I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1946 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voting systems 
used in elections for Federal office to produce a voter-verified paper 
ballot of each vote cast on the system, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2019 
Ms. GABBARD (for herself and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in 
addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require 
voting systems used in elections for Federal office to 
produce a voter-verified paper ballot of each vote cast 
on the system, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Securing America’s Elections Act of 2019’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that according to the Department of Homeland Se-
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curity there were attempts to hack the election infrastruc-
ture of 21 States during the 2016 elections. The failing 
security and vulnerabilities in our national election infra-
structure were later confirmed and highlighted by the 
hacking community in a report issued in September 2017, 
after the DEFCON 25 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
A subsequent report issued in September 2018, after the 
DEFCON 26 Conference, highlighted the need for Federal 
funding to States to improve the security of election infra-
structure. In light of these findings, the Government must 
act with all deliberate purpose to ensure that the integrity 
of elections in the United States is protected against hack-
ers. 
SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECU-
RITY 
THROUGH 
VOTER-VERIFIED 
PERMA-
NENT PAPER BALLOT. 
(a) BALLOT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 
21081(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(2) BALLOT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPAC-
ITY.— 
‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) VERIFICATION.—(I) The voting 
system shall require the production of a 
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voter-verified paper ballot of the voter’s 
vote that shall be created by or made avail-
able for inspection and verification by the 
individual voter before the voter’s vote is 
cast and counted. For purposes of this 
subclause, a voter-verified paper ballot in-
cludes (but is not limited to) a paper ballot 
marked by the voter for the purpose of 
being counted by hand or read by an opti-
cal scanner or other similar device, a paper 
ballot prepared by the voter to be mailed 
to an election official (whether from a do-
mestic or overseas location), a paper ballot 
created through the use of a ballot mark-
ing device or system, or a paper ballot pro-
duced by a touch screen or other electronic 
voting machine, so long as in each case the 
voter is permitted to verify the ballot in a 
paper form in accordance with this sub-
paragraph. 
‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 
the voter with an opportunity to correct 
any error made by the system in the voter- 
verified paper ballot before the permanent 
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voter-verified paper ballot is preserved in 
accordance with clause (ii). 
‘‘(III) The voting system shall not 
preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in 
any manner that makes it possible, at any 
time after the ballot has been cast, to asso-
ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 
vote. 
‘‘(ii) 
PRESERVATION.—The 
voter- 
verified paper ballot produced in accord-
ance with clause (i) shall be used as the of-
ficial ballot for purposes of any recount or 
audit conducted with respect to any elec-
tion for Federal office in which the voting 
system is used, and shall be preserved in 
accordance with regulations promulgated 
by the Commission to establish criteria for 
the proper preservation and retention of 
the official ballots in the election. 
‘‘(iii) MANUAL
AUDIT
CAPACITY.— 
Each paper ballot produced pursuant to 
clause (i) shall be suitable for a manual 
audit equivalent to that of a paper ballot 
voting system, in accordance with the 
methods described in subparagraph (B). 
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‘‘(B) APPROVED
METHODS
FOR
MANUAL 
AUDITS.—The methods described in this sub-
paragraph with respect to the manual audit of 
voter-verified paper ballots are— 
‘‘(i) audits conducted through the use 
of programmable electronic counting ma-
chines which are not capable of being con-
nected to the Internet, as determined in 
accordance with regulations promulgated 
by the Commission; or 
‘‘(ii) if no machine described in clause 
(i) is available, an audit conducted by a 
hand count. 
‘‘(C) RESOLUTION
OF
DISPUTES
WHEN 
PAPER
BALLOTS
HAVE
BEEN
SHOWN
TO
BE 
COMPROMISED.—In the event that the paper 
ballots produced pursuant to subparagraph (A) 
with respect to an election for Federal office 
have been compromised, the State shall resolve 
the dispute over the results of the election in 
accordance with dispute resolution processes es-
tablished under regulations promulgated by the 
Commission. 
‘‘(D) DEADLINE FOR PROMULGATION OF 
REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall promul-
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gate the regulations described in this paragraph 
not later than June 30, 2019.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING AP-
PLICABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSI-
BILITY.—Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
21081(a)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including 
the paper ballots required to be produced under 
paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting system’’. 
(3) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sec-
tion 301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) 
is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 
‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord-
ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 
‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord-
ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking 
‘‘counted’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘counted, in accordance with paragraphs (2) 
and (3)’’; and 
(D) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 
‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord-
ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 
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(b) AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO EN-
ABLE STATES TO MEET COSTS OF REVISED REQUIRE-
MENT.— 
(1) EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 
FOR
MEETING
REVISED
REQUIREMENT; AMOUNTS 
DEEMED TO MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR EMERGENCY 
FUNDING.—Section 257(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
21007(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) For fiscal year 2019, such sums as may be 
necessary to enable States to meet the requirements 
of section 301(a)(2) which are first imposed on the 
State pursuant to the amendments made by section 
2(a) of the Securing America’s Elections Act of 
2019. Any amount appropriated pursuant to the au-
thorization under this paragraph shall be designated 
by the Congress as being for an emergency require-
ment pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bal-
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985.’’. 
(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT BASED ON COSTS IN-
CURRED
IN
MEETING
REVISED
REQUIREMENTS.— 
Section 252 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21002) is 
amended— 
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(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (c) and 
(e)’’; 
(B) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and 
(C) by inserting after subsection (d) the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 
‘‘(1) COVERAGE
OF
COSTS
OF
MEETING
RE-
VISED BALLOT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY 
REQUIREMENTS.—The amount of a requirements 
payment made to a State from funds appropriated 
for fiscal year 2019 shall be equal to the State’s es-
timate of the reasonable costs the State expects to 
incur to meet the requirements referred to in para-
graph (3), as contained in the statement filed by the 
State 
with 
the 
Commission 
under 
section 
253(f)(1)(A)(ii). 
