In response to reports that Russia targeted voting systems in 21 states during the 2016 elections, leaders of the Congressional Task Force on Election Security called on House appropriators to fund state efforts to secure voting infrastructure on Monday.
Approximately $400 million remains available under the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The Brennan Center for Justice estimates that replacing outdated paperless voting machines would cost $130 million to $400 million.
In a letter, leaders of the House Appropriations Committee, U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Robert Brady (D-PA) called for the remaining $400 million to be used to secure state voting systems.
“When a sovereign nation attempts to meddle in our elections, it is an attack on our country,” the letter stated. “We created the Task Force on Election Security to better understand what can be done to protect our elections going forward. Finding that voting machines and voter databases can be easily hacked, there is a clear and urgent need for federal funding to help states secure their elections.”
State elections officials are aware that election security needs to be improved, the letter continues, but they lack sufficient funding, and most legislatures are not increasing election security budgets.
“We cannot leave states on their own to defend against the sophisticated tactics of state actors like Russia,” the letter stated. “The money that states desperately need to take crucial security steps is available and can be appropriated right now. We urge our colleagues in Congress to recognize with us that ensuring the security of our election systems is a bipartisan issue. With the next federal election less than a year away, Congress must act now.”
More than 40 states use election equipment that was purchased more than a decade ago. Some paperless voting machines run on outdated software platforms like Windows XP or Windows 2000 that do not receive regular security patches, Thompson and Brady continued.
“These issues are exacerbated by the fact that 20 percent of Americans cast their ballot on voting machines that do not have any kind of paper backup,” the letter stated. “ In other words, if these paperless machines were hacked, it would be nearly impossible to tell.”