Campaign and Election Security Policy: Overview and Recent Developments for Congress
Released: 2020-01-02T00:00:00

Introduction

Election security is one of the most prominent policy challenges facing Congress. A November 2019 warning from the heads of several federal agencies illustrates the interdisciplinary and ongoing nature of the threat to American elections. According to the joint statement, in the 2020 election cycle, "Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions. Adversaries may try to accomplish their goals through a variety of means, including social media campaigns, directing disinformation operations or conducting disruptive or destructive cyber-attacks on state and local infrastructure."

These are just the latest challenges in securing American elections. Traditionally, election administration emphasizes policy goals such as ensuring that all eligible voters, and only eligible voters, may register and cast ballots; that those ballots are counted properly; and that the voting public views that process as legitimate and transparent. Preserving election continuity is a chief concern. Election officials therefore have long prepared contingency plans that address various risks, such as equipment malfunctions, power outages, and natural disasters.

These traditional concerns remain, but have taken on new complexity amid foreign interference in U.S. elections. In addition to managing traditional security concerns about infrastructure and administrative processes (e.g., counting ballots), mitigating external threats to the accuracy of information voters receive, particularly from foreign sources, is a potential challenge for political campaigns, election administrators, and the public.

Addressing any one of these topics might involve multiple areas of public policy or law. Doing so also can involve complex practical challenges about which levels of government, or agencies, are best equipped or most appropriate to respond. How those entities can or should interact with political campaigns, the private sector, and voters, are also ongoing questions. Technical complexity in some areas, such as cybersecurity, and the federal structure of shared national, state or territorial, and local responsibility for administering federal elections make election security even more challenging.

Election security in general appears to be a shared policy goal, but debate exists in Congress about which policy issues and options to pursue. Debate over the scope of the federal government's role in election security shapes much of that debate. State, territorial, and local governments are responsible for most aspects of election administration, including security.

This report provides congressional readers with an overview that includes

how campaign and election security has developed as a policy field; recent legislative activity, especially bills that have advanced beyond introduction; federal statutes and agencies that appear to be most relevant for campaign and election security; state, territorial, or local roles in administering elections, and federal support for those functions; and highlights of recent policy debates, and potential future questions for congressional consideration.

Defining Election Security

There is no single definition of "election security," nor is there necessarily agreement on which topics should or should not be included in the policy debate. Broadly speaking, election security involves efforts to ensure fair, accurate, and safe elections. This can include a variety of activities that happen before, during, and after voters cast their ballots.

A narrow definition of election security might address only efforts to protect traditional election infrastructure, such as voter registration databases, voting machines, polling places, and election result tabulations. More expansive definitions might also address issues affecting candidates and campaigns. This includes, for example, regulating political advertising or fundraising; providing physical or cybersecurity assistance for campaigns; or combating disinformation or misinformation in the political debate.

The policy debates discussed herein can affect different kinds of entities uniquely.

Perhaps most notably, security concerns affecting campaigns can differ from those for safeguarding elections and voting. Campaigns in the United States are about persuading voters in an effort to win elections. They are private, not governmental, operations and are subject to relatively little regulation beyond campaign finance policy. Elections are more highly regulated, although specific practices can vary, as their administration is primarily a state- or local-level responsibility. Provisions in state or local law, and, to a lesser degree, federal law, regulate how voters cast ballots and who may do so. Some security discussions include issues related to voter access, while others view access as a separate elections policy matter. This report briefly notes that access can be a component of campaign and election security policy debates, but the report does not otherwise address access issues.

This report does not attempt definitively to resolve ongoing policy debates about what campaign and election security entails or should entail, nor does it fully address all aspects of the policy issues discussed. Instead, it provides congressional readers with background information to consider that debate and decide whether or how to pursue legislation (including appropriations) or oversight. Because all the topics noted aboveâand others discussed throughout the reportâhave been components of the recent congressional debate over how to safeguard American campaigns, elections, and voting, this report uses the general term campaign and election security .

Scope of the Report

This report discusses federal agencies, statutes, and policies designed to prevent or respond to deliberate domestic or foreign security threats to campaigns, elections, or voting. Concepts discussed in the report also have implications for some unintentional threats, such as natural disasters or other emergencies that could affect campaigns, elections, or voting. Legislation cited in the report contains specific references to campaign and election security. This includes bill text that uses variations of terms such as campaign , election , or vote near variations of the terms interference or security . Some readers might view areas addressed herein as more or less directly related to campaign or election security, and alternative methodologies could yield other bills or policy topics for consideration.

