The mass shootings of El Paso, Dayton, Virginia Beach and Sebring–to name very few–are reverberating all the way to the chambers of the Flagler County Commission and the offices of the Supervisor of Elections.
“Five years ago if I’d made this statement people would have said oh, you’re crazy,” County Commissioner Dave Sullivan said at this morning’s meeting. “If somebody came into this room right now and started shooting at us, that’d be horrible, but one of the things people would say was, well, that’s not really a big surprise. I’m serious, that given what’s been going on in this country, shootings in public venues like this or any other place, aren’t a surprise anymore, with three of them in the last four, three or four days. So I think the point in support of extra security measures is that the world has changed, and like it or not, almost any kind of public place and almost any place, but the elections office is one of those places where people can go crazy and get all upset about something. Therefore I think that if the money is available and is not exorbitant, that we should support security improvements to any of our public facilities.”
He made a motion for a supplemental appropriation of $15,300 this year to pay for the security upgrades (one of four supplemental appropriations addressing different needs in county government), which was approved. The $15,300 is not a supplement to the supervisor of elections’ budget, as was previously reported. The money will go into the Government Services Building’s facilities budget as administered by county government.
There will be visible changes at the Supervisor of Elections’ Office. It will be less intimate, its staff less immediately accessible, two of its areas more demarcated by physical barriers: a four-foot high glass separation will divide election staff at the counter that greets visitors, transforming the place into something more like a set of teller windows at a bank. And in the canvassing room, a glass partition will be built around tabulating machines and the big, hulking server, though the server is already encased.
Lenhart acknowledged that there’s never been a security issue involving mishandled or stolen ballots. And the physical changes proposed have nothing to do with addressing the more serious concern, and actual security breach, revealed earlier this year–the Russian hacking of two Florida counties’ supervisors’ offices, neither of which have been identified. Lenhart has said previously that Flagler was not targeted.
Nevertheless, other security concerns are emerging, with physical changes in no small part projecting at least the perception that supervisors are beefing up security, and local officials echoing the push: “That one is just critical. We have to get that fixed,” Commissioner Greg Hansen said this morning (though nothing was said to have been broken). “Her office lends itself to something that could go wrong,” Hansen said.
“We are working very closely with the department of Homeland Security not only for cybersecurity, making sure that our network is secure, but also for physical security. Those two things go hand in hand,” Lenhart said. She did not speak of cybersecurity measures.
Speaking to commissioners this morning, Lenhart said the analysis included a look at locks on the doors, security systems in place, how close is the parking lot to the front of the office, and so on. And she recalled the 2018 recount: “Many of you were there,” she told commissioners, “we saw that there were some people that were close enough to actually reach and touch a ballot. If they had had the idea they could have reached over and grabbed something from the tabulation system.”
Though the office was designed not long after the historic 2000 election, which had several Florida counties in the glare of international attention (Flagler’s turn never came) it was not designed with big crowds in mind. The enclosure around the balloting machine would fix that seeming flaw. “This glass enclosure would really lend itself to maintaining the transparency of the process, but also keeping our ballots secure,” Lenhart said. She terms the teller-style separation “a half-wall glass barrier,” and says the glass would be shatter-resistant but not bullet-proof.
At least one commissioner, Commission Chairman Donald O’Brien, thought part of the plan was “overkill.”
O’Brien noted that the supervisor’s office doesn’t take in any cash, especially not compared to the tax collector’s office on the same first floor of the same building, where much larger sums are transacted. Such departments “have a lot greater security issues that we haven’t addressed. That’s the only part I guess I just felt a little at a loss,” O’Brien said.
Lenhart said her front-counter staff doesn’t handle much cash but does handle mail ballots, which she called “priceless.”
“If we were ever to have someone come in, to jump the counter, you just never know,” Lenhart said. “When we have people assembling packages on the other side of a counter that’s not very high, even a tall person could reach over and grab something if someone were to walk away.”
O’Brien maintained his difference of opinion on the issue but voted with the majority to approve the $15,300 expenditure. The new measures should be in place ahead of October’s duties at the elections office, when staffers begin preparation for the March 5 presidential primary.
Lenhart Letter on Security Measures, With Images:
Click to access lenhart-letter-july-2019.pdf
Dave says
We need to come together to pass a law banning ALL sales of ALL SEMI AUTOMATIC guns that use external magazines period,no exceptions.
ello says
Thank you Dave for being logical but big $ talks.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
Dave says it all. Background checks and proof of mental fitness must be required to purchase . Handguns only does not violate the 2nd amendment which was written when guns were powder loaded
I am basically a Trump fan on many issues but totally disagree with his interpretation of the 2nd amendment and I think the NRA are a bunch of heartless ,corrupt and greedy bastards that make the Mafia look like saints.