‘‘(2) RECOUPMENT OF OVERPAYMENTS.—If a 
State receives a requirements payment from funds 
appropriated for fiscal year 2018, the State shall 
agree to repay to the Commission the excess (if any) 
of— 
‘‘(A) the amount of the payment; over 
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‘‘(B) the actual costs incurred by the State 
in meeting the requirements referred to in para-
graph (3), as contained in the statement filed 
by the State with the Commission under section 
253(f)(1)(B). 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS
DESCRIBED.—The re-
quirements referred to in this paragraph are the re-
quirements of section 301(a)(2) (relating to ballot 
verification and audit capacity) which are first im-
posed on the State pursuant to the amendments 
made by section 2(a) of the Securing America’s 
Elections Act of 2019.’’. 
(3) REVISED
CONDITIONS
FOR
RECEIPT
OF 
FUNDS.—Section 253 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
21003) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘A State 
is eligible’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 
subsection (f), a State is eligible’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subsection: 
‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this part, a State is eligible to receive 
a requirements payment from funds appropriated for 
fiscal year 2019 if, at any time after the funds are 
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appropriated, the chief executive officer of the State, 
or designee, in consultation and coordination with 
the chief State election official— 
‘‘(A) files a statement with the Commis-
sion— 
‘‘(i) describing how the State will use 
the payment to meet the requirements of 
section 
301(a)(2) 
(relating 
to 
ballot 
verification and audit capacity) which are 
first imposed on the State pursuant to the 
amendment made by section 2(a) of the 
Securing America’s Elections Act of 2019, 
and 
‘‘(ii) containing the State’s estimate 
of the reasonable costs the State expects to 
incur to meet such requirements; and 
‘‘(B) certifies to the Commission that, 
upon completing the replacement or upgrading 
of its voting systems to meet such require-
ments, the State will file a statement with the 
Commission containing the actual costs in-
curred by the State in meeting such require-
ments. 
‘‘(2) CERTIFICATIONS
BY
STATES
THAT
RE-
QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case of a 
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State that requires State legislation to carry out any 
activity covered by any certification submitted under 
this subsection, the State shall be permitted to make 
the certification notwithstanding that the legislation 
has not been enacted at the time the certification is 
submitted and such State shall submit an additional 
certification once such legislation is enacted.’’. 
(4) PERMITTING
USE
OF
FUNDS
FOR
REIM-
BURSEMENT FOR COSTS PREVIOUSLY INCURRED.— 
Section 
251(c)(1) 
of 
such 
Act 
(52 
U.S.C. 
21001(c)(1)) is amended by striking the period at 
the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, or as a reim-
bursement for any costs incurred in meeting the re-
quirements of section 301(a)(2) which are first im-
posed pursuant to the amendments made by section 
2(a) of the Securing America’s Elections Act of 
2018 or in otherwise replacing or upgrading voting 
systems in response to such amendments.’’. 
(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING USE 
OF FUNDS TO REPLACE OR UPGRADE SYSTEMS OB-
TAINED WITH FUNDS PROVIDED PREVIOUSLY UNDER 
HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Nothing in the 
amendments made by this subsection or in any other 
provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 may 
be construed to prohibit a State from using any 
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funds provided under such Act pursuant to the 
amendments made by this subsection (or any funds 
provided under such Act prior to the date of the en-
actment of this Act which remain unexpended as of 
the date of the enactment of this Act) to replace or 
upgrade a voting system purchased or otherwise ob-
tained in whole or in part using funds received 
under title I or II of the Help America Vote Act at 
any time before the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(6) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to fiscal 
years beginning with fiscal year 2019. 
(c) STUDY AND REPORT ON USE OF OPEN-SOURCE 
SOFTWARE IN VOTING SYSTEMS.— 
(1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity and the Election Assistance Commission, acting 
jointly, shall conduct a study of the feasibility and 
desirability of using open-source software in voting 
systems, based on information obtained from elec-
tions for Federal office held in 2020 through 2022. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than July 1, 2023, the 
Secretary and the Commission shall submit to Con-
gress a report on the study conducted under para-
graph (1), and shall include in the report such rec-
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ommendations as the Secretary and Commission 
consider appropriate regarding the possible use of 
open-source software in the voting systems used to 
administer elections for Federal office held in 2024. 
(3) DEVELOPMENT
AND
MAINTENANCE
OF 
SOFTWARE.—If the Secretary and the Commission 
include in the report submitted under paragraph (2) 
a recommendation that State election officials use 
open-source software in the voting systems used to 
administer elections for Federal office in the State— 
(A) the Commission shall enter into a part-
nership with appropriate private entities, in-
cluding entities engaged in the business of 
maintaining open-source software, to develop, 
test, certify, and maintain open-source software 
for such purpose for elections held in 2026 or 
any succeeding year; and 
(B) the Commission shall ensure that such 
certified software is available without cost to 
State election officials. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR NEW REQUIREMENTS.— 
Section 301(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), each State and jurisdiction shall be re-
quired to comply with the requirements of this sec-
tion on and after January 1, 2006. 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
CERTAIN
REQUIRE-
MENTS.—The requirements of subsection (a)(2) 
which are first imposed on a State and jurisdiction 
pursuant to the amendments made by section 2(a) 
of the Securing America’s Elections Act of 2019 
shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office held in November 
2020 and each succeeding election for Federal of-
fice.’’. 
Æ 
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