As voters across the United States—from New York City to New Jersey and Virginia—prepare to cast their ballots on Tuesday, election officials are facing the challenge of operating with significantly reduced federal support. The agency that once helped local authorities handle cyberattacks and bomb threats has scaled back its role.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has discontinued its Election Day situation room, which for years served as a hub for sharing crucial intelligence about physical and cyber threats with state and local officials. This change, confirmed by Paul Lux, chair of the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, comes after CISA dismantled its election security team earlier this year. Remaining personnel have reportedly been barred from contacting state election officials.
As a result, state and local officials responsible for overseeing elections are now searching for ways to fill the gaps in cybersecurity, threat monitoring, and physical protection of polling places. The shift within the Department of Homeland Security has come at a tense moment for the nation, which is navigating a highly polarized political climate marked by acts of violence, including the recent killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
On Tuesday, Americans will vote in a range of races—gubernatorial, mayoral, legislative, and judicial—as well as on ballot measures. The elections will serve as the first major test of the political environment since Donald Trump returned to the White House, providing an early look at how his administration will manage an electoral system whose integrity he has previously questioned. The New York City mayoral race, in particular, has drawn national attention as a symbolic battle over the direction of urban policy and the Democratic Party’s future.
According to a Homeland Security spokesperson, the department continues to offer guidance and communication to local officials on other matters. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, CISA has refocused on its core mission to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure, including election systems, from both physical and cyber threats,” said DHS spokesperson Scott McConnell. “DHS and CISA continue to provide timely intelligence, expertise, and resources to help partners defend against risks.”
After Trump’s return to office in January, DHS reassigned or placed on leave members of CISA’s election security and resilience team, which had previously coordinated security efforts across more than 10,000 election jurisdictions nationwide. Historically, the federal government played a key role in uniting and informing state and local election officials. However, in February, CISA suspended all election security activities, and the department began reviewing the agency’s role in supporting state and local authorities. The results of that review have not been released.
Lux described the loss of federal backing as a serious blow for election officials who have relied on federal assistance to counter hackers and threats of violence. His comments come as politically motivated violence appears to be rising. A recent Pew Research Center poll found growing concern about such incidents, and in September, a Texas man was charged with threatening violence against New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
Cuts to election security services have also reduced CISA’s overall cybersecurity capacity, weakening tools like vulnerability scans and ransomware alerts. “There are critical capabilities that will be missing this Election Day,” Lux said. “Most importantly, we’ve lost our ability to communicate nationally.”
During the 2024 election cycle, election offices in over a dozen states received suspicious packages containing white powder. CISA’s election security team previously played a central role in collecting and sharing intelligence about such incidents, including detailed reports and photos. The case remains unsolved.
In addition, dozens of cyberattacks targeting election infrastructure—ranging from phishing attempts to denial-of-service assaults—were reported in the weeks before Election Day 2024. The Brennan Center for Justice documented at least 227 bomb threats that year. CISA’s former situation room had served as the main point of coordination for tracking and responding to these threats.
Marci McCarthy, CISA’s director of public affairs, explained that the agency’s current Election Day operations focus on securing essential systems like communications, power, networks, and technology platforms, rather than administering elections. “Elections in the United States are managed by state and local governments, not the federal government,” she said.
The Trump administration has also appointed figures known for promoting election-related conspiracy theories to senior positions. Heather Honey, who spread misinformation about the 2020 Pennsylvania vote, now serves as deputy assistant secretary for election integrity in DHS’s Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans, according to the department’s website.
Lux’s organization, the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center, attempted to create its own national coordination hub for this year’s election but was unable to do so due to funding cuts that made necessary software licenses unaffordable. Lux said he plans to ask DHS Secretary Kristi Noem whether the CISA situation room will be reinstated before the midterm elections next year.
Previously, EI-ISAC operated as a free service, but federal budget reductions have forced it into a paid membership model within a larger information-sharing network. While large jurisdictions can afford dedicated cybersecurity staff, smaller and poorer election offices are expected to suffer most from the loss of free federal support.
According to Lux and other officials, that leaves underfunded jurisdictions more vulnerable to state-backed hackers from countries like China, Russia, and Iran, all of which have previously attempted to interfere in U.S. elections. “The smaller, underserved jurisdictions are the biggest concern,” Lux said. “They are the least prepared to deal with these kinds of threats.”
