177 
Subtitle L—Enhancement of 
Enforcement 
SEC. 1811. ENHANCEMENT OF ENFORCEMENT OF HELP 
AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002. 
(a) COMPLAINTS; AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT 
OF ACTION.—Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Attorney General’’ and in-
serting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
sections: 
‘‘(b) FILING OF COMPLAINTS BY AGGRIEVED PER-
SONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 
by a violation of title III which has occurred, is oc-
curring, or is about to occur may file a written, 
signed, notarized complaint with the Attorney Gen-
eral describing the violation and requesting the At-
torney General to take appropriate action under this 
section. The Attorney General shall immediately pro-
vide a copy of a complaint filed under the previous 
sentence to the entity responsible for administering 
the State-based administrative complaint procedures 
described in section 402(a) for the State involved.
178 
‘‘(2) RESPONSE BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 
Attorney General shall respond to each complaint 
filed under paragraph (1), in accordance with proce-
dures established by the Attorney General that re-
quire responses and determinations to be made with-
in the same (or shorter) deadlines which apply to a 
State under the State-based administrative com-
plaint procedures described in section 402(a)(2). 
The Attorney General shall immediately provide a 
copy of the response made under the previous sen-
tence to the entity responsible for administering the 
State-based administrative complaint procedures de-
scribed in section 402(a) for the State involved. 
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY
OF PRIVATE RIGHT
OF AC-
TION.—Any person who is authorized to file a complaint 
under subsection (b)(1) (including any individual who 
seeks to enforce the individual’s right to a voter-verified 
paper ballot, the right to have the voter-verified paper bal-
lot counted in accordance with this Act, or any other right 
under title III) may file an action under section 1979 of 
the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 
1983) to enforce the uniform and nondiscriminatory elec-
tion technology and administration requirements under 
subtitle A of title III.
179 
‘‘(d) NO EFFECT ON STATE PROCEDURES.—Nothing 
in this section may be construed to affect the availability 
of the State-based administrative complaint procedures re-
quired under section 402 to any person filing a complaint 
under this subsection.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 
with respect to elections for Federal office held in 2020 
or any succeeding year. 
Subtitle M—Federal Election 
Integrity 
SEC. 1821. PROHIBITION ON CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY 
CHIEF STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 
OFFICIALS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.) is 
amended by inserting after section 319 the following new 
section: 
‘‘CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES BY CHIEF STATE ELECTION 
ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS 
‘‘SEC. 319A. (a) PROHIBITION.—It shall be unlawful 
for a chief State election administration official to take 
an active part in political management or in a political 
campaign with respect to any election for Federal office 
over which such official has supervisory authority.
180 
‘‘(b) CHIEF STATE ELECTION ADMINISTRATION OF-
FICIAL.—The term ‘chief State election administration of-
ficial’ means the highest State official with responsibility 
for the administration of Federal elections under State 
law. 
‘‘(c) ACTIVE PART IN POLITICAL MANAGEMENT OR 
IN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN.—The term ‘active part in po-
litical management or in a political campaign’ means— 
‘‘(1) serving as a member of an authorized com-
mittee of a candidate for Federal office; 
‘‘(2) the use of official authority or influence 
for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the 
result of an election for Federal office; 
‘‘(3) the solicitation, acceptance, or receipt of a 
contribution from any person on behalf of a can-
didate for Federal office; and 
‘‘(4) any other act which would be prohibited 
under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 7323(b) of 
title 5, United States Code, if taken by an individual 
to whom such paragraph applies (other than any 
prohibition on running for public office). 
‘‘(d) EXCEPTION IN CASE OF RECUSAL FROM AD-
MINISTRATION OF ELECTIONS INVOLVING OFFICIAL OR 
IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.—
181 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—This section does not apply 
to a chief State election administration official with 
respect to an election for Federal office in which the 
official or an immediate family member of the offi-
cial is a candidate, but only if— 
‘‘(A) such official recuses himself or herself 
from all of the official’s responsibilities for the 
administration of such election; and 
‘‘(B) the official who assumes responsi-
bility for supervising the administration of the 
election does not report directly to such official. 
‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.— 
In paragraph (1), the term ‘immediate family mem-
ber’ means, with respect to a candidate, a father, 
mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, 
wife, father-in-law, or mother-in-law.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to elections for 
Federal office held after December 2019.
182 
Subtitle N—Promoting Voter Ac-
cess Through Election Adminis-
tration Improvements 
PART 1—PROMOTING VOTER ACCESS 
SEC. 1901. TREATMENT OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDU-
CATION. 
(a) TREATMENT
OF CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS
AS 
VOTER
REGISTRATION
AGENCIES
UNDER
NATIONAL 
VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 1993.—Section 7(a) of the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20506(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (A); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) each institution of higher education 
which has a program participation agreement in 
effect with the Secretary of Education under 
section 487 of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094), other than an institu-
tion which is treated as a contributing agency
183 
under the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 
2019.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (6)(A), by inserting ‘‘or, in 
the case of an institution of higher education, with 
each registration of a student for enrollment in a 
course of study, including enrollment in a program 
of distance education, as defined in section 103(7) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1003(7)),’’ after ‘‘assistance,’’. 
(b) RESPONSIBILITIES
OF INSTITUTIONS UNDER 
HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 487(a)(23) of the 
Higher 
Education 
Act 
of 
1965 
(20 
U.S.C. 
1094(a)(23)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(23)(A)(i) The institution will ensure that an 
appropriate staff person or office is designated pub-
licly as a ‘Campus Vote Coordinator’ and will ensure 
that such person’s or office’s contact information is 
included on the institution’s website. 
‘‘(ii) Not fewer than twice during each calendar 
year (beginning with 2020), the Campus Vote Coor-
dinator shall transmit electronically to each student 
enrolled in the institution (including students en-
rolled in distance education programs) a message 
containing the following information:
184 
‘‘(I) Information on the location of polling 
places in the jurisdiction in which the institu-
tion is located, together with information on 
available methods of transportation to and from 
such polling places. 
‘‘(II) A referral to a government-affiliated 
website or online platform which provides cen-
tralized voter registration information for all 
States, including access to applicable voter reg-
istration forms and information to assist indi-
viduals who are not registered to vote in reg-
istering to vote. 
‘‘(III) Any additional voter registration 
and voting information the Coordinator con-
siders appropriate, in consultation with the ap-
propriate State election official. 
‘‘(iii) In addition to transmitting the message 
described in clause (ii) not fewer than twice during 
each calendar year, the Campus Vote Coordinator 
shall transmit the message under such clause not 
fewer than 30 days prior to the deadline for reg-
istering to vote for any election for Federal, State, 
or local office in the State. 
‘‘(B) If the institution in its normal course of 
operations requests each student registering for en-
185 
rollment in a course of study, including students 
registering for enrollment in a program of distance 
education, to affirm whether or not the student is a 
United States citizen, the institution will comply 
with the applicable requirements for a contributing 
agency under the Automatic Voter Registration Act 
of 2019. 
‘‘(C) If the institution is not described in sub-
paragraph (B), the institution will comply with the 
requirements for a voter registration agency in the 
State in which it is located in accordance with sec-
tion 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20506). 
‘‘(D) This paragraph applies only with respect 
to an institution which is located in a State to which 
section 4(b) of the National Voter Registration Act 
of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20503(b)) does not apply.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to elec-
tions held on or after January 1, 2020. 
(c) GRANTS TO INSTITUTIONS DEMONSTRATING EX-
CELLENCE IN STUDENT VOTER REGISTRATION.— 
(1) GRANTS
AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 
Education may award competitive grants to public 
and private nonprofit institutions of higher edu-
186 
cation that are subject to the requirements of sec-
tion 487(a)(23) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(23)), as amended by sub-
section (a) and that the Secretary determines have 
demonstrated excellence in registering students to 
vote in elections for public office beyond meeting the 
minimum requirements of such section. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—An institution of higher edu-
cation is eligible to receive a grant under this sub-
section if the institution submits to the Secretary of 
Education, at such time and in such form as the 
Secretary may require, an application containing 
such information and assurances as the Secretary 
may require to make the determination described in 
paragraph (1), including information and assurances 
that the institution carried out activities to promote 
voter registration by students, such as the following: 
(A) Sponsoring large on-campus voter mo-
bilization efforts. 
(B) Engaging the surrounding community 
in nonpartisan voter registration and get out 
the vote efforts. 
(C) Creating a website for students with 
centralized information about voter registration 
and election dates.
187 
(D) Inviting candidates to speak on cam-
pus. 
(E) Offering rides to students to the polls 
to increase voter education, registration, and 
mobilization. 
(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal 
year 2020 and each succeeding fiscal year such sums 
as may be necessary to award grants under this sub-
section. 
(d) SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO OPTION OF 
STUDENTS TO REGISTER IN JURISDICTION OF INSTITU-
TION OF HIGHER EDUCATION OR JURISDICTION OF DOMI-
CILE.—It is the sense of Congress that, as provided under 
existing law, students who attend an institution of higher 
education and reside in the jurisdiction of the institution 
while attending the institution should have the option of 
registering to vote in elections for Federal office in that 
jurisdiction or in the jurisdiction of their own domicile. 
SEC. 1902. MINIMUM NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 
VOTERS 
AFFECTED 
BY 
POLLING 
PLACE 
CHANGES. 
(a) REQUIREMENTS.—Section 302 of the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21082), as amended by 
section 1601(a), is amended—
188 
(1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub-
section (g); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(f) MINIMUM NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR 
VOTERS AFFECTED BY POLLING PLACE CHANGES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State assigns an indi-
vidual who is a registered voter in a State to a poll-
ing place with respect to an election for Federal of-
fice which is not the same polling place to which the 
individual was previously assigned with respect to 
the most recent election for Federal office in the 
State in which the individual was eligible to vote— 
‘‘(A) the State shall notify the individual of 
the location of the polling place not later than 
7 days before the date of the election or the 
first day of an early voting period (whichever 
occurs first); or 
‘‘(B) if the State makes such an assign-
ment fewer than 7 days before the date of the 
election and the individual appears on the date 
of the election at the polling place to which the 
individual was previously assigned, the State 
shall make every reasonable effort to enable the 
individual to vote on the date of the election.
189 
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall 
apply with respect to elections held on or after Janu-
ary 1, 2020.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 302(g) of 
such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(g)), as redesignated by sub-
section (a) and as amended by section 1601(b), is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘(d)(2) and (e)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(2), 
(e)(2), and (f)(2)’’. 
SEC. 1903. PERMITTING USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATE-
MENT TO MEET IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE-
MENTS FOR VOTING. 
(a) PERMITTING USE OF STATEMENT.—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 fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘SEC. 303A. PERMITTING USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATE-
MENT TO MEET IDENTIFICATION REQUIRE-
MENTS. 
‘‘(a) USE OF STATEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (c), if a State has in effect a requirement 
that an individual present identification as a condi-
tion of receiving and casting a ballot in an election 
for Federal office, the State shall permit the indi-
vidual to meet the requirement—
190 
‘‘(A) in the case of an individual who de-
sires to vote in person, by presenting the appro-
priate State or local election official with a 
sworn written statement, signed by the indi-
vidual under penalty of perjury, attesting to the 
individual’s identity and attesting that the indi-
vidual is eligible to vote in the election; or 
‘‘(B) in the case of an individual who de-
sires to vote by mail, by submitting with the 
ballot the statement described in subparagraph 
(A). 
‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF PRE-PRINTED VERSION 
OF STATEMENT BY COMMISSION.—The Commission 
shall develop a pre-printed version of the statement 
described in paragraph (1)(A) which includes a 
blank space for an individual to provide a name and 
signature for use by election officials in States which 
are subject to paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) PROVIDING PRE-PRINTED COPY OF STATE-
MENT.—A State which is subject to paragraph (1) 
shall— 
‘‘(A) make copies of the pre-printed 
version of the statement described in paragraph 
(1)(A) which is prepared by the Commission 
available at polling places for election officials
191 
to distribute to individuals who desire to vote in 
person; and 
‘‘(B) include a copy of such pre-printed 
version of the statement with each blank absen-
tee or other ballot transmitted to an individual 
who desires to vote by mail. 
‘‘(b) REQUIRING USE OF BALLOT IN SAME MANNER 
AS INDIVIDUALS PRESENTING IDENTIFICATION.—An in-
dividual who presents or submits a sworn written state-
ment in accordance with subsection (a)(1) shall be per-
mitted to cast a ballot in the election in the same manner 
as an individual who presents identification. 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION
FOR FIRST-TIME VOTERS REG-
ISTERING BY MAIL.—Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply 
with respect to any individual described in paragraph (1) 
of section 303(b) who is required to meet the requirements 
of paragraph (2) of such section.’’. 
(b) REQUIRING STATES TO INCLUDE INFORMATION 
ON USE OF SWORN WRITTEN STATEMENT IN VOTING IN-
FORMATION MATERIAL POSTED AT POLLING PLACES.— 
Section 302(b)(2) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21082(b)(2)), 
as amended by section 1072(b) and section 1202(b), is 
amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara-
graph (G);
192 
(2) by striking the period at the end of sub-
paragraph (H) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraph: 
‘‘(I) in the case of a State that has in ef-
fect a requirement that an individual present 
identification as a condition of receiving and 
casting a ballot in an election for Federal office, 
information on how an individual may meet 
such requirement by presenting a sworn written 
statement in accordance with section 303A.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 303 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 303A. Permitting use of sworn written statement to meet identification 
requirements.’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply with respect to elections occurring 
on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 1904. POSTAGE-FREE BALLOTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 34 of title 39, United 
States Code, is amended by adding after section 3406 the 
following: 
‘‘§ 3407. Absentee ballots 
‘‘(a) Any absentee ballot for any election for Federal 
office shall be carried expeditiously, with postage prepaid
193 
by the State or unit of local government responsible for 
the administration of the election. 
‘‘(b) As used in this section, the term ‘absentee ballot’ 
means any ballot transmitted by a voter by mail in an 
election for Federal office, but does not include any ballot 
covered by section 3406.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 34 of such title is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 3406 the following: 
‘‘3407. Absentee ballots carried free of postage.’’. 
SEC. 1905. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS INCURRED BY 
STATES 
IN 
ESTABLISHING 
PROGRAM 
TO 
TRACK AND CONFIRM RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE 
BALLOTS. 
(a) REIMBURSEMENT.—Subtitle D of title II of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15401 et seq.) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new part: 
‘‘PART 7—PAYMENTS TO REIMBURSE STATES 
FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ESTABLISHING 
PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RE-
CEIPT OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS 
‘‘SEC. 297. PAYMENTS TO STATES. 
‘‘(a) PAYMENTS FOR COSTS OF ESTABLISHING PRO-
GRAM.—In accordance with this section, the Commission 
shall make a payment to a State to reimburse the State 
for the costs incurred in establishing, if the State so choos-
194 
es to establish, an absentee ballot tracking program with 
respect to elections for Federal office held in the State 
(including costs incurred prior to the date of the enact-
ment of this part). 
‘‘(b) ABSENTEE BALLOT TRACKING PROGRAM DE-
SCRIBED.— 
‘‘(1) PROGRAM DESCRIBED.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In this part, an ‘ab-
sentee ballot tracking program’ is a program to 
track and confirm the receipt of absentee bal-
lots in an election for Federal office under 
which the State or local election official respon-
sible for the receipt of voted absentee ballots in 
the election carries out procedures to track and 
confirm the receipt of such ballots, and makes 
information on the receipt of such ballots avail-
able to the individual who cast the ballot, by 
means of online access using the Internet site 
of the official’s office. 
‘‘(B) INFORMATION
ON
WHETHER
VOTE 
WAS
COUNTED.—The information referred to 
under subparagraph (A) with respect to the re-
ceipt of an absentee ballot shall include infor-
mation regarding whether the vote cast on the
195 
ballot was counted, and, in the case of a vote 
which was not counted, the reasons therefor. 
‘‘(2) USE OF TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER 
BY OFFICIALS WITHOUT INTERNET SITE.—A pro-
gram established by a State or local election official 
whose office does not have an Internet site may 
meet the description of a program under paragraph 
(1) if the official has established a toll-free telephone 
number that may be used by an individual who cast 
an absentee ballot to obtain the information on the 
receipt of the voted absentee ballot as provided 
under such paragraph. 
‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE AND COSTS.— 
‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION REQUIRED.—In order to 
receive a payment under this section, a State shall 
submit to the Commission a statement containing— 
‘‘(A) a certification that the State has es-
tablished an absentee ballot tracking program 
with respect to elections for Federal office held 
in the State; and 
‘‘(B) a statement of the costs incurred by 
the State in establishing the program. 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of a 
payment made to a State under this section shall be 
equal to the costs incurred by the State in estab-
196 
lishing the absentee ballot tracking program, as set 
forth in the statement submitted under paragraph 
(1), except that such amount may not exceed the 
product of— 
‘‘(A) the number of jurisdictions in the 
State which are responsible for operating the 
program; and 
‘‘(B) $3,000. 
‘‘(3) LIMIT
ON
NUMBER
OF
PAYMENTS
RE-
CEIVED.—A State may not receive more than one 
payment under this part. 
‘‘SEC. 297A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Commission for fiscal year 2020 and 
each succeeding fiscal year such sums as may be necessary 
for payments under this part. 
‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any 
amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization under 
this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 
(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 TO REIMBURSE STATES FOR COSTS INCURRED IN ES-
TABLISHING PROGRAM TO TRACK AND CONFIRM RECEIPT OF ABSENTEE 
BALLOTS 
‘‘Sec. 297. Payments to States. 
‘‘Sec. 297A. Authorization of appropriations.’’.
197 
SEC. 1906. VOTER INFORMATION RESPONSE SYSTEMS AND 
HOTLINE. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF SYSTEMS 
AND SERVICES.— 
(1) STATE-BASED
RESPONSE
SYSTEMS.—The 
Attorney General shall coordinate the establishment 
of a State-based response system for responding to 
questions and complaints from individuals voting or 
seeking to vote, or registering to vote or seeking to 
register to vote, in elections for Federal office. Such 
system shall provide— 
(A) State-specific, same-day, and imme-
diate assistance to such individuals, including 
information on how to register to vote, the loca-
tion and hours of operation of polling places, 
and how to obtain absentee ballots; and 
(B) State-specific, same-day, and imme-
diate assistance to individuals encountering 
problems with registering to vote or voting, in-
cluding individuals encountering intimidation or 
deceptive practices. 
(2) HOTLINE.—The Attorney General, in con-
sultation with State election officials, shall establish 
and operate a toll-free telephone service, using a 
telephone number that is accessible throughout the 
United States and that uses easily identifiable nu-
198 
merals, through which individuals throughout the 
United States— 
(A) may connect directly to the State- 
based response system described in paragraph 
(1) with respect to the State involved; 
(B) may obtain information on voting in 
elections for Federal office, including informa-
tion on how to register to vote in such elections, 
the locations and hours of operation of polling 
places, and how to obtain absentee ballots; and 
(C) may report information to the Attor-
ney General on problems encountered in reg-
istering to vote or voting, including incidences 
of voter intimidation or suppression. 
(3) COLLABORATION WITH STATE AND LOCAL 
ELECTION OFFICIALS.— 
(A) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION FROM 
STATES.—The Attorney General shall coordi-
nate the collection of information on State and 
local election laws and policies, including infor-
mation on the Statewide computerized voter 
registration lists maintained under title III of 
the Help America Vote Act of 2002, so that in-
dividuals who contact the free telephone service 
established under paragraph (2) on the date of
199 
an election for Federal office may receive an 
immediate response on that day. 
(B) FORWARDING
QUESTIONS
AND
COM-
PLAINTS TO STATES.—If an individual contacts 
the free telephone service established under 
paragraph (2) on the date of an election for 
Federal office with a question or complaint with 
respect to a particular State or jurisdiction 
within a State, the Attorney General shall for-
ward the question or complaint immediately to 
the appropriate election official of the State or 
jurisdiction so that the official may answer the 
question or remedy the complaint on that date. 
