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Ohio Secretary of State Worries Feds' National Security Concerns Could Encroach on State Elections

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Husted wants to know what the federal government's role will be in protecting voting systems from hackers.

The federal Department of Homeland Security is calling voting machines “critical infrastructure” because of the threat of hacking. But Ohio’s Secretary of State wonders whether that designation will bring changes.

Jon Husted said he’s not sure what this designation from Homeland Security means and whether it's an expansion of the federal government's authority. So he wants information in writing.

“I don’t want to underreact or overreact to something, but until they give us the facts, I think that it’s wise to be skeptical about what this really means."

Husted said he and his colleagues in other states would oppose any federal takeover of state elections. He's also not sure why the Obama administration would do this now, with no federal election until 2018. But Husted notes that President-elect Trump’s Homeland Security department could overrule the new designation.

Karen is a lifelong Ohioan who has served as news director at WCBE-FM, assignment editor/overnight anchor at WBNS-TV, and afternoon drive anchor/assignment editor in WTAM-AM in Cleveland. In addition to her daily reporting for Ohio’s public radio stations, she’s reported for NPR, the BBC, ABC Radio News and other news outlets. She hosts and produces the Statehouse News Bureau’s weekly TV show “The State of Ohio”, which airs on PBS stations statewide. She’s also a frequent guest on WOSU TV’s “Columbus on the Record”, a regular panelist on “The Sound of Ideas” on ideastream in Cleveland, appeared on the inaugural edition of “Face the State” on WBNS-TV and occasionally reports for “PBS Newshour”. She’s often called to moderate debates, including the Columbus Metropolitan Club’s Issue 3/legal marijuana debate and its pre-primary mayoral debate, and the City Club of Cleveland’s US Senate debate in 2012.