Rep. Courtney Helps Pass Legislation To Secure America's Federal Elections

Statement

Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the Securing America's Federal Elections (SAFE) Act (H.R. 2722). The SAFE Act would bolster election security in a variety of ways, including providing funding to states to replace outdated and vulnerable voting equipment, mandating paper ballot voting systems and risk-limiting post-election audits, and mandating strict cybersecurity requirements for both technology vendors and for voting systems. The landmark election security bill builds upon the election reforms that were included in the House-passed For the People Act (H.R. 1), and is critical to protecting national security and to securing the safety of the upcoming 2020 federal elections.

"There has been dissension and outright misrepresentation over the findings of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report since it was first completed," said Congressman Courtney. "One thing we know for certain is that the former Special Counsel's investigation found concrete evidence that the Russian government interfered in our 2016 federal elections in a calculated and widespread fashion. Our top intelligence and security officials have made clear that we face ongoing threats to our democracy from foreign adversaries and hackers, and that they expect to see the same types of foreign interference from Russia and other bad actors in the upcoming 2020 elections.

"Calculated attempts to degrade and subvert our elections are attacks on our democracy. It is our patriotic duty to protect our elections and our national security, and that's exactly what the SAFE Act does. I urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to give the Senate the opportunity to follow the House's lead, and to vote on this commonsense legislation that will help secure our elections."

Key Provisions of the Securing America's Federal Elections (SAFE) Act:

Authorizes $1.3 billion through Fiscal Year 2026
Mandates that voting systems use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots -- a widely agreed upon reform to protect our elections from manipulation.
Requires states to conduct post-election risk-limiting audits to ensure election integrity. Whether it is an error might have been due to programming or to a cyber-attack, these audits help detect inaccuracies.
Sets strict cybersecurity standards for both election technology vendors and for voting systems.
Fosters accountability for election technology vendors, creating a "qualified election infrastructure vendor" designation.
Bans Internet accessibility or connectivity for devices on which ballots are marked or counted.
Requires voting machines to be manufactured in the United States.

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