The report does not include detailed attention to more traditional aspects of campaign finance, election administration, or voting, particularly voter mobilization. For example, the report discusses Help America Vote Act provisions that authorize funding states may use to help secure elections, but not provisions that authorize funding for the Election Assistance Commission generally. Similarly, the report briefly discusses Voting Rights Act provisions that prohibit voter intimidation, but it does not discuss other federal statutes enacted to make registration and voting easier. In addition, the report briefly notes lobbying statutes that might be relevant for regulating certain corporate or foreign activity related to U.S. election interference, but it does not substantially address lobbying as a policy area.

The report emphasizes domestic implications of campaign and election security. This includes attention to protections for U.S. campaigns and elections from the effects of foreign disinformation and misinformation efforts. The Appendix at the end of this report includes sanctions or immigration legislation that specifically references interference in U.S. elections, and which has advanced beyond introduction during the 116 th Congress. However, foreign policy implications of such interference, or a discussion of offensive operations and tactics that the United States might or might not use against foreign adversaries, are otherwise beyond the scope of this report.

Because of the still-developing and complex policy challenges surrounding campaign and election security, other areas of law, policy, or practice might also be relevant but are not addressed here. The report references other CRS products that contain additional discussion of several such topics. The report does not provide legal or constitutional analysis. It also does not attempt to catalog all alleged or established instances of campaign and election interference or security concerns, or to independently evaluate allegations.

Recent Legislative Activity

Highlights of recent legislative activity include the following. Additional discussion appears throughout the report.

The 115 th Congress (2017-2019) appropriated $380 million for FY2018 for improvements to the administration of federal elections, including upgrades to election technology and security. The 116 th Congress (2019-2021) appropriated $425 million for FY2020 in the consolidated appropriations bill ( H.R. 1158 ; P.L. 116-93 ) enacted in December 2019. The " Funding for States After the 2016 Election Cycle " section of this report contains additional detail. The 116 th Congress enacted S. 1790 ( P.L. 116-92 ), the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in December 2019. The legislation contains several provisions related to campaign and election security.

Table 1 below lists bills that have passed at least one chamber. The Appendix in this report briefly summarizes 116 th Congress legislation containing campaign and election security provisions that has advanced beyond introduction.

In addition, during the 116 th Congress, committees in both chambers have held hearings on these and related campaign and election security topics. The Committee on House Administration and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration exercise primary jurisdiction over federal elections. Several other committees oversee related areas, such as intelligence or voting rights issues. Another CRS product contains additional discussion of committee roles in federal campaigns and elections generally.

Development of Federal Role in Campaign and Election Security

Foreign interference is only the highest-profile and latest campaign and election security policy challenge. Physical security, to protect voters, ballots, and vote counts, has been an ongoing concern. Specifically, in modern history, the federal government's first role in securing elections was primarily about access and voting rights. In 1965, Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which protects voters against race- or color-based discrimination in registration, redistricting, and voting. More explicitly related to security, the VRA prohibits intimidation, threats, or coercion in voting. Congress primarily tasked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) with enforcing the statute and related criminal provisions. Federal law enforcement agencies, especially the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), also support states and localitiesâwhich retain primary responsibility for election administration in the United Statesâin investigating election crimes and providing physical security at the polls.

The federal role in election administration expanded after the disputed 2000 presidential election. In response, Congress authorized federal funding for the states, the District of Columbia, and territories to make improvements to the administration of federal elections. It also created the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to administer those funds. Congress charged the agency with overseeing a voluntary voting system testing and certification program, and providing states and localities with voluntary election administration guidance, research, and best practices. These developments notwithstanding, securing campaigns and elections historically was not a major policy topic at the federal level, as most security matters were reserved for state- or local-level policy.

The policy environment changed dramatically during the 2016 election cycle, when media reports and subsequent congressional and federal-agency investigations documented Russian government interference with that year's U.S. presidential election. According to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, these interference efforts targeted private technology firms that provide election-related software and hardware; state and local government entities; and a major political party and nominee.

