I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 378 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voting systems 
used in elections for Federal office to produce a voter-verified, auditable 
paper record of the votes cast in such elections, to require State election 
officials to audit the results of such elections prior to certifying the 
results, to provide grants to States to improve voting system security, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 9, 2019 
Mrs. DINGELL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
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, auditable paper record of the 
votes cast in such elections, to require State election 
officials to audit the results of such elections prior to 
certifying the results, to provide grants to States to 
improve voting system security, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safeguarding Election 
Infrastructure Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIRING USE OF VOTING SYSTEMS CAPABLE OF 
PRODUCING 
VOTER-VERIFIED, 
AUDITABLE 
PAPER RECORD IN ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL 
OFFICE. 
(a) MORATORIUM ON ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN DI-
RECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS AND 
CERTAIN OTHER VOTING SYSTEMS.—Section 301 of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 
subsections (d) and (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(c) MORATORIUM ON ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN DI-
RECT RECORDING ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS AND 
CERTAIN OTHER VOTING SYSTEMS.—Beginning on the 
date of the enactment of the Safeguarding Election Infra-
structure Act of 2019, no State or jurisdiction may pur-
chase or otherwise acquire for use in an election for Fed-
eral office a direct recording electronic voting system or 
other electronic voting system that does not produce a 
voter-verified paper record as required by section 
301(a)(2) (as amended by such Act).’’. 
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(b) PAPER BALLOT AND MANUAL COUNTING RE-
QUIREMENTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(2)) is amended to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(2) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(i) PAPER BALLOT REQUIREMENT.— 
(I) The voting system shall require the use 
of an individual, durable, voter-verified, 
paper ballot of the voter’s vote that shall 
be marked and made available for inspec-
tion and verification by the voter before 
the voter’s vote is cast and counted, and 
which shall be counted by hand or read by 
an optical character recognition device or 
other counting device. For purposes of this 
subclause, the term ‘individual, durable, 
voter-verified, paper ballot’ means a paper 
ballot marked by the voter by hand or a 
paper ballot marked through the use of a 
nontabulating ballot marking device or sys-
tem, so long as the voter shall have the op-
tion to mark his or her ballot by hand (or, 
in the case of an individual with a dis-
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ability, by such alternative method as the 
election official shall establish that pro-
vides an equivalent opportunity, including 
with privacy and independence, as for 
other voters). 
‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 
the voter with an opportunity to correct 
any error on the paper ballot before the 
permanent 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 without the voter’s consent. 
‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION
AS
OFFICIAL 
RECORD.—The individual, durable, voter- 
verified, paper ballot used in accordance 
with clause (i) shall constitute the official 
ballot and shall be preserved and used as 
the official ballot for purposes of any re-
count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office in which the 
voting system is used. 
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‘‘(iii) MANUAL
COUNTING
REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR RECOUNTS AND AUDITS.—(I) 
Each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 
(i) shall be suitable for a manual audit, 
and shall be counted by hand in any re-
count or audit conducted with respect to 
any election for Federal office. 
‘‘(II) In the event of any inconsist-
encies or irregularities between any elec-
tronic vote tallies and the vote tallies de-
termined by counting by hand the indi-
vidual, durable, voter-verified, paper ballots 
used pursuant to clause (i), and subject to 
subparagraph (B), the individual, durable, 
voter-verified, paper ballots shall be the 
true and correct record of the votes cast. 
‘‘(iv) APPLICATION
TO
ALL
BAL-
LOTS.—The requirements of this subpara-
graph shall apply to all ballots cast in elec-
tions for Federal office, including ballots 
cast by absent uniformed services voters 
and overseas voters under the Uniformed 
and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act 
and other absentee voters. 
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‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TREATMENT OF 
DISPUTES WHEN PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN 
SHOWN TO BE COMPROMISED.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—In the event 
that— 
‘‘(I) there is any inconsistency 
between any electronic vote tallies and 
the vote tallies determined by count-
ing by hand the individual, durable, 
voter-verified, paper ballots used pur-
suant to subparagraph (A)(i) with re-
spect to any election for Federal of-
fice; and 
‘‘(II) it is demonstrated by clear 
and convincing evidence (as deter-
mined in accordance with the applica-
ble standards in the jurisdiction in-
volved) in any recount, audit, or con-
test of the result of the election that 
the paper ballots have been com-
promised (by damage or mischief or 
otherwise) and that a sufficient num-
ber of the ballots have been so com-
promised that the result of the elec-
tion could be changed, 
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the determination of the appropriate rem-
edy with respect to the election shall be 
made in accordance with applicable State 
law, except that the electronic tally shall 
not be used as the exclusive basis for de-
termining the official certified result. 
