CALIFORNIA SENATOR HARRIS: ELECTION SECURITY IS CRITICAL IN LIGHT OF RUSSIAN MEDDLING REPORT

The integrity of American elections--already in question because of domestic voter suppression--also faces voter manipulation threats from foreign nations.

U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) released a statement Thursday after the Senate Intelligence Committee released the first volume of its report on Russian interference in the 2016 election:

“The facts are clear: The Russian government mounted a deliberate and systematic attack on America’s election infrastructure in 2016. This attack took the form of cyber operations, some of which succeeded, to access our nation’s election infrastructure. More broadly, we can’t forget that the Russians undertook social media operations designed to take advantage of and deepen our nation’s internal divisions, particularly on the issue of race. Given their experience interfering in the 2016 election, Russian operatives stand ready to conduct similar operations in future elections.

“I’m grateful for the bipartisan work of the Senate Intelligence Committee to produce these findings and recommend steps to take to secure our nation’s election infrastructure. We must take seriously the threat of further foreign interference—by Russia or by any entity that seeks to undermine our democracy—and we must take steps to address it. That means encouraging state and local governments to audit and replace outdated voting systems, providing states with the funding they need to modernize their election infrastructure, and requiring paper ballots in all federal elections. I will also continue to urge my colleagues in Congress to pass my bipartisan legislation, the Secure Elections Act.

“Our adversaries seek to weaken our democracy and reduce public confidence in the integrity of our elections. We must not allow them to succeed.”