PROTECTION AT POLLS
Schumer calls for stronger election cyber security at CIS
EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. >> U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer paid a visit to the Center for Internet Security (CIS). His visit was in part to renew efforts to secure America’s elections and to highlight the work of the center, which identifies foreign cyber-security threats right here in our own backyard.
Schumer called for free and fair elections and requested Congress pass the Election Security Act, introduced by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, which would aim to defend our elections from foreign interference. The legislation would create a $1 billion federal grant program to shore up local election systems, including those in Upstate New York.
“Election security is not a partisan issue. Our elections are the wellspring of American democracy, the hallmark of a fair and equal government, and at a time when they are under siege from foreign adversaries, they must be protected — at all costs,” Schumer said.
Time is of the essence though, as Schumer noted if the bill gets through, most but not all localities would be able to implement it on time for the 2020 general election.
“We’ve seen enough proof, malicious actors like Russian President Vladimir Putin are not just trying to pick the locks of our electoral systems, they are in the house and looking to cause mayhem,” Schumer noted. “We need to get significant resources to every state and local board of elections in America to respond to the urgency and scale of this threat now.
“The best possible place to start is by voting on and passing the Election Security Act, which would establish a $1 billion grant program for states to fortify their election systems, and supporting the groundbreaking work of the Center for Internet Security, located in Albany’s backyard and on the frontlines of the nation’s cyber-defense.”
If passed, according to Schumer, the Election Security Act would implement the following:
• Establish a $1 billion grant program for states to fortify their election systems, including funding for cybersecurity training for election officials
• Require states to implement paper ballot voting systems, which cannot be hacked by foreign adversaries
• Set minimum cybersecurity standards for manufacturers and vendors of voting systems
• Direct the Director of National Intelligence to analyze potential threats to election security 180 days before an election
• Direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Election Assistance Commission to recommend best practices to states to fend off threats to election security
• Require that voting systems be tested for vulnerabilities nine months before they are used for elections
• Establish a National Commission to Protect United States Democratic Institutions
Schumer, who was joined at CIS by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Jeanette Manfra, echoed recent comments from DHS’ top cyber official, Chris Krebs, for the necessity of a paper ballot backup system to audit the vote.
“If we have a paper trail and something looks like it was hacked, we’ll know exactly what the vote is. It’ll take a while to
count it up but we’ll know. If there’s no paper trail we may never know. That’s the problem,” Schumer said for the need for paper ballots.
“There are nine states that do not have adequate paper ballots, New York does, we switched over from the old clunky machines to the readers and the scanners and those are a little awkward but at least we have the paper ballot,” Schumer noted of the paper trail in New York.
Schumer also touched on other issues pertaining to making sure the election system is on the level, including responding to a recent report published by the Brennan Center for Justice which stated 17 million people were removed from the voter rolls between the 2016 election and 2018 midterms.
“Sometimes states knock people off the voter rolls because they’ve passed away or they’ve moved. You just have to make sure that people are not knocking people off the voter rolls for political purposes and that needs work as well. That’s not the Russians doing it. That may be people doing it for a bad political purpose. Some of the states use it for political purposes and that’s got to stop,” Schumer said of making sure decisions made on voter rolls are apolitical.
In addition, Schumer spoke to the threat and corrupting influence of dark money being funneled from foreign entities into political campaigns in the United States.
“I think Citizens United is one of the worst decisions the Supreme Court has done in 100 years, to allow multi-billionaires and huge corporations to put money into elections without any disclosure is not what democracy should be all about,” Schumer said of the 2010 ruling concerning campaign finance.
“When you have dark money and there’s no disclosure, as there should be for everything, foreign countries could funnel money, maybe undisclosed, absolutely, it’s a real danger,” Schumer concluded.