I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3751
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to direct the Election Assist-
ance Commission to develop best practices for States to use to protect 
the integrity of elections for Federal office, to make election technology 
improvement grants to States for adopting and applying such best prac-
tices in the administration of elections for Federal office, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2017
Mr. MEADOWS (for himself and Mr. LANGEVIN) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in 
addition to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, for a period 
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider-
ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to direct 
the Election Assistance Commission to develop best prac-
tices for States to use to protect the integrity of elections 
for Federal office, to make election technology improve-
ment grants to States for adopting and applying such 
best practices in the administration of elections for Fed-
eral office, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting the Amer-
ican Process for Election Results Act’’ or the ‘‘PAPER 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES FOR PRO-
TECTING 
INTEGRITY 
OF 
FEDERAL 
ELEC-
TIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 247 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 248. STUDY AND REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES FOR 
PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF FEDERAL 
ELECTIONS AND FOR STORING AND SECUR-
ING VOTER REGISTRATION DATA. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in consultation 
with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, 
the Election Assistance Commission Standards Board, the 
Election Assistance Commission Board of Advisors, the 
Election Assistance Commission Technical Guidelines De-
velopment Committee, the National Association of Secre-
taries of State, the National Association of State Election 
Directors, the National Association of Election Officials, 
the International Association of Government Officials, the 
National Association of State Chief Information Officers, 
the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, 
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and other stakeholders the Commission determines nec-
essary, shall conduct a study on each of the following: 
‘‘(1) Best practices for cybersecurity of Federal 
elections, including best practices for storing and se-
curing voter registration data. 
‘‘(2) Best practices for election audits, with the 
goal of ensuring that—
‘‘(A) each vote cast in an election for Fed-
eral office is accompanied by a paper record of 
the vote that is visible to the voter and is re-
tained by the appropriate election official for a 
period sufficient to conduct the audit described 
in subparagraph (B); and 
‘‘(B) prior to the certification of the re-
sults of any election for Federal office, appro-
priate election officials conduct a manual audit 
of a random sample of the paper records of the 
votes cast in the election, as described in sub-
paragraph (A), that provides high statistical 
confidence in the results of the election. 
‘‘(b) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—In conducting each of the 
studies under this section, the Commission shall hold pub-
lic hearings. 
‘‘(c) ISSUES CONSIDERED.—
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‘‘(1) CYBERSECURITY OF FEDERAL ELECTIONS, 
INCLUDING BEST PRACTICES FOR STORING AND SE-
CURING VOTER REGISTRATION DATA.—In conducting 
the study under subsection (a)(1), the Commission 
shall consider the following: 
‘‘(A) The interference by foreign actors in 
the 2016 Federal election. 
‘‘(B) The opinion of intelligence officials 
that foreign states are likely to attempt to 
interfere in future Federal elections. 
‘‘(C) Election administration profiles based 
on the cybersecurity framework of the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology. 
‘‘(D) Best practices for storing and secur-
ing voter registration data. 
‘‘(E) All components of election infrastruc-
ture, as designated by the Secretary of Home-
land Security, on January 6, 2017, as a sub-
sector of a critical infrastructure sector (as de-
fined in section 2001 of the Homeland Security 
Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 601)). 
‘‘(F) The implications of the aging of vot-
ing equipment on cybersecurity. 
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‘‘(G) Any existing Federal funding sources 
that may be used to assist State and local gov-
ernments to improve election cybersecurity. 
‘‘(H) Any related issues the Commission 
identifies as necessary to complete a com-
prehensive 
study 
of 
best 
practices 
for 
cybersecurity of Federal elections. 
‘‘(2) ELECTION
AUDITS.—In conducting the 
study under subsection (a)(2), the Commission shall 
consider the following: 
‘‘(A) Public confidence in the administra-
tion of Federal elections. 
‘‘(B) Verifying the integrity of the election 
process. 
