Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman on Tuesday was named to a prime submit overseeing election safety throughout the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company.
Ted S. Warren/AP
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Ted S. Warren/AP
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman on Tuesday was named to a prime submit overseeing election safety throughout the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company.
Ted S. Warren/AP
All through 2020, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a lifelong Republican, wasn’t having any of then-President Donald Trump’s unrelenting and unsupported claims of election fraud. Now, the GOP official has been tapped by the Biden administration to assist shield the nation’s election system.
In a submit on Twitter, Wyman introduced she’ll be stepping down from her present function on Nov. 19, to function the election safety lead for the Division of Homeland Safety’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company.
“The threats to our nation’s election system proceed every day they usually have to be met with a mixed effort by IT and cybersecurity specialists alongside election professionals on the native, state and federal ranges,” Wyman mentioned in a statement.
After shedding the 2020 presidential election, Trump and his attorneys blasted the company and its leaders for contradicting his conspiracy theories of rampant safety breaches and voter fraud. That included in the end firing former CISA Director Chris Krebs, one other Republican who publicly insisted the election was run pretty, with no indicators of dishonest or interference.
On Tuesday, Krebs congratulated Wyman on the appointment, saying, “Wyman is the actual deal and a real skilled. Good addition to the @CISAgov group as they proceed to play a key function in defending democracy.”
CISA Director Jen Easterly additionally said she is “past thrilled” to have Wyman be part of the company.
“Kim’s many years of expertise, unparalleled experience, & unimpeachable integrity have earned her bipartisan respect at each stage of presidency.”
Wyman instructed NPR in August that the nonstop conspiracy theories across the 2020 poll had been exhausting for election officers similar to her.
“It would not matter what I current to critics or challengers. It would not matter what the reply is. It’ll at all times be one thing new,” Wyman mentioned. “It is unending. And that is what worries me about 2020: How will we transfer on from right here?”
Wyman, who’s the only real Republican to carry statewide workplace in Washington, is nationally thought to be an knowledgeable on mail-in balloting and safety.
Following file low voting turnout throughout the state in 2016, Wyman was instrumental in modernizing the Washington’s voter registration database. That included enacting same-day voter registration, computerized voter registration and a future voter program that pre-registers 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.
