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Cuts to the federal agency monitoring threats to cybersecurity in national, state and local elections are prompting concern among officials in Arizona.

Election watchers said the budget reductions could undermine voting integrity when oversight is needed most.

Adrian Fontes, Secretary of State, compared cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to a military battle.

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"It's like you've got an army advancing against a castle and you let down the drawbridge instead of strengthening your defenses," Fontes explained. "It's confounding why the administration has chosen this path."

The agency works with state and local officials to ensure against threats to elections but will now have fewer resources. The Trump administration has said it is trimming waste from the budget to put the United States on better financial footing.

Brian Lemek, executive director of the nonprofit Defend The Vote, said the cuts, carried out by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, open the door for threats from foreign hackers. He added they could gain the ability to interfere with American elections because critical infrastructure heading off those threats was eliminated.

"Whether it be critical infrastructure, whether it be training, whether it be responses to a cyberattack, and how to act, and what to do, and who to call, all of those necessary steps, it's that critical infrastructure that CISA provides," Lemek outlined.

Those in support of the agency cuts said concerns over cybersecurity threats to voting integrity are overstated, and claimed states still have the resources they need to ensure fair elections.