Congressman Keating: U.S. ‘Woefully Unprepared’ for 2020 Election

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While the controversy over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election continues to make national headlines, Congressman Bill Keating (D-MA 9^th District) has been working to ensure better security for the 2020 election.

Congressman Keating discussed his recent work on Capitol Hill in his weekly appearance on the Chris McCarthy Show on Thursday, stressing the importance of updating and protecting voting equipment in communities across the country, referencing the findings of the famous Mueller report.

“To put it in perspective, a person who was a combat marine that was highly decorated, a person who was the Assistant Attorney General and a person who was the Director of the FBI said, ‘this is one of the most challenging and dangerous things,’ he’s seen in his lifetime, and that’s Bob Mueller,” Keating said.

“When he says something like that, given his background, when Attorney General Chris Rey says that this is happening now and it’s going to happen in 2020, and when the Intelligence Chair of the Senate turns around and releases reports that this has been going on in all 50 states, we have a problem.”

In Washington, Keating says the House has “been working on many fronts,” including a bill to require a paper ballot voting system in each state for federal elections, as as is the process in Massachusetts. That legislation has yet to clear the Senate.

“The House has acted. They put money for local communities so they can use it to update and protect their voting equipment. There’s an AP story that said we’re not ready for that. They investigated all 50 states and the taxes you have to put in to protect these attacks are out of warranty, they won’t exist by 2020 in the election,” said Keating.

“We made sure paper ballots would be used in federal elections. That’s what we sent over to the Senate and Mitch McConnell refuses to act on it for some reason he’s not able to explain.”

The Congressman says the House has also held hearings with security and elections experts from around the world. Keating continued to stress the importance of preparing for another wave of Russian interference, saying the country is “not ready.”

“We brought in people from the frontline in Europe that have dealt with this issue as well as experts in the U.S., and they basically said that we’re woefully unprepared to deal with this next coming attack,” Keating stated.

“They detailed, in Europe, where they had the most recent elections, the attacks that they had again. So this is happening, we’re not ready, and I’ve been working hard on every angle I can do and with colleagues to try get some action on this. We have to be prepared.”