Top Senate Intelligence Dem: ‘People should vote with confidence’ that elections will be secure

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Sunday that he believes Americans can “vote with confidence,” and that this year’s midterm elections will be secure from potential foreign threats.

“I think we’ve made great progress, particularly at the individual polling stations and with the tabulations of votes. So I think people should vote with confidence,” Warner said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Warner, the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the U.S. is in a “much better” position to respond to any foreign election threats compared to 2016, when the intelligence community determined that Russia interfered in the U.S. election. The senator credited the Department of Homeland Security with coordinating with state and local official to improve defenses.{mosads}

However, Warner chided the White House for failing to support legislation that would have further tightened election security and called for a paper ballot audit if foreign interference was detected.

U.S. national security agencies warned late last month that they are concerned about “ongoing campaigns” by Russia, China and Iran to interfere in American politics as early voting got underway in this year’s midterms.

President Trump has drawn criticism at times for failing to forcefully denounce Russia for interfering in the 2016 election.

While lawmakers have repeatedly called on federal agencies to step up their efforts to prevent election meddling, Congress has failed to pass any legislation to secure U.S. voting systems in the last two years.