Divided House passes election security legislation over Republican objections

A divided House passed an election security bill to strengthen the nation’s voting systems, with Democrats arguing that protecting the nation from another attack like the one Russia waged in 2016 was imperative. The bill passed 225-to-184, with Rep Brian Mast (R-FL) as the only Republican to join Democrats in backing the bill. While members of both parties have warned that the US voting system remains vulnerable to foreign interference, Democrats have been especially frustrated that Republican leaders have not been more focused on advancing election security legislation — particularly in the Senate, which has yet to hold votes on several measures to increase investments and impose new security and election reporting requirements. The legislation would authorize more than $600 million to spend on updating voting equipment to comply with new standards between now and 2020, including requirements that voting machines produce a paper record, stay disconnected from the Internet and be produced in the United States. But Republicans have objected to the legislation, arguing that its provisions the interfere with the authority of states and localities to conduct their own elections, Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN) said.