WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) went to the Senate floor Thursday to warn against creating a system that puts the federal government – instead of states – in charge of elections.  Sen. Kennedy said the U.S. already is successfully addressing election security concerns.

States received $380 million before the 2018 midterm elections to shore up the security of their systems.  Even though they only spent a fraction of the money ahead of the elections, there were no successful security breaches.  The Senate has passed bills that would make it a federal crime to hack an election system and that would bar anyone who interferes or attempts to interfere in elections from entering the U.S.  The proposals are pending in the House.

“This country started out as a self-reliant, tax-adverse union of states.  States insisted on running their own elections, and it’s worked,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “Russia tried to interfere in the last presidential election.  It’s true.  They did it.  They didn’t change a single vote.  What makes our elections safe is there are multiple layers that would have to be hacked.  If we nationalize our elections, we’re going to be living in a world designed by the Post Office.”  

Click here or the photo below to watch Sen. Kennedy’s floor speech:

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