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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) voted for legislation to strengthen the security and integrity of US elections. The Securing America’s Federal Elections (SAFE) Act, provides funding to protect the integrity of election infrastructure, requires paper ballots, and takes additional steps to defend against foreign interference in domestic elections.

“Our democracy depends on voters knowing their vote will count and the security and integrity of that process,” said Dingell. “The reality is, it’s been nearly two decades since we made significant investments in our election infrastructure. The evidence is clear that foreign adversaries are attempting to interfere in our elections. This strong bill is ballot-box focused election infrastructure security that is desperately needed.”

The SAFE Act will: 

·         Require voting systems to use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots – a widely agreed upon reform to protect our elections from manipulation;

·         Expand risk-limiting audits, equipping our states with the systems needed to ensure the accuracy of the vote tallies in an efficient manner;

·         Authorize a $600 million Election Assistance Commission grant program to assist in securing election infrastructure, while providing states with $175 million in biannual sustainment funding to help maintain election infrastructure – this initial $600 million is being appropriated by the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill;

·         Foster accountability for election technology vendors, creating a “qualified election infrastructure vendor” designation and much needed cyber security deadlines; and

·         Implement cyber security safeguards to protect our systems from attack, including prohibition on wireless communications devises and a prohibition on election system internet connectivity.

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