‘‘(ii) RULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF 
BALLOTS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH VOTING 
MACHINE.—For purposes of clause (i), 
only the paper ballots deemed com-
promised, if any, shall be considered in the 
calculation of whether or not the result of 
the election could be changed due to the 
compromised paper ballots.’’. 
(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 used under para-
graph (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— 
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(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)’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 301(d) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(d)) is amended by striking the period 
at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, or, in the case 
of the requirements of this section which are first imposed 
on a State or jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments 
made by section 2 of the Safeguarding Election Infra-
structure Act of 2019, with respect to voting systems used 
for elections held on or after the expiration of the 1-year 
period which begins on the date of the enactment of such 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 3. MANDATORY MANUAL AUDITS OF RESULTS OF FED-
ERAL ELECTIONS. 
(a) REQUIRING AUDITS OF RESULTS.—Title III of 
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual 
Audits 
‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING AUDITS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In accordance with this 
subtitle, each State shall administer, without ad-
vance notice to the precincts or alternative audit 
units selected, audits of the results of all elections 
for Federal office held in the State (and, at the op-
tion of the State or jurisdiction involved, of elections 
for State and local office held at the same time as 
such election) consisting of random hand counts of 
the voter-verified paper ballots required to be used 
and preserved pursuant to section 301(a)(2). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ELECTIONS.—A 
State shall not be required to administer an audit of 
the results of an election for Federal office under 
this subtitle if the winning candidate in the elec-
tion— 
‘‘(A) had no opposition on the ballot; or 
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‘‘(B) received 59 percent or more of the 
total number of votes cast in the election, as de-
termined on the basis of the final unofficial vote 
count. 
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF ENTITY CONDUCTING AU-
DITS; APPLICATION
OF GAO INDEPENDENCE STAND-
ARDS.—The State shall administer audits under this sub-
title through an entity selected for such purpose by the 
State in accordance with such criteria as the State con-
siders appropriate consistent with the requirements of this 
subtitle, except that the entity must meet the general 
standards established by the Comptroller General and as 
set forth in the Comptroller General’s Government Audit-
ing Standards to ensure the independence (including, ex-
cept as provided under section 323(b), the organizational 
independence) of entities performing financial audits, at-
testation engagements, and performance audits. 
‘‘(c) REFERENCES TO ELECTION AUDITOR.—In this 
subtitle, the term ‘Election Auditor’ means, with respect 
to a State, the entity selected by the State under sub-
section (b). 
‘‘SEC. 322. NUMBER OF BALLOTS COUNTED UNDER AUDIT. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the number of voter-verified paper ballots which will 
be subject to a hand count administered by the Election 
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Auditor of a State under this subtitle with respect to an 
election shall be determined as follows: 
‘‘(1) In the event that the unofficial count as 
described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar-
gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 
the largest number of votes in the election is less 
than 1 percent of the total votes cast in that elec-
tion, the hand counts of the voter-verified paper bal-
lots shall occur in at least 10 percent of all precincts 
or equivalent locations (or alternative audit units 
used in accordance with the method provided for 
under subsection (b)) in the congressional district 
involved (in the case of an election for the House of 
Representatives) or the State (in the case of any 
other election for Federal office). 
‘‘(2) In the event that the unofficial count as 
described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar-
gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 
the largest number of votes in the election is greater 
than or equal to 1 percent but less than 2 percent 
of the total votes cast in that election, the hand 
counts of the voter-verified paper ballots shall occur 
in at least 5 percent of all precincts or equivalent lo-
cations (or alternative audit units used in accord-
ance with the method provided for under subsection 
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(b)) in the congressional district involved (in the 
case of an election for the House of Representatives) 
or the State (in the case of any other election for 
Federal office). 
‘‘(3) In the event that the unofficial count as 
described in section 323(a)(1) reveals that the mar-
gin of victory between the two candidates receiving 
the largest number of votes in the election is equal 
to or greater than 2 percent of the total votes cast 
in that election, the hand counts of the voter-verified 
paper ballots shall occur in at least 3 percent of all 
precincts or equivalent locations (or alternative audit 
units used in accordance with the method provided 
for under subsection (b)) in the congressional dis-
trict involved (in the case of an election for the 
House of Representatives) or the State (in the case 
of any other election for Federal office). 
