Election fraud has been a major topic before, during and after the November 2020 general elections. Former President Donald Trump, in particular, repeatedly made claims of election fraud which have also been repeatedly described as baseless. However, Republican-led states have since the inauguration of President Joe Biden initiated legislative processes aimed at tighter controls of the electoral process. These controls are not necessarily always to promote electoral transparency. Recently, Florida is contemplating allowing election officials to keep security breaches secret. A new article in Tallahassee Democrat by Jeffrey Schweers looks at this development. Here’s an excerpt:

Under legislation now under consideration by Florida lawmakers, county elections supervisors would be able to withhold information about the ever-present possibility of systems being hacked and voter records being altered.

Those dangers came close to happening in at least four Florida counties in 2016, according to federal intelligence reports.

Voting rights groups, government watchdogs and members of Florida’s congressional delegation have pushed for greater transparency in disclosing those security breaches, but a measure by Sen. Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze, would go the opposite direction. 

Read the full article here.