In the wake of interference by Russia in the U.S. presidential elections and amid concerns that country will continue to seek ways to influence election outcomes, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its partners at the state and local levels have created a new intergovernmental council aimed at improving communications between election system stakeholders across the country.
DHS, the Election Assistance Commission, the National Association of Secretaries of State, and state and local election officials met on Oct. 14 to convene the first Government Coordinating Council (GCC) for the Election Infrastructure Subsector.
“Today’s council meeting shows the serious ness with which federal, state and local officials take the threats to election infrastructure, and the level of cooperation taking place to address it,” Bob Kolasky, acting deputy undersecretary of the DHS National Protections and Programs Directorate, said in a statement last Saturday. “State and local official have already taken a number of steps to improve the security of the nation’s elections, and under the Government Coordinating Council we will be able to further leverage resources and our collective expertise.”
The GCC consists of 27 members drawn from federal, state and local governments. Kolasky, along with two members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, make up the federal presence on the council.
“The GCC framework provides a well-tested mechanism for sharing threat information between the federal government and council partners, advancing risk management efforts, and prioritizing focus of services available to sector partners in a trusted environment,” DHS said.
The Obama administration in January designated U.S. election systems as critical infrastructure as a subsector under the Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector, a directive that the Trump administration has maintained. Election systems are run by states and local governments and participation on the GCC is voluntary.
The critical infrastructure designation means that DHS can prioritize cyber security help to state and local elections officials who request it.
Earlier this month Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), the chairman and ranking member respectively of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that Russian interference in U.S. elections will continue. They highlighted that the DHS has disclosed 21 states where the Russian hacked into election systems in an attempt to influence outcomes.