[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5131 Introduced in House (IH)]
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114th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5131
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to make improvements to
voting system technology, election official training, and protecting
voting system source code.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 29, 2016
Mr. Johnson of Georgia (for himself, Ms. Plaskett, Mr. Hastings, Mr.
Richmond, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Doggett, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Cohen,
Ms. Pingree, and Mr. Veasey) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, 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 make improvements to
voting system technology, election official training, and protecting
voting system source code.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Verifying Optimal Tools for
Elections Act of 2016'' or the ``VOTE Act of 2016''.
SEC. 2. PAYMENTS TO STATES TO REPLACE OUTDATED VOTING MACHINES.
(a) In General.--Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote
Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``PART 7--OUTDATED VOTING MACHINES
``SEC. 297. REPLACEMENT OF OUTDATED VOTING MACHINES.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 45 days after the date of the
enactment of the Verifying Optimal Tools for Elections Act of 2016, the
Election Assistance Commission (referred to in this section as the
`Commission') shall make a payment to each State eligible under
subsection (b) in which a precinct within that State used at least one
outdated voting machine to administer the regularly scheduled general
election for Federal office held in November 2012 (in this section
referred to as a `qualifying precinct').
``(b) Eligibility.--A State is eligible to receive a payment under
the program under this section if the State, not later than 6 months
after the date of the enactment of the Verifying Optimal Tools for
Elections Act of 2016, submits to the Commission a notice that contains
such information as the Commission may require which are necessary for
the administration of the program.
``(c) Use of Funds.--A State shall use the funds provided under a
payment under this section (either directly or as reimbursement,
including as reimbursement for costs incurred on or after July 30,
2016, under multiyear contracts) to replace outdated voting machines in
qualifying precincts within that State with voting machines (by
purchase, lease, or such other arrangement as may be appropriate)
that--
``(1)(A) have never been used in any general election for
Federal office and are not outdated voting machines; or
``(B) have been used only with respect to general elections
for Federal office held after November 2012; and
``(2) are auditable (as defined in the report submitted by
the Auditable Working Group of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology submitted to the Commission on January
4, 2011) and meet the requirements for such auditability
specified in such report.
``(d) Condition.--As a condition on receiving a payment under this
section, a State shall provide funds, in-kind contributions, or a
combination of both, from sources other than funds provided through
such payment in an amount that is at least equal to one-third of the
amount of such payment.
``(e) Amount of Payment.--The Commission shall determine the amount
of payment made to a State under the program under this section based
on--
``(1) the number of outdated voting machines used by a
qualifying precinct; and
``(2) the number of the qualifying precincts within the
State.
``(f) Enforcement.--A State receiving a payment under the program
under this section shall ensure that all of the outdated voting
machines in the qualifying precincts within that State have been
replaced in time for the regularly scheduled general election for
Federal office to be held in November 2018.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $125,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2017 and 2018.
``(h) Outdated Voting Machine Defined.--The term `outdated voting
machine' means an electronic voting machine that, as of November 6,
2012, has been in use to administer an election on or before November
4, 2008;''.
(b) Conforming Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 note) is amended
by inserting after the item related to section 296 (relating to the
authorization of appropriations for the National Student and Parent
Mock Election) the following:
``Part 7. Grants for Education and Training of Election Officials
``Sec. 297. Replacement of outdated voting machines.''.
SEC. 3. ELECTION OFFICIAL TRAINING.
(a) In General.--Subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote
Act (52 U.S.C. 21001 et seq.), as amended by section 2, is further
amended by adding at the end the following:
``PART 8--GRANTS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS
``SEC. 298. GRANTS FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS.
``(a) In General.--The Commission shall make grants to States to
provide for the education and training, through the use of webinars or
other appropriate means, of election officials and poll workers on
voting machine maintenance, pre- and post-election voting machine
testing, the development of contingency plans, and such other topics as
may be necessary for purposes of streamlining the voting process.
``(b) Grant.--
``(1) Certification.--A State seeking a grant under this
section shall submit to the Commission a certification in such
form and manner as the Commission may specify with respect to
the State's expenditures in providing for the education and
training described in subsection (a).