(4) CONSULTATION
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
DE-
VELOPMENT OF SYSTEMS AND SERVICES.—The At-
torney General shall ensure that the State-based re-
sponse system under paragraph (1) and the free 
telephone service under paragraph (2) are each de-
veloped in consultation with civil rights organiza-
tions, voting rights groups, State and local election 
officials, voter protection groups, and other inter-
ested community organizations, especially those that 
have experience in the operation of similar systems 
and services.
200 
(b) USE OF SERVICE BY INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS-
ABILITIES AND INDIVIDUALS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH 
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY.—The Attorney General shall 
design and operate the telephone service established under 
this section in a manner that ensures that individuals with 
disabilities are fully able to use the service, and that as-
sistance is provided in any language in which the State 
(or any jurisdiction in the State) is required to provide 
election materials under section 203 of the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965. 
(c) VOTER HOTLINE TASK FORCE.— 
(1) APPOINTMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 
The Attorney General shall appoint individuals (in 
such number as the Attorney General considers ap-
propriate but in no event fewer than 3) to serve on 
a Voter Hotline Task Force to provide ongoing anal-
ysis and assessment of the operation of the tele-
phone service established under this section, and 
shall give special consideration in making appoint-
ments to the Task Force to individuals who rep-
resent civil rights organizations. At least one mem-
ber of the Task Force shall be a representative of 
an organization promoting voting rights or civil 
rights which has experience in the operation of simi-
lar telephone services or in protecting the rights of
201 
individuals to vote, especially individuals who are 
members of racial, ethnic, or linguistic minorities or 
of communities who have been adversely affected by 
efforts to suppress voting rights. 
(2) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual shall be eligi-
ble to serve on the Task Force under this subsection 
if the individual meets such criteria as the Attorney 
General may establish, except that an individual may 
not serve on the task force if the individual has been 
convicted of any criminal offense relating to voter in-
timidation or voter suppression. 
(3) TERM
OF
SERVICE.—An individual ap-
pointed to the Task Force shall serve a single term 
of 2 years, except that the initial terms of the mem-
bers first appointed to the Task Force shall be stag-
gered so that there are at least 3 individuals serving 
on the Task Force during each year. A vacancy in 
the membership of the Task Force shall be filled in 
the same manner as the original appointment. 
(4) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.—Mem-
bers of the Task Force shall serve without pay, but 
shall receive travel expenses, including per diem in 
lieu of subsistence, in accordance with applicable 
provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 
5, United States Code.
202 
(d) BI-ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later 
than March 1 of each odd-numbered year, the Attorney 
General shall submit a report to Congress on the operation 
of the telephone service established under this section dur-
ing the previous 2 years, and shall include in the report— 
(1) an enumeration of the number and type of 
calls that were received by the service; 
(2) a compilation and description of the reports 
made to the service by individuals citing instances of 
voter intimidation or suppression, together with a 
description of any actions taken in response to such 
instances of voter intimidation or suppression; 
(3) an assessment of the effectiveness of the 
service in making information available to all house-
holds in the United States with telephone service; 
(4) any recommendations developed by the 
Task Force established under subsection (c) with re-
spect to how voting systems may be maintained or 
upgraded to better accommodate voters and better 
ensure the integrity of elections, including but not 
limited to identifying how to eliminate coordinated 
voter suppression efforts and how to establish effec-
tive mechanisms for distributing updates on changes 
to voting requirements; and
203 
(5) any recommendations on best practices for 
the State-based response systems established under 
subsection (a)(1). 
(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated to the Attorney General for fiscal 
year 2019 and each succeeding fiscal year such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out this section. 
(2) 
SET-ASIDE
FOR
OUTREACH.—Of 
the 
amounts appropriated to carry out this section for a 
fiscal year pursuant to the authorization under para-
graph (1), not less than 15 percent shall be used for 
outreach activities to make the public aware of the 
availability of the telephone service established under 
this section, with an emphasis on outreach to indi-
viduals with disabilities and individuals with limited 
proficiency in the English language. 
SEC. 1907. LIMITING VARIATIONS ON NUMBER OF HOURS 
OF OPERATION FOR POLLING PLACES WITH-
IN A STATE. 
(a) LIMITING VARIATIONS.—Subtitle A of title III of 
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et 
seq.), as amended by section 1031(a), section 1101(a), 
section 1611(a), and section 1621(a), is amended—
204 
(1) by redesignating sections 308 and 309 as 
sections 309 and 310; and 
(2) by inserting after section 307 the following 
new section: 
‘‘SEC. 308. LIMITING VARIATIONS ON NUMBER OF HOURS 
OF OPERATION OF POLLING PLACES WITH A 
STATE. 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2) and subsection (b), each State shall estab-
lish hours of operation for all polling places in the 
State on the date of any election for Federal office 
held in the State such that the polling place with the 
greatest number of hours of operation on such date 
is not in operation for more than 2 hours longer 
than the polling place with the fewest number of 
hours of operation on such date. 
‘‘(2) PERMITTING VARIANCE ON BASIS OF POP-
ULATION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to the ex-
tent that the State establishes variations in the 
hours of operation of polling places on the basis of 
the overall population or the voting age population 
(as the State may select) of the unit of local govern-
ment in which such polling places are located.
205 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS
FOR
POLLING
PLACES
WITH 
HOURS ESTABLISHED
BY UNITS
OF LOCAL GOVERN-
MENT.—Subsection (a) does not apply in the case of a 
polling place— 
‘‘(1) whose hours of operation are established, 
in accordance with State law, by the unit of local 
government in which the polling place is located; or 
‘‘(2) which is required pursuant to an order by 
a court to extend its hours of operation beyond the 
hours otherwise established.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by section 1031(c), section 
1101(d), section 1611(c), and section 1621(c), is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sec-
tions 308 and 309 as relating to sections 309 and 
310; and 
(2) by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 307 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 308. Limiting variations on number of hours of operation of polling 
places with a State.’’.
206 
PART 2—IMPROVEMENTS IN OPERATION OF 
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 
SEC. 1911. REAUTHORIZATION OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION. 
Section 210 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 20930) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘for each of the fiscal years 
2003 through 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 
2019 and each succeeding fiscal year’’; and 
(2) by striking ‘‘(but not to exceed $10,000,000 
for each such year)’’. 
SEC. 1913. REQUIRING STATES TO PARTICIPATE IN POST- 
GENERAL ELECTION SURVEYS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Title III of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.), as amended 
by section 1903(a), is further amended by inserting after 
section 303A the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 303B. REQUIRING PARTICIPATION IN POST-GENERAL 
ELECTION SURVEYS. 
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.—Each State shall furnish to the 
Commission such information as the Commission may re-
quest for purposes of conducting any post-election survey 
of the States with respect to the administration of a regu-
larly scheduled general election for Federal office. 
‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 
with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for
207 
Federal office held in November 2020 and any succeeding 
election.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by section 1903(c), is further 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 
303A the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 303B. Requiring participation in post-general election surveys.’’. 
SEC. 1914. REPORTS BY NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STAND-
ARDS AND TECHNOLOGY ON USE OF FUNDS 
TRANSFERRED FROM ELECTION ASSISTANCE 
COMMISSION. 
(a) REQUIRING REPORTS ON USE FUNDS AS CONDI-
TION OF RECEIPT.—Section 231 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20971) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e) REPORT
ON USE
OF FUNDS TRANSFERRED 
FROM COMMISSION.—To the extent that funds are trans-
ferred from the Commission to the Director of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and Technology for purposes 
of carrying out this section during any fiscal year, the Di-
rector may not use such funds unless the Director certifies 
at the time of transfer that the Director will submit a re-
port to the Commission not later than 90 days after the 
end of the fiscal year detailing how the Director used such 
funds during the year.’’.
208 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2020 
and each succeeding fiscal year. 
SEC. 1915. RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS 
OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION. 
(a) ASSESSMENT
OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY 
AND CYBERSECURITY.—Not later than December 31, 
2019, the Election Assistance Commission shall carry out 
an assessment of the security and effectiveness of the 
Commission’s information technology systems, including 
the cybersecurity of such systems. 
(b) IMPROVEMENTS TO ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT 
PROCEDURES.— 
(1) REVIEW
OF
PROCEDURES.—The Election 
Assistance Commission shall carry out a review of 
the effectiveness and efficiency of the State-based 
administrative complaint procedures established and 
maintained under section 402 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21112) for the inves-
tigation and resolution of allegations of violations of 
title III of such Act. 
(2) RECOMMENDATIONS TO STREAMLINE PRO-
CEDURES.—Not later than December 31, 2019, the 
Commission shall submit to Congress a report on 
the review carried out under paragraph (1), and
209 
shall include in the report such recommendations as 
the Commission considers appropriate to streamline 
and improve the procedures which are the subject of 
the review. 
SEC. 1916. REPEAL OF EXEMPTION OF ELECTION ASSIST-
ANCE COMMISSION FROM CERTAIN GOVERN-
MENT CONTRACTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 205 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20925) is amended by strik-
ing subsection (e). 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to contracts entered 
into by the Election Assistance Commission on or after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
PART 3—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
SEC. 1921. APPLICATION OF LAWS TO COMMONWEALTH OF 
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 
(a) NATIONAL
VOTER
REGISTRATION
ACT
OF 
1993.—Section 3(4) of the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20502(4)) is amended by striking 
‘‘States and the District of Columbia’’ and inserting 
‘‘States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 
(b) HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—
210 
(1) COVERAGE
OF
COMMONWEALTH
OF
THE 
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.—Section 901 of the 
Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141) 
is amended by striking ‘‘and the United States Vir-
gin Islands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin 
Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS
TO
HELP 
AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Such Act is further 
amended as follows: 
(A) The second sentence of section 
213(a)(2) (52 U.S.C. 20943(a)(2)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘and American Samoa’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘American Samoa, and the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 
(B) 
Section 
252(c)(2) 
(52 
U.S.C. 
21002(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘or the 
United States Virgin Islands’’ and inserting 
‘‘the United States Virgin Islands, or the Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’’. 
(3) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT
RELATING
TO 
CONSULTATION OF HELP AMERICA VOTE FOUNDA-
TION
WITH
LOCAL
ELECTION
OFFICIALS.—Section 
90102(c) of title 36, United States Code, is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘and the United States Virgin Is-
211 
lands’’ and inserting ‘‘the United States Virgin Is-
lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar-
iana Islands’’. 
(4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to fiscal 
years beginning with the first fiscal year which be-
gins after funds are appropriated to the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to 
the payment under section 2. 
SEC. 1922. NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically provided, 
nothing in this title may be construed to authorize or re-
quire conduct prohibited under any of the following laws, 
or to supersede, restrict, or limit the application of such 
laws: 
(1) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.). 
(2) The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and 
Handicapped Act (52 U.S.C. 20101 et seq.). 
(3) The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Ab-
sentee Voting Act (52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.). 
(4) The National Voter Registration Act of 
1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 
(5) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
212 
(6) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 
701 et seq.). 
(b) NO EFFECT ON PRECLEARANCE OR OTHER RE-
QUIREMENTS UNDER VOTING RIGHTS ACT.—The ap-
proval by any person of a payment or grant application 
under this title, or any other action taken by any person 
under this title, shall not be considered to have any effect 
on requirements for preclearance under section 5 of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10304) or any other 
requirements of such Act. 
(c) NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF STATES TO PRO-
VIDE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOTING.—Nothing 
in this title or the amendments made by this title may 
be construed to prohibit any State from enacting any law 
which provides greater opportunities for individuals to reg-
ister to vote and to vote in elections for Federal office than 
are provided by this title and the amendments made by 
this title. 
Subtitle O—Severability 
SEC. 1931. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this title or amendment made by 
this title, or the application of a provision or amendment 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu-
tional, the remainder of this title and amendments made 
by this title, and the application of the provisions and
213 
amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 
affected by the holding. 
TITLE II—ELECTION INTEGRITY 
Subtitle A—Findings Reaffirming Commitment of Congress to Restore the 
Voting Rights Act 
Sec. 2001. Findings reaffirming commitment of Congress to restore the Voting 
Rights Act. 
Subtitle B—Findings Relating to Native American Voting Rights 
Sec. 2101. Findings relating to Native American voting rights. 
Subtitle C—Findings Relating to District of Columbia Statehood 
Sec. 2201. Findings relating to District of Columbia statehood. 
Subtitle D—Territorial Voting Rights 
Sec. 2301. Findings relating to territorial voting rights. 
Sec. 2302. Congressional Task Force on Voting Rights of United States Citizen 
Residents of Territories of the United States. 
Subtitle E—Redistricting Reform 
Sec. 2400. Short title; finding of constitutional authority. 
PART 1—REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 
Sec. 2401. Requiring congressional redistricting to be conducted through plan 
of independent State commission. 
Sec. 2402. Ban on mid-decade redistricting. 
PART 2—INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONS 
Sec. 2411. Independent redistricting commission. 
Sec. 2412. Establishment of selection pool of individuals eligible to serve as 
members of commission. 
Sec. 2413. Criteria for redistricting plan by independent commission; public no-
tice and input. 
Sec. 2414. Establishment of related entities. 
Sec. 2415. Report on diversity of memberships of independent redistricting 
commissions. 
PART 3—ROLE OF COURTS IN DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLANS 
Sec. 2421. Enactment of plan developed by 3-judge court. 
Sec. 2422. Special rule for redistricting conducted under order of Federal 
court. 
PART 4—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 
Sec. 2431. Payments to States for carrying out redistricting. 
Sec. 2432. Civil enforcement. 
Sec. 2433. State apportionment notice defined.
214 
Sec. 2434. No effect on elections for State and local office. 
Sec. 2435. Effective date. 
Subtitle F—Saving Eligible Voters From Voter Purging 
Sec. 2501. Short title. 
Sec. 2502. Conditions for removal of voters from list of registered voters. 
Subtitle G—No Effect on Authority of States to Provide Greater 
Opportunities for Voting 
Sec. 2601. No effect on authority of States to provide greater opportunities for 
voting. 
Subtitle H—Residence of Incarcerated Individuals 
Sec. 2701. Residence of Incarcerated Individuals. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
Sec. 2801. Severability. 
Subtitle A—Findings Reaffirming 
Commitment of Congress to Re-
store the Voting Rights Act 
SEC. 2001. FINDINGS REAFFIRMING COMMITMENT OF CON-
GRESS TO RESTORE THE VOTING RIGHTS 
ACT. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The right to vote for all Americans is sac-
rosanct and rules for voting and election administra-
tion should protect the right to vote and promote 
voter participation. 
(2) The Voting Rights Act has empowered the 
Department of Justice and Federal courts for nearly 
a half a century to block discriminatory voting prac-
tices before their implementation in States and local-
215 
ities with the most troubling histories and ongoing 
records of racial discrimination. 
(3) There continues to be an alarming move-
ment to erect barriers to make it more difficult for 
Americans to participate in our Nation’s democratic 
process. The Nation has witnessed unprecedented ef-
forts to turn back the clock and erect barriers to 
voting for communities of color which have faced 
historic and continuing discrimination, as well as 
disabled, young, elderly, and low-income Americans. 
(4) The Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County 
v. Holder decision gutted decades-long Federal pro-
tections for communities of color that face historic 
and continuing discrimination, emboldening States 
and local jurisdictions to pass voter suppression laws 
and implement procedures, such as those requiring 
photo identification, limiting early voting hours, 
eliminating same-day registration, purging voters 
from the rolls, and reducing the number of polling 
places. Congress is committed to reversing the dev-
astating impact of this decision. 
(5) Racial discrimination in voting is a clear 
and persistent problem. The actions of States and 
localities around the country post-Shelby County, in-
cluding at least 10 findings by Federal courts of in-
216 
tentional discrimination, underscore the need for 
Congress to conduct investigatory and evidentiary 
hearings to determine the legislation necessary to re-
store the Voting Rights Act and combat continuing 
efforts in America that suppress the free exercise of 
the franchise in communities of color. 
(6) The 2018 midterm election provides further 
evidence that systemic voter discrimination and in-
timidation continues to occur in communities of 
color across the country, making it clear that democ-
racy reform cannot be achieved until Congress re-
stores key provisions of the Voting Rights Act. 
(7) Congress must remain vigilant in protecting 
every eligible citizen’s right to vote. Congress should 
respond by modernizing the electoral system to— 
(A) improve access to the ballot; 
(B) enhance the integrity and security of 
our voting systems; 
(C) ensure greater accountability for the 
administration of elections; 
(D) restore protections for voters against 
practices in States and localities plagued by the 
persistence of voter disenfranchisement; and
217 
(E) ensure that Federal civil rights laws 
protect the rights of voters against discrimina-
tory and deceptive practices. 
Subtitle B—Findings Relating to 
Native American Voting Rights 
SEC. 2101. FINDINGS RELATING TO NATIVE AMERICAN VOT-
ING RIGHTS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The right to vote for all Americans is sa-
cred. Congress must fulfill the Federal Government’s 
trust responsibility to protect and promote Native 
Americans’ exercise of their fundamental right to 
vote, including equal access to voter registration vot-
ing mechanisms and locations, and the ability to 
serve as election officials. 
(2) The Native American Voting Rights Coali-
tion’s four-State survey of voter discrimination 
(2016) and nine field hearings in Indian Country 
(2017-2018) revealed obstacles that Native Ameri-
cans must overcome, including a lack of accessible 
and proximate registration and polling sites, non-
traditional addresses for residents on Indian reserva-
tions, inadequate language assistance for Tribal 
members, and voter identification laws that discrimi-
nate against Native Americans. The Department of
218 
Justice and courts have recognized that some juris-
dictions have been unresponsive to reasonable re-
quests from federally recognized Indian Tribes for 
more accessible and proximate voter registration 
sites and in-person voting locations. 
(3) The 2018 elections provide further evidence 
that systemic voter discrimination and intimidation 
continues to occur in communities of color and Trib-
al lands across the country, making it clear that de-
mocracy reform cannot be achieved until Congress 
restores key provisions of the Voting Rights Act and 
passes additional protections. 
(4) Congress has broad, plenary authority to 
enact legislation to safeguard the voting rights of 
Native American voters. 
(5) Congress must conduct investigatory and 
evidentiary hearings to determine the necessary leg-
islation to restore the Voting Rights Act and combat 
continuous efforts that suppress the voter franchise 
within Tribal lands, to include, but not to be limited 
to, the Native American Voting Rights Act 
(NAVRA) and the Voting Rights Advancement Act 
(VRAA).
219 
Subtitle C—Findings Relating to 
District of Columbia Statehood 
SEC. 2201. FINDINGS RELATING TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
STATEHOOD. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) District of Columbia residents deserve full 
congressional voting rights and self-government, 
which only statehood can provide. 
(2) The 700,000 residents of the District of Co-
lumbia pay more Federal taxes per capita than resi-
dents of any State in the country, yet do not have 
full and equal representation in Congress and self- 
government. 
(3) Since the founding of the United States, the 
residents of the District of Columbia have always 
carried all the obligations of citizenship, including 
serving in all of the Nation’s wars and paying Fed-
eral taxes, all without voting representation on the 
floor in either Chamber of Congress or freedom from 
congressional interference in purely local matters. 
(4) There are no constitutional, historical, fi-
nancial, or economic reasons why the 700,000 Amer-
icans who live in the District of Columbia should not 
be granted statehood.
220 
(5) The District of Columbia has a larger popu-
lation than two States, Wyoming and Vermont, and 
is close to the population of the seven States that 
have a population of under one million fully rep-
resented residents. 
(6) The District of Columbia government has 
one of the strongest fiscal positions of any jurisdic-
tion in the United States, with a $14.6 billion budg-
et for fiscal year 2019 and a $2.8 billion general 
fund balance as of September 30, 2018. 
