Sponsors (4)
The bill increases transparency and national-security oversight of election vendors—helping voters and officials detect conflicts or foreign influence—but it creates reporting burdens, potential commercial-exposure risks for vendors, and could reduce federal funding for noncompliant jurisdictions.
Voters: Federal publication of which private vendors and contract terms are used in federal elections increases transparency so voters can better understand who supplies and election systems and how they're governed.
State and local election officials: A centralized public database of vendors and contract data simplifies cross-jurisdiction oversight and can help officials detect problematic vendor relationships more quickly.
Voters and officials: Requiring disclosure of vendor ownership and foreign interests improves accountability and helps watchdogs and authorities assess conflicts of interest or foreign influence risks in election infrastructure.
States and localities: Conditioning federal election funding on compliance could reduce federal support for election administration in jurisdictions that don't comply, potentially straining local budgets and services.
State and local election officials: The 30-day reporting requirement after each federal election imposes an administrative burden to collect and submit detailed vendor and ownership data.
Vendors and taxpayers: Public disclosure of contract terms (even with narrow security carve-outs) could expose sensitive commercial information, raising legal or liability risks and potentially increasing vendor costs that may be passed to taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 26, 2026 by Ralph Norman · Last progress March 26, 2026
Requires the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to build and publish a public database listing private vendors who provide, support, or maintain any part of election systems used in Federal elections. States and local election officials must submit vendor details to the EAC within 30 days after each Federal election, and the EAC must add the information promptly. The bill requires disclosure of vendor identity, contract terms (excluding security-sensitive information), and ownership details including parent companies, beneficial owners, and any foreign ownership or controlling interests. It conditions federal election funding on state compliance and takes effect for Federal elections held in 2026 and thereafter.
Requires the EAC to publish a public database of election-system vendors, mandates state reporting within 30 days after each federal election, and ties federal election funding to compliance.