CISA Releases 2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan 40 Days Before Midterms as Officials Question Timing After Cuts

What happened

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Thursday, September 24, 2026, released its 2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan, a 13-page document outlining potential threats to election systems and the free services the agency offers to state and local election officials. The release arrives 40 days before November's midterm elections, according to reporting by Nextgov/FCW.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin framed the plan as a commitment to election integrity. "Election security is national security... This plan, which will be implemented in full, is crucial to the security, freeness, and fairness of choosing the leaders of our country," Mullin said in a statement, as quoted by RedState and Nextgov/FCW.

According to Nextgov/FCW, the plan designates CISA's 10 regional directors as election security advisers and describes a free information-sharing platform connecting election officials, state intelligence hubs, and federal partners. The agency said that model was used during the 2026 World Cup. Acting CISA Director Nick Andersen had previewed the approach earlier this month, saying the agency would build on coordination with state and local officials during America 250 events and the World Cup as it prepared for the midterms.

The plan also recommends paper ballots "that can be easily reviewed to ensure transparency, auditability, and resilience against software failures or manipulation" and post-election manual audits "to verify that voting systems function properly and to identify errors before certifying the final results," according to RedState. CISA describes these as no-cost, voluntary services provided at the request of state and local partners.

The release follows a period in which state officials say federal support was weakened. The Associated Press reported that last year the Trump administration cut 1,000 employees from CISA and slashed $10 million from its cybersecurity initiatives, forcing some election officials to pay for private security services instead. Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie told lawmakers in April that local election officials had lost contact with CISA personnel they previously relied on, per Nextgov/FCW. The Associated Press also reported that numerous election officials said essential tabletop exercises and system tests were unavailable this year, a characterization that contradicts the Department of Homeland Security's stated position that its services have been "consistently supported."

Why it matters

The timing and substance of the plan sit at the center of a dispute over whether federal election security support is adequate heading into the midterms. Mullin had originally promised the plan by mid-August, according to reporting cited in coverage of the release, and it arrived late as CISA has operated without a Senate-confirmed director throughout the second Trump administration. Critics, including the election officials who spoke to The Associated Press, argue that the plan's commitments cannot be evaluated separately from the earlier personnel and budget reductions that they say degraded the agency's relationships with the states.

The plan's future is also uncertain on the funding side. Nextgov/FCW reports that the document does not explain how its commitments fit with the administration's fiscal 2027 budget proposal, which would eliminate CISA's election security program, including information-sharing support for states. Those changes would require congressional approval, leaving the plan's stated services dependent on decisions outside the agency's control.

Supporters of the administration's approach point to the plan's concrete offerings. RedState highlights the recommendations for paper ballots and manual audits, which CISA describes as voluntary, no-cost services, and Mullin's statement that the plan "will be implemented in full." The designation of 10 regional directors as election security advisers and the information-sharing platform, reportedly tested during the World Cup, are presented by the agency as evidence of operational readiness. According to figures compiled in coverage of the plan, CISA's monthly classified briefings on election threats have reached secure locations in more than 70 locations across the country.

State officials' accounts present the other side of the ledger. Edevbie's April testimony, as reported by Nextgov/FCW, described lost contact with CISA personnel, and the Associated Press accounts of unavailable tabletop exercises and system tests suggest that, in the view of those officials, the plan arrives after a year in which the support it promises had already contracted. With 40 days until the midterms, the gap between the plan's commitments and officials' reported experiences is likely to shape congressional oversight of both CISA's current operations and the proposed fiscal 2027 elimination of its election security program.

What to watch

Watch whether Congress acts on the fiscal 2027 budget proposal that would eliminate CISA's election security program, since Nextgov/FCW notes those changes require congressional approval and would directly determine whether the plan's information-sharing support survives. Watch for Senate action on a confirmed CISA director, a vacancy the agency has held throughout the term, and for whether the 10 regional directors named as election security advisers restore the state-level contacts that Michigan's deputy secretary of state said had lapsed. Watch also for midterm-season reports on whether the promised tabletop exercises, system tests, paper ballot recommendations, and manual audits are actually delivered at the request of state and local officials, and for any updated timeline commitments after the plan missed the mid-August target Mullin had set.

By the numbers