(7) The District of Columbia’s total personal 
income is higher than that of seven States, its per 
capita personal consumption expenditures is higher 
than those of any State, and its total personal con-
sumption expenditures is greater than those of seven 
States. 
(8) Congress has authority under article IV, 
section 3, clause 1, which gives Congress power to 
admit new states to the Union, and Article I, Sec-
tion 8, Clause 17, which grants Congress power over 
the seat of the Federal Government, to admit the 
new State carved out of the residential areas of the 
Federal seat of Government, while maintaining as 
the Federal seat of Government the United States 
Capitol Complex, the principal Federal monuments,
221 
Federal buildings and grounds, the National Mall, 
the White House and other Federal property. 
Subtitle D—Territorial Voting 
Rights 
SEC. 2301. FINDINGS RELATING TO TERRITORIAL VOTING 
RIGHTS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The right to vote is one of the most power-
ful instruments residents of the territories of the 
United States have to ensure that their voices are 
heard. 
(2) These Americans have played an important 
part in the American democracy for more than 120 
years. 
(3) Political participation and the right to vote 
are among the highest concerns of territorial resi-
dents in part because they were not always afforded 
these rights. 
(4) Voter participation in the territories consist-
ently ranks higher than many communities on the 
mainland. 
(5) Territorial residents serve and die, on a per 
capita basis, at a higher rate in every United States 
war and conflict since WWI, as an expression of
222 
their commitment to American democratic principles 
and patriotism. 
SEC. 2302. CONGRESSIONAL TASK FORCE ON VOTING 
RIGHTS OF UNITED STATES CITIZEN RESI-
DENTS OF TERRITORIES OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 
the legislative branch a Congressional Task Force on Vot-
ing Rights of United States Citizen Residents of Terri-
tories of the United States (in this section referred to as 
the ‘‘Task Force’’). 
(b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Task Force shall be com-
posed of 12 members as follows: 
(1) One Member of the House of Representa-
tives, who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, in coordination with the 
Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources of 
the House of Representatives. 
(2) One Member of the House of Representa-
tives, who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives, in coordination with the 
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives. 
(3) One Member of the House of Representa-
tives, who shall be appointed by the Speaker of the
223 
House of Representatives, in coordination with the 
Chairman of the Committee on House Administra-
tion of the House of Representatives. 
(4) One Member of the House of Representa-
tives, who shall be appointed by the Minority Leader 
of the House of Representatives, in coordination 
with the ranking minority member of the Committee 
on Natural Resources of the House of Representa-
tives. 
(5) One Member of the House of Representa-
tives, who shall be appointed by the Minority Leader 
of the House of Representatives, in coordination 
with the ranking minority member of the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives. 
(6) One Member of the House of Representa-
tives, who shall be appointed by the Minority Leader 
of the House of Representatives, in coordination 
with the ranking minority member of the Committee 
on House Administration of the House of Represent-
atives. 
(7) One Member of the Senate, who shall be ap-
pointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate, in co-
ordination with the Chairman of the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
224 
(8) One Member of the Senate, who shall be ap-
pointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate, in co-
ordination with the Chairman of the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate. 
(9) One Member of the Senate, who shall be ap-
pointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate, in co-
ordination with the Chairman of the Committee on 
Rules and Administration of the Senate. 
(10) One Member of the Senate, who shall be 
appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, in 
coordination with the ranking minority member of 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of 
the Senate. 
(11) One Member of the Senate, who shall be 
appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, in 
coordination with the ranking minority member of 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate. 
(12) One Member of the Senate, who shall be 
appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, in 
coordination with the ranking minority member of 
the Committee on Rules and Administration of the 
Senate. 
(c) DEADLINE
FOR APPOINTMENT.—All appoint-
ments to the Task Force shall be made not later than 30 
days after the date of enactment of this Act.
225 
(d) CHAIR.—The Speaker shall designate one Mem-
ber to serve as chair of the Task Force. 
(e) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Task Force 
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appoint-
ment. 
(f) STATUS UPDATE.—Between September 1, 2019, 
and September 30, 2019, the Task Force shall provide a 
status update to the House of Representatives and the 
Senate that includes— 
(1) information the Task Force has collected; 
and 
(2) a discussion on matters that the chairman 
of the Task Force deems urgent for consideration by 
Congress. 
(g) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2019, 
the Task Force shall issue a report of its findings to the 
House of Representatives and the Senate regarding— 
(1) the economic and societal consequences 
(through statistical data and other metrics) that 
come with political disenfranchisement of United 
States citizens in territories of the United States; 
(2) impediments to full and equal voting rights 
for United States citizens who are residents of terri-
tories of the United States in Federal elections, in-
226 
cluding the election of the President and Vice Presi-
dent of the United States; 
(3) impediments to full and equal voting rep-
resentation in the House of Representatives for 
United States citizens who are residents of terri-
tories of the United States; 
(4) recommended changes that, if adopted, 
would allow for full and equal voting rights for 
United States citizens who are residents of terri-
tories of the United States in Federal elections, in-
cluding the election of the President and Vice Presi-
dent of the United States; 
(5) recommended changes that, if adopted, 
would allow for full and equal voting representation 
in the House of Representatives for United States 
citizens who are residents of territories of the United 
States; and 
(6) additional information the Task Force 
deems appropriate. 
(h) CONSENSUS VIEWS.—To the greatest extent 
practicable, the report issued under subsection (g) shall 
reflect the shared views of all 12 Members, except that 
the report may contain dissenting views. 
(i) HEARINGS AND SESSIONS.—The Task Force may, 
for the purpose of carrying out this section, hold hearings,
227 
sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and re-
ceive evidence as the Task Force considers appropriate. 
(j) STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION.—In carrying out 
its duties, the Task Force shall consult with the govern-
ments of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. 
(k) RESOURCES.—The Task Force shall carry out its 
duties by utilizing existing facilities, services, and staff of 
the House of Representatives and the Senate. 
(l) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 
upon issuing the report required under subsection (g). 
Subtitle E—Redistricting Reform 
SEC. 2400. SHORT TITLE; FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL AU-
THORITY. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This subtitle may be cited as the 
‘‘Redistricting Reform Act of 2019’’. 
(b) FINDING
OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.— 
Congress finds that it has the authority to establish the 
terms and conditions States must follow in carrying out 
congressional redistricting after an apportionment of 
Members of the House of Representatives because— 
(1) the authority granted to Congress under ar-
ticle I, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 
States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov-
228 
erning the time, place, and manner of elections for 
Members of the House of Representatives; and 
(2) the authority granted to Congress under 
section 5 of the fourteenth amendment to the Con-
stitution gives Congress the power to enact laws to 
enforce section 2 of such amendment, which requires 
Representatives to be apportioned among the several 
States according to their number. 
PART 1—REQUIREMENTS FOR CONGRESSIONAL 
REDISTRICTING 
SEC. 2401. REQUIRING CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING 
TO BE CONDUCTED THROUGH PLAN OF INDE-
PENDENT STATE COMMISSION. 
(a) USE OF PLAN REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, and except as provided in sub-
section (c) and subsection (d), any congressional redis-
tricting conducted by a State shall be conducted in accord-
ance with— 
(1) the redistricting plan developed and enacted 
into law by the independent redistricting commission 
established in the State, in accordance with part 2; 
or 
(2) if a plan developed by such commission is 
not enacted into law, the redistricting plan developed
229 
and enacted into law by a 3-judge court, in accord-
ance with section 2421. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 22(c) of 
the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fifteenth and 
subsequent decennial censuses and to provide for an ap-
portionment of Representatives in Congress’’, approved 
June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a(c)), is amended by striking 
‘‘in the manner provided by the law thereof’’ and insert-
ing: ‘‘in the manner provided by the Redistricting Reform 
Act of 2019’’. 
(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR EXISTING COMMISSIONS.— 
Subsection (a) does not apply to any State in which, under 
law in effect continuously on and after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, congressional redistricting is car-
ried out in accordance with a plan developed and approved 
by an independent redistricting commission which is in 
compliance with each of the following requirements: 
(1) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE APPLICATION PROC-
ESS.—Membership on the commission is open to citi-
zens of the State through a publicly available appli-
cation process. 
(2) DISQUALIFICATIONS
FOR
GOVERNMENT 
SERVICE
AND
POLITICAL
APPOINTMENT.—Individ-
uals who, for a covered period of time as established 
by the State, hold or have held public office, individ-
230 
uals who are or have been candidates for elected 
public office, and individuals who serve or have 
served as an officer, employee, or paid consultant of 
a campaign committee of a candidate for public of-
fice are disqualified from serving on the commission. 
(3) SCREENING
FOR
CONFLICTS.—Individuals 
who apply to serve on the commission are screened 
through a process that excludes persons with con-
flicts of interest from the pool of potential commis-
sioners. 
(4) MULTI-PARTISAN COMPOSITION.—Member-
ship on the commission represents those who are af-
filiated with the two political parties whose can-
didates received the most votes in the most recent 
Statewide election for Federal office held in the 
State, as well as those who are unaffiliated with any 
party or who are affiliated with political parties 
other than the two political parties whose candidates 
received the most votes in the most recent Statewide 
election for Federal office held in the State. 
(5) CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING.—Members 
of the commission are required to meet certain cri-
teria in the map drawing process, including mini-
mizing the division of communities of interest and a 
ban on drawing maps to favor a political party.
231 
(6) PUBLIC INPUT.—Public hearings are held 
and comments from the public are accepted before 
a final map is approved. 
(7) BROAD-BASED SUPPORT FOR APPROVAL OF 
FINAL PLAN.—The approval of the final redistricting 
plan requires a majority vote of the members of the 
commission, including the support of at least one 
member of each of the following: 
(A) Members who are affiliated with the 
political party whose candidate received the 
most votes in the most recent Statewide election 
for Federal office held in the State. 
(B) Members who are affiliated with the 
political party whose candidate received the sec-
ond most votes in the most recent Statewide 
election for Federal office held in the State. 
(C) Members who not affiliated with any 
political party or who are affiliated with polit-
ical parties other than the political parties de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 
(d) TREATMENT OF STATE OF IOWA.—Subsection (a) 
does not apply to the State of Iowa, so long as congres-
sional redistricting in such State is carried out in accord-
ance with a plan developed by the Iowa Legislative Serv-
ices Agency with the assistance of a Temporary Redis-
232 
tricting Advisory Commission, under law which was in ef-
fect for the most recent congressional redistricting carried 
out in the State prior to the date of the enactment of this 
Act and which remains in effect continuously on and after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 2402. BAN ON MID-DECADE REDISTRICTING. 
A State that has been redistricted in accordance with 
this subtitle and a State described in section 2401(c) or 
section 2401(d) may not be redistricted again until after 
the next apportionment of Representatives under section 
22(a) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the fif-
teenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to provide 
for an apportionment of Representatives in Congress’’, ap-
proved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), unless a court re-
quires the State to conduct such subsequent redistricting 
to comply with the Constitution of the United States, the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.), the 
Constitution of the State, or the terms or conditions of 
this subtitle. 
PART 2—INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING 
COMMISSIONS 
SEC. 2411. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION. 
(a) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The nonpartisan agency es-
tablished or designated by a State under section
233 
2414(a) shall establish an independent redistricting 
commission for the State, which shall consist of 15 
members appointed by the agency as follows: 
(A) Not later than October 1 of a year 
ending in the numeral zero, the agency shall, at 
a public meeting held not earlier than 15 days 
after notice of the meeting has been given to 
the public, first appoint 6 members as follows: 
(i) The agency shall appoint 2 mem-
bers on a random basis from the majority 
category of the approved selection pool (as 
described in section 2412(b)(1)(A)). 
(ii) The agency shall appoint 2 mem-
bers on a random basis from the minority 
category of the approved selection pool (as 
described in section 2412(b)(1)(B)). 
(iii) The agency shall appoint 2 mem-
bers on a random basis from the inde-
pendent category of the approved selection 
pool 
(as 
described 
in 
section 
2412(b)(1)(C)). 
(B) Not later than November 15 of a year 
ending in the numeral zero, the members ap-
pointed by the agency under subparagraph (A) 
shall, at a public meeting held not earlier than
234 
15 days after notice of the meeting has been 
given to the public, then appoint 9 members as 
follows: 
(i) The members shall appoint 3 mem-
bers from the majority category of the ap-
proved selection pool (as described in sec-
tion 2412(b)(1)(A)). 
(ii) The members shall appoint 3 
members from the minority category of the 
approved selection pool (as described in 
section 2412(b)(1)(B)). 
(iii) The members shall appoint 3 
members from the independent category of 
the approved selection pool (as described in 
section 2412(b)(1)(C)). 
(2) RULES
FOR
APPOINTMENT
OF
MEMBERS 
APPOINTED BY FIRST MEMBERS.— 
(A) AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF AT LEAST 4 
MEMBERS.—The appointment of any of the 9 
members of the independent redistricting com-
mission who are appointed by the first members 
of the commission pursuant to subparagraph 
(B) of paragraph (1), as well as the designation 
of alternates for such members pursuant to 
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) and the ap-
235 
pointment of alternates to fill vacancies pursu-
ant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4), shall 
require the affirmative vote of at least 4 of the 
members appointed by the nonpartisan agency 
under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), in-
cluding at least one member from each of the 
categories referred to in such subparagraph. 
(B) ENSURING DIVERSITY.—In appointing 
the 9 members pursuant to subparagraph (B) 
of paragraph (1), as well as in designating al-
ternates pursuant to subparagraph (B) of para-
graph (3) and in appointing alternates to fill 
vacancies pursuant to subparagraph (B) of 
paragraph (4), the first members of the inde-
pendent redistricting commission shall ensure 
that the membership is representative of the de-
mographic groups (including racial, ethnic, eco-
nomic, and gender) and geographic regions of 
the State, and provides racial, ethnic, and lan-
guage minorities protected under the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 with a meaningful oppor-
tunity to participate in the development of the 
State’s redistricting plan. 
(3) DESIGNATION OF ALTERNATES TO SERVE 
IN CASE OF VACANCIES.—
236 
(A) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY AGENCY.— 
At the time the agency appoints the members 
of the independent redistricting commission 
under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) from 
each of the categories referred to in such sub-
paragraph, the agency shall, on a random basis, 
designate 2 other individuals from such cat-
egory to serve as alternate members who may 
be appointed to fill vacancies in the commission 
in accordance with paragraph (4). 
(B) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY FIRST MEM-
BERS.—At the time the members appointed by 
the agency appoint the other members of the 
independent redistricting commission under 
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) from each 
of the categories referred to in such subpara-
graph, the members shall, in accordance with 
the special rules described in paragraph (2), 
designate 2 other individuals from such cat-
egory to serve as alternate members who may 
be appointed to fill vacancies in the commission 
in accordance with paragraph (4). 
(4) APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES TO SERVE 
IN CASE OF VACANCIES.—
237 
(A) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY AGENCY.—If 
a vacancy occurs in the commission with respect 
to a member who was appointed by the non-
partisan agency under subparagraph (A) of 
paragraph (1) from one of the categories re-
ferred to in such subparagraph, the agency 
shall fill the vacancy by appointing, on a ran-
dom basis, one of the 2 alternates from such 
category who was designated under subpara-
graph (A) of paragraph (3). At the time the 
agency appoints an alternate to fill a vacancy 
under the previous sentence, the agency shall 
designate, on a random basis, another indi-
vidual from the same category to serve as an al-
ternate member, in accordance with subpara-
graph (A) of paragraph (3). 
(B) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY FIRST MEM-
BERS.—If a vacancy occurs in the commission 
with respect to a member who was appointed by 
the first members of the commission under sub-
paragraph (B) of paragraph (1) from one of the 
categories referred to in such subparagraph, the 
first members shall, in accordance with the spe-
cial rules described in paragraph (2), fill the va-
cancy by appointing one of the 2 alternates
238 
from such category who was designated under 
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3). At the time 
the first members appoint an alternate to fill a 
vacancy under the previous sentence, the first 
members shall, in accordance with the special 
rules described in paragraph (2), designate an-
other individual from the same category to 
serve as an alternate member, in accordance 
with subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3). 
(5) REMOVAL.—A member of the independent 
redistricting commission may be removed by a ma-
jority vote of the remaining members of the commis-
sion if it is shown by a preponderance of the evi-
dence that the member is not eligible to serve on the 
commission under section 2412(a). 
(b) PROCEDURES
FOR CONDUCTING COMMISSION 
BUSINESS.— 
(1) CHAIR.—Members of an independent redis-
tricting commission established under this section 
shall select by majority vote one member who was 
appointed from the independent category of the ap-
proved 
selection 
pool 
described 
in 
section 
2412(b)(1)(C) to serve as chair of the commission. 
The commission may not take any action to develop
239 
a redistricting plan for the State under section 2413 
until the appointment of the commission’s chair. 
(2) REQUIRING MAJORITY APPROVAL FOR AC-
TIONS.—The independent redistricting commission 
of a State may not publish and disseminate any 
draft or final redistricting plan, or take any other 
action, without the approval of at least— 
(A) a majority of the whole membership of 
the commission; and 
(B) at least one member of the commission 
appointed from each of the categories of the ap-
proved selection pool described in section 
2412(b)(1). 
(3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 
the commission shall constitute a quorum. 
(c) STAFF; CONTRACTORS.— 
(1) STAFF.—Under a public application process 
in which all application materials are available for 
public inspection, the independent redistricting com-
mission of a State shall appoint and set the pay of 
technical experts, legal counsel, consultants, and 
such other staff as it considers appropriate, subject 
to State law. 
(2) CONTRACTORS.—The independent redis-
tricting commission of a State may enter into such
240 
contracts with vendors as it considers appropriate, 
subject to State law, except that any such contract 
shall be valid only if approved by the vote of a ma-
jority of the members of the commission, including 
at least one member appointed from each of the cat-
egories of the approved selection pool described in 
section 2412(b)(1). 
(3) REPORTS ON EXPENDITURES FOR POLIT-
ICAL ACTIVITY.— 
(A) REPORT BY APPLICANTS.—Each indi-
vidual who applies for a position as an employee 
of the independent redistricting commission and 
each vendor who applies for a contract with the 
commission shall, at the time of applying, file 
with the commission a report summarizing— 
(i) any expenditure for political activ-
ity made by such individual or vendor dur-
ing the 10 most recent calendar years; and 
(ii) any income received by such indi-
vidual or vendor during the 10 most recent 
calendar years which is attributable to an 
expenditure for political activity. 
(B) ANNUAL
REPORTS
BY
EMPLOYEES 
AND VENDORS.—Each person who is an em-
ployee or vendor of the independent redis-
241 
tricting commission shall, not later than one 
year after the person is appointed as an em-
ployee or enters into a contract as a vendor (as 
the case may be) and annually thereafter for 
each year during which the person serves as an 
employee or a vendor, file with the commission 
a report summarizing the expenditures and in-
come described in subparagraph (A) during the 
10 most recent calendar years. 
(C) EXPENDITURE FOR POLITICAL ACTIV-
ITY
DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term 
‘‘expenditure for political activity’’ means a dis-
bursement for any of the following: 
(i) An independent expenditure, as de-
fined in section 301(17) of the Federal 
Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 
30101(17)). 
(ii) An electioneering communication, 
as defined in section 304(f)(3) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 30104(f)(3)) or any other pub-
lic communication, as defined in section 
301(22) 
of 
such 
Act 
(52 
U.S.C. 
30101(22)) that would be an electioneering 
communication if it were a broadcast, 
cable, or satellite communication.
242 
(iii) Any dues or other payments to 
trade associations or organizations de-
scribed in section 501(c) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 
tax under section 501(a) of such Code that 
are, or could reasonably be anticipated to 
be, used or transferred to another associa-
tion or organization for a use described in 
paragraph (1), (2), or (4) of section 501(c) 
of such Code. 