‘‘(C) Confirming the accuracy of results re-
ported by the voting system. 
‘‘(D) Ensuring that the voting system is 
accurately tabulating ballots. 
‘‘(E) Ensuring that the winners of each 
election for Federal office are called correctly. 
‘‘(F) Current State requirements related to 
election audits. 
‘‘(G) Durational requirements needed to 
facilitate an election audit prior to election cer-
tification, including variations in the acceptance 
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of postal ballots and election certification dead-
lines. 
‘‘(H) Administrative requirements and 
challenges for various types of election audits. 
‘‘(I) The potential to identify areas of im-
provement in election administration using 
varying types of election audits. 
‘‘(J) The use of voting systems producing 
voter-verified paper ballots. 
‘‘(K) Any related issues the Commission 
identifies as necessary to complete a com-
prehensive study of best practices for election 
audits. 
‘‘(d) REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 
than the date that is 6 months after the date of the enact-
ment of this section, the Commission shall submit a report 
to the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Sen-
ate and the Committee on House Administration of the 
House of Representatives on each of the studies conducted 
under this section, together with recommendations with 
the matters described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of sub-
section (a).’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
for such Act is amended by inserting after the item relat-
ing to section 247 the following new item:
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‘‘Sec. 248. Study and report on best practices for protecting the integrity of 
Federal elections and for storing and securing voter registra-
tion data.’’.
SEC. 3. ELECTION TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Help America Vote Act of 
2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new title: 
‘‘TITLE 
X—ELECTION 
TECH-
NOLOGY 
IMPROVEMENT 
GRANTS 
‘‘SEC. 
1001. 
ELECTION 
TECHNOLOGY 
IMPROVEMENT 
GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make a 
payment in an amount determined under section 1002 to 
each State which meets the conditions described in section 
1003. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), a State receiving payment under this title 
shall use the payment—
‘‘(A) in the case of a State that has under-
gone a Security Risk an Vulnerability Assess-
ment from the Department of Homeland Secu-
rity with respect to the State’s election system, 
to 
address 
any 
recommendations 
or 
vulnerabilities resulting from such assessment, 
and 
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‘‘(B) to implement the recommendations of 
the Commission under section 248(d) in accord-
ance with the plan developed under section 
1003. 
In the case of a State described in subparagraph 
(A), no amount of the payment received under this 
title may be used for any purpose described in sub-
paragraph (B) before the date the State submits a 
State plan that meets the requirements of section 
1003(b)(1)(A). 
‘‘(2) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—A State may use a 
payment under this title to carry out other activities 
to improve the administration of elections for Fed-
eral office if the State certifies to the Commission 
that—
‘‘(A) the State has implemented the rec-
ommendations of the Commission under section 
248(d); 
‘‘(B) the State will use any remaining 
funds to improve, upgrade, or acquire new tech-
nological equipment related to election adminis-
tration, which may include—
‘‘(i) voting machines; 
‘‘(ii) election management systems; 
‘‘(iii) electronic poll books; 
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‘‘(iv) online voter registration systems; 
‘‘(v) participation in the Electronic 
Registration Information Center; 
‘‘(vi) accessible voting equipment; and 
‘‘(vii) other technological upgrades 
identified by the Commission in the studies 
conducted under section 248(a); and 
‘‘(C) the State has appropriated funds for 
carrying out such activities in an amount equal 
to 10 percent of the total amount to be spent 
for such activities (taking into account the pay-
ment under this section and the amount spent 
by the State). 
No amount of the payment received under this title 
may be used for any purpose described in this para-
graph before the date the State submits the certifi-
cation described in section 1003(b)(1)(C). 
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON USE FOR VOTING MA-
CHINES
NOT
PRODUCING
VOTER-VERIFIED
PAPER 
BALLOTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—None of the payments 
provided under this title may be used for any 
voting system that does not produce a voter-
verified paper ballot. 
