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 ‘‘Achieving Lasting 
Electoral Reforms on Transparency and Security Act’’ or 
the ‘‘ALERTS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds as follows: 
(1) Free and fair elections are central to our 
democratic system of government. 
(2) An attack on election systems in the United 
States by a foreign government is a hostile act, and 
protecting our election systems from such attacks is 
a critical national security objective. 
(3) The March 2019 ‘‘Report on the Investiga-
tion into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presi-
dential Election’’, known as the Mueller Report, con-
cludes that Russian military intelligence officers tar-
geted individuals and entities involved in the admin-
istration of the November 2016 elections, including 
State boards of elections, Secretaries of State, coun-
ty governments, and private technology firms re-
sponsible for manufacturing and administering elec-
tion-related software and hardware. 
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(4) The Mueller Report states that Russian 
military intelligence officers sent spearphishing 
emails to over 120 email accounts used by Florida 
county officials responsible for administering the 
2016 elections, and further states that the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation ‘‘believes that this operation 
enabled Russian military intelligence officers to gain 
access to the network of at least one Florida county 
government’’. 
(5) In May 2019, it came to light that Russian 
military intelligence officers had gained access to the 
computer network of a second Florida county in the 
run-up to the 2016 elections. 
(6) To date, government officials have not pub-
licly disclosed or confirmed the identity of the Flor-
ida counties whose voter registration systems were 
breached. 
(7) As a result, voters in affected counties do 
not possess the information necessary to take appro-
priate responsive action, such as taking affirmative 
steps to confirm that their individual registration 
data is accurate and holding State and local election 
officials accountable for their actions or inactions. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the principal victim of an attack on election 
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systems in the United States is the voting public and, ex-
cept in certain narrowly defined cases, the voting public 
should be promptly informed if Federal officials have cred-
ible evidence of an unauthorized intrusion into an election 
system and a basis to believe that such intrusion could 
have resulted in voter information systems or voter tabula-
tion systems being altered or otherwise affected. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
(1) APPROPRIATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 
The term ‘‘appropriate Members of Congress’’ 
means, with respect to a notification described in 
section 3(b)(2)— 
(A) the Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Minority Leader of the House 
of Representatives, the chairs and ranking mi-
nority members of the Committees on House 
Administration, Homeland Security, the Judici-
ary, and Permanent Select Committee on Intel-
ligence of the House of Representatives, and 
each Member of the House of Representatives 
(including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner 
to the Congress) who represents a congressional 
district in which the unit of local government 
involved is located; and 
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(B) the Majority Leader of the Senate, the 
Minority Leader of the Senate, the chairs and 
ranking minority members of the Committees 
on Rules and Administration, Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs, the Judiciary, 
and Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
Senate, and the Senators who represent the 
State involved. 
(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Homeland Security. 
(3) ELECTION
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘election 
agency’’ means any component of a State or any 
component of a unit of local government of a State 
that is responsible for administering Federal elec-
tions. 
(4) ELECTION
CYBERSECURITY
INCIDENT.— 
The term ‘‘election cybersecurity incident’’ means 
any incident, as defined in section 2209(a)(3) of the 
Homeland 
Security 
Act 
of 
2002 
(6 
U.S.C. 
659(a)(3)), involving an election system. 
(5) ELECTION
SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘election 
system’’ means a voting system, an election manage-
ment system, a voter registration website or data-
base, an electronic pollbook, a system for tabulating 
or reporting election results, an election agency com-
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munications system, or any other information sys-
tem (as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United 
States Code) that the Secretary identifies as central 
to the management, support, or administration of a 
Federal election. 
(6) FEDERAL ELECTION.—The term ‘‘Federal 
election’’ means any election (as defined in section 
301(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(1))) for Federal office (as 
defined in section 301(3) of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(3))). 
(7) FEDERAL ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal en-
tity’’ means any agency (as defined in section 551 
of title 5, United States Code). 
(8) LOCAL
ELECTION
OFFICIAL.—The term 
‘‘local election official’’ means the chief election offi-
cial of a component of a unit of local government of 
a State that is responsible for administering Federal 
elections. 
(9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
(10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto 
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth 
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of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United 
States Virgin Islands. 
(11) STATE
ELECTION
OFFICIAL.—The term 
‘‘State election official’’ means— 
(A) the chief State election official of a 
State designated under section 10 of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20509); or 
(B) in the case of Puerto Rico, Guam, 
American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Is-
lands, and the United States Virgin Islands, a 
chief State election official designated by the 
State for purposes of this Act. 
(12) VOTING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘voting sys-
tem’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 21081(b)). 
SEC. 4. DUTY OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO 
NOTIFY STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS AND 
APPROPRIATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OF 
UNAUTHORIZED INTRUSIONS INTO ELECTION 
SYSTEMS. 
