Washington, D.C. – Today, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet shared with Senate Leadership a letter he received from the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCCA) calling for increased federal funding for election security.
“In Colorado, election security is not a partisan issue. It is an urgent challenge that requires sufficient funding to make sure we are prepared for the 2020 elections,” wrote Bennet in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Given Colorado’s leadership on election security, it is particularly alarming to hear our county clerks express concerns about ‘critical vulnerabilities’ that remain in our election systems due to inadequate support from Washington.”
In the letter to Bennet, CCCA—a non-governmental, nonpartisan body representing all 64 counties in Colorado—urged the Senate to provide more federal resources to state and local governments to strengthen cybersecurity and update election infrastructure.
Earlier this week, Bennet, along with U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and 37 of their colleagues, wrote to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees calling for increased election security funding ahead of the 2020 election.
The full text of Bennet’s letter to Senate Leadership is available HERE and immediately below. The letter from the Colorado County Clerks is available HERE.
Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer:
I recently received a letter from the Colorado County Clerks Association (CCA) asking for increased federal funding for election security ahead of the 2020 General Election. CCCA is a non-governmental, nonpartisan body representing the 64 county clerks from every part of our state, and its members include Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.
In Colorado, election security is not a partisan issue. It is an urgent challenge that requires sufficient funding to make sure we are prepared for the 2020 elections. Thanks to the nonpartisan and professional work of our county clerks, Colorado is a national leader on election security. For example, we were the first U.S. state to require risk-limiting audits after every election.
Given Colorado’s leadership on election security, it is particularly alarming to hear our county clerks express concerns about “critical vulnerabilities” that remain in our election systems due to inadequate support from Washington. In their letter, our county clerks ask for “more federal resources to strengthen cybersecurity, update election infrastructure, and implement elections best practices.” They urge the Senate to “allocate funding to state and local governments to bolster election infrastructure,” concluding that the, “American people deserve action to secure our elections.” On every count, I emphatically agree: the Senate can and should do more.
I want to bring these concerns to your immediate attention and underscore the urgency of providing our local and state officials with the resources needed to secure our elections. I have attached CCCA’s full letter for reference. As Congress finalizes appropriations for the 2020 Fiscal Year, I hope you will bear in mind their urgent and nonpartisan request for increased election security funding and ensure that new funding makes it to the local officials who need it most.
Sincerely,
Michael F. Bennet