BREAKING NEWS. THAT BREAKING NEWS IS FROM JACKSON COUNTY. AT LEAST FOUR SERVICES ARE SHUT DOWN FROM A POTENTIAL RANSOMWARE ATTACK. GOOD AFTERNOON. I’M LAURA MORITZ, AND I’M KELLY ECKERMAN. WE DO WANT TO STRESS THE COUNTY SAYS THIS WILL NOT IMPACT TODAY’S ELECTION. KMBC NINE NEWS ANDY ALCOCK HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THIS DEVELOPING STORY FOR HOURS NOW, AND ANDY, YOU’VE LEARNED WHY JACKSON COUNTY RESIDENTS DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THEIR VOTES COUNTING TODAY. YEAH, EXACTLY RIGHT. KELLY KELLY, BOARD OF ELECTIONS DIRECTOR TAMMIE BROWN TELLS US THEY HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SYSTEM THAN THE COUNTY, SO THEY WERE NOT IMPACTED. ALSO, BALLOT BOXES DO NOT HAVE THE INTERNET. JUST FOR THIS TYPE OF REASON. SO THEY CAN’T BE HACKED. SO THOSE VOTES ARE SAFE AND THEY WILL COUNT. HOWEVER, IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORY FOR OTHER PEOPLE WHO CAME HERE TO THE OLD JACKSON COUNTY COURTHOUSE IN INDEPENDENCE TO DO OTHER BUSINESS. THEY WERE TOLD COUNTY OFFICES ARE SHUT DOWN, ACCORDING TO A NEWS RELEASE FROM JACKSON COUNTY. THE POSSIBLE RANSOMWARE ATTACK HAS IMPACTED THE TAX PAYMENTS AND ONLINE PROPERTY MARRIAGE LICENSE AND INMATE SEARCHES. THE IT ISSUES HAVE SHUT DOWN THE ASSESSMENT COLLECTION AND RECORDER OF DEEDS OFFICES AT ALL COUNTY LOCATIONS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. IF WE WANT TO STRESS, IF IT IS A RANSOMWARE ATTACK, WE DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HACKERS ARE TRYING TO EXTORT FROM THE COUNTY. TODAY, JACKSON COUNTY EXECUTIVE FRANK WHITE ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER DECLARING A STATE OF EMERGENCY. THIS WAIVES SO THE COUNTY CAN QUICKLY HIRE A COMPANY TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. THE ORDER ALSO SAYS IT MIGHT REQUIRE MONEY FROM THE COUNTY’S EMERGENCY FUND AND DOES NOT LIMIT HOW MUCH MONEY COULD BE SPENT. CHANTEL DRAKE CAME TO INDEPENDENCE TODAY TO PAY SALES TAX ON HER NEW CAR, BUT WAS TURNED AWAY. I ACTUALLY WENT TO, UH, KANSAS CITY AND THEN I CAME DOWN HERE TO INDEPENDENCE BECAUSE THEY SAID THEIR SYSTEMS WERE DOWN AND THEY SAID I COULD COME GET IT HERE. AND THEN I COULDN’T COME GET IT HERE. SO IT’S JUST, YOU KNOW, IT’S VERY, VERY FRUSTRATING. NOW WE’RE TOLD COUNTY WORKERS DID GIVE SOME APPOINTMENTS TO CUSTOMERS TODAY. ONE MAN TELLS US THE CLOSEST ONE, THE NEAREST ONE THAT HE COULD GET TO TODAY WAS FRIDAY. BUT AT THIS POINT, IT’S UNCLEAR WHETHER THESE IT ISSUES WILL BE RESOLVED BY TH