CISA chief says 2024 elections are secure from cyber attacks
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CISA chief says 2024 elections are secure from cyber attacks

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Early voting is underway and up to 150 million ballots are expected to be cast statewide before Election Day on Nov. 5, including more than 140,000 in Lubbock County. With that volume of votes and ongoing concerns about election integrity, local and national officials are sharing tips and reassurances about ballot box security.

Lubbock is all too familiar with the threat of cyber attacks. Last month, cyber security attacks severely impacted Lubbock’s UMC Health System and Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, crippling the region’s healthcare system.

Dig deeper: Voter turnout in Lubbock County rises as early voting continues through Friday

With the growing threat and recent local events, here’s what you need to know about how U.S. and local officials are working together to protect the integrity of this year’s elections.

Who Oversees Election Security and Integrity in the United States?

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was established in 2018 and serves the nation’s cyber defense agency while protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.

“In 2017, following the aftermath of Russian attempts to interfere and influence the 2016 presidential election, election infrastructure was designated as critical infrastructure,” said Director Jen Easterly. “CISA was designated as the lead federal government agency for election infrastructure security, tasked with providing support to the state and local election officials who conduct elections.”

Are polling booths protected from cyber attacks?

“The reality is that the election infrastructure has never been more secure,” Easterly said. “No matter who you vote for, you can trust that your vote will be counted.”

She attributes that safety to three factors.

Easterly said voting machines are not connected to the Internet — a feature that Lubbock County election officials have confirmed.

Second, Easterly said 97% of registered voters will cast their ballots in jurisdictions where they would receive a paper record they can verify. Lubbock County is one of them.

Finally, Easterly said officials have safeguards in place to ensure every vote is counted correctly, such as post-election audits, which is something Lubbock County does.

Easterly said the ultimate safeguard for America’s election security is how each state conducts its elections with different machines and processes.

“This diverse and decentralized nature of our election infrastructure is actually a great source of resilience and strength, as it means it is not possible for a malicious actor to hack into our voting machines in a way that would materially impact the outcome of presidential election — certainly not without detection,” Easterly said.

What are some threats to election security?

“Even as I say, election infrastructure has never been more secure, we have to recognize that the threat environment has never been more complex,” Easterly said.

Some of the threats include ransomware attacks – like the one seen at UMC – aimed at overloading services on websites.

“There are very real threats from our foreign adversaries such as Russia, Iran and China, who conduct malicious influence operations and disinformation with two main goals in mind: first, to undermine American confidence in the integrity of our elections and, more broadly, confidence in our democratic institutions, and to create partisan discord, to pit Americans against each other,” Easterly said. “We cannot allow that.”

However, some threats appear in a more physical manifestation such as physical threats against election officials, harassment, bullying, firecrackers, threats of violence against election officials from both parties and their families.

“It’s important for everyone to remember that election officials are not faceless bureaucrats. They are our family, they are our friends, they are our neighbors,” Easterly said. “We see them in the community every day, and they don’t do this work for pay or glory. They do it because they believe in our democracy and that being on the front lines of our democracy is the right thing to do, it delivers the most valuable a fair, free, safe and secure election.”

To learn more about CISA and how it helps protect this year’s elections, visit: www.cisa.gov/protect2024.

How do ballots work in Lubbock County?

When you first arrive, a poll worker will check you in on a new “Poll Pad”. After checking in, you will be given an access code, a privacy folder and a blank ballot and directed to a voting machine.

From there, you enter your access code on a touchscreen and insert your ballot into the machine. You will then vote as usual and when you are done you can print your ballot on your ballot paper.

Dig deeper: What you need to know to vote in Lubbock County

Once you’ve picked up your printed ballot, you can double-check your ballot to make sure it’s correct. If it’s a mistake, flag down one of the poll workers for help.

If you find that your ballot is correct, you take it to the interaction machine and to deposit the paper ballot. The machine will read the ballot and drop it into the ballot box below, where it is locked and has multiple seals to prevent tampering.

What can I bring to election day on election day?

You must have some form of ID at the polls, including a Texas driver’s license.

If you do not have a driver’s license, you may bring your US military ID card, US Certificate of Citizenship or Naturalization, US passport, Texas concealed handgun license card issued by DPS or a Texas Election ID certificate issued by DPS.

If you don’t have one of these forms of ID, you can fill one out Declaration of reasonable obstruction form and bring a copy of:

  • A government document showing the voter’s name and address, including the voter’s certificate of voting.
  • Current electricity bill.
  • Account statement.
  • Paycheck.
  • A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming the birth admissible in a court establishing the voter’s identity (which may include a foreign birth certificate.

You can also take your sample ballot to the polls as long as it is printed, as Texas prohibits the use of electronic devices while voting. To find and print your sample ballot, visit: www.votelubbock.org/voting-information/voter-information-lookup/.

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