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2024 Washington Primary Election: What's being done to increase election security in Spokane County

Some of the items that money is going toward include improving IT infrastructure, putting in new switches and enhancing wi-fi capabilities.

SPOKANE, Wash. — A key part of Election Night is security.

Recently, the Washington Secretary of State's office distributed $2 million across 29 election offices to help increase election security.

That is roughly $80,000 for each county, which is a decent amount of money that is making a big difference.

According to Spokane County Elections Manager Mike McLaughlin, they are mainly working with their IT Department to enhance security.

Some of the items that money is going toward include improving IT infrastructure, putting in new switches and enhancing wi-fi capabilities.

“It makes a difference," McLaughlin said. "We work with them to do it, anything to enhance security, and doing that for the network and for the elections."

Other security measures already in place include sending ballots through a machine to scan a barcode, sort by precinct and snap a photo of every signature.

The signatures are then matched up to be prepared to be counted.

If there is an issue with a signature or a voter forgot to sign the envelope, the elections office contacts the voter to move forward.

The ballots are then inspected and sorted by precinct before being sent to a secure room to be counted.

Voting ends Tuesday night, August 6, at 8 p.m.

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