Sec of State Steve Simon urges lawmakers to release $1.5 million in federal funds to bolster election cybersecuirty

Secretary of State Steve Simon is calling on lawmakers to release a million-and-a-half dollars in federal funding for statewide election cybersecurity upgrades.  Simons says failure to do so this year, this session “is a direct threat to our Democracy because the number one threat to our election system in this country and this state is the possibility of some outside actor launching a cyber attack in order to undermine our Democracy.” And Simon adds, the goal moving forward is “to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. And that gets harder every year. I like to say that it’s a race without a finish line. We know that the hackers will be back, and they will probably be smarter next time.” Simon is urging lawmakers to pass a clean bill allowing release of the funds. He says Minnesota was one of 21 states Russians targeted in the 2016 election–even though Minnesota was ultimately not hacked.