Larose: Ohio voting unaffected by foreign hacks
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said the best way voters can respond to Iran and Russia meddling in U.S. elections is to cast a ballot.
“The bottom line is this: Our foreign adversaries want to degrade the trust that we have in our elections. We won’t stand for it. These are enemies of America,” said Larose in a tweeted video recorded in his car shortly after the news broke.
“Make your voice heard. Be a voter. That’s what they don’t want you to do, and that’s what you must do as an American,” the former Green Beret said.
“Prove them wrong. Show that we are stronger than them by making your voice heard.”
National intelligence officials announced Wednesday night that Iran and Russia have gotten their hands on U.S. voter registration data. Iran used that information to send fake emails to voters threatening them if they voted for President Donald Trump.
Larose said Ohio has not been directly affected, although state elections staffers continue to work closely with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. Most of the fake emails went to current or former Florida residents.
But the secretary of state acknowledged that there is no need to hack into Ohio’s system to get voter information; the list of 8 million registered voters is online and are public records under state law.
“Nobody has to access it via a hacking operation or via the dark web,” LaRose said.
Some voter advocates express fear the voter registration lists could be used to send fake mailings to voters about bogus changes in polling places or false advisories about voting methods.
League of Women Voters board president Dr. issued the following joint statement in response to reports that foreign governments have accessed voter registration data to influence the 2020 elections:
The overseas operatives’ intent is “to undermine voter confidence and intimidate voters,” said Deborah Turner and Virginia Kase, respectively the board president and CEO of the national League of Women Voters.
“Recent reports from the US intelligence community show that foreign actors have used American voter registration data to create distrust in our democratic process.”
Cybersecurity reported Thursday that a popular Russian hacking forum has leaked data on about 15 million Florida voters – some of which are likely duplicates – including their names, voter IDS, phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, gender, race, party affiliation. While at least much of that information is publicly available, the website called the data “a treasure trove for cybercriminals and foreign actors.”
Neither John Ratcliffe, director of national intelligence, nor Christopher Wray, FBI director, indicated that the foreign interference could affect actual votes.
“This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos and undermine your confidence in American democracy,” Ratcliffe said during a press conference at FBI headquarters.
Iran is even including a video with disinformation about American voting, he added.
The threatening emails were – apparently falsely – tied to a U.S. white supremacist group called the Proud Boys, and said: “You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply.”
Ratcliffe said the effort was an attempt to damage Trump’s campaign, a contention immediately questioned by supporters of Democrat Joe Biden such as Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
Larose noted that Ohio is regarded as among the nation’s leaders in cybersecurity.
If voters see something they believe is disinformation, they should report it to Larose’s office: report2us@ohio.sos.gov