{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-introduces-bills-protect-voting-systems-integrity-elections", "Rep. Johnson introduces bills to protect voting systems, integrity of elections", "2016-09-21", "2016", "2016-09", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Hank Johnson", "J000288", "hankjohnson.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman also pushes to protect voters\u2019 access and provide paper ballots\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, today introduced the \u201cElection Infrastructure and Security Promotion Act of 2016\u201d (H.R. 6073) that requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designate our voting systems as critical infrastructure and the \u201cElection Integrity Act of 2016\u201d (H.R. 6072), which will limit the purchase of any new voting systems that do not provide durable voter-verified paper ballots.\nWhen DHS labels an asset as critical infrastructure, it heightens its security obligations and requires DHS to provide increased support \u2013 be it the power grid, water supply, or electoral infrastructure.\n\u201cIn the wake of the DNC server hack and well-documented efforts by states to suppress the vote, citizens are rightly concerned,\u201d said Rep. Johnson. \u201cWe must work to reduce the vulnerability of our crucial voting systems, protect the security and integrity of our electoral process, and ensure all Americans have the opportunity to vote.\u201d\nThe \u201cElection Infrastructure and Security Promotion Act of 2016\u201d would:\n Designates voting systems as critical infrastructure under the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act;\n\tRequires DHS to submit to Congress a comprehensive plan on protecting critical electoral process from a variety of threats, including cyber terrorism;\n\tCalls on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop operational security standards to be used in federal elections and transparency standards so that voters may verify their votes;\u00a0\n\tAuthorizes the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to establish an election technology innovation program to support and promote research into improving our voting process.\n The \u201cElection Integrity Act\u201d would:\n Limit the purchase of any new voting systems that do not provide durable voter-verified paper ballots;\n\tEstablishes protocols when there is a voting system failure, prohibits voting systems responsible for tabulating votes from being insecurely connected to the internet, and calls for security standards for voting systems used in federal elections;\n\tRequires durable and readable paper ballots and the publication of poll tapes;\n\tEnables verifiable manual audits of federal elections and will allow for random hand counts of paper ballots. The results of these audits will be published;\n\tEstablish guidelines for the publication of voter purge lists and a process by which individuals can challenge their placement on a purge list;\n\tRequires a mandatory response by the Attorney General for allegations of voter suppression and intimidation.\n \u201cWe have seen what is happening in places such as Hancock County, Georgia, where law enforcement and local election officials have engaged in Jim Crow-style voter intimidation in an effort to suppress minority voters; where purge lists have been found to target minorities; and where the Secretary of State\u2019s office has compromised private voter information, it is time for Congress to step up and protect the right to vote in federal elections,\u201d said Johnson.\nCongressman Mike Honda (CA-17) is an original cosponsor of both bills.\n\u201cOur nation\u2019s elections laws are decades old, leaving us unprepared to meet the threats of the 21st century,\u201d said Rep. Honda. \u201cWe cannot afford to be reactive; we must invest now in clear, tough, and verifiable ways to protect everyone\u2019s vote.\u201d\nThe Security Act is supported by Open Source Election Technology (OSET) Foundation, People Demanding Action and Progressive Democrats of America and Verified Voting. The Integrity Act is supported by: National Election Defense Coalition, Common Cause, Transformative Justice Coalition, Hip Hop Caucus, People Demanding Action, UHCAN, Progressive Democrats of America and Verified Voting.\nJudiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (MI-13), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Mike Honda (CA-17), David Scott (GA-13) and Sanford Bishop (GA-02) are sponsors of the Security Act, and Reps. Conyers, David Cicilline (RI-01), Honda, David Scott, Sanford Bishop (GA-02) and Jose Serrano (NY-15) are sponsors of the Integrity Act.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-johnson-introduces-bills-protect-voting-systems-integrity-elections"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9036059491336346, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}