Ranking Members Klobuchar, Warner, Reed, and Peters Press Election Equipment Manufacturers on Security
March 27, 2019
Intelligence Agencies have confirmed that our election systems are a target for foreign adversaries, yet election vendors continue to sell equipment with known vulnerabilities
The Ranking Members of the Senate Rules, Intelligence, Armed Services, and Homeland Security Committees are requesting information about the security of voting systems
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee with oversight jurisdiction over federal elections, sent a letter to the country’s three largest election system vendors with questions to help inform the best way to move forward to strengthen the security of our voting machines. In the U.S., the three largest election equipment vendors—Election Systems & Software, LLC; Dominion Voting Systems, Inc.; and Hart InterCivic, Inc.—provide the voting machines and software used by ninety-two percent of the eligible voting population. However, voting and cybersecurity experts have begun to call attention to the lack of competition in the election vendor marketplace and the need for scrutiny by regulators as these vendors continue to produce poor technology, like machines that lack paper ballots or auditability.
Klobuchar was joined on the letter by Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
“The integrity of our elections remains under serious threat. Our nation’s intelligence agencies continue to raise the alarm that foreign adversaries are actively trying to undermine our system of democracy, and will target the 2020 elections as they did the 2016 and 2018 elections,” the senators wrote. “The integrity of our elections is directly tied to the machines we vote on – the products that you make. Despite shouldering such a massive responsibility, there has been a lack of meaningful innovation in the election vendor industry and our democracy is paying the price.”
https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2019/3/ranking-members-klobuchar-warner-reed-and-peters-press-election-equipment-manufacturers-on-security