State for imple21 menting additional conditions. 

22 ‘‘(3) Evidence of collaboration between relevant 

23 stakeholders, including local election officials, in de24 veloping the grant implementation plan described in 

25 section 297B. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
27 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(4) The plan of the State to conduct a rigorous 

2 evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities carried 

3 out with the grant. 

4 ‘‘(e) ABILITY OF REPLACEMENT SYSTEMS TO ADMIN5 ISTER RANKED CHOICE ELECTIONS.—To the greatest extent 

6 practicable, an eligible State which receives a grant to re7 place a voting system under this section shall ensure that 

8 the replacement system is capable of administering a system 

9 of ranked choice voting under which each voter shall rank 

10 the candidates for the office in the order of the voter’s pref11 erence. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 297A. VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS DE13 SCRIBED. 

14 ‘‘(a) PERMITTED USES.—A voting system security im15 provement described in this section is any of the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) The acquisition of goods and services from 

17 qualified election infrastructure vendors by purchase, 

18 lease, or such other arrangements as may be appro19 priate. 

20 ‘‘(2) Cyber and risk mitigation training. 

21 ‘‘(3) A security risk and vulnerability assessment 

22 of the State’s election infrastructure which is carried 

23 out by a provider of cybersecurity services under a 

24 contract entered into between the chief State election 

25 official and the provider. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
28 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(4) The maintenance of election infrastructure, 

2 including addressing risks and vulnerabilities which 

3 are identified under either of the security risk and 

4 vulnerability assessments described in paragraph (3), 

5 except that none of the funds provided under this part 

6 may be used to renovate or replace a building or fa7 cility which is used primarily for purposes other than 

8 the administration of elections for public office. 

9 ‘‘(5) Providing increased technical support for 

10 any information technology infrastructure that the 

11 chief State election official deems to be part of the 

12 State’s election infrastructure or designates as critical 

13 to the operation of the State’s election infrastructure. 

14 ‘‘(6) Enhancing the cybersecurity and operations 

15 of the information technology infrastructure described 

16 in paragraph (4). 

17 ‘‘(7) Enhancing the cybersecurity of voter reg18 istration systems. 

19 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE VEN20 DORS DESCRIBED.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this part, a 

22 ‘qualified election infrastructure vendor’ is any per23 son who provides, supports, or maintains, or who 

24 seeks to provide, support, or maintain, election infra25 structure on behalf of a State, unit of local governVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2722.RH H2722

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
29 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ment, or election agency, who meets the criteria de2 scribed in paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The criteria described in this 

4 paragraph are such criteria as the Chairman, in co5 ordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

6 shall establish and publish, and shall include each of 

7 the following requirements: 

8 ‘‘(A) The vendor must be owned and con9 trolled by a citizen or permanent resident of the 

10 United States. 

11 ‘‘(B) The vendor must disclose to the Chair12 man and the Secretary, and to the chief State 

13 election official of any State to which the vendor 

14 provides any goods and services with funds pro15 vided under this part, of any sourcing outside 

16 the United States for parts of the election infra17 structure. 

18 ‘‘(C) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 

19 election infrastructure will be developed and 

20 maintained in a manner that is consistent with 

21 the cybersecurity best practices issued by the 

22 Technical Guidelines Development Committee. 

23 ‘‘(D) The vendor agrees to maintain its in24 formation technology infrastructure in a manner 

25 that is consistent with the cybersecurity best 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
30 

•HR 2722 RH

1 practices issued by the Technical Guidelines De2 velopment Committee. 

3 ‘‘(E) The vendor agrees to meet the require4 ments of paragraph (3) with respect to any 

5 known or suspected cybersecurity incidents in6 volving any of the goods and services provided by 

7 the vendor pursuant to a grant under this part. 

8 ‘‘(F) The vendor agrees to permit inde9 pendent security testing by the Commission (in 

10 accordance with section 231(a)) and by the Sec11 retary of the goods and services provided by the 

12 vendor pursuant to a grant under this part. 

13 ‘‘(3) CYBERSECURITY INCIDENT REPORTING RE14 QUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vendor meets the re16 quirements of this paragraph if, upon becoming 

17 aware of the possibility that an election cyberse18 curity incident has occurred involving any of the 

19 goods and services provided by the vendor pursu20 ant to a grant under this part— 

21 ‘‘(i) the vendor promptly assesses 

22 whether or not such an incident occurred, 

23 and submits a notification meeting the re24 quirements of subparagraph (B) to the Sec25 retary and the Chairman of the assessment 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
31 

•HR 2722 RH

1 as soon as practicable (but in no case later 

2 than 3 days after the vendor first becomes 

3 aware of the possibility that the incident oc4 curred); 

5 ‘‘(ii) if the incident involves goods or 

6 services provided to an election agency, the 

7 vendor submits a notification meeting the 

8 requirements of subparagraph (B) to the 

9 agency as soon as practicable (but in no 

10 case later than 3 days after the vendor first 

11 becomes aware of the possibility that the in12 cident occurred), and cooperates with the 

13 agency in providing any other necessary 

14 notifications relating to the incident; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) the vendor provides all necessary 

16 updates to any notification submitted under 

17 clause (i) or clause (ii). 

18 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS OF NOTIFICATIONS.—Each 

19 notification submitted under clause (i) or clause 

20 (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall contain the fol21 lowing information with respect to any election 

22 cybersecurity incident covered by the notifica23 tion: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
32 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(i) The date, time, and time zone 

2 when the election cybersecurity incident 

3 began, if known. 

