I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6673 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary 
of Homeland Security to establish guidelines for failsafe plans for the 
administration of elections for Federal office in the event that the ability 
of a State to administer the election is adversely affected by a terrorist 
attack, a cybersecurity incident, or a public health emergency, to require 
States to establish and administer failsafe plans in accordance with 
such guidelines and to provide funds to assist State and local election 
officials in the establishment and administration of such plans, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 1, 2020 
Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee 
on Homeland Security, 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 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to direct 
the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish guide-
lines for failsafe plans for the administration of elections 
for Federal office in the event that the ability of a 
State to administer the election is adversely affected 
by a terrorist attack, a cybersecurity incident, or a public 
health emergency, to require States to establish and ad-
minister failsafe plans in accordance with such guidelines 
and to provide funds to assist State and local election 
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officials in the establishment and administration of such 
plans, 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 ‘‘Federal Election 
Failsafe Act’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH FAILSAFE 
PLANS FOR ADMINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS 
IN EVENT OF TERRORIST ATTACK, CYBERSE-
CURITY 
INCIDENT, 
OR 
PUBLIC 
HEALTH 
EMERGENCY. 
(a) REQUIREMENT FOR FAILSAFE PLANS.—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—Failsafe Plans for 
Administration of Elections 
‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPLEMENTA-
TION OF FAILSAFE PLANS IN EVENT OF TER-
RORIST 
ATTACKS, 
CYBERSECURITY 
INCI-
DENTS, OR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OF GUIDELINES
BY SEC-
RETARY
OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—The Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall establish guidelines for the con-
tinuing administration of elections for Federal office by 
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States in the event that a State’s ability to carry out the 
administration of such elections is adversely affected by 
a terrorist attack, an election cybersecurity incident, or a 
public health emergency. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRING STATES TO ESTABLISH AND IMPLE-
MENT PLANS MEETING GUIDELINES.— 
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall estab-
lish and implement failsafe plans to provide for the 
continuing administration of elections for Federal of-
fice in the State in the event of a terrorist attack, 
an election cybersecurity incident, or a public health 
emergency which meet the guidelines established by 
the Secretary of Homeland Security under this sub-
title. 
‘‘(2) SIMULATION EXERCISES.—As part of the 
implementation of failsafe plans under this section, 
State and local election officials shall carry out ‘ta-
bletop’ exercises under which such officials shall re-
spond to a simulated terrorist attack, election cyber-
security incident, and public health emergency and, 
based on the response, address the specific risks to 
the successful administration of election which are 
identified by such exercises. The Secretary shall as-
sist such officials with the preparation for and im-
plementation of such exercises. 
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‘‘SEC. 322. PURPOSES AND ELEMENTS OF GUIDELINES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The guidelines the Secretary es-
tablished under this subtitle shall include— 
‘‘(1) guidelines for ensuring that voting systems 
are resilient against election cybersecurity incidents, 
including terrorist or state-sponsored cyber attacks, 
so that the systems operate as intended and accu-
rately capture each vote as cast by voters, retain 
these votes, and accurately report these votes for 
purposes of tabulating and reporting official tallies 
in such elections; 
‘‘(2) guidelines for failsafe plans to continue the 
administration of elections in case an election system 
fails in part or in whole as the result of a terrorist 
attack or an election cybersecurity incident on the 
date of the election or during an early voting period, 
including plans for addressing polling location needs, 
based on the Secretary’s assessment of which ele-
ments of voting systems are most critical to ensuring 
the continuing performance of essential election 
functions; and 
‘‘(3) guidelines for failsafe plans to continue the 
administration of elections through remote voting, 
including voting by mail, in the event that in-person 
voting will jeopardize the health and safety of voters 
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and election officials because of a public health 
emergency. 
‘‘(b) SPECIFIC ELEMENTS TO BE ADDRESSED.—The 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall address each of the 
following elements in the guidelines the Secretary estab-
lishes under this subtitle: 
‘‘(1) In the event that, as the result of an elec-
tion cybersecurity incident, election poll books fail or 
that their operation does not meet the demands 
posed by voters presenting themselves to vote during 
an early voting or on the date of the election, the 
State shall ensure that a paper backup of all reg-
istered voters for the assigned polling location is 
available for immediate use by poll workers. 
‘‘(2) In the event that, as the result of an elec-
tion cybersecurity incident, ballot marking tech-
nology fails, the Secretary shall provide paper ballots 
to the appropriate election officials in each congres-
sional district in sufficient quantities to permit vot-
ing to continue. Each such ballot shall include each 
candidate for election for Federal office in such dis-
trict. The appropriate State election officials shall 
provide the Secretary, at such times as the Secretary 
may require, with the information necessary to en-
able the Secretary to provide such ballots. 
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‘‘(3) The need for conducting audits of Federal 
election results based upon random samples of phys-
ical ballots and electronic voting system technology 
to authenticate the accuracy of the data reported by 
polling locations, including results from local juris-
dictions and statewide totals. If these random sam-
ples raise questions regarding the accuracy or reli-
ability of the reported totals for the election, the 
guidelines shall provide that the Secretary shall co-
ordinate with the appropriate election officials and 
make available to them security personnel to secure 
vote tabulation facilities and ballots, and otherwise 
support the efforts of such officials in ensuring the 
integrity of the ballots and the accuracy of the infor-
mation reported. 
