PORT ANGELES — Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs addressed pressing issues related to election security and misinformation this week.
Hobbs was the guest on the weekly Coffee with Colleen event hosted Wednesday by the Clallam County Economic Development Council’s Colleen McAleer.
Hobbs, who succeeded Kim Wyman in office, highlighted the strides made in enhancing election security.
“One of my first actions was to expand upon the cybersecurity initiatives that Kim Wyman started,” he said. “We’re now facing threats from nation-state actors and a growing public concern over election security.”
Hobbs introduced the Information Security Response Team, a combined effort of cyber experts and public educators aimed at educating the public on the electoral process.
A key focus of Hobbs’ discussion was the importance of transparency in election systems.
He emphasized that Washington’s tabulation machines are not connected to the internet, which prevents remote tampering.
“We’re part of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which helps us track voter registration changes across states and detect duplicate voting,” he said. “We will know if you vote twice in the same election.”
Hobbs also addressed the role of artificial intelligence in combating misinformation. His office uses AI to monitor social media for false narratives about election security.
“If we get a report that people are saying that elections are being hacked,” Hobbs said, “we know to counter this by working with our 39 county auditors, the news media and our partners to put the word to the public that tabulation machines are not connected to the internet, so it’s not possible.”
Hobbs also touched upon the broader impacts of misinformation. A troubling issue discussed was the removal of Albert Sensors — cybersecurity devices designed to detect suspicious data activity — from some counties due to misinformation.
“Ferry County commissioners voted unanimously to remove the sensor without informing their county auditor or IT department, despite it being a critical part of our defense system against cyber threats,” Hobbs said.
“Six weeks later, I was notified by U.S. Cyber Command that they had identified six Russian IP addresses that state and local governments were transmitting data to,” he said. “The threat is very real.”
Hobbs concluded with a call for increased civic engagement and vigilance. He urged voters to critically evaluate the information they encounter and to participate actively in the electoral process.
“I firmly believe that, had more people known about the elections in their states, perhaps Jan. 6 would not have been so big,” Hobbs said.
“Voter fraud across the entire country is 0.004 percent. It is very low. I might have forgotten another zero too. That is how low it is,” Hobbs said. “It’s our fault we haven’t told people about these systems. We test voting machines, we do audits — we just haven’t told anyone about it.”
The state primary election is Tuesday. Ballots must be postmarked or dropped off at official ballot boxes by 8 p.m.
________
Reporting intern Christopher Urquia is a student at Peninsula College. He can be reached by email at christopher.urquia@peninsuladailynews.com.
