Costa Votes to Strengthen Election Security

Statement

Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) voted to pass H.R. 2722, the Securing America's Federal Elections (SAFE) Act, to guard against foreign interference in our democracy by providing funding to states to update and secure their state's voting systems.

"Protecting our elections is critical to ensuring that every American's vote counts. Clearly our intelligence agencies, along with a bipartisan group of elected officials, agree that there has been a systematic attempt to undermine and exploit Americans' right to vote," said Congressman Costa. "We know this will continue from Russia and other adversaries. I support the Securing American Federal Elections (SAFE) Act because it works to modernize our voting infrastructure and ensure that state and local election officials have the tools they need to safeguard the integrity of our elections."

The bill mandates paper ballot voting systems, post-election risk-limiting audits, and strict cybersecurity requirements for both election technology vendors and for voting systems.

The SAFE Act:

Authorizes $600 million in Voting System Security Improvement Grants for states to modernize and secure their election infrastructure

Authorizes $175 million every two years to states to maintain the state's election infrastructure.

Mandates that voting systems use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots -- a widely agreed upon reform to protect our elections from manipulation.

Sets strict cybersecurity standards for both election technology vendors and for voting systems.

Bans Internet accessibility or connectivity for devices on which ballots are marked or counted.

Requires voting machines to be manufactured in the United States.

Source