``(2) Amount.--The amount of a grant made to a State shall
be determined by the Commission based on the Commission's
determination of the State's reasonable costs incurred in
providing the education and training described in subsection
(a).
``(3) Transmission of grant/payment.--Not later than 30
days after the date on which the Commission receives the
certification specified in paragraph (1), the Commission shall
make a payment to the State in an amount equal to the amount of
the grant determined for such State under paragraph (2).
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2017 through 2018.
``(d) State Defined.--In this section, the term `State' means each
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and each
commonwealth and territory or possession of the United States.''.
(b) Conforming Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 note), as amended
by section 2, is further amended by inserting after the item related to
section 297 (relating to the replacement of outdated voting machines)
the following:
``Part 8. Grants for Education and Training of Election Officials
``Sec. 298. Grants for education and training of election officials.''.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH ON VOTING TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.
(a) In General.--Part 4 of subtitle D of title II of the Help
America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21051 et seq.) is amended by adding
at the end the following new sections:
``SEC. 284. GRANTS FOR TESTING OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE.
``(a) In General.--The Commission shall make grants to States or
any political subdivision thereof to conduct pilot testing with respect
to, and carry out the implementation of, voting systems that use--
``(1) non-proprietary open source software; and
``(2) commercial or custom firmware and hardware.
``(b) Condition.--As a condition on receiving a grant under this
section, a State (or a political subdivision thereof) shall submit to
the Commission an exact copy of the source code for--
``(1) each component of the voting system that is the
subject of the grant, including complete build and
configuration instructions and related documents for compiling
the source code into object code; and
``(2) any interactive enhancements made to such system
within 30 days of such enhancements being made.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2017 through 2018.
``(d) Open Source Software Defined.--The term `open source
software' means software the license of which is made available under
an open source license.
``SEC. 285. GRANTS FOR A COMMON DATA FORMAT ALLOWING FOR VOTING-
EQUIPMENT DEVICE INTEROPERABILITY.
``(a) In General.--The National Institute of Standards and
Technology shall develop, or make grants to one or more eligible
entities to develop, a common data format allowing for voting-equipment
device interoperability.
``(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for the period of
fiscal years 2017 through 2018.''.
(b) Conforming Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 20901 note), as amended
by section 2, is further amended by inserting after the item related to
section 283 (relating to the authorization of appropriations for the
pilot program for testing of equipment and technology) the following:
``284. Grants for testing open source software.
``285. Grants for a common data format allowing for voting-equipment
device interoperability.''.
SEC. 5. DEPOSIT OF ELECTION-DEDICATED VOTING SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY IN
NATIONAL SOFTWARE REFERENCE LIBRARY.
(a) Deposit Required; Conditions for Disclosure.--Section 301(a) of
the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 15481(a)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(7) Prohibiting use of election-dedicated voting system
technologies not deposited with national software reference
library; disclosure requirements.--
``(A) Prohibition.--
``(i) In general.--A voting system used in
an election for Federal office in a State may
not at any time during the election contain or
use any election-dedicated voting system
technology which is not deposited by the State
(or, at the option of the State, by the vendor
of the technology) with the National Software
Reference Library of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology prior to the date of
the election, to be held in escrow and subject
to disclosure in accordance with subparagraph
(B).
``(ii) Extension of deadline for deposit.--
If the chief State election official certifies
to the Director of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology prior to the date of
the election that, because of a revision to the
election-dedicated voting system technology
which is made less than 30 days prior to the
date of the election, the State or vendor is
unable to deposit the technology in accordance
with clause (i) prior to the date of the
election, the voting system used in the
election may contain or use the technology if--
``(I) the chief State election
official approves the use of the
technology for the election; and
``(II) the State or vendor deposits
the technology in accordance with
clause (i) not later than 1 week after
the date of the election.
``(iii) Enforcement of vendor
responsibilities.--If a State opts to require
the vendor of election-dedicated voting system
technology to deposit the technology in
accordance with this subparagraph and the
vendor fails to do so, the Attorney General may
bring a civil action against the vendor in an
appropriate district court for such relief as
may be appropriate, including injunctive relief
or an order for a civil penalty in an amount
not to exceed $500,000.
