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Securing our Elections Act of 2023
12/15/2023, 3:53 PM
Summary of Bill HR 154
One of the key provisions of the bill is the establishment of a grant program to assist states in upgrading their election infrastructure and implementing cybersecurity measures to protect against hacking and other cyber threats. This program would provide funding to states to improve their voting systems, secure voter registration databases, and enhance election auditing procedures.
Additionally, the bill includes measures to address foreign interference in US elections, such as requiring political campaigns to report any contacts with foreign governments or agents and mandating the use of paper ballots as a backup in case of electronic voting machine malfunctions or tampering. Furthermore, the Securing our Elections Act of 2023 includes provisions aimed at combating voter fraud, such as requiring states to implement voter identification requirements and conducting regular audits of voter rolls to remove ineligible voters. Overall, the bill seeks to strengthen the security and integrity of the US electoral process by addressing cybersecurity threats, foreign interference, and voter fraud. It aims to ensure that every American citizen can have confidence in the fairness and accuracy of their elections.
Congressional Summary of HR 154
Securing our Elections Act of 2023
This bill establishes certain photo identification requirements for voting in federal elections.
Specifically, the bill prohibits a state or local election official from providing a ballot for a federal election to an individual who does not present valid photo identification.
Next, the bill outlines the availability of provisional ballots and the requirements for counting those ballots. In particular, an individual who does not present a valid photo identification must be permitted to cast a provisional ballot. However, an election official may not determine that the individual is eligible under state law to vote in the election unless, not later than three days after casting the provisional ballot, the individual presents (1) the identification required, or (2) an affidavit attesting that the individual does not possess the identification because of a religious objection to being photographed.
An election official may not allow for voting methods other than in-person voting unless the individual submits the ballot with (1) a copy of their photo identification, or (2) the last four digits of their Social Security number with an affidavit attesting that the individual is unable to obtain a copy of a valid photo identification after making reasonable efforts to obtain a copy. This prohibition shall not apply to overseas military voters.
The bill also requires an election official to provide an individual with a valid photo identification without charge if that individual presents an affidavit attesting to an inability to afford or otherwise obtain a valid photo identification.
