ProgressOhio

July 23, 2008

COLUMBUS, OH – Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner has implemented the first in a series of voting security directives that have been crafted in partnership with a bipartisan workgroup of local elections officials.

The voting security directives are part of the secretary of state's focus on preparing "best practices," in partnership with local elections officials, for a successful Nov. 4, 2008 general election.

The secretary of state's office provided draft recommendations to county boards of elections and solicited their ideas and concerns before issuing these directives.

"Preparing for a successful election for our state depends on consistent standards no matter where someone votes. Every county will be developing security plans based on "best practices" developed in cooperation with local elections officials. This is designed to guarantee a uniformity of rights for all of Ohio's voters," Secretary Brunner said.

"Many of these security recommendations have been characterized as common-sense and are already in use across Ohio. Others will require training and new procedures by boards of elections. We believe these security procedures will help us meet our goal is to ensure voter confidence and to be prepared for any scenario, including a record turnout," she said.

The directives issued this week are:

* Directive 2008-57 provides security and risk-mitigation guidelines for ballots and election data media such as voting machine memory cards.
* Directive 2008-56 provides security and risk mitigation guidelines for boards of elections' offices. This directive also provides model "best practices" for the storage, security, access and inventory of voting systems and equipment.

"Secretary Brunner is to be commended for working closely with Ohio's elections officials in crafting consistent, statewide voting security 'best practices,' " said Bill Shubat, director of the Belmont County Board of Elections. "This kind of partnership is laying the foundation for a successful election in November 2008."

Earlier this year, Secretary Brunner issued Directive 2008-25, which addressed polling location security, as well as a documented chain of custody for voting equipment and supplies from board offices to polling places and their return.

The directives have been sent to county elections boards around the state.