,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #cah #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #diij ,report ,no4 #aaf-cif1 ,part ,i ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,november #h1 #bjai,ms4 ,sherrill 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,gonzalez of ,ohio1 ,ms4 ,johnson of ,texas1 and ,mr4 ,lucas7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,house ,administration1 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 ,february #ac1 #bjbj;,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,balderson1 ,ms4 ,kendra ,s4 ,horn of ,oklahoma1 ,mr4 ,perlmutter1 ,mr4 ,lipinski1 ,mr4 ,van ,drew1 ,mr4 ,case1 ,mr4 ,harder of ,california1 ,ms4 ,slotkin1 and ,ms4 ,kuster of ,new ,hampshire ,february #ac1 #bjbj,reported from the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology with an amendment,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,february #ac1 #bjbj;,committee on ,house ,administration discharged2 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,november #h1 #bjai ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology and the ,national ,science ,foundation to carry out research and other activities to promote the security and modernization of voting systems1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,election ,technology ,research ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology 7a7 ,voting systems research ,the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology1 in collaboration with the ,national ,science ,foundation as appropriate1 shall carry out a program of research on voting systems1 including-- 7#a7 the cybersecurity of different components of such systems2 7#b7 end-to-end verifiable systems2 7#c7 ,internet-enabled voting2 7#d7 the accessibility and usability of different components of such systems2 7#e7 voter privacy and data protection2 7#f7 methods for auditing elections2 7#g7 the interoperability of system technologies2 7#h7 means for providing voters with the ability to easily check whether a ballot sent by mail has been dispatched to the voter and whether the voter's marked ballot has been received and accepted by the appropriate election official2 7#i7 the reliability of various approaches to voter authentication2 and 7#aj7 such other areas of research as the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology determines to be appropriate and related to the security and integrity of elections for ,federal office4 7b7 ,elections systems center of excellence 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology shall make an award to an institution of higher education or an eligible nonprofit organization 7or a consortium thereof7 to establish a ,center of ,excellence in ,election ,systems4 7#b7 ,collaborations ,the ,director shall ensure that the ,center of ,excellence includes a collaboration of institutions of higher education1 nonprofit organizations1 private sector entities1 and ,state and local election officials4 7#c7 ,purpose ,the purpose of the ,center of ,excellence shall be to-- 7,a7 conduct measurement research and statistical analyses to inform the development of standards for technologies and processes that contribute to more secure1 fair1 and accessible elections2 7,b7 test and evaluate the security1 usability1 and accessibility of the technologies of voting systems1 including the accessibility of poll book data by voters2 7,c7 research testing methods that could be used for the certification of voting system technologies2 7,d7 educate and train students studying in science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics fields to conduct measurement science and standards research relevant to such systems2 and 7,e7 foster collaboration among academic researchers1 private sector vendors of election technology1 and ,state and local election officials4 7#d7 ,requirements 7,a7 ,in general ,an institution of higher education or an eligible nonprofit organization 7or a consortium thereof7 seeking funding under this subsection shall submit an application to the ,director at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,director may require4 7,b7 ,applications ,each application under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include a description of-- 7i7 how the ,center will work with other research institutions1 industry partners1 and ,state or local election officials to identify the measurement1 testing1 and standards needs of voting systems and to leverage the expertise of election practitioners2 and 7ii7 how the ,center will promote active collaboration among researchers in multiple disciplines involved in ensuring the security and integrity of such systems4 7,c7 ,selection and duration ,each ,center established under this section is authorized to carry out activities for a period of #e years1 renewable for an additional #e years at the discretion of the ,director4 7c7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #ab1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd4 #c4 ,national ,science ,foundation 7a7 ,research grants ,the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 in collaboration with the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology and other relevant agencies1 as appropriate1 shall award basic research grants to increase the understanding of cyber and other threats to voting systems and to inform the development of technologies1 processes1 and policies that contribute to more secure1 fair1 and accessible elections1 including research on-- 7#a7 the cybersecurity of different components of such systems2 7#b7 end-to-end verifiable systems2 7#c7 the risks and benefits of ,internet-enabled voting2 7#d7 the human-technology interface1 including the usability1 accessibility1 and comprehensibility of ballot design1 ballot marking devices1 and other components of such systems2 7#e7 voter privacy and data protection2 7#f7 voter practices regarding the verification of ballots generated by ballot marking devices and the likelihood that voters1 both with and without disabilities1 will recognize errors or omissions with respect to such ballots2 and 7#g7 such other topics as the ,director determines to be appropriate and related to the integrity of elections4 7b7 ,elections systems research center 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation1 in consultation with the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology and the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 as appropriate1 shall award grants to institutions of higher education or eligible nonprofit organizations 7or consortia thereof7 to establish at least #a multidisciplinary center for elections systems research and education4 7#b7 ,consortia ,a consortia receiving an award under this subsection may include institutions of higher