The investigations did not find that this activity was a determinative factor in the election outcome. However, the possibility of such activity, and of additional efforts to affect political attitudes or participation, remains. In July 2018 remarks at the Hudson Institute, then-Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats, a former Senator, said that the Intelligence Community (IC) reported "aggressive attempts to manipulate social media and to spread propaganda focused on hot-button issues that are intended to exacerbate socio-political divisions" in elections.

To the extent that those efforts affect campaignsâincluding campaign security, or the information voters receive from campaignsâcampaign finance policy and law could be relevant. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) originated in the 1970s amid concerns about limiting domestic political corruption. The act also contains a wide-ranging prohibition on foreign-national involvement in federal, state, or local U.S. elections. These provisions, and disclosure and disclaimer requirements for all "persons" who raise or spend funds to influence federal elections, are key elements of regulating both domestic and foreign efforts to affect political fundraising, spending, and advertising. Political committees (campaigns, parties, and political action committees [PACs]) are responsible for their own security measures, although, as noted elsewhere in this report, federal agencies (or private-sector entities) provide assistance in some cases.

Today, election security is one of the most rapidly evolving policy issues facing Congress and the federal government. Both chambers have passed legislation on the topic during the 116 th Congress. Multiple House and Senate committees have held investigative and oversight hearings. Congress and the Obama and Trump Administrations have tasked federal agencies with new responsibilities for supporting states and thwarting future possible interference. The Intelligence Community has warned that countering foreign interference in U.S. elections "will require a whole-of-society approach, including support from the private sector and the active engagement of an informed public."

Selected Federal Statutes

The U.S. Constitution and federal statutes regulate the division of governmental responsibility for elections. No existing statute is devoted specifically to election security, although, as discussed below, some statutes address aspects of the topic. Most broadly, the Constitution's Elections Clause assigns states with setting the "Times, Places and Manner" for House and Senate elections, and also permits Congress to "at any time â¦ make or alter such Regulations." As discussed in the " State and Local Role in Election Security " section of this report, the federal government thus plays a largely supporting role in election administration generally, and in election security specifically.

Two election-specific statutes can be particularly important for campaign and election security. Relevant legislation typically proposes amending one or both. First, the Help America Vote Act (HAVA, 2002) is the only federal statute devoted to assisting states with election administration. Congress relied on HAVA to establish the Election Assistance Commission, provide for a voluntary federal voting system testing and certification program, and authorize federal funding states could use to help secure their elections. Second, FECA's disclaimer and disclosure provisions, and the prohibition on foreign national fundraising or spending in U.S. elections, can be particularly relevant for concerns about foreign interference in U.S. elections. Several other statutes could be relevant in specific cases. Table 2 below provides a brief summary.

Selected Federal Agencies

No single federal agency has responsibility for providing election or campaign security. Only two federal agenciesâthe Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC)âare devoted entirely to campaigns and elections.

The EAC administers congressionally appropriated federal funding, oversees a voluntary voting system testing and certification program, and provides voluntary election administration guidance, research, and best practices. The FEC is responsible for administration and civil enforcement of FECA. Other departments and agencies, primarily with responsibilities for other areas of public policy, support campaign and election security in specific cases. Some agency roles developed from a January 2017 "critical infrastructure" designation. Additional detail appears below.

Additional information about agency roles appears below, and in the " Coordination By and Among Selected Federal Agencies " section of this report.

Election Assistance Commission (EAC)

The EAC is the only federal agency focused specifically on assisting states with election administration. Congress has charged the EAC with administering funding states may use to help secure their elections.

The EAC also provides states and localities with election administration assistance, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines (VVSG, discussed below), providing for systems to be tested to the VVSG, and certifying systems as meeting the guidelines. It also conducts research about state election administration and voting, and shares information about best practices. Although not mandated by Congress, the EAC also participates in activities related to the designation of election systems as critical infrastructure, such as serving on the Election Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council (EIS-GCC) and on the EIS-GCC executive committee.

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

The FEC enforces civil compliance with FECA provisions and commission regulations regarding campaign finance. This includes activities related to fundraising, spending, advertising disclaimers, and financial disclosure reports. These provisions are relevant for some aspects of security affecting political candidates or campaigns, parties, political action committees (PACs), or other entities (e.g., independent spenders that are not political committees) that raise or spend funds to affect federal campaigns. The FEC does not regulate election administration or voting matters.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

DHS provides states and localities with assistance mitigating risks to their election systems, especially concerning cybersecurity.

