Texas election systems are safe from hackers — so far. As more than 20 other states grapple with hackers targeting their voter registration systems, Texas election officials say this state’s electoral system has not been breached. “We haven’t found anything,” Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos told the Star-Telegram. “We don’t have any information … that we have been threatened or that there has been an attempted threat to hack into our systems. “We’ve got protocols in place, safety valves in place, to alert us to something like that.” Federal officials are offering few details or specifics about why voting systems across the country are being hacked. They do, however, say that the target has been voter databases, not actual voting systems. FBI Director James Comey said, “There’s no doubt that some bad actors have been poking around.” And he stressed that the FBI is trying to determine “what mischief is Russia up to in connection with our election.”
Even though Texas has yet to be affected, that doesn’t mean the state is immune. “We should be alert because other states have had intrusions into their electoral systems,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
“There is no indication that any electoral outcomes have been compromised, but the fact that people are trying to hack into voter registration lists — and potentially into the voting computer systems — causes concern,” he said.
In this already highly unusual election year, 18 states have turned to Homeland Security officials for cybersecurity help after suspected breaches in their election systems were found. These breaches — which many say are not expected to affect the election — gave critics even more ammunition to question the integrity of U.S. elections.
Full Article: Is it safe to vote in Texas? | The Star-Telegram.