Florida election supervisors should take advantage of help from the Department of Homeland Security to make systems more secure, Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson wrote in a letter Monday. “County election boards should not be expected to stand alone against a hostile foreign government,” the lawmakers said in recommending “a wide range of services” from DHS to strengthen security. “We encourage you in the strongest terms to take advantage of those resources, and to let us know about your experience with DHS and FBI.”
Rubio in particular has questioned the readiness of some supervisors, calling them “overconfident,” but has also sat down with them recently.
Russian hackers attempted in 2016 to gain access to at least five Florida county election offices, but there’s no evidence of a breach. It’s widely assumed that foreign operators will try to meddle in the upcoming November elections.
Full Article: Florida elections supervisors urged to take federal help on security | Tampa Bay Times.