H.R. 2803 — Protecting Election Administration from Interference Act of 2025

This section amends §§301-305 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (52 U.S.C. 20701 et seq.), which require election officers to preserve records and papers related to federal elections for 22 months, as follows: (1) expands required preservation items to include electronic records and election equipment (in addition to records and papers) throughout; (2) in §301, adds a reckless disregard standard to willful noncompliance (increasing potential criminal liability), limits custodians to access under direct administrative supervision of an election officer, and designates the paper record of a voter's cast ballot as the official record; (3) adds §301(b) permitting reuse of election equipment in elections within 22 months of a covered federal election if all related electronic records, files, and data are retained; (4) adds §301(c) directing the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in consultation with the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and Attorney General, to issue compliance guidance within one year of enactment, including minimum standards, best practices, and observation protocols for the Attorney General and party representatives; (5) in §302, expands criminal penalties to cover reckless disregard of §301 resulting in theft, destruction, concealment, mutilation, or alteration of the expanded items; and (6) makes conforming terminology changes in §§303-305 on inspection, nondisclosure, and jurisdiction to compel production.

This section establishes a right of action for the Attorney General, a representative of the Attorney General, or a candidate in a federal election to compel compliance with federal election records preservation requirements under section 301 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (i.e., preservation of records, including electronic records, papers, and election equipment) in the appropriate U.S. district court or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. It requires courts to advance such actions and appeals on the docket and expedite their disposition to the greatest possible extent.

This section expands the prohibition against knowing and willful intimidation, threats, or coercion in federal elections—currently covering activities related to voter registration, voting, urging or aiding others to vote, and exercising rights under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993—to also cover such actions against any person for processing or scanning ballots, or tabulating, canvassing, or certifying voting results. Violators remain subject to fines under title 18, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both.