‘‘(b) USE OF ALTERNATIVE MECHANISM.— 
‘‘(1) PERMITTING USE OF ALTERNATIVE MECH-
ANISM.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a State 
may adopt and apply an alternative mechanism to 
determine the number of voter-verified paper ballots 
which will be subject to the hand counts required 
under this subtitle with respect to an election, so 
long as the alternative mechanism uses the voter- 
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verified paper ballots to conduct the audit and the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology de-
termines that the alternative mechanism is in ac-
cordance with the principles set forth in paragraph 
(2). 
‘‘(2) PRINCIPLES FOR APPROVAL.—In approv-
ing an alternative mechanism under paragraph (1), 
the National Institute of Standards and Technology 
shall ensure that the audit procedure will have the 
property that for each election— 
‘‘(A) the alternative mechanism will be at 
least as statistically effective in ensuring the ac-
curacy of the election results as the procedures 
under this subtitle; or 
‘‘(B) 
the 
alternative 
mechanism 
will 
achieve at least a 95 percent confidence interval 
(as determined in accordance with criteria set 
forth by the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology) with respect to the outcome of 
the election. 
‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE; REASONS FOR 
DENIAL.—The Director of the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology shall make a determina-
tion regarding a State’s request to approve an alter-
native mechanism under paragraph (1) not later 
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than 30 days after receiving the State’s request. If 
the Director rejects such a request, the Director 
shall provide the State with the reasons for the re-
jection in writing. 
‘‘SEC. 323. PROCESS FOR ADMINISTERING AUDITS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Auditor of a State 
shall administer an audit under this section of the results 
of an election in accordance with the following procedures: 
‘‘(1) Within 24 hours after the State announces 
the final unofficial vote count (as defined by the 
State) in each precinct in the State, the Election 
Auditor shall— 
‘‘(A) determine and then announce publicly 
the precincts or equivalent locations (or alter-
native audit units used in accordance with the 
method provided under section 322(b)) in the 
State in which it will administer the audits; and 
‘‘(B) with respect to votes cast at the pre-
cinct or equivalent location on or before the 
date of the election (other than provisional bal-
lots described in paragraph (2)), begin to ad-
minister the hand count of the votes on the 
voter-verified paper ballots required to be used 
and preserved under section 301(a)(2)(A) and 
the comparison of the count of the votes on 
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those ballots with the final unofficial count of 
such votes as announced by the State. 
‘‘(2) With respect to votes cast other than at 
the precinct on the date of the election (other than 
votes cast by provisional ballot on the date of the 
election which are certified and counted by the State 
on or after the date of the election), including votes 
cast by absent uniformed services voters and over-
seas voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citi-
zens Absentee Voting Act, the Election Auditor shall 
administer the hand count of the votes on the appli-
cable voter-verified paper ballots required to be pro-
duced and preserved under section 301(a)(2)(A) and 
the comparison of the count of the votes on those 
ballots with the final unofficial count of such votes 
as announced by the State. 
‘‘(b) USE OF PERSONNEL.—In administering the au-
dits, the Election Auditor may utilize the services of the 
personnel of the State or jurisdiction, including election 
administration personnel and poll workers, without regard 
to whether or not the personnel have professional auditing 
experience. 
‘‘(c) LOCATION.—The Election Auditor shall admin-
ister an audit of an election— 
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‘‘(1) at the location where the ballots cast in 
the election are stored and counted after the date of 
the election or such other appropriate and secure lo-
cation agreed upon by the Election Auditor and the 
individual that is responsible under State law for the 
custody of the ballots; and 
‘‘(2) in the presence of the personnel who under 
State law are responsible for the custody of the bal-
lots. 
‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE OF DELAY IN REPORT-
ING ABSENTEE VOTE COUNT.—In the case of a State in 
which the final count of absentee and provisional votes is 
not announced until after the date of the election, the 
Election Auditor shall initiate the process described in 
subsection (a) for administering the audit not later than 
24 hours after the State announces the final unofficial 
vote count for the votes cast at the precinct or equivalent 
location on or before the date of the election, and shall 
initiate the administration of the audit of the absentee and 
provisional votes pursuant to subsection (a)(2) not later 
than 24 hours after the State announces the final unoffi-
cial count of such votes. 
‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL AUDITS IF CAUSE SHOWN.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—If the Election Auditor 
finds that any of the hand counts administered 
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under this section do not match the final unofficial 
tally of the results of an election, the Election Audi-
tor shall administer hand counts under this section 
of such additional precincts (or alternative audit 
units) as the Election Auditor considers appropriate 
to resolve any concerns resulting from the audit and 
ensure the accuracy of the election results. 
‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT
AND
PUBLICATION
OF 
PROCEDURES
GOVERNING
ADDITIONAL
AUDITS.— 
Not later than June 1, 2022, each State shall estab-
lish and publish procedures for carrying out the ad-
ditional audits under this subsection, including the 
means by which the State shall resolve any concerns 
resulting from the audit with finality and ensure the 
accuracy of the election results. 
‘‘(f) PUBLIC OBSERVATION OF AUDITS.—Each audit 
conducted under this section shall be conducted in a man-
ner that allows public observation of the entire process. 
‘‘SEC. 324. SELECTION OF PRECINCTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(c), the selection of the precincts or alternative audit units 
in the State in which the Election Auditor of the State 
shall administer the hand counts under this subtitle shall 
be made by the Election Auditor on a random basis, in 
accordance with procedures adopted by the National Insti-
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tute of Standards and Technology, except that at least one 
precinct shall be selected at random in each county, with 
additional precincts selected by the Election Auditor at the 
Auditor’s discretion. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC SELECTION.—The random selection of 
precincts under subsection (a) shall be conducted in pub-
lic, at a time and place announced in advance. 
‘‘(c) MANDATORY SELECTION OF PRECINCTS ESTAB-
LISHED SPECIFICALLY FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS.—If a 
State does not sort absentee ballots by precinct and in-
clude those ballots in the hand count with respect to that 
precinct, the State shall create absentee ballot precincts 
or audit units which are of similar size to the average pre-
cinct or audit unit in the jurisdiction being audited, and 
shall include those absentee precincts or audit units 
among the precincts in the State in which the Election 
Auditor shall administer the hand counts under this sub-
title. 
‘‘(d) DEADLINE FOR ADOPTION OF PROCEDURES BY 
COMMISSION.—The National Institute of Standards and 
Technology shall adopt the procedures described in sub-
section (a) not later than October 1, 2021, and shall pub-
lish them in the Federal Register upon adoption. 
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‘‘SEC. 325. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS. 
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the completion of an audit under this subtitle, 
the Election Auditor of a State shall submit to the Com-
mission the results of the audit, and shall include in the 
submission a comparison of the results of the election in 
the precinct as determined by the Election Auditor under 
the audit and the final unofficial vote count in the precinct 
as announced by the State and all undervotes, overvotes, 
blank ballots, and spoiled, voided, or cancelled ballots, as 
well as a list of any discrepancies discovered between the 
initial, subsequent, and final hand counts administered by 
the Election Auditor and such final unofficial vote count 
and any explanation for such discrepancies, broken down 
by the categories of votes described in paragraphs (1)(B) 
and (2) of section 323(a). 
‘‘(b) PUBLICATION
BY COMMISSION.—Immediately 
after receiving the submission of the results of an audit 
from the Election Auditor of a State under subsection (a), 
the Commission shall publicly announce and publish the 
information contained in the submission. 
‘‘(c) DELAY
IN CERTIFICATION
OF RESULTS
BY 
STATE.— 
‘‘(1) PROHIBITING CERTIFICATION UNTIL COM-
PLETION OF AUDITS.—No State may certify the re-
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sults of any election which is subject to an audit 
under this subtitle prior to— 
‘‘(A) the completion of the audit (and, if 
required, any additional audit conducted under 
section 323(e)(1)) and the announcement and 
submission of the results of each such audit to 
the Commission for publication of the informa-
tion required under this section; and 
‘‘(B) the completion of any procedure es-
tablished by the State pursuant to section 
323(e)(2) to resolve discrepancies and ensure 
the accuracy of results. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF AUDITS 
OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.—In the case of an 
election for electors for President and Vice President 
which is subject to an audit under this subtitle, the 
State shall complete the audits and announce and 
submit the results to the Commission for publication 
of the information required under this section in 
time for the State to certify the results of the elec-
tion and provide for the final determination of any 
controversy or contest concerning the appointment 
of such electors prior to the deadline described in 
section 6 of title 3, United States Code. 
