N.Y.’s elections are safe & secure

With the 2024 campaign season ending, it’s important for New Yorkers to know that our elections are safely and successfully administered and this election will be the most secure in New York’s history. 

I’ve worked on election security in New York since 2016, when Russian actors were first exposed for probing American election infrastructure in other states. Since then, New York has invested tens of millions of dollars into election cybersecurity. Every county — including their Boards of Election — has received both funding and state-of-the-art technology to ensure systems are secure, and cybersecurity anomalies are investigated and addressed immediately.

Nonetheless, we should expect foreign adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran to use bot-fueled social media, phony websites pushing planted stories, and AI-generated fake audio recordings and videos to sow distrust in elections and their outcomes.

And we should expect unscrupulous media personalities, political opportunists, and domestic extremist groups to disparage election security and outcomes because it brings them attention and money. While this can all be unsettling, New Yorkers can be confident the election outcomes will reflect the voters’ intent because of the safeguards Gov. Hochul and our team have implemented.

New York is prepared for this election and the vote counting and a deluge of mis-, dis-, and mal-, information (MDM) can’t change that.

We have invested in two distinct elections-specific command centers to ensure a rapid, coordinated response to any disruptions that might occur. These centers will ensure state leaders can provide New Yorkers with timely, accurate information throughout the election. The first is the state Board of Elections’ Secure Elections Center. Supported by state and federal agencies, it provides a single point of contact for local Boards of Elections to report issues regardless of cause.

In addition, the State Police Joint Elections Operations Center is also protecting our elections, operating a centralized hub for state and federal law enforcement and homeland security professionals to track and respond to security events that could disrupt an election. And the NYS State Watch Center, run by the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, maintains 24/7 all hazards awareness to coordinate the response to anything — whether natural or manmade — that could interfere with your ability to vote. 

Moreover, since 2017 state and local officials have partnered with the federal Department of Homeland Security to run 23 election security tabletop exercises throughout New York, including an executive level exercise directed by the governor this summer. These drills ensure that federal, state, and local stakeholders are aligned and prepared. 

Our elections are managed by bipartisan teams, ensuring there’s no political bias in how they’re run or how ballots are counted. Paper ballots ensure accurate physical evidence of voters’ choices. Pre-election testing and post-election audits of voting machines are conducted bipartisanly before and after each election. Bipartisan staff also review each voter registration application individually to determine voter eligibility. These measures ensure that our elections remain fair and secure.

New Yorkers must be prepared too. Don’t allow yourself to be misled by MDM. Voters can find validated, official information on where, when, and how to vote at the state Board of Elections website (elections.ny.gov).

We all must be responsible consumers and producers of information about candidates, issues, events, and election outcomes. Foreign adversaries, propagandists, and political opportunists know the power of emotion and will try to exploit it to achieve nefarious ends — whether that’s generating distrust in election outcomes, promoting false narratives, or just creating chaos.

Protect yourself and protect our democracy: be skeptical of salacious headlines — false information is usually preceded by clickbait; if you want real news, use sources that publicize their journalistic standards and cross reference them against similarly reputable publications; and always assess the author’s or commentator’s agenda — ask yourself whether it’s to inform or enflame. 

After years of joint-training and investment, I can say with confidence that New York elections are secure and that the final tally of votes will reflect the will of the people. New York is prepared for this. New Yorkers must be too. We are all responsible for protecting our democracy, and being informed and vigilant is essential.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, “an educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” Facts matter now more than ever. Seek out accurate information regardless of how you feel about the issues or how you intend to vote. Our country depends on it.

Voce-Gardner is the director of the Office of Counterterrorism for New York State.