CISA released its 2026 election security plan on Thursday.
Why it matters: The plan sets the federal support framework for election cybersecurity and physical security heading into the 2026 midterm cycle. State and local officials will decide whether to rely on CISA's voluntary services as budget, staffing and adoption questions continue.
- The plan is titled "2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan: Securing the Next 250."
- CISA says it will offer no-cost, voluntary services including threat sharing, technical expertise, vulnerability scanning, risk assessments, training and exercises.
- Nextgov and FCW reported the plan names CISA's 10 regional directors as election security advisers and creates a free information-sharing platform.
- AP reported the plan focuses on software vulnerabilities, voter-registration database hacks, insider threats and physical incidents such as bomb threats at polling places.
CISA released its 2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan on Thursday, laying out how the agency says it will support election officials through the 2026 federal midterm cycle. The DHS plan is titled Securing the Next 250, according to the agency's release and reporting by the Associated Press.
The plan says CISA will provide voluntary, no-cost support, including threat information sharing, technical expertise, vulnerability scanning, risk assessments, training and exercises. CISA has said election infrastructure was designated a critical infrastructure subsector in 2017 and that it has historically provided cybersecurity and physical security support to election officials.
AP reported that the plan highlights risks including software vulnerabilities, hacks of voter-registration databases, insider threats and physical incidents such as bomb threats at polling places. AP also said the plan does not identify a specific foreign threat actor for 2026.
Nextgov and FCW reported the plan names CISA's 10 regional directors as election security advisers and creates a free information-sharing platform for election officials, state intelligence hubs and federal partners. Those outlets also reported the plan lands after staff and program reductions that state officials say weakened CISA's election-security role, and as the administration's fiscal 2027 budget proposal would eliminate CISA's election security program.
The plan gives election officials an updated federal framework, but it leaves the core assistance model unchanged: services remain voluntary and free, with no mandate that states or localities adopt them.
By the numbers
- 10 - CISA regional directors named as election security advisers, according to Nextgov and FCW.
- 2017 - The year election infrastructure was designated a critical infrastructure subsector.
Yes, but: The plan does not appear to change the voluntary nature of CISA's election support, so adoption still depends on state and local officials.
What's next: Election officials will be watching whether states and counties adopt the new information-sharing platform and whether the fiscal 2027 budget proposal affects CISA staffing and election-security services.