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Secretary of State signals reluctance on electronic ballot return; cybersecurity concerns cited
Summary
The Secretary of State’s office told the committee it is not prioritizing electronic ballot return and supports striking a reporting requirement for electronic ballot return from the bill, citing cybersecurity risks and federal funding limitations; the office is open to future study.
The Senate committee discussed language in H.474 related to electronic ballot return and a separate reporting requirement.
Deputy Secretary Lauren Hibbert said the office has cybersecurity concerns about allowing electronic return of ballots and that the requirement to do a report on electronic ballot return can be struck this year. Hibbert said the office supports improving access for overseas voters via electronic delivery but that electronic return raises additional security concerns and would need further study.
Hibbert told the committee that this work was not a legislative priority for the Secretary of State’s Office this session and that the office is comfortable with leaving the electronic ballot return reporting requirement out of the bill for now, while remaining open to studying the option more thoroughly in the future.
Why it matters: returning voted ballots electronically raises technical and cybersecurity issues and may involve federal funding constraints. The committee heard the office’s view that study and vendor work would be needed before adopting any electronic return policy.
Ending: No formal change was made during the meeting; the office said it expects further study and did not press for an electronic‑return report this session.