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‘‘SEC. 326. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 
‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF CONDUCTING AU-
DITS.—In accordance with the requirements and proce-
dures of this section, the Commission shall make a pay-
ment to a State to cover the costs incurred by the State 
in carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elections 
that are the subject of the audits conducted under this 
subtitle. 
‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND ANTICI-
PATED COSTS.— 
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 
receive a payment under this section, a State shall 
submit to the Commission, in such form as the Com-
mission may require, a statement containing— 
‘‘(A) a certification that the State will con-
duct the audits required under this subtitle in 
accordance with all of the requirements of this 
subtitle; 
‘‘(B) a notice of the reasonable costs in-
curred or the reasonable costs anticipated to be 
incurred by the State in carrying out this sub-
title with respect to the elections involved; and 
‘‘(C) such other information and assur-
ances as the Commission may require. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 
payment made to a State under this section shall be 
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equal to the reasonable costs incurred or the reason-
able costs anticipated to be incurred by the State in 
carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elec-
tions involved, as set forth in the statement sub-
mitted under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) TIMING OF NOTICE.—The State may not 
submit a notice under paragraph (1) until can-
didates have been selected to appear on the ballot 
for all of the elections for Federal office which will 
be the subject of the audits involved. 
‘‘(c) TIMING OF PAYMENTS.—The Commission shall 
make the payment required under this section to a State 
not later than 30 days after receiving the notice submitted 
by the State under subsection (b). 
‘‘(d) RECOUPMENT OF OVERPAYMENTS.—No pay-
ment may be made to a State under this section unless 
the State agrees to repay to the Commission (for deposit 
in the general fund of the Treasury) the excess (if any) 
of— 
‘‘(1) the amount of the payment received by the 
State under this section with respect to the elections 
involved; over 
‘‘(2) the actual costs incurred by the State in 
carrying out this subtitle with respect to the elec-
tions involved. 
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‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2022 
and each succeeding fiscal year $45,000,000 for pay-
ments under this section. 
‘‘(2) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS 
APPROPRIATED.—Any amount appropriated for a 
fiscal year pursuant to the authorization under para-
graph (1) shall remain available until expended. 
‘‘SEC. 327. EXCEPTION FOR ELECTIONS SUBJECT TO RE-
COUNT UNDER STATE LAW PRIOR TO CER-
TIFICATION. 
‘‘(a) EXCEPTION.—This subtitle does not apply to 
any election for which a recount under State law will com-
mence prior to the certification of the results of the elec-
tion, including but not limited to a recount required auto-
matically because of the margin of victory between the 2 
candidates receiving the largest number of votes in the 
election, but only if each of the following applies to the 
recount: 
‘‘(1) The recount commences prior to the deter-
mination and announcement by the Election Auditor 
under section 323(a)(1) of the precincts in the State 
in which it will administer the audits under this sub-
title. 
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‘‘(2) If the recount would apply to fewer than 
100 percent of the ballots cast in the election— 
‘‘(A) the number of ballots counted will be 
at least as many as would be counted if an 
audit were conducted with respect to the elec-
tion in accordance with this subtitle; and 
‘‘(B) the selection of the precincts in which 
the recount will be conducted will be made in 
accordance with the random selection proce-
dures applicable under section 324. 
‘‘(3) The recount for the election meets the re-
quirements of section 323(f) (relating to public ob-
servation). 
‘‘(4) The State meets the requirements of sec-
tion 325 (relating to the publication of results and 
the delay in the certification of results) with respect 
to the recount. 
‘‘(b) CLARIFICATION OF EFFECT ON OTHER RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this section may be construed 
to waive the application of any other provision of this Act 
to any election (including the requirement set forth in sec-
tion 301(a)(2) that the voter-verified paper ballots serve 
as the vote of record and shall be counted by hand in all 
audits and recounts, including audits and recounts de-
scribed in this subtitle). 
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‘‘SEC. 328. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
‘‘This subtitle shall apply with respect to the regu-
larly scheduled general elections for Federal office held in 
November 2022 and each succeeding election for Federal 
office.’’. 
(b) AVAILABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT UNDER HELP 
AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Section 401 of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 
302, and 303’’ and inserting ‘‘title III’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 
relating to title III the following: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Mandatory Manual Audits 
‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring audits of results of elections. 
