Congressman Cohen Questions Witnesses on Foreign Interference in 2020 Elections
Judiciary Committee seeks to secure future vote from cyber and other attacks
WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today questioned experts in election security and voter suppression about America's efforts to combat election interference and ensure our voting systems are safe, accurate and fair. Congressman Cohen believes U.S. elections should be decided by U.S. citizens without meddling by foreign governments and interests. In one exchange with witness Matthew Masterson, a senior cybersecurity advisor at the Department of Homeland Security, Congressman Cohen elicited testimony that "Russian actors conducted at least research on election entities across all 50 states." Witness Ben Hovland, vice chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, said 90 percent of the $380 million Congress has appropriated to protect future elections has been used to improve security.
Congressman Cohen asked Masterson why Russia conducted research on U.S. election systems.
"Presumably just to understand how elections are run across the United States," Masterson answered.
"Kind of spring training?" Congressman Cohen asked.
See Congressman Cohen's exchange with the witnesses here.
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