,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #aijg  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #e1 #bjag,mr4 
,johnson of ,georgia 7for himself1 ,mr4 
,conyers1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,meeks1 ,mr4
 ,cicilline1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 
,mr4 ,rush1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1   
,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,ms4        
,norton1 ,ms4 ,lee1 ,mr4 ,hastings1 ,ms4
 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 
,ms4 ,slaughter1 ,ms4 ,wilson of        
,florida1 ,mr4 ,ted ,lieu of            
,california1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1  
,mr4 ,david ,scott of ,georgia1 ,mr4    
,huffman1 ,mr4 ,danny ,k4 ,davis of     
,illinois1 ,mr4 ,richmond1 ,ms4 ,fudge1 
,ms4 ,bass1 ,mr4 ,butterfield1 ,mr4     
,cummings1 ,mr4 ,al ,green of ,texas1   
,ms4 ,maxine ,waters of ,california1    
,mr4 ,norcross1 ,mr4 ,mc,nerney1 ,mr4   
,payne1 ,ms4 ,judy ,chu of ,california1 
,ms4 ,eshoo1 and ,mr4 ,smith of         
,washington7 introduced the following   
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,house ,administration1   

and in addition to the ,committees on   
,science1 ,space1 and ,technology1 and  
,homeland ,security1 for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the ,speaker1
 in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the           
jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,homeland ,security to conduct research 
and development to mitigate the         
consequences of threats to voting       
systems1 to amend the ,help ,america    
,vote ,act of #bjjb to require the      
voting systems used in elections for    
,federal office to comply with national 
standards developed by the ,national    
,institute of ,standards and ,technology
 for operational security and ballot    
verification1 to establish programs to  
promote research in innovative voting   
system technologies1 and for other      
purposes4  #a4 ,short title2 table of   
contents  7a7 ,short title ,this ,act   
may be cited as the ,election           
,infrastructure and ,security ,promotion

 ,act of #bjag4  7b7 ,table of contents 
,the table of contents of this ,act is  
as follows3  ,sec4 #a4 ,short title2    
table of contents4 ,title ,i--,election 
,infrastructure and ,security ,sec4     
#aja4 ,definition of critical           
infrastructure4 ,sec4 #ajb4 ,designation
 of voting systems as critical          
infrastructure4 ,sec4 #ajc4 ,voting     
system threat and research and          
development4 ,title ,,ii--,national     
,standards for ,voting ,system ,security
 ,sec4 #bja4 ,development of standards4 
,sec4 #bjb4 ,requiring ,states to comply
 with standards in administration of    
elections for ,federal office4 ,sec4    
#bjc4 ,incorporation of standards into  
certification and testing of voting     
systems4 ,title ,,iii--,national        
,standards for ,transparency and        
,verification of ,ballot ,counting ,sec4
 #cja4 ,development of standards4 ,sec4 
#cjb4 ,requiring ,states to comply with 
standards in administration of elections
 for ,federal office4 ,title            

,,iv--,research and ,development ,sec4  
#dja4 ,innovative election technology   
research and development4  ,i ,election 
,infrastructure and ,security  #aja4    
,definition of critical infrastructure  
,in this title1 the term critical       
infrastructure has the meaning given    
such term in section #ajaf of the       
,critical ,infrastructure ,protection   
,act of #bjja 7#db ,u4,s4,c4            
#eaie;c7e774  #ajb4 ,designation of     
voting systems as critical              
infrastructure ,the ,secretary of       
,homeland ,security1 acting through the 
,assistant ,secretary of the ,national  
,protection and ,programs ,directorate1 
shall--  7#a7 designate voting systems  
used in the ,united ,states as critical 
infrastructure2  7#b7 include threats of
 compromise1 disruption1 or destruction 
of voting systems in national planning  
scenarios2 and  7#c7 conduct a campaign 
to proactively educate local election   
officials about the designation of      
voting systems as critical              