4 ‘‘(ii) The date, time, and time zone 

5 when the election cybersecurity incident was 

6 detected. 

7 ‘‘(iii) The date, time, and duration of 

8 the election cybersecurity incident. 

9 ‘‘(iv) The circumstances of the election 

10 cybersecurity incident, including the spe11 cific election infrastructure systems believed 

12 to have been accessed and information ac13 quired, if any. 

14 ‘‘(v) Any planned and implemented 

15 technical measures to respond to and re16 cover from the incident. 

17 ‘‘(vi) In the case of any notification 

18 which is an update to a prior notification, 

19 any additional material information relat20 ing to the incident, including technical 

21 data, as it becomes available. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 297B. ELIGIBILITY OF STATES. 

23 ‘‘A State is eligible to receive a grant under this part 

24 if the State submits to the Commission, at such time and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
33 

•HR 2722 RH

1 in such form as the Commission may require, an applica2 tion containing— 

3 ‘‘(1) a description of how the State will use the 

4 grant to carry out the activities authorized under this 

5 part; 

6 ‘‘(2) a certification and assurance that, not later 

7 than 5 years after receiving the grant, the State will 

8 carry out voting system security improvements, as de9 scribed in section 297A; and 

10 ‘‘(3) such other information and assurances as 

11 the Commission may require. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 297C. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

13 ‘‘Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal 

14 year, the Commission shall submit a report to the appro15 priate congressional committees, including the Committees 

16 on Homeland Security, House Administration, and the Ju17 diciary of the House of Representatives and the Committees 

18 on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Judi19 ciary, and Rules and Administration of the Senate, on the 

20 activities carried out with the funds provided under this 

21 part. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 297D. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

23 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be ap24 propriated for grants under this part— 

25 ‘‘(1) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
34 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(2) $175,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

2 2020, 2022, 2024, and 2026. 

3 ‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Any 

4 amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of this 

5 section shall remain available until expended.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 

7 such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items relat8 ing 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.’’. 

9 SEC. 112. COORDINATION OF VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY 

10 ACTIVITIES WITH USE OF REQUIREMENTS 

11 PAYMENTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 

12 REQUIREMENTS UNDER HELP AMERICA VOTE 

13 ACT OF 2002. 

14 (a) DUTIES OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS15 SION.—Section 202 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

16 (52 U.S.C. 20922) is amended in the matter preceding 

17 paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘by’’ and inserting ‘‘and the se18 curity of election infrastructure by’’. 

19 (b) MEMBERSHIP OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SE20 CURITY ON BOARD OF ADVISORS OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
35 

•HR 2722 RH

1 COMMISSION.—Section 214(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

2 20944(a)) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking ‘‘37 members’’ and inserting ‘‘38 

4 members’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following new para6 graph: 

7 ‘‘(17) The Secretary of Homeland Security or the 

8 Secretary’s designee.’’. 

9 (c) REPRESENTATIVE OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND

10 SECURITY ON TECHNICAL GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT

11 COMMITTEE.—Section 221(c)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

12 20961(c)(1)) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub14 paragraph (F); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol16 lowing new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(E) A representative of the Department of 

18 Homeland Security.’’. 

19 (d) GOALS OF PERIODIC STUDIES OF ELECTION AD20 MINISTRATION ISSUES; CONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY

21 OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Section 241(a) of such Act (52 

22 U.S.C. 20981(a)) is amended— 

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

24 striking ‘‘the Commission shall’’ and inserting ‘‘the 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
36 

•HR 2722 RH

1 Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of 

2 Homeland Security (as appropriate), shall’’; 

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

4 (3); 

5 (3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para6 graph (5); and 

7 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(4) will be secure against attempts to under10 mine the integrity of election systems by cyber or 

11 other means; and’’. 

12 (e) REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS.— 

13 (1) USE OF PAYMENTS FOR VOTING SYSTEM SE14 CURITY IMPROVEMENTS.—Section 251(b) of such Act 

15 (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(4) PERMITTING USE OF PAYMENTS FOR VOTING

18 SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS.—A State may use 

19 a requirements payment to carry out any of the fol20 lowing activities: 

21 ‘‘(A) Cyber and risk mitigation training. 

22 ‘‘(B) Providing increased technical support 

23 for any information technology infrastructure 

24 that the chief State election official deems to be 

25 part of the State’s election infrastructure or desVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2722.RH H2722

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
37 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ignates as critical to the operation of the State’s 

2 election infrastructure. 

3 ‘‘(C) Enhancing the cybersecurity and oper4 ations of the information technology infrastruc5 ture described in subparagraph (B). 

6 ‘‘(D) Enhancing the security of voter reg7 istration databases.’’. 

8 (2) INCORPORATION OF ELECTION INFRASTRUC9 TURE PROTECTION IN STATE PLANS FOR USE OF PAY10 MENTS.—Section 254(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

11 21004(a)(1)) is amended by striking the period at the 

12 end and inserting ‘‘, including the protection of elec13 tion infrastructure.’’. 

14 (3) COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

15 FOR DEVELOPING STATE PLAN FOR USE OF PAY16 MENTS.—Section 255 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21005) 

17 is amended— 

18 (A) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub19 section (c); and 

20 (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(b) GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION.—The members 

23 of the committee shall be a representative group of individ24 uals from the State’s counties, cities, towns, and Indian 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
38 

•HR 2722 RH

1 tribes, and shall represent the needs of rural as well as 

2 urban areas of the State, as the case may be.’’. 

