Flagler County Elections Supervisor Kaiti Lenhart issued the following observation this morning, in mild of the ongoing special election for Palm Coast mayor, which culminates with in-adult balloting on July 27. Mail balloting has been ongoing, and early voting starts Saturday and runs except July 24.
vital Infrastructure Designation: Our nation's elections have been certain as vital infrastructure by using the branch of native land safety in January 2017. This important designation allows native election officers many free materials, including access to the newest cybersecurity intelligence counsel from the DHS. The Flagler County Elections workplace has developed a powerful partnership with the DHS to improve our cyber and physical safety protections.
Flagler County Election security Measures: You may additionally ask yourself why there so lots media consideration on election security. The reply is basic, it's as a result of your vote concerns! Voter self assurance in the electoral process is a contributing factor to participation and turnout. This suggestions has been developed as a resource to support voters learn what the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections is doing to offer protection to your vote.
TRANSPARENCYeach traveller to the Elections office has the opportunity to see all of our operations and to ask questions. We notify our candidates and local political birthday celebration management of our Canvassing Board assembly agenda so they can also in my view attend or send a representative. These meetings encompass checking out the vote casting system, opening and tabulating mail ballots, election nighttime results, automated and desktop recounts, eligibility determinations for mail ballots and provisional ballots, and the vote casting gadget's publish manual audit. We've had many guests in the past, and never one has left upset. the public is always welcomed and encouraged to attend.
I personally reply to voters' questions with the aid of cellphone, e mail, US Mail, and on social media who've questions on our election safety approaches. I have written many op-eds published in native information media on election protection and sometimes appear on news radio stations (WNZF in Flagler and WNDB in Daytona) to reply questions and explain election-linked considerations. I authored and published a Mail pollFAQ right through the 2020 election cycle which answered questions regarding the integrity of the Vote-through-Mail method in Flagler County. I additionally ship the month-to-month Flagler Elections newsletter to almost 1,000 subscribers and post common updates on the Elections workplace social media debts. sign up right here to acquire your Flagler Elections publication through e-mail.
anyway our open-door coverage, Florida has one of the crucial open public statistics laws within the nation. in the state of Florida, anybody might also request public records from a executive agency. There are quite a few advantages of open govt which help to make certain transparency and accountability of public officers. the public listing law states that any facts made or obtained via any public agency during its respectable company are available for inspection until especially exempted via Florida legislation. This also skill that not all data are public. Some information are exempt from public disclosure and protected by using legislation. These are the forms of assistance you may expect to be blanketed, reminiscent of a checklist that includes someone's social security number. All different statistics are open for inspection.
balloting equipment improvements A PAPER-based vote casting gadget:All voters in Flagler County solid their vote using a paper ballot, which permits for a full audit of an election. Our old voting device changed into 18 years old and replacement ingredients were no longer manufactured. It changed into standard for refurbished materials for use for usual preservation repairs. When the Legislature outlawed using digital contact-monitor tabulators, each Florida county became required to comply by means of 2020. I led negotiations with the department of State in 2015 with two different Supervisors of Elections to relaxed Federal provide funding for the purchase of new vote casting systems in 13 counties in Florida. A Federal provide of over $147,000 become secured for Flagler County for the buy of new machine. We upgraded ahead of the state-mandated deadline and in time for the 2018 election cycle. Flagler County's voters now have state-of-the-artwork balloting gadget with the newest utility patches and safety enhancements. These gadget s take a seat in the back of an enterprise-grade firewall (what is a firewall?) that communicates with our tabulators through a 0 tunnel inner most network (what's a personal network?). laptop transmissions move during the zero tunnel with out ever connecting to the cyber web. private networks just like the these are a backbone of high-security critical infrastructure communications.
