Federal Cuts Shift Election Security Burden to States

State and local election offices are preparing for bomb threats at polling places, large-scale disinformation campaigns and state-backed hacking efforts, even as federal election-security support has been cut and the Trump administration seeks greater control over state election administration.

Federal Control, Fractured Trust

“There is no sort of level of trust or anything else at this point in time” between his office and federal partners, Republican Wesley Wilcox, supervisor of elections in Marion County, Florida, told POLITICO’s Morning Cybersecurity newsletter. Federal agencies once served as key partners in election security.

In February, Trump called for Republicans to “nationalize” U.S. elections. An executive order restricting mail-in voting followed in March, and the administration launched a nationwide effort to access voter rolls in every state and compare them with a federal immigration database. The effort has drawn scrutiny over the possible removal of eligible voters from state rolls.

“Our No. 1 risk at this point is the federal government,” said Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. Colorado was among 15 states the Department of Homeland Security flagged that summer to watch for “vulnerabilities in upholding election integrity.”

Griswold said federal officials wouldn’t be welcome inside Colorado’s Cyber Command Center, citing concerns about federal interference in state election administration. Every election, the Colorado National Guard stands up the center to protect election infrastructure from cyber threats.

The Department of Homeland Security disputed claims that the federal government is pushing for control. “The assertion that DHS is attempting to exert more federal control over elections heading into the November midterms is totally false,” the department said.

Cuts and State Costs

Last year, the administration cut personnel and funding at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, including resources for its election-security work. Those cuts left states increasingly responsible for protecting their systems.

CISA has since announced some of its first public election-security actions since the cuts. Its 13-page plan, released late last month, outlines free resources for state and local election offices. Some officials said it arrived too close to the midterms to help states prepare.

“The latest CISA plan is a day late and millions of dollars short,” said Democratic Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. “The states and localities are going to ensure that there’s a free, safe and secure midterm election, despite absence or interference from the federal government.”

Doubt Around the Vote

The administration has also sought to relitigate the 2020 election, which federal agencies and state election offices have repeatedly called “the most secure in American history.” In February, the FBI seized years-old ballots from Fulton County, Georgia.

Trump highlighted Chinese efforts to access voter rolls and risks involving voting machines in a July address, but offered no evidence that the 2020 election was stolen. Some state election officials worry that efforts to cast doubt on voting could deepen public skepticism and discourage people from voting.

“The biggest disservice to our country is to have people disengage with the civic process,” said Delaware Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez. Her office doesn’t directly oversee elections, but she co-chairs the state’s Task Force on Free, Fair and Secure Elections.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told CNN that the Trump administration had stopped providing state officials with election-security briefings. Local and state offices now must prepare for cyber threats as federal funding falls and cooperation remains contested.