,i  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ffgc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #a1 #bjbj,ms4   
,jackson ,lee introduced the following  
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,house ,administration1   
and in addition to the ,committee on    
,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 amend the ,help ,america 
,vote ,act of #bjjb to direct the       
,secretary of ,homeland ,security to    
establish guidelines for failsafe plans 
for the administration of elections for 
,federal office in the event that the   
ability of a ,state to administer the   
election is adversely affected by a     
terrorist attack1 a cybersecurity       
incident1 or a public health emergency1 
to require ,states to establish and     
administer failsafe plans in accordance 
with such guidelines and to provide     

funds to assist ,state and local        
election officials in the establishment 
and administration of such plans1 and   
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,federal 
,election ,failsafe ,act4  #b4          
,requiring ,states to establish failsafe
 plans for administration of elections  
in event of terrorist attack1           
cybersecurity incident1 or public health
 emergency  7a7 ,requirement for        
failsafe plans ,title ,,iii of the ,help
 ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb      
,u4,s4,c4 #bajha et seq47 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new     
subtitle3  ,c ,failsafe ,plans for      
,administration of ,elections  #cba4    
,requiring establishment and            
implementation of failsafe plans in     
event of terrorist attacks1             
cybersecurity incidents1 or public      
health emergencies  7a7 ,establishment  
of guidelines by ,secretary of ,homeland
 ,security ,the ,secretary of ,homeland 
,security shall establish guidelines for

 the continuing administration of       
elections for ,federal office by ,states
 in the event that a ,state's ability to
 carry out the administration of such   
elections is adversely affected by a    
terrorist attack1 an election           
cybersecurity incident1 or a public     
health emergency4  7b7 ,requiring       
,states ,to establish and implement     
plans meeting guidelines  7#a7          
,requirement ,each ,state shall         
establish and implement failsafe plans  
to provide for the continuing           
administration of elections for ,federal
 office in the ,state in the event of a 
terrorist attack1 an election           
cybersecurity incident1 or a public     
health emergency which meet the         
guidelines established by the ,secretary
 of ,homeland ,security under this      
subtitle4  7#b7 ,simulation exercises   
,as part of the implementation of       
failsafe plans under this section1      
,state and local election officials     
shall carry out tabletop exercises under

 which such officials shall respond to a
 simulated terrorist attack1 election   
cybersecurity incident1 and public      
health emergency and1 based on the      
response1 address the specific risks to 
the successful administration of        
election which are identified by such   
exercises4 ,the ,secretary shall assist 
such officials with the preparation for 
and implementation of such exercises4   
#cbb4 ,purposes and elements of         
guidelines  7a7 ,in general ,the        
guidelines the ,secretary established   
under this subtitle shall include-- 7#a7
 guidelines for ensuring that voting    
systems are resilient against election  
cybersecurity incidents1 including      
terrorist or state-sponsored cyber      
attacks1 so that the systems operate as 
intended and accurately capture each    
vote as cast by voters1 retain these    
votes1 and accurately report these votes
 for purposes of tabulating and         
reporting official tallies in such      
elections2  7#b7 guidelines for failsafe

 plans to continue the administration of
 elections in case an election system   
fails in part or in whole as the result 
of a terrorist attack or an election    
cybersecurity incident on the date of   
the election or during an early voting  
period1 including plans for addressing  
polling location needs1 based on the    
,secretary's assessment of which        
elements of voting systems are most     
critical to ensuring the continuing     
performance of essential election       
functions2 and  7#c7 guidelines for     
failsafe plans to continue the          
administration of elections through     
remote voting1 including voting by mail1
 in the event that in-person voting will
 jeopardize the health and safety of    
voters and election officials because of
 a public health emergency4  7b7        
,specific elements ,to be addressed ,the
 ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall
 address each of the following elements 
in the guidelines the ,secretary        
establishes under this subtitle3 7#a7   

,in the event that1 as the result of an 
election cybersecurity incident1        
election poll books fail or that their  
operation does not meet the demands     
posed by voters presenting themselves to
 vote during an early voting or on the  
date of the election1 the ,state shall  
ensure that a paper backup of all       
registered voters for the assigned      
polling location is available for       
immediate use by poll workers4  7#b7 ,in
 the event that1 as the result of an    
election cybersecurity incident1 ballot 
marking technology fails1 the ,secretary
 shall provide paper ballots to the     
appropriate election officials in each  
congressional district in sufficient    
quantities to permit voting to continue4
 ,each such ballot shall include each   
candidate for election for ,federal     
office in such district4 ,the           
appropriate ,state election officials   
shall provide the ,secretary1 at such   
times as the ,secretary may require1    
with the information necessary to enable

 the ,secretary to provide such ballots4
  7#c7 ,the need for conducting audits  
of ,federal election results based upon 
random samples of physical ballots and  
electronic voting system technology to  
authenticate the accuracy of the data   
reported by polling locations1 including
 results from local jurisdictions and   
statewide totals4 ,if these random      
samples raise questions regarding the   
accuracy or reliability of the reported 
totals for the election1 the guidelines 
shall provide that the ,secretary shall 
coordinate with the appropriate election
 officials and make available to them   
security personnel to secure vote       
tabulation facilities and ballots1 and  
otherwise support the efforts of such   
officials in ensuring the integrity of  
the ballots and the accuracy of the     
information reported4  7#d7 ,the ,state 
shall have in place measures to ensure  
the physical security of election       
officials1 and to ensure the safety and 
health of election officials in the     

