Protecting the vote

As threats amass, Virginia elections officials face a daunting path

Protecting election workers and voting systems from interference this year promises to be an enormous challenge. The threats arrayed against them — from intimidation and threats of physical violence, to cyberattacks and sabotage efforts conducted by foreign governments — are wide-ranging and daunting.

It is therefore reassuring to see federal, state and local officials all taking necessary steps to defend voting rolls and elections systems from disruption, and state lawmakers considering measures to deter attacks on elections officials and ensure the integrity of the vote. Success this year will require sound strategies, appropriate tools and considerable vigilance.

When Virginians head to the polls for Tuesday’s presidential primary, they should have every confidence that the ballots they cast will be fairly evaluated and accurately counted. Despite cries to the contrary, there were no substantial allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election and the state Department of Elections maintains the previous presidential vote was the most secure in Virginia history.

Despite that, it’s evident that the sharks are circling.

At a February conference in Washington, D.C, elections officials from across the country heard from federal law enforcement officials and cybersecurity experts about a significant number of threats conspiring to undermine this year’s presidential election.

The news website Stateline reported on Feb. 14 that elections officials were warned that voter databases could be the target of phishing and ransomware attacks by international criminal groups and foreign powers, that violent extremists could target voting sites and election workers, and that the rise of artificial intelligence is an area of greater concern heading into November.

“The threat environment, unfortunately, is very high,” said Tim Langan, executive assistant director for the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch of the FBI, told the conference. “It is extremely alarming.”

Some of these threats aren’t new, of course. Ample evidence confirmed efforts, both small and large, by foreign governments to sow division and undermine trust in the election process in 2016. And only four years ago, the nation saw the violence unleashed by lies and misinformation in a highly charged environment, culminating in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The message to election officials last month was to expect more — a lot more — in the coming months.

Many election departments, here in Virginia and across the nation, have already invested considerable time, money and effort in making their systems and facilities more secure in preparation for this presidential election year. They’ve improved cybersecurity measures and strengthened relationships with local law enforcement to bolster safety.

But Virginia has also taken steps that could undermine those efforts, such as needlessly withdrawing from a multi-state system that ensures the accuracy of state voter rolls. Virginia Elections Commissioner Susan Beals bowed to baseless conspiracy theories last year in announcing the commonwealth would leave the Electronic Registration Information Center, a program that Republican former Gov. Bob McDonnell helped organize.

The General Assembly passed a bill, now awaiting the governor’s signature, that would return Virginia to the program. That’s one of several measures either approved or pending in Richmond that would make tangible improvements to the integrity of our elections.

Cybersecurity represents a different challenge, especially for smaller election departments with limited resources. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recently launched a website — called #Protect2024 — to put information and tools in the hands of election officials to secure their systems and prevent intrusions.

These include some well-known tips, such as using multi-factor authentication for email logins to limit vulnerability, to requesting a security assessment of election facilities by law enforcement and rehearsing an incident response in case of violence.

It is infuriating that elections officials need to be trained on how to respond to attacks or intimidation. Sadly, this environment is self-made by those who promote, amplify and engage in lies and misinformation, and who believe that political violence is justifiable.

But Virginia should have confidence that steps are being taken to ensure that November’s election will be safe and secure and that the results, whatever they may be, can be trusted.