The Greater Peoria League of Women Voters hosted its Drinks and Dialogue event at the Lariat Steakhouse on Glen Avenue on Aug. 15. Thomas Bride, Peoria County Election Commission executive director, was there to discuss “The Security of Voting Systems and Voter Rights.” (Photo by Holly Eitenmiler / for Chronicle Media)

As suspicions of hacking continue to abound since the 2016 presidential elections, voters rights and voting security remain top-of-mind for many citizens.

On Aug. 15, the League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria (LWVGP) met at the Lariat Steakhouse in Peoria for its Drinks and Dialogue event to discuss those topics.

Peoria County Election Commission Election Director Thomas Bride was on hand to address those concerns, and explain what’s being done to foster voter trust at a local level.

“Would it be accurate,” asked an attendee, “that while Illinois is listed as the worst state for hacking, Peoria County is a secure county?”

Bride said he was aware of the Homeland Security report that stated Illinois was top on the list, and that Russians likely tampered with the state’s voting systems. Those reports, he said, are erroneous.

“I would not say Illinois is the worst. Illinois got accessed and singled out,” Bride explained. “I would be more confident to vote in Illinois than I would some other states and there are lot of jurisdictions that are doing great. Peoria County is doing great.”

There are issues, he said, with small jurisdictions, and the difficulty those places have with manpower. Many of the smaller polling places need more election judges and field support staff. It’s a problem that could be remedied with vote centers, which are employed heavily in Colorado and Indiana.

Instead of voting at a specified location on election day, there would be fewer polling places, but they would be accessible to all, as it is with early voting.

“You go to any of the locations within the county on election day and vote,” Bride said. “If you see a “Vote Here” sign on election day, you just walk in there and vote.”

Peoria and other counties have encountered a bit of bureaucratic red tape when it comes to voting centers, but Bride believes the transition will eventually happen.

“I keep pushing it … we’ll get there,” he said. “It’s very doable. We have the technology and the only catch is, we’d have to print ballots on demand, and we can do that.”

The League of Women Voters at the national level has made voting rights a top issue. (Photo courtesy of lwv.org)

Regardless of polling place locations, there still remains grave concern over the integrity of the cybersecurity that governs ballot systems. Bride was asked about voter records, and how the release of that information is managed.

“I know there are companies and different not-for-profit organizations who collect voter registration information for resell … to, basically, target those people for advertisements and that sort of thing,” commented an attendee. “Do you keep records of requests for that information, and is it something a ‘Joe’ like me could have, to see what companies are asking for that data and getting it from you.”

Those records are public, Bride said, and so is voter data, however, information on voters is only available for political use.

“If you call and want to send a newsletter out to sell refrigerators, or whatever it is, the answer is going to be no,” Bride responded. “If you lie and you’re signing a document that states you’re only using the information for political purposes, we’ll find out. We do keep track of who requests it.”

Former Chamber of Commerce President Roberta Parks served on the Chamber’s Political Action Committee and explained the functionality behind accessing voter information, particularly with regard to vetting potential party candidates.

“I’m looking at a list of names and I happen to say, ‘Oh my God, John Brady,” Parks said. “I had not thought of asking John Brady to run.”

As far as voter records maintained at a local level, Bride said, Peoria County maintains a list of voter names and addresses, which are destroyed around two years after an election. Voter details are maintained by the State of Illinois, though elections results are permanently kept by the county.

The county’s vote tabulation software, he said, and only two people at the Peoria County Election Commission offices are allowed permissions to log in to the software. All record deletions are performed by those employees.

Reports of “dead voters”, and voters over the age of 115 in the 2018 elections, disturbed the voters, who quickly demanded all records be audited and corrected. Many believed those corrections could be made at a polling place.

“There are only two of us who can actually delete someone from our system,” Bride said. “No one at a polling station can delete records.”

When asked of the potential for online voting, Bride said that option probably won’t be employed for quite a while, despite other similar activities, such as banking and shopping, that occur on the Internet.

“With online banking, the banks won’t tell you this, but they save enough money for online banking to pay for the fraud,” Bride explained. “It’s different with online voting, and we can’t offer that kind of security. If I told people, ‘It’ll be fine, only 6 percent will be tampered with,’ that’s just not good enough.”

For more information on elections and opportunities to serve as an election judge or assist in field support, visit www.peoriaelections.org.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

The League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria Drinks & Dialogue programs are offered free on the third Wednesday of each month, from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. In September, at the Lariat Club, Peoria Disposal Company Marketing Manager Eric Shangraw will talk about recycling, economics and the role of China in both.

The LWVGP will host Elizabeth Crider Derry, Peoria County Regional Superintendent of Schools, at the Advanced Medical Transport building on Sterling Avenue. Derry will discuss  school safety.

For more information on the organization and coming events, visit http://www.lwvgp.org/

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