Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 16 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 2/12/09

Regarding Internet Voting in Washington State

Message Ellen Theisen
  http://www.votersunite.org/info/WAConversationNickHandy.asp

On February 11, I spoke with Nick Handy, Washington State-s election director regarding the Internet voting bill now in the State House and Senate. He said that they want the bill so they can go forward with a study to see if Internet voting can be implemented securely and privately for our UOCAVA voters. He also said that the next step would be to extend it to the population in general. He said that if they discover it can't be done well, they will not implement it -- not until it can be done well.

But this is small comfort, given how ill-informed he and others in the office are. I told him that NIST, GAO, and dozens of computer scientists and security experts warn against using the Internet for voting with its current architecture and mentioned that NIST said technology widely available today isn't able to mitigate the threats. He said that wasn't NIST's conclusion, and I told him it was practically a direct quote from their report.

Clearly our SoS office has done no research into the matter. In fact, Mr. Handy said as much. They don't want to waste time researching it if the legislature doesn't authorize using it. So they are pushing it, telling the legislature it can be made secure and private, without any evidence or research to back them up, and even in the face of evidence to the contrary. Some in the legislature appear to be trusting their word, ignorant of the fact that the SoS has done no research. And many of them are not trusting us who have done research.

I asked Mr. Handy why they felt it necessary to remove the scheme from the oversight of RCW 29a.12. He asked, "What's that?" I said "the Washington State law governing voting system requirements". He said Katie Blinn was taking the lead on this and he didn't know why she requested that part of the bill.

I asked what they had in mind for alternate funding. He said they were looking at three potential sources: Pew grant, FVAP grant, HAVA funds. However, we have heard from other sources that FVAP does not give grants and that Pew is not prepared to support Internet voting at this time. Indeed, Pew's recent report warns against it for UOCAVA voters. It is also questionable whether HAVA funds can be used for an Internet voting system that wasn't included in the state's HAVA plan.

Rather than authorizing the Secretary to be the sole judge of whether an Internet voting system is secure and private, the legislature should prohibit Internet voting until the Secretary can demonstrate to the legislature and the public that he has consulted with experts and determined that such a system would be feasible.

Rather than authorizing the Secretary to seek "alternate funding" for this study, the legislature should specify guidelines for that funding.

Rather than removing the protections of RCW29a.12 wholesale, the legislature should ensure that any voting system employed in Washington meet standards set by law, including a definition of "secure."

Ellen Theisen

Rate It | View Ratings

Ellen Theisen Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Ellen Theisen is the founder and Co-Director of VotersUnite.Org.
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Regarding Internet Voting in Washington State

Peeling the Onion: Can Voting System Testing be Reliable and Extensive?

Vendors are Undermining the Structure of U.S. Elections

Senator Feinstein's Election Reform Bill: A Constitutional Heresy

U.S. Senate Bill S. 1487: Escalating the Federal Control and Privatization of Elections

'Daily Voting News' for May 07, 2009

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend