Election Security

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson spoke about vulnerabilities in U.S. election infrastructure. They remarked on the varying levels of progress states had made since 2016 to fortify their election systems against foreign interference but said more resources were needed to ensure systems are protected. Former Secretary Johnson recalled the lead-up to the 2016 elections, and the information the Homeland Security Department shared publicly about Russian interference activities. He expressed frustration that, in his opinion, not enough attention and news coverage was given to the revelations at the time and that since 2016 insufficient reporting work has been done to counter continued Russian interference . Following Mr. Johnson’s remarks, a panel including state election officials shared firsthand experiences with state efforts lessons learned from 2016. close