electronic ballot BOOKS WITH real-TIME conversation:The digital poll ebook serves the identical function as the historical-original paper register, presenting each polling location with an inventory of registered voters eligible to vote in an election. The change is, our electronic poll books are capable of avoid a person from vote casting twice. If a person votes early at one area, their voter record is automatically flagged as already voted. That actual time communique prevents any one from balloting once again at one more region during early voting or on Election Day. The identical precept applies for a voter who returns a voted mail pollafter which attempts to vote in adult during early balloting or on Election Day. These digital poll books are used at each and every Election Day polling web page with a backup paper replica at each precinct. they're additionally effortless for our employees to make use of, cutting back the incidence of human error. All of our electronic ballot books were upgraded just before the pri mary Election in August 2018 using our allocated component of the Federal Election protection furnish, an volume over $112,000 for Flagler County.
ballot ON-DEMAND expertise:We participated in 2015 beta checking out with our seller and printed early voting ballots on-demand for the first time during 2016 Presidential simple Election. Printing ballots on-demand decreases the margin of error in the process of making a choice on one among over 100 ballot styles for a single voter all the way through early balloting. A pollis printed based mostly upon the voter's district (and birthday party in a main). they are accurate and budget friendly, saving cash and unused overstock. The ballots are handiest printed as needed, saving heaps of dollars of ballot printing fees and doing away with the pollcustody chance of stocking our early voting sites with an enormous deliver of unvoted ballots. Our printers have been purchased the use of a Federal furnish throughout the help america Vote Act.
VOTER list maintenanceWe now acquire updates from the Social safety Administration, which offers guidance for skills dying suits within the county after coming into the settlement with the SSA in 2015. This settlement changed into introduced yet went unsigned for a few years prior. We now receive demise matches weekly from the Bureau of essential statistics and the Social protection Administration.
The voter registration database in Flagler County is maintained through the commonplace record preservation mandated by way of part 98.065, Florida Statutes. Supervisors of Elections all over the State of Florida are required to conduct these checklist preservation actions on a agenda in accordance with the legislation, once during every atypical-numbered year and no later than ninety days ahead of a Federal election. These listing maintenance processes support us sustain with voters who have moved out and in of Flagler County.
We behavior these checklist upkeep activities based on time table, together with tips bought that fits voter records for those ineligible for numerous statutory explanations, which encompass criminal convictions or those that have been adjudicated mentally incapacitated in respect to balloting. These in shape information are processed in keeping with section 98.075, Florida Statutes and the outlined tactics for removal. be taught greater about felon voting rights after modification four here: Civil Rights and Clemency in Florida.
Our registration totals are reviewed monthly by using precinct, precinct cut up, district and birthday celebration for any anomalies. it is ordinary to look a spike in registration numbers or celebration alterations earlier than an election. We assessment and analyze this statistics, then compare to the department of State totals after the registration cut-off date passes.
Many americans who flow to Florida don't cancel their registration of their previous state. at the moment, now not all states share voter registration facts. Election integrity begins with eligible registered voters. Supervisors of Elections in Florida were combating for years, myself blanketed, for legislations to allow Florida to be part of the digital Registration tips core (ERIC) program and determine for dual state registrations. The legislations become at last passed and our first dual state registration matching method begun in June 2021. The ERIC program additionally identifies potentially ineligible citizens whereas additionally finding those who have lately moved here but have not yet registered to vote. I'm serving on the ERIC Implementation Committee to aid make sure we get hold of correct cross-state voter registration guidance compatible with our local county programs, to be able to actually use it to improve Florida's voter registration rolls.
PRE-ELECTION trying outWe completely look at various every element of the voting gadget before each and every election. every oval place in every race is confirmed to make sure the vote casting gadget is studying ballots accurately. The device is further demonstrated to be certain the ballots are study in each orientation and that an over-voted pollis rejected by means of the tabulator to give the voter the opportunity to evaluation their selections. thousands of test ballots from every vote class, source (mail, ballot on-demand, early balloting, Election Day) and pollstyle are counted on each piece device as a part of our rigorous checking out processes to make sure the tabulators are functioning correctly. Our trying out processes in Flagler County are above and beyond the state requirements and our device and tactics checking out period might also ultimate for several months.
