Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's support for improving election security falls short of the needed resources, according to experts.

McConnell signaled this month he would support a $250 million appropriation aimed at countering attacks from foreign governments such as Russia.

The Kentucky Republican's decision came after weeks of him being dubbed "Moscow Mitch" by critics for blocking similar measures coming out of the Democratic-controlled House.

"The Trump administration has made enormous strides to help states secure their elections without giving Washington new power to push the states around," McConnell said in a Sept. 19 floor speech.

But a report by the Brennan Center at New York University Law School shows the figure McConnell is backing represents around 10% of what is needed to protect states from cyberattacks and other security threats.

The report identified four security needs and estimates that states need roughly $2.1 billion to cover those costs over the next five years.

"Securing our elections is imperative, and states and local governments need ongoing and reliable funding to make it happen," the Brennan Center report says. "A minimum investment of $2.153 billion over the next five years will bring all states to a reasonable baseline on election security."

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McConnell spokesman Robert Steurer defended the senator's record while throwing cold water on the report. He cast the Brennan Center as a "liberal organization" that wants "more federal control of our elections."

"Under Sen. McConnell’s leadership, the Senate provided $380 million in 2018 for election security for supporting and securing our elections while protecting states’ flexibility from Washington overreach," Steurer said.

McConnell's office said much of the money from the 2018 allocation, which totals more than $600 million, still has not been spent.

The Brennan Center accounted for those appropriations as well, according to the report, and found those other funds were based in part on federal grants from bills passed to address concerns connected to the 2000 presidential election.

In the report, the center identified three programs state and local governments could adopt to improve election security. Those plans include statewide cyber navigator programs to benefit local jurisdictions; state cybersecurity programs to benefit state election infrastructure; and a website security program to benefit all state and local election websites.

The report outlines how costs are hard to calculate given how quickly cyber threats evolve and that the country's 8,000 separate election jurisdictions have varying needs.

"These are costs above and beyond the routine costs of administering elections and are focused on the urgent needs to protect elections infrastructure from foreign interference or hacking," the Brennan Center report says.

McConnell has resisted a more comprehensive plan put up by House Democrats this year, which sought to dole out about $1.6 billion for election security. Instead, the GOP leader, under pressure ahead of his 2020 reelection, has emphasized the bipartisan Senate plan.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, McConnell's counterpart, praised McConnell for having "finally relented and taken a step in the right direction" on election security when he supported the $250 million appropriation.

Schumer, however, also expressed how the $250 million was not a "substitute for passing the comprehensive bipartisan election security legislation" experts have called for approving.

Reach Phillip M. Bailey at pbailey@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4475. Follow him on Twitter at @phillipmbailey.