National: State attorneys general demand that Congress take action on election security | Maggie Miller/The Hill

Twenty-two Democratic state attorneys general demanded Tuesday that Congress take action to secure election systems ahead of the 2020 vote. The group of attorneys general, led by Minnesota’s Keith Ellison, sent a letter to the leaders from each party of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Senate Rules Committee begging them to work together to bolster election security in the states, including passing legislation. “Our state and local election officials are on the front-lines of the fight to protect our election infrastructure, but they lack the resources necessary to combat a sophisticated foreign adversary like Russia,” they wrote. The group of attorneys general asked the senators for “sustained” federal funding to secure election infrastructure against potential interference, for updating the equipment itself and for information technology and cybersecurity training for election officials.

National: Senate Democrats target McConnell in election security fight | Joseph Marks/The Washington Post

Senate Democrats launched an all-out assault on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Tuesday in an effort to unstick a slew of election security reforms that he has blocked from coming to a vote. The Democrats are demanding votes on bills that would mandate states use paper ballots that are far tougher to hack than fully electronic ones and conduct security audits of election systems. They’re also using legislative maneuvers to try to force Republicans to pony up election security money during broader budget negotiations, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N. Y) said during a news conference. And they’re training their swords on McConnell, charging him with standing by mutely while Russia tries to repeat the hacking and influence operations that upended the 2016 election. “Things are going to get a lot worse in 2020 and the Republican Senate, Leader McConnell just stands there and twiddles their thumbs and almost says, ‘Come on Putin, let it happen,'” Schumer charged.

National: Senate Democrats prioritize defense amendments to boost election security | Niels Lesniewski/Roll Call

In one of the few chances they have to offer amendments this year, Senate Democrats are trying to prioritize efforts to keep Russia from further meddling in U.S. elections. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer made that clear Tuesday morning, highlighting Democrat-led efforts to amend the fiscal 2020 national defense authorization measure that is in line for floor consideration after several nomination votes. “NDAA, as I said, has always been about protecting national security,” Schumer said. “And if protecting our elections from foreign interference isn’t a national security issue, then what the heck is?” Schumer, a New York Democrat, anticipated the start of the real work on the defense bill could come Wednesday. While a robust amendment process used to be the norm for the annual Pentagon policy bill, that has not been the case in recent years — even though the mammoth packages still ultimately become law.

National: Senate bill to strengthen cybersecurity coordination with state and local governments | John Thomas Flynn/Federal News Network

A new Senate bill aims to strengthen cybersecurity coordination between the Department of Homeland Security, and state and local governments. The State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act would encourage national cybersecurity watchdogs to share information, including threats, vulnerabilities, breaches and resources to prevent and recover from cyber attacks, with states and localities who are increasingly targeted by bad actors. States’ vulnerability to cyber attacks was front and center during the 2016 presidential elections and federal watchdogs have pushed for more precautions, and resources to prevent similar incidents in 2020. “State and local governments are responsible for safeguarding everything from election systems to an increasing amount of sensitive personal data – from social security numbers and credit card information to detailed medical records,” Gary Peters (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement Tuesday. “Despite being targeted by hackers and bad actors, states and local communities don’t always have access to the resources and expertise needed to protect your information from a breach.”

National: Cybersecurity Remains Inadequate Following 2016 Election | Sam Harton/TechDecisions

The Russia investigation has been a point of political contention and controversy as well as a common buzzword in social media posts and mainstream news headlines. Robert Mueller’s investigation was primarily an investigation into the allegations the the president had obstructed justice and colluded with with Russia in order to win the 2016 election. The Special Counsel’s politicized investigation revealed, dissected, and abstracted many things, but the report also revealed that the election did little to raise concerns about the importance of political cybersecurity, according to CNBC. One of the biggest scandals of the election was the Cambridge Analytica incident, in which Facebook’s inadequate cybersecurity and privacy policies that extracted data without people’s consent and allowed Russian operatives to influence the 2016 election in Donald Trump’s favor. Mueller’s report, however, did not dive extensively into this matter, having only said this: “…a private Russian entity engaged in a social media operation where Russian citizens posed as Americans in order to influence an election.”

National: Senate Democrats to try to force additional election security votes | Jordain Carney/The Hill

Senate Democrats will try to force votes on additional election security legislation as they aim to pressure Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) into taking action on the issue. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters Tuesday that Democrats will go to the floor to try to bring up the bills by unanimous consent, a move that will force a GOP senator to come to the floor and block the bills or let them pass. "We're going to hold stand-alone votes on the many bills that already exist on election security," Schumer told reporters, outlining the Senate Democrats' strategy. The New York senator added that Democrats would push for additional election security funding in the upcoming budget and appropriations negotiations. House Democrats included $600 million for the Election Assistance Commission in an appropriations bill.

