Recognizing and Addressing Threats to Statewide Voter Registration Databases

Recently declassified records revealed that China breached multiple state voter registration systems prior to the 2020 election. Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon. Unclassified reports from the last decade reveal that Statewide Voter Registration Databases (VRDB) are attractive targets for foreign adversaries.1 Hackers have attempted to breach voter registration systems in all 50 states, with confirmed successes in at least 20 states. However, experts have routinely minimized the significance of successful voter registration breaches and the exposure of sensitive personal data used for voter verification. This failure to identify and accurately describe the potential threats makes U.S. elections less secure.