Legislation to increase protection of voting systems from foreign hackers is gaining support in the Senate. Just don’t expect the chamber to take it up before the November elections. Senate Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he supports the bill (S. 2593). It just isn’t needed to make sure the midterm elections are safe, Blunt told state and local election officials at a Capitol Hill conference sponsored by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.“We’re not going to get anything in law between now and Election Day,” Blunt said. “Everything we want is basically happening, but I still would like to see it in law,” Blunt said. He said heightened awareness of security threats since 2016 would help protect voting this November, though it would still be worthwhile to enact changes to protect future elections.
Rules Committee ranking member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she hopes that an election-security bill could be passed during Congress’ lame-duck session after the elections.
“It would be good if we could get it done by the end of the year,” Klobuchar said. She noted the current version of the bill has bipartisan support, while a different bill might emerge after a new Congress convenes in January.
Full Article: Senate Punts on Beefed-Up Election Security Until After Midterms | Bloomberg Government.