The Department of Homeland Security met in Georgia with members of the National Association of Secretaries of State and other election executives to discuss the creation of a new council that seeks to facilitate communications between states and DHS in the event of a future cyber attack, the Washington Examiner reported Sunday.
The plan to establish a new government coordinating council came months after DHS designated election systems as critical infrastructure in January in response to Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential elections.
“The other importance of the coordinating council actually being formed, is that there is so much activity on the federal level regarding legislation, I think this will give us, hopefully, a venue to help us inform members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives that states are taking an active role and we are doing a lot to prepare ourselves for the 2018 elections and beyond,” said Connie Lawson, NASS president and Indiana secretary of state.
Lawson said attendees also tackled the need to establish a chain of communication, objectives and deliverables for the proposed council at this weekend’s meeting, which was also attended by Elections Assistance Council representatives.
