In the 2020 presidential election, concerns over voter fraud and the security of elections helped spread misinformation about the election results.
Marion County Supervisor of Elections Wesley Wilcox addresses safety measures put in place to ensure election integrity.
“Every ballot cast in the state of Florida is going to be on a piece of paper. So if the world had an electronic meltdown, we've still got the paper,” said Wilcox.
This has been the case since 2002.
“The actual tabulation systems themselves are standalone. They're air gapped between any outside interference, so our systems are the most secure they've ever been,” said Wilcox.
Since 2008, after-election audits — where ballots are manually counted to verify electronic results — have been conducted in every county in the state of Florida.
Cybersecurity concerns
In terms of potential cybersecurity threats, Wilcox believes websites are the most vulnerable systems due to their public-facing nature. However, he emphasizes the security of tabulation systems.
“The tabulation system does not have those vulnerabilities. It's not public facing, meaning it's not connected to the internet,' Wilcox said. "No one can just log into it. To be able to log into that system, you have to physically be in that room where that tabulation system is housed.”
Reflecting on the 2016 Russian hacking incident, Wilcox shared what’s changed.
“After that moment, not only the entire state of Florida, but across the U.S., cybersecurity went from somewhat of an afterthought to a forethought,” said Wilcox. “We have raised our level of cybersecurity awareness education. We've put systems into place for endpoint detection and remediation and reporting, all of those types of items that really were not a thought eight years ago.”
A race with no end point
“We're in a race with no end point. Every time we build something more secure, somebody builds a better way to break in. What we do today may be sufficient for today, but it won't be sufficient for tomorrow,” said Wilcox, when reflecting on the 2021 data breach in Hillsborough County, which revealed personal information of 58,000 voters.
“There are always going to be us upping the game, because the other side is upping the game at all times. And so we've got to continue to expand, educate and look for new ways. That's unfortunately American ingenuity, and sometimes it works against us.”
The price tag of staying ahead
Wilcox stressed that cybersecurity is "not cheap," and securing experts who are highly trained can come at a high cost.
Considering 20 of the 67 counties are deemed economically disadvantaged, making this hire is difficult.
“We're figuring out ways that we can leverage that expertise and share it amongst the entire community,” said Wilcox. “There are counties in the state that have the means to hire someone like that and have full-time employees, but the majority do not.”
This makes collaboration and mutual support within the election community to improve security of high importance.
In the meantime, ransomware attacks are top of mind.
“It's a constant battle every single day. Hackers know that this is my busy time, that everybody in here is working 10-12 hour days, and so that may be a good time,” said Wilcox. “The people that are targeting this stuff know when the busy times are and when somebody may be at their most vulnerable. During these times, we constantly remind our internal controls to be on the lookout.”
Physical security is paramount
Wilcox discusses the importance of physical security for elections offices and staff, especially during the busy election season.
“A lot of offices now have bulletproof glass. You basically can't get in touch with anybody that works in the offices anymore,” said Wilcox. “We work well with our law enforcement partners across the state to be on the ready.”
While election stress exists, Wilcox is optimistic.
“A lot of things that we put in place over the last several years are going to position Florida well to be done on election night,” said Wilcox.
There’s an important point for clarification, however.
“There is no jurisdiction in the entire country that finishes and is 100% done on election night. We do not report our first set of unofficial results until after 5 o'clock on Thursday, so don't get the wrong idea that that’s it on Tuesday night,” said Wilcox. "Everything you see is just preliminary. Our unofficial report is not filed until after five o'clock on Thursday, almost 48 hours after polls close.”
