A bipartisan group of state election officials has urged Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to protect key election programs during an upcoming agency review, citing concerns over recent federal budget cuts. The National Association of Secretaries of State expressed alarm over reductions affecting voting location security, election office cybersecurity, and foreign threat intelligence sharing. The group’s leaders emphasized the need for continuity in resources to safeguard elections. They believe the recent reassignment of officials at the FBI and cybersecurity agencies could jeopardize election safety, raising worries about personal security following threats faced by election officials like Colorado’s Jena Griswold.
Concerned about the existing cuts to federal agencies tasked with securing elections and apprehensive that further reductions may occur, a bipartisan coalition of leading state election officials has reached out to Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, for assistance.
In an unusual action, the typically reserved National Association of Secretaries of State addressed a letter to Ms. Noem, the former governor of South Dakota, on Friday, urging that essential election programs and safeguards not be compromised in the forthcoming agency review.
The group highlighted several key programs that they want preserved, including those focused on evaluating the physical security of voting sites and election offices, enhancing cybersecurity measures for election offices, disseminating classified intelligence on foreign electoral threats, and responding to attacks such as ransomware.
“We prioritize the continuity of core resources,” the secretaries stated, while also encouraging Ms. Noem to engage with them regarding any “potential changes or impacts to election security-related services before a final decision is made.”
Recently, The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had already reallocated multiple officials involved in addressing foreign interference in U.S. elections at the Federal Bureau of Investigation and had dismissed others at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, under the Department of Homeland Security.
The subdued tone of the letter was expected: The association, which includes 40 secretaries of state from both political parties, is generally hesitant to enter into discussions that might seem political. However, election officials across the country have voiced worries and confusion regarding the administration’s actions.
The letter was co-signed by the association’s president, Steve Simon, the Democratic secretary of state from Minnesota, and Michael Watson, the organization’s president-elect, the Republican secretary of state of Mississippi. Mr. Watson was unavailable for comment.
In an interview, Mr. Simon remarked that it represented a “broad consensus” indicating that budget cuts could “place secretaries of state and election operators at a significant disadvantage in view of the threats we know exist.”
Mr. Simon pointed out that homeland security programs were established as a response to attempts by foreign entities to infiltrate American election systems in 2016. One such program is “penetration testing,” where federal experts attempt to breach state election systems to uncover vulnerabilities and correlate them with intelligence reports concerning foreign threats.
“This is profoundly a national security matter, and it’s not merely the viewpoint of secretaries of state,” he remarked. “It’s the consensus of the federal government across various administrations.”
While the full implications of the changes at the F.B.I. remain uncertain, other secretaries of state expressed concerns that these changes could jeopardize their personal safety.
Jena Griswold, Colorado’s secretary of state and a Democrat, shared that she has collaborated closely with federal officials over the past four years as her office faced numerous death threats.
“Four individuals have been prosecuted for threatening my life, three by the F.B.I.,” she stated, noting that almost 20 instances of threats against her were under active investigation recently: “What will happen to that protective work for election officials?”