event of a public health emergency4 ,the
 ,secretary shall develop and make      
available to the ,states special        
training programs for security personnel
 who are assigned to protect election   
officials1 with a special emphasis on   
protecting election officials at the    
polling place in a manner which does not
 intimidate voters and which promotes an
 open1 fair1 and free voting process4   
7c7 ,consultation ,in establishing      
guidelines under this section1 the      
,secretary shall consult with the       
,election ,assistance ,commission1 the  
,national ,association of ,secretaries  
of ,state1 and the ,national            
,association of ,state ,election        
,directors4  #cbc4 ,funding  7a7 ,grants
 to election officials ,the ,commission 
shall provide grants to eligible ,state 
and local election officials to assist  
such officials in meeting the           
requirements of this subtitle4  7b7     
,eligibility ,a ,state or local election
 official is eligible to receive a grant

 under this section if the official     
submits to the ,commission1 at such time
 and in such form as the ,commission may
 require1 an application containing such
 information and assurances as the      
,commission may require4  7c7           
,authorization of appropriations ,there 
are authorized to be appropriated       
#eej1jjj1jjj for grants under this      
section for fiscal year #bjbj and each  
succeeding fiscal year1 of which-- 7#a7 
#djj1jjj1jjj shall be used for grants to
 ,state election officials2 and  7#b7   
#aej1jjj1jjj shall be used for grants to
 local election officials whose         
jurisdictions include an urban area4    
#cbd4 ,definitions ,in this subtitle1   
the following definitions apply3 7#a7   
,the term election agency means any     
component of a ,state1 or any component 
of a unit of local government in a      
,state1 which is responsible for the    
administration of elections for ,federal
 office in the ,state4  7#b7 ,the term  
election cybersecurity incident means an

 occurrence that actually or imminently 
jeopardizes1 without lawful authority1  
the integrity1 confidentiality1 or      
availability of information on an       
information system of election          
infrastructure1 or actually or          
imminently jeopardizes1 without lawful  
authority1 an information system of     
election infrastructure4  7#c7 ,the term
 election infrastructure means storage  
facilities1 polling places1 and         
centralized vote tabulation locations   
used to support the administration of   
elections for public office1 as well as 
related information and communications  
technology1 including voter registration
 databases1 voting machines1 electronic 
mail and other communications systems   
7including electronic mail and other    
systems of election service providers   
who have entered into contracts with    
election agencies to support the        
administration of elections1 manage the 
election process1 and report and display
 election results71 and other systems   

used to manage the election process and 
to report and display election results  
on behalf of an election agency4  7#d7  
,the term election service provider     
means any person providing1 supporting1 
or maintaining any information system   
which is part of an election            
infrastructure1 such as a contractor or 
vendor4  7#e7 ,the term information     
system means a discrete set of          
information resources organized for the 
collection1 processing1 maintenance1    
use1 sharing1 dissemination1 or         
disposition of information4  7#f7 ,the  
term urban area means an area within a  
,metropolitan ,statistical ,area1 as    
defined by the ,office of ,management   
and ,budget4  #cbe4 ,effective date     
,this subtitle shall apply with respect 
to the regularly scheduled general      
elections for ,federal office held in   
,november #bjbj and each succeeding     
election for ,federal office4  4  7b7   
,conforming amendment relating to       
enforcement ,section #dja of such ,act  

7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by    
striking the period at the end and      
inserting the following3 1 and to       
enforce the requirements of subtitle ,c 
of title ,,iii44  7c7 ,clerical         
amendment ,the table of contents of such
 ,act is amended by adding at the end of
 the items relating to title ,,iii the  
following3  ,subtitle ,c--,failsafe     
,plans for ,administration of ,elections
 ,sec4 #cba4 ,requiring establishment   
and implementation of failsafe plans in 
event of terrorist attacks1             
cybersecurity incidents1 or public      
health emergencies4 ,sec4 #cbb4         
,purposes and elements of guidelines4   
,sec4 #cbc4 ,funding4 ,sec4 #cbd4       
,definitions4 ,sec4 #cbe4 ,effective    
date4  4  #c4 ,report on implementation 
by ,secretary of ,homeland ,security    
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall 
submit a report on the steps taken by   
the ,secretary to carry out this ,act   

and the amendments made by this ,act to 
each of the following3 7#a7 ,the        
,committee on ,homeland ,security of the
 ,house of ,representatives4  7#b7 ,the 
,committee on ,house ,administration of 
the ,house of ,representatives4  7#c7   
,the ,permanent ,select ,committee on   
,intelligence of the ,house of          
,representatives4  7#d7 ,the ,committee 
on ,armed ,services of the ,house of    
,representatives4  7#e7 ,the ,committee 
on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental
 ,affairs of the ,senate4  7#f7 ,the    
,committee on ,rules and ,administration
 of the ,senate4  7#g7 ,the ,select     
,committee on ,intelligence of the      
,senate4  7#h7 ,the ,committee on ,armed
 ,services of the ,senate4  #d4 ,,gao   
study and report on risks of reliance on
 electronic technologies in election    
administration  7a7 ,study ,the         
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall conduct a study analyzing 
the risks and benefits associated with  
the reliance upon electronic voting     

technology in the administration of     
elections for ,federal office1 including
 the potential consequences of a        
systemic and comprehensive failure of   
such technology during early voting     
periods or on the date of the election4 
7b7 ,report ,not later than #bdj days   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall   
submit to ,congress a report on the     
study conducted under subsection 7a71   
and shall include in the report         
recommendations on how to mitigate the  
cybersecurity risks posed by the        
adoption and use of electronic voting   
systems technology in the administration
 of elections for ,federal office4