DeSantis: Russians accessed 2 Florida voting databases

TALLAHASSEE , FLA . » Russian hackers gained access to voter databases in two Florida counties before the 2016 presidential election, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday at a news conference.

DeSantis said the hackers didn’t manipulate any data and the election results weren’t compromised. He and officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were briefed by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security on Friday. The governor said he signed an agreement with the FBI not to disclose the names of the counties, but elections officials in them are aware of the intrusions.

One person who wasn’t aware was DeSantis’ predecessor, now-Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, DeSantis said.

“We’re trying to figure out what the state knew at the time,” DeSantis said. “Obviously, the previous administration and the head of FDLE did not have that information.”

He said the hackers gained access through a spear-phishing email after a worker clicked a link.

Scott criticized his opponent in last year’s election, then-Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, for saying Russians had hacked elections systems and had “free rein to move about” before last year’s midterm election. Scott called the allegations sensational.

Scott will receive a briefing from the FBI on Wednesday, said spokesman Chris Hartline.

Hartline confirmed that Scott wasn’t aware of the hacking while he was serving as governor.

“It’s pretty clear during our back and forth in the campaign there was no information provided to the state,” Hartline said.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election also said hackers gained access to the network of at least one Florida county. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., previously said at least one Florida county had an intrusion.

DeSantis said he was frustrated when he saw the vague reference to hacking in Mueller’s report. “Hey, this shows up in the Mueller report; no one ever said anything to me,” DeSantis said.