Election Security
Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays Addresses Election Security
With so many people talking about election security today, I feel it may be helpful to share with you some of the measures we take to secure your elections database and the tabulation system. Through a series of newsletter articles, we’ll be covering several topics related to election security. For now, let’s begin with this overview.
Every Lake County SOE employee submits to a background check before being hired. A thorough onboarding process, along with ongoing training, makes your elections team a well-oiled professional machine.
All computer stations have security measures in place that require multi-step authentication to gain access to that station. Our facility is divided into security level zones and only those employees who have a need to access certain spaces are permitted into those areas. Our internal security system has more than 20 cameras that record all activities 24/7.
Our Vote-by-Mail, tabulation, and Canvassing Board rooms each have large observation windows to allow people to observe our operations. Due to space constrictions, we must limit the number of observers at any given time, but we intentionally built the walls to show our personnel “on stage”. We take transparency seriously!
Before each election all of our electronic poll books and every tabulation machine is thoroughly tested. Florida Statutes require us to have a Public Logic & Accuracy Test of the tabulation equipment to be used in an election. This test is publicly advertised and we encourage the public to attend the testing. The results of the test become a part of the permanent record of that election and are stored here in our office for 22 months after the election. NONE OF OUR TABULATION MACHINES are connected to the internet at any time.
Our goal in ALL that we do is to increase voter confidence and ensure accurate and efficient elections in our county and across the state in partnership with other SOE offices. Please feel welcome to call our office or email us with your questions.
[email protected] or 352-343-9734.
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