I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6188 
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a program to 
improve election system cybersecurity by facilitating and encouraging 
assessments by independent technical experts to identify and report elec-
tion cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 21, 2018 
Mr. QUIGLEY (for himself and Mr. KATKO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish 
a program to improve election system cybersecurity by 
facilitating and encouraging assessments by independent 
technical experts to identify and report election cyberse-
curity vulnerabilities, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent Election Hack-
ing Act of 2018’’. 
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SEC. 2. HACK THE ELECTION PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
establish a program to be known as the ‘‘Hack the Elec-
tion Program’’ to improve the cybersecurity of the systems 
used to administer elections for Federal office by facili-
tating and encouraging assessments by independent tech-
nical experts, in cooperation with State and local election 
officials and election service providers, to identify and re-
port election cybersecurity vulnerabilities. 
(b) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION BY ELECTION OFFI-
CIALS AND ELECTION SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 
(1) NO REQUIREMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN PRO-
GRAM.—Participation in the Hack the Election Pro-
gram shall be entirely voluntary for State and local 
election officials and election service providers. 
(2) ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION AND INPUT 
FROM
ELECTION
OFFICIALS.—In developing the 
Hack the Election program under this section, the 
Secretary shall solicit input from, and encourage 
participation by, State and local election officials. 
(c) ACTIVITIES FUNDED.—In establishing the Hack 
the Election Program under this section, the Secretary 
shall— 
(1) establish a recurring competition for inde-
pendent technical experts to assess election systems 
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for the purpose of identifying and reporting election 
cybersecurity vulnerabilities; 
(2) establish an expeditious process by which 
independent technical experts can qualify to partici-
pate in the competition; 
(3) establish a schedule of awards (monetary or 
non-monetary) for reports of previously unidentified 
election cybersecurity vulnerabilities discovered by 
independent technical experts during the competi-
tion; 
(4) establish a process for State and local elec-
tion officials and election service providers to volun-
tarily participate in the program by designating spe-
cific election systems, periods of time, and cir-
cumstances for assessment by independent technical 
experts; and 
(5) promptly notify State and local election offi-
cials and election service providers about relevant 
election 
cybersecurity 
vulnerabilities 
discovered 
through the competition, and provide technical as-
sistance in remedying the vulnerabilities. 
(d) USE OF SERVICE PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 
may award competitive contracts as necessary to manage 
the Hack the Election Program under this section. 
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(e) CONSULTATION
WITH
SECRETARY
OF
DE-
FENSE.—In developing the Hack the Election Program 
under this section, the Secretary shall consult with the rel-
evant offices at the Department of Defense that were re-
sponsible for launching the 2016 ‘‘Hack the Pentagon’’ 
pilot program and subsequent Department of Defense bug 
bounty programs. 
SEC. 3. SAFE HARBOR FOR PARTICIPANTS IN PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 1030 of 
title 18, United States Code, and except as provided in 
subsection (b), it shall not be unlawful for a person acting 
in compliance with the Hack the Election Program under 
section 2 to take actions necessary to discover and report 
an election cybersecurity vulnerability if the person reports 
the cybersecurity vulnerability to the Secretary. 
(b) LIMITATION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
any person that— 
(1) acts outside the scope of the Hack the Elec-
tion Program; 
(2) exploits an election cybersecurity vulner-
ability; or 
(3) publicly exposes an election cybersecurity 
vulnerability before reporting the vulnerability to the 
Secretary. 
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SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) The terms ‘‘election’’ and ‘‘Federal office’’ 
have the meanings given such terms in section 301 
of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 
U.S.C. 30101). 
(2) The term ‘‘election cybersecurity vulner-
ability’’ means any security vulnerability (as defined 
in section 102 of the Cybersecurity Information 
Sharing Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. 1501)) that affects 
an election system. 
(3) The term ‘‘election service provider’’ means 
any person providing, supporting, or maintaining an 
election system on behalf of a State or local election 
official, such as a contractor or vendor. 
(4) The term ‘‘election system’’ means any in-
formation system (as defined in section 3502 of title 
44, United States Code) used for the management, 
support, or administration of an election for Federal 
office, such as a voting system, a voter registration 
website or database, an electronic pollbook, a system 
for tabulating or reporting election results, or the 
email system of a State or local election official. 
(5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, or, upon designation by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Deputy Sec-
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retary of Homeland Security, the Under Secretary 
responsible for overseeing critical infrastructure pro-
tection, cybersecurity, and other related programs of 
the Department, or a Senate-confirmed official that 
reports to that Under Secretary. 
(6) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Com-
monwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and the 
United States Virgin Islands. 
(7) The term ‘‘voting system’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 301(b) of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)). 
Æ 
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