Securing Election Infrastructure

The people of the United States are committed to free and fair elections. With the 2016 elections fast approaching, state and local officials are focused on fulfilling their legal responsibility to safeguard the key components of the voting process: voter registration databases, voting records, and election management systems. Experts acknowledge that a malicious actor could exploit software vulnerabilities on or before election day to undermine the integrity of voter data or the availability of voting systems, and hackers recently targeted voter registration databases in at least two states. Although the compromise of such data is unlikely to undermine the validity of election results, targeted attacks could fuel accusations of impropriety. Fortunately, states and localities can enforce present procedures and institute short-term precautions to counter perceptions that computer-assisted voting threatens the democratic process.