Most state election officials lack clearance to know cyber threats

Only 21 of the nation’s 150 top state election officials have the federal security clearance they need to be informed of threats to their voting systems, Homeland Security officials told a Senate panel Wednesday.

Only 19 states and local governments have completed — or are undergoing — federal risk assessments to identify election system vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hostile governments, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told the Senate Intelligence Committee. Nielsen said Homeland Security sponsors a maximum of three election officials per state to obtain security clearances, so they can be told about cyber threats.