(4) GOAL OF IMPARTIALITY.—The commission 
shall take such steps as it considers appropriate to 
ensure that any staff appointed under this sub-
section, and any vendor with whom the commission 
enters into a contract under this subsection, will 
work in an impartial manner, and may require any 
person who applies for an appointment to a staff po-
sition or for a vendor’s contract with the commission 
to provide information on the person’s history of po-
litical activity beyond the information on the per-
son’s expenditures for political activity provided in 
the reports required under paragraph (3) (including 
donations to candidates, political committees, and 
political parties) as a condition of the appointment 
or the contract.
243 
(5) DISQUALIFICATION; WAIVER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The independent redis-
tricting commission may not appoint an indi-
vidual as an employee, and may not enter into 
a contract with a vendor, if the individual or 
vendor meets any of the criteria for the dis-
qualification of an individual from serving as a 
member of the commission which are set forth 
in section 2412(a)(2). 
(B) WAIVER.—The commission may by 
unanimous vote of its members waive the appli-
cation of subparagraph (A) to an individual or 
a vendor after receiving and reviewing the re-
port filed by the individual or vendor under 
paragraph (3). 
(d) TERMINATION.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The independent redis-
tricting commission of a State shall terminate on the 
earlier of— 
(A) June 14 of the next year ending in the 
numeral zero; or 
(B) the day on which the nonpartisan 
agency established or designated by a State 
under section 2414(a) has, in accordance with 
section 2412(b)(1), submitted a selection pool
244 
to the Select Committee on Redistricting for the 
State established under section 2414(b). 
(2) PRESERVATION
OF
RECORDS.—The State 
shall ensure that the records of the independent re-
districting commission are retained in the appro-
priate State archive in such manner as may be nec-
essary to enable the State to respond to any civil ac-
tion brought with respect to congressional redis-
tricting in the State. 
SEC. 2412. ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECTION POOL OF INDI-
VIDUALS ELIGIBLE TO SERVE AS MEMBERS 
OF COMMISSION. 
(a) CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—An individual is eligible to 
serve as a member of an independent redistricting 
commission if the individual meets each of the fol-
lowing criteria: 
(A) As of the date of appointment, the in-
dividual is registered to vote in elections for 
Federal office held in the State. 
(B) During the 3-year period ending on 
the date of the individual’s appointment, the in-
dividual has been continuously registered to 
vote with the same political party, or has not 
been registered to vote with any political party.
245 
(C) The individual submits to the non-
partisan agency established or designated by a 
State under section 2413, at such time and in 
such form as the agency may require, an appli-
cation for inclusion in the selection pool under 
this section, and includes with the application a 
written statement, with an attestation under 
penalty of perjury, containing the following in-
formation and assurances: 
(i) The full current name and any 
former names of, and the contact informa-
tion for, the individual, including an elec-
tronic mail address, the address of the in-
dividual’s residence, mailing address, and 
telephone numbers. 
(ii) The individual’s race, ethnicity, 
gender, age, date of birth, and household 
income for the most recent taxable year. 
(iii) The political party with which the 
individual is affiliated, if any. 
(iv) The reason or reasons the indi-
vidual desires to serve on the independent 
redistricting commission, the individual’s 
qualifications, and information relevant to
246 
the ability of the individual to be fair and 
impartial, including, but not limited to— 
(I) any involvement with, or fi-
nancial support of, professional, so-
cial, political, religious, or community 
organizations or causes; 
(II) the individual’s employment 
and educational history. 
(v) An assurance that the individual 
shall commit to carrying out the individ-
ual’s duties under this subtitle in an hon-
est, independent, and impartial fashion, 
and to upholding public confidence in the 
integrity of the redistricting process. 
(vi) An assurance that, during the 
covered periods described in paragraph (3), 
the individual has not taken and will not 
take any action which would disqualify the 
individual from serving as a member of the 
commission under paragraph (2). 
(2) DISQUALIFICATIONS.—An individual is not 
eligible to serve as a member of the commission if 
any of the following applies during any of the cov-
ered periods described in paragraph (3):
247 
(A) The individual or (in the case of the 
covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 
member of the individual holds public office or 
is a candidate for election for public office. 
(B) The individual or (in the case of the 
covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 
member of the individual serves as an officer of 
a political party or as an officer, employee, or 
paid consultant of a campaign committee of a 
candidate for public office or of any political ac-
tion committee (as determined in accordance 
with the law of the State). 
(C) The individual or (in the case of the 
covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 
member of the individual holds a position as a 
registered lobbyist under the Lobbying Disclo-
sure Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) or an 
equivalent State or local law. 
(D) The individual or (in the case of the 
covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 
member of the individual is an employee of an
248 
elected public official, a contractor with the gov-
ernment of the State, or a donor to the cam-
paign of any candidate for public office or to 
any political action committee (other than a 
donor who, during any of such covered periods, 
gives an aggregate amount of $1,000 or less to 
the campaigns of all candidates for all public 
offices and to all political action committees). 
(E) The individual or (in the case of the 
covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 
member of the individual paid a civil money 
penalty or criminal fine, or was sentenced to a 
term of imprisonment, for violating any provi-
sion of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.). 
(F) The individual or (in the case of the 
covered periods described in subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) of paragraph (3)) an immediate family 
member of the individual is an agent of a for-
eign principal under the Foreign Agents Reg-
istration Act of 1938, as amended (22 U.S.C. 
611 et seq.). 
(3) COVERED
PERIODS
DESCRIBED.—In this 
subsection, the term ‘‘covered period’’ means, with
249 
respect to the appointment of an individual to the 
commission, any of the following: 
(A) The 10-year period ending on the date 
of the individual’s appointment. 
(B) The period beginning on the date of 
the individual’s appointment and ending on Au-
gust 14 of the next year ending in the numeral 
one. 
(C) The 10-year period beginning on the 
day after the last day of the period described in 
subparagraph (B). 
(4) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER DEFINED.—In 
this subsection, the term ‘‘immediate family mem-
ber’’ means, with respect to an individual, a father, 
stepfather, mother, stepmother, son, stepson, daugh-
ter, stepdaughter, brother, stepbrother, sister, step-
sister, husband, wife, father-in-law, or mother-in- 
law. 
(b) DEVELOPMENT AND SUBMISSION OF SELECTION 
POOL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than June 15 of 
each year ending in the numeral zero, the non-
partisan agency established or designated by a State 
under section 2414(a) shall develop and submit to 
the Select Committee on Redistricting for the State
250 
established under section 2414(b) a selection pool of 
36 individuals who are eligible to serve as members 
of the independent redistricting commission of the 
State under this subtitle, consisting of individuals in 
the following categories: 
(A) A majority category, consisting of 12 
individuals who are affiliated with the political 
party whose candidate received the most votes 
in the most recent Statewide election for Fed-
eral office held in the State. 
(B) A minority category, consisting of 12 
individuals who are affiliated with the political 
party whose candidate received the second most 
votes in the most recent Statewide election for 
Federal office held in the State. 
(C) An independent category, consisting of 
12 individuals who are not affiliated with either 
of the political parties described in subpara-
graph (A) or subparagraph (B). 
(2) FACTORS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT IN DEVEL-
OPING POOL.—In selecting individuals for the selec-
tion pool under this subsection, the nonpartisan 
agency shall— 
(A) ensure that the pool is representative 
of the demographic groups (including racial,
251 
ethnic, economic, and gender) and geographic 
regions of the State, and includes applicants 
who would allow racial, ethnic, and language 
minorities protected under the Voting Rights 
Act of 1965 a meaningful opportunity to par-
ticipate in the development of the State’s redis-
tricting plan; and 
(B) take into consideration the analytical 
skills of the individuals selected in relevant 
fields (including mapping, data management, 
law, community outreach, demography, and the 
geography of the State) and their ability to 
work on an impartial basis. 
(3) INTERVIEWS
OF
APPLICANTS.—To assist 
the nonpartisan agency in developing the selection 
pool under this subsection, the nonpartisan agency 
shall conduct interviews of applicants under oath. If 
an individual is included in a selection pool devel-
oped under this section, all of the interviews of the 
individual shall be transcribed and the transcriptions 
made available on the nonpartisan agency’s website 
contemporaneously with release of the report under 
paragraph (6). 
(4) DETERMINATION OF POLITICAL PARTY AF-
FILIATION OF INDIVIDUALS IN SELECTION POOL.—
252 
For purposes of this section, an individual shall be 
considered to be affiliated with a political party only 
if the nonpartisan agency is able to verify (to the 
greatest extent possible) the information the indi-
vidual provides in the application submitted under 
subsection (a)(1)(D), including by considering addi-
tional information provided by other persons with 
knowledge of the individual’s history of political ac-
tivity. 
(5) ENCOURAGING RESIDENTS TO APPLY FOR 
INCLUSION IN POOL.—The nonpartisan agency shall 
take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that 
residents of the State across various geographic re-
gions and demographic groups are aware of the op-
portunity to serve on the independent redistricting 
commission, including publicizing the role of the 
panel and using newspapers, broadcast media, and 
online sources, including ethnic media, to encourage 
individuals to apply for inclusion in the selection 
pool developed under this subsection. 
(6) REPORT
ON
ESTABLISHMENT
OF
SELEC-
TION POOL.—At the time the nonpartisan agency 
submits the selection pool to the Select Committee 
on Redistricting under paragraph (1), it shall pub-
lish and post on the agency’s public website a report
253 
describing the process by which the pool was devel-
oped, and shall include in the report a description of 
how the individuals in the pool meet the eligibility 
criteria of subsection (a) and of how the pool reflects 
the factors the agency is required to take into con-
sideration under paragraph (2). 
(7) PUBLIC COMMENT ON SELECTION POOL.— 
During the 14-day period which begins on the date 
the nonpartisan agency publishes the report under 
paragraph (6), the agency shall accept comments 
from the public on the individuals included in the se-
lection pool. The agency shall post all such com-
ments contemporaneously on the nonpartisan agen-
cy’s website and shall transmit them to the Select 
Committee on Redistricting immediately upon the 
expiration of such period. 
(8) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not earlier than 15 
days and not later than 21 days after receiving 
the selection pool from the nonpartisan agency 
under paragraph (1), the Select Committee on 
Redistricting shall— 
(i) approve the pool as submitted by 
the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 
pool shall be considered the approved selec-
254 
tion 
pool 
for 
purposes 
of 
section 
2411(a)(1); or 
(ii) reject the pool, in which case the 
nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub-
mit a replacement selection pool in accord-
ance with subsection (c). 
(B) INACTION
DEEMED
REJECTION.—If 
the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 
approve or reject the pool within the deadline 
set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com-
mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 
for purposes of such subparagraph. 
(c) DEVELOPMENT
OF REPLACEMENT SELECTION 
POOL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Select Committee on 
Redistricting rejects the selection pool submitted by 
the nonpartisan agency under subsection (b), not 
later than 14 days after the rejection, the non-
partisan agency shall develop and submit to the Se-
lect Committee a replacement selection pool, under 
the same terms and conditions that applied to the 
development and submission of the selection pool 
under paragraphs (1) through (7) of subsection (b). 
The replacement pool submitted under this para-
graph may include individuals who were included in
255 
the rejected selection pool submitted under sub-
section (b), so long as at least one of the individuals 
in the replacement pool was not included in such re-
jected pool. 
(2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 21 days 
after receiving the replacement selection pool 
from the nonpartisan agency under paragraph 
(1), the Select Committee on Redistricting 
shall— 
(i) approve the pool as submitted by 
the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 
pool shall be considered the approved selec-
tion 
pool 
for 
purposes 
of 
section 
2411(a)(1); or 
(ii) reject the pool, in which case the 
nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub-
mit a second replacement selection pool in 
accordance with subsection (d). 
(B) INACTION
DEEMED
REJECTION.—If 
the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 
approve or reject the pool within the deadline 
set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com-
mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 
for purposes of such subparagraph.
256 
(d) DEVELOPMENT OF SECOND REPLACEMENT SE-
LECTION POOL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Select Committee on 
Redistricting rejects the replacement selection pool 
submitted by the nonpartisan agency under sub-
section (c), not later than 14 days after the rejec-
tion, the nonpartisan agency shall develop and sub-
mit to the Select Committee a second replacement 
selection pool, under the same terms and conditions 
that applied to the development and submission of 
the selection pool under paragraphs (1) through (7) 
of subsection (b). The second replacement selection 
pool submitted under this paragraph may include in-
dividuals who were included in the rejected selection 
pool submitted under subsection (b) or the rejected 
replacement selection pool submitted under sub-
section (c), so long as at least one of the individuals 
in the replacement pool was not included in either 
such rejected pool. 
(2) ACTION BY SELECT COMMITTEE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not earlier than 15 
days and not later than 14 days after receiving 
the second replacement selection pool from the 
nonpartisan agency under paragraph (1), the 
Select Committee on Redistricting shall—
257 
(i) approve the pool as submitted by 
the nonpartisan agency, in which case the 
pool shall be considered the approved selec-
tion 
pool 
for 
purposes 
of 
section 
2411(a)(1); or 
(ii) reject the pool. 
(B) INACTION
DEEMED
REJECTION.—If 
the Select Committee on Redistricting fails to 
approve or reject the pool within the deadline 
set forth in subparagraph (A), the Select Com-
mittee shall be deemed to have rejected the pool 
for purposes of such subparagraph. 
(C) EFFECT OF REJECTION.—If the Select 
Committee on Redistricting rejects the second 
replacement pool from the nonpartisan agency 
under paragraph (1), the redistricting plan for 
the State shall be developed and enacted in ac-
cordance with part 3. 
SEC. 2413. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING PLAN BY INDE-
PENDENT COMMISSION; PUBLIC NOTICE AND 
INPUT. 
(a) DEVELOPMENT OF REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 
(1) CRITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 
plan of a State, the independent redistricting com-
mission of a State shall establish single-member con-
258 
gressional districts using the following criteria as set 
forth in the following order of priority: 
(A) Districts shall comply with the United 
States Constitution, including the requirement 
that they equalize total population. 
(B) Districts shall comply with the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) 
and all applicable Federal laws. 
(C) Districts shall provide racial, ethnic, 
and language minorities with an equal oppor-
tunity to participate in the political process and 
to elect candidates of choice and shall not dilute 
or diminish their ability to elect candidates of 
choice whether alone or in coalition with others. 
(D) Districts shall respect communities of 
interest, neighborhoods, and political subdivi-
sions to the extent practicable and after compli-
ance with the requirements of subparagraphs 
(A) through (C). A community of interest is de-
fined as an area with recognized similarities of 
interests, including but not limited to ethnic, 
racial, economic, social, cultural, geographic or 
historic identities. The term communities of in-
terest may, in certain circumstances, include 
political subdivisions such as counties, munici-
259 
palities, or school districts, but shall not include 
common relationships with political parties or 
political candidates. 
(2) NO FAVORING OR DISFAVORING OF POLIT-
ICAL PARTIES.—Except as may be required to meet 
the criteria described in paragraph (1), the redis-
tricting plan developed by the independent redis-
tricting commission shall not, when considered on a 
Statewide basis, unduly favor or disfavor any polit-
ical party. 
(3) FACTORS
PROHIBITED
FROM
CONSIDER-
ATION.—In developing the redistricting plan for the 
State, the independent redistricting commission may 
not take into consideration any of the following fac-
tors, except to the extent necessary to comply with 
the criteria described in subparagraphs (A) through 
(C) of paragraph (1), paragraph (2), and to enable 
the redistricting plan to be measured against the ex-
ternal metrics described in subsection (e): 
(A) The residence of any Member of the 
House of Representatives or candidate. 
(B) The political party affiliation or voting 
history of the population of a district. 
(b) PUBLIC NOTICE AND INPUT.—
260 
(1) USE OF OPEN AND TRANSPARENT PROC-
ESS.—The independent redistricting commission of a 
State shall hold each of its meetings in public, shall 
solicit and take into consideration comments from 
the public, including proposed maps, throughout the 
process of developing the redistricting plan for the 
State, and shall carry out its duties in an open and 
transparent manner which provides for the widest 
public dissemination reasonably possible of its pro-
posed and final redistricting plans. 
(2) WEBSITE.— 
(A) FEATURES.—The commission shall 
maintain a public Internet site which is not af-
filiated with or maintained by the office of any 
elected official and which includes the following 
features: 
(i) General information on the com-
mission, its role in the redistricting proc-
ess, and its members, including contact in-
formation. 
(ii) An updated schedule of commis-
sion hearings and activities, including 
deadlines for the submission of comments. 
(iii) All draft redistricting plans devel-
oped by the commission under subsection
261 
(c) and the final redistricting plan devel-
oped under subsection (d), including the 
accompanying written evaluation under 
subsection (e). 
(iv) All comments received from the 
public on the commission’s activities, in-
cluding any proposed maps submitted 
under paragraph (1). 
(v) Live streaming of commission 
hearings and an archive of previous meet-
ings, including any documents considered 
at any such meeting, which the commission 
shall post not later than 24 hours after the 
conclusion of the meeting. 
(vi) Access in an easily useable format 
to the demographic and other data used by 
the commission to develop and analyze the 
proposed redistricting plans, together with 
access to any software used to draw maps 
of proposed districts and to any reports 
analyzing and evaluating any such maps. 
(vii) A method by which members of 
the public may submit comments and pro-
posed maps directly to the commission.
262 
(viii) All records of the commission, 
including all communications to or from 
members, employees, and contractors re-
garding the work of the commission. 
(ix) A list of all contractors receiving 
payment from the commission, together 
with the annual disclosures submitted by 
the contractors under section 2411(c)(3). 
(x) A list of the names of all individ-
uals who submitted applications to serve 
on the commission, together with the appli-
cations submitted by individuals included 
in any selection pool, except that the com-
mission may redact from such applications 
any financial or other personally sensitive 
information. 
(B) SEARCHABLE FORMAT.—The commis-
sion shall ensure that all information posted 
and maintained on the site under this para-
graph, including information and proposed 
maps submitted by the public, shall be main-
tained in an easily searchable format. 
(C) DEADLINE.—The commission shall en-
sure that the public internet site under this 
paragraph is operational (in at least a prelimi-
263 
nary format) not later than January 1 of the 
year ending in the numeral one. 
(3) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The commis-
sion shall solicit, accept, and consider comments 
from the public with respect to its duties, activities, 
and procedures at any time during the period— 
(A) which begins on January 1 of the year 
ending in the numeral one; and 
(B) which ends 7 days before the date of 
the meeting at which the commission shall vote 
on approving the final redistricting plan for en-
actment into law under subsection (d)(2). 
(4) MEETINGS AND HEARINGS IN VARIOUS GEO-
GRAPHIC LOCATIONS.—To the greatest extent prac-
ticable, the commission shall hold its meetings and 
hearings in various geographic regions and locations 
throughout the State. 
(5) MULTIPLE LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR 
ALL NOTICES.—The commission shall make each no-
tice which is required to be posted and published 
under this section available in any language in which 
the State (or any jurisdiction in the State) is re-
quired to provide election materials under section 
203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
264 
(c) DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF PRELIMI-
NARY REDISTRICTING PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Prior to developing and pub-
lishing a final redistricting plan under subsection 
(d), the independent redistricting commission of a 
State shall develop and publish a preliminary redis-
tricting plan. 
(2) MINIMUM PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OPPOR-
TUNITY FOR COMMENT PRIOR TO DEVELOPMENT.— 
(A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—Prior to de-
veloping a preliminary redistricting plan under 
this subsection, the commission shall hold not 
fewer than 3 public hearings at which members 
of the public may provide input and comments 
regarding the potential contents of redistricting 
plans for the State and the process by which 
the commission will develop the preliminary 
plan under this subsection. 
(B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR 
TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 
to the date of each hearing held under this 
paragraph, the commission shall post notices of 
the hearing in on the website maintained under 
subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub-
lication of such notices in newspapers of general
265 
circulation throughout the State. Each such no-
tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 
the hearing. 
