Russians Tampering With Florida Election Systems, Sen. Bill Nelson Says

Russian operatives have broken into some of Florida's election systems ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, warned Sen. Bill Nelson on Wednesday. These operatives can delete registered voters if the systems are not protected adequately, he claimed.

“They have already penetrated certain counties in the state and they now have free rein to move about,” he said. “We were requested by the chairman and vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee to let supervisors of election in Florida know that the Russians are in their records.”

"This is no fooling time and that's why two senators, bipartisan, reached out to the election apparatus of Florida to let them know the Russians are in your records and all they have to do, if those election records are not protected, is to go in and start eliminating registered voters," he said.

The Florida Democrat said something similar a day earlier in Tallahassee but did not elaborate on the claims. “That’s classified,” he said at that time, Tampa Bay Times reported.

The state department that oversees elections, however, said it received "zero information" supporting the senator's claims.

Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State, said, "The Florida Department of State has received zero information from Senator Nelson or his staff that support his claims. If Senator Nelson has specific information about threats to our elections, he should share it with election officials in Florida.”

"Additionally, the Department has received no information from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that corroborates Senator Nelson’s statement and we have no evidence to support these claims," Revell said in a statement.

Revell also said the state has received $1.9 million for a "network monitoring security solution" and over $15 million to strengthen the security of election systems prior to the 2018 elections.

"The Department and local Supervisors of Elections remain focused on the continued security and integrity of Florida’s elections in 2018 and beyond," she said.

U.S. Senator from Virginia Mark Warner said, "Russian activities continue to pose a threat to the security of our elections, as Senators Nelson and Rubio rightly pointed out in their letter. … I hope all state and local elections officials, including Florida's, will take this issue seriously.”

After the remark, Pinellas County (Florida) elections officials immediately contacted federal agencies to find out more about Nelson's claims.

"Our office has not seen any indication that we have had any penetration by any bad actions," said Pinellas election's office spokesman Dustin Chase.

In July, Nelson and another Florida senator, Republican Marco Rubio, wrote a letter to the state election officials about potential threats.

“County election boards should not be expected to stand alone against a hostile foreign government. DHS (Department of Homeland Security) will follow your lead and meet your needs with a tailored set of options. We encourage you in the strongest terms to take advantage of those resources,” the joint letter said.

In November, Nelson will be facing a re-election challenge from Gov. Rick Scott, whose administration said it has no knowledge about Nelson’s claims.