3 (f) ENSURING PROTECTION OF COMPUTERIZED

4 STATEWIDE VOTER REGISTRATION LIST.—Section 

5 303(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(3)) is amended 

6 by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘, as well 

7 as other measures to prevent and deter cybersecurity inci8 dents, as identified by the Commission, the Secretary of 

9 Homeland Security, and the Technical Guidelines Develop10 ment Committee.’’. 

11 SEC. 113. INCORPORATION OF DEFINITIONS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 901 of the Help America 

13 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 901. DEFINITIONS. 

16 ‘‘In this Act, the following definitions apply: 

17 ‘‘(1) The term ‘cybersecurity incident’ has the 

18 meaning given the term ‘incident’ in section 227 of 

19 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148). 

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘election agency’ means any com21 ponent of a State, or any component of a unit of local 

22 government in a State, which is responsible for the 

23 administration of elections for Federal office in the 

24 State. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
39 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘election infrastructure’ means 

2 storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote 

3 tabulation locations used to support the administra4 tion of elections for public office, as well as related in5 formation and communications technology, including 

6 voter registration databases, voting machines, elec7 tronic mail and other communications systems (in8 cluding electronic mail and other systems of vendors 

9 who have entered into contracts with election agencies 

10 to support the administration of elections, manage the 

11 election process, and report and display election re12 sults), and other systems used to manage the election 

13 process and to report and display election results on 

14 behalf of an election agency. 

15 ‘‘(4) The term ‘State’ means each of the several 

16 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

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

18 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 

19 Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 

20 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 

21 such Act is amended by amending the item relating to sec22 tion 901 to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 901. Definitions.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
40 

•HR 2722 RH

1 Subtitle B—Risk-Limiting Audits 

2 SEC. 121. RISK-LIMITING AUDITS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America Vote 

4 Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended by insert5 ing after section 303 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 303A. RISK-LIMITING AUDITS. 

7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) RISK-LIMITING AUDIT.—The term ‘risk-lim9 iting audit’ means, with respect to any election con10 test, a post-election process that— 

11 ‘‘(A) has a probability of at least 95 percent 

12 of correcting the reported outcome if the reported 

13 outcome is not the correct outcome; 

14 ‘‘(B) will not change the outcome if the re15 ported outcome is the correct outcome; and 

16 ‘‘(C) involves a manual adjudication of 

17 voter intent from some or all of the ballots val18 idly cast in the election contest. 

19 ‘‘(2) REPORTED OUTCOME; CORRECT OUTCOME; 

20 OUTCOME.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REPORTED OUTCOME.—The term ‘re22 ported outcome’ means the outcome of an election 

23 contest which is determined according to the can24 vass and which will become the official, certified 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
41 

•HR 2722 RH

1 outcome unless it is revised by an audit, recount, 

2 or other legal process. 

3 ‘‘(B) CORRECT OUTCOME.—The term ‘cor4 rect outcome’ means the outcome that would be 

5 determined by a manual adjudication of voter 

6 intent for all votes validly cast in the election 

7 contest. 

8 ‘‘(C) OUTCOME.—The term ‘outcome’ means 

9 the winner or set of winners of an election con10 test. 

11 ‘‘(3) MANUAL ADJUDICATION OF VOTER IN12 TENT.—The term ‘manual adjudication of voter in13 tent’ means direct inspection and determination by 

14 humans, without assistance from electronic or me15 chanical tabulation devices, of the ballot choices 

16 marked by voters on each voter-verified paper record. 

17 ‘‘(4) BALLOT MANIFEST.—The term ‘ballot mani18 fest’ means a record maintained by each jurisdiction 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(A) is created without reliance on any 

21 part of the voting system used to tabulate votes; 

22 ‘‘(B) functions as a sampling frame for con23 ducting a risk-limiting audit; and 

24 ‘‘(C) accounts for all ballots validly cast re25 gardless of how or whether they were tabulated 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
42 

•HR 2722 RH

1 and includes a precise description of the manner 

2 in which the ballots are physically stored, in3 cluding the total number of physical groups of 

4 ballots, the numbering system for each group, a 

5 unique label for each group, and the number of 

6 ballots in each such group. 

7 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(A) AUDITS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each State and ju11 risdiction shall administer risk-limiting au12 dits of the results of all election contests for 

13 Federal office held in the State in accord14 ance with the requirements of paragraph 

15 (2). 

16 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall not 

17 apply to any election contest for which the 

18 State or jurisdiction conducts a full recount 

19 through a manual adjudication of voter in20 tent. 

21 ‘‘(B) FULL MANUAL TABULATION.—If a 

22 risk-limiting audit conducted under subpara23 graph (A) corrects the reported outcome of an 

24 election contest, the State or jurisdiction shall 

25 use the results of the manual adjudication of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
43 

•HR 2722 RH

1 voter intent conducted as part of the risk-lim2 iting audit as the official results of the election 

3 contest. 

4 ‘‘(2) AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) RULES AND PROCEDURES.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

7 year after the date of the enactment of this 

8 section, the chief State election official of the 

9 State shall establish rules and procedures 

10 for conducting risk-limiting audits. 

11 ‘‘(ii) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The rules 

12 and procedures established under clause (i) 

13 shall include the following: 

14 ‘‘(I) Rules and procedures for en15 suring the security of ballots and docu16 menting that prescribed procedures 

17 were followed. 

18 ‘‘(II) Rules and procedures for en19 suring the accuracy of ballot manifests 

20 produced by jurisdictions. 

21 ‘‘(III) Rules and procedures for 

22 governing the format of ballot mani23 fests and other data involved in risk24 limiting audits. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
44 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(IV) Methods to ensure that any 

2 cast vote records used in a risk-lim3 iting audit are those used by the voting 

4 system to tally the results of the elec5 tion contest sent to the chief State elec6 tion official of the State and made 

7 public. 