DHS is the sector-specific agency (SSA) responsible for securing the election infrastructure subsector. Additional information appears later in this report. DHS's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is responsible for most of the department's election security activities, including the Election Security Initiative (ESI). DHS protects major presidential candidates through the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). The Secret Service is also the lead security agency for "national special security events" (NSSEs), such as presidential nominating conventions.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

The Department of Justice enforces several federal statutes, discussed above, that could be relevant for campaign and election security. Within DOJ, the FBI is the lead federal law enforcement agency supporting state and local election administration, and is the lead federal agency in investigating and prosecuting foreign influence campaigns.

Intelligence Community (IC)

Several agencies contribute to or produce intelligence about election security threats. For example, a declassified version of a January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) documenting Russian attempts to influence 2016-cycle U.S. elections contained information and analysis from the CIA, FBI, and NSA. The " Coordination By and Among Selected Federal Agencies " section below provides additional discussion of the IC campaign and election security roles.

Selected Other Federal Agencies

The State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC) is charged with coordinating federal efforts to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining U.S. national security interests. The GEC partners with other U.S. government agencies, including those within the State Department, at the Defense Department, and elsewhere. The Departments of Justice, State, and the Treasury all can be involved in administering sanctions for election interference. As noted previously, sanctions policy generally is beyond the scope of this report. Via the FY2020 NDAA bill ( S. 1790 ; P.L. 116-92 ), Congress assigned various agencies, especially DHS and the DNI, additional campaign and election security responsibilities. Most provisions involve providing Congress or federal or state agencies with information about election interference. The Appendix of this report provides additional detail.

Table 3 provides a brief overview of selected agency roles in campaign and election security.

Coordination By and Among Selected Federal Agencies

Because no single federal agency is solely responsible for campaign and election securityâand because state and local governments have most practical responsibility for election securityâcoordination among agencies and governments is an ongoing congressional concern. Adding to the complexity of the election security challenge, government agencies, in some cases, both support and regulate private actorsâsuch as political campaignsâand sometimes rely on those private entities to provide threat information.

Highlights of federal coordination issues appear below. Because some of these relationships appear to be in development, some information about agency coordination, or the lack thereof, remains unclear in the public record. Similarly, some information about coordination among intelligence-gathering agencies is publicly unavailable, beyond the scope of this report, or both. As such, other formal or information coordination among or by agencies likely occurs but is not reflected here.

Department of Homeland Security Coordination Roles

DHS takes a lead role in coordinating the federal support for campaign and election security. Most of the DHS coordination role stems from a January 2017 "critical infrastructure" designation that treats election infrastructure as an essential service requiring federal support and protection. The designation established the Elections Infrastructure Subsector (EIS) within the Government Facilities Sector, which includes various government buildings and equipment.

As a result of the critical infrastructure designation, DHS prioritizes support for the subsector, including to those state and local election jurisdictions that choose to accept such assistance. This includes sharing information about threats; and conducting cyber hygiene and risk and vulnerability assessments. The critical infrastructure designation applies to physical and technical resources related to elections, such as communications technology, voting equipment, and polling places. It does not apply to political campaigns. The designation does not give DHS regulatory authority over federal elections.

DHS serves as the Sector-Specific Agency (SSA) for the EIS. As SSA, the agency plays various coordinating roles among public and private entities, as highlighted below.

As SSA, DHS coordinates information sharing among various governmental and nongovernmental entities (e.g., vendors) responsible for election administration. In this role, DHS also coordinates activities for the EIS Government Coordinating Council (GCC). The EIS-GCC includes representatives from DHS, EAC, and state and local governments. DHS also works with a Sector Coordinating Council (SCC), which consists of industry representatives (e.g., voting-machine manufacturers). DHS also funds the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), a voluntary membership organization of state and local election jurisdictions run by the private Center for Internet Security. The EI-ISAC coordinates security information sharing among these entities.

Election Assistance Commission Coordination Roles

As the only federal agency devoted specifically to election administration, the EAC helps facilitate communication between state or local election administrators and other federal agencies, and vice versa. EAC commissioners serve on the EIS Government Coordinating Council (EIS-GCC), coordinated by DHS, and on the EIS-GCC executive committee.