(C) SUBMISSION OF PLANS AND MAPS BY 
MEMBERS
OF
THE
PUBLIC.—Any member of 
the public may submit maps or portions of 
maps for consideration by the commission. As 
provided under subsection (b)(2)(A), any such 
map shall be made publicly available on the 
commission’s website and open to comment. 
(3) PUBLICATION OF PRELIMINARY PLAN.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The commission shall 
post the preliminary redistricting plan devel-
oped under this subsection, together with a re-
port that includes the commission’s responses 
to any public comments received under sub-
section (b)(3), on the website maintained under 
subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub-
lication of each such plan in newspapers of gen-
eral circulation throughout the State. 
(B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR 
TO
PUBLICATION.—Not fewer than 14 days 
prior to the date on which the commission posts 
and publishes the preliminary plan under this 
paragraph, the commission shall notify the pub-
266 
lic through the website maintained under sub-
section (b)(2), as well as through publication of 
notice in newspapers of general circulation 
throughout the State, of the pending publica-
tion of the plan. 
(4) MINIMUM POST-PUBLICATION PERIOD FOR 
PUBLIC
COMMENT.—The commission shall accept 
and consider comments from the public (including 
through the website maintained under subsection 
(b)(2)) with respect to the preliminary redistricting 
plan published under paragraph (3), including pro-
posed revisions to maps, for not fewer than 30 days 
after the date on which the plan is published. 
(5) POST-PUBLICATION HEARINGS.— 
(A) 3 HEARINGS REQUIRED.—After post-
ing and publishing the preliminary redistricting 
plan under paragraph (3), the commission shall 
hold not fewer than 3 public hearings in dif-
ferent geographic areas of the State at which 
members of the public may provide input and 
comments regarding the preliminary plan. 
(B) MINIMUM PERIOD FOR NOTICE PRIOR 
TO HEARINGS.—Not fewer than 14 days prior 
to the date of each hearing held under this 
paragraph, the commission shall post notices of
267 
the hearing in on the website maintained under 
subsection (b)(2), and shall provide for the pub-
lication of such notices in newspapers of general 
circulation throughout the State. Each such no-
tice shall specify the date, time, and location of 
the hearing. 
(6) 
PERMITTING
MULTIPLE
PRELIMINARY 
PLANS.—At the option of the commission, after de-
veloping and publishing the preliminary redistricting 
plan under this subsection, the commission may de-
velop and publish subsequent preliminary redis-
tricting plans, so long as the process for the develop-
ment and publication of each such subsequent plan 
meets the requirements set forth in this subsection 
for the development and publication of the first pre-
liminary redistricting plan. 
(d) PROCESS FOR ENACTMENT OF FINAL REDIS-
TRICTING PLAN.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—After taking into consider-
ation comments from the public on any preliminary 
redistricting plan developed and published under 
subsection (c), the independent redistricting commis-
sion of a State shall develop and publish a final re-
districting plan for the State.
268 
(2) MEETING; FINAL VOTE.—Not later than the 
deadline specified in subsection (h), the commission 
shall hold a public hearing at which the members of 
the commission shall vote on approving the final 
plan for enactment into law. 
(3) PUBLICATION OF PLAN AND ACCOMPANYING 
MATERIALS.—Not fewer than 14 days before the 
date of the meeting under paragraph (2), the com-
mission shall provide the following information to 
the public through the website maintained under 
subsection (b)(2), as well as through newspapers of 
general circulation throughout the State: 
(A) The final redistricting plan, including 
all relevant maps. 
(B) A report by the commission to accom-
pany the plan which provides the background 
for the plan and the commission’s reasons for 
selecting the plan as the final redistricting plan, 
including responses to the public comments re-
ceived on any preliminary redistricting plan de-
veloped and published under subsection (c). 
(C) Any dissenting or additional views with 
respect to the plan of individual members of the 
commission.
269 
(4) ENACTMENT.—The final redistricting plan 
developed and published under this subsection shall 
be deemed to be enacted into law if— 
(A) the plan is approved by a majority of 
the whole membership of the commission; and 
(B) at least one member of the commission 
appointed from each of the categories of the ap-
proved selection pool described in section 
2412(b)(1) approves the plan. 
(e) WRITTEN EVALUATION OF PLAN AGAINST EX-
TERNAL METRICS.—The independent redistricting com-
mission shall include with each redistricting plan devel-
oped and published under this section a written evaluation 
that measures each such plan against external metrics 
which cover the criteria set forth in paragraph (1) of sub-
section (a), including the impact of the plan on the ability 
of communities of color to elect candidates of choice, 
measures of partisan fairness using multiple accepted 
methodologies, and the degree to which the plan preserves 
or divides communities of interest. 
(f) TIMING.—The independent redistricting commis-
sion of a State may begin its work on the redistricting 
plan of the State upon receipt of relevant population infor-
mation from the Bureau of the Census, and shall approve 
a final redistricting plan for the State in each year ending
270 
in the numeral one not later than 8 months after the date 
on which the State receives the State apportionment notice 
or October 1, whichever occurs later. 
SEC. 2414. ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATED ENTITIES. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT
OR DESIGNATION
OF NON-
PARTISAN AGENCY OF STATE LEGISLATURE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall establish a 
nonpartisan agency in the legislative branch of the 
State government to appoint the members of the 
independent redistricting commission for the State 
in accordance with section 2411. 
(2) NONPARTISANSHIP DESCRIBED.—For pur-
poses of this subsection, an agency shall be consid-
ered to be nonpartisan if under law the agency— 
(A) is required to provide services on a 
nonpartisan basis; 
(B) is required to maintain impartiality; 
and 
(C) is prohibited from advocating for the 
adoption or rejection of any legislative proposal. 
(3) TRAINING
OF
MEMBERS
APPOINTED
TO 
COMMISSION.—Not later than January 15 of a year 
ending in the numeral one, the nonpartisan agency 
established or designated under this subsection shall 
provide the members of the independent redistricting
271 
commission with initial training on their obligations 
as members of the commission, including obligations 
under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other ap-
plicable laws. 
(4) REGULATIONS.—The nonpartisan agency 
established or designated under this subsection shall 
adopt and publish regulations, after notice and op-
portunity for comment, establishing the procedures 
that the agency will follow in fulfilling its duties 
under this subtitle, including the procedures to be 
used in vetting the qualifications and political affili-
ation of applicants and in creating the selection 
pools, the randomized process to be used in selecting 
the initial members of the independent redistricting 
commission, and the rules that the agency will apply 
to ensure that the agency carries out its duties 
under this subtitle in a maximally transparent, pub-
licly accessible, and impartial manner. 
(5) DESIGNATION
OF
EXISTING
AGENCY.—At 
its option, a State may designate an existing agency 
in the legislative branch of its government to appoint 
the members of the independent redistricting com-
mission plan for the State under this subtitle, so 
long as the agency meets the requirements for non-
partisanship under this subsection.
272 
(6) TERMINATION
OF
AGENCY
SPECIFICALLY 
ESTABLISHED FOR REDISTRICTING.—If a State does 
not designate an existing agency under paragraph 
(5) but instead establishes a new agency to serve as 
the nonpartisan agency under this section, the new 
agency shall terminate upon the enactment into law 
of the redistricting plan for the State. 
(7) PRESERVATION
OF
RECORDS.—The State 
shall ensure that the records of the nonpartisan 
agency are retained in the appropriate State archive 
in such manner as may be necessary to enable the 
State to respond to any civil action brought with re-
spect to congressional redistricting in the State. 
(8) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re-
quirements of this subsection not later than each 
October 15 of a year ending in the numeral nine. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SELECT COMMITTEE ON RE-
DISTRICTING.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State shall appoint a 
Select Committee on Redistricting to approve or dis-
approve a selection pool developed by the inde-
pendent redistricting commission for the State under 
section 2412.
273 
(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Select Committee on 
Redistricting for a State under this subsection shall 
consist of the following members: 
(A) One member of the upper house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
leader of the party with the greatest number of 
seats in the upper house. 
(B) One member of the upper house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
leader of the party with the second greatest 
number of seats in the upper house. 
(C) One member of the lower house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
leader of the party with the greatest number of 
seats in the lower house. 
(D) One member of the lower house of the 
State legislature, who shall be appointed by the 
leader of the party with the second greatest 
number of seats in the lower house. 
(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR STATES WITH UNICAM-
ERAL LEGISLATURE.—In the case of a State with a 
unicameral legislature, the Select Committee on Re-
districting for the State under this subsection shall 
consist of the following members:
274 
(A) Two members of the State legislature 
appointed by the chair of the political party of 
the State whose candidate received the highest 
percentage of votes in the most recent State-
wide election for Federal office held in the 
State. 
(B) Two members of the State legislature 
appointed by the chair of the political party 
whose candidate received the second highest 
percentage of votes in the most recent State-
wide election for Federal office held in the 
State. 
(4) DEADLINE.—The State shall meet the re-
quirements of this subsection not later than each 
January 15 of a year ending in the numeral zero. 
SEC. 2415. REPORT ON DIVERSITY OF MEMBERSHIPS OF 
INDEPENDENT 
REDISTRICTING 
COMMIS-
SIONS. 
Not later than May 15 of a year ending in the nu-
meral one, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to Congress a report on the extent to which 
the memberships of independent redistricting commissions 
for States established under this part with respect to the 
immediately preceding year ending in the numeral zero
275 
meet the diversity requirements as provided for in sections 
2411(a)(2)(B) and 2412(b)(2). 
PART 3—ROLE OF COURTS IN DEVELOPMENT OF 
REDISTRICTING PLANS 
SEC. 2421. ENACTMENT OF PLAN DEVELOPED BY 3-JUDGE 
COURT. 
(a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—If any of the trig-
gering events described in subsection (f) occur with re-
spect to a State— 
(1) not later than December 15 of the year in 
which the triggering event occurs, the United States 
district court for the applicable venue, acting 
through a 3-judge Court convened pursuant to sec-
tion 2284 of title 28, United States Code, shall de-
velop and publish the congressional redistricting 
plan for the State; and 
(2) the final plan developed and published by 
the Court under this section shall be deemed to be 
enacted on the date on which the Court publishes 
the final plan, as described in subsection (d). 
(b) APPLICABLE VENUE DESCRIBED.—For purposes 
of this section, the ‘‘applicable venue’’ with respect to a 
State is the District of Columbia or the judicial district 
in which the capital of the State is located, as selected 
by the first party to file with the court sufficient evidence
276 
of the occurrence of a triggering event described in sub-
section (f). 
(c) PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.— 
(1) CRITERIA.—In developing a redistricting 
plan for a State under this section, the Court shall 
adhere to the same terms and conditions that ap-
plied (or that would have applied, as the case may 
be) to the development of a plan by the independent 
redistricting commission of the State under section 
2413(a). 
(2) ACCESS TO INFORMATION AND RECORDS OF 
COMMISSION.—The Court shall have access to any 
information, data, software, or other records and 
material that was used (or that would have been 
used, as the case may be) by the independent redis-
tricting commission of the State in carrying out its 
duties under this subtitle. 
(3) HEARING; PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—In de-
veloping a redistricting plan for a State, the Court 
shall— 
(A) hold one or more evidentiary hearings 
at which interested members of the public may 
appear and be heard and present testimony, in-
cluding expert testimony, in accordance with 
the rules of the Court; and
277 
(B) consider other submissions and com-
ments by the public, including proposals for re-
districting plans to cover the entire State or 
any portion of the State. 
(4) USE OF SPECIAL MASTER.—To assist in the 
development and publication of a redistricting plan 
for a State under this section, the Court may ap-
point a special master to make recommendations to 
the Court on possible plans for the State. 
(d) PUBLICATION OF PLAN.— 
(1) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INITIAL PLAN.— 
Upon completing the development of one or more 
initial redistricting plans, the Court shall make the 
plans available to the public at no cost, and shall 
also make available the underlying data used by the 
Court to develop the plans and a written evaluation 
of the plans against external metrics (as described in 
section 2413(e)). 
(2) PUBLICATION
OF
FINAL
PLAN.—At any 
time after the expiration of the 14-day period which 
begins on the date the Court makes the plans avail-
able to the public under paragraph (1), and taking 
into consideration any submissions and comments by 
the public which are received during such period, the
278 
Court shall develop and publish the final redis-
tricting plan for the State. 
(e) USE OF INTERIM PLAN.—In the event that the 
Court is not able to develop and publish a final redis-
tricting plan for the State with sufficient time for an up-
coming election to proceed, the Court may develop and 
publish an interim redistricting plan which shall serve as 
the redistricting plan for the State until the Court devel-
ops and publishes a final plan in accordance with this sec-
tion. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to limit 
or otherwise affect the authority or discretion of the Court 
to develop and publish the final redistricting plan, includ-
ing but not limited to the discretion to make any changes 
the Court deems necessary to an interim redistricting 
plan. 
(f) TRIGGERING EVENTS DESCRIBED.—The ‘‘trig-
gering events’’ described in this subsection are as follows: 
(1) The failure of the State to establish or des-
ignate a nonpartisan agency of the State legislature 
under section 2414(a) prior to the expiration of the 
deadline set forth in section 2414(a)(5). 
(2) The failure of the State to appoint a Select 
Committee on Redistricting under section 2414(b) 
prior to the expiration of the deadline set forth in 
section 2414(b)(4).
279 
(3) The failure of the Select Committee on Re-
districting to approve any selection pool under sec-
tion 2412 prior to the expiration of the deadline set 
forth for the approval of the second replacement se-
lection pool in section 2412(d)(2). 
(4) The failure of the independent redistricting 
commission of the State to approve a final redis-
tricting plan for the State prior to the expiration of 
the deadline set forth in section 2413(f). 
SEC. 2422. SPECIAL RULE FOR REDISTRICTING CON-
DUCTED UNDER ORDER OF FEDERAL COURT. 
If a Federal court requires a State to conduct redis-
tricting subsequent to an apportionment of Representa-
tives in the State in order to comply with the Constitution 
or to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965, section 2413 
shall apply with respect to the redistricting, except that 
the court may revise any of the deadlines set forth in such 
section if the court determines that a revision is appro-
priate in order to provide for a timely enactment of a new 
redistricting plan for the State.
280 
PART 4—ADMINISTRATIVE AND MISCELLANEOUS 
PROVISIONS 
SEC. 2431. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR CARRYING OUT RE-
DISTRICTING. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF PAYMENTS.—Subject to sub-
section (d), not later than 30 days after a State receives 
a State apportionment notice, the Election Assistance 
Commission shall, subject to the availability of appropria-
tions provided pursuant to subsection (e), make a payment 
to the State in an amount equal to the product of— 
(1) the number of Representatives to which the 
State is entitled, as provided under the notice; and 
(2) $150,000. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use the payment 
made under this section to establish and operate the 
State’s independent redistricting commission, to imple-
ment the State redistricting plan, and to otherwise carry 
out congressional redistricting in the State. 
(c) NO PAYMENT TO STATES WITH SINGLE MEM-
BER.—The Election Assistance Commission shall not 
make a payment under this section to any State which 
is not entitled to more than one Representative under its 
State apportionment notice. 
(d) REQUIRING SUBMISSION OF SELECTION POOL AS 
CONDITION OF PAYMENT.—
281 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in 
paragraph (2) and paragraph (3), the Election As-
sistance Commission may not make a payment to a 
State under this section until the State certifies to 
the Commission that the nonpartisan agency estab-
lished or designated by a State under section 
2414(a) has, in accordance with section 2412(b)(1), 
submitted a selection pool to the Select Committee 
on Redistricting for the State established under sec-
tion 2414(b). 
(2) EXCEPTION
FOR
STATES
WITH
EXISTING 
COMMISSIONS.—In the case of a State which, pursu-
ant to section 2401(c), is exempt from the require-
ments of section 2401(a), the Commission may not 
make a payment to the State under this section until 
the State certifies to the Commission that its redis-
tricting commission meets the requirements of sec-
tion 2401(c). 
(3) EXCEPTION FOR STATE OF IOWA.—In the 
case of the State of Iowa, the Commission may not 
make a payment to the State under this section until 
the State certifies to the Commission that it will 
carry out congressional redistricting pursuant to the 
State’s apportionment notice in accordance with a 
plan developed by the Iowa Legislative Services
282 
Agency with the assistance of a Temporary Redis-
tricting Advisory Commission, as provided under the 
law described in section 2401(d). 
(e) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary for payments under this section. 
SEC. 2432. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The At-
torney General may bring a civil action in an appro-
priate district court for such relief as may be appro-
priate to carry out this subtitle. 
(2) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC-
TION.—Any citizen of a State who is aggrieved by 
the failure of the State to meet the requirements of 
this subtitle may bring a civil action in the United 
States district court for the applicable venue for 
such relief as may be appropriate to remedy the fail-
ure. For purposes of this section, the ‘‘applicable 
venue’’ is the District of Columbia or the judicial 
district in which the capital of the State is located, 
as selected by the person who brings the civil action. 
(b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—In any action 
brought forth under this section, the following rules shall 
apply:
283 
(1) The action shall be filed in the district court 
of the United States for the District of Columbia or 
for the judicial district in which the capital of the 
State is located, as selected by the person bringing 
the action. 
(2) The action shall be heard by a 3-judge 
court convened pursuant to section 2284 of title 28, 
United States Code. 
(3) The 3-judge court shall consolidate actions 
brought for relief under subsection (b)(1) with re-
spect to the same State redistricting plan. 
(4) A copy of the complaint shall be delivered 
promptly to the Clerk of the House of Representa-
tives and the Secretary of the Senate. 
(5) A final decision in the action shall be re-
viewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme 
Court of the United States. Such appeal shall be 
taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10 
days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement 
within 30 days, of the entry of the final decision. 
(6) It shall be the duty of the district court and 
the Supreme Court of the United States to advance 
on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos-
sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal.
284 
(c) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 
section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 
than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ-
ing litigation expenses, and costs. 
(d) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 
(1) RIGHTS
AND
REMEDIES
ADDITIONAL
TO 
OTHER
RIGHTS
AND
REMEDIES.—The rights and 
remedies established by this section are in addition 
to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and 
neither the rights and remedies established by this 
section nor any other provision of this subtitle shall 
supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et 
seq.). 
(2) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.—Nothing in 
this subtitle authorizes or requires conduct that is 
prohibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 
U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 
SEC. 2433. STATE APPORTIONMENT NOTICE DEFINED. 
In this subtitle, the ‘‘State apportionment notice’’ 
means, with respect to a State, the notice sent to the State 
from the Clerk of the House of Representatives under sec-
tion 22(b) of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the 
fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and to pro-
vide for an apportionment of Representatives in Con-
285 
gress’’, approved June 18, 1929 (2 U.S.C. 2a), of the 
number of Representatives to which the State is entitled. 
SEC. 2434. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND 
LOCAL OFFICE. 
Nothing in this subtitle or in any amendment made 
by this subtitle may be construed to affect the manner 
in which a State carries out elections for State or local 
office, including the process by which a State establishes 
the districts used in such elections. 
SEC. 2435. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This subtitle and the amendments made by this sub-
title shall apply with respect to redistricting carried out 
pursuant to the decennial census conducted during 2020 
or any succeeding decennial census. 
Subtitle F—Saving Eligible Voters 
From Voter Purging 
SEC. 2501. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Automatically 
Voiding Eligible Voters Off Their Enlisted Rolls in States 
Act’’ or the ‘‘Save Voters Act’’. 
SEC. 2502. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF VOTERS FROM 
LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 
(a) CONDITIONS DESCRIBED.—The National Voter 
Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.) is
286 
amended by inserting after section 8 the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 8A. CONDITIONS FOR REMOVAL OF VOTERS FROM 
OFFICIAL LIST OF REGISTERED VOTERS. 
