Lawmakers tout election security measure

A group of legislators have introduced a bill designed to bolster election security via new resources enabling research promoting voting systems modernization.

U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Frank Lucas (R-OK) said the Election Technology Research Act of 2019 empowers the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to help strengthen the technology supporting elections systems.

The effort would authorize research activities at NIST on cybersecurity, privacy, auditing, and other important areas of research related to the security and integrity of elections; establish an Elections Systems Center of Excellence at NIST to foster collaborations between NIST, universities, state and local governments, and private stakeholders; authorize new research grants for elections systems research and education at NSF; and direct NIST to carry out specific tasks supporting secure elections, including providing technical assistance to state and local election officials on implementation of cybersecurity and privacy standards.

“There are few things more central to American democracy than the safety and security of our elections, where citizens from all walks of life can cast their vote and know it will be counted,” Sherrill said. “I’m introducing this bill with my colleagues to help states arm themselves with strategies to prevent interference and the resources and support to ensure voting systems are reliable and secure.”

Gonzalez said with new threats facing the electoral system, it is imperative that efforts continue to modernize and improve election security.

“Ohio has long been a leader when it comes to election practices, and this bill will update federal laws to reflect today’s technology and encourage innovation on the state and local level to secure our election systems,” he said.