JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With Florida’s presidential primary a little bit more than a month out, Duval County’s top elections official said his staff has been hard at work to make sure there won’t be election night delays or any other problems.
Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan knows concerns were raised about election security in 2016 when Russian hackers gained access to election records in two Florida counties. He is also aware that emails were sent to Duval County in an unsuccessful bid to break into the county’s election system.
But Hogan said the past few months have been laser-focused on making sure local election security is airtight and that there’s no room for error, either due to equipment or software.
“We had to go through every single tabulator — that’s almost 300 — and install the new systems that make it harder or more difficult to be hacked,” Hogan told News4Jax on Tuesday.
He said nearly $600,000 has been invested in the past year making significant upgrades to computer and security systems in Duval County to head off any potential problems before they occur.
“The state of Florida has included in their staff a cybersecurity group,” Hogan said. “They’ve already investigated all of our facilities and access to all of our systems. They’ve tried to get in and hack it. They’ve looked at everything and given us a clean bill of health.”
There are new camera systems at the elections office and upgrades to the voter check-in system known as EViD, which verifies voter registration when people check in to vote. Below is a table of how the money has been spent, based on data provided by the state.
| Description | Cost per Budget | Funds Expended |
|---|---|---|
| Security cameras in Supervisor of Elections Office | $14,475 | $13,432 |
| Security cameras at Election Center | $16,740 | $15,573 |
| BOD Laptop upgrades | $25,396 | $0 |
| EViD update to Windows 10 | $112,320 | $112,860 |
| New EViD | $276,055 | $300,235 |
| SUBTOTAL | $444,986 | $442,100 |
| DS 200 Modem upgrades | $90,000 | $97,500 |
| DS 200 Battery replacement | $55,250 | $50,150 |
| SUBTOTAL | $145,250 | $147,650 |
| TOTAL | $590,236 | $589,750 |
Vote-by-mail ballots have already been sent out to registered voters who are members of the military. On Thursday, ballots will be sent out to everyone else who has requested them.
It’s important to note that next month’s primary is a closed primary, which means that you won’t be able to cast a vote unless you’re a registered Democrat or Republican. Hogan said there is still time to register or change your party affiliation if you want to take part in the closed primary.
Feb. 18 is the last day to register, change your address or your party affiliation in order to vote in Florida’s presidential primary. If you have yet to register to vote, you can get more information at registertovoteflorida.gov/home.
Early voting begins March 2 and the primary is on March 17.