‘‘Sec. 322. Number of ballots counted under audit. 
‘‘Sec. 323. Process for administering audits. 
‘‘Sec. 324. Selection of precincts. 
‘‘Sec. 325. Publication of results. 
‘‘Sec. 326. Payments to States. 
‘‘Sec. 327. Exception for elections subject to recount under State law prior to 
certification. 
‘‘Sec. 328. Effective date.’’. 
SEC. 4. INCENTIVES TO STATES TO IMPROVE VOTING SYS-
TEM SECURITY. 
(a) GRANTS FROM ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS-
SION.—Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new part: 
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‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS FOR IMPROVING VOTING 
SYSTEM SECURITY 
‘‘SEC. 297. INCENTIVES FOR STATES TO IMPROVE VOTING 
SYSTEM SECURITY. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amounts made 
available under section 297E for a fiscal year and 
not reserved under section (b) of such section, the 
Commission shall award grants on a competitive 
basis to States in accordance with section 297B. 
‘‘(2) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—A State may not 
receive more than 1 grant under this part for a fis-
cal year. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Each State that receives a 
grant under this part shall use the funds provided by the 
grant to carry out the State’s grant implementation plan 
described in section 297A(b). 
‘‘SEC. 297A. CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—Each State that desires to re-
ceive a grant under this part shall submit an application 
to the Commission at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Commission may reason-
ably require. At a minimum, each such application shall 
include each of the following: 
‘‘(1) The grant implementation plan described 
in subsection (b). 
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‘‘(2) Evidence of established conditions of inno-
vation and reform in providing voting system secu-
rity and the State’s proposed plan for implementing 
additional conditions. 
‘‘(3) Evidence of collaboration between relevant 
stakeholders in developing the grant implementation 
plan described in subsection (b). 
‘‘(4) Annual performance measures and targets 
for the activities carried out with the grant. 
‘‘(5) A description of the State’s plan to con-
duct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of the 
activities carried out with the grant. 
‘‘(b) GRANT IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—The grant 
implementation plan described in this subsection is a plan 
developed by the State for using funds provided by the 
grant to carry out some or all of the following, and to 
otherwise meet the requirements of section 301 which are 
first imposed on a State or jurisdiction pursuant to the 
amendments made by section 2 of the Safeguarding Elec-
tion Infrastructure Act of 2019, during the grant imple-
mentation period: 
‘‘(1) Providing voting machines that are less 
than 10 years old as of the date on which the State 
submits its application for the grant under sub-
section (a). 
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‘‘(2) Updating voting equipment to provide a 
verifiable paper trail at polling stations. 
‘‘(3) Implementing strong chain of custody pro-
cedures for the physical security of voting equipment 
and paper records at all stages of the process. 
‘‘(4) Conducting pre-election testing on every 
voting machine and ensuring paper ballots are avail-
able wherever electronic machines are used. 
‘‘(5) Keeping offline backups of voter registra-
tion lists. 
‘‘(6) Providing a secure voter registration data-
base that logs requests submitted to the database. 
‘‘(7) Publishing and enforcing a policy detailing 
use limitations and security safeguards to protect 
voters’ personal information in the voter registration 
process. 
‘‘(8) Providing secure processes and procedures 
for reporting vote tallies. 
‘‘(9) Providing a secure platform for dissemi-
nating vote totals. 
‘‘(c) GRANT IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD DEFINED.— 
In this part, the ‘grant implementation period’ with re-
spect to a grant is the 4-year period which begins on the 
first day of the fiscal year for which the grant is awarded. 
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‘‘SEC. 297B. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING APPLICATIONS. 
‘‘(a) AWARD BASIS.—The Commission shall award 
grants to States under this part on a competitive basis, 
based on the quality of the State’s application submitted 
under section 297A, including— 
‘‘(1) the quality and likelihood of success of the 
State’s grant implementation plan described in sec-
tion 297A(b), including the State’s capacity to im-
plement the plan and evidence of collaboration as de-
scribed in paragraph (3) of section 297A(a); 
‘‘(2) the State’s record of, and commitment to, 
establishing conditions for innovation and reform, as 
described in paragraph (2) of section 297A(a); and 
‘‘(3) the State’s evaluation plan as described in 
paragraph (5) of section 297A(a). 
