Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Thursday the state would partner with state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to “mitigate threats” to elections, such as speech it deems “misinformation.” The Pennsylvania State Department separately revealed to The Federalist that the task force’s cooperation with DHS would include “continu[ing] to work closely” with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Shapiro created the “Pennsylvania Election Threats Task Force” that will “coordinate plans to mitigate threats to the election process, protect voters from intimidation, and provide voters with accurate, trusted election information.”
“The Election Threats Task Force will ensure all levels of government are working together to combat misinformation,” the press release continued. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said the force would target those who spread “lies and baseless conspiracy theories” or attempt “to delegitimize our safe, secure, and accurate elections.”
The state provided no public information about what the task force’s collaboration with DHS would look like, but after multiple inquiries, the Department of State revealed the partnership would include collaboration with CISA, which falls under DHS.
“The Department of State will continue to work closely with the United States Department of Homeland Security and its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA),” said Press Matt Heckel of the State Department’s communications office. “The formation of the Election Threats Task Force will allow us to open lines of communication and share intelligence among the included government agencies.”
It is unclear what “intelligence” is being referred
