On May 8, 2019, Democracy Deputy Director Lawrence Norden testified before the Committee on House Administration in a hearing entitled “Election Security.” This hearing provided an opportunity for the Committee to consider options to improve the integrity of our election infrastructure.
The Brennan Center testimony emphasized three points: the United States has made important progress since 2016 in protecting its election infrastructure; while Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report confirmed a “sweeping and systemic” attack on American elections in 2016, there are several reasons to believe the threat against our election infrastructure will be even greater in 2020; there is more to do to protect our elections in 2020 and beyond, and Congress has a critical leadership and partnership role to play.
The testimony went on to detail the critical work to be done ahead of the 2020 Election and beyond, such as replacing paperless voting equipment, expanding the use of robust post-election audits, upgrading election-related computer systems and websites, and providing more cybersecurity resources to local election jurisdictions. Finally, the testimony stressed the critical role Congress must play, both in partnering with states and local governments by funding needed security steps, and providing direction about how that federal money should be used.
Read the full testimony here.