Two senators sponsoring legislation to secure digital election systems from cyberattacks are meeting Monday with state officials on the details of their proposal. Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are scheduled to meet with secretaries of state to discuss the Secure Elections Act, a spokesman for Lankford confirmed. The bipartisan bill, originally introduced last December, is designed to help and incentivize state officials to make cybersecurity upgrades to their election infrastructure following Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The senators rolled out a revised version of the proposal in March, after some state officials, who are responsible for administering federal elections, expressed concerns with the effort.
At least four secretaries of state are attending Monday evening’s meeting with Lankford and Klobuchar, according to a spokeswoman for the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). These officials include NASS president and Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson (R), Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler (R), Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon (D) and Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R). Politico first reported the meeting.
“During the meeting a variety of bill specifics will be discussed including information sharing protocols, formalizing communication channels and potential funding mechanisms in the future,” the NASS spokeswoman said.
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