NEW VOTING CONCERNS

Two House lawmakers on Friday zeroed in on new election security threats posed by an increase in mail-in voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reps. John Katko (R-N.Y.) and Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) wrote letters to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and to the New York State Board of Elections following the signing of an executive order by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) ordering state officials to send absentee ballot request forms to every voter in the state.

Katko and Rice raised questions around new election security concerns that moving to vote-by-mail exposed, and urged the agencies to clarify steps being taken to preserve the public’s confidence in elections.

Katko, who is the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity panel, said in a statement he was particularly interested in steps taken to combat disinformation and other election interference efforts.

“The NYS Board of Elections and U.S. Election Assistance Commission must detail for the public the steps they are taking to protect against interference and disinformation campaigns, as well as how they will identify and address potential threats to the upcoming elections,” Katko said.

Rice, a member of the cybersecurity subcommittee, said in a separate statement that her goal was to ensure the upcoming primary and general elections were “conducted safely and securely” despite the chaos caused by the ongoing pandemic.