Today, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) praised the passage in the House of H.R. 2722, the Securing America’s Federal Elections (SAFE) Act of 2019. The SAFE Act provides critical funding to states to replace outdated and vulnerable voting equipment, mandates paper ballot voting systems and risk-limiting post-election audits, and imposes strict cybersecurity requirements for both election technology vendors and for voting systems.  This bill builds on the important election reforms that were included in H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which was approved by the House on March 8, 2019.

“The heart of our democracy was attacked during in 2016 and our intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that we will likely be attacked again. Today, the new House took a decisive step to protect the integrity of our elections. The Mueller Report was indisputably clear: the Russian government interfered in our presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion to help elect Donald Trump, help the Trump campaign tragically solicited and accepted. This legislation will unquestionably discourage and defend against such abhorrent behavior in future elections. It is imperative that the American people have faith in our electoral process. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to affirm the same and help protect the sanctity of our ballots.”