‘‘(a) VERIFICATION ON BASIS OF OBJECTIVE AND 
RELIABLE EVIDENCE OF INELIGIBILITY.— 
‘‘(1) 
REQUIRING
VERIFICATION.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of this Act, a State 
may not remove the name of any registrant from the 
official list of voters eligible to vote in elections for 
Federal office in the State unless the State verifies, 
on the basis of objective and reliable evidence, that 
the registrant is ineligible to vote in such elections. 
‘‘(2) FACTORS NOT CONSIDERED AS OBJECTIVE 
AND RELIABLE EVIDENCE OF INELIGIBILITY.—For 
purposes of paragraph (1), the following factors, or 
any combination thereof, shall not be treated as ob-
jective and reliable evidence of a registrant’s ineligi-
bility to vote: 
‘‘(A) The failure of the registrant to vote 
in any election. 
‘‘(B) The failure of the registrant to re-
spond to any notice sent under section 8(d), un-
less the notice has been returned as undeliver-
able.
287 
‘‘(C) The failure of the registrant to take 
any other action with respect to voting in any 
election or with respect to the registrant’s sta-
tus as a registrant. 
‘‘(b) NOTICE AFTER REMOVAL.— 
‘‘(1) NOTICE TO INDIVIDUAL REMOVED.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 48 
hours after a State removes the name of a reg-
istrant from the official list of eligible voters for 
any reason (other than the death of the reg-
istrant), the State shall send notice of the re-
moval to the former registrant, and shall in-
clude in the notice the grounds for the removal 
and information on how the former registrant 
may contest the removal or be reinstated, in-
cluding a telephone number for the appropriate 
election official. 
‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTIONS.—Subparagraph 
(A) 
does not apply in the case of a registrant— 
‘‘(i) who sends written confirmation to 
the State that the registrant is no longer 
eligible to vote in the registrar’s jurisdic-
tion in which the registrant was registered; 
or
288 
‘‘(ii) who is removed from the official 
list of eligible voters by reason of the death 
of the registrant. 
‘‘(2) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Not later than 48 hours 
after conducting any general program to remove the 
names of ineligible voters from the official list of eli-
gible voters (as described in section 8(a)(4)), the 
State shall disseminate a public notice through such 
methods as may be reasonable to reach the general 
public (including by publishing the notice in a news-
paper of wide circulation or posting the notice on the 
websites of the appropriate election officials) that 
list maintenance is taking place and that registrants 
should check their registration status to ensure no 
errors or mistakes have been made. The State shall 
ensure that the public notice disseminated under this 
paragraph is in a format that is reasonably conven-
ient and accessible to voters with disabilities, includ-
ing voters who have low vision or are blind.’’. 
(b) CONDITIONS FOR TRANSMISSION OF NOTICES OF 
REMOVAL.—Section 8(d) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
20507(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) A State may not transmit a notice to a 
registrant under this subsection unless the State ob-
289 
tains objective and reliable evidence (in accordance 
with the standards for such evidence which are de-
scribed in section 8A(a)(2)) that the registrant has 
changed residence to a place outside the registrar’s 
jurisdiction in which the registrant is registered.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT OF 
1993.—Section 8(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
20507(a)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘pro-
vide’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, pro-
vide’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘con-
duct’’ and inserting ‘‘subject to section 8A, con-
duct’’. 
(2) HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Section 
303(a)(4)(A) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(4)(A)) is amended by striking 
‘‘, registrants’’ and inserting ‘‘, and subject to sec-
tion 8A of such Act, registrants’’. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
290 
Subtitle G—No Effect on Authority 
of States to Provide Greater Op-
portunities for Voting 
SEC. 2601. NO EFFECT ON AUTHORITY OF STATES TO PRO-
VIDE GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOT-
ING. 
Nothing in this title or the amendments made by this 
title may be construed to prohibit any State from enacting 
any law which provides greater opportunities for individ-
uals to register to vote and to vote in elections for Federal 
office than are provided by this title and the amendments 
made by this title. 
Subtitle H—Residence of 
Incarcerated Individuals 
SEC. 2701. RESIDENCE OF INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS. 
Section 141 of title 13, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (h); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(g)(1) Effective beginning with the 2020 decennial 
census of population, in taking any tabulation of total pop-
ulation by States under subsection (a) for purposes of the 
apportionment of Representatives in Congress among the
291 
several States, the Secretary shall, with respect to an indi-
vidual incarcerated in a State, Federal, county, or munic-
ipal correctional center as of the date on which such cen-
sus is taken, attribute such individual to such individual’s 
last place of residence before incarceration. 
‘‘(2) In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary 
shall consult with each State department of corrections to 
collect the information necessary to make the determina-
tion required under paragraph (1).’’. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
SEC. 2801. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this title or amendment made by 
this title, or the application of a provision or amendment 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu-
tional, the remainder of this title and amendments made 
by this title, and the application of the provisions and 
amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 
affected by the holding. 
TITLE III—ELECTION SECURITY 
Sec. 3000. Short title; sense of Congress. 
Subtitle A—Financial Support for Election Infrastructure 
PART 1—VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS 
Sec. 3001. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and car-
rying out voting system security improvements. 
Sec. 3002. Coordination of voting system security activities with use of require-
ments payments and election administration requirements 
under Help America Vote Act of 2002. 
Sec. 3003. Incorporation of definitions. 
PART 2—GRANTS FOR RISK-LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS
292 
Sec. 3011. Grants to States for conducting risk-limiting audits of results of 
elections. 
Sec. 3012. GAO analysis of effects of audits. 
PART 3—ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM 
Sec. 3021. Election infrastructure innovation grant program. 
Subtitle B—Security Measures 
Sec. 3101. Election infrastructure designation. 
Sec. 3102. Timely threat information. 
Sec. 3103. Security clearance assistance for election officials. 
Sec. 3104. Security risk and vulnerability assessments. 
Sec. 3105. Annual reports. 
Sec. 3106. Pre-election threat assessments. 
Subtitle C—Enhancing Protections for United States Democratic Institutions 
Sec. 3201. National strategy to protect United States democratic institutions. 
Sec. 3202. National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institu-
tions. 
Subtitle D—Promoting Cybersecurity Through Improvements in Election 
Administration 
Sec. 3301. Testing of existing voting systems to ensure compliance with election 
cybersecurity guidelines and other guidelines. 
Sec. 3302. Treatment of electronic poll books as part of voting systems. 
Sec. 3303. Pre-election reports on voting system usage. 
Sec. 3304. Streamlining collection of election information. 
Subtitle E—Preventing Election Hacking 
Sec. 3401. Short title. 
Sec. 3402. Election Security Bug Bounty Program. 
Sec. 3403. Definitions. 
Subtitle F—Election Security Grants Advisory Committee 
Sec. 3501. Establishment of advisory committee. 
Subtitle G—Miscellaneous Provisions 
Sec. 3601. Definitions. 
Sec. 3602. Initial report on adequacy of resources available for implementation. 
Subtitle H—Use of Voting Machines Manufactured in the United States 
Sec. 3701. Use of voting machines manufactured in the United States. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
Sec. 3801. Severability.
293 
SEC. 3000. SHORT TITLE; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the 
‘‘Election Security Act’’. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON NEED TO IMPROVE 
ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY.—It is the sense 
of Congress that, in light of the lessons learned from Rus-
sian interference in the 2016 Presidential election, the 
Federal Government should intensify its efforts to improve 
the security of election infrastructure in the United States, 
including through the use of individual, durable, paper 
ballots marked by the voter by hand. 
Subtitle A—Financial Support for 
Election Infrastructure 
PART 1—VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY 
IMPROVEMENT GRANTS 
SEC. 3001. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER 
BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING 
OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVE-
MENTS. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.—Subtitle D of title 
II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 
21001 et seq.), as amended by section 1905(a), is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new part:
294 
‘‘PART 8—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT 
PAPER BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CAR-
RYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IM-
PROVEMENTS 
‘‘SEC. 298. GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER 
BALLOT VOTING SYSTEMS AND CARRYING 
OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVE-
MENTS. 
‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY AND USE OF GRANT.—The Com-
mission shall make a grant to each eligible State— 
‘‘(1) to replace a voting system— 
‘‘(A) which does not meet the requirements 
which are first imposed on the State pursuant 
to the amendments made by the Voter Con-
fidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2019 
with a voting system which does meet such re-
quirements, for use in the regularly scheduled 
general elections for Federal office held in No-
vember 2020, or 
‘‘(B) which does meet such requirements 
but which is not in compliance with the most 
recent voluntary voting system guidelines issued 
by the Commission prior to the regularly sched-
uled general election for Federal office held in 
November 2020 with another system which does
295 
meet such requirements and is in compliance 
with such guidelines; 
‘‘(2) to carry out voting system security im-
provements described in section 298A with respect 
to the regularly scheduled general elections for Fed-
eral office held in November 2020 and each suc-
ceeding election for Federal office; and 
‘‘(3) to implement and model best practices for 
ballot design, ballot instructions, and the testing of 
ballots. 
‘‘(b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a grant 
made to a State under this section shall be such amount 
as the Commission determines to be appropriate, except 
that such amount may not be less than the product of 
$1 and the average of the number of individuals who cast 
votes in any of the two most recent regularly scheduled 
general elections for Federal office held in the State. 
‘‘(c) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—If the amount of 
funds appropriated for grants under this part is insuffi-
cient to ensure that each State receives the amount of the 
grant calculated under subsection (b), the Commission 
shall make such pro rata reductions in such amounts as 
may be necessary to ensure that the entire amount appro-
priated under this part is distributed to the States.
296 
‘‘(d) SURPLUS APPROPRIATIONS.—If the amount of 
funds appropriated for grants authorized under section 
298D(a)(2) exceed the amount necessary to meet the re-
quirements of subsection (b), the Commission shall con-
sider the following in making a determination to award 
remaining funds to a State: 
‘‘(1) The record of the State in carrying out the 
following with respect to the administration of elec-
tions for Federal office: 
‘‘(A) Providing voting machines that are 
less than 10 years old. 
‘‘(B) Implementing strong chain of custody 
procedures for the physical security of voting 
equipment and paper records at all stages of 
the process. 
‘‘(C) Conducting pre-election testing on 
every voting machine and ensuring that paper 
ballots are available wherever electronic ma-
chines are used. 
‘‘(D) Maintaining offline backups of voter 
registration lists. 
‘‘(E) Providing a secure voter registration 
database that logs requests submitted to the 
database.
297 
‘‘(F) Publishing and enforcing a policy de-
tailing use limitations and security safeguards 
to protect the personal information of voters in 
the voter registration process. 
‘‘(G) Providing secure processes and proce-
dures for reporting vote tallies. 
‘‘(H) Providing a secure platform for dis-
seminating vote totals. 
‘‘(2) Evidence of established conditions of inno-
vation and reform in providing voting system secu-
rity and the proposed plan of the State for imple-
menting additional conditions. 
‘‘(3) Evidence of collaboration between relevant 
stakeholders, including local election officials, in de-
veloping the grant implementation plan described in 
section 298B. 
‘‘(4) The plan of the State to conduct a rig-
orous evaluation of the effectiveness of the activities 
carried out with the grant. 
‘‘(e) ABILITY OF REPLACEMENT SYSTEMS TO AD-
MINISTER RANKED CHOICE ELECTIONS.—To the greatest 
extent practicable, an eligible State which receives a grant 
to replace a voting system under this section shall ensure 
that the replacement system is capable of administering 
a system of ranked choice voting under which each voter
298 
shall rank the candidates for the office in the order of 
the voter’s preference. 
‘‘SEC. 298A. VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS 
DESCRIBED. 
‘‘(a) PERMITTED USES.—A voting system security 
improvement described in this section is any of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) The acquisition of goods and services from 
qualified election infrastructure vendors by purchase, 
lease, or such other arrangements as may be appro-
priate. 
‘‘(2) Cyber and risk mitigation training. 
‘‘(3) A security risk and vulnerability assess-
ment of the State’s election infrastructure which is 
carried out by a provider of cybersecurity services 
under a contract entered into between the chief 
State election official and the provider. 
‘‘(4) The maintenance of election infrastruc-
ture, including addressing risks and vulnerabilities 
which are identified under either of the security risk 
and vulnerability assessments described in para-
graph (3), except that none of the funds provided 
under this part may be used to renovate or replace 
a building or facility which is used primarily for pur-
299 
poses other than the administration of elections for 
public office. 
‘‘(5) Providing increased technical support for 
any information technology infrastructure that the 
chief State election official deems to be part of the 
State’s election infrastructure or designates as crit-
ical to the operation of the State’s election infra-
structure. 
‘‘(6) Enhancing the cybersecurity and oper-
ations of the information technology infrastructure 
described in paragraph (4). 
‘‘(7) Enhancing the cybersecurity of voter reg-
istration systems. 
‘‘(b) QUALIFIED ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE VEN-
DORS DESCRIBED.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this part, 
a ‘qualified election infrastructure vendor’ is any 
person who provides, supports, or maintains, or who 
seeks to provide, support, or maintain, election in-
frastructure on behalf of a State, unit of local gov-
ernment, or election agency (as defined in section 
3501 of the Election Security Act) who meets the 
criteria described in paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) CRITERIA.—The criteria described in this 
paragraph are such criteria as the Chairman, in co-
300 
ordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, 
shall establish and publish, and shall include each of 
the following requirements: 
‘‘(A) The vendor must be owned and con-
trolled by a citizen or permanent resident of the 
United States. 
‘‘(B) The vendor must disclose to the 
Chairman and the Secretary, and to the chief 
State election official of any State to which the 
vendor provides any goods and services with 
funds provided under this part, of any sourcing 
outside the United States for parts of the elec-
tion infrastructure. 
‘‘(C) The vendor agrees to ensure that the 
election infrastructure will be developed and 
maintained in a manner that is consistent with 
the cybersecurity best practices issued by the 
Technical Guidelines Development Committee. 
‘‘(D) The vendor agrees to maintain its in-
formation technology infrastructure in a man-
ner that is consistent with the cybersecurity 
best practices issued by the Technical Guide-
lines Development Committee. 
‘‘(E) The vendor agrees to meet the re-
quirements of paragraph (3) with respect to
301 
any known or suspected cybersecurity incidents 
involving any of the goods and services provided 
by the vendor pursuant to a grant under this 
part. 
‘‘(F) The vendor agrees to permit inde-
pendent security testing by the Commission (in 
accordance with section 231(a)) and by the Sec-
retary of the goods and services provided by the 
vendor pursuant to a grant under this part. 
‘‘(3) CYBERSECURITY
INCIDENT
REPORTING 
REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A vendor meets the 
requirements of this paragraph if, upon becom-
ing aware of the possibility that an election cy-
bersecurity incident has occurred involving any 
of the goods and services provided by the ven-
dor pursuant to a grant under this part— 
‘‘(i) the vendor promptly assesses 
whether or not such an incident occurred, 
and submits a notification meeting the re-
quirements of subparagraph (B) to the 
Secretary and the Chairman of the assess-
ment as soon as practicable (but in no case 
later than 3 days after the vendor first be-
302 
comes aware of the possibility that the in-
cident occurred); 
‘‘(ii) if the incident involves goods or 
services provided to an election agency, the 
vendor submits a notification meeting the 
requirements of subparagraph (B) to the 
agency as soon as practicable (but in no 
case later than 3 days after the vendor 
first becomes aware of the possibility that 
the incident occurred), and cooperates with 
the agency in providing any other nec-
essary notifications relating to the inci-
dent; and 
‘‘(iii) the vendor provides all necessary 
updates to any notification submitted 
under clause (i) or clause (ii). 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS
OF
NOTIFICATIONS.— 
Each notification submitted under clause (i) or 
clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) shall contain 
the following information with respect to any 
election cybersecurity incident covered by the 
notification: 
‘‘(i) The date, time, and time zone 
when the election cybersecurity incident 
began, if known.
303 
‘‘(ii) The date, time, and time zone 
when the election cybersecurity incident 
was detected. 
‘‘(iii) The date, time, and duration of 
the election cybersecurity incident. 
‘‘(iv) The circumstances of the elec-
tion cybersecurity incident, including the 
specific election infrastructure systems be-
lieved to have been accessed and informa-
tion acquired, if any. 
‘‘(v) Any planned and implemented 
technical measures to respond to and re-
cover from the incident. 
‘‘(vi) In the case of any notification 
which is an update to a prior notification, 
any additional material information relat-
ing to the incident, including technical 
data, as it becomes available. 
‘‘SEC. 298B. ELIGIBILITY OF STATES. 
‘‘A State is eligible to receive a grant under this part 
if the State submits to the Commission, at such time and 
in such form as the Commission may require, an applica-
tion containing—
304 
‘‘(1) a description of how the State will use the 
grant to carry out the activities authorized under 
this part; 
‘‘(2) a certification and assurance that, not 
later than 5 years after receiving the grant, the 
State will carry out risk-limiting audits and will 
carry out voting system security improvements, as 
described in section 298A; and 
‘‘(3) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
‘‘SEC. 298C. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 
‘‘Not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal 
year, the Commission shall submit a report to the appro-
priate congressional committees, including the Committees 
on Homeland Security, House Administration, and the Ju-
diciary of the House of Representatives and the Commit-
tees on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the 
Judiciary, and Rules and Administration of the Senate, 
on the activities carried out with the funds provided under 
this part. 
‘‘SEC. 298D. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be 
appropriated for grants under this part— 
‘‘(1) $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and
305 
‘‘(2) $175,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 
2020, 2022, 2024, and 2026. 
‘‘(b) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Any 
amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
this section shall remain available until expended.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by section 1905(b), is amended 
by adding at the end of the items relating to subtitle D 
of title II the following: 
‘‘PART 8—GRANTS FOR OBTAINING COMPLIANT PAPER BALLOT VOTING 
SYSTEMS AND CARRYING OUT VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS 
‘‘Sec. 298. Grants for obtaining compliant paper ballot voting systems and 
carrying out voting system security improvements. 
‘‘Sec. 298A. Voting system security improvements described. 
‘‘Sec. 298B. Eligibility of States. 
‘‘Sec. 298C. Reports to Congress. 
‘‘Sec. 298D. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 3002. COORDINATION OF VOTING SYSTEM SECURITY 
ACTIVITIES WITH USE OF REQUIREMENTS 
PAYMENTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION 
REQUIREMENTS 
UNDER 
HELP 
AMERICA 
VOTE ACT OF 2002. 
(a) DUTIES
OF ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMIS-
SION.—Section 202 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 20922) is amended in the matter preceding 
paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘by’’ and inserting ‘‘and the se-
curity of election infrastructure by’’. 
(b) MEMBERSHIP OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SE-
CURITY ON BOARD OF ADVISORS OF ELECTION ASSIST-
306 
ANCE COMMISSION.—Section 214(a) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 20944(a)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘37 members’’ and inserting 
‘‘38 members’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(17) The Secretary of Homeland Security or 
the Secretary’s designee.’’. 
(c) REPRESENTATIVE OF DEPARTMENT OF HOME-
LAND SECURITY ON TECHNICAL GUIDELINES DEVELOP-
MENT COMMITTEE.—Section 221(c)(1) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 20961(c)(1)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub-
paragraph (F); and 
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) A representative of the Department 
of Homeland Security.’’. 
(d) GOALS OF PERIODIC STUDIES OF ELECTION AD-
MINISTRATION ISSUES; CONSULTATION WITH SECRETARY 
OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Section 241(a) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 20981(a)) is amended— 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘the Commission shall’’ and inserting ‘‘the
307 
Commission, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Homeland Security (as appropriate), shall’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(3); 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (5); and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(4) will be secure against attempts to under-
mine the integrity of election systems by cyber or 
other means; and’’. 
