SARASOTA COUNTY (WSNN) – The foundation of our democracy is based on fair elections. But when the legitimacy of elections is corrupted, the FBI steps in. A Suncoast Special Agent warns of federal crime and fraud.
While elections are run by the state, if there’s a violation of your constitutional rights, the FBI will step in.
Elections Crime coordinator of the Tampa Division, Special Agent Andrew Sekela says they have two major warnings: voter misinformation and cyber hacks.
“This is not just some ghost we’re creating to scare people, these malign foreign influence operations are absolutely occurring and they’re potentially going to get even worse as the elections draw closer,” Sekela said.
He says it’s not uncommon for hackers to try to get into the election infrastructure, but it’s difficult to get in and change tallies.
“Now, they could do something that could potentially disrupt operations for a short period of time,” Sekela said. “But, we have protections in place to minimize the impact on voting locations and it’s highly unlikely that they would actually be able to get in and remove a person’s vote once it’s been cast or to otherwise change voter tabulation results.”
And then there’s voter suppression. Sekela says people usually spread misinformation about the when and where to voters; typically seen on social media.
“So if you see any kind of post on social media that says, for example, Republicans vote on Monday and Democrats vote on Tuesday, or your election location has been closed, you need to go to this location instead, those are actually prosecutable under federal election laws,” Sekela said.
And watch out for the people who are out to get your money.
“Before you give any money to anybody online, any cause or whatever, you need to do your due diligence on that entity as well, and make sure they’re legitimate,” Sekela said.
He says Scam PACs or Political Action Committees will claim they’re raising money for a particular party or candidate when they’re really scammers.
Protect yourself. Sekela says there are three things to consider:
“One, you have to check the facts; two, you have to vet the source; and three you have to consider the motivation of the person that’s posting that information,” Sekela said.
Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections, Ron Turner, says it’s important to pay attention when you’re returning your vote-by-mail ballot to an election office.
“There’s no outside, unstaffed ballot drop boxes in Sarasota County,” Turner said. “Those do not exist, because I want to make sure that they are secure and that they are staffed.”
Anyone can be a reporter. If you suspect federal election crime, you can report it at your local FBI field office (fbi.gov) or at www.ic3.gov for internet fraud.
