Press Release  AG Healey to Congress: Protect the Integrity of Our Elections

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey today joined a bipartisan coalition of 21 attorneys general in calling on congressional leaders to take critical steps ahead of the upcoming midterm elections to improve the country’s cyber security infrastructure and protect against future attacks and infiltrations like those committed by Russia in 2016.

In a letter sent today to Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee and Sen. Roy Blunt, chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, the coalition urged the leaders to pass election-security legislation, increase funding for the Election Assistance Commission, and support the development of cybersecurity standards for voting systems. Today’s letter comes on the heels of the latest indictments from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into interference into the 2016 election that revealed Russian military intelligence targeted state and local election boards and successfully stole the information of 500,000 voters from a state election website.

“As the chief law enforcement officer for Massachusetts, it’s my duty to ensure that the election process in our state continues to be fair, secure and open to all eligible voters,” said AG Healey. “With our midterm elections just four months away, we must take these critical steps now to ensure the integrity of our elections.”

According to the attorneys general, the recent federal indictments reveal that there are “malicious foreign actors eager to exploit” the vulnerabilities of weak election infrastructure systems across the country. “It has never been more important to maintain confidence in our democratic voting process. It is imperative that we protect the integrity of our elections,” the attorneys general write in the letter.

The attorneys general argue that many states lack the resources and tools needed to ensure the personal data of their registered voters is protected in this year’s upcoming election. Additional funding will allow states to assess the security of their election systems and make any necessary upgrades.

In their letter, the attorneys general also urge the congressional leaders to ensure that governments and security experts are working together to safeguard against “the increased cyber threats posed by foreign entities seeking to weaken our institutions.”

Joining AG Healey in sending today’s letter are the attorneys general of New Mexico, California, Connecticut, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington.

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