OLYMPIA — More than $3 million in state funding is now available to help Washington counties enhance election security.
The Information Security Grant program, administered by the Office of the Secretary of State, will award grants of up to $80,000 annually to help Washington counties strengthen their election security efforts. Counties can use the funding to purchase or upgrade their security software and hardware, hire IT security personnel, make structural improvements, and more.
The grants stem from $3.12 million in 2022 funding by the Legislature in support of the Office of the Secretary of State’s strategic proposal to counties to protect election systems from cyber threats and other security risks. The state funding has addressed multiple critical issues at a time of inconsistent federal support for local election protection.
“Election security and protecting our elections systems from cyber threats remain the top priority of my office,” said Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. “A significant amount of work to secure our elections, however, resides at the county level. Therefore, I have directed the distribution of up to $80,000 annually in the form of grants to each county to enhance their election security efforts.”
Counties that wish to apply for a grant must have an installed and operational Albert sensor that is monitoring the network for cyberthreats and attacks, and must notify the Office of the Secretary of State of their interest by Dec. 31.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, all 39 Washington counties certified the results of the General Election.
“The Nov. 8 General Election was a remarkable demonstration of our counties’ commitment to providing access to free and fair elections that are secure and accurate,” Hobbs said. “However, we know there is a lot we can do to enhance capabilities to better protect our elections from cyberthreats and other bad actors. I look forward to working closely with our counties to strengthen the reliability and integrity of our elections for all Washingtonians.”
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees a number of areas within state government, including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also manages the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, oversees the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees, and administers the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.