White House, Some Republicans Block Legislation To Prevent Election Hacking

[DonViejo]

By MARY CLARE JALONICK
September 4, 2018 6:46 am

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just two months before the midterm elections, bipartisan legislation to try to prevent foreign hacking into U.S. election systems is stalled in Congress as the White House and some Republicans worry it could exert too much federal control over the states.

Supporters of the bill say the delay could embolden Russia, which targeted election infrastructure in at least 21 states in 2016.

A committee vote on the bipartisan bill was abruptly canceled two weeks ago after objections from some Republican senators and the states they represent. And Republicans and Democrats who are supporting the bill say they don’t know when — or if — it will be taken up again in the few remaining weeks Congress is in session before the midterms.

The delay has some concerned that Congress could punt on the only piece of legislation that is designed to fix what went wrong in 2016 — and to prevent Russia or other countries from trying again. There is no evidence that the Russian targeting of state election systems was successful or changed any votes, but lawmakers, intelligence officials and elections experts say that they believe Russia will return in 2018 and beyond with more sophisticated tools.

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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/white-house-some-republicans-block-bill-to-protect-elections

[Botany]

1. "There is no evidence that the Russian targeting of state election systems was successful ..."

Ah, Example #1 of Russian success.