Surprisingly at the cuts already made to federal agencies that help protect the election, but fearing more will come, the bipartisan group of nation’s best state election officials is homeland security secretary Christie -Sue Noem for help.
In a rare move, the Association of Secretaries of State has generally urged former South Dakota governor Noem to be escaping key election programs and protections during future agency reviews.
Some programs the group singled for retention assesses the physical security of vote locations and election offices, strengthens election office cybersecurity, and shares confidential information about foreign threats to elections. It was intended to respond to ransomware-like attacks.
“We support the continuity of our core resources,” the secretary said, and at the same time, he asked Norm to discuss “potential changes or impacts on election-related services before making a final decision.” I asked.
Last week, the New York Times re-signed dozens of officials already working on foreign interference in the US elections in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security. He reported that he kicked out other people. .
The lukewarm language on the letter was not surprising. The association, made up of 40 secretaries of the nation belonging to both parties, often dislikes suffering from politically visible debates. But election officials across the country have expressed concern and confusion about the administration’s moves.
The letter was signed by President Steve Simon, Minnesota Secretary of Democratic State, and Michael Watson, presidential election for the group, Republican Secretary of Mississippi. Watson could not be reached for comment.
In an interview, Simon said, “The broad consensus can be cut “in the light of the threats we know, and put state secretaries and those who are running elections at a real disadvantage.” “It reflected the following.
Simon said it was created in 2016 in response to efforts by the US government to hack into the US election system. Identify vulnerabilities and link them to information reporting foreign threats.
“It’s a very national security issue and it’s not just the opinion of the Secretary of State,” he said. “That’s the opinion of the federal government across multiple administrations now.”
The impact of the FBI changes is not yet fully known, but other state secretaries said they are worried that they could pose a threat to personal safety.
Jena Griswold, a Democrat and Secretary of State of Colorado, said she had been working closely with federal partners for the past four years as her office flooded with death threats against her.
“Four people were prosecuted for threatening my life. Three by the FBI,” she said.
