County clerk's office awarded grant for election security

The Union County clerk’s office has been awarded a grant in the amount of $30,766.24 from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Union County Clerk Lance Meisenheimer announced the awarding of the grant. 

Meisenheimer said the Help America Vote Act grant, also known as HAVA, requires the Illinois State Board of Elections to implement a Cyber Navigator Program for local election authorities, and will assist jurisdictions with their Cyber Security for the 2020 election cycle and future elections to come. 

Requirements for the Cyber Navigator Program include:

•Utilization of the Illinois Century Network for connectivity to State Board of Elections systems or have entered into an agreement to do so as soon as practical.

•Participation in the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Program by:

Registering with the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing & Analysis Center, EI-ISAC.

Working with the Cyber Security Information Sharing Program Manager to establish two-way data sharing.

Having at least one representative from the election authority complete security awareness training as offered by the Cyber Security Information Sharing Program Manager.

•Allowing Cyber Navigators to complete an on-site risk assessment.

The Union County clerk’s office met the requirements  for the program and was awarded an initial amount of $12,623.00 in grant funding. 

Meisenheimer explained that since there were still many upgrades necessary, an additional $18,143.24 in grant funding was awarded.

“Those funds have all now been used to secure our election process,” the county clerk said. 

“For security purposes, the specific upgrades that have been implemented cannot be publically disclosed, but as your county clerk, I am pleased to announce that Union County’s elections will now be as secure as possible with the implementation of this new software and equipment,” he stated.    

 

The Gazette-Democrat

112 Lafayette St.
Anna, Illinois 62906
Office Number: (618) 833-2158
Email: news@annanews.com

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