The threats facing America’s elections are constantly growing in number and complexity. Yet local election workers and offices are still lacking in their most basic needs, let alone the 21st century equipment and mitigation tools necessary to protect our elections against bad actors.

The range of threats we are up against includes interference from hostile countries as well as ransomware attacks and other cyber threats, both foreign and domestic. That is why the Department of Homeland Security officially designated America’s election infrastructure as critical infrastructure back in 2017.

It is troubling that election offices — particularly those operating in rural parts of the state — are not equipped to protect our elections from these advanced threats. In fact, many election offices lack the true basics like proper heat, electricity and internet connectivity.

Congress must provide proper funding to support election officials tasked with administering critical elections. Considering lawmakers routinely allocated hundreds of millions of dollars for this pressing national security issue during the previous administration, the rapid decline in federal investment for America’s election infrastructure — bottoming out at just $55 million in fiscal year 2024 — is even more alarming.

Congress should allocate $400 million for election infrastructure in fiscal year 2025. It is likely that further investment will be necessary to truly secure America’s elections, but this would be a critical step in ensuring the jurisdictions that are most in need can access the resources necessary to preserve the security and safety of our elections.

Jon Moynahan
Bowdoinham