Marian K. Schneider: “Passing the bipartisan Secure Elections Act will advance our nation’s efforts to protect and ensure trustworthy elections.”
The following is a statement from Marian K. Schneider, president of Verified Voting, on the Secure Elections Act, which was introduced by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and co-sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC),Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen, Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Martin Heinrich,(D-NM) on December 21, 2017.
“The Secure Elections Act addresses the new reality that our election infrastructure must be protected as matter of national security. At a time when our democracy needs increased protection, Congress should fast-track the newly introduced Secure Elections Act to provide resources for states to safeguard our voting systems and ensure election infrastructure is resilient.
“This bipartisan legislation establishes a structured grant program that creates incentives for states to adopt good cyber hygiene measures in accordance with guidelines developed by an advisory panel of experts. Coupling grants to the states with effective guidelines on spending will ensure the money is used well and moves toward strengthening our elections. In addition, the bill improves the exchange of information about security threats among the different levels of government to allow timely response and action.
“By making federal funds available to states that need them – and by sharing federal expertise and threat information – states will be able to replace aging, insecure voting equipment and implement modern security best practice, which includes using voter-marked paper ballots and robust post-election audits.
“Safeguarding our election systems is vital to maintaining our democracy as well as our national security. If every state’s election system provided voter-verified paper ballots and post-election audits, we would be able to detect and correct errors or election tampering. This federal legislation is a crucial first step and Congress has a responsibility to support election security as a national security issue. Passing the bipartisan Security Elections Act will advance our nation’s efforts to protect and ensure trustworthy elections.”