8 ‘‘(V) Rules and procedures for the 

9 random selection of ballots to be in10 spected manually during each audit. 

11 ‘‘(VI) Rules and procedures for 

12 the calculations and other methods to 

13 be used in the audit and to determine 

14 whether and when the audit of each 

15 election contest is complete. 

16 ‘‘(VII) Rules and procedures for 

17 testing any software used to conduct 

18 risk-limiting audits. 

19 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC REPORT.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After the comple21 tion of the risk-limiting audit and at least 

22 5 days before the election contest is certified, 

23 the State shall publish a report on the re24 sults of the audit, together with such inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2722.RH H2722

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
45 

•HR 2722 RH

1 mation as necessary to confirm that the 

2 audit was conducted properly. 

3 ‘‘(ii) FORMAT OF DATA.—All data pub4 lished with the report under clause (i) shall 

5 be published in machine-readable, open data 

6 formats. 

7 ‘‘(iii) PROTECTION OF ANONYMITY OF

8 VOTES.—Information and data published 

9 by the State under this subparagraph shall 

10 not compromise the anonymity of votes. 

11 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and jurisdiction 

12 shall be required to comply with the requirements of this 

13 section for the first regularly scheduled election for Federal 

14 office held more than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

15 of the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act and for 

16 each subsequent election for Federal office.’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATED TO EN18 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 

19 is amended by striking ‘‘and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘303, and 

20 303A’’. 

21 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents for 

22 such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

23 to section 303 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 303A. Risk-limiting audits.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
46 

•HR 2722 RH

1 SEC. 122. FUNDING FOR CONDUCTING POST-ELECTION 

2 RISK-LIMITING AUDITS. 

3 (a) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Subtitle D of title II of 

4 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et 

5 seq.), as amended by section 111(a), is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following new part: 

7 ‘‘PART 8—FUNDING FOR POST-ELECTION RISK8 LIMITING AUDITS 

9 ‘‘SEC. 298. PAYMENTS FOR POST-ELECTION RISK-LIMITING 

10 AUDITS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall pay to 

12 States the amount of eligible post-election audit costs. 

13 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE POST-ELECTION AUDIT COSTS.—For 

14 purposes of this section, the term ‘eligible post-election audit 

15 costs’ means, with respect to any State, costs paid or in16 curred by the State or local government within the State 

17 for— 

18 ‘‘(1) the conduct of any risk-limiting audit (as 

19 defined in section 303A) with respect to an election 

20 for Federal office occurring after the date of the enact21 ment of this part; and 

22 ‘‘(2) any equipment, software, or services nec23 essary for the conduct of any such risk-limiting audit. 

24 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES.— 

25 ‘‘(1) RULES AND PROCEDURES.—The Commis26 sion shall establish rules and procedures for submisVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2722.RH H2722

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
47 

•HR 2722 RH

1 sion of eligible post-election audit costs for payments 

2 under this section. 

3 ‘‘(2) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—In any case in 

4 which the amounts appropriated under subsection (d) 

5 are insufficient to pay all eligible post-election audit 

6 costs submitted by States with respect to any Federal 

7 election, the amount of such costs paid under sub8 section (a) to any State shall be equal to the amount 

9 that bears the same ratio to the amount which would 

10 be paid to such State (determined without regard to 

11 this paragraph) as— 

12 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals who voted 

13 in such Federal election in such State; bears to 

14 ‘‘(B) the total number of individuals who 

15 voted in such Federal election in all States sub16 mitting a claim for eligible post-election audit 

17 costs. 

18 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

20 be appropriated to the Commission such sums as are 

21 necessary to carry out this part. 

22 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated 

23 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall remain available 

24 without fiscal year limitation until expended.’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
48 

•HR 2722 RH

1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 

2 such Act, as amended by section 111(b), is further amended 

3 by adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle D 

4 of title II the following: 

‘‘PART 8—FUNDING FOR POST-ELECTION RISK-LIMITING AUDITS

‘‘Sec. 298. Payments for post-election risk-limiting audits.’’. 

5 SEC. 123. GAO ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF AUDITS. 

6 (a) ANALYSIS.—Not later than 6 months after the first 

7 elections for Federal office is held for which States must 

8 conduct risk-limiting audits under section 303A of the Help 

9 America Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 121), the 

10 Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an 

11 analysis of the extent to which such audits have improved 

12 the administration of such elections and the security of elec13 tion infrastructure in the States receiving such grants. 

14 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the United 

15 States shall submit a report on the analysis conducted 

16 under subsection (a) to the Committee on House Adminis17 tration of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Rules and Administration of the Senate. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
49 

•HR 2722 RH

1 TITLE II—PROMOTING CYBERSE2 CURITY THROUGH IMPROVE3 MENTS IN ELECTION ADMIN4 ISTRATION 

5 SEC. 201. VOTING SYSTEM CYBERSECURITY REQUIRE6 MENTS. 

7 (a) BALLOT TABULATING DEVICES.—Section 301(a) of 

8 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), 

9 as amended by section 104 and section 105, is further 

10 amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(9) BALLOT TABULATING METHODS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The voting system tab13 ulates ballots by hand or through the use of an 

14 optical scanning device that meets the require15 ments of subparagraph (B). 

