Report: DHS 2020 election security plan not finalized before voting started

WASHINGTON D.C. — The federal government still hasn’t finalized its official election security plans for the 2020 election, according to a report for the U.S. Office of Government Accountability.

The Department of Homeland Security said while efforts are already underway to assist local and state offices, its plans will be formally outlined by Feb. 14.

>> Election Security | WHIO Reports

There are concerns about the delay since the Iowa Caucus is behind us and the New Hampshire primary is on Tuesday.

"DHS needed to do more as far as organizing its own efforts,” Director in Information Technology and Cybersecurity Team at GAO Vijay D’Souza said. "We always think that it's better to be organized and have things spelled out so that you've got all these staff working kind of in a clear consistent manner."

D’Souza said most local sites are happy with the help they’re getting from DHS.

DHS helps state and local offices secure their voter machines, online voter registration systems and other election infrastructure.

>> 8 Ohio counties fail to meet election security deadline

The 2016 presidential election highlighted the threat of Russian interference in our elections and this week the FBI said the threat is still ongoing.

"We assess the Russians continue to engage in maligned foreign influence efforts,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.