infrastructure and election officials at
 all levels of government of voting     
system threats4  #ajc4 ,voting system   
threat and research and development  7a7
 ,in general ,in furtherance of local   
election official preparedness and      
response1 the ,secretary of ,homeland   
,security1 acting through the ,under    
,secretary for ,science and ,technology1
 and in consultation with other relevant
 agencies and departments of the        
,federal ,government and relevant ,state
 and local election official operators  
of election infrastructure1 shall       
conduct research and development to     
mitigate the consequences of voting     
systems threats4  7b7 ,scope ,the scope 
of the research and development under   
subsection 7a7 shall include the        
following3 7#a7 ,an objective scientific
 analysis of the risks to critical      
election infrastructures from a range of
 threats4  7#b7 ,determination of the   
voting system assets and infrastructures
 that are at risk from intrusion1       

compromise1 disruption or destruction4  
7#c7 ,an evaluation of emergency        
planning and response technologies that 
would address the findings and          
recommendations of experts1 including   
those of a ,commission to ,assess the   
,threat to the ,united ,states from     
election administration or voting system
 attack4  7#d7 ,an analysis of          
technology options that are available to
 improve the resiliency of critical     
infrastructure to voting system threats4
  7#e7 ,the restoration and recovery    
capabilities of critical infrastructure 
under differing levels of damage and    
disruption4  7c7 ,comprehensive plan    
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of     
,homeland ,security shall prepare and   
submit to the ,committee on ,homeland   
,security of the ,house of              
,representatives and the ,committee on  
,homeland ,security and ,governmental   
,affairs of the ,senate a comprehensive 
plan to protect and prepare the critical
 infrastructure of the voting systems   

used in the ,united ,states against     
threats1 including from acts of         
terrorism4  7#b7 ,plan requirements ,the
 comprehensive plan shall-- 7,a7 be     
based on findings of the research and   
development conducted under subsection  
7a72  7,b7 be developed in consultation 
with the relevant ,federal              
sector-specific agencies 7as defined    
under ,homeland ,security ,presidential 
,directive for critical                 
infrastructures72 and  7,c7 be developed
 in consultation with ,state and local  
election officials4  7#c7 ,updates ,the 
,secretary shall update the plan        
required under this subsection          
biennially4  ,,ii ,national ,standards  
for ,voting ,system ,security  #bja4    
,development of standards  7a7          
,development ,the ,director of the      
,national ,institute of ,standards and  
,technology shall develop standards for 
ensuring the operational security of the
 voting systems used in elections for   
,federal office1 including the physical 

and cybersecurity of such systems and   
security requirements for the personnel 
who operate such systems4  7b7 ,contents
 of ,standards ,in developing standards 
under this title1 the ,director shall   
ensure the following3 7#a7 ,the         
standards shall set forth specific1     
evidence-based security requirements for
 the operation of each individual       
component of voting systems1 including  
components for marking ballots1 scanning
 ballots1 aggregating vote tallies from 
vote counters1 and electronic poll      
books4  7#b7 ,the standards shall set   
forth specific1 evidence-based          
requirements for the interoperability of
 the components1 based on data standards
 established by the ,national ,institute
 of ,standards and ,technology4  7#c7   
,no system or device upon which ballots 
or votes are cast or tabulated shall be 
connected to the ,internet at any time  
through any publicly accessible network4
  7#d7 ,no system or device upon which  
ballots or votes are cast or tabulated  

shall contain1 use1 or be accessible by 
any wireless1 power-line1 or concealed  
communication device4  7c7 ,deadline2   
updates  7#a7 ,deadline for initial     
standards ,the ,director shall develop  
the standards under this title not later
 than #a year after the date of the     
enactment of this ,act4  7#b7 ,updates  
,the ,director may update the standards 
under this title at such times as the   
,director considers appropriate4  #bjb4 
,requiring ,states to comply with       
standards in administration of elections
 for ,federal office ,section #cja7;a7  
of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of     
#bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;a77 is     
amended by adding at the end the        
following new paragraph3  7#g7          
,compliance with security standards ,in 
operating the voting system1 the ,state 
shall comply with the applicable        
standards developed by the ,director of 
the ,national ,institute of ,standards  
and ,technology under title ,,ii of the 
,election ,infrastructure and ,security 

