Election Security Bills Advanced by Senate Judiciary Committee

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed two election security bills on unanimous voices votes Thursday, setting the stage for their possible consideration on the Senate floor in the near future.

Senators on both sides of the aisle spoke in favor of the bills during the lightning fast, 25-minute markup hearing. Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the bills, “A step in the right direction, but by no means a comprehensive solution to the problems we face with hacking and attacking our election systems.”

Here’s a look at what the two bills would do:

• The Defending Elections against Trolls from Enemy Regimes (DETER) Act (S. 1328) would make foreign nationals who engage in or seek to engage in improper interference with a U.S. election ineligible for admission or deportable. It was reintroduced by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) after passing the Judiciary Committee during the last Congress.
• The Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act (S. 1321) would make it a federal crime to hack voting systems used in a federal election and allow the Dept. of Justice to pursue federal charges against anyone accused of such crimes. It was sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / adamkaz)