https:// www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-election-masterson-exclusiv/exclusive-u-s-official-focused-on-election-security-being-shoved-aside-idUSKCN1G62NI

>’’’Exclusive: U.S. official focused on election security being shoved aside’’’

>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of a federal agency who has helped U.S. states protect election systems from possible cyber attacks by Russia or others is being removed from his post by Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House.

>Matthew Masterson, currently chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and a former Ohio state official, has been passed over for a second four-year term as one of the agency’s four commissioners, according to sources familiar with the matter.

>It is up the House speaker to recommend a nominee for the commissioner post that Masterson currently holds, with the president then making a formal nomination.

>Masterson has been a popular figure among state election officials, many of whom have praised his expertise and leadership on cyber security issues and expressed chagrin at his pending departure. The agency was created by Congress in 2002 to assist states in complying with federal election standards.