Report: Election Security Agency Grapples With Staffing, Budget Cuts
November 21 2019 - 8:00PM
Dow Jones News
By Alexa Corse
The federal agency responsible for setting election security
standards is grappling with key leadership vacancies and inadequate
funding, a new report by a government watchdog office has
found.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which is focused
exclusively on the voting process, is struggling to help state and
local officials bolster the security of their voting systems, the
agency's inspector general said in a report released Wednesday.
The commission has sought to promote cybersecurity best
practices and to serve as a central resource for state and local
governments, which have the primary responsibility for
administering elections. But the inspector general's report says
that the commission's efforts are faltering amid staffing shortages
and years of budget cuts.
Two of the agency's most senior officials -- the executive
director and general counsel -- stepped down last month, and the
agency has begun looking for their successors, the report said.
The agency's acting executive director and chief information
officer, Mona Harrington, said in a letter to the inspector general
dated Monday that the agency "concurs" with the findings about its
troubles.
"Investment in the EAC to support effective and secure elections
and the funding of programs can no longer be ignored," Ms.
Harrington wrote in the letter. "We are hopeful that the president
and Congress can work together to acknowledge the importance of the
EAC's mission and adequately fund the commission going
forward."
The commission had to set aside plans to hire its own
cybersecurity expert because of a lack of funding, the report
said.
The Trump administration repeatedly has pledged a
"whole-of-government" effort to defend against election
interference. Democrats have criticized President Trump and
congressional Republicans for what they perceive as not
prioritizing the issue and blocking legislation that would mandate
stricter standards and boost federal funding.
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Election officials say that they are better prepared than three
years ago, when U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that
Russian hackers and internet trolls sought to disrupt the 2016 U.S.
presidential election and boost Mr. Trump's campaign.
U.S. officials have said that no votes were manipulated in 2016.
Moscow has denied interfering in the election.
National security agencies, along with state and local
governments, have rolled out election-security initiatives,
including increased information-sharing about cyber threats and
major purchases of more secure voting machines.
The Election Assistance Commission, which is an independent
agency with bipartisan leadership, was founded to promote best
practices for election administration after ballot-counting
problems plagued the 2000 U.S. presidential election.
In 2019, the agency sustained a cut to its budget for salaries
and administrative tasks, which lowered the budget to $7.9 million
from $8.6 million the year before.
On Monday, more than three dozen Democratic lawmakers released a
letter calling for more funding for the commission.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 21, 2019 19:45 ET (00:45 GMT)
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