Election Cybersecurity

ABA Policy

*Revised* ABA Election Administration Guidelines and Commentary, August 2022 (ABA House of Delegates)

Election Integrity and Civic Education, June 2022 (Government Affairs Office)

Election Disinformation, August 2020 (Cybersecurity Legal Task Force)

Civic Education and Digital Literacy, August 2020 (Cybersecurity Legal Task Force)

Election Cybersecurity,  February 2020 (Cybersecurity Legal Task Force)

Modernization and Improvement of Voter Registration Practices, Databases, and Networks, August 2010 (Standing Committee on Election Law)

Political Activity and the Internet, July 2000 (Standing Committee on Election Law)

ABA Resources

ABA Entities and Initiatives

Poll Worker, Esq. 

Cybersecurity Legal Task Force

Grassroots Action Center

Section of State and Local Government Law

Standing Committee on Election Law

Standing Committee on Law and National Security

Task Force for American Democracy

ABA Programming and Podcasts

(Podcast) AI Revolution: Shaping the Future of Democracy with Robert Weissman, June 2023 (Standing Committee on Law and National Security)

(Article) Reflections on Civics as a National Security Imperative, May 2023 (Standing Committee on Law and National Security)

(Webinar Recording) Election Security Panel, October 2020 (Public Contract Law Section)

(Podcast) How do CISA and the intelligence community protect American elections? Ft. Dan Sutherland, October 2020 (Standing Committee on Law and National Security)

(Resources Page) The Race Is On: Getting Ahead of Disinformation, Disruption, and Other Digital Threats to Elections (Internet of Things National Institute; Artificial Intelligence and Robotics National Institute)

(On-Demand CLE) Hacking Democracy: Elections and Beyond Showcase Program, July 2020 (Cybersecurity Legal Task Force; Standing Committee on Law and National Security) 

(Article) Election Cybersecurity Amid a Global Pandemic, June 2020 (Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice) 

(Podcast) Elections are Critical Infrastructure, Pt. 2 with Megan Stifel and Andrew Borene, September 2019 (Standing Committee on Law and National Security)

(Podcast) Elections are Critical Infrastructure, Pt. 1 with Megan Stifel and Andrew Borene, September 2019 (Standing Committee on Law and National Security)

ABA Publications

America Votes! Challenges to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights (4th), December 2019

Center for Strategic and International Studies

(Podcast) Disinformation and the Midterm Election (November 3, 2022)

Beyond the Ballot: How the Kremlin Works to Undermine the U.S. Justice System (May 2019)

CSIS Election Cybersecurity Scorecard: The Outlook for 2018, 2020, and Beyond (October 2018)

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

View CISA's Cybersecurity Toolkit and Resources to Protect Elections for new updates. 

Election Security Navigators Program Guidebook (September 2023)

No Downtime In Elections: A Guide To Mitigating Risks of Denial-of-Service (September 2023)

Election Infrastructure Insider Threat Mitigation Guide (November 2022) 

Foreign Actors Likely to Use Information Manipulation Tactics for 2022 Midterm Elections (October 2022)

Malicious Cyber Activity Against Election Infrastructure Unlikely to Disrupt or Prevent Voting  (October 2022)

Campaign Checklist: Securing Your Cyber Infrastructure

Disinformation Stops with You Toolkit

Guide to Vulnerability Reporting for America's Election Administrators (July 2020)

Cyber Incident Detection and Notification Planning Guide for Election Security (July 2020)

You can view these and other CISA resources in CISA's Election Security Resource Library. CISA also offers free training sessions to election infrastructure stakeholders. 

Cyberspace Solarium Commission

Countering Disinformation in the United States (December 2021)

U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission Final Report (March 2020)

Executive Summary (March 2020)

National Institute of Standards and Technology

Cybersecurity Framework Election Infrastructure Profile (March 2021)

Legislation

No recently passed legislation.

Proposed Legislation

Strengthening Election Cybersecurity to Uphold Respect for Elections through Independent Testing (SECURE IT)

• Requires the Elections Assistance Commission to conduct penetration testing before certifying a voting system
  • Directs EAC and NIST to accredit entitites to perform the voting system penetration testing
• Requires the EAC to set up a voluntary Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure Program to allow vetted researchers access to test voting systems and disclose any uncovered vulnerabilities

Election Security Assistance Act

• Requires the Director of National Intelligence and Department of Homeland Security to submit a joint report to Congressional committees and state election officials on foreign threats to domestic elections
• Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify state and local officials of election-related cybersecurity incidents
• Directs CISA & the EAC to establish voluntary cybersecurity testing and monitoring procedures of voting systems