A Democratic congressional task force convened to study U.S. election security on Wednesday unveiled new legislation to help protect voting infrastructure from foreign interference. The legislation would authorize more than $1 billion in federal grants to help states replace outdated voting technology, train employees in cybersecurity and conduct audits of elections to ensure the accuracy of their result. It represents the latest push in Congress to address Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election through legislation and follows bipartisan efforts in the House and Senate to address election vulnerabilities and deter future foreign meddling.
The task force members are sponsoring the bill, which is informed by their meetings with former officials, state election officials and election security experts over the past six months. The task force also released a final report on Wednesday summing up their findings and recommendations.
The Democrats on Wednesday accused the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress of not doing enough to address the threat.
“The first primary of the election of 2018 is March 6, only 20 days away. The general election will take place in less than nine months,” Rep. Robert Brady (D-Pa.), one of the task force leaders, told reporters at a news conference. “We do not have a minute to waste.”
Full Article: Democrats propose $1.7 billion in grants for election security | TheHill.