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR OPTICAL SCAN17 NING DEVICES.—Except as provided in subpara18 graph (C), the requirements of this subparagraph 

19 are as follows: 

20 ‘‘(i) The device is designed and built in 

21 a manner in which it is mechanically im22 possible for the device to add or change the 

23 vote selections on a printed or marked bal24 lot. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
50 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(ii) The device is capable of exporting 

2 its data (including vote tally data sets and 

3 cast vote records) in a machine-readable, 

4 open data standard format required by the 

5 Commission, in consultation with the Direc6 tor of the National Institute of Standards 

7 and Technology. 

8 ‘‘(iii) The device consists of hardware 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(I) is certified under section 

11 2216 of the Homeland Security Act; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) demonstrably conforms to a 

14 hardware component manifest describ15 ing point-of-origin information (in16 cluding upstream hardware supply 

17 chain information for each component) 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(aa) has been provided to 

20 the Commission, the Director of 

21 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 

22 Security under section 2215 of the 

23 Homeland Security Act, and the 

24 chief State election official for 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
51 

•HR 2722 RH

1 each State in which the device is 

2 used; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) may be shared by any 

4 entity to whom it has been pro5 vided under item (aa) with inde6 pendent experts for cybersecurity 

7 analysis. 

8 ‘‘(iv) The device utilizes technology 

9 that prevents the operation of the device if 

10 any hardware components do not meet the 

11 requirements of clause (iii). 

12 ‘‘(v) The device operates using soft13 ware— 

14 ‘‘(I) for which the source code, 

15 system build tools, and compilation 

16 parameters— 

17 ‘‘(aa) have been provided to 

18 the Commission, the Director of 

19 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure 

20 Security under section 2215 of the 

21 Homeland Security Act, and the 

22 chief State election official for 

23 each State in which the device is 

24 used; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
52 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(bb) may be shared by any 

2 entity to whom it has been pro3 vided under item (aa) with inde4 pendent experts for cybersecurity 

5 analysis; and 

6 ‘‘(II) that is certified under sec7 tion 2216 of the Homeland Security 

8 Act. 

9 ‘‘(vi) The device utilizes technology 

10 that prevents the running of software on the 

11 device that does not meet the requirements 

12 of clause (v). 

13 ‘‘(vii) The device utilizes technology 

14 that enables election officials, cybersecurity 

15 researchers, and voters to verify that the 

16 software running on the device— 

17 ‘‘(I) was built from a specific, 

18 untampered version of the code that is 

19 described in clause (v); and 

20 ‘‘(II) uses the system build tools 

21 and compilation parameters that are 

22 described in clause (v). 

23 ‘‘(viii) The device contains such other 

24 security requirements as the Director of CyVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00052 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2722.RH H2722

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
53 

•HR 2722 RH

1 bersecurity and Infrastructure Security re2 quires. 

3 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Director of Cy5 bersecurity and Infrastructure Security, in 

6 consultation with the Director of the Na7 tional Institute of Standards and Tech8 nology, may waive one or more of the re9 quirements of subparagraph (B) (other than 

10 the requirement of clause (i) thereof) with 

11 respect to any device for a period of not to 

12 exceed 2 years. 

13 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION.—Information re14 lating to any waiver granted under clause 

15 (i) shall be made publicly available on the 

16 Internet. 

17 ‘‘(D) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and 

18 jurisdiction shall be required to comply with the 

19 requirements of this paragraph for the regularly 

20 scheduled election for Federal office in November 

21 2024, and for each subsequent election for Fed22 eral office.’’. 

23 (b) OTHER CYBERSECURITY REQUIREMENTS.—Sec24 tion 301(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended 

25 by section 104, section 105, and subsection (a), is further 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
54 

•HR 2722 RH

1 amended by adding at the end the following new para2 graphs: 

3 ‘‘(10) PROHIBITION OF USE OF WIRELESS COM4 MUNICATIONS DEVICES IN SYSTEMS OR DEVICES.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No system or device 

6 upon which ballot marking devices or optical 

7 scanners are configured, upon which ballots are 

8 marked by voters (except as necessary for indi9 viduals with disabilities to use ballot marking 

10 devices that meet the accessibility requirements 

11 of paragraph (3)), or upon which votes are cast, 

12 tabulated, or aggregated shall contain, use, or be 

13 accessible by any wireless, power-line, or con14 cealed communication device. 

15 ‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and 

16 jurisdiction shall be required to comply with the 

17 requirements of this paragraph for the regularly 

18 scheduled election for Federal office in November 

19 2020, and for each subsequent election for Fed20 eral office. 

21 ‘‘(11) PROHIBITING CONNECTION OF SYSTEM TO

22 THE INTERNET.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No system or device 

24 upon which ballot marking devices or optical 

25 scanners are configured, upon which ballots are 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
55 

•HR 2722 RH

1 marked by voters, or upon which votes are cast, 

2 tabulated, or aggregated shall be connected to the 

3 Internet or any non-local computer system via 

4 telephone or other communication network at 

5 any time. 

6 ‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and 

7 jurisdiction shall be required to comply with the 

8 requirements of this paragraph for the regularly 

9 scheduled election for Federal office in November 

10 2020, and for each subsequent election for Fed11 eral office.’’. 

12 (c) SPECIAL CYBERSECURITY RULES FOR CERTAIN

13 BALLOT MARKING DEVICES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a) of such Act 

15 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104, sec16 tion 105, and subsections (a) and (b), is further 

17 amended by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(13) BALLOT MARKING DEVICES.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a voting 

21 system that uses a ballot marking device, the bal22 lot marking device shall be a device that— 

23 ‘‘(i) is not capable of tabulating votes; 

24 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a ballot 

25 marking device used exclusively to comply 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
56 

•HR 2722 RH

1 with the requirements of paragraph (3), is 

2 certified in accordance with section 232 as 

3 meeting the requirements of subparagraph 

4 (B); and 

5 ‘‘(iii) is certified under section 2216 of 

6 the Homeland Security Act as meeting the 

7 requirements of clauses (iii) through (viii) 

8 of section 301(a)(9)(B). 

