Key Democrats and election analysts say more needs to be done to ensure safe elections free from ‘foreign malicious actors’

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

Potential electronic voting equipment failures and cyber attacks from Russia and other countries pose persistent threats to the 2020 elections, election security analysts and key Democrats warn.

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In November significant electronic voting equipment problems occurred in an election in the vital battleground state of Pennsylvania, sparking a lawsuit by advocacy groups charging the state is using insecure electronic voting machines.

Other key states like Florida and North Carolina which experienced voting problems in 2016 and Georgia which had serious equipment problems in 2018, are being urged to take precautions to curb new difficulties in 2020, say election analysts.

The Brennan Center’s electoral reform program last month released a study that stressed testing backup systems and electronic voting equipment before the primaries and next November’s general election was needed to reduce risks of cyber attacks and equipment failures, and offered guidance about ways to recover from attacks or malfunctions.

In response to these and other threats, Congress in December added $425m for election-related spending, including security measures, to a massive $1.4tn spending bill for 2020.

But Democratic senators such as Mark Warner and Ron Wyden, who backed other election security bills that passed the House but were blocked by Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, still see the need for more election security measures next year, including permanent security funding and other steps to ensure safe elections.

In advocating for more funding and legislation, Warner and other election security specialists cite intelligence warnings that the Kremlin will try to disrupt the election in 2020, as it did in 2016 when cyber attacks and social media campaigns sowed dissension and helped Donald Trump become president.

“The intelligence community has warned us that Russia will try again in 2020, and we have to be prepared,” Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, told the Guardian.

“After months of pressure, Republican leaders in Congress have finally acknowledged that states need more resources to combat this threat – but additional money is no substitute for a permanent funding mechanism for securing and maintaining elections systems, and comprehensive legislation to protect our elections – both of which the White House and GOP leadership have been blocking for two years now,” Warner added.

Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process

Warner’s concerns were underscored in November when seven top agency officials, including the heads of the FBI and CIA, issued a joint statement predicting Russia, and other countries intend to meddle in the 2020 elections via cyber attacks or social media.

“Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions,” the joint statement said.

The threat of more cyber attacks, plus disinformation and social media operations to sway public opinion, has prompted the federal government to work closely with officials in all 50 states, the statement said.

A Senate intelligence committee report in mid-2019 concluded that Kremlin hackers manipulated election systems in all 50 states, and succeeded in breaching systems in two Florida counties and another state, although vote totals were apparently not affected.

Looking ahead at other potential election security problems, Wyden voiced concern that the $425m allocated for 2020 election administration could be used for other purposes than security measures since it was written without tight spending guidelines.

“While I appreciate the intent, the funding in this spending bill will most likely lead to a massive giveaway to companies that make insecure voting machines,” Wyden told the Guardian. “Not only does this bill let states use federal money to buy insecure machines, it actually says money can go to office chairs, printers or anything related to running an election.”

Wyden added: “Congress must pass legislation to secure our entire election system, from voter registration systems and e-poll books, to voting machines and election night reporting websites.”

By way of example, Wyden and election security analysts note that e-poll books, which are used in numerous states such as North Carolina and Georgia to track registered voters and speed up voting, still lack national standards and could be vulnerable to attacks or failures.

Likewise, the recent Brennan report cited growing usage of e-poll books as one of several potential trouble spots for the 2020 elections, and suggested that more advance planning is warranted to ensure safe elections in November. The study estimates 41 states will be using e-poll books next November.

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“I think the period between now and next November is crucial for preparing for potential problems,” said Larry Norden, the director of Brennan’s electoral reform program.

Norden cautions e-poll books pose a “new threat, (since) they’ve become so much more widespread in the last few years.”

Similarly, new questions are being raised about the safety of some electronic voting equipment given problems in 2019 and 2018, respectively, in Pennsylvania and Georgia.

A lawsuit was filed last month to block Pennsylvania from certifying electronic voting equipment that Philadelphia has purchased, after the same machines encountered significant problems in November in undercounting votes in nearby Northampton County.

The equipment was made by Nebraska based ES&S, which boasts about 50% of the national voting machine market and has been cited before for malfunctions. In Georgia in the 2018 elections, for instance, old voting machines made by ES&S were involved in counting votes in a race where reportedly about 80,000 votes were strangely not cast, sparking ongoing litigation.

More recently in Georgia tests of new e-poll books in six county elections in November revealed software glitches in a few of the counties, delaying voting and spurring the use of paper records instead to check in voters.

In light of the multiple concerns, Norden stressed the primaries next year “should be watched carefully so we can learn from any problems during them. They should be used as an opportunity to be better prepared in November.”

Norden added that “This is probably going to be the highest turnout election in most people’s lives which adds to the complexity,” of protecting election security.