,promotion ,act of #bjag for ensuring   
the operational security of voting      
systems4  4  #bjc4 ,incorporation of    
standards into certification and testing
 of voting systems ,section #bca7;a7 of 
the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb  
7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjiga7;a77 is amended by
 adding at the end the following new    
paragraph3  7#c7 ,ensuring compliance   
with operational security standards ,the
 testing and certification of voting    
system hardware and software carried out
 under this subtitle shall test whether 
voting systems are in compliance with   
the applicable standards developed by   
the ,director of the ,national          
,institute of ,standards and ,technology
 under title ,,ii of the ,election      
,infrastructure and ,security ,promotion
 ,act of #bjag for ensuring the         
operational security of voting systems1 
including testing whether the components
 of voting systems meet the             
component-specific security requirements
 and the system interoperability        

requirements under such standards4  4   
,,iii ,national ,standards for          
,transparency and ,verification of      
,ballot ,counting  #cja4 ,development of
 standards  7a7 ,development ,the       
,director of the ,national ,institute of
 ,standards and ,technology shall       
develop standards for ensuring that the 
process by which ballots are counted in 
elections for ,federal office is        
transparent and permits voters to verify
 that votes in such elections are       
counted correctly4  7b7 ,contents of    
standards ,in developing standards under
 this title1 the ,director shall ensure 
the following3 7#a7 ,election officials 
will provide the public with sufficient 
evidence to verify the results of an    
election for ,federal office1 including 
through the establishment of tracking   
procedures that permit members of the   
public to track the ballots counted in  
the election1 so long as such procedures
 ensure the anonymity of the individuals
 who cast the ballots4  7#b7 ,all of the

 data used or produced by the relevant  
components of a voting system used in an
 election for ,federal office4  7#c7    
,election officials shall make all of   
the relevant components of a voting     
system used in an election for ,federal 
office available to other parties 7such 
as other officials of the ,state1       
research organizations1 and institutions
 of higher education7 to duplicate the  
testing procedures used to certify the  
use of the system for use in such       
elections4  7c7 ,deadline2 updates  7#a7
 ,deadline for initial standards ,the   
,director shall develop the standards   
under this title not later than #a year 
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act4  7#b7 ,updates ,the ,director may 
update the standards under this title at
 such times as the ,director considers  
appropriate4  7d7 ,relevant components  
defined ,in this section1 the term      
relevant components means1 with respect 
to a voting system1 each component of   
the system which is involved with       

counting ballots and producing a tally  
of the ballots cast1 including the      
source code1 build tools1 build         
procedure documentation1 test plans1    
test fixtures1 and software and hardware
 specifications4  #cjb4 ,requiring      
,states to comply with standards in     
administration of elections for ,federal
 office ,section #cja7;a7 of the ,help  
,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb       
,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;a771 as amended by    
section #bjb1 is amended by adding at   
the end the following new paragraph3    
7#h7 ,compliance with transparency and  
ballot verification standards ,in       
operating the voting system1 the ,state 
shall comply with the applicable        
standards developed by the ,director of 
the ,national ,institute of ,standards  
and ,technology under title ,,iii of the
 ,election ,infrastructure and ,security
 ,promotion ,act of #bjag for ensuring  
that the process by which ballots are   
counted in elections for ,federal office
 is transparent and permits voters to   

verify that votes in such elections are 
counted correctly4  4  ,,iv ,research   
and ,development  #dja4 ,innovative     
election technology research and        
development  7a7 ,in general ,the       
,national ,science ,foundation1 in      
cooperation with the ,defense ,advanced 
,research ,projects ,agency1 shall      
establish an election technology        
innovation research and development     
program4 ,such program--  7#a7 shall    
support the development of hardware and 
software technologies and systems for   
marking ballots1 scanning ballots1      
aggregating tallies from counters1 and  
electronic poll books2 and  7#b7 may    
also support research and development on
 other elements of technology for       
voting1 election administration1        
auditing1 and other election-critical   
operations4  7b7 ,requirements ,the     
,national ,science ,foundation shall1 to
 the extent practicable and in          
consultation with the ,election         
,assistance ,commission and the         

,national ,institute of ,standards and  
,technology1 ensure that technologies   
developed through assistance provided   
under this section--  7#a7 conform to   
any applicable standards and guidelines 
for design and for data interoperability
 established by the ,national ,institute
 of ,standards and ,technology2 and     
7#b7 are made available for use by      
,federal1 ,state1 and local governments 
at no cost4