Gov. Mark Dayton’s veto of a massive budget bill means Minnesota can’t tap $6 million in federal funds for election cybersecurity until after the November elections. The federal government allocated the money earlier, but the Secretary of State’s office can’t spend it without legislative authorization. That authorization was in the budget bill Dayton vetoed Wednesday.Secretary of State Steve Simon says he repeatedly asked lawmakers to put the language in a non-controversial, stand-alone bill that Dayton would sign. But he says lawmakers chose the “riskiest path” by putting it instead in a bill Dayton repeatedly promised to veto.
Simon says lawmakers “gambled and lost,” leaving the state with a “bad and completely avoidable outcome.”
Simon has said he expects Russian operatives to try again to hack the 2018 elections.
Full Article: The Latest: Veto Leaves Election Security Money in Limbo | Minnesota News | US News.