Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, announced today that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission will award the State of Maine $3,287,528 through the 2018 Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Election Security Grant Program to help secure election systems and voting infrastructure.  This critical funding is part of the $380 million that the Senators helped to secure for election security grants in the fiscal year 2018 funding bill.

“While our investigation is still ongoing, we know for certain that the Russians were relentless in their efforts to meddle in the 2016 elections, and that those efforts are continuing,” said Senators Collins and King in a joint statement.  “We are delighted that Maine will receive this investment of more than $3.2 million to help strengthen the integrity of our elections.  This federal funding will provide states across the country with the support and resources needed to update voting technology and protect voter registration files.”

Funding through the 2018 HAVA Election Security Grant Program may be used to:

• Replace voting equipment that only records a voter’s intent electronically with equipment that utilizes a voter verified paper record;

• Implement a post-election audit system that provides a high level of confidence in the accuracy of the final vote tally;

• Upgrade election-related computer systems to address cyber vulnerabilities identified through Department of Homeland Security or similar scans or assessments of existing election systems; and

• Facilitate cybersecurity training for the state chief election official’s office and local election officials.

In March, Senators Collins and King participated in a press conference to unveil the Intelligence Committee’s findings and recommendations on threats to U.S. election infrastructure.  In addition, Senator Collins recently joined a bipartisan group in introducing a revised version of the Secure Elections Act, legislation to strengthen election cybersecurity in America.

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