,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #hbe ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #ad1 #bjai,mr4 ,van ,hollen 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 and ,mr4 ,rubio7 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 require ,states to take steps to ensure domestic ownership and control of election service providers1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protect our ,elections ,act4 #b4 ,ensuring domestic ownership and control of election systems 7a7 ,in general ,title ,,iii of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #bajhc et seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating sections #cjd and #cje as sections #cje and #cjf2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #cjc the following new section3 #cjd4 ,ensuring domestic ownership and control of election systems 7a7 ,requiring election service providers ,to be qualified ,each ,state1 unit of local government1 or component of a ,state or unit of local government which is responsible for the administration of an election for ,federal office shall ensure that each election service provider who provides1 supports1 or maintains any component of an election system used in the administration of the election is a qualified election service provider4 7b7 ,annual evaluation ,to ensure compliance ,each ,state1 unit of local government1 or component of a ,state or unit of local government which is responsible for the administration of an election for ,federal office shall1 not less frequently than once each calendar year1 evaluate each election service provider to ensure that the election service provider is a qualified election service provider4 7c7 ,cybersecurity best practices ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this section1 the ,chair of the ,commission and the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security shall establish and publish cybersecurity best practices for election service providers who provide1 support1 or maintain election systems1 and shall establish and publish updates to such best practices at such times as the ,chair and the ,secretary consider appropriate4 7d7 ,guidance and technical assistance 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,chair of the ,commission and the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security may provide such guidance and technical assistance as may be appropriate to assist each ,state1 unit of local government1 or component of a ,state or unit of local government which is responsible for the administration of an election for ,federal office with its obligations under this section4 7#b7 ,database of qualified election service providers ,as part of providing guidance and technical assistance under this subsection1 the ,commission shall establish and maintain a database in which each ,state1 unit of local government1 or component of a ,state or unit of local government which is responsible for the administration of an election for ,federal office can verify whether an election service provider is a qualified election service provider4 7e7 ,election service provider and qualified election service provider defined 7#a7 ,election service provider ,in this section1 the term election service provider means any person providing1 supporting1 or maintaining an election system on behalf of an election agency1 such as a contractor or vendor4 7#b7 ,qualified election service provider 7,a7 ,in general ,in this section1 the term qualified election service provider means an election service provider who meets each of the following criteria1 as established and published by the ,chair of the ,commission in coordination with the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security3 7i7 ,except as provided in subparagraph 7,c71 the election service provider is solely owned and controlled by ,united ,states persons or persons described in subparagraph 7,b74 7ii7 ,the election service provider submits in accordance with section #c7;a7 of the ,protect our ,elections ,act-- 7,i7 notice of any material change in ownership or control of the election service provider2 and 7,,ii7 any other information required to be reported under that section4 7iii7 ,the election service provider agrees to ensure that the election systems will be developed and maintained in a manner that is consistent with the cybersecurity best practices established under subsection 7c74 7iv7 ,the election service provider agrees to maintain its information technology infrastructure in a manner that is consistent with the cybersecurity best practices established under subsection 7c74 7v7 ,the election service provider shall report any known or suspected incidents involving election systems to the chief ,state election official of the ,state involved or the official's designee1 the ,chair1 and the ,secretary4 7,b7 ,persons described ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,a77i71 a person described in this subparagraph is a corporation or business entity that is created or organized under the laws of a country that is party to the ,,uk-,,usa ,agreement for joint cooperation in signals intelligence1 military intelligence1 and human intelligence1 also known as the ,five ,eyes alliance4 7,c7 ,permitting waiver of domestic ownership and control requirement for certain subsidiaries ,the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security may waive the requirement of clause 7i7 of subparagraph 7,a7 with respect to a person who is a ,united ,states subsidiary of a parent company which has implemented a foreign ownership or control mitigation plan that has been approved by the ,secretary4 ,such plan shall ensure that the parent company cannot control1 influence1 or direct the subsidiary in any manner that would compromise or influence1 or give the appearance of compromising or influencing1 the independence and integrity of an election4 7,d7 ,incident defined ,for purposes of subparagraph 7,a77v71 the term incident has the meaning given that term in section #ceeb7;b77#b7 of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code4 7f7 ,election system defined ,in this section1 the term election system means a voting system1 an election management system1 a voter registration website or database1 an electronic pollbook1 a system for tabulating or reporting election results1 an election agency communications system1 or any other information system 7as defined in section #cejb of title #dd1 ,united ,states ,code7 that the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 in consultation with the ,commission1 identifies as central to the management1 support1 or administration of a ,federal election4 7g7 ,ownership and control defined ,the ,commission1 in consultation with the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 shall issue regulations defining the terms ownership and control for purposes of this section4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendment relating to enforcement ,section #dja of such ,act 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #baaaa7 is amended by striking and #cjc and inserting #cjc1 and #cjd4 7c7 ,clerical amendments ,the table of contents of such ,act is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating the items relating to sections #cjd and #cje as relating to sections #cje and #cjf2 and 7#b7 by inserting after the item relating to section #cjc the following new item3 ,sec4 #cjd4 ,ensuring domestic ownership and control of election systems4 4 7d7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply with respect to elections for ,federal office held in #bjbj or any succeeding year4 #c4 ,information sharing with respect to ownership of election service providers 7a7 ,in general ,each election service provider shall submit to the ,secretary of ,homeland ,security1 the ,election ,assistance ,commission1 and appropriate ,state or local governmental entities the following3 7#a7 ,not later than the date that is #ij days after the later of the date of the enactment of this section or the date that a person first becomes an election service provider1 a report listing the identity of any foreign national 7as defined in section #cai7;b7 of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaba7;b777 who directly or indirectly owns or controls such election service provider and the percentage of such ownership1 and any other information necessary to determine whether the election service provider is a qualified election service provider4 7#b7 ,not later than #ij days after the date of any material change in ownership or control of such election service provider1 a notice of such change and an update of any information previously reported under paragraph 7#a74 7b7 ,civil penalty for failure ,to report ,if an election service provider fails to submit a report required under subsection 7a71 the ,attorney ,general may1 after notice and opportunity for hearing1 impose a civil fine of #bj1jjj4 7c7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,appropriate ,state or local governmental entity ,the term appropriate ,state or local governmental entity means1 with respect to an election service provider1 any ,state or local governmental entity that the election service provider seeks to contract with1 contracts with1 or otherwise provides services to provide1 support1 or maintain an election system4 7#b7 ,election service provider2 election system2 qualified election service provider ,the terms election service provider1 election system1 and qualified election service provider have the meaning given those terms in section #cjd of the ,help ,america ,vote ,act of #bjjb1 as added by section #b4