Security Directive 5.0 Continues Ohio’s National Leadership on Physical Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Readiness
(Columbus) – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose directed Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections today to begin implementation of aggressive cybersecurity, physical security and readiness standards ahead of the 2024 General Election. These latest directives are part of a comprehensive Ready for November initiative focused on training, poll worker recruitment, enhancedvoter listmaintenance, and election security measures designed to ensure election officials are prepared for the upcoming election.
“Our focus on readiness is why Ohio continues to be recognized as the gold standard for election administration,” said LaRose. “As new technologies bring an ever-changing threat landscape, we will be ready, and our elections officials will be equipped with the tools they need to administer a secure and accessible election in November.”
Directive 2024-09 and Directive 2024-10 build on the success of previous infrastructure and cybersecurity efforts and include more than $2.2 million in additional funding for local boards of elections to support implementation. One million dollars will be allocated to support election administration readiness, another $1 million will support poll worker training and $200,000 will be used to assist counties with the deployment of MARCS emergency communications equipment. Key requirements of these directives include:
Cybersecurity
Boards will be required to complete cybersecurity training held through the Department of Homeland Security at no cost on topics including assessing risk, phishing threats, and other relevant vulnerability assessments.
Boards will continue implementation and compliance with prior security directives and laws to ensure readiness.
Boards will enroll in the Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP)with the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC). VDP is a formalized process to receive, validate, remediate, and communicate vulnerability information identified by security researchers on specific technology systems.
The Ohio Secretary of State’s office will support boards of elections with the implementation and maintenance of IT infrastructure through cyber liaisons, network intrusion detection, and other critical resource detection and support.
Physical Security
Boards will implement enhanced security policies to ensure physical security of sensitive election infrastructure, prevent ballot harvesting and tampering through enhanced surveillance, and a plan for preventing and managing physical threats.
Security policies will be audited by the Ohio Secretary of State’s office semiannually.
Multi-Agency Radio Communication System (MARCS) radios will be provided to the boards of elections for additional emergency communication support for Election Day.
Readiness
Boards of elections will be required to prepare for resource shortages by having backup supplies including enough ballot paper to handle unexpected needs.
The Secretary of State’s office included additional guidance for poll worker training to include an emphasis on the proper forms of ID and de-escalation best practices.
Boards are required to create standard operating procedures for their ballot preparation and proofing and other major steps in the preparation, execution, and post-election phases of election administration.
Boards are required to adopt new communication standards for managing vender relationships, reporting to the Ohio Secretary of State’s office, and communicating to the public, including the ADA community.
Ohio’s continued focus on building a cutting-edge security infrastructure around elections has cemented the state’s reputation as a national leader. Since taking office, Secretary LaRose has issued annual security directives in 2019, 2020, 2022 and 2023.
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