![handle is hein.crs/govejhp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: November 4, 2022
Voting Systems and Federal Law
Laws regulating voting systems, including voting machines
and other election infrastructure, exist primarily at the state
and locallevels. However, the federalgovernment
maintains significant authority over elections andplays an
important role in safeguarding election infrastructure. In
that regard, Congress has passed legislationthat sets forth
requirements for voting systems. The Help America Vote
Act of 2002 (HAVA; 52 U.S.C. §§ 20901-21145), in
particular, includes among other things, federal
requirements for voting systems (52U.S.C. § 21081). As
authorized by HAVA, the U.S. Election As sistance
Commission (EAC) promulgates voluntary federal
guidelines to assist states in implementing these
requirements for their voting systems. Additionally,
Congress has passed severalfederal criminal laws
prohibiting the intrusion into or misuse of voting systems.
Crimnina Laws
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) prohibits,
among other things, a number of activities involving
acces sing a protected computer without authorization or
acces sing a protected computer that exceeds authorization.
In 2020, Congress amended the CFAA to broaden the
definition of a protected computer to include a computer
that is part of a voting systemand that either is used for a
federal election or has moved in or otherwise affected
interstate or foreign commerce (18 U.S.C. § 1030(e)(2)(C)).
Since its enactment, § 1030(e)(2)(C) prohibits unauthorized
individuals fromaccessing a voting systemand transmitting
or retaining protected information. Another provision, 18
U.S.C. § 371, prohibits persons fromconspiring to commit
an offense against or to defraud the United States. Among
recent criminalcases related to elections systems brought
by the Department of Justice (DOJ) using these provisions
include a 2021 case brought against two Iraniannationals,
where they were principally charged under 18 U.S.C.
§ 1030 with computer intrusion related to the 2020
presidential election. In 2018, DOJ securedindictments
against twelve Russian nationals, charging themwith
computer intrusion and conspiracy related to the 2016
election under 18 U.S.C. § § 1030 and 371.
Several other criminal laws may arise in the context of
intrusion into or mis us e of voting systems, including:
* 18 U.S.C. § 241, which prohibits two or more persons
from conspir[ing] to injure, oppress, threaten, or
intimidate any person in the exercise of a right.
* 18 U.S.C. § 242, which prohibits any person acting
under color oflaw from willfully subjecting any person
to the deprivation ofaright.
* 52 U.S.C. § 10307, which prohibits aperson acting
under color oflaw from willfully failing or refusing to
tabulate a person's vote who is entitled to vote, among
other things.
* 52 U.S.C. § 20511, which provides criminalpenalties
for defrauding theresidents of a state of a fair election
by manipulating balloting processes, among other
things.
* 52 U.S.C. § 20701, which provides criminalpenalties
for officials willfully failing to retain and preserve
election records.
* 52 U.S.C. § 20702, which provides criminalpenalties
for any person who willfully steals, destroys, conceals,
mutilates, or alters a paper orrecord covered by §
20701.
Hnp America Vote Act (HAVA)
Under HAVA, a voting systemis defined as the total
combination of mechanical, electromechanical, or
electronic equipment (including the software, firmware, and
documentationrequired to program, control, and support
the equipment) thatis used to define ballots; to cast and
count votes; to report or display electionresults; and to
maintain and produce any audit trail information as well as
the practices and associated documentation used to test
and maintain the system. (52 U.S.C. § 21081). HAVA's
voting s ystemrequirements for federal elections include
machines that can produce a permanent p aper record with a
manualaudit capacity and that have accessibility features
for other languages and individuals with dis abilities. For
more information on HAVA, please see CRS Report
R46949, The Help America Vote Act of2002 (HA VA):
Overview and Ongoing Role in Election Administration
Policy, by KarenL. Shanton.
Voluntary Voting Systems Gui delines (VVSG)
As part of its advisory role to state and localgovernments,
HAVA requires the EACto develop and maintain a set of
guidelines calledthe Voluntary Voting SystemGuidelines
(VVSG). The VVSG are specifications for voting systems,
including basic functionality, accessibility, and security
capabilities. In addition, 52 U.S.C. § 20971 further requires
the EAC to provide for the testing, certification,
decertification, and recertification of voting systems
technology by accredited laboratories.
While many states have adopted aspects of the VVSG, the
guidelines are voluntary, and states may choose which
federal guidelines, testing, orcertificationprocesses to
adopt under their own state laws. According to a February](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govejhp0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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