,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #aidf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #bh1 #bjai,ms4 ,gabbard 7for herself and ,ms4 ,norton7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,house ,administration1 and in addition to the ,committee on the ,budget1 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 amend the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb to require voting systems used in elections for ,federal office to produce a voter-verified paper ballot of each vote cast on the system1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 sense of ,congress 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,securing ,america's ,elections ,act of #bjai4 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that according to the ,department of ,homeland ,security there were attempts to hack the election infrastructure of #ba ,states during the #bjaf elections4 ,the failing security and vulnerabilities in our national election infrastructure were later confirmed and highlighted by the hacking community in a report issued in ,september #bjag1 after the ,,defcon #be conference in ,las ,vegas1 ,nevada4 ,a subsequent report issued in ,september #bjah1 after the ,,defcon #bf ,conference1 highlighted the need for ,federal funding to ,states to improve the security of election infrastructure4 ,in light of these findings1 the ,government must act with all deliberate purpose to ensure that the integrity of elections in the ,united ,states is protected against hackers4 #b4 ,promoting accuracy1 integrity1 and security through voter-verified permanent paper ballot 7a7 ,ballot verification and audit capacity 7#a7 ,in general ,section #cja7;a77#b7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;a77#b77 is amended to read as follows3 7#b7 ,ballot verification and audit capacity 7,a7 ,voter-verified paper ballots 7i7 ,verification 7,i7 ,the voting system shall require the production of a voter-verified paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be created by or made available for inspection and verification by the individual voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted4 ,for purposes of this subclause1 a voter-verified paper ballot includes 7but is not limited to7 a paper ballot marked by the voter for the purpose of being counted by hand or read by an optical scanner or other similar device1 a paper ballot prepared by the voter to be mailed to an election official 7whether from a domestic or overseas location71 a paper ballot created through the use of a ballot marking device or system1 or a paper ballot produced by a touch screen or other electronic voting machine1 so long as in each case the voter is permitted to verify the ballot in a paper form in accordance with this subparagraph4 7,,ii7 ,the voting system shall provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any error made by the system in the voter-verified paper ballot before the permanent voter-verified paper ballot is preserved in accordance with clause 7ii74 7,,iii7 ,the voting system shall not preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in any manner that makes it possible1 at any time after the ballot has been cast1 to associate a voter with the record of the voter's vote4 7ii7 ,preservation ,the voter-verified paper ballot produced in accordance with clause 7i7 shall be used as the official ballot for purposes of any recount or audit conducted with respect to any election for ,federal office in which the voting system is used1 and shall be preserved in accordance with regulations promulgated by the ,commission to establish criteria for the proper preservation and retention of the official ballots in the election4 7iii7 ,manual audit capacity ,each paper ballot produced pursuant to clause 7i7 shall be suitable for a manual audit equivalent to that of a paper ballot voting system1 in accordance with the methods described in subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,approved methods for manual audits ,the methods described in this subparagraph with respect to the manual audit of voter-verified paper ballots are-- 7i7 audits conducted through the use of programmable electronic counting machines which are not capable of being connected to the ,internet1 as determined in accordance with regulations promulgated by the ,commission2 or 7ii7 if no machine described in clause 7i7 is available1 an audit conducted by a hand count4 7,c7 ,resolution of disputes when paper ballots have been shown to be compromised ,in the event that the paper ballots produced pursuant to subparagraph 7,a7 with respect to an election for ,federal office have been compromised1 the ,state shall resolve the dispute over the results of the election in accordance with dispute resolution processes established under regulations promulgated by the ,commission4 7,d7 ,deadline for promulgation of regulations ,the ,commission shall promulgate the regulations described in this paragraph not later than ,june #cj1 #bjai4 4 7#b7 ,conforming amendment clarifying applicability of alternative language accessibility ,section #cja7;a77#d7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;a77#d77 is amended by inserting 7including the paper ballots required to be produced under paragraph 7#b77 after voting system4 7#c7 ,other conforming amendments ,section #cja7;a77#a7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;a77#a77 is amended-- 7,a7 in subparagraph 7,a77i71 by striking counted and inserting counted1 in accordance with paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c72 7,b7 in subparagraph 7,a77ii71 by striking counted and inserting counted1 in accordance with paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c72 7,c7 in subparagraph 7,a77iii71 by striking counted each place it appears and inserting counted1 in accordance with paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c72 and 7,d7 in subparagraph 7,b77ii71 by striking counted and inserting counted1 in accordance with paragraphs 7#b7 and 7#c74 7b7 ,availability of additional funding ,to enable ,states ,to meet costs of revised requirement 7#a7 ,extension of requirements payments for meeting revised requirement2 amounts deemed to meet requirements for emergency funding ,section #beg7;a7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajjg7;a77 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph3 7#e7 ,for fiscal year #bjai1 such sums as may be necessary to enable ,states to meet the requirements of section #cja7;a77#b7 which are first imposed on the ,state pursuant to the amendments made by section #b7;a7 of the ,securing ,america's ,elections ,act of #bjai4 ,any amount appropriated pursuant to the authorization under this paragraph shall be designated by the ,congress as being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section #bea7;b77#b77;,a77i7 of the ,balanced ,budget and ,emergency ,deficit ,control ,act of #aihe4 4 7#b7 ,amount of payment based on costs incurred in meeting revised requirements ,section #beb of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajjb7 is amended-- 7,a7 in subsection 7a71 by striking subsection 