Dems to hear from state officials on election security

A task force formed by congressional Democrats will hear from state officials next week on the steps they are taking to secure future elections from cyber threats.

The commission, formed over the summer by Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Robert Brady (D-Pa.), has invited Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea (D) and Virginia Department of Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortes, as well as a representative from the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), to meet with the panel next Tuesday. 

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The meeting will be the task force’s second briefing; the lawmakers met with former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials, including Obama-era Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, last month.

The Democrats formed the task force out of frustration that committees they sit on have not done enough to look into Russian election interference. Thompson and Brady serve as the top Democrats on the Homeland Security and Administration Committees, respectively.

The House and Senate Intelligence Committees are investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, which included targeting email accounts of high-level Democratic officials as well as state election systems. 

Tuesday’s meeting takes place after some states expressed frustration with Homeland Security’s notification to them that their systems had been targeted by Moscow ahead of the 2016 vote. 

“The forum will focus on steps states are taking to secure their elections, and what the federal government can do to do assist,” a task force release circulated Friday states.

DHS officials notified 21 states in September that Russia targeted their systems before the election. In most states, the efforts only involved initial scanning for vulnerabilities. However, hackers breached voter registration databases in both Arizona and Illinois. Some states have charged that the agency offered misleading information about the targeting, spurring tensions between state and federal officials.

Russia’s efforts triggered the department’s decision in January to designate polls, voter databases and other election infrastructure as critical infrastructure, opening it up to federal protections for states that ask for them. The decision has proved controversial among state and local officials who fear a federal takeover of elections.

Department officials have been engaging with state election officials ahead of elections in November, holding a meeting with the EAC and representatives from the National Association of Secretaries of State on election infrastructure as recently as this weekend.

“We’re not just thinking about ’18. We’re thinking about the gubernatorial elections that are coming up in a matter of weeks,” Christopher Krebs, a top DHS official, told a Senate panel on Thursday, highlighting the department’s efforts to secure election infrastructure going forward. 

“We’re issuing security clearances to a number of election officials. And, in a matter of weeks, we’re going to establish a sector coordinating council, which will bring those private-sector elements that provide the systems and technologies in support,” Krebs continued.

“I think there’s still a lot to be done. We certainly have work ahead of us, and there’s no question they’re going to come back,” he said.