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Minnesota's protection against a rigged election: paper ballots

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After FBI warnings about possible computer hacking of elections systems in Arizona and Illinois, Minnesota's top elections official said the state is in good shape to protect against intrusions.

Secretary of State Steve Simon said he has made cyber security a top priority, and there is no evidence that Minnesota has been hacked. Simon also said it's highly unlikely anyone could tamper with election results in the state because Minnesota's system still relies on paper ballots.

"We have boxes and boxes of actual ballots. You can go and open them up, and we know this from the Franken-Coleman race. We know this from other incidents in our state history. That is really the ultimate backup here," Simon said on MPR News with Tom Weber.

Simon says it's also unlikely that anyone could hack the data on voters that his office compiles because there are lots of backups, security systems and audits that keep the information safe.

"We have constant auditing. We have cyber security systems in place which I can't say a ton about with great specificity, but we're always trying to stay one step ahead," Simon said.