IB Union Calendar No. 318 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 4990 [Report No. 116–396, Part I] To direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation to carry out research and other activities to promote the security and modernization of voting systems, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 8, 2019 Ms. SHERRILL (for herself, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. LUCAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, 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 FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. BALDERSON, Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. VAN DREW, Mr. CASE, Mr. HARDER of California, Ms. SLOTKIN, and Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Committee on House Administration discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on November 8, 2019] VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 2 A BILL kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS To direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation to carry out research and other activities to promote the security and modernization of voting systems, and for other purposes. •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 3 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Election Technology Re- 5 search Act of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECH- 7 8 NOLOGY. (a) VOTING SYSTEMS RESEARCH.—The Director of the 9 National Institute of Standards and Technology, in collabo10 ration with the National Science Foundation as appro11 priate, shall carry out a program of research on voting sys12 tems, including— 13 14 such systems; 15 (2) end-to-end verifiable systems; 16 (3) Internet-enabled voting; 17 (4) the accessibility and usability of different 18 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS (1) the cybersecurity of different components of components of such systems; 19 (5) voter privacy and data protection; 20 (6) methods for auditing elections; 21 (7) the interoperability of system technologies; 22 (8) means for providing voters with the ability 23 to easily check whether a ballot sent by mail has been 24 dispatched to the voter and whether the voter’s •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 4 1 marked ballot has been received and accepted by the 2 appropriate election official; 3 4 (9) the reliability of various approaches to voter authentication; and 5 (10) such other areas of research as the Director 6 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 7 determines to be appropriate and related to the secu- 8 rity and integrity of elections for Federal office. 9 (b) ELECTIONS SYSTEMS CENTER 10 (1) IN EXCELLENCE.— Director of the National 11 Institute of Standards and Technology shall make an 12 award to an institution of higher education or an eli- 13 gible nonprofit organization (or a consortium thereof) 14 to establish a Center of Excellence in Election Sys- 15 tems. 16 (2) COLLABORATIONS.—The Director shall en- 17 sure that the Center of Excellence includes a collabo- 18 ration of institutions of higher education, nonprofit 19 organizations, private sector entities, and State and 20 local election officials. 21 22 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS GENERAL.—The OF (3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Center of Excellence shall be to— 23 (A) conduct measurement research and sta- 24 tistical analyses to inform the development of 25 standards for technologies and processes that •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 5 1 contribute to more secure, fair, and accessible 2 elections; 3 (B) test and evaluate the security, usability, 4 and accessibility of the technologies of voting sys- 5 tems, including the accessibility of poll book data 6 by voters; 7 (C) research testing methods that could be 8 used for the certification of voting system tech- 9 nologies; 10 (D) educate and train students studying in 11 science, technology, engineering, and mathe- 12 matics fields to conduct measurement science 13 and standards research relevant to such systems; 14 and 15 (E) foster collaboration among academic re- 16 searchers, private sector vendors of election tech- 17 nology, and State and local election officials. 18 (4) REQUIREMENTS.— kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 19 (A) IN GENERAL.—An institution of higher 20 education or an eligible nonprofit organization 21 (or a consortium thereof) seeking funding under 22 this subsection shall submit an application to the 23 Director at such time, in such manner, and con- 24 taining such information as the Director may 25 require. •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 6 1 (B) APPLICATIONS.—Each application 2 under subparagraph (A) shall include a descrip- 3 tion of— 4 (i) how the Center will work with other 5 research institutions, industry partners, 6 and State or local election officials to iden- 7 tify the measurement, testing, and stand- 8 ards needs of voting systems and to leverage 9 the expertise of election practitioners; and 10 (ii) how the Center will promote active 11 collaboration among researchers in multiple 12 disciplines involved in ensuring the security 13 and integrity of such systems. 14 (C) SELECTION AND DURATION.—Each Cen- 15 ter established under this section is authorized to 16 carry out activities for a period of 5 years, re- 17 newable for an additional 5 years at the discre- 18 tion of the Director. 