I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6564 
To promote innovation in voting, including in voting technology and voter 
registration technology, election security, and increased voter participa-
tion through a challenge prize competition. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 26, 2018 
Mr. BEN RAY LUJA´N of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. 
DESAULNIER, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. SHEA- 
PORTER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. MCNERNEY, and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
House Administration 
A BILL 
To promote innovation in voting, including in voting tech-
nology and voter registration technology, election secu-
rity, and increased voter participation through a chal-
lenge prize competition. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voting Innovation 
Prize Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In May 2018, the Pew Research Center 
found that the United States trails most developed 
countries in voter turnout. Nearly 56 percent of the 
United States voting-age population cast ballots in 
the 2016 Presidential election. The Census Bureau 
estimated that there were 245.5 million Americans 
ages 18 and older in November 2016, about 157.6 
million of whom reported being registered to vote. 
Turnout calculations usually are based on the esti-
mated voting-age population (VAP). The 55.7 per-
cent VAP turnout in 2016 puts the United States 
behind most of its peers in the Organization for 
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 
most of whose members are highly developed, demo-
cratic states. Looking at the most recent nationwide 
election in each OECD nation, the United States 
placed 26th out of 32. 
(2) Also in May 2018, the Pew Research Center 
found that registered voters represent a much small-
er share of potential voters in the United States 
than in most other OECD countries. Only about 64 
percent of the voting-age population (and 70 percent 
of voting-age citizens) was registered in 2016, ac-
cording to the Census Bureau report, compared with 
91 percent in Canada (2015) and the UK (2017), 
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96 percent in Sweden (2014), and 99 percent in Slo-
vakia (2016). 
(3) Historians and election experts have 
catalogued a long history in the United States of ra-
cially suppressive voting measures such as poll taxes 
and literacy tests, put in place under the guise of 
stopping voter fraud that was not actually occurring 
in the first place. The effects persist today. People 
of color residing in States with a history of voting 
discrimination had fewer places to vote in 2016, and, 
on average, minorities, including Hispanics and Afri-
can Americans, experience longer wait times at the 
polls than white voters. Strict voter ID laws dis-
proportionately burden voters of color, and purging 
voter rolls unduly targets people of color. 
(4) In 2013, President Obama established the 
Presidential Commission on Election Administration 
(PCEA) to identify best practices in election admin-
istration. The PCEA’s mission was to identify best 
practices in election administration and to make rec-
ommendations to improve the voting experience. 
Since then, election officials and voters across the 
United States have used PCEA’s research, rec-
ommendations, and tools to improve elections. Upon 
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the submission of its final report in 2014, the PCEA 
disbanded, per President Obama’s Executive Order. 
(5) On January 22, 2014, President Obama 
called on Congress and local jurisdictions to help put 
the PCEA’s recommendations in place, saying, ‘‘No 
American should have to wait more than half an 
hour to vote. And they should know, they should be 
confident that their vote is being properly counted 
and is secure.’’. 
(6) In 2016, President Obama spoke at South 
by Southwest, addressing the role of technology in 
government and civic engagement. President Obama 
cited low voter turnout as an area in which tech-
nology could improve citizens’ participation in gov-
ernment. He said it was ‘‘easier to order a pizza 
than to vote’’ and said we need to think about how 
to ‘‘redesign our systems so that we don’t have 50 
percent or 55 percent voter participation in presi-
dential elections’’, noting that he was interested in 
‘‘how can we create safe, secure, smart systems for 
people to be able to vote much easier online’’. 
(7) The Brennan Center has documented at 
least two known cyberattacks on non-American vot-
ing systems in recent decades. In 2014, Ukraine’s 
presidential vote was targeted by cyber attackers, 
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who deleted enough files to make the country’s vot-
ing system inoperable days before the election. Offi-
cials were able to restore the system from backups 
and the election went forward. Shortly before the re-
sults were to be announced, however, experts exam-
ining computers at the Ukrainian Central Election 
Commission discovered a virus designed to falsely 
declare an ultra-nationalist party as the victor with 
37 percent of the vote. Russia was implicated in a 
hack against Bulgaria’s Central Election Commis-
sion during a referendum and local elections in 
2015. While that attack did not impact the systems 
used to total votes, it did hit the commission’s 
website, ‘‘which provided updates on voter turnout’’. 
(8) According to the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS), hackers targeted the election infra-
structure of 21 States during the 2016 elections. 
The failing security and vulnerabilities in national 
election infrastructure were later confirmed and 
highlighted by the hacking community in a report 
issued in September 2017, after the DEFCON 25 
conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
(9) In a January 2017 assessment, the Central 
Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Office 
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of the Director of National Intelligence concluded 
that Russia interfered in the 2016 Presidential elec-
tion. Officials across the United States Intelligence 
Community (IC) have affirmed the report’s findings. 
(10) In January 2017, DHS designated election 
systems as part of our Nation’s critical infrastruc-
ture, meaning that our election systems must be se-
cured to safeguard our Nation’s democratic process. 
