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Can voting booths be hacked on election day?

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Inside the Lehigh County elections office, employees are getting their ducks in a row 69 days before the election.

"I didn't go to bed last night thinking I was going to fight the Russians," said Tim Benyo, the director of elections.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has asked the FBI to investigate the threat of a Russian cyber-attack during the general election amid reports that hackers infiltrated one state board of election and targeted another.

"It's highly unlikely. The machines are secured," Benyo said.

Lehigh County's electronic voting machines are stored in a secure location, are offline, and cannot be hacked, and they are certified by the Pennsylvania Department of State and the federal government to be hooked to the internet, Benyo said.

Voter registration names, however, are online. A computer expert said it's conceivable the state-run site could be hacked and names could be deleted, but Benyo said that would not rig the election, as provisional ballots would be used.

"Locally, polling places, it would cause delays. People could be looking for names. Workers would have to check and figure out if they are registered somewhere," Benyo added.

Benyo said there has been talk for years of allowing people to vote online, but with all the talk of hackers, he said that idea is now delayed.


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