House Democrats' first bill aims big on election security (Joseph Marks, WaPo)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-cybersecurity-202/2019/01/07/the-cybersecurity-202-house-democrats-first-bill-aims-big-on-election-security/5c3218781b326b66fc5a1bbd/?utm_term=.a14d59680ead


The move suggests the new House majority plans to push for the strongest election security measures they can get rather than seek compromise with the GOP-controlled Senate or the Trump administration.

The paper ballot mandate puts the new House majority at odds with the Department of Homeland Security, which has left the door open for machines that record votes digitally but print out a physical paper trail so votes can be audited if there’s any suspicion of hacking. It also tees up a fight with the Republican-controlled Senate, which has been wary of imposing strict requirements on states.

Still, the push for paper ballots was met with applause and optimism by some election security advocates who hope the 2020 election will be more secure than the midterms.

“Paper ballots, that’s the biggest win in this bill,” said Matt Bernhard, an election security advocate with the group Verified Voting. “This is about as aggressive as you can see anyone at the federal level being in terms of actually passing meaningful legislation.”