VOICES: Ohio and Clark County working harder than ever to protect elections

It has always been important that the voters of Clark County be confident in the security and integrity of their election system. After all, democracy itself relies on the participation and faith of the citizens it serves. This year, even more than usual, the Clark County Board of Elections wants to reiterate to the voters of the county that their elections can be trusted. This letter will serve to highlight the features of our election system that exist to ensure fairness, integrity, and transparency.

Since 2019, physical and cyber security have been top priorities for election offices across the state. Following multiple security directives which have been issued by the Secretary of State over the last five years, Clark County has enhanced all aspects of its security practices. To prevent malicious intrusion, networks are segregated and protected by the latest technological interventions, physical security measures, good cyber hygiene practices, and frequent staff training. Designated “critical infrastructure,” election systems are under the scrutiny of Homeland Security, which includes vulnerability scanning, training opportunities, and physical security assessments. All areas of the office and parking lot are under constant video surveillance.

In addition to physical and cyber security measures there are a number of practices and policies that ensure the integrity of the election. Elections are staffed in a bipartisan manner, with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans on the Board, in the office, and serving as poll workers on Election Day. The most sensitive areas of the office, where ballots and voting equipment are stored, are under double lock, meaning that a key belonging to a Democratic staff member and a key belonging to a Republican staff member are required to open those areas. Voting equipment is also stored in steel security carts to ensure that security is maintained when the equipment is delivered to polling places for Election Day. As required by law, all voting equipment is tested before every election in a process called Logic and Accuracy testing. This testing ensures that the equipment not only works, but that it tabulates ballots the way they are marked. This is done by marking a certain number of ballots, counting those ballots by hand, and then scanning them through the tabulators to ensure that the numbers match. No machine that fails this testing can be deployed. After the election is complete the machines are tested again by a post-election audit, in which at least 5% of the ballots cast in the election are hand-counted and compared against the machine-tabulated result. Ohio requires the records pertaining to these tests to be publicly available, and most of the activities performed at the Board office are either conducted in a public meeting (as required by Ohio’s open records and meetings laws) or can be observed by duly appointed election observers.

It is not only voting equipment and ballots that require protection: our voter registration database has also received numerous security upgrades in addition to the steps that have long been taken to ensure its accuracy and integrity. Ohio has a statewide voter registration database that is used to identify and resolve duplicate registrations in the state. If someone moves to Clark County and registers to vote, this system identifies whether they are already registered in another county, and if so there is a process to merge the voter records to eliminate the duplicate. Likewise, deceased Ohioans are removed from the voter database monthly using Ohio Department of Health death records as well as records identified by the Secretary of State’s office through the State and Territorial Exchange of Vital Events system. If any family member wishes to proactively have a deceased loved one removed from the voter rolls, they may do so by providing a certified copy of the death certificate. The system is also monitored for voters who may have moved using the National Change of Address system and by comparing records to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles database.

Ohio and Clark County are working harder than ever to protect all aspects of the voting system. Voters should know that the system is designed to identify and eliminate or mitigate threats. Voters who want to see the system working in person are encouraged to sign up to be a poll worker by calling our office or visiting www.voteohio.gov and filling out an application. It is an important and rewarding activity and many long-serving poll workers report an immense sense of pride and civic duty related to serving. We also want to create an opportunity for the general public to visit our office and see the above-mentioned security measures in action during our “Behind the Ballots Tour” that will take place in late September. On this tour visitors will learn how ballots are created, printed, and scanned, how tabulation equipment is maintained, monitored, tested, and stored, and the various physical and cyber security measures in place. By continuing to follow the election laws of Ohio and foster transparency and accountability, we will foster trust among the voters in Clark County and across the state of Ohio. We encourage voters to follow us on social media (we are on Facebook, Instagram, and X) and visit our website at https://www.boe.ohio.gov/clark regularly for updates and election information.