Federal

Securing America’s Elections Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 2,814 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill requires voting systems used in federal elections to produce a paper ballot that voters can see and verify before their vote is counted. The paper ballot becomes the official record for any recounts or audits. The bill also directs federal agencies to study whether open-source software (software code available to the public) could be used in voting systems.

Who It Affects

States and election officials running federal elections. The Election Assistance Commission (a federal agency overseeing voting standards). The Secretary of Homeland Security. State governments that use voting machines.

Key Provisions

• Voting systems must create a paper ballot that the voter can inspect and verify in paper form before the vote is cast and counted. The voter gets a chance to correct any errors the system made on the paper ballot before it is saved. (Sec. 2(a)) • The paper ballot must be saved in a way that makes it impossible to connect a voter's name to their vote after the ballot is cast. (Sec. 2(a)) • The saved paper ballots serve as the official ballots for any recount or audit of federal elections. (Sec. 2(a)) • Paper ballots can be audited (checked for accuracy) using either machines that cannot connect to the internet or by hand count. (Sec. 2(a)) • Congress must provide funding to states to pay the costs of upgrading or replacing voting systems to meet these new requirements. States can request reimbursement for costs they already spent on these changes. (Sec. 2(b)) • The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Election Assistance Commission must study whether open-source software could work in voting systems by July 1, 2025. (Sec. 2(c))

What Changes

States must switch their voting systems to ones that produce paper ballots voters can verify before votes are counted. States need federal funding to pay for new or upgraded voting equipment. The paper ballot becomes the official record instead of what the electronic machine records. States must be prepared to audit ballots using paper ballots as the source material.

Important Definitions

• Voter-verified paper ballot: a paper ballot that shows the voter's choices and that the voter is allowed to look at and confirm is correct before the vote counts. This can be a paper ballot marked by hand, a ballot prepared to mail, or a paper ballot printed by a voting machine, as long as the voter can verify it in paper form. • Open-source software: computer code that is publicly available and can be reviewed and modified by others.

Effective Date

The new paper ballot requirements apply starting with the general election for federal office in November 2024 and all federal elections after that. (Sec. 2(d))

