From CBS 12: A Palm Beach County election volunteer allegedly stole an encrypted access key during a training session, sparking a criminal investigation.
Detectives with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office say they responded to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office at 4301 Cherry Road for reports of sensitive computer equipment being stolen.
A subsequent investigation uncovered that the theft happened days earlier, on March 19, while the Elections Office was conducting a training session for volunteers assisting with the upcoming election.
The election was held on March 24, and it included the Florida House District 87 Special Election in which Democrat Emily Gregory, a first-time candidate, defeated Trump-backed Republican Jon Maples, and the Village of North Palm Beach Council, Group 4 Election.
Detectives say the suspect, John Panicci, took an encrypted access key from a voter registration terminal during the training session.
Officials are concerned that the key, configured for training databases, could be reverse-engineered and used maliciously.
During a March 28 search warrant at Panicci’s residence, detectives, armed with a search warrant, recovered the stolen key as well as a significant number of electronic and digital storage devices.
Panicci was arrested and booked on counts of theft and damaging an electronic device.
During his court appearance on Sunday morning, Panicci was told to avoid contact with the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office. He’s being held in the Palm Beach County Jail on $6,000 bail.
Authorities have not said whether any voter data was compromised, but they are still investigating the incident.
The arrest comes amid nationwide election security concerns that persist, even as the media touts studies showing minimal fraud and safe balloting.
🚨 HOLY CRAP!! A Palm Beach elections office volunteer just got arrested for STEALING an encrypted access key and computer equipment in the March 24 special election where the Democrat won by 800 votes
This is the district the includes Mar-a-Lago.
Investigators worry that the… pic.twitter.com/0mBPEFdxNK
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 29, 2026
Read more at CBS 12
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