The Washington Secretary of State’s Office is stepping in to strengthen election security across the state.

On Tuesday, Secretary Steve Hobbs announced the state will cover the cost of cybersecurity memberships for all 39 county election offices through the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center. The program gives counties access to cyber threat intelligence, incident response support, and real-time information sharing.

Hobbs says the move comes as federal support for election security decreases, including cutting funds for the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center earlier this year. That reduction hit rural counties especially hard.

The Secretary of State’s Office has also secured an agreement to replace aging Albert sensors — devices that detect

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