‘‘(4) The State shall have in place measures to 
ensure the physical security of election officials, and 
to ensure the safety and health of election officials 
in the event of a public health emergency. The Sec-
retary shall develop and make available to the States 
special training programs for security personnel who 
are assigned to protect election officials, with a spe-
cial emphasis on protecting election officials at the 
polling place in a manner which does not intimidate 
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voters and which promotes an open, fair, and free 
voting process. 
‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In establishing guidelines 
under this section, the Secretary shall consult with the 
Election Assistance Commission, the National Association 
of Secretaries of State, and the National Association of 
State Election Directors. 
‘‘SEC. 323. FUNDING. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS TO ELECTION OFFICIALS.—The Com-
mission shall provide grants to eligible State and local 
election officials to assist such officials in meeting the re-
quirements of this subtitle. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State or local election official 
is eligible to receive a grant under this section if the offi-
cial submits to the Commission, at such time and in such 
form as the Commission may require, an application con-
taining such information and assurances as the Commis-
sion may require. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated $550,000,000 for grants 
under this section for fiscal year 2020 and each succeeding 
fiscal year, of which— 
‘‘(1) $400,000,000 shall be used for grants to 
State election officials; and 
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‘‘(2) $150,000,000 shall be used for grants to 
local election officials whose jurisdictions include an 
urban area. 
‘‘SEC. 324. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘election agency’ means any com-
ponent of a State, or any component of a unit of 
local government in a State, which is responsible for 
the administration of elections for Federal office in 
the State. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘election cybersecurity incident’ 
means an occurrence that actually or imminently 
jeopardizes, without lawful authority, the integrity, 
confidentiality, or availability of information on an 
information system of election infrastructure, or ac-
tually or imminently jeopardizes, without lawful au-
thority, an information system of election infrastruc-
ture. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘election infrastructure’ means 
storage facilities, polling places, and centralized vote 
tabulation locations used to support the administra-
tion of elections for public office, as well as related 
information and communications technology, includ-
ing voter registration databases, voting machines, 
electronic mail and other communications systems 
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(including electronic mail and other systems of elec-
tion service providers who have entered into con-
tracts with election agencies to support the adminis-
tration of elections, manage the election process, and 
report and display election results), and other sys-
tems used to manage the election process and to re-
port and display election results on behalf of an elec-
tion agency. 
‘‘(4) The term ‘election service provider’ means 
any person providing, supporting, or maintaining 
any information system which is part of an election 
infrastructure, such as a contractor or vendor. 
‘‘(5) The term ‘information system’ means a 
discrete set of information resources organized for 
the collection, processing, maintenance, use, sharing, 
dissemination, or disposition of information. 
‘‘(6) The term ‘urban area’ means an area 
within a Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by 
the Office of Management and Budget. 
‘‘SEC. 325. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
‘‘This subtitle shall apply with respect to the regu-
larly scheduled general elections for Federal office held in 
November 2020 and each succeeding election for Federal 
office.’’. 
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(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO EN-
FORCEMENT.—Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) 
is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 
the following: ‘‘, and to enforce the requirements of sub-
title C of 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—Failsafe Plans for Administration of Elections 
‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring establishment and implementation of failsafe plans in 
event of terrorist attacks, cybersecurity incidents, or public 
health emergencies. 
‘‘Sec. 322. Purposes and elements of guidelines. 
‘‘Sec. 323. Funding. 
‘‘Sec. 324. Definitions. 
‘‘Sec. 325. Effective date.’’. 
SEC. 3. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION BY SECRETARY OF 
HOMELAND SECURITY. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
submit a report on the steps taken by the Secretary to 
carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act 
to each of the following: 
(1) The Committee on Homeland Security of 
the House of Representatives. 
(2) The Committee on House Administration of 
the House of Representatives. 
(3) The Permanent Select Committee on Intel-
ligence of the House of Representatives. 
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(4) The Committee on Armed Services of the 
House of Representatives. 
(5) The Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs of the Senate. 
(6) The Committee on Rules and Administra-
tion of the Senate. 
(7) The Select Committee on Intelligence of the 
Senate. 
(8) The Committee on Armed Services of the 
Senate. 
SEC. 4. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON RISKS OF RELIANCE 
ON ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGIES IN ELEC-
TION ADMINISTRATION. 
(a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 
States shall conduct a study analyzing the risks and bene-
fits associated with the reliance upon electronic voting 
technology in the administration of elections for Federal 
office, including the potential consequences of a systemic 
and comprehensive failure of such technology during early 
voting periods or on the date of the election. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 240 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
submit to Congress a report on the study conducted under 
subsection (a), and shall include in the report rec-
ommendations on how to mitigate the cybersecurity risks 
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posed by the adoption and use of electronic voting systems 
technology in the administration of elections for Federal 
office. 
Æ 
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