Disturbing: Russian interference in our election system

A report released late last week by federal intelligence agencies indicate that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his covert operatives to spy on and try to influence the United States elections.

We find the report disturbing, to say the least.

President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly denied the claims by intelligence officials that Russia tried to turn the vote in his favor. After he was given a copy of the report he still maintained that there is no evidence that Russia tried to manipulate vote totals.

No, the report does not claim that the Russians did. But they did hack into the computer systems of the Democratic Party and overall tried to undermine the American people's faith in their own political system.

Given the polarization of the electorate over the past year, you'd think they succeeded, to a certain degree.

This interference by a foreign government in our national election process is intolerable. From now on, we must be aware that the Russians see our elections as vulnerable and take the necessary steps to protect the integrity of our election process. It undergirds our way of freedom.

Published in Editorials on January 9, 2017 10:02 AM