Minneapolis — Since its creation in 2018, the cybersecurity agency of the federal government It helped Warn state and local election officials about potential threats from foreign governments, show officials how to protect polling places from attacks, and figure out how to respond to the unexpected, such as on Election Day Bomb threat Or suddenly Misinformation campaign
The agency was largely absent from that space to hold elections this month in several states, a potential preview of the 2026 midterm elections. Change priorities Under the Trump administration, staffing cuts and budget cuts have many election officials concerned about the extent of the administration’s involvement Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency That will be next year, when control of Congress will be at stake in that election.
Some officials say they are scrambling to fill the expected gaps.
“We have no idea whether we can rely on CISA for these services as we head into a big election year in 2026,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat who until recently led the bipartisan National Association of Secretaries of State.
Send the leaders of the association message to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February, asking her to maintain the cybersecurity agency’s core election missions. Noem, whose department oversees the agency, has not yet responded.
“I’m sorry to say that months later, the message remains timely and very relevant,” Simon said.
CISA, as the agency is known, was formed Under the first Trump administration to help protect the nation’s critical infrastructure, from dams and power plants to election systems. It’s done Big transformation Since President Donald Trump’s second term began last January.
Public records show that nearly 1,000 CISA employees have lost their jobs over the past several years. Republican administration in March $10 million cut of two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to assisting state and local election officials.
That was a few weeks after CISA announced it was conducting a review of its election-related work, and more than a dozen employees who worked on the election They have been placed on administrative leave. FBI too Disband the task force Concerning foreign influence operations, including those Targeting the US elections.
CISA is Still without Official manager. Trump Nominated by Sean Blankeya cybersecurity expert in the first Trump administration, is filibustering in the Senate.
CISA officials did not respond to questions seeking details about the agency’s role in the recently concluded election, its plans for the 2026 election cycle or staffing levels. They said the agency remains ready to help protect election infrastructure.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, CISA is intensely focused on securing America’s critical infrastructure and strengthening cyber resilience across government and industry,” said Marcy McCarthy, CISA Director of Public Affairs.
She said CISA would announce its future regulatory plans “in due course.”
Christine Serrano-Glassner, CISA’s chief external affairs official, said the agency’s experts stand ready to provide election guidance if asked.
“In the event of disruptions or threats to critical infrastructure, whether related to Election Day or not, CISA quickly coordinates with the Office of Emergency Management and appropriate federal, state and local authorities,” she said in a statement.
California’s top election security agencies said CISA has played a “critical role” since 2018 but provided little, if any, assistance for the state’s special election on Nov. 4, when Voters agreed Redrawing the congressional redistricting map.
“Over the past year, CISA’s ability to support elections has diminished significantly,” the California Secretary of State’s office said in a statement to The Associated Press. “The agency has seen significant reductions in staffing, funding, and mission focus — including the elimination of staff specifically dedicated to election security and foreign influence mitigation.”
“This shift has left election officials across the country without the important federal partnership they have relied on for many election cycles,” according to the office.
CISA alerted California officials in September that it would no longer participate in the task force that brings together federal, state and local agencies to support county elections offices. California election officials and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services did everything they could to plug loopholes and plan for various security scenarios.
In Orange County, California, Bob Page, the registrar of voters, said in an email that state offices and other county departments have “stepped up” to support his office “to fill the void left by CISA’s absence.”
Neighboring Los Angeles County was a different experience. The Registrar’s Office, which oversees elections, said it continues to obtain a range of cybersecurity services from CISA, including threat intelligence, network monitoring and security testing of its equipment, although local jurisdictions now have to cover the costs of some federally funded services.
Some other states that held elections this month also said they had no coordination with CISA.
The Mississippi Secretary of State, who chairs the National Association that sent the letter to Noem, did not respond directly to a request for comment, but his office confirmed that CISA did not participate in the recent elections in the state.
In Pennsylvania, which held elections to retain three state Supreme Court justices that were monitored nationally, the State Department said it was also relying more heavily on its partners to ensure the integrity of the election.
The department said in an email that it “relies much less on CISA than it has in recent years.” Instead, it began collaborating with the state police, the state Department of Homeland Security, local cybersecurity experts and other agencies.
Simon, a former president of the Secretary of State’s Association, said state and local election officials need answers about CISA’s plans because officials will have to look for alternatives if the services it was providing won’t be available next year.
In some cases, such as classified intelligence briefings, there are no alternatives to the federal government, he said. But there may be ways to get other services, such as testing election equipment to see if it can be hacked from the outside.
In past election years, CISA has also conducted tabletop exercises with local agencies and election offices to work out different scenarios that might affect voting or vote counting, and how they would react. This was something CISA was very good at, Simon said.
“We’re starting to assume that some of these services won’t be available to us, and we’re looking elsewhere to fill that void,” Simon said.
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Smith reported from Columbus, Ohio.