The Department of Homeland Security has designated elections systems as part of our nation’s critical infrastructure.

5 days ago - Elections today function as critical infrastructure: highly visible, time-sensitive operations that combine physical security, public participation, information integrity, and institutional trust.

I have determined that election infrastructure in this country should be designated as a subsector of the existing Government Facilities critical infrastructure sector. Given the vital role elections play in this country, it is clear that certain systems and assets of election infrastructure meet the definition of critical infrastructure, in fact and in law.

On January 6, 2017, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson designated U.S. election · systems as part of the nation’s critical infrastructure, a decision that was later affirmed by current DHS

While remaining a state and local responsibility, on January 6, 2017, elections were designated as critical infrastructure by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In January 2017, the Department of Homeland Security officially designated election infrastructure as a subset of the government facilities sector, making clear that election infrastructure qualifies as critical infrastructure.

The committee is meeting today ... to secure election infrastructure, including voting machines, vote tallying systems, and voter databases. In addition to election security, we will also examine DHS's role working across all 16 critical ...

July 1, 2023 - WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing increasingly ... systems critical infrastructure, a move that provides more federal help for state and local governments to keep their election systems safe from tampering....

An official website of the United States government · Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States

February 19, 2026 - We are committed to working collaboratively with those on the front lines of elections – state and local government, election officials, federal partners and the vendor community – to manage risks to election infrastructure.

U.S. election systems, defined as voter registration systems and voting · systems, were correctly designated as critical infrastructure by Department of

May 11, 2017 - It established the current critical infrastructure sectors and identified each sector’s Sector Specific Agency (SSA), which is the agency charged with structuring and managing the sector. As part of its mandate to serve the election community, the Election Assistance Commission has studied the implications of this designation since its inception.

September 18, 2019 - Subsequently, in January 2017 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated the election infrastructure used in federal elections as a component of U.S. critical infrastructure.

October 23, 2019 - Congress should provide a steady stream of funding for the periodic replacement of outdated voting systems, upgrading of database and other election infrastructure, and the purchasing of ongoing technical and security support for all these systems. But federal funding alone is not enough—state and local governments should make election security a budget priority and develop long-term plans to fund regular equipment upgrades, training, and cybersecurity staff to assist local officials. The Brennan Center has estimated the nationwide five-year cost for several critical election security items to be approximately $2.2 billion.

In January 2017, DHS designated election systems as critical infrastructure.

November 30, 2022 - Voting machines, registration databases, polling locations, and voting storage facilities are designated by the Department of Homeland Security as “critical infrastructure.” · In light of significant concerns, component sourcing for elections ...

4 days ago - Monthly, Homeland Security Today offers insightful analysis to government policymakers, decision-makers, and officials with homeland security duties.

The Department of Homeland Security designated election infrastructure as critical infrastructure in 2017 following Russian cyberattacks, a designation that provides states and localities with access to many of the cybersecurity protections that DHS offers other private and public entities, such as ongoing threat monitoring, risk and vulnerability assessments, and security best practices.

January 7, 2017 - The Obama administration on Friday afternoon announced that it has designated the country’s election infrastructure as ‘critical,’ a move that brings added federal protections to voting systems.

"U.S. Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson's announcement of a critical infrastructure classification for election systems is legally and historically unprecedented, raising many questions and concerns for states and localities with authority over the administration of our voting process.