Florida Sens. Marco Rubio, a Republican, and Bill Nelson, a Democrat, have written to state election officials urging them to request assistance from the Department of Homeland Security to protect voting systems from "a hostile foreign government" before the midterms.
The department began offering assistance to state and local officials on request after Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election were uncovered. On Monday, Rubio and Nelson sent an open letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner, calling on him to ask the department for help guarding the state’s voting systems.
"County election boards should not be expected to stand alone against a hostile foreign government. The Committee recommended – and DHS now offers — a wide range of services to state and local officials that will support your efforts to make your systems secure," they wrote.
"DHS will follow your lead and meet your needs with a tailored set of options. We encourage you in the strongest terms to take advantage of those resources, and to let us know about your experience with DHS and FBI."
According to Homeland Security officials, Russian hackers targeted American election systems in 21 states before the election, and in some cases were able to infiltrate the systems, though there is no evidence that any votes were changed or improperly tallied.
Rubio and Nelson note that the Senate Intelligence Committee, which Rubio sits on, supports the U.S. intelligence agency’s conclusions about Russian interference.
"The Committee further reported that, because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) depends on states and localities self-reporting suspicious activity, and that activity is often difficult to find, ‘it is possible that additional activity occurred and has not yet been uncovered,'" they wrote.
Congress, in an appropriations package passed earlier this year, allocated almost $400 million for states to use in upgrading their election systems. Florida’s request for $19 million was approved last month.
"Elections run by local officials are the bedrock of our democracy. Our decentralized system is a strength, but it also means that responsibility resides with each of us to be sure our locality is secure," Rubio and Nelson concluded. "We look forward to working with you, DHS, and FBI to ensure successful and secure elections this year."
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