(e) REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS.— 
(1) USE OF PAYMENTS FOR VOTING SYSTEM 
SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS.—Section 251(b) of such 
Act (52 U.S.C. 21001(b)), as amended by section 
1061(a)(2), is further amended by adding at the end 
the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) PERMITTING USE OF PAYMENTS FOR VOT-
ING
SYSTEM
SECURITY
IMPROVEMENTS.—A State 
may use a requirements payment to carry out any 
of the following activities: 
‘‘(A) Cyber and risk mitigation training. 
‘‘(B) Providing increased technical support 
for any information technology infrastructure 
that the chief State election official deems to be
308 
part of the State’s election infrastructure or 
designates as critical to the operation of the 
State’s election infrastructure. 
‘‘(C) Enhancing the cybersecurity and op-
erations of the information technology infra-
structure described in subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(D) Enhancing the security of voter reg-
istration databases.’’. 
(2) INCORPORATION
OF
ELECTION
INFRA-
STRUCTURE PROTECTION IN STATE PLANS FOR USE 
OF PAYMENTS.—Section 254(a)(1) of such Act (52 
U.S.C. 21004(a)(1)) is amended by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, including the protec-
tion of election infrastructure.’’. 
(3) COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE 
FOR DEVELOPING STATE PLAN FOR USE OF PAY-
MENTS.—Section 255 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 
21005) is amended— 
(A) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub-
section (c); and 
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the 
following new subsection: 
‘‘(b) GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION.—The mem-
bers of the committee shall be a representative group of 
individuals from the State’s counties, cities, towns, and
309 
Indian tribes, and shall represent the needs of rural as 
well as urban areas of the State, as the case may be.’’. 
(f) ENSURING
PROTECTION
OF
COMPUTERIZED 
STATEWIDE
VOTER
REGISTRATION
LIST.—Section 
303(a)(3) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21083(a)(3)) is amend-
ed by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘, as 
well as other measures to prevent and deter cybersecurity 
incidents, as identified by the Commission, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, and the Technical Guidelines De-
velopment Committee.’’. 
SEC. 3003. INCORPORATION OF DEFINITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 901 of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141) is amended to read 
as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 901. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this Act, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘cybersecurity incident’ has the 
meaning given the term ‘incident’ in section 227 of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148). 
‘‘(2) The term ‘election infrastructure’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 3501 of the 
Election Security Act. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘State’ means each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United
310 
States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by amending the item relating to 
section 901 to read as follows: 
‘‘Sec. 901. Definitions.’’. 
PART 2—GRANTS FOR RISK-LIMITING AUDITS OF 
RESULTS OF ELECTIONS 
SEC. 3011. GRANTS TO STATES FOR CONDUCTING RISK-LIM-
ITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.—Subtitle D of title 
II of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 
21001 et seq.), as amended by sections 1905(a) and 
3001(a), is amended by adding at the end the following 
new part: 
‘‘PART 9—GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK- 
LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS 
‘‘SEC. 299. GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK-LIMITING AU-
DITS OF RESULTS OF ELECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF GRANTS.—The Commission 
shall make a grant to each eligible State to conduct risk- 
limiting audits as described in subsection (b) with respect 
to the regularly scheduled general elections for Federal of-
fice held in November 2020 and each succeeding election 
for Federal office.
311 
‘‘(b) RISK-LIMITING AUDITS DESCRIBED.—In this 
part, a ‘risk-limiting audit’ is a post-election process— 
‘‘(1) which is conducted in accordance with 
rules and procedures established by the chief State 
election official of the State which meet the require-
ments of subsection (c); and 
‘‘(2) under which, if the reported outcome of 
the election is incorrect, there is at least a predeter-
mined percentage chance that the audit will replace 
the incorrect outcome with the correct outcome as 
determined by a full, hand-to-eye tabulation of all 
votes validly cast in that election that ascertains 
voter intent manually and directly from voter- 
verifiable paper records. 
‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS
FOR
RULES
AND
PROCE-
DURES.—The rules and procedures established for con-
ducting a risk-limiting audit shall include the following 
elements: 
‘‘(1) Rules for ensuring the security of ballots 
and documenting that prescribed procedures were 
followed. 
‘‘(2) Rules and procedures for ensuring the ac-
curacy of ballot manifests produced by election agen-
cies.
312 
‘‘(3) Rules and procedures for governing the 
format of ballot manifests, cast vote records, and 
other data involved in the audit. 
‘‘(4) Methods to ensure that any cast vote 
records used in the audit are those used by the vot-
ing system to tally the election results sent to the 
chief State election official and made public. 
‘‘(5) Procedures for the random selection of 
ballots to be inspected manually during each audit. 
‘‘(6) Rules for the calculations and other meth-
ods to be used in the audit and to determine wheth-
er and when the audit of an election is complete. 
‘‘(7) Procedures and requirements for testing 
any software used to conduct risk-limiting audits. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this part, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘ballot manifest’ means a record 
maintained by each election agency that meets each 
of the following requirements: 
‘‘(A) The record is created without reliance 
on any part of the voting system used to tab-
ulate votes. 
‘‘(B) The record functions as a sampling 
frame for conducting a risk-limiting audit.
313 
‘‘(C) The record contains the following in-
formation with respect to the ballots cast and 
counted in the election: 
‘‘(i) The total number of ballots cast 
and counted by the agency (including 
undervotes, overvotes, and other invalid 
votes). 
‘‘(ii) The total number of ballots cast 
in each election administered by the agency 
(including undervotes, overvotes, and other 
invalid votes). 
‘‘(iii) A precise description of the 
manner in which the ballots are physically 
stored, including the total number of phys-
ical groups of ballots, the numbering sys-
tem for each group, a unique label for each 
group, and the number of ballots in each 
such group. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘incorrect outcome’ means an 
outcome that differs from the outcome that would be 
determined by a full tabulation of all votes validly 
cast in the election, determining voter intent manu-
ally, directly from voter-verifiable paper records. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘outcome’ means the winner of 
an election, whether a candidate or a position.
314 
‘‘(4) The term ‘reported outcome’ means the 
outcome of an election which is determined accord-
ing to the canvass and which will become the official, 
certified outcome unless it is revised by an audit, re-
count, or other legal process. 
‘‘SEC. 299A. ELIGIBILITY OF STATES. 
‘‘A State is eligible to receive a grant under this part 
if the State submits to the Commission, at such time and 
in such form as the Commission may require, an applica-
tion containing— 
‘‘(1) a certification that, not later than 5 years 
after receiving the grant, the State will conduct risk- 
limiting audits of the results of elections for Federal 
office held in the State as described in section 299; 
‘‘(2) a certification that, not later than one year 
after the date of the enactment of this section, the 
chief State election official of the State has estab-
lished or will establish the rules and procedures for 
conducting the audits which meet the requirements 
of section 299(c); 
‘‘(3) a certification that the audit shall be com-
pleted not later than the date on which the State 
certifies the results of the election; 
‘‘(4) a certification that, after completing the 
audit, the State shall publish a report on the results
315 
of the audit, together with such information as nec-
essary to confirm that the audit was conducted prop-
erly; 
‘‘(5) a certification that, if a risk-limiting audit 
conducted under this part leads to a full manual 
tally of an election, State law requires that the State 
or election agency shall use the results of the full 
manual tally as the official results of the election; 
and 
‘‘(6) such other information and assurances as 
the Commission may require. 
‘‘SEC. 299B. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for grants 
under this part $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2019, to re-
main available until expended.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act, as amended by sections 1905(b) and 3001(b), 
is further amended by adding at the end of the items relat-
ing to subtitle D of title II the following: 
‘‘PART 9—GRANTS FOR CONDUCTING RISK-LIMITING AUDITS OF RESULTS 
OF ELECTIONS 
‘‘Sec. 299. Grants for conducting risk-limiting audits of results of elec-
tions. 
‘‘Sec. 299A. Eligibility of States. 
‘‘Sec. 299B. Authorization of appropriations. 
SEC. 3012. GAO ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS OF AUDITS. 
(a) ANALYSIS.—Not later than 6 months after the 
first election for Federal office is held after grants are
316 
first awarded to States for conducting risk-limiting audits 
under part 9 of subtitle D of title II of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2002 (as added by section 3011) for con-
ducting risk-limiting audits of elections for Federal office, 
the Comptroller General of the United States shall con-
duct an analysis of the extent to which such audits have 
improved the administration of such elections and the se-
curity of election infrastructure in the States receiving 
such grants. 
(b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit a report on the analysis con-
ducted under subsection (a) to the appropriate congres-
sional committees. 
PART 3—ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE 
INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM 
SEC. 
3021. 
ELECTION 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
INNOVATION 
GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating the second section 319 (re-
lating to EMP and GMD mitigation research and 
development) as section 320; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sec-
tion:
317 
‘‘SEC. 
321. 
ELECTION 
INFRASTRUCTURE 
INNOVATION 
GRANT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting 
through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, 
in coordination with the Chairman of the Election Assist-
ance Commission (established pursuant to the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act of 2002) and in consultation with the Direc-
tor of the National Science Foundation and the Director 
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
shall establish a competitive grant program to award 
grants to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, for pur-
poses of research and development that are determined to 
have the potential to significantly improve the security (in-
cluding cybersecurity), quality, reliability, accuracy, acces-
sibility, and affordability of election infrastructure, and in-
crease voter participation. 
‘‘(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 
after the conclusion of each fiscal year for which grants 
are awarded under this section, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and the Com-
mittee on House Administration of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Homeland Security 
and Governmental Affairs and the Committee on Rules 
and Administration of the Senate a report describing such 
grants and analyzing the impact, if any, of such grants
318 
on the security and operation of election infrastructure, 
and on voter participation. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2027 
for purposes of carrying out this section. 
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 
‘‘(1) an institution of higher education (as de-
fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), including an institu-
tion of higher education that is a historically Black 
college or university (which has the meaning given 
the term ‘‘part B institution’’ in section 322 of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1061)) or other minority-serving in-
stitution listed in section 371(a) of such Act (20 
U.S.C. 1067q(a)); 
‘‘(2) an organization described in section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 
exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code; 
or 
‘‘(3) an organization, association, or a for-profit 
company, including a small business concern (as 
such term is defined under section 3 of the Small 
Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)), including a small
319 
business concern owned and controlled by socially 
and economically disadvantaged individuals as de-
fined under section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small Business 
Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)).’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 2 of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 
(20) as paragraphs (7) through (21), respectively; 
and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(6) ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 
‘election infrastructure’ means storage facilities, 
polling places, and centralized vote tabulation loca-
tions used to support the administration of elections 
for public office, as well as related information and 
communications technology, including voter registra-
tion databases, voting machines, electronic mail and 
other communications systems (including electronic 
mail and other systems of vendors who have entered 
into contracts with election agencies to support the 
administration of elections, manage the election 
process, and report and display election results), and 
other systems used to manage the election process
320 
and to report and display election results on behalf 
of an election agency.’’. 
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is 
amended by striking both items relating to section 319 
and the item relating to section 318 and inserting the fol-
lowing new items: 
‘‘Sec. 318. Social media working group. 
‘‘Sec. 319. Transparency in research and development. 
‘‘Sec. 320. EMP and GMD mitigation research and development. 
‘‘Sec. 321. Election infrastructure innovation grant program.’’. 
Subtitle B—Security Measures 
SEC. 3101. ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGNATION. 
Subparagraph (J) of section 2001(3) of the Home-
land Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601(3)) is amended 
by inserting ‘‘, including election infrastructure’’ before 
the period at the end. 
SEC. 3102. TIMELY THREAT INFORMATION. 
Subsection (d) of section 201 of the Homeland Secu-
rity Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 121) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(24) To provide timely threat information re-
garding election infrastructure to the chief State 
election official of the State with respect to which 
such information pertains.’’.
321 
SEC. 3103. SECURITY CLEARANCE ASSISTANCE FOR ELEC-
TION OFFICIALS. 
In order to promote the timely sharing of information 
on threats to election infrastructure, the Secretary may— 
(1) help expedite a security clearance for the 
chief State election official and other appropriate 
State personnel involved in the administration of 
elections, as designated by the chief State election 
official; 
(2) sponsor a security clearance for the chief 
State election official and other appropriate State 
personnel involved in the administration of elections, 
as designated by the chief State election official; and 
(3) facilitate the issuance of a temporary clear-
ance to the chief State election official and other ap-
propriate State personnel involved in the administra-
tion of elections, as designated by the chief State 
election official, if the Secretary determines classi-
fied information to be timely and relevant to the 
election infrastructure of the State at issue. 
SEC. 3104. SECURITY RISK AND VULNERABILITY ASSESS-
MENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (6) of section 2209(c) 
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 659(c)) 
is amended by inserting ‘‘(including by carrying out a se-
322 
curity risk and vulnerability assessment)’’ after ‘‘risk 
management support’’. 
(b) PRIORITIZATION TO ENHANCE ELECTION SECU-
RITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
receiving a written request from a chief State elec-
tion official, the Secretary shall, to the extent prac-
ticable, commence a security risk and vulnerability 
assessment (pursuant to paragraph (6) of section 
2209(c) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as 
amended by subsection (a)) on election infrastruc-
ture in the State at issue. 
(2) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary, upon re-
ceipt of a request described in paragraph (1), deter-
mines that a security risk and vulnerability assess-
ment cannot be commenced within 90 days, the Sec-
retary shall expeditiously notify the chief State elec-
tion official who submitted such request. 
SEC. 3105. ANNUAL REPORTS. 
(a) REPORTS ON ASSISTANCE AND ASSESSMENTS.— 
Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act and annually thereafter through 2026, the Sec-
retary shall submit to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees—
323 
(1) efforts to carry out section 203 during the 
prior year, including specific information on which 
States were helped, how many officials have been 
helped in each State, how many security clearances 
have been sponsored in each State, and how many 
temporary clearances have been issued in each State; 
and 
(2) efforts to carry out section 205 during the 
prior year, including specific information on which 
States were helped, the dates on which the Secretary 
received a request for a security risk and vulner-
ability assessment pursuant to such section, the 
dates on which the Secretary commenced each such 
request, and the dates on which the Secretary trans-
mitted a notification in accordance with subsection 
(b)(2) of such section. 
(b) REPORTS
ON FOREIGN THREATS.—Not later 
than 90 days after the end of each fiscal year (beginning 
with fiscal year 2019), the Secretary and the Director of 
National Intelligence, in coordination with the heads of 
appropriate offices of the Federal government, shall sub-
mit a joint report to the appropriate congressional com-
mittees on foreign threats to elections in the United 
States, including physical and cybersecurity threats.
324 
(c) INFORMATION FROM STATES.—For purposes of 
preparing the reports required under this section, the Sec-
retary shall solicit and consider information and comments 
from States and election agencies, except that the provi-
sion of such information and comments by a State or elec-
tion agency shall be voluntary and at the discretion of the 
State or agency. 
SEC. 3106. PRE-ELECTION THREAT ASSESSMENTS. 
(a) SUBMISSION
OF ASSESSMENT
BY DNI.—Not 
later than 180 days before the date of each regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office, the Director 
of National Intelligence shall submit an assessment of the 
full scope of threats to election infrastructure, including 
cybersecurity threats posed by state actors and terrorist 
groups, and recommendations to address or mitigate the 
threats, as developed by the Secretary and Chairman, to— 
(1) the chief State election official of each 
State; 
(2) the Committees on Homeland Security and 
House Administration of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committees on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs and Rules and Administration 
of the Senate; and 
(3) any other appropriate congressional com-
mittees.
325 
(b) UPDATES TO INITIAL ASSESSMENTS.—If, at any 
time after submitting an assessment with respect to an 
election under subsection (a), the Director of National In-
telligence determines that the assessment should be up-
dated to reflect new information regarding the threats in-
volved, the Director shall submit a revised assessment 
under such subsection. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi-
nitions apply: 
(1) The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means the chair of 
the Election Assistance Commission. 
(2) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ 
means, with respect to a State, the individual des-
ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20509) to be responsible for coordination of the 
State’s responsibilities under such Act. 
(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 
(including electronic mail and other systems of ven-
326 
dors who have entered into contracts with election 
agencies to support the administration of elections, 
manage the election process, and report and display 
election results), and other systems used to manage 
the election process and to report and display elec-
tion results on behalf of an election agency. 
(4) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Homeland Security. 
(5) The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 901 of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141). 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall apply with re-
spect to the regularly scheduled general election for Fed-
eral office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office. 
Subtitle C—Enhancing Protections 
for United States Democratic In-
stitutions 
SEC. 3201. NATIONAL STRATEGY TO PROTECT UNITED 
STATES DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President, acting 
through the Secretary, in consultation with the Chairman, 
the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the At-
torney General, the Secretary of Education, the Director
327 
of National Intelligence, the Chairman of the Federal 
Election Commission, and the heads of any other appro-
priate Federal agencies, shall issue a national strategy to 
protect against cyber attacks, influence operations, 
disinformation campaigns, and other activities that could 
undermine the security and integrity of United States 
democratic institutions. 
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—The national strategy re-
quired under subsection (a) shall include consideration of 
the following: 
(1) The threat of a foreign state actor, foreign 
terrorist organization (as designated pursuant to 
section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1189)), or a domestic actor carrying out 
a cyber attack, influence operation, disinformation 
campaign, or other activity aimed at undermining 
the security and integrity of United States demo-
cratic institutions. 
(2) The extent to which United States demo-
cratic institutions are vulnerable to a cyber attack, 
influence operation, disinformation campaign, or 
other activity aimed at undermining the security and 
integrity of such democratic institutions. 
(3) Potential consequences, such as an erosion 
of public trust or an undermining of the rule of law,
328 
that could result from a successful cyber attack, in-
fluence operation, disinformation campaign, or other 
activity aimed at undermining the security and in-
tegrity of United States democratic institutions. 
(4) Lessons learned from other Western govern-
ments the institutions of which were subject to a 
cyber attack, influence operation, disinformation 
campaign, or other activity aimed at undermining 
the security and integrity of such institutions, as 
well as actions that could be taken by the United 
States Government to bolster collaboration with for-
eign partners to detect, deter, prevent, and counter 
such activities. 
(5) Potential impacts such as an erosion of 
public trust in democratic institutions as could be 
associated with a successful cyber breach or other 
activity negatively-affecting election infrastructure. 
(6) Roles and responsibilities of the Secretary, 
the Chairman, and the heads of other Federal enti-
ties and non-Federal entities, including chief State 
election officials and representatives of multi-state 
information sharing and analysis center. 
(7) Any findings, conclusions, and recommenda-
tions to strengthen protections for United States 
democratic institutions that have been agreed to by
329 
a majority of Commission members on the National 
Commission to Protect United States Democratic 
Institutions, authorized pursuant to section 3202. 
(c) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.—Not later than 90 
days after the issuance of the national strategy required 
under subsection (a), the President, acting through the 
Secretary, in coordination with the Chairman, shall issue 
an implementation plan for Federal efforts to implement 
such strategy that includes the following: 
(1) Strategic objectives and corresponding 
tasks. 
(2) Projected timelines and costs for the tasks 
referred to in paragraph (1). 
(3) Metrics to evaluate performance of such 
tasks. 
(d) CLASSIFICATION.—The national strategy re-
quired under subsection (a) shall be in unclassified form. 
(e) CIVIL RIGHTS REVIEW.—Not later than 60 days 
after the issuance of the national strategy required under 
subsection (a), and not later than 60 days after the 
issuance of the implementation plan required under sub-
section (c), the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight 
Board (established under section 1061 of the Intelligence 
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (42 U.S.C. 
2000ee)) shall submit a report to Congress on any poten-
330 
tial privacy and civil liberties impacts of such strategy and 
implementation plan, respectively. 
SEC. 3202. NATIONAL COMMISSION TO PROTECT UNITED 
STATES DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 
the legislative branch the National Commission to Protect 
United States Democratic Institutions (hereafter in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’). 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission is to 
counter efforts to undermine democratic institutions with-
in the United States. 
(c) COMPOSITION.— 
(1) MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission shall be 
composed of 10 members appointed for the life of 
the Commission as follows: 
(A) One member shall be appointed by the 
Secretary. 
