Florida lawmakers push for classified briefing on voter intimidation emails

Calming election fears

Foreign actors are accused of interfering in the 2020 Election. Florida lawmakers are requesting more information about an FBI investigation revealing Iran and Russia are trying to disrupt voting.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Russian hackers are accused of stealing data from at least two servers with voter registration data. Iran is also allegedly attempting to cause chaos and create fear the election isn't safe. Now officials are trying to calm fears here.

"We are on top of this and providing you with the most powerful weapon we have to combat these ethics: the truth," said Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe.

On Wednesday night, federal officials shared findings that both Iran and Russia have tried to interfere with our election. On Thursday, state lawmakers pushed for more information.

Representatives Michael Waltz and Stephanie Murphy sent a letter to Washington, requesting a classified briefing "for the Florida delegation to have the info we need in order to conduct oversight as well as the info we need in order to ensure that the public knows what’s going on and can be resilient," said Rep. Murphy, D-Florida.

State officials told FOX 35 News there has been no breach of Florida's Voter Registration database, assuring voters that the information Iran obtained to send this week's spoof emails came from public data files. They explained, "While public data files contain voting history, it does not include any information that discloses how a voter voted in any contest. The secrecy of the ballot is maintained throughout the voting process."

"We want voters to be assured that they can come and vote and they can exercise their right to vote and that any voter intimidation is not going to be tolerated," said Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis.

The Supervisor of Elections promises to call law enforcement if they witness anything suspicious.

"We don’t want people out there trying to scare people into not voting. That’s not what we’re about."

"What we are about is democracy." Rep. Murphy said. "We should put our politics aside, sort that out later and just, as Americans, seek to defend our democracy and our elections system."