States Need Federal Help to Ensure Smooth Election, House Panel Is Told

(Bloomberg) -- States can assure the integrity of their voting systems by Election Day in November and cope with the deluge of mail-in ballots prompted by the coronavirus pandemic but will need federal help to get it done, witnesses told a House subcommittee on Tuesday.

The challenges states are facing can be fixed in time for the next election, David Levine, of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told members of the Homeland Security subcommittee on cybersecurity, infrastructure protection and innovation.

“The bad news is that many local election offices are unable to make these fixes quickly because they lack the necessary resources or IT support,” he said.

Democrats proposed providing $3.6 billion to state and local governments for election security in their coronavirus relief bill. But it's not clear whether additional funding will emerge in any deal being negotiated with Republicans. The relief proposal from Senate Republicans didn't include funding for elections, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republicans indicated they might consider adding money.

“States will start to kick in funding over time but to get the ball rolling, federal funding is very helpful,” said John Gilligan, president and chief executive of the Center for Internet Security.

The witnesses said that in addition to updating and upgrading voting technology, election officials must also be providing timely and factual information to voters.

“We need to ensure that our elections are run as smoothly as possible so that mis- and disinformation is less likely to be effective,” Levine said. “If our general election is plagued by significant problems, inaccurate information is more likely to find a receptive audience, as we have seen with Russia and Iran already.”

With more states moving to increase voting-by-mail amid the pandemic, President Donald Trump has been warning without evidence that such a system is subject to fraud and abuse.

Republican Representative John Katko of New York, a member of the committee, said, “Americans should have full confidence in every aspect of our election process.”

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