SEC. GRIMES STATEMENT ON VOTER DATA REPORT

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes released the following statement regarding a report about voter lists available on the dark Web:

Today, I was informed that the 2018 Kentucky statewide voter list, along with the lists of other states, is being sold on the dark Web. I am working with our election integrity partners, including the Department of Homeland Security, to investigate the matter.

The revelation that this data is being peddled on the dark Web and could potentially fall into the hands of bad actors greatly concerns me and should every Kentuckian.

Let me be clear: as the Commonwealth’s chief election official, protecting our elections and Kentucky voters’ data remains my highest priority. It is why I have repeatedly called for more oversight over the State Board of Elections, not less.

At this time, I have no reason to believe Kentucky’s voter registration system has been compromised. This incident, however, underscores the serious need to ensure our staff are not releasing information in the public domain which weaken Kentucky’s cybersecurity efforts and that the Board must move quickly to put in place new defenses under our Help America Vote Act plan.