OPINION: Ensuring a safe and secure election in 2024

Hundreds of thousands of Alaskans will head to the polls this fall to cast their vote. Underpinning this democratic process are the countless election officials who work tirelessly year-round to make this possible. On election night and over the days to follow, election officials will be tabulating, auditing and working to certify the election results.

I recently visited Alaska and met with the state director of the Division of Elections, Carol Beecher, and her staff. That visit showed me how seriously Alaskan election officials take their responsibility and how hard they work to ensure every vote is counted as cast.

As a former Washington state election director and former local election official, I know firsthand the incredible amount of work that goes into the planning and preparation for each election. And that experience has also taught me why serving as a local election official is one of the most critical jobs in our nation.

These election workers are our friends and our neighbors. They are the people you see at the grocery store or at your child’s basketball games. It is because of their efforts that the American people should have confidence in the security and integrity of our election system.

If my 28 years as an election official have taught me anything, it’s for voters to have confidence that their vote will be counted as cast.

I have served in roles at the county, state, and now the federal level, as the Election Security Advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), I can safely say I have never been more confident in the effort our election officials are putting forth to make certain our elections remain safe and secure.

CISA serves as the federal government lead in working with election officials to secure our elections process against a wide range of physical and cyber risks. We are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with elections officials as they face an increasingly complex threat environment. CISA is working with election officials throughout the state to improve the cybersecurity defenses of election infrastructure from malicious actors and to reduce physical security risks to election workers and facilities.

CISA provides services such as on-site physical and cybersecurity assessments where CISA field staff literally walk around our election offices looking for potential physical or cyber vulnerabilities and then provide options to address them. This helps ensure the safety of our election workers and the security of the elections process overall.

In recent years, we have also seen an increase in threats and harassment against election workers. Any threat of violence against an election official or anyone else working to safeguard our democracy is completely unacceptable. These officials are public servant heroes. To help election officials mitigate this threat, CISA is working with Alaska election offices to provide training on issues such as de-escalating tense situations, active shooter preparedness, and other emerging physical threats.

As part of CISA’s effort to keep our elections safe, we have developed an additional campaign aimed at helping the election community and the public. Called #Protect2024, this effort focuses on coordinating support across the federal government, with our election partners, and with the private sector, non-profits, and the American people to help ensure the security and resilience of election infrastructure.

#Protect2024 also provides broad information on disinformation tactics used by foreign adversaries and shares accurate information about election infrastructure security through our Election Security Rumor vs. Reality webpage. The Alaska Division of Elections has its own “Post-Election FAQ” webpage that explains aspects of the Alaskan elections process that voters may have questions about and to reassure them about the security and accuracy of Alaskan elections. We urge everyone to look to election officials for the most accurate and up-to-date information about election processes and to remain patient as election officials carry out the certification processes.

We know bad actors are targeting our elections process and will likely continue to do so. But the good news is that election officials have risen to the challenge of meeting evolving threat environments to defend American democracy for almost 250 years.

U.S. elections remain an attractive target for both nation-states and cybercriminals. Throughout the 2024 election cycle, CISA will be steadfast in our support to election officials and private sector election infrastructure partners in addressing the physical, cyber and operational security risks they face.

Please know there are some amazing people working hard right here in the great state of Alaska to ensure your vote is counted fairly and accurately. I urge you to trust the process and support these amazing workers.

Lori Augino serves as election security advisor for the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Region 10.

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