A new House bill shows there’s bipartisan consensus when it comes to helping state and local government secure federal elections.
The Cyber Navigators Act, introduced earlier this month by Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., and co-sponsored by Rep. Kathleen M. Rice, D-N.Y., would create a federal grant program to assist state and local officials in hiring outside help when looking to secure their voting infrastructure and procedures.
The bill would amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), directing the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to annually disburse some $50 million in grant funding to qualifying state and local governments so that they could employ IT contractors to assist with issues like “risk management, resiliency, and technical support services,” says the bill text.
As the primary federal source of election resources for the states, the EAC is a natural…
