,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dhic ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #ab1 #bjbj,mr4 ,hawley introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,rules and ,administration ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb to provide for the establishment of election integrity measures by ,states and to prohibit ballot harvesting in ,federal elections4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protect ,election ,integrity ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,election integrity measures 7a7 ,in general 7#a7 ,requirement ,subtitle ,d of title ,,ii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bjija et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following new part3 #g ,election ,integrity ,measures #big4 ,eligibility for payments of ,states lacking election integrity measures 7a7 ,in general ,a ,state is not eligible to receive funds under this ,act unless the ,state meets the following requirements with respect to each election held on or after ,january #a1 #bjba4 7#a7 ,collection and transmission of ballots ,the ,state has in effect a law that prohibits an individual from the knowing collection and transmission of a ballot that was mailed to another person1 other than an individual described as follows3 7,a7 ,an election official while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7,b7 ,an employee of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7,c7 ,any other individual who is allowed by law to collect and transmit ,united ,states mail1 while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7,d7 ,a family member1 household member1 or caregiver of the person to whom the ballot was mailed4 7#b7 ,observation ,the ,state has in effect a law that permits the observation of polling places or counting of ballots1 at any site where voting or ballot counting is occurring1 by at least #b appointed campaign representatives per campaign4 7#c7 ,record ,the ,state has in effect a law requiring that mail-in or absentee ballots be counted and recorded immediately upon receipt1 with no results to be disclosed until after the closure of polling places on the date of the election4 7#d7 ,ballot counting ,the ,state has in effect a law providing that after the closure of polling places on the date of the election1 ballot counting begins and does not stop1 for any reason except imminent emergency1 until all ballots are counted4 7#e7 ,surveillance ,the ,state has in effect a law that provides for round-the-clock video surveillance monitoring of absentee ballot drop boxes1 with unedited footage to be made available upon request to members of the public at no charge4 7#f7 ,report ,the ,state has in effect a law that each supervisor of elections must post a report on the official website of such supervisor at least #c months before a general election for ,federal office which outlines preparations for the upcoming general election4 ,each report under this paragraph must include1 at a minimum1 the following elements3 7,a7 ,the anticipated staffing levels during the early voting period1 on election day1 and after election day4 7,b7 ,the anticipated amount of automatic tabulating equipment at each early voting site and polling place4 7#g7 ,certification ,the ,state has in effect a law providing that following the certification of the election1 the municipal entity responsible for certifying the election shall conduct a manual audit or an automated1 independent audit of the voting systems used in randomly selected precincts4 ,the resulting report must be made available to the public within #ae days after completion of the audit4 7b7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,appointed campaign representative ,the term appointed campaign representative means1 with respect to the official campaign of a candidate appearing on a ballot1 an individual authorized to observe voting procedures or the counting of ballots by the campaign1 but not the candidate himself or herself4 ,a political committee formed for the specific purpose of expressly advocating the passage or defeat of an issue on the ballot may also authorize appointed campaign representatives4 7#b7 ,caregiver ,the term caregiver means1 with respect to a person1 an individual who provides medical or health care assistance to such person in a residence1 nursing care institution1 hospice facility1 assisted living center1 assisted living facility1 assisted living home1 residential care institution1 adult day health care facility1 or adult foster care home4 7#c7 ,family member ,the term family member means1 with respect to a person1 an individual who is related to such person by blood1 marriage1 adoption1 or legal guardianship4 7#d7 ,household member ,the term household member means1 with respect to a person1 an individual who resides at the same residence as such person4 4 7#b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of contents of such ,act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section #bif the following new item3 ,part #g--;,election ,integrity ,measures ,sec4 #big4 ,eligibility for payments of ,states lacking election integrity measures4 4 7b7 ,prohibition on ballot harvesting in ,federal elections 7#a7 ,in general ,chapter #bi of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #fab4 ,prohibition on ballot harvesting in ,federal elections 7a7 ,in general ,it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly collect and transmit a ballot in an election for ,federal office that was mailed to another person1 other than an individual described as follows3 7#a7 ,an election official while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7#b7 ,an employee of the ,united ,states ,postal ,service while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7#c7 ,any other individual who is allowed by law to collect and transmit ,united ,states mail1 while engaged in official duties as authorized by law4 7#d7 ,a family member1 household member1 or caregiver of the person to whom the ballot was mailed4 4 7b7 ,penalty ,any person who violates subsection 7a7 shall be fined not more than #aj1jjj for each ballot collected and transmitted in violation of such subsection1 imprisoned for not more than #e years1 or both4 7c7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,caregiver ,the term caregiver means1 with respect to a person1 an individual who provides medical or health care assistance to such person in a residence1 nursing care institution1 hospice facility1 assisted living center1 assisted living facility1 assisted living home1 residential care institution1 adult day health care facility1 or adult foster care home4 7#b7 ,family member ,the term family member means1 with respect to a person1 an individual who is related to such person by blood1 marriage1 adoption1 or legal guardianship4 7#c7 ,household member ,the term household member means1 with respect to a person1 an individual who resides at the same residence as such person4 7d7 ,effective date ,this section shall apply with respect to elections for ,federal office held after ,january #a1 #bjba4 4 7#b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #bi of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code is amended by adding at the end the following new item3 #fab4 ,prohibition on ballot harvesting in ,federal elections4 4