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‘‘(B) 
EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph 
(A) 
shall not apply to any payment used for the 
purposes described in paragraph (1)(A). 
‘‘SEC. 1002. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), the 
amount of a payment made to a State under this title shall 
be equal to the product of—
‘‘(1) the total amount appropriated for pay-
ments pursuant to the authorization under section 
1007; and 
‘‘(2) the State allocation percentage for the 
State (as determined under subsection (b)). 
‘‘(b) STATE ALLOCATION PERCENTAGE DEFINED.—
The ‘State allocation percentage’ for a State is the amount 
(expressed as a percentage) equal to the quotient of—
‘‘(1) the voting age population of the State (as 
reported in the most recent decennial census); and 
‘‘(2) the total voting age population of all 
States (as reported in the most recent decennial cen-
sus). 
‘‘(c) MINIMUM AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount 
of a payment made to a State under this section may not 
be less than—
‘‘(1) in the case of any of the several States or 
the District of Columbia, one-half of 1 percent of the 
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total amount appropriated for payments under this 
title under section 1007; or 
‘‘(2) in the case of the Commonwealth of Puer-
to Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Common-
wealth of Northern Mariana Islands, or the United 
States Virgin Islands, one-tenth of 1 percent of such 
total amount. 
‘‘(d) PRO RATA REDUCTIONS.—The Commission 
shall make such pro rata reductions to the allocations de-
termined under subsection (a) as are necessary to comply 
with the requirements of subsection (c). 
‘‘(e) CONTINUING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AFTER 
APPROPRIATION.—A payment to a State under this title 
shall be available to the State without fiscal year limita-
tion. 
‘‘SEC. 1003. CONDITION FOR RECEIPT OF FUNDS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State is eligible to receive a 
payment under this title if the chief executive officer of 
the State, or designee, in consultation and coordination 
with the chief State election official, has filed with the 
Commission a statement certifying that the State is in 
compliance with the requirements referred to in subsection 
(b). A State may meet the requirement of the previous 
sentence by filing with the Commission a statement which 
reads as follows: ‘llllll hereby certifies that it 
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is in compliance with the requirements referred to in sec-
tion 1003(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002.’ (with 
the blank to be filled in with the name of the State in-
volved). 
‘‘(b) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT; CERTIFICATION 
OF COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS AND REQUIRE-
MENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirements referred 
to in this subsection are as follows: 
‘‘(A) The State has filed with the Commis-
sion a State plan which the State certifies—
‘‘(i) contains each of the elements de-
scribed in section 1004; 
‘‘(ii) is developed in accordance with 
section 1005; and 
‘‘(iii) meets the public notice and com-
ment requirements of section 1006. 
‘‘(B) The State is in compliance with each 
of the laws described in section 906, as such 
laws apply with respect to this Act. 
‘‘(C) To the extent that any portion of the 
payment is used for activities other than imple-
menting the recommendations of the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security in connection with 
a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment described 
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in section 1001(b)(1)(A) or the recommenda-
tions of the Commission under section 248(d)—
‘‘(i) the State’s proposed uses of the 
payment are not inconsistent with such 
recommendations; and 
‘‘(ii) the use of the funds under this 
subparagraph is consistent with the re-
quirements of section 1001(b)(2)(B). 
‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR REQUIREMENTS WITH 
RESPECT
TO
RISK
AND
VULNERABILITY
ASSESS-
MENTS.—In the case of a State that has undergone 
a Security Risk an Vulnerability Assessment from 
the Department of Homeland Security with respect 
to the State’s election system, paragraph (1) shall 
not apply and the State shall be treated as having 
met the requirements of this subsection if the State 
has met the requirement of paragraph (1)(B) and 
has filed with the Commission a State plan which 
contains the elements described in section 1004 with 
respect to the recommendations of the Department 
of Homeland Security with respect to such assess-
ment. 
‘‘(c) METHODS OF COMPLIANCE LEFT TO DISCRE-
TION OF STATE.—The specific choices on the methods of 
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complying with the elements of a State plan shall be left 
to the discretion of the State. 
