Election Officials Say Florida Vote Is Secure

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - Florida elections officials have pushed back at suggestions that this year's voting results could be hacked or otherwise threatened by a cyberattack.

Two recent columns in The Washington Post, including one by an expert in cybersecurity, raised the possibility of a foreign power hacking U.S. voting machines.

In an open letter to Florida voters, the president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, Chris Chambless, tried to tamp down any concerns.

Chambless said cybersecurity for voting machines "is a matter of national security" but reiterated that there are no reports of a threat to elections results. He also emphasized that Florida has taken steps to secure its ballot count and that virtually all Florida voters cast optical-scan ballots, which resemble standardized tests.

"At the core of the security of Florida voting systems is the fact that we are a paper ballot state. ... Should any disruption or corruption in the transmission of vote totals occur, we can always refer to the original paper ballot," wrote Chambless.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has also raised the prospect of the election being "rigged," but his accusations appear to hinge on voter fraud instead of security concerns.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.