(a) DUTY TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH DEPART-
MENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—If a Federal entity re-
ceives information about an election cybersecurity inci-
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dent, the Federal entity shall promptly share that infor-
mation with the Department, unless the head of the entity 
(or a Senate-confirmed official designated by the head) 
makes a specific determination in writing that there is 
good cause to withhold the particular information. 
(b) RESPONSE TO RECEIPT OF INFORMATION BY 
SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving information 
about an election cybersecurity incident under sub-
section (a), the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Attorney General and the Director of National Intel-
ligence, shall promptly (but in no case later than 96 
hours after receiving the information) review the in-
formation and make a determination whether each 
of the following apply: 
(A) There is credible evidence that an un-
authorized intrusion into an election system oc-
curred. 
(B) There is a basis to believe that the un-
authorized intrusion resulted, could have re-
sulted, or could result in voter information sys-
tems or voter tabulation systems being altered 
or otherwise affected. 
(2) DUTY TO NOTIFY STATE AND LOCAL OFFI-
CIALS AND APPROPRIATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.— 
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(A) DUTY DESCRIBED.—If the Secretary 
makes a determination under paragraph (1) 
that subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such para-
graph apply with respect to an unauthorized in-
trusion into an election system, not later than 
48 hours after making the determination, the 
Secretary shall provide a notification of the un-
authorized intrusion to each of the following: 
(i) The chief executive of the State in-
volved. 
(ii) The State election official of the 
State involved. 
(iii) The local election official of the 
election agency involved. 
(iv) The appropriate Members of Con-
gress. 
(B) TREATMENT OF CLASSIFIED INFORMA-
TION.— 
(i) EFFORTS TO AVOID INCLUSION OF 
CLASSIFIED
INFORMATION.—In preparing 
a notification provided under this para-
graph to an individual described in clause 
(i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A), the 
Secretary shall attempt to avoid the inclu-
sion of classified information. 
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(ii) PROVIDING GUIDANCE TO STATE 
AND
LOCAL
OFFICIALS.—To the extent 
that a notification provided under this 
paragraph to an individual described in 
clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A) 
includes classified information, the Sec-
retary (in consultation with the Attorney 
General and the Director of National Intel-
ligence) shall indicate in the notification 
which information is classified. 
(3) EXCEPTION.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—If the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Attorney General and the 
Director of National Intelligence, makes a de-
termination that it is not possible to provide a 
notification under paragraph (1) with respect to 
an unauthorized intrusion without compro-
mising intelligence methods or sources or inter-
fering with an ongoing investigation, the Sec-
retary— 
(i) shall not provide the notification 
under such paragraph; and 
(ii) shall, not later than 48 hours 
after making the determination under this 
subparagraph, provide a classified briefing 
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on the unauthorized intrusion to the ap-
propriate Members of Congress. 
(B) ONGOING REVIEW.—Not later than 30 
days after making a determination under sub-
paragraph (A) and every 30 days thereafter, 
the Secretary shall review the determination. If, 
after reviewing the determination, the Secretary 
makes a revised determination that it is pos-
sible to provide a notification under paragraph 
(2) without compromising intelligence methods 
or sources or interfering with an ongoing inves-
tigation, the Secretary shall provide the notifi-
cation under paragraph (2) not later than 48 
hours after making such revised determination. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply with 
respect to information about an election cybersecurity inci-
dent which is received on or after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE AND LOCAL OFFI-
CIALS TO NOTIFY AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS. 
(a) RESPONSIBILITIES DESCRIBED.—Title III of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 303 the following 
new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 303A. RESPONSIBILITIES OF STATE AND LOCAL OFFI-
CIALS TO NOTIFY INDIVIDUALS AFFECTED BY 
UNAUTHORIZED INTRUSIONS INTO ELECTION 
SYSTEMS. 
‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES DESCRIBED.—If a State or 
unit of local government receives a notification from the 
Secretary of Homeland Security under section 4 of the 
Achieving Lasting Electoral Reforms on Transparency 
and Security Act of an unauthorized intrusion described 
in such section, the State election official and the appro-
priate local election official shall provide notification of the 
intrusion to the individuals who were affected, could have 
been affected, or may be affected by the intrusion. 
‘‘(b) CONTENTS AND MANNER OF NOTIFICATION.— 
The notification provided under this section shall be in 
such form and manner as the State election official may 
establish, except that— 
‘‘(1) the notification shall not reveal classified 
information about the nature of the intrusion or the 
persons suspected of making the intrusion; 
‘‘(2) the notification shall be provided in a man-
ner that does not discourage any individual from 
voting or registering to vote; and 
‘‘(3) nothing in this section shall be construed 
to require an election official to provide a separate 
notification to each affected individual. 
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