Democrats outline roster of election security measures

[DonViejo]

By Karoun Demirjian February 14 at 8:31 PM

House Democratic leaders want the federal government to approve more than $1 billion to help states improve ballot security, part of a set of measures they say are necessary to mitigate foreign interference in future election cycles.

The proposals are part of a new report from a task force House Democrats convened last year to examine responses to Russian meddling in the 2016 election. They include establishing grant programs to help states update voting machines and improve cybersecurity protocols, adopting basic standards for voting systems, requiring the federal government to issue regular pre-election threat assessments, and designing a national strategy to counter foreign interference.

“This issue is simply too important to sit back and watch state governments and the federal government pass responsibility back and forth,” Democrats wrote in their report. “The federal government should provide the funds necessary for states to defend themselves.” But the hefty price tag could make it difficult to secure support for the measures in Congress, where lawmakers are bracing for bitter budget battles and staring down the start of primary election season next month.

Democrats accused the GOP on Wednesday of not expediting election security measures to help states counter foreign interference.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democrats-outline-roster-of-election-security-measures/2018/02/14/742f0528-11b1-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html

[Squinch]

1. This needs to be repeated by every Democrat every time they open their mouths on every

media outlet.

[tech3149]

2. hand counted paper ballots, need I say more?

Yes I think I should. Besides those most obvious points there need to be strictly enforced procedures to assure verifiable chain of custody and mandatory cross check of tallies at every precinct. I was tart of a suite to stop the purchase of those video game voting machines in my counting. Even discounting the verification and security issues, you open yourself to an uncontrolled operation and maintenance cost.