9 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A ballot marking 

11 device meets the requirements of this sub12 paragraph if, during a double-masked test 

13 conducted by a qualified independent user 

14 experience research laboratory (as defined 

15 in section 232(b)(4)) of a simulated election 

16 scenario which meets the requirements of 

17 clause (ii), there is less than a 5 percent 

18 chance that an ordinary voter using the de19 vice would not detect and report any dif20 ference between the vote selection printed on 

21 the ballot by the ballot marking device and 

22 the vote selection indicated by the voter. 

23 ‘‘(ii) SIMULATED ELECTION SCE24 NARIO.—A simulated election scenario meets 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
57 

•HR 2722 RH

1 the requirements of this clause if it is con2 ducted with— 

3 ‘‘(I) a pool of subjects that are— 

4 ‘‘(aa) diverse in age, gender, 

5 education, and physical limita6 tions; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) representative of the 

8 communities in which the voting 

9 system will be used; and 

10 ‘‘(II) ballots that are representa11 tive of ballots ordinarily used in the 

12 communities in which the voting sys13 tem will be used. 

14 ‘‘(C) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Each State and 

15 jurisdiction shall be required to comply with the 

16 requirements of this paragraph for the regularly 

17 scheduled election for Federal office in November 

18 2022, and for each subsequent election for Fed19 eral office.’’. 

20 (2) PROCEDURE FOR TESTING.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title II of 

22 the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 

23 20971 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following new section: 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
58 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘SEC. 232. TESTING AND CERTIFICATION OF BALLOT MARK2 ING DEVICES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Any State or jurisdiction which 

4 intends to use a ballot marking device (other than a ballot 

5 marking device used exclusively to comply with the require6 ments of section 301(a)(3)) in an election for Federal office 

7 may submit an application to the Commission for testing 

8 and certification under this section. 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION, ASSIGNMENT, AND TESTING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An application under sub11 section (a) shall be submitted not later than 18 

12 months before the date of the election for Federal office 

13 in which the ballot marking device is intended to be 

14 used and shall contain such information as the Com15 mission requires. 

16 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNMENT.—Upon receipt of an applica17 tion for testing under this section, the Commission 

18 shall contract with a qualified independent user expe19 rience research laboratory for the testing of whether 

20 the ballot marking device intended to be used by the 

21 State or jurisdiction meets the requirements of section 

22 301(a)(10)(B). 

23 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR TESTING.—Any con24 tract described in paragraph (2) shall require the 

25 qualified independent user experience research labora26 tory to— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
59 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(A) not later than 30 days before testing 

2 begins, submit to the Commission for approval 

3 the protocol for the simulated election scenario 

4 used for testing the ballot marking device; 

5 ‘‘(B) use only protocols approved by the 

6 Commission in conducting such testing; and 

7 ‘‘(C) submit to the Commission a report on 

8 the results of the testing. 

9 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED INDEPENDENT USER EXPERI10 ENCE RESEARCH LABORATORY.—For purposes of this 

11 section: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

13 independent user experience research laboratory’ 

14 means a laboratory accredited under this sub15 section by the Election Assistance Commission in 

16 accordance with standards determined by the 

17 Commission, in consultation with the Director of 

18 the National Institute of Standards and Tech19 nology and the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

20 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—A laboratory shall not be 

21 accredited under this subsection unless such lab22 oratory demonstrates that— 

23 ‘‘(i) no employee of, or individual with 

24 an ownership in, such laboratory has, or 

25 has had during the 5 preceding years, any 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
60 

•HR 2722 RH

1 financial relationship with a manufacturer 

2 of voting systems; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) any group of individuals con4 ducting tests under this section collectively 

5 meet the following qualifications: 

6 ‘‘(I) Experience designing and 

7 running user research studies and ex8 periments using both qualitative and 

9 quantitative methodologies. 

10 ‘‘(II) Experience with voting sys11 tems. 

12 ‘‘(c) REVIEW BY INDEPENDENT BOARD.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall sub14 mit for approval to an independent review board es15 tablished under paragraph (3) the following: 

16 ‘‘(A) Any protocol submitted to the Commis17 sion under subsection (b)(3)(A). 

18 ‘‘(B) Any report submitted to the Commis19 sion under subsection (b)(3)(C). 

20 ‘‘(2) FINAL APPROVAL.—Not later than the date 

21 that is 12 months before the date of the election for 

22 Federal office in which a State or jurisdiction intends 

23 to use the ballot marking device, the independent re24 view board shall report to the Commission on whether 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
61 

•HR 2722 RH

1 it has approved a report submitted under paragraph 

2 (1)(B). 

3 ‘‘(3) INDEPENDENT REVIEW BOARD.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An independent review 

5 board established under this paragraph shall be 

6 composed of 5 independent scientists appointed 

7 by the Commission, in consultation with the Di8 rector of the National Institute of Standards and 

9 Technology. 

10 ‘‘(B) QUALIFICATIONS.—The members of the 

11 independent review board— 

12 ‘‘(i) shall have expertise and relevant 

13 peer-reviewed publications in the following 

14 fields: cognitive psychology, experimental 

15 design, statistics, and user experience re16 search and testing; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) may not have, or have had during 

18 the 5 preceding years, any financial rela19 tionship with a manufacturer of voting sys20 tems. 

