Gov. DeSantis orders review of voting systems
After learning two Florida counties were hacked by the Russians during the 2016 election, Gov. Ron DeSantis is ordering a top to bottom review of every voting system in the state.
He's put the Secretary of State in charge of making sure that voter information is not corrupt and that ballots are secure from cyber threats.
WESH 2 News political reporter Greg Fox explains what Florida has already done to protect your vote.
Voters learning that two Florida counties were hacked by Russian spies during the 2016 elections want to know how their vote will be guarded during next year's presidential elections.
DeSantis is ordering the Secretary of State to conduct a full cyber security review of voting systems, writing: "Public faith in our elections is the bedrock of our democracy and we must do everything within our power to preserve the integrity of our elections systems."
WESH 2 News caught up with the secretary at a meeting of elections supervisors in Daytona Beach, where some of the sessions focused on cyber best practices.
Laurel Lee, Florida Secretary of State, is promising a top to bottom examination of elections systems, focusing especially on the training of staff members to create a "human firewall" around your voter registration information and your ballot.
"That's a very important point, that all of our supervisors and staff understand best practices in relation to cyber security, and it's also important to remember that cyber security is an ever-evolving threat," Lee said.
The president of the supervisors association, Paul Lux, says one glaring problem the state must address is the fact that it maintains the statewide voter registration database, which can be accessed from every county.
"The potential of 67 holes in that system, because every one of the counties must be connected into their system," Lux says.
More than $16 million was invested in hardware and software security upgrades last year to guard databases.
Another $2.8 million in election security dollars were approved by lawmakers this year. But is that enough?
Supervisors of elections told WESH 2 News they may need much more if the state demands more cyber security changes.