The Digital Ballot Box: A Ticking Time Bomb?
Hold onto your MAGA hats, folks! We’re diving into the murky waters of electronic voting systems, where the sanctity of our democracy meets the wild west of technology. As we gear up for another election season, it’s high time we take a hard look at the machines that hold our votes. Are they secure? Can we trust them? Or are we one clever hacker away from a constitutional crisis? Buckle up, patriots, because this ride through the digital ballot box might just make you yearn for the good old days of hanging chads.
The State of Our Voting Machines
The security of our electronic voting systems is a patchwork quilt of varying standards and practices across the nation. While there’s no evidence of vote manipulation in past U.S. elections, the potential vulnerabilities in these systems are cause for concern.
“Experts have identified best practices for security, but adoption varies by state, with some resistance to federal efforts at improving security standards.”
Source: https://econofact.org/how-secure-are-u-s-electronic-voting-systems
This resistance to federal oversight complicates the implementation of uniform security measures, leaving some states more vulnerable than others. The decentralized nature of our voting systems, while a safeguard against widespread tampering, also presents challenges in coordinating security efforts.
Paper Trails and Audits: The Gold Standard
Experts agree that paper records of every vote are crucial for auditing and confirming vote tallies. However, not all states require paper ballots or voter-verifiable paper records, leaving some jurisdictions without this essential safeguard.
Risk-limiting audits, which manually tally a sample of paper vote records to confirm electronically counted results, are recommended but not universally adopted. These audits provide a crucial check against potential electronic manipulation or errors.
Vulnerabilities in the System
“Dominions Voting Systems’ electronic voting machines have software vulnerabilities, as identified by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA).”
This revelation underscores the need for constant vigilance and improvement in our voting technology. While there’s no evidence these vulnerabilities have been exploited, their existence highlights the ongoing challenge of securing our electoral process.
The Age Factor
Many of our voting machines are well past their prime, increasing the risk of failures, crashes, and security vulnerabilities.
“In 2018, 41 states used voting equipment that was at least a decade old.”
This aging infrastructure not only poses security risks but can also lead to long lines, confusion, and lost votes, disproportionately affecting vulnerable voter groups.
Moving Forward: Securing Our Elections
To protect our democratic process, several key measures are recommended:
1. Implementing basic cybersecurity hygiene, including protecting voting equipment from physical tampering, installing updates, disconnecting machines from the internet, and maintaining thorough logs.
2. Adopting paper ballots or voter-verifiable paper records in all jurisdictions.
3. Conducting risk-limiting audits to confirm electronically tallied vote counts.
4. Upgrading outdated voting machines and improving ballot design.
5. Creating a national clearinghouse to monitor and address voting machine problems.
While the 2020 election was labeled “the most secure in American history,” ongoing improvements are necessary to stay ahead of evolving threats. As patriotic Americans, it’s our duty to demand and support these crucial safeguards for our democratic process.
Sources:
1. How Secure Are U.S. Electronic Voting Systems?
2. How Can U.S. Electronic Voting Systems Be Made More Secure?
3. Cyber agency: Voting software vulnerable in some states
4. “How Secure are U.S Elections?”
