JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Election integrity has become a huge issue for many voters since 2020, and with the arrival of Super Tuesday, many have questions about how safe their votes are.
Clay County Supervisor of Elections Chris Chambless is one of only a few dozen officials to be part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Task Force to ensure elections are secure in 2024.
Chambless, who has a lengthy history as a top elections official in Florida, traveled to Washington D.C. last month to meet with DHS officials to discuss election integrity.
He joined us Tuesday on “Vote 2024: Path to the Polls” to share his insights and reassure voters that their ballots are secure.
Chambless acknowledged concerns around generative A.I.
“You really have to be on your game with regards to artificial intelligence,” Chambless said. “They have A.I. now that can generate malicious code with an individual having coding knowledge.”
But he said the elections tabulation equipment is never connected to the internet -- ever.
“Also tabulation equipment is always under two-person control, sealed, locked when it gets delivered to the polling location,” Chambless said.
Chambless said every process in elections is a public event.
“We welcome public scrutiny for that,” he said, adding that he’s heard claims that bad actors could penetrate and interfere with the election systems.
That’s just not true, he said.
“Never has been the case as a matter of fact,” Chambless said. “There has never been a reported tabulation penetration in all of our nation. I think that’s very important to note.”
Chambless said that after the election, workers verify the known result from the tabulation system against the paper trail of ballots.
Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday is the single biggest day of the 2024 primary campaign with voters in 15 states and American Samoa casting ballots -- although not Florida or Georgia.
As the day with the most delegates up for stake, strong performances by President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump would move them much closer to becoming their party’s nominee -- although that seems all but inevitable.
“I think we know at this point who the two nominees are going to be,” said “Hand On Government” host Chris Hand, who joined us on Tuesday’s “Path to the Polls” to break down the importance of Super Tuesday.
Hand pointed out that Nikki Haley has outlasted a variety of better-known figures in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
“Win, lose or draw in the 2024 GOP nomination contest, a lot more people know who Nikki Haley is and what she stands for than the did before this started,” Hand said.
Hand said despite the protest last week in Michigan that saw about 100,000 voters cast a ballot for “Uncommitted,” it’s unlikely Biden will do anything but sweep the Democratic delegates on Super Tuesday.
This week’s “Vote 2024: Path to the Polls” episode is available On Demand on News4JAX.com, News4JAX+ and our YouTube Channel.