PROVIDENCE – Sen. Jack F. Reed announced $3 million to help Rhode Island secure election equipment, defend voting systems from cyberattacks and bolster election security Friday.
The funds come from the Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus Appropriations bill as part of a $380 million appropriation for the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, a federal agency that directs grants to states and provides election guidance to state and local officials.
“Election security must be a national priority. State and local governments administer elections, but they shouldn’t have to fend for themselves against foreign threats. … These funds will provide federal support to strengthen our U.S. election systems from hostile attacks,” said Reed in a statement. “Congress must work together on a bipartisan basis to defend our democracy against future threats.”
Priority uses for the election security funds include:
- Purchasing voting systems that have verified paper records of the votes
- Implementing a post-election audit system that provides a high level of confidence in the accuracy of the final vote tally
- Upgrading election-related computer systems to address cyber vulnerabilities identified through U.S. Department of Homeland Security or similar scans or assessments of existing election systems
- Purchasing cyber security training for state and local election officials
- Implementing established cybersecurity best practices for election systems and other activities that will improve the security of elections for federal office.