``(B) Requirement for disclosure and limitation on
restricting disclosure.--With respect to any election-
dedicated voting system technology which is deposited
under subparagraph (A), the Director of the National
Institute of Standards and Technology shall--
``(i) hold the technology in escrow; and
``(ii) disclose technology and information
regarding the technology to another person if--
``(I) the person is a qualified
person described in subparagraph (C)
who has entered into a nondisclosure
agreement with respect to the
technology which meets the requirements
of subparagraph (D); or
``(II) the Director is permitted or
required to disclose the technology to
the person under the law of the
applicable State, in accordance with
the terms and conditions applicable
under such law.
``(C) Qualified persons described.--With respect to
the disclosure of election-dedicated voting system
technology under subparagraph (B)(ii)(I), a `qualified
person' is any of the following:
``(i) A governmental entity with
responsibility for the administration of voting
and election-related matters in elections for
Federal office, for purposes of reviewing,
analyzing, or reporting on the technology.
``(ii) If permitted under a court order, a
party to post-election litigation challenging
the result of an election or the administration
or use of the technology used in an election,
but only to the extent permitted under the
terms and conditions of such court order.
``(iii) A person who reviews, analyzes, or
reports on the technology solely for an
investigation or inquiry concerning the
accuracy or integrity of the technology
pursuant to clause (i) or (ii).
``(D) Requirements for nondisclosure agreements.--A
nondisclosure agreement entered into with respect to an
election-dedicated voting system technology meets the
requirements of this subparagraph if the agreement--
``(i) is limited in scope to coverage of
the technology disclosed under subparagraph (B)
and any trade secrets and intellectual property
rights related thereto;
``(ii) does not prohibit a signatory from
entering into other nondisclosure agreements to
review other technologies under this paragraph;
``(iii) exempts from coverage both
information the signatory lawfully obtained
from another source and information in the
public domain;
``(iv) remains in effect for not longer
than the life of any trade secret or other
intellectual property right related thereto;
``(v) prohibits the request or use of
injunctions that bar a signatory from carrying
out any activity authorized under subparagraph
(C), including injunctions limited to the
period prior to a judicial proceeding involving
the technology;
``(vi) is silent as to damages awarded for
breach of the agreement, other than a reference
to damages available under applicable law;
``(vii) allows disclosure of evidence
relating to possible criminal conduct or other
violations of law, including in response to a
subpoena or warrant;
``(viii) allows disclosures and testimony
to legislative branch authorities, judicial
proceedings, and executive branch
investigations in response to a subpoena or
warrant or as otherwise provided by law; and
``(ix) provides that the agreement shall be
governed by the trade secret laws of the
applicable State.
``(E) Election-dedicated voting system technology
defined.--For purposes of this paragraph:
``(i) In general.--The term `election-
dedicated voting system technology' means the
following:
``(I) The source code used for the
trusted build and the file signatures
for the trusted build.
``(II) A complete disk image of the
pre-build, build environment, and any
file signatures to validate that it is
unmodified.
``(III) A complete disk image of
the post-build, build environment, and
any file signatures to validate that it
is unmodified.
``(IV) All executable code produced
by the trusted build and any file
signatures to validate that it is
unmodified.
``(V) Installation devices and
software file signatures.
``(ii) Exclusion.--Such term does not
include `commercial-off-the-shelf' software and
hardware defined under the voluntary voting
system guidelines adopted by the Commission
under section 222 which are in effect as of the
date of the election involved.
``(F) Trusted build defined.--For purposes of this
paragraph, the term `trusted build' means a witnessed
software build in which source code is converted to
machine-readable binary instructions (executable code)
in a manner providing security measures that help
ensure that the executable code is a verifiable and
faithful representation of the source code.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
with respect to elections occurring during 2016 or any succeeding year.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations for National Institute of
Standards and Technology.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the National Institute of Standards and Technology for each fiscal year
such sums as may be necessary to enable the Institute, including the
National Software Reference Library of the Institute, to carry out
paragraph (7) of section 301(a) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002,
as added by section 2(a).
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