I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6663 
To protect the administration of Federal elections against cybersecurity 
threats. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
AUGUST 10, 2018 
Mr. THOMAS J. ROONEY of Florida (for himself, Mr. HIMES, Ms. SEWELL 
of Alabama, and Mr. GOWDY) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the 
Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, and Intelligence (Per-
manent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To protect the administration of Federal elections against 
cybersecurity threats. 
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 ‘‘Secure Elections Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the States conduct elections and should 
maintain control of and responsibility for them; 
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(2) it is important to maintain State leadership 
in election administration; 
(3) free and fair elections are central to our de-
mocracy; 
(4) protecting our elections is a national secu-
rity priority; and 
(5) an attack on our election systems by a for-
eign power is a hostile act and should be met with 
appropriate retaliatory actions, including immediate 
and severe sanctions. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADVISORY
PANEL.—The term ‘‘Advisory 
Panel’’ means the advisory panel of independent ex-
perts on election cybersecurity established under sec-
tion 5(a)(1). 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Rules and Adminis-
tration, the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs, the Committee on Appropria-
tions, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the 
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such other elements of the intelligence commu-
nity (as defined in section 3 of the National Se-
curity Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003)) as the 
Director of National Intelligence determines are 
appropriate. 
(4) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means 
the Chairman of the Election Assistance Commis-
sion. 
(5) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 
means the Election Assistance Commission. 
(6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 
means the Department of Homeland Security. 
(7) ELECTION
AGENCY.—The term ‘‘election 
agency’’ means any component of a State or any 
component of a county, municipality, or other sub-
division of a State that is responsible for admin-
istering Federal elections. 
(8) ELECTION
CYBERSECURITY
INCIDENT.— 
The term ‘‘election cybersecurity incident’’ means 
any incident involving an election system. 
(9) ELECTION CYBERSECURITY THREAT.—The 
term ‘‘election cybersecurity threat’’ means any cy-
bersecurity threat (as defined in section 102 of the 
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (6 
U.S.C. 1501)) to an election system. 
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(10) 
ELECTION
CYBERSECURITY
VULNER-
ABILITY.—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. 
(11) ELECTION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 
‘‘election service provider’’ means any person pro-
viding, supporting, or maintaining an election sys-
tem on behalf of an election agency, such as a con-
tractor or vendor. 
(12) ELECTION SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘election 
system’’ means a voting system, an election manage-
ment system, a voter registration website or data-
base, an electronic pollbook, a system for tabulating 
or reporting election results, an election agency com-
munications system, or any other information sys-
tem (as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United 
States Code) that the Secretary identifies as central 
to the management, support, or administration of a 
Federal election. 
(13) FEDERAL ELECTION.—The term ‘‘Federal 
election’’ means any election (as defined in section 
301(1) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 
1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(1))) for Federal office (as 
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defined in section 301(3) of the Federal Election 
Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101(3))). 
(14) FEDERAL
ENTITY.—The term ‘‘Federal 
entity’’ means any agency (as defined in section 551 
of title 5, United States Code). 
(15) INCIDENT.—The term ‘‘incident’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 227(a) of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 148(a)). 
(16) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘‘Secretary’’ 
means the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
(17) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 
the several States of the United States, the District 
of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 
Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States 
Virgin Islands. 
(18) STATE
ELECTION
OFFICIAL.—The term 
‘‘State election official’’ means— 
(A) the chief State election official of a 
State designated under section 10 of the Na-
tional Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 
U.S.C. 20509); or 
(B) in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 
Northern Mariana Islands, and the United 
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States Virgin Islands, a chief State election of-
ficial designated by the State for purposes of 
this Act. 
(19) STATE
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
OFFICER.— 
The term ‘‘State law enforcement officer’’ means the 
head of a State law enforcement agency, such as an 
attorney general. 
(20) VOTING SYSTEM.—The term ‘‘voting sys-
tem’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 
U.S.C. 21081(b)). 
SEC. 4. INFORMATION SHARING. 
(a) DESIGNATION OF RESPONSIBLE FEDERAL ENTI-
TY.—The Secretary shall have primary responsibility with-
in the Federal Government for sharing information about 
election cybersecurity incidents, threats, and vulnerabili-
ties with Federal entities and with election agencies. 
(b) PRESUMPTION
OF
FEDERAL
INFORMATION 
SHARING TO THE DEPARTMENT.—If a Federal entity re-
ceives information about an election cybersecurity inci-
dent, threat, or vulnerability, the Federal entity shall 
promptly share that information with the Department, un-
less the head of the entity (or a Senate-confirmed official 
designated by the head) makes a specific determination 
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in writing that there is good cause to withhold the par-
ticular information. 
(c) PRESUMPTION OF FEDERAL AND STATE INFOR-
MATION SHARING FROM THE DEPARTMENT.—If the De-
partment receives information about an election cyberse-
curity incident, threat, or vulnerability, the Department 
shall promptly share that information with— 
(1) the appropriate Federal entities; 
(2) all State election agencies; 
(3) to the maximum extent practicable, all elec-
tion agencies that have requested ongoing updates 
on election cybersecurity incidents, threats, or 
vulnerabilities; and 
(4) to the maximum extent practicable, all elec-
tion agencies that may be affected by the risks asso-
ciated with the particular election cybersecurity inci-
dent, threat, or vulnerability. 
(d) TECHNICAL RESOURCES FOR ELECTION AGEN-
CIES.—In sharing information about election cybersecu-
rity incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities with election 
agencies under this section, the Department shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable— 
(1) provide cyber threat indicators and defen-
sive measures (as such terms are defined in section 
102 of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 
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2015 (6 U.S.C. 1501)), such as recommended tech-
nical instructions, that assist with preventing, miti-
gating, and detecting threats or vulnerabilities; 
(2) identify resources available for protecting 
against, detecting, responding to, and recovering 
from associated risks, including technical capabilities 
of the Department; and 
(3) provide guidance about further sharing of 
the information. 
(e) DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW.—If the Department 
receives classified information about an election cybersecu-
rity incident, threat, or vulnerability— 
(1) the Secretary shall promptly submit a re-
quest for expedited declassification review to the 
head of a Federal entity with authority to conduct 
the review, consistent with Executive Order 13526 
or any successor order, unless the Secretary deter-
mines that such a request would be inappropriate; 
and 
(2) the head of the Federal entity described in 
paragraph (1) shall promptly conduct the review. 
(f) ROLE OF NON-FEDERAL ENTITIES.—The De-
partment may share information about election cybersecu-
rity incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities through a non- 
Federal entity. 
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