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 466 To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voting systems used in elections for Federal office to produce a voter-verified paper ballot of each vote cast on the system, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 24, 2023 Mr. GOSAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committee on the Budg- et, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 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 2002 to require voting systems used in elections for Federal office to produce a voter-verified paper ballot of each vote cast on the system, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing America’s 4 Elections Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 466 IH SEC. 2. PROMOTING ACCURACY, INTEGRITY, AND SECU- 1 RITY THROUGH VOTER-VERIFIED PERMA- 2 NENT PAPER BALLOT. 3 (a) BALLOT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 301(a)(2) of the 5 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 6 21081(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 7 ‘‘(2) BALLOT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPAC- 8 ITY.— 9 ‘‘(A) VOTER-VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS.— 10 ‘‘(i) VERIFICATION.—(I) The voting 11 system shall require the production of a 12 voter-verified paper ballot of the voter’s 13 vote that shall be created by or made avail- 14 able for inspection and verification by the 15 individual voter before the voter’s vote is 16 cast and counted. For purposes of this 17 subclause, a voter-verified paper ballot in- 18 cludes (but is not limited to) a paper ballot 19 marked by the voter for the purpose of 20 being counted by hand or read by an opti- 21 cal scanner or other similar device, a paper 22 ballot prepared by the voter to be mailed 23 to an election official (whether from a do- 24 mestic or overseas location), a paper ballot 25 created through the use of a ballot mark- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 466 IH ing device or system, or a paper ballot pro- 1 duced by a touch screen or other electronic 2 voting machine, so long as in each case the 3 voter is permitted to verify the ballot in a 4 paper form in accordance with this sub- 5 paragraph. 6 ‘‘(II) The voting system shall provide 7 the voter with an opportunity to correct 8 any error made by the system in the voter- 9 verified paper ballot before the permanent 10 voter-verified paper ballot is preserved in 11 accordance with clause (ii). 12 ‘‘(III) The voting system shall not 13 preserve the voter-verified paper ballots in 14 any manner that makes it possible, at any 15 time after the ballot has been cast, to asso- 16 ciate a voter with the record of the voter’s 17 vote. 18 ‘‘(ii) PRESERVATION.—The voter- 19 verified paper ballot produced in accord- 20 ance with clause (i) shall be used as the of- 21 ficial ballot for purposes of any recount or 22 audit conducted with respect to any elec- 23 tion for Federal office in which the voting 24 system is used, and shall be preserved in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 466 IH accordance with regulations promulgated 1 by the Commission to establish criteria for 2 the proper preservation and retention of 3 the official ballots in the election. 4 ‘‘(iii) MANUAL AUDIT CAPACITY.— 5 Each paper ballot produced pursuant to 6 clause (i) shall be suitable for a manual 7 audit equivalent to that of a paper ballot 8 voting system, in accordance with the 9 methods described in subparagraph (B). 10 ‘‘(B) APPROVED METHODS FOR MANUAL 11 AUDITS.—The methods described in this sub- 12 paragraph with respect to the manual audit of 13 voter-verified paper ballots are— 14 ‘‘(i) audits conducted through the use 15 of programmable electronic counting ma- 16 chines which are not capable of being con- 17 nected to the Internet, as determined in 18 accordance with regulations promulgated 19 by the Commission; or 20 ‘‘(ii) if no machine described in clause 21 (i) is available, an audit conducted by a 22 hand count. 23 ‘‘(C) RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES WHEN 24 PAPER BALLOTS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 466 IH COMPROMISED.—In the event that the paper 1 ballots produced pursuant to subparagraph (A) 2 with respect to an election for Federal office 3 have been compromised, the State shall resolve 4 the dispute over the results of the election in 5 accordance with dispute resolution processes es- 6 tablished under regulations promulgated by the 7 Commission. 8 ‘‘(D) DEADLINE FOR PROMULGATION OF 9 REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall promul- 10 gate the regulations described in this paragraph 11 not later than November 1, 2023.’’. 12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT CLARIFYING AP- 13 PLICABILITY OF ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE ACCESSI- 14 BILITY.—Section 301(a)(4) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 15 21081(a)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including 16 the paper ballots required to be produced under 17 paragraph (2))’’ after ‘‘voting system’’. 18 (3) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Sec- 19 tion 301(a)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21081(a)(1)) 20 is amended— 21 (A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking 22 ‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord- 23 ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 466 IH (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 1 ‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord- 2 ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; 3 (C) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking 4 ‘‘counted’’ each place it appears and inserting 5 ‘‘counted, in accordance with paragraphs (2) 6 and (3)’’; and 7 (D) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 8 ‘‘counted’’ and inserting ‘‘counted, in accord- 9 ance with paragraphs (2) and (3)’’. 10 (b) AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL FUNDING TO EN- 11 ABLE STATES TO MEET COSTS OF REVISED REQUIRE- 12 MENT.— 13 (1) EXTENSION OF REQUIREMENTS PAYMENTS 14 FOR MEETING REVISED REQUIREMENT; AMOUNTS 15 DEEMED TO MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR EMERGENCY 16 FUNDING.—Section 257(a) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 17 21007(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 18 lowing new paragraph: 19 ‘‘(5) For fiscal year 2023, such sums as may be 20 necessary to enable States to meet the requirements 21 of section 301(a)(2) which are first imposed on the 22 State pursuant to the amendments made by section 23 2(a) of the Securing America’s Elections Act of 24 2021. Any amount appropriated pursuant to the au- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 466 IH thorization under this paragraph shall be designated 1 by the Congress as being for an emergency require- 2 ment pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Bal- 3 anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 4 1985.’’. 