House Republican legislators are seeking to strip funding from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an independent federal agency the lawmakers deem unnecessary. File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI | License Photo

July 18 (UPI) -- House Republicans are seeking to close out the U.S. Election Assistance Commission -- an agency that helps ensure election security -- as part of proposed budget cuts.

Although voting, including in federal elections, is the domain of state authority, the commission's exclusive mandate is to provide a secure voting process. The move to eliminate the agency comes as the EAC is working with the FBI to examine attacks on some of the agency's computers last year.


"People supporting the EAC are quite frankly proponents for a greater federal role in our elections," Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga., said last month. "States themselves, they're responsible for all the elections. We do not have a federally run election system."

House GOP members argue that the agency's work, which includes training officials and keeping them current on possible weaknesses in the election process, is already done by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Any remaining duties the agency handles can be done by the Federal Elections Commission, they say.

House Democrats, though, suggest the EAC's importance has been magnified by Russian involvement in the 2016 elections. Rep. Mike Quigly, R-Ill., acknowledging the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered disruptions, say cutting funding to the independent agency offers "a green light" for Putin to do it again.

Investigations of the alleged Russian involvement are being undertaken as the FBI investigates whether Russia attempted to penetrate state election databases. Investigators are also trying to learn if anyone in President Donald Trump's campaign colluded with the Kremlin -- a charge Trump and his staff have denied.

South Carolina's State Election Commission said Monday that nearly 150,000 unsuccessful attempts to gain access to its voting system occurred during November's election. While many were voters seeking information on the election, others from within and from outside the United States also attempted entry, the agency said.

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The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, serves as a federal clearinghouse that administers payments to states and develops guidance to meet electoral requirements. It also develops and maintains a national mail voter registration form.