National: Voting machine giant lobbies Congress for paper ballots amid election security concerns | Kevin Collier/CNN

The US's largest election equipment manufacturer has begun quietly lobbying Congress to force all voting equipment to create a paper trail, a sharp departure after years of selling paperless digital machines that can't be fully audited. The change of stance comes amid concerns over the security of elections following Russia's interference effort in the 2016 presidential election. "There's a big recognition today that auditing is important, and to do a proper audit you need a piece of paper," Kathy Rogers, Election Systems & Software senior vice president of government relations, told CNN. "I'll tell you it's a decision that came at a cost. We've lost a few sales because of it. But we think it's the right thing to do," Rogers said. Voting experts resoundingly agree that while no system is perfect, the only way to reliably audit an election is to compare results with a physical tally of paper ballots.

Editorials: Russia’s election interference is no longer a surprise. It should still infuriate. | The Washington Post

Russia's meddling with democracy no longer comes as a surprise. It should, nevertheless, continue to provoke anger, outrage and a determination to respond. Observers predicted that last month’s elections for European Parliament would offer a window on a new era of disinformation. Now, European Union officials have rendered a verdict that suggests the Kremlin kept itself busy — engaging not in any grand cross-border campaign but in sustained interference on a smaller scale that may be even harder to root out. Worse, others followed its lead. The E.U. report and concurrent outside research show that the enemy is evolving. Gone are the days when vast networks of false-identity accounts and their automated counterparts worked en masse to spread tales of events that never occurred or malicious lies about public figures. Now, operations are more localized and harder to detect. They feature what experts call narrative warfare, pushing polarizing and distorted variations of otherwise true stories, stripped of context, rather than outright fabrications. The tactic is tougher both for platforms to detect and for governments to legislate against.

Florida: Beefing up Florida’s Battle Against Voter Hacking | Dave Dunwoody/WUWF

Florida's 67 county elections departments will retain $2.3 million in unspent grant money aimed at stopping cyber-attacks on the state's voting system in the run up to the state’s presidential primary in March. The unspent money is left over from a $19 million federal grant last year, to combat potential attacks on the state’s voting system. Gov. Ron DeSantis calls election security a “cornerstone” of democracy; and that the money will be used to continue work on the systems targeted by Russian hackers in 2016. “We have 67 different elections that are run,” said the Governor. “Not every county has the same amount of resources, so we want to be there to offer support, so the elections run smoothly.”

Florida: Governor announces statewide plan to secure election systems | Maggie Miller/The Hill

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Tuesday announced a $5.1 million statewide initiative aimed at securing Florida’s voting systems against cyberattacks ahead of the 2020 elections. Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee and all 67 supervisors of elections throughout the state will participate in the program, with the goal of eliminating “any vulnerabilities in our elections infrastructure,” DeSantis said in a statement. The Florida Department of State will distribute $2.3 million to election supervisors to make security improvements, adding to the $2.8 million for election security efforts already approved by the state legislature as part of the fiscal 2020 budget.

Louisiana: Lawmakers drain voting machine replacement fund | Melinda Deslatte/Associated Press

Louisiana never had sizable sums set aside to buy the thousands of new voting machines it needs. But the state has even less now, after the small amount socked away for the expense was shifted elsewhere in an election-year legislative scramble to boost spending on education, public safety and health care. Lawmakers previously had put $2 million in state financing into a voting technology fund, as a down payment on a machine replacement expected to cost tens of millions of dollars. Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin had hoped millions more would be added this year. Instead, lawmakers reshuffled the money to help pay for Ardoin's office operations as they built the $30 billion state operating budget that starts July 1. That will leave lawmakers in the new term beginning in 2020 to find dollars to pay for machines. "I did warn them. I said, 'The bill is coming. The bill is coming.' It was a hugely missed opportunity," said Ardoin, Louisiana's chief elections officer. A contract for the new voting machines hasn't been settled, and the secretary of state's office hasn't begun seeking vendors for the work, after a previous solicitation effort was derailed by allegations of improper bid handling.

New York: New Voting Machines Could Impact Need For Poll Translators | Kings County Politics

A new voting machine that has instructions and ballots in multiple languages could make the city’s hiring of translators outside of polling places obsolete in the near future. That after the state board of elections is reportedly looking at giving municipalities the green light to start using the ExpressVote XL machines if they so choose. Given that the city now offers voter the ability to register in 15 different languages, the machine has a touchscreen which allows for any language to be programmed, so that voters whose first language is not English can simply read the ballot in their preferred language without having to navigate a crowded ballot with small print and multiple languages on it. The machine uses touchscreen technology that displays only the language that the voter selects, making the ballot clear and easy to read.  The paper-based ExpressVote XL machines are also fully Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant, produce a verifiable paper record for tabulation.

