Election Security Act
Latest action · Feb 28, 2018 Referred to the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 14, 2018
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Election Security Act
This bill directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish grant programs to support (1) states' compliance with certain voting system security requirements, including the use of voting systems that require individual paper ballots marked by hand; (2) states' audits of federal election results (i.e., manual counts of paper ballots); and (3) research and development directed at improving the security and reliability of election infrastructure.
The bill also (1) requires the President to develop a national strategy to protect against attacks on U.S. democratic institutions, and (2) establishes the National Commission to Protect U.S. Democratic Institutions.
Cosponsors 126
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 14, 2018 to Dec 20, 2018; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-LA | Cedric L. Richmond | Original | Feb 14, 2018 |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | Original | Feb 14, 2018 |
| D-PA | Robert A. Brady | Original | Feb 14, 2018 |
| D-FL | Val Butler Demings | Original | Feb 14, 2018 |
| D-CA | Zoe Lofgren | Original | Feb 14, 2018 |
| D-TX | Al Green | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-IN | André Carson | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Bonnie Watson Coleman | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Brad Sherman | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Charlie Crist | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-IL | Danny K. Davis | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-WA | Denny Heck | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne, Jr. | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-MD | Elijah E. Cummings | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Filemon Vela | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Grace F. Napolitano | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | J. Luis Correa | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-MD | Jamie Raskin | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-TN | Jim Cooper | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-KY | John A. Yarmuth | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-GA | John Lewis | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-MD | John P. Sarbanes | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Juan Vargas | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Kathleen M. Rice | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Maxine Waters | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Nanette Diaz Barragán | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Nydia M. Velázquez | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-WA | Pramila Jayapal | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Ro Khanna | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-AZ | Ruben Gallego | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-VI | Stacey E. Plaskett | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Susan A. Davis | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-AL | Terri A. Sewell | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-MA | William R. Keating | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Mar 1, 2018 | |
| D-WA | Derek Kilmer | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Joseph Crowley | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-OH | Joyce Beatty | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-WI | Ron Kind | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-AZ | Tom O'Halleran | Mar 8, 2018 | |
| D-VA | A. Donald McEachin | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-IL | Bobby L. Rush | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-NC | G. K. Butterfield | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-OR | Kurt Schrader | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Ted Lieu | Mar 15, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Anna G. Eshoo | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-VA | Donald S. Beyer, Jr. | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Eliot L. Engel | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-SC | James E. Clyburn | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Norma J. Torres | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-MD | Steny H. Hoyer | Mar 22, 2018 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Apr 13, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Donald Norcross | Apr 13, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Joaquin Castro | Apr 13, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Lois Frankel | Apr 13, 2018 | |
| D-MA | Michael E. Capuano | Apr 13, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Apr 24, 2018 | |
| D-RI | David N. Cicilline | Apr 24, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Julia Brownley | Apr 24, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Apr 24, 2018 | |
| D-MA | Niki Tsongas | Apr 24, 2018 | |
| D-NV | Ruben J. Kihuen | Apr 24, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Apr 24, 2018 | |
| D-CT | James A. Himes | May 9, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Doris O. Matsui | May 16, 2018 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | May 16, 2018 | |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | May 21, 2018 | |
| D-NY | Hakeem S. Jeffries | May 23, 2018 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | May 23, 2018 | |
| D-GA | Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. | May 23, 2018 | |
| D-MO | Wm. Lacy Clay | May 23, 2018 | |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Jun 5, 2018 | |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Jun 19, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Marc A. Veasey | Jun 27, 2018 | |
| D-DE | Lisa Blunt Rochester | Jul 11, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Darren Soto | Jul 12, 2018 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Jul 23, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Jimmy Panetta | Jul 23, 2018 | |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Jul 24, 2018 | |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Jul 24, 2018 | |
| D-IL | Luis V. Gutierrez | Jul 25, 2018 | |
| D-MA | Seth Moulton | Jul 25, 2018 | |
| D-NJ | Bill Pascrell, Jr. | Sep 5, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Gene Green | Sep 5, 2018 | |
| D-FL | Kathy Castor | Sep 5, 2018 | |
| D-TX | Vicente Gonzalez | Sep 5, 2018 | |
| D-CO | Diana DeGette | Sep 12, 2018 | |
| D-CA | Scott H. Peters | Sep 12, 2018 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Sep 12, 2018 | |
| D-HI | Colleen Hanabusa | Sep 25, 2018 | |
| D-IL | Mike Quigley | Nov 16, 2018 | |
| D-CO | Ed Perlmutter | Dec 20, 2018 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Dec 20, 2018 |
Committees 5
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Committee on House Administration | Referred Feb 14, 2018 |
| House | Homeland Security Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2018 |
| Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Subcommittee | Referred Feb 28, 2018 | |
| House | Intelligence (Permanent Select) Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2018 |
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2018 |
| House | Foreign Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 14, 2018 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 28, 2018Referred to the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection.
- Feb 14, 2018Introduced in House
- Feb 14, 2018Referred to the Committee on House Administration, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, Intelligence (Permanent Select), the Judiciary, and Foreign Affairs, 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.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H9049 | Jerrold Nadler D-NY | Sep 26, 2018 |
| House | Lists H1178H.R. 5011–5029 | — | Feb 14, 2018 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 164, no. 29, February 14, 2018, page H1178.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 115-70 | DHS'S PROGRESS IN SECURING ELECTION SYSTEMS AND OTHER CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE95 pages | Homeland Security Committee | Jul 11, 2018 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 6436 | To direct the Director of National Intelligence to submit to State election officials and Congress annual reports on pre-election threats for general elections for Federal office. | Related bill | Jul 18, 2018 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To protect elections for public office by providing financial support and enhanced security for the infrastructure used to carry out such elections, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Election Security Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Government Operations and Politics.
- Advisory bodies
- Buy American requirements
- Computer security and identity theft
- Computers and information technology
- Congressional oversight
- Disability and paralysis
- Elections, voting, political campaign regulation
- Government information and archives
- Government Operations and Politics
- Government studies and investigations
- Homeland security
- Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information
- Public contracts and procurement
- State and local government operations
- Subversive activities
- Technology assessment
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 14, 2018Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.