© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Maine Secretary of State Looking To Beef Up Cybersecurity For Voter Registration System

Associated Press
In April, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced the availability of the money in a joint statement and cited Russia's "relentless" attempts to influence the 2016 elections.

Just days after the nation's top intelligence officer warned of persistent attempts by Russia to hack American voting infrastructure, the Maine Secretary of State's office confirmed that it is seeking federal funds to beef up cybersecurity of the state’s voter registration system.

The Secretary of State's office requested over $3 million in Help America Vote Act funds late last week, but has asked for more time to draft its plan to spend the money. A spokesperson for the agency said that implementing and overseeing the state's first ranked-choice voting election in June delayed submission of the plan.

The state hopes to use the funds to improve cybersecurity of the state's central voter registration system while training municipal election officials.

In April, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced the availability of the money in a joint statement and cited Russia's "relentless" attempts to influence the 2016 elections.

Both senators sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which earlier this month affirmed a determination by the U.S. intelligence community that Russia sought to help Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, an assessment that the president refused to endorse during a summit with the Russian president Monday.

On Friday, Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, compared the ongoing threats of Russian cyberattacks to the warnings ahead of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. He also highlighted the indictmentsfrom Special Counsel Robert Mueller of 12 Russian agents charged with hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

“The warning lights are blinking red again,” Coats said. “Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack.”

Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap has said Maine's voting system is considered relatively secure because it is low-tech, relying primarily on paper ballots and counting machines that are not connected to the internet. Additionally, those registering to vote cannot do so online, but in person at their local town clerk's office.

Kristen Muszynski, a spokesperson for the agency, said clerks electronically transmit the voter registration data to the state's central database. She said the system is a closed one and password protected, but also that the state has conducted training to help clerks spot phishing scams that could be used by bad actors to breach the system.

According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the newly available funding can be spent on cybersecurity training for the state chief election official office and local election officials.

Maine is eligible for up to $3.3 million, the state’s share of the $380 million 2018 Help America Vote Act Election Security Grant Program and part of the federal funding bill for 2018.

Journalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.