Russians accessed 2 Fla. voting databases

Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

Russian hackers gained access to voter databases in two Florida counties ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday.

DeSantis said the hackers didn’t manipulate any data and the election results weren’t compromised. He and officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were briefed by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security on Friday.

The governor said he signed an agreement with the FBI not to disclose the names of the counties, but elections officials in those counties are aware of the intrusions.

One person who wasn’t aware was DeSantis’ predecessor, now-Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, DeSantis said.

“We’re trying to figure out what the state knew at the time,” DeSantis said. “Obviously, the previous administration and the head of FDLE did not have that information.”

He said the hackers gained access through a spear-phishing email after a worker clicked a link.

Scott criticized his opponent in last year’s election, then-Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, for saying Russians had hacked elections systems and had “free rein to move about” ahead of last year’s midterm election. Scott called the allegations sensational.

After Nelson’s comments, the FBI and DHS issued a joint letter that they saw no signs of any “new or ongoing compromises” of state or local election systems.

Scott will receive a briefing Wednesday from the FBI, said spokesman Chris Hart-line. Hartline confirmed that Scott wasn’t aware of the hacking while he was governor.

“It’s pretty clear during our back and forth in the campaign there was no information provided to the state,” Hartline said.

“There will be a lot of questions. ... We’ll know more tomorrow.”