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Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi Leads 7 Members of Delegation in Urging Governor Rauner to Work with Federal Authorities to Protect Illinois Election System Against Cyber Attacks

June 11, 2018

SCHAUMBURG, IL – On Friday, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi wrote to Governor Bruce Rauner with Representatives Cheri Bustos, Jan Schakowsky, Luis Gutiérrez, Bobby Rush, Danny Davis, Bill Foster, and Daniel W. Lipinski to urge Governor Rauner to work with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to protect Illinois' election infrastructure against cyber-attacks in advance of the 2018 election.

A signed copy of the letter from the Members to Governor Rauner is viewable here and it text follows:

June 8th, 2018

The Honorable Bruce Rauner

Governor

207 State House

Springfield, IL 62706

Dear Governor Rauner:

As you know, Illinois's election system was targeted by concentrated hacking leading up to and during the 2016 election. In particular, hackers targeted voter data and voter registration systems in Illinois and 20 other states. Illinois has acknowledged that these attacked successfully breached voter systems, the only state to do so.

It is clear that both states and the federal government must increase our cybersecurity coordination efforts to protect against future attempts to compromise voter data or even tallying software. Such an attack could throw the results of an election into doubt, undermining people's faith that their vote will be counted – a faith that is the cornerstone of any democratic system.

Earlier this year, Congress appropriated $380 million for states to increase election security and update aging voting equipment. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security has begun working with state election officials to ensure that digital registration and voting systems across the country are secure and resilient. However, at a recent congressional briefing on May 22, 2018, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Director of National Intelligence, and the Director of the FBI all expressed continued concerns regarding weaknesses in American election systems that will leave our democracy vulnerable to further attack by Russia or other parties.

With Election Day fast approaching, we encourage you to work with the federal government through DHS and other agencies to improve protections against future attack in Illinois and safeguard democracy in our state before our neighbors head to the polls in November. We hope you will recognize the gravity of this threat and prioritize this issue in the coming months.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Raja Krishnamoorthi Cheri Bustos

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Janice Schakowsky Luis V. Gutiérrez

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Bobby L. Rush Danny K. Davis

Member of Congress Member of Congress

Bill Foster Daniel W. Lipinski

Member of Congress Member of Congress