Clark County meets state cybersecurity requirements — just in time for early voting

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The Clark County Board of Elections successfully completed all security updates required by the Ohio Secretary of State — just in time for the start of early voting Wednesday.

On Feb. 5, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose named Clark County as one of a handful of counties in the state that had not yet meet the full requirements of a 34-point security checklist released by his office in 2019.

The updated security measures are meant to provide a broad defense against any attack on election infrastructure, according to LaRose.

Jason Baker, the director for the county’s board of elections, said in a statement Tuesday night that the county had completed all of the security updates.

More on the security requirements: Clark County working to meet cybersecurity requirements for March elections

Baker said the board had to complete a checklist of 34 separate requirements in order to be considered compliant.

The checklist laid out by LaRose’s office focused on five different aspects of election security; physical security assessments and improvements, background checks of personnel, secure website and email domains, cyber-attack detection, system hardening and network defense and security training.

“The specifics of the checklist essentially serve as Ohio’s detailed defense plan against adversaries who seek to disrupt our elections,” Baker said.

LaRose said in a statement Clark County should be proud of the board of elections for successfully completing the checklist.

“The voters in Clark County should be proud of their local Board of Elections for successfully embracing such a big challenge,” LaRose said. “By elevating their defensive posture, they’ve helped make Ohio a national model for election security.”

Clark County residents who wish to take part in early voting, which kicked off Wednesday, can do so at the board of elections office located at 3130 E. Main St. in Springfield.

The board’s hours are: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays from Feb. 19 to March 6; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 7; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 9 to March 13; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 14; 1 to 5 p.m. March 15 and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on March 16.

The primary election will be held on Tuesday, March 17.

Read more on local primary candidates: Today is deadline to register to vote for March elections

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