That’s according to US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday:
“There should be no doubt that Russia perceives that its past efforts have been successful and views the 2018 midterm US elections as a potential target for Russian influence operations.”The good news is Rhode Island seems as prepared for another election attack as any other state in the nation. That’s according to the Center for American Progress, which released a report earlier this week called “Election Security in All 50 States.”
Rhode Island was one of only 10 states to receive a B grade, “the highest grade given to any state,” noted a news release from Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea’s office, which touted the finding.
“In many ways, Rhode Island is
leading the states in election security, receiving ‘good’ scores for the three
most important categories due to its statewide use of paper ballots, its
adherence to minimum cybersecurity best practices, and its new risk-limiting
audit law,” said the report’s section on Rhode Island.
The report was not without its
criticisms of the Ocean State’s electoral readiness for another Russian
cyber-invasion.
“Still, the state’s ballot
accounting and reconciliation requirements need improvement, and Rhode Island’s
allowance of voted absentee ballots being returned electronically leaves its
elections vulnerable,” it said.
“To improve its overall election security, Rhode Island should strengthen its ballot accounting and reconciliation procedures by requiring poll workers to reconcile any discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and number of voters who signed in at the polling place and by requiring counties to compare and reconcile precinct totals with countywide composite results to ensure that they add up to the correct number.”
“To improve its overall election security, Rhode Island should strengthen its ballot accounting and reconciliation procedures by requiring poll workers to reconcile any discrepancies between the number of ballots cast and number of voters who signed in at the polling place and by requiring counties to compare and reconcile precinct totals with countywide composite results to ensure that they add up to the correct number.”
The report looked at: Minimum
cybersecurity standards for voter registration systems; voter-verified paper
ballots; post-election audits that test election results; ballot accounting and
reconciliation; return of voted paper absentee ballots; voting machine
certification requirements; pre-election logic and accuracy testing.
The other states that received a B
grade are: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, New
York, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington D.C.
Five states received failing grades, and another 10 were given a D rating. Massachusetts scored a C.
Five states received failing grades, and another 10 were given a D rating. Massachusetts scored a C.
No states received an A.
Bob Plain is
the editor/publisher of Rhode Island's Future. Previously, he's worked as a
reporter for several different news organizations both in Rhode Island and
across the country.