‘‘(d) TIMING FOR FILING OF CERTIFICATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A State may not file a 
statement of certification under subsection (a) until 
the expiration of the 45-day period which begins on 
the date the State plan under this section has been 
published on both the website of the chief State elec-
tion official and the website of the Election Assist-
ance Commission pursuant to section 1005(b). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION
FOR
RISK
AND
VULNER-
ABILITY
ASSESSMENT
MATTERS.—Paragraph (1) 
shall not apply to any part of plan which is devel-
oped in connection with addressing recommendations 
of the Department of Homeland Security in connec-
tion with a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment de-
scribed in section 1001(b)(1)(A). 
‘‘(e) CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIAL DEFINED.—
In this title, the ‘chief State election official’ of a State 
is the individual designated by the State under section 10 
of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 
1973gg–8) to be responsible for coordination of the State’s 
responsibilities under such Act. 
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‘‘SEC. 1004. STATE PLAN. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The State plan shall contain a 
description of each of the following: 
‘‘(1) How the State will use the payment under 
this title—
‘‘(A) to implement—
‘‘(i) any recommendations of the De-
partment of Homeland Security in connec-
tion with a Risk and Vulnerability Assess-
ment described in section 1001(b)(1)(A), if 
applicable; and 
‘‘(ii) the recommendations of the 
Commission under section 248(d); and 
‘‘(B) 
if 
applicable 
under 
section 
1001(b)(2), to carry out other activities to im-
prove the administration of elections. 
‘‘(2) How the State will distribute and monitor 
the distribution of the payment to units of local gov-
ernment or other entities in the State for carrying 
out the activities described in paragraph (1), includ-
ing a description of—
‘‘(A) the criteria to be used to determine 
the eligibility of such units or entities for re-
ceiving the payment; and 
‘‘(B) the methods to be used by the State 
to monitor the performance of the units or enti-
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ties to whom the payment is distributed, con-
sistent with the performance goals and meas-
ures adopted under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(3) How the State will adopt performance 
goals and measures that will be used by the State 
to determine its success and the success of units of 
local government in the State in carrying out the 
plan, including timetables for meeting each of the 
elements of the plan, descriptions of the criteria the 
State will use to measure performance and the proc-
ess used to develop such criteria, and a description 
of which official is to be held responsible for ensur-
ing that each performance goal is met. 
‘‘(4) How the State will conduct ongoing man-
agement of the plan, except that the State may not 
make any material change in the administration of 
the plan unless the change—
‘‘(A) is developed and published on the 
website of the chief State election official and 
the website of the Election Assistance Commis-
sion in accordance with section 1005 in the 
same manner as the State plan; 
‘‘(B) is subject to public notice and com-
ment in accordance with section 1006 in the 
same manner as the State plan; and 
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‘‘(C) takes effect only after the expiration 
of the 30-day period which begins on the date 
the change has been published on both the 
website of the chief State election official and 
the website of the Election Assistance Commis-
sion. 
‘‘(5) A description of the committee which par-
ticipated in the development of the State plan in ac-
cordance with section 1005 and the procedures fol-
lowed by the committee under such section and sec-
tion 1006. 
Paragraphs (5) and (6) shall not apply to any part of a 
plan which pertains to addressing recommendations of the 
Department of Homeland Security in connection with a 
Risk and Vulnerability Assessment described in section 
1001(b)(1)(A). 
‘‘(b) PROTECTION AGAINST ACTIONS BASED ON IN-
FORMATION IN PLAN.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—No action may be brought 
under this Act against a State or other jurisdiction 
on the basis of any information contained in the 
State plan filed under this title. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CRIMINAL ACTS.—Para-
graph (1) may not be construed to limit the liability 
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of a State or other jurisdiction for criminal acts or 
omissions. 
