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County executive warns DHS cut to MS‑ISAC funding threatens local election security
Summary
Northampton County Executive Lamar McClure told the Election Integrity Committee March 20 that the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to end federal funding for the MS‑ISAC cooperative agreement removes tools used for threat analysis, incident response and training, leaving local election officials more vulnerable to cyber threats.
Lamar McClure, Northampton County Executive, told the Election Integrity Committee on March 20 that a recent Department of Homeland Security decision to end federal funding for the multistate information sharing and analysis center (MS‑ISAC) cooperative agreement will damage local election security.
McClure said the cut removes support for “threat analysis, incident response services, and member outreach activities,” and warned the loss will “directly undermine the ability to safeguard our elections.”
Why it matters: County and municipal election offices rely on federal and multistate information sharing to receive real‑time threat notices, specialized training and coordinated incident response. McClure said the Center for Internet Security has indicated it will continue some services but that “the cuts to specialized training, real time threat notices, and critical incident response capabilities leave our election officials vulnerable.”
McClure framed the change as immediate and broad: “This strategic dismantling of essential resources dedicated to election integrity is nothing short of catastrophic for state and local officials and poses a significant threat to our democratic processes.” He added the move “not only endangers the integrity of our elections, but also erodes public confidence in the democratic process.”
Committee members asked for clarification about what items were cut and the scale of the reduction. The executive said the Center for Internet Security issued an itemized list of services that will stop and that, to his knowledge, roughly $10,000,000 in funding was cut to groups including MS‑ISAC and related election information sharing efforts, though he did not provide a total budget figure or a county‑level funding impact estimate.
McClure repeatedly framed the decision as a choice by the current federal administration and said it “is a direct assault on our democracy.” He concluded by saying he would “continue to work tirelessly to ensure we hold legal, fair, and accurate elections in Northampton County.”
The committee did not take formal action at the meeting on March 20. No county policy change or funding appropriation was voted on during the session; McClure’s remarks were delivered as a courtesy of the floor and recorded as part of public comment.
