Some personal voter information could have been gleaned from Washington’s online search tool for several months because of a problem with an update of the system, state elections officials said Friday. That problem was fixed shortly after it was pointed out in a complaint to the state Office of Cyber Security by Tina Podlodowski, the Democratic candidate for secretary of state. Podlodowski, who has criticized incumbent Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman over voter data security, said Friday the problem was brought to her attention by “a couple of concerned citizens” and she confirmed it by checking her own registration information online.
“The secretary of state needs to take this seriously,” Podlodowski said. “I think (Wyman) needs to apologize to voters.”
In a prepared statement, Wyman did apologize for the error, adding she takes it very seriously and was relieved no systemwide “harvesting” of data happened before it was fixed. The information that could be accessed was not more sensitive data, like Social Security or Driver’s License numbers.
“In this climate of political polarization and hyperpartisanship, I want to thank my opponent for her role in notifying my office of the design flaw,” Wyman said. “We all have to work together to protect each other.”
Full Article: Update to Washington’s Online Search Tool Exposed Voter Info.