Our Elections Should Be Prepared for More Bomb Threats and Cyberattacks

Regardless of party, we can all agree no bad actors can be allowed to silence American voices by disrupting our elections. In 2024, plenty of people tried, including foreign agents – sending bomb threats to polling places, attempting cyberattacks and even lighting ballot boxes on fire. While our election officials were able to handle these challenges, we should be fully prepared for the possibility they’ll try again. This cycle, we have a federal government in place that has significantly stepped back from its previous role in supporting election security, cutting staff and funding. State and local governments should step up in their place. Our state should prioritize election resiliency, working with administrators to ensure they have the expertise, resources and back-up plans in place to prepare for, prevent and recover from physical and cyberattacks. They should have what they need to make sure every voter can vote and every vote gets counted. The Brennan Center has prepared a series of recommendations for policymakers on election security and resiliency so we can do just that, including: -          Setting up interagency working groups on election security -          Using state agencies to provide training and vulnerability assessments for election offices -          Passing and enforcing laws to protect election workers and infrastructure from threats -          Developing and expanding interstate information-sharing networks -          Providing low or no-cost cybersecurity tools and services to local officials -          Funding infrastructure and physical security upgrades on sites -          Organizing scenario-planning exercises bringing together election officials and governmental partners -          Developing election incident response plans with law enforcement and emergency management -          Requiring and develop plans for recovering from cyberattacks Please consider these suggestions as a baseline for our state. This should be a priority for us now so that we’re not caught unprepared this fall.