Texas supporters of countywide voting on election day fight efforts to end it | Natalia Contreras/The Texas Tribune

More than a dozen Texas counties are fighting a push by some Republican state lawmakers to get rid of a program that allows voters to cast their ballots at any county polling location on Election Day, arguing that the option saves taxpayers millions of dollars and makes voting more convenient. County officials say it should be up to local leaders and election officials who best understand the needs of their communities to decide whether to offer countywide voting on Election Day. Two bills have been filed to get rid of the option, which is allowed in 99 counties encompassing more than 80% of the state’s voters. Eliminating it would mean counties would almost certainly have to open, equip and staff more neighborhood voting sites, since Election Day voters would be able to vote only at their assigned precinct. In some counties, available facilities are also difficult to find. Read Article

National: State and local governments should prepare for changes to CISA, cyber experts say | Sophia Fox-Sowell/StateScoop

Cybersecurity experts told StateScoop that state and local governments should brace themselves for changes to the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency under Kristi Noem, former governor of South Dakota, who was sworn in last weekend as the 8th secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Pamela Smith, CEO of Verified Voting, an organization that studies how technology impacts the administration of U.S. elections, said the loss of verified information monitoring may impact election security, which is managed by local government agencies. “CISA has a coordinating function. Their ability to monitor for mis- and disinformation campaigns that may be coming from outside the country, is probably greater than other agencies,” Smith told StateScoop in a recent interview. “It puts more pressure on the entities that have to deal with this, the election officials themselves, to monitor and quickly provide information.” Read Article