Sponsor: Information Services
Title
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Grant Agreement with the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State for Help America Vote Act Grants Program for Elections-related Cybersecurity Improvements
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Recommendation
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1. Ratify the submittal of the grant application to Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State in the amount of $142,589 for Help America Vote Act Grants Program for elections-related cybersecurity improvements.
2. Accept a grant award from and approve a grant agreement with the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State for Help America Vote Act Grants Program for elections-related cybersecurity improvements for the period of execution through March 23, 2027 in the amount of $142,589.
3. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the grant agreement.
4. Authorize the County Manager to enter into agreements and execute amendments to agreements in accordance with the county’s procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of the grant funding.
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Background and Rationale
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During its 2021 1st Special Session, the Minnesota Legislature, Chapter 11, Article 1, Section 41, authorized the distribution of $3 million from federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Grant Program appropriations as grants to political subdivisions. Per statute, these funds must be used to “improve accessibility,” “implement security improvements for elections systems,” and/or for “funding other activities to improve the security of elections.”
Information Security team submitted an application to the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State for Help America Vote Act Grants Program for elections-related cybersecurity improvements. As a result, Ramsey County was awarded $142,589. The funds will be used to purchase products and services that increase the cybersecurity of elections related infrastructure by providing integrated monitoring of Ramsey County’s internet facing addresses, including elections websites. Funding will be used to increase election information security. Phishing campaigns target election employees and election judges. The funding will be used to protect these accounts and mitigate actions taken by threat actors to compromise election related accounts promoting fairness and equity in the election process.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☒ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Cybersecurity is an example of where our focus on improving the security of resident data has the greatest benefit in communities of greatest need for our county services. A disproportionate share of the personally identifiable data we house in county systems comes from these communities and a security breach therefore has a higher impact on residents in these communities.
Community Participation Level and Impact
Community participation is not requested as this solution will be integrated into the internal cybersecurity controls. The impact to the community will be that unintentionally exposed systems will be detected and mitigated, thereby reducing the attack surface of Ramsey County’s footprint.
☒ Inform ☐ Consult ☐ Involve ☐ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
Ramsey County was awarded $142,589. The HAVA Grants Program does not require Ramsey County to match any amount of funding to be eligible to receive the grant award amount.
County Manager Comments
No additional comments.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
1. HAVA Grant Agreement