Champaign County Clerk's Office Hit With Cyberattacks On Election Day

CHAMPAIGN, IL — The Champaign County Clerk's office says it has been having issues with its website over the past month due to a series of cyberattacks on its server. Those issues hampered the site again on Tuesday just as voters were coming to the polls for the midterm election.

The Clerk's office said in a news release it is aware of connectivity issues and computer server performance issues on Tuesday. Officials said that the clerk's office website has been the target of several cyberattacks but that the office's information technology department has prevented the attacks from being successful, the release said.

Officials said that the website has remained secured and that no information or data relating to Tuesday's general election has been compromised.

"These cyber-attacks are a strategic and coordinated effort to undermine and destabilize our democratic process," officials said in the news release. "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."

In the release, officials from the county urged voters to remain in line to vote and said that on-site workers are doing everything they can to process voters according to election laws. The clerk's office said that it is working to keep things moving properly and that it will release more information as it becomes available.

ABC 7 reported Tuesday afternoon that state elections officials said early in the afternoon that the matter has been resolved and that the cyberattack is over. The station reported that officials have filed a court order seeking an extension of voting hours due to the cyberattacks that took place.