Election websites in Brevard, Lake, Osceola counties experience glitch

ORLANDO, Fla. - Some websites where election offices report results went down Tuesday night, affecting Brevard, Osceola, and Lake counties. VR Systems, the company managing the election websites, attributed the issue to a glitch rather than a hack, emphasizing that it was neither significant nor long-lasting.

Notably, the glitch did not impact the internal voting count or the information sent to the state — only the data the public was supposed to access as election results came in. Highlighting the minimal impact of the glitch, Governor Ron DeSantis stated the following day, "I wasn’t necessarily aware of that."

Election supervisors quickly adapted by publishing the data on alternative sites. For example, Osceola County Supervisor Mary Jane Arrington informed the public of the change via social media.

"Sometimes that happens, but we want to make sure that, for the general election, it’s good," Governor DeSantis said on Wednesday.

VR Systems explained that the glitch occurred due to the logging it enabled as a security measure. Website logs track every interaction on a site, such as clicks, searches, and downloads, and can reveal hacking attempts or other issues. The surge in website traffic overwhelmed the platform as it tried to maintain these logs.

Despite the glitch, Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays noted that his county could still compile results just thirty minutes after polls closed. 

"We want people to know the whole story because then their suspicion dies down," Hays said. "And that's the way it should be."

The incident has raised concerns about voter confidence, particularly in light of past election cycles, where unfounded allegations about mail-in votes, Dominion voting machines, and voter fraud fueled public anxiety. Hays reassured the public, saying, "People want to be sure that our elections are secure. And they are. But when an incident like this occurs immediately, it's blown out of proportion."

For those concerned about security, Hays emphasized that Lake County's election results tabulation is not connected to the internet, safeguarding it from hackers. 

"The state has multiple layers of security. The county has multiple layers. We have multiple layers," he said. "We're a secure system."

VR Systems has since begun working with external technical experts to optimize its system and prevent future incidents.