Election Technology Research Act of 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio. Madam Speaker, election security is an issue essential to our democracy, and I am glad to see the House taking up legislation today to address it in a bipartisan manner.

My colleague, Representative Sherrill, and I have been working together on this issue since being sworn in, and I am glad to join her, as well as Chairwoman Johnson and Ranking Member Lucas, in supporting H.R. 4990, the Election Technology Research Act.

This legislation would modernize and secure U.S. voting systems by authorizing NIST and the National Science Foundation to conduct research on ways to improve and secure voting systems. Importantly, any standards recommended by NIST under this act are voluntary, and adoption of the standards remain in the purview of the Election Assistance Commission.

H.R. 4990 also provides grant funding to establish a center of excellence in election systems to promote the research and modernization of election practices. A stated purpose of this center will be to foster collaboration between universities, nonprofits, private organizations, and State and local election officials. Encouraging communication and collaboration between these groups is vital to make sure the voices of States and local election officials are heard.

The Election Research Technology Act also amends the Help America Vote Act to update the definition of voting systems to match modern technology encompassing electronic poll books and voter registration databases. There is bipartisan consensus that an update of the definition is necessary to reflect the modern election technology used by States today.

With new threats facing our electoral systems, it is imperative that we continue to update our election laws and improve our election security by passing bipartisan election security legislation.

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Johnson, Ranking Member Lucas, and the Science, Space, and Technology staff for their hard work on this legislation, and also Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's office for their input throughout the process.

Madam Speaker, I also want to thank my friend, Ranking Member Davis, for his dedicated work on election issues. I look forward to continuing working with him to ensure the administration of our elections are safe and secure.

The Election Technology Research Act will update Federal laws to reflect today's technology, encourage basic research and innovation on the State and local level to secure our election systems, and streamline collaboration between private and public stakeholders.

This bill is a simple, bipartisan piece of legislation that will take a step forward in improving our election security. I urge my colleagues to vote in support of H.R. 4990.

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