Election Officials Warn of Heightened Foreign Threats Amid Growing Federal Trust Gaps

POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — With midterm elections rapidly approaching, the infrastructure for federal agencies to alert local election staff about foreign interference is at its lowest point since the 2016 voting cycle.

Intelligence agencies are currently monitoring routine influence campaigns orchestrated by Russia, China, and Iran aimed at American voters. However, significant cuts to federal programs have reportedly hindered the ability of officials to pass this critical intelligence to local administrators.

Security experts noted that a late-stage attempt by the Department of Homeland Security to launch a digital threat-sharing platform lacks the credibility it held in previous years. Furthermore, a high-stakes classified briefing for election officials in mid-October initially failed due to technical glitches, requiring the session to be rescheduled.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has historically played a vital role in election defense. While the agency provided warnings regarding foreign operations during the 2020 election, sources claim the department was significantly diminished during the Trump administration’s second term. Recent efforts to restore these election-security functions have seen limited success.

Beyond technical hurdles, the administration’s focus on election fraud theories and its expressed interest in overseeing state-level processes have created friction with local administrators who are wary of the government’s political motives.

Ryan Macias, a veteran security expert and former CISA consultant, stated that the relationship between local officials and the federal government has deteriorated. He observed that many administrators are now unsure who to contact when a security incident occurs.

David Becker, an attorney and co-founder of the Center for Election Innovation, said the flow of information has largely stopped. He claimed he has not found a single election official, regardless of party affiliation, actively sharing cybersecurity data with federal authorities this cycle, marking a sharp departure from previous years.

While CISA once oversaw a robust coordination center to facilitate real-time communication, the current new information-sharing initiative is struggling to gain traction. A CISA spokesperson confirmed the tool is available to state and local partners upon request, but did not provide data on how many officials have utilized it.

One former CISA official remarked that foreign adversaries have not ceased their efforts, leaving local staff to navigate AI-driven disinformation with a federal government they perceive as less reliable than in the past.

Scott Leiendecker, the current owner of Dominion Voting Systems (formerly Liberty Vote), described the lack of federal support as disappointing. He expressed hope for better institutional dialogue in the future, noting that current interactions are insufficient compared to earlier cycles.

Despite a $787 million defamation settlement with Fox News in 2023 regarding false claims about voting machines, CISA maintains it is prepared to address national security threats by offering free vulnerability scanning and technical expertise to partners.

Security experts are increasingly concerned that local resources are being diverted away from foreign threat prep to manage potential domestic federal interference. Jennifer Morrell, a co-founder of the nonprofit Elections Group, warned that this added pressure makes the first line of defense more vulnerable to phishing and human error.

Some officials remain focused, with New Mexico Secretary of State’s spokesperson Lindsey Bachman stating that their approach to blocking foreign interference has not shifted despite the changing political climate.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)