‘‘(b) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
STATES
RECEIVING 
GRANTS IN PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS.—In the case of a 
State that received a grant under this part in a previous 
fiscal year, the Commission may not award a grant under 
this part to the State for any subsequent fiscal year unless 
the State demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Commis-
sion that— 
‘‘(1) the State made sufficient progress in car-
rying out the grant implementation plan for that 
previous fiscal year at a rate that will enable the 
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State to fully implement the plan prior to the end 
of the grant implementation period for that plan; or 
‘‘(2) the State made sufficient progress in meet-
ing the performance measures and targets for the 
programs and activities funded by the grant (as es-
tablished by the State under section 297C) to enable 
the State to fully meet such measures and targets 
prior to the end of the grant implementation period 
for that plan. 
‘‘(c) EXPLANATION.—The Commission shall publish 
an explanation of how the application review process under 
this subsection will ensure an equitable and objective eval-
uation based on the criteria described in subsection (a) 
and the special rule described in subsection (b). 
‘‘SEC. 297C. ESTABLISHMENT OF PERFORMANCE MEAS-
URES AND TARGETS. 
‘‘Each State receiving a grant under this part shall 
establish performance measures and targets approved by 
the Commission for the programs and activities carried 
out with the funds provided by the grant. 
‘‘SEC. 297D. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
‘‘Each State receiving a grant under this part shall 
submit to the Commission, at such time and in such man-
ner as the Commission may require, an annual report in-
cluding— 
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‘‘(1) data on the State’s progress in achieving 
the targets for the performance measures established 
under section 297C; 
‘‘(2) a description of the challenges the State 
has faced in implementing the programs and activi-
ties funded by the grant and how it has addressed 
or plans to address those challenges; and 
‘‘(3) findings from the evaluation plan for the 
grant. 
‘‘SEC. 297E. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fis-
cal year 2020 and each succeeding fiscal year to 
carry out this part. 
‘‘(2) 
NO
CONTINUING
AVAILABILITY
OF 
FUNDS.—Any amount appropriated for a fiscal year 
pursuant to the authorization under paragraph (1) 
shall not remain available for any subsequent fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(b) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From the amount 
made available to carry out this part for a fiscal year, the 
Commission may reserve not more than 10 percent of such 
amount to carry out activities related to— 
‘‘(1) technical assistance; and 
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‘‘(2) outreach and dissemination.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the items 
relating to subtitle D of title II the following: 
‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS FOR IMPROVING VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY 
‘‘Sec. 297. Incentives for States to improve voting system security. 
‘‘Sec. 297A. Criteria for awarding grants. 
‘‘Sec. 297B. Criteria for evaluating applications. 
‘‘Sec. 297C. Establishment of performance measures and targets. 
‘‘Sec. 297D. Reporting requirements. 
‘‘Sec. 297E. Authorization of appropriations.’’. 
SEC. 5. DUTIES OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 
(a) NOTIFICATION OF BREACHES OF VOTING SYS-
TEM SECURITY OR RELATED INVESTIGATIONS.— 
(1) REQUIRING
NOTIFICATION
TO
CONGRESS 
AND STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS.—If the Secretary 
of Homeland Security makes a determination that 
the security of any voting system or any voter reg-
istration database that has been used or will be used 
in an election for Federal office has been breached, 
or if the Secretary is conducting an investigation re-
garding whether or not the security of such a system 
or database has been breached, the Secretary shall 
submit a report on the determination or investiga-
tion to the Committee on Homeland Security of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee on Home-
land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Sen-
ate, and the chief State election official of the State 
in which the system is used or will be used. 
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(2) DEADLINE.—The Secretary shall submit 
the report required under paragraph (1) not later 
than 30 days after making the determination in-
volved or initiating the investigation involved (as the 
case may be). 
(b) SHARING INFORMATION WITH STATE ELECTION 
OFFICIALS.—At the request of a State, the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall collaborate with the chief State 
election official of the State to help prevent and respond 
to threats to the security of the voting systems and data-
bases described in subsection (a), including assisting such 
official with obtaining the appropriate level of security 
clearance necessary to receive information regarding such 
threats. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
(1) the ‘‘chief State election official’’ of a State 
is the individual designated by the State under sec-
tion 10 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to be responsible for coordi-
nation of the State’s responsibilities under such Act; 
and 
(2) the term ‘‘voting system’’ has the meaning 
given such term under section 301(b) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)). 
Æ 
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