This year hackers tried to get into election systems in Arizona and Illinois. The attempt led to a temporary shutdown of both state’s online voter registration systems.
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>>> SPECIAL REPORT: How safe is your vote?
Arizona is a solid Republican state, Illinois is a solid Democratic state in presidential elections.
Ohio is one of the battleground states that decides who becomes president.
Could hackers get into Ohio’s voting system and change your vote?
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is warning the public of a “rigged” system. Fellow Republican Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted says Trump is being “ridiculous.”
Over the next few days we are taking an in-depth look to see if your vote is going to be safe this November.
Local board of elections officials and Husted say “yes.”
>>> Researcher says with a $15 device you can get extra votes
Local and state elections officials, as well as national experts and a local voting rights advocate, all said that the nation’s voting systems - meaning the election machines and those that count the vote - are protected on multiple fronts.
However, the perception of election security is going to be an issue.
Officials fear that voter confidence in the integrity of elections will be undermined in this most unusual of election years over concerns about hackers, cheating, and aging electronic voting machine systems that can be vulnerable to malfunctions on Election Day.
>>> Video: Hackers say voting machines are vulnerable
Hacking of votes on Election Day may be a fear many Americans have, but election officials say the more realistic hacking threat is to the voter registration databases kept online.
“That’s our worst nightmare,” said Matt Roberts, spokesperson for Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan. “Because if somebody were to manipulate data within the registration database, say somebody just changes everybody’s name to Lucille Ball, that would be a big problem. It would be a catastrophe for elections officials, especially around an election.”
Tell us what you think: Do you think your vote is safe? Speak out on our Ohio Politics Facebook page
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