Intelligence Community Coordination Roles

As noted previously, the IC includes more than a dozen agencies from throughout the federal government. Highlights of the IC role in coordination surrounding campaign and election security appear below.

In July 2019, then-DNI Coats created an IC Election Threats Executive (ETE) position to serve as the DNI's principal elections adviser and to coordinate IC election security work. Coats also directed IC agencies to assign a senior executive to serve as the point-of-contact for that agency's election security work and to serve on a new IC Election Executive and Leadership Board. U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA monitors foreign threats to U.S. elections. This reportedly includes a recently established Election Security Group. In addition, the FY2020 NDAA bill requires the DNI to appoint a national counterintelligence officer within the National Counterintelligence and Security Center to coordinate election security counterintelligence, particularly regarding foreign interference and equipment issues.

Coordination Roles and Selected Other Federal Agencies

In addition to coordination on IC threat assessments noted above, multiple federal agencies have collaborated on campaign and election security educational resources for political committees, election administrators, or voters. Agencies also have issued joint warnings. The State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC) is charged with coordinating federal efforts to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation. The State Department also works with the Treasury Department and Justice Department to administer sanctions for election interference.

The FY2020 NDAA and Coordination Roles

The FY2020 NDAA bill ( S. 1790 ; P.L. 116-92 ), enacted in December 2019, requires the DNI to "develop a whole-of-government strategy for countering the threat of Russian cyberattacks and attempted cyberattacks against election systems and processes in the United States." Congress specified that the strategy should include protecting federal, state, and local election systems, voter registration databases, voting tabulation equipment, and systems for transmitting election results. Congress also required the DNI to develop the strategy "in coordination" with the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security, State, and the Treasury, and with the Directors of the CIA and FBI.

Federal Agency Roles and Campaign Security

Perhaps because the 2017 critical infrastructure designation does not apply to political campaigns or other political committees, it appears that no federal agency has specific responsibility for coordinating security preparations for these entities. However, federal law enforcement agencies, particularly the FBI, can and do receive reports of, and investigate, suspected criminal activity. In preparation for the 2020 elections, the FBI also established a "Protected Voices" program that provides political campaigns, private companies, and individuals with information about how to guard against and respond to cyberattacks and foreign influence campaigns. In addition, DHS (CISA), the FBI, and ODNI have jointly briefed some 2020 federal political campaigns on security threats and best practices.

Federal Election Security Guidance

Federal election law takes a mostly voluntary approach to election security. Congress has set some security requirements for federal elections, such as directing election officials to provide a certain level of technological security for their HAVA-mandated computerized voter registration lists. Most election security standards are set at the state or local levels.

Some examples of the voluntary election security guidance the federal government provides are the research, best practices, and technical assistance described in the " Selected Federal Agencies " section of this report. HAVA also charges the EACâwith assistance from the agency's advisory bodies and NISTâwith developing voluntary voting system guidelines (VVSG), accrediting laboratories to test voting systems to the VVSG, and certifying systems as meeting the VVSG. The proposed update to the VVSG that was in development as of this writing (VVSG 2.0) includes some security-related principles and guidelines, such as ensuring that voting systems are auditable, limiting and logging access to voting systems, and preventing or detecting unauthorized physical access to voting system hardware.

Participation in the federal voting system testing and certification program is voluntary under federal law. The testing and certification program covers the "voting system" as defined by HAVA, which does not include some components of the election system, such as voter registration databases and election night reporting systems. Changes to one part of a voting system, such as updating software to patch security vulnerabilities, might require recertification of the system under the policies in effect as of this writing, and updates to the VVSG require approval by a three-vote majority of the EAC's commissioners.

Federal Funding for Securing Election Systems

Congress has responded to the threats that emerged during the 2016 election cycle, discussed above, in part with funding. Since the 2016 elections, it has provided funding for helping secure election systems both to states, territories, and the District of Columbia (DC), and to federal agencies.

