Commentary: WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 31, 2017) - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, Co-Chair of the Elections Committee for the National Association of Secretaries of State, hosted a press teleconference to discuss protecting U.S. election infrastructure. Senator Heinrich unveiled bipartisan legislation, Securing America's Voting Equipment (SAVE) Act, he introduced today with U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) to help safeguard voting systems, registration data, and ballots from theft, manipulation, and malicious computer hackers.
Full audio of the teleconference is available to download here. [DOWNLOAD AUDIO]
“Our democracy hinges on protecting Americans' ability to fairly choose our own leaders. We must do everything we can to protect the security and integrity of our elections,” said Senator Heinrich. “The SAVE Act would ensure states are better equipped to develop solutions and respond to threats posed to election systems. Until we set up stronger protections of our election systems and take the necessary steps to prevent future foreign influence campaigns, our nation's democratic institutions will remain vulnerable.”
Senator Heinrich consulted with New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in drafting the legislation.
“Our election equipment must be statutorily designated as critical infrastructure in order to effectively combat election meddling by those who wish to undermine American democracy,” said New Mexico Secretary of State Toulouse Oliver who is a national leader in the effort to safeguard election infrastructure at the state level. “The SAVE Act will give state election officials like me more tools to do just that. I applaud Senators Heinrich and Collins for their bipartisan leadership on this important issue.”