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September 28, 2016

Hon. Todd Valentine

President

National Association of State Election Directors
2l946 Royal Montreal Drive, Suite #100

Katy, TX 77450

Dear President Valentine:

The U. S. Constitution reserves to the states the responsibility for administering elections In the committee report
for the 2002 Help America Vote Act, Congress explained that:

This system has many bene?ts that must be preserved. The dispersal of responsibility for election
administration has made it impossible for a single centrally controlled authority to dictate how elections
will be run, and thereby be able to control the outcome. This leaves the power and responsibility for
running elections where it should be, in the hands of the citizens of this country. Local control has the
further added bene?t of allowing for ?exibility, so that local authorities can tailor their procedures to
meet the demands of disparate and unique communities. Further by leaving the responsibility for election
administration in the hands of local authorities, if a problem arises, the citizens who live within their
jurisdictions know whom to hold accountable. The local authorities who bear the responsibility cannot
now, and should not in the future be able to, point the ?nger of blame at some distant, unaccountable,
centralized bureaucracy.

Today, the states face the challenge of malefactors that are seeking to use cyberatta?cks to disrupt the
administration of our elections. We urge the states to take full advantage ofthe robust public and private sector resources
available to them to ensure that their network infrastructure is secure from attack. In addition, the Department of
Homeland Security stands ready to provide cybersecurity assistance to those states that choose to request it. Such
assistance does not entail federal regulation or binding federal directives of any kind, and we would oppose any effort by
the federal government to exercise any degree of control over the states administration of elections by designating these
systems as critical 1nf1 astructure

For over 200 years the States have overcome every challenge to ensure the smooth function of our democracy. We
trust that you will take the steps necessary to meet the new challenges of the 21St century by securing your election
systems against cyberattacks.

Sincerely, .

         

 

Nancy Pelodr Mitch McConnell

Democratic Leader Majority Leader Democ tic Leader

Speaker-

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