Funding for States After the 2016 Election Cycle

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 ( H.R. 1158 ; P.L. 116-93 ), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 ( P.L. 115-141 ), included $425 million and $380 million, respectively, for payments under provisions of HAVA that authorize funding for general improvements to the administration of federal elections. The explanatory statements accompanying the bills listed the following election security-specific purposes as potential uses of the funds:

replacing voting equipment that only records a voter's intent electronically with equipment that utilizes a voter-verified paper record; implementing a post-election audit system that provides a high level of confidence in the accuracy of the final vote tally; upgrading election-related computer systems to address cyber vulnerabilities identified through DHS or similar scans or assessments of existing election systems; facilitating cybersecurity training for the state chief election official's office and local election officials; implementing established cybersecurity best practices for election systems; and funding other activities that will improve the security of elections for federal office.

The 50 states, DC, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were eligible for both FY2018 and FY2020 payments. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) was eligible for FY2020 funding. Each recipient was guaranteed a minimum payment amount each year it was eligibleâ$3 million for each of the 50 states and DC and $600,000 per eligible territoryâwith the remainder of the appropriated funding distributed according to a formula based on voting-age population. Recipients are required to provide a 5% match for the FY2018 funds within two years of receiving a federal payment and a 20% match for the FY2020 funding.

The EAC, which was charged with administering the payments, reported that all of the FY2018 funds were requested by July 16, 2018, and disbursed to the states by September 20, 2018. Each state has five years to spend the funds, according to the EAC, and must report on its spending each fiscal year. The EAC posts links to the states' reportsâand spending plansâon its website and issues its own overview reports of state spending.

Funding for Federal Agencies After the 2016 Election Cycle

As noted in the " Selected Federal Agencies " section of this report, multiple federal agencies are involved in helping secure election systems. Congress has designated some of the funding it has appropriated to such agencies specifically for election system security. For example, following the designation of election systems as critical infrastructure in January 2017, the report language for DHS appropriations measures has specified funding for the department's election security initiative. The explanatory statement for the FY2018 spending bill also directed the FBI to use some of its funding to help counter threats to democratic institutions and processes.

Agencies may also spend some of the funding they receive for more general purposes on activities related to election system security. The U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD's) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has provided funding under its System Security Integrated Through Hardware and Firmware (SSITH) program to advance development of a secure, open-source voting system, for example, and the EAC applies some of its operational funding to the federal voting system testing and certification program described in the " Federal Election Security Guidance " section of this report.

State and Local Role in Election Security

Some threats to U.S. electionsâincluding both intentional interference efforts and the unintended threats posed by errors and natural disastersâinvolve the state and local systems used to administer elections. Other election security threats involve efforts to spread disinformation about elections or the integrity of the electoral process.

States and localities may play a role in countering both types of threat. First, states and localities take the lead on defending their election systems. As noted previously, states and localities have primary responsibility for administering elections in the United States. The federal government has provided some funding and technical support to help them secure the systems they use to run elections, but states and localities have primary responsibility for ensuring that their systems are physically and technologically secure.

That includes primary responsibility for funding election system security measures. Securing election systems may involve capital expenditures, such as replacing voting machines, that exceed funding provided by Congress. It may also involve ongoing costsâfrom identifying and addressing emerging security threats to renewing software licenses, paying election security staff, and conducting post-election auditsâthat extend beyond the period for which federal funding is available. Such expenses are covered, if they are covered, by states and localities.

State and local responsibility for election system security also includes primary responsibility for making and implementing most decisions about how to secure election systems. Federal law sets some general standards for the administration of elections, such as the voter registration list digitization requirement noted in the " Federal Election Security Guidance " section of this report.

States and localities decideâwithin the broad parameters set by such general standardsâwhich election equipment and procedures to use and how to mitigate risks to them. They choose, for example,

whether to use electronic devices to capture or count votes; whether, when, and how to conduct post-election audits; whether and how to set security standards for election equipment vendors; whether to have in-house security staff in local jurisdictions or rely on state or vendor IT support; which cybersecurity tools and procedures to use; whether and how to train election officials and poll workers on election security; how to secure election materials between elections and ensure a secure physical chain of custody on Election Day; and what cyber and physical security standards to set for election equipment.

Second, states and localities can help combat disinformation or misinformation about elections or the integrity of the electoral process. They can, for example,

use official websites and social media accounts to share accurate information about elections or counter false information; and help educate the public about the steps they take to safeguard the electoral process.

States also can work through their professional associationsâusing initiatives such as a public education campaign launched by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) in November 2019âto help direct voters to trustworthy sources of election information.

