Senate Democrats took steps to tackle election security this week, first by looking to investigate voting machines, and then by unanimously signing off on a Senate version of the House’s H.R. 1, the “For the People Act” yesterday.
Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Jack Reed, D-R.I., and Mark Warner, D-Va., submitted a letter Tuesday to executives at Hart InterCivic, Election Systems & Software, and Dominion Voting Systems–the three biggest U.S. voting system manufacturers–to request information about their voting system security.
“As the three largest election equipment vendors, your companies provide voting machines and software used by 92 percent of the eligible voting population in the U.S.,” the senators wrote. “The integrity of our elections is directly tied to the machines we vote on – the products that you make.”
On top of the four senators’ investigation, all 47 senators supported a Senate companion to H.R. 1 yesterday. The bill, primarily sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), aims to reform campaign finance laws, expand voting accessibility, as well as secure election systems.
The letter and bill are two-pronged in cracking down on election security before the 2020 elections. Udall and Merkley’s bill faces an uphill battle in the Senate, as Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has vowed not to bring it to the floor.