A Senate intelligence committee report in mid 2019 concluded that Kremlin hackers investigated election systems in all 50 states.
Photograph: Mark Makela/Reuters
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.
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