These efforts might occur as part of or in parallel with responses to disinformation or misinformation by the federal government or private entities like social media companies. States might partner with social media companies to remove posts containing election disinformation, for example, or adopt disclosure requirements that supplement or override the companies' policies on digital political advertising.

Selected Recent Policy Issues for Congress

Table 4 below briefly summarizes selected policy issues and options that have shaped recent policy debates in Congress. In addition, the Appendix at the end of this report briefly summarizes legislation primarily devoted to campaign and election security that has advanced beyond introduction during the 116 th Congress. The table reflects recent policy debates, but is not intended to be exhaustive. Some observers might consider other issues not reflected here to be relevant for campaign and election security.

Concluding Observations

Campaign and election security are developing fields that cross policy and disciplinary boundaries. This complexity is reflected in the various statutes, agencies, and congressional committees that share responsibility for policymaking and administrative matters relevant for security U.S. campaigns and elections. Questions such as those that follow reflect themes discussed throughout this report. These and other questions could help congressional readers decide whether they want to maintain the status quo, appropriate funds, or pursue oversight or legislation.

Federal R ole. A key question for Congress is whether, where, and how it chooses to be involved in campaign and election security. Most broadly, this potentially includes how to define this rapidly developing policy area, and in so doing, considering which issues are most appropriately addressed at the federal level versus at the state or local levels. This report has emphasized the federal role because those topics are most relevant for Congress. As the report also explains, states, localities, and territories are responsible for making many of their own election security decisionsâjust as political campaigns, parties, and PACs are responsible for their own security. Therefore, there are important debates about what campaign and election security includes that the federal government can influence, but that are primarily addressed below the federal level, in the private sector, or both. Examples include, but are not limited to, how election security might affect voter access, and vice versa; whether states require voter identification at the polls and whether or to what extent alleged vote fraud exists; how much and on what jurisdictions choose to spend available funds; and whether states, localities, or political campaigns and parties have sufficient resources to secure their elections or organizations. Communication. Does Congress want to encourage or require additional information sharing about campaign and election security matters between the federal government and nonfederal elections agencies? Similarly, do state, territorial, and local elections officials feel that they have or need clear points of contact within federal agencies, and do they know which agencies to contact in various circumstances? If it determines that the status quo is inadequate, does Congress want to encourage or require different reporting protocols, agency outreach, etc.? Coordination. Various agencies have reported to Congress that they have improved coordination among themselves, particularly through working groups or task forces. Less clear, at least from publicly available information, is specifically how such coordination works and whether current coordinating mechanisms are sufficient or whether agencies need additional resources or mechanisms to improve coordination. If it determines that the status quo is inadequate, does Congress want to exercise oversight in this area, provide additional information-sharing authorities, funding, etc., or does it consider current coordination authorities and mechanisms sufficient? Sectors. Much of the federal government's attention to campaign and election security appears to emphasize outreach to election administrators in states, territories, and localities. With respect to the private sector (such as political campaigns and equipment manufacturers), is federal agency support sufficient? To what extent are information-sharing practices among federal agencies and the private sector (or voters) similar to or different from those that shape communication between federal agencies and state, territorial, or local governments? If it determines that the status quo is inadequate, does Congress want to encourage or require additional federal agency support for nongovernmental entities in campaign and election security, or reporting requirements for those entities to the federal government? Voters. Some federal public education campaigns, such as those to counter disinformation in elections, are aimed at individual voters. Overall, however, much of the federal role in campaign and election security emphasizes communication among government agencies or, in some cases, the private sector. If it determines that the status quo is inadequate, does Congress want to task federal agenciesâand if so, which onesâwith additional responsibility for educating voters about campaign and election security; to provide funding for nongovernmental organizations to do so, etc.?

The scope of potential campaign and election security threats, and the federal government's role in responding to those threats, has changed substantially in less than five years. The foreign interference revealed during the 2016 cycleâand widely reported to be an ongoing threatâhas renewed congressional attention to campaign and election security and raised new questions. Whatever Congress determines about whether these or other questions are relevant for its consideration of campaign and election security policy, the issue is likely to remain prominent for the foreseeable future.

Appendix. Legislation Related to Campaign and Election Security That Has Advanced Beyond Introduction, 116th Congress