Attorney General Lori Swanson calls on Congress to protect American election system along with bipartisan coalition of 20 states

Swanson and the bipartisan coalition sent a letter to congressional leaders, which noted in part that: “[a]s the latest investigations and indictments make clear, during the 2016 election, hackers within Russia’s military intelligence service not only targeted state and local election boards, but also successfully invaded a state election website to steal the sensitive information of approximately 500,000 American voters and infiltrated a company that supplies voting software across the United States.”

In the letter, the bipartisan coalition urges Congress to take action to protect the American election system and address security concerns, including the following three steps:

• Prioritizing and acting on election-security legislation. The Secure Elections Act (“S.2261”) is currently before the Senate and may address some of the concerns.

• Increasing funding for the Election Assistance Commission to support election security improvements at the state level and to protect the personal data of the voters of our states. Many states lack the resources and tools they need to protect the polls during this year’s upcoming elections. Additional funding for voting infrastructure will not only allow states to upgrade election systems, but will also allow for a comprehensive security risk assessment. Unfortunately, past practice has shown that the existing Election Assistance Commission grants are simply insufficient to provide for the upgraded technology needed. More funding is essential to adequately equip states with the financial resources we need to safeguard our democracy and protect the data of voting members in our states.

• Supporting the development of cybersecurity standards for voting systems to prevent potential future foreign attacks. It is critical that there be a combined effort between governments and security experts to protect against the increased cyber threats posed by foreign entities seeking to weaken our institutions.

Protecting the integrity of the American voting system is a vital, bipartisan issue, reflected in the bipartisan nature of the coalition. In addition to Minnesota, the coalition includes: Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, New Mexico, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Oregon, Hawaii, Washington, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia.