TAMPA, Fla. — Election officials in Hillsborough County are preparing for the first day of early voting Monday.
“They’re setting up and getting ready,” said Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer. “Everything will be in place when they show up at 10 on Monday morning.”
But with recent statements from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson who claimed Russian hackers had “penetrated“ some of Florida’s voter registration systems, election officials across the state are working extra hard to reassure voters.
“We use paper ballots, we can’t hack paper,” said Latimer on Friday during a media event showing off one of the early voting locations.
Among the safeguards, Latimer says the registration database Nelson cautioned could be compromised is in no way connected to the tabulation server in Hillsborough County, which stands alone.
Latimer says even if the voter rolls were tampered with electronically, paper printouts are in place at each polling place.
“If there’s any question about anyone’s eligibility they can still vote,” said Latimer. “They’re going to vote a provisional ballot and that’s going to give us an opportunity to slow down and figure out if they are in fact a registered voter.
Florida’s secretary of state and others say they have no evidence of Nelson’s claim and drafted a letter to the U.S. Senate Select Intelligence Committee chair Richard Burr asking for clarification on Nelson’s statement.
Late Friday, Burr responded with his own letter stating the committee is continuing its comprehensive look into Russian interference with US Elections but indicating any information updates would come from the FBI or Department of Homeland Security.
Burr letter to Detzner by 10News WTSP on Scribd
Detzner then sent a letter to Homeland Security and the FBI, reiterating his claims that Nelson's statements were "very concerning and unsubstantiated" and asking for continued partnership.
Letter to Secretary Nielsen and Director Wray by 10News WTSP on Scribd
RELATED: Letter supports Sen. Nelson's claims Russians penetrated Florida voter registration systems
Larimer says his office has been working with both agencies for over a year.
“We’ve been talking with Homeland Security and law enforcement for well over 18 months, ever since the election systems were declared critical infrastructure, so we’ve got a lot of stuff in place.”
10News checked county by county and across the Tampa Bay area, and other supervisors indicate they’re equally as prepared Some expressed frustration over Nelson’s accusations about Russian intrusion into Florida’s database and feel the biggest risk from Russia at this point could be psychological.
“This is clearly an attempt to undermine the confidence of the voters and our system,” said Larimer. “The voters need to stand up to that. They need to come out and cast their vote and know that it was counted correctly and that’s what we’re here to do.”
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10 News app now.
Have a news tip? Email tips@wtsp.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