‘‘SEC. 1005. PROCESS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND FILING OF 
PLAN; PUBLICATION BY COMMISSION. 
‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT OF PLAN.—The chief State elec-
tion official shall develop the State plan under this title 
through a committee of appropriate individuals, including 
the chief election officials of the two most populous juris-
dictions within the State, other local election officials, 
stake holders, and other citizens, appointed for such pur-
pose by the chief State election official. 
‘‘(b) PUBLICATION OF PLAN BY COMMISSION.—After 
receiving the State plan of a State under this title, the 
Commission shall cause to have the plan published on both 
the website of the chief State election official and the 
website of the Election Assistance Commission. 
‘‘SEC. 1006. REQUIREMENT FOR PUBLIC NOTICE AND COM-
MENT. 
‘‘For purposes of section 1003(b)(1)(C), a State plan 
meets the public notice and comment requirements of this 
section if—
‘‘(1) not later than 30 days prior to the submis-
sion of the plan, the State made a preliminary 
version of the plan available for public inspection 
and comment; 
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‘‘(2) the State publishes notice that the prelimi-
nary version of the plan is so available; and 
‘‘(3) the State took the public comments made 
regarding the preliminary version of the plan into 
account in preparing the plan which was filed with 
the Commission. 
‘‘SEC. 1007. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated such sums as are necessary for payments under 
this title for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. 
‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY.—Any amounts appropriated 
pursuant to the authority of subsection (a) shall remain 
available without fiscal year limitation until expended. 
‘‘SEC. 1008. REPORTS. 
‘‘Not later than 6 months after the end of the fiscal 
year for which a State received a payment under this title, 
the State shall submit a report to the Commission on the 
activities conducted with the funds provided, and shall in-
clude in the report—
‘‘(1) a list of expenditures made with respect to 
each category of activities described in section 
1001(b); and 
‘‘(2) an analysis and description of the activities 
funded under this title to meet the requirements of 
this title and an analysis and description of how 
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such activities conform to the State plan under sec-
tion 1004.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘TITLE X—ELECTION TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS 
‘‘Sec. 1001. Election technology improvement grants. 
‘‘Sec. 1002. Allocation of funds. 
‘‘Sec. 1003. Condition for receipt of funds. 
‘‘Sec. 1004. State plan. 
‘‘Sec. 1005. Process for development and filing of plan; publication by Commis-
sion. 
‘‘Sec. 1006. Requirement for public notice and comment. 
‘‘Sec. 1007. Authorization of appropriations. 
‘‘Sec. 1008. Reports.’’.
SEC. 4. CONTRACTING ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the General 
Services Administration, in consultation with the Director 
of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
shall take such actions as may be necessary through com-
petitive processes—
(1) to qualify a set of private sector organiza-
tions which are capable of providing cybersecurity 
services to States to secure their election systems 
and infrastructure from cyber attacks; 
(2) to establish contract vehicles to enable 
States to access the services of one or more of such 
private sector organizations as soon as payments are 
made under title X of the Help America Vote Act 
of 2002, as added by section 3; 
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(3) to ensure that such contract vehicles permit 
individual States to augment Federal funds with 
funding otherwise available to the States; and 
(4) to provide a list of qualified organizations to 
the Election Assistance Commission in order to en-
sure it is readily available to State election officials. 
(b) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of 
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 
American Samoa, and the United States Virgin Islands. 
SEC. 5. INFORMATION SHARING WITH STATE ELECTION OF-
FICIALS. 
(a) SECURITY CLEARANCE.—
(1) EXPEDITING
PROVISION
OF
CLEARANCE 
FOR CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS.—Not later 
than 30 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall estab-
lish an expedited process for providing the appro-
priate security clearance for the chief State election 
official of each State and 1 designee selected by such 
official to ensure that information relating to 
cybersecurity incidents and threats is communicated 
to such officials in a timely manner. 
(2) STATE DEFINED.—In this subsection, the 
term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the 
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