[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6574 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6574
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to take
steps to ensure domestic ownership and control of election service
providers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 2, 2022
Mr. Van Drew introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on House Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require States to take
steps to ensure domestic ownership and control of election service
providers, and for other purposes.
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 ``Protect Our Elections Act''.
SEC. 2. ENSURING DOMESTIC OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF ELECTION SYSTEMS.
(a) In General.--Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52
U.S.C. 21083 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating sections 304 and 305 as sections 305
and 306; and
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following new
section:
``SEC. 304. ENSURING DOMESTIC OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF ELECTION
SYSTEMS.
``(a) Requiring Election Service Providers To Be Qualified.--Each
State, unit of local government, 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 provides, supports, or maintains any component of an
election system used in the administration of the election is a
qualified election service provider.
``(b) Annual Evaluation To Ensure Compliance.--Each State, unit of
local government, or component of a State or unit of local government
which is responsible for the administration of an election for Federal
office shall, not less frequently than once each calendar year,
evaluate each election service provider to ensure that the election
service provider is a qualified election service provider.
``(c) Cybersecurity Best Practices.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this section, the Chair of the Commission
and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish and publish
cybersecurity best practices for election service providers who
provide, support, or maintain election systems, and shall establish and
publish updates to such best practices at such times as the Chair and
the Secretary consider appropriate.
``(d) Guidance and Technical Assistance.--
``(1) 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
State, unit of local government, 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 section.
``(2) Database of qualified election service providers.--As
part of providing guidance and technical assistance under this
subsection, the Commission shall establish and maintain a
database in which each State, unit of local government, 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 provider.
``(e) Election Service Provider and Qualified Election Service
Provider Defined.--
``(1) Election service provider.--In this section, the term
`election service provider' means any person providing,
supporting, or maintaining an election system on behalf of an
election agency, such as a contractor or vendor.
``(2) Qualified election service provider.--
``(A) In general.--In this section, the term
`qualified election service provider' means an election
service provider who meets each of the following
criteria, as established and published by the Chair of
the Commission in coordination with the Secretary of
Homeland Security:
``(i) Except as provided in subparagraph
(C), the election service provider is solely
owned and controlled by United States persons
or persons described in subparagraph (B).
``(ii) The election service provider
submits in accordance with section 3(a) of the
Protect Our Elections Act--
``(I) notice of any material change
in ownership or control of the election
service provider; and
``(II) any other information
required to be reported under that
section.
``(iii) 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 (c).
``(iv) 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 (c).
``(v) 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 designee, the Chair, and the
Secretary.
``(B) Persons described.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A)(i), 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 intelligence, military
intelligence, and human intelligence, also known as the
`Five Eyes alliance'.
``(C) Permitting waiver of domestic ownership and
control requirement for certain subsidiaries.--The
Secretary of Homeland Security may waive the
requirement of clause (i) of subparagraph (A) 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 Secretary. Such plan shall ensure that
the parent company cannot control, influence, or direct
the subsidiary in any manner that would compromise or
influence, or give the appearance of compromising or
influencing, the independence and integrity of an
election.
``(D) Incident defined.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A)(v), the term `incident' has the
meaning given that term in section 3552(b)(2) of title
44, United States Code.
``(f) Election System Defined.--In this section, the term `election
system' means a voting system, an election management system, a voter
registration website or database, an electronic pollbook, a system for
tabulating or reporting election results, an election agency
communications system, or any other information system (as defined in
section 3502 of title 44, United States Code) that the Secretary of
Homeland Security, in consultation with the Commission, identifies as
central to the management, support, or administration of a Federal
election.
``(g) Ownership and Control Defined.--The Commission, in
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall issue
regulations defining the terms `ownership' and `control' for purposes
of this section.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Enforcement.--Section 401 of
such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ``and 303'' and
inserting ``303, and 304''.
(c) Clerical Amendments.--The table of contents of such Act is
amended--
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 304 and
305 as relating to sections 305 and 306; and
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the
following new item:
``Sec. 304. Ensuring domestic ownership and control of election
systems.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to the regularly scheduled general election for
Federal office held in November 2022 and any succeeding election.
SEC. 3. INFORMATION SHARING WITH RESPECT TO OWNERSHIP OF ELECTION
SERVICE PROVIDERS.
(a) In General.--Each election service provider shall submit to the
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Election Assistance Commission, and
appropriate State or local governmental entities the following:
(1) Not later than the date that is 90 days after the later
of the date of the enactment of this section or the date that a
person first becomes an election service provider, a report
listing the identity of any foreign national (as defined in
section 319(b) of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52
U.S.C. 30121(b))) who directly or indirectly owns or controls
such election service provider and the percentage of such
ownership, and any other information necessary to determine
whether the election service provider is a qualified election
service provider.
(2) Not later than 90 days after the date of any material
change in ownership or control of such election service
provider, a notice of such change and an update of any
information previously reported under paragraph (1).
(b) Civil Penalty for Failure To Report.--If an election service
provider fails to submit a report required under subsection (a), the
Attorney General may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, impose
a civil fine of $20,000.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Appropriate state or local governmental entity.--The
term ``appropriate State or local governmental entity'' means,
with respect to an election service provider, any State or
local governmental entity that the election service provider
seeks to contract with, contracts with, or otherwise provides
services to provide, support, or maintain an election system.
(2) Election service provider; election system; qualified
election service provider.--The terms ``election service
provider'', ``election system'', and ``qualified election
service provider'' have the meaning given those terms in
section 304 of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, as added by
section 2.
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