U.S. states demand better access to secrets about election cyber threats

FILE PHOTO - Poll workers and voters stand by the voting machines at the Marion 2 precinct at the Marion Opera House during the U.S. presidential election in Marion, South Carolina, U.S. November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Randall Hill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. state election officials are demanding better access to sometimes classified federal government information about hacking threats to voting systems.

With less than three months until the November midterm elections, 44 states, the District of Columbia, and numerous counties on Wednesday participated in a simulation that tested the ability of state and federal officials to work together to stop data breaches, disinformation and other voting-related security issues.