21 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.—The Commission shall make 

22 public— 

23 ‘‘(A) any protocol approved under this sub24 section; 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
62 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(B) any report submitted under subsection 

2 (b)(3)(C); and 

3 ‘‘(C) any determination made by an inde4 pendent review board under paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION.—If— 

6 ‘‘(1) a ballot marking device is determined by 

7 the qualified independent user experience research 

8 laboratory to meet the requirements of section 

9 301(a)(7); and 

10 ‘‘(2) the report submitted under subsection 

11 (b)(3)(C) is approved by a majority of the members 

12 of the independent review board under subsection 

13 (d)(2), 

14 then the Commission shall certify the ballot marking device. 

15 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON FEES.—The Commission may 

16 not charge any fee to a State or jurisdiction, a developer 

17 or manufacturer of a ballot marking device, or any other 

18 person in connection with testing and certification under 

19 this section.’’. 

20 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (i) Section 202(2) of the Help America 

22 Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20922(2)) is 

23 amended by inserting ‘‘and ballot marking 

24 devices’’ after ‘‘hardware and software’’). 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
63 

•HR 2722 RH

1 (ii) The heading for subtitle B of title 

2 II of such Act is amended by inserting at 

3 the end‘‘; Ballot Marking Devices’’. 

4 (iii) The table of contents of such Act 

5 is amended— 

6 (I) by inserting ‘‘; Ballot Marking 

7 Devices’’ at the end of the item relating 

8 to subtitle B of title II; and 

9 (II) by inserting after the item re10 lated to section 231 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 232. Testing and certification of ballot marking devices.’’. 

11 SEC. 202. TESTING OF EXISTING VOTING SYSTEMS TO EN12 SURE COMPLIANCE WITH ELECTION CYBER13 SECURITY GUIDELINES AND OTHER GUIDE14 LINES. 

15 (a) REQUIRING TESTING OF EXISTING VOTING SYS16 TEMS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(a) of the Help 

18 America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20971(a)) is 

19 amended by adding at the end the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(3) TESTING TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH

22 GUIDELINES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) TESTING.—Not later than 9 months 

24 before the date of each regularly scheduled gen25 eral election for Federal office, the Commission 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
64 

•HR 2722 RH

1 shall provide for the testing by accredited labora2 tories under this section of the voting system 

3 hardware and software which was certified for 

4 use in the most recent such election, on the basis 

5 of the most recent voting system guidelines ap6 plicable to such hardware or software (including 

7 election cybersecurity guidelines) issued under 

8 this Act. 

9 ‘‘(B) DECERTIFICATION OF HARDWARE OR

10 SOFTWARE FAILING TO MEET GUIDELINES.—If, 

11 on the basis of the testing described in subpara12 graph (A), the Commission determines that any 

13 voting system hardware or software does not 

14 meet the most recent guidelines applicable to 

15 such hardware or software issued under this Act, 

16 the Commission shall decertify such hardware or 

17 software.’’. 

18 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

19 paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to the regu20 larly scheduled general election for Federal office held 

21 in November 2020 and each succeeding regularly 

22 scheduled general election for Federal office. 

23 (b) ISSUANCE OF CYBERSECURITY GUIDELINES BY

24 TECHNICAL GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.— 

25 Section 221(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
65 

•HR 2722 RH

1 U.S.C. 20961(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(3) ELECTION CYBERSECURITY GUIDELINES.— 

4 Not later than 6 months after the date of the enact5 ment of the Securing America’s Federal Elections Act, 

6 the Development Committee shall issue election cyber7 security guidelines, including standards and best 

8 practices for procuring, maintaining, testing, oper9 ating, and updating election systems to prevent and 

10 deter cybersecurity incidents.’’. 

11 SEC. 203. REQUIRING USE OF SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE 

12 FOR WHICH INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED BY 

13 MANUFACTURER. 

14 (a) REQUIREMENT.—Section 301(a) of the Help Amer15 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by 

16 sections 104 and 105, is amended by adding at the end the 

17 following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(9) REQUIRING USE OF SOFTWARE AND HARD19 WARE FOR WHICH INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED BY

20 MANUFACTURER.— 

21 ‘‘(A) REQUIRING USE OF SOFTWARE FOR

22 WHICH SOURCE CODE IS DISCLOSED BY MANU23 FACTURER.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the operation of 

25 voting systems in an election for Federal ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Jun 26, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2722.RH H2722

pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
66 

•HR 2722 RH

1 fice, a State may only use software for 

2 which the manufacturer makes the source 

3 code (in the form in which will be used at 

4 the time of the election) publicly available 

5 online under a license that grants a world6 wide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, 

7 sub-licensable license to all intellectual 

8 property rights in such source code, except 

9 that the manufacturer may prohibit a per10 son who obtains the software from using the 

11 software in a manner that is primarily in12 tended for or directed toward commercial 

13 advantage or private monetary compensa14 tion that is unrelated to carrying out legiti15 mate research or cybersecurity activity. 

