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S. 1487Senate118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act of 2023

Sponsored by Amy KlobucharSen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Introduced May 9, 2023

AI-Generated Summary

Updated January 20, 2026 at 7:13 AM UTC

The Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act of 2023 updates federal law to strengthen how election records, papers, and equipment are preserved and protected. It expands the definition of protected materials to include electronic records and election equipment, adds new penalties for reckless interference, and creates a fast‑track judicial process for enforcing compliance. The bill directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Election Assistance Commission, and the Attorney General to issue guidance on best practices, and it extends protections to activities such as ballot processing and result certification. It mainly affects election officials, candidates, and any parties handling election materials.

Key Provisions

  • Amends the Civil Rights Act to require election officers to preserve all records (including electronic), papers, and election equipment under their direct supervision, and keeps the paper ballot as the official record; equipment may be reused after 22 months if data is retained.
  • Mandates the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission and the Attorney General, to issue guidance within one year on standards for preserving records and equipment and on observation protocols by the Attorney General and party representatives.
  • Expands criminal penalties to cover reckless disregard that leads to theft, destruction, concealment, mutilation, or alteration of records, papers, or election equipment, and updates related sections to include electronic records and equipment.
  • Updates inspection, nondisclosure, and jurisdiction provisions to replace “record or paper” with “record (including electronic record), paper, or election equipment.”
  • Creates a new judicial review provision allowing the Attorney General, its representative, or a federal election candidate to sue to compel compliance, with courts required to prioritize and expedite such cases.
  • Amends the National Voter Registration Act to explicitly protect processing or scanning ballots, and the tabulation, canvassing, or certification of voting results from interference.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action
SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Rules and Administration Committee

May 9, 2023

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

May 9, 2023

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

Rules and Administration Committee

May 9, 2023

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued May 9, 2023

II

118th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1487

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 9, 2023

Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Smith, Mr. Warner, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration

A BILL

To enhance protections for election records.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act of 2023.

2.

Enhancement of protections for election records, papers, and equipment

(a)

Preservation of records, paper, and equipment

Section 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701) is amended—

(1)

by striking Every officer and inserting the following:

(a)

In general

Every officer

;

(2)

by striking records and papers and inserting records (including electronic records), papers, and election equipment each place the term appears;

(3)

by striking “record or paper” and inserting “record (including electronic record), paper, or election equipment”;

(4)

by inserting (but only under the direct administrative supervision of an election officer). Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the paper record of a voter’s cast ballot shall remain the official record of the cast ballot for purposes of this title after upon such custodian;

(5)

by inserting , or acts in reckless disregard of, after fails to comply with; and

(6)

by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

(b)

Election equipment

The requirement in subsection (a) to preserve election equipment shall not be construed to prevent the reuse of such equipment in any election that takes place within twenty-two months of a Federal election described in subsection (a), provided that all electronic records, files, and data from such equipment related to such Federal election are retained and preserved.

(c)

Guidance

Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission and the Attorney General, shall issue guidance regarding compliance with subsections (a) and (b), including minimum standards and best practices for retaining and preserving records (including electronic records), papers, and election equipment in compliance with subsections (a) and (b). Such guidance shall also include protocols for enabling the observation of the preservation, security, and transfer of records (including electronic records), papers, and election equipment described in subsection (a) by the Attorney General and by a representative of each party, as defined by the Attorney General.

.

(b)

Penalty

Section 302 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20702) is amended—

(1)

by inserting , or whose reckless disregard of section 301 results in the theft, destruction, concealment, mutilation, or alteration of, after or alters; and

(2)

by striking record or paper and inserting record (including electronic record), paper, or election equipment.

(c)

Inspection, reproduction, and copying

Section 303 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20703) is amended by striking record or paper and inserting “record (including electronic record), paper, or election equipment” each place the term appears.

(d)

Nondisclosure

Section 304 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20704) is amended by striking record or paper and inserting “record (including electronic record), paper, or election equipment”.

(e)

Jurisdiction To compel production

Section 305 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20705) is amended by striking record or paper and inserting “record (including electronic record), paper, or election equipment” each place the term appears.

3.

Judicial review for election records

Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq.), is amended—

(1)

by redesignating section 306 as section 307; and

(2)

by inserting after section 305 the following:

306.

Judicial review to ensure compliance

(a)

Right of action

The Attorney General, a representative of the Attorney General, or a candidate in a Federal election described in section 301 may bring an action in the district court of the United States for the judicial district in which a record (including electronic record), paper, or election equipment is located, or in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, to compel compliance with the requirements of section 301.

(b)

Duty To expedite

It shall be the duty of the court to advance on the docket, and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of, the action and appeal under this section.

.

4.

Criminal penalties for intimidation of tabulation, canvass, or certification efforts

Section 12(1) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20511(1)) is amended—

(1)

in subparagraph (B), by striking or at the end; and

(2)

by adding at the end the following:

(D)

processing or scanning ballots, or tabulating, canvassing, or certifying voting results; or

.