We also look at various the add to the elections administration server to be sure the cumulative outcomes produced are the equal because the predetermined totals on each and every individual tabulator. all the way through a public assembly of the Canvassing Board, we operate the voting device's common sense and Accuracy testing. the public is welcomed to return and witness the procedure first-hand and have an opportunity to ask questions.
physical securityThe Elections office was no longer designed with an emphasis on protection. I imagine that's since the world became a unique vicinity, lower back in 2004-2005. After our actual possibility assessment from the department of fatherland safety, it changed into counseled that we make improvements to the building to give protection to the machine and delicate information. all the firewalls on the planet won't aid if any person can entry the vote tabulation server because there's no door and there are no entry controls in region. I presented these needs to the County commission and requested funding in 2019.
Our tabulation area is now enclosed, with actual access restrictions and video surveillance. We installed glass obstacles throughout our front counter to protect sensitive files and ballots within reach of the public. this is now dual purpose because of the COVID pandemic, whereas other workplaces rushed to installation Plexiglas obstacles, we didn't need them. We even have extra video cameras and locks on doors to put in force access controls and monitoring for distinct ballot storage areas within the workplace. Our office drop box become in the past put in through a window in our early voting enviornment. After the DHS physical chance assessment, our drop container become moved outside of the building, at the entrance of the office.
The physical networking has been re-equipped in order that now all ports are effectively recognized and those which aren't in use are disconnected. We put in jack locks on the entire unused Ethernet ports within the whole workplace and foyer. We implemented custody controls for each and every piece of our vote casting gadget machine with an asset administration gadget, extra physical locks, and tamper-evident seals.
pollRECONCILIATIONpollreconciliation and custody controls are standard yet commonly unmentioned facets of elections administration. Our rigorous ballot reconciliation processes evaluate the variety of ballots to voters all the way through the procedure. All vote casting strategies are reconciled in an identical style: mail ballots, these forged during early vote casting and Election Day. Our techniques additionally require that precinct totals be reconciled with composite outcomes to verify they equal the totals for each and every precinct and vote class. here is the remaining reconciliation that occurs on Election Day, after all precincts are entirely said.
Mail ballots are reconciled every day. When a mail pollis acquired, it's date stamped and sorted by using precinct. in order for a mail ballot to count number, the signature on the lower back voter's certificates should fit the signature on file. each of the lots of mail pollenvelope signatures are reviewed by using expert Elections workplace workforce, which takes many hours. in the 2020 widely wide-spread Election, we for my part reviewed and matched over 31,000 voter signatures. If there's a change, the pollis escalated for evaluate by two different group of workers contributors. A voter whose ballot signature is missing or does not suit is contacted through mail, telephone and/or e-mail automatically and recommended to finished an affidavit. They need to provide picture identification to "cure" the signature difference. If the pollreturn envelope isn't signed, the ballot cannot count until the same affidavit and identity are supplied.
Mail ballots lower back day after day are introduced to the cumulative total. The totals obtained for each precinct are reconciled earlier than staff leaves for the day. they are stored in our fireproof vault, which is beneath video surveillance and our safety tactics require two-person manage to enter. The ballots are kept there in precinct order except they're opened and counted right through a public meeting of the Canvassing Board.
Can the ballots be copied?somebody these days requested me about the possibility of somebody making copies of the ballots and mailing them to the workplace. Our mail ballots can not be simply photocopied. In a ordinary election, they're both 8.5×17″ or 8.5×19″ which isn't normal letter or felony dimension paper purchasable at Staples or office Depot. The paper inventory is customized for our excessive-speed scanners, no longer the general 20lb reproduction paper. although someone have been to acquire the suitable measurement paper come what may, the reproduction couldn't be skewed or low-nice. Even our printing in-condo is carried out with precision settings because the encoding marks need to be printed on the paper within a specific threshold in an effort to be read via our scanners. I don't agree with there's a copier desktop which could recreate our pollprecisely. in reality, our opening groups are proficient to seek photocopies (and more than one pollin a n envelope). sure, this occurs. For some thing intent, we get hold of one or two copies per election. They're convenient to establish as a result of they are the inaccurate measurement, often skewed, low-excellent and tons lighter than the legitimate ballots. notwithstanding the opening teams did not notice it, any replica paper or skewed ballot will not scan. Our tabulation team and the Canvassing Board members are staring at this whole method. We don't tabulate mail ballots in a dark alley at the back of the workplace. All of this is finished in a public assembly of the Canvassing Board.
The photocopy state of affairs additionally does not bear in mind the legal requirement for a voter's identity to be validated. with a purpose to vote with the aid of mail, a citizen ought to be registered to vote and supply identification on the time of registering. If no id is supplied, the voter must return a copy of their identity together with their balloting substances and comprehensive an affidavit. to ensure that a mail pollto matter, the signature on the returned voter's certificate must in shape the signature on file. every some of the thousands of mail pollenvelope signatures are reviewed through educated Elections office body of workers, a procedure which takes many hours. within the most recent election, we reviewed over 16,000 signatures. If there's a difference, the pollis escalated for evaluate through two other group of workers individuals. A voter whose ballot signature is lacking or doesn't fit is contacted by means of mail, mobilephone and/or el ectronic mail instantly and urged to comprehensive an affidavit. They need to deliver image identification to "treatment" the signature change. If the ballot return envelope isn't signed, the pollcannot remember except the equal affidavit and identification are offered. lower back to reconcilliation…
ballot reconciliation happens a couple of times day after day all the way through in-person balloting, comparing the number of voters checked in to the variety of ballots disbursed to the number of votes solid on the tabulator. throughout early voting, we use ballot-on-demand (BOD) printers. I decide on on-demand pollprinters as a result of they're correct and reasonably-priced, saving funds and unused overstock. The ballots are simplest printed as they are vital. The physical voted ballots are lower back to the workplace by way of Elections office staff after the close of each early balloting day. the following day, the early balloting ballots are sorted by using location with the aid of precinct so that they can also be in comparison to the general voter verify-in by using vicinity. The voted ballots are kept inner a locked metal cage in our warehouse, which is below video surveillance and again, our safety tactics require two-grownup manage to enter.
On Election Day, we order pre-printed ballots, and hence these reconciliation strategies consist of evaluating the votes solid versus the variety of clean ballots last. Our precinct clerks are required to reconcile their totals every hour right through the day. Election Day ballots' closing reconciliation is performed after the precinct laptop totals are established on Election nighttime. The department of State requires a reconciliation report following each countywide election.
put up-ELECTION AUDITWe audit every election in Flagler County. One race and one precinct are selected randomly by way of the Canvassing Board, and the paper ballots for the selected precinct and race are counted with the aid of hand. The aim of the audit is to be sure the ballots fit the tabulation totals. The precinct-stage outcomes don't seem to be released until after the manual Audit has been accomplished, so the counting group doesn't know the precinct outcomes. The tabulation totals are in comparison to the hand-counted totals for each and every candidate and every race for each vote category and ballot style. in the past 12 years, each audit has been one hundred% accurate.
network safetyThe truth is there are so many layers of security that it turns into not handiest complex to explain however difficult for a person to take note with out simple competencies of elections administration and expertise. it's also elaborate to balance sufficient clarification to promote knowing with out giving away the keys to the fort. Our community security is where things actually get pleasing. when I started working during this office 12 years ago, we did not have a dedicated IT workforce grownup. Our IT wants were outsourced and serviced by way of a retired IT skilled in Volusia county. again in those days, office group of workers contributors used to maintain passwords written on sticky notes or in a Rolodex on their desks. to claim that our community and cybersecurity have been better could be the understatement of the yr. I cannot element the hardware, utility types, settings, and add-ons of our IT systems, however i can give a listing of advancements on the ground s that 2015. many of these improvements had been made in response to our department of homeland security chance assessments, cybersecurity practising, and the Joint Election security Initiative with the department of State.
network protection improvements seeing that 2015:In preparation for 2022, we're working on a backup connection to the state Voter Registration equipment (FVRS), setting up RFID for auditable entry controls to sensitive areas in the office and plan to complete our implementation of the CIS (middle for internet protection) controls.
Please contact me at once you probably have any questions concerning election security.
Kaiti LenhartSupervisor of ElectionsPhone: (386) 313-4170Email: Contact kind
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