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S. 2261: Secure Elections Act

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S. 2261: Secure Elections Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-12-21 · Government Operations and Politics · Latest: Committee on Rules and Administration. Hearings held.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-12-21 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Committee on Rules and Administration. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Secure Elections Act

Plain summary

Secure Elections Act This bill gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) primary responsibility within the federal government for sharing information about election cybersecurity incidents, threats, and vulnerabilities with federal entities and election agencies. DHS shall establish an advisory panel of independent experts to develop guidelines on election cybersecurity, including standards for procuring, maintaining, testing, auditing, operating, and updating election systems. DHS shall award election system cybersecurity and modernization grants to states to implement the advisory panel's guidelines. Grants shall be awarded to: (1) remediate vulnerabilities identified by a cybersecurity evaluation, (2) replace electronic voting systems that are not optical scanners that read paper ballots, and (3) reimburse states for the inspection of marked paper ballots. DHS shall establish a Hack the Election program, including a recurring competition, to facilitate and encourage the identification and reporting of election cybersecurity vulnerabilities by independent technical experts.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Secure Elections Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] · 5 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK] reported raising $1.2 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-s2261 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115