education1 nonprofit organizations1 private sector entities1 and ,state and local election officials4 7#c7 ,purpose ,the purpose of a center established with a grant awarded under this subsection shall be to-- 7,a7 conduct basic research to advance understanding of cyber and other threats to election systems and the conduct of secure1 fair1 and accessible elections2 7,b7 conduct research that may inform the development of technologies1 processes1 and policies that contribute to more secure1 fair1 and accessible elections2 7,c7 educate and train students studying in science1 technology1 engineering1 and mathematics fields to conduct research relevant to election systems2 7,d7 design curricula that address the growing organizational management and information technology needs of the election community2 and 7,e7 foster collaboration among academic researchers1 private sector vendors of election technology1 and ,state and local election officials4 7#d7 ,requirements 7,a7 ,in general ,an institution of higher education or an eligible nonprofit organization 7or a consortium thereof7 seeking funding under this subsection shall submit an application to the ,director of the ,national ,science ,foundation at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,director may require4 7,b7 ,applications ,each application under subparagraph 7,a7 shall include a description of-- 7i7 how the center established with a grant awarded under this subsection will work with other research institutions1 industry partners1 and ,state and local election officials to identify research needs and leverage the expertise of election practitioners2 and 7ii7 how the center will promote active collaboration among researchers in multiple disciplines involved in elections systems security1 including computer science1 data science1 and social and behavioral sciences4 7#e7 ,selection and duration ,each center established with a grant awarded under this section is authorized to carry out activities for a period of #e years1 renewable for an additional #e years at the discretion of the ,director4 7c7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #aj1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbd4 #d4 ,other activities of ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology to promote security and modernization of voting systems 7a7 ,common data format ,the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology shall establish and make publicly available common data format specifications for auditing1 voter registration1 and other elements of voting systems1 and provide the specifications to the ,technical ,guidelines ,development ,committee of the ,election ,assistance ,commission under section #bba7;e7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjifa7;e774 7b7 ,elections systems certifications ,the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology shall work in collaboration with the ,election ,assistance ,commission to update the process under which voting systems are certified pursuant to the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb so that ,state and local election officials will be better able to carry out updates and otherwise modernize such systems4 7c7 ,technical assistance ,the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology shall-- 7#a7 provide technical assistance to ,state and local election officials on the implementation of cybersecurity standards1 privacy standards1 risk assessments1 risk-limiting audits1 and technologies which are incorporated in the voluntary voting system guidelines issued under the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb2 and 7#b7 in collaboration with the ,department of ,homeland ,security and the ,election ,assistance ,commission1 as appropriate1 conduct outreach to ,state and local election officials in order to disseminate best practices for the implementation of such voluntary voting system guidelines4 #e4 ,,gao report ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall submit a report to ,congress that-- 7#a7 addresses the extent to which efforts by the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology 7,,nist7 to assist the ,technical ,guidelines ,development ,committee of the ,election ,assistance ,commission in the development of voluntary voting systems guidelines have resulted in market-ready standardized voting equipment and software1 and addresses the resources made available to ,,nist to carry out these activities2 7#b7 addresses efforts by ,,nist to monitor and review the performance of laboratories accredited by the ,elections ,assistance ,commission and to make recommendations for continuing accreditation1 increased voting technology reliability1 and the number of accredited private laboratories1 and addresses resources made available to ,,nist to carry out these activities2 and 7#c7 addresses the extent to which the annual list of suggestions required to be submitted by ,,nist to the ,election ,assistance ,commission for research issues for grants and pilot programs under section #bga7;d7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajda7 and the evaluation of grants and programs by ,,nist has improved voting technology and been successful in encouraging the implementation of new technologies in voting systems and equipment4 #f4 ,amendments to the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb ,section #cja7;b7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;b77 is amended-- 7#a7 in the matter preceding paragraph 7#a71 by striking this section and inserting this ,act2 7#b7 by striking and at the end of paragraph 7#a72 7#c7 by redesignating paragraph 7#b7 as paragraph 7#f72 and 7#d7 by inserting after paragraph 7#a7 the following new paragraphs3 7#b7 any other paper or electronic technologies or processes for collecting1 storing1 or transmitting personal information of voters for use in the administration of elections for ,federal office1 including electronic poll books with respect to an election2 7#c7 voter registration databases and systems1 including online interfaces2 7#d7 systems for carrying out post-election auditing2 7#e7 chain-of-custody procedures2 and 4 #g4 ,definitions ,in this ,act-- 7#a7 the term voting system has the meaning given such term in section #cja7;b7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;b771 as amended by section #f2 and 7#b7 the term ,state means each of the several ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands1 and the ,commonwealth of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4 ,february #ac1 #bjbj,reported from the ,committee on ,science1 ,space1 and ,technology with an amendment,february #ac1 #bjbj;,committee on ,house ,administration discharged2 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union and ordered to be printed