WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Indiana will receive 7.1 million dollars from the federal government to help improve it’s elections security. The funding is part of a 380 million dollar, one-time grant being given out to local elections offices across the country.
The grant, which is distributed through the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA), will be used to boost Cybersecurity efforts and replace aging voting infrastructure throughout the state. In a written statement submitted to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Rules and Administration, Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson explained that the new security measures should be fully rolled out by the 2020 presidential elections. Lawson is the top elections official in the state and is charged with protecting voter security.
Valerie Warycha, communications director for Secretary Lawson’s office, said that the $7.1 million infusion is a small cut of the amount states were given for improving elections security after the 2000 presidential election. HAVA was originally created after the Bush v. Gore election issue to ensure that voter security and operations was improved upon.
One of the measures being considered by the Secretary of State’s office to improve security for voter registration info involves a sensor that keeps a detailed list of who views voter registration and ID information. The Secretary of State is also considering a dual authentication process to further limit who can access voter rolls.
Indiana has had its own recent issues with election security. Earlier this year, Lawson’s office revealed that Russian actors had tested the state’s digital voter rolls for weaknesses during the 2016 presidential elections. According to the Secretary, no votes were changed, but Lawson did confirm that private voter data had been stolen.
