State Elections Officials Assure Voters Their Systems Are Safe From Hacks

As Republican nominee Donald Trump perpetuates unsupported claims of "large scale voter fraud" and a "rigged" election, he's faced blow-back from secretaries of state and members of both parties across the country.

But are Maryland's votes open to hacks? In short, no, said Nikki Charlson, deputy director of the State Board of Elections. She cited a number of safeguards and paper backups for electronic ballots, not to mention a clear physical barrier.

"All of the components of the voting system network, they are never touching the internet," Charlson said.

Election officials in 26 states told ABC News that they do not expect widespread voter fraud, citing only “occasional” or “isolated” cases. In fact, in the 10 states in which election officials gave ABC News specific data on known voter fraud during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, only 18 cases were identified out of the millions of ballots cast.

Maryland's eight-day early voting period begins next Thursday, Oct. 27. Anyone not yet registered to vote may register at early voting polling places.

ABC News Radio contributed to this report.

An earlier version of this article misstated when early voting is to begin.