Verified Voting Blog: Verified Voting Comments to FCC on Internet Voting
In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as part of its development of a National Broadband Plan, to include “a plan for the use of broadband infrastructure and services in advancing …civic participation.” On December 10, 2010 the Federal Communications Commission issued a request for public comments “…on how broadband can help to bring democratic processes—including elections, public hearings and town hall meetings—into the digital age…” Verified Voting, in submitted comments, answered the question – “With existing technology, is it possible to enable and ensure safe and secure voting online today?”, simply – “In a word, no.” As a recent report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) indicates, “…The security challenges associated with e-mail return of voted ballots are difficult to overcome using technology widely deployed today.” And “…Technology that is widely deployed today is not able to mitigate many of the threats to casting ballots via the web.”
Despite the short window allowed for public comment, numerous organizations and individuals, including Verified Voting submitted comments. Much of Verified Voting’s commentary was informed by the “Computer Technologists’ Statement on Internet Voting”, published last year and signed by dozens of leading technology professionals and computer security experts. This post is the first in a series that will highlight the commentary submitted to the FCC on the issue of the role of the internet in the electoral process. In answer to the question “With existing technology, is it possible to enable and ensure safe and secure voting online today?”, Verified Voting responded, “in a word, no.”