COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — Dozens of Collier County voters said they spotted a mysterious WiFi connection on their phones while voting on Election Day.
Many of those voters believed the connection could have allowed people to gain access to the county’s election machines.
Some even reported the matter to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) before notifying NBC2.
“There was a mysterious network 3750 that popped up at all of the polling locations that we checked,” explained Eric Konuk.
He first spotted the WiFi signal on his phone and said he had concerns with the network.
He asked other voters who also spotted it while they were at the polls.
Barry Hoey said he shared it with a group of people, and everyone coordinated and took screenshots on their phones of the network that displayed the number 3750.
“It was very odd that the same signal that was coming off at all of the polling stations,” Hoey said.
Their fear was that the signal was coming from the county’s tabulators which send election results at the end of the night.
Collier County Republican State Committeeman Alfie Oakes said he wanted to be 100% certain that votes were being tabulated correctly.
The group made clear they were not blaming Election Supervisor Jennifer Edwards although they wanted answers.
Trish Robertson, with the supervisor of elections office, said the office was aware of the wifi connection and pointed out it had been brought to her concern during early voting. She said the signal everyone saw did, in fact, belong to the county.
She explained the wireless signal was coming from the county’s Evid machines that are used to check in voters.
“Our Evids are the electronic poll book and that network is what allows our Evids to talk to each other and also talk to our voter registration system,” Robertson explained.
She said it was important for the machines to talk to each other as they prevent people from double voting and they protect from voter fraud.
She stressed the system is locked, encrypted and safe.
When asked if there was ever a chance for access to the county’s election network she said no never from an outside party.
She also pointed out the machines are used statewide and accepted under Florida’s election law.
The group of suspicious voters said they’d like to see lawmakers address that matter.
“If we, the people, do have concerns about some of the electronic voting machines, then they should be open to listening to those concerns and possibly making some changes in the statutes, yes,” said Republican Precinct Committeeman Daniel Cook.
NBC-2 also obtained reports from the CCSO that shows voters reported the suspicious network to them to investigate.
On Wednesday, Collier County confirmed there were no irregularities in their election. Robertson said everything balanced out just as it should have.
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