5 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT BASED ON COSTS IN- 6 CURRED IN MEETING REVISED REQUIREMENTS.— 7 Section 252 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21002) is 8 amended— 9 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub- 10 section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (c) and 11 (e)’’; 12 (B) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub- 13 section (f); and 14 (C) by inserting after subsection (d) the 15 following new subsection: 16 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023.— 17 ‘‘(1) COVERAGE OF COSTS OF MEETING RE- 18 VISED BALLOT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT CAPACITY 19 REQUIREMENTS.—The amount of a requirements 20 payment made to a State from funds appropriated 21 for fiscal year 2023 shall be equal to the State’s es- 22 timate of the reasonable costs the State expects to 23 incur to meet the requirements referred to in para- 24 graph (3), as contained in the statement filed by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 466 IH State with the Commission under section 1 253(f)(1)(A)(ii). 2 ‘‘(2) RECOUPMENT OF OVERPAYMENTS.—If a 3 State receives a requirements payment from funds 4 appropriated for fiscal year 2020, the State shall 5 agree to repay to the Commission the excess (if any) 6 of— 7 ‘‘(A) the amount of the payment; over 8 ‘‘(B) the actual costs incurred by the State 9 in meeting the requirements referred to in para- 10 graph (3), as contained in the statement filed 11 by the State with the Commission under section 12 253(f)(1)(B). 13 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS DESCRIBED.—The re- 14 quirements referred to in this paragraph are the re- 15 quirements of section 301(a)(2) (relating to ballot 16 verification and audit capacity) which are first im- 17 posed on the State pursuant to the amendments 18 made by section 2(a) of the Securing America’s 19 Elections Act of 2023.’’. 20 (3) REVISED CONDITIONS FOR RECEIPT OF 21 FUNDS.—Section 253 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 22 21003) is amended— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 466 IH (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘A State 1 is eligible’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 2 subsection (f), a State is eligible’’; and 3 (B) by adding at the end the following new 4 subsection: 5 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 7 provision of this part, a State is eligible to receive 8 a requirements payment from funds appropriated for 9 fiscal year 2023 if, at any time after the funds are 10 appropriated, the chief executive officer of the State, 11 or designee, in consultation and coordination with 12 the chief State election official— 13 ‘‘(A) files a statement with the Commis- 14 sion— 15 ‘‘(i) describing how the State will use 16 the payment to meet the requirements of 17 section 301(a)(2) (relating to ballot 18 verification and audit capacity) which are 19 first imposed on the State pursuant to the 20 amendment made by section 2(a) of the 21 Securing America’s Elections Act of 2023, 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 466 IH ‘‘(ii) containing the State’s estimate 1 of the reasonable costs the State expects to 2 incur to meet such requirements; and 3 ‘‘(B) certifies to the Commission that, 4 upon completing the replacement or upgrading 5 of its voting systems to meet such require- 6 ments, the State will file a statement with the 7 Commission containing the actual costs in- 8 curred by the State in meeting such require- 9 ments. 10 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATIONS BY STATES THAT RE- 11 QUIRE CHANGES TO STATE LAW.—In the case of a 12 State that requires State legislation to carry out any 13 activity covered by any certification submitted under 14 this subsection, the State shall be permitted to make 15 the certification notwithstanding that the legislation 16 has not been enacted at the time the certification is 17 submitted and such State shall submit an additional 18 certification once such legislation is enacted.’’. 19 (4) PERMITTING USE OF FUNDS FOR REIM- 20 BURSEMENT FOR COSTS PREVIOUSLY INCURRED.— 21 Section 251(c)(1) of such Act (52 U.S.C. 22 21001(c)(1)) is amended by striking the period at 23 the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, or as a reim- 24 bursement for any costs incurred in meeting the re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 466 IH quirements of section 301(a)(2) which are first im- 1 posed pursuant to the amendments made by section 2 2(a) of the Securing America’s Elections Act of 3 2023 or in otherwise replacing or upgrading voting 4 systems in response to such amendments.’’. 5 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING USE 6 OF FUNDS TO REPLACE OR UPGRADE SYSTEMS OB- 7 TAINED WITH FUNDS PROVIDED PREVIOUSLY UNDER 8 HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 2002.—Nothing in the 9 amendments made by this subsection or in any other 10 provision of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 may 11 be construed to prohibit a State from using any 12 funds provided under such Act pursuant to the 13 amendments made by this subsection (or any funds 14 provided under such Act prior to the date of the en- 15 actment of this Act which remain unexpended as of 16 the date of the enactment of this Act) to replace or 17 upgrade a voting system purchased or otherwise ob- 18 tained in whole or in part using funds received 19 under title I or II of the Help America Vote Act at 20 any time before the date of the enactment of this 21 Act. 22 (6) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 23 by this subsection shall apply with respect to fiscal 24 years beginning with fiscal year 2023. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Feb 03, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H466.IH H466 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 466 IH (c) STUDY AND REPORT ON USE OF OPEN-SOURCE 1 SOFTWARE IN VOTING SYSTEMS.— 2 (1) STUDY.—The Secretary of Homeland Secu- 3 rity and the Election Assistance Commission, acting 4 jointly, shall conduct a study of the feasibility and 5 desirability of using open-source software in voting 6 systems, based on information obtained from elec- 7 tions for Federal office held in 2020 through 2022. 8 (2) REPORT.—Not later than July 1, 2025, the 9 Secretary and the Commission shall submit to Con- 10 gress a report on the study conducted under para- 11 graph (1), and shall include in the report such rec- 12 ommendations as the Secretary and Commission 13 consider appropriate regarding the possible use of 14 open-source software in the voting systems used to 15 administer elections for Federal office held in 2024. 16 (3) DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF 17 SOFTWARE.—If the Secretary and the Commission 18 include in the report submitted under paragraph (2) 19 a recommendation that State election officials use 20 open-source software in the voting systems used to 21 administer elections for Federal office in the State— 22 (A) the Commi [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.