19 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 21 $12,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 22 SEC. 3. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 23 (a) RESEARCH GRANTS.—The Director of the National 24 Science Foundation, in collaboration with the National In25 stitute of Standards and Technology and other relevant •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 7 1 agencies, as appropriate, shall award basic research grants 2 to increase the understanding of cyber and other threats to 3 voting systems and to inform the development of tech4 nologies, processes, and policies that contribute to more se5 cure, fair, and accessible elections, including research on— 6 7 such systems; 8 (2) end-to-end verifiable systems; 9 (3) the risks and benefits of Internet-enabled vot- 10 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS (1) the cybersecurity of different components of ing; 11 (4) the human-technology interface, including the 12 usability, accessibility, and comprehensibility of bal- 13 lot design, ballot marking devices, and other compo- 14 nents of such systems; 15 (5) voter privacy and data protection; 16 (6) voter practices regarding the verification of 17 ballots generated by ballot marking devices and the 18 likelihood that voters, both with and without disabil- 19 ities, will recognize errors or omissions with respect 20 to such ballots; and 21 (7) such other topics as the Director determines 22 to be appropriate and related to the integrity of elec- 23 tions. 24 (b) ELECTIONS SYSTEMS RESEARCH CENTER.— •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 8 1 (1) IN Director of the National 2 Science Foundation, in consultation with the Director 3 of the National Institute of Standards and Technology 4 and the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appro- 5 priate, shall award grants to institutions of higher 6 education or eligible nonprofit organizations (or con- 7 sortia thereof) to establish at least 1 multidisciplinary 8 center for elections systems research and education. 9 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS GENERAL.—The (2) CONSORTIA.—A consortia receiving 10 award under this subsection may include institutions 11 of higher education, nonprofit organizations, private 12 sector entities, and State and local election officials. 13 (3) PURPOSE.—The purpose of a center estab- 14 lished with a grant awarded under this subsection 15 shall be to— 16 (A) conduct basic research to advance un- 17 derstanding of cyber and other threats to election 18 systems and the conduct of secure, fair, and ac- 19 cessible elections; 20 (B) conduct research that may inform the 21 development of technologies, processes, and poli- 22 cies that contribute to more secure, fair, and ac- 23 cessible elections; 24 (C) educate and train students studying in 25 science, technology, engineering, and mathe- •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 an 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 9 1 matics fields to conduct research relevant to elec- 2 tion systems; 3 (D) design curricula that address the grow- 4 ing organizational management and information 5 technology needs of the election community; and 6 (E) foster collaboration among academic re- 7 searchers, private sector vendors of election tech- 8 nology, and State and local election officials. 9 (4) REQUIREMENTS.— 10 (A) IN institution of higher 11 education or an eligible nonprofit organization 12 (or a consortium thereof) seeking funding under 13 this subsection shall submit an application to the 14 Director of the National Science Foundation at 15 such time, in such manner, and containing such 16 information as the Director may require. 17 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS GENERAL.—An (B) APPLICATIONS.—Each application 18 under subparagraph (A) shall include a descrip- 19 tion of— 20 (i) how the center established with a 21 grant awarded under this subsection will 22 work with other research institutions, in- 23 dustry partners, and State and local elec- 24 tion officials to identify research needs and •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 10 1 leverage the expertise of election practi- 2 tioners; and 3 (ii) how the center will promote active 4 collaboration among researchers in multiple 5 disciplines involved in elections systems se- 6 curity, including computer science, data 7 science, and social and behavioral sciences. 8 (5) SELECTION AND DURATION.—Each center es- 9 tablished with a grant awarded under this section is 10 authorized to carry out activities for a period of 5 11 years, renewable for an additional 5 years at the dis- 12 cretion of the Director. 13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are 14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 15 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 16 SEC. 4. OTHER ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF 17 STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY TO PROMOTE 18 SECURITY AND MODERNIZATION OF VOTING 19 SYSTEMS. 20 (a) COMMON DATA FORMAT.—The National Institute 21 of Standards and Technology shall establish and make pub22 licly available common data format specifications for audit- kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 23 ing, voter registration, and other elements of voting systems, 24 and provide the specifications to the Technical Guidelines 25 Development Committee of the Election Assistance Commis•HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 11 1 sion under section 221(e) of the Help America Vote Act of 2 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20961(e)). 3 (b) ELECTIONS SYSTEMS CERTIFICATIONS.—The Na- 4 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall work in 5 collaboration with the Election Assistance Commission to 6 update the process under which voting systems are certified 7 pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002 so that 8 State and local election officials will be better able to carry 9 out updates and otherwise modernize such systems. 10 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Director of the Na- kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 tional Institute of Standards and Technology shall— 12 (1) provide technical assistance to State and 13 local election officials on the implementation of cyber- 14 security standards, privacy standards, risk assess- 15 ments, risk-limiting audits, and technologies which 16 are incorporated in the voluntary voting system 17 guidelines issued under the Help America Vote Act of 18 2002; and 19 (2) in collaboration with the Department of 20 Homeland Security and the Election Assistance Com- 21 mission, as appropriate, conduct outreach to State 22 and local election officials in order to disseminate best 23 practices for the implementation of such voluntary 24 voting system guidelines. •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 12 1 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 2 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 3 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 to Congress that— 5 (1) addresses the extent to which efforts by the 6 National Institute of Standards and Technology 7 (NIST) to assist the Technical Guidelines Develop- 8 ment Committee of the Election Assistance Commis- 9 sion in the development of voluntary voting systems 10 guidelines have resulted in market-ready standardized 11 voting equipment and software, and addresses the re- 12 sources made available to NIST to carry out these ac- 13 tivities; 14 (2) addresses efforts by NIST to monitor and re- 15 view the performance of laboratories accredited by the 16 Elections Assistance Commission and to make rec- 17 ommendations for continuing accreditation, increased 18 voting technology reliability, and the number of ac- 19 credited private laboratories, and addresses resources 20 made available to NIST to carry out these activities; 21 and 22 (3) addresses the extent to which the annual list 23 of suggestions required to be submitted by NIST to the 24 Election Assistance Commission for research issues for 25 grants and pilot programs under section 271(d) of the 26 Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21041) •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 13 1 and the evaluation of grants and programs by NIST 2 has improved voting technology and been successful in 3 encouraging the implementation of new technologies 4 in voting systems and equipment. 5 SEC. 6. AMENDMENTS TO THE HELP AMERICA VOTE ACT OF 6 7 2002. Section 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 8 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)) is amended— 9 10 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘this section’’ and inserting ‘‘this Act’’; 11 12 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph (1); 13 14 (3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (6); and 15 16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraphs: 17 ‘‘(2) any other paper or electronic technologies or 18 processes for collecting, storing, or transmitting per- 19 sonal information of voters for use in the administra- 20 tion of elections for Federal office, including electronic 21 poll books with respect to an election; 22 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 23 ‘‘(3) voter registration databases and systems, including online interfaces; 24 25 ‘‘(4) systems for carrying out post-election auditing; •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 14 1 2 ‘‘(5) chain-of-custody procedures; and’’. SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 In this Act— 4 (1) the term ‘‘voting system’’ has the meaning 5 given such term in section 301(b) of the Help Amer- 6 ica Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081(b)), as amend- 7 ed by section 6; and 8 (2) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 9 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 10 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United 11 States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the 12 Northern Mariana Islands. •HR 4990 RH VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH H4990 Union Calendar No. 318 H. R. 4990 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION [Report No. 116–396, Part I] A BILL To direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Science Foundation to carry out research and other activities to promote the security and modernization of voting systems, and for other purposes. FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Reported from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology with an amendment FEBRUARY 13, 2020 Committee on House Administration discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed H4990 E:\BILLS\H4990.RH Sfmt 6651 Fmt 6651 Frm 00016 PO 00000 Jkt 099200 21:45 Feb 13, 2020 VerDate Sep 11 2014