Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick made the announcement. audit report On Monday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft claimed he refused to provide copies of cybersecurity reviews of Missouri’s 116 local election officials, a violation of state law.
House Bill of 1878The law, passed by the Missouri General Assembly in 2022, requires the Missouri Secretary of State’s office and local election officials to undergo cybersecurity reviews every two years and submit those reviews to the state auditor’s office. is required.
“While the law clearly authorizes the audit staff to receive and review this information, the Office of the Secretary of State will continue our efforts to thoroughly analyze how new cybersecurity reviews are being conducted. I’m sorry that it got in the way,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement.
Mr. Ashcroft’s office issued a formal response, which was included in the audit report, disputing its findings and stating that the cybersecurity report could not be shared with Mr. Fitzpatrick’s office. He argued that there was a risk of confidential information being leaked.
The audit also criticized the Secretary’s decision to end Missouri’s participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). National system designed to improve accuracy of voting rollsWithout consulting stakeholders or creating alternative plans, the report said, this is impacting the state’s local election officials’ ability to correct inaccurate voter records.
“While we respect the reasons why Secretary Ashcroft felt it was necessary to end the relationship with ERIC, it does not reflect a plan to replace the data so that the office has a reliable method to avoid dead voters. “This does not negate the responsibility of the people who are registered in Missouri as we enter a critical election year.” Fitzpatrick said, citing the example of St. Louis County, the state’s largest election jurisdiction. , said an audit found that election officials used ERIC to remove thousands of deceased voters from voter rolls.
last year, Ashcroft suspect ERIC failed to recruit states to address voter fraud, and instead focused on adding names to voter rolls by targeting people who already had the ability to register, they said. Mr. Ashcroft’s formal response, cited in the audit report, defended his decision to withdraw from the program and comes after ERIC refused to update the system.
However, the audit found that Mr Ashcroft’s office had not adequately assessed the benefits of the scheme before ending the state’s membership. Fitzpatrick said in his report that state secession has made the process of maintaining accurate voting rolls less efficient for county officials.
The Kansas City Star reported. Ashcroft spokesman Jodon Cheney said in an email that the audit was based purely on Fitzpatrick’s opinion and that Ashcroft’s office did not violate state law.
“This is the first time in seven years that the Board of Auditors has conducted any evaluation of our firm,” Cheney wrote in an email. “While we evaluate their views, we believe that the conclusions based on them have little bearing on the overall lawful performance of the Secretary of State’s office.”
Mr. Fitzpatrick’s audit gave the office the second-lowest rating of “fair,” raising questions about Mr. Ashcroft’s tenure at the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. The announcement of the audit also came amid allegations against Mr Ashcroft. 2024 gubernatorial election Governor of Missouri.
The state auditor’s office is not seeking legal action against Ashcroft or his office.