Concerned Citizen says
I understand the need for security and surely don’t mean to down play it. However…
I’m more concerned about the security and integrity of our voting system. What steps have been taken to prevent outside sources from compromising electronic voting? What about voter fraud? And most importantly what about making sure your staff accuratley count votes so that time and resources aren’t wasted on recounts?
I think considering what we continue to hear about these are legitimate concerns. Voting is an awesome privlidge and one ALL Americans need to take seriously.
tulip says
Banning sales of automatic or assault weapons won’t do much good because there are hundreds of thousands already out there. But, if they banned the sales of the magazines that go in them, with the exception of military and law enforcement, then wouldn’t that at least render the private assault weapons useless because law enforcement and military would have a particular place they could buy them and it wouldn’t be in all the public gun shops.
Who would have ever thought people would have to consider the fact they could be shot at the SOE, or any place where they work, shop, play and gather for events. I worry for the young people growing up in this new way of living. Makes Mayberry seem wonderful.
Kaiti Lenhart says
Concerned Citizen –
I’d like the opportunity to address your concerns. First of all, electronic voting will not be legal anywhere in Florida for the 2020 election cycle. In 2017, we upgraded our voting system with a Federal grant, and since that time, all voters in Flagler County use a paper ballot which provides a verifiable paper trail. We audit every election with a hand-count of the ballots to match against the machine totals. These audits have been 100% accurate for the past 10 years here in Flagler. All ballots are reconciled and accounted for and all of our county results are cross-checked and reported to the Division of Elections ahead of statutory deadlines. This is our procedure for every election cycle.
Cybersecurity is my top priority and there have been many improvements over the past several years. We have been working with the Department of Homeland Security since 2017 to secure our network and voting system. Every election official across the country must remain vigilant as these threats are ever changing. We are working with the Department of State in the recently announced Joint Election Security Initiative, which will be similar to the cyber risk and vulnerability assessment we completed ahead of the 2018 election cycle. Cybersecurity is relevant not only to your Elections Office, but every state and local government agency. Phishing and ransomware continue to be the most widely used tactics. Please see our Election Security page for more information about Flagler County’s efforts to protect your vote: https://www.flaglerelections.com/election-security
We have many measures in place to prevent voter fraud, however, one unresolved issue is dual-state voter registration. Many people who move to Florida do not cancel their voter registration in another state. The Legislature authorized a solution several years ago but our Department of State has not yet joined the ERIC (Electronic Registration Information Center) to identify those dual registered and initiate procedures for removal. There is still time for Florida to join and begin this process ahead of 2020. I am serving on the ERIC Implementation Committee along with other Supervisors across the state of Florida to help make that happen. More info: https://ericstates.org/
I must disagree that time and resources are wasted on recounts. Florida has close elections. The Commissioner of Agriculture margin in 2018 was 0.04% out of over 8 million votes cast. In Florida, a recount is required for any race with a margin less than one-half percent. We nearly conducted a recount due to a close race in the most recent 2019 City of Bunnell election. The historic recount of 2018 was a success in Flagler County due to the upgraded voting system and our thorough ballot security and chain of custody procedures. Our machine recount (re-tabulation of all ballots) compared to the unofficial results reported on November 8, 2018 show an increase of only one ballot. This one ballot was a known anomaly and I spoke to the voter personally on Election Day. The Flagler County voting system is accurate and my staff is a team of dedicated and trained election professionals who understand that your vote is precious. We work very hard to ensure every eligible voter is registered and every vote is counted. Why? Because voter confidence in the electoral process is a contributing factor to turnout. A well-informed and active electorate builds a healthy community.
Anyone who has a question concerning election security is welcomed to call me directly at (386) 313-4170.
Ian says
So what do you propose is the solution?Just leave all of us law abiding citizens without arms?And what about the MILLIONS out there already,that bought them all legally!I myself own tens of thousands of dollars in firearms–ALL PURCHASED LEGALLY.Whos gonna reimburse that?Your a clown,dosnt even make sense.Chicago has some of the TOUGHEST gun laws,as well as Oakland,CA and the HIGHEST rate of gun violence anywere.Only ones that are unarmed in those areas are the law abiding citizens.
Tom says
What a waste of $