,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #acai ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #b1 #bjai,mr4 ,menendez 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 and ,ms4 ,hirono7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to establish an ,election ,security grant program4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting the ,right to ,independent and ,democratic ,elections ,act or the ,,pride ,voting ,act4 #b4 ,election ,security ,grant ,program 7a7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,there is hereby established an ,election ,security grant program 7in this section referred to as the program7 under which the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security awards grants to ,states to carry out one or more of the following activities3 7,a7 ,implementing or improving the use of auditable paper ballots in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 7#b71 including the updating of any voting system in order to implement or improve the use of auditable paper ballots4 7,b7 ,conducting post-election risk-limiting audits4 7,c7 ,implementing cybersecurity standards and best practices developed by the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology1 including frameworks1 consistent with section #b7;c7 of the ,national ,institute of ,standards and ,technology ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #bgb7;c774 ,in implementing such standards and best practices1 a ,state shall1 to the extent practicable1 utilize ,,cis ,controls from the nonprofit ,center for ,internet ,security 7formerly the #bj ,critical ,security ,controls74 7#b7 ,paper ballot requirement 7,a7 ,voter-verified paper ballots ,the requirements described in this paragraph1 with respect to the use of paper ballots in a voting system1 are the following3 7i7 ,paper ballot requirement 7,i7 ,the voting system shall require the use of an individual1 durable1 voter-verified1 paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection and verification by the voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted1 and which shall be counted by hand or read by a digital scanning device or other counting device4 ,for purposes of this subclause1 the term individual1 durable1 voter-verified1 paper ballot means a paper ballot marked by the voter by hand or a paper ballot marked through the use of a nontabulating ballot marking device or system4 7,,ii7 ,the voting system shall provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any error on the 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 as official record ,the individual1 durable1 voter-verified1 paper ballot used in accordance with clause 7i7 shall constitute the official ballot and shall be preserved and 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 used4 7iii7 ,manual counting requirements for recounts and audits 7,i7 ,each paper ballot used pursuant to clause 7i7 shall be suitable for a manual audit1 and shall be counted by hand in any recount or audit conducted with respect to any election for ,federal office4 7,,ii7 ,in the event of any inconsistencies or irregularities between any electronic vote tallies and the vote tallies determined by counting by hand the individual1 durable1 voter-verified1 paper ballots used pursuant to clause 7i71 and subject to subparagraph 7,b71 the individual1 durable1 voter-verified1 paper ballots shall be the true and correct record of the votes cast4 7iv7 ,clarification regarding use of grant funds ,grant funds awarded to the ,state for the purposes described in paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall not be used with respect to any form of remote ballot casting that results in an electronic transmission of a voted ballot4 7,b7 ,special rule for treatment of disputes when paper ballots have been shown to be compromised 7i7 ,in general ,in the event that-- 7,i7 there is any inconsistency between any electronic vote tallies and the vote tallies determined by counting by hand the individual1 durable1 voter-verified1 paper ballots used pursuant to subparagraph 7,a77i7 with respect to any election for ,federal office2 and 7,,ii7 it is demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence 7as determined in accordance with the applicable standards in the jurisdiction involved7 in any recount1 audit1 or contest of the result of the election that the paper ballots have been compromised 7by damage or mischief or otherwise7 and that a sufficient number of the ballots have been so compromised that the result of the election could be changed1 the determination of the appropriate remedy with respect to the election shall be made in accordance with applicable ,state law1 except that the electronic tally shall not be used as the exclusive basis for determining the official certified result4 7ii7 ,rule for consideration of ballots associated with each voting machine ,for purposes of clause 7i71 only the paper ballots deemed compromised1 if any1 shall be considered in the calculation of whether or not the result of the election could be changed due to the compromised paper ballots4 7#c7 ,outside expert support ,a ,state may use grant funds provided under the program to employ or contract with entities or individuals with expertise in information technology or cybersecurity to carry out activities under the program4 7b7 ,duration 7#a7 ,initial period ,except as provided in paragraph 7#b71 the program shall be carried out for a period of #e years4 7#b7 ,additional period ,the ,secretary may carry out the program for an additional period of #e years if the ,secretary determines1 based on the report submitted under subsection 7d77#b71 that the program is efficacious and such additional period is appropriate4 7c7 ,application 7#a7 ,in general ,a ,state desiring a grant under this section shall submit to the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing or accompanied by such information1 as the ,secretary may reasonably require4 7#b7 ,contents ,an application submitted under paragraph 7#a7 shall describe the activities for which a grant under this section is sought4 7d7 ,reports 7#a7 ,grantee reporting ,not later than #a year after the execution of a grant agreement pursuant to this section1 the ,state shall submit to the ,secretary a report on the activities conducted with the funds provided1 including information regarding how and where such funds were spent and such additional information as the ,secretary determines is appropriate for oversight of the program under this section4 7#b7 ,report to ,congress by the ,secretary ,not later than #ah months after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to the appropriate ,congressional committees a report on the program under this section1 together with recommendations for such legislation and administrative action as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7e7 ,indian ,tribe eligibility ,an ,indian ,tribe is eligible to apply for and receive a grant under this section in the same manner as a ,state1 except that the ,secretary may adjust any requirement under this section for an ,indian ,tribe to accomplish the purposes of this grant4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional committees ,the term appropriate ,congressional committees means-- 7,a7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs1 the majority leader1 and the minority leader of the ,senate2 and 7,b7 the ,committee on ,homeland ,security1 the ,speaker1 and the minority leader of the ,house of ,representatives4 7#b7 ,indian tribe ,the term ,indian ,tribe has the meaning given the term ,indian tribe in section #d of the ,indian ,self-,determination and ,education ,assistance ,act 7#be ,u4,s4,c4 #ecjd74 7#c7 ,risk-limiting audit ,the term risk-limiting audit means an audit protocol that makes use of statistical methods and is designed to limit to acceptable levels the risk of certifying a preliminary election outcome that constitutes an incorrect outcome4 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security4 7#e7 ,state ,the term ,state includes the ,district of ,columbia1 the ,commonwealth of ,puerto ,rico1 ,guam1 ,american ,samoa1 and the ,united ,states ,virgin ,islands4 7#f7 ,voting system ,the term voting system has the meaning given that term in section #cja7;b7 of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajha7;b774 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,to carry out this section1 there is authorized to be appropriated #b1ejj1jjj1jjj for the period of fiscal years #bjbj through #bjbi4 ,amounts appropriated under the preceding sentence shall remain available until expended4