US Senator Schumer Urges Congress To Allocate $1Bln To Boost Local Election Systems

NEW YORK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2019) Congress should expedite the vote on the proposed legislation to strengthen election system security in the United States and establish a $1 billion Federal fund to enhance local election systems, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said on Monday.

"We need to get significant resources to every state and local board of elections in America to respond to the urgency and scale of this threat now," Schumer said during his visit to the Center for internet Security (CIS) in East Greenbush, New York. "The best possible place to start is by voting on and passing the Election Security Act, which would establish a $1 billion grant program for states to fortify their election systems."

During his speech at the CIS, Schumer highlighted the urgency of passing the bill and allocating necessary resources to state and local election boards to combat the threat of election interference ahead of the 2020 US presidential elections.

Even though Congress has passed relevant legislation that allocates funds for strengthening election systems around the United States, the bills do not do nearly enough to protect the systems from potential interference in the 2020 vote, Schumer argued, citing a recent report from the Brennan Center for Justice and R Street Institute.

The report stated that the Help American Vote Act (HAVA) that allocated $380 million for state governments to bolster election security was "not enough to address the needs of state and local offices; many have substantial election security needs that likely will not be met absent additional federal support."

Schumer said that in light of the report, Congress needs to swiftly act and provide further funding to enhance election security.