Russian Hacking in Florida, and Now This

In May, NPR reported that the governor of Florida revealed at a news conference that Russian hackers had breached the election systems in two Florida counties in the 2016 election but offered assurances that "no data were tampered with and vote tallies were not affected": "Florida Governor Says Russian Hackers Breached 2 Counties in 2016."

Nothing like this could happen in Columbia County, because our voting machines are not connected to the internet. The machines scan paper ballots, and after the election those paper ballots are counted by hand to confirm the machine count. The machines are not susceptible to cyber attack, and it's hard to imagine them being tampered with in any way. I've been a poll inspector for more than a decade and know first-hand what happens with the machines before and during an election and what happens with the ballots during and after an election. In the Pre-Lat process, which takes place a few weeks before an election, bipartisan teams test the machines to make sure they are functioning properly. When the machines are opened on Election Day, bipartisan teams check to make sure the ballot box is empty and print out "zero tapes" to confirm that no votes have been registered on the machine. When the polls close, bipartisan teams make sure that every ballot that has been fed into the machine is delivered safely to the Board of Elections. After the election, bipartisan teams do a hand count of the ballots to confirm the accuracy of the results reported by the machines. All along the way, there are checks and balances in place to ensure that every ballot issued is accounted for and no ballot not lawfully issued ends up in the voting machine. 

From my experience as a poll inspector, I know that elected officials are prohibited from working as poll inspectors--not just in their own municipality but anywhere in Columbia County--and candidates for office and their close relatives cannot serve as poll inspectors in elections when they are on the ballot. So imagine my surprise when I learned this morning that the person newly hired to be the Republican Voting Machine/HAVA Specialist, the person who with his Democratic counterpart has responsibility for maintaining the voting machines, is on the Town Board in Germantown and is running for reelection this year. 

When asked about the situation, Virginia Martin, the Democratic Commissioner of Elections, told Gossips: "He cannot have anything to do with Germantown elections. We will make sure he doesn't." Martin went on to say, "He will be at all times working with his Democratic counterpart who will ensure that he does not touch anything having to do with Germantown elections. That's exactly how bipartisan administration works." 

Still, perception matters, and in this era of uncertainty and fear on the national level about the integrity of our election process, this seems an unfortunate move on the part of the Republicans of Columbia County.
COPYRIGHT 2019 CAROLE OSTERINK