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Midterm elections 2022: Illinois county clerk says cyberattack causing 'connectivity issues'

By Timothy H.J. Nerozzi
Published  November 8, 2022 3:40pm CST
2022 Midterm Elections
FOX News

Illinois politicians, residents cast their ballots on decisive Election Day

Gubernatorial candidates J.B. Pritzker and Darren Bailey were among those who casted their votes Tuesday as Election Day got into full swing.

CHICAGO - The clerk's office of Champaign County, Illinois, is experiencing connectivity issues for its voting machines in what it is calling a "cyber-attack."

The Champaign County Clerk's Office announced Tuesday around midday that its systems were experiencing connectivity problems and poor server performance. The office stated it believed the issues are a result of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

"The Champaign County Clerk’s Office is aware of connectivity issues and computer server performance being impacted," the clerk's office announced Tuesday via social media. "The Clerk’s Office believes these are due to cyber-attacks on the network and servers."

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The post went on to inform readers that these were not the first issues at the office, saying that the clerk's office has experienced repeated DDoS attacks for the past month.

"For the past month the Champaign County Clerk’s website has been the target of repeated D-DOS attacks, fortunately the reinforced security and response from the Clerk’s IT team has prevented these attacks from being successful and the Clerk's website has remained secured," the post reads.

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The office stated that voter data has not been compromised, encouraging voters to stay in line and not be dissuaded from casting a ballot.

The Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield. (Daniel Acker for The Washington Post via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Tuesday statement went so far as to call the issues a "strategic and coordinated effort to undermine and destabilize our democratic process."

"These cyber-attacks are a strategic and coordinated effort to undermine and destabilize our democratic process," the post states. "The intent is to discourage you from voting. Please do not fall victim to this. The Clerk's Office is committed to ensuring every eligible voter in Champaign County has access to a fair, free, and accessible election. Please stay in line!"

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