Senate Approves Another Graham-Backed Election Security Bill
WASHINGTON – This week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed legislation authored by Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) along with U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) to improve election security. The Defending the Integrity of Voting Systems Act would make it a federal crime to hack any voting systems used in a federal election.
The legislation now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration. To date, under Chairman Graham’s leadership, the Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced two election security bills that have passed the Senate. Chairman Graham is a co-sponsor of both bills.
“Russian interference in the 2016 election exposed just a small piece of our adversaries’ cyber capabilities,” said Graham. “Seeking to undermine American democracy and our standing on the world stage, hostile nations like Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea work every day to develop new cyber weapons to deploy against the United States. We should be particularly vigilant of our voting systems. This legislation provides the Department of Justice the ability to investigate and prosecute those who seek to manipulate elections systems equipment. The House of Representatives should act quickly to pass this bill to help protect us from further attempts to interfere with the 2020 election.”
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