16 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) does 

17 not apply with respect to— 

18 ‘‘(I) widely-used operating system 

19 software which is not specific to voting 

20 systems and for which the source code 

21 or baseline functionality is not altered; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(II) widely-used cybersecurity 

24 software which is not specific to voting 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
67 

•HR 2722 RH

1 systems and for which the source code 

2 or baseline functionality is not altered. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIRING USE OF HARDWARE FOR

4 WHICH INFORMATION IS DISCLOSED BY MANU5 FACTURER.— 

6 ‘‘(i) REQUIRING DISCLOSURE OF

7 HARDWARE.—A State may not use a voting 

8 system in an election for Federal office un9 less the manufacturer of the system publicly 

10 discloses online the identification of the 

11 hardware used to operate the system. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL DISCLOSURE RE13 QUIREMENTS FOR CUSTOM OR ALTERED

14 HARDWARE.—To the extent that the hard15 ware used to operate a voting system or any 

16 component thereof is not widely-used, or is 

17 widely-used but is altered, the State may 

18 not use the system in an election for Federal 

19 office unless— 

20 ‘‘(I) the manufacturer of the sys21 tem publicly discloses online the com22 ponents of the hardware, the design of 

23 such components, and how such compo24 nents are connected in the operation of 

25 the system; and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
68 

•HR 2722 RH

1 ‘‘(II) the manufacturer makes the 

2 design (in the form which will be used 

3 at the time of the election) publicly 

4 available online under a license that 

5 grants a worldwide, royalty-free, non6 exclusive, perpetual, sub-licensable li7 cense to all intellectual property rights 

8 in the design of the hardware or the 

9 component, except that the manufac10 turer may prohibit a person who ob11 tains the design from using the design 

12 in a manner that is primarily in13 tended for or directed toward commer14 cial advantage or private monetary 

15 compensation that is unrelated to car16 rying out legitimate research or cyber17 security activity.’’. 

18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub19 section (a) shall apply with respect to elections for Federal 

20 office held in 2020 or any succeeding year. 

21 SEC. 204. TREATMENT OF ELECTRONIC POLL BOOKS AS 

22 PART OF VOTING SYSTEMS. 

23 (a) INCLUSION IN DEFINITION OF VOTING SYSTEM.— 

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

25 U.S.C. 21081(b)) is amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
69 

•HR 2722 RH

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

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

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

4 (1); 

5 (3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para6 graph (3); and 

7 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(2) any electronic poll book used with respect to 

10 the election; and’’. 

11 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 301 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 

12 21081) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

14 subsections (d) and (e); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following 

16 new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(c) ELECTRONIC POLL BOOK DEFINED.—In this Act, 

18 the term ‘electronic poll book’ means the total combination 

19 of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic equipment 

20 (including the software, firmware, and documentation re21 quired to program, control, and support the equipment) 

22 that is used— 

23 ‘‘(1) to retain the list of registered voters at a 

24 polling location, or vote center, or other location at 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
70 

•HR 2722 RH

1 which voters cast votes in an election for Federal of2 fice; and 

3 ‘‘(2) to identify registered voters who are eligible 

4 to vote in an election.’’. 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 301(e) of such Act (52 

6 U.S.C. 21081(e)), as redesignated by subsection (b), is 

7 amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 

8 the following: ‘‘, or, with respect to any requirements relat9 ing to electronic poll books, on and after January 1, 2020.’’. 

10 SEC. 205. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 

11 USAGE. 

12 (a) REQUIRING STATES TO SUBMIT REPORTS.—Title 

13 III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 

14 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 301 the fol15 lowing new section: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 301A. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 

17 USAGE. 

18 ‘‘(a) REQUIRING STATES TO SUBMIT REPORTS.—Not 

19 later than 120 days before the date of each regularly sched20 uled general election for Federal office, the chief State elec21 tion official of a State shall submit a report to the Commis22 sion containing a detailed voting system usage plan for 

23 each jurisdiction in the State which will administer the 

24 election, including a detailed plan for the usage of electronic 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
71 

•HR 2722 RH

1 poll books and other equipment and components of such sys2 tem. 

3 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 

4 with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 

5 Federal office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 

6 regularly scheduled general election for Federal office.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN8 FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 

9 is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘subtitle A of title III’’. 

11 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of 

12 such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

13 to section 301 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 301A. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.’’. 

14 SEC. 206. STREAMLINING COLLECTION OF ELECTION IN15 FORMATION. 

16 Section 202 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 

17 U.S.C. 20922) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission’’; and 

20 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub21 section: 

22 ‘‘(b) WAIVER OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—Sub23 chapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, shall 

24 not apply to the collection of information for purposes of 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
72 

•HR 2722 RH

1 maintaining the clearinghouse described in paragraph (1) 

2 of subsection (a).’’. 

3 TITLE III—USE OF VOTING MA4 CHINES MANUFACTURED IN 

5 THE UNITED STATES 

6 SEC. 301. USE OF VOTING MACHINES MANUFACTURED IN 

7 THE UNITED STATES. 

8 Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 

9 (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 104, section 

10 105, and section 203, is further amended by adding at the 

11 end the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(10) VOTING MACHINE REQUIREMENTS.—By 

13 not later than the date of the regularly scheduled gen14 eral election for Federal office occurring in November 

15 2022, each State shall seek to ensure that any voting 

16 machine used in such election and in any subsequent 

17 election for Federal office is manufactured in the 

18 United States.’’. 

19 TITLE IV—SEVERABILITY 

20 SEC. 401. SEVERABILITY. 

21 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

22 this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment 

23 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu24 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

25 by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
73 

•HR 2722 RH

1 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be af2 fected by the holding. 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 94 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2722 

[Report No. 116–129, Part I] 

A BILL 

To protect elections for public office by providing 

and for other purposes. infrastructure used to carry out such elections, financial support and enhanced security for the 

JUNE 26, 2019 

Reported from the Committee on House Administration 

with an amendment 

JUNE 26, 2019 

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology disprinted House on the State of the Union and ordered to be charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS