Tag Archives: ballot

Hackers breach election databases in Illinois, Arizona

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State officials in Illinois and Arizona say their election database systems were hacked, compromising voters’ personal information. 

 

By Wesley Bruer and Evan Perez, CNN

 
Hackers have breached databases for election systems in Illinois and Arizona, according to state election and law enforcement officials.
 
In Illinois, hackers accessed a database for the Illinois Board of Elections, compromising up to 200,000 personal voter records according to Ken Menzel, General Counsel for the board.
 
The FBI is investigating the hack, which initially occurred in late June and was discovered in July. It was first reported by Yahoo. Officials with the Board of Elections are “highly confident they (the hackers) weren’t able to change anything, although the investigation is still going on” according to Menzel.
 
The Illinois database included voters’ names, addresses, sex and birthdays in addition to other information. Some of the records include either last four digits of a voter’s social security number or drivers’ license numbers. The database is comprised of records for 15 million individuals and is 10 years old. Not all outdated information has been purged, according to Menzel, so some of those records likely include information for deceased voters or those who have subsequently moved.
 
According to Matthew Roberts, Director of Communications for the Arizona Secretary of State, in late May, Arizona officials took the statewide voting registration system offline after the FBI alerted the Arizona Department of Administration that there was a credible cyber threat to the voter registration system.
 
When they took the system offline to review any vulnerabilities, they discovered that a county election official’s username and password had been posted online publicly. It’s believed that a worker may have inadvertently downloaded a virus which exposed the username and password. In this instance, the username and password information posted would only give individuals access to a localized, county version of the voting registration system, and not the entire state-wide system.
 
Roberts says there is no evidence that any data within the system was compromised and there was no evidence of malware present in the database.
 
The breaches are causing concern among election officials because of the voter personal information that could have been stolen, not because of any fear that an election could be stolen, law enforcement officials say.
 
States have a variety of systems — some better than others — but the voting machines and tabulating systems are generally not connected to the internet, which would be the vulnerability hackers would use to compromise the electoral system.
 
The Department of Homeland Security is unaware of any specific credible threat to the electoral systems, according to a law enforcement official.
 
Election databases are attractive targets to hackers because they contain personal information that can be cobbled together with other data to help criminals steal money.
 
DHS has offered to help states increase security of their systems, but states have rebuffed federal help and largely believe their systems are secure. DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson held a conference call recently to discuss whether DHS should declare electoral systems as critical infrastructure, which triggers more involvement from the federal government. States have resisted those moves.
 
In a statement, FBI spokesperson Jillian Stickels said, “While we cannot comment on specific alerts, what I can say is that in furtherance of public-private partnerships, the FBI routinely advises private industry of various cyber threat indicators observed during the course of our investigations. This data is provided in order to help systems administrators guard against the actions of persistent cyber criminals.”
 
Illinois officials say it’s been a challenge to identify everyone whose records were compromised as they have to sort through the 109 jurisdictions that may have been affected. According to Menzel, they are working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to figure out who was responsible.
 
Menzel says the board is not concerned about the integrity of the voting system and does not expect the breach to impact the upcoming general election.
 
Illinois voting machines are not connected to the internet in any way, according to Menzel. Most voters in Illinois use an optical scan ballot but some jurisdictions do have touch screen machines to comply with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations. In some large counties, such as Cook County, at the end of the voting day, early unofficial voting results are reported back and sent via cell phone signal but they have encryption protection. Arizona largely uses paper ballots and also has touch screen machines.
 
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Illinois voters to see transportation money ballot question

(CHICAGO) When Illinois voters head to the polls in November, the first ballot question won’t be for presidential candidates, but a measure aimed at protecting the state’s transportation-related funding from being used for other purposes.

The proposed constitutional amendment seeks to prevent money generated through tolls, taxes and other transportation-related sources from being spent elsewhere. It’s the only lawmaker-generated ballot measure and was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Backers include unions and the construction industry. They claim the so-called “lockbox amendment” will protect Illinois’ infrastructure and economy by ensuring money is used for road and bridge repair work and transportation jobs. They launched an ad campaign Tuesday.

To succeed, the measure needs either 60 percent of those voting on the measure or a majority of those voting in the election.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Quinn skips Nov. ballot for term limit measure

APNewsbreak

(CHICAGO)  Former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says a voter referendum aimed at imposing term limits on Chicago’s mayor and creating a consumer advocacy position won’t make the November ballot.

Quinn told The Associated Press he’s short of the roughly 53,000 signatures required by a Monday deadline. The Democrat says his goal is to get 100,000 and he’s got roughly 20,000.

He launched the petition drive in June, but wouldn’t say which election. He tells AP he’s aiming for 2018’s primary, when Illinois next elects a governor. Quinn hasn’t definitively ruled out another gubernatorial run.

Quinn says it takes time to build support for a citizen initiative.

He led Illinois’ only successful signature-driven ballot initiative as an activist. The 1980 “cutback amendment” reduced the size of the Illinois House and how residents elect legislators.

 

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.