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

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.

relevant Federal departments and agencies, with critical infrastructure owners and ... Facilities and Monuments and Icons. ... Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. ... EFS has human, physical, and cyber assets. However, the EFS assets of ... - Will this designation allow state government entities that are not election ...

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 ...

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.

May 12, 2026 - Elections today function as critical infrastructure: highly visible, time-sensitive operations that combine physical security, public participation, information integrity, and institutional trust.

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.

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).

February 24, 2026 - When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security first declared in January 2017 that election systems were “critical infrastructure,” alarmed state election officials pushed back quickly and loudly, fearing the move could lead to a federal ...

When Johnson designated elections as critical infrastructure on Jan. 6, he made it clear that the federal government had no intention of assuming the management of the electoral process.

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 ...

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

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.

July 1, 2023 - Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says he's designating U.S. election systems as critical infrastructure, a move that will provide more federal help for states to keep election systems safe from tampering.

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.

February 7, 2017 - The designation means voting machines, voter registration systems, polling places and other assets important to holding elections are eligible for priority cyber-security assistance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

April 20, 2026 - Various federal agencies have played a role in helping secure election systems. For example, the EAC is dedicated to helping improve election administration, and DHS took on new election security responsibilities following its January 2017 designation of election systems as critical infrastructure.

"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.

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