WASHINGTON — Moves by U.S. President Donald Trump to potentially gut programs aimed at supporting election security are not sitting well with key state election officials, who are now asking the Trump administration to reconsider. The National Association of Secretaries of State sent a letter Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warning that changes to the department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency could endanger future elections. “Information technology systems related to election administration have long been targeted by sophisticated cyber threat actors including nation-state and cybercriminal groups,” according to the letter, signed by NASS president, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and NASS president-elect, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson. “CISA’s prioritized services help election entities defend against these national security threats,” they added. NASS is a bipartisan group that represents chief election officials from nearly 40 U.S. states. Simon is a Democrat. Watson is a Republican. The letter says that while U.S. elections “firmly remain a state and local responsibility,” several initiatives from CISA have provided valuable services and allowed for the sharing of critical information for states that choose to participate. It lists cybersecurity services, physical security assessments, information through the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC), classified and unclassified intelligence briefings and on-the-ground incident response services as among the programs that NASS members would like to continue. VOA has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security about the letter but has not received a response. CISA was formally created in 2018, charged with protecting the country’s critical infrastructure. It has also served as a lead agency on election security. DHS officials announced a review of the agency earlier this month citing what they described as a need for CISA “to refocus on its mission.” “The agency is undertaking an evaluation of how it has executed its election security mission with a particular focus on any work related to mis-, dis-, and mal-information,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. According to DHS, as of mid-February, more than 130 CISA employees had been placed on administrative leave. NASS expressed hope some of the election related programs can be preserved, offering to meet with DHS officials, including Noem. “[We] respect your authority to reassess existing priorities, structures, staffing, and missions,” the NASS letter said. “We favor continuity of the core resources above and welcome the opportunity as Chief Election Officials to discuss any potential changes or impacts to election security-related services before making a final decision.”
