Who’s in charge: Secretary of State John R. Ashcroft
Security in action: Missouri recently held a National Election Security Summit in St. Louis to discuss and share best practices as well as usable steps to mitigate threats and vulnerabilities concerning the upcoming election. Missouri was allotted $7.2 million in federal funds for election security to train local officials in cybersecurity, update the state voter registration system and audit voting equipment to make sure they are accurately recording ballots.
The state has also recently enacted voter ID laws in June 2017 which outlined identification options for registered voters to use on Election Day at their polling locations. The state also offers free photo ID’s to those who don’t have them.
“Missouri works on a multitude of levels to ensure the voter registration system is secure, and works with the Department of Homeland Security on a daily basis to protect systems. We monitor our networks constantly, and use third-party vendors as an added layer of security. It’s important to note that Missouri has 116 election jurisdictions, and our office certifies voting systems approved for use, all of which are required to produce a paper audit trail. Each local election authority makes independent decisions on the voting software and machines they use.” A state spokesperson said.
