Election security is often discussed in terms of cyber and physical disruptions, such as preventing hacking, malware, and unauthorized access. However, protecting the integrity of election data is a core function of election security. Ensuring that the data driving elections—voter registration, ballots, tabulation, and results reporting—is accurate, complete, and properly validated strengthens the overall security posture of an election office.
The electoral process can feature robust cyber and physical defenses and still be compromised by inaccurate or incomplete election data. Recent incidents highlight how undetected data errors can bypass system security and directly impact voters.
In Wyandotte County, Kansas, over 2,900 advance mail-in ballots were printed with an outdated post office box return address. Some completed ballots were delivered back to voters’ home mailboxes instead of the election office. The failure was not a cyber intrusion, but an unverified, incorrect data field on carrier envelopes.
A second incident occurred in Kansas City, Missouri, where nearly 1,700 absentee and mail-in ballots omitted two required county legislature races. The error affected both early in-person and mail-in voters. It was only discovered when a voter alerted an election official, requiring the board to issue supplemental ballots containing the missing races to affected voters.
The Unique Threat of Data Security Issues
Physical disruptions or active cyberattacks generate immediate warnings. In contrast, data integrity failures are often invisible threats:
- They produce no system alarms or physical signs of intrusion.
- Faulty data can be distributed to or negatively impact thousands of voters before detection.
- Damage occurs quietly across the entire pipeline—from registration systems to final reporting.
Election security is ultimately about protecting the integrity of the entire election process, which demands accuracy of the data and information on which election officials and workers, voters, and vendors rely. Election offices need controls designed not only to prevent errors but also to detect errors quickly after they occur.
Best Practices for Critical Data Controls
Election officials can take several practical steps to reduce data integrity risks.
- Dual-Verification Protocols
Require a mandatory second-party review for any critical data entries or updates and multiple quality-control checks before mass production. There is a lot of data to check: addresses, ballot styles, contests, candidate details, precinct assignments, envelopes, barcodes, and instructions. A single review should not be expected to catch every error. - Traceable Change Management
Treat every database modification, software configuration shift, ballot file revision, and vendor file production as a documented, approved, and traceable event. - Independent Acceptance Testing
Election offices must independently verify vendor deliverables to ensure the final product is correct rather than relying solely on vendor quality checks. Vendor testing is important, but election offices need to have their own acceptance criteria and sign-off procedures. - Finished Product Testing
Inspect the final printed products (ballots, envelopes, barcodes, return addresses), not just the digital files. Viewing a correct electronic file does not guarantee that the final product is correct. - Production Reconciliation
Track expected versus actual ballot and envelope output across every ballot style and precinct to account for every piece of election material. - Rapid Response & Communication Plans
Pre-establish protocols to instantly pause distribution, identify affected voters, issue corrective materials, and transparently notify the public. - After-Action Review
Evaluate any errors and determine which additional controls can prevent them from happening again.
When data is well-governed, well-protected, and routinely verified, it becomes harder for errors, disruptions, or malicious activity to undermine operations and erode public confidence.
The Situation Room focuses on real security incidents and threats in the news relevant to election security. To review previous issues, see the newsletter archive.