; and (7) engage qualified interested persons, including representatives of private entities, about the structure of the Program and, to the extent practicable, establish a recurring competition for independent technical experts to assess election systems for the purpose of identifying and reporting election cybersecurity vulnerabilities. (d) Use of service providers The Secretary may award competitive contracts as necessary to manage the Program. 3403. Definitions In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: (1) The terms election and Federal office have the meanings given such terms in section 301 of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 ( 52 U.S.C. 30101 ). (2) The term election cybersecurity vulnerability means any security vulnerability (as defined in section 102 of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 ( 6 U.S.C. 1501 )) that affects an election system. (3) The term election service provider means any person providing, supporting, or maintaining an election system on behalf of a State or local election official, such as a contractor or vendor. (4) The term election system means any information system (as defined in section 3502 of title 44, United States Code) which is part of an election infrastructure. (5) The term Secretary means the Secretary of Homeland Security, or, upon designation by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security of the Department of Homeland Security, or a Senate-confirmed official that reports to the Director. (6) The term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. (7) The term voting system has the meaning given such term in section 301(b) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ( 52 U.S.C. 21081(b) ). F Miscellaneous Provisions 3501. Definitions Except as provided in section 3404, in this title, the following