North Carolina: Concerns over voting machines underscores importance of election security | Justin Sherman/WRAL.com

Two weeks ago, Politico reported on a Florida-based election software company that may be unwittingly involved in election security problems in North Carolina. The company was targeted by Russian hackers in 2016 and this effort may have given the hackers remote access to a computer in Durham County that managed a voter list management tool. Now, North Carolina officials are delaying approval of new voting machines for use in the 2020 elections—due to uncertainty over the ownership of the machine suppliers in question. This underscores something that’s only recently come to the forefront of American attention: The abysmal state of election security in the United States. Many countries still use paper ballots to count votes. But in the United States, this isn’t required by law. Many states use electronic devices to count votes in elections. And their security is terrible.  At a 2018 conference, security expert Rachel Tobac showed how easily one can gain administrative access to an electronic voting machine, in-person, in under two minutes. Dozens of kids, at the same event, were likewise able to quickly gain illicit access to replica voting websites.

Virginia: As Russia threat looms, Virginia silent on how much is spent on election security | Mike Valerio/wusa9

Hours after Virginia’s highest law enforcement officer warned Congress of continued and “persistent threats to our election systems,” state officials could not confirm how much Richmond has spent on Virginia’s election security. Virginia received a $9 million grant from the federal government in June 2018 – an investment designed to improve election security in the face of threats from Russia and malicious cyber actors. Yet after months of information requests from WUSA9, the Virginia Department of Elections failed to produce specific dollar amounts or current allocations for the federal funds. The latest online public documents report $0 of $9 million spent as of October 2018, with no recent 2019 filings available. In a letter to members of the U.S. Senate, Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring and 21 other state attorneys general asked for more election security funding, as well as bipartisan election security legislation.

Europe: Trump Invited New Russian ‘Information’ About Opponents. Europe Knows Where That Leads. | Michael Weiss/Daily Beast

In his much-commented 60 Minutes interview this week, Donald Trump breezily dismissed the idea that accepting information on political rivals from foreign sources was untoward. “It’s not an interference, they have information,” he said. “I think I’d take it. If I thought there was something wrong, I’d go maybe to the FBI.” Thus the man who routinely indulges in the fantasy that a collective of American spies is arranging his downfall has no compunction about letting foreign spies arrange the downfall of his opponents. It all depends on what gifts they come bearing. But the trouble with inviting foreign countries into your political system is that once they accept the invitation they never leave. A new study I’ve co-edited, published by the Free Russia Foundation, offers a chilling tour d’horizon of how the Kremlin has walked right into the judiciaries, interior ministries, ballot boxes, campaign coffers and even spy services of Europe, all because domestic politicians initially waved them in. The broad conclusion of “Misrule of Law,” as the report is titled, is that instead of a Europe whole and free, we’ve got one partly subsidized and dangerously subservient to Vladimir Putin.

Australia: Rachel Noble to head up Australian Cyber Security Centre | Stilgherrian/ZDNet

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) has appointed Rachel Noble as the new head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). Noble is currently serving as Deputy Secretary Executive Group in the Department of Home Affairs. The Group is responsible for enterprise strategy, risk, assurance, security and ministerial, media and intelligence services. Noble has previously held a series of leadership positions in Home Affairs; Defence, including two previous roles at ASD, and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C). "I'm delighted that Rachel's agreed to return to ASD to take this important and challenging role, said ASD director-general Mike Burgess in a statement on Wednesday. "The cyber threat is real and Rachel is ideally qualified to confront it."

Philippines: Atienza agrees with Duterte to replace Smartmatic | Inquirer

Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza has agreed with President Rodrigo Duterte to replace vote counting machines (VCMs) provider Smartmatic in time for the next elections. In a Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum on Wednesday, Atienza said Duterte was right to call for the replacement of Smartmatic. “I’m happy with his statement, Smartmatic must go,” Atienza said. During Duterte’s visit in Japan last month, the President told the Commission on Elections to “dispose of” Smartmatic following numerous election irregularities, including computer glitches experienced by several VCMs.

Taiwan: U.S. helping to protect Taiwan against Chinese election meddling | Chiang Chin-yeh and Evelyn Kao/Focus Taiwan

In anticipation that China will try to meddle with Taiwan's presidential election next year, the United States has started dialogue with Taiwan to help strengthen its ability to deal with the issue, a U.S. official said Wednesday. "It's a very important issue for us," Randall Schriver, U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, said during the conclusion of a forum on Asian policies that touched on Taiwan's 2020 presidential election. "There's no question in our minds that China will try to meddle, as it has done in every previous election," Schriver said. In 1996, it came in the form of missile exercises. In 2000, then-Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) threatened the people of Taiwan, he noted. Schriver was referring to the incident in the lead up to Taiwan's 1996 presidential election when China fired missiles into waters near Taiwan in an apparent move to dissuade people from voting for then-President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).