Tupelo, Miss. (WTVA) –
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann says the state is spending $4.7 million to keep its election system secure.
Hosemann says $4.5 million came from a federal grant, and his office gave $200,000.
“We’ve already done cybersecurity work on that[Statewide Election Management System],” said Hosemann. “We’ve encrypted it and worked with the Department of Homeland Security. Some of that money will be used for that.”
The rest will be split between every county to help with new machines, disability access at precincts and security.
WTVA asked Hosemann if Mississippi voters should be worried about hacking?
“If the Russians are going to affect the election, they’ll probably have to come into the precinct, take the machine and run out with it,” added Hosemann.
WTVA viewers had mixed opinions on how they felt about the security of their votes.
“I just want my voice to go where it’s supposed to go,” said Roger Mcinnish, who was unsure about the security of his vote.
“I’m fairly confident in what we have in place, so I can be reasonably assured that my vote did count,” added Mike Flynn.
According to Hosemann, keeping the voting system safe is a day-to-day battle, but he’s confident your votes are safe.
“They [state departments] have worked at attempting to penetrate,” added Hosemann. “We’ve had outside people also attempt [to penetrate] our Statewide Election Management System. We have passed on each of those.”