7c7 and inserting subsections 7c7 and 7e72 7,b7 by redesignating subsection 7e7 as subsection 7f72 and 7,c7 by inserting after subsection 7d7 the following new subsection3 7e7 ,special rule for fiscal year #bjai 7#a7 ,coverage of costs of meeting revised ballot verification and audit capacity requirements ,the amount of a requirements payment made to a ,state from funds appropriated for fiscal year #bjai shall be equal to the ,state's estimate of the reasonable costs the ,state expects to incur to meet the requirements referred to in paragraph 7#c71 as contained in the statement filed by the ,state with the ,commission under section #bec7;f77#a77;,a77ii74 7#b7 ,recoupment of overpayments ,if a ,state receives a requirements payment from funds appropriated for fiscal year #bjah1 the ,state shall agree to repay to the ,commission the excess 7if any7 of-- 7,a7 the amount of the payment2 over 7,b7 the actual costs incurred by the ,state in meeting the requirements referred to in paragraph 7#c71 as contained in the statement filed by the ,state with the ,commission under section #bec7;f77#a77;,b74 7#c7 ,requirements described ,the requirements referred to in this paragraph are the requirements of section #cja7;a77#b7 7relating to ballot verification and audit capacity7 which are first imposed on the ,state pursuant to the amendments made by section #b7;a7 of the ,securing ,america's ,elections ,act of #bjai4 4 7#c7 ,revised conditions for receipt of funds ,section #bec of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajjc7 is amended-- 7,a7 in subsection 7a71 by striking ,a ,state is eligible and inserting ,except as provided in subsection 7f71 a ,state is eligible2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7f7 ,special rule for fiscal year #bjai 7#a7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of this part1 a ,state is eligible to receive a requirements payment from funds appropriated for fiscal year #bjai if1 at any time after the funds are appropriated1 the chief executive officer of the ,state1 or designee1 in consultation and coordination with the chief ,state election official-- 7,a7 files a statement with the ,commission-- 7i7 describing how the ,state will use the payment to meet the requirements of section #cja7;a77#b7 7relating to ballot verification and audit capacity7 which are first imposed on the ,state pursuant to the amendment made by section #b7;a7 of the ,securing ,america's ,elections ,act of #bjai1 and 7ii7 containing the ,state's estimate of the reasonable costs the ,state expects to incur to meet such requirements2 and 7,b7 certifies to the ,commission that1 upon completing the replacement or upgrading of its voting systems to meet such requirements1 the ,state will file a statement with the ,commission containing the actual costs incurred by the ,state in meeting such requirements4 7#b7 ,certifications by ,states that require changes to ,state law ,in the case of a ,state that requires ,state legislation to carry out any activity covered by any certification submitted under this subsection1 the ,state shall be permitted to make the certification notwithstanding that the legislation has not been enacted at the time the certification is submitted and such ,state shall submit an additional certification once such legislation is enacted4 4 7#d7 ,permitting use of funds for reimbursement for costs previously incurred ,section #bea7;c77#a7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajja7;c77#a77 is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting the following3 1 or as a reimbursement for any costs incurred in meeting the requirements of section #cja7;a77#b7 which are first imposed pursuant to the amendments made by section #b7;a7 of the ,securing ,america's ,elections ,act of #bjah or in otherwise replacing or upgrading voting systems in response to such amendments44 7#e7 ,rule of construction regarding use of funds to replace or upgrade systems obtained with funds provided previously under ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb ,nothing in the amendments made by this subsection or in any other provision of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb may be construed to prohibit a ,state from using any funds provided under such ,act pursuant to the amendments made by this subsection 7or any funds provided under such ,act prior to the date of the enactment of this ,act which remain unexpended as of the date of the enactment of this ,act7 to replace or upgrade a voting system purchased or otherwise obtained in whole or in part using funds received under title ,i or ,,ii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act at any time before the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7#f7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this subsection shall apply with respect to fiscal years beginning with fiscal year #bjai4 7c7 ,study and report on use of open-,source software in voting systems 7#a7 ,study ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security and the ,election ,assistance ,commission1 acting jointly1 shall conduct a study of the feasibility and desirability of using open-source software in voting systems1 based on information obtained from elections for ,federal office held in #bjbj through #bjbb4 7#b7 ,report ,not later than ,july #a1 #bjbc1 the ,secretary and the ,commission shall submit to ,congress a report on the study conducted under paragraph 7#a71 and shall include in the report such recommendations as the ,secretary and ,commission consider appropriate regarding the possible use of open-source software in the voting systems used to administer elections for ,federal office held in #bjbd4 7#c7 ,development and maintenance of software ,if the ,secretary and the ,commission include in the report submitted under paragraph 7#b7 a recommendation that ,state election officials use open-source software in the voting systems used to administer elections for ,federal office in the ,state-- 7,a7 the ,commission shall enter into a partnership with appropriate private entities1 including entities engaged in the business of maintaining open-source software1 to develop1 test1 certify1 and maintain open-source software for such purpose for elections held in #bjbf or any succeeding year2 and 7,b7 the ,commission shall ensure that such certified software is available without cost to ,state election officials4 7d7 ,effective date for new requirements ,section #cja7;d7 of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;d77 is amended to read as follows3 7d7 ,effective ,date 7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 each ,state and jurisdiction shall be required to comply with the requirements of this section on and after ,january #a1 #bjjf4 7#b7 ,special rule for certain requirements ,the requirements of subsection 7a77#b7 which are first imposed on a ,state and jurisdiction pursuant to the amendments made by section #b7;a7 of the ,securing ,america's ,elections ,act of #bjai shall apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for ,federal office held in ,november #bjbj and each succeeding election for ,federal office4 4