(B) One member shall be appointed by the 
Chairman. 
(C) Two members shall be appointed by 
the majority leader of the Senate, in consulta-
tion with the Chairman of the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 
the Chairman of the Committee on the Judici-
331 
ary, and the Chairman of the Committee on 
Rules and Administration. 
(D) Two members shall be appointed by 
the minority leader of the Senate, in consulta-
tion with the ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs, the ranking minority member of 
the Committee on the Judiciary, and the rank-
ing minority member of the Committee on 
Rules and Administration. 
(E) Two members shall be appointed by 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in 
consultation with the Chairman of the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security, the Chairman of 
the Committee on House Administration, and 
the Chairman of the Committee on the Judici-
ary. 
(F) Two members shall be appointed by 
the minority leader of the House of Representa-
tives, in consultation with the ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity, the ranking minority member of the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary, and the ranking minor-
ity member of the Committee on House Admin-
istration.
332 
(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Individuals shall be se-
lected for appointment to the Commission solely on 
the basis of their professional qualifications, achieve-
ments, public stature, experience, and expertise in 
relevant fields, including, but not limited to cyberse-
curity, national security, and the Constitution of the 
United States. 
(3) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.—Mem-
bers shall not receive compensation for service on 
the Commission, but shall receive travel expenses, 
including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in accord-
ance with chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 
(4) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—All mem-
bers of the Commission shall be appointed no later 
than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
(5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Commission 
shall not affect its powers and shall be filled in the 
manner in which the original appointment was 
made. The appointment of the replacement member 
shall be made not later than 60 days after the date 
on which the vacancy occurs. 
(d) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.—The Commission shall 
elect a Chair and Vice Chair from among its members. 
(e) QUORUM AND MEETINGS.—
333 
(1) QUORUM.—The Commission shall meet and 
begin the operations of the Commission not later 
than 30 days after the date on which all members 
have been appointed or, if such meeting cannot be 
mutually agreed upon, on a date designated by the 
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 
President pro Tempore of the Senate. Each subse-
quent meeting shall occur upon the call of the Chair 
or a majority of its members. A majority of the 
members of the Commission shall constitute a 
quorum, but a lesser number may hold meetings. 
(2) AUTHORITY OF INDIVIDUALS TO ACT FOR 
COMMISSION.—Any member of the Commission may, 
if authorized by the Commission, take any action 
that the Commission is authorized to take under this 
section. 
(f) POWERS.— 
(1) HEARINGS AND EVIDENCE.—The Commis-
sion (or, on the authority of the Commission, any 
subcommittee or member thereof) may, for the pur-
pose of carrying out this section, hold hearings and 
sit and act at such times and places, take such testi-
mony, receive such evidence, and administer such 
oaths as the Commission considers advisable to 
carry out its duties.
334 
(2) CONTRACTING.—The Commission may, to 
such extent and in such amounts as are provided in 
appropriation Acts, enter into contracts to enable 
the Commission to discharge its duties under this 
section. 
(g) ASSISTANCE FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 
(1) GENERAL
SERVICES
ADMINISTRATION.— 
The Administrator of General Services shall provide 
to the Commission on a reimbursable basis adminis-
trative support and other services for the perform-
ance of the Commission’s functions. 
(2) OTHER DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES.—In 
addition to the assistance provided under paragraph 
(1), the Department of Homeland Security, the 
Election Assistance Commission, and other appro-
priate departments and agencies of the United 
States shall provide to the Commission such serv-
ices, funds, facilities, and staff as they may deter-
mine advisable and as may be authorized by law. 
(h) PUBLIC MEETINGS.—Any public meetings of the 
Commission shall be conducted in a manner consistent 
with the protection of information provided to or developed 
for or by the Commission as required by any applicable 
statute, regulation, or Executive order. 
(i) SECURITY CLEARANCES.—
335 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The heads of appropriate 
departments and agencies of the executive branch 
shall cooperate with the Commission to expeditiously 
provide Commission members and staff with appro-
priate security clearances to the extent possible 
under applicable procedures and requirements. 
(2) PREFERENCES.—In appointing staff, ob-
taining detailees, and entering into contracts for the 
provision of services for the Commission, the Com-
mission shall give preference to individuals otherwise 
who have active security clearances. 
(j) REPORTS.— 
(1) INTERIM REPORTS.—At any time prior to 
the submission of the final report under paragraph 
(2), the Commission may submit interim reports to 
the President and Congress such findings, conclu-
sions, and recommendations to strengthen protec-
tions for democratic institutions in the United 
States as have been agreed to by a majority of the 
members of the Commission. 
(2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 
after the date of the first meeting of the Commis-
sion, the Commission shall submit to the President 
and Congress a final report containing such find-
ings, conclusions, and recommendations to strength-
336 
en protections for democratic institutions in the 
United States as have been agreed to by a majority 
of the members of the Commission. 
(k) TERMINATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall termi-
nate upon the expiration of the 60-day period which 
begins on the date on which the Commission submits 
the final report required under subsection (j)(2). 
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
ACTIVITIES
PRIOR
TO 
TERMINATION.—During the 60-day period described 
in paragraph (2), the Commission may carry out 
such administrative activities as may be required to 
conclude its work, including providing testimony to 
committees of Congress concerning the final report 
and disseminating the final report. 
Subtitle D—Promoting Cybersecu-
rity Through Improvements in 
Election Administration 
SEC. 3301. TESTING OF EXISTING VOTING SYSTEMS TO EN-
SURE COMPLIANCE WITH ELECTION CYBER-
SECURITY GUIDELINES AND OTHER GUIDE-
LINES. 
(a) REQUIRING TESTING OF EXISTING VOTING SYS-
TEMS.—
337 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 231(a) of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20971(a)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) TESTING TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH 
GUIDELINES.— 
‘‘(A) TESTING.—Not later than 9 months 
before the date of each regularly scheduled gen-
eral election for Federal office, the Commission 
shall provide for the testing by accredited lab-
oratories under this section of the voting system 
hardware and software which was certified for 
use in the most recent such election, on the 
basis of the most recent voting system guide-
lines applicable to such hardware or software 
(including election cybersecurity guidelines) 
issued under this Act. 
‘‘(B) DECERTIFICATION OF HARDWARE OR 
SOFTWARE FAILING TO MEET GUIDELINES.—If, 
on the basis of the testing described in subpara-
graph (A), the Commission determines that any 
voting system hardware or software does not 
meet the most recent guidelines applicable to 
such hardware or software issued under this
338 
Act, the Commission shall decertify such hard-
ware or software.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by paragraph (1) shall apply with respect to the reg-
ularly scheduled general election for Federal office 
held in November 2020 and each succeeding regu-
larly scheduled general election for Federal office. 
(b) ISSUANCE OF CYBERSECURITY GUIDELINES BY 
TECHNICAL GUIDELINES DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE.— 
Section 221(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 20961(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) 
ELECTION
CYBERSECURITY
GUIDE-
LINES.—Not later than 6 months after the date of 
the enactment of this paragraph, the Development 
Committee shall issue election cybersecurity guide-
lines, including standards and best practices for pro-
curing, maintaining, testing, operating, and updat-
ing election systems to prevent and deter cybersecu-
rity incidents.’’. 
SEC. 3302. TREATMENT OF ELECTRONIC POLL BOOKS AS 
PART OF VOTING SYSTEMS. 
(a) INCLUSION
IN DEFINITION
OF VOTING SYS-
TEM.—Section 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)) is amended—
339 
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
striking ‘‘this section’’ and inserting ‘‘this Act’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(1); 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) any electronic poll book used with respect 
to the election; and’’. 
(b) DEFINITION.—Section 301 of such Act (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) ELECTRONIC POLL BOOK DEFINED.—In this 
Act, the term ‘electronic poll book’ means the total com-
bination of mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic 
equipment (including the software, firmware, and docu-
mentation required to program, control, and support the 
equipment) that is used— 
‘‘(1) to retain the list of registered voters at a 
polling location, or vote center, or other location at
340 
which voters cast votes in an election for Federal of-
fice; and 
‘‘(2) to identify registered voters who are eligi-
ble to vote in an election.’’. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 301(e) of such Act 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(e)), as redesignated by subsection (b), 
is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 
the following: ‘‘, or, with respect to any requirements re-
lating to electronic poll books, on and after January 1, 
2020.’’. 
SEC. 3303. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 
USAGE. 
(a) REQUIRING STATES TO SUBMIT REPORTS.—Title 
III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 
21081 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 301 
the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 301A. PRE-ELECTION REPORTS ON VOTING SYSTEM 
USAGE. 
‘‘(a) REQUIRING STATES TO SUBMIT REPORTS.—Not 
later than 120 days before the date of each regularly 
scheduled general election for Federal office, the chief 
State election official of a State shall submit a report to 
the Commission containing a detailed voting system usage 
plan for each jurisdiction in the State which will admin-
ister the election, including a detailed plan for the usage
341 
of electronic poll books and other equipment and compo-
nents of such system. 
‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 
with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for 
Federal office held in November 2020 and each succeeding 
regularly scheduled general election for Federal office.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 301 the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 301A. Pre-election reports on voting system usage.’’. 
SEC. 3304. STREAMLINING COLLECTION OF ELECTION IN-
FORMATION. 
Section 202 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 20922) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘The Commission’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(b) WAIVER OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—Sub-
chapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 
shall not apply to the collection of information for pur-
poses of maintaining the clearinghouse described in para-
graph (1) of subsection (a).’’.
342 
Subtitle E—Preventing Election 
Hacking 
SEC. 3401. SHORT TITLE. 
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent Election 
Hacking Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 3402. ELECTION SECURITY BUG BOUNTY 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 ‘‘Election Security 
Bug Bounty Program’’ (hereafter in this subtitle referred 
to as the ‘‘Program’’) to improve the cybersecurity of the 
systems used to administer elections for Federal office by 
facilitating and encouraging assessments by independent 
technical experts, in cooperation with State and local elec-
tion officials and election service providers, to identify and 
report 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 Program shall be en-
tirely voluntary for State and local election officials 
and election service providers. 
(2) ENCOURAGING PARTICIPATION AND INPUT 
FROM ELECTION OFFICIALS.—In developing the Pro-
gram, the Secretary shall solicit input from, and en-
343 
courage participation by, State and local election of-
ficials. 
(c) ACTIVITIES FUNDED.—In establishing and car-
rying out the Program, the Secretary shall— 
(1) establish a process for State and local elec-
tion officials and election service providers to volun-
tarily participate in the Program; 
(2) designate appropriate information systems 
to be included in the Program; 
(3) provide compensation to eligible individuals, 
organizations, and companies for reports of pre-
viously unidentified security vulnerabilities within 
the information systems designated under subpara-
graph (A) and establish criteria for individuals, or-
ganizations, and companies to be considered eligible 
for such compensation in compliance with Federal 
laws; 
(4) consult with the Attorney General on how 
to ensure that approved individuals, organizations, 
or companies that comply with the requirements of 
the Program are protected from prosecution under 
section 1030 of title 18, United States Code, and 
similar provisions of law, and from liability under 
civil actions for specific activities authorized under 
the Program;
344 
(5) consult with the Secretary of Defense and 
the heads of other departments and agencies that 
have implemented programs to provide compensation 
for reports of previously undisclosed vulnerabilities 
in information systems, regarding lessons that may 
be applied from such programs; 
(6) develop an expeditious process by which an 
individual, organization, or company can register 
with the Department, submit to a background check 
as determined by the Department, and receive a de-
termination as to eligibility for participation in the 
Program; and 
(7) engage qualified interested persons, includ-
ing representatives of private entities, about the 
structure of the Program and, to the extent prac-
ticable, establish a recurring competition for inde-
pendent technical experts to assess election systems 
for the purpose of identifying and reporting election 
cybersecurity vulnerabilities; 
(d) USE OF SERVICE PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 
may award competitive contracts as necessary to manage 
the Program. 
SEC. 3403. DEFINITIONS. 
In this subtitle, the following definitions apply:
345 
(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) which is part of an election 
infrastructure. 
(5) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Homeland Security, or, upon designation by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Deputy Sec-
retary of Homeland Security, the Director of Cyber-
security and Infrastructure Security of the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security, or a Senate-confirmed 
official that reports to the Director.
346 
(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)). 
Subtitle F—Election Security 
Grants Advisory Committee 
SEC. 3501. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of title II of the Help 
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20921 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘PART 4—ELECTION SECURITY GRANTS 
ADVISORY COMMITTEE 
‘‘SEC. 225. ELECTION SECURITY GRANTS ADVISORY COM-
MITTEE. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 
an advisory committee (hereinafter in this part referred 
to as the ‘Committee’) to assist the Commission with re-
spect to the award of grants to States under this Act for 
the purpose of election security. 
‘‘(b) DUTIES.—
347 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall, with 
respect to an application for a grant received by the 
Commission— 
‘‘(A) review such application; and 
‘‘(B) 
recommend 
to 
the 
Commission 
whether to award the grant to the applicant. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In reviewing an appli-
cation pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), the Committee 
shall consider— 
‘‘(A) the record of the applicant with re-
spect to— 
‘‘(i) compliance of the applicant with 
the requirements under subtitle A of title 
III; and 
‘‘(ii) adoption of voluntary guidelines 
issued by the Commission under subtitle B 
of title III; and 
‘‘(B) the goals and requirements of elec-
tion security as described in title III of the For 
the People Act of 2019. 
‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Committee shall be com-
posed of 15 individuals appointed by the Executive Direc-
tor of the Commission with experience and expertise in 
election security.
348 
‘‘(d) NO COMPENSATION FOR SERVICE.—Members of 
the Committee shall not receive any compensation for 
their service, but shall be paid travel expenses, including 
per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for em-
ployees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 
title 5, United States Code, while away from their homes 
or regular places of business in the performance of services 
for the Committee.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
Subtitle G—Miscellaneous 
Provisions 
SEC. 3601. DEFINITIONS. 
Except as provided in section 3403, in this title, the 
following definitions apply: 
(1) The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means the chair of 
the Election Assistance Commission. 
(2) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means the Committees on Homeland Secu-
rity and House Administration of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committees on Homeland Secu-
rity and Governmental Affairs and Rules and Ad-
ministration of the Senate.
349 
(3) The term ‘‘chief State election official’’ 
means, with respect to a State, the individual des-
ignated by the State under section 10 of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 
20509) to be responsible for coordination of the 
State’s responsibilities under such Act. 
(4) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Election 
Assistance Commission. 
(5) The term ‘‘democratic institutions’’ means 
the diverse range of institutions that are essential to 
ensuring an independent judiciary, free and fair elec-
tions, and rule of law. 
(6) 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. 
(7) 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 
(including electronic mail and other systems of ven-
350 
dors who have entered into contracts with election 
agencies to support the administration of elections, 
manage the election process, and report and display 
election results), and other systems used to manage 
the election process and to report and display elec-
tion results on behalf of an election agency. 
(8) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Homeland Security. 
(9) The term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 901 of the Help America Vote 
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21141). 
SEC. 3602. INITIAL REPORT ON ADEQUACY OF RESOURCES 
AVAILABLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION. 
Not later than 120 days after enactment of this Act, 
the Chairman and the Secretary shall submit a report to 
the appropriate committees of Congress, including the 
Committees on Homeland Security and House Adminis-
tration of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 
of the Senate, analyzing the adequacy of the funding, re-
sources, and personnel available to carry out this title and 
the amendments made by this title.
351 
Subtitle H—Use of Voting Machines 
Manufactured in the United States 
SEC. 3701. USE OF VOTING MACHINES MANUFACTURED IN 
THE UNITED STATES. 
Section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 
(52 U.S.C. 21081(a)), as amended by section 1504, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(8) VOTING
MACHINE
REQUIREMENTS.—By 
not later than the date of the regularly scheduled 
general election for Federal office occurring in No-
vember 2022, each State shall seek to ensure that 
any voting machine used in such election and in any 
subsequent election for Federal office is manufac-
tured in the United States.’’. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
SEC. 3801. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this title or amendment made by 
this title, or the application of a provision or amendment 
to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu-
tional, the remainder of this title and amendments made 
by this title, and the application of the provisions and 
amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 
affected by the holding.
352 
DIVISION B—CAMPAIGN 
FINANCE 
TITLE IV—CAMPAIGN FINANCE 
TRANSPARENCY 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to Illicit Money Undermining Our Democracy 
Sec. 4001. Findings relating to illicit money undermining our democracy. 
Subtitle B—DISCLOSE Act 
Sec. 4100. Short title. 
PART 1—REGULATION OF CERTAIN POLITICAL SPENDING 
Sec. 4101. Clarification of prohibition on participation by foreign nationals in 
election-related activities. 
Sec. 4102. Clarification of application of foreign money ban to certain disburse-
ments and activities. 
Sec. 4103. Audit and report on illicit foreign money in Federal elections. 
Sec. 4104. Prohibition on contributions and donations by foreign nationals in 
connections with ballot initiatives and referenda. 
Sec. 4105. Disbursements and activities subject to foreign money ban. 
PART 2—REPORTING OF CAMPAIGN-RELATED DISBURSEMENTS 
Sec. 4111. Reporting of campaign-related disbursements. 
Sec. 4112. Application of foreign money ban to disbursements for campaign-re-
lated disbursements consisting of covered transfers. 
Sec. 4113. Effective date. 
PART 3—OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS 
Sec. 4121. Petition for certiorari. 
Sec. 4122. Judicial review of actions related to campaign finance laws. 
Subtitle C—Honest Ads 
Sec. 4201. Short title. 
Sec. 4202. Purpose. 
Sec. 4203. Findings. 
Sec. 4204. Sense of Congress. 
Sec. 4205. Expansion of definition of public communication. 
Sec. 4206. Expansion of definition of electioneering communication. 
Sec. 4207. Application of disclaimer statements to online communications. 
Sec. 4208. Political record requirements for online platforms. 
Sec. 4209. Preventing contributions, expenditures, independent expenditures, 
and disbursements for electioneering communications by for-
eign nationals in the form of online advertising. 
Subtitle D—Stand By Every Ad 
Sec. 4301. Short title. 
Sec. 4302. Stand By Every Ad.
353 
Sec. 4303. Disclaimer 
requirements 
for 
communications 
made 
through 
prerecorded telephone calls. 
Sec. 4304. No expansion of persons subject to disclaimer requirements on 
Internet communications. 
Sec. 4305. Effective date. 
Subtitle E—Secret Money Transparency 
Sec. 4401. Repeal of restriction of use of funds by Internal Revenue Service to 
bring transparency to political activity of certain nonprofit or-
ganizations. 
Sec. 4402. Repeal of Revenue Procedure That Eliminated Requirement to Re-
port Information Regarding Contributors to Certain Tax-Ex-
empt Organizations. 
Subtitle F—Shareholder Right-to-Know 
Sec. 4501. Repeal of restriction on use of funds by Securities and Exchange 
Commission to ensure shareholders of corporations have knowl-
edge of corporation political activity. 
Sec. 4502. Assessment of shareholder preferences for disbursements for polit-
ical purposes. 
Subtitle G—Disclosure of Political Spending by Government Contractors 
Sec. 4601. Repeal of restriction on use of funds to require disclosure of political 
spending by government contractors. 
Subtitle H—Limitation and Disclosure Requirements for Presidential 
Inaugural Committees 
Sec. 4701. Short title. 
Sec. 4702. Limitations and disclosure of certain donations to, and disburse-
ments by, Inaugural Committees. 
Subtitle I—Severability 
Sec. 4801. Severability. 
Subtitle A—Findings Relating to Il-
licit Money Undermining Our 
Democracy 
SEC. 4001. FINDINGS RELATING TO ILLICIT MONEY UNDER-
MINING OUR DEMOCRACY. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Criminals, terrorists, and corrupt govern-
ment officials frequently abuse anonymously held 
Limited Liability Companies (LLCs), also known as