This is according to a recent survey by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, conducted with local election authorities across the country. country.

“60% of local election officials surveyed are concerned about federal cuts to election security services,” the report states. “61% of local election officials are particularly concerned about cuts to services administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).”

It adds that 87% of local election officials consider it “important” that state and municipal governments allocate additional resources to offset federal cuts.

The report comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) froze funding for election security services that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency offered to local election officials in February.

“This cut also affected funding for the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which assisted election officials in sharing information on election threats,” Brennan warns. “There were also cuts to staff assisting local election officials with structural security assessments of their offices and with strengthening cybersecurity.”

Due to the Trump Administration’s decisions, there is concern about interference in election administration.

“Fifty-nine percent of local election officials are concerned about attempts by political leaders to interfere with their work or that of other colleagues in future elections,” the report warns.

There are even concerns about politically motivated investigations against election officials.

“46% of local election officials are concerned about politically motivated investigations against them or other election officials in future elections,” it warns.

That last concern is supported by revelations of threats, harassment, and abuse: 38% of local election officials report having received threats, harassment, or abuse for doing their jobs, the report indicates.

This has even sparked concern from 52% of election officials “for the safety of their colleagues and/or staff in future elections.”

An additional element relates to misinformation, with 81% of respondents expressing concern “about the spread of election-related misinformation on social media in the future.”

How the Funds Are Used

The report even highlights how Local authorities use federal funds, with 88% emphasizing education and election security.

89% indicate that funds are used for security training, while 87% say they use funds to implement “best practices and guidelines” for emerging security threats.

84% emphasize the allocation of resources to cybersecurity, while 82% mention attention to physical security.

50% say that if the election budget were to increase, it would be used for voting equipment.

Another similar percentage indicates that additional staff would be hired, and 42% would use it for office security.