The state of Pennsylvania has greatly intensified its election security efforts in previous years. Election Security is the protection of elections and voting infrastructure from cyber threat, including the tampering with or infiltration of voting machines and equipment, election office networks and practices, as well as voter registration databases. The Columbia County Voter Registrations’/Elections inner works gave some insight to learn just how Columbia County is enforcing election security. Matthew Repasky, Chief Registrar and Director of Elections stated that there is not much he can speak on about the inner works of their office, but he did want to stress the fact that they do take extreme measures and that all aspects of the process are fully secured. “Clean sterile thumb drives are used to move material from the machines followed by hand carrying them to central locations to arrange and report results,” Matthew Repasky. Repasky shared his thoughts and opinions on the concerns with voter fraud and rumors around “tampered ballots’ in the previous 2020 presidential election year. Everything is barcoded, including the ballots for voting, meaning, whether votes are cast on hand-marked paper or a machine-marked paper ballot, when tabulated by machines, barcodes are used to count votes, ensuring that there is no chance for a double vote from the same person or for fraud to occur.  

 Some Bloomsburg University students also gave insight on what some young voters know about election security, as well as their thoughts and opinions on voter fraud in the past election. Preston Cleaver, third year, Business Administration Major student at Bloomsburg University stated, “I do believe that voter fraud occurred in the 2020 presidential election, and I just don’t think there is any evidence against it at this point that could make me think otherwise.” Olivia Hubler, third year biology major at Bloomsburg Campus, had exclaimed that she didn’t know all of what election security entailed before the interview, she went on to state, “I was always skeptical of the voter fraud rumors in the past election, after speaking with you it really makes me feel like my opinion has strong evidence to support it, with all the security measures around in these offices, especially our own county’s, I find it hard to believe there could have been any chance of fraud in the past election, especially not that dramatic of claims.” On January 1st, 2024, “The Hill,” released a report stating that, “About one third of U.S. adults say they believe President Biden was not legitimately elected president of the United States in 2020, according to a poll released this week.” Among democrats, 91 percent say Biden was legitimately elected, a slight dip from 94 percent in two years ago, and 66 percent of independents say the incumbent was legitimately elected, down from 72 percent in December 2021. The biggest drop in those who said the 2020 election results were legitimate came from Republicans, 31 percent in 2022, down from 39 percent two years earlier. The country’s opinions on whether the 2020 presidential election was properly secured fluctuates in numbers every so often, some like the previously interviewed, Olivia Hubler, come to a solidified opinion in a positive light after being educated on election security. While others, like Preston Cleaver, remain standing with their opinions and concerns regarding our election’s security. It is vital that the public and voters/potential voters continue to be educated on the topic of Election Security, especially in their own county, so they can feel assured that their votes and others are properly secured.  

In relation to our upcoming 2024 presidential election, The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has a new project in place called, #Project2024. CISA is the lead federal agency entrusted with securing the nation’s elections infrastructure. As a part of the #Project2024 initiative, CISA developed a webpage to serve as a central point for consolidated critical resources, training lists, and security service offerings to support the over 8,000 election jurisdictions for the 2024 election cycle. Election Security plays a vital role in elections, it is important that those who are directly involved with the elections understand exactly what they could and should be doing to ensure maximum safety for the presidential elections.