By james art 
About 40 million people voted early in the presidential election
According to various reports, the early voting total is around 40 million and counting with eight days to go until Election Day.
Straight Arrow News
Early voting is underway, and up to 150 million ballots are expected to be cast statewide by Election Day on Nov. 5, including more than 140,000 in Lubbock County. With this volume of votes and continued concerns about election integrity, local and national officials are sharing tips and reassurances about poll safety.
Lubbock is all too familiar with the threat of cyberattacks. Last month, cyber security attacks hit the Lubbock UMC Health System and Texas Tech Health Sciences Center heavily, straining the region’s health care system.
With the growing threat and recent local events, here’s what you need to know about how the U.S. and local governments are working together to protect the integrity of this year’s elections.
Who Monitors the Security and Integrity of US Elections?
Founded in 2018, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency serves the nation’s cyber defense agency while protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure.
“In 2017, following the fallout from Russia’s attempts to interfere and influence the 2016 presidential election, election infrastructure was designated as critical infrastructure,” said director Jen Easterly. “CISA has been designated as the lead federal government election infrastructure security agency tasked with providing support to those state and local election officials conducting elections.”
Are voting booths protected from cyber attacks?
“The reality is that the election infrastructure has never been more secure,” Easterly said. “No matter who you vote for, you can be confident that your vote will be counted.”
She attributed this certainty to three factors.
Easterly said the voting machines are not connected to the Internet, a feature that Lubbock County elections officials confirmed.
Second, Easterly said 97 percent of registered voters will vote in jurisdictions where they get a paper record they can check. Lubbock County is one of them.
Finally, Easterly said officials have safeguards in place to ensure every vote is counted accurately, such as post-election audits, which Lubbock County does.
Easterly said the ultimate guarantee of U.S. election security is how each state conducts its elections with different machines and processes.
“This diverse and decentralized nature of our election infrastructure is actually a great source of resilience and strength because it means it’s impossible for a malicious player to hack our voting machines in a way that would materially impact the outcome of a presidential election – certainly not without being discovered,” Easterly said.
What are some threats to election security?
“Even as I say, the election infrastructure has never been more secure, we have to recognize that the threat has never been more sophisticated,” Easterly said.
Some of the threats include ransomware attacks — like the one seen at UMC — targeting denial-of-service websites.
“There are very real threats from our external adversaries, such as Russia, Iran, and China, who are conducting malicious influence and disinformation operations with two key goals: first, to undermine American confidence in the integrity of our elections and, more generally, confidence in our democratic institutions and fomenting partisan divisions, pitting Americans against one another,” Easterly said. “We cannot allow this.”
However, some threats appear in a more physical manifestation such as physical threats to election officials, harassment, abuse, beatings, threats of violence to election officials from both parties and their families.
“It’s important for everyone to remember that election officials are not some faceless bureaucrats. They are our family, they are our friends, they are our neighbors,” Easterly said. “We see them in the community every day, and they don’t do this work for the pay or the glory.” They do it because they believe in our democracy and that it is the right thing to do to stand on the front lines of our democracy, ensuring what is most valuable – fair, free, safe and secure elections.”
To learn more about CISA and how it helps protect this year’s elections, visit: www.cisa.gov/protect2024.
How do ballots work in Lubbock County?
When you first arrive, a pollster will register you on a new ‘Poll Pad’. Once registered, you will receive an access code, a privacy folder and a blank ballot and be directed to a voting machine.
From there, you’ll enter your access code on a touchscreen and insert your ballot into the machine. You will then vote as normal and once you are done you will be able to print your ballot on your ballot.
After you get your printed ballot, you can double-check it to make sure it’s accurate. If there is an error, tag one of the pollsters for help.
If you determine that your ballot is accurate, then you will take it to the interaction machine and insert the paper ballot. The machine will read the ballot and drop it into the ballot box below, where it is locked and has multiple seals to prevent tampering.
What can I bring to the polls on election day?
You are required to have some form of identification at the polling booths, including a Texas driver’s license.
If you do not have a driver’s license, then you may carry your US Military ID Card, US Citizenship or Naturalization Certificate, US Passport, Texas Concealed Handgun License Card issued by DPS, or Texas Election ID Card issued from DPS.
If you do not have either of these forms of ID, you can complete a Reasonable Obstacle Declaration form and bring a copy of:
- A government document that shows the voter’s name and address, including the voter registration certificate.
- Current utility bill.
- Bank statement.
- Salary.
- A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a court-admissible birth certificate that establishes the elector’s identity (which may include a foreign birth certificate).
You can also bring your sample ballot to the polling place as long as it is printed, as Texas prohibits the use of electronic devices while voting. To find and print your sample ballot, visit: www.votelubbock.org/voting-information/voter-information-lookup/.