(11) The Congressional Task Force on Election 
Security’s January 2018 report and the Brennan 
Center’s 2017 report on securing elections from for-
eign interference found that— 
(A) the Federal Government should pro-
vide funds to help States replace aging, vulner-
able voting machines with paper ballots; 
(B) States should conduct risk-limiting 
post-election audits; 
(C) the Federal Government should pro-
vide funds to help States upgrade and maintain 
information technology (IT) infrastructure, in-
cluding voter registration databases; 
(D) election technology vendors must se-
cure their voting systems; 
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(E) the Federal Government should de-
velop a national strategy to counter efforts to 
undermine democratic institutions; 
(F) the Intelligence Community should 
conduct pre-election threat assessments well in 
advance of Federal elections; 
(G) DHS should maintain the designation 
of election infrastructure as a critical infra-
structure subsector; 
(H) Federal agencies should be empowered 
to be effective partners in pushing out nation-
wide security reforms; 
(I) DHS should establish clear and effec-
tive channels for sharing threat and intelligence 
information with election officials; and 
(J) States should prioritize cybersecurity 
training in the administration of elections. 
(12) The Strategy for American Innovation, an-
nounced by the White House in September 2009, 
urged Federal agencies to increase their ability to 
promote innovation with tools such as prizes and 
challenges. 
(13) Challenge.gov, launched in September 
2010, is a listing of challenge and prize competitions 
that are run by more than 102 agencies across the 
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Federal Government. These problem-solving events 
include idea, creative, technical and scientific com-
petitions in which Federal agencies invite the 
public’s help to solve perplexing mission-centric 
problems. A list of ongoing and completed prize 
challenges offered by these agencies is available at 
challenge.gov. The Federal Government has run 
more than 825 challenges since challenge.gov 
launched in 2010, but competitions date back sev-
eral centuries. To date, more than 250,000 solvers 
from all States and over 180 congressional districts 
have participated in Federal challenge and prize 
competitions. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that: 
(1) American elections should be secure and 
free of misconduct. 
(2) It is important to conduct regular full as-
sessments of threats to our voting and voter reg-
istration systems, in light of the constant evolution 
of technology and cyber threats. 
(3) Increasing voter participation is of vital im-
portance to the strength of our democracy. 
(4) Election security is a global issue as well as 
a national priority for the United States. The United 
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States plays a vital role in supporting and strength-
ening democratic institutions worldwide. As the 
United States bolsters its own election system, it can 
better serve partner and ally countries through shar-
ing of best practices, and it can also share best prac-
tices through its democracy promotion programs 
worldwide. 
(5) Innovation prizes are one tool that the Fed-
eral Government can use to engage the private, pub-
lic, and nonprofit communities in addressing vital 
challenges to the health of our democracy and na-
tional security. 
(6) In light of these findings, consistent and 
sustained funding for election support is important 
to ensure that American elections are secure and 
free of misconduct. 
(7) This Act should be one part of a broader 
strategy at the Federal, State, and local level to bol-
ster innovation in election security and voting. 
SEC. 4. VOTING TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE PRIZE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Election Assistance Commis-
sion (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Commission’’), acting 
through the Technical Guidelines Development Committee 
of the Commission (hereafter referred to as the ‘‘Com-
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mittee’’), shall, in consultation with the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology— 
(1) identify the elements of voting equipment, 
election systems, and voting technology which are in 
the most critical need of innovation, with a par-
ticular emphasis on the need for accessibility and se-
curity; 
(2) conduct an annual prize competition to ac-
celerate the development of cost-effective tech-
nologies which will address the elements identified 
under paragraph (1) while improving and simpli-
fying the procedures for voting and voter registra-
tion; and 
(3) define a measurable set of performance 
goals for participants in the prize competitions to 
demonstrate their solutions on a level playing field 
while making a significant advancement over the 
current state of the art. 
(b) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—In carrying out 
subsection (a), the Commission may— 
(1) enter into a grant, contract, cooperative 
agreement, or other agreement with a private sector 
for-profit or nonprofit entity to administer the prize 
competitions; 
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(2) consult with the National Science Founda-
tion, other Federal agencies, and relevant persons in 
the field of election administration and security to 
provide advice and assistance in the design or ad-
ministration of the prize competitions; and 
(3) promulgate such regulations as may be nec-
essary to carry out this Act. 
(c) NO QUORUM OF COMMISSION REQUIRED.—The 
Commission may carry out this Act without regard to 
whether or not a quorum exists at any time in the mem-
bership of the Commission. 
(d) AMOUNT OF AWARDS.—For each fiscal year for 
which amounts are appropriated pursuant to the author-
ization under section 6, the Commission shall award an 
aggregate amount of $25,000,000 to winners of the prize 
competitions. 
SEC. 5. TIMETABLE FOR COMPETITION. 
(a) PUBLICATION OF CRITERIA.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis-
sion shall publish a technical paper establishing the cri-
teria for the design of the prize competitions under this 
Act, based on the factors and needs identified under sec-
tion 4(a)(1). 
(b) INITIATION OF COMPETITION.—Not later than 90 
days after publishing the paper required under subsection 
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(a), the Commission shall initiate the first prize competi-
tion, and shall publish notice of the competition on the 
official public website of the Commission and on the chal-
lenge.gov website. 
(c) REPORTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 
the end of each fiscal year during which the Com-
mission conducts the prize competition under this 
Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress a re-
port on the results of the competition, including the 
identification of the winners, a description of the 
technologies developed under the competition, and 
the amount of the awards. 
(2) POSTING
INFORMATION
ON
WEBSITES.— 
The Commission shall post on the official public 
website of the Commission and on the challenge.gov 
website each report submitted under this subsection, 
and shall ensure that information regarding the win-
ners of all of the prize competitions under this Act 
and the amount of their awards is presented on such 
websites in a searchable manner. 
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SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated for each of 
the fiscal years 2019 through 2023 such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act. 
Æ 
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