COLUMBUS, Ohio - Secretary of State Jon Husted said cyber attackers would have a hard time disrupting Ohio's elections but expressed concern about what the federal government could do if it took over the state's election computer systems.

Husted, the state's chief elections officer, wrote to congressional leaders Thursday asking that the House and Senate make clear that federal agencies cannot involve themselves in the election process.

You can read the letter below. Mobile users click here.

What prompted the letter?

The letter was prompted by comments from Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson that his department would review whether state election systems should be considered as "critical infrastructure" under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Such a designation would give the federal government ability to step in to protect those systems.

While Johnson has since made clear that the government intends only to study the issue, Husted said that his fear is that at some point, if the law is not clarified, the federal government might act.

"If you designate it as a critical infrastructure and take control of it, that is essentially taking control of the election," Husted said. "I've had enough experience with federal government, federal regulations and the federal courts to know that unless you clearly state [that election systems are off limits] in the law you could see it someday."

What stirred up the issue?

Johnson's remarks followed revelations that hackers had targeted voter registration databases in Illinois and Arizona.

The FBI alerted Arizona officials in June that Russians were behind the assault on the election system in that state, The Washington Post reported. The state shut down the voter registration system for a week. Ultimately, the system was not compromised but the username and password of one county election employee was stolen.

In July, Illinois officials discovered someone had hacked into their election system. Federal officials said it was the first successful compromise of a state registration database, although hackers did not alter any data.

Husted said Thursday that his belief, based on conversations with federal officials and security experts, is that the cases were attempts to steal voter identities.

Ohio's voter registration database also is online. Husted said his staff has worked with Homeland Security, the FBI and others to try to identify vulnerabilities and bolster security.

"This can only limit threats," Husted said. "I'm not going to suggest that it will eliminate every threat."

How secure are Ohio's voting systems?

While the registration system could someday be a target, Husted is confident that the election system is secure.

"Voting equipment in Ohio is not in any way connected to the Internet," he said. And while computers are used as part of the voting process, there are backups. About 70 percent of the ballots cast this November will be paper ballots that get scanned into a computer. Others are touch-screen voting systems that produce backups.

"One of the benefits of our system is essentially that it is decentralized," Husted said. "There is not one state system. There are 88 county systems that help create the state system."

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