$13.2M Grant To Help IL Stop Vote Tampering After Russian Hack

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Two years after Russian operatives successfully hacked into the Illinois State Board of Elections database and viewed information for tens of thousands of voters, Illinois was awarded a $13.2 million grant aimed at stopping vote tampering. Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley, who first raised the alarm about the Russian hack last year, said the Election Assistance Commission is doling out $380 million to help fortify election systems across the country after 21 states were hit by the hack during the 2016 election.

“Last year, the American people learned that Russia targeted at least 21 states in the lead-up to the 2016 elections,” Quigley said in a statement issued Monday. “Unfortunately, many of the vulnerabilities that existed then continue to undermine our election infrastructure today, and the Intelligence Community has warned that Moscow will likely employ similar attacks in the midterms—now less than seven months away. That is why I was proud to use my position as Ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the Election Assistance Commission to secure $380 million in new EAC grants to help states update and fortify our election systems to prevent future cyber-hacking."

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The funding — which is part of the federal omnibus spending bill that was signed into law last month — will provide assistance to states that are using outdated and vulnerable election infrastructure.

"The Russians’ successful hack of Illinois’ voter systems in the 2016 elections was a wake-up call and demonstrated a clear vulnerability in our election security," Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin said in a statement. "We know that they will try to target our systems again during the 2018 midterm elections."

The Russian hack gave operatives access to confidential information from a reported 90,000 voters but state officials said hackers were not actually able to manipulate vote totals.

The grant lets states use the funding to address election security priorities, including:

• replacing outdated voting machines that do not provide a voter verified paper record;
• implementing a post-election audit system that provides a high-level of confidence in the accuracy of final vote tallies;
• upgrading election computer systems to address cyber vulnerabilities;
• facilitating cyber security training for the state chief election official's office and local election officials;
• implementing established cybersecurity best practices for election systems; and
• funding other activities that will improve the security of elections for federal office.

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