Wisconsin Election Commission Is Knee-Deep in CYA Following Feds' Alert Russia Targeted State

Nothing to see here, nothing happened, but we're beefing up
security because of vulnerabilities, say Wisconsin election pols.

Clean Wisconsin elections give way to partisans and bureaucrat's hollow assurances of 'nothing to see here' after feds alert 21 states hackers targeted their systems.

Madison, Wisconsin — In November 2016, the Wisconsin Election Commission, (WEC), Chair, Mark L. Thomsen, declared there is no need for a hand recount of the Wisconsin presidential election because Thomsen said he knew the recount would not change the electoral results.

This was an inappropriate statement for the WEC Chair to make as recounts are governed by Wisconsin statutes and are supposed to guard the liberty and suffrage interests of Wisconsin citizens and candidates in assuring clean, fair and impartial elections.

Explaining his position, Thomsen said, "It, [Trump's margin of victory over Clinton in Wisconsin], may not be 22,177 [after the requested hand recount]. But I don’t doubt that the president-elect is going to win that."

Who cares what Thomsen thinks or doubts? Thomsen's was a political position, devoid of consideration of citizens' rights and interests in the electoral processes.

The right to a recall in Wisconsin was given a new, extra-statutory standard by a host of self-serving Wisconsin pols, Donald Trump and one Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn: If there is no clear evidence that a hand recount will produce a difference result, there is no need for a hand recount.

Wrote James Rowen in reaction in November 2016:

It is disappointing that the [Election] commission with no third-party representation is signaling premature and self-serving assurance while ruling out the hand recount sought by Stein, and supported by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Worse, it reinforces the partisan cast of a state where the GOP's candidate narrowly won the state's electoral votes, and Wisconsin is run as a one-party state by an autocratic legislature in league with an imperial Governor and State Supreme Court that sacrificed its impartiality when it had a 4-3 conservative majority that has now risen to an even harder-edged 5-2 right tilt.

As noted here, Judge Bailey-Rihn, in upholding the partisan Election Commission decision, said clear and convincing evidence is needed to order a statewide hand recount over the decision of the Commission, without addressing whether voter intent remains a paramount principle underlying Wisconsin election law.

Opined John Nichols commenting on the opposition of Wisconsin pols to the requested recount:

Unfortunately, in an age of hyperpartisan spin and know-nothing media, there is a tendency to see demands for recounts as the burdensome expressions of sore losers. Sometimes they are that. But for those of us who concern ourselves with the functioning of the elections that confer authority on executives and legislators, recounts are understood as fundamental underpinnings of democracy. They only rarely overturn initial results. But even when they simply confirm those results, they give us all greater confidence in systems that can only serve their purpose if citizens see those systems as fair and functional.

The abbreviated, don't-look-too-closely recount was begun. [Wisconsin recount information, governing Wisconsin state statute, and ARTICLE III, Suffrage (voting) text in the Wisconsin Constitution are indicated and explained in updated online Wisconsin public websites, in accordance with Wisconsin's historic open-government commitment and the Wisconsin Idea.]

Feds in 2107: Russia Hacked 21 States

Now comes news in September 2017 that Wisconsin along with 20 other states were specifically targeted by Russian cyber hackers in 2016:

WEC Administrator Michael Haas has informed WEC Chair Mark Thomsen, who directed Commission staff to investigate why election officials were not notified earlier and report to the Commission at its meeting Tuesday.

'This scanning had no impact on Wisconsin’s systems or the election,' Haas said. 'Internet security provided by the state successfully protected our systems. Homeland Security specifically confirmed there was no breach or compromise of our data.'

In 2016, Haas offered public assurances that because Wisconsin's is "the most decentralized election system" in the nation, hence safe, and that cyber-tampering would require "unfettered access" to municipalities throughout the state.

Haas is wrong. To swing a close election in Wisconsin, hackers just need access to a handful of Wisconsin's 1,853 municipalities' "Internet-facing election infrastructure." Decentralization in itself does not protect the integrity of elections.

The whole point of Jill Stein's requested hand recount was to make sure the number of ballots cast for presidential candidates matched what was tabulated in the results. But the Wisconsin Elections Commission's adamant and bizarre position was a hand recount was not needed because they knew the results already.

In retrospect, and in light of the Russia cyber-hack, does the WEC now concede Jill Stein, (and Hillary Clinton's), position that a hand recount was needed for confidence in the integrity of the 2016 electoral results?

Turns out decentralization is not such a great protection from hacking after-all, Haas now acknowledges, contradicting his 2016 position:

The Wisconsin State Journal reports today:

Meanwhile, the state is moving ahead with implementing a new election security plan by early 2018.

The challenges are particularly acute in Wisconsin, Haas said earlier Friday, where elections are not centrally run but instead handled locally by 1,853 municipal clerks. One local security breach where a key password is divulged could cause problems statewide, Haas said.

One thing the state is considering is whether to mandate that local clerks meet minimum security requirements for hardware and software they use, Haas said. 

The next Wisconsin elections will take place in the 2018 Spring Primary election in February.

Below is a reproduction of the Wisconsin Elections Commission's Sept 22, 2017 public announcement of the 2016 Russian cyber-attack.

Wisconsin Notified of Unsuccessful Russian Hacking Attempt

Date: September 22, 2017

MADISON, WI – This afternoon, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security notified the Wisconsin Elections Commission for the first time that “Russian government cyber actors” unsuccessfully targeted the state’s voter registration system in 2016.

WEC Administrator Michael Haas has informed WEC Chair Mark Thomsen, who directed Commission staff to investigate why election officials were not notified earlier and report to the Commission at its meeting Tuesday.

"This scanning had no impact on Wisconsin’s systems or the election," Haas said. "Internet security provided by the state successfully protected our systems. Homeland Security specifically confirmed there was no breach or compromise of our data."

Wisconsin is one of 21 states whose chief election officials were notified Friday by DHS officials that their systems were targeted by Russians, said Haas. DHS did not disclose which other states were notified, but said the states were free to disclose the information.

According to DHS, it appears that Internet-facing election infrastructure in Wisconsin was targeted by Russian government cyber actors. They scanned internet-connected election infrastructure likely seeking specific vulnerabilities such as access to voter registration databases, but the attempt to exploit vulnerabilities was unsuccessful.

Haas said the Commission is seeking more specific information, including when the scanning activity occurred in 2016.

The news that 21 states were targeted was first announced by DHS at a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on June 21, 2017. Coincidentally, Haas also testified at that hearing and said in response to questions that the Elections Commission had not been notified by DHS and concluded that Wisconsin was not one of the targeted states.