Glen Cove, New York – Election Law Committee Chairman Lavine applauded New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement yesterday that the state will begin soliciting contracts from companies that will assess the cyber-security risks of New York’s voting systems and help improve internet firewalls for county boards of elections.

“This is an absolute necessity in this current climate,” said Assemblymember Lavine. "I’m glad Governor Cuomo is spearheading this initiative, and I believe that our democratic state can only be as guaranteed as far as the security of our election system is guaranteed.”

Assemblymember Lavine lauds the cyber-security initiative as part of a $5 million earmark in the 2019 budget. Gov. Cuomo said that the state’s “Secure Elections Center,” managed by the State Board of Elections, will provide uniform cyber-security training to state and county election officials this year. The contracts will be handled by the state Office of General Services on behalf of the state’s Board of Elections. Following the Governor's 2018 State of the State proposals in January, New York was recognized as having one of the most secure elections systems in the nation by the Center for American Progress.