MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — We may be just a few months away from the presidential primary, but election security is front and center for Alabama leaders.

Later this week, the Alabama Secretary of State will be holding a cyber security seminar for election officials across the state. This all comes down to protecting the public’s vote.

Dr. David Hughes of Auburn University at Montgomery said voter confidence is key.

“A pretty large portion of the american electric is concerned that there could be election tampering for foreign sources,” Hughes said. “This is mainly a concern among Democrats.”

Hughes said that although there weren’t any successful attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 elections, foreign governments tried their best.

“They ran essentially a misinformation campaign, or troll farms on the internet and trying to stir up the passions of a polarized american electric,” he said.

The National Association of Election Officials met this week in Auburn to talk about voter integrity.

“Every election is different, as things change we want to be able to keep up with them,” Susan Gill of the National Election Center said.”

Election officials say it’s important to have inclusion, integrity and innovation for those who are running elections on the ground.

The cyber security seminar will be held in Montgomery on Friday.