While the Department of Homeland Security has said hackers tried to get into 21 state systems in 2016, former National Security Council Cybersecurity Coordinator Michael Daniel told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday it is "highly likely" Russian hackers at least scanned voting systems in all 50.
Now some states are telling the federal government they do not have enough money to prepare for possible interference in the upcoming midterms.
Officials from Minnesota and Vermont asked lawmakers for more money at a hearing Wednesday by the Senate Rules and Administration Committee in Washington.
"Our upgrades to equipment and cybersecurity will be an ongoing challenge for many states; the federal funding received will, regrettably, be insufficient to do all we want, or need,” said Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, who is president-elect of the National Association of Secretaries of State.
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Congress appropriated $380 million for the current fiscal year to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to help states improve election infrastructure. As of this week, 38 states have requested $250 million of the funds and $150 million has been distributed, said Rules panel chairman Roy Blunt of Missouri.
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Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said cybersecurity poses the "number one threat to the integrity of our elections." Simon, whose state was among the 21 targeted in 2016, said he wants to adopt Homeland Security recommendations on securing elections but that there’s not enough funding.
Simon said election security is a “race without a finish line” and that it takes focus and money to "stay one step ahead of the bad guys."
This year, 41 states are using voting systems that are at least a decade old, according to an analysis by Verified Voting and the Brennan Center for Justice in New York. Some of those states rely on electronic voting systems that produce no paper trail in the event of a malfunction.
States Seek More Money to Secure Elections After Russian Meddling (Bloomberg Politics)