; or (B) has adopted alternative practices for addressing risks, and the alternative practices have been verified by the National Association of Secretaries of State, National Association of State Election Directors, or National Institute of Standards and Technology as being equivalent to or exceeding the recommended best practices developed under section 202. (d) Annual audit Not later than 1 year after the first fiscal year in which a grant is awarded under this section, and each year thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department shall conduct an audit of each State that has received a grant during the previous fiscal year to evaluate whether the State has appropriately used the grant funds to upgrade and secure the voting system of the State by implementing the best practices identified in the approved application of the State. (e) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are estimated in the report required to be submitted by the Secretary under section 202(c) to be necessary to carry out this section. III Cooperative Hack the Election program 301. Establishment of program (a) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this title, the Secretary shall develop a program to be known as the Cooperative Hack the Election Program . (b) Purposes of program The purpose of the Cooperative Hack the Election Program is to strengthen electoral systems from outside interference by encouraging entrants to work cooperatively with election system vendors to penetrate inactive voting and voter registration systems to discover vulnerabilities of, and develop defenses for, such systems. 302. Activities under program In carrying out the Cooperative Hack the Election Program, the Secretary shall— (1) create an annual competition for hacking into State voting and voter registration systems during periods when